Window beat into submission.

So as is the way, I spent more time yesterday working on the stupid cap.  I bolted the frame back together.

I also gorilla taped the piss out of the hinge.  Hopefully this holds.

Then it was time to wash it.  It didn't seem to help the exterior at all, this looks exactly the same as it did before being washed.

It did however greatly and significantly helped the interior.  

I didn't quite think things through though.  I didn't really have a good way to get the soap out.  Oops.  I ended up diluting it a bunch with plain water, and then just oh well, the water runs out when driving.  There is still some dried soap in the back.  

The rock was already clean though, so I have a new doorstop in the guest room.

Last up was doing laundry.  I finished up the packing last night.  I needed nearly every stitch of clothing I owned.  On the plus side, I did find a brand new pair of shorts and a pack of shirts I didn't know that I had when I was pillaging the depths of my closet.

I was rightfully concerned about the amount of freezer space.  For now, I just have them both set for freezer, but don't have a plan for the fridge stuff.  I will figure that out when I get to KY.

I also ended up rebagging most of the frozen sandwiches.  They were either already split open, or full of air, and as alluded to above, I have maybe 2 square centimeters of extra freezer space.

I missed this on the to do list, but I also downloaded all the park maps and whatnot into my phone.  

One non-trip related comment: something that came in the mail yesterday saying they were reassessing the value of my home, even after they just reassessed it last year because of the new house.  Apparently though, the new valuation is a huuuge increase.  I am kind of torn on it.  On one hand, there is no way the place went up 50-75% in value in one year.  There is also no possible way that the buildings are worth $180k.  Especially considering that I paid $120k for the house, and they don't normally appreciate.  On the other hand, I am confident I could sell it for the value that they have listed on the form ($285k).  

This all but completes the packing.  I do need to run back at lunch to halt my mail (which was also missing from the list) and I am going to put the monitors in a bag before I put them in the truck, since the cardboard had been chewed.  I banged on the cardboard and no mice came out, so I don't think they are living in them now, but I would prefer to minimize smell since it will be in the back with all my food.  

Here is what is left before the trip (new mini checklist):

• Make Grand Teton Reservations
• Run to the Dump
• Install the cap
• Clean the inside of the cap and back of truck
• Pack hiking gear
• Laundry (I also have some shirts that need spot stain removal)
• Pack clothes
• Grab monitors from the shed for Mike
• Close up house, tiny home, and shed.
• Put a hold on my mail.
• Load truck

The cap window fights back.

Yesterday was pretty busy.  I did the dump run yesterday during work.  After work it was time to install the cap.  Turns out the wood for the sawhorses has shrunk, and the beams are sagging a little now, so the cap sits lower now than when I took it off; my truck won't just drive underneath it anymore.  

It also looks like the JB Weld never cured.  Surprisingly it held up though.  The window didn't sag when I unlatched it.  I will reinforce it with gorilla tape or something before I leave.  Dew had already settled when I got to this point last night.

I learned something new about my truck.  The automatic diff lock doesn't work worth a damn, but I can manually lock it.  Not sure how I missed that button for the last couple years...  I have had my truck for 2 years now.  The driving mode knob is also a button.  I saw the diff symbol on the knob and assumed that the locking was controlled by the mode, since several of them do lock it.

So I put some wood blocks under the beams to raise it up and drove underneath it.  I tried to put the cap on myself by basically standup up underneath the cap and then trying to push the beams out, but I couldn't quite get the beams all the way out.

So I grabbed Anx, and got it on.  

When I rebuilt it, I added about an inch to the base so that the window would actually close over top of my obnoxious tailgate.  It clears on the side that wasn't broken, but courtesy of the window breaking, the other side didn't clear.

So I just took my pliers and broke the bottom lip off.  

Apparently the window didn't like that and then proceeded to completely fall apart.  I will have to get some bolts at work and put it back together.  Grrr.

I wedged it together and took it out around the block.  Twice, because I am a noob and left my pliers on the bumper, which fell off, so I made a second loop to try to find them.  I couldn't find them in the dark though.

I also continued on the packing.  I got the hiking stuff packed (not pictured), a spillover backpack for toiletry refills and whatnot, and started packing laundry, though I didn't finish it, since I will be running another load of laundry tonight.  

