Tuesday, June 17, 2008-Frisco Campground, NC

This morning we awoke to some light thunderstorms over the ocean. Just before dawn, there were some lightning bolts over the Atlantic. We had a few light showers, not much, but enough to raise the humidity. Before we left on our trip, Jenny, Rob, Julie and Sis recommended we purchase an emergency weather radio from Kroger. This radio broadcasts emergency weather bulletins from the National Weather Service. We were awakened several times in the early morning by the thunderstorm warnings. Nothing serious occurred here.

After breakfast, we went for a walk around the campground and stopped at the ranger kiosk and signed up for two more days. We are here, so far, through Thursday. We are not sure how much longer we can stay. Our fresh water supply is at one-third capacity. There are no utilities here, including a dump station.  There is potable water, but it is impossible to fill our tank without moving the camper. I have a portable ten (?) gallon water tank with rear wheels that I filled with water from the campground tap. I tried to fill our camper's water tank, but it was too heavy and awkward to use. The height the water tank had to be lifted to reach the camper's water tank opening was too high. I think we will probably leave the campground, fill up with water and find a dump station, and return to our site here.

We are fixing spaghetti in the slow cooker. Luke, remember Spaghetti from Where the Sidewalk Ends? We are really glad we invested in the Honda generator. This model is certified and approved for use in the national parks and is very quiet (at least is to me). It powers the paddle fan, router, laptops, slow cooker and refrigerator and freezer in addition to charging the camper battery. The vent fans, stereo, and some lights run off the battery. I do hate to have gasoline anywhere near the camper. I keep it as far away from us as I can under some bushes. I have a five gallon container and it lasts about two and a half days. We use the generator constantly. The campsites in the national parks are spacious and there aren't any neighbors close to us. That will change over the weekend.  The rangers, including Elizabeth, have seen it and haven't had problems with us using a generator.

We have developed a small leak under the truck. I have checked the fluids, but I cannot find what is leaking. Tomorrow we will drive up to Kill Devil Hill to a Chevy dealer and have them check it out. Its been a little harder to start lately and we  don't want any problems towing the camper. Better safe than sorry.