The Weather Gift

 Last week it was -2.  Last week we had 20" of snow on the ground. Last week I was praying that I could actually head out the driveway, all sneaky-like, unnoticed by the weather demons who, if they'd seen me or knew my intentions of leaving would hit me with their ugly stick. They must be distracted as at this T-33 hour mark there is a high probability I will not be snowed in, not have to chainsaw downed limbs nor even lift a shovel. The weather prediction is for balmy 32º Monday morning. I even dared to (HA!) look at the 10 day forecast (which has got to be something of a joke in New England) but then thought who cares? I'm gone. So, why not look at what the weather will supposedly be like along the first week of the route. I did so for the first 7 nights general areas and lo and behold it showed there were no nights that the low went below 34. Many of the days highs were in the upper 60's !! 

What this sparked was the realization that I might be able to get away with taking water with me. This year was the first year I did not do the traditional antifreeze in the water tank/lines. I made a pressure cap with a compressor fitting so that I could blow out the camper water system and in so doing left the possibility open that I could use my 20 gallon water tank after I was far enough south that the lines would not freeze and rupture. Can you see now what's possible?! I can actually take 20 gallons of the sweetest well water on earth with me and not have to buy plastic jugs that have to be put in valuable free space. SO! The plan is to get up an hour earlier on the day of departure and fill the tank! It means opening up and thereafter draining the house exterior faucet (as that has to be done in NE). But hey, that is a small price to pay for the luxury.Yes small things can make a man happy. 

My poor dog Lucy Rose (5), who I am sure will feature large in this journal due to her enthusiasm, has been in the doldrums all week. She is recovered from her bout of some nasty intestinal thing but is on high alert sensing our patterns of movement indicates a trip and sure as hell she will not be anywhere else but in that vehicle when it leaves; underfoot at all times whenever one drifts towards the door. A lot of anxious inhaling around the equipment table for telltale indicators of a "dog bag". Why can't she find her favorite stuffed duck in her toy box? Something is UP! She hasn't a clue what she's getting into but in three months time she should be able to bark in Spanish! 

All over the Road again....

 This being day four, (1/5/23) I have some “splaning to do”. One does not leave the Northeast without paying for it. It’s like some industrial regional forcefield has this grip that say’s “uh uh you ain’t going nowhere”. Every insane aspect of highway travel is put in front of you.TRUCKS. We are talking (and I googled it so it is the same as Moses saying it).. 4.06 million trucks on the road daily carrying 1.9 billion tons of freight of “gotta have it” stuff across the US of A. These people are the good drivers… Then there are the preadolescent males who are actually 35 driving to prove their “manhood’ by replicating scenes from “Fast and Furious (#6)” on their way to work in vehicles that are … stupid… ok. Imagine spending your salary on a ‘dongle’ that goes into your exhaust pipe to make it sound like a formula 1. So I better stop on this or I will go off the edge. 

By the way, one can click on a photo to enlarge.

Our fabulous dog Miss Lucy Rose has been by far the best behaved of the exhibition. Trust, patience and downright “ok”, she just rises up and cooperates (with occasional catatonic bark sessions at deer…in the road!!). She has put up with a ton of restrictions for guaranteed bowl of kibble twice a day and some serious poop walks. Actually that has been my reward as well.

                                                                                Herself

Okay: Warning. The next four paragraphs are nitty gritty so if you want to just skip over or read the “topic sentence” from each it is allowed.

The truth is the first three days are murderous. Not to be blogged about, 500 hundred mile slab days. Once out of the NE highways, things get better. But this being reality sometimes no matter how much one prepares and no matter for how long, stuff happens. I dropped a wad to be sure the truck was road worthy for this 10K trip, But what is going on inside an engine can never be for certain. A little of this or a smack on that… in this instance a check engine light. That my friend is a great concept…. like “Y’all got a problem”… could be your engine is about to die or an itty bitty wire has wiggled loose. That throws an OCD like me over the cliff. Of course it will be the former rather than latter, what else?! My truck is a mini diesel, a great engine that carries 1500 pounds and gets 22 mpg. (That is wonderful). I installed a diagnostic plug (like a repair shop has) that has bluetooth to the iPhone. All it gives you is the code number for what made the “idiot light” come on and an option to clear it. P1476. In my case an indication that the particulate air injector for the exhaust gas burner was not working correctly. That or the sensor has gone wacko (more likely). I do not want to be in the middle of god forsaken Texas outback and hope for a 300 mile tow truck). This sensor Is of course on a waiting list… months out but for some reason, I will not write which, one appeared on an auto store’s shelf stock…. and it is 20 minutes away. 

