Tag Archives: camping

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Paddling with Penny

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We take the boats out into the backwater.

Backwaters
Here’s a Google Maps image of the backwaters in the area. Keep in mind that not all of the channels actually go as far as they appear to on the map due to the growth of tall reeds and bamboo along the shore. We’re at the blue dot.

One of the things I like most about our campsite this year is that it’s right on one of the longest backwater channels off the Colorado River. Last year I’d camped near this site, which has its own boat ramp, and had launched my inflatable Hobie pedal/paddle kayak into it, so I was already familiar with the waterway. I knew that I could go at least two miles north with very little current in either direction. It was perfect for a casual afternoon out in the kayak.

My friend Janet, who is sharing the same site, also brought her fishing boat along. It’s an inflatable one-seat affair — I’ll have to get a picture for a future post — designed for fishing. We both inflated our boats Tuesday afternoon and launched them, despite the chill in the air and a pretty stiff wind from the north.

Penny came along, of course, I prepped the boat by securing her fleece blanket on the bow so she’d have some traction when she stood or sat there. I also put her life jacket on so I wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to swim if she fell in. Because the water had virtually no current, I didn’t bother tethering her to the boat. She’s only fallen in once and that was a long time ago in my old kayak. I didn’t expect her to fall in today, but if she did, I knew she wouldn’t get swept away.

We headed out around 2 PM, with me pedaling and Janet rowing against the breeze. Penny soon settled down on the bow, which is when I got this photo.

Tiny dog on bow of kayak
Penny the Tiny Dog settled down on the bow and remained in place for most of the trip.

We were out a lot longer than I think we expected to be. Janet’s boat goes fastest when she rows backwards, but that’s not always enjoyable so she kept switching. Also, her boat seemed to have a bit more trouble battling the wind than mine did. My boat, on the other hand, rode very well yesterday, with its speed wholly dependent on how fast I pedaled. It didn’t take much to get it moving at a decent clip. But I was cold when moving into the wind and I suspect I’ll suffer for that later this week.

We got nearly to the end — Janet wanted to see a fishing spot she calls “the walk in” from the water — and then turned around and headed back. Although we were looking forward to the wind at our backs, the wind didn’t cooperate. Instead, it died down. We didn’t get back until nearly 5 PM.

More pictures to come; we’ll be here for the next two weeks and I’m sure we’ll do a lot more boating.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Fire Roasted Yams

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My absolute favorite camping food.

One of the things I like best about camping with friends along the Colorado River is the evening campfires. It’s not just sitting around a warm fire with friends on a cool desert evening — it’s the fact that I can roast up some yams or sweet potatoes to snack on the next day.

The trick is to get the fire going early enough in the evening so that we have plenty of hot coals to roast the potatoes on. Then I scrub each potato and wrap it in aluminum foil. I use enough foil so that the potato has at least two layers around it on all sides. Then I lay the potatoes on the coals and turn them occasionally as we sit around the fire chatting about this or that. The hotter the coals are, the more often I turn them and the quicker they get cooked.

Fire Roasted Yam
OMG. How’s this for a fire-roasted yam?

The other night, we burned the bundle of fruitwood I’d brought from home. (Long story there.) It’s a hard wood and very slow burning, but it did make good coals. Trouble is, it took so long to burn down that we were ready to call it a night before the potatoes I’d thrown on — four regular potatoes from my garden and two yams from the supermarket — were done. So I moved the regular potatoes over to the side of the fire pit and left the yams right on top of the fading coals. Then I went to bed.

In the morning, the fire pit was cold (as we expected). I pulled out one of the yams and my fingers immediately smushed it. Uh-oh, I thought. I ruined this one. But when I unwrapped it, I found the potato skin only mildly scorched. I broke the potato open and was thrilled to see a uniformly soft orange center.

I ate it with a spoon.

The regular potatoes came out okay, too, but they’re not nearly as tasty cold as the yams are. I’ll peel the scorched skins off, chop up the flesh, and add it to my breakfast scrambles.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Another Colorado River Sunset

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Another gorgeous sunset as seen from our campsite.

I’m going to try very hard not to share photos of every single beautiful sunset we’re seeing from our Colorado River campsite, but this one was too good not to share. With just enough clouds and smooth water to reflect them, Thursday’s sunset was the best I’d watched in a very long time.

Sunset 12/12/19
What a light show!

Snowbirding 2020: More Power!

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Adding more solar power to my camping setup.

Why I don’t have solar at home.

A lot of people ask me why I don’t have solar panels on my enormous roof — it’s about 3000 square feet — at home. After all, central Washington state is dry and desert-like, with sunshine at least 300 days a year.

What a lot of people don’t know, however, is that Chelan County, where I live, is completely dialed in with renewable energy from wind and hydroelectric power. We have extremely cheap power — 3.22¢/kWh, which is 72.9% less than the national average rate of 11.88¢/kWh (per ElectricityLocal.com) — and my monthly electric bills seldom rise above $50 in any month, no matter how much heating or cooling I use in my all-electric home. It would take decades for me to recoup the cost of any solar setup at home. And, because the power I get is mostly from renewable sources, it’s pretty much guilt free.

I have always been a huge proponent of solar power for off-the-grid camping (and life in general). To that end, I’ve invested in solar panels for most of the RV’s I’ve owned, including my current truck camper, “T2.”

