Wednesday, March 23, 2022

I'm a Solar Convert!

It was a gorgeous morning of cool sunshine.  The terrible winds finally quit, at least for a few hours.  Cooper and I headed out for a nice long walk through the desert.  It is rather unusual that we saw absolutely no wildlife.  Not a lizard or even a dove to be found.


Once back at the rig, I decided to take care of that wonderful fun job ... emptying the tanks.  It's always a toss of the dice about which valve to pull first, but luckily on this day I did it just right.  In spite of what the sensors say, I suspect the tanks are empty.  Just for good measure, I'll put a little more fresh water in the tank for the trip home.


Then I did the unthinkable ... I turned off the electric breaker.  I wanted to see just how well this solar stuff worked.  Honestly, I didn't think it would last two hours worth of TV before I had to flip the switch back on.  I was ecstatic to find the two solar panels kept the battery on float all day long as I watched TV, charged my computer and phone, and even turned on the fan for several hours.  The fridge was on gas, so no drawdown there.  On a cloudy day, I'll have to be more careful.

Not only that, but there's no trying to remember which I turn on or off first.  It just does it for me automatically.  I turned the electric back on after eight hours.  YAHOO!!  I'm a solar convert.


Patsy and I worked on a new puzzle before coming back to fix lunch.   After that, Patsy stopped by so Gibbs could ask Cooper for a play date at the dog park.  Of course we said yes!


Not ever having played with dogs before, Cooper is a little shy.  He would rather go smell the territory and water the grass.  As you can tell, he does a good job of making the grass green.


Unfortunately, all that heat and wind brought up his noon snack.  Poor baby just isn't feeling good.  I finally flipped the switch and turned on the AC, hoping he would cool off and recuperate.

Finally, a chance to relax and try out my gas oven cooking skills.  Truly, they are non-existent since I've never even STARTED the gas oven in this rig.  It took some doing, but I finally figured it out.  I chopped and hacked up a pan of scalloped potatoes and stuck them in the heat.  

Yeah this looks a little weird.  Wrong potatoes (Yukon gold instead of Russet), and I didn't peel them.  Still, they tasted pretty good even if they did need another 20 minutes in the oven.


One thing I did discover, apparently there's no LOW here, it's 350 degrees or higher.  Woohoo this thing goes up to 500 degrees.  You could cook a prime rib in this little oven!!

I forgot to post Monday's beautiful sunset, so here it is.  Maybe I'll get in one more before I leave tomorrow morning.


My time in the desert has come to an end and I'm heading back to the "other" home.  On THIS morning, the coyotes are giving me a howling sendoff.  I love hearing those guys!!


11 comments:

  1. Have a safe drive home. Yep, solar is nice when you are out in the desert like that, and you only have two solar panels, just right for what you are needing it for.

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  2. That is a beautiful sunset. That view is one that we missed the last couple of years!

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  3. Being a convert does that mean we'll see you doing more Boondocking? We'll keep our fingers crossed.
    Safe Travels and Enjoy your other home.

    It's about time.

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    1. Yes I will and I can't wait. Maybe I'll see you guys here next year.

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  4. The potatoes look good and that is a beautiful sunset. Have a safe trip with, hopefully, no wind. Elva

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    1. Thank you Elva. No wind predicted so far. Fingers crossed.

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  5. We both had a feeling you would be happy with your solar investment. Great to be able to say Yahoo!
    Glad we were able to get the chance to see you all one last time before you head out. Safe Travels. Hugs

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    1. You were right Deb. Thank you so much for stopping by. I'lll be seeing you next year!!!

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  6. So glad you pushed your solar. During the sunny day, they will do a great job. Those little guys look like twins. I didn't know there are different potatoes other than Idaho and red. Enjoy your roadtrip north.

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