My experiment with using some blankets as insulation over the big garage door seems to be helping quite a bit. The garage was not nearly as cold even as I woke up to no temperature – it was 0° F. The best part? It was FREE! Wish I had done this sooner.

On top of the cold, I woke up to the promised snow that started to fall and will continue to do so all day. This is the coldest day overall of the streak with a high of 7° F. The next two days will be colder early, but warmer (relatively speaking) for the highs.

Fortunately, with it being so cold, it makes it easier to use the leaf blower to remove the snow from in front of the garage. Unfortunately, though, with it being so cold it sucks to be outside doing that but I want to stay ahead of it and keep it clear. Last snowstorm I had big chunks of frozen snow that came off my truck since it was parked outside because the garage was full. Since it is parked in the garage that won’t be an issue this time. I used the blower on it once and got it pretty clear but it is going all day so I may or may not do it again. I’ll wait until tomorrow if I decide to do it. I got ahead of it so it is only a few inches of snow on the concrete.

I had to make a few trips to the woodpile today to keep the stove going. All of that burning also makes a lot of ash in the stove so I have to stay on top of that and keep it cleaned out. I filled up the ash bucket this morning so with those live coals in there I am glad the snow is on the ground to keep a fire from starting when I dump it on the pile.

It is also going through my wood supply pretty fast. I knew I might not have enough to get through the entire cold spell but I did not anticipate burning it this fast. It has been real damn cold so I am not surprised, and these were the coldest days when I was burning the wood. Looks like it’ll be propane and the furnace for a bit; I guess that is what it is for.

It is a lot of work, but after a while living with wood heat and doing the whole primitive thing can get tiring even when you are younger. I eagerly dealt with adverse conditions early on at both houses in Colorado and lived kinda primitively at some of my seasonal jobs so I am well aware of it and don’t really want to relive those days. I have added a few miles on the odometer since then…plus I got smarter!

Spending ten minutes to get warm clothes on and working in the bitter effing cold is just not how I like to spend my time these days. My intolerance to bitter cold the last few years is why I am considering being a “snowbird” of sorts. I don’t want to deal with firewood anymore – turn up the thermostat and it’s done. A pellet stove would be awesome, is easy and they have a thermostat.

Stepping outside to get firewood to stock up the stove it hits you like a big…um…cold thing. Right now it is -2° F and feels like -6. It only got to 7° F so not a big temperature swing.

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I caught a few minutes of a video of a woman talking about how “solo vanlife sucks”. She brought up a few really good points that I never gave much thought to. One point she mentioned is that going solo means you are doing everything. Doesn’t matter if you don’t want to, or are sick or are tired. It is All. On. You. Cooking, cleaning, fixing things, emptying holding tanks, setting up, tearing down, trip planning, driving…remembering everything. It’s ALL YOU.

Since I did not watch it all I don’t know if she is giving up or just disgruntled and venting. As a solo traveler I know that same feeling well. In yesterday’s post I mentioned the downside of solo travel is no one to talk with, share those special travel moments with and those once-in-a-lifetime experiences and places. That would include someone to wash the dishes and check me for ticks, too!

I am still always up for a lengthy road trip. This will be such a good chance to get some serious use of my trailer and why I got it. It is pretty exciting to look forward to and it may change my mind about getting rid of it. Who knows…could be when I get out on the road again I may find those same issues to push people too far, but I may choose to deal with them differently and not let it harsh my buzz.

😴

Well I am off to sleep. Thanks for reading this post. See you next time.

Shawn