Meghan left yesterday morning and will be gone a few weeks again. After that we’ll see what is going on but it may be a long fire season. It all works out since I have to stick close by for a medical appointment next month. She took her dogs this time so I can take off on some day trips with my dogs and not have to rush back.

I really hoped to get the trailer out for a few days before now, but it is looking like the soonest is going to probably be next Thursday now. My brake controller will not be here until Wednesday but I think I can get it installed pretty fast and can possibly get out earlier. Since it is a new truck it should be an easy install without any dirt or grime caked on everything. I need to get a bottle of rubbling alcohol to clean the metal surface to mount it to then it is two plugs to swap and it is done.

In the meantime, I have gotten the rest of the stuff out of the trailer that I do not need for camping so I will be getting that done tomorrow. I have a few things in storage that need to be put in the trailer so I will do the prisoner swap when I drop off the last box for storage. I will need to do an inventory to make sure I have things I need – especially all my cables & hoses – but I have tried to always leave all that stuff in there so it doesn’t get left behind. I keep it tow-ready and fully self-contained in case I want to do a last-minute trip. I think I am in good shape to leave next week.

Guess I need to find some where to go. Tonight I got out my forest map and checked a few websites to have a look to see if there is anything close by in the forest that is free. It will be a good test of my battery, but I do have some concerns about it being over three years old. That has been on my mind recently and I am also thinking of adding a second battery to the system for extra storage. My solar controller will handle dual batteries so I think all I need is a second battery and battery cables. I will have to add researching that on my list this week too. In the meantime, if I run out of power I can always charge it from the truck through the trailer plug. I ALWAYS unplug the trailer even if I leave it hooked up; that is an easy way to have a dead towing vehicle battery.

Looking at the info I had and also found online, there is not much close by in the National Forest as far as real USFS campgrounds according to the map; the closest camping is mostly in State Parks so I will need to go for a drive to find some dispersed sites in the forest. Dispersed camping is not really identified on the maps because it is very tedious to update countless & constantly-changing dispersed spots on maps. They are usually on the little side roads and many of those just go back to a spot people use for camping. It is best to walk the road to see if you can make it with clearance all around and if there is room to turn around. I always use an actual Forest Service forest map for where I am if I will be spending a lot of time there; otherwise, I go to a ranger station and ask questions and get printouts of maps they have for some parts of the forest and other printouts for camping and trailheads. The maps they have are really the best in my opinion and are pretty nice with details.

The State Park campgrounds look to be reasonably priced and will be open a while longer. With the price of fuel I don’t want to go far, and it is really difficult to get used to having recreation right outside the door again so you do not need to go far. There is some forest camping nearby but when pulling a trailer you have to be careful; it is easy to get into a bad spot and you may end up having to back your trailer for a long, long distance. It is a situation you do not want to get into. Since it is so close it makes it easy to check ahead of time so I may do that in the next couple of days.

I am also thinking about a little issue with putting the dogs in the back of the truck right now. They have windows for ventilation and to see out of, but I am going to have to get something else figured out because there is a plastic drop-in bed-liner in the bed of my truck. They will slide around on that like they are on an air hockey table – and so will anything I have in there with them. I am probably going to put a wood platform in the back to keep stuff under and I can put something on top to help keep the dogs and my stuff in place. I do have some cargo tie-downs and plenty of straps to keep things in place. I will figure out an area for them and I can pack camping stuff around that. It will make it less noisy I would think, and it may keep the temperatures a bit less extreme. Of course, if it is too warm for the to be in back then I will use my truck pet bed inside for them. I am thinking about perhaps using the pet bed in the back too. I just need to attach it somehow.

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I just saw something interesting on Reddit. Apparently, in Finland there is a grocery store that has a novel idea. They have two different colors of shopping baskets, and one is pink. If you carry one of the pink ones it means you are open to talking with someone else in the store shopping if they are interested in approaching you even just to talk. Pretty cool idea but when you really think about it, it is a sorry commentary on society.

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That is about it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Shawn