I am settled into my new campsite. My friend who wanted to come to Flagstaff is settled in just up the road into a campsite with some other people she can do some Christian Fellowship time with. They have a fog for her dog to play with. Very gusty winds this afternoon so I am glad all that arriving and set up stuff got done early today befor the strong gust arrive. It is nice to have trees outside my window but unfortunately no views at this site of the snow topped mountains. But the plus side of this site I am park on a well drained, hard packed, gravel base so I will not be trapped in mud if it rains. Fewer ant hills as well!
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I figured the damage on I-40 was the amount of truck traffic it sees during the freeze thawing period. Since it’s probably always freezing and thawing in a lot of areas. Once it freezes up here, it’s froze til usually March. This year it went into April. Not sure if they do road restrictions and such down there...
But I have to say, the roads everywhere I’ve been were bad after this winter. I’m thinking of the delays your going to see this summer on the interstates with the amount of road repair they need to be doing.
I can finally see about 1/3 of my driveway again. I didn’t dare plow it cause it’s so soft under the snow.
I’m working on tearing my table area apart. I hate the old bench and table thing they do from the factory. Opening things up a little making things a tad more functional. In stead of the opposing bench’s I’m doing more of an L shape making the front wall as much as a couch as a bench. With one of those lagune or whatever swivel out of the way tables...
And hopefully mount the tv into the wall some across from it... and replace the vinyl tile floor that was put in right before I bought it. I hope I’m not getting in over my head cause of my hands...
Finally see surgeon on Thursday... hard to take time out to do that...
lonerwolf52
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What spot will you be at. I'm heading that way.. 100° the next three days in Lake Havasu City
Sorry I can not share my location. I am camped with girl friends and there is not any extra space at my campsite as the forest campsites typically do not fit large groups of people the way it happens in the desert areas.
Use the maps from the National Forest Service to see the NFS roads that have dispersed camping. They show the authorized dispersed camping designated areas on the maps as little dots along one or both sides of the roads. So just get either digital maps or stop at the ranger station offices and get free black and white paper maps. Sometimes the towns that have tourist center facilities have the free NFS paper maps for that area available. As do the district forest service ranger station headquarters. The towns of Williams and Tusayan have district stations with maps in a holder outside the office.
But there is lots of Coconino National Forest camping on all sides of the town of Flagstaff including Bellemont and also at Munds Park south of Flagstaff. Plus in the Kaibab National Forest there is camping near Ash Fork, Williams, Parks and Tusayan. You will have no trouble finding dispersed campsites but the maps are the best way to find it.
The Avenza maps from the NFS are digital and when downloaded on a gps enabled phone or tablet they can be used off line. Those maps also show the dispersed camping areas as dots along the forest service roads.
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NctryBen your remodeling plan sounds perfect. The typical setup in RVs is designed for couples and family travel. But that dinette setup amounts to wasted space for solo travelers.
I have one of the knockoff cloned Lagun table mounts on my Amazon wish list. Hoping I get some birthday money gift to cover the cost of it which is right about $100. Of course that is just for the metal support and does not include the cost of a tabletop. I would make the tabletop sized to fit my space.
I think I might try making a mock-up using some inexpensive scrap wood and cardboard cut to the lengths of the product dimensions and some clamps and screws to hold it together. That way I can verify that the one location it would be used in is a viable location for the product.
There is a maker space in Flagstaff I could join if I want to have fun making things I am not traveling with all the the tools I would need to create some custom designs of my own. I do miss having a well equipped workshop full of tools.
I have one of the knockoff cloned Lagun table mounts on my Amazon wish list. Hoping I get some birthday money gift to cover the cost of it which is right about $100. Of course that is just for the metal support and does not include the cost of a tabletop. I would make the tabletop sized to fit my space.
I think I might try making a mock-up using some inexpensive scrap wood and cardboard cut to the lengths of the product dimensions and some clamps and screws to hold it together. That way I can verify that the one location it would be used in is a viable location for the product.
There is a maker space in Flagstaff I could join if I want to have fun making things I am not traveling with all the the tools I would need to create some custom designs of my own. I do miss having a well equipped workshop full of tools.
It took this long... but I finally make the trek to the orthopedic surgeon today... I don’t think I get much sleep anymore... I even went off blood thinners to be able to take certain pain relief. Um, that almost killed me... oops! So hopefully some answers...
Morgana
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Chronic pain sucks %$#@^&lls. Good luck and keep pushing till you find the right solution! This stuff is mysterious and as much an art as a science IMO. And get back on the PT, buddy! Few things in this world are more slow, boring, annoying, and effective. If you and/or your ortho think it's a viable treatment, it's definitely worth logging the time and aggravation.
