MA to AZ and beyond

[rob cote]

What a frickin' day! It started off typical enough. Wake up, morning routine, work. We had a few groceries to obtain so we headed to the store which is right by a park. I made breakfast and then grabbed groceries. Tracking info said a package was to be delivered, so Loki and I walked to the mailbox which was only a couple blocks away.

Inside the mailbox, it said box service fee due, so I asked what that meant. The clerk said it was in error. Ok great. Do you have a package for that box? No. Ok dang I must be too early. We left. I checked the tracking info again, and it had been delivered an hour ago. They were obviously still working it and it just hadn't made it to the mailbox yet. I tried to go back in to double check, but Loki wouldn't allow it. So we walked back to drive back and by the time that all happened, the package had been processed.



So, I got my glasses and multimeter. I had overlooked a few things when I packed my tool kit. I'm realizing that now. It's so hard to know! You know? I also have a pair of wire strippers I really like that I'm thinking about requesting sent, just in case. But I digress. So, we drove to the actual park parking lot. The park-ing lot, if you will.

Having my multimeter on hand gave me the confidence I needed to rewire the cell booster. I know, it makes no sense. I didn't need the meter for the job at all. I pulled up the carpet and ran the power wire under the seats in the wire trough to the passenger's seat base battery compartment. I cut the 12V plug off the end and connected the ground wire to the ground post on the battery. I did the same with the positive side, using the foam battery cover as insulation to shield the wrench from the seat base. On one of the last tightening turns of the socket wrench, disaster. The foam gave way and the wrench contacted the seat base and began welding itself momentarily.

That's all it took. A split-second discharge. Our entire house side electrical system was dead. Panic. I started checking everything. I checked the battery voltage. Turns out I DID need the meter after all. 0.4V. That's very bad. 10V is dangerously low. So after an uncomfortable long while in the parking lot there, I determined that the batteries had gone into a safe mode, by design, which isolates the battery from its terminals if it sees more than 150A discharge. I would need a charger with a "lithium reactivation" feature according to Renogy, the manufacturer. Our alternator is too smart; if it sees no battery attached, it doesn't output any charge.

Luckily for us, we have a shore power charger. Unluckily for us, we have nowhere to plug it in. Mandy found us one campsite in town that has electrical hookup and booked us a night there. It was essentially a trailer park, but for RVs and campers. Whatever, there was electricity. Immediately, I set to work extracting our extension cord from the heat tape connection under the sink. I plugged the van into the power supply and everything worked. Which meant the charger turned on. Which meant it woke up the batteries. Hail the dumb charger! I unplugged the extension cord and heaved a huge relief sigh.

We took a little walk to try and relax. I was so tense from the stress of having a dead van. There are some really neat rock formations at this campground on Willow Lake. We climbed up to the top to see the view. There's way more rock formations on the far side. It just keeps going. The view was pretty neat, not like anything we'd seen yet. We climbed back down, and Mandy set to work making dinner. I reconnected the cell booster wires to the battery (because of course I removed them initially thinking that would fix the batteries), this time being far more careful and using a regular wrench for much more clearance. No issues. Yes, I had the proper wrench the entire time, I'm just an idiot. I had a pre-mixed long island in a can with dinner to help relax further. It didn't do very much.



But I woke up with an annoying headache, so there's that. I'll include this day because although it was very long, it'll be short. We dropped off Mandy at work and headed straight to Phoenix. Or maybe not? Is North Scottsdale its own city, or is it a neighborhood of Phoenix? We went to the Mercedes dealership there for a service appointment.

I'd be happy to do service A on my own, but I wasn't really clear on what to do with 3 gallons of waste oil. It seemed wasteful to buy a huge container just to use once and then discard. Besides that, we had a stack of recall notices that I wanted addressed. So, we decided it best to just do everything in one day.



Loki and I got there around 9:30am. Checked in. Went over a couple concerns, the service A, and the recalls. We sat in various places around the lobby, inside and out, over the course of the day. We walked around the Maserati/Rolls Royce/Ferrari/etc. lot across the street to inspect things we'll never afford. At 4:45pm, we headed out back to Prescott. We picked up Mandy by Target where she'd occupied herself after work, and she heated up leftover stuffed peppers from last night. I laid on the floor for a bit, exhausted. Loki passed out between the seats on his bed. We ate, cleaned up, and she drove us to White Spar Campground. A known entity. We were too tired and it was too dark to try to figure out anything new. We pretty much went to bed immediately.

