Monday, January 18, 2010
Well, I guess the predicted snow for today is late as the sky cleared by noon and the sun came out, raising the temperature to a comfortable 54 degrees by 2 PM.
I worked on the Argo again today and finished everything, including checking all fluids, lubricating all chains and greasing all fittings. I finished and had all of the tools cleaned and put away by 3:15. I took it for a test spin and to my dismay; the new tensioners didn’t take up the slack and adjust the chains as they are supposed to. The tops of the chains were still dragging on the frame and shouldn’t be. I tried a couple of things, hoping to get them to work and then gave up.
I came in and studied the manual but can’t see that I did anything wrong. The only thing I didn’t do was taking the snow track off to allow the wheels to individually turn freely. The only thing I can think of that is allowing the upper portion of the chain to stay loose, is the slack in each axle. I will start all over tomorrow and hope I can resolve this issue so I can get into town on Wednesday.
Zack and I played for the third time today and then I fed him. Rusty is having a bad day today as he drank a lot of water with his breakfast, and then threw it up. Immediately after doing that, he had a sneezing fit that caused him to rise up and fall over backwards. His eyes looked glazed and he isn’t very active. He has good and bad days on an ongoing basis and this was just one of his bad days.
A warm fire and shower and then I’ll have some dinner and relax until bedtime.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
This morning is bleak looking, with the temperature in the mid to high 20s and a few snowflakes dancing in the air. I am hoping that by noon the sun will poke through and give me some warmth so working outside isn’t too difficult.
I got lucky and the sun did come out with the temperature getting into the high 30s, but unfortunately the wind created a wind chill factor and caused my eyes to water. It’s hard to work outside when you can hardly see.
I worked for about 2 ½ hours on the Argo, jacking it up, removing the snow track to allow me to turn the wheels, taking up the slack in the upper portion of the chains. I had to remove both chains again, and it was a good thing I did as I discovered that the spring on the forward tensioner wasn’t wound enough to move the block up. I fixed it and then reinstalled both chains, reattached the snow track, inflated the front and rear tires and took it for a test drive.
Even though the chains still have a little more slack than I’d like, it has to be that way. When the slack is 2 ½ inches, it allows the tensioner to move up a notch and take additional slack out. I did notice that when in reverse gear, one of the left side forward tensioners is too loose and needs to have the spring wound more to work correctly. While in forward gear, it seems fine, so I’ll wait to fix it when I have to tear things down again.
I replaced the floor panels and put my survival gear in the back, along with two empty gas cans for my trip to town tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
It is colder this morning than the past couple of mornings with the temperature at 10 degrees when I got up at 9 AM. NWS is showing temperatures in the twenties with lows in the teens through the weekend. They are forecasting a 60% chance of snow starting tomorrow and through the weekend.
I had my morning cup of coffee, dressed and headed for town by 10:30, hoping to get my errands and appointment finished early enough to be home long before dark.
We did it. We made it home by five O’clock and Zack got his playtime in the fading daylight. I unpacked the Argo and parked it in the shed, having made the trip to town and back without any problems. I fed the gang and put all of the groceries away, built up the fire, which had kept the cabin warm all day, and then sat down to read my mail before showering and having some dinner.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
It is clear and sunny with the temperature reaching 50 degrees by early afternoon. NWS is giving the chance of snow for tonight at 60%, with more on the way.
After having worked on the Argo for several days, I decided to take today off and just catch up on computer stuff, research and reading. While Zack and I played outside several times, the cats made good use of the new toys I purchased yesterday.
A nice fire, steak dinner and relaxing for the evening was the order of the evening.
Friday, January 22, 2010
When I got up this morning, a cloud of ice was settling over the cabin and shortly thereafter, the wind picked up and it started to snow. The storm is coming out of the northeast, which is where the Canadian cold fronts come from, keeping the temperature in the low teens, with the high being 15.6, after a low of 7.5. NWS is indicating that this storm could dump an additional 14” of new snow over the next few days.
I spent the day reading, working on the computer, stoking the fire and watching television, and of course Zack got his playtime, both inside and out. I played keep-away with his monkey toy that hangs over the sunroom ceiling beam, and threw his disc for him while out gathering more firewood.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
I awoke to blowing snow that was dry and light. The winds are coming out of the northeast, so this is still coming out of Canada, with the low temperature being single digit.
