Lazing in bed, that warm feeling, not wanting to move. I watched a beam of sunlight shining through a gap in the camper blinds, moving slowly across the wall with laser like intensity. Curious, I climbed out of bed to take a picture of the sunrise over the points where the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Atlantic meet.
It was a lovely day, until the black flies woke up for breakfast, feeding primarily on Susan, and taking the occasional nip at me.
Susan’s researched and made a reservation for the 7 hour ferry crossing from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland.
We completed the preparations for another driving day, said goodbye to our neighbouring tenters from PEI and Québec, then hit the road.
The steep grade of the dirt road and a 7000 pound trailer made for some white knuckle driving. The rear wheel sometimes lost traction on the loose gravel, until I found the most stable line and maintained momentum.
We crested the steep section and stopped for a photo overlooking Meat Cove campground far below.
We left the dirt road, and headed back to the Cabot Trail, rejoining it at North Point.
The drive up to the Highlands Plateau consisted of many steep switchbacks. The truck tugging comfortably just below the 50kph speed limit, the twin turbos running at their peak performance and the transmission fluid temperature steadily climbing just below the yellow zone. I’m relieved we have a towing package on the truck with large transmission fluid and engine oil coolers, and a large turbo intercooler.
No sooner had we crested the mountain, we faced a steep descent on the other side with grades of 13%, we geared down and relied on engine braking with the occasional application of pedal brakes.
We drove through some quaint ocean front towns, then faced another climb back up onto the Highland plateau. The scenery from the top was breathtaking.
We met two cyclists from Victoria BC on their way to Signal Hill in Newfoundland. Having driven the steep passes, I had lots of respect for them when they had to pedal the same passes.
We also chatted with a lovely couple from Newfoundland completing the Cabot Trail on their Harley Davidson motorcycles. The switchbacks and twisties must be awesome to ride.
We descended the plateau through a couple of road construction sites, and made our was back to the coastal drive. The scenery was breathtaking.
We left the coast, and headed back to the TransCanada Highway, had lunch at the Red Barn, then headed to Sydney and a night of boondocking at Walmart.
During the drive, we started to receive text message and email warnings about pending ferry cancellations.
We arrived at Walmart, Susan had a haircut, then we stocked up on a few supplies. I made enquiries about an oil change on the truck, unfortunately, they were fully booked until closing time.
Returning to the trailer, we had supper, and received text message and email notification the ferry sailing was delayed by one day. We were both relieved.
Shortly before midnight, the rain and wind started. By 3:00am, the wind had increased, driving the rain with ferocity against the side of the trailer. At moments like this, warm and comfortable in bed, I was thankful for the ferry cancellation.
The morning came, and the weather hadn’t subsided. Looking outside, we counted seven other travellers boondocking in the Walmart parking lot with us, all reluctant to leave.
We were running low on potable water, both gray tanks and the black tank were full. It was time to look for a dump point. Fortunately, a local motel had a dump point about 6 min from Walmart. I dropped Susan off at the local mall then headed to the dump point.
The rain was still falling in sheets, driven hard by the wind. According to Environment Canada, Gale warning in effect. Wind northerly 35 to 40 knots. Seas building to 3m to 4m this morning then subsiding to 2m to 3m this evening. The greatest impact from this system will be high rainfall, which could meet or exceed warning criteria. (50 mm or more in 24 hours) Maximum rainfall could locally exceed 100 mm in some isolated parts of these regions
I drained the system, and filled the fresh water tank, getting soaked by the rain. After changing into dry clothing, I returned to the mall to fetch Susan. We unhitched the trailer in the Walmart parking lot, then dropped the truck off for an oil change.
After the oil change, I connected jumper cables to recharge the trailer batteries. I tested the entire electrical system to figure out why the batteries weren’t recharging from the truck alternator when towing.
There was no power at the Black/Battery connector in the 7 Way plug.
The Trailer charge relay in position 9 was ok. The 30 Amp fuse in position 21 supplying the relay was blown.
The problem was, I needed a different style of fuse from what I carried in my parts box.
I walked to Canadian Tire (Automotive Shop) to get the parts. It’s frustrating when you have to buy a whole pack of assorted fuses to get the one you need.
Walking back from Canadian Tire, I noticed something dangling underneath the truck. What the heck!!!
Upon closer inspection, it’s the lower engine shield that Walmart forgot to bolt up. Susan called the Walmart automotive shop for me right away while I climbed into my already wet rain gear. She listened to the ringtone for ages. It was before closing time and they didn’t want to answer the phones.
I crawled under the vehicle to repair it myself. Whoever invented zap straps was a genius. Shame on you Walmart mechanic for a shoddy job. I had similar experiences with Walmart in the past, and reluctantly took the work to them because we were in their parking lot.
I returned to the electrical task, and replaced the 30 Amp fuse in position 21. We briefly tested the circuit and observed an increase in the trailer battery voltage with the engine running.
Here’s hoping it works tomorrow. We will make note of the voltage before and after a long drive.
After a brief lull in the weather, the wind and rain returned with a vengeance.
Susan made a nice big bowl of shrimp/mushroom noodle soup for supper. Just what I needed after a wet miserable day working on the truck and trailer.
We headed to bed, the wind gradually subsiding, we slipped into a slumber…praying we don’t receive new messages about ferry cancellations.