I'm sailing away

[Queen]

Wow, Jim, just wow. I don't cook that much in my apartment. Those ribs look awesome!!

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Let it never be said that you can't eat 5 star dining quality food on the road! I need to step up my cooking game. Looks great Jim, I have a feeling you just make it look easy!

 

[wagoneer]

HE MAKES IT LOOK SMART no reason we can't all cook I "wow" many travel mates with some simple proven kitchen alchemy, if I can do it STF can you.

 

[jimindenver]

He is right, it's not hard. The prep on those ribs included taking them out of the package, rinsing and drying, roll them to fit in the pot, add seasoning, put the lid on and drop pot into solar oven. Three to four hours later they are falling off the bone.

Chicken Thighs, legs or breast with sweet potatoes take a bit longer since I have to wash the sweet potatoes.

Pot roast a bit longer still because I have to peel and wash carrots along with rinsing the potatoes.

The bread is taking a frozen loaf and dropping it in a bread pan, waiting for it to thaw and rise before putting it in the solar oven.

Keep it simple, keep it easy and let the solar ovens work their magic with their sealed chambers that doesn't let anything dry out to the point that you rarely add water unless it is rice or similar.

 

[jimindenver]

Yesterday I took Max out on a early morning walk to see this.



This one got close enough that could hear the burner and them talking.



They set it down what could have been a nice walk away.



Not a bad way to have my coffee.

 

[jimindenver]

I have been getting instant video streaming off of my 4Gcommunity Sprint LTE hotspot. This is why.

<a href="http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/6198282656"><img src="http://www.speedtest.net/result/6198282656.png" /></a>

Normally I would only expect that in a good sized city, not 20 miles out in the middle of no where.

 

[Queen]

Love the balloon pics! We lived north of ABQ for a while and there were balloons up almost every day, beautiful!

 

[jimindenver]

I'm in the Prescott NF south of Groom creek for a few days meeting up with the friend that posted the video of one of my Solar cooking talks. It was in Prescott that I was finally able to order the Mobley device for unlimited data on AT&T for $20 a month. We will start heading towards the Grand canyon tomorrow. In the picture you can see the truck acting like a sun seeker to augment the few hours the trailers solar is in the sun. A solar oven with my lunch in it. The storage door is opened so that I could plug in the electric hot water heater for a shower. While it can get quite cool at night here, I sure am enjoying seeing some real trees again. I just love the smell of all those pine trees.

I am somewhat down in a hole again with rock out crops on three sides. With the booster I am getting a great signal on Verizon and Cricket (AT&T), even Sprint 3G is here although all I can do is get a text to go out. I think I would have better luck with Sprint and T-mobile up on top of the hill as I get great signals in town.

 

[jimindenver]

I have been in Gooseberry Mesa near Zion and yesterday I came into Hurricane to dump, do laundry and stock up. I called the laundry and they said there was going to be room for the trailer yesterday but not today. I was going to use the Maverick listed as a free dump station but since I needed to get rid of my trash I called the Texico listed as a pay site. My thinking was some places if you pay you get water, get to dump and get rid of your trash. So I called and asked how much and if it included tossing a few bags of trash. They said yes on the trash and it was free if I bought gas, any amount of gas. That meant I could put the $5 in my tank and still dump and get rid of my trash. I got there last night and as a added bonus they also had free water so I filled the tank too.

I had the hot water heater on the solar all day so once I got to the laundry and had my clothes in locking front loaders I decided to take a much needed shower. Usually my showers are very quick navy showers but since the hot water and dump were free, I did a double navy shower. (my version of a long hot shower lol) I stayed at Walmart for the first time and today I am plugging in the hot water heater again and giving Max his double bath which is what it takes to get the desert out of him. I have lots of running around to do including going over to St George so I'll likely spend tonight at the Walmart again and before I head out tomorrow I will stop at the Texico, top off the gas, dump the tanks and refill the fresh again. It works out great since bathing Max takes a lot more water than my navy showers do.

 

[jimindenver]

I ended up staying at the Walmart three nights since the TV wall mount that was suppose to be pick up in store today turned out to be mid day tomorrow. I got ot mounted and am thrilled I won't have to bring out and put away the TV anymore.

I came back up on the mesa with Dave, the person that was heading to the RTR in the Walmart. Two days ago he came over for coffee apologizing that he had to run his generator. He had barely had a cup when he said he was going to shut it off. I asked what the voltage was when he started it, he replied 11.2v and that he had to jump it off the starting battery to get the generator to start. I told him it was going to take longer and he let it run a few hours while I explained batteries and charging. He checked the voltage when he shut off the generator and it was 12.2v, it was going to be a while before that battery was fully charged. In fact it had been undercharged for the last three weeks so I decided it was time to test the rolling power station out and had him run his converter off of my inverter all day. It didn't have any issues with his 45a converter, charging my batteries, running the water heater and my fridge on electric. We pulled the plug as we lost the light and his battery had only made it up to 13.34v under charge.

Yesterday his battery was down to 12.2v in the morning and I plugged him back in as soon as the system could push it and charge my batteries at the same time. His 45a converter got it up to 13.6v around noon and we put together the Meanwell 30a power source Sternwake suggested and used it to bring the battery up to 14.4v and hold it for three hours. At that point the analog meter I use said it was taking 2a so I took it up to equalization voltage for the rest of the day. This morning his batteries voltage was 12.62v and he is ordering one of the 160w portables I am getting in.

I wasn't surprised my system could cover the loads but I was pleasantly shocked when I microwaved two frozen burritos two minutes each while running his converter, my hot water heater and the various TV/computer/hotspots I keep going. The Tripp-lite is rated for 1250w with a extended surge of 2500w. The microwave alone is 1375w so it really can take the surge, Also nice was the solar system was bringing down 82a total while the microwave ran. I should still see a improvement once I switch the three panels on the trailer to parallel.