 

[rob cote]

Nothing real crazy this day either. Wake up, shower, dress, eat. Then we took Loki for a walk on some trails around the campground. I think it was wolves, not coyotes, howling this time. But I'm not really sure, they sound similar to my ears. Loki was very intrigued, but they sounded far off.

We got back and headed into town to drop off Mandy. I was supposed to go directly to a shop to get the windshield repaired. We have a chip. I forgot. Instead, I went to get a few groceries we need, and started cooking breakfast. Mid-eating I remembered the appointment, so I called to verify I missed it, and to reschedule. Try again next Tuesday.

After that, we walked around the park a bit. This was the cloudiest day we've seen since we've been in Arizona. It was not particularly warm outside, but Loki wanted to chill out there anyways, so I hooked him to the van in a corner of the parking lot. I climbed onto the roof to move the cell booster antenna as far rearward as the cable would allow. Then I did some more testing now that I've figured out how to quantify it. I confirmed my suspicions that it's not actually doing anything other than lighting up green. I messaged tech support and they requested more data.

We moved Loki inside because it started to snow. We curled up on the couch and read for a while. I realized that I had some tools to return to Home Depot. I got them to work on the battery before I realized I had the correct wrench with me. So, we went to return those, then we went to pick up Mandy.

We were early so I started making chili before she got out. I knew it'd take a while so I wanted to get started as early as I could. She wanted to buy some clothes for a trip we're going on in the future, so she drove and I held the pot in place to keep simmering. It was somewhat difficult. Not advisable. But it worked. After shopping together, we finished up the chili back at White Spar and set to eating it. For whatever reason, the beans didn't soften fully. Hard beans! Other than that, it came out awesome. When we arrived at the campground, we found someone had stolen our doormat which we left to notify the host we did in fact stay the first night of our reservation. It was a somewhat late arrival and early departure. We didn't want to inadvertently forfeit our reservation. So, we forfeit our doormat instead, I guess. Kinda disappointing. I liked that mat.

The next day was kind of a research and project day. I was determined to get to the bottom of if and why our cell booster was or was not working. I found a way to view a quantitative signal strength through the phone. I monitored the screen with the cell booster on and off. Inside and outside the van. Various locations. The signal strength only changed with position, not booster status. I messaged tech support with this info. They were quick to reply and actually helpful. I was instructed to download an app that would give us much more info about the radio connection. We discovered that the phone was operating on band 71, which the booster doesn't support. Very few actually do, and they require professional installation, approval from T-Mobile, are not designed for mobile applications, and are prohibitively expensive.

I was disappointed, but still determined. There HAD to be some way. I found instructions for setting the preferred network to LTE (it had been set to 5G). It's not a perfect solution, but it seems to usually force the phone to seek alternate connections on different bands. I was able to see a 30dB gain when powering on the booster. It's working! Success! If we need a stronger connection, we can easily turn off 5G, and force the phone to use the booster. And if you don't have T-Mobile, none of this applies to you.

Anyway. I dumped the grey water tank because on the way to drop Mandy at work, we had an incident. I've written this in the wrong order but the story's the same. The grey tank wasn't full, probably less than half. But the right combination of driving maneuvers allowed water to creep up the drain pipe and into the shower. The lip on the shower is only an inch and a half tall. We entered a roundabout (which Arizonans LOVE, by the way) and some poured onto the floor. Gross.

So as soon as that was cleaned up I researched check valve options because I learned my lesson. I got a swing type check valve on order because I couldn't find one locally. I should have installed one in the beginning but I didn't realize it would be such an issue. It's going to be easy to install, though. I say that now, it'll be a nightmare probably.

Then I chopped up some video for our next upload. How to grill pizza over a campfire. I'm terrible at self-promoting; I hate feeling like a commercial. We're Out of Ipswich on that platform, if you want to check the videos out. If not, that's fine too. I put together the next blog post. Outofipswich.com if you want to read that. It's basically what I've put here, but with different wording. It felt like the tone should be a little different, I dunno.

