Sept 2010

Sept 2010 Page 2

Sept 13 - Raising the Pole Sign

Well, here it is. We were given the job of putting in a horizontal pole across the two vertical poles on the road coming into the barn area. The problem was that we did not have anything high enough, so we had to improvise...using both the tractor and a winch.

First get the pole up one side, and support it with some vertical braces.

Then, get the other side up

Too short. So we resort to the scaffolding to finish the job, carving both the vertical and horizontal poles with a recip saw to make them fit!

Nice job...

Sept 17 - Cutting Branches

A tree behind one of the trailers had branches scraping the roof, so we took on the task of removing them.

Then Roger got to cut the limbs the awkward way...Note the ladder on the right bottom.

That was our last day of work there. We cleaned up, packed and got ready to leave tomorrow.

Sept 18 - Edmunston, NB

Before heading south and west towards home, we decided to go back north to New Brunswick through Houlton then up to Edmunston, an area we hadn't been to before. Some sights along the way. .

In the last picture, wooden sculptures of the different peoples that lived in this region.

Came across this old fort. Did you know about the Aroostook War of 1842 that decided the borders of Maine and new Brunswick, and in the process divided the Madawaskas?

An old engine on display.

Sept 19 - Grand Falls, NB

Driving along...great color.

What a sculpture!

Came to Grand Falls. This time of year, the water is slight, but Spring brings torrents of water down the rocky falls.

Sept 20 - Truck Down!

We drove Houlton into the US through Houlton this afternoon (Sunday). A few miles south of Houlton, the truck engine made a sharp noise. Patty asked me what that could be, and I ventured tat it could be a rod. It was. The truck slower down to where it could hardly move and we were fortunate that we found a side depression in the road where we could park away from the traffic. Soon, a police car approached, and he told that it was OK for us to stay there until morning (it was Sunday) and whom to contact for a tow tomorrow. We spent a restless night.

In the morning, we called, and told the tow our predicament. It was to be towed to the Ford dealer in Houlton. He ventured that we were too heavy (12000 lbs) for their small tow truck, and too tall (10.5 feet) for their flat bed (up 4 more feet, but we had to go under a overhead highway with 14 ft clearance), SO he had to bring the BIG TOW.

He tried to hook to the back

Couldn't work. Then to the front.

We got to the dealership, and found that indeed it was a broken rod, and the engine had to be replaced. Cost estimated at $11,600.

Just three months ago, on the way to Montreal from New York State, Patty mentioned that she smelled hot radiator fluid. It was low, so I added a gallon of antifreeze and some Stop Seal. It seems OK until Montreal. It sat in Montreal for a few days while we were with Mimi, but when we started to leave, the engine balked and it spit volumes of water from the tailpipe. After driving a few hundred yards, it was clear we needed some repair work. The Ford dealership in that part of Montreal has overnight mechanics, and we were able to get the truck there (after removing the camper on Mimi's lawn) for repair. It turns out that the cooler for the exhaust recirculation system had rusted out and antifreeze was being pushed into the engine. Repair bill: $3800 Canadian. The mechanic said that he fitted a later model cooling system that had proven to be more reliable.

As the engine sat for a few days, the water had then wetted the bearings and other internal parts, and over the next few thousand miles, the water had finally caused the break.

We were able to park the camper in the back of the dealership, and were provided with an extension cord for our use. We lived there for more than a week.

A young mechanic had just been to Detroit for a workshop on the diesel engine and was primed for tackling the replacement job. The Lord provides.

Here are some pictures taken the next few days.

The new engine comes in a plastic tub.

Sept 21 - Houlton Maine

So...here we are in Maine. For the first week or so, we had no transportation, living in the truck caper parked in the back of the Ford dealership. Fortunately, the town is only about a mile away, and we take frequent walks in the next week to see the fall color and the houses. We quickly became very familiar with the place.