Went for a ride with the Carter Effect today.
New bike that is appropriately sized makes riding fun.
Just over a week ago I decided to try to to curb my calorie intake by limiting myself to not having seconds since that is probably one of my worst eating habits. Â It’s been one week and a day and so far so good. Â I’m not counting calories, but I think it’s helping.
Alaskan Outpost Aurora Borealis
501st Legion of Stormtroopers
ACCA Â Annual Family Field Day
The troops of the Aurora Borealis Alaskan Outpost entertained kids and their families at ACCA’s  Annual Family Field Day held at Denali Elementary in Fairbanks, Alaska. On my way out I noticed a ladybug trying to get across the walkway. I photographed it and then moved it to a tree so it would not get stepped on.
Trooping.
Star Wars fans!
We need some Imperial issue umbrellas, but this will do in the mean time!
On my way out I noticed a ladybug trying to get across the walkway. I photographed it and then moved it to a tree so it would not get stepped on.
We spent most of our weekend working on projects such as re-arranging the garage to make room for both motorcycles and doing stuff on my old Winnebago in prep for what will be a great week-long trip in Denali at the end of June, but on Sunday we took time off for ourselves to enjoy the great weather.
First Michael and I took his first ride out to Hilltop for some brunch on his new-to-him bike. We stopped at the pipeline viewing area in Fox on the way home, since it makes a great photo background. Once I go home I headed out to float the Chena River with Caroline. Dinner was grilled salmon burgers and salad and though Caroline didn’t stay for the movies, we watched Minions and then Tucker and Dale versus Evil, which I’m sure will be cult classic!
Silver Yamaha V-Star 1100 classic is Michael’s and the red Honda Shadow 750 is mine
Silver bike has a dent in the tank. It came that way and we plan to get it fixed.
Surprising delicious Halibut sandwich and fries.
I forget the actual name of this dish that Michael ordered, but I told him he should have called this “The Heart Attack” since it was a meat scramble with a side of meat in it topped with more meat.
Bikes at Hilltop.
Pipeline viewing area in Fox.
My kayaks.
Caroline likes the new kayak
I’m always picking up driftwood to bring home for my snakes. This piece was HUGE but I wanted it and so it stuck up like a mast out of my boat for part of the way of our float. I’m the lumber barge!
I took a 400 mile and two night trip this past weekend. Lots of learning happened and I’m really glad to have planned these shorter trips before the big trip to Denali. Some of the highlights that are RV specific:
RV note #1: make new dark-colored and/or blackout curtains before the next trip!
RV note #2: install the water tank and pump before the next trip. It is a pain in the neck to try to get the water out of the large water jugs (7 gallon aqua-tainers) for washing hands in the tiny sinks or for any other usage. Even putting some water into one gallon jugs didn’t really solve the problem. I need water to come out of my faucets!
RV note #3: The bathroom is tiny. I need to find out if I can trim the doorway to the side by the stove since there is barely room even with just my curtain-for-a-door!
My RV at Tanacross.
Look, I have windshield wipers that are no longer held on with tape!
This is how you pack the fridge when the fridge doesn’t work quite right; use two gallons of frozen water to keep it all cold!
First time driving the RV at night. Granted we have nearly 24 hours of faint daylight now, but it’s still not bright sunlit roads!
Sleeping accommodations, looking towards the driving area. (photo with flash)
Sleeping accommodations, looking towards the driving area. (no flash shows how much daylight gets through curtains even though I tacked up flannel pillowcases to help cover the light!)
Sleeping accommodations, looking towards the back / bathroom area.
Corner #2, my place to watch the racers for the weekend!
Construction on an Alaskan road in summer.
Nothing but blue skies and clear roads for miles and miles and miles….
Stop at the overlook; the mountains and the river are so pretty here.
Stop at the overlook; the mountains and the river are so pretty here.
Stop at the overlook; the mountains and the river are so pretty here.
It’s currently shoulder season in Denali National Park which means that anyone can drive into mile 30 and camping is free at Riley Creek Campground. With that in mind I headed out with my friend Caroline to Denali National Park in the RV for its first trip out to test the comfort and amenities I have working thus far (stove, furnace and fridge). I also had my new Sony VCL- DH1758 Tele Conversion Lens with a step-up ring to test out.
We arrived at the park around 4:30p.m. and set to driving in the road.  The light was kind of grey and the landscape seemed a bit dull, but even before we got to the Savage River trail the first animal we saw was a bear.  It was kind of far out in the still  semi-frozen braided river area digging for roots, but it was a good thing for me to test my tele-conversion lens capability with and though I’m still trying to figure the best settings for it (how to best use it with either manual or auto-focus mostly is the issue), I was pleased at how much farther I could “reach” with the addition.
