Misadventures: Medical and Mechanical

My 1,200-plus miles from Washington to Arizona in October took two weeks. I drove Forest Roads 25 and 99 to Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington. I had visited in 1986, six years after the eruption. Huge pine tree forests have since grown. The blast zone still exposes acres of blackened, denuded trees. Surrounded by colorful October groundcover, they were stark reminders of the mountain’s devastation.

Every kind of weather accompanied my journey. The sun appeared for a few photographs. Torrential rain kept my eyes glued to the narrow blacktop road. The wind nearly blew me off Windy Ridge. It snowed. I didn’t stay long!

The Sprinter wheezed up steep Coxcomb Hill to the Astoria Column with its 25 levels of local history in pictorial frieze at Astoria, Ore. I wheezed up the 164 steps to a panoramic sunset view of the Columbia River, the Pacific Ocean, and the mountains.

The Columbia River mouth, before jetties, was one of the world’s most treacherous river bar crossings. Touring the Columbia River Maritime Museum, with its tales of ill-fated vessels disappearing into the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” was fascinating.

Following Lewis and Clark
In 1788, while looking for the Northwest Passage, that same treacherous bar caused English Captain John Meares to miss this major river entrance. He named a nearby headland Cape Disappoint-ment. In 1792, American Captain Robert Gray crossed the bar and named the Columbia River after his ship. Thirteen years later, by canoe and dugout, the Corp of Discovery arrived just in time for winter.

I crossed Astoria Bridge to Fort Canby, Wash., and Cape Disappointment. I browsed the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and hiked to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, looking down on where Lewis and Clark first saw the Pacific Ocean.

Walking the beach is a favorite activity, but a raging storm with gargantuan waves painted the Sprinter even cozier than usual as I holed up for the night at Fort Canby State Park.

Recrossing the Columbia, even in a storm, the Sprinter had far fewer problems than the intrepid explorers did. They built 50-foot square Fort Clatsop between Astoria and Seaside, Ore. It rained all but 12 days out of the 106 days they spent hunting, trading with the Clatsop and Tillamook Indians, and preparing for their return to Missouri.

Their main preparation was boiling seawater to make salt. Where Seaside is now, they set up a salt works. They boiled seawater constantly for seven weeks to make three and a half bushels of salt to cure meat. Wouldn’t they be surprised at how “Civilization” has encroached on their little oceanfront project?

Mechanical Problems
Alas, though there is enough in that section of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon to keep anyone busy for months, I pressed on.

The Sprinter behaved very well, but I did add a couple more “stashed” mechanics to my list. The Sprinter limped into B & P Auto Repair in Forks, Wash., in August. After the sparkplugs, wires, and one fuel filter were replaced, he perked right up.

I asked the mechanic, Tom Bolling, to check the rear springs. He showed me the two broken bolts that kept the Sprinter from having a split personality as I confidently drove my merry way. He said, “I can’t believe they didn’t break loose.” I said, “Do you believe in prayer?” He said, “I do now!”

Tom jacked the RV up, took the wheels off, did a lot of banging and pounding through layers of oil, dirt, and sand (without my having to cover my ears), and replaced the bolts. Two days of work progressed. I visualized a $1,000 repair bill. I was happily on my way with a loss of only $547.

In St. Helens, Ore., in October, the Sprinter would only start if I connected it with the house batteries. Everything has a time frame and I was happy it wasn’t the day before in Mt. St. Helens!

Towing insurance did absolutely no good, with referrals to several places including a dealership, none of which would even look at an RV. The dealership did recommend a “Shadetree Mechanic,” the best kind. Kevin Van Buren, owner of Columbia River Auto Repair, can fix anything. Within five minutes, he diagnosed and replaced the bad ignition switch.

A Little Medical Advice
Ladies, “Do as I say, not as I do.” I advise everyone to keep up with medical and dental appointments, but I was well behind in following my own advice. My last major physical was in Virginia in 1998 and my last mammography was in Indiana.

In mid-April, a limited physical took me to Yarnell, Ariz., and a recommended mammography to Wickenburg, Ariz. A June 4 appointment provided precise measurements of seven bilateral breast lumps and other painful pressing business. I proceeded with summer travels in the assurance it was no problem to send the x-rays north for the suggested ultrasound.

To make a long annoying story short, that involved many phone calls and letters to the Arizona offices. Three months later, the x-rays and reports arrived at the Woman’s Healthcare Center in Wenatchee, Wash. The ultrasound report on Aug. 26 was benign. The physician said that by law I could take all x-rays and reports with me. The Sprinter is now responsible for carrying them on our travels.

The only thing accomplished by both Arizona facilities in a timely fashion was the filing of Medicare and AARP forms to expedite their payments.

I am telling you this for the several lessons I hope you have already ascertained. Number one, if you are a full-time RVer, choose a place you will return to every year or two and maintain medical (and dental) appointments.

Number two, especially if you aren’t going to return to the same place, take x-rays and reports with you.

Number three, do not rely on the medical community to care as much as you do. Their lives do not depend on the outcome.

As the Sprinter (226,000 miles and counting) and I continue into 2004’s new friendships and adventures, we wish you a healthy, Happy New Year.