Happy New Year
The first week of 2022 has been trying to say the least. It started off wonderfully by celebrating with wonderful, amazing friends who braved multiple snowstorms to get here AND brought an excellent bottle of vodka AND chocolate AND cheese AND their warmest of hearts. I am ever so grateful for their friendship and love. They also braved not just one trip to the estate, but two. The first one while it was still snowing and the view was limited to just the main area of the homestead. We were the first wheels to touch the snow that day and there was not one intake of breath or squeal of fear as we blazed the trail, obviously the first (and only for a couple of days) vehicle to make its way from Cisco. They were even up for plowing through more snow to try to see the horses…. We did see them, waaaaay off in the distance, running around in the snow, but they were like ghosts on the hills with the snow and clouds. They then agreed to come out AGAIN the next day when the sky had lightened up to at least see the views from here. They still missed out on the sun shining and the snow gave it all a monotone color pallet but the snow has its own beauty as well. Sheri and Marta, THANK YOU again for your time, travel, and for helping to ring in the New Year with love and laughter.
And it was pretty much downhill from there. Lol The temps dropped into single digits during the few nights, never getting out of the lower 20’s during the day. The water stopped from the kitchen sink and there is silence from the water pump. I’m waiting for warmer weather to trace the problem and determine if the water pump has burned out or if I am just out of fresh water in the tank. I have been able to determine that it does not appear to be a broken pipe anywhere. Step one is considered a success but I have a very low bar for “success” nowadays.
Then, with all of the clouds and snow, there’s the power challenge. Even though I swept as much of the snow off of the solar panels on top of the RV as I could, there was ice that accumu
lated before I was able to get up there. I thought it would melt with the sun but it was just too cold. So, solar power was minimal.
No worries… we have the gas generator to supplement right?? Well, the gas generator wouldn’t start… too damn cold for that. I ended up putting it in the jeep which did heat up enough with the little sun that that did shine that I was able to start the generator late in the day. (Thank you Sebastian for the idea - I know your tip was to dry clothes but it worked as a genny heater too!)
Being low on power AND heat I decided to run the RV for a bit. This is a weekly to-do anyway since cold weather hit but only to keep the engine and battery in shape. I figured we could run the heater for a while as well and it will also put a charge on the batteries. However, it was so cold the battery wouldn’t crank the engine. Soooo, we had to clean off the snow from the front of the RV and jump-start it. Tip for all of you out there, buy a jump starter. It has saved my ass multiple times out here. No jumper cables, no need to line up a second vehicle, and you can charge it via AC power or USB. Will jump-start a vehicle multiple times on one charge. As my friend Sebastian would say, it’s a keeper.
With the freezing temps, being outside any length of time was just not possible. It was all we could do to stay warm inside sitting as close to our individual heaters (Dragon has his heat lamp and Blip and I shared the propane) as possible. Every time we opened the door we lost heat… no matter how fast Blip and I ran out and back in. It was so cold that ice formed on the inside of the door under the covers we use to insulate and along the table brace that’s against the slide-out wall. Looked like the inside of a freezer. C-R-A-Z-Y
The 100 lb propane tank ran out of gas. This is largely due to an incident that caused a leak… but fortunately didn’t blow us up. I’ll spare you all the details but the moral is check, check, double-check, then check again every day because shit shifts. The tank is frozen solid to the ground until we get a few days of warmer weather. Wouldn’t matter anyway because I can’t get the trailer out of here until all the snow is gone and the mud dries up. (that also means, for those of you who wonder if I should just pack up and leave, that the RV is going nowhere anytime soon) In addition, the trailer I use to tote that massive mother still has an IBC tote on it with just enough water left in it that I can’t move the f*cker on my own. Warmer weather will allow me to transfer the remaining water (once it melts) to the other tote and then I can move it. So we are now using small tanks for all of our propane needs until we can take the big one for a refill. Awesome program for getting all your steps in.
Then last night, at around 7:30, the furnace motor started trying to turn over. The furnace has been off at the thermostat since I got here so it shouldn’t be trying to start. Tried flipping the main power to the trailer off and back on but it would soon start trying to turn over again. This of course drains the batteries that we are trying so hard to keep power to. Tried pulling the fuse but of course, in the wisdom of all great RV makers, they have the fridge on the same fuse. Brilliant engineering. Thankfully I was able to get online and find in the forum that this is a common issue when moisture gets on the circuit panel which is located outside near the furnace vent. Again, brilliant engineering. When I read about moisture causing a problem it made sense as I’ve been struggling with moisture inside for some time now and it only got worse with the frigid weather. So, the temp fix for that was to stand outside in the dark and cold with numb fingers unscrewing the panel and exhaust plate, all the while hoping I wouldn’t drop a damn screw into the snow. Turned off the switch at that location, screwed everything back in without dropping a screw and was able to put the fuse back in. So the fridge is on and the furnace is not. I now have to get some supplies to dry the panel and then seal it.