I made breakfast, walked dog around some grocery store and a 55+ community. I bit my tongue eating breakfast, so that was fun. Nothing too exciting, really. We hung out at the campground so Loki could chill outside the van until Mandy got out of work. We picked her up and tried to hike to Goldwater Lake again, and again came up short. I think next time we'll make it though. We found the right way to get there at least. We had leftover chili after the hike and wound down for the evening with the last episode of Ozark.

 

[rob cote]

We got up without enough time to hike dog. Mandy took him around the campground while I got ready to drive her to work. I dropped her off and then set out for another little project day. See, we've been using a bucket to drain our grey water tank, and it's pretty annoying. Open the valve to fill the bucket, close the valve, dump the bucket, repeat. Then we have to clean the bucket. It just takes way longer than necessary and it's uncomfortable crouching the whole time. I've been trying to formulate a solution for a while now, and I finally had the time to implement it.

Loki and I went to Home Depot and spent some time in the plumbing department. I actually found an associate who was genuinely helpful. I didn't know EXACTLY what my configuration would look like, so I gave him the rough idea and we pieced it together, together. I didn't use RV standards when I put everything together originally. I should have. But I found a collapsible hose that I think might actually work better because of how small it packs down. I grabbed a clamp for 98 cents to hold it together for driving.



The hose will probably get cut shorter, but I left it full length for now. The idea is we unclamp the hose, stick it in the drain hole, open the valve. And when it's done, close the valve and roll it back up and clamp it up. Should be much easier to deal with. And that frees me up so I can fill fresh water while the grey drains.

After that was sorted, we topped off the freshwater tanks. Planned a few meals and got some groceries for the weekend. Checked weather, checked for water stations, parking locations, etc. Just generally got weekend-ready. This one's a long one; Mandy has Monday off! We spent most of the day by the park, until it was time to go pick up Mandy.



We set the navigation to Grand Canyon Brewing Company. First, we made a pit stop for Mandy to exchange some clothes and get a new dress. Then we were on our way. It was strange in a way; Friday at 5:00pm on a holiday weekend and there was no traffic. It was so nice. And not at all what we're used to, having been in New England forever. We made decent time and enjoyed the scenery and sunset along the way. We got to bring Loki into the restaurant at the brewery with us, which was cool, but short-lived. He wasn't chill. Mandy put him in the van, and we split a pizza and salad. It was pretty good food and decent beers although I think we both liked her mixed drink better.

We moved down the street to Dairy Queen after dinner for the night. We fell asleep pretty early.

 

[rob cote]

So, we woke up behind Dairy Queen. We walked around Williams, AZ with Loki for a while. The town was so dead we could walk down the middle of the road for the most part. We put Loki in jail and then hauled him off to the pillory for being a very bad dog. Just kidding he's amazing we just wanted funny pictures.



We found the van again (not Vanagon, that's a Volkswagen) and drove north s'mores. We made our way into the Grand Canyon south entrance. We got an America the Beautiful pass so I'm pretty sure entry here is free. I was in the back not really paying attention. Mandy drove us to Shoshone Trail because there was no parking available near Yaki Point. There were like two other cars near Shoshone Point. We had the trail nearly entirely to ourselves.

It's a pretty flat trail, and pretty short. Our meandering pace got us to the rim after about a half hour. We found a lookout point just before we reached the end of the main trail. We just looked for a while and honestly I don't know what to write about it here, just as I didn't know what to say while we were there. You look at it and it's unfathomably large and old and it's impossible to photograph that feeling. I'm just not that talented. I apparently can't verbalize it either. You had to be there, okay? So get off your butts and go. If you've already gone, you know exactly what I mean.



We made it to the end of the trail, which has a much more expansive clearing, with a small rocky peninsula for almost 360 degree views of the canyon. This part was a little rough going because there were about a dozen elk lazing about the picnic area. And Loki desperately wanted to sniff them. But we didn't want to disturb them, obviously. It's their home, we're the guests. So, we kept our distance and took only photos. We gave them a wide berth on our way to Shoshone Point. We spent a while longer just looking. And feeling small.



