After finishing house chores in MA it was fall in New England. So I headed north to spend a few days in NH. One of my favorite places is the White Mts NF. I camped there a few days while waiting for new tires that I had ordered for my truck. It would've been nice to hike a few trails. But a head cold caught my immune system by surprise. The last thing I wanted was that developing into chest issues.
After chillaxing a few days in the Whites I got restless. So I broke camp, hitched lil' yeti and we rolled up through the Great North Woods region. Although I caught patches of color, I was mostly too early for peak leaf peeping. Once I reached the border I decided to pop into Quebec, loop around and drop back into VT.
I followed the CT River back down to Lebanon NH. This highlight was The Balsams Resort near Concord.
I returned to Concord NH for the new tires. Then I doubled back to VT. Moseying west through the Green Mts it was indeed mostly that color. Still early.
So I turned north to Burlington. I didn't realize what a college town it was. In one area of housing near university I was struck by an architectural pattern. Homes with gingerbread siding, slate roofs and a corner turret in front. Most of the turrets were hexagonal. But I spied a round one here, a square one there. Curious.
From Burlington I followed US-2 up through Lake Champlain. Then across to NY at Rouses Point and down to Plattsburgh. Still not much color but lovely rural scenery. The welcome center on I-87 was a timely place to dump my porta potty. A man and woman were super friendly. They cheerfully offered to fill a couple water jugs for me. Thank you NY.
US-3 gave me a cross section through the Adirondacks. Color wise Saranac Lake was maybe the highlight.
West of Adirondack Park I found some SF boondocking near Spragueville abutting Fort Drum. I heard a number of things go boom in the day. But after dark it was peaceful as can be.
The next day I topped up with gas in Ogdensburg. Then crossed the border into Ontario. It was a big day with mostly rain. I cruised north towards Ottawa but veered west before the capital city. I followed the Ottawa River west, north of Algonquin Provincial Park. North Bay was midway across so I fueled up there. Canadian gas prices and metric units raise pump shock to another level.
Continuing west there wasn't much to see between the windshield wipers. After finishing an audio book by Jimmy Carter I found CBC on my radio. I was west of Sudbury when I learned what all that traffic control I passed was about. Greta Thunberg had just become famous, inspiring climate change activism around the globe. Local students were demonstrating.
Meanwhile, I also skipped Killarny PP. The North Channel of Lake Huron began to appear as the rain fizzled out and visibility improved. Except it was getting dark, so I didn't see much. Approaching Sault St. Marie I heard Justin Trudeau campaigning for reelection. At least it wasn't US primary crapaganda. Timely reminder to turn the radio back off, pay another toll, explain myself to another understandably curious customs officer. Then find more cold medicine and get some sleep after a 544-mile 13-hour day.
Rain continued on and off as I continued west across the UP. Since there was some visibility I followed the Lake Superior shore around Whitefish Bay to Paradise.
I didn't feel up to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point. Although the weather was appropriate. And it was too dreary to enjoy Tahquamenon Falls. A little color but no light. So I rolled south through Newberry then west.
I stopped to scout Seney NWR, which was on my list as having RV sites for volunteers. It was too rainy to see much. At the VC at least I stamped my passport. And the volunteer coordinator was on duty so we chatted. I explained how during college in Houghton I blew right past Seney coming and going downstate. Countless times. She said they hear that a lot. Maybe I can give it a proper visit another time.
Meanwhile, I kept moving west. I considered camping at Bay Furnace in Munising but with the rain I decided to keep moving. It cleared before Marquette. And that's where I discovered LaKenenland Sculpture Park. I stopped to check it out and was blown away. I started taking pictures near the entrance.
First impressions were talent, passion and sense of humor.
Daylight was fading so I slowly drove the half mile tour loop. Then stopped to check out the pavilion, playground, music stage. Since I had signal I did a quick search and found it on Google Maps as a Yelp entry. There was a phone number so I called it. Tom answered. I told him how impressed I was. And losing daylight "would it be okay to overnight there in my camper for more pix in the morning? Sure!" So cool.
Except when I tried to start my truck to move to a better place to park for the night, it wouldn't crank. The lights dimmed and the battery showed good voltage so I figured maybe the starter went. After I couldn't find it by flashlight I got out the Haynes manual. Only to discover it's between the heads. Under the intake manifold! I really didn't want it to be the starter. That's a lot of work! Good thing Tom didn't mind me camping there.
The next morning the truck was still dead. I called ahead and found an AutoZone in Marquette that had a starter in stock so I had them hold it for me. I wasn't in the mood for taking pictures so I made breakfast. While finishing that and finishing coffee in his pavilion two carloads of visitors debarked to explore the playground. I exchanged pleasantries with one of the men admiring the pavilion.
