First Half of 2025

 

The first half of 2025 has been another wonderful adventure.

Celebrated the New Year in the desert at the Midland LTVA in California with my buddy Greg. I think we made it to about 8pm before turning in for the night. I’m very lucky and grateful to call Greg a friend! 

This was the 3rd winter season boondocking in the deserts of Arizona and California and each year the weather has been very different. The first year was the most pleasant, weather wise. Last year there was a lot of rain and this year there was absolutely no rain but high winds most of the stay. It’s still a great place to spend the winter for very little money. 

I got to hang out with some great friends and met a bunch of new friends.

Watched the Super Bowl on the big screen while hanging out with the Your Jesus Journey crew. Really didn’t watch much of the game, we were eating a lot and fellowshipping most of the time, what a great group of wonderful people!

Left the desert in mid-February for a week, the winds and sand were starting to make me nuts. Drove over to Tucson for a few days and stayed at a campground so I could do some deep cleaning and de-sanding! The sand gets into everything, even closed storage compartments.

Stayed a couple of nights at my favorite Harvest Host location, Little Anthony’s Diner in Tucson. The food and staff are amazing and they love RVers. I took a drive up Mt Lemmon and drove and hiked in Saguaro National Park.

After a nice break from the desert I went back to meet up with my crew in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. We hung out for a few days before we said our goodbyes and all ventured out in different directions. What a great bunch of wonderful friends. I went down to Yuma AZ and stayed in a hotel for a few nights before making my way back to the east coast.

I visited my favorite place, White Sands National Park and spent several hours on the dunes meditating and enjoying the quietness and beauty, if you have a chance you need to visit this amazing place!

Visited Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico which is another amazing place, went to the UFO Museum in Roswell NM, being that close I had to see what it was all about. Very interesting place.

Made my way through Texas and up into Oklahoma. Stopped in Oklahoma City to visit the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building that was bombed in 1995. Very nice memorial and a quiet place to reflect on this horrible event. The National Park Service has done a very good job with this memorial, glad I stopped. After leaving OKC I was heading south to my Harvest Host location when the winds kicked up and started blowing 70mph+, it was the scariest drive yet since setting out on this journey. The owner of the HH location said it was the worst winds he’s seen in his 67 years living there. Glad a made it out in one piece!

Made it back to the east coast and visited with my brother in Calabash NC and my other brother and his family in Midlothian VA. So glad to have them in back in my life.

Got back to my old stomping grounds in Northern VA at the end of March and spent a month visiting with friends, getting a checkup/physical with my doctor, saw a bunch of friends at Cornerstone Chapel and prepared for Loop #5.

After a month in Virginia I left to head to Maine. I didn’t take the direct route from VA to ME. My travels took me through West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, NY and then finally to Maine!

I visited Hocking Hills State Park which was wonderful, then up to Columbus to meet up with my old college friend, Tom Welch, we had a good visit and nice lunch and then it was back on the road. Meandered around Ohio for a few days before meeting up with my dear friends, the Burke Family in NE Ohio and had a good time catching up. Quick stop in Akron to visit with my friend Gaylen before heading into NW Pennsylvania and then up to New York.

Stayed a couple of days near Niagara Falls, took the tour and the Maid of the Mist boat ride, very touristy but well worth the money and time. Made it to the Finger Lakes Region of NY where I got to spend some time with my college friends, Jeanette and Bob and Lisa Dreste. Another fun visit with all of them. This is becoming an annual thing!

Through Vermont and New Hampshire, which are absolutely beautiful, and to my favorite campground in the country, Oceanfront Camping at Reach Knolls. Lori and Paul are amazing hosts and Lori’s mom Carol is awesome as well. I feel like I am part of their family now. They are the friendliest people and so accommodating. This campground is the best! I can’t say enough about it!

After a bit of a hiking break, I dusted off my hiking shoes and tied them back on and have done some amazing hikes in the area! The trails and the views are stunning! 

I am spending 2 months at the campground before venturing out to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland for 6 weeks!

What a great first half of the year. I continue to be grateful for all the adventures, awesome friends, and our beautiful country! 

To be continued….

More Power

How do I power everything while on the road in my RV?

I have several ways to get the power I need to live in my RV. Shore Power, Solar, Generator, Batteries, Alternator are the primary ways to get and/or store power for everyday life on the road.

