Saturday, May 14, 2011

Title goes here.

Outdoor showers, y’all! Cabanas are for wimps. It peaked somewhere over 90° this afternoon; it was so hot the bugs just sat down in the shade and implied they’d like to bite us. I emailed Annie a birthday hug. I couldn’t cool down until I got into my showering clothes and got wet. [picture deleted]
I did not use the water from this to shower:
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But, I did use it to wash dishes. Free heat! People should harness this sort of thing. I set it out this morning with about a gallon of water in it, and by afternoon it was HOT.

We walked down this great road
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and accidentally found a way better camping spot, even though this spot is the best spot. You know what I’m saying. I was completely happy with this site until I saw the Eden of boondocking sites 200 yards down the road. It’s like they say: the ground is always leveler at the other campsite.

The whippoorwill hasn’t begun his love song yet (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease), so things are looking up for snoozing down.

Our inverter won’t stay on, which is mostly only a nuisance because I can’t charge my toys efficiently. I can run our mini inverter, which is probably more efficient than running a big one, except that the power is coming from different sources.

Did we tell you about our LP gas detector? Whenever it got the whim, it would alarm and shut off the solenoid that let LP into the coach. Turning it back on could take an hour of effort, or a day. You do want a gas detector, but you don’t want a gas enforcer. Making the bad worse was the sensor going off because of low battery power.  Because we HAD HAD ENOUGH OF THIS, Annie removed the solenoid, which was also connected somehow to the hardwired CO detector. We replaced the sensors with stand-alone units, and immediately our house batteries began to last longer. Now we easily go a day and a half to two days between generator charges; before, going a full day was extravagant neglect. [Update: we’re at two days, and the house batteries are still measuring ~12.3V. We may be creating energy from nothing, which isn’t that hard to believe.]
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"For cosmetic use only."  Like me.
 SparkyPants is about to start her first-ever fuel filter replacement, and I can't imagine there will be anything to report there.

11 comments:

Kimbopolo said...

Oh the humidity!!!

Brutal, ain't it?

Love the photo!!! Make that your "about the author" pic.

Teri said...

At the end of the month I'm heading to Texas, I know it will be hot, and I hope I won't complain. Today it is damp and cold and I can't wait to get out of here.

Anonymous said...

What kind of stand alone units did you get? So, without the solenoid your LP gas won't automatically turn off in the event of a gas leak? That sounds kind of dangerous?

Travels with Emma said...

If I walked into your campsite, I bet the bugs would come to attention! They love me no matter the weather. Me...not so much. :(

Carolyn said...

That is a GREAT picture!

Tesaje said...

So, you have wheels and can go anywhere you want. So why are you in the deep south as summer is a commin?

It is a great pic.

JuneBug, Milta and SnowPea said...

I seeing a great profile pic... LOL! You so right about the whole solar bag - awesome FREE element and one we use when we boondock - would rather save the propane for heat in the shhhhhh winter.

Evielynne
http://rvtravelingpets.blogspot.com

¡Vizcacha! said...

Teri and Kim, I'm wondering how much we'll bellyache in the desert. I predict A LOT. I've never lived west of Ohio, so I am ready to experience "but it's a DRY heat."

Anon, we got the kind you buy at Lowe's, which I know is way more specific than you were looking for. Many months ago, when we consulted our guru, Fletch, he told us that the LP facists were no longer standard in new coaches. I think the greatest danger is traveling with gas on (which many people do); otherwise it's pretty much like sitting in your house with no solenoid to shut off the gas.

Judy, we need you to travel with us as a decoy ... I mean COMPANION. Where we are right now it's not so intense, and I'm just grateful that the cicadas aren't predatory, because they are HUGE and plentiful.

Evielynn, you're on dangerous ground, using the "W" word around here.

Tesaje, we're really headed, slow and sure, to my mother's place in Florida.

Thanks about the photo. It was the glasses. Carolyn, I still love that adorable Piglet icon.

Anonymous said...

I haven't even seen your boondocking site, but I'm already jealous and convinced it's better than ours. It's the boondocking-law-of-nature.
Nina

kim said...

love how you write, keep me laughing for sure. enjoying following your travels!

Tesaje said...

Ya know, cicadas are edible... Just sayin'