Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

So, let’s get a gallery up, shall we?

How about two?  Anza Borrego….oh, I haven’t even imported 600 photos today….more to come……  :)  Heh!

[Show as slideshow]

Last night my dad gave a quick call to check in.  He also teased a good bit about temperatures out here.

“I thought you were in Arizona…..isn’t it supposed to be warm out there?”  Of course, the temperatures back in New England are lower than what’s been prevailing here.  But still, it has been chilly again.

Yesterday morning I drove the Titan into a white out.   Sideways blowing snow, low clouds, and a cold breeze that could cut right through you.  Yeah, Arizona has winter gang!  If you’re looking to warm up just take a ride down to Phoenix…..that’ll cover you well.

So, for my dad’s benefit today’s first photo is of the frost on my truck.  It’s been a few days since my truck was “frost free” in the morning.  While there’s a chill here, I haven’t had to shovel or snowblow anything.  So, I’ll take our cool snow free atmosphere (even when it snows here, it doesn’t stick around).

So, beyond the weather, what’s going on?  Actually plenty of stuff.  Most I can’t blog about yet, but in time you’ll hear more.  Ah, the cliff hanger……you’ll have to keep coming back.

There’s been one interesting development here at Point of Rocks.  A cute little bobcat has been spending time close into the park.  Monday morning I took a walk up into the rocks, looked up ahead of me, and there was the bobcat.  Did I have a camera on me?????  Noooooooooo……..

My neighbors have been sighting the bobcat as well.  One neighbor’s dog is having a real hard time not going after the cat.  Hope they keep the leash tight, that cat is big (and cute).  Hopefully I’ll have a photo for the site soon….the cameras are always close now!

And finally…….

The Podcasts will return soon……

That’s right.  I’m starting to assemble new tech podasts for the Digital RV site.  Given the number of questions I’ve received recently I decided to start getting the podcasts back up again.  And that includes new fun ones as well (and they won’t all be climbing).

Just remember, these things take a little time to assemble.  And time isn’t something I’ve had a lot of lately.  But I’m working to free up moments here and there in order to get the Digital RV site moving along again.  It’s been too quiet there! 

In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out all of the tech podcasts I’d suggest you give a look.  You never know what useful sliver of information might be there.  And check out all the prior travel podcasts as well.  Fun to make, and fun to watch.

Have a question or podcast request?  You can leave a request in the comments at the Digital RV Podcast, here too, or you can phone in your question to:   928-792-4230

Finally, for you regulars out there….don’t forget to pass along the site’s information to RV’ing friends.  The second edition of the Digital RV is out there you know, and travel season is coming up.  I promise, the book will be useful to all RV’ers (and even non-RV’ers) that you know. 

Overwintering, even in Arizona, can be a little tougher in an RV. And I’ve been meaning to provide updates regarding Airstream living for a while. So, what’s been happening with the cool weather (beyond freezing my water lines twice)?

Initially, I found that I would go through a 30lb propane tank every week in colder weather. While still cheaper than my old heating bills in New Hampshire (I can only imagine them now), swapping tanks every week got old. What to do, what to do? Well, I changed a few simple things….

• The hot water heater gets turned off every morning when I head to work. It gets turned back on when I return. No sense in running it all day while I’m not here.
• My furnace is turned down to 58 when I leave.
• A small electric heater is set to 60 when I leave. The afternoons here are sunny enough to aid in keeping the Airstream 60, and comfy enough when I return. Everything gets turned back to 68 when I return.
• Bed time = 62 degrees. I’ve got warm blankets you know.

Those steps alone have made the 1 tank of propane a week go for two weeks now. Nice. Doubling my energy efficiency!

On other notes, I’ve worked out the frozen water line issues. I found a way to get the little 6 inch segment of water line into the heated box. The insulation wrap and heat tape are working. It was just that small segment that was giving me problems, go figure!
The only other issue I’ve had has been tire pressure on the Airstream. Cold nights make the tires softer. So, every two weeks I’ve been checking the pressure, and refilling the tires. No big losses at all, so I don’t have leaks. But the super cold snaps always leave the pressure sensor in my truck beeping at me. Just made sense to check the trailer tires too.

I thought my driving was done yesterday, but I was very, very wrong!

This morning I have been all around Colorado Springs. I took a ride up to Falcon, Woodland Park, and to the edge of Colorado Springs.

My first stop was a site recommended by another blogger (thanks for the heads up in the comments). Mountaindale Campground was a recommendation from a fellow traveler and blogger. And it was as described. Very nice spot. Nice management, sizable spaces. The one drawback. My cell phone stopped working shortly before the park. David, the gentleman I spoke with at the park, said a new tower would be coming in soon. So, that will be covered in the near future for folks like me!

My second stop this morning was Falcon Meadows RV Park (near Falcon, CO). This park is set in a meadow looking back toward Colorado Springs and the Rockies. Great view. Cell coverage worked there too (a plus). Too bad they were full up, and would be for quite a while. The manager there told me they’ve had to turn folks away.

Finally I took a ride up to Woodland Park. It’s also one of the towns I’ve flagged several houses in while scouring Realtor.com. Town & Country Resort is located there, and I thought it would be worth a visit to see as well. The ride up was quite the climb, and when I checked my GPS in their parking lot I found myself at 8600 feet above sea level. Felt a little light headed too!

They had 1 site currently open, and I’ve booked it for a week to start.  I’ll have to acclimatize to the elevation there, but hopefully I won’t walk around “loopy” for long! 

I’d suggest all 3 campgrounds mentioned above.  Why did I go with Town & Country?  4 reasons….  My cell phone worked up there.  High Speed WiFi is available as well.  They had an open site.  The town is gorgeous!!!!

