Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

We have been really enjoying ourselves at the Hi-Way Haven, which really should be called the Drive-In Haven. So we were reluctant to leave this morning, which, of course, was another absolutely gorgeous sunny day. We were hoping to leave early today to try to beat any “return to California” traffic on this Monday, the final day of the Labour Day weekend. However, I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to get some more sleep before continuing. Once we got moving I found out about something of which I was unaware. I did not realize that it is VERY hilly, or should I say mountainy, through southern Oregon and northern California, and I-5 goes right through the middle of it all. Given that it was such a hot day I decided to keep a close eye on the transmission temp gauge as well as the engine temperature gauge. I must admit that I have never seen the engine temp gauge move above its natural resting spot … and that is definitely a good thing. On the other hand, I have seen the transmission temp gauge rise above normal periodically, but not too much. Today, as the MoHo started climbing through these passes it appeared that the hills did not seem as steep as in the Rockies but they were definitely much longer. As we tackled the first big one we started to hear a strange noise emanate from under the hood up front. Something in the engine bay had suddenly begun to bombinate. The only other time we remember hearing this noise was when we were climbing through the Rockies. When I heard it in the Rockies I thought that it was probably an aberation since I never did hear that noise after that. But hearing it again now I figured that it must have something to do with the transmission getting hot since the gauge was actually rising higher than it had in the past. But then the noise would go away before we had even crested the hill. That seemed wierd since you'd figure that the noise would continue until the top of the hill with the stress on the engine and transmission was relived. I must admit that I was getting a little concerned about what was generating this strange sound. On our next very long grade we heard this noise come in and leave again multiple times up the grade. From inside the cab I found that it sounded similar to the sound you might hear when a car's electric fan comes on … that is, if you are standing outside of that vehicle with the hood open! In other words, loud. But the MoHo has a fan belt that runs the engine fan all the time. After spending some time considering this I postulated that perhaps there is a fan that is dedicated to cooling the transmission and perhaps that fan is electric and is thermostatically controlled. To be honest, I still have no idea what is causing this sound but that explanation somehow managed to allow me to stay relaxed as I drove up the rest of those hills. In some cases that meant up to 5 kms (3 miles) straight up doing 60 km/h (35 mph) in second gear with the engine screaming all the away. If I had a tach I’d tell you how fast the engine was turning but perhaps it is best that I not know that this type of information. And the whole time we were charging up these crazy hills in weather approaching 100F (38C), although the transmission temp gauge did rise into what I would consider uncomfortable, but not necessarily dangerous territory, the engine temp did not waiver. Impressive. Part way through all of these hills we decided to pull off the highway and give the MoHo a break and let it cool down a bit. With this heat, if something temperature related was going to give, today would definitely be a good candidate for it to happen. We lucked out when we pulled into a Best Western to find a spot suitably large enough to subtly park our 48-foot MoHo where we hoped nobody would notice it. Well I tried. We got it parked and popped open the hood to make it easier for the engine and tranny to cool down and then tried to decide what to do for 30 to 60 minutes. I flipped open my computer and found an unsecured WiFi signal … giddy up! So I was able to upload yet another exciting chapter of the Aylmer Express MoHo Extravaganza while we waited. In reality, there were actually two temperature issues we needed to deal with. You see, as the engine temp was dropping, the interior of the MoHo was climbing. Did I mention it was in the 30s (90s)? Why not put on the A/C? Well, that would require either the engine to be running (not good for getting the engine to cool down) or the generator running (not good for being inconspicuous in a hotel parking lot). So any way you slice it, we were going to get back on the road once a certain temperature was reached … we just didn’t know which threshold we would reach first. As usual, I was wrong about that too. What got us back on the road was a visit from one of the hotel staff indicating that having us parked there was not their ideal scenario. No problem, I already had my shirt off trying to stay cool so the thought of firing up the engine, hitting the road and cranking the A/C sounded like a good idea to me. So off we went. The transmission temp gauge did show a noticeable drop so that was good. But before we even made it to the next exit on the highway we were climbing what turned out to be the longest grade of the day. So by the time were halfway up, the tranny temp was back where it