Friday, June 3rd – We’ve been on the road for one week. Our morning starts in Lower Pines Campground, Yosemite. I wake up later than usual; around 6:30am. Standard breakfast for us: coffee for me, oatmeal for Emily and I. Sarah has been eating cereal. I notice an oily residue on the trailer’s driver’s side tire may be from a bearing seal leak. That could be catastrophic. I take pictures with my phone with the intent of sending them to Christa so she can contact the Olathe Ford RV dealership to get an expert opinion. I am all about preventive maintenance.. both with the station wagon and the travel trailer. I had extensive work done on the trailer prior to our departure: a new set of tires, axle bearings repacked, trailer brakes checked and adjusted, air conditioner serviced, refrigerator serviced, water heater serviced, trailer roof resealed. I had the propane regulator mount moved to better allow the fit of my two 6v batteries. I try to jump on a maintenance issue before it happens. The grease on the trailer tire rim has me worried.
We do a bit of camp maintenance: I sweep our pad of pine needles and dirt, pull the awning down to provide a bit of shade on the refrigerator side of our trailer from the rising sun. It is hot in the valley; daytime temperatures on reaching the upper 90s. Sarah and Emily, with Junior Ranger trash bags, pick up the trash around our camp site. I bring over two 5 gallon bags of potable water and fill the trailer’s fresh water tank. The trailer’s 5 gallon water heater produces hot water for dish washing. The girls have neither their radio nor their whistles and have been gone for longer than 30 minutes picking up trash in other areas of the campsite. They finally come wandering back. Each gets a whistle to put around their neck and a GMRS radio.
We head for the Visitors Center – the only place I have been able to get a cell signal. I send of the pictures of the wheel and axle. The word from the mechanic is that it is probably excess grease from when the bearings were repacked. I hope so – I will have to keep an eye on it.
We eat an early lunch back at Degnan’s Cafe – this time the sandwich orders go smoothly. Heading back to the our campsite, we decided to spend some time by the Merced River to cool down. The water is ice cold, but refreshing. At 2:30pm we join a Ranger Walk conducted by Ranger Jill Connors about the black bears here in Yosemite. The walk lasts for 90 minutes and was quite informative and enjoyable. We head over to Curry Village (Half Dome Village?) for an early dinner. Pizza! Then ice cream! Back to camp for relaxation: girls working on Junior Ranger workbook and reading for me. The sun is starting to set and we get some relief from the heat. I can look up from our campsite and see the glow up the setting sun on Half Dome.
