Chasing Heat

In a couple of years, the old timers of WillowWind RV Park will sit over coffee and regale themselves of the tales of the brutal winter of 2015-2016.  “Yep,” they will say, “it was the coldest winter we’ve ever had here in Hurricane.”

Or so I’m told.  Many of the repeat residents have told us that this winter has been much colder than the past several.  And it seems that our particular trailer just isn’t set up for the colder temperatures.

Oh, it has a furnace.  If you doubt the existence of the furnace in our trailer, all you have to do is turn it on.  The decibel level when the furnace is running is not only high enough to erase all doubt, it’s high enough to inhibit normal activity such as sleep.  We bought a space heater the first week we were here, and use it to heat the space we’re in.  It’s working pretty well.

But then there’s the water system.  In late December our water hose froze solid.  Thankfully no interior pipes were broken.  What’s a snowbird to do?  They make heated insulation for trailer water hoses, and for a while we seriously considered the investment.  Then a practical trailer owner advised us, “Just fill up your tanks.”  Brilliant! We knew they worked as we’d used them at Washington Lake. 

I forgot about the downside of filling the tanks – you have to refill them when they run out.  Last year in Chasing Water I envisioned myself running out of water mid-shower.  Well, it happened yesterday.  Expletives began sputtering out of my mouth as the water sputtered to a few dribbles and then nothing.  It was my nightmare come true – my hair was full of shampoo; my body covered in soap, and no water! 

I shouted to my husband in the next room.  After he picked himself up from rolling on the floor laughing (I did not witness this due to the soap in my eyes, but I know it was happening), he hooked the hose back to the tap and restored the water.  Looking back, it was kind of funny.  Oh, OK, really and truly hilarious!

We’re here in Hurricane for another couple of months.  Hopefully the warmer days are headed our way.