Yesterday (Saturday) it was rainy and chilly so we didn't venture out. Sharon observed that one of our waste holding tanks was full so Rick went out to drain it. He pulled the handle but nothing happened. After poking around a little it was clear that the problem was beyond what we could handle so after a quick Google search we called a local shop that does house calls: the R.V. Medic.

The "EMT" showed up about 4 p.m. with his son and his first observation was that we are from Pocatello (he noticed our 1B license plate). He grew up in Boise but left about 15 years ago because he didn't like the winter weather - and after a tour of Arizona he and his family settled in Cottonwood. He says it is too hot in Phoenix and too cold in Flagstaff and Cottonwood is the perfect compromise.

It turns out that the problem with our holding tank was not that the drain was clogged (as we assumed) but that the valve was actually broken (the handle no longer was connected to the valve although we could pull it out and slide it in just as before when it functioned correctly). His son cut enough of the valve housing away that he could open the valve with needle-nose pliers and drain the tank into the septic system (which is good because this is the toilet holding tank). Once the tank was drained he disconnected the old valve and installed a new one - problem solved. Unfortunately, it was a weekend and an emergency so we had to pay double.

Prior to his arrival he described over the phone the process for clearing a clog attempting to prepare us for our possible participation. The technique is to use water pressure to force the clog back into the tank under the toilet (this may be more info than you care to hear). This would require one of us to bail out the toilet as the fluid rises. He assured us that he had good rubber gloves and buckets for us to use (he also said he has done it dozens of  times and it has always been an effective method). Thankfully we didn't have to participate at that level.

The rainy weather is over and it is sunny and is supposed to get up to the mid 60s today and into the 70s and low 80s through the rest of the week. So we will probably have some more interesting blog entries over the next several days as we venture out into the countryside - or maybe not. After all, we are retired and in no hurry to do anything - just enjoy what we are doing while we are doing it.