To put this in a similar light of absurd probabilities…. I will digress (because no one is here to stop me). My brother Michael will remember this. (HA!). Luann and I rode my R100 BMW motorcycle to Nova Scotia to visit my sister Frances, a long ride (in 1995?). In the last mile my bike started stuttering but made it up the driveway. Everything indicated (yes before internet) it was a small diode in the electrics. We were 150 miles from Halifax. I called a car BMW shop by mistake looking for motorcycle parts (rare as they are)… I got a salesman on the phone who was trying to tell me it was a car dealership when all of a sudden he says “wait a minute, I got this part in my desk drawer that was mailed here a couple years ago for some guy with a broken down bike…. wait a minute… he comes back and says ya I got this thing in a box… he never came to pick up the box mailed here. He read the part number and it was the diode. Okay I mean what? What is the mathematical probability of that… go through it, it is nuts. That brings us back to today. The part I need is back ordered for months, As Luann is driving I’m calling random dealerships and all are saying no. Then this one man in a Chevy dealer parts dept. says “huh” … we don’t got it either but this computer says there is one 20 minutes from you. I get there and they can’t find it (probably why it was still there on a back shelf. 20 minutes later the guy says “found it!” So now I have the part. Bad news is after install which I could do hopefully  someplace with my tools, The sensor needs to be programed after install. I know, just shut this blog off and go have a beer…. I mean is this a vacation? As Luann drives (at a Texas rate of speed) I’m on the phone calling dealerships to help out and do the programming. I called a lot of places but finally got a guy in San Marcos Texas, just south of Buda.  He heard my plea and would do the install on Monday morning (1/9) at 7:30 AM! As it is we are visited with friends of Luann’s when they all taught in Saudi Arabia, who now lives in Texas Saturday (1/7) This means we only lose a day’s reserved camp site in Big Bend if all goes well. Though we decided to not stay at their place… we got a B&B near the dealership. We need a break anyway.

Well that was a long read but frankly it is a Cliff Note version. We sit, as I type, with me in stress recovery mode, at a lake side Davy Crockett National Park, Ratcliff, TX; the place is nearly empty and it is 70 degrees! So yes you will think we have some cosmic good vibes happening here like in Halifax. What are the odds!?  I will get to the actual happy go lucky descriptions of our last 5 days’ travel shortly but I had to purge this part of the story. As JFK said “We do not go to the moon because it is easy, we go to the moon because it is hard”. There has gotta be a Moon, Texas. 

Got some pretty cool but never enough photos of stuff we’ve seen. But, at 70 mph it is hard to capture a house with 10,000 gnomes  in a yard with crosses and plastic flowers or “Save America Vote Republican” billboards. “Guns, Ammo, Beer and Groceries” (all the essentials) store. My Massachusetts license plate started to vibrate in fear of discovery. Would it become a trophy? 

The time line:

So now the good stuff. Our first night was …. Harrisonburg, VA. First night was wonderful after a long day drive we stayed at a motel/inn, a splurge. AND honestly we found a sushi place that had the best I have eaten since Kobe, hands down. Off we go on day two to our destination of east of Nashville, Cedar of Lebanon State Park. We hit 2 hours of insane thunder and lightning torrential rain on crowded highway. Just toughen up. We got some take out and a six pack to stay at the camp grounds and it cleared for our arrival and a leisurely meal;. That night heaven opened up and we were snug in the camper but hard to sleep with the booms! (always have dog calming ‘special’ chews for such events). Next day THE NATCHEZ PARKWAY with breakfast first at the famous LOVELESS CAFE or not….. on arrival …. closed for the day for maintenance… yes you got it… THE  one day we wanted breakfast at the best in Tennessee. But, once on the parkway it was driving heaven. 50 MPH and all on a 2 lane road where we saw a car once every 30 minutes. It went on like that for pretty much the whole 440 miles. Lots of deer and lots of history Luann reading out loud, by milepost, the story of the incredible Trace history.

