“The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.”
(Proverbs 20:29, ESV)
There is a reason for our gray hair as we age: life experiences have that affect on our hair! For some of us it happens sooner than later due to the circumstances thrust upon us (or our genetic disposition). This past week was one of those where we earned a bit of gray hair.
We left Youth Haven Desert Ranch with forecasted good weather. We had wonderful weather for the first two travel days and enjoyed a nice hike at Valley of Fire State Park near where we boondocked. We realized we need to do more hiking and fun times in the future!
However, after our nice day in Overton, NV (near the state park) the weather turned cold. The day we left, it also turned extremely windy. Thankfully, the wind died down throughout the day as we traveled to Ely, NV, but the night got even colder: 17 F! (Really! We thought we’d had enough of that during the epic TX freeze in Feb!)
While driving to Ely, an engine trouble light came on. Ding! Not a happy sound to hear at over 7000 ft elevation and temps getting colder by the minute. There were no Dodge dealers nearby that part of the world! Thankfully, it was not a flashing light which meant we had time to think this through and figure out what to do.
Bruce was able to read the code while on the road, (thanks to a little device he uses to monitor engine performance from his phone). It was an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) excessive flow error code. This sounded vaguely familiar! We monitored the EGR inlet temps and other parameters as we drove and all seemed normal.
After leaving Ely, the engine continued to perform well with the trouble light still on. However, another problem faced us: when we reached our camping spot for the night we discovered it was not yet open for the season! What? How did we miss that! Thankfully, it was a “God thing” as we found a wonderful place to stay at the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds. There was only one other rig there with over 100 sites with hookups! And, only $20/night! Things were returning to normal! 😄
We also remembered why the EGR error code problem sounded so familiar. It slowly dawned on us that we’d had the exact same problem on our maiden trip with our new home-on-wheels in May, 2019. There is a firmware problem with the EGR system when the truck is pulling a load over 7,000 feet elevation in very cold weather. This was the exact same problem we had when we went over Laramie Pass in WY! The fix? Just wait, it will clear itself. And it did, when we left Twin Falls!
Katie is now busy helping to get things ready for the big Barn sale next week here at Hope House. Bruce is building two, 6’ wide by 80” high bookshelves for the girls’ dorm. To keep costs down, he discovered some old plywood bed frames, a bunch of 1”x3”’s, and a couple sheets of plywood that will work just fine!
Yes, last week added a few more gray hairs. But, we also have a few more stories of God’s goodness to share with folks. Hopefully, we can use these experiences to encourage others in their walk! Y’all have a great week now, ya hear! 🤠 🤗
This week’s Blessings, Prayer Requests, and Schedule are here.
(Don’t forget to check out more of our pictures here.)
