(NOTE: View a larger picture by clicking on the photo(s) above.)
As I write, it is December 31st , the last day of 2008. Don’t worry, I am not going to recap our year on the road. It is our last day in the Swamp, before moving on to General Coffee State Park about 90 miles north of here. It has been a good time here and we have enjoyed all the Swamp has to offer; nice people, beautiful setting and great adventure. So much so, we intend to come back next year.
We have been sitting still now for the last three months, so we shouldn’t have had any problems with out rig, right? Wrong! It was one day this month, a Thursday, we were both sitting in the trailer when we heard a loud “bang” on the trailer like a large limb had fallen on it. I went outside to take a look. I looked all over and could see nothing out of place. I went back inside. A few minutes later, another big “boom” that slightly rocked the trailer. Again, I go outside to survey the situation. Still, I could see nothing that could have hit the trailer. As I walked back to the door, I happened to look under the trailer and saw water gushing out onto the ground.
Then, it dawned on me. I had just emptied our black tank (the one with all the bad stuff, like a septic tank). We have a spray pressure hose inside the tank attached to our water source. After we drain the tank, we spray it clean with fresh water, turn it off and shut the valve. That is the normal procedure. This time, I had forgotten to turn off the water. I rushed to turn off the water. Thirty five gallons of water poured onto the ground.
It didn’t take long to figure out what was damaged. Our tank, about five feet wide, three feet deep and one foot high, had broken loose from the two angle-irons bolted to the frame that held it in place, and was hanging only inches from the ground. The “under belly” and insulation under the tank had torn loose from their connections and touched the ground. A 1½ inch PVC pipe connecting to our gray tanks (sink and shower water) had snapped, allowing the water to drain out. Thirty five gallons of water weighs about 300 pounds. With high-pressure water still trying to enter the tank, it was too much for the system to hold, so down it came.
What to do! What to do! I was pretty sure that I could not fix the problem. I knew I could not move the trailer in that condition. I also knew that we were many miles from anything resembling an RV dealer. The only thing
I could think to do was to call the Service Manager at the dealership were we had purchased the rig. First, I learned that it was under warranty. Whew! Then I learned that the nearest Jayco Dealer for repairs was in St. Augustine, FL, some 161 miles away. Bad news. I called the St. Augustine dealer and found that they could not touch it for at least two weeks.
I was put in contact with the “warranty person” at Jayco to help resolve the problem. I was told I could take it anywhere to get it fixed with the warranty, but outside a Jayco dealer I would have to pay the cost initially and then be reimbursed. OK! Find a place! The nearest one found was 60 miles away. Not too bad, a hundred miles closer, but how can I move it with the tank hanging in the way. Solution: cut out the tank and “under belly.” Right!
I got a “saws-all” (a reciprocal saw), and with the help of Dave, the other campground host, cut off the tank, pulled it out and threw it into the back of the truck. We cut off the “under belly” and we’re ready to go. But now, we have no water or sewer. Remember, it is Thursday, we can’t get the rig into the shop until Monday. Remember that Refrigerator/Freezer we were using for our extra food that was in an unoccupied trailer? Well, we moved into it (the trailer, not the refrigerator) until we could get our trailer back. We thought just a couple days. Sure! As it happened, the trailer was fixed by afternoon of the day we took it in….except for one little part (a PVC sweep, Y connection) that they could not get locally. It had to be ordered from the Dealer in Indiana. We got the trailer back six days later.
In the meantime, while in the Park trailer, we decided to host a little lunch for the Park personnel. We served ham on yeast rolls, potato salad, baked beans, dip and chips, soft drinks and a variety of desserts. The second picture above is of some of the group of 12. Left to right is Jamie (Maintenance), Mitchell (Maintenance Chief), Corina (Tour Guide), Kathy (Clerk) and Dave the other Host. The first picture is of the lady who put all this feast together, at her “other job” in the Suwannee Visitor Center.
