Saturday, 24 through Tuesday, 27 July 2021
For Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the weather was a lot hotter than comfortable. On Monday, for instance, the forecast was for a high of 103° and 93% humidity. By 4 PM, it was up to 100° but the heat index brought it up to 104°. So yeah, hot and humid. And considering how far Bismarck is from any large body of water, a high level of humidity seems insulting. Fortunately, on Tuesday it was overcast all day, which seemed to help keep the temp down into the 80s and 90s instead of the forecast 106°.
By Monday, my arm was finally feeling better - not well, because it still ached, sometimes a lot. But still definitely, finally, it felt like it was on the mend. It's been 2½ weeks since it got maltreated.
On Tuesday I ran errands, starting with the recycling facility to get rid of the last couple of weeks worth of plastic and paper and so forth. Then I went to an auto repair place.
When I first got to town, even before going to the campground I stopped at the place where they'd read the "check engine" codes 3 weeks ago. They told me they couldn't fit me in until late next week but suggested several other mechanics in town as reliable. So one of those is where I made an appointment for Tuesday.
Those folks told me the reading I'd gotten in Killdeer last week was a sort of generic reading, and they were able to get more specific information off the RV's computer. They said it showed a history of misfires on cylinders #1 & #7, though they weren't able to duplicate those misfires. Still, they replaced the coil and plugs for those 2 and figured that would fix the problem. Since they charged me $440 for this, I hoped so too.
That stop had another effect. They'd wanted me to take the dogs and the cat and get out of the RV while they did the work, because customers aren't supposed to be in the work area. I've gotten that at other places too and have managed to get around it by pointing out that we live in the RV so it's not just a vehicle, then putting the dogs on leashes, putting the cat in her carrier, and all of us sitting very still inside the RV while they worked. So far, that's managed to stave off what I'm sure would be a disaster.
It worked this time too, except this time Lily took serious exception to being crated and bit me in 4 places while I did it. So then I had to stop the bleeding, find the Band-Aids and Neosporin (good thing Anna introduced me to it), all while trying to keep the critters quiet. Then Lily kept mouthing off so bad that I finally put her in the bathroom, opened the crate, and closed the door - it was a lot hotter in there than if she'd stayed in her crate by the window, but she stopped yowling so I guess it's what she wanted.
But the result was that I had 4 more injured places than I'd started the day with, just when I was finally starting to lose the scabs from my injuries when Dext dragged me on the ground. I'm sure having pets has advantages, but sometimes it's harder to remember them than at others.
A little before noon, I went from the auto shop to a tire place I'd called. I'd been worrying about those 2 rear tires that were low on tread and called a place in Bismarck, read him off the numbers on my tires, and he ordered some to arrive Tuesday. When I got there, they discovered that their jack wasn't strong enough to lift the RV. They had a lift that was much stronger, but it was being used at the time and they had to finish that job first before getting to me.
It was 2:40 before that lift finally cleared. The RV barely made it through their door and onto the lift, but it did. It was 3:15 when they figured out that this jack wasn't strong enough either and they had no equipment that would let them change my tires.
I'd waited 3¼ hours for nothing. They tried to convince me to go to a truck facility they knew of which could undoubtedly handle the RV. But I pointed out: (a) the truck facility might not have the right size tires and I sure didn't want to pay these guys for the tires they'd ordered and sling them into the RV for the ride over; (b) it was already mid-afternoon and I still hadn't finished my other errands; (c) by the time the truck people could finish it'd be rush hour traffic which I didn't want to drive the RV in if I didn't have to; and (d) my brain stops working anyway about this time of day and I sure didn't want to be dealing with a sluggish brain at a truck repair place in an unknown part of town. So I declined and said I'd get it done someplace else. Quel nuisance.
The other problem I didn't bother to tell them about was that I'd been awake since 1 AM and actually up since 2:30. I haven't been getting more than 5 hours of sleep a night, and often less than that, which is just not enough. I need some rest and I'm finding it hard to come by.
On the way back to the campground I stopped off for some wine, which I figured I could use. And at the campground my first act was to dump my waste tanks, never a pleasant chore. And then take the dogs out. And then finally try to defer my worrying for another day.
I did hope that the "check engine" light problem was a thing of the past, and I'd gotten rid of both the recycling and the waste water, so I figured the day wasn't a total loss.
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