We weren't really sure what to do from there. We know there's numerous trails all around, but dogs aren't allowed below the rim. And they're not allowed in buildings either. And a lot of stuff is closed for seasonal and/or pandemic reasoning. We decided to head to the visitor's center to figure out what we were allowed to do. But first, we stopped at the rear doors of the van to use our garden hose to wash off all our feets. There was a lot of mud on the trail. The visitor's center wasn't explicitly closed but you have to set up an appointment or something for questions. There was a lot of information posted on the billboard which confirmed most of what we'd read.

Although we could have spent days gazing into the canyon from all different angles, we decided to head out to find a campsite early so we could have time to build a fire and cook dinner on it. So, we left, and made the short drive to Mather Campground. With only two loops of campsites open for the winter, we were very lucky to snag one of the last remaining available sites. We parked immediately and paid the fees. Then we walked to the general store and back for a bundle of wood. We built the fire and got to cooking as the sun slowly went down through the trees. We had pork chops with asparagus and sweet potatoes. It took a while, but the process is enjoyable.



After dinner, we chopped up the remaining wood into small bits to finish burning it off because we don't have a good place to keep logs in the van. As the coals burnt down to nearly nothing, we doused them with water and walked over to the closed area of the campground. Here, we looked up for a long time. Till our necks hurt. The night sky was one of the best we've ever viewed here. The plane of our galaxy was clearly visible with our naked eyes. I tried to take some pictures with my phone, which did exceptionally well, considering. Then, we went to sleep.

 

[rob cote]

We didn't stick around long Sunday morning. We didn't hurry either, though. We left when we were ready, that's all. We went to the fill and dump station first. We wanted to test out the drain hose and empty our grey tank. Unfortunately, there isn't enough pressure in the tank to unflatten the hose, so we had to squeeze it manually. It felt a lot like the job of an equine breeder if you understand me. We'll give it a few more tries in warmer weather to see if it works any better before we try to come up with a different solution. It worked; it was just more effort than we hoped.

Our plan for the day was only to explore Grand Canyon village and we pretty much failed miserably, and it worked out beautifully. As we drove to and through the village, we were feeling a bit hungry. Mandy suggested taking Hermit Road as it looked to offer scenic parking where we could make breakfast before exploring the village.



She was not wrong. We drove the road just a few minutes and pulled into the first overlook. We opened up our sliding door almost directly into the canyon. She made us bacon and eggs with sweet potato home fries while Loki and I sat in the sun and chatted with other visitors passing by. After a while, we decided to walk the path a bit that heads back towards the village. We didn't get very far, but we didn't mind. We had a long and lovely conversation with a gentleman who was preparing to hike into the canyon in the coming days. Several people stopped to pat Loki while we were stopped on the side of the path talking. It was nice to feel no pressure to keep moving. But eventually we did.



We went to the next overlook, at Maricopa Point. We could see the river in several spots here, which was neat. We could finally clearly see how deep it actually goes. It's really far down. We didn't spend a ton of time here, as it was a bit crowded. And we were starting to feel like we were seeing nearly the same thing over and over. So, we left. It almost feels guilty in a way. Like we didn't give it the deserved time. Or attention. But we can't realistically live there for a whole week. And we can't all hike down into the canyon. Mandy keeps telling me to, and she'll stay up top with Loki. I just wish we could all go. I dunno. Maybe someday.

We drove straight from there to Flagstaff. We arrived mid-afternoon and went straight to a laundromat. Another laundry day. Exciting stuff. We went across the street afterwards to Target to get a few clothes and groceries. I got some shoes as well. We planned to have tacos, and by the time all that was done we were starving so we cooked right in the parking lot at Target. They were decent, but not my best work. I don't cook as well when I'm wicked hungry. I'm just too much in a rush. Anyway. We read the Home Depot there is friendly to overnight parking, so that's where we slept the night.



I've noticed a weird phenomenon when we're constantly moving like this. When I'm in bed, and it's usually right when I wake up, I feel like I have no idea where I am. I mean, I know I'm in the van and all that, but it takes a moment to remember where we are geographically, what's our heading and all that. It was intuitive when we lived in a house, but now it's a conscious thought. It's just strange.

