What did you do today

[dbhosttexas]

Took my wife into Houston for a haircut, got the clipper cut redone. I don't have a lot of hair left so clipper cut is fine...

Ran into a family friend in town, who ended up giving me a 42 gallon fresh water tank and 12v pump, 1.5GPM I believe for the camper build. They are stripping out an old rotted out class C and know I was looking to source up build supplies for the camper... The water tank is kind of big, but I think it won't be too bad. I was aiming for a 30 gallon tank for weight concerns, but I can deal with this...

[noseoil]

We went to Cimarron (northern New Mexico) yesterday to look at camp sites for a short "out of town" camping trip coming up next week. On the way to Taos & Angel Fire there's a small campground with running water nearby, cool evenings & a narrow canyon with trout in the streams. We just want to get out of Raton for a couple of days & we've never been to that campground, so a short recon trip to see available camp sites was in order. We've driven past this area, but never stopped in it to drive around.

As we were looking around, I stopped & asked a young couple about their trailer (Daniel & Tenille). It's one of the retro look Shasta 16' Airflyte limited edition runs from 2015. What I noticed first was a small mini-split, which was mounted on the front toward the tongue. Turns out the couple is from northern Texas & the AC installation was done by the owner, not by a shop. He said it went well & was pretty easy to set up. We spent a little while with them, talked about things and found two very nice people. They met at their local grocery store (town of 2,000) & were celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary. He works at the local refinery in the equipment/repair shop working on steam turbines, pumps & machinery. Sounds like a pretty handy guy to have around & his wife works in the local grade school, to help out & keep an eye on their two boys. They have a little land & raise their own beef so the family can eat well. They went to look at beef at their local store recently & ended up with chicken, since beef was too expensive now.

I guess what I was most taken with about them was just their basic common decency, strong value system of hard work & manners, & how good they are as human beings. I mentioned to Alice on our way home that they would never make it on the news, since they were middle class, hard working & successful in their lives. They were happy people who just worked, raised their children & enjoyed life in a small town where things were good.

How unfortunate it is that we are constantly burdened with the bad news of strife, America as a "bad" nation and the "terrible inequality" which is the mantra of today's media. Nice to see a young couple whose glass is half full! We're looking forward to a good couple of days to see a new area & unlimber the trailer for a post-covid run. I'm sure there will be interesting people as well!

[Tom&Shelly]

Got friends cabin sitting and drove to Upstate New York. (Okay, that actually took 4 days.)

Stayed in state parks in Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, and a national forest in Pennsylvania, which were all beautiful in their own way, but we didn't stop much to look around. Leads to a question about what states we should color in. I'm thinking for full color, we need to spend at least a day (and two nights in the teardrop) there. Shelly disagrees. So maybe cross-hatching for the ones we only spent a night? Maybe color the outline of states (like Texas) we drove through without stopping in? (We'll head down to Big Bend some Winter and cover Texas, promise!) Tomorrow, we'll clean up a family member's house here, but we're not sleeping in the teardrop tonight, so I don't think I can even color in NY just yet. Soon!

When I get some time, I will report on the state parks we stayed in, with a few pictures of the campsite, in the highway tales folder.

Tear worked well the whole way. We've got a little water leaking from the AC into the utility compartment that I need to figure out, or at least dam up so our equipment doesn't get wet. We used the AC with shore power in OK, and MO. Didn't need it in Ohio or PA. I don't think solar is going to work for us up here, as we haven't seen blue sky since Indiana. However, we drained the battery to 96% last night watching a DVD, but the 4 hours of driving this morning charged it right back up to 100%.

Lot's of road construction around Indianapolis that killed the schedule surplus we built up the two days before.

Last item of importance--our cat hates camping, but is fine only using the litter box every other day. Sure wish I could do that!

Tom

[dbhosttexas]

Unless my wife has other ideas, my plan is to set up the tent, and finish the seam sealing. Yesterday was iffy, today is good warm, and dry...

