Another good man gone too soon.....

 8:00 am - Sunday - November 15th - TWW - 34° F, humidity 52%, cloud cover 22%, wind 7 mph out of the south by southeast......a few high clouds today with a forecast high of 58° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were just south of Lone Pine, CA.....

.....on our way back to SoCal where we began our nomadic journey 22 months earlier.

The rain fell of and on all night long, and we awoke to the sound of rain on our riveted, air craft aluminum roof.  The amount of precipitation we received overnight pretty much mirrored the earlier forecast, which is always a surprise, because the forecast out here is pretty much hit and miss most of the time.  I took my time composing my latest missive as it was very cold, and very damp outside, and I had no desire to be outdoors until both of those conditions had changed for the better.

Charles and I had planned to install a new 2 x 4 under one of the solar arrays on the barn roof, as the old 2 x 4 had disintegrated over the many years it has been in place.....

....as you can see in the above picture (lower left) taken just a day earlier when we installed the replacement solar panel.  While I was not willing to begin the early in the morning, Charles was, so he basically took on the removal of the old, rotted wood, and installed the new 2 x 4 which supports the solar rack....

The old, rotten wood removed

The new 2 x 4 in place, and job done

......It didn't take him too long to do the job, and that was really all we had planned for Saturday, so I, essentially, had the day off work.

TLE and I spent most of the day watching NCAA College Football, and there were a number of games in which we had interest, however, most of the underdog teams for which we rooted lost, except for unranked Arkansas who beat #16, South Carolina, 34-6, and unranked Florida who beat #11, Kentucky, 21-14.  My #18 Trojans failed to upset #9, Indiana, losing 27-13.   In other news, #6 Texas came from behind with 3 seconds remaining to top #21, LSU, 22-21 on a last second touchdown.

Once again we convened in the house for dinner with Charles and Phyllis.  Charles grilled hamburgers for our dinner fair, and they were fantastic!  While we ate dinner, we watched, on YouTube, a live streamed video of good friend, George Cheney's Celebration of Life get together.  I first met George at College in Texas.  During the one summer I stayed on campus I would go down to Lake Loma (man made lake on campus) after work (I worked 6 am to 2 pm on the painting crew) to water ski, and George was usually the one driving the ski boat.  Twice during the past 15 years of travel we visited George and Brenda (wife) at their home in Coeur d'Alene, ID.  He suffered a traumatic brain injury about 6 years ago, and developed dementia as a result.  We last saw him in June of 2020, not long after the injury, and he was beginning to show signs of dementia, but he was still the George we knew and loved.  In October he passed on, and on November 14th, which would have been his 79th birthday, his family held the Celebration of Life party, which we were able to view while eating dinner.  Time continues its relentless journey into the future.....

George and Brenda in October 0f 2020, a few months after we last visited them in Coeur d'Alene, ID....see you on the other side George!

Thanks for stopping by!

High fiving......

 7:56 am - Saturday - November 14th - TWW - 43° F, humidity 69%, cloud cover 57%, wind 15 mph out of the west by southwest....very cloudy right now with clearing later this morning with a forecast high of 52° F.  On this date in 2023 TLE and I were at Glamis North Hot Springs, CA.....

.....soaking in a hot springs tub watching the sun set.  The view this morning....

.....rained last night, but it it beginning to clear.

I was sitting at my laptop composing yesterday's blogosphere offering wondering what we would be doing workwise Friday when I got a call from Charles about a hose on the washer which was leaking at one of the fittings to which it was attached.  When he first said 'there was a leak' my mind immediately thought of the pump house where we had numerous leak issues last winter, but we solved those leak issues a long time ago, and there has not been one leak out there since last January, or February.  I said I would come over to the house after my blog was published.

