As we do most years, we went camping over Thanksgiving. Eight days of camping. Our campground was in the Lake Mead National Recreational Area and close enough to travel to a family dinner on the holiday.
Continue reading 2021 Thanksgiving Camping Trip and a Milestone
Back in 2013 I wrote about finding remote campsites in this article, Boondocking.
My methodology hasn’t changed much. In this post I’ll share some of the tools I use and a few tips.
Yes, this site is supposed to be focused on backpacking and camping. When camping I often bring a telescope and nowadays I image deep sky objects with it. You may not be interested in telescopes, but this post is really about finding solutions to a “problem,” researching, planning, and the final product. Continue reading My Remote Kit For Astrophotography
More and more, land management agencies are requiring backpackers to store their food in “approved” bear-resistant equipment. A common question is, “What is the lightest bear-resistant food container I can buy?”
Many, many years ago I was shopping at a well-known backpacking outfitter for a sleeping bag. In those days, retailers like this one, had special areas or rooms with all their sleeping bags on display. This store had several inflated air mattresses and foam pads available so shoppers could try the fit of sleeping bags in the store. Additionally, the store had experienced employees that could answer all questions and ensure customers bought the correct size bag.
In conversations with a couple employees they showed me a new product — a bear canister — recommending it to protect my food.
But it isn’t that simple. Continue reading Canisters, Ursacks and Bears, Oh My!!
Seems that a lot of folks struggle with how to adjust their weight distribution hitch, or they haven’t read their vehicle’s Owner’s Manual or their trailer hitch Instruction Manual.
Continue reading Quick Tip: How to Adjust a Weight Distribution Hitch
We’ve had this hitch for 8 years now and still love it. In this post I’ll share a few tips and one small upgrade.
Back in August we arrived at our campsite in the Sierra Nevada late in the afternoon. Compared to what we are used to, the temperature was much cooler. We set up, cooked dinner and sat around with a bottle of wine to consume.
Shortly after we got into bed, Joyce asked, “Did you open the roof vent?”
“No”
“Well, I can see lots of stars through the vent opening. You should probably close the vent since it is going to be close to freezing tonight.”
I got up to close the vent and noticed the vent lid was missing. Not a good thing, since we would be here for two weeks and afternoon thunder showers are the norm.
We had been home only two weeks from our 2-month trip. It was time for another camping trip because, well just because.
Most years we are camping on Halloween to avoid the little beggars and extortionists who knock on our door on October 31st. Last year, due to COVID there were none. This year we can’t go camping that weekend due to my son getting married that weekend.
So we headed to the high desert for a pre-Halloween trip.
Recreational vehicles need a lot of maintenance. Seems like after every trip there is some little thing that needs repair. Talking to other people, even the humongous motor homes and top of the line Airstream travel trailers suffer the same malady.
On our last trip our water heater started leaking (again see this post about some of the repairs I’ve had to do over the years, including a similar water heater leak).
Removing the cabinet access panel inside the trailer to get to the water heater, I could see water coming out of the hose connection fittings to the water heater. Knowing the needed parts are not available in most hardware stores, we just shut off the water pump when not using water. I would have to source the parts (and spares) once we got home. Something I should have done a long time ago.
Here’s the fix and the parts you should probably keep on hand.
Continue reading RV Maintenance: Leaking Water Heater Hose Connections
Okay, now we have lots of data.
Over 5,000 miles of towing in all sorts of conditions.
Some other points:
Continue reading 2020 Ford F-250 7.3L “Godzilla” Gas Engine Towing MPG Update 9/20/2021