The snow is almost all gone, the carpet of pine needles is dry, and it’s warm enough to wander in the forest without a jacket. So off I went. | Continue reading
Yesterday slush and mud, today just dampness. | Continue reading
It warmed up enough today for most of the snow to melt. That leaves us with slush and muddy wet patches. I try walking on the snow because it’s cleaner, but the places I step — like outside the van door — just become mud sooner. Everything is going to refreeze during the night th … | Continue reading
The previous snowfall had melted down to almost nothing but we knew a bigger storm was coming. It started sometime during Friday night and by the time I woke up Saturday morning there was a brand new coating about eight inches deep. Although I have plenty of battery power, and I … | Continue reading
Yesterday afternoon: This morning: | Continue reading
Horse? Unicorn? Greyhound? | Continue reading
The goal for today had been to camp in the forested mountains on the south side of Prescott, Arizona. It would be a change from the last several months in the Sonoran Desert. Cooler at about 6,000 feet. Shadier with big trees. Yes, gimme some of that. I had researched potential c … | Continue reading
Mr. Paranoia stopped by the Rolling Steel Tent this afternoon. He wanted to know why I was here, what I was doing, and who was paying me to do it. He pointed to my cellular antenna and claimed I was monitoring him and/or jamming his signals. He went on and on about being a law-ab … | Continue reading
Things shift around in moving vehicles This is particularly true when driving lumpy roads that have you pitching this way and that. Such was the case of my silverware divider. It wasn’t a serious problem since the divider is contained within a drawer that is held closed with a bu … | Continue reading
I like chollas. I like the ecosystem they grow in. But that cute fuzzy glow is actually thousands of barbed spines. You can avoid brushing against the live chollas but those prickly bulbs fall off, turn brown and blend with the ground where they wait to attack. If you’re lucky on … | Continue reading
I’ve never met Tristan of the SUV RVing channel, but after watching a bunch of his videos I feel like we’re friends. Or could be. Nice guy. Tristan also has a pay site with info about his adventures, including an interactive map featuring the places he boondocked. He prefers to g … | Continue reading
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 More lake Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest No comments: Post a Comment Newer Post Older Post Home Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Help keep the Steel Tent rolling Search This Blog Blog Archive ▼ 2024 (49) ▼ April … | Continue reading
I spent the night in nearly deserted Quartzsite after picking up my package and mail. But where to go next? I studied maps, forecasts, boondocking resources, blogs and all that. I had only one for-certain destination: Vancouver Island in July to take Lou’s ashes out to sea. There … | Continue reading
Last week I was in bed reading when the recessed LED light over the counter blinked off. Rats. My first assumption was the light had reached the end of its life. Since the lights came in a four-pack and I had used only three, I should have a spare — unless it was one of the thing … | Continue reading
First day of the month. I decided it was a good day to do laundry. I had plenty of clean clothes, but the full-ish laundry bag was getting difficult to squeeze back under the bed. I could go early, but a lot of people go then. Besides, I had also told myself it was a good day to … | Continue reading
The original plan had been to let my hair grow until my birthday. But even though that’s only three weeks away, I couldn’t stand it any longer (in time or length of hair). So I decided the vernal equinox was an appropriate end date. It has sort of been my winter hair. Now back to … | Continue reading
Several of my friends and family (some of them just a few hours’ drive away) are shoveling snow and slush. They have my condolences. | Continue reading
If you have the correct answer you win… well, only the satisfaction of being right. So, my stove connects to a bulk propane tank via a hose, naturally. But unlike my past stoves, this one is intended for use only with bulk tanks. And the hose connects to the stove via a somewhat … | Continue reading
I woke up at about 2:45 to pee. When I got back in bed I heard a faint and irregular pit… tik……pit it……tak… pit… What was it? Where was it? Should I worry? A mouse nibbling on a bit of plastic perhaps? I sniffed. No mouse odor. I held still, listening. It seemed to be at the back … | Continue reading
Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I But when semis tip over on I-10 The wind is blowing like a mother… My friend LaVonne is in Palm Springs before heading off on a cross-country trek. She flew in from Washington state last night to pick up a van from other friends. I hadn’t … | Continue reading
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 Flower time is starting Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest 3 comments: Jim DavisMarch 12, 2024 at 5:34 PM Yup, with all the rain we've had here in AZ they're out everywhere. Saw a lot of Mexican Poppies today.ReplyDelete … | Continue reading
Saturday, March 9, 2024 Wrapping up another of those fine desert days Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest 1 comment: AnonymousMarch 9, 2024 at 3:57 PM Nice shot!ReplyDelete Replies Reply Add comment Load more... Newer Post Older Post Home Subscr … | Continue reading
About, oh, nine years ago I was camped in Ehrenburg AZ with a group of fellow wanderers. We were putting together a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner and I had volunteered to supply mashed potatoes. I had everything planned out — except for one thing. My phone was my only clock and I … | Continue reading
My nomad friend Roxy went to Joshua Tree National park a few weeks ago when it was still cold. She has greater tolerance of low temperatures, maybe even an affinity for it. My former coworker friend Jon, and his wife Katherine, made a pilgrimage to Joshua Tree and surrounding are … | Continue reading
Tonight I’m camped at a popular spot by the south entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. There are more than a dozen rigs here, most of them RVs. We’re closer together than I prefer, but that’s what the area is like. Hey, it’s free, it’s convenient, so… However, one thing has sur … | Continue reading
