I woke up this morning on my side – the same position I was in when I fell asleep, with left arm out straight. I must have been out cold…especially seeing what I woke up to.

Rider, at some point in the night (like always), jumped up on my bed, laid down next to me spooning with his head lying on my arm. When I realized what he did I just shook my head and smiled. I really must have been out like a rock.

🌞

Man…this weather is something else. A high of 64 today so I will be doing me some laps. If I am gonna walk then I am really gonna walk when I can, especially in this weather.

I got out this morning and did a walk to the farthest point and back to see some distance measurements. There is one area I am going to need to avoid, though, as it got me today. The grass is very thick and was tall until the wind laid it out. Under the grass is what looks like runners for rose bushes or maybe berry bushes growing through the grass. It is a tripping hazard I discovered yesterday, and today it got me even though I was being careful. I will need to modify my route; I do not need to fall again.

It was .55 mile – just over a half mile – leaving the front door, walking the path, and back to the door. Not too bad but once is not enough. Doing laps this short kinda sucks because you see the same things over and over faster. I like doing a few miles one way if it is an out & back, but I would rather do a long oneway.

My knee started to get really pissed off so I could not do as many laps as I wanted to do, but I got in a little over three miles for the day so still not bad. I gotta ease into it and may need to break out my knee exercises again to get them calmed back down.

I have always liked being in nature for the majestic solitude it is. I have posted previously about we always tend to seek out the grandest of everything, yet we miss so much on that mission. Take the time to slow down and really see your surroundings no matter where you are – even little everyday things in everyday places can seem different and special.

I have been out several times a day throwing the flying disc for my dogs the past few days. It is one of their favorite things to do. Rain is expected tomorrow and cooling back down again over the weekend so I am enjoying it while I can.

The scrap metal will go away next week so it will look much better around here. It is not looking like a dump – I just have a few piles staged in different areas so there is not junk scattered around everywhere – just a few piles.

🏕️

Everything is good with the carbon monoxide in the trailer and that is a relief. I have been in it several times now with no alarms so I am calling the issue solved. Since I have been spending time in it I do not have the heat turned off completely – just set to 40° F. I don’t want to waste too much propane getting it warm when I want to go out to watch TV.

I know people will use electric space heaters to heat their RVs, but it is better to winterize and not use those. I have seen videos where they were talking about that but I have not watched since the title is always something like “How NOT to keep warm in your RV” with a picture of a guy holding a space heater with a bad look on his face.

I have used a small one in the past but never had issues. I guess the problem is mainly if the wiring can handle the current draw and some older RVs don’t have the wiring for it. Plus there could be a fire hazard from not only overheated wiring but also being too close to a wall, chair, etc., and especially since they may be left unattended. I won’t use one anymore.

I do have an electric blanket I use but it draws minimal power. I can save propane that way by turning down the thermostat more when the blanket is on, or on cool evenings I can just use the blanket and leave the furnace off. That saves propane and also saves money.

When I talk about these things, it is not that I am cheap. If you want to go off-grid, or “boondock” as it is often called, you need to be conscious of things you do to maximize the time you get to spend off-grid. When you do this it creeps into your everyday RV life – you constantly think about water usage, waste tank storage, electric power consumption, propane usage.

I have not done a long trip in this trailer yet so I am very excited to get it out on the road and into some National Forests and Parks. When I first got it I took it out and did the first night off-grid since it was something new to me. It worked fine given my limited knowledge of the solar at the time. I now know I need to have better sun exposure facing south and more space overhead for sun exposure.

With the solar capacities I have in my trailer I can get along okay for power. All LED lights in the trailer reduce power, as does the 12v TV and fridge. Unless I have shore power the TV stays off; I can watch downloads on my iPad. I use only the lights I need, or none at all if I am outside around a fire or have a lantern going. I have a cast iron pan and Dutch oven I can use to cook over a fire so my regular cookware doesn’t get trashed by the fire. I wash dishes outdoors and use camping best practices for disposing of dirty dishwater. I will shower outdoors if possible, and I use only good-for-the-planet soaps and shampoos. My new cookware is induction-friendly so I can use my induction burner to cook to save propane.

If I can I will camp near a stream and use that water for cooking and cleaning as long as it is relatively clean and I feel it is a safe source. That can be a challenge in the mountains in some places where there are mining tailings and runoff so you have to be very careful with that.

As you can see there are many things you can do, and if you are conscious about saving energy at home then it is easy to do anywhere you are.

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That is it for this post. Thanks for having a look and I will see you next time!

Shawn