As it turned out the leak was where the cold water supply hose connected to the back of the washer, and it was just a matter of replacing the old, brittle washer in the female end of the hose, then removing the old Teflon tape, and applying new tape.  Within minutes the leak was fixed, so I returned to the Newell to get dressed and ready to assist Charles in getting the Champion 7.5 kilowatt generator connected to the Solark Inverter in the battery room, so it could be used to recharge the house batteries on rainy, or cloudy days.  

We've attempted to get this done on at least two other occasions during the past two winters, but failed.  This time Charles called the Solark help line for assistance.  It took a while waiting in the 'call que' to get a live person, but we did, and was he ever on top of his game.  Within 15 minutes he had connected to the Solark Inverter via the Interweb, and made three changes in the default generator parameters so the inverter would recognize, and allow the power from the Champion to enter the system.  We then started the generator, and within another 2-3 minutes power was flowing into the two Cloud Energy LifePo4 batteries from the Champion 7.5 kw generator.  We've been trying to solve this issue since we first arrived here back in October of 2024.

Next up we began removing the hydraulic cylinder which lifts and lowers the 'rake' on the Gannon scraper.  It was actually a pretty simple job, and withing 15-20 minutes we had it removed, and in the back of Charles' Ford pickup.....

....he found a place down in Phoenix which rebuilds and/or services hydraulic cylinders who will check it out too see if it rebuildable.  I'm sure it is, but that is not my field of expertise.  Hopefully, within a few weeks, we'll have a functioning hydraulic cylinder!

When Charles and Phyllis arrived Thursday they had twenty, or more, 200+ watt solar panels Charles had bought to supplement the house system.  One of them was designated to be installed on the roof system to replace one panel that was damaged in the summer of 2025 during a severe wind storm.....

The old, damaged panel

Waiting for the replacement

.....leaving an open spot for the new panel.  These panels Charles bought are older ones, predating the use of MC4 connectors, so we had to remove the old connectors, and install the MC4's.  It took a while to figure out which of the two wires on the back of the panel was the positive one.  A call to the manufacturer cleared that up quickly.  Next it was just a matter of installing the MC4's, then boosting the new panel up to the barn roof.....

Order is finally installed

.....and installing the 'new' panel.  With the damaged panel replaced the wattage being generated by the entire solar array jumped to over 4,300 watts.  By the time we finished it was well into the afternoon, but we were done, and exchanging 'high fives' all around.

The weather guessers had forecast rain around 5 pm in the afternoon, so I spent time putting away things we don't want to get wet before heading indoors to take a rest before dinner.  As it happened, the rain came at 4 pm, and continued on and off most the night, finally abating around 6 am this morning.

We, once again, joined Charles and Phyllis for dinner in the house which consisted of Clam Chowder, and garlic toast....the perfect cold, and now rainy day dinner.  We ate and talked until after 5:30 pm when we bid our adieus for the evening.  It was a very good day at TWW with a lot of long languishing projects crossed off the list!

It is now 9 am Saturday morning, and the rain we thought was gone, has returned.....😊

Thanks for stopping by!

Just two things....

 7:51 am - Friday - November 13th - TWW - 45° F, humidity 59%, cloud cover 71%, wind 19 mph out of the south.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 56° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were just north of Ventura, CA.....

.....at Rincon Parkway.  We've been there many times since around 2004 dry camping right next to the Pacific Ocean.  Being able to lookout your back window and see the surf, or walk down the beach 50' away is the coolest thing ever.  A million dollar view for $38/night!  The view this morning.....

.....heavy cloud cover this morning.  Will we get rain?  Hope not.

I'm trying to limit myself to accomplishing two things each day I work.  Two things that can be begun, and completed in the same day; within a few hours.  Thursday I decided to fix the glider which sits next to Phyllis' Newell.  When we had the bad windstorm two months ago it was flipped over, and from a short distance it appeared the wood slats which form the seat had shattered, however, upon closer inspection some of the carriage bolts affixing the slats to the seat area had come out due to a lack of nuts holding them tight.  Phyllis left the glider lying face down in case we had another windstorm, but now that we are here fulltime it was time to turn it right side up, and refasten the seat slats.....

