From one trip to the next

I spent Labor day weekend down in KY.  It was too hot to do too much.  There were a few noteworthy things though.  The first is that I never realized that they engraved "replace tire" into the tire.  It actually has two levels, the first is replacement tire manager which wears down into replace tire.  Not sure why.  If the person isn't checking that it is beyond the wear bars, they aren't going to see this.  Still amusing though.

As is the way, I encountered a ton of road work.  Some of it made no sense.  KY for example is reskinning I64.  Literally just a skin, this is not even an inch thick.  I can't imagine what purpose a layer that thin serves other than making sure that they repave it again soon since there is no chance a layer that thin holds up to the truck traffic that rolls down it. 

 

Since I took the CR-V, I actually got decent sleep on the way up and down, though it was cut short on the way down.  I got woken up at 5AM by some doofus setting off his car alarm.  You get to see some pretty sunrises though, and the fog lifting out of the hills.  The I99 corridor (and northern I79) is quite pretty.

 

The gas mileage on this trip was not that great; I have come to expect better from the CR-V.  That said, I brought it in before the next trip, and they replaced the entire exhaust.  It still rumbles and is noisier than it should be, but is definitely better than it was.  The car feels like it has more power too, so I wonder if the sensors in the exhaust were doing something bad, though I would have expected them to trip the check engine light if it was bad enough to change how the car was driving.

 

I don't know if Aunt Boo reads my blog, but her blueberries are delicious.  This was a (slightly oversized) smoothie.

 

One upside of being away, my pets don't realize I am home.  

 

I also got a notice that they recalled my hot tub.  Apparently if you run it when the water is low, the pump can light itself on fire.  While it probably should have a safety in it, it is built like almost every submerged thing in the last several decades it uses the water it pumps to cool itself.  Fortunately for me, I picked up a spare pump (free on Craigslist), so I can turn one in for the recall, get the refund on the hot tub, and still have the tub fully functional as long as I don't run it like a moron.  So that is nice.  Now if I could only finish the back deck so I can set up the darn thing...

 

No picture yet since it hasn't arrived at the time of this posting (currently out for delivery), but the new power center is supposed to arrive today.  Just in time for the trip.  It is a Bluetti AC300.  It is expandable to run an entire off-grid structure, if one is willing to pony up the dough anyways.  I left my Anker down in KY as a UPS for my sisters, and after melting down a second car charger I was leery of using it in a car camper anyways.  This is even bigger than the Jackery though, so it should run my fridge and freezer for a little under a week with no charging at all, I should get over a week if I chain it to the Jackery.  All the accessories for it won't arrive in time, but the main unit should.

