17. Yosemite with Mak and Zak

We left home Monday early and picked up an excited Mak and Zak in Roseville.  It then took another 5 hours to get into the Park and to our site.  The most exciting part of the drive down was going up the Priest Grade just before Groveland.  That road is just NOT FUN towing a 5th wheel!!!

Although we had taken a lot of firewood down with us, with the cold/wet weather that had been forecast I figured we better get out right away and collect more (before the rain hit).  So as soon as I set the trailer and put up a tarp over the fire pit the kids and I took off to do some picture taking and firewood collecting....and it's good we did because it really started raining later that night!  (but we did actually bring home some wood after the trip...which can be used for our next trip!)

On Tuesday it pretty much rained all day...as was expected.  We drove the kids over to the Visitor Center and had a really great time looking around...and the kids loved it!  But we didn't let the weather bother us as we were well prepared.  After lunch in the 5er I then took them for a walk around the campground, down by the river, and around the meadow...umbrellas in hand!  We had a lot of fun being adventurous.

On Wed. we woke to find that it had snowed over night...and in fact was still snowing.  This too was in the forecast, but it was still a nice surprise...it was BEAUTIFUL.  After breakfast we went for a wonderful walk up to Happy Isles and then after lunch we spent some time inside playing a vigorous game of National Park Monopoly.  And of course I took MANY MANY pics that day.

Thursday was clear, and therefore VERY cold.  All the water in our water jugs outside was frozen, and the indoor/outdoor thermometer said it was 29 degrees outside (but a cozy 57 in side...thanks to the new thermostat!).  After a nice big breakfast we drove over to the Lodge, and walked up to the base of lower Yosemite Falls which was wonderful...and the kids really enjoyed climbing the rocks along the way.

After that walk we stopped at the store for some ice cream (yes, we did get some funny looks...but that's what the kids wanted!) and souvenirs and drove around some more to take more pics.

That afternoon JB needed some quiet time, so I took M/Z for a walk up to the base of Bridal Veil Falls, and then we stopped at a couple of spots for them to expend some energy by climbing more rocks.

The rain forecasted for that afternoon never arrived, so I was able to pretty much dismantle all our tarps that evening which then helped us break camp early on Friday so we could head home and get ready for a busy Easter weekend.

All in all we had a GREAT time...but somehow on the way down I must have lost a piece of wood from the back of the truck that hit our drain valve on the fresh water tank.  It was full when we left home, and empty when we got there...now I have something else to fix!  (Good thing I had some duct tape with me...and lots of empty water jugs!)

Link to more pictures

16. New Thermostat

Prior to heading to Yosemite I decided to make a giant jump and switch out the old 'coil' type manual slide thermostat with a new digital one.  While JB was at Wally World shopping I had her stop by the thermostat dept., and said if they had a Hunter digital to give me a call...they did, model 32995...for under $20.

Then I had to figure out how to install it.

I found the below site and was blown away by the fact that it provided an exact wire by wire diagram of how to match up the wires (6 vs 4); Converting to Hunter Digital Thermostat

It took about 20 minutes to install, and I then tested it in both the A/C and heating modes...and it worked great!

Then we gave it the acid test by using it in Yosemite.

15. Trailer damage now fixed

It was a bit of a hassle (or more like 'fiasco') with the insurance companies, but we finally got things resolved. 

We have insurance for the truck with Allstate and the trailer is insured with Progressive (MUCH cheaper than Allstate!).  When I first called Progressive and reported the 'accident' they said they would take care of everything...no problem.  Then the next week I got a call from them saying that damage caused to another vehicle went back against the tow vehicle, and not the trailer...so they closed the claim. 

OK, so I called Allstate.  They were friendly and helpful, took all the information, and said to get an estimate and get back to them.  No problem!

A few days later I got a call from them saying, "oops"...as it turns out the damage caused to the other vehicle was indeed covered by them (liability insurance), but damaged caused to my own rig would be under our Progressive coverage (collision insurance)...so I called Progressive back. 

Again they were very friendly, and after explaining the situation they agreed that, yup, they would cover the damage to our 5er (they said they had 'misunderstood' the scope of the damage at the beginning).   I told them I already had the rig at our dealer (who had already submitted the estimate to Allstate), and Progressive set up a visit to inspect the trailer.  They were very efficient and timely, and in fact even found a little more damage than the dealer had quoted on...impressive.

So the work got done and we are pleased, and now we are ready to head out to Yosemite tomorrow.

Now if only the weather in Yosemite was going to be better...oh well...rain and snow, at least we are prepared for it.

