We decided to get on the road early this morning…before the paralyzing heat descended upon us once again, so we were up and getting ready at 6:00 AM. Even then it was already quite warm and by the time we got on the road at 8:00 AM, the thermometer was reading 24C (75.2F). The drive north on I-5 was beautiful and I did get another picture or two of Mt. Shasta. Just as we were approaching Mount Shasta City we heard the unwelcome whooshing sound we had experienced once before on our trip to Redding and our Moho lost its power!

We limped into Mount Shasta City and Rick discovered that the same hose that had come loose the last time, had once again come apart. It seems the bolt was stripped and luckily we had pulled into a parking lot directly across from a hardware store where he found a replacement. Repaired at last, we headed back onto the highway and our next destination (or so we thought!). We were not two minutes on the road when we both heard the hose pop and we lost power once again! (This couldn’t have happened at a worse place as there was construction going on and we were reduced to one lane.) Rick pulled off onto the next off-ramp and as luck would have it, there was a tire retailer just around the corner. They sent us up the highway to the next exit where a truck garage was located. The mechanic told us that at least twice a week he has trucks, buses and RV’s coming to him with the same problem.

It seems with such mountainous roads, this “weakness” in large engines is a common problem but easily resolved, usually with just a new clamp. Rick bought two new clamps, one much heavier than the original (which had fallen off with the last whoosh), and installed it himself and once again we headed north on I-5. We arrived at the Deerwood RV Park in Eugene shortly before 5, about three hours later than we should have but everything is fine and our Cummins engine is once again performing like it should. Today we saw highs of 37.5C (100F) but now we are enjoying a cool breeze and 24C (76F)… a pleasant relief and we are looking forward to more seasonal weather over the next few days.