 

[rob cote]

We had to be driving by 8:00am. It wasn't a hard requirement, I just wanted to get there early. But it was easy to achieve anyways. Just a quick loop around the parking lot with the dog and we were off. We drove across town and up and up and up. Back to Snowbowl. We've already been here once before but it's worth revisiting.

I had reattached my bindings to my skis along the drive, and we had plenty of time before first chair, so I did some stretching. My back was feeling sore, so I spent extra time. Eventually it was time to finish gearing up and head over to the chair. "Ten minutes," the lift operator told me. Since we were parked so close, I went back for some ibuprofen, just as a security measure. Still made it back up with zero people in line and a few minutes to go before they'd let me on. It was my first ever ACTUAL first chair, so that was pretty awesome.



Fresh groomers everywhere from the top. There was no wrong move. There was also no ice. I found some moguls and sat on the fence for a few trying to decide. Then I sent it. They weren't icy either, which was awesome. I'm still improving in the bumps so it's fun. I took a bunch more runs all over and went back down for breakfast and more stretching. The soreness wasn't really improving which was unusual. And I hadn't really done anything the day before. But I wasn't ready to call it a day at 10:30am. I took my time and went back up. I stayed off the moguls after the first, and just spent the day cruising. Towards the end of it I went to the small terrain park. I watched a lot of people go through because it's fun to watch. Eventually, I went through and hit all the boxes. They were narrow so it was tricky, but I did it and was so pumped. I hit a barrel, but it freaked me out. I can't tell if it's more or less slippery than the snow, so the balance is weird. I didn't fall, but it was sloppy. I took a couple more runs and then went back to the van.



Mandy was making a loaf of sourdough, so we hung out in the parking lot for an hour or so while it baked. We made grilled cheeses with it after it had cooled just a bit. Some bacon pepper jelly in there. So delicious. We eat like kings in here sometimes. Not really, I think that refers to like a full-blown feast. I just meant in the sense that the food we make in here is really tasty. I was pretty much useless throughout this process because my back was hurting far worse than at the start of the day. Far worse than pretty much any day. I laid on the bench all the way back to Prescott.

We stopped in Flagstaff to dump the grey water again, because it spilled a bit out of the shower again climbing down the mountain. I've GOT TO get this check valve put in the drainpipe. I reserved us a site in White Spar along the way. The least I could do to be helpful. By the time we arrived, only dog of us was hungry. So, he ate, and we did the pre-bedtime routine early. All I wanted was to lay down more. We watched The Morning Show, but I didn't feel as into it as I was season 1. It was fine. I pretty much passed out after that. It was a painful sleep.

 

[rob cote]

This day was a genuine bust. I was in so much pain I hardly did anything at all. Literally writing the weekends' posts [on a different forum, obviously] was my achievement for the day. And even that was done from bed. In order though, as is tradition. Loki and I dropped off Mandy. She's working at the VA as a pharmacist, not a nurse, just to set the record straight. Travel nursing is way more common than pharmacy, so the assumption makes total sense. From there we went to get the windshield repaired. It got a tiny chip a few weeks ago. I completely missed an appointment last week. I rescheduled for today at 8:00am. Or so I thought. The appointment was actually at 1:00pm. I've completely lost my punctuality. Safelite was able to squeeze me in anyways, and they got it done in only about twenty minutes. It's still visible, but this was really just a background step prior to getting ceramic coating on the windows. I don't want the crack to spread after the film is applied, to then have to throw it out.



Then we went to get mail. The drain plumbing check valve had arrived, and I wanted to get my hands on it. Literally.

This is the water-in side, with the flap held open:



It's basically just a flap of rubber pinned in one spot to the housing. So, water should be able to flow freely past it in one direction with no pressure. But the reverse flow of water should push the flap closed and prevent it running up the drain. That's the hope. It looks just like what I was expecting, so no surprises is a good thing. I really wanted to install it, because looking at the forecast, it was to be cold and snowy for most of the week. Friday should be warm and sunny, but the ground will be wet from snowmelt. I was in far too much pain to do anything though.

