Archive for May, 2006
May 17, 2006 at 7:37 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Last night was beautiful and peaceful, camping under a sky filled with bright stars in the clear desert sky. The two gift shops at the south end of Petrified Forest National Park (just outside the gate) allow overnight parking, and their location is so far from anything that it is quiet all night.
We tested our solar system by using as much as battery power as we wanted last night. By flagrantly using lights, running the laptops off the house batteries, running the water pump a lot (three showers), and running the furnace at night, we managed to consume 55 DC amp-hours of power. This is about the most we’d ever use in a single evening.
This morning, the desert sun began shining early and by 6 a.m. we were generating 3 amps of power. By 8 a.m. we were generating about 8 amps. By noon we hit 12 amps, and by 2 pm, we’d recouped most of the 55 amp-hours we used. (The last 10% or so goes in very slowly because the batteries can’t charge quickly when they are nearing full, regardless of how much power you put in. This is why it’s a waste of gas to try to get your batteries to 100% using a generator.)
We were so excited about working on Emma’s “Junior Ranger” booklet that we all went outside in our pajamas at 7 a.m. to examine the huge chunks of petrified wood that were scattered all around us in the parking lot of the gift shop.
Next stop was the Visitor’s Center at the south end of the park and a short hike through the “Giant Logs” area right behind the Visitor’s Center. While we were there, a couple of friendly lizards posed for us atop the petrified wood.
The next hike was a few miles up the road at Crystal Forest. It was, like all of Petrified Forest National Park, a fascinating site, but Emma was tiring of looking at fossilized trees and so we decided to return to the Airstream for lunch and some cold drinks. Emma completed work for her Junior Ranger badge and shortly thereafter was duly sworn in by Tyra the Ranger. This is her third Junior Ranger badge.
Our goal is still Zion National Park by the weekend, but we decided to make a small detour to Sedona AZ to meet up with Fred and Renee. You might recall we last saw them in Myrtle Beach SC and Charleston SC. They’re on the same westward trek as we are, heading to Oregon for late June. We found them after a harrowing switchback descent from 7000 feet, in the overly-quaint town of Sedona.
Sedona’s main feature, as far as I can tell, is the abundance of towering red rocks which surround the town and the adjacent National Forest. Fred and Renee took us up a rugged dirt road five miles in their Jeep, to see the sunset views.
The views are spectacular, but difficult to capture. I should learn how to make panoramas, for places like this.
Click for larger
We’ve had ice cream and looked at the 180 photos I shot today, and now we’re sacking out. Arizona is a huge and wonderful state with incredible variety, and it seems like every day we spend here completely wears us out from the sheer magnitude of it.
May 16, 2006 at 10:52 pm · Filed under Places to go
Petrified Forest National Park is a lonely exit off I-40 in eastern Arizona. A single road about 25 miles long leads from the north entrance to the south. We came here expecting to see lots of petrified wood, but were surprised how much more there is to be found.
Right off the bat there are incredible views of badlands, and an historic Harvey House restaurant called the Painted Desert Inn. People used to get off the train about 20 miles south and travel by car to stay at this rustic adobe inn at the edge of the cliff overlooking the badlands.
Then we found a Native American pueblo dating from 600-800 years ago, with wonderful petroglyphs. While looking at those, a gorgeous California King snake came by (not venomous). We met a researcher in the parking lot who was studying snakes, so we took him over to the spot we last saw the snake. He already had a western diamondback rattlesnake in the car …
A few miles further down, we finally began to see the remains of forests of large trees, fossilized and slowly emerging from the eroding cliffs. Emma spotted two jackrabbits, a hawk, a cottontail rabbit, and other creatures for her Junior Ranger project, to be turned in tomorrow.
We’re boondocked just outside the park’s south entrance tonight. We ran out of time this evening, so we’ll head back about eight miles north to see the rest and do some hikes, before heading west to Sedona to meet up with Renee and Fred again.
