Thursday, June 18, 2009 -
It is partly cloudy with the chance of a thundershower this morning, and after my morning coffee, I hope the weather will hold long enough to install the new batteries.
Just as I was changing into my work clothes to go outside, it poured rain and the wind started blowing at about 12 mph. I decided I would wait for the rain to pass before I would try to tackle the batteries. By two O’clock, the rain had stopped but the wind hadn’t. I put on a sweatshirt and went out to get the job done.
First, I needed to disconnect all of the old batteries and remove them from the battery box. My doctor told me that I shouldn’t be doing any thing that might pull the stitches, but I told her I would have to, but I’d be careful. I managed to slide each of the 135-pound batteries off the edge of the battery box, controlling their drop to the ground. Once they were all removed, I focused on removing the old foam insulation and putting in the new blue board insulation. Blue board, which can also be pink in color depending on where you purchase it, has almost three times the protection that regular foam or fiberglass insulation has. I want to make sure that these batteries are well protected from the cold during winter.
After replacing the insulation in the walls, I put down two layers of blue board on the floor. Not only for added protection, but also to raise the new lower profile batteries, up to my cable height. After removing the shrink-wrap from the pallet, I found that each battery was in its own box. The boxes had no bottoms, so I could just lift each one off the battery. To my shock, the batteries had automotive posts and not the L-shaped connectors with holes to bolt the cables on. I looked at so many sites and read so much information when I researched the batteries that I thought I had specifically ordered the L-posts, but I guess not. Now I had no way to connect the cables and hook them up.
I would have to make a quick run to town for adapters, but it was already 3:50 PM. I knew that if I couldn’t make the follow me truck departure time, I’d end up getting into town too late to get the necessary parts. The only place that I knew would carry them was Northwest Battery as they are the ones that made up all of the cables for me originally. I figured they closed at 5 PM, so I would probably have to buy a less desirable type connector at Wal-Mart and adapt it to work.
Zack and I jumped into the Jeep and roared down the mountain, hoping to catch the follow me truck at the quarter past departure time, but we missed it by five minutes. We now had to sit and wait for 25 minutes, which would put us in town after 5 PM. I decided that I would find something in town that would work, and because the days are so long up here, I’d have time to get home and finish the job. I also needed to mail a box to my sister, which I had taken to town with me yesterday, but forgot to mail it. Too much was happening and when I got home . . . there it was, in the back seat.
I decided not to stress about any of it and just go with the flow, so sat and listened to the radio while we waited for the follow me truck. At 4:45, the truck appeared and we followed it out Marysville Road to the Lincoln Highway. The road work appears to be finished as they are putting the last of the guardrails up today, but my conversation with the follow me truck driver, Alicia, yesterday told me that they still have to put down a coat of chip and then seal it, which will cause them to repaint the lines before it is finished. All of Marysville will be glad it is over with . . . for now. I say for now because they are planning on paving past Marysville and up to the ski run in the near future. I would bet that they won’t be able to find the money to complete the job and it will remain as it is, but we’ll see.
I went into Helena and knew that the Post Office would be closed, as it was 5:15, so headed to the UPS Store, knowing they are open until 6 PM. I mailed the package to my sister and then hurried over to the Northwest Battery shop to see if by chance they were still open. Well, my luck held out and because he had a customer in the shop, he hadn’t locked up. I managed to get the battery post connectors and was on my way. I stopped in at Burger King for a quick dinner, knowing that by the time I got home and finished the job, it would be late.
Out of necessity, I ate while driving back to Marysville. I hate to do that more than talk on the phone and drive, but felt that it was about the only choice I would have to eat. We got back to the Marysville Road at 6:15 and the work crew had quit for the day, so we didn’t have to wait for the follow me truck.
Once back at the cabin, I was able to finish installing the batteries. The new batteries are 165 pounds each, but I was able to back the truck up to the battery box and then just slide each one off the tailgate and onto the battery box. After connecting all of the cables, I carefully threw the circuit breaker and went inside to read the inverter panel. Bad news, I had 36.5-volts for my 24-volt inverter. I shut it down and got the inverter manual to see the different configurations for batteries. Having switched from eight 6-volt batteries, to four 12-volt batteries, got me confused and I had connected them incorrectly. I redid the cables according to the manual and flipped the breaker again. Inside, the panel indicated that the inverter was working, with 25.8-volts coming in from the batteries, and 120-volts going out. The only problem was that I still didn’t have electricity. I read the trouble shooting section of the manual and rechecked absolutely every cable and connector to make sure they were tight and correct, but still no power.
