Stumped

A 5 hour trip took me 2 days, dodging storms as we fled Virginia, through North Carolina and on to South. Very pretty state and the accents are wild.  When I arrived at my campsite and saw the decline I feared I'd slide right into the lake.  I didn't, but it was nevertheless unnerving to listen to gravel sliding underneath the tires, praying my brakes hold.  It wasn't until I was heading out a similar incline in this pull-through site, tires momentarily spinning, that I remembered the vehicle has more than one gear.  Duh.

The site is pretty but uneven, and I went about going back and forth, back and forth,avoiding the lake like the plague, on and on, never seeming to find a level spot until I stopped moving entirely.

Lucky for me I've learned from past mistakes NOT to force myself forwards or backwards.  I couldn't tell what I was looking at in my side mirror, but sure enough I'd driven my back bumper up onto one of these tree stumps which litter the ground. 

I stared and stared, wishing to go back in time just a couple minutes when I realized I'd begun actually pulling the back wall away from the side in the bottom corner.  I was destroying the patch job from a former owner's 'Oops!'



I briefly considered grabbing the camera for a live shot, but it was so horrifying I didn't want to relive the experience that closely. I did grab my 6" ball pein hammer and began smashing the shit out of the stump in the humidity, sweat dripping into my eyes nonstop.  I grabbed the stump every which way as I swung, not considering what might be living inside. The clouds gathered as I cried and cursed and swung but it wouldn't release the bumper. (Oh, nobody was around.)

Trying not to picture worst case scenarios I kept at my chore as the sky opened up. I finally reached the core but it wouldn't splinter like the outside. I had no saw, and no idea how to pick the RV up just a bit.  Oh, damn...I've got to get one of those leveling jacks like I gave away years ago.  I am a stupid woman, and it's a good thing I did not breed.

Eventually I succeeded in breaking it apart; pulled forward a few feet; and went inside to dry off.  First thing I do in this heat is hook up the electricity and kick on the AC; which of course gave me a cold - turned - bronchitis, lasting the week and certainly affecting my mood.  Damn.

But I did finally try using those orange levelers, so I'm proud of myself for that.  At first I covered the 'crack' with a tarp but after a couple days I tried using a small clamp and and slapped on some Duck Tape for good measure. They make it in all colors now.  I also had to bend out the bumper which holds my sewar hose, and in between downpours I inspected and Gooped seams. BC is allergic to the groundcover so I've been dealing with that, and the power just shut off so I'll close for now.


It's been a good week all in all, at least for RV experience. After all, the damage is not life threatening, and that's why God invented body shops.