.....when it tipped over some of the original brass carriage bolts fell into the dirt, and could not be found, so I had to find suitable replacements in the CONEX along with proper nuts to tighten everything down.  Beginning to end it took a little over an hour to get her fixed.

Next up I've been meaning to shorten the photo voltaic cables which transfer the 12 volt power generated by our EcoWorthy dual axis solar tracker to our Bluetti battery bank for two years.  Originally I bought 100' long cables (black and red) to make the run, but only needed about 50', so there has been an extra 50' coiled up on the ground behind the shed since I installed everything back in our first winter here.  The same is true for the new EcoWorthy 790 watt solar array we recently installed.  I wasn't sure where exactly we would be placing the new array, so I bought another 100' of black and red cable.  As it turned out we only needed 50' to make the run to the Newell.....

No more unsightly coils of extra photo voltaic cable

Now we've got over 100' of cable to use for another project, should one arise.

.....it really didn't take long to cut out the unneeded cable, install the MC4 connectors, and reconnect everything.  I cannot explain why it took me two years to shorten the solar voltaic cables.  I'm hoping the shorter lengths of cable to each solar array will result in an increase in the wattage reaching each battery bank.  Theoretically, that should be the result.

A couple of weeks ago Charles decided he wanted to get the hydraulic cylinder which raises and lowers the 'rake' on the Ford diesel gannon.  We both thought we had removed it a couple of years ago intending to get it repaired some day, but we could not find it anywhere.  Not in the CONEX, not in the barn, and not in the garage.  We both knew we had seen it, but could not find it.  While I was locating the replacement carriage bolts for the glider I walked over to the tractor, which is parked next to the barn, to see where the cylinder would be attached whenever we found it, and had it repaired, and discovered, much to our chagrin, that it was still attached to the gannon....

.....laughing out loud!  We both thought we had removed it two years ago.  Getting old is not for the faint of heart....lol!  Well, now that we've found it we can actually remove it and get it fixed.

In order to shorten the photo voltaic cables I needed to find my supply of MC4 connectors, which I was pretty sure  were in the garage, but where I did not know.  Before I could shorten those cables I needed those MC4 connectors, so I spent about 45 minutes in the garage removing containers from the shelving, and finally found them, but created a big mess in the interim, so later in the afternoon just before dinner I returned to the garage to put everything away.  As I put things away I gave myself a 'pat on the back' for beginning and finishing two tasks in the same day, including putting everything away.

We had dinner with Charles and Phyllis, as is our custom when they are here, around 4 pm.  For our dining pleasure Phyllis made Cowboy Chicken Chili.  I've never had this before, but I want it again, and soon!  It was so good!  I wish I had taken a picture of the presentation.

Thanks for stopping by!

Westside Lilo's.....

 8:28 am - Thursday - November 12th - TWW - 46° F, humidity 37%, cloud cover 10%, wind 9 mph out of the southeast......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 65° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were north of Ventura, CA.....

There area few sites which will fit our 62' of rolling stock, but not many

The best sweet potato fries ever!

.....dry camping along Rincon Parkway, having lunch at Anacapa Brewing Company, and watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean, with Anacapa Island (on of the Channel Islands) in the background.  The view this morning....

.....just saw a coyote walk by....couldn't get my camera out fast enough.

It's been over a week since we were in Seligman, and we needed to check our mail box, so we decided we would drive into town around 1 pm giving us time to do a few things around the property.  For me the one thing I wanted to get accomplished Wednesday was to straighten up the workbench area in the CONEX.  It's been a mess for quite a while, but I hadn't had time to focus on it until Thursday.  In all I spent about 2 hours organizing fasteners, tools, and other items until it looked like this....

....there is still more to to, but that will be left for another day.

