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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

It's Not The Cold and Snow... It's The Lack Of Freaking Daylight!!!


Tis the eve of the eve of Departure Day, and I feel like I'm in a Fifth Dimension. If "the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars," and we can find a few more ratholes in which to put "stuff," then Goldilocks, Mama Bear and Papa Bear will leave on time.

I can see why some Lazy Daze owners end up using the overhead sleeping area for storage. While there are plenty of cabinets for small items, the RV lacks for large areas. Perhaps newer models have addressed this issue. A keyboard smaller than my "baby grand" would help. Yesterday I ended up removing it from the custom lounge bench storage area I especially designed and built for it. In its place I substituted awkward sized inflatable kayak gear that wasn't lending itself to other ratholes :((.  Ah, keyboards and kayaks and "kitchen sinks;" what has become of my simple RV life dream? I'm a work in progress.

So we are focused, like bats, on the last few tasks... wandering blindly... aimlessly looking for what we forgot to load up or can't do without. We grasp at peculiar and frivolous items and tuck them under an arm... things like an ice cream scooper, or Charmin, our squeezably soft teddybear... just so we don't go in empty-handed circles. Thus, and alas, our formerly spacious rig now closes in around us like a muggy Mississippi night, and Charmin whispers from my armpit that I would feel better if I sucked my thumb. 

Do we need well over fifty movies, of which we will probably watch two, maybe three, tops? And what about that scooper? We swore off ice cream a long time ago; too risky to keep in the house with two Ben and Jerry addicts. 

And where to put an ostrich of a satellite dish... the one we need in order to watch our beloved Broncos, Cardinals, and assorted college football match ups that have BCS implications? Somewhere, Jeremiah Johnson and Thoreau roll over in their cold dark graves.

And then there are the twenty five pounds of assorted novels, maps and guidebooks that we are going to have all this time to read and study. Right. After hiking or biking all day, a beer or two, followed by a big meal, I'll plop my ass in that new comfy leather recliner we got at Target dot com, put my feet up on a footstool (also from Target), and be asleep within two pages, tops. Some things don't change on the road. When it gets dark outside, I get sleepy... even if it's only six pm. It's why I loathe winter... it's not the cold and snow, it's the lack of freaking daylight!

"Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars!"

Yeah, right...














14 comments:

  1. Amazing photos!

    I don't have a TV, but I'm looking at a TV/DVD 12-volt combo for my Toyota Dolphin. I think I'm going with Skyworth.

    It seems I always take too much "stuff" with me. When I travel again in November I'm going to "lighten the load."

    If you're near "civilization" you can always find a Redbox to rent movies. You can even reserve them online at a specific location.

    I too hate the shorter days and early darkness...

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  2. What I want to know is who painted those awesome watercolors??? I love the bridge!

    Susan

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  3. Would you consider buying an e reader of some sort.... for your novels? Save a lot of space and weight.

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  4. I hate the shorter days and dark winter nights. I have a Kindle and I can swap books at the campgrounds. Take only one or two books, I have found that I use the internet more than my travel guides. Maybe you need one of those storage pods that hook onto the hitch of the RV - to keep the inflatable stuff. Its almost a year on the road for me, and I have dropped off stuff at the donation center several times and have another load of stuff to drop off this week before I leave Colorado. I don't have any movies with me, again, I figure I can borrow them. Or if I have good internet, I can watch movies on my laptop. You may need to get one of those roof mounted satellite dishes, I don't have a TV so I don't worry about it.

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  5. While on our trip to Ely Wayne walked across the street to watch the NASCAR race. I buy DVDs of TV series which don't take up much room so that we can reacquaint ourselves with shows that are no longer on air. When we've watched them I resell them at half.com and recoup most of my original cost usually. However, we still can't figure out where to put the kayaks, and ours don't deflate! Good luck, can't wait to see photos of your upcoming adventure!

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  6. Nice to see a couple of Bobbie's lovely watercolors mixed in with your photos.
    Jim says he's glad you two are finally getting out of that "hellhole"!

    Gayle

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  7. I think your best bet would be to rely on Boonie to get tips on storing the stuff. Just find out where he puts it all.

    To all the rest of your friends and followers out there be on the lookout for a tan LD rolling down the highway with a fire in the battery box.