Food City was out of pollo asado so I went to another latino-focused grocery, Del Sol. Both have excellent butcher departments. I could see into the back where seven butchers were breaking down bigger cuts for packaging. In front of them was a display of seasoned meats where alon … | Continue reading
The 013 version of the Rolling Steel Tent has served well, but the latest system upgrades — engine, transmission, solar capacity, interior fittings — call for a new version designation. | Continue reading
Three things went missing the past few months. My passport, the van registration, and a fork. Whenever this happens I’m still amazed how things can disappear in such a small space. There are only so many places a thing can be in the Rolling Steel Tent. That gets me wondering if t … | Continue reading
Chuckwalla National Monument Two new National Monuments are in the works in the deserts of California and possibly Arizona. The Chuckwalla National Monument between Joshua Tree National Park and the Salton Sea is in its final stages of implementation. The Quechan Nation and other … | Continue reading
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 Who says there are no trees in the desert? Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest No comments: Post a Comment Newer Post Older Post Home Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Help keep the Steel Tent rolling Search This Blog … | Continue reading
Bob Wells asked me to proofread/edit the manuscript for his next book. It’s a collection of his blog posts. Sure, I could do that (although my various teachers, if still alive, would be shocked I had learned how to spell, punctuate, and write coherent sentences). Bob and I share … | Continue reading
“No, see,” said some guy who was here before me, “Those aren’t ruts from thoughtlessly driving onto soft ground. They’re, um, water catchment troughs. A place for vegetation to take hold, enriching the environment and benefiting the circle of life. Yeah, that’s it.” | Continue reading
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Later that day Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest 3 comments: MFHFebruary 22, 2024 at 12:45 AM Even nicer! Are you near Ajo?ReplyDelete Replies Al ChristensenFebruary 22, 2024 at 8:07 AM I'll be there tomorrow. This … | Continue reading
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Sufficiently solitary Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest 2 comments: MFHFebruary 22, 2024 at 12:44 AM Nice.ReplyDelete Replies Reply KennyDFebruary 22, 2024 at 8:38 AM Found another thousand yard circle, I seeReplyD … | Continue reading
The standard way to get from I-10 to I-8 when you’re west of Phoenix is to take Highway 65 from Buckeye to Gila Bend. But I’ve driven it more than a dozen times and wanted to do something different. Besides, even though that route is familiar it seems to get longer every time. Th … | Continue reading
Continuing with yesterday’s story: By the time my leisurely cattle-aware drive got me to I-10 I realized I didn’t really want to drive all the way to Ajo that day. There was no schedule to keep, no rush to get there. Slow down, man. Put in fewer miles and more time just being. Ye … | Continue reading
After my Walmart adventure in Parker I found pretty good boondocking spot south of town along Shea Road. But after a while two things made me decide to leave in the morning. The first was the realization it was the beginning of Presidents’ Day weekend. Off-road vehicles were buzz … | Continue reading
The Walmart in Parker, Arizona, isn’t very big. Small town, small store. But it attracts RVers from Quartzsite (35 miles away) and people with homes and houseboats along the Colorado River. So the store can get crowded, like today. The first thing I noticed (after the nearly full … | Continue reading
I’ve been to Joshua Tree National Park enough times to know the place is uphill from the towns on its borders. So when trying to find out what the temperature is in the park (at about 5,000 feet), rather than in the town of Joshua Tree or in Twentynine Palms or Yucca Valley (at a … | Continue reading
I’m in Quartzsite to take care of some business with my mail forwarding service. I need to do a change of address from Lou’s former place in New Mexico. The Postal Service has extra hoops to jump through when you’re changing to a mail forwarder. Then I need to jump through the DM … | Continue reading
Unless I’m camped with friends, this is what I consider a proper amount of space between me and other folks boondocking in a popular area. | Continue reading
The wonderful tortillas I get a Food City contain a bit of potassium sorbate as a preservative. However, I learned that isn’t enough to keep away mold after two weeks. That’s one of the down sides of a single guy buying a family’s worth of tortillas. But a 24 pack was all they of … | Continue reading
I didn’t know how much propane I had left, but since I was in town anyway I decided to get my tank topped off. I didn’t want to go back to U-Haul, and the other locations Google Maps offered were out of my way. Eighth Street has proved to have necessary services without unnecessa … | Continue reading
I got back from town just in time. There had been some scattered sprinkling, but all the signs pointed to some actual rain. I dropped off groceries and water for a sick friend and settled into my camping spot nearby. And then… Here’s what it looked like a few minutes later. Those … | Continue reading
I’ve been on the hunt for what I consider perfect flour tortillas. First of all, they need to be “soft taco size” so they’ll fit in my pan. That’s the easy part. What has been hard is finding thin ones. It seems someone has decided the world wants only thick tortillas. Nah, I’m n … | Continue reading
The shop called today with the great news that my new engine has arrived, and with the not-so-great news that they can't fit me into their schedule until the 30th.But, hey, I have a place to stay, other transportation while the van is in the shop, and enough money to pay for … | Continue reading
The door of the camper Lou built has a deadbolt. But since the door swings out, the hinges are exposed. That means a half-clever thief with a screwdriver and hammer, and maybe a little WD-40, could pop out the hinge pins and jiggle the door off.So to add a little bit more securit … | Continue reading