I wonder (you don't have to answer this) if you've tried any "alternative medicine" approaches to the pain or insomnia. I wonder if acupuncture has anything for this, or meditation. Most forms of guided meditation make me want to punch someone, but for a really bad headache I have found a Tibetan bells recording really helpful (along with massive drugs -- it doesn't have to be either/or
. Also, I haven't kept track of what's legal where, but would it be worth giving the Mary Jane a try? I would not push any of that stuff as a miracle cure, just as worth looking into. Pain seems to be a very complicated problem which they're learning more about all the time. Good luck and hang in there!
Best wishes for finding some helpful answers. Chronic pain management can certainly be a tightrope balancing act to get real improvement but do no harm.
I know how much you like being busy and productive with making and maintaining things and doing road trips.
Needed a couple of items at Harbor Freight. Fortunately they were on a close-out sale.
Then I went to the newest Flagstaff Goodwill. I found a Bose portable speaker for under $5.00. I tested it at the store and it did not turn on. But I took it and grabbed a USB cord and 110v usb charge adapter off the rack and went to their appliance test cord area. I let it charge for 5 or so minutes, while I used my phone ton watch a short YouTube video that showed how to do a reset on it. Then I was able to power it on and connect my phone via Bluetooth! I suspect due to its age it will need a new internal battery but there are YouTube videos showing how to do that and I have the skills needed to replace it. I have been wanting a Bose portable speaker for a number of years now. Sounds great, I am already very much enjoying it.
Then I went to the newest Flagstaff Goodwill. I found a Bose portable speaker for under $5.00. I tested it at the store and it did not turn on. But I took it and grabbed a USB cord and 110v usb charge adapter off the rack and went to their appliance test cord area. I let it charge for 5 or so minutes, while I used my phone ton watch a short YouTube video that showed how to do a reset on it. Then I was able to power it on and connect my phone via Bluetooth! I suspect due to its age it will need a new internal battery but there are YouTube videos showing how to do that and I have the skills needed to replace it. I have been wanting a Bose portable speaker for a number of years now. Sounds great, I am already very much enjoying it.
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vanbrat
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Good buy! I love good thrift finds.
I once found a small neckless for my niece. It was covered in something sticky and in a jar of junk jewelry I was getting for the daycare kidos to play with. After washing and untangling I found a tiny tag that said 14k gold and it had a real diamond in the little flower. Not bad for $5.00. And I still had the rest of the junk for the kidos.
Ok so let's hear about anyone else's good finds.
I wish I had the skills with electronics you have, mostly I just break them.
I once found a small neckless for my niece. It was covered in something sticky and in a jar of junk jewelry I was getting for the daycare kidos to play with. After washing and untangling I found a tiny tag that said 14k gold and it had a real diamond in the little flower. Not bad for $5.00. And I still had the rest of the junk for the kidos.
Ok so let's hear about anyone else's good finds.
I wish I had the skills with electronics you have, mostly I just break them.
As to replacing the battery in the Bose speaker, there is a YouTube video showing how to do it. It requires a small amount of soldering to replace it. But nothing too complicated for the soldering.
Basic soldering is not difficult to learn or scary to do. You are not working on live electrical circuits. I travel with a couple of soldering irons, flux and solder of various types. I learned to do basic soldering quite a few years ago. Just get some copper wire, a soldering iron, some solder and flux and you will quickly get a feel for it. A few YouTube lessons and you will have a new skill. You are not working on live circuits so no danger of getting shocked. Some danger of getting a small burn on your hand if you are uncoordinated when holding the soldering iron and wires.
I am always willing to teach other women basic skills for DIY build stuff when they camp near me. But I enable them by teaching skills. I do not do the build work for them while they sit in a chair and watch it happen.
Basic soldering is not difficult to learn or scary to do. You are not working on live electrical circuits. I travel with a couple of soldering irons, flux and solder of various types. I learned to do basic soldering quite a few years ago. Just get some copper wire, a soldering iron, some solder and flux and you will quickly get a feel for it. A few YouTube lessons and you will have a new skill. You are not working on live circuits so no danger of getting shocked. Some danger of getting a small burn on your hand if you are uncoordinated when holding the soldering iron and wires.
I am always willing to teach other women basic skills for DIY build stuff when they camp near me. But I enable them by teaching skills. I do not do the build work for them while they sit in a chair and watch it happen.
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vanbrat
Well-known member
About the only thing I do with/to electronics is break them. It is a family joke. I make messes, I brake things, and if ever I have to put something away so I won't lose it, I will never see it again.
