Thursday, January 1, 2009 - Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat TX
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Dawn at the Visitors Center, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, January 1, 2009
An update on my transmission seal blow-out
There isn't much progress. Some quick Googling yesterday confirmed what I had come surmised earlier in reading forum posts about these Lazy Daze RVs - that the Ford E4OD transmission in this 1992 rig is a fairly early iteration of these transmissions and that they tend to be somewhat fragile and prone to overheating and blowing the front seal.
Then I came across a forum post from a guy who had an experience similar to mine and he learned that the seal will often reseat itself after the transmission cools down. He tried it and after 50 slow miles and a couple of quarts of fluid - it did. That got me thinking this might be worth a try if I can lay my hands on some transmission fluid. It was just quitting time at the Visitors Center when I found this post so I ran over and was able to enlist the poor staffer who had to come in to work today to bring me some fluid. Which he graciously did.
I replaced the quart that had leaked out, started the engine and ran it through the gears - with the brakes on, not moving - and the leak returned. And it's a big leak - there's no way the 6 quarts of fluid I have would take me the 60 miles to Carlsbad I need to go if the seal didn't heal on the road pretty quickly. Phooeey.....
It's time to take a hike
As long as I'm here I might as well enjoy the Park. So I took a hike up the Devil's Hall trail as far as the staircase, about 2 miles. I haven't been hiking much lately so that was more than enough for the day and a beautiful walk up through the canyon to a natural staircase swept clean by the stream flowing down through the canyon.
Question... if you get a whiff of tom cat back in there, what cat are you whiffing?
Night camp
Visitors Center parking lot - not the Pine Springs Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat TX
- This is a small, primitive campground with not very level paved sites
- There are lots of good hiking trails in the mountains
- Verizon cell phone signal is a little weak but adequate - Access is via Extended Network, roaming
- No Verizon EVDO service - access is via the Extended Network and service is slow
- Find other references to Guadalupe National Park
- List the nights I've camped here
- Check the weather
- Go to Guadalupe Mountains National Park website
- Get a Google Street View and a map
Rice Toss
After the dinner our hosts conducted us to the beach. Among the presents was a large supply rice for the fleet. It was put up in straw sacks or bales containing about 125 pounds each. By the pile stood a company of athletes or gymnasts chosen from the peasantry for their strength and size and trained for the service and entertainment of the court. At a signal from their leader, who was himself a giant of muscle and fat, a sort of human Jumbo, they began transporting the rice to the boats. It was more frolic than work. Some of thembore a bale on each hand above their heads, some would carry two laid crosswise on the shoulders and head, while others performed dextrous feats of tossing, catching, balancing them, or turning somersaults with them. I saw one nimble Titan fasten his talons in a sack, throw it down on the sand still keeping his hold, turn a somersault over it, throw it over him as he revolved, and come down sitting on the beach with the sack in his lap. Beat that who can. If you imagine it "as easy as preaching," try it the next time in a gymnasium. But let me advise you, first make your will.
The Logbook of the Captains Clerk, John J. Sewell, Lakeside Press, 1995 pg 256