Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the category “Daily Life”

30 Jun 2014
11 Comments

The E-bike Dilemma

Nope, I didn't choose this one. It's a home-brewed, bike-based electric motorcycle with pedals that's been clocked at 66 MPH. What - do you want to live forever?

Nope, I didn’t choose this one. It’s a home-brewed, bike-based electric motorcycle with pedals that’s been clocked at 66 MPH. What – do you want to live forever?

Choosing an e-bike is normally easy. You know how you want to use it, then pick something that will do the job for you, hop on, and go. But when you need to chop, blend, baste, puree, knead, bake, and broil, you’re forced to prioritize for the base features that can’t be changed, and then alter what you can change to come as close as possible to what you need.

I’ve already outlined a rather tedious and overly-long list of tasks, must-haves and wants in my previous article. I won’t dupe that here, thank your lucky stars. I’ll only mention Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, E-Bike Pack Mule, Mod Squad, Navel Gazing, The Defiant and tagged , , ,
27 Jun 2014
11 Comments

Adieu, Old Friend

The ol' Raleigh MT200, with mods that help me stay on it longer.

The ol’ Raleigh MT200, with mods that help me stay on it longer.

Well, I’ve been trying to use my 1993 Raleigh MT200 as my pack mule over the last two years, as you may know. The goal is to avoid using the $45,000 Ford diesel pickup for errands and grocery shopping trips, campsite scouting and area exploration. I simply won’t be able to afford to replace it unless I’m willing to give up some other costly activity like, oh, say, eating.

The trouble with using the Raleigh has been that my bad ticker limits my range even on level pavement, and I’ve found precious little of that in my travels. As a result, I’ve had to use the Ford for too many short trips that a bicycle could normally handle, and that kind of driving adds up mileage in short order. This violates the Defiant’s Prime Directive, which is purposed to preserve the vehicle over the long haul, as well as decrease fuel and repair costs to a minimum. It also violates my doctor’s directive to get sustained exercise at controlled levels. For me, daily walking is okay a few times, but then gets monotonous. Something in my DNA wants to cover ground.

My realization that the Raleigh wasn’t going to cut the mustard came in Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, E-Bike Pack Mule, Mod Squad, Navel Gazing, The Defiant and tagged ,
07 Jun 2014
10 Comments

Saturday in Sandwich

My front yard, freshly mowed - but not by me! This is the daily view out my dining area window.

My front yard, freshly mowed – but not by me! This is the daily view out my dining area window.

I gots a host of errands done yesterday, and didn’t make it as far down today’s list, but the vitals got done, anyway. A little of that consisted of hopping on the Raleigh to take some snaps for this post, and a combination of exploring and food shopping at the local downtown store, Art’s Foodmarket. It’s in the “old downtown” which dates back to the Civil War as far as significant buildings go. Sandwich’s downtown hasn’t suffered from the ongoing coma as much as many others, maybe because it’s just a block from Route 34 that passes through it. 34 is just a two-lane, so the plaza and mini-mall buildup along it is limited. It’s obvious from looking at the businesses that, since 34 ran so close to the railroad tracks in Sandwich, that the original Church Street/34 roadway was simply absorbed into the town early on.

And my back yard. For some reason, I find this restful. ;-)

And my back yard. For some reason, I find this restful. 😉

To be sure, there are more than enough closed signs and empty buildings scattered throughout downtown Sandwich. A few shops are still in the process of closing. It’s a shame of course, especially since many of the empties are assorted sizes of vintage brick buildings dating way back, and yet they are still in exemplary condition. They’re charming. Many small, rural towns have had their downtowns become virtual ghost districts, like Darien, Wisconsin. Many have a decimated air about them. There are newer buildings here along 34 of course, but even there, Sandwich seems to have resisted Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Daily Life and tagged
25 May 2014
8 Comments

Day One, Navajo AZ

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After stowing the solar panels and arranging the trailer interior for minimal scrambling of contents, I headed south from Tusayan in order to hit I-40 and pass through Flagstaff on my way east. The two memorable things I encountered were snow capped mountains in the distance and smoke in the air from the nearby forest fire. Predictably, it smelled like a campfire.