May 16, 2006 at 12:59 pm · Filed under Places to go
This park is way up above Santa Fe, which is itself a pretty high-altitude town. The park is at 8700 feet, nestled in a cleft between mountains and surrounded by evergreen trees. The entire park has hardly any level ground. The few RV sites that it has are oriented so you have to back into them, up a steep slope. We found that you only get one shot at it. Backing a trailer up a hill is hard work for the transmission. The approach to the campsites is so steep that if you don’t get in your space the first time, you have to sit and wait for the transmission to cool off before trying again!
Now that we are parked, it’s a beautiful and peaceful spot. But since Rich C and I both need to get to work, we can’t stay here. (This working stuff is a nuisance.) Our cell phones report “NO SERVICE” and of course that means our mobile Internet doesn’t work either.
Knowing that we would be offline for the day, we stopped in Santa Fe about seven miles from the campground at a convenient roadside spot. I got online and made a few phone calls, and just as we were getting ready to leave, a local Airstreamer stopped by, attracted by the colorful graphics all over our trailer. Her name was Mary Jane and she was amazed that she’d never heard of Airstream Life magazine. So we gave her a magazine and had a nice conversation, and she offered to give us tips on what to do in town. This is the type of local contact that is worth more than gold.
I am reminded that out west the climate is dictated by altitude rather than latitude. At 8700 feet in the campground it was gray, windy, and wet, so we went into town where it was clearing, much drier, and at least 10 degrees warmer.
Santa Fe has a downtown that seems mostly composed of adobe buildings, but many of them are modern reproductions made of concrete. Still, it has a historic air and there is plenty to see. We just parked the car and walked the downtown for several hours, ducking into the various shops and markets. We finally got a southwestern-style rug for our Airstream, and I bought a leather hat which I plan to waterproof for rainy days. Emma likes it too.
As interesting as Santa Fe is, we are going to move on after just one night. We have only a week to get to Las Vegas and want to spend as much time in Zion National Park as we can, on the way. The state park, as pretty as it is, also lacks a few things besides being isolated from radio signals: the dump station is closed and sites don’t have water. It’s rather cold up here too. So basically we’re paying $14 per night for a parking space with electric. I’d rather be boondocking in the hot desert and using our solar system instead.
This is where we are going to split from Rich C. He has a minor problem with his truck that he wants to get resolved, and needs to wait until Wednesday for a part to arrive. By then, we’ll be 500 or more miles ahead of him, and he doesn’t want to rush. So he’s going to move to the KOA south of town, and we’re making plans to meet again in northern California for a few weeks before heading to the International Rally in Oregon.
This posting is coming to you from a lonely pullout somewhere between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Our solar panels are finally getting tested, since I am running the laptop and our Internet box. We’re generating 11 amps at 11 a.m. local time in full sun, which is great. Our daily usage is about 20-30 amp hours, so with just a few hours of sun we can easily replenish what we need when boondocking. In the gray light of yesterday, we were generating 1-2 amps, which would still be enough to extend our batteries for several days. It’s encouraging.
May 15, 2006 at 1:23 pm · Filed under Places to go
Our route has once again intersected historic Route 66, “the mother road.” It’s easy to tell because the main drag through Santa Rosa is lined with old motels with neon signs, and all manner of businesses harping on the Route 66 mystique.
“Garminita”, our GPS with the British nanny voice, led us badly astray on the way to the state park. For some reason the database does not include the only road that leads to the park entrance, and so she sent us down a one-lane dirt road called “CR-1a” which intersects no other roads and essentially goes nowhere for about a hundred miles. We realized we were seriously off-route a few miles in, but couldn’t turn around.
A local came by in a pickup truck and we flagged him down. Apparently we were in the middle of an enormous ranch, over a million acres, and if we stayed on CR-1a we would eventually come to Las Vegas NM, which was quite a way north. We continued bumping down the dusty trail for another mile to a spot where it seemed we might be able to turn around, and executed a complex 7-point turning maneuver which involved considerable engine power, and liberal use of 4WD. The trailer is caked with red dust now.
