Rain

It’s on my mind this weekend for oh, so many reasons, not the least of which is that I wish I could make it move a few thousand miles to the west of where I sit. Facebook friends have kept me up to date with regard to the Butte fire in Northern California and that has reminded me of all the other fires that have decimated the parched west coast this year and in years past. 

Rain, rain, go…west. Please.

It’s also been on my mind because it is a source of new and different concerns since moving into my motor home. Several facebook groups I am a part of frequently launch into discussions regarding how to take care of the roof, how to caulk and seal, what product works best and, too often, the frantic post “now what do I do since I have a leak?”

I’ve learned so much from these discussions as well as from the prior owner, who guided me to the right product for the roof and made sure it was applied properly by knowledgeable people. : ) As a result, although I’ve been in several rain ‘events’, my roof does not leak.

The first time it rained on my newly-coated roof was the very first week I was actually completely on my own. Riverside County in CA, specifically the Menifee/Hemet area, had what the news channel called a ‘50-Year Storm’. It rained long and hard in the wee hours of the morning and when I got up in the dark to get ready to head into Pomona, I realized that my rig was completely surrounded by a nearly knee-deep pond!

Being totally unfamiliar with the campground and what strange creatures, namely snakes, might be lurking in those waters, I stayed inside. I do have a great pair of Wellington boots that I used while gardening and they would certainly have gotten a good workout that morning, but they were safe and dry in one of the bays. I wasn’t about to wade out there to get them because, well, read the first sentence of this paragraph again.

Yet I was perfectly fine. Everything, including the electricity, worked perfectly. I had lights, running hot and cold water, food in the frig and the ability to make coffee. I had plenty to do inside what with having recently moved in and still very much involved in the ‘where does this go?’ game so I was busy and content all that day. And the next. The pond had diminished in size, but it was still difficult to get outside. Also, several ducks had taken up residence! 

Briefly, I considered naming my rig not My Castle, but The Lake House. As you may know, I did not.

When it gets really cold, rain turns into snow. I haven’t actually experienced that yet, but it did create a lot of concern when I was due to leave a park in Descanso, CA in order to go to the Escapade in Tucson.

There had been a few days of rain in late February/early March and I had made more than one car trip to and from Los Angeles in a heavy downpour. The day before departure, the temperature was below freezing and that meant the road I needed to take might be quite a bit more treacherous. 

I was already very concerned because a section of the road rounded a bend overlooking a big valley and I could picture my rig’s back wheels sliding off the edge of the road and taking the rest of it, as well as the car, down the cliff. 

I, of course, had a plan to jump out of the driver-side door. 

The night before, facebook friends responded to my anxious post inquiring about an alternative road off the mountain. They reassured me that I could do it, to keep my eyes on the center line, go slow, and ignore any frustrated drivers that might queue up behind me. Interviews with campers arriving from the direction I was headed also provided assurances that the road was dry with no ice.

So, away I went. Needless to say, I made it down without incident and, I might add, without angering anyone behind me. What a feeling! 

Shortly after, I had what many in the RV world call an ‘inevitable’ event: I broke camp, drove to a new location, and set up all in pouring rain. It was kind of fun, in a way, because I could check that off the list of less-than-desirable situations and, more importantly, look forward to a hot shower and a cozy night with a good book and a cup of tea. 

Nature is funny though. While the water was heating, the sun came out.

The next really big storm happened while I was out doing errands in the car near Rapid City, SD. An app on my phone sounded an alarm concerning two large storms that were coming through the area. I wisely scuttled further plans to shop and hastened back to the rig where, as many of you who saw my post on facebook will recall, there was indeed quite a show! Lightening! Thunder! Rain! Hail! It was pretty amazing!

Once I realized the storms had passed, I drove about 30 miles south to see Mt. Rushmore and was treated not only to a wonderful sight, but a moving ceremony involving all the veterans in the audience, and then a fantastic light show thanks to the continuing lightening from the storms that had moved east.

Having been in California since 1991, these events, especially the ones with lightning and thunder, were pretty cool!

Today is Saturday and it’s been raining, just raining, since yesterday. All day and all night. Yesterday I was out doing errands before meeting up with my brother to attend a football game. Plans changed, and we didn’t go to that game but I did drive by another where the kids were playing in the rain and the stands were packed with enthusiastic, albeit soggy, fans. 

Yes, rain has been on my mind. And on my head. 

I discovered that there is a mysterious leak in my car so rain pools in the headliner and drips onto me. I thought I had caulked suspicious areas but apparently I missed something. Research on the internet has given me some ideas as to what to check, but as the rain has been relentless today, that task can wait.

