Ouch!

We were all quite excited to leave Lewiston after being stuck in a parking lot for two days in the sweltering high Desert heat. Even Benz the dog knew things were getting better as he seemed to be pulling out of his little dog depression, funk thing he sank into.

La Jefa was finally back on the road headed South with Boise in her sights by night’s end. It was already 2:00 pm and we had about 300 miles to go before reaching our destination. At about 150 miles on the clock, I stopped for a cold drink and to inform OB that I would need to stop for fuel at the next town (which was Riggins Idaho.) OB mentioned that he and Mert were just looking forward to stopping at the very next RV park that looked decent. I knew they were both tired but wrestled with the idea of stopping. I wanted to get as close to Boise as possible in case La Jefa had a relapse.

SHIT HITS THE FAN! Or something like that…

About 10 miles down the road I spot a sign for a state RV park and make a quick decision to stop. We check in with the front desk and find out that there is no sewer at the site but they have a pump-out station just a few feet from our campsite. OB proceeds to pull over to the pump station and I met him there to assist.

(OB) “let me know when I’m close enough” (Me) “Ok OB, stop right there!” OB jumps out of La Jefa and hooks the black water tank tube to the output of La Jefa. (OB) “Where’s the inlet?” (Me) “Right there OB”. OB proceeds to plug-in the other end of the tube to the inlet tank in the ground (or so we thought!) OB opens the valve and the black plastic tube starts to fill expanding toward the inlet (all the while looking like a ground mole making its way along a yard) raising the tube as it goes. We stand there following this lump in the black tube to its final destination, the inlet to the holding tank. All at once, the tube flies out of the inlet spreading a sea shit juice all over the holding area.

(Me) “OB. the end of the tube just flew out!” OB runs over with his gloves on, grabs the end of the spewing tube, and sticks it back in the hole. (Me) “OB, are you sure that’s the right place to drain this?” “I have never done this before”, I exclaimed. (OB) “I don’t know, that inlet shouldn’t be higher than our tank outlet” (It was). (OB) “You’re going to have to hold the end from popping out so I can pick up the tube and keep the shit moving, it just keeps stopping?” I ran over without gloves and hold the other end of the tube in the ground so it doesn’t leak. OB proceeds to try to pick up the tube and drain it to the tank and it springs several pinhole size leaks along the way and is now pissing the shit juice all over him and the ground around the coach. Then it starts streaming out of the connection I’m holding, with a velocity and pressure that is starting to resemble a fire hose. (Me) “OB, I’m outta here! you’re on your own!!”

(Me) “OB, what is this thing for?” (OB) “Oh shit, that’s the drain!” (Me) “Then what the hell are we draining into now?” (OB) “Crap, that must be the system vent tube!” We look at each other and just start laughing as we’re both covered head to toe in our own shit!. (OB) “Ok Mike, when I pull the coach away you take this hose and wash that crap down the drain. IT ONLY GETS WORSE!!

I’m washing the shit mess down the drain and I hear this horrible crunching sound. When I look up I see La Jefa hung up on some big boulders that line the entrance to the campground. Apparently, OB cut the corner a little short while trying to back into the campsite and got La Jefa hung up. All I could do is watch in horror, I was speechless and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

My mother was trying to tell him that he is hitting something but because he can’t hear and she mumbles when she talks, he just keep jockeying back and forth until he starts to rip the storage compartment doors open. We finally got the wheels turned in the right direction and he was able to back away from the rocks. Whew! That was ugly…

All of this takes place in a matter of minutes. I was yelling for him to stop but to no avail, the damage was done. I felt so bad for him afterward, he loves that coach and now along with everything else that has happened, he has ruined three hatch doors on the right side of his prize possession. The rest of the campers were witness to the Laurel and Hardy show, I’m sure…

After he finally gets La Jefa parked, he performs his do-diligence in getting power and water hooked up, the slide-a-bay out, then, levels the coach. We both grab our tools and try to straighten the twisted doors enough to get them closed. We all take showers, mix Bloody Mary’s and get out the poker set. We had a good night and didn’t speak of the accident the rest of the evening.

Nothing can faze us now!

MM