We were on the road into town a little after 1 pm in the VW.  Yup, we drove the Beetle into town, which we usually do not do.  Why? Well, the north/south arterial is still in great shape over a month after it was last scraped.  The road is still mostly smooth, which is very surprising, because the prior two winters we were here it would be scraped every 6-8 weeks, and be nice for about 10 days, then return to its rough, washboardy norm.  We are able to comfortably drive the Beetle at 20-25 mph all the way to US-66.

Our first order of business was to have lunch at Westside Lilo's, which we have not done since last Spring.....

.....TLE and I split their Santa Fe Chicken sandwich with seasoned waffle cut fries.....

.....when we split an entree, which comes with fries, TLE always gives me most of the fries, and then picks more from my plate when she runs out.....lol.  They were very busy Wednesday afternoon, and we didn't get our food for about 30 minutes, but good food is always worth the wait, plus I enjoyed a couple of cups of their amazing coffee in the interval.  The servers at Lilo's are all women, and you can tell they love their job.  It is really a very special eatery.

After making a Post Office stop, and buying a few things at Family Dollar, and Seligman Market we were on our way home by 3:15 pm, arriving home without incident just before 4 pm.  While TLE put away the groceries I went around closing up the greenhouse, and the CONEX for the night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Only three weeks?

 7:35 am - Wednesday - November 11th - TWW - 42° F, humidity 38%, cloud cover 0%, wind 11 mph out of the east by northeast......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 66° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were near Lee Vining, CA.....

......enjoying the view of Mono Lake from the Conway Summit vista point.  We had not been back to California since we left February 1, 2012 on our nomadic journey....we had been gone for close to 2 years.  The view this morning.....

......notice anything different?  Yeah, you're right, the weeds are gone!  Contrast this with yesterday's morning view.....

....I was determined that Tuesday would be the last day the 'morning view' picture would have a lot of long weeds in it.

I had two things I wished to accomplish Tuesday.....1) Connect the concrete piers to the new EcoWorthy solar rack, and 2) cut down some more weeds with my Echo SRM-266T string trimmer.  The first task required TLE's assistance.  While she lifted one end of the solar rack I would slide two of the concrete piers under the 4 x 4's to which the solar rack was attached.  It didn't take long before all 5 were in place, then it was just a matter of using lag screws to affix each pier to the 4 x 4's.....

....each of those piers weighs at least 50 pounds, so times 5 that means we've at least 250 pounds plus of weight keeping them from being blown over in a big wind.  I think, beginning to end, it took about an hour for the entire job.

Later in the day I got out my Echo SRM-266T string trimmer to trim the weeds around the ten 400 watt solar panels behind the barn which supply solar energy to the two large house batteries for the 3 bedroom, 2 bath house.  Due to the heavy monsoon rains we had in the last two months the weeds, which rarely get more than 6" high, had grown to 2, or 3 feet high around the panels partially obstructing the sun.....

....and, as I mentioned above, I trimmed around Phyllis' Newell, and the area in between her Newell and our Newell.

In between all that I took time to run both the Yamaha and Cushing utility carts out to the access road, and back, plus TLE and I ran a hose from one of the greenhouse totes into the interior so she can water her plants more easily.  I even took time to relax on the 'lido deck' eating a snack, and drinking some ice tea before heading back into the trailer to finish removing my old stereo system, which I used to broadcast Sirius/XM Radio.  I've had that stereo system since 2004, and it has worked well all these years.  Since I've reduced the number of Sirius/XM Radio receivers from three down to the one in the car, and now use a Bluetooth speaker to stream Sirius/XM Radio in the trailer, I don't need the stereo anymore.  I also moved the three battery chargers for the various cordless tools I own from the wall on the right side of the work bench to the tool table where the cordless tools are kept when not in use.  Since we are now permanently parked I don't need to have them on the wall anymore....