was before we stopped to cool it down. First I thought we had wasted our time but then I started wondering, where would the tempurature have been had we not stopped? Anyway, the MoHo got us up and down all the hills and that is all we are really asking. Then there was a sign on the highway indicating to check the radio for a road condition alert. We tuned in to find out that basically we really should have left early today. It said there was a backup on the highway due to some bridge construction. As of 6:30 the traffic jam was 7 miles (11 kms) long with an estimated wait time of 90 minutes! As luck would have it, the construction was about 3 exits before the one we needed to take for the campground. We decided to continue for a while and see if things changed. The good news was that they did. The bad news was that the next update as of 7:00 said that the traffic jam was now 10 miles (16 kms) long and had an estimated wait time of 2 hours! Yikes! We decided to pull off at the next town which turned out to be Dunsmuir, California. We thought that we might as well have dinner now and hope that by the time we get to the bottleneck things will have improved. We also talked to the police there to see if there was an alternate route we might be able to take. Turns out there is not. There are very few roads through this mountainous area and those roads are not really a great place for a 48-foot cavalcade of automotive mediocrity. So we grabbed some great burgers and shakes at this place that was selling t-shirts that had a picture of a highway with a road sign which read:
End of the World – 9 Miles
Dunsmuir – 12 Miles
I could see what they meant after only being there about 30 minutes. I think Morgan and A-P were catching on too as they mentioned to me that this place did not really feel like we were in California. After dinner we were off again and darkness was falling. We finally caught up with the traffic jam and it was a biggy. Fortunately it had diminished somewhat from its peak but it turned out to be 12 km (7.5 miles) long and it took us an hour to get passed the construction. But I must admit, if you have to be in a traffic jam, a MoHo is definitely the place to be. I actually considered getting Chantal to drive for a bit while I flopped down in one of the beds and caught a little shut eye after a long day behind the wheel. But I relented. Once we got past the slowdown it felt like we were almost at our final destination. Little did I know. We finally got off the highway and then had to track down our campground under the darkness of night. We tried to use the GPS to help get there but there were two problems. One, the GPS was down to using just a single satellite to guide us when it usually likes to have 3 or 4. And two, which we did not know at the time, there was construction taking place on the road where our campground is located and the campground was forced to remove their signage. Nice, eh? Now there is a recipe for disaster in case you were wondering. We ended up driving right past the entrance in the dark as the GPS a little off (read late) in telling us when to turn. Since we didn’t see a sign we thought that it must be further up the road. Then we hit a ‘T’ intersection and I knew we must have driven past it. I asked a local and he said that it was indeed a few miles back. Then, the next decision I made, or should I say, example of very poor judgement, was what help cement the fact that this evening would not soon be forgotten. I decided to attempt a u-turn since the ‘T’ intersection looked big enough … but, of course, it wasn’t. So now I have completed about 160 degrees of a 180 degree turn, the nose of the MoHo is sitting in the gravel on the edge of the road with the front wheel at full lock and the back end of the MoHo is covering pretty much an entire lane PLUS the Matrix hooked on behind is covering most of the rest of the road too! Did I mention that it is also dark and we situated on a curve in the road? This probably sounds like a bad situation to most people reading but it is actually even worse. Why? Because, if you remember, we cannot back up when the Matrix is attached to the MoHo!!! Needless to say Chantal and I jump into action very quickly. She grabs the flashlight to flag any cars down while I flip on the hazard lights and frantically try to unhook the car. Of course a vehicle arrives around the corner almost immediately. Chantal gets him stopped ..whew. Then another vehicle is right behind him! Luckily they both are able to stop without hitting me or each other. This was even more impressive considering they were both pick-up trucks pulling boats in the dark! I get the car unhooked and Chantal jumps in the Matrix and gets it out of the middle of the road. I jump in the MoHo, back it up in the dark (with both fingers crossed), and take off back down the road we just came in on. The nice thing about living through a situation like that is that it helps you appreciate how little stress there is in normal, daily life. After a very slow drive back down the road looking at every single little driveway and side road we came across, we finally find our signless campground entrance and we are able to retire for the night. I think this day falls into the category of containing a little too much excitement.

Today’s word:

bombinate \BOM-buh-nayt\, intransitive verb:
To buzz; to hum; to drone.