Tag Archives: RVing

A Layover Day at the Challis Hot Springs Campground, Challis, ID

Homeward Bound Day 11: Saturday, April 27, 2019

When I pulled in to the campground yesterday afternoon I was surprised way beyond my expectations. I had been expecting this campground would be a few RV sites with minimal hookups located at a semi-industrial area with big metal cargo containers, dumpsters and other heavy duty equipment. But that was weeks ago when making my reservation.

Wow! What a contrast between the real thing and my imagination. The campground is located on a country road a few miles out of town. The main building and registration office is nestled against a high bluff along with a couple of auxiliary buildings, one of which is for family gatherings and events such as weddings. Other buildings include a bath house and the hot springs pools plus what appears to be a vintage cabin of the early 1800s. A few ancient farm tools also are scattered about.

Behind the old cabin was a pretty little stream running clear and pure between the bluff and the office building. So I took a bit of time taking what I hoped would be a nice photo of the scene.
RV sites are located down by the Salmon River.
The RV sites are down by the Salmon River nestled under the trees and each site provides, water, electricity, picnic tables and fire pits. There is plenty of room between sites and the grass covered grounds invite various kinds of games for children young and old.

Set Up My RV Down by the River

My site was a pull through located just across the dirt road from the river and I enjoyed all the privacy one might want. Annie, too, liked the fresh green grass.
RV and Jeep all hooked up at Challis Hot Springs Campground.
I was so taken by the campground that shortly after hooking up my RV I walked back up to the office and registered for a second night as I decided that today would be a layover day of relaxing and a little computer time for email and Facebook and to edit photos. After a walk to take more photos of the campground, Annie and I decided to take an afternoon nap.

I was exhausted from my travels and felt that a nap in this beautiful spot was very much needed. After 30 minutes or so, I woke to discover water all over the RV floor. Temporarily confused by the unexpected sight, I then saw that water was poring from the tap into the sink and flowing over onto the floor. The water had been running the entire time I was napping. How? I don’t know. Can’t believe I forgot to turn it off but I must have forgotten. There also were puddles outside the RV on both sides.

Before I could do anything, I had to get rid of the water. But my holding tanks were full and that’s why the water was overflowing onto my floor. Unfortunately, there are no dump facilities at the RV sites so I had to figure out another way to get rid of the water. My first thought was to bail out the sink with a bucket. I gave it a try and then realized I had to drive my rig back toward the office where the park sewer dump was located. So I unhooked from the electrical box and water supply and drove back to the dump location and emptied my tanks. Then back to my site and hook up again to begin the cleanup.

Water had gotten into my cabinets under the sink and I had to empty them and dry them out. That meant putting all the contents on the small floor and tiptoeing around them as I cleaned up the mess.

Water also had run over to the opposite side of the coach interior and down into storage compartments below. So I had to empty those storage compartments as well, survey any damage and dry them out. Water also had gotten into the compartment where my coach batteries are stored so I had to soak up that water and air out the compartment. Then, I discover the electrical outlets over my sink and stove were not working. Those outlets are powered by shore power are the ones I use for making coffee and lattes.

I opened the electrical panel and flipped all the circuit breakers hoping that would solve the problem. Not so! Then I thought the outage might have been caused by a blown fuse. Great! Now I have to learn all about fuses and my electrical panel. What fuse goes to what circuit? Also the outside temperature was beginning to drop and I needed to run my two space heaters since I’m running low on propane. After cleaning everything up and stashing cooking gear and so forth back into drawers and cabinets I turned on the computer to do a little work. But that tripped the circuits and I had no heat while using the computer.

Fortunately, my brain kicked into high gear and I tried one more thing: that was to check the GFI button (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter device) on the bathroom outlet, assuming it is on the same circuit as the kitchen outlets. I did, and it was. I reset the GFI and restored power to the outlets. Yeah! I breathed a big sigh of relief that I had not damaged the electrical circuits.
The Salmon River at Challis Hot Springs Campground.
By then it was time for dinner, a walk by the river, more photography, a bit of reading and off to bed for a good night’s sleep.