When I had my previous truck camper, “the Turtleback”, I thought a portable panel was the way to go. Zamp made foldable panels with a tightly fitting semi-hard case for safe transit and, back in 2016 (I think), I bought a 160 watt setup and had a simple plug socket installed on the outside of the Turtleback’s battery compartment for easy hookup. It worked like a charm.

What I wasn’t thinking about was the fact that the panels were large and heavy and had to be stowed someplace in transit. After I downsized from the Turtleback to T2 (which I also had that handy plug socket installed on), I decided to install 200 watts of solar on T2’s roof. No more dragging around those big panels.

Of course, I didn’t sell them. I keep everything. 🙄

How I Use Solar

I should make it clear here that my solar setup has always been solely to keep my camper’s batteries fully charged when I’m not hooked up to a power source. I do a lot of off-the-grid “dry camping” and if I don’t charge the batteries I will eventually run out of power. (Duh.) I don’t have an inverter to provide alternating current (AC) power for device like my camper’s microwave or even my laptop charger. Everything runs off direct current (DC) power or propane.

I should also mention that I’m not a complete idiot and I also travel with a 2KW generator that does provide AC power. Unlike a lot of other off-the-grid campers, however, I don’t like to run it because I don’t like to listen to it. It’s a Honda and it’s quiet, but it’s a lot more quiet when it’s turned off. I wish other RVers would turn off their f*cking televisions (and generators) and enjoy the outdoors. If they want to spend their time watching television, they could stay home or park in a KOA.

Don’t get me started.

Another Solar Setup?

Time went on. My needs changed. This year, I’m traveling with a cargo trailer — “Lily Rose” (long story) — that I’ve got set up as a mobile jewelry shop. The trailer has a lockable toolbox on the front near the hitch and I thought that would be perfect for installing a few batteries, keeping them charged with the Zamp panels, and connecting them to an inverter I could use to get AC power into the trailer or for use with T2. So when I packed Lily Rose for my trip south, I packed the Zamp panels. I figured I’d get price quotes at the two Quartzsite solar dealers when I got there.

I wound up visiting just one of the two dealers. His price quote was enough to convince me that my setup was wishful thinking. Sure, they could build me a system with 4 6-volt lithium batteries, a 2kw pure sine wave inverter, and the receptacle for my existing Zamp solar panels. All it would cost would be about $4,500.

Ouch! That’s more than I spent to buy Lily Rose! My budget was about 1/4 of that so it just wasn’t going to happen. No sense in getting another quote; it probably wouldn’t be much less — if it was less.

Use What You’ve Got

So there I was in Arizona with an extra solar panel setup. What was I to do?

Use it, of course. I’m at my campsite for more than two weeks. I found a mostly sunny spot and hooked up the Zamp to T2. Despite the short winter days and increased shade in our tight campsite, I’m keeping my batteries fully charged every day.

Zamp Solar Panels
My Zamp solar panels. They fold in half; the solar controller is built into a panel that hangs behind it. The legs to angle it toward the sun are attached. It’s a nice setup. Also in the photo: my electric assist bike and a 2 gallon fuel container for my generator. Our site is surrounded by 15+ foot tall bamboo which limits the amount of direct sunlight we get; you can see the shadows, too.

No sense in not taking advantage of every resource I have to collect power.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: “Camping” in Las Vegas

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I make my last on-the-grid stop count.

I spent my second night on the road at the Sam’s Town KOA Kampground in Las Vegas. This has become a bit of a tradition for me. Since this is usually the last night I have an opportunity to plug in, get water, and dump my tanks before spending two more more weeks camped out in the desert with friends, I always opt for a full hookup campsite. This particular campground is convenient and usually — but not on this trip — cheap. This time, they hit me up for a very long drive-thru campsite that was a lot bigger than I needed, claiming shorter sites weren’t available. That turned out to be bullshit so I’ll probably look for a different destination on future trips south. $60 is a bit rich for an overnight stop.

I should say up front that I hate KOA-style “camping.” It’s not camping at all. It’s parking with a connection to water, electricity, cable television, and a sewer hookup. The sites are so close together I don’t know why they even bother with the narrow island of dirt and trees between sites that face each other. People who claim to be “camping” at a KOA are deluding themselves.

KOA
Here’s my rig parked between two others at the KOA. My space was over 70 feet long; all I needed was about 40.

But my site was about what I expected and it met my needs. I arrived long before sunset and got a chance to glimpse the sky’s changing colors through the field of RVs around me.

Sunset
As you can see in this photo, the weather cleared that afternoon and evening in Las Vegas. It was nice to see blue sky for the first time since my departure from home.

After taking Penny for a walk — her first since departing Glenns Ferry that morning — I hooked up power, sewer, and water and went in for the night. My nose had begun running earlier in the day and it was becoming apparent that I’d caught a cold. Although I did toy with the idea of going into Sam’s to look at their Holiday light show and maybe get some dinner, I recalled how sick I’d gotten after the last meal I had in their steakhouse. I decided to stay in for the night and was dead asleep before 8 AM.

In the morning, I felt rested but no better. I made and ate breakfast, walked Penny, took a hot shower in the otherwise empty shower building, put on clean clothes, and took my time about packing up. By 8:30 AM, with waste tanks empty and fresh water tank filled, I was ready to hit the road again for the last day of my drive.