And there’s a leak IN the rig, NOT on the roof. I did look closely everywhere, but somehow there is moisture in the side in the very back. Quite a puzzle. Again, the sodden situation outside the door prohibits me from investigating.  I have been able to secure things in such a way as to keep any more water from wicking onto things I’d rather were dry. Like my bed, and the pillows, which my hairdryer took care of last night.

The little town I’m next to had scheduled their annual Country Days event this weekend and I feel sorry that so many people must be so disappointed that this storm has persisted through every single one of their planned events. 

But truthfully, I’m much more saddened by the people and homes in California that could greatly benefit from this long, soaking rain. As I cannot make this rain move west, I’ll keep doing what I can, which is to rain prayers on those affected, including the wonderful, amazing fire and forestry workers, the Red Cross, and all those who volunteer to help their neighbors.

Safety, not just for RVers

As I mentioned in my last post, safety is the topic for today.

Without a doubt, the seminars that made the most impact on me concerned fire safety.  These two seminars were presented at the RV 101 Boot Camp and again during the Escapade and I attended them all.

They are presented by a former fireman and full-time RVer named Mac McCoy. He pulls no punches and is quite blunt about fire facts and what we must do to preserve our own safety.

Sure he addressed this information for those in an RV, but so much of it applies to our ‘sticks and bricks’ homes as well. In this post, I’m going to keep to that topic as I believe that most who read this are not RVers.

Early warning is a key part of surviving a fire. How can you react if you don’t know there’s something to react to? 

I learned that most of us have the wrong kind of smoke alarm in our homes. The wrong kind is the one that sounds an alarm only for a flaming fire and we need to know about smoldering fires as well. A smoldering fire can fill the home with deadly smoke fumes without setting off the smoke alarm! 

The one we need is a dual smoke detector that uses BOTH PHOTOELECTRIC AND IONIZATION SENSORS to detect both flaming and smoldering fires.

Please look right now to see what you have. Odds are you’ll have the one(s) that detect flaming fires only. When you go to the store to buy the right one(s), (which you’ll do right now, won’t you?), note that there are a lot of displays of the ionization-only smoke detectors still available on the shelves! 

This is one of the first things that stuck out as something that applies to everyone, not just RVers. I never knew this. 

So make extra sure you get the Photoelectric and Ionization Dual Smoke detectors. When I say dual here, I don’t mean both smoke and carbon monoxide! Kidde and First Alert are popular brands. Check your local ordinances to see where they should be installed in your home. 

Drive carefully. I’ll wait until you get back. : )

Hi there. So the second thing that really got to me involves the fire extinguisher. Those rated B and C are basically baking soda and a propellant. They make a mess but don’t hurt anything. 

An ABC fire extinguisher contains Monoammonium Phosphate, which is more corrosive than other dry chemical agents. The issue with these is that once the fire is out, you’ll likely have to replace whatever the powder touched. 

The propellants in fire extinguishers push out product at about 40 miles an hour. That’s so you don’t need to be close to the fire to apply the material but it also means that the material will likely get all over the place. 

You need to check fire extinguishers regularly to make sure they will work. Things can happen to make them less effective such as the dial that shows whether it’s good can have been installed incorrectly, or the lever could get pushed by mistake and release the propellant, which renders the extinguisher useless, etc. 

You can learn a lot about fire extinguishers online and there are likely YouTube videos on how to check them. You can also go to macthefireguy.com for information. He focuses on RVers but again, much of the information he provides applies to anyone.

Mac the Fire Guy also promotes a foam fire extinguisher and I immediately changed out all of mine for the foam ones because I was so impressed with how much better they are. And, the foam doesn’t hurt anything, including people and pets, so if my couch were to catch fire, that’s all I would have to replace because my fire extinguisher won’t spray corrosive chemicals all over the place.

I don’t know if foam fire extinguishers are commonly available in stores as they are a bit more expensive than the powder versions. I can give you the information on the ones I purchased if you like and that information is also contained in the link macthefireguy.com

Fire safety is an intense topic, I know. I’m guilty of not being prepared enough or practicing an escape plan with Evan when we were living in an apartment, house or condo. Mac, the seminar presenter, is very good at conveying a sense of urgency. For example, he points out that we have only 20 seconds to escape a 40’ RV that catches fire. 

Twenty seconds.
 
There’s not a whole lot of time for anyone to get out of a home fire either, right?

It’s not something one does casually, especially as adrenalin is likely flowing at an alarming rate. Those of us in earthquake country have learned that it’s important to train your adrenalin to react properly.

Because I am doing all this now, I feel justified in encouraging you and your family, including your pets, to put a plan in place. 

And practice, practice, practice.