People shop early in Kelowna! By the time I got up at 8, manoeuvring out of the parking lot would have been a real challenge. I popped the hood and saw nothing amiss, then started Miranda. She purred and idled beautifully, but I didn’t try to put her in D and move out of the spot.

First order of business was to see how Walmart would feel about my staying a day and second night here if I had to, and then to find some help. No sense wasting time here if they were going to make me move on.

Walmart required some groveling, writing a letter to management, leaving a note on my dash, and promising to spend oodles of money here. I wish I could have actually spoken to management and laid out my case: why make me move to an RV park when the garage I found is literally only a couple of blocks away?

The first place I called this morning was the Ford dealership. They couldn’t accommodate a 31′ motorhome. I’m learning to not take no for an answer and pushed the lady to refer me to someone else, which she did.

I called these other folks and gave only the bare bones story to secure an appointment. They can see me at 8AM tomorrow, which is perfect since it’ll enable me to manoeuvre out of the Walmart parking lot before it’s choked with cars.

The man I spoke to asked for a bit more of the story and told me I surely have one of three problems, all of which are at the top of my list, too: leaky or loose hose, clogged fuel intake, clogged air filter. If it’s a best case scenario, which is that there is no actual problem except a sensor that needs to be reset, I’m looking at $73 bucks with tax. Otherwise, I’m probably looking at a $122 job with tax. Worst case scenarios aren’t even worth considering at this point.

He told me “There’s no reason to panic, this is likely something minor!” and I had to smile since I haven’t been panicking. I know enough about the causes for a check engine light to not be worried about a super costly repair. I’m just still pissed off that this had to happen in the middle of nowhere in some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen!!!

Once I have had Miranda looked at and know that I can hit the road, I will decide if I’m moving to the RV park early or not, provided they can accommodate me.