We got up a little earlier than usual and there was a nice thin pink cloud layer — the first clouds we've had in days! We got ready to go and left around 7:20.

We headed up towards Guardsman Pass. Our first stop was for some nice red maple leaves right up against an aspen trunk (far left). We continued heading up the road and stopped many times along the way to photograph the red and orange maples and the yellow aspens on the hillsides, and we could even include the sky with some clouds! The clouds weren't nice puffy clouds that would have been more interesting, but the thin wispy clouds were better than nothing (near left).
We went to Bandit's Bar & Grill in Park City around 11:50 for lunch. I had a Tri-Tip Sandwich ("Our most popular sandwich since 1990. Tender slices of Fresh U.S.D.A. Choice tri-tip with combination of the following: caramelized onions, charred bell peppers and cheese. Served on a steak roll with choice of seasoning") with Swiss cheese and barbeque sauce and sweet-potato fries. J had half a Pulled Beef Sandwich and a Salad. The Tri-Tip Sandwich was awesome — the best sandwich I've had in years! We left around 12:25.

We went to the Home Depot at nearby Silver Creek Junction to pick up some parts to fix the electrical system in the RV.

Then we went to the Best Buy at Kimball Junction to look at GPS units. I was disappointed that they didn't have the Garmin Oregon 450 GPS in the store because they had it online.

Then we went to the WalMart to pick up some things, then to Staples to use a gift card that was going to expire at the end of the month.

Then we stopped at a Verizon Wireless Store in Heber City to see if I could get an external antenna cable for my USB727 stick, and they didn't carry the cables. :(

We returned to the RV around 3:20 and I started to work on the RV electrical system. Before replacing the connectors that were contributing to our problem, I worked on permanently installing the wiring for our Flojet Macerator Pump. Up until now, I had had to throw a coil of wire under the RV and then connect it to the house batteries using alligator clips to power the macerator. I had put off doing the permanent installation because it's not much fun to route wires along the underside of the RV, especially when we're boondocked on a rough surface. I decided to do the final installation today because I would have to break into the positive and negative terminals of the house battery system which would mean shutting everything down while I made those connections. Because I'd have to break into those connections to fix the problems with our electrical system, I decided to take advantage of that shut down to install the wiring for the macerator. The hardest part of running the wire for the macerator was getting it out of the back of the compartment where the switch and wire to the macerator are located. I used the same hole as the fuel line and fuel vent line, but then it was difficult to get the wire around the corner and then forward of the fuel tank. Once I got it forward of the fuel tank, it was rather straight forward to get it up and over to the battery compartment. We shut everything down before I broke into the positive terminal connections at our house battery bank. As I was getting ready to replace the connectors on the main positive lines to the coach, I discovered that one of the positive lines to the Link 10 battery monitor had corroded through at a butt joint. :( (The Link-10 has two positive lines: one to power the unit and one to provide an accurate measurement of the voltage at the battery.) So, I replaced both butt joints for the positive lines to the Link-10 then wrapped them with electrical tape to try to keep out moisture and salt. Then I replaced the connectors on the two large positive lines to the coach and also on another positive line for the coach. I wrapped each connector and the wire leading up to it judiciously with electrical tape to provide more support to try to keep the wire strands from bending so much right at the joint. Then I worked on the negative side of the battery — the load side of the shunt for the Link-10 actually. The main negative line from the coach had two butt joints within the battery compartment, and the connection at one of them was faulty. By rerouting the wire, I was able to remove the two butt joints and just had to put a new connector on the wire before the second old butt joint. I also wrapped that new connector and wire and the line to the macerator with electrical tape to provide more support. I buttoned everything up, and the battery compartment was looking better than ever. I put away my tools and cleaned up the trash, then ...

I came back inside the RV around 7:15 very sore and a bit cold because the temperature had started to drop when the sun went behind the nearby mountain around 6:50.

We had dinner around 7:25 of leftover pork loin chops, rice, and a California medley of veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots). J added some queso to the veggies this time to kick them up a notch.

J did the dishes and I took a shower. I started to consider getting a cheap GPS for backcountry use and a second GPS for automotive use because that option would cost about the same as a backcountry GPS that can also do turn-by-turn directions on roads but not as nicely as a dedicated automotive unit. For backcountry use, the Garmin eTrex Summit HC GPS is very similar to our near base model Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS, but it has an electronic compass which would be a nice addition. I downloaded and then downselected the images I took this morning, then looked for Garmin eTrex Summit HC GPS units on eBay before going to bed.