Shore Power - When I am staying at a campground, I can plug into their electric power pedestal for power and charge my onboard batteries and all my gadgets. Typically the electric is included in the price of your stay but some longer term stays charge you separately via an electric meter. I haven’t stayed at any of these places but it can get expensive if you run your AC a lot. Also I only tend to stay at campgrounds 1-2 days/month to take a break from the road and driving.

Solar - I have 475 watts of solar panels on the roof of my rig, 5 panels at 95 watts each. The panels charge my on-board batteries. There are several components to the solar system, an inverter, charge controllers, etc. but I am not an expert on them. I know how to use them and troubleshoot them but that’s about it. Obviously the solar panels only charge the batteries when the sun is shining so you need to manage your power consumption if you are caught in an area that has multiple days of cloud cover or you are parked in the forest under a lot of trees.

Generator - I have an onboard generator mainly as a back up to solar. The generator runs on propane. But I do need to run my generator to power my air conditioner if I am not hooked up to shore power. I rarely use my AC in the RV. I am chasing 70 degrees around the country so I don’t need it often. On those rare occasions that I do need to cool things off, I will only run the AC for 15-20 minutes to cool things down and then rely on several fans to keep me cool. Once I got to the desert a little too early in the season and the temperature shot up to 109 degrees so I opted to pay for a campground for a week until the weather broke. (If it’s 80 outside my rig can get up to 90+ inside, remember I live in a big tin can!)

Batteries - I have 200 amp hours of Lithium batteries in the RV. The batteries can run everything I have except for the AC. I have multiple USB ports in the rig and also several 110 outlets. I need to turn on my inverter to get 110 power but not for the USB ports. The inverter converts the DC power from the battery to AC power. My lights and USB ports run on DC so no need to turn on the inverter for them. My microwave and my TV need AC power. I have only used the TV probably 4-5 times in 2.5 years. My computer or iPad meets all my viewing needs! 

Alternator - I have a second alternator in my engine compartment. When I am driving the alternator will charge my RV battery. I typically don’t drive too long each day so this doesn’t fully charge my batteries if they are low. But it does help to top them up as needed.

Other things - My refrigerator runs on battery power, AC or propane, when it is working. 

I’ve had several issues with the refrigerator over the last  year or so. Nothing seems to get it to cool. So currently I’m using a portable refrigerator for my cold foods and beverages. Since it draws quite a bit of power, I am supplementing my on board batteries with a portable power bank. I have a Bluetti Solar Generator that I charge with a portable solar panel and that provides power to my portable refrigerator and can charge other devices too. Hopefully I can replace my onboard refrigerator soon, I just need to find a good replacement that fits into the space without too much trouble.

Bottom line is that usually have all the power I require for my daily needs but I still manage my power consumption regularly. The sun is free so I take advantage of that as much as possible…free is good!

Three Days/Nights in Tucson - Wonderful

After leaving the desert in Quartzsite, I needed to find a place to spend a couple of days getting the sand out of all the nooks and crannies in the RV. It was insane. We had about 5 minutes of rain over the 3 months that I was living in the desert and a lot of wind too…so the sand got into everything.

I booked a campground for 3 nights to use their water and electric hookups to do a top to bottom cleaning. But after leaving the campground and stayed at my absolute favorite Harvest Host location in Tucson…Little Anthony’s Diner and Gaslight Theater. This is my 3rd time staying here and I love it. It’s right in town and I’m staying in the parking lot but the staff and the meals make it a special place to me. The last two times I stayed here the owner invited to sit at his table for the show in the theatre. The actors are very good and the production is top notch.

I stayed for 3 nights at Little Anthony’s but during the days I had some wonderful day trips.

Saguaro National Park - Home of the largest number of Saguaro Cactus in the country, the park itself is over 92,000 acres. There are two separate areas (districts) to the park, one on the east side of Tucson and the other on the west side. I visited to larger of the two districts on the east side. There is an 8 mile driving loop around the park and a handful of picnic ares. In all there are over 165 miles of hiking trails through the park. I meandered along 3 of them to get up close to the Saguaros.

The Saguaro Cactus is the largest cactus in the world and the largest ever measured was 78 feet tall. They can live as long as 200 years and average about 40 feet. They are only found in the Sonoran Desert (Northern Mexico, Arizona and California. 