After my trip to town on Wednesday, I brought home the Nickel Ads, which is the free give away paper like many communities have. Inside was an ad for Murdoch’s and after reading through it, I discovered that they had a sled, which can be pulled behind ATVs or snowmobiles, on sale. I went online to see if it suits my needs for hauling large or heavy items to and from the cabin in the winter. The sleds are made by company that specializes in molded plastic ATV items and they are the cheapest I’ve found. Otter Outdoors makes a wide variety of sleds so I researched all of them and found one that I think would be good for hauling my propane tanks and other items back and forth. It is the 1040 Wild large sled, which is listed for only $34.95. The hitch is extra, at $54.99, and a cover is available for an additional $69.99.
All in all, the sled looked perfect and because the sale ends tomorrow, snowstorm or no snowstorm, I decided to go to town and purchase one. Zack and I headed out in fairly heavy snow at about 12:30, and made it to Marysville without any problems. I was surprised to see so many snowmobilers out and about, but this type of snow is the kind they love to play in. The ski hill is also doing a booming business as cars went up one after another.
I cleared the snow from the Jeep and we headed into town, going straight to Murdoch’s. Randy, the owner of Zack’s mom and sister was working and Zack always goes nuts when he visits him. I think it may be the odor of his mother on Randy’s clothes. Randy informed me that they had no sleds in stock, but could get one from another store at the sale price. He then told me that they only carry four models of the Otter sled, and none was the one I wanted. Not only that, the one closest to the size I want was $120.00 on sale! Knowing that the web site indicated the price was only $34.95, I opted to order online and have the sled and hitch delivered to Guy and Mary’s so I wouldn’t have to haul it on the roof of the Jeep.
I purchase dry food for Zack and the cats, a couple of lead ropes on sale that were more than half off ($4.00 regularly $9.99), and some balm for my dry feet, so the trip wasn’t totally wasted. We also stopped at the market to get some hamburger for Zack’s dinners and then back to Marysville. After transferring everything to the Argo and a short visit with Guy, we headed for home arriving at 4:15. The snow hadn’t stopped and the visibility was poor. I was worried about a fast moving snowmobiler coming down the trail and hitting us, so I stayed to the far right and moved around corners carefully.
After unloading and parking the Argo, Zack got his playtime and then dinner. I put things away and then sat down with my V-8 to warm by the now roaring fire. The temperature never got above 17 degrees, but the cabin had stayed at 70 while we were gone.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The sky is a mixture of clouds and clear sky, with the air moving them to my southwest. By noon, the sun made a full appearance and it began to warm considerable. The high was 43 degrees, which is a huge difference from yesterday’s high and the morning low of 2.8 degrees at 9:30 this morning.
I had a full breakfast, or I should say brunch as it was almost noon, of pancakes, bacon, eggs and orange juice and went online to order the sled. I put the sled and hitch in my “cart” and then when I was ready to enter my credit card information I noticed a note that told me to check shipping zones for the cost that would be charged to my card. The shipping information on the finally total only stated that the charges were yet to be determined. The sled only weighs 36 lbs. and the hitch couldn’t be much, so I thought shipping costs wouldn’t be too much, but checked the zones. I was floored to discover the cost of shipping the sled was $122.00, and the hitch was $14.00.
That is unreal, so I checked their list of dealers to see if another store near by carried their brand and discovered the there is a Big R Ranch store in town. I haven’t run across it in my shopping so will find it the next time I am in town and see if I can get the sled I want, for a reasonable price, from them. A check online shows most sleds cost several hundred dollars, which is why I think the Otter sleds are such a good deal, but not if the shipping exceeds the cost of the items.
The remainder of the day was spent playing with Zack, organizing my tax records (just got my 1099-R), and shoring up the roof over my firewood on the deck. The heavy wet snow that has piled up, falling from the upper roof, is causing the 2 x 4s to sag dangerously. To avoid another collapse like a couple of years ago, I cut and wedged upright 2 x 4s under the sagging ones to help support the weight.
A few loads of wash, putting clean sheets on the bed, fixing dinner for all and taking a shower before relaxing to enjoy some television, filled the remainder of the day.