St. Regis, Montana is First Night On the Road

December 3, 2018; Columbia Falls, MT to St. Regis, MT

Today was the first leg of my Snowbird trip to Yuma, AZ. I’ve been watching the 10-day weather forecast for some time to plan my daily travels to avoid ice and snow. I want dry and bare payment when I cross the several passes from my Montana home to Seattle. I’m taking a route through Seattlee so I can visit my son.

The first leg of my trip is to The Nugget RV Park in St. Regis, Montana. I’ve spent many a night there and have made many friends from making those trips. I also want to visit with the owners Mark and Leslie Leenhouts. They have become good friends.

I left home at 3:49 PM, which was much later than I wanted. There was just so much I needed to do before I took off for the winter. It was getting dark by the time I reached Elmo, MT. That’s where I take a right turn on State Highway 28 to the town of Plains. The drive to Plains was uneventful and I had no bad road conditions with which to contend. There was a little bit of snow to either side of the highway at the highest elevation of the drive. That elevation was approximately 4,000 feet.

Once at the intersection of Highway 28 and 135 in Plains, I turned left and headed toward St. Regis. Highway 135 pretty much follows along the Clark Fork River. This is a beautiful drive and recently was named a National Scenic Byway.

Bob and Kathy Taylor

Bob and Kathy Taylor are a couple I met on my first visit to The Nugget RV Park in St. Regis, Montana. The date was April 28, 2017.  I had arrived at the park the previous afternoon. But on this date, I happened to take my little English Cocker, Annie, for a walk to Mollie’s Dog Bark meadow so she could do her business. On the way back to my RV I stopped and visited with a couple who were walking their dog, Jake. For some reason Jake’s collar caught my eye. There was something familiar about the design of the collar. After a few seconds I realized what had caught my eye. All around the color were these little OU (University of Oklahoma) logo emblems attached to the collar. I looked up at the couple and laughed. Kathy was all decked out in crimson and cream; OU colors.

We have a lot in common as it turned out. I introduced myself as being an Okie and a graduate of OU. They said they were from Edmond, Oklahoma and had graduated from The University of Central Oklahoma, which is located in their town. I also told them that I had attended their University as a freshman and sophomore in 1959-1961 when it was still called Central State and that I was very familiar with Edmond.

Bob and Kathy were at the Nugget RV Park working as co-hosts of the park and they invited me over to their camp site one evening and we shared a few hours drinking wine and beer and getting better acquainted around their campfire. That was the beginning of sharing many evenings and many stories around a campfire about our lives in Oklahoma. I returned to the park many times that summer to spend time with Bob and Kathy as well as with another couple that became fast friends with Bob and Kathy and with me. That couple is Tomson and Linda Guth from Tennessee. More about Tomson and Linda to follow.

Joshua Takes His Family Birding

Joshua is an avid birder and he had spotted something he wanted to share with the family. The occasion was a meetup of eight members of our family including grandparents and adult grandchildren. My daughter Jeny had the winning auction bid on a two-night stay at the beautiful Burleigh Cabin Rental set in a most splendidly scenic landscape about nine miles south of Lewistown, Montana. The cabin is on the Burleigh Angus Ranch.

Burleigh Cabin Rental

The Burleigh Cabin Rental on the Burleigh Ranch near Lewistown, Montana.

We had lots of fun with many stories, walks, hikes, campfire and bird watching. A favorite memory is when my grandson Josh led us on a little walk to let us see a bird nest he had spotted just up the hill from the lake. Josh has actively pursued birding since he was 12-years-old, though he has been passionately interested in wildlife and particularly birds beginning at a much younger age.
A family walki to see a bird nest.

Joshua takes his family on a walk to see the nest of a Spotted Sandpiper.