Santa Rosa State Park is beautiful, set high above an emerald-green lake formed by the damming of the Pecos River. Unfortunately, rain set in and the temperature dropped, so we didn’t spend a lot of time outside. The rain broke only for a few minutes but it was long enough to get some great rainbow pictures at sunset. (See our new windows?)
This area has been in a drought, but it seems to be breaking today. It rained all last night and has been steady all day today. We changed our plans to head up to Santa Fe for a couple of days. We’ll be staying in Hyde Memorial State Park tonight, but right now we are roadside to get email. Rich C is already parked at the state park and says as usual there’s hardly any cell phone coverage and no Internet.
I’m looking forward to some good southwestern chow tonight. Since it’s raining, we may go out for dinner in town. With luck, the weather will improve tonight and we’ll get some good photos tomorrow. Santa Fe is beautiful.
May 14, 2006 at 2:30 pm · Filed under Places to go
Our last few hours at Roger Williams Airstream were productive. Rich bailed out at his usual crack of dawn time, but as predicted, we just rolled over and kept on sleeping. David showed up around 8 a.m. and proceeded to install some bonus items: new stainless steel covers for the water heater and furnace.
The standard covers are fairly ugly steel painted a battleship gray color, which fades in the sunlight. Check out these before-and-after pics.
The ugly old cover
New stainless steel cover
If you want to get some of these covers for your trailer, check with David Tidmore at 817-596-0050. He’s had a bunch of them fabricated locally, and as far as I know, nobody else offers them. I think the pair (water heater and furnace) is less than $80.
David also helped us clean up some spots in the carpet (using an interesting product called “Dealersol”, but I’m not sure if you can buy it at retail), and the stainless steel parts in our trailer using a product called “ZEP” which you can apparently buy at Home Depot. (The stoneguards, refrigerator front, and stove front are stainless steel in our trailer.)
Finally, we took the rig around the block a few times to work in the disc brakes and adjust the brake controller. They start off braking poorly until the pads and rotors get worn a bit. After just a few miles the difference was amazing. It really STOPS.
With all this, we didn’t get on the road until about 11. It was nearly 300 miles to Caprock Canyon, so we arrived way after Rich C, but he had a spot picked out for us, and had already scoped out the good stuff to see. There was still time to check out some great canyon views after dinner.
Now we’re trucking through New Mexico on our way to another state park tonight. Rich C is already there, and he reports that there is no Internet service (via cellular) in the park, so again I’ll have to post from the road tomorrow.
So far today we have covered a couple hundred miles and the disc brakes are now perfectly broken in. The difference is night and day, as I’ve been told. I’m really impressed. I can make a slow stop or slam on the brakes, and the effect is just remarkable — this 8000 lb trailer just smoothly comes to a halt without pushing us, or even letting us know it is there. I feel like it is a big safety improvement. Woo-hoo!
Stopping at a rest area off I-40, we met up with these folks pulling a 1972 Airstream Safari (single-axle) with a Nissan Titan. Very friendly … and it turns out they were just at Mystic Springs Airstream Park near Pensacola a couple of weeks ago, so we were able to talk about folks we both know down there. Their Safari is dented and rough on the outside, but very usable and they are having fun with it. That’s the whole idea!
May 12, 2006 at 11:12 pm · Filed under Tips & Ideas
It has been a long day at Roger Williams Airstream but a rewarding one. I am more impressed than ever with these guys. David and Denver work hard and do great stuff.
Yesterday afternoon they weren’t able to install a solar panel, but the hard work on the Vista View window was done and it was a real pleasure to wake up to all the cheery morning light coming in through it. Because we need to get going on Saturday, I asked them to get on the solar panel install rather than doing the second Vista View.
In case you are wondering how it works, having guys tear up our home while we are living in it, I’ll explain the process. Eleanor and I have been getting up around 7 a.m. this week, and getting ourselves ready for the day. When we’ve finished with showers and dressing, we open the door and let Denver know we are ready to go. They hitch the trailer to their forklift and slowly tow it into the shop. Emma sleeps right through this process and wakes up later to the sound of air tools.
