Unabated

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning the wind continued unabated.....at 22 mph it wasn't bad, but the temperature had dropped so the wind was very cold......certainly cold enough to discourage outdoor activities.  We decided to do a road trip over through Bluff, up through Blanding to Monticello to shop.  There is really not a store in Mexican Hat other than a mini market at the local fuel station, and no alcohol other than in local restaurants.  We are, after all, in Utah where there are mostly only state liquor stores....the nearest one being in Monticello...:-)....some fuel stations in remote areas (like Mexican Hat and Bluff) sell beer, but that's about it.

The drive up to Monticello is very scenic, and the altitude (7,069') is 2,000 feet higher than Goosenecks.  We decided to leave Goosenecks around 11 am and stop in Bluff on the way back for a late lunch at Twin Rocks Cafe .  When we were in Bluff this time last year we ate there and really liked their ambiance, service and food.

After a brief stop in Blanding at the Clark Supermarket we arrived in Monticello about 12:15.  The state liquor store is quite small......probably about the size of the inside of our coach....serious.  TLE made her selections of wine and brandy, and we were on our way over to Blue Mountain Foods to do our shopping.....Yelp gives them 4 stars, and we would have to agree.....very nice selection for a small town store, and the 'box boy' still offers to take your cart out to your car and put your groceries in the trunk!

We were back on our way south and west arriving back in Bluff just before 2 pm......we were seated immediately inside (we ate outside last year, but too windy and cold this time around).  I ordered a Polygamy Porter (Wasatch Brewing) to start with, and their Chicken Quesadilla and Stuffed Jalapeno starters.  TLE ordered a Chicken Caesar Salad.  Polygamy Porter is one of my all time favorite porter's, and when I find someone serving one I go for it every time.....besides, who doesn't like the bottle graphics?

Twin Rocks Cafe.....for obvious reasons.

We were back 'home' by 3 pm where we quickly unloaded the groceries and liquor and got inside......very, very cold wind still blowing.  While we were gone our batteries reach their state of 'Nirvana' hitting 100% once again......very cool to recharge your batteries day after day passively.....no fossil fuels consumed to produce clean electricity with no cost.

There was a time when living off the grid was just a fanciful, romantic notion with us.....we did all the things necessary to do it, but had actually done it so very little until this year.  Suddenly we prefer to eschew the comforts of RV park living (electricity, sewer, water at your finger tips) and look forward to long stays in the middle of no where.....'unplugged'.   There is something so liberating about 'boondocking'.....finding those places at little, or no cost which, at the same time, have that 'IT' factor we crave.  This winter we have stayed at three 'boondocking' sites which have met our requirements in spades.  It has really come down to gaining confidence in knowing we can go extended periods of time without plugging in, without needing more water, and without needing to dump our tanks.  We have refined our skillset in managing these three resources (electrical use, fresh water use, generation of waste) to the extent now where we could see ourselves going 3 weeks without replenishment and disposal, and that will be our goal next year.

We had a super cold night Wednesday night....it got down to 32 degrees here in Goosenecks, which we were expecting.  Remarkably our batteries had only lost 5% of their charge overnight, so we start today at 95%.......life is very good!

Thanks for stopping by!