I also washed my new doorstop for the guest room with all my dishes, so everything is clean when I leave.

Apparently I made all the animals curious this morning.  

On a positive note though, I did find my pliers this morning.  I had a pretty good idea where they were; I heard something when I was making the loop, and while I couldn't identify the sound at the time, when I noticed the pliers were gone (the other pair was still on the bumper when I got back) it became clear what the sound was.

I wanted to bring the cap down to the car wash and hose it out last night, but got caught in the window shenanigans instead.  I will fix the window at lunch (and probably reinforce it) and head over to the car wash after work instead.  Then it is just start loading things up.

Here is what is left before the trip (new mini checklist):

• Make Grand Teton Reservations
• Run to the Dump
• Install the cap
• Clean the inside of the cap and back of truck
• Pack hiking gear
• Laundry (I also have some shirts that need spot stain removal)
• Pack clothes
• Grab monitors from the shed for Mike
• Load truck

Cap done for real this time.

I went home at lunch yesterday and decided to wrap a few things up.  I finished tarping the excavator.  I had left the back open the previous day because of how wet the tarp still was.

I also went and got the gasket put on.  Unfortunately it didn't peel apart like it was supposed to, so it went on with staples instead.  And since I haven't bought more staples since building the barn in KY in July, it got monster 9/16" staples because it was all I had.

I even tried to make the corners correctly.  This one looks okay, the other one less so.  But the cap is now actually complete and ready to install.

That was a lot of work to do over a lunch break, I was moving fast.  I was moving fast because of the constant thunder.  These storms weren't originally supposed to arrive until after work.  

However, in an unusual move, the storms missed to the south.  That last picture was facing southeast.  Work got hammered and apparently our building got struck by lightning and blew some stuff up, which I sadly missed.  

On the drive at lunch, I tried using a different 12V adapter I had plugged into the inverter.  It is more consistent, but seemingly charges less than just running the 12V in the truck (when it works).  It can get over 100W from the truck's 12V, whereas this adapter gives it a very consistent 85-90W.  When the truck's 12V is being flaky, it only gets 40-50W, if it doesn't cut out completely.  I really don't understand how all this works, the data is rather confusing, but I don't think I am going to finish my terrible fake solar thing in time.  So I think I will just use the truck's 12V but keep this adapter around just in case.  I do have a theory, in that it truly limits current, and the truck's alternator is putting out ~14V whereas the AC 12V adapter only puts out a more consistent 11.8V ish.  And I am pretty sure the Jackery only grabs from one of the DC sources of both are connected.

After work was more packing and my last shopping round before the trip.  I got my toolbox sorted, since the tools had largely disbursed the past few months, and I started to pull things together on the laundry side, though that is just starting.  

Here is what is left before the trip (new mini checklist):

• Make Grand Teton Reservations
• Run to the Dump
• Install the cap
• Clean the inside of the cap and back of truck
• Pack hiking gear
• Laundry (I also have some shirts that need spot stain removal)
• Pack clothes
• Grab monitors from the shed for Mike
• Load truck

That is a lot for only a couple days, but doable.  On the Grand Teton reservations, I am having trouble finding anything within an hour of the park that isn't an organ a night.  I am surprised with how popular Grand Teton is that there aren't many plain hotels nearby.  There are a fair number of resorts, most of which are still reserved solid during mid-September.  I am thinking I might just bring my tent though, and hope it doesn't snow much.  I can always sleep in the back of the truck if need be (and the cap survives).  I hope to go to the dump today, and grab a spare set of hands to install the cap after work.  I cleaned out underneath the cap yesterday.

More trip prep, finally reserved hotels.

The weekend was mostly just trip prep stuff.  It was still really nice outside last week, so I have been going out for long walks at lunch.  It got down into the 40's a couple times last week, and some of the early turners have begun changing color.  

The test I started in the last post turned out better than expected.  It finished at 49%, so running both units took 36% for a day, meaning I can hopefully get three days without recharging the Jackery.

I also finished up the itinerary on Friday evening.  Here is the updated day by day:

8/29 - (working) - Leave after work for KY

8/30 - (working) - Drive to KY.  Pick up supplies.