Past Savage River, the road turns from asphalt to into dirt and gravel and parts of the road had been recently grated, so the road was rougher than normal is some areas.  The RV did a great job though even on that rough road, other than being incredibly noisy.  Maybe the biggest lesson learned from that part of our trip was to secure, store and stash everything.  Caroline’s dog Merlin who was sleeping on his bed in the back had several things fall from the couch and counter on him; fortunately nothing that hurt him.  The only thing that fell that ended up being a loss was the mirror that was attached to the closet door.  IT had rattled itself off and fallen and though it survived the fall without breaking I ended up stepping on it and cracking it since I didn’t notice it until it was too late.  The replacement mirror I put up in its place will be glued down.
As we continued on our way to mile 30 we saw more animals, including some Dall Sheep that were much to far for me to get detail on, plus we saw caribou in a few different places both on our way in and out on Saturday. Â On the way out we saw a male grouse or ptarmigan (I’m still a bit confused about which is which) and I got some decent close photos with detail and color of the bright red on his head. Â I also managed with complete luck to catch a really great mom and yearling caribou and got some decent photos of the yearling. Â It’s all practice for me so I’m fairly pleased when I get any amount of detail.
We saw a motorcycle riding on that rough road on Saturday and as a rider myself I can’t help but think that is not how I would like to see the park since the road is so rough and the chance of a large animal coming out at you is even greater than it is on a normal Alaska roadway. Â Â And on the way out the rider did encounter a couple caribou on the road. Â Caribou are so funny to watch run; they are not graceful and seem not quite in control of their legs! Watching a couple caribou run on the side of the road with a motorcycle in slow pursuit was quite comical.
We finally got done with our drive through the park and back shortly after 9pm. Â By this time we were both hungry and looking forward to getting to Riley Creek to park, make dinner and get some sleep. Â This is where the first of our mishaps was to occur. Â It turns out Riley Creek only has one small loop open during shoulder season and the loop was full. We decided to head towards Healy in hopes of finding a place to pull over and camp for the night. Â I knew there was an RV park between Denali and Healy and we pulled into it, but it looked abandoned and still closed for the season, plus it was road-side so there would have been noise from traffic, so we pushed on. Â We found a place near a small lake that technically was not for camping, but there was another RV across the lake from us doing the same and since we were planning on boon-docking and would be quiet for just one night, we decided to take the chance.
This is where testing the functionality of the RV came into play.  The first test of the stove was great.  We made dinner, even using the oven to warm up some naan to have with our Tasty Bites Indian food meal.  It was a chilly night and looked like we might be in for some rain, so we thought we would turn on the furnace to ensure we did not sleep cold.  As I had spent lots of time prepping, cleaning and testing the furnace at home, I did not anticipate any trouble with the furnace and at first glance everything seemed fine.  I turned on the pilot valve, lit the pilot and then we turned on the thermostat.  However we both experienced some smell of propane (something that was not an issue with I tested the system at home) and the only thing that would blow was cold air.  We waited, thinking maybe the furnace just needed to warm up, but decided eventually we had good enough sleeping bags so we turned off the furnace instead of chancing something bad happening.  (Side note, I do have a fire alarm and a CO2 detector, but it’s better to be safe than sorry).  Next step was bed.  I folded down my newly converted table-bed and put out my sleeping bags with the fleece-liner inside it and Caroline took her place on the couch bed.  I had an older sleeping bag under my new 20F bag which helped prevent me from slipping off the cushions until I got cold in the middle of the night and pulled the sleeping bag on top of me.  At that point my bed became a bit of a slip-and-slide, due to the slick fabric of my sleeping bag on the cushions that were slipping on the wood platform combined with the fact that we were also parked at a bit of an incline.  I lost one of my cushions near my feet  in the night as well, so I’ve already come up with a plan to ensure the cushions stay on the platform and that they don’t fall off since they are the bench cushions and there are four of them that want to go their own way especially since I toss and turn.
We got to bed sometime after midnight and other than waking up on and off all night due to a chest cold and cough that I’ve been fighting on and off since March, some wind and Alaska’s day light, IÂ managed to sleep in until almost 10am. Â I guess I needed it! Morning was Cream of Wheat made on the stove and after grabbing a few photos of the RV in it’s beautiful location, we got back on the road to go back into Denali for the second time.
Our second day in Denali was a sunnier day. Â We were on the park road from about noon until 4:30. Â We didn’t see as much wildlife on the second day, but we saw more caribou, a ground squirrel and more grouse/ptarmigan. Â Caroline also took her hand at driving the RV. Â I think she found it almost as much fun to drive as I do!