I leave for the trip probably tomorrow morning at this point.  I was originally intending to leave after work today, but I don't think that is going to happen.  I haven't actually finished packing yet.  The food stuff is packed and ready, I got all that ready last weekend, and I got the backpack stuff all pulled out (laptop, camera, electronics, etc) and they are all charged up, but not packed.  The clothes stuff is all pulled out but none of it is actually packed yet; I just did my laundry last night.  So I will probably finish up the packing tonight and leave in the morning.  I was hoping to have some time in Michigan for the Ford and Ann Arbor museums but might not now.  We shall see.  The first actual reservation is the ferry on Saturday morning, so if I do all the driving on Thursday (tomorrow) I might be able to visit something on Friday after work (if they are open late enough).  Here is the trip itinerary: 
    17-Thursday- (W) - Drive towards Michigan.
    18-Friday (W) - Finish drive.  Do stuff in Michigan.
    19-Saturday - Drive to Muskegon MI to ferry.  Take Ferry to Manitowoc. Visit Wisconsin Maritime Museum then visit Simon’s Specialty cheese shop.
    20-Sunday - Drive to Duluth.  Visit Jurustic Park on the way.
    21-Monday (W) - Visit a lighthouse (Wisconsin point Lighthouse), Aerial Bridge, North Shore scenic drive up to Grand Marais.
    22-Tuesday - Breakwater trail.  Drive to Voyageurs.  Visit International Wolf Center on the way, and maybe Tettugouch.
    23-Wednesday - Voyageurs -  Scenic drive to Ash river visitor center? Ash river tour?  Beaver Pond overlook?  Visit Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center.  Maybe Hike Blind Ash Trail?
    24-Thursday - Voyageurs - Kettle Falls boat tour.  Old hotel and damn.
    25-Friday - Voyageurs - International Falls, rainy lake visitor center.  Life on the lake boat tour, abandoned mines.  See if I can get to the Ellsworth Rock Garden not by boat.
    26-Saturday - Drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Stop at Grand Portage National Monument on the way.
    27-Sunday - Theodore Roosevelt National Park - South Unit Visitor Center, scenic loop drive, Buck hill.
    28-Monday (W) - Badlands Dinosaur Museum?  Hell Creek Fossils? Petrified forest?  Painted Canyon Overlook?
    29-Tuesday - Theodore Roosevelt National Park. North Unit Visitor Center.  Northern Scenic Loop, cannonball concretions, Sperati point.
    30-Wednesday - Enchanted Highway. Drive to SD. 1880 town.  Delta-09 Minuteman missile silo.
    01-Thursday - Scenic ghost town, Sylvan lake state park.  Some time available for scenic drives, but not complete them.
    02-Friday - Four Mile Old West Town Museum, Jewel Cave (if I can get tickets), Meeker Ranch, Scenic drives in the black hills and Custer park.
    03-Saturday - Wind Cave.  Black hills cleanup.  Drive to Oglalla.
    04-Sunday - Oglalla National Grasslands, Toadstool Geological Park.
    05-Monday - Fort Robinson State Park, Fur Trader Museum.  Valentine Nebraska falls (Fort Niobrara, Smith falls, Big Cedar Falls).
    06-Tuesday - Drive back to Wisconsin.  Visit Mar’s Cheese Castle if time.
    07-Wednesday - Mar’s Cheese Castle.  Drive to Mathieson State Park and explore park.
    08-Thursday - Mathieson State Park.  Drive to Indiana Dunes.
    09-Friday - Explore the dunes.  Begin drive home.
    10-Saturday - Drive home.
    11-Sunday - Spare day.

As you can see, it will be a while before my next post, probably almost a month.  I will miss most of fall, it will be in the final stages when I get back.  Since I am taking a northern tour though, I will get to see a lot of it on the trip itself.  Here in NH, the early ones are changing.  

CR-V prep and carport prep.

While I didn't work on the carport during the week, I did get the CR-V cleaned out.  

I brought in the old two compartment storage I got from Aunt and emptied it.  You can see it is starting to tear on the right side.  

 

I also got these two bins re-packed.  My condiments bag will need to be replaced.  The mustard packets were all solid, so I threw them all away, I didn't really trust the others to be honest. 

 

The two compartment red storage thing held my kitchen supplies in one side, and my tools in the other.  The kitchen supplies ended up in one of the rope bins that I got from Natalie.

 

The tool situation was a bit murkier.  I didn't have a lot of basic tools, it was random things I had thrown in.  Some came from Uncle's camper, some from here, some from there, and so on.  So I had a lot of duplicates, and I was missing basics.  And given my very tight space constraints this was not a good way to do it.

 

This is the "new" space I have allotted for tools.  The space where these used to be is now the other cooler.  The tools space is basically the seat pocket and what I can fit next to the backup power station.  That is it.  One other thing to note: I have fixed the bungee cord in this picture that isn't elastic anymore.

Saturday was gorgeous out.  I went out for a quick bike ride, and then went back to work on the carport.  I was primarily working on attaching the boards at the base.  I finished it up Sunday morning since my drill battery died, I brought it in to finish charging, and then I got lazy, but it is done.  

 

The 2x6 is attached on this side as well.  

