November 8, 2011

Here it is... the accumulated listing of our recent trials... Nobody asked for this, but we want you to know that a mission like this is not as happy-go-lucky as people think!!

The Window Incident:  Entering Regina, Saskatchewan, Meghan, Sabrina and Myikka experienced the scary sound of a tempered window exploding!!  I was running ahead of the truck and the girls were following close behind (as per the usual), when suddenly, the rear window in our beautiful Chevy Silverado blew out.  We figure that it was a rock that got kicked up by a passing truck, but that is something that will never be answered with complete accuracy.  

After the shattering itself, the girls yelled for me and evacuated the vehicle.  I turned around and tried to figure out why they wanted me to come ALL the way back to the truck (about 100 meters; I greatly dislike travelling East by foot these days...)

A game-plan was necessary at this point, so naturally, we contacted the Boyer's and they worked their magic to get us fixed up THAT day.  Therefore, we had to high-tail it to the South-end GM dealer to get things rolling.  

When we arrived at the dealership, we noticed our next "issue"...

Another flat tire on the trailer:  Yes another flat tire, which we addressed quite rapidly in the employee parking section of the dealership.  We have a ton of practice with this, so it doesn't seem like a huge burden when we have to deal with it.  We have exceeded 15 flat trailer tired since starting our journey... BEAT THAT!

Propane Leak:  The following day, after getting our auxiliary truck battery installed (to deal with the increased power demand of running the heater in the evening) we smelled propane, definitely a leak, "hopefully it's not us"!!  Thankfully it was not the spare tanks... however, it WAS the apparatus that controlled the currently attached tanks.  Somewhere in the directional control mechanism for the dual-tank set-up, there was a dis-connect and it was pouring out all of our propane (heat, fridge, stove-top cooking).  We frantically called all of the RV centers in town and were kindly told to wait until mid-next week to be seen (let alone repaired).  HELLO?!?!?  It's like -15 Celcius overnight and you want us to wait for 5 or 6 days and nights)????  OK, I realize that we are not any special-case scenario compared to the rest of the RV-owning population, but really?? 

So, I did what any frustrated mid-twenties male would do... I MacGyver'd it.  Yes, that's right, I stretched my legs in Regina's Home Depot and went to town on it.  I successfully replaced the garbage parts with a makeshift (still extremely safe), but solid setup.  No, Home Depot doesn't have a "RV replacement parts" section.  You do the math.  :)

This will have to do for the time being, because nobody will help us out and take a look at it!

Next, we head off in a North-Westerly direction (highway 11) with the intention of getting to Saskatoon by the end of the week.  Guess again!

                                                       --- Today ---

Trailer heater stops working:  Today we stopped for lunch somewhere past Bethune, SK, and the bloody heater wasn't working in the trailer.  Well, with a daytime high comfortably under zero and wind to boot, we HAVE to get this addressed (this morning we started at -18 Celcius).  We called around and have an appointment at Village RV in Regina tomorrow morning.  Phew!!!  Beyond this, the lights in the trailer are glowing slightly brighter than pitch black (this started at the end of the marathon), what the heck is going on here????  We are being tested, that's for sure.

Okay, now for the good news.

- We are already past our 8th provicial capital city!!  Heck yes!

- Connie and the wonderful team at West Harvest Inn Regina have put us up for the night in order to keep us warm!! Thank you to them!!

- Lastly; it could be worse.  We don't want to worry anybody, but this is what it is all about out here... It's a long and difficult road, but it is definitely worth it to make a difference in the lives of so many.

Be well,

Scott and TRTL Team