Lithium Grease

Woodstock, New Brunswick

Today was a maintenance day. I sprayed lithium grease on the Bounder's self-leveling hydraulic jack piston arms and fashioned a clamp to hold the tailpipe from the big V-10 in place. The bolt securing the tailpipe broke when I put to RV in the ditch in April. The bolt did not lend itself to a replacement solution so Mrs. Pred recommend a plumber's pipe clamp, which seems like it should work. The self-leveling jacks were a puzzle. One had a very obvious grease fitting and the other three did not. I'll look again later after I buy a grease gun.

We did laundry all day in the RV's little Italian washer/dryer and washed both the Toyota and the RV. Mrs. Phred cleaned the RV furniture and vacuumed out both vehicles. We made a trip to the local ATM for Loonies and on to the grocery store. Food prices seem to be 50-75% higher here than in the states. Wine and gas are definitely about 40-50% more.

I think the higher prices mean that the American dollar is greatly undervalued in relation to the Looney. Canadians should be slipping over the border in droves to buy gas and groceries, moving the exchange rate away from near parity. On the other hand, we need Canadian resources so much that our purchases of minerals, wood and oil have driven down the relative value of the American dollar.

This campground is a Passport America. That means that they offer 1/2 price camping to those of us who are Passport America members. It's on the lake formed when the St. Johns was dammed to generate cheap and clean electricity. The office has a bar and slot machines. They provide free and fast wifi to campers. They even let us wash our vehicles, which is usually verboten. As you can see from the pictures, the views from the BBB are great.

The Campground is called Cozy Cabins. It's in Woodstock. Definitely use it if you get up this way. It's right where I-95 terminates in Canada, 120 miles north of Bangor. The guy that just pulled in next door teaches at a University in Georgia. He's moving fast with two kids, a wife and a chocolate lab. We talk tenure for awhile. I got it. He's up for it. I give him my fifty cent copy of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". I always give it away like a Mormon hawking the small truths that I cherish. Maybe it will help him with tappets or children?

We're not terribly hopeful about telephone service or wifi as we move on up North to the remote Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. Maybe we'll call Kenny today and wish him a happy birthday a couple of days early.