Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Aerie Report, September 7, 2010

Gorgeous day here at the Aerie as the sun has been shining, a light breeze has been blowing and there's not a cloud in the sky. The humidity must be somewhere in the 20s too.

I left early this morning to go get the Tundra cared for. Not a problem in the world! She passed inspection with flying colors, got her oil changed and I treated her to a new set of windshield wipers. (I tried the Rain-X Gel spray to get bugs off the windshield and just rinsed it off with bottled water. Never. Again. The gel does not come off very easily--I had to fight the streaks it produced--and, I've heard from others and experienced it myself, it eats into the rubber of your wipers if you do not actually wash your car immediately after using it. Needs lots and lots of water to get it off. Credit where it is due: The stuff really does cut through the bug smears and they are gone, gone! GONE! when you are done. And the company does say on the back of the container that you should use it only if you are about to wash your vehicle. It just doesn't warn you about potential damage to rubber windshield wipers.

Anyway. Even after hauling a 7500 pound travel trailer all over North America for 12K plus miles over 75 plus days with just one oil change along the way, the Tundra was in great shape and needed no repairs beyond the usual 5K mile oil and filter change.

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I shared the waiting room at the Toyota dealership with a woman who's husband was a professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks for 10 years starting in 1972. They still go back ever two years (when the pinks are running) and would have stayed there if it hadn't been for the health of her mother. "We don't regret coming back to the lower 48," she told me, "but we do regret leaving Alaska."

We talked about moose reports on the radio, the Iditarod and Rondie, Anchorage and Fairbanks. She said they had driven up when they were just starting The Pipeline and returned to the lower 48 when they finished it. During that time of boom, she said, "Valdez was one wild, wild place!" The Alcan Highway when they traveled it was mostly unpaved. I told her how paving had only reduced the mud and the dust and that frost heaves were/are much easier to repair if the road is dirt!

We visited for fifteen minutes before I decided I had to get on my way.

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Don and Adam showed up while I was out and have nearly completed the stone work on the foundation. It really looks great!

Adam also pressure washed more of the log walls so they are ready to stain as soon as the stone work is finished. The weather (see above) has really cooperated on the work these guys are doing.

1 comment:

Rev. Paul said...

I'm glad to hear your truck survived the long haul. That's a good thing.