Back in Valdez, the next morning the sun was shinning, a glorious
day. Went over to Winnebago Point, hoping the Silvers were in.
Rev. 08/06/01
Alaska & beyond - continued 8/04 - 8/06
back in Valdez
Back in Valdez, the next morning the sun was shinning, a glorious
day. Went over to Winnebago Point, hoping the Silvers were in.
No fish! Very few were caught with all those people fishing. Could it be the sunshine? I just don't know.
But such a nice day, I took some pictures from the point.
Top -- looking across the bay at Valdez, in the center of the picture. This is new Valdez, the old town, which had been built on the unstable ground of the glacier plain, was pretty much destroyed by the '64 earthquake. The new town was built on solid bedrock, about a mile to the east around the bay. There are a number of glaciers all around Valdez
Middle -- looking west from the point. Valdez Glacier. I was told that when the gold miners came in 1899, the glacier was down to the water. The miners used the glacier as a route to get over the mountains and on north, pulling sleds loaded with provisions up the glacier. It is now fifteen miles inland.
Bottom -- looking east, down the bay. An oil tanker being filled at the terminal. And a bunch of people fishing. At the mountains in the back ground, Valdez Arm turns south, lead to Prince William Sound. You can see some of the hanging glaciers high up on the mountains, spilling over from the ice field on top.
Then, going back to Valdez, the view from where my RT was parked, looking back. In the foreground is the tender, Siberian Sea. On the very left end is Winnebago Point. In front of the oil tanks there is a tanker being filled with oil from Prudhoe Bay.
I just might have I mentioned it before, but every once in a while I do something dumb -- today was one of those days.
The drain pipe leading down from the toilet has a bend in it. Some toilet paper got stuck at the bend. This is a nuisance, and happened once before. So at that time I bought a special hose that I hook to an outside water faucet, turn my water pump off, open the toilet drain, and, using the special hose, flush everything down into the holding tank.
Pretty simple. I store the special hose in the outside storage on the left side of the RT -- where I also store a lot of junk like, an axe, a wood saw, tire chains, fire wood, rock pick, and other nice to have but seldom used tools and stuff. Its a nuisance to get the special hose out -- almost everything has to come out and be put back in.
But I got it out, and flushed the drain pipe. And then
put everything back into the outside storage and locked it back up.
Turned my water pump back on. Normally, with all faucets turned off, you'll hear the pump run for a split second, building pressure and then stop, shut off by the pressure switch. This time it ran and ran and ran -- I shut it off. Checked everything, couldn't find a problem. What could I have done to cause this?
Called Mark, the RV repair shop. He said it sounded like the pressure switch that shuts the pump off had gone bad. Told me when this happens he just replaces the whole pump. Come in about 3 PM he'd do it..
At
3 PM I brought the RT in. We talked about the different options . He
thought he might be able to replace only the pressure switch on the pump.
Checking the part number, he went to marine (boat) supply store and
bought the correct pressure switch, removed the pump, and installed the new
pressure switch on it. Then put the whole pump back in place. When
he finally finished, I turned the power back on the pump -- and again, it
ran and ran and ran.
Darn, that meant there must be an open water line. So, again, I took everything out of the outside storage, fire wood, tire chains, axe, everything -- so we could trace the water line. And then I noticed a valve in the water line, that my mind, some how, told me should be shut and not open as it was. Closing it, and turning on electricity to the pump which went Brrr -- and stopped, just like it should.
Thinking back -- in cramming everything back into the storage I must have bumped the valve handle open. Dummy!
So now I have a new pressure switch -- and know what to look for if this happens again.
Mark mentioned he and his wife went to Maui a several winters ago. They thought it was great, leaving Anchorage with it's tons of snow, getting off the plane in balmy weather, with the soft fragrance of ginger, mock orange, and other flowers. And was more impressed that there were no windows in the airport -- just wide open. He told me it cost him $1000 a month just to heat his shop in the winter. He wants to go back -- can't blame him.
Saw an eagle flying very low over the water. He came right to the surface and there was a splash. I thought he was after a fish, but he didn't have one in his talons after the splash, and stayed low to the water. Then I saw him come down to the surface and hit something again, splash, and go on flying. He did the same thing again, and I saw what he hit was a seagull. All in all he clobbered six seagulls this way, on his flight out over the water. Boy, he sure had it in for those gulls today.
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