                                                            A 440 mile 'ride in the park'

                                                            Ancient mounds on the Trace

            A 40 mile canal c connecting gate Tennessee River and the Mississippi through this waterway.

            An Army Corp of Engineers Campsite on the huge Waterway midway on the Trace.

A view from my home security camera and below the temperature where we were. Ah.

We are now in a gorgeous little city of Natchez, Mississippi on the river where we had a southern breakfast at “The Little Easy” … oh my with biscuits. Crossing the Mississippi River into Louisiana … well,  ok then… more cultural “look at that!”… we crossed the state and arrived in TEXAS! Speed limit went from 50 to 75 MPH on a 2 lane road. My GAWD! 

I sit here after a load has been removed from my shoulders… our truck will be at a Chevy dealer on Monday. We will miss one night of remote camping of fifteen in TX. A small price to pay in the big scheme of things for a miraculous repair. (hopefully).

The Mississippi.

                                                        Davy Crockett National Forest, TX.

Night 3 (1/4) was in

Piney Grove Army Corp of Engineers Bay Springs Lake, Mississippi. Tennessee/Tombigbee Waterway.We camped at an incredible Army Corp of Engineers’ camp ground for 150 of which we were the 4th camper… we each had our own peninsula into the Lake, (part of the Mississippi waterway) that links the Tennessee River to Ole Miss. Lots of Ducks. Lucy continues her stellar performance and we had a glorious hot shower.

Night 4 (1/5) was in

Rocky Springs Nat. Park, Mississippi (unused) campground. There were three other boon dockers silently separated by a few hundred yards. This brought us on the Trace 2/3 of the way down. The shock the next day was returning to real traffic and things such as stop signs, lights and TRUCKS. 

Night 5 (1/6) was in 

Davy Crockett National Forest, Texas. Great place. lousy noise from a highway…what a shame. Seems Texans like loud vehicles and ones which pour out the smoke. Sad. Each day in Texas has been on the blue roads… not interstates…but the speed limit was still 75 MPH. So not enjoyable. Hyper sense driving. 

Night 6 &7 (1/7-1/8) Stopped in for a quick visit in Buda TX at old teaching friends of Luann's. We stay in a B&B prior to the appointment made 2 days ago at a Chevy place nearby… Truck needs a new exhaust sensor… unplanned but time for a day’s rest. Good chance to get this blog posted and long walks with the dog who has just now been elevated to Saint Lucy of the Fast-lane . 

As I publish this (1/8) we are in San Marcos, TX. Tomorrow's appointment at the dealer and the hoped for "Fix" so we can move on without worry. Fingers crossed. 

“Broke Down South of Dallas” (Junior Brown)

Big Bend National (Tuesday 1/9)

So a bit of catch up. High drama day was getting up at 5 AM (1/9) after we had to stay over in San Marcos TX  to get to a dealership who agreed to install a part (sensor) I found by luck along the way (outside of Jackson MS …yes the very same Johnny Cash song)…cepping we ain’t messing around. A few hours of hand wringing sitting in a dealership the size of Logan Airport (I’m the only one masked). Got the truck back at 10:30 and was back to pick up Luann and Lucy Rose. Off immediately to a nasty highway travel through San Antonio to a southern secondary road Route 90 west (still 75mph). Our goal was to get to Amistad Reservoir (Rio Grand) on Mexican US border where we could camp for the night a short 4 hour day’s drive (and after the anxiety of waiting for the check engine light to reappear, that is about as far as I could drive). Lucy again did great in arduous circumstances as there were 15 boon dock sites at the river and 12 had dogs: yes they all seemed to want to guard their turf. 

