The faint sound of a hymn....

Last night we watched Desi and Lucy in the "long Long Trailer." Pulling our little 21' "cabin" with "Old Blue" seems like their experiences pulling a 40' New Moon trailer with a then new 1953 Mercury.  Other times is seems a bit more like another journey:

Five days into our first journey to Chama in early July the plumbing failed in the cabin.  That incident started on the day I went on a training trip for the Docent Class.  Amidst the crowd at the depot in Chama I heard Georgia whisper, "The trailer flooded."

Over the ensuing weeks it became a repetitive routine:

Tear out cabinetry

Find damaged pipes from original construction

Flood

Replace damaged pipes

Explosive Flood

Remove and replace pipes again

Another flood

Repair again

Massive leak

Wrap the pipes

Large Leak

Wrap with more stuff

Small Leak

Cut down water pressure

Tiny persistent leak

Bottled water and community showers.

The result of that two week long struggle wound up with out being on bottled water for drinking, no cooking and no fully operating facility.  We adapted and found ways to make things work with very, very, low water pressure in the trailer which allowed us to get a good nights sleep.  To keep the pressure low we left the bathroom faucet open and opened both the gray and black water tank's directly to the RV Park's waste water system.  We went home knowing what we had to deal with and planned some adjustments to provide for cooking and other basic activities.  

On arrival we entered a forest maze with the trailer wedged between two cottonwood trees.  We knew this was for only two days and would then move to a more open space for the remaining two weeks.  I decided to connect the water but not the waste pipes - the low toilet usage would not fill the black water tank in a couple days but a the next day I realized the slow drip from the open faucet could fill the gray water tank.

Late last night I went out in the dark and attached the waste water hose.

I screwed in the connector and opened the gray water valve, water all over the place.  

Closed the valve

Reset the waste water connector

Opened the valve - water all over

Closed the valve

Tried to reconnect - It wouldn't screw in.  Fought with it for 15 minutes - the waste water connection was damaged - I stuck the hose in the pipe and went inside.

Pulled off all the tape and re-wrapped with new stuff.

Small leak but managable

Shut down the water for the night and went to bed.

Today:

I walked down to the depot for the first time.  Checked the Docent schedule and I have four trips to cover over the next two weeks.  There is a big event underway and we have a lot of rail fans running around.  It is nice visitng with them and lots to see but I have an unfinished chore - the water leak.  It's the same routine as before:

Another round of tape

Turned up pressure a bit - everything held

45 minutes later

Bigger leak

Industrial strength silicone tape and a complete re-wrap.  The 1/2" pipe was now 5/8".

Leak migrates to another place.

More tape, the pipe is now 3/4"

Leak slows

More tape, the pipe is now 7/8"

One hour later THE LEAK HAS STOPPED!

G and I take a break and grab a lunch.  I finally take some time to sort out the cameras and the two of us are able to recover from a really bad day.  So, we take a break and drive up to Cumbres Pass to train spot.  A great time and we talked with a lot of folks.  On the trip back we sit together and I finally take some time to sort out the cameras and just spend time together.  It is now over three hours since the leak stopped.

After some time we decide to take a little walk and when we look up an iceberg is rolling - NO IT'S A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER FLOATING ACROSS THE FLOOR IN A STREAM OF WATER!

Running into the tiny bathroom there is water flowing out of the sink bowl like a water fall and shower basin is now an overflowing pool of water with 16 rolls of toilet paper bobbing around - so much for G's TP "safety net."  A thought flashed - "Should we name this thing Lake G?"

The pipe connection has completely failed.

I check and it is sound and dry and if it had failed water wouldn't be cascading out of the sink and shower.

I shut of the water flow in the sink and the water level starts to drop but the shower basin just keeps on flowing.

I hear a hymn buzzing around in my head - "Nearer my God to Thee."

What is going on?  I hate this F*$%@!$ plumbing!

"I knew that" - I went outside and opened the valve to the gray water tank.  A flash flood drained through the drain pipe and Lake G in the bathroom rapidly drained away.

We filled up three trash bags with paper towels and the precious toilet paper supply and I hauled it to the trash.  G went for more TP and a sponge mop but the place was cleaned up by the time she came back.

We took a break.  Over to the yard to watch the dinner train leave and then we went over to the Box Car restaurant for our Friday date night - a steady thing for over 50 years.

As I write this I can hear the water flowing into the drain in the bathroom.  The pressure is higher now and we have both a flushing toilet and hot water.  The pipe is holding without leaking for nearly 8 hours.  I will shut down the water supply for the night just to make sure.

We have an new discipline:  We shut down the water when we leave and make sure we keep the pressure reasonable.

Tomorrow we move the trailer to the new spot and hopefully we can settle into a predictable pattern for the remaining two weeks.  Hopefully the plumbing problem is behind us.

The plumbing is going to be replaced this autumn when we come home.  Curt will have the pleasure of cutting off the mat of silicone tape to get at the plumbing lines but that is another story....