2009-03-02 Five Tracks in the Snow

Dateline, Ashland, VA
Longitude: -77.8881
Latitude: 37.7338

What an interesting couple of days. On the morning of our second day, I solved the sewage hookup problem by purchasing a hose and the connectors at the cg office.

Next, I hooked up the TV to the cable but having only one long coaxial with me I had to borrow one from the cg, which Brian cheerfully gave me.

After getting that hooked up, the second channel I found was TNT, playing Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. Nerdtastic. We had something on we could actually watch and enjoy, so I set about getting things squared away.

Around 4pm - 24 hours into the trip - the snow began. In what was to be later called a "Mega Storm", the entire Eastern Seaboard was blanketed with a layer of fat, wet snow.

Thanks to having supplies laid in, fuel, water & Shelby, we enjoyed the change of scenery to stunning white as we spent the day ensconced in hot chocolate and Orcs.


Shelby loves the snow. It brings out the Labrador in her. She just can't get enough of it and it doesn't seem to make her the least bit cold, despite having a very thin coat comparatively to most Labs.

To avoid freezing under the snow, I disconnected the sewage and water hookups. Curiously, the level gauge inside said that the fresh water tank was empty and I have come to the conclusion that it is possibly frozen, having filled it on the first day.

Randy at RV Service of VA suggested leaving the cabinet doors open to allow the heat to get to the pipes, which I did. Sonny, the husband of Mary Lou, who runs the cg, suggested hooking up the water feed. I did this and soon had running water, a luxury.

Mary Lou even suggested putting an electric space heater on the water pump and offered me the very one she was using behind the front desk. I put it on overnight and today the tank still says it's empty and no water is flowing.

Then again, it has not gotten above freezing since Sunday and it's now Tuesday. But the Sun is out and the temps are supposed to get up to the 60's in a couple days so we will just dig in and wait it out.

We're enjoying this, and it's made all the better by having WiFi so we can remain in touch and see what's going on outside the campground.