Roving Cooks

Friday, April 23: Overnight stop to break up the drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake.

To break up the longer drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, we left Friday afternoon with the goal of getting a couple hours along and to try out first “boondock” (camping outside a designated campground/on public land, without electric/sewer hookup). We drove into a canyon in Dixie National Forest, north of Zion and west of Bryce and took an easy park on a pullout with a beautiful view. Leaving the RV hooked onto the truck, we took a short pre-dinner hike to stretch our legs after the week. Lest you think we were wandering through the woods relying on Greg’s Cub Scout skills, there were archery targets set up not far in, and someone had hooked up a rope swing over a hill (video of Greg swinging available on request).

Otherwise, mac&cheese/movie night proceeded as normal (with a bit of an internal incline since we didn’t unhook/level out). But after the kids were in bed, we realized that we had no heat. Battery issue? furnace issue? Though we had spent the last few days in hot Las Vegas, where heat was not needed, I had filled the propane before we left. Plus the (gas) stove worked to make mac & cheese (whew). Temps were expected to get down to the low 40s, so this was unfortunate.

And, there was no cell service, so *gasp* googling was futile. We broke out the manuals, checked the fuses, opened the outdoor panel and peered around with our flashlight. Everything else seemed to be working except our GCFI plugs. Around 10p, we decided to break out and try the generator that had been resting contentedly in the back of the truck for 4+ months. We put the gas in, and pulled the cord. And pulled the cord (think lawn mower style). Greg’s mom’s words of wisdom to try out the generator before we needed to use it haunted me. At 11:30p we called it, added a blanket onto each of the kids and snuggled in. The next morning was crisp but the kids didn’t seem to notice an issue, other than thinking waking up with 3 blankets was silly. After some quick pancakes, we continued on the road, north towards Salt Lake City.

To conclude the dramatic heat story, a handy neighbor at our Heber City campground investigated with Greg on Saturday afternoon and also came up short. A call to Camping World service was disappointing, but Nathan at Canyon RV was responsive, kind, and available on Sunday morning. After informing us that the outdoor panel we’d been looking at was really the refrigerator mechanicals and not the heat, he proceeded to access the furnace by going through the inside pantry and under the fridge where a rogue dust bunny blocking a sail switch was identified as the culprit. Mystery and problem solved, and quite glad we didn’t break our fridge! As for the generator…we needed engine oil as well as gas; user error. Overall, a good learning experience!