The nest in question is that of a spotted sandpiper. Joshua describes the spotted sandpiper as being a small sandpiper with a white belly with black spots on it and an orange bill. He says they breed on almost any body of water such as a mountain stream or a cattle pond in the state (Montana) and throughout their range. He says they typically nest from 25 to 75 yards uphill from the water in a spot usually protected by a little shrub or something similar. He believes they favor such a spot because when the young hatch they are fully feathered and capable of walking within minutes. “And I imagine putting a nest just uphill several yards from the water just makes it easier for the young birds to get to the water.”
Spotted Sandpiper

The Spotted Sandpiper


Josh had spotted the sandpiper on an earlier walk when it flew up and away from a spot above the road when he approached. So he suspected it had flown from its nest.
So he checked it out and decided to show the nest to the family. As we approached the nest, Joshua had us stop on the road a short distance away. Then, one at a time, he showed each of us the nest.
Joshua points out the Spotted Sandpiper nest

Joshua points out the Spotted Sandpiper nest to his Dad, David.


I was surprised to see and learn that the Spotted Sandpiper makes its nest on the ground and that it was so visible. The eggs seem very vulnerable. But maybe they hatch quickly and just as quickly make their way to the water. I’ll have to ask Joshua about that the next time we talk.
Spotted Sandpiper Nest

Nest of the Spotted Sandpiper


The experience was very enjoyable and a real treat to learn first hand just how knowledgeable Joshua is about birding.

Winterized but Things Go Bump in the Night

Winterizing is a must when owning an RV. Thus, I had my new RV winterized before I took possession of it one October. And it was a good thing.

A couple of months later on an early December morning when the temperature was below zero, I took my dog out and discovered a couple of anomalies when walking near my RV.

Compartment Door Forced Open

First, I noticed an open cover to a compartment on the driver’s side. That compartment contains the handles for discharging the grey- and black-water holding tanks. I was puzzled. I had not touched the compartment for days. I then saw that the two handles were extended as if the tanks had been discharged. I tried to push the handles back to their closed position but they would not budge. Neither could I close the compartment door against the extended handles. I assumed the freezing temperatures caused the handles to extend. The extension then forced open the compartment door. But what caused the handles to extend?

Winterized holding tanks, but discharged handles forced out.

Handles for discharging gray- and black-water holding tanks were pushed out by freezing temperatures and forced open compartment door.

Leakage Discovered Under the Coach

Secondly, and still curious, I walked to the opposite side of the RV to see if anything else was awry. At first I didn’t notice anything unusual or different. But then I saw what looked like a large and frozen discharge of some kind under the coach. It was as if something had been leaking.

Winterized, but below zero temperatures caused leakage under the RV.

Leakage caused by below zero freezing temperatures.

I went inside to see if anything was amiss. I didn’t find a thing other than the anti-freeze at the end of the sink faucet was the consistency of slush. And, it was very cold inside.

Since the RV had been winterized the previous October I was wondering how the two issues described above could have occurred.

Assembled Facts and Photos Sent to Selling Dealer

Now I’m thinking I had better send my facts and photos to the dealer that had winterized my RV. So, using my smartphone, I took photos of the open compartment and also the leakage under the coach. I then went inside the house to my computer and sent an email to my contact in the RV service department along with photos of what I had found. I was concerned about broken water systems and wanted a response and suggestions as to how best to proceed in fixing any problems.

The response I received was to drive my RV to a local dealer and have their service department determine what damage had been done and forward any findings to the out-op-state dealer from which I had bought my RV. That I did.

The repairing dealer parked my RV inside undercover for the night where it was warm. The next morning after things had thawed out, a service technician inspected and reported that the hot water tank had burst and that was the cause of the drainage I found under the coach. The technician also had observed that there was two to three inches of standing water at the bottom of the cabinet to the forward side of the busted tank.

Below zero temperatures caused leakage under the RV.

Below zero temperatures caused the hot water tank to rupture and spill its contents that eventually leaked through the bottom of the RV and onto the ground below.

Repairs Authorized and Completed

My out-of-state dealer authorized the repairs and within a couple of days, a new tank was installed and the RV was further winterized. I also was cautioned to keep a watchful eye on the cabinets for a period of some time to detect any water damage that might have occurred and that also would be covered by the dealer from which I had bought the RV.

As of this writing, I have not found any other issues with winterizing. And I am very grateful that my out-of-state selling dealer and the local dealer were able to quickly make needed repairs and get me on my way.

Lesson learned. When having an RV winterized ask questions to make sure all details such as water lines, tanks and water heaters have been properly serviced.

It’s time to make a check list!