Small trip update.

I haven't done much else the last couple of days, but continued to make progress on trip stuff.  Last night I was intending to go out and do the trailer modifications, but to be honest, I sat down on my couch and next thing I knew it was 7:30PM and getting dark.  I hate it when that happens.  So I did some more trip stuff.  I picked out another couple of hotels then realized that in Yellowstone and Glacier that the hotels I picked were on the wrong side of the park; both parks have east and west entrances and most of the attractions are on the eastern side, but the hotels I picked were by the west entrance and these parks are large enough to not want to drive across them every day.  I also made a quick run to the store.  

I put a few cups of water in my large bowl and tried to lift it out by the side to simulate cooking a hamburger helper in it on the road.  It failed before I even put it in the microwave.  The bowl is just too thin and is really cheap plastic.  So I picked up a beefier one when I went to the store.

I now have most of the non-perishable food packed.  The beverages are mostly complete (I might still pick up another couple of 2-liters).  The stack in the middle is ready to go after I label the totes (the sticky notes on them right now will not survive).  The bag on top looks overfilled, but most of the drinks in that bag will be put into the doors of the truck so they are more easily accessible while driving.  Most of the dinners are now packed as well, though I didn't grab everything I needed for them.  I am still waiting for my Dollar Tree to restock their shelf-stable milk.  They are very bad about getting things on the shelves.  I need a few more cans of veggies and stuff too.  For those curious, I am doing the dinners as kits, meaning I can just grab a bag, look inside for the note that says what it needs from the freezer, plop them in the laundry basket (what I am using to transfer back and forth to the hotel room from the truck).  The intent is to minimize the rummaging around in the back of the truck, and help preventing my needing to make a half dozen trips from the truck to the hotel room at each stop, a rather annoying inconvenience on my Utah trip.  

In other news, I finally got a low battery warning from my mouse.  I put that battery in there when I was in Syracuse.  Though to be be fair, the first many years of its life I only used it when traveling.  It is a recent thing that it has become my primary mouse.  Still quite impressive though.  Also impressive that it hasn't corroded or anything.  

I scrounged around at work and found some washers for the handle for the cap.  I think I have everything I need to finish it up before the trip.  I will do that this weekend.  I am bringing Matt's trailer to Stefan's (more convenient for him to get to) this weekend as well, so I need to get the mods done today (or tomorrow if I don't finish it) and bring it over on Saturday.  I should be able to squeeze the cap work in when I get back though.  I am definitely feeling the time crunch though.  I should have made the hotel reservations for my trip weeks ago, and I am still selecting where to go in spots...  I tried to make a Craters of the Moon visit fit in since I removed Wind Cave (which is closed for elevator replacement), but it really compressed the schedule (Wind Cave was on the way, whereas Craters of the Moon is a sizable detour into Idaho), so I opted against it.  As noted previously, all the trip notes are at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VgAnZXowxcvWFAUoVYYKVFOL3tE_f45tBrUGvmUVaN8/edit?usp=sharing for those curious.

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