KittenBiscuits

...The semi was headed west when its raised bed slammed into the overhead sign near mile marker 200 as it approached the I-64/I-295 split.

Virginia State Police said the crash happened shortly after 9:30 a.m.

"The cab continued on and then stopped, obviously, because it had separated from the bed of the tractor-trailer," Matt Demlein, a spokesperson for Virginia State Police, said. "We're still investigating as to what led up to it actually hitting the sign. It was empty at the time."

Troopers do not know why the bed was raised or how long it was up before the crash. But officials said the truck had stopped at a weigh station about a mile earlier, which is equipped with cameras...

This might fit better in the DIY group but here goes.

How do I know when it's time to have the septic system pumped out?

We had a new one installed 3 years ago. It was an upgrade in size. I'm not sure the capacity. It was negotiated to be done as part of our purchase contract, and the old owners didn't give us a copy of their contract with the installer. Just the inspector's report that plans were adequate for the number of bathrooms we have.

There are only 2 of us. We don't put that much water into the system. But we've been having a LOT of rain. Over 5" in the last week and a half, and over 9" since Jul 1. Our elevation is between 1 and 4 ft (not a typo), so the water table is very close to the surface here.

I'm getting periods of methane smell in the house off & on for about a month now. I've run water to make sure all the traps aren't empty. It's possible it could be coming from the vent stack for the washing machine, but it's not all the time.

So with not a lot of use put into the system, is 3 years too early to have it pumped out? How can we tell?

I think I'm learning about myself that no single solution will be my miracle solution. I try things and they work for a bit, then it just wears off.

Well I'm in that place where I'm fed up and looking to try something new.

What apps or non-digital tools do you use to keep yourself on track?

I camp in a travel trailer, and have done 2 road trips so far with the hubby. First trip was Savannah>St. Augustine>Charleston. We were short on choice in Savannah and stuck with a KOA sandwiched between Hwy 17 and 95. It... was a safe place to park and the showers were decent, I'll give it that. The campground in St Augustine was out on the barrier islands and just a whole old Florida vibe (North Beach Camp Resort). I loved the privacy between spots, and the 2 restaurants within waking distance. Not cheap, and not normally our thing, but it was our anniversary. On our way back north we stopped in Charleston at a city park that had a campground (James Island County Park) . It was perfect y'all. Affordable, in/out privileges with a gate code after hours, a lake and a water park on site, wooded campsites with full hookups, and didn't feel crowded even though it was relatively full.

Our second road trip was to a music festival that took us through West Virginia. We stayed in a couple of state parks passing through, and I definitely want to go back in the fall. WV just has beautiful parks, and I got a good dose of "felt like home" even though I'm from southwestern VA.

Being on the east coast, I wish we had more prevalent places to boondock such as BLM land. Sure we've got logging roads in National Forests, but there is also a lot of privately owned property peppered through the forests I'm familiar with, and I'm nervous I'm going to piss someone off by trespassing.

So where all have you been this season? Hit me with ideas!