14. New tailgate

For those not familiar with hooking up 5th wheel trailers to the pickup, with a regular tailgate you have to lower it to be able to back up under the trailer 'hitch', and then you have to close it before towing.  So the drill of opening/closing, each time you connect/disconnect can become a little tedious...plus it leaves too much opportunity for human error (as in forgetting to either open or close, backing into the trailer with it down, etc.)

So they make 'after market' tailgates that allow for connecting/disconnecting w/out having to worry about the tailgate (plus the louvers 'supposedly' help with air flow and therefor improve fuel economy)...so I got one.  Bought it on Ebay a week ago.

It arrived yesterday, and in an hour (after I looked up on the internet to see how to take off the factory installed tailgate) I had my new 'toy' installed.  Now I just have to wait until we go to Yosemite with Mak and Zach over spring break to use it!

13. Uncle Paul's Celebration of Life Weekend

On Feb. 3, 2010 we lost our brother in law, Paul Higginbotham.  He fought very hard, but succumbed to pneumonia (and related respiratory complications).  He was a good friend and family member, and we will miss him greatly.

On Sat. Feb. 20, a Celebration of Life was held for him in the Cedar Room at the Lake Wildwood clubhouse.  The weekend began with out of town friends and family gathering at our house for dinner on Friday night and to start preparing food for both the Celebration and dinner the next night.  This was followed by the Celebration Sat. afternoon, dinner for MANY back at our house that evening, and a champagne brunch the next morning.

A slideshow of the weekend can be found at; Pictures of Paul's Celebration Weekend

On Friday morning I got up early and went to the storage yard to bring the 5er back to the house.  The plan was to use it as a guest suite for the weekend for Paul's son Andy and family, and then have it available for the kids to use as a game room while the adults occupied the rest of the house.  After hookup I was pulling it through the storage yard and for the briefest of moments I went brain dead.

My mind wandered to not using black spray paint to cover some markings on the trailer hitch...dumb...and then it happened.  One of those moments you fear.  I heard a crunch and felt a tug.  I had sideswiped a parked RV as I negotiated a tight corner.

That corner has storage units to the left, storage units straight ahead, and parked RV's on the right...and a narrow drive between.  It takes concentration to navigate that course.  What in the world was I doing 'allowing' my brain to wander to some inane subject.  Go figure!  I'm going to write it off as stress, but certainly use it as a lesson for the future...STAY FOCUSED!

Essentially I had 'rubbed' the side of the 5er across the corner of an RV for about 3 feet.  The RV had a big ole cover on it, so I had to lift it up to survey the damage (damage other than the obvious rip in that EXPENSIVE cover).   I had hit the bumper, and scraped the corner molding.  No dents, tears, creases, etc. to the RV itself...looked pretty 'superficial' really.  Then I looked at the 5er.

The good news is that it could have been worse...a LOT worse.

There is a storage compartment in the 'basement' of the 5er that goes from one side to the other, and is about 3ft long and 18" tall.  The door swings up on a long hinge, and has 2 latches and a lock at the bottom...that door got the bulk of the damage.  The hinge was scraped along its whole length, and on of the latches was pulled completely out.  The good news is that I can still open the door (with gloves, pliers and screwdriver) and close it (with a rubber hammer).  There is also a nice tear in the sheeting under the door where it had hit the bumper of the RV.  This is 'cosmetic' and won't effect use (but still needs to be fixed).

I stopped in the office and reported the incident, then went home to sulk.

Later that day after the trailer was all set up and other chores had been done I got a phone call from the owner of the RV.  Turns out he is a fellow Lake Wildwood resident and after comparing notes we realized we have played golf together a couple of times.  He also has the same insurance carrier, so the wheels are in motion (pun intented) to get both our rigs repaired.

Words of wisdom;  Beauty is only skin deep, but DUMB goes clear to the bone  ;-)

12. Camping in the driveway

OK, so this wasn't really a trip to anywhere, but it was fun none the less. When Chris, Kasandra and kids came to stay for a night over Christmas, we had Kasandra and the two little girls (Olivia and Chloe) sleep in the guest rooms, and Chris and the two big kids (Mak and Zach) were in the trailer. This worked out perfectly from a logistical perspective, but it was not without incident.

This was the first time that Mak and Zach had seen the trailer. They liked being in it so much, that on two separate occasions that afternoon/evening they both asked if they could hang out in it by themselves for a while…Mak to read a book and Zach to watch a video. This was all well and good, except that we had not taken the time to explain to them how to work the latch on the door…pull in the latch, push out the door. So each kid (w/out knowing the other had done it) ended up being ‘trapped’ inside the trailer and had to bang on the window (while crying in panic) to try to get our attention to let them out.

Poor kids. Well, at least now they know how to open the door, and hopefully we won't have any similar issues when we take them camping to Yosemite in March (knock on wood).