 

These are the ground anchors I intend to use.  I actually bought these for the old Harbor Freight carports but they never got used for those, they never lived long enough.

 

After I finished that up, I started cleaning up.  I pulled out one of the old trash cans.  I had other plans for this can, but ever since the side split, it kind of got exiled up there and just sat.  So I filled it with all the crap from up there and next time I go to the dump, I will take it and just chuck the whole can in, bags and all.  

 

While I was doing my various chores around the house, I continued on some of the other prep stuff.  I have a subset of tools to try to make fit.

 

I also came across the leftover floor mats from when I made the car camper.  Since I have no use for them, I plan on just putting them as an extra layer under the sleeping pad.  The alternative is to chuck them.

 

I still haven't finished the reservations for my trip.  I have hit snafus it seems with every reservation after Michigan.  I am at the South Dakota part of the trip though, so I am nearly finished. On the carport side, the last thing I want to do before taking the trees down and getting Barry up there is get the snowblowers out of the way.  

Ready to anchor.

I actually did some stuff during the week for a change.  I got some stuff ordered for the trip.  These are nasal dilators.  They are basically the nose strips on steroids.  They don't seem to do much when I am at home, but they do help when I am sleeping in the car.  They need to work on their packaging though, I had to re-bend them back into their proper shape.  They are all supposed to be like the top one.  These ones are softer than the last ones I got too which likely means that they aren't going to work as well, even though they are the same brand.

 

I finished up the wiring harness.  This is so I can run both coolers off the Jackery without using a splitter that I can kick in the middle of the night and cause them both to shut off.

 

Saturday was surprisingly nice.  It was rather cool, and while the clouds looked scary it was dry.  So I finished up the bottom support bars on the carport.  I understand now why people hate universal joints so much.  Every time I have tried to use mine, it has left me disappointed.  It kept binding up.  I ended up using a wobbler extension. 

 

The bottom supports didn't stiffen and straighten things up as much as I had wanted.  They are all in and tight now though.  The anchoring will help.  All that is left is the metal roofing.  And the gravel.  

 

I decided on how I want to anchor it.  I took a video, but apparently blogger doesn't allow me to upload videos anymore.  

 

Sunday was wet and rainy, but I took the truck out before it got too bad and picked up the lumber for it, as well as some survey tape and lag bolts to fasten it.  I did manage to find a couple dry hours in the afternoon to go out and mark the trees.  The green ones are definitely going, the orange I would leave it up to Barry whether he thinks they are a threat to the carport or worth taking down.

 

I also did a bunch of other trip stuff.  The first chunk of the trip is now reserved.  I ended up opting out of campsites because for some reason the cluster of them in Wisconsin I was looking at all had 2 day minimums, which made them as expensive as a hotel.  I will hopefully finish up making reservations tonight before shopping or tomorrow though.

 

I also decided to try toasting in my air fryer.  It actually turned out okay.  I am not planning on taking the toaster into the box truck, so it is good to know I can still make toast.

 

 

I noticed today that there are a couple of trees that are just starting to change.  A touch early, but not moreso than normal I suppose.  There are always a few freaky ones that start in August.   

 

I also realized when I was chatting with Matt about batteries that I never actually formally wrote up what my 5 year plan was.  You can see why I have been grumbling about not getting any of the project work done.  It is now two years behind.  Everything else is proceeding apace though.  And unless I get laid off, I might push it to 6 just to build up more cash buffer.

 

 

I also wrote up the contingency plan, and one part of the truck house idea that hadn't been fleshed out yet; what happens when the truck dies.  Having my house be in/on a truck that will age out and break down or wear out means that the underlying vehicle needs to be replaced every so often.  I originally had a line item for I think it was $200 a month to squirrel away for this eventuality.  This ended up getting removed from the final budget because there was no good way to balance the budget with it in there.  

