Cooler Weather Means It's Time To Work

Hello all I know it's been awhile since my last entry it was honestly too hot to work on the trailer until recently.  That doesn't mean we weren't out in it just didn't work in it while we had triple digits.

It actually worked out well because it gave me time to step back and look at how far we've come and what we have left.  We made a spur of the moment camp trip over Veteran's Day weekend, it worked well because our youngest was off school making it a longer trip.

We took our chances and didn't make reservations and drove up the coast to some of our favorite spots.  Our first stop in Morro Bay was full but we pushed up to San Simon and we able to get a great spot in the lower campground.  The campground is still under Stage 3 drought restrictions so no flush toilets or showers but the lower camp has water and they really keep the johns clean (though I do recommend bringing an extra roll of TP... you may need it).

This trip held a first for Alex and brought back memories with my Dad and family for me.  Since the showers were closed and we were doing a long camp an old fashion camp shower was necessary.  I found three trees and roped off where to hang the walls.  Growing up we used packing blankets which hang very well and add insulation to your shower area but for this time I used our tarps we keep on hand for rain (since we haven't fixed the galley lid yet).  I heated water by stove and poured it into our shower bucket and shower bag.  Alex was a bit nervous but cowgirled up and earned her next camping badge for camping shower.  Each time she masters a skill she earns a badge for her vest, she's earned some fun badges and looks
forward to earning more.

I love camping in our teardrop, you meet some of the nicest people you wouldn't meet sitting in an RV.  This time we met a wonderful couple that moved to the states last year from Japan (this was their third trip to SSSP) and their three kids Anne, Ray, and Shu.  Oh they were so cute and each morning would call to Alex to wake her up.  They went up every tree and down every trail together.  Our neighbors behind us came in from Arizona, his son was stationed in Monterey and they made the trip to spend Veteran's Day with their soldier.  The state park staff as always was awesome and we ended up with extra wood from them which we paid forward when we left and passed it on to another camper.

As we always do we explored trying to find other great spots to camp which led us deep into the Northern Las Padres National forest.  WOW!  Some of the greatest views are along some great boondocking sights.  There are all types of campgrounds up in the forest but where we went RV's cannot go.  When we camp there of course we will share some great photos and info.

So on to our new updates to the trailer!  Today I finally put in the back wall!  No more hearing the hubby kicking the insulation and now we can add the cedar and shelves.  So now our cabin is all closed up!  YAY!!!!!!  I wanted to get the nose cabinet in but with the shorter days I ran out of daylight.  Oh well that will be my next blog.  My husband thinks we are into finishing work but I still have a long list of fixes before I can add details like we want.  I did add the rain gutters above the doors today.  Thank you Little Bear for having these.  We installed them with heat and cold resistant silicone and secured them with self tapping screws.

I restored our vintage Coleman camping stove I purchased for the trailer which Crybaby was suppose to build a shelf into the galley for but didn't .  I replaced the seals and the fuel pump and it works like a charm now.  When we camp with more than just the two of us we are taking the Coleman.

Next week I'll be sharing a new camp location.  I plan to build the nose cabinets and install the cooler pull out slider.    Thanks for stopping by, until next time.

North Rim Grand Canyon

Vacation is coming to an end, we are finally home and it's time to blog.  We took a long planned (I booked our space and dates in February) bucket list camp at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  There is one road into the campground after a very long but beautiful drive which ends at the campground.  The staff are all wonderful and friendly from the camp host to the rangers.  The campground sits right on the rim with several premium spots overlooking the canyon, our spot was up one road from the rim.  Each spot is a loop pull through so there is no back ins and trailers and cars must stay on the pavement.  If you're wanting excitement this is not the camp for you, there is no wifi, no town, and when it gets dark it is very dark.

Aspens, pinon pines and over 30 different wildflowers make for picture perfect surroundings.

There is a herd of over 200 buffalo in the park.

The kaibab squirrel is unique to Kaibab Plateau and the North Rim.  This squirrel has not evolved since the Ice Age.  During our stay we had a small group (8) of what I call "my soup line friends" that came like clockwork every morning for a handout kaibab squirrels, ground squirrels, and a chipmunk.

Each campsite is a pull through loop facing the campsite.

We enjoyed a week of just relaxing at our campsite while the girls enjoyed the junior ranger program.

Camping during July at the North Rim means one thing. .... monsoon.  It is not a matter of if it rains but when.  The Yellow Submarine definitely was a great investment since we have yet to rebuild the galley lid and fix the last of the leaks so we set the alarms to alert us when the pressure dropped and when rain was coming. When the alarm went off we secured the tarps over the trailer and took cover under the easy-up and watched the other campers scramble when the downpour started.