[JunkMan]

I'm thinking for full color, we need to spend at least a day (and two nights in the teardrop) there. Shelly disagrees. So maybe cross-hatching for the ones we only spent a night? Maybe color the outline of states (like Texas) we drove through without stopping in? (We'll head down to Big Bend some Winter and cover Texas, promise!) Tomorrow, we'll clean up a family member's house here, but we're not sleeping in the teardrop tonight, so I don't think I can even color in NY just yet. Soon!
Tom

If I go there, I color it. Just because you didn't spend the night doesn't mean that you haven't been there. I would bet most people color every state they pass thru, not just the ones the spend the night in. But, it's your map and your rules.

[dbhosttexas]

Finally freed up the old Slumberjack stuff sack. Stowed potable water components, hose, filter, pressure regulator etc... and stowed them in the stuff sack.

Found an old polyester taffeta laundry bag and stowed the Tac Light Lanterns, and ceiling fan / LED lights. I have 2 of the fans, and 6 of the lanterns. Basically a bag o' light...

Just realized how much I have in the way of battery consuming devices. Need to order another box of AA batteries for the lanterns. I have plenty of D cell batteries for the fans...

Dug up another orphaned sleeping bag stuff sack, an old Swiss Gear. Wrapped up, and stashed the Zodi pumps in there.

Yes I know I have to come up with a container for my kitchen gadges, but not wanting to stow them here... Maybe the dish towels, washrags, hot pads etc...

[dbhosttexas]

I had a gift card for Lowes that needed to get used before it was invalidated. I found they had the Camplux 5L for $129.99, $30.00 under the MSRP and pretty much anywhere else I could find it, so I ordered it, $100.00 gift card done, after taxes, $40.71 spent....

So now I am kind of committed, I NEED to set up bulk propane in my rig.

Been feverish, and had a touch of nausea, so I got tested. No 'rona, go home and get better. Feel like crud, no idea what is going on... Modern factory medicine. Bleh.

Spent some time practicing mortise and tenon joinery.

Stowed my sleeping bags, uncompressed, into large totes. I am remodelling the house, and the master suite closet is being emptied to de-texture the walls and cedar line them...

I am considering how to integrate the water heater into the plumbing system in the camper. Again, simplicity is key.

[saltydawg]

What did I do today. well I cut and welded up a 5x9 frame with a dexter 9 axle. And I finished up the electrification of a little guy trailer, it now has lights, a fan, usb power points and 50 watts of solar charging a 35ah agm battery.

[RJ Howell]

Ran I section of the NEBDR couple days ago and stayed up in the WMNF in New Hampshire!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tKABceV1Cs&t=23s

[working on it]

What did I do today. well I cut and welded up a 5x9 frame with a dexter 9 axle. And I finished up the electrification of a little guy trailer, it now has lights, a fan, usb power points and 50 watts of solar charging a 35ah agm battery.

https://www.meme-arsenal.com/en/create/meme/2386970

231a8e78c194d33fbb8e0c2cee2ac947.jpg (75.65 KiB) Viewed 664 times

[tony.latham]

Well.. yesterday we were headed to a nice little lake in the woods. And then this thing happened:



Damn. The area was evacuated and we headed home.

Tony

[bdosborn]

we had a lot fires last summer here in CO, we were ordered to evacuate our cabin as the fire came within a mile or so of us. Hoping this year will be a little better than last.

Bruce

[twisted lines]

The last few days I have been working on tail light's,
It's get'n hot around here; The whole Country sees the smoke



'

[saltydawg]

What did I do today. well I cut and welded up a 5x9 frame with a dexter 9 axle. And I finished up the electrification of a little guy trailer, it now has lights, a fan, usb power points and 50 watts of solar charging a 35ah agm battery.

231a8e78c194d33fbb8e0c2cee2ac947.jpg

okay fine.

first the frame and the guy who its for. You can see the little guy in the back.
then the power for the little guy. 35 ah agm, 50 watts solar, inside and outside lights plus usb power points

[bdosborn]

I picked up our new 2021 Ford Transit cargo van today. I shall become a hippie and move into the van.

Bruce