My messes usually bring something fun, yummy or interesting. My broken things usually are electronic, and my lost stuff is always important.
My messes usually bring something fun, yummy or interesting. My broken things usually are electronic, and my lost stuff is always important.
Feeling a bit sad this afternoon. A Forest rangers stopped by and said the Walnut Canton dispersed camping area just outside of Flagstaff is now, as of May 1st 2023, permanently closed to camping and campfires. But those of us camped here right now can stay on until April 14th without penalty. At least they did not kick us out on a 24 hour notice which is a good thing.. That closure need is very sad. I really enjoy the Walnut Canyon dispersed area and was looking forward to more visits in future years .
The roads leading into the campsites of NFS 303 are in truly terrible shape, knee high ruts where lots of people got stuck in the mud. So this closure is all about the significant damage that has occurred to this area. I am an eyewitness to the fact that it really is bad damage. There was no way to travel into where I camped last summer, the road is
Impassable. The 2022 monsoon season rains at Walnut Canyon Monument broke the all time record for most rain. Followed by a winter of the most snow on record. The top
soil in this area is not well drained graveled, stony soil. Much of it is red clay containing pasture type soils with some stone ridges and of course the rocky canyon walls.
I was hoping to rotate into Walnut Canyon for 14 day camping several times this summer as it is lovely here and also convenient to Flagstaff. Oh well, there are lots of other options to consider. I will drop into the district ranger office on Hwy 89 this week and get updated info on the planned closures in Coconino forest as to what is going to be open for dispersed camping. There tends to be lag time on the NFS website about what is open and what is closed or going to become closed. This closure was not mentioned on the Coconino NFS website or on the NFS Facebook page for the area.
The roads leading into the campsites of NFS 303 are in truly terrible shape, knee high ruts where lots of people got stuck in the mud. So this closure is all about the significant damage that has occurred to this area. I am an eyewitness to the fact that it really is bad damage. There was no way to travel into where I camped last summer, the road is
Impassable. The 2022 monsoon season rains at Walnut Canyon Monument broke the all time record for most rain. Followed by a winter of the most snow on record. The top
soil in this area is not well drained graveled, stony soil. Much of it is red clay containing pasture type soils with some stone ridges and of course the rocky canyon walls.
I was hoping to rotate into Walnut Canyon for 14 day camping several times this summer as it is lovely here and also convenient to Flagstaff. Oh well, there are lots of other options to consider. I will drop into the district ranger office on Hwy 89 this week and get updated info on the planned closures in Coconino forest as to what is going to be open for dispersed camping. There tends to be lag time on the NFS website about what is open and what is closed or going to become closed. This closure was not mentioned on the Coconino NFS website or on the NFS Facebook page for the area.
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RoamerRV428
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Wells ain't all the vids out there LOL plus remember those who 'post real life on the road' and their personal issues with it........it shows the crap side of van life which many 'should see' and it is valuable info out there for sure. So those who put all things thru Wells vids don't see it all ever. Simple google of van dwelling life and the real issues that one faces is out there, one just has to venture further in the search to find real hard truths on it all.
The official statement from the Coconino
NFS regarding the closure of the Walnut Canyon dispersed camping near Flagstaff came out today. It is not just Walnut Canyon Dispersed camping that is effected and it is not about road damage. The town of Flagstaff has negotiated with the NFS a no camping and no camp fires safety zone surrounding the city on all sides. So be sure to look at the colored map on the Coconino NFS dot gov website to see what areas are within that closure zone before deciding where to camp.
NFS regarding the closure of the Walnut Canyon dispersed camping near Flagstaff came out today. It is not just Walnut Canyon Dispersed camping that is effected and it is not about road damage. The town of Flagstaff has negotiated with the NFS a no camping and no camp fires safety zone surrounding the city on all sides. So be sure to look at the colored map on the Coconino NFS dot gov website to see what areas are within that closure zone before deciding where to camp.
lonerwolf52
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Thank you..
Overland One
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I recently watched one of Bob's videos where he was filming from the driver's seat of his ambulance while it was strapped to a flatbed being towed to the nearest repair shop for an engine problem he was having. That was real. Mechanical things can and do break down. He also showed a video where he got stuck in the sand and his boards did not work to get him out and he was rescued by someone with a truck and a tow strap. Yes, most of Bob's videos show the "good" side of Nomad life which I enjoy seeing, but now and then he also includes some unpleasant things as they happen to him which I think shows people when things do go bad, and they will occasionally, it is not the end of the world. If I want doom and gloom all the time, I can just watch the news, ha ha.