So, once I'd inspected the valve, Loki and I got into bed. If he's on the floor in the van, he's not content. He'll bark till we go outside. If he's on the bench, he'll usually relax quite a while. Not always. If he's in the big bed, he's almost always content to pass out for several hours. And that's what I needed him to do so...From there, I did some writing, which you've consumed already, but mostly I just chatted to some friends and watched this show with a lot of prepositional phrases in the name. The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window I think? Something like that if not that exactly. It was decent, but mainly I just knew I needed to not move for a while.

Eventually we had to go for a walk though. We opted to hike part of the Twist & Shout trail from the campground here. It's like a 20-minute loop or something like that, when we do it in the mornings before work. I was out there for probably around twice that long. Just moseying, trying not to literally break in half. It started off manageable, but by the end of it, it was pretty agonizing. I had to keep my back in exactly the right position so as not to want to die. From there we just went straight to get Mandy, even though we'd be early. I hoped Loki would be content to sit in the parking lot for a bit and he was. He's a good doggy. I think he could tell I was broken, and he didn't play some of his usual games. Just cooperated.

We came right back to the campground, and I laid on an ice pack while Mandy made us burgers. She used some of the sourdough loaf to make the burger handles. Toasted, of course. And the burgers were topped with caramelized onion and bacon-pepper jam. So. Freakin'. Good. Literally the highlight of my day. We did next to nothing the rest of the night, and it still took me forever because I have to move so slowly.

 

[rob cote]

We awoke under a gorgeous blanket of snow. It was so pretty, but so annoying. Apparently, the cold is inescapable. It means brushing off the van before we get started. And scraping ice off windows. And the floor is just constantly wet from snowy shoes. That's van life, I guess. Mandy brushed off the van because I was still struggling to move. She also walked Loki around. Same reason. After they got back, I dropped off Mandy at work and Loki and I went to the park. We walked around the park through the snow, which he loved, and wanted to yank me around all over the place. Not the right vibe. After about 5 minutes, it was hell. Every step, agony. After what I'm still sure was 100 hours, we returned to the van.

We drove directly to urgent care. They opened at 8, according to the sign. The door was locked at 9:45am. So, I grampa-walked my way back to the van. Their website was thankfully updated; opening time was changed to 10:00am, presumably because of the snow. The doors opened at 10, and I was 5th in line. I was given a couple scripts which were filled and by 12:30 I had them in hand. I expected far worse, because we don't have health insurance, but the total for everything was on the order of about $330. We went back to the campground and just chilled again. The pain seemed to be very slowly subsiding. Tough to say. Luckily, Loki was pretty cooperative, and content to just sleep while I worked on some video editing.

Eventually, it was time to pick up Mandy again. We executed flawlessly on that task. An easy win. She wanted to do a little shopping so we went to a couple stores. I got part way through the experience and couldn't walk anymore, so I just sat in the van with Loki till she was done. She didn't even get anything besides a few groceries we needed for dinner. Back at White Spar, she forced me to just sit and be comfortable while she made the remaining burgers. She also roasted some Brussels sprouts and leftover potatoes. Grilled van-made sourdough buns, caramelized onions, gruyere, and bacon-pepper jam. So frickin' good. Also, this is why we opted for a 3kW Xantrex Freedom-X inverter. It seems like overkill, probably. But with the oven on and both cooktop elements, we actually exceeded 3kW for a moment. The max I saw was 3110W which triggered an alarm. Mandy adjusted the heating elements on the cooktop a bit lower, and the system was happy to carry on around 2750W. It may have taken a few extra minutes to cook everything, but no big deal. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet night, with not much to report. And I don't even have any fancy pictures to show you.

 

[rob cote]

I can finally confidently say at least we're moving in the right direction. I'm not there, yet, but it seems to be hurting less. Or that's the drugs talking. Who knows? It sucks not doing post-worthy stuff. But at least it's not agonizing to lay down. So, there's that. I can sort of sleep, which is nice.

I finalized and posted a video of our time in Tonto, which you guys already read about. Link if you want a recap. Loki and I walked around the campground a bit but stuck to pavement this time. Which wasn't even pavement, it was all snow. Figured the rocks on the trail underneath a blanket of snow was too treacherous given my state. I can't get worse. It's better to do nothing, as much as I hate it. I think that's really all I accomplished.

