Missoula, MT

Tuesday - It is definitely warmer than it has been the last couple of weeks. Today’s forecast is for a high of 85°F. This morning, we went to REI and Costco. We are looking for appropriate clothing for an upcoming trip. 

The Costco stop was to replace several food items that we weren’t allowed to bring into the U.S. from Canada. 

I also set up the JPC-12 antenna to check my Winlink email. I need to use a “form” with the check-in email that I will send out this evening. The form is just a method of delivering data in a pre-defined format. 

Wednesday - The Winlink email was sent last night about ten minutes after midnight Eastern Time using the RMS in eastern Oregon. After it was sent, I tried the Las Vegas RMS and easily established a connection. I'm amazed at how well 40m works at night, not well at all during the day.

I participated in the morning test session. The only Starlink issue is the number of WiFi access points. This is not unusual at most RV parks since just about every RV has an AP of some sort these days. Whether it Starlink or a cellular hotspot. Plus, the park itself has quite a few APs scattered around on poles. 

Today was another relaxing day visiting with friends without ridiculous temperatures or humidity. 

Thursday - I participated in the morning test session from behind the RV. It was a cool 66°F at 10am. The forecast for this afternoon is for 91°F. 

This morning after the test, I broke out the tools to tighten all the bolts on the tow bar. They aren’t torqued but just have locknuts so I just made sure that they were not loose. 

The sink drain is still leaking. Very little water but you can feel moisture above the trap. I think the P-trap may need replacing as the hand-tight coupler to the sink may be cracked from repeated tightening. It’s always something if you have an RV.

This afternoon, we went to the visitor center for the Missoula Smokejumpers. There was a nice, small museum but the tours were already done for the day.