Week 13 December 03 – 09, 2019
Borrego Springs, CA
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Yesterday, we moved our camp. Doug, one of my travelling
companions chose to camp in a different spot, so Lynne and I found a new spot
near Borrego Springs. We are about 7 miles east of town, in a more sandy area.
Today I began to add the second layer of insulation to the
ceiling of Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan. It was fairly easy work. The drop down
ceiling section needed a bit more work which included adding another rafter. By
the end of the day I had 6 or 7 insulation panels in place. I also figured out a venting system so cool
air could get into the living quarters when the back roll up door is up.
Added some battery operated xmas lights to give the space and nice warm glow.
Wednesday December 4, 2019
It was a rather gloomy dreary day with thick overcast clouds
and periods of rain. I turned on my
generator and watched TV most of the day. Not much happened. Lynne and I talked about moving our camp. I
also chatted with an online friend and we hope to meet up soon. Both Lynne and I decided that heading east
into Arizona will give us nicer weather, a change in scenery and a break from
the heavy humidity here in Borrego Springs.
Grey skies, gloomy day! Made it a movie day!
Thursday December 5, 2019
I drove Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan into Borrego Springs. I
know at least one if not two of my packages will have arrived from Amazon. I
also needed a few more 2X2s and other supplies.
The folks at the Post Office were quite nice, and told me that the truck
had arrived later than usual and not all the parcels had been entered into the
system. I told them I would visit a bit more and come later on. I went to the
local library and updated my iPad, and then found my way back to Carmelita’s
for a couple of their tacos and I went to the hardware store and grabbed the
2X2s and a few other things. There were
no other parcels for me at the post office so I returned to camp.
I immediately switched out my inverters. The new one, a
Renogy matches the rest of the system other than the solar panels which are
Gear Zero. Wow, the new inverter is so quiet in comparison to the Lyvuan
inverter I bought.
After switching the inverters I started to think about the
difficulties I was having keeping the cooler cold. I figured if I bought a
cheap charge controller and hooked up my Noma solar panel I wouldn’t have such
a hard time. I quickly ordered another
controller. I didn’t go with the cheapest but one that cost about $30 – RoHS is
the brand name.
That is one of the neat things about it getting dark here
before 5, I have a lot of hours to problem solve creatively some of the quirks
of nomadic living.
I have been designing a kitchen cupboard over the last
couple of days, and today I was able to build the frame. I am still using the
2X2 framing, this time I am using plywood as the exterior.
The kitchen cupboard frame!
The weather hasn’t been super cooperative lately. I just
wanna head east to nicer weather – but I need to be patient as I still have two
packages arriving from online shopping. Back to turning on the generator and
watching some movies.
Friday December 6, 2019
It was rather bright and sunny today, and I was able to
finish my kitchen cupboard and installed in Mobius, the Nomadic Handyvan. I think it looks pretty sharp, and just adds
more storage space.
My kitchen cupboard!
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Lynne invited me to go into Borrego Springs with her. It was
a good visit, a bit of tourist-y as we stopped at the Anza Borrego Park store.
I bought a ball cap and a pack. I also
went to the Post Office and picked up my package. Unfortunately I had received
an email from Amazon stating my portable fridge had been declared
“undeliverable” and was being returned to their center. Bummer, I was looking
forward to have a better cold food storage. Oh well, I will try again at a
later date. The good news was that the
cheap charge controller I bought had arrived.
Just as we were heading back to camp we noticed a yard sale
and decided to stop and check it out. I found a brand new camp stove and oven –
I bought it immediately.
After getting back to camp I realized I was going to
have to alter the kitchen counter and the solar power system so everything
would fit. It took me 4 hours to resign the kitchen counter. Then I made
bannock. It was perfect way to end a good day!
Discovered the stove comes with automatic spark igniters! Which means no more matches!
Lynne and I decided that we’d leave this area and head
towards Arizona Monday. That gives us a day and a half to clean, pack, organize
and prep for the trip. Lynne and I have
similarities – we are both rather methodical in our organizational skills. I
made myself a list – starting with setting up my second solar power system,
finishing the kitchen cupboard and so forth.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
I woke up early, chatted with Lynne and got busy installing
my second solar power system. It didn’t
take me too long to get all the components set up. I was really happy to see that the battery
was charging without any issues.
In this shot, the inverter is not connected to the battery - if in the future I get a better fridge I may need to have an inverter, but the current Coleman Portable runs directly off the battery through a 12 volt lighter plugin.
After that, I made the shelf for my kitchen cupboard and
organized the kitchen a bit better – making things more accessible. Lynne brought over some bits and pieces she
thought I might find useful. The bamboo
utensil drawer was perfect! And it fit on a shelf.
After the building parts of my day were done I started to
clean up and organize things, I also started to pack away things like my camp
table, tools, and my camp chair. As I was organizing things, I dropped a bunch
of cut-ends of lumber in the fire ring. I figure it would be a good way to
finish the week with a little fire and visit with Lynne.
My kitchen cupboard works perfectly! I am using two sash catches (meant for looking windows) to secure the two larger doors and a decorative barrel latch for the smaller door.
Our final night here - camp fire!
Monday, December 09, 2019
I went to Salton Sea for gas and water. I told the manager I'd be back next winter. He was surprised I was leaving the area so soon because his expansion of the truck stop would be opening very soon - he's added a number of fast food outlets (Subway, Cinnabon, Coffee Bean, Taco Bell and KFC). I told him I would be back.
Next up, was a trip into Indio to get the last of the building supplies I think I'll need for the last bit (I can't tell you what I am planning - it's a surprise). I went to Walmart for some more grub and I headed out on the Interstate 10 East. A couple of miles out of town there were a number of sheriff and police officers converging at the bottom of an on ramp. I don't know what was happening - it wasn't an accident - I think someone might be smuggling something they shouldn't. There were more police vehicles at that spot than in my home communities of Ross River and Carcross (Tagish) combined!
I drove over the Chiriaco Summit. It was beautiful. I really wanted to stop and take some pictures, but there was nowhere safe enough to stop. Eventually I stopped at Cactus City Rest stop and got a picture.
When I arrived in Blythe, CA I decided to stop, find a WIFI friendly restaurant - Denny's it is.
Next up is Quarztsite, Arizona. I will post about that next week!
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