I expected that the summer would be in full swing over here on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountain range. Especially as dry as it has been in Seattle so much earlier than usual this year. Plus temperatures should be approaching the triple digits under the scorching high desert sun. Instead I have crawled into my winter sleeping bag running out of dry clothes to wear. There is fresh snow on the peaks a couple of thousand feet above me. It has been raining or about to rain pretty much since I left.
Today was a full day of driving in the rain. It was a good test of where the leaks might be. I am happy that the doors are not showing that any water is getting through. Driving at 50 to 60 miles an hour in heavy rain is like being in near hurricane conditions. So that is a success.
A couple of nights ago, there was a heavy extended downpour in the middle of the night. It must have gone on for hours. So did the drip drip drip of cold rain drops from the skylight right above my head. I think it is the result of a design flaw that got built into the ceiling. It is a 1/4 thicker than the skylight frame by mistake. I had to leave a gap between the two rim pieces when it was installed and tie them together with longer screws. I think that is where the water is coming from. Not to worry, I have a fix in mind once I get a few days of dry weather. In the mean time a couple strips of rubber electrical tape is stemming the flow.
A bigger leak problem that I wasn’t expecting is the air mattress I am using. I fill it up to rock hard in the evening but in the morning my ass is on the floor. Air mattresses leak, I know. But I should get a couple three nights out of it before I have to pump it up again. I know, sounds like a rich people problem. The cabin fits a queen mattress exactly and the fill valve is on the bottom. It takes yoga and gymnastics moves to get it pumped up. I even got stuck under it for 10 minutes yesterday until I could wiggle out from under it.
I am going to keep working with it but Boise has an REI that might be getting a slightly used Kingdom Sleep System for their next garage sale when I drive through there next week. No replacement in mind though.