Today the guys got right on the solar panel job, but it took a long time. David likes to fabricate a mounting for each panel that will survive the hurricane-force winds it will encounter during towing. The aluminum mounting frames he made are riveted and screwed, as well as thoroughly caulked. These mountings get the solar panels off the roof for better cooling, which improves their efficiency.
One of the reasons it took all day was that there was a snafu involving the solar pre-wiring installed by Airstream. The wires weren’t where we expected them to be (in the refrigerator cabinet). David, Denver, and Bob were tearing out their hair trying to deduce where those wires were, when Eleanor suddenly volunteered that she’d seen them buried in a lower cabinet during one of her periodic searches for more storage space. That saved the day, because we were about to concede defeat and start running new wires, which would have made it impossible to complete the job today.
In the midst of installation
So the solar system is now operational. It was 7:30 by the time we wheeled the trailer back out into the parking lot, too late for good testing, but the system seems to be working. Even with the sun nearly set, it generated 0.4 amps.
For the record, we installed two Evergreen Solar 115 watt panels, each measuring about 63″ long. The rear one had to be installed sideways, which looks a bit odd, but it will work just the same. With the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Blue Sky controller we installed previously, we are hoping for up to 20 amps of power in ideal conditions. This ties into the four Optima batteries and the Tri-Metric. The next step is to take it out west and test it in a National Park!
Rich C got a bit of service today too. His rear window was leaking, and in between tasks on our solar panels David got over there to replace the seal. Rich also got a power hitch jack and some accessories. He’s a happy camper now. We just have to throw a gadget his way every once in a while.
If you’re wondering what Emma does while all this is going on, here’s an example.
So we’ve completed almost everything we came for. The second Vista View will have to wait until we come back again, but otherwise we have completed quite a list: disc brakes, two windows, two solar panels. David will come back to the shop tomorrow to tie up a few loose ends and then we plan to head off to west Texas. We’re going to meet Rich C at Caprock Canyon State Park. There won’t be any Internet service there — probably no phone either — so I may have to catch up on the blog from the highway later.
May 11, 2006 at 3:58 pm · Filed under Tips & Ideas
We broke for lunch and a break for everyone, after the new window was installed. Emma, Eleanor, David, and I all piled into Rich C’s trailer and had a lively discussion about pretty much everything. Then Eleanor, Emma, and Rich played Uno while I caught up on some email.
If yesterday’s window installation wasn’t enough to curdle my blood, you should have seen me watching the process of installing the Vista View windows. Denver and David believe in “measure twice, cut once” but still it was disconcerting to see Denver finally take an air-powered tool to the pristine skin of our Airstream and slice it open.
In fact, you can see some of my reaction on Rich C’s video blog. Click on the “VIDEO MOV” link on Rich’s post if you have broadband. Denver pulled away a piece of the aluminum and found he’d sliced right through the TV antenna cable. Rich caught the whole thing on video. Oh well, the antenna cable is fixable.
Right now they are just about done cutting. The first Vista View should be going in shortly. Meanwhile, David is working on the mounts for the solar panels. Hopefully one of them will go up on the roof before the end of the working day.
Blog reader Mark W asked for a photo of our flagpole holder. It’s made of 4″ PVC Schedule 40 pipe with female screw-threaded couplings and screw-in caps on each end. It is big enough to hold all three of the 1.5″ diameter collapsable flagpoles we carry.
We used plastic “plumbers tape” (vinyl strapping) double-riveted to the frame, to mount it. Since it could wiggle a bit even with the strapping tight, I also bonded it to the belly pan with Sikaflex caulk. Now it does not move at all. If you do this, be sure to clean the belly pan beforehand.
In the photo you can see a hole drilled in the cap. The threads on these plastic caps tend to stick in place, so the hole is there to allow me to insert a tool (the same one I use for the Rotochoks) and get leverage to remove the caps.
This is an easy do-it-yourself project if you have the rivet tools, drill, jack, and materials. My total cost was about $35 for materials (pipe, pipe cement & primer, rivets, misc).
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