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travelaround said:
I have to say, I admire so much the kinds of work you're doing, Maki - both the cardstock buildings and the trailer renovation. How I wish I were so talented!!

Yes, just after 9pm here. I'm cheating again. Can't wait until morning. Just got home from a meeting.
Talent comes from the act of doing things over and over again until you achieve a bit of skill at it. I just like making things and I like architecture. I have always had those interest even as a very young child. I was not good at it when I was young, no one is. Fine motor skills don't develop until around the age of 8. That is why they have really fat crayons for toddlers who can't achieve a delicate, controlled grasp on an object. That is why first graders have large diameter pencils. Like everyone I look back at my first attempts at things and tend to cringe when I see them again after I have been doing something for a while longer.
 
@TA. so glad to hear you found a great place to stay and are developing a good support system for when you need it.
 
Crofter and Maki - since we're on the West Coast it would be nice to boondock somewhere together for a few days...? You're welcome to explore the Klamath River Valley... come south!
 
travelaround said:
Crofter and Maki - since we're on the West Coast it would be nice to boondock somewhere together for a few days...? You're welcome to explore the Klamath River Valley... come south!
Maybe someday I will be in that area. I have no idea what my schedule is going to be. Working on the trailer frame project messed with my wrist a bit. That will slow down progress. Oh well one step forward, one step back. That seems to be the only dance I can manage at the moment. Creeping forward in what feels like slow motion but at the same time getting some major issues taken care of.
 
If you ever show up here, I hope it is warm... and I can share my boondocking spots with you.

I just realized I'm not going to be happy at the new place for a few nights with no electricity or internet until I get that hooked up. Oh... it will be terrible... cold... whatever. I have to get over it, be strong and go through it. Changes are hard. I probably won't be able to get the electricity turned on until Tuesday. I can still use the propane heater, but not my favorite thing... with all the condensation.
 
Good morning - I'm waiting for my son to show up so we can analyze the move-in situation together. I'm wondering if it will even be possible to get my cargo trailer up that hill to the house I rented for my daughter. I might wait until Tuesday as my space rent is paid up here until then. And I need a real shower and laundry done today. Vanlife! The excitement never ends.
 
travelaround said:
Good morning - I'm waiting for my son to show up so we can analyze the move-in situation together. I'm wondering if it will even be possible to get my cargo trailer up that hill to the house I rented for my daughter. I might wait until Tuesday as my space rent is paid up here until then. And I need a real shower and laundry done today. Vanlife! The excitement never ends.
Better to be patient and stay warm. If it can't go up the hill then hopefully there is another nearby parking space. It will all get sorted out within a few days time. Just remember how far you have already come on this journey of making changes.
 
travelaround said:
Crofter and Maki - since we're on the West Coast it would be nice to boondock somewhere together for a few days...? You're welcome to explore the Klamath River Valley... come south!
50's and grey skies in OR.
Thanks for the invite TA! Winter camping is always fun, but I noticed that it is not really winter there yet. You are 30 degrees warmer than here. My next travel date is in January, so I'll pm you when I am getting ready to go.   ~crofter
 
January is the month most likely to have snow storms here. If/when you come, it is best to drive in from Yreka. The pass north to Cave Junction, Oregon is closed all winter. Don't drive on the river highway early in the morning - to avoid black ice. If there's snow I wouldn't even drive it in the afternoon. Drive slow. 55mph is the legal limit on Hwy. 96 (except for curves) but in my opinion that's a dangerous speed. I like to go 35-40 and pull over if there's a speedy person behind me. Lots of places to pull over. In the many years I've been here, people have gone into the river from driving fast, especially in cold weather. It would be best to come in spring or summer.
 
