After a power visit, driveway camping with friends in MN near the twin cities, I headed north. Between a late start and lots of stops I only made it 60 miles to St. Cloud. That was Sunday, October 5. I was still trying to kick a head cold that I really didn't want to become a chest cold. The last couple days I was sleeping more so I hoped my immune system was turning the corner. I ended up napping away Sunday afternoon as well.
On Monday I
After finishing house chores in MA it was fall in New England. So I headed north to spend a few days in NH. One of my favorite places is the White Mts NF. I camped there a few days while waiting for new tires that I had ordered for my truck. It would've been nice to hike a few trails. But a
I know. It's been a while since I've posted. Not for lack of content. To the contrary, I've been busy. Lame but true. This spring we needed some distance from motorhome headaches. With those problems parked in CO storage we hit the road in Blacky The Wonder Tundra towing lil' yeti. We spent
After storage business in Pueblo we headed east on US-50. West of the Rockies this two-lane shunpike still evokes its reputation as America's Loneliest Highway. East of Colorado's front range, however, small towns adorn the road like charms on a bracelet. Baxter, Devine, Avondale, Fowler, Manzanola, Rocky Ford, Swink, La Junta.
I've driven past the sign
Leaving Ash Meadows we didn't get an early start. Instead of going east through Las Vegas and hot rodding our engines to pull steeper grades we went south to Baker CA. The plan was to cut through Mojave Preserve to I-40. But gentle headwind and uphill grade proved too much for
Last year the old motorhome suffered a mechanical meltdown. It overheated on a long, steep pass. The engine siezed and died on the side of the road. Hard down. The fallout was a major pain between getting it towed and finding a shop to fix it. Plus a six week wait and a huge kick in the wallet. Suffice it to say that such a hard lesson motivates increased preventive measures going forward.
Since avoiding mountains altogether is not an option, the trick is
The motorhome uses a typical 30A power cord. Sometimes that's not quite enough power. Recently we discovered it's just barely enough and apparently more often than we realized. Last night the microwave flickered and stuttered. No circuits tripped so I check the power post. There was arcing at the connection between
At Death Valley National Park we had a special place in staff housing for community campfires. Instead of an open fire a 55-gallon steel drum had been turned into an oven. A tall flue pipe kept smoke out of our faces and clothes. Once fired up it radiated heat in all directions so we'd circle lawn chairs all around it. The closed fire barrel also