Sorry for the silence. Yes, our trip this year is still on, but I have been delayed by several things. I hope to get on the road by 9/18.
First, the biggest drag on my time has been that I had to take over my condo board again in May after the president, lawyer, and managing agent were, well, not doing their jobs to my expectations, so they now all have word “former” prefixed before their titles. The three of them forgot that none of them lives here, but this is my home. Reminds me of my days backpacking in Alaska and Russia amidst the bears. The first rule I followed was to remember that the land was their land, and their home, and I was only a guest, an uninvited one at that. And that is why my name is not prefixed by the “former” or “the late.”
Second, the Defender had to go in for a new set of BF Goodrich FM3 tires (I get new tires every 40,000 miles) and a check-up, but I walked out with a $4100 bill. Then, as I drove away from the garage with the AC blasting (for Donner, not me) on a hot day , the thermostat went into the red zone as the red check engine light came on. Back in the Defender went. It’s the radiator, they said. Replace that, I answered. But it was still overheating. It’s the viscous fan, they said. Replace that, I answered. But it was still overheating. It’s the water pump, they said. Replace that, I answered. But it was still overheating. It’s the temperature sensor, they said. Replace that, I answered. But it was still overheating. The engine block needs purging. Purge that, I answered. But it was still overheating. It’s the temperature gauge, they said. Replace that, I answered. But it was still overheating. Dean, my mechanic, spent 25 hours poring over the vehicle and finally discovered that the rim of the coolant overflow reservoir was bubbling, meaning a leak, so he soldered that up and everything is just fine now. Except my bank account after another $2900 bill.
Just as Dean was finishing up the overheating problem and work working under the hood, my alternator started smoking. Fortunately, I had a spare with me from last year, so he replaced that pretty quickly. Considering that I have put less than 2000 miles on the Defender since my last trip, how lucky I am that it did no fail on the highway or in some remote location. Close call, again.
Another Defender problem I had to deal with concerned the hard rubber jam chuck on the tire rack on the tailgate of the Defender. When the tailgate is opened, the jam chuck —about the size of a door stopper— plugs into a port on the tailgate, which prevents the tailgate from closing when I am parked on an incline. My jam check went missing during last year’s trip. It sounds like a small unimportant thing, but it really is irritating having the tailgate close on me when I am between it and the back of my vehicle. I tried every Rovers outlet in North Ameren and Europe, and none had it. Obsolete, they all said. So, I visited my friend Dino up the street from me to see what he could do for me. He runs a diamond mine in Canada and a diamond store here in town, and owns a 3D printer. He set out to work and within a week I was the proud owner of 12 brand new hard rubber jam chucks for my Defender. They work beautifully.
A similar thing happened after my trip last year. During last year’s trip, my warning lights panel started acting up. I was losing warning lights one after the other. When I got home, I searched all over for a replacement, but no luck. Obsolete, I was told about 30 times. I finally found a place in Florida that had made some up using their own 3D printer, and soon I as the proud owner of a new warning lights panel for my Defender’s dashboard. So, as of now, the Defender is in excellent condition, not a single issue with it, which is why I would not sell it for less than $79,000, about as much as I put into it over the last five years.
Now to Donner. Readers of my blog last year will recall Donner was hospitalized for three days in Flagstaff while I was at the Grand Canyon. He had picked up a severe colitis somewhere along the trip and it struck him at the Grand Canyon. Back home, it took about six more weeks for him to become fully recovered, but I think that was premature. Starting in April or so, Donner started developing loose stools. Into the vets we want, not once, not twice, but three times. Finally, Dr Morgan, Donner’s regular vet, washed his hands (literally) of the matter, so I drove 50 miles out to Frederick MD to visit with Erde’s capable internist, Dr McConnell. The first course of action to deal with the issue (B12 shots, probiotics, deworming, new diet) did not work, so, five weeks later, we went back in again on Monday for a sonogram and scoping down into the GI tract. Everything was normal except that they found a huge peach pit in Donner’s stomach (I never buy peaches so it had to be in there for at least four years) , which they removed, and discovered serious inflammation of the lining of his small intestine. They sent off three samples for biopsy, but the doctor warned me that it was likely to be inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The report came back today and it was not IBD, but a severe bacterial situation that he had developed, probably the result of insufficient treatment after the colitis last year. Donner is now on a special diet for the next 12 weeks, plus an antibiotic, to try to get his bacteria into balance again.
One comment on Donner’s vet bills. I have Trupanion with a $1000 deductible (per issue), for which I pay $50 a month. Last year Donner needed x-rays and MRIs etc. to diagnose his orthopedic and spinal issues. The bills were over $4500. I paid $1350, insurance the rest. This year, the GI matter cost and the insurance paid about as much as the ortho issues last year. That means I saved $6300 by having the insurance. I pay $50 a month for the insurance, That means in the four years I have had Donner, I paid $2400 for insurance. You go figure. Speak about a wise decision, getting pet insurance was, and getting it with Trupanion even better. And to think I was skeptical. A word to wise is sufficient.
As for my own condition, I am still not fully recovered from the hit it took on my right abductor muscle, probably from more than 125,000 miles of my long road trips. But where I am now will have to do.
I still do not know here I am headed, but if the frequency of possibilities on my mind means anything, I will probably head off to Yellowstone one more time to spend a few days in the Lamar Valley. But if it takes me seven days to get out there and I want to spend three days there at Pebble Creek Camp before it closes on 9/29, that means I have to leave by 9/18, which will be very tight. After Yellowstone, who knows where I might go from there. I will plan each day after than as it comes, as we did last year. But north is out of the question now, not because it is too cold, but because the camps are all closing.
More later. I have to get moving.
Ed and Donner
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