                                75MPH and the boat was shaking! Worth the risk of passing. 

Today, ah today, might seem like a lifetime ago we left our home in snowy Buckland, but it has been only eight days. The real vacation, ya know the kind you pay for… arriving and getting a rental and seeing the sights… well this is that day for us. It was worth it. It's really starts now. What was in my head (not the drive here) but being here. It is QUIET….  loud quiet. Stars…. lots of them until your neck hurts. And best of all, the feeling of being actually in touch with the planet one is walking on. In the raw. My feet, the ground, the sky. Be where your feet are. You can’t imagine what you start thinking about. 

My sister Elizabeth had been to Big Bend last year and gave us some good insights as to what to expect. Also she had taken a tour of the very “Off Grid Earth Bag House”  (a link to which is in the first few posts) that we will stay in for a few days between our stay in BB National and The BBSRP (TX) for 9 days remote. This will be a great resting up and regrouping time. But that is in a couple days. Another shout out is to another two WTW FWC fellows who actually live two towns over in Conway, MA. Jack and Dani. Thank you for all your foreknowledge of the Big Bend, your pointers and advice. Gave us a real place to base how to plan. I am now in awe of your EV trip out here as well. A lot of planning must have happened before. 

Right now as I type my view:

I sit in my Kermit chair watching how the light/shadows change in this incredible desert with mountains all around. We are at the remote campsite (Pine Canyon 4) where it is as quiet as our home but way different. We can see forever it seems. DRY. 4,137 feet elevation. Vegetation to be careful of and thankful for no Rattlesnakes as they should be hibernating (tarantulas…not sure). The day is hot to my standard, 75. Makes a fair skinned man get out the big hat. Lucy is so glad to be able to spend the last few hours laying on a sand mat fast asleep. Her vacation starts now too.

Rob's 'beer decanter' .. have to take the fizz out.... aging not so gracefully.

I can see the geology all around and it is crazy different from what I am used to, I wish I knew more. I am so out of my clime and place that I have to dig into those guide books. I have seen two big birds I can’t name and strangely happy I can’t look it up on the internet. Gawd help us we are cut off from BIG brother!!!! So I’ll peck away at this when it is dark and I’m not wasting valuable looking around time stuck with a keyboard. This is when it is nice having the Eagle Four Wheel Camper on the truck. Compared to the road barns we see being hauled into the wild so folks can watch a big screen video at night, it is tiny. But it is packed with battery power, fridge, heater, solar, lights and a queen sized bed to sleep on. 

I must also venture into the descriptions of outback camping in desert. Gone are the days of “scratch-holes” and leaving “Charmin Lillies” that quite frankly are soooo not communitarianism in action. What one does not want is to show up in a spectacular earth location, probably unique in the universe, only to find the above unmentionables. LEAVE NO TRACE., Pack it out. That also means no piling of rocks into some spiritual tower. What that does is to be invasive. Those who do it are putting themselves into the place. When they leave what does that say to the next person. Let that person see what was naturally there not what someone else left behind. Leave it cleaner than you found it and not rearranged. 

So back to the nuts and bolts. Toiletry. All earth creatures have a daily part of the life cycle. Humans though are somewhat unique. We concentrate our waste (as do porcupines). So in our little Camper we have currently two systems to be hopefully upgraded to a composting toilet next year.  Currently we have the marine ports potty inside. This would give us a 7-10 day’s use. It is only for emergency situations where we are in a ‘peoplely’ areas or it is raining heavily. Where we are now there are strict Fed standards (good) that do not allow scratch-holes, one must carry out (like a spelunker) all waste. We have a fold up seat that separates the liquid from solids. Solids in a ‘wag bag’ (corn plastic so as to dissolve fast) and the liquid into a sealable plastic container. Both are sealed and brought out to the area center and disposed of in a way that does not screw up what we came here to see. A good idea and only curmudgeons would resist on stupid grounds. We are many; twice as many as when I was born. Saw stupid, now see two! Gotta protect our planet’s gems from our humanly destructive ways. So sayeth the (Rob) Lord.