 

[Queen]

Jim - If you related that post in person, say over a cup of coffee or a beer, I would politely nod and smile.  I know it was in english but that's about the extent of my comprehension.  

 

[Gunny]

Still helping others... Build that Karma , My friend.


Rob

 

[Gunny]

Damn Queen you snuck that in ...I actually laughed. LOL hell, THAT was funny.

Rob

 

[jimindenver]

Jim - If you related that post in person, say over a cup of coffee or a beer, I would politely nod and smile.  I know it was in english but that's about the extent of my comprehension.  

Queen

Simply put, the rolling power station provided shore power to another RV and I used the unit SW suggested to give its battery a tune up.

 

[rvpopeye]

Building it ,,,well , not cheap.
Doing stuff like that with it,,,priceless!

 

[jimindenver]

Well it's been a few months again. I guess it is time for a update while I put the trailer right for the trip back to Colorado. I have to say that were it not for the need to go home, deal with doctors, official things plus the Colorado gathering, that I could just stay put for a while. I am enjoying Flagstaff and Arizona in general. Long sunny days for the solar and solar ovens are saving me tons in propane. Having shopping, dump, trash and water with in a easy drive sure is nice. Unfortunately it is time to find out that another set of doctors are not going to do anything for my back but at least I will get it out of the way.

So it has been six full months and the time has flown it seems. I spent a week in San Antone, NM, three weeks in the Q, nearly two months in Yuma, two weeks in Ehrenburg, three weeks in Cottonwood/Sedona, Close to a week each in Prescott and the Grand canyon, down to Flagstaff for a week, up to Hurricane, Utah and Gooseberry mesa for three weeks or so and finally have been here in Flagstaff again for the last five weeks. (sue me if the numbers don't add up. )

In that time I have met many people from the forum or not. Made some long lasting friendships. Got a wonderful dog. Fine tuned my rig and now know that many of the things that I have been working out in my head, building and testing for years actually work out in real life. I think the most fun has been the meeting, learning from and helping others which gives me great joy. I was proud to be included in the RTR even though it was my first. I have known many to order the 3G devices, Mobleys, boosters and even a few solar cookers. I have even helped a few set their rigs and got one out of a real bind. It has been intense to have people light up when they find out that I am "Jimindenver" and was nothing short of honored when Bob asked me to visit him in Ehrenberg. He said things that made me feel great because I don't see myself as anything special. I started out 6 months ago pretty wary, a little worried and a bit busted up in more ways than one. I have had many guide me on where to go and how to do it, I appreciate it all. Thank you. I may have been boondocking for 30 years two weeks at a time but I had and have a lot to learn doing it fulltime. Being put on you tube was never expected but pretty neat except damn do I look old.

Aside from boondocking I have spent nights in rest stops, a trucking lot, a casino parking lot, a Walmart but what I never planned on was around two months in RV parks. Each time it was suppose to be a day or two for dumping tanks, getting water and supplies but I ended up staying longer for different reasons. In San Antonio it was going to be a day to dewinterize and move on but I spent a week tearing apart and repacking just to figure out what I had brought and where it was. In Quartzsite I paid for two days to dump, get water and do laundry but was both emotionally drained as well as physically incapacitated after moving the trailer so many times at the RTR. In Yuma I found that a week was just a bit more than two days since I never plugged in the cord, then I stayed a month receiving mail and shopping on line. Each time it was wonderful to use the trailer with full hook ups which I had never had before. Each time I met a different variety of people than what I do in the boonies and some of them have become friends as well. I am pretty use to getting water, dumping and doing laundry on the fly now so I don't see it happening a lot in the future but who knows.

It has been a challenge being around others at times even though at other times I enjoy it. I quit flying the RC planes when my eyes went bad, quit bowling when my neck did the same, so for years it was work and being online at home. Because of being use to that I have spent a lot of time in the trailer on the computer yet have gotten to the point that having one or two people camping with me refreshing. Come to think of it, I have only been alone for about a month this whole time. The other hard thing is a lack of direction and purpose. It becomes boring because for so long my life was centered around taking care of customers and a lover. Now I have the ability to do anything I want and I can't really think of anything I do want to do right off. Even cooking can be a challenge. When there are people around I will make stews, soups, BBQ, cookies, cakes, roasts, curries and more. For myself it seems like a lot of food, mess and effort so I'll zap a few burritos, a can of soup or make a sandwich. So I still have some adjusting to do but I am getting there.

Well this is getting long and I have a lot to do now that the heat of the day had passed. My friend Dave that I met at Walmart is traveling to Colorado with me in the morning and we hope to be on the road early.

Thanks for reading.

 

[waldenbound]

Thanks for the update Jim. Good to see you adjusting and settling into full-time life on the road.

 

[Txjaybird]

 You"re O.K. Jim...........Q & I Don't care what anyone sez about ya! 

Jewellann and Queenie

ps Thanks for your words of encouragement......TJB

 

[jonsun]

Your advice and posts are awesome Jim, enjoy reading, learning, etc from you.

 

[SoulRaven]

I wish I knew who it was you helped out of a bind, I'm sure they were appreciative. All kidding aside, it's good to read you are happy and things seem to be going well for you.

You have helped many people and I hope that they have thanked you for your efforts. I'm looking forward to seeing you again provided my trailer ever appears again. It's still lost in the 'Twilight Zone' with no word on finish date yet.

I hope to see you in Colorado after my visit to my friend in Indiana. I'm not sure about RTR, I may after my attitude changes a bit.

All My Best,

Rob, Gunny and Robndahood.