I will be going down 101, not down I-5. I have been down both in the months of December and January. The coast road is by far the easier one for me when pulling my little trailer with a 4 cylinder vehicle. Slow and stead wins the race when you are a turtle. I can handle a spell of cold weather, very efficient diesel heater in a small insulated space. On the road I can hunker down someplace safe and wait it out comfortably until the roads are safe to travel on.
 
travelaround said:
It would be best to come in spring or summer.
Sounds good. Those rivers do come with their share of hazards as well as beauty, winter travel being one of them.    ~crofter
 
Clear and 54 this morning as I head off for my first real boondocking experience - Walmart parking lots and Loves really don't qualify :)

Met another solo female camper via my blog who is in the area, so we may camp together for a while starting at week's end until I make up my mind about Quartzite.

It's nice to have a week off, but I bet they call me on vacation anyway. Only once in 14 years have I had an undisturbed vacation... I'll just smile and consider it job security.
 
I've been boondocking roadside the last two nights and today got a chance to talk to the landlord of the house I rented for my daughter... he said I can park in front of his barn downhill... I can walk up the steep hill just fine ... I'm in good shape for hills (so long as there aren't too many of them) I just didn't like parking on the hill next to the cabin because of the high center of gravity on my high top van.... made me panic backing out of the parking space every time. My cargo trailer is parked just downhill from the cabin in a nice wooded spot.
 
64 degrees with a low last night of 43 in western OR. Awesome to get van parking, TA. Some dwellers like to move a lot, I like to get a good spot and stay.  -crofter
 
A nice day. The big chore of the morning was getting rid of most of the pieces of my trailer's worn out old frame. My friend cut it up into pieces that could fit inside the cargo area of my Honda Element. The worn out tires and wheel rims went to Les Schwab where I have to pay a $20.00 fee for their disposal. I was not going to struggle with taking them off the rims myself and the city waste site wanted $13.00 minimum for tire disposal without the tires being on the rims.

The rest of the trailer minus the axle was recycled for free at the City Waste collection site. I though about hauling it to a place and selling the metal but their minimum if you wanted to get paid was 200lbs of metal. Plus I would have had to drive through heavy Seattle traffic and back again if I went that far. So it made more sense time wise to just drop it into the metal recycle dumpster that was an easy few miles away.

The axle is still straight and rolls nicely so I will put a low price on it and put it on craigslist. It will be good for someone's homebuilt teardrop trailer or trash hauling trailer project. No point in tossing a functional axle into the recycling bins when it is something that could be another person's bargain priced treasure find.

Had coffee with a friend I had made early this past spring. I went to his place to buy a mini bar fridge for a friend and we got to talking about trailers, turns out he had just purchased a Casita and was in need of advice and also local resources to help him bring it up to the condition he wanted to see it in. He mentioned a couple of projects yet to be done and I recommended by partner as he has exactly the skill sets he needs for those improvements.

Well it might be nearing bedtime but now I need to get to work and cut cardstock into very tiny pieces to create more inventory for my Etsy shop.
 
Maki there seems to be a rash of small trailers stolen lately. I read about a Casita yesterday in Tuscan I believe. The thieves cut the lock off.

I have a cargo trailer that I’m thinking might benefit from one of those removable hitches that HDR has.
 
Good morning everyone. I'm parked next to the road about 11 miles from town ... I've done roadside parking many years in rural areas. Only time I got a middle of the night knock was in the SF Bay Area when I parked near other dwellers next to a freeway onramp... that was in November 2000.

Weather report.. currently 45 with a high of 59 later today.

Was depressed last night. Talked to a friend in North Idaho and was blessed by that and her prayers.
 
It was 50 this morning in AZ as the sun came up. Gorgeous day, excellent solar orientation, which means I get to cook real meals in the instant pot instead of always 101 ways of ramen :)

Last night some sort of animals were around the van, javelinas, maybe. Made me stay up a little later than normal so I used vacation mode to sleep in! Them rubbing under the van was a bit creepy...

WeBoost and antenna arrive today, so hopefully I can test work access before the weekend to see if I have to leave this beautiful site for better reception once I return to work Monday.
 
I hate getting woke up by the nocturnal critters. I'm starting to sleep through the rampages of "my" rodent. My friend thinks it's a possum and I should keep it as a pet. But what if it's a rat!  Rainy day here in western OR.  -crofter
 
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