I took a couple pictures of the pretty snow. Because it really was nice to look at. I found it very hard to be inspired and creative through the back pain. So, you get what you get, and you don't get upset.





After work, we picked up Mandy and went to an appointment in Peavey. Peevy? P.V. The Valley. Prescott Valley. Pro-tip: It's pronounced "PRESS-kit". Don't sound like a tourist. By the time we were free, it was like 6:30pm, and I had overlooked obtaining dinner ingredients. Rather than eat at like midnight, we opted to go out instead. We haven't gone out nearly as much as we used to when we had friends and family nearby. It's been nice to save money and not overeat. But it also feels more special going out when it's a rare treat, not a frequent thing.

I've been eyeing Colt Grille since we've been in this town. The smell of the smoke from the BBQ pit wafts way up Montezuma and I'm just a sucker for good BBQ. We both got brisket but delivered differently. I got a "filly cheesesteak" (I think that's how they call it?), and Mandy got a brisket sandwich. The sandwich has lettuce, tomato, onion, I believe, and I just wasn't feeling it. It's more of a burger kinda vibe. She said it was good, it just wasn't what I wanted, you know? The cheesesteak is brisket with a ton of cheese, peppers, and onions. It's what I wish we got in Philly. So that itch is finally scratched. It was so much better. I'm still upset that they freaking PICKLE THE PEPPERS in Philly. Just, why? Oh, we also got garlic fries. They were really good.

But anyways, after all that, we made our way back to White Spar and tucked the van in for the night. We covered up all the windows. Made sure the fan was open and on low. Pressed cold brew coffees for the morning. Brushed our teeth. Got out clothes and pulled down the bed. Got dog up there. I finished my day-of-binging with the last episode of Clickbait. It was a kind of unique show. I like how each episode was parsed. Watch it if you like a murder mystery type show. That's about it okay bye.

 

[rob cote]

We dropped off Mandy at work per usual. It's still cold here and we're sick of it so we're making moves today. Loki and I went back to Affinity to dump the grey water tank. The collapsible hose seems to be getting more cooperative. The main issue is the venturi principle. It creates this catch-22. When the hose is round all the way down its length, the water flows fast through the hose. This creates a low pressure inside the hose, which causes it to collapse. Then the flow stops. But it's not enough pressure to force it to flow again. So, I have to massage the hose to open it back up. Weirdly erotic. But then the cycle repeats. But it seems to be doing it less, so that's good.

What I skipped over wasn't really relevant until after the water dumping. Hang on, I'll explain. So, I noticed one of the ball ends on my eyebrow barbell was missing when I woke up. I kind of panicked, but there wasn't anything I could do until local shops opened at noon. So, I had to just wait. Hence the water dumping to fill the time. When Dark Heart opened, I went in straight away. Everyone was super friendly and helpful, but the piercer wasn't in quite yet. Lucky for me I do nothing all day so I could wait.

First order of business was to find a replacement piece of jewelry. I can't wear stainless because of a nickel allergy, so that ruled out a lot of their inventory. This also makes wearing a watch not worth it and finding suitable belts difficult. Anyway, the only option was a clear silicone ring I wasn't crazy about. But I knew I had to act quickly to not lose the piercing entirely. After some effort, we had to call in yet another piercer with more experience, because the barbell would not pull out. She realized straight away that the ball end was not lost, but rather embedded below the surface and completely healed over. Overnight!! So, she nicked the surface with a needle and popped the barbell out. Then they installed the new plastic one and sent me on my way.

None of that is van related but whatever. That's what my day was. From there, I just edited video for the YouTubes. Until it was time to pick up Mandy. I did squeeze in a bit of weekend planning although admittedly not very much. After we picked her up, we dropped off some clothes to ship "home" (which doesn't feel like home anymore, but you know what I mean), and then we hopped onto 89S towards Wickenburg. What a wild ride! This route goes through a couple mountain passes so there's a thousand million curves in the road. I tried to go swiftly but kept getting caught-up to. I pulled off a few times to let people pass. It was scenic