Sheltering in place

Selecting volunteer assignments means, among other things, giving thought to climate and likely weather conditions for the locale and time of year in question. My research on Big Bend showed average temperatures for November through January ranging from highs of 60-68°F to lows of 35-42°F with less than an inch of precipitation likely during any of those months. It's the stuff that makes south Texas a prime “snow bird” destination. This year may prove to be the exception.

Big Bend's daily report advises visitors on weather and road conditions. Lower

temps in each range are for the mountains, higher for the Rio Grande.

When the National Weather Service began issuing advisories last week about a winter storm approaching our area, Leonard and I started giving serious thought as to our capacity for “sheltering in place.” We were in good shape as far as provisions were concerned, per my previous entry on stocking up, but with ice, snow and windchill temps forecast to drop into the teens, the storm would be the first serious test of Kong's insulation and heating systems. We needed to make sure we were doing everything possible to stay safe and comfortable.

Our preparations actually started before we purchased the 5^th wheel. We looked at the insulation and windows for every prospective purchase. The manufacturers we considered all offer some sort of cold weather options package. After consulting with our sales contact at DRV, we concluded that having a heated basement would be good for wintering in North Dakota but not really necessary in light of our intent to spend the colder months south of Interstate 20.

Truckzilla with a coating of ice. Good

thing we don't have to drive to "work."

Kong's standard package included two heating systems: a heat pump and a furnace. The heat pump would suffice provided a) temps remained above about 40°F, and b) there's a source of electricity. With the thermometer expected to remain below the mid-30's for several days, and considering that a power outage seemed a real possibility - the area's above-ground power lines would soon be weighed-down with ice – relying on the heat pump for warmth could become problematic.

This meant relying on Kong's furnace. We checked our LP situation and determined that we had enough gas to get us through the weekend to Monday when the nearest LP refill station reopens for the week. As long as we didn't do much more than heat a can of soup using our gas stove, we expected to be in pretty good shape.

We filled our fresh water tank and

disconnected from sewer to prevent

broken hoses. 

So, how did it go? We survived the storm just fine, leaving us feeling both snug and, dare I say, a teensy bit smug about our disaster aversion skills. Is it any surprise, then, that as I write this entry we have no power?

That's right. Thinking we had dodged the power outage bullet, we were sitting in the rig enjoying a day off from our volunteer duties when I heard a distant “pop!” A quick check of Kong's power management system revealed that we were running on batteries. The electricity was off.

Perhaps in a future post I will explain how RV batteries work. For now, I will just say that there are certain limitations when it comes to running off battery power, not the least of which is that you do not want to let them discharge below 50% capacity. Avoiding that requires the use of a generator. I can hear ours purring away outside now!

Aren't we smart for buying that generator? Better still, we have a full can of gas to keep it going.

Uh, oh. There's that smug feeling creeping up again. Better get that under control quickly lest I tempt Fate...again.

The storm left the Rosillos Mountains of Big Bend National Park dusted with snow.