So many “who knew?” in this one blog. Thank you to all the off gridders who have told me over and over, “the first year is a learning process”. I have learned so much and continue to learn something new every day. Some make me laugh, others make me scream, none have made me cry…. Yet. But I would be lying if I said during the coldest times I didn’t question if I was going to be able to do this. Lack of physical projects to work on, sitting in a dark trailer for hours, waking up to the low 40s inside the trailer, wiping films of ice off the door…. There were some dark moments. But this morning I woke to 20 degrees outside and 57 inside and my attitude changed. The sun came out and began to melt the snow. Even though it’s still cold….this temp, we can all manage and keep our sanity. Well, my sanity. I think Blip and Dragon’s sanity fairs much better than mine.
Speaking of the animals…. Dragon has done amazing and we seem to have a good routine going for him. Most nights I have to put him under the brooder when I turn out his heat lamp (last night he went on his own) but he comes out soon after I turn on his lights in the morning. He came with me on NYE in his “travel tank” for the two nights as well as a trip to Sue’s to stay with her dogs (and kitty!) for a night. He truly is an amazingly good traveler. I think he actually kind of likes the change of scene… I’m sure he likes the change in temp while staying in a “real” house. His appetite is still not what it was but he does eat occasionally preferring protein to veggies. Can’t say I blame him…. And yesterday he had a bowel movement. This is a grand (stinky) thing as he hasn’t had one since he started to brumate. Happy to report that the freeze didn’t seem to affect him too much and he’s been much more alert and moving around since the brooder install.
Blip, she has turned out to be a snow adventurer! She absolutely loved it the first night although I did end up carrying her back from a short walk after her feet got too cold. She bunny hopped through the deepest parts without hesitation. The few days it was frigidly cold and cloudy, neither of us wanted to be out in it but on the day the sun warmed us up a bit she was back out running and hunting and tracking. We spent a good (cold but good) 30 minutes tracking bunnies and kangaroo rat trails out in the fields. And never underestimate the power of a dog making up her own game of fetch with an icicle to bring a laugh to even the most frustrating moments.
Since the cold snap, I have thought I heard coyotes multiple times, off in the distance, howling back at the train that blows its horn when it goes through Cisco. I haven’t heard them since I officially moved out here although I heard them when I camped here prior. The howls were distant and I was never sure if I was really hearing them or if it was just my imagination until this morning. Blip and I were outside and the train blew the horn and after I distinctly heard the coyotes howl back after each blow of the horn. Blip heard them as well and barked back at the coyotes. They went on back and forth, barking and howling, for several seconds until Blip became too interested in the “where are they” and I had to put her in. I got out the binoculars as they sounded like they were coming from over near the Morrisons and close enough I might be able to see them, but with the way sound bounces off the hills here I could have been searching in the complete opposite direction of where they were. Once Blip stopped barking, they stopped howling so I wasn’t able to pinpoint it. It does make me even more sure that the green eyes I saw that one night was most likely a coyote.
For those of you who only follow the blog, I stepped outside one night a couple of weeks ago (I think, time gets fuzzy) to let Blip out to pee and looked to the left to see a pair of green eyes peering back at me. I have a headlamp I wear at night so I don’t break my neck in the dark and it reflected those eyes right at me. I didn’t see them for long but I was pretty sure they weren’t Pronghorn or cows. It’s hard to tell how high they were because the land dips some out towards where it was but it seemed they were lower to the ground. I immediately looked for Blip who was promptly peeing and called her back before she could see or smell whatever it was and to get her back inside. When I looked back the eyes were gone. I don’t creep out easily but that one made the hair on my neck stand up. Needless to say, we have been cautious going outside at night ever since. Not that I think they would come after me… but Blip is the same size as a rabbit or prairie dog. My guess is she’s not as tasty but they don’t know that. And what do I know…. Maybe they all taste like chicken….
I used the inside time to start reading The God Delusion. That is not a light read but it is a great read. And one that will give you pause to think. Thanks Meg for the recommendation. That’s a book for a book club…. What a discussion.
I recently learned via Facebook (you know, where only truth is spoken) that the homophobes are now arguing that the phobia part of the word is incorrect. To quote “that’s not what phobia is”. Perhaps bigot would be more accurate? This is the first time I’m hearing that but curious if any of you have. The world of off-gridders is not an open, all-inclusive group. I am constantly amazed at how they can be so smart and savvy about how to live off-grid and yet be so ignorant and backward about social issues. The upside is that they too do not want to socialize so it’s (almost) easy to ignore all of them.
Covid is back with a vengeance and it’s even got some locals here wearing masks. I’ve talked to two people who have had their whole family come down with it. And all were vaccinated. I have to say my judgemental self was surprised. Check your bias at the door please.
I hope everyone is staying safe and that your 2022 has started off better than mine. Until next time, keep Movin’ On.
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