The plan instead is when the truck starts getting less reliable or getting to the point where replacement is a need, I will need to take a year off from traveling and pick up side work.  Originally when I came up with the 5 year plan the idea was to pick up remote contract work and put extra time into the side business, but if that is untenable due to the emergence of AI, either the side business will have to grow an extra branch (handyman work?) or even just pick up an unskilled labor job for a summer or so until I can afford to either rebuild the vehicle or replace it.  I wrote up a much more detailed thing on it, but don't want to turn this post into a lecture, but I can send it if anyone is curious.

Kayak fail, transitioning to vacation mode.

I actually wrote this update last week, but apparently never published it.  Oops.  This is the update from last week.  

 

Didn't do too much during the week, it has been a long couple weeks at work, but I have actually enjoyed it; I am building stuff with my hands again.

 

Saturday I started to cut down knotweed, but quickly started to get rained on.  It was only a 25% chance, but it rained a good chunk of the day.  Sigh.  Instead I finished up the itinerary and where I am staying.  I am ready to start making reservations, which I will probably do this week.

 

Sunday started off with some fails.  I went to Highland Lake with my inflatable kayak, and forgot the paddles (doh!) and more importantly, discovered that my inflator thingy that is supposed to stay in the car was not in there (major doh!).  So that didn't go well.  At Voyageurs I will be taking boat tours because it is so large,  but I am staying at Sylvan Lake in South Dakota and will want it there, so I do kind of want to get it out once or twice first just to see what it is like.  

 

I did do a little bit of work on the carport.  I got it shifted a foot or two over so it didn't roll down the hill, and got the last leg installed.  I also started installing the leg braces.  I still need to get Barry up there to remove some firewood from there so it doesn't get pummeled.

At this point I am more shifting towards vacation mode.  I will say though it is pretty sad the lack of meaningful project progress I have made this year; once I get back from vacation I will be in the usual winter panic mode.  

 

This is the update from this week: Not too much during the week.  I  really need to start doing more during the week, but I typically get home, start making dinner, and then by the time I get motivated to do stuff, the sun is behind the trees and I decide "nah, not enough time left to make it worthwhile".  I did see something amusing shopping Monday though.  Apparently Bounty laid off/outsourced all their English speaking QA people.

 

Saturday started off a bit sluggish, but I did motivate myself to get some stuff done.  It was a gorgeous day, so I went for a walk in my woods.  I then got some trip stuff done.  I tore apart my house until I found my toiletry bag.  I am not sure how, but it somehow got pinned between the box spring and the wall.

 

I also went through my kitchen and started culling all the oversaturated stuff.  This is the basis for the food I will be bringing on the trip.   I still have a bunch of frozen meals to take, but I think instead of planning meals to the letter (and then having it be all hosed up after 3 days like last trip), I am just going to bring a stock and make things as I see fit on the road.  It is a bit more like wingin' it, but it isn't like any of my food planning has ever resembled reality when all is said and done.

I also went through and cut the wires for the custom fridge wiring harness.  We have nicer special crimpers at work for the splices, so I should finish it up today at work.

 

I also wanted to take advantage of the nice day and went up the fire tower.  While there isn't going to be a lot of climbing on this trip, it still felt good to awaken those long-dormant muscles.  Visibility was good, the temperature was perfect (I went in the evening, and it had fallen to the 60s by then), and I saw one person at the trail head and that was it, I otherwise had the place to myself.  These were taken with the big camera.  I am not sure why Google uploaded them in reverse order (the first taken is at the bottom)

 

I have never found a summit marker, but this will have to do.

I also took a short video from the tower.

I still had a tiny bit of daylight left, so I went into town for a few things.  My phone kind of killed the color in it, but it was a pretty sunset. 

 

One other thing I noticed this weekend is that my water now has visibly sized shavings in it.  I have procrastinated too long on calling the water company out it appears.

 

I still haven't made the reservations, I will definitely get that done this week, it should have been done last week (that is something I can do during the week that doesn't require daylight).