This trip we really got to test out what worked and what needs to be changed or added.  The weather station definitely worked.  Tarping the trailer blocked the roof vent's circulation and left just the windows to keep the air flowing through the trailer.  Replacing the windows has now moved up on my to do list on the trailer.  Cranking out the windows hurt my hands and the way they are engineered the air has to go under window restricting flow and making the cabin stuffy without a good wind.  We are also adding the rain gutters that arrived just before we left to keep the rain off the doors and window and keep us a bit drier climbing in and out of the cabin.

The pull out stovetop worked great, we used our little stove to heat water and make smaller meals. If we were to build a new teardrop or rebuild the galley we would set things up a bit different.  One the battery would not be under the sink it would be on the tongue and we do plan to move it soon.  We would have a bit more cupboard space to keep our dry goods in the galley.  I am making two camp kitchens to keep pots, pans, dry goods, and the extra kitchen items we need to camp.

My last project before we left was installing our solar charger.  If you add one upgrade to your trailer I highly recommend this be the one.  I researched and chose one with a flow back regulator so our battery wouldn't be drained during the night.  I ordered our solar charger from Amazon and chose the [Solar Panel Starter Kit 100W Monocrystalline:100W Solar Panel UL 1703 Listed+2 20' Solar cables+PWM 30A Charge Controller + Uniquely Designed Z Bracket].  Since it rained nonstop our first days in camp we didn't hook up the solar panel until Wednesday.  I loved how they have quick connect ends and set up in under 2 minutes.  I'm building a padded box to store the panel in with fold out legs to just fold out and plug in.  We ran our XM day and night and the lights as soon as the sun went down and charged our phones and the cameras from the galley port.  We looked forward to coming home and plugging in to see how well our charger worked.  During the week before we left we ran everything we could on the trailer while I worked on  it to see what we'd pull from the battery, when we checked we were at 52% charged.  This gave us a jumping off point of what our trailer would pull from the battery.  We plugged the solar in on Wednesday and didn't have but one good day of sun, when we got home and plugged in to check our use and we were at 87% charged.  We decided we need a port and some sort of pigtail for the solar cords from charger to panel so they don't get pinched off.

We cut off the two broken rear jacks Crybaby had installed before we left and took a trip to Camping World and purchased stabilizer jacks that are manufactured for trailers unlike the car jacks Crybaby used.  Hey you know what....... these reach the ground!  The new jacks are rated for 6,000lbs each and fit like a glove, Bill set them up at camp and boy the trailer was not moving with those babies!  The front jacks are still the original car jacks Crybaby installed so we still needed to use blocks to take up the distance to the ground.  

We thought of some other items we wanted to add into our camping equipment, these are just little things to make our next long camp more enjoyable.  We are going to upgrade our easy-up to a heavy duty one with waterproof sides and an awning.  We had to clip a tarp on our current one as a wall during the rain to keep our kitchen area dry.  We are also going to invest in some camp loungers so we can really kick back while listening to our XM, camp chairs are fine for short camps but when you want to relax they are a bit more restricting.  

We took our youngest and her best friend and they enjoyed glamping in their tent decked out with flamingos outside and a battery powered chandelier inside.  They loved every sparkling minute of it and really enjoyed the surprise hammock we brought for the trip.  We brought along the glow in the dark games and I found a new one for this trip... glow balls.  The girls tossed them, kicked them, and used them with the rings making them like throwing hammers.  Another little gadget we brought along was two new roasting forks which collapses down and fit in the drawers. The girls participated in the Jr. Ranger program and were sworn in as Cougars after completing their booklets and attending the classes the rangers put on daily.  We also took along the girls scooters and we could hear them running up and down the roads through the campground exploring.  We have decided to make that a permanent take-a-long item, it's light, gives them an activity to wear them out, and they even liked taking the trash out riding them. 

We took some side trips back to Four Corners and through Monument Valley.

Campout cooking and fire restrictions made meals a challenge.  When we arrived we were only allowed to use our camp stoves, no fires or coals were allowed due to dry conditions.  These restriction kept us from using our dutch oven or bbq grill.  We were camping for a week I decided to make all our meals around beef or salt cured meats since the closest real store was over 150 miles away.  Here are a couple of our cheap and easy meals we made this trip.

Chinese Stir-fry Noodles

Ramen noodles (a packet for each person)

1lb ground beef

stir-fry vegetables

Brown the ground beef and vegetables.  Cook the noodles and add beef and veggies and serve.