8/31 - KY

9/1  - KY - Leave after dinner.  Hope to reach Evansville IN (~4hr) before stopping.  

9/2  - (holiday) - Drive to Valentine Nebraska (14.25h).  Stay in the https://tradewindslodge.com/?

9/3  - (working) - Nebraska - Visit Smith Falls State Park - Stay in Trade Winds Lodge

9/4  - (personal)- Nebraska  - AM - Visit Niobrara Valley Preserve - PM - Drive to Scotsbluff (4hr).  Visit Scottsbluff National Monument, stay at Monument Inn and Suites in Gering.  Consider seeing chimney rock and carhenge on the way?  https://www.monumentinnsuites.com/accommodations 

9/5 - (working) - Drive to Kearney WY (4.5h).  Visit Toadstool Geological park on the way.  Stay at Mill Inn in Sheridan.

9/6 - (working) - Kearney and Oregon Trail stuff.  Stay at Mill Inn.

9/7 - Drive to Bannack (6.5h).  NOTE - going through Billings, where there is a Walmart and such.  If I need supplies, this is a good time to stop.  Consider stopping at Pictograph Cave State Park on the way (just south of Billings).  Stay at Sundowner Motel

9/8 - Bannack Ghost town and maybe a state park. Stay at Sundowner Motel

9/9  - (vacation) - Drive to Glacier National Park.  Lake Five Resort Cabin 8 

9/10 - Glacier National Park .  Lake Five Resort Cabin 8

9/11 - Glacier National Park .  Lake Five Resort Cabin 8

9/12 - Glacier National Park .  Lake Five Resort Cabin 8

9/13 - Glacier National Park .  Lake Five Resort Cabin 8

9/14 - Drive to Museum of the Rockies (5.25H) and then go to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (3H).  Stay at Homestead Inn and Suites in Hardin

9/15 - Drive to Yellowstone (4.5H) - Stay at Absaroka Mountain Lodge

9/16 - Yellowstone - Stay at Absaroka Mountain Lodge

9/17 - Yellowstone -  Stay at Absaroka Mountain Lodge

9/18 - Yellowstone -  Stay at Absaroka Mountain Lodge

9/19 - Drive to Grand Teton National Park

9/20 - Grand Teton National Park

9/21 - Grand Teton National Park

9/22 - Grand Teton National Park

9/23 - Drive back to KY

9/24 - Drive back to KY.  Probable late arrival.

9/25 - (working) - Drive back to KY contingency day

9/26 - (working) - KY

9/27 - (working) - KY

9/28 - Leave for NH late

9/29 - Drive to NH

I also spent a good chunk of Saturday reserving hotels.  Everything is booked except for Grand Teton, which I hope to do today.  The only lodging I saw offhand (it was getting late when I got that far) was very expensive, to the tune of $400-$500 a night.  

Saturday I starting figuring out how to put the coolers in the truck.  The first attempt went poorly.  

The second attempt was better.  I originally intended to build a little shelving thing, but I didn't have the right kind of lumber onhand, since this area is very space constrained using 2x lumber was out.  So I went a little crazy with ropes.  It is a shame removing the seats is a major pain that can blow the airbags if you do it wrong, that would make all this soo much easier to deal with if I could just delete the passenger and rear seats for the trip.

I tried some epoxy I had on hand for the window.  It ended poorly; it was too thin and just ran off.  So I also tried JB Weld.  This looks like there is potential it will hold.  I will find out soon.  

I put a little on both the broken part to hold it, and where it is still intact to help prevent it from breaking.  

After that I decided to move to mowing.  This is the first time I have mowed in a loooong time; since the tree came down, back in mid-July for the back, and almost as long in the front.  It was bad, I had to slow down, not because it looked bad, but because it was bogging and trying to stall it was so thick.  It is done though, so I will probably only mow once more for the year, mostly to mulch leaves.

I also went to cover the excavator back up so I could mow the back.  It was uncovered so I could change the fluids, but at this point it won't happen before I leave.  I did put some Gorilla Tape on the cover so it doesn't snag the tarp, but the tarp apparently had pools of water in it that hadn't evaporated off, so I didn't completely cover it.  I will finish tarping it when I get home today.

