The Big Bang Last Night

My fearless puppy can turn into a shaking wimp when thunderstorms and lightning come calling. Having been hit by lightning 3 times myself, I am a bit nervous around it too. Yesterday afternoon we had such hard rains it looked like I was parked under a waterfall.

Last night a very noisy thunderstorm produced a big loud ferocious BANG that plunged us into darkness robbing us of electricity. I thought the puppy and I were going to hit the roof we both jumped so high!

My RV has old fashioned simple wiring for the generator. I have to remove the RV plug from the camp utility post, then plug into the side of the built-in generator.

I slept with the power off for a few hours but then woke up around 2am, cranky and stinky sticky from the humidity. Flashlight in hand, I went out to change the electric plug and fire up the generator. The generator can be started outside or inside once it is primed.

I drifted back to sleep with the purr of the AC going.

Which by the way... I saw a baby skunk wondering around yesterday afternoon before the storm. I tried to snap pics but wasn't quick enough. He was cute as can be. I expected his mom to be out looking for him. After awhile he tired of sniffing around our camp then scampered off into the wooded long leaf pines. Last night as I wondered around in the dark I was praying "Lord don't let me startle a skunk!" It was DARK out there what with no lights on anywhere and the moon in hiding.

This morning I gave the generator a break then went outside to drink coffee. When the ranger came on duty I mentioned we lost power. This was news to him. The ranger that lives here also maintains another home where his wife stays. He had gone there. I had no idea who supplied power here to make a call, and of course with their wifi turned off, no way to find out on the internet. My wifi is no-contract, pay as you go, but still it costs $40 to start a new month, so I left it turned off. It ran out of time a few weeks ago and since I have wifi here, no need to spend it there too.

By mid morning, the heat was cranking up as was the humidity. I thought about going shopping, since I was running the generator anyhow, but really didn't feel like it. So I restarted the generator to move back inside.

How to know when power finally comes on? Well the utility post has a separate 110 outlet for a regulation appliances or electric cord. I plugged my outdoor electric wind into that. Periodically I would check to see if the fan was running.

Finally around 2pm the power was restored, so it was only about a 16 hour power outage.

Pat myself on the back for being anal about keeping my gas tank topped up for just such emergencies. What's the use of having a generator if you have no gas for it? Ditto for the water tank. I generally keep it topped up too. Some RVers claim I am short changing my gas mileage by keeping water and gas topped up due to the weight, but for me it's just peace of mind... and comfort.

Those same RVers are grumpy as all get out when the power or water goes off and they don't have backups to deal with it. I feel very lucky for planning ahead.

There are times the water goes off in campsites because of repairs or in this case the pressure severely went down, so maybe we are on well water which requires a pump. Also, sometimes I arrive at camp dead tired, by having a tank load of water, there is no urgency to dragging out the hoses and filters and fittings to get set up right away.

Camco 40042 TastePURE KDF Water Filter - 4 pack

In my case I have a water regulator that prevents overzealous camp water from accidentally busting up my hoses if their pressure shoots up  too high. I also have a water filter plus I have a short utility hose, about 4 feet long to attach to the spigot at the campground. From there I add the regulator, then the filter then the hose(s) then I connect the entire lot to the side of my rig. I use quick-connectors for most of my hookups so this goes rather quickly.

Camco 40055 Brass Water Pressure Regulator - Lead Free
This also works with a garden hose in sticks and bricks houses. 

Now I have the munchies. Time for lunch!  I napped off and on today. When I am sick I just need lots of water and rest to beat it. Harley seems to enjoy the extra nap time. I often lay on my side hugging a pillow due to an old shoulder injury and he likes to plop down on my rib cage or hugging pillow or a combo of both. I feel like his human couch.

Dramm 22729 Heavy-Duty Quick Disconnect Brass

Now that the power is back on, the water pressure shot up to normal, it was down to a trickle, so I had my 12 volt water pump turned on which was bringing the water pressure up to normal but also draining my on board tank.

Beside my prefilter I use on the outside water hose, I have a fantastic indoor water purifier that requires no water pressure and no electricity. The filters are cleanable and last years! They take nasty water and turn it into sweet water. Magic! The incredible filters remove bleach and a super long list of contaminants. This will filter lake and river water but not salty water.

Berkey BT2X2-BB Travel Stainless Steel Water Filtration System with 2 Black Filter Elements

I was able to install my Berkey inside a cabinet underneath my RV sink. Ironically the cabinet sits about 10 inches above the floor due to the heater venting. I am able to fill the top of the Berkey purifier with a retractable sink faucet, then drain the purified water out of the bottom reservoir into water carafes. I love this system! I have very tasty water for drinking and cooking. Awesome! Every RV and home should have this system. I am so sick and tired of looking at the mountains of wasteful water bottles crazy wasteful humanity tosses out every day.

Luckily my refrigerator works off propane or electric, so the food stays cold without interruption. The fridge has an automatic switch to do this for me.  My water heater also works on either source but I have to manually flip it to one or the other or both. A few months ago, I bought an electric hot plate to compliment my propane stove. That is handy if the propane runs out. Mostly I use it for outdoor cooking on a hot day. But it does sit nicely on top of the propane stove if I want to use it indoors. It's a cheap one I picked up at Dollar General, but I seemed to have gotten my money out of it. At the beach last May, I used it almost every day to cook outdoors including a few special meals of a wok full of steamy fresh off the boat shrimps. YUM.

Professional Single Burner Electric Counter Top Stove - Buffet Range Coil Plate Hi Power Energy Efficient Cuisine Cooking Appliance with Drip Tray

Life is goof! We woke up alive and all is wonderful.