In the absence of family, we were still able to enjoy Christmas with long-time friends from Gainesville, FL. They spent three days in one of the rental, two-bedroom cabins. We cooked, ate and enjoyed the company. There were no boat tours or rentals on Christmas day, but I was able to take them on a private tour of the Swamp. We enjoyed two hours of peaceful outing with no one else around. Great time. The third picture above is one I snapped outside the cabin of a deer and squirrel having a Christmas graze.
You will recognize the fourth picture as an armadillo. It is the first one to be seen since we have been here. The bears must be plentiful, since the armadillos are in short supply. I understand it is sort of a supply and demand sort of thing. More armadillos, less bears, and vice versa.
This past Monday we needed to make a trip to Jacksonville again. We decided to also pay a visit to the eastern entry to the Swamp at Folkston, GA where we had not yet been. The eastern area is mostly prairie as opposed to the cypress forest that we have here on the western side.
The highlight was seeing the Chesser Island homestead of the Chesser family who settled this part of the Swamp in the late 1800’s. Their history is typical of many area settlers; they ate what they could shoot, trap, catch and grow on the sandy soil. Cash crops were primarily sugar cane and turpentine. The house you see in the last picture above was built in 1927 of yellow pine. The house has five bedrooms, living area and kitchen. Outbuildings include a smokehouse, syrup shed, chicken coop, corncrib and hog pen.
We were wandering around the property looking at all the buildings and taking pictures. The house was not open to view at the time. As I was making photos, a Wildlife Refuge employee showed up to check on the growing garden maintained on the property. In conversation I found that she herself was a Chesser and this was her family’s old homestead. She offered to open the house for us to tour, which she did. Of course, I took many pictures.
Well, the day is drawing to a close. I have to dismantle some antennas and do some “get ready to move” things. For those of you who wish to know, we are going tomorrow to General Coffee State Park. The address is 46 John Coffee Road, Nicholls, GA 31554.
We hope that each of you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year. We will talk to you again on the other side of the calendar.
As I write, it is December 31st , the last day of 2008. Don’t worry, I am not going to recap our year on the road. It is our last day in the Swamp, before moving on to General Coffee State Park about 90 miles north of here. It has been a good time here and we have enjoyed all the Swamp has to offer; nice people, beautiful setting and great adventure. So much so, we intend to come back next year.
We have been sitting still now for the last three months, so we shouldn’t have had any problems with out rig, right? Wrong! It was one day this month, a Thursday, we were both sitting in the trailer when we heard a loud “bang” on the trailer like a large limb had fallen on it. I went outside to take a look. I looked all over and could see nothing out of place. I went back inside. A few minutes later, another big “boom” that slightly rocked the trailer. Again, I go outside to survey the situation. Still, I could see nothing that could have hit the trailer. As I walked back to the door, I happened to look under the trailer and saw water gushing out onto the ground.
Then, it dawned on me. I had just emptied our black tank (the one with all the bad stuff, like a septic tank). We have a spray pressure hose inside the tank attached to our water source. After we drain the tank, we spray it clean with fresh water, turn it off and shut the valve. That is the normal procedure. This time, I had forgotten to turn off the water. I rushed to turn off the water. Thirty five gallons of water poured onto the ground.
It didn’t take long to figure out what was damaged. Our tank, about five feet wide, three feet deep and one foot high, had broken loose from the two angle-irons bolted to the frame that held it in place, and was hanging only inches from the ground. The “under belly” and insulation under the tank had torn loose from their connections and touched the ground. A 1½ inch PVC pipe connecting to our gray tanks (sink and shower water) had snapped, allowing the water to drain out. Thirty five gallons of water weighs about 300 pounds. With high-pressure water still trying to enter the tank, it was too much for the system to hold, so down it came.