I made a boo-boo.  I turned on the blades, and didn't realize there was a chunk of 2x4 (I couldn't see it because how long the grass was), and it got launched.  Sigh.

Next up was cleaning out the truck.  I got the back seat completely emptied. 

The doors are now full too, the drinks have been moved.  The bag with my road snacks is now half empty, so clearly I need more road snacks.  

I also tried plugging in both 12V circuits in my truck into the Jackery.  I had hoped this would double the charging rate, but it looks like it is limited to only a single 12V input.  With both though, it stays up near the limit for the 12V, so that is at least much better.

I also went and finished up the food prep.  I originally had a thought to consolidate all the loose single serving bags into a Hannaford bag, but I have concerns about the freezer space.  I don't think this idea will work, there just isn't enough space to separate everything.  If I have to move some of the vacuum sealed veggies to the fridge, that isn't the end of the world, they should last a couple weeks in the fridge.  I will have to re-bag the frozen sandwich things to suck the air out, though I won't use the vacuum sealer, just ziplocs.  

Everything except the ice cube tray on this side of the freezer is going.  

I also came up with a list of everything that needs to be done before (things like go to the dump), and I realized last night when I was making it that I forgot to install the gasket on the cap.  Derp.  I thought the cap was done when I finished up the JB Weld, but oh well.  

Current to-do:

• Design deck
• Build deck
• Build armoire.
• Install whole house filter.
• Refurb cap
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Back yard drainage.
• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Close up tiny home.  Seal up plumbing.
• Storm doors

Another small update.

The cap is now mostly ready, there are just a couple of final touches to do on it; just JB Weld the hinge and put tape over the former holes in the top.  The JB welding is actually important so hopefully it holds: the cap doesn't latch with the window sagging down because the arms no longer line up.

Apparently google only supports rotation for panorama shots now, this is what my attempt to take a sliding one looked like.  Way to go Google.

The cap work was Wednesday.  Yesterday the next (and probably last) round of stuff came in.  At this point, even if I order something it probably won't arrive before I leave.

I got my bear necessities.  Bad pun intended.  I will admit the canister is bigger than I expected.

One thing I have noticed with the new tires is that they seem to be collecting rocks, and it makes it sound like I have studded snows on when I drive down the road.  I don't recall that problem when I had these on the Tundra, but it really isn't a big deal.  

I decided to be useful during my lunch walk yesterday and walked to OReilly's and got a new wiper.  The old one had started to tear.

I also got the receipt for my dumpster yesterday.  I was pretty close on the weight; I only had 140 lbs to spare.

Since the new cooler came in, I decided to run another test to confirm my prior results.  I will have the results tonight.  It started at 85% charge, and I expect it will be roughly 40% tonight after 24 hours.  I hope it is above 50, but that isn't highly likely, but means in a pinch with a little bit of driving involved I can go 3 days without recharging the Jackery.  The big one is set as a freezer, the other a refrigerator.

I also finally got around to doing some of the pre-cooking.  The seafood cafeteria noodles for frozen lunches (cafeteria noodles with shrimp and fake crab).  I have finished up the frozen veggies as well, they are all cut and vacuum sealed now.  I still have two more rounds of cooking to do: the meat, and one more set of 4 lunches.  My freezer is actually quite full.

I haven't had a chance to do much with it yet, but I also hope to test out my weirdo attempt at infusing more charge into the Jackery while driving this weekend.  I have a DC-DC power supply board that current limits, and I borrowed a couple of AC power supplies from work that I can plug into the inverter of my truck.  I just hope the current limiting is good enough of a solar mimic for the charge controller to take it.  Solar panels are really really hard to fake out because they are very different electrically from normal power sources.

I was hoping to be able to climb Monadnock this weekend as a litmus test for whether I can do decent moderate hikes, but I am not sure I have enough time.  We shall see though.  I need to finish up the cap, which only has minutes of work left, and install it on the truck, but I also need to finish up the hotel reservations and whatnot.  Maybe I will see where everything stands on Saturday night and maybe try going up Sunday very early (you have to be early to get parking).  

Current to-do:

• Design deck
• Build deck
• Build armoire.
• Install whole house filter.
• Refurb cap
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Back yard drainage.
• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Close up tiny home.  Seal up plumbing.
• Storm doors