Posts

Showing posts from 2014

Buddha, felis catus and cervidae, first nuke,
two sides of dull, spaces in-between, printers,
car talk, and a singing nun

Image
I stayed in southern Utah later than I have in previous years; it’s sure beautiful. I was trying to prolong the time of freedom before getting back to the state parks. They aren’t bad, just restrictive. Well, the showers can be bad. One park has the showers turned off by the time I get there and three of the other five parks I tend to use have pretty poor showers. Guano. But, I most assuredly need my annual social fix. Meeting new people and touching base with those I’ve come to know over past winters. It would be way unhealthy to always hard-wall camp off-the-grid with no one around to talk with. I eventually get acclimated to RVing each winter; it’s just strange. Neighbors, people always around, numerous rigs, outside night lights, noise, dogs, designated parking spots, close to a city; typical realm of the full-timer. I generally find it dull. Maybe not so much dull as mundane, common, almost has the feel of living in a trailer park or having a place in town. What I value in my

wuss, soaring, stickers, under the sun and moon,
and Susan’s photos with captions

Image
I was wondering if I was going to be able to stay here until the end of November. These roads get slick when wet. There was a dusting of snow on November 3rd and I was thinkin’, uh-oh. The inside temp on the morning of the 4th was 38. Then the cold spell hit in the middle of the month. The first morning’s inside temp was 34. It’s too early in the cold season to deal with outside temps going down into the teens at night—so I wimped out. A few nights, I kept the Wave 6 on, set to its lowest setting (I think it is 1500 BTUs, no much but it worked quite well). I felt like such a wuss. Other than the two back-to-back nights a few years ago with minus 6 and 8 temps, I think this the only other time I’ve had heat on through the night while dry camping. One thing I looked for when deciding on a trailer was having a window at the head of the bed. It’s cracked open even on the coldest nights. One day it was pretty much overcast and I spent a good deal of time working at the table with all

back in Utah, freedom for M&M, tires, night sky,
4th camera, conversation, and artwork

Image
I reread last month’s page and added a paragraph after the one about solo hiking. It sounded a bit off to me and needed to be clarified. I also added something about nada guides. It’s the reference I always use when looking for the value of used RVs. I had someone visit me here for a few days, so I also went back to last month’s page and added a paragraph on solo RVers/campers and depression. I added it after the paragraph on, ‘Not everyone is suited for full-timing.’ Maybe I should change the name of this site to, ‘Simple Mishmash.’ Podcasts got me through the two days of driving from Salida to Utah—5 Car Talks, 3 Wait, Wait…, and 4 stories from The Moth. Four slow climbs provided plenty of time for listening; two at 25-30 mph. And I have an 8 cylinder! I stopped in Montrose on the way to Utah and RVed for three days, electric hookup but didn’t bother with water or sewer. It was like a mini vacation with having wi-fi, Pandora internet radio, and cell phone coverage. And hot

14,000’, how long can a short move take!
parallel universe, woodpecker II, hiking,
potential full-timers, and a bud room

Image
The top of Huron Peak @ 14,003’ with Susan and Joey. The 10 mile hike was tough; wish we could have gotten the car closer but the access road was a bit too much for it. Other than for one of the summers when I was housesitting in Chama, I’m probably in the best condition since my transplant (not saying I have a whole lot of muscle tone, however). I’ve been doing numerous variations of squats and lunges this year and been hiking, running, and biking. All pretty much worthless to me above 12,000’. If it wasn’t for Susan pulling me along, there is no way I would have kept goin’. I’m sure glad I did it but I ain’t doin’ another 14 (well, maybe if I develop dementia and forget what it’s like). It became just a trudge for me and that’s not why I hike or really do any of the active things I enjoy doing. Sure felt like a wuss. Didn’t feel all that bad the next day, which was an exceedingly pleasant surprise. By far the most difficult physical thing I’ve done since my medical problems. Sus

more on the July page, at the water’s edge,
hard-wall camping, did something about it
floor vents and housework exercise,
salads, sawdust, and close encounters with predators

Image
I know, I know, this page is late, once again. I had to pre-date it before I uploaded it so it showed up in August. I only got into town once in August and I did not have the page finished at that time. On my last town-run, I added four paragraphs to the July page: town-run days, a safety thing, and what I do with the campsite before leaving on a town trip to make it look like I’m not alone, am in the area, will be back soon, and have friends coming. Do a FIND for ‘Consider doing’ and it should take you to the first paragraph. I sure do like living in the Nash 17K—it’s like a ‘mama bear rig,’ just right (I’m tweaking the fairy tale). My Jayco and Holiday Rambler were ‘papa bear rigs,’ both had too much space. The Casita was a ‘baby bear rig,’ too little for fulltiming. Nor have I come across a floor plan that better fits my lifestyle. There’s enough room to exercise inside when I want to and the back three windows are priceless when out off-the-grid. A common setup in 5th wheel