How about an Ithaca update?
Over the course of the summer we had helped RJ assemble a ShelterLogic carport she had purchased. It was the perfect size to house the Ithaca during the winter and keep the snow from building up on top. Alaska fall was in full effect; so the wet and chill were now a constant effect of working outside. Due to RJ having her carport though- I was able to help her with a long overdue upgrade on Ithaca. The original stock taillights were failing to operate properly, and after checking all the wiring we had narrowed it down to the internal components of the light itself finally giving out. So she had ordered some fancy new Bargman lights to put in their place, and LEDs to put in the light fixtures.
It took a bit of carving out the fiberglass shell to accommodate the depth of the new fixtures, but we made it happen. Then it was just wiring and mounting them in. All RJ had to do now was fill and seal in the outer edges with caulk and Gaco. Afterwards her new lights were shining bright!
Now we move on to less good news… 😔
With the wet and rain we noticed water coming in the camper! 🤢
So we began investigating and the results were not great. We found water had been coming in from the front bed window; the one we hadn’t replaced. There was water that had traveled under insulation below the bed, so we removed the bed cushions and brought them inside to dry.
We folded back the insulation and cleaned up the water and cleaned any light starting symptoms of mold. Luckily, since the camper is bed lined the water was not doing any damage to the wood.
I also removed the curtain to find mold starting- which we took inside and treated. When we removed the curtains we found a crack in window, which could have happened from my weight when I was up above installing the new solar panels.
I investigated all over but couldn’t find any other signs entry points for water from the outside. We were in a pickle- it was far too wet and cool outside to start tearing up or open anything to try and find the route source. With the onset of winter coming rapidly it would just make a much worse situation to further remove any water barriers. We voted to keep an eye on the area daily and clean any mess that may occur.
Another reason I couldn’t do much about it is because I was leaving in just a few days. Laura had scheduled me to travel down to Florida for a month to scout out towns and get a feel for the area. She wanted to know how big some of the towns on our map really were, and what they felt like in reality. Since I had friends and family down there, and tickets were extremely on sale we had decided to try out a reconnaissance trip.
The trip was amazing! But… that’s a story for another time. 😄 Also, that doesn’t mean Florida is where we will end up- but we wanted to get a jump on our journeying somehow.
A month later I arrived to massive snowfall and incredibly cold temperatures. (Quite the contrast from palm trees) We spent a full 8 hour day dealing with the snow before, after that we just had to dedicate an hour or two to removing it each day.
Alaska was doing a top notch reminder of reminding us of why we didn’t want this life anymore!
During my travels, Laura had reported that we had not had any leaking issues since things froze. Still the issue was driving us crazy- and without a good few days to a week in a heated shop there was nothing we could do anyway. So we continued to monitor and wait.
I still drove The Ohana around at least once a week to keep her moving. And to celebrate our last New Year in Alaska- we made a point to go enjoy the local Fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
With the massive congestion of traffic that occurs around the showing area- the local feed was telling folks to try to show up an hour early if they wanted a good place to park. Well, we had been one of the first ones out there the year before at an hour early; but it didn’t seem like that would be the case this year with the announcement. So we headed out an hour and half early and found the perfect spot we had snagged last year. We turned on the gas and I fired up Kalcifer- who immediately went to work warming up the space.
While I was firing up Kalcifer, Laura was firing up the oven. We had invited company to watch the show with us, and we had picked up a few pizzas. We decided to fire up one now; so we cranked up the spring tension on the Nordic ware oven fan and let it do it’s magic. About 20 minutes later we had a picture perfect pizza! Mission Convection Oven was definitely a success!!!
We kicked back, listened to music, enjoying the heat of the fire, and relaxed while having a little pizza and watched the madness of the incoming traffic build up.
We also got to enjoy people sending off beautiful Chinese lanterns into the night sky.
Just before the fireworks our new friends Mike Ferrete and Jenni Medley showed up with a lovely spread of food. We stashed it all aside and climbed up to the roof to watch the show!!!
Happy New Years! Here’s to 2022!
After enjoying the spectacle of light and color we went back into the RV; and were immediately greeted by the comforting heat of the fire. We enjoyed the food Mike & Jenni had brought, and fired up another pizza in the oven for them. We talked and laughed as we toasted in the New Year- while watching the madness of traffic spend the next hour as it slowly left. We also got to enjoy people firing off even more fireworks before we decided it was time to head back home.
So that’s what we are up to for now- getting the house ready for our departure, keeping tabs and taking care of the Ohana, and dreaming of other worlds than this one 🌴 as we fight off the cold and snow for our last Alaska Winter. 🥶🧊❄️
If anything new comes up before spring let’s us get to work on her I’ll make sure and let you all know. Otherwise, I hope 2022 finds all of you happy and pursuing your dreams out there.
Take care! 💖
Geoff Murphy 1/3/2022
Great content! Keep up the good work!
Thank You So Much! Look Forward To The Big Trip Soon! Hope You’re Spring is kicking off well!