    Jim

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  8. run the the road,trying to loosen my load!! you guy's have a good time, an don't forget to post some of your great pic's gary

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  9. Too much stuff. But it's not easy to decide. Now take some of that shit out of there. Books and movies are too heavy to carry in these days of internet and ebooks. Like the idea of a storage box on the back for kayaks and such. If the rig can handle the weight.

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  10. Bon vogage guys! Hope this year's trip lasts until May.

    Jim & Gayle, I have good ideas for storage but I thought Mark would just laugh them off.

    1. Put insulating sheath over those silly Lazy Daze windows. Windows are a thermal hole in the wall. Also they keep you from putting storage shelves there. (It's hard to sink wood screws in glass.)

    2. Get rid of housey-style furniture such as chairs, sofas, dinettes. Buy massive quantities of plastic sliding storage boxes (Sterilite), with a layer of Rubbermaid "Rough Totes" on the floor to hold the heavy items. In case the tower of plastic boxes threatens to collapse, augment it (halfway up) with furring strips or 1/4" Luann plywood.

    3. Get rid of water toys. What good are they, in the Southwest? In case you haven't noticed, we ain't got no water.

    4. Stop thinking of a motorhome as "Home Beautiful" or a suburban-house-wannabee and think of it as a dusty, oily, and rugged motor vehicle.

    .

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  11. Regarding Boonie's recommendation for remodeling and storage... A home on wheels is a personal vision. Some see a comfortable place to sleep; others see a condo suitable for entertaining.

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  12. Sorry I'm late in getting back here... Packing Packing Packing...

    Desert Diva,
    Thank you, from one darkness hater to another...
    You make good suggestions... We'll be like those westward ho wanderers, throwing stuff out to get over the passes :))

    Travel Bug,
    Well, since you seem to like them, I'll fess up. They are my humble creations, so thank you. The windmill watercolor is near Big Bend, Texas, and the "Bridge" is "Sunrise On Deception Pass... Whidbey Island, Washington. It's more dramatic than my painting, trust me.

    BJ,
    Bobbie has a Kindle. She's reading Chinle's books on it right now. I guess we need two Kindles... still lighter than books, tho.

    Teri,
    Thanks... I'll figure it out as I go. As for the Satellite Dish roof mount idea, I like it. It solves several problems :))

    Pam and Wayne,
    Good ideas. As for the non inflatable Kayaks... I only see two choices... RV roof, or Toad roof. At least Toad doesn't involve ladders :))

    Gayle,
    Yikes, I won't show her this comment. Hers are much better... and bigger... and more colorful. And did I say better? :))

    Jim,
    Yeah, I see his ideas below :((
    And regarding the battery box fire? That's not funny :0)

    Gary,
    Pardon my double negative, but I can not not post photos. You are stuck with them :))

    Gaelyn,
    Yes, a hitch mounted rear storage box is being designed in my head. Unfortunately it will have to wait till next summer to come to fruition.
    On "shit," One man's "shit" is another mans treasure :))

    Boonie, Boonie, Boonie...
    Now how are you ever going to get a wife that way :))

    Seriously, The bar is higher than that if I want to stay married.

    Wandrin Lloyd,
    There is a veritable ocean between our visions :)) That's for sure. To each their own. I like the "condo" idea better.
    Thanks for commenting,
    mark

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  13. hmmm... Phx is -surrounded- by lakes; pleasant, canyon, saguaro,Apache, Roosevelt,and Bartlett... then there's Patagonia Arivaca, alamo to the west... san carlos... Lake Havasu... Lake Mead... and that's just the ones my feeble brain can remember quick... There's one or two around Prescott... there's there's lakes up on the rim and kayakable sections of several rivers... No Water?

    Oh... and then... there's the lakes in New Mexico...

    No Windows? You can work a job to live in a dungeon! ;)

    Maybe if the windows weren't covered with shelves??? the lakes would be visible?

    Not a hitch mounted cargo box... just Toad the subie and a few boxes in it or even on it's roof for extra this and that and ya'll is golden! plus... you don't have to break camp to roll somewhere! :)

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  14. CowBoy Brian,
    Yeah, we filled Sue Bee pretty good... but didn't go so far as to put anything on her head. I did need to put a couple of things on top of Goldie, tho. Who says you can't take it with you :))

    And how dare you disagree with His Boondocking Highness ;)
    Thanks,
    Mark... up early and getting ready to roll.

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