Frozen water pipes and everything...

The magnitude and full impact of the flood created a domino affect that went on for weeks.

The sidewalks stayed frozen for days

Not only did we have to remove our skirting and relocate, but our water pipes froze one last time.  It was all our poor water filter housing could handle and it cracked in two pieces.

I ordered a replacement and that lasted all of a month before cracking again.  This time, I went to Home Depot determined to either rip the whole thing out or replace the housing with something cheaper.  I found it!  A household water filter that cost $20 with all the trimmings instead of $45 for just the bottom portion.

We also decided that when the weather went below 10 degrees, we would shut off the fresh water and empty the pipes so it wouldn't and bust something again.

Well, my mom came to visit and in my rush to get out the door, I couldn't figure which way to turn the bathroom sink off.   I hoped for the best and left.  When Bill and I got back that evening, water was gushing out from under our front door.  Literally pouring out by the gallons.  Evidently, I guessed wrong.


After shutting the water off (I couldn't figure out why someone hadn't spotted it and shut it off for us.  They had done so in the past over something very stupid...), we mopped up everything we could.  But the sub flooring was wet and mushy for days.  We were scared that there had been permanent damage.  Luckily, they dried out and became as solid as ever (though not as flat...).  Thankfully, we came out fine and survived that mishap.

Then, the water filter broke again, this time it cracked at the top where it's screwed into the lines.  I used the replacement I had and fixed it up good. 

Creek flooded right to our doorstep.

How I longed for growing green things and mild weather to replace the cold...

One last bit of impact we had from the extremely cold temperatures in February.  It got so cold that our fridge stopped working.  The coolant in the back couldn't function correctly. It took about a week of good weather before it started up again.

In the end though, spring came and brought new life and fresh hope!

BLOWOUT! On my way to life...

 I'd recently interviewed for a camp hosting position at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Golden, Colorado.  After a couple nail biting weeks of waiting, they hired me!  Located eight minutes from Bill's work, a walk away from the girls' best friends house and great shopping close by, this was an ideal location for the summer.  Granted, there is no running water or park amenities.  But the views are amazing...

Sweeping vistas of misty mornings over the mountains; Table Mesa and half of Denver laid out before our feet.  Out our front door is grass and sky and great wifi...

Anyway, moving on to the blow out.  Earlier that week, I'd taken our rig into Camping World for an oil change and 16-point inspection.  Everything looked good except for the tires.  Deeply cracked from weathering, they recommended we replace all of them for the tune of $1500.

Yeah.  Like that was happening on our budget right away.  We decided to hold off and try to squeeze out a few more miles since we weren't leaving Denver for the summer.

We were staying at Chatfield Reservoir and I headed out mid-morning for Bear Creek Lake Park, where we would stay until the Fairgrounds called.  About a mile onto the highway, I felt the rig start to shake.  Something wasn't right.  I looked over at a passing car, and the passenger waved at me and pointed at the RV.  I slowed to a crawl and pulled over immediately.  The driver's side outer rear tire had blown spectacularly.  It took off a portion of our wheel cover.  Shaking, I called my husband.  He dropped everything and came back.  I also called Good Sam Emergency Roadside service.  I thought our service had lapsed and was prepared to renew it so that we could get service.  To my amazement, we still had two weeks left.  They promised to call back and help me renew at a later time.  But called for tow service right away.  About two hours later, a truck pulled up behind me...

During my wait, I was praying for angels to surround the rig and for God to protect me from the passing motorist. Just to keep me safe and thanking him for a minor blow out instead of major damage to my home.

This monstrous truck pulls up, with crosses and "Jesus saves" all over it.  I just about cried with relief.



The driver angled the truck to protect my little rv and himself while he changed the tire.  Slowly and methodically, he pulled out all the necessary equipment to change the tire.

I stood on the side of the road in amazement, tears sneaking past my sunglasses, as I realized the significance of this moment.  How God angles Himself as a barricade to protect us from the highway of life.  Especially when we are broken down at the most inconvenient time. 

I learned where our spare tire was kept and how to retrieve it the next time.  It is brand new with the sticker still on it.  With the proper tools, he quickly removed the bad tire and put on the good one.

Whew!  I loaded the blown tire in the front passenger seat, getting sliced by the metal running through the rubber.  After he cleaned everything up and we were ready to drive off, he followed me all the way off the highway.

I thankfully parked the rig.  When we moved to the Fairgrounds, I drove very slow and took back roads.  Not taking any chances. Plus, we renewed our Good Sam membership. Thank God, we were safe and sound with nothing but a two hour wait on the side of a busy highway...

Water Woes

So the one thing I hadn't done yet was connect the fresh water hose to the city water.  Since most of our camping was either boon docking or just shore power, we used the fresh water tank exclusively. 

But now that we were truly settled, I envisioned running water all winter long...  then the first cold spell hit and all my pipes froze up.  Including the fresh water tank.  Dag-nabit.  What is a girl to do?

We filled up all the empty pitchers and water bottles before bed.  One for the toilet and one for cooking the next day.  This was a fine temporary solution.  But I was determined to get my water straight from the tap.

You can't truly appreciate things like running water until there is none...

A quick look around the campground confirmed that at the very least, I would need insulation.  On further research, I discovered heat tape.

I needed a good hose, heat tape, electric tape, pipe insulation, Teflon tape, some new washers (just in case) and some way to keep the spigots on both sides insulated.

First attempt:  I got the heat tape on the hose, duck-taped the heck out of my insulation and then attached the hose.  It occurred to me, half way through my preparations, that I should have op-tested the hose first.

Shrugging my shoulders, I continued to plow through the winterizing part.

Then I did everything I was told to: wrap Teflon tape around the spigots and make sure there is a tight seal.  Some water leaked around the connection to the RV, but I used some fancy tape and figured it would hold.

After a couple days, I noticed water spurting out of a seam half-way down the hose.  Upon further inspection, I noticed that the whole length of insulation was sopping wet.

I unhooked the hose and refilled the fresh water tank.

I tried again.  With new stuff even.

Nothing.

Will try again later...maybe.

Finally figured out the hose situation.  And then broke the check valve (which is the fresh water connection) because of too much pressure.

Replaced it (ordered part from Windish RV), reconnected hose and also added a pressure regulator (extra hose piece that slows the water pressure down from the spigot).  Also had to cut off the end of the hose and replace it with a sturdier brass end.

So after much trial and error (and several weeks later), I finally had a working hose which lasted through freezing nights and snowy days!

No water

     What to do when the well runs dry.  Fill it up again! What happens when the pump won’t suck?  Call the help desk.   There was a point when the fresh water tank ran out of water.  Maybe I wanted to see how long it would sit at empty or something. 

     After the pump made a funny noise and stopped pushing water through, we refilled the fresh water tank. Except no water came through the faucet. I didn’t panic. I called my DH out to help me.  After all, he was in the Navy and worked on submarines and surely he could fix it.

     After a quick look see under the fridge, he discovered there was no water in the pipes and we’d have to prime the pump.  Meanwhile, I had been frantically hunting down the number of the help desk and reading through the manual…  I got through to a man in India who told us that when they install the fresh water tank, plastic shavings fall into the tank where screws go into it.  And when the tank is empty, the pump sometimes picks those shavings up and clogs the filter.

      Bill pulled the filter off and what do you know? Little white plastic shavings fell out… He cleaned the filter and primed the pump. Water! 

     We did a victory dance. One more system figured out.