We have a not so restful night in Campbellton, NB and make some unexpected motorhome repairs before heading to Sugarloaf Provincial Park.
It’s the Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada, and the sun has finally come out to play. After a rather stressful 24 hours in Campbellton, we can definitely use it.
I’ll be the first to admit, I wasn’t expecting a great night’s sleep in the Walmart parking lot, but it was all a bit worse than I anticipated.
Not long after we parked, Andrew noticed a puddle forming under Yeti’s hindquarters – never a good sign. Luckily the puddle was water and not fuel or oil or some other toxic yet essential substance. Unluckily, the water was leaking from our water heater which meant Andrew had to crawl under Yeti and investigate.
The source of the water was a small hole worn through a plastic elbow joint in the piping from the water heater. It was fixable but not without draining the water from the system. Luckily we were parked in the middle of a business park with plenty of options to buy supplies. When the heavens opened in their evening rain ritual, it seemed like the perfect time to drain our water heater without being ‘those campers’ who dumped their tanks in a parking lot. Luckily it was clean water as we would never have dumped grey water in the lot.
No hot water meant my plans for a complicated meal of paneer curry went out the window, and we resorted to crackers and cheese. Meanwhile, we were discovering our parking spot at the back of the Walmart lot was not going to become quieter when the store closed. It turns out the big parking lot is used by local truckers to park their trailers. Andrew had a chat with a friendly fellow who pulled in beside us and unhooked his trailer and learned he’d be back at 6 am to recover his load. It was going to be an early morning for us! Needless to say, he was not the only one, and I listened to trucks parking and leaving all night – not conducive to a good night’s sleep.
On the upside, when we awoke, the rain had stopped, our tank was empty, and everything was dry enough for Andrew to begin the repairs. As there was nothing else I could do to help, I took advantage of Walmart’s wifi and spent the day working.
After a long day, and a few trips to Kent, Andrew was able to make the repairs, and our hot water is back up and running with no puddles.
Sugarloaf Provincial Park, Campbellton, New Brunswick
After a journey into the city centre to get fuel and propane and a trip back to the business park to grab some food, we finally made it to Sugarloaf Provincial Park by dinnertime. I was finally able to make my paneer curry for supper, and it was worth the wait.
The park is busy for the long weekend but the sites are fairly private with plenty of trees, and our spot is, thankfully, more level than our slopey site at Mt. Carleton.
There are some nice looking hiking trails here, including one to the top of the mountain. We’re hoping the weather will co-operate so we can get out and enjoy them.
Alison
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- Hiking the Terry Fox Trail at Sugarloaf Provincial Park - May 21, 2017
- Repairs at Walmart and Arrival at Sugarloaf - May 20, 2017
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