First of all the uncharacteristically COLD weather this year in Oklahoma not only helped us drain an entire 30# propane bottle (which is not unusual) every 4 days, it also froze up the refrigerator evaporator drain during our first day. I'm talking daytime temps in the 20s and nights in the high single digits. This virtually shuts down the refrigerator/freezer till the line thaws and is cleared, allowing the coils to thaw. Also regardless of heated tanks, the external dump handles for both grey and black water froze solid. After waiting 5 days for a thaw we were on our way again.
Once the evaporator drain hose freezes the moisture freezes on the coils, effectively shutting down the entire fridge/freezer
On arrival at the Oklahoma/Arkansas border I had another of those wonderful 'check engine light' issues with my truck. The dealer found nothing wrong under diagnostics and once they reset it and we were underway we never saw it again. In fact I have come to the conclusion that it only occurs during cold or wet weather and usually disappears within a day on it's own. It gave us another couple of days to relax and enjoy the area.
Most times it only seems this bad
From the border it is only another day to Little Rock then to the SE Missouri area. We don't do long days much anymore. We decided to give ourselves a break and sleep in, leave late, and then boondock overnight about halfway. Great dreams, lousy results. We boondocked in the Clarksville, AR Walmart (which is a great location by the way) When we boondock our protocol is to connect the RV onboard battery to the truck battery bank via an SAE jumper cable or standard jumper cable. However on setup I completely missed a corroded connection on the SAE cable from the battery bank to the RV onboard battery which resulted in our single battery (without the use of our battery bank) draining itself very, very low by morning. We had lights, but not much other power. 
Yeah, that'll conduct electricity just fine, dumbass
We awoke in the morning to a cold RV. Once I used the basic battery charger cables the problem was fixed, including allowing us to bring in the slider rooms as well. I did hope that the drive time into SE Missouri would recharge the battery, but it wasn't meant to be. In fact the on board battery cells water was very nearly empty. After arrival in Missouri I hooked us to 'shore power', enabled the 'battery disconnect switch', refilled the cells, cleaned all the cables and connections, and put it on a battery tender charger for a long overnight charge. Problem solved? We will see. 27 hours later on the Battery Tender the battery showed a charge, but I left it on a trickle charge. I wanted to give a day or two more before I load tested it.
Several days later I made sure the battery was isolated from the charger and measured it with my voltmeter: 13.6 vdc. I left it isolated for 3 hours to see if would hold an ambient charge: 3 hours later......13.5 vdc. Not bad, but a load test would tell the real tale. The next day I disconnected shore power, rechecked cell water, and ran the RV completely off the battery for 4 hours by itself with only a few lights and the heater on to provide a viable load. It still read 12.55 vdc 4 hours down. This equates to a nominal 10% drop. There was no need to test further; we dodged a huge bullet here! Thank God I have always used Trojan Batteries. A good battery bank is the heart and soul of any solar system and certainly aren't cheap. We had just replaced our original RV onboard with this battery back in November. It still has enough guts to soldier on for us.
This is our annual visit to the SE Missouri area. Barb's sisters live here and we visit with them and her niece yearly. The past couple of years have been dicey, as they can be with families. Since her mother's death in 2000, these visits have tended to become increasingly adversarial. She cannot be everything to everybody, most notably 2 years ago when she finally had a sit down putting her feeling forth. That visit lasted 3 days. This is our first visit since. Barb stays with her sister while I tend to the critters and guard the campsite as well as eat far too much fried southern food. This time is hard on my wife. I try to be as supportive as I can, but have nothing to do with her family.Obviously, I have had plenty of maintenance chores to keep me busy during our stay. That doesn't stop me from a bit of exploring myself. Dexter has a new meat market and there are gun shops and a PETCO in nearby Poplar Bluff (Roux is running low on chow).
I am in 7th Heaven when I get to cook for myself. I try to eat healthy, but eat what I want. This week I prepared Shrimp n Grits, Ham n Potato Frittata, Quail n Dumplings, and Clam Strips to name a few. Additionally, I picked up a couple of beautiful rib eyes for Guinness Irish Steaks on the horizon for St. Paddy's Day. I also have to replace our Pampered Chef small pizza stone for our oven; ours broke sometime during the past several days. That's a crime, I loved that thing.
While here I also took time to scrub the RV and truck in order to eliminate all the road grime, just so we can get some new road grime. I also allowed myself an order of gizzards for lunch one day. I can only have them about once every couple of weeks; they are my 'gout trigger'. Barb still has a couple of days left at her sisters' before our departure. We hope to get to Keokuk, Iowa next. The world's greatest Catfish Market is there on the banks of the 'Mighty Mississip'. From here on out this spring, EVERYTHING depends on whatever snow is still left.
Oooooeeeee, Shrimp n Grits, baby
Ham & Potato Frittata
Sometimes our travels are a bit like a Seinfeld episode, but if you sort through all the lessons you've learned and the fact that after all you are retired......it really is just a hiccup in the road. If you don't learn to take the BAD with the good, your retirement won't last. Barb and I keep each other level and in check, perhaps her more with me in the final tally. I handle the maintenance, technology, fabrication, repair and she handles the family and the $$$. I can not have done better for a partner and certainly don't deserve her. We balance each other perfectly. Together we've weathered it all. The horizon remains our future. Joie de Vivre.
"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are"
Samuel Johnson
WiFi courtesy of Wildwood RV Park
Dexter, MO
Dexter, MO
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