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There are a number of places to camp near Williams. I like the area near Dog Town reservoir the best as it is more forested. The forest of tall trees with a lot of birdlife is a a real treat after a winter in the desert.
 
packing up day to move to slightly higher ground that will not be as muddy as this campsite I am in as rain is predicted for Thursday.
 
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All settled into my campsite just a little ways from my last spot. I now have mellow friends on each side of me that I have camped with before. But the wind will be keeping us mostly indoors. Fortunately my trailer is pretty close to being nose end into the wind for this upcoming 3 day cold front event. One of my friends has Starlink and they share that connection with me! That is nice because the Verizon tower near this location gets crowded in the evenings.

The weather forecast services I use are differing in their predictions regarding how cold it will get this weekend. They all predict some precipitation but some say at my location rain in the hours around dawn there wlill be rain and other weather apps say snow flurries. . But either way there will be fresh snow up on the mountain tops this week end.

Right now the sun is streaming into my east window quickly warming up my travel trailer. Life is good for the moment and I will savor that along with coffee and a hot breakfast.
 
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Cold and rainy day with some snow flurries this morning. It reminds me of being in Seattle in March! Rinse and repeat for two more days to come.
 
Burr!!! Nice in Tucson today but was hot a few days ago and will be late next week. 70’s and 50’s with a “breeze” today!
 
Trying to store up the cool temps for later (ha, like that works).
 
Trying to store up the cool temps for later (ha, like that works).
That used to get done. A sizeable industry in the days before electric refrigeration was people cutting thick blocks of lake ice and storing it to sell in the summer months.
 
Weather report time. Looking out the door of my trailer travel trailer at my campsite this afternoon. I am thinking this evening I will turn the heater on after all. I was taking a long afternoon nap to avoid being annoyed by the strong wind gust and woke up to this.
IMG_1575.jpeg
 
Out of 90 degree weather and into a thunder and lightning storm, with high winds that created a brief snow event blizzard. The first photo in my nomadic life of my little trailer in the snow. It will all be gone tomorrow. It sure is an advantage to have a popup top on my trailer, it reduces the volume of space I need to heat on cold mornings and evenings. Time to make some hot chocolate which will add warmth inside my tummy and also heat up my living space!
IMG_1580.jpeg
 
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You need to come to Michigan!
Thanks, I was there once for a trip to Flint Michigan in the wintertime. The City of Anchorage sent me to a conference and training on Community Schools Leadership. It was quite a bit colder in Flint that 10 days time than it was in Anchorage. I did not like Flint at all but we took an excursion to Ann Arbor which I did like and to Frankenmuth one of several towns in the USA that has decided to recreate itself as a Bavarian Village to bring in tourist dollars.
 
We don't count Flint or Detroit & live on the west side not too far from Lake Michigan. I've never been to Flint & only to Detroit on our way to Canada after we were married.
 
I woke on this cold snowy morning to a loud clatter
I looked out to see what could be the matter!
It was my neighbor who came over to do a kind favor. He came over with his ladder and big squeegee to clear the snow off my solar panel. Claimed it was 4 inches deep! But even with that layer of snow at 7:20am I had already been getting solar input from my panel to charge my battery. Of course the amount of input jumped quickly once the panel was cleared. My battery was fully topped up by 8am. The sun seems to pass fairly easily through those ice crystals in the clouds and on my panel.

The child who is camping with parents across the road is having a good time playing in the snow. But upon going outside I realized I had not yet waterproofed the shoes I had recently switched to using. So that is on my chore list for later when the weather is warmer and drier and I can do that outside.

My diesel heater/stovetop has now warming up my little winter cabin. So I will soon be cooking my breakfast on it. I am going to make a spicy, Mexican hot chocolate mocha and a breakfast burrito. Just the right treats for a snowy morning ☃️
 
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Michigan State University seems to say the peak season is over a month long with some areas having issues with them through November. Again my personal experiences with them is the bites itch about a week and can easily become infected causing even more problems. Best to wear protective clothing and repellent.
 
Michigan State University seems to say the peak season is over a month long with some areas having issues with them through November. Again my personal experiences with them is the bites itch about a week and can easily become infected causing even more problems. Best to wear protective clothing and repellent.
I beg to differ & have spent much time in the U.P. They are bad around Memorial day for about a week & were awful when we built the 1st cabin. They may be there longer but not an issue like the week or so. https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/blog/...lack flies come on the,under the brim of hats.
  • Black Flies: Small, devious, and the one to watch out for most. Black flies come on the scene in late-May and hang around into July. At their peak in mid-June, these little guys can do some serious damage. They are smaller than mosquitoes yet create itchy welts if allowed to feed. They have a tendency to burrow into hair and often bite under the brim of hats. Black flies fade out quickly and can be found almost everywhere.
 
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