We chatted for a spell until his posse was ready to go. Then I asked for a jump start, thinking maybe more juice could make it crank. But when I turned key first, just for grins, it started! I told Paul he was my good luck charm and had to ride with me instead of going to a wedding. I guess his family wasn't as amused.
Forget more pictures. I left Blacky running, quickly stowed everything for travel, and headed into Marquette. But on the way I realized it couldn't be the starter. Sure enough, it kept cranking. So I proceeded to Houghton, then circumnavigated the Keeweenaw Peninsula. Back in Houghton that afternoon I decided to overnight at Walmart. Just in case.
Guess what! The next morning it wouldn't crank. Now this battery hadn't given me any warning, it just up and died. Odd. So into Walmart I went and bought a battery charger with engine boost. Using the generator to power that, the truck cranked and started.
Now this battery is less than 3 years old. It's a group 27 Interstate with 6 year warranty. So I thought to check the cells. I'd been living in hot climes the last couple years. Sure enough, the plates were barely under water. So back into Walmart I got a jug of distilled water and topped up all cells.
I let it run a minute, turned it off and it cranked strong again. So I crossed the road to O'Reilly and guess what? It wouldn't start again. And their tester said the battery was bad. Gr. I wasn't convinced. But I bought their battery anyway. Murphy Insurance. Then headed for the Porcupine Mts. Weather improved but my head cold didn't so no hiking.
There was a little color in Ironwood WI. The next nearest Interstate Battery center was Superior WI. My original plan was to visit Voyageurs NP. But it started raining. Again! So far I was too early for color in most places. But others actually looked past peak with leaves dropping.
It was Sunday morning so I texted a friend from the twin cities area but currently at their new, summer place in Ely, which is close to Voyageurs. Sure enough, he said colors had peaked up there and leaves were dropping. They were returning home and invited me to driveway camp at their house. Good plan. The twin cities had multiple Interstate Battery locations. I'd sort it out there. I wanted answers.
That settled I started southwest. The rain eased and I found a lovely campsite in Chequamegon (sha-kwa-megon) NF at East Twin Lake CG. Their water pump was broken so camping was half off. Of course it started raining again in the night. This time a real thunderstorm.
There must've been a cold front with it because Monday morning I needed a coat when I broke camp. But before reaching the twin cities it got hot and muggy. When I stopped to gas up I changed into shorts and T shirt. Pat wasn't home from work yet so Joanne and I caught up. And! I got a hot shower before dinner. Baby wipes and sponge baths are good enough. For a while. Eventually, one needs a real shower. Aaaah!
It was great catching up. Pat and I started sharing Scamp mods through an online forum around 2005, I believe. It's remarkable the number of real world friendships I have that started that way. We only met in person once, at a Duluth gathering in 2012. A couple months later I stumbled into my first resident volunteering gig, camp hosting in Death Valley NP. Joanne surprised me with a care package of homemade cookies for Christmas! So sweet.
Tuesday I took the battery to Interstate. Their tester said it was good. What the fudge is going on here? Think. No problem since installing the O'Reilly battery. Connections? Back at their house I charged the battery. Then tried Pat's fancy new tester. It said bad. Gr! When he got home from work we reviewed everything.
The new charger I bought had a recondition mode that desulfates the plates. I started that 24-hour cycle in his garage. When that was done Wednesday evening, Pat's tester said the battery was good. Hm. That still left connections as another possible factor. So I put the Interstate battery back in the truck. I was careful to clean and grease the connections.
Thursday morning it cranked fine. Friday morning, still good. It stopped raining and dried up enough to installed a new fan clutch. Since I couldn't find any torque versus temperature specs I tried improvising a bench test with Pat's vise and heat gun plus my IR thermometer. I started with the new one but it failed to drag noticeably more once the clock spring rotated when hot. I chucked that experiment as inconclusive. In the days since it hasn't been hot enough to confirm that it engages to cool faster as a result. It does howl when cold, so the viscous coupling is definitely stiffer. Thermal stress testing, eventually, should reveal whether it really works any better or not.
Meanwhile, I'll keep running the not-so-old Interstate battery. I don't know if O'Reilly will refund my money or not. I did install it for a few days. And right now it's still Murphy Insurance. But I don't need an extra battery to carry. If the old battery really is still good, I'll just take the O'Reilly battery in, tell them the story, and go from there.
Either way, I definitely used the charger. And got value from it. So that's a keeper. I already have an even better one. I just left it in storage this trip. Doh! Lesson learned. If we ever get the motorhome back on the road, then it wouldn't hurt for that to carry its own charger. One way or another it will work out.
One step at a time. The Interstate battery needs more field testing. If it proves up, although the case is circumstantial, at this point I'm inclined to rule that low water AND terminal corrosion were both guilty of misdemeanor crimes against reliability. Is that judicial prejudice?
