Wow. It is September already. Of 2026 already. Time sure goes by a lot faster these days.

I finally got the new locks for my trailer in the mail today and I got them installed. It is just a matter if inserting a tool key into the lock, pulling the old core out, putting the tool into the new core, putting core back into lock, and pulling the tool out while holding the new core in place. I am glad to have those done (especially the one with the broken key) and now everything is more watertight and secure with these new cores.

The timing is perfect since I will be able to leave soon to go do some traveling but it also helps seal the storage pass-through compartment from the weather. We have some rain coming and there is a chance of badly-needed moisture for several days. If it is just a shower it might get a little damp inside but would be okay as long as it is just some spray. However, a downpour could get quite a bit of water inside especially when traveling down the highway and you don’t really want water anywhere inside the trailer.

Speaking of good timing, I got the lien release for my trailer in the mail today so when the title for the Nissan shows up I can take care of both at the same time. Being a resident of South Dakota, I have to drive over there to tag my truck since it is new and has the dealer title. I do not like driving that far in a day but we’ll see how it goes. I won’t have the time to do much sightseeing with 12 hours each way and I will probably have other things to do when I get back. Hotels where I would be going are way overpriced and bad quality so I may need to formulate a different plan. I could drive most of the way and find a better room cheaper for the night outside of town. Next morning I would drive to get my tags then turn & burn and try to get all the way back.

I might end up renting a trailer in SD and emptying out my storage unit there. If I gotta drive there I might as well do that too and save on the storage fee every month. That kind of complicates staying anywhere on the way back. I am always really paranoid about vehicle break-ins and don’t want to lose any of my things or have my truck damaged. I have seen it a lot everywhere and it is happening in areas I never dreamt it would. I imagine that with the economy being in the sewer it could be that things may have gotten worse.

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While Reddit-lurking you never really know what to expect but I was surprised when I saw someone mention “Insomniac“, the 2001 TV series with comedian Dave Attell that ran for four seasons. I don’t know how many of you saw that show (or even heard of it) but it was far ahead of it’s time and you could probably (unfortunately) call it an early “reality show” (as much as I hate those to call it that), but at least this was real and unscripted without any drama. Attell is pretty raw as a comedian but he is so funny & quick-witted and he was a really good host with his laid-back demeanor. This show had him going to different cities and experience one each episode until sunrise, finding all sorts of strange & interesting things that happened in the wee hours. It was unscripted, raw, funny, and edited just enough to get it past the censors and on TV. Every show is different and it would be cool if they could bring it back with him for an updated version but it would never be the same unless he went to another country.

Thinking about it, I must have subconsciously acquired some of my travel methods from this show to go along with my love of Anthony Bourdain’s shows – especially “A Cook’s Tour” (which I think was his best, along with the very early “No Reservations” episodes). I like spur-of the-moment adventures, weird, quirky & interesting (even remotely) places & things, history, good food, fun…everything.

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It is always interesting to look at the various countries and cities on the “Stats” page for my website/blog. I have had some guests from some unexpected countries checking out my blog and that is pretty cool. Many are repeat visits from the same countries/cities/areas so I hope you are enjoying my blog. A big thank you to everyone in the 113 countries who have checked out my posts!

I have gone back and re-read a few posts but not really very many. I lived it and it is nothing new to me, but I do search through my photo library on my phone and look back at trips. Those trips are always still a fresh memory for me with the impact of those European adventures. I can think back about those trips and just relive each trip in my mind. That seems like pretty effective travel.

We all should probably think back about those special moments in life a bit more often.

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There is definitely a change in the air and it is coming along fairly quickly; earlier this evening I learned that it is “meteorological fall” as of today. It has been in the low 40s at night and that almost – almost – had me giving up the shorts but I just put on a sweatshirt and powered through it until it got into the 50s. I have had the furnace in the trailer on at night and I thought I had better check the propane since I had not done that in a while. I am really glad I did; one tank is empty and the other is very low so hopefully I can get through the night with it. Where the heck is Hank Hill when I need him?! I will just take both tanks and fill ’em up so I will be set.

I have a few more things to take out of the trailer and put into storage then I should be ready to hitch it up and roll after Friday. Since the Frontier has no trailer brake controller, I had to buy one before I can tow my trailer. One of the really popular ones mounts inside the dash and I considered getting one of those but it had some installations things that freak me out on my brand new truck. Then, I found a totally new kind of controller that is an electrical passthrough module for the electric to the trailer. The module has all of the brake controls built into it and it works off of your electrical connection and Bluetooth to your phone or media screen.

I hated the under-dash one I had in the Avalanche. I hit it constantly with my knee and it messed up the calibration every time so I would have to try to get it set again. This new one has a split pigtail cable; you pull the connector off the back of the 7-pin trailer plug on your vehicle and plug it into one side of the pigtail. the other side of the pigtail plugs into the trailer socket for towing. The module is mounted up inside the frame in a safe place like above the spare tire. There is a USB-A Bluetooth remote that you use in the cab. Plug it in and you can control all the settings with it and the app. I should be getting it Friday so it will take maybe 30 minutes to install it; it really does not look difficult. Then I have to learn about the remote and how it responds; like I said this is a whole new thing for me. It is the latest tech for towing.

That is about all for this post. See you again.

Shawn