August 7 Tuesday About 2 hours into our drive today a buzzer went off in the RV. It said “low coolant”. Gary checked an a hose had been chafed by a gasket and worn through. Fortunately he could easily fix it and we were only delayed about 15 minutes.

We stopped at the Oregon Trail Interpretative Center. We have found that centers such as this are always so well presented and informative. This gave us a real appreciation for the people that made this trip west before roads, rest areas, restaurants and RVs were available. Especially in the 106 degree temperatures we were experiencing today.

Oregon Trail

Sign for the Interpretive Center in the dry, desert-like terrain

Mr. Skunk in the wagon tracks of the Oregon Trail

 

After our tour of the center we were only on the road for a few minutes when another buzzer in the RV - “over temp” - went off! Fortunately, we were right at an exit ramp so we pulled onto the ramp. A serpentine belt had broken. This time is was not something Gary could easily fix, although he did have a spare belt on board, but did not have the necessary tool to do the repair. So he made another call to Coachnet (our good friends by now!) and they called a service truck. The mechanic was able to replace the belt on site in just a few minutes, however the calling, waiting for the truck to arrive, etc. took about 3 hours. Again, great appreciation for the Oregon Trail emigrants! While waiting, I was reading a diary of a woman who made this journey in 1862. Here I sat in an air conditioned RV (remember it was 106!) - how could I complain about this minor setback? Also, I didn't have to chop up my kitchen table to make a new wheel for the RV!!

We didn't drive as far as we had hoped because of this delay, but we did find a nice RV park after a couple more hours of driving at the Neat Retreat RV Park in Idaho. Again, a shaded lot!