Sifting through the plethora of digital photos takes time after shooting too many. But in the evening when the sun has gone down but the  stars aren’t out yet one can peck away at them. Then there is cribbage and rummicube (one of my mom’s favorites). They are the only small games to bring along for those rainy days or boring camp sites. Weight of everything is an issue. Wine bottles for instance… all that glass weight for 4 portions of wine. Beer only in cans which is ok as long as there are beers worth drinking in cans (Hence the Lagunitas in bottles). Frightening to go into a beer store and it is all BUD light etc. 

                            A hot one in the sun, 80 in the shade.... 5 minutes after sunset 60!

Great day waking up and stepping out of the camper into ga ga here you are. Wander about and BTW did you know it cold in the desert before sunup? Well yes it is. Routines: Up, pants/shoes on...harness on Lucy. Back out the camper door so she does not bolt past you after that Javalina right outside. Once down she is thrilled to be free again and a short walk of 15 minutes works for here to do her business (also picked up) Back to the camper where the other has started the pre setup coffee pot!! and Lucy's bowl ready...with water. Then we separate into duties if traveling that day, prepping the breakdown of the queen bed(!), and storing the gear while the other starts prepping the camper top down. Lucy tied outside to something and in no time, if it is a moving on day we are ready to go. Luxury is a campsite for a few days, where next we go.

Our following night was in a camp spot a few miles along the same canyon. Again jaw drop views. Easy set up and "take two". Great star viewing and just enjoying being away from the noise. So much noise that folks don't even think of it as noise. My neighbor once told me his friends came to stay and could not sleep because it was "too" quiet; they were scared. We even saw a "noise machine" on the bedside table in a place we stayed (waiting to have truck fixed). A "noise machine"... that is a scarier concept than quiet. What must one be imagining in quiet that noise will protect you? It isn't protecting you it is distracting you. We are a too distracted people. 

                        Rio Grande Santa Elena Gorge Mexico/Us border (the bluff is Mexico)

Then 'Oh Boy' day. I won't deny it has been a bit of a tough haul to get here but as Buddha said: Judge your accomplishments by what you had to give up to achieve them". Well heck we should be in party central right now! And we are. Every moment is a great new view. Every hour the light changes the same view. I feel full. Oh Boy day is a break in the rapid pace of things and a slowing down. Again a fortunate 3 day rental at the Off the Grid Earth Bag House. We arrived this afternoon after wonderful day of seeing Big Bend splendor, an settled in to what some folks would love and others feel a hardship. An off the grid house where one is expected to be somewhat a minimalist. Solar/battery powered. Rain tank for water, composting toilet, just living mindfully in a harsh environment. (no frills). It is beautiful and comfortable and the sky is still starry! We rest here but also regroup: clean out camper and prep for the next nine days in a 3 remote spots in the Big Bend Ranch State park. I will post this after reviewing the last few days photos sometime while here air the Earth Bag house. And then post. 

                            Arrival at the Off Grid Earth Bag House (link in previous post)

Friday the 13th... and all is well. A good day at the Earth Bag house. Was able to arrange the Mexican Truck/camper insurance (required) and to wire an LED bar light in front receiver hitch. A temp solution for this trip. But where traveling outback roads at night that amount of light is essential to see the road sharp rocks, holes, or worser to avoid. Cleaned the camper and reorganized now we know. Oil added to truck and tightened the turn buckles that holds the camper in place.... a good day. Luann made Tacos in our Omni stove top Oven. Lucy loves being at a house ...on the couch. But on leash outside for her... she wants to run!

Last note: we are off for 9 days into boonies with no cell ...so no blog. but maybe (we get back out 24th) soon thereafter I'll update the 3: 3/day camps in BBRSP.  The map for this was posted (Google Earth shots) in a previous post. Our 20 gallon on board water tank will be just about right for the stay. When we come out we will be in Fort Davis for 3 days to recover and be back on line. (1/24). Stay Safe everybody!