Having a ball getting my bearings: Datil, New Mexico

I've surprised myself at how comfortable I feel in this little cabin. It must be the bed. I've made a couple of trips into Socorro when The Mall just wouldn't do. But, mostly I sit here and be.

My neighbor, Terri, walked over, up, and around here to visit today, and to bring me veggies. Thank  you!

I keep thinking that it's time to hit the road, and one of these mornings it will be. Definitely within the next few days, because I'm meeting someone I kinda like up in northern New Mexico. He wants to see the cabin, so we'll visit it.

If you know of someone who installs solar power out this way, please do mention them to me. If I had the courage to do it myself, I would. Six-hundred watts would be terrific and 1000W would light me up; it depends on the price differential.

Agua Fria National Monument - a (public) land toilets forgot

I've had my heart set on camping in Agua Fria for a while. A popular site told me there were toilets, and I like toilets, so I went to see them.

This is NOT a toilet.

It was fine.

I got discouraged by the no-toilets at either exit (259 or 256, Route 17). The day was cloudy, my mood was cloudy, the river was cloudy.

I SOSed on Facebook, and got several ideas for overnighting. I chose Sunset Point Rest Area. I know, but let me tell you about it. It's not skeevy. It's pretty busy, so it's not scary, but somehow it's quiet. Maybe because it's off the highway. Anyway, I put up my blackout curtains, put on my hat, and snuggled down happily for the night. There are signs indicating overnight parking is permitted, and other signs encouraging you to rest until you're rested.

Once you're that rested, go to Rock Springs for pie. 

The next day I met my cousin at her hotel. Yay Cousin! She had to go do work stuff, which left me to do hotel stuff on her behalf. That gave me time to figure out stuff. To create a plan. To take over the world.

Go, little tree! We're ROOTING for you! No one LEAVES without an orange. 

I'm camping in a spot not mentioned on the above popular site, and I'll change that later. Lots of you know about it already. It's quiet, except for occasional low-flying jets, whatever. It also has toilets. It's west of Phoenix. 

Brainstorm with me: I want a solar solution to charging my Mac (which uses a weirdo charge connection, the SmartMag). My two solar panels each have a 12v adapter, but neither panel produces enough oomph to charge my computer, and I can't link the two. I'm thinking I need about a 60 watt panel to charge it - does that sound right?

On the other hand, my Poweradd solar charger/battery pack might have what it takes to give it a boost, but I'd need a super-weird USB-to-12v adapter, or an even weirder super-weird USB-to-Magsafe adapter.

Any ideas?

Otherwise, I'm hooked up pretty well. I'm surfing along comfortably with my Millenicom Jetpack and my Wilson Sleek 4G-V, being powered by my Goal Zero solar panel (a Woot impulse purchase).

Monsooner or later?

The tricky part of having no sunshine is that the solar panels feel lonely. It's been eleven days since our batteries filled completely, and it's bringing us all down...to the public library where we can surf, type and recharge. We shut down all 110V systems, and all 12V besides the refrigerator. If we don't pull anything during these cloudy days, we can still make juice. But, not juice.

Everything else loves the rain. Listen for the sighs.

Once you're out here, you'll notice other people living "the life." We've run into Gail a couple of times, and another guy who stayed a while down in Willard Springs. Lots of places to be, but no particular hurry to be in them. One fellow lives in a bright yellow bus. Slender man, long, wild, gray hair? Has a dog? Wears his shirt open all the time? I'm describing him so you'll know what to tell the rangers, because Annie looked out the window in our no-neighbors campsite to see him standing and staring at the Duck. Dude. Don't make me load my egg cannon. This is no yolk.

I dreamed it was my son's 21st birthday, and I wrote him an amusing essay about Alexander McCall Smith, who, it turns out, is a very funny, very large, African-American gay man. [Mr. Smith may contact me to smooth out the details of my characterization, of course, but once written on the Internet, good luck with that.] Hope you like it five years ago, Phil!

http://www.aspencountry.com/assets/product_images/garden_fountains.html

Solar ducks are not a bad idea.

Speaking of crossing over ...

I may be in heaven, or Arizona.

Our shrubbery

Our sunset

Our mountain

Teddybear cactus.  Go ahead.  Hug me.

The thing in the center that looks out of place: us

RAWR!
[Object shown 1000X actual size.]

We're going solar!  With the savvy help of Darlene and Nicole, Annie is installing two 135-watt panels on the roof of the Duck.  There have been long, erudite discussions about electricity, Ohm's Law, Thomas Edison, and Handy Bob.  I have been pleased to contribute to these conversations by photographing them.

Rear air conditioner is OUTTA HERE!

And, so are we!  Please avoid eating our dust!*
Thanks, Dale and Lu, for the sweet ride.


Annie found a Magic Wish Granter:
  Think about bacon...

  ... receive bacon.

It was broken.

*Back in New York, Carolyn just said "Roxanne, you are SO posing for that picture."  Nuh uh.  I rode over the entire desert back there.  Once, I said yeehaw, or possibly auggghh.


Once I drop this load of information on you, we're heading back into the desert to commence with stuff, like solarizing and maybe doing laundry.  I hope you're all having as much fun as I am.  Occasionally I stop enjoying myself to wish I had internet connection, and then I know it's time for town.  See you then!

P.S.  I love it here.

Content-rich.

I have three full things to say, plus whatever comes into my head while I'm writing.

1. There is a newish boondocking forum at Cheap RV Living Forum.  Look for me, GoodLuckDuck - I'm the one who hasn't said anything.
2. We decided to wait at least until we hit Florida to invest in anything solar.  I still really like the direct hook-up of the model we showed  you instead of another complex system hook-up.
3. The RV Shrink talks about cat traveling here.  Do not argue with him;  he is a professional.
4. [33% more content FREE!]  Cats can compress for easy storage.

   

Solar power the low-tech way.

Sunshine in the Northeast ... everyone look ... NOW.  Oh sorry - too slow.  Sunshine = FREE HEAT DAY!  It's a little technical:

1)  open the curtains
2)  have free heat

Through no planning of our own, our windshield points easty and our big windows point southish, and in that way we accidentally installed passive solar.

Lately (since Monday) we've been tempted by this (it will click through to AM Solar in Oregon, who sells them):





but the 120 W model.  I haven't really thought it through.  Would we use this to charge the big battery bank, or the small house battery up front?  Hold up ... Okay, I just discussed it with Pants, who reasons that we would use it to charge the big bank, which supplies the small house battery, which supplies the small house.

We have a friendly disagreement about the application of solar technology.  One of us would like to install a system right now.  One of us wants to wait until we're somewhere where people install solar systems on RVs instead of  where they say Boy, seems like you could do that somehow.  This intermediate solution might make both of us grin.

If you know anything about this company or this product, we'd like to know what you know.

Pants is home early today with something contagious.  Send tom yum soup wishes.