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

1-2 ground beef

egg noodles

beef broth condensed

1 can golden mushroom soup

sour cream

1-2 potatoes

Brown ground beef.  Cook egg noodles until firm but soft.  Add all ingredients into dutch oven or large pot and simmer until sauce is thick and potatoes soft.  We serve ours with buttered bread.

Beef Stew

1lb stir-fry beef

1lb ground beef

carrots

onion

potato

beef broth

Brown the beef and add to pot with veggies, cook until tender.

Next week I start back to our repairs, until then enjoy the summer and stay safe!

  

Pull Out Shelves and Decal Details

I have to start by tell you all it has been 107*F here every day and not a cloud or lick of shade to be had.  This has made it miserable to work outside but it needs to get done so we come in during the rough part of the day but at it during the early morning and late afternoon working to fix the trailer.

I had to stop working and fix one of the shock mounts inside the galley on the side where the lid is 2 inches short.  The screws Crybaby used pulled out of the wood...... no surprise with the way this trailer was constructed just aggravating and takes time away from other fixes.

Today I was working on putting in the pull out shelves for the stove and ice chest and I took a bit of time to put in a plexiglass shelf under the sink and sealed it off with silicone so now if water gets under the sink it won't get on the stove or battery.  The sink rests well on it and it gives enough room for me to store the drying mat, sponges, and dish supplies.

I found at Michael's today some great stickers to help me make the galley supplies match and rock.  I'm actually using these as the back stickers, the front stickers will be in Cherokee... these will be the cheaters in the back so the family doesn't add something that shouldn't be and so they family can use our camping time to learn more Cherokee (our heritage).  Cherokee is one of the dying languages of our Indian Nations.  My native and my husband's native roots run deep.  I have the bone hair ties my great grandfather carved when courting my great grandmother.  I can tell other stories but that would be another blog. My husband's family was born on the reservation in Oklahoma..... my family hid in the hills during the Trail of Tears and when growing up we could only speak Cherokee when it was only family around.  I will share one of my favorite "Government Rations" recipes with you at the bottom of the blog.

When we returned today from picking up a few things the mail had delivered our car stickers that I designed and had made last week.  I did have to cut the door stickers because when I designed them I designed them for the D shaped doors we ordered but they did turn out really nice and make the trailer really pop.

Perfect blue color match to the FJ and the retro look now carries through inside and out.

The Blue Guppy decal is now on the front and the back of the trailer.

The Yellow Submarine flying high over the Blue Guppy... you know when we are in the campground now!

The door decals do take the hard edges off the rectangle doors.

I designed the logo up after the Blue Whale on Route 66 but since we are small we are only guppy size.  Mr. Limpet and Lady Fish round out our retro theme and always bring up great memories.

I love how the decals match the running lights I purchased.

A little sign I created to hang outside when we are set up in camp, a family crest for camping.

I added a plexiglass enclosed shelf under the sink and sealed it so that if water gets under it will not get to the stove or battery.

This afternoon I worked on installing pull out shelves for the butane stove and the ice chest.  This has been a project!  One side the clearance I must make to allow the rails to extend out is 2 inches, the other side is 1 inch; then for the ice chest one side is 2 1/4 and the other 1 1/4.  I'm telling you every time I measure something I have to measure it all the way around.  The shelf I put in was 18"x16" in the front and 18"x15 3/4" in the back.  It's like they just didn't take any time at all to really make their work matter.  It reminded me of when my Dad and I tore out the bathroom in the house we lived in when I was in high school.  The beams were all uneven but then we found old beer cans sealed behind the drywall and then the picture was clear.

I called it quits tonight before I got finished pictures.  I still need to level and install the shelves, I'm waiting for the glue to dry so in the morning I will be back out before the sun comes up.  The rails I'm using are rated for 100lbs and tomorrow I'm heading back out to get a small piece of about 5-10mm aluminum to cover the stove shelf so it's easy clean up when things splatter a bit. 

Tomorrow I will be finishing these up and installing the galley shelves and solar regulator by the battery.  I mused the placement around a lot.  The clearance needs to be 4" from the top and bottom and the battery and fuse box are wired into the regulator.  I thought about putting the solar regulator by the fuse box inside the cabin but when I took it and looked at where it would be it didn't work anywhere in the cabin so I have to install it in the galley where the battery is now.  Eventually I'm moving the battery to the front of the trailer which will give more room in the galley but the solar regulator will remain.

Chinese Chile

Hamburger

Rice

Tomato Paste

Seasonings

Brown ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder.  Add to rice, tomato paste, and water. Season to taste and add water for thickness.