Shifting focus....

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As our time in Spokane with family draws to an end my thoughts turn more and more to our journey south.  I've been searching through the blogs of people I know who have found some interesting places to boondock along the route we will be following for the next few weeks, and I am getting very excited about the possibilities that await us.  However, for just a little while Monday we began to have second thoughts about our plan to follow US 395 southward as the weather forecasts do not look, at first blush, conducive to off the grid living.  Then it occurred to both of us, almost at the same time, that this is precisely why we added two more solar panels....so we could boondock in less than ideal circumstances.......so that is what we shall attempt to do as we work our way southward to warmer temperatures.

It's interesting that the longer we stay away from boondocking the more apprehensive we sometimes become about getting back into it.  Intellectually we know we can boondock under less than ideal conditions, because we did a lot of that this past winter/early spring when we spent 38 days off the grid in northern Arizona and southern Utah where the overnight temps often got into the 20's, then there was day upon day with wind, and sometimes cloudy conditions.  We dealt with all of that and managed to successfully live off the grid in rather remote areas for extended periods of time.  We have been 'plugged' in for most of the last 6 months, and it becomes easy to become complacent when you don't have to manage your on board resources and capacities (fresh water, battery power, waste water, black water, etc.).  Boondocking requires an entirely different mind set, and it is really just a matter of turning on the 'boondock switch' in our brains.  Once we are in that frame of mind we begin to remember what joy we derive from being self sufficient, and what amazing places we can stay for little, or no monetary expense.  Sure, it is a little more effort, but the rewards far outweigh the extra effort and thought that goes into boondocking.

What did our Monday look like?  I spent the morning putting things away in the trailer in preparation for the next insertion of the VW Beetle, and TLE spent time inside the Newell vacuuming, remaking the bed, and putting freshly laundered clothes away.  She had already.......and I forgot to write about this......defrosted the freezer portion of our Dometic fridge on Sunday.  All that time spent in humidity along the Oregon, and Washington coasts really caused the ice to build up in the freezer.  What better time to defrost than when we have moved out for a few days?

Around 1230 I drove down to my mother's apartment to pick her up for lunch at the Rockwood Bakery once again.  We spent a couple of hours talking, eating, and enjoying the laid back ambiance of the bakery, as well as a few cups of their great coffee.  I dropped her back at her apartment about 1430, and then headed down the hill towards I-90 to find a fuel station that sold diesel.....none of the stations on South Hill, where we are staying, seem to have a diesel pump.  I wanted to fill up both my diesel container and my gasoline container in anticipation of our trip south.  The gasoline will be used, if needed, to power our small Honda 1000 watt generator should we need it to assist in the recharging of our batteries on cloudy days, and the 5 gallons of diesel would be used in an emergency situation where we inadvertently ran out of diesel and/or needed to re-prime our fuel filters.  Once that task was done I was back 'home' by 1530.....in time for late afternoon nap leading up to MNF (Monday Night Football).

Tuesday will see us become more earnest in our efforts to prepare for liftoff late morning on Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by!