We had noticed driving in that the Savage River Trail parking area was closed on both sides of the river on our way in on Sunday and wondered what was going on, figuring most likely bears too close to the parking area. Â We stopped at the Murie Center on the way out and found that a hiker had been been missing and there was a Search and Rescue going on. Â By the time we arrived home that evening it was reported that his body was later recovered and he seems to have slipped while hiking and fell to his death. Â A sad bit of news to our nice overnight trip, but also a reminder that Alaska is still quite wild.
All in all a good trip. Â I’ve got some things to figure out on the RV before my week-long stay in Denali to make it easier and more comfortable, but overall I’m feeling good about it being our home-base for that week.
Bear!
Bear
Bear
Sheep, very, very far away!
Cropped sheep. Still cannot quite reach as far as I’d like, but not bad.
Caribou, very far away
Cropped caribou
Merlin with his human Caroline
Merlin
My RV at mile 30.
Pretty bird. Grouse or Ptarmigan
Adorable baby / yearling caribou
Caribou mom and yearling
My convertible bed with room to stretch out.
My convertible bed with room to stretch out.
Funny running caribou
Camping spot, Otto Lake
Camping spot, Otto Lake
Far, far caribou
Caribou cropped.
RV at Denali National Park
Caroline takes a turn at driving the RV.
Poor young caribou. Fuzzy but still dramatic.
Bear paw print. Small bear.
Pregnant caribou.
Three caribou, far away.
Super cute ground squirrel
Pretty sure this is a golden eagle. It was really, really far away…..
Today I replaced the battery power cables, added the missing ground and then installed a new battery that is more appropriate for running the vehicle and will use the deep cycle battery that came with the RV for the coach power requirements. I also cleaned and greased the metal drawers slides and now even with two batteries the whole drawer slides so much more easily.
I also changed out my two lines that come out from the propane regulator and attached them to the brand new 20lb bottles I picked up yesterday. I even used the teflon tape on the fittings!
New battery cables and new RV battery.
Scary old battery cables.
Old cables are trash now.
New batteries and cables, still need to secure the batteries to the tray.
New propane regulator and hoses, plus propane.
“The Year-long project we never expected to take so long.”
Timing is fixing. It is really trying to start. We even put gas straight into the carbs (with the butterfly open so gas would actually get into the engine).
Starting to think we should change the ignition coil and/or rebuild the carbs, again.
At this point we had exhausted the battery so we left it on the charger overnight.
We tried again the next morning, putting fuel in the carbs, etc and she still wouldn’t start.
I spent most of the weekend on a project to turn the table/bed into a full-sized grownup bed instead of one for short people / children. As it was, it was barely 5’7″ and I’m nearly 5’8″ so for me to sleep there I would have had to curl up and not stretch out and I did not like that idea at all.
So we cut the back support of the seat closest to the steps, put in a piano hinge, a support leg on a hinge and now we just need to install a slide lock to keep the back up when we want to use it as a table. Â I’m not sure these photos do justice to what we accomplished, but I’m taking the RV out for my first overnight this weekend and I’ll get better ACTION photos then 🙂
These are in-between photos. I still have some touch up to do to the paint on the back since that plywood splintered like crazy, but I want to be sure this will work out the way I hope and plan to test it this weekend.
I also got a CO alarm, fire alarm, fire extinguisher and a thermometer/humidity gauge installed. I’m wondering how cold it will be in Denali this weekend and if we need to use the furnace.
Oh! And I fixed the window that was flapping open which had been taped shut with the metal ducting tape that cuts you. Â All the sticky had come off and I found the original bracket that was just missing the screw to hold it in place so now this window stays shut when I drive!
I’ve got some cleanup to do to get the sticky residue off and need to replace the screen, but we are still in the 20-30F temps at night so it’s not a rush to get that screen replaced just yet.
No more flapping window! Â This is the before pic. Â I forgot to get an after pic and the RV is at the shop getting a tuneup before I take her out this weekend so the after pic will have to wait 🙂
First photo here the bed before, at just 5’7.”
The back of the seat with the modifications.
The leg support.
The bed with the extra 11 inches to stretch out (feet only on this end) fully extended. Turns out the cushions tend to slide under movement from a person sleeping so I need to glue some drawer liner to the wood to prevent the slippage.
Fire extinguisher, smoke detector and CO2 detector, plus a thermostat.
Window with broken bracket which was taped closed but the tape had come loose so the window flaps. I fixed it though!