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This Tractor Supply store reveals the main interests in the area: big water tanks and what looks like portable fencing for livestock.

Once you get east of Flagstaff, the earth is a distinctive red. Further east than that, the terrain is a mix of mesas and featureless expanses that look too dry to do much of anything with. Naturally, there are Hopi and Navajo reservations there.

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Except for a lot of time wasted at a T/A Petro truck stop, the day was thankfully uneventful. I must look like either a pro or a nutcase as I get out and methodically feel all eight tires and wheel hubs at every stop. I’m not fondling them – I’m checking temperatures. No need to relive the adventures I had last year.

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I arrived safe and sound at the Navajo Travel Center, which is just short of the New Mexico border. Tomorrow’s stop will be at a rest area near Santa Fe.

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I’m not even sure what kind of critter this used to be. I’m reminded of the old Jonathan Winters routine called “sailcat”, but I suspect this is/was a former rabbit. Let’s just use it as a reminder of the temporary nature of life. Enjoy it while you’ve got it.

Posted in Daily Life, Travelin' Man and tagged ,
24 May 2014
6 Comments

Lesson Learned. Again.

I would have put a picture of an elk right here, but for today’s trip to do laundry and visit the dump station and get a few more tomatoes at the market inside the Grand Canyon in preparation for leaving tomorrow, I figured, “Hey, what would I need the camera for? I’m not visiting anything.”

On the way into the park, a couple of cars are pulled over because there were two elk a couple hundred feet off in the thin woods. Naturally, the people were taking pictures. I do my business in the park and leave. Lo and behold, I’m tootling along on a small road leaving the market, and three cars are stopped in the opposite lane. They’re stopped because there’s a standard-sized elk with a full set of moss-covered horns grazing right beside the road. And I don’t mean fifty or 100 feet down, I mean two feet from the edge of the pavement. Paid no attention at all to the cars.

Outside the park, a van has pulled over and a woman is photographing a few elk grazing in the woods. Back at the north end of Tusayan in the four-lane, the right lane is stopped completely. At first, I thought it was one heck of a 35 MPH chain reaction accident, which

Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged , , ,
22 May 2014
11 Comments

Just an Interlude

So, I'm sitting, enjoying an appetizer before dinner while watching a DVD, and discover that the sunset view out the window is more interesting.

So, I’m sitting, enjoying an appetizer before dinner while watching a DVD, and discover that the sunset view out the window is more interesting.

The three days of high winds are over, and without mishap. Might get some significant rains tomorrow, so I’m taking yesterday and today as an interlude between possible weather events. Sunny and 74 outside yesterday, with a manageable breeze. So I scraped myself off, refilled the trailer’s water tank, and headed for the Market Plaza inside the south entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park to access their Post Office and General Store (which includes a grocery store). I skirted the suicidal $25/vehicle to get in by brandishing my free-admittance America the Beautiful Geezer Senior Pass that cost me all of $10 and never expires. I almost got breathy as I went through that gate!

Wow. The paved drive in, the signage, the architecture, and the manicured mix of rustic and polished reminded me of Disney World’s Frontierland. Now I know where Disney got the look. I expected it to be unpleasantly packed, but it was lightly busy, and tons of campground space lies unused. Perhaps this is not yet the heavy season. There’s a whole lot of folks not speaking Engrish, and everyone had a relaxed and pleased look.

My trusty Garmin GPS had the Post Office as its target, and promptly steered me into a residence area for park workers, citing mobile Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Daily Life, Navel Gazing and tagged ,
20 May 2014
8 Comments

Tusayan, Arizona Campin’

A turn onto NF 302 yielded a view with quite a contrast to my earlier campsites. Look! Actual trees!

A turn onto NF 302 yielded a view with quite a contrast to my earlier campsites. Look! Actual trees!

The town of Tusayan, Arizona borders the southern entrance to the Grand Canyon. Oh boy, the Grand Canyon! Well, not this trip, odd as it sounds. My goal was simply to see what the area is like for travel trailer campers like myself. To get a feel for the place. I have, and if you restrict the discussion to dispersed camping, it’s a mix that is the natural result of heavy commercialization.