How come I don’t have any photos?  Ah, you’ll have to wait until I move up there tomorrow.  I took a bunch of pictures, but I figure it will build suspense.

On other notes…..

Thursday or Friday I’ll be doing the second interview.  Should know something real soon!

Hey, a non work related post. How nice. After all, I’m still Airstreaming, enjoying a pretty area, and being happy I found this town. Different things get priority in posts, and my mind has been heavily on finding work in this area!

Currently it’s heating up once more. The past week has seen some pretty high temperatures, and I’m staying out of that kind of sun. Believe me, the days are beautiful, but I need a chilled pool to enjoy this type of heat.

Yesterday we saw over 100 here again. Today we’ll break the 100 mark once again. According to my macintosh dashboard widget, 101 today. According to other services, 103 or 104. Whatever the actual temperature, it’s not Phoenix.

Last night I plugged my Elgato EyeTV in, and watched the news on my laptop. That’s right, I watched TV for the first time in a while. Why you ask? Curiosity. I wondered when the monsoons might begin, so I thought the folks on the news might give me some insights. They didn’t, but they did tell me the heat in Phoenix was high.

For fireworks last night in Phoenix at 9 p.m. they suggested a temperature still above 100. Here in Prescott we’ll see 60’s or 70’s at the worst. It cools off nicely here each night, and each morning I’ve seen temperatures below 60.

Staying in

So, what do I do hiding out inside? Well, the past few days I’ve been reading 2 books on Digital Photography. “Canon EOS 30D: Digital Field Guide”, and “The Digital Photography Book.” Both are good reads and easy to follow.

Also I’ve just about finished “PHP for the World Wide Web.” While I already knew a good bit about PHP I decided to do more with my free time. Going through the book I decided to install my own PHP setup along with a MySQL server. Both drive Wordpress, and Wordpress is what powers this web site. I want to customize my site further and create more tools for it as well. I can now experiment on my computer, rather than on the web server that readers come to every day (aren’t you glad, I’m not experimenting on you).

So, there’s the excitement indoors the past few days. Wonder how many readers I just lost?

Other things to do indoors

Of course, movies, radio, books on tape, etc., are all items that one can do indoors. And I’ve been doing them all. I’ll be watching the latest Ghost In The Shell movie this afternoon, and then probably take a nap. Staying up late tonight to photograph fireworks, so I’ll need a nap.

Finally, I’ve been thinking about gear to write about for readers. I’d mentioned the other week that I’ll be posting more about the gear I use. So I’ve been making the “check list.”

What’s in store for you today? How about towels? That’s right, towels.

I use quick drying towels while on the road. My favorite manufacturers are MSR and Aquis Adventure Towels. Even linking to them and giving some free advertising.

The microfiber towels were first “discovered” when planning for my AT hike in 2001. Normal towels are big and bulky, take tons of

space, and don’t pack well in a backpack. Repeat the list of drawbacks, and then apply it to an RV. It’s the same issue.

But microfiber towels don’t have those issues. Better yet, they pack away small, dry quickly, and dry you off quickly as well!

If you’re packing up for a short trip, several months, or going full time, I’d suggest checking into microfiber towels. They dry so fast compared to a normal towel too, and they’re super for drying up spills, even grape juice!

There’s the wrap up on today’s RV gear recommendation.

In the coming days, weeks, and months I’ll be adding some new categories about the gear I’ve used, and still use daily in my Airstream and for my outdoor activities. Often people notice things in my Airstream and ask, “Where’d you get that?” So, start watching for my big gear reviews. I’m sure there will be something that catches your eye as well.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know there’s some favorite digital gadgetry that comes along with me. While some of it will pop up in these posts, the more technically oriented stuff will still be found at the Digital RV’s Blog site, and the Digital RV’s podcast site. Check those often too.

So, what should we talk about today? How about the recent clothing changes that have gone on at the Airstream Chronicles. There have been changes too. Why? Simple gang, being outdoors in Arizona requires some necessary changes from living in New Hampshire. It’s hot here now, and I’m in one of the cooler areas! Imagine Phoenix!

The picture to the right was taken mere moments ago. Let’s run it down!

• Tilley Hat: I’ve always like Columbia hats for hiking. But it’s different here. I needed more “shade”. With the rash & skin issues that have come up, keeping my face shaded has become more important. Plus I dig the Tilley!

• Ray Ban Sunglasses: I bought these last year. I’ve never owned a real pair of prescription sun glasses before. Here in AZ they are NECESSARY! Just hate coming indoors with them as everything goes dark!
• Roundtree & York Quick drying shirt: Nice light button up shirt. And it’s a “wicking” shirt like so many of my synthetic hiking shirts. I’m now sticking to white, tan, and other light colors. All of my dark shirts cook me here, so light is it!
• Columbia Shorts: I’ve got North Face and Columbia shorts only. I like thicker shorts for the rocks around here. My favorites are the North Face A5’s. I retired a pair yesterday that I owned for 4 years. They finally gave up, but sure did last a long time! And I always keep the shorts tan or olive. The shorts are a little darker, but they breathe well and are comfy in the mid-90’s.
• Chaco Hiking Sandals: My favorite sandals on the planet. Chacos have Vibram soles gang. What’s that mean? Simple, you can hike anywhere in these sandals. One of my favorite pieces of foot wear. If you’re looking for a comfortable hiking sandal that works as well as a boot, check out Chacos!

Well, there you go. The first listing of the gear I use day to day here at the Airstream Chronicles. If you’re looking for great outdoor wear, check places like REI or EMS. I’m lucky here in Prescott. I have Granite Mountain Outfitters right down the road, and Manzanita Outdoors as well. Both are great climbing and hiking stores with fantastic selections. If you come to Prescott check them out!