Movin’ On Up
Semi-secluded, almost.
I’ve been at Chain-O-Lakes State Park for the maximum two weeks, so a move was required. Rock Cut is quite different, the major items being electricity and higher prices. Many of the sites are fab, while others are badly improvised on slopes that defy leveling spacers. I chose blind by the online map, since I’ve never been there. I assumed that all sites would be roughly the same in usability. When I rolled in a few days ago, I found out that my site was one of the most disastrous in the park. The slope is such that rain will require 4WD and a little tire churning. Going past the bottom of it offers decent leveling, but is in a water collection area. Backing in offers a superb view of the outhouse. It’s also in nearly intimate contact with another site.
I took a look at it and headed back to the check-in booth to ask whether they had the capability/authority to override my online ReserveAmerica reservation. To my surprise, they said yup, they did. So the good news is that I’ve been in the site shown above for a few days, enjoying the cool shade. The bad news is that, starting tomorrow, the entire 500+ site park is booked for the July 4th weekend. Little sleep for me, I’ll wager! My new, better digs are booked by someone else then, so I’ll be back down in the pit mooning passersby from Friday to Tuesday morning.
I had planned to take off for Indianapolis then, but I’m locked in a medical version of Suspense Theater until Friday morning July 7th, then I stay one more night before departing. That’s if test results roll in to my doctor on time and he disagrees with a knife-happy cardiologist who is eager to convince me that the sky is falling. My internal medicine doctor has been around the track a few times, and is generally less inclined to try to mess with what isn’t great, but isn’t broken. Time has proven him right in the past on other issues, he shys away from just doling out prescriptions when there will be side effects, and his income stream is unrelated to my test results. So, I’ll get the real story from him.
For the Tuesday to Friday stint, I had blindly reserved a third site, and once again, it’s a comparative stinker. I just fixed that to move back to the site I’m now in. Whew! This ain’t like boondocking. But this park is relatively shady, mostly open-air, has few biting bugs, and you don’t need eye protection to bike around. I like it better, though it is much further away from friends and family. Just don’t roll in past 10 PM, or you’ll find yourself locked out!
I have a couple of days of west and wewaxation ahead of me, and the Evelo e-bike may get some more miles on it, since there are plenty of roads and trails to explore. One thing – the “spare” battery I ordered with the bike was defective when I originally received it, and its replacement recently failed as well, just out of warranty. Since Evelo’s 48V spares now tilt the meter at $700 a pop(!), I’ll be on the original battery only, until it too fails. Once that goes, I’ll be researching a less expensive replacement that hopefully will fit inside the OE hard case and not be too hard to wire up. I may have found one, but more info will be needed. As that little saga continues, I’ll write it up. Naturally, $700 for a two-year battery is not economically workable – I’d expected 3-5 years. Since the OE Samsung battery is beginning to go soft, it will be interesting (to me) to see how this plays out!
Strolling Amok 
Good luck with the test results and the doctors. I am glad you have a good one. Those are few and far between these days. At least that is how it seems to me.
I’m playing site roulette for my next stop in Niota TN. I’ve heard some sites are rough. I’m only there two nights though.
Thank you, JR. In my own experience and observation, some people now enter the profession simply from a financial motivation, and so the procedures they advise are biased toward whatever will increase their own income. Symptoms are an opportunity to invoice. For those, their patient’s welfare is what justice or right is to some practitioners of the law: an irrelevant and romanticized concept. Mind you, I may actually be at the point where I should have surgery, but the unfamiliar cardiologist’s eagerness to schedule me for it moments after test #1 of 3, and without mentioning that test’s actual results in any way, prompts me to rely on someone with less to gain in the short run.
As for your next unfamiliar campsite, Mr. Gump would probably say, “Campsites are like a box o’ choclits…”
New sites are all ways adventures. It’s part of the romance (lol) of this lifestyle.
After several heart tests and lung tests which came back “normal”, a doctor said, “I know there is something wrong with you and I’m going to find it”. Keep in mind, I felt fine the entire time. I went in originally for a yearly physical. This was a new doctor for me.
After she said that I found new doctor. Enough was enough.
Hello Doug,
Geez, that’s a quick failure of the battery. And the 2nd occurence, no less. No wonder they only warranty it for 6 months.
I’ve been meaning to comment on your past posts for awhile, especially the mention of your previous blog; The McHenry County Vintage Car Gazette. A car buff myself, my favorite era is from the late 50’s to the early 70’s, being particularly fond of the 60’s. I grew up around small-town midwest, so my view of the car world was limited to the Big 3. Many memories of my childhood escape me, but I can still remember every vehicle my family and relatives drove, from my grandparents Edsel to my dad’s preference for Chrysler New Yorkers. Car culture being what it was back then, local communities even identified with a particular brand. Ours was Chevy country, from sedans and coupes to pickup trucks. It’s funny remembering the boasting and chiding between friends and neighbors, depending on what brand they had in their driveway.
Thanks for sharing that. A good read. And, uh, feel free to comment now and again on vintage autos in your blog.
🙂
Yep the Evelo spare’s short 48V battery life is “a concern” to me. Once I get back to Yuma, I intend to open the case again to look for a bad internal connection before giving up on it completely. Evelo recommended checking for decent external plug connections, since a bad one can cause the same symptoms. They’re fine, so there’s a small chance that something in the box let go. Maybe.
Thanks for your comment, Jim. Since this blog is pretty scattershot rather than single-topic (which reflects my interests), I’d have to say that I’ll mention vintage motorcars now and then, as the excuse arises.