The initial drive in with trailer in tow netted a view of three elk about to cross the road at the bend ahead!

The initial drive in with trailer in tow netted a view of three elk about to cross the road at the bend ahead!

On the way up here on 64, I noticed plenty of inviting National Forest roads branching off this way and that. Looking at a Motor Vehicle Usage Map , the Tusayan area is loaded with roads open to dispersed camping. I’m very curious to explore some of them in order to see what camping situations they offer, but I quickly found three impediments to doing that.

I stopped, the Ford's diesel quietly rattling away, and they decided it was better to get across now, before the big red box with the even bigger white box got any closer.

I stopped, the Ford’s diesel quietly rattling away, and they decided it was better to get across now, before the big red box with the even bigger white box got any closer.

Those impediments are first, that the tangled nest of available roads cover miles and miles of range instead of being a tight pack with numerous branches.

Second, the easiest way to explore those roads is Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Daily Life and tagged , , , ,
17 May 2014
8 Comments

A Room With a View

I prefer not to camp where I need to pull the window shades for privacy. The moonlight is usually nice, too.

I prefer not to camp where I need to pull the window shades for privacy. The moonlight is usually nice, too.

Once I moved to avoid the recent rodent issues, I found a new campsite just half a mile further north on 9711F/Old 89. A pull-through loop adaptable to big rigs, it was atop a low ridge and offered a view of miles in nearly any direction. I knew I was in the right place when I woke up the next morning and saw a coyote in the distance trotting in a line from bush to bush, looking to scare up some breakfast. I’m going to let this post be kind of a photo essay, because there’s more to see than to tell.

This is the kind of place with admirable views, enough to climb out every now and then just to take it all in. This is looking NE from the new campsite.

This is the kind of place with admirable views, enough to climb out every now and then just to take it all in. This is looking NE from the new campsite.

This is looking north near sunset. If you're the kind of person who tends to be anxious, this is the Rx.

This is looking north near sunset. If you’re the kind of person who tends to be anxious, this is the Rx.

Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Daily Life and tagged
15 May 2014
15 Comments

Refitting for Battle

Am I not merciful?

Am I not merciful?

Sometimes, life is simplified down to its basic components. In order for one thing to live, something else must die. Sometimes, in order for one thing to be able to sleep, something else must die. I’m the one thing. Mice are the something else. That’s the way I prefer it, anyway.

Rodent infestations aren’t talked about much on RVing blogs, because it’s mundane and reduces the glamour of the lifestyle. Seldom do you read, “We saw the magnificent Grand Canyon today! But we were all so tired from a couple of sleepless nights from all the mice in the trailer that we were too tired to really enjoy it. Merla’s concerned we’re going to catch that Hantavirus if we can’t get rid of them.”

Once inside, mice are quite noisy at night, and basically treat the Defiant as their playground as they search for stray food remnants. Plus, they poop and pee all over creation. Chewing on everything, running along or inside metal enclosures or ductwork, or just doing sprints up and down the kitchen linoleum, they easily wake me even from a sound sleep. Then I wonder, “What are they destroying now?” In the ancient days, when I was Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, Mod Squad and tagged , , , ,
08 May 2014

Days Roll On

My son sent me a new sticker for the shop he's at, and so I stuck it on the Furd. It's a general supportive thing only, since the shop is in Illinois!

My son sent me a new sticker for the shop he’s at, and so I stuck it on the Furd. It’s a general supportive thing only, since the shop is in Illinois!

Posts on this blog will be few and far between until the middle of the month, when my cellular data plan rolls over. Just letting you know ahead of time. Nothing’s wrong. I just downloaded a YouTube video at the start of the month, and now I’m doing my penance. Humphrey Bogart movie outtakes. Go figure. It was worth it.

With rain off and on all day yesterday, it finally ended with the sun briefly peeking out near sunset, and this rainbow was the result.

With rain off and on all day yesterday, it finally ended with the sun briefly peeking out near sunset, and this rainbow was the result.

A week from now, Paulden, AZ should begin sailing into the low 90’s for daytime temps. So, I’ll be heading for the higher elevation of Read more…

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