(August 5)
Dear Folks,
Today’s text is to answer some questions that people have been asking about our adaptations and tech for this trip.
But first, a group of adorable preschoolers going to the park this morning.
If you watched the little video of Miracle all decked out, you caught a glimpse into her camping attire.
Al had an incredible vision for the curtains. By the time he got them all installed, they worked great! They gave us privacy and some darkness.
Al put an extra piece of foam on the dog couch to even it up. Then we had a Memory Foam crib mattress topper and pillow that worked great. The Girls were not wild about getting off the dog couch so that it could become the Mummy bed every night.
The commode was priceless. Only Tombstone had an accessible outhouse. There are some rest areas, but the outhouses are also inaccessible.
Shoutout to Teri for teaching us about camping. We brought a lot of the clothing we took when we started hiking the Appalachian Trail in March 2017. We had multiple layers. At night I had flannel pajamas and down booties. I also had a blanket and sleeping bag. And the living furnace, Mari, managed to curl up with me. Along the Dempster, it is pretty much fall, now. So it got down into the low forties at night. There was also a good deal of rain, so we used our rain jacket and rain pants often.
In terms of technology…. We have a nifty little fridge that runs on 12 volt power. It is positioned in the back and plugged in there. Since that outlet draws all the time, Al equipped it with a toggle so that we can easily switch it off when we are not driving (don’t want to run down the battery). You have to keep an eye on that outlet, though. On these very rough roads, it can come undone. You have to really stick it into the outlet hard.
Our equipment for the front cab of the van taught us a lot. We had bought an extension for the 12 volt there from NAPA Auto. The idea was that it could be plugged in all the time. When we wanted to use any of our little 12 volt appliances–our coffee maker or microwave, for example, we could just plug one into the extender, turn on Miracle (that 12 volt works only when the car is running), plug in our appliance, and get it to function. Our first night camping, when we tried to boil water, the 12 volt extender literally melted down, started smoking, and blew a fuse in Miracle. It took some time to get that repaired. The repair person said we were lucky we hadn’t had a fire.
Karma, our wheelchair, needs 110 current to recharge. She needs a lot of juice: the charger is very strong and powerful. The plan was that we would be able to charge Karma from our 12 volt to 110 converter. But the converter is not powerful enough. So we had to get creative. We got a site with electricity at Inuvik and ran a cord into Miracle every night to get Karma fully charged. At Tombstone, we were able to charge at the interpretive center. Now we know what to plan for, for our next Journey. We can usually recharge at the hotels we are visiting.
Speaking of Karma: her arm has collapsed. You may not be able to tell from the photo, but the joystick arm is now about four inches lower than it should be. Fortunately, the joystick itself now rests on the seat cushion. So I am hoping it doesn’t drop any lower. She is a bit harder to drive, now–but I can do it.
That leaves Miracle. She has been through a terrible ordeal. She is very low and not, apparently, built for something like the Dempster. But what a little trooper. I worried about every ping of gravel. The Dempster’s speed is 90 km/h. We seldom went that fast. Many others did and the dirt, dust, and gravel flew. One day there was a large rock embedded in the road that we could not avoid. We think that’s what made the hole under her door. Our windshield also has a small chip. On our way back down the road and while at Ft. McPherson, we noticed that the ramp wouldn’t deploy quite to the ground. When we looked at the hinge in the middle of the ramp, we could see that it was breaking on the right side, if you were looking at it from the inside.
So, since we had cell reception at that point, we called JC Williams at Mobility Works. That’s where we go for Miracle’s adaptations. He knew exactly what we were talking about. He had such a hinge–this is not an uncommon issue. We called on Wednesday. We had an appointment at Metro Chrysler the following Monday. How to get the part there in time? JC made some calls and did some networking. He found the hinge at an adaptive place in BC. He bought the part and asked them to get it to Whitehorse before Monday. He also called Metro Chrysler in Whitehorse to explain the situation and gave them his cell number so that he could walk them through anything. In the meantime, Miracle also stopped kneeling. This is something she does–actually lowers several inches when the ramp deploys–so that the ramp is not so steep.
Our appointment at Metro started at 8 am. The hinge for the ramp had not arrived. They very kindly tried to fix Karma’s arm. The nut was already tight. So they tried zip ties. But the arm is just too heavy.
My appointment had been for tire rotation, lube/oil/filter. We asked them to check all the fluids and the brakes–when Miracle had gone to the spa right before we left, her brakes were still safe but showed some wear. Along the Dempster, you are continually braking. So now they were down to the minimum. Soon it would be metal on metal. And we have 5,000 miles to go. So we asked to have all the brakes replaced. Fortunately, they had what they needed.
And the hinge came in at 4 pm! So they replaced that.
Most people had left for the day. But a few stayed to work on Miracle. They even gave her a bath. She was very dirty. That is a photo of us with Logan, from Metro, at around 6:30, right before we left. Quite a day. We appreciate all their help. They could not fix the kneeling–that requires a special tool from Braun, the conversion people. And in case you’re wondering how we went to the bathroom during all that time…we didn’t. No accessibility. The Girls were amazingly good. They must have wondered why we were just sitting there so long.
So there you have your equipment update. We hope that it answers some questions.
Hugs and Wags.
The Lowman Family
PS: We will replace that plastic piece under the ramp door when we get home.