The old TEAC stereo with a woofer, and 2 speakers

Where the battery chargers, and one of the stereo speakers were hung

Where the stereo and the other speaker hung

The 3 battery chargers

......by the time I finished cutting down the weeds around the 10 solar panels behind the barn it was almost 4 pm, and time for dinner.  I think that's the longest I've worked in one day since we returned 3 weeks ago.  Wait, has it only been 3 weeks since we returned?  Seems like longer, but in a good way.

The weather trends for the next two weeks are what we would expect as we move deeper into November here at The Wilson Wilderness.  For the next couple of days we'll have temps in the 60's, then quickly slide into the 40's and 50's by by Saturday when it is supposed to rain (66% chance of rain), and by Tuesday of next week we'll see lows in the high 20's overnight.....winter is on its way!

Thanks for stopping by!

Making it up as we go.....

 8:06 am - Tuesday - November 10th - TWW - 38° F, humidity 43%, cloud cover 29%, wind 8 mph out of the north.....slightly cloudy today with a forecast high of 66° F.  On this date in 2023 TLE and I were at Glamis North Hot Springs, CA.....

.....enjoying a spectacular sunset.  We were working for Colorado Outback Adventures, and enjoying the hot springs on a regular basis. The view this morning.....

....unusual cloud formations today.

We've been waking up around 6:30 am since we arrived at TWW a few weeks ago, but not getting out of bed for another 30 to 45 minutes....sometimes even later....at least that's my story.  I really do not like getting up before the sun reciprocates, and right now that is a little after 7 am.  Our EcoWorthy dual axis solar tracker usually tilts toward the rising sun around 7:35 am on mostly sunny days.  I'm sure there will be future occasions when getting up before the sun is required, but those mornings will be few, and very far between.  Fortunately, I am married to a woman who is like minded.  In my former workaday life I was often up, even on the weekends, well before sunrise, and even years after we began our nomadic life I was almost always out of bed well before TLE, but not anymore.

Monday, as has been our modus operandi since we returned to TWW, we were out of bed by 7:45 am....well after sunrise, and neither of us felt an ounce of guilt.  TLE is back into her daily routine of spending time in the greenhouse tending to her flora, and I just kind of make up the day as I go along.  I moved a few more things out of the trailer and over to the garage, deployed our solar rope lights around the Newell (FINALLY), deployed some new solar torch lights, blew a lot of detritus off the artificial turf Charles and Phyllis brought up to TWW,  and with TLE's help moved the picnic table out of its summer cubbyhole, along with the market umbrella, placing them on the artificial turf.....

New solar torch lights

.....additionally, I successfully repaired a couple of our older solar yard lights, started and ran the 1969 Jeep CJ-5, started and ran the old Ford diesel loader/gannon tractor, did a little straightening in the CONEX (it needs a lot more), fiddled around with the new mounting brackets I'll be using the mount the two 330 watt solar panels we used to charge the Bluetti AC200P batter which powers the trailer.  Later in the day I finally vacuumed out the VW Beetle, which has needed a good vacuuming since before we left LPG&RVR.....lol!

We had the Newell windows open for much of the day, but the warmth begins to leave the air around 2:30 pm, at which time we close them.  Speaking of windows, TLE bought some felt tape off Amazon that when applied to the window sills, and lower portions of the windows is supposed to absorb, and reduce the amount of moisture which tends to gather on the windows overnight in the winter.....

.....the picture above is the driver side Salon window.  She's installed the felt tape on about 80% of the windows so far, and it seems to be working.  Soon we'll deploy our two RV dehumidifiers to help abate the overnight moisture inside the Newell.

Around 7:15 pm we went outside to take a video of our current yard light arrangements.....

.....for our evening entertainment we watched the MNF game (Monday Night Football) between the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings.  Both teams came into the game with 6-1 records, so we thought it would be a close game, and it was well into the 3rd quarter, but the Bills ever so slowly pulled away to post a final score of 23-6.

Thanks for stopping by!