Know for their height and arms the Saguaros don’t grow their first arm until they are approximately 40 years old. 

Over the last 90 years the population of Saguaros has been devastated by the climate change in the Southwest, hotter temperatures and less water available to them, but they are beginning to make a comeback through conservation and preservations efforts.

It was an amazing drive through the park and it was neat to hike a few trails to get up close to these huge plants. 

Unfortunately, due to government cutbacks the parks are starting to limit hours of operation beginning next week as is happening with a lot of National Parks. Hopefully we will be able to continue to visit OUR National Parks for a long time to come.

Mt Lemmon - Mt Lemmon is located in the Coronado National Forest just north of Tucson. At 9,157 feet it’s quite the drive in the RV. Lots of switchbacks and steep climbs but well worth it.

The University of Arizona has a free app you can download and listen to as you drive up the mountain. It tells you about the geology, the plants and trees, and the different living zones as you drive up. Very informative. There are bunch of pull outs you can park in to view all the peaks, the valley below and see all the vegetation. Amazing views.

Near the bottom of the mountain the landscape is full of Saguaro Cactus as far as you can see. At about a 3rd of the way up the vegetation changes and you see mostly small oak trees and wild grasses. The last 3rd of the drive the views are full of Ponderosa Pines and other large trees. The different zones are due to temperature, rain/snow, and the amount of soil. Learned a lot and had a great drive!

A bit of trivia…Mt Lemmon was named after Sarah Lemmon the first woman to trek to the top of the mountain, on her honeymoon in 1881! Both her and her husband were botanists and wanted to explore the area. What an adventurous honeymoon! 

Mission San Xavier del Bac - Walk around this almost 225 year old mission this morning. Quite impressive. The murals on the walls are stunning as is the architecture. The mission is located on the San Xavier Indian Reservation about 10 miles south of Tucson. The mission was founded by the Jesuits in 1692 and the building was completed in 1797. 

I am really glad that we are preserving these old structures. They are very beautiful, full of amazing history, and just peaceful places to visit. Sometime in the near future I am planning to visit the 21 Missions in California from San Diego up to just north of San Francisco. That will a cool adventure!

OUR COUNTRY TODAY…MY THOUGHTS

This won’t be a political post or commentary on the current President or the former President or any political party, just my thoughts on what’s going on in our country today and how I’m dealing with it daily.

I do, when I have a connection, read the news online. I mostly check out the headlines but will read deeper if I feel the need to understand more. I read CNN and FoxNews to try and get a mix look at what’s happening in the US and around the world, and will go to real online news sources if I want to get an in-depth understanding of what’s going on not just opinion pieces from CNN or FoxNews.

I am really sad with the state of our country over the last couple of years. Lots of hate, misinformation and straight up lies being spread by the various news outlets and on social media. 

We are all getting sucked into the fray; we argue, we complain, we unfriend people on social media, we even fight. I’ve witnessed two brothers that are political opposites get into a very nasty fight/argument that was heartbreaking. Remember FAMILY FIRST!

We really need to think this through…what are our leaders (current and previous administrations and Congress) really trying to do? Are they really trying to unite us or are they trying to gain more power for themselves and their party? What important legislation is being passed, now and in the last 8-10 years? I read about Congressional hearings that are dealing with nonsense in my opinion. Congress needs to get to work and pass meaningful legislation that will positively impact all Americans.

The gap between Democrats and Republicans has never been wider. A few years ago my representative in the Virginia House of Delegates went against his party on a very important vote and he was ‘primaried’ in the next election and lost. When I asked him why he went against his party he said because it was the right thing for the people he represented. He knew he would lose the support of his party but he did what was best for the people. We need more people like him to represent us all. People first party last! Reelection be damned!

I am living the best years of my life right now, meeting awesome people, seeing amazing places, so I am keeping my head low and living One Day at a Time!

I can’t and won’t let all the negativity ruin my wonderful days. I won’t let the news or any person get between me and my happiness. I won’t yell, scream and get mad at someone that disagrees with me. I will just smile and take a hike and look at the mountains, the waterfalls, and all the beauty around me.

Don’t let our differences divide us! We need to stick together no matter what party we support. We are bigger and stronger than that!

United We Stand…Divided We Fall!