What to do! What to do! I was pretty sure that I could not fix the problem. I knew I could not move the trailer in that condition. I also knew that we were many miles from anything resembling an RV dealer. The only thing
I could think to do was to call the Service Manager at the dealership were we had purchased the rig. First, I learned that it was under warranty. Whew! Then I learned that the nearest Jayco Dealer for repairs was in St. Augustine, FL, some 161 miles away. Bad news. I called the St. Augustine dealer and found that they could not touch it for at least two weeks.
I was put in contact with the “warranty person” at Jayco to help resolve the problem. I was told I could take it anywhere to get it fixed with the warranty, but outside a Jayco dealer I would have to pay the cost initially and then be reimbursed. OK! Find a place! The nearest one found was 60 miles away. Not too bad, a hundred miles closer, but how can I move it with the tank hanging in the way. Solution: cut out the tank and “under belly.” Right!
I got a “saws-all” (a reciprocal saw), and with the help of Dave, the other campground host, cut off the tank, pulled it out and threw it into the back of the truck. We cut off the “under belly” and we’re ready to go. But now, we have no water or sewer. Remember, it is Thursday, we can’t get the rig into the shop until Monday. Remember that Refrigerator/Freezer we were using for our extra food that was in an unoccupied trailer? Well, we moved into it (the trailer, not the refrigerator) until we could get our trailer back. We thought just a couple days. Sure! As it happened, the trailer was fixed by afternoon of the day we took it in….except for one little part (a PVC sweep, Y connection) that they could not get locally. It had to be ordered from the Dealer in Indiana. We got the trailer back six days later.
In the meantime, while in the Park trailer, we decided to host a little lunch for the Park personnel. We served ham on yeast rolls, potato salad, baked beans, dip and chips, soft drinks and a variety of desserts. The second picture above is of some of the group of 12. Left to right is Jamie (Maintenance), Mitchell (Maintenance Chief), Corina (Tour Guide), Kathy (Clerk) and Dave the other Host. The first picture is of the lady who put all this feast together, at her “other job” in the Suwannee Visitor Center.
In the absence of family, we were still able to enjoy Christmas with long-time friends from Gainesville, FL. They spent three days in one of the rental, two-bedroom cabins. We cooked, ate and enjoyed the company. There were no boat tours or rentals on Christmas day, but I was able to take them on a private tour of the Swamp. We enjoyed two hours of peaceful outing with no one else around. Great time. The third picture above is one I snapped outside the cabin of a deer and squirrel having a Christmas graze.
You will recognize the fourth picture as an armadillo. It is the first one to be seen since we have been here. The bears must be plentiful, since the armadillos are in short supply. I understand it is sort of a supply and demand sort of thing. More armadillos, less bears, and vice versa.
This past Monday we needed to make a trip to Jacksonville again. We decided to also pay a visit to the eastern entry to the Swamp at Folkston, GA where we had not yet been. The eastern area is mostly prairie as opposed to the cypress forest that we have here on the western side.
The highlight was seeing the Chesser Island homestead of the Chesser family who settled this part of the Swamp in the late 1800’s. Their history is typical of many area settlers; they ate what they could shoot, trap, catch and grow on the sandy soil. Cash crops were primarily sugar cane and turpentine. The house you see in the last picture above was built in 1927 of yellow pine. The house has five bedrooms, living area and kitchen. Outbuildings include a smokehouse, syrup shed, chicken coop, corncrib and hog pen.
We were wandering around the property looking at all the buildings and taking pictures. The house was not open to view at the time. As I was making photos, a Wildlife Refuge employee showed up to check on the growing garden maintained on the property. In conversation I found that she herself was a Chesser and this was her family’s old homestead. She offered to open the house for us to tour, which she did. Of course, I took many pictures.
Well, the day is drawing to a close. I have to dismantle some antennas and do some “get ready to move” things. For those of you who wish to know, we are going tomorrow to General Coffee State Park. The address is 46 John Coffee Road, Nicholls, GA 31554.
We hope that each of you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year. We will talk to you again on the other side of the calendar.
Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Glad you got your rig fixed.
Good to read your blog.
Love you both,
Debbie Lowe
Thanks for the address update.