Time to get things fixed

Yesterday we left the Little Diamond NACO park at Newport and drove to the Detroit Diesel shop in the Spokane Valley. We were a bit worried as our discussion with the mechanic in Whitehorse as well as phone conversation with the manager of the Spokane shop indicated that oil leaking from the top back of the engine is usually a labor intensive fix. When we got there Dennis showed them the leak and said that he had thought that it was diesel fuel but the mechanic in the Yukon check and was sure it was an oil leak. They did a preliminary check and agreed with Dennis that it was in fact diesel fuel. That was good news as the leak if hard to get at was likely at least to be external to the engine itself. So we left the bus with them optimistic that it could be repaired in a couple of hours rather than a couple of days.

While we were waiting we decided to drive over to Lake Couer d'Alene. We spent some time walking along a path along the lake shore and just enjoying the setting on a perfect morning. When we returned the bus was done as it had simply been a bad fuel line. So it was an easy fix. And after discussion with the mechanic we decided that this was the likely culprit in our loss of engine prime in Seward, Alaska several weeks ago.this city has a beautiful lake and bike and running path.

We proceeded to the Ponderosa Falls RV Park. We are scheduled to stay in here for 4 days. This park is a contrast to the last one in that it is nearly full and quite busy. We got a full hookup 50 amp site through ROD. They have more than the usual activities and recreation facilities. We are at the edge of the Spokane area and close to amenities of a larger city but still in an ancrowded area. The park itself is has many tall pine trees that provide some pleasant shade as today is one of the hottest days of the summer here. Among the facilites this park has 2 pickleball courts, although only one currently has a net. We haven't been on a pickleball court in months so we went out and hit some balls today.


Wow it was great to get out onto a pickleball court even thou Barb has a bad ankle, we were able to get some practice in. The exercise felt good



We wanted to stay here in part to be able to get some things taken care of that would be probably be easier in a larger town. We had been having some intermittent problems with starting our car and had put off getting it taken care of. Dennis took it in today and had a new starter and battery installed. We also contacted our insurance about our windshield and they scheduled someone to come out tomorrow and replace it. So these items along with the bus fuel leak are the major things we needed to get done.



This is a nice waterfall here at the campground, you can see where the place got its name.

Back in the U.S.A.

We made it back to the U.S. Yesterday we left Raduim Hot Springs and drove south on highway 95 crossing into the U.S. at Eastport, Idaho. There was a line of cars at the border but fortunately it moved quickly. The border guard who questioned us for a few minutes had an odd style of questioning and we were unsure if this reflected a lack of social skills or an attempt to intimidate or throw us off our guard, but it was quick and not really unpleasant.

We used the last of our Canadian cash to pay for the campground (they do it like a hotel, where you pay when you check out). We were past the point where we usually fill up with fuel, but we guessed correctly that fuel would be cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada so we waited to fill up after the border. In lieu of a truck stop we pulled into a gas station with a lot of room. The fuel was cheaper than we have seen for some time and offered a 5 cent a gallon discount for cash. Dennis went in to ask if they needed prepayment for the cash price. When they said yes, he said "here's $400 for pump 5", and the startled clerk who had not seen what we were driving seemed astounded saying "You want $400 worth of gas!" Fortunately we only needed 125 gallons so we got some change.

Dennis has been concerned about an oil leak in our engine. The mechanic who changed our oil in Whitehorse said that it needed to be repaired by an engine shop but should be able to wait "until you get home" which was reassuring as he had noticed the Florida plates. But we decided to contact the Detroit Diesel shop in Spokane as we can't really see an advantage to waiting to get the problem repaired and we have the time now. We had been told they would look at it today but when we called to confirm they said they were really busy and asked if we could come in tomorrow instead. So we decided to stop for a couple of days at the Little Diamond NACO park in Newport, Washington. This is a relaxing place with a lot of room and a lot of woods and not many people. There is not a lot to do but we don't mind for a couple of days. We will go on to the shop tomorrow.

We are noticing signs that we are back. We got back just in time for a warming trend. We ran our a.c. today for the first time in at least 2 months. And it gets dark before we go to bed. It seems odd now for it to be dark at 9 o'clock in the evening.