After reading the trouble shooting section several times, and then looking at the diagrams in the manual, it showed a fuse or circuit breaker in the system, but I didn’t remember any, other than the breaker I installed when I first put the system in. Upon closer inspection, I found an obvious 30-amp pop out circuit breaker on the end of the inverter. Once I had reset that breaker, I had power. These are just a few of challenges that must be faced if one wishes to live the lifestyle I do.
It was now 8 O’clock and I hadn’t fed Zack his dinner yet. I played with him one last time and then prepared his dinner. I started a fire, took a shower, and fixed myself a drink before sitting down to relax and enjoy the fruit of my labor.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 -
Aside from a few high wispy clouds, the sky is a clear deep blue and the sun is shining brightly. NWS is still predicting the possibility of thundershowers, but I hope it stays clear and helps dry out the road a little.
I won’t be working the road today, as I have my doctor’s appointment in town, and trips to town usually end up taking all day. I didn’t get a tracking number for the delivery of my new batteries, but I am hoping they are in town for me to pick up. If not, I’ll call and get an ETA on them. I will also be calling Hughes and upgrading my account so they don’t continuously slow me down.
Here I am, two days later, just now getting back to this. The trip to town was close, but I made it to my doctor’s appointment with five minutes to spare. They took me right in and after the preliminary weight, temperature, blood pressure and updating medications, the doctor came in and we discussed Cat Scratch Disease. I was pleased to see that she actually knew what it was and pulled up all the information from the database on her laptop computer. After examining my foot and talking about the wound, she examined my lymph glands and we agreed that unless there were other complications, all symptoms should pass in the next month or so.
She prepped my arm to remove the spot and then gave me an injection to numb the area. The new young assistant that had taken my history had commented that it would be cool to watch the procedure, so I told my doctor, Jennifer, and she invited her in to observe and assist.
Jennifer draped the area and began cutting an almond shaped area around the spot, to insure she got all of the possible cancerous cells. As she got to the outer edges, it wasn’t numb and I could feel her cutting. It didn’t hurt, as the scalpel was very sharp, so I told her to just go ahead and finish it, which she did. When she removed the piece, she placed it in a medium to be sent to the lab. Three stitches later and it was all finished.
We discussed my blood pressure, which was down from the last visit, but not where she thinks it should be, so she increased the water pill dosage, telling me that I needed to have another blood draw when I came back to have the stitches removed, which is in 7 days. I am feeling some of the side affects of the new medication, but nothing serious, so she wants to keep tabs on my potassium levels. The last thing on my visit was to update my tetanus shot. I hadn’t had one since 1999 and she wants to make sure I have the booster. I don’t remember tetanus shots hurting so much, but it was by far worse than having the spot cut out of my arm.
Zack and I left the doctor’s office, heading to pick up my mail, but first I stopped at Taco Bell to relieve the hunger from fasting for the blood draw. As I pulled in to the drive through, my phone rang. I answered and it was the delivery person with my new batteries. He was at the UPS Store, where I get all of my mail, wanting to know what to do with 660 pounds of batteries. I told him I would be there in a minute and he could simply load them into the back of the truck.
Talk about luck and timing, I had planned on driving the Jeep to town today, but at the last minute decided to switch and take the truck. And then to have him at my mail pick up at the same time I was going there was good luck. I got my food order and drove to the UPS Store. He was waiting with the pallet of batteries on the lift gate of his truck. I simply backed up to his truck and he lowered them into the truck bed. I signed for them and then picked up my mail and we headed to Safeway to get a few items and have my new prescription filled.
Once I was done at Safeway, I filled the gas cans and we stopped at Home Depot for a new 6’ long digging bar. This is the third one I’ve bought since living here. The other two had been taken from the back of my truck the two different times it was stuck in the snow. I could have used it to help with the repair of the dozer tracks, so wanted to buy another to have available for the next time I need it.
From there, we headed for home and I had visions of exchanging the new batteries for the old ones, and actually having power without having to run the generator. By the time we waited for the follow me truck and got home, it was after 7 PM, threatening rain and had become cold and windy. I was tired so after playing with and feeding Zack, I decided to leave the task until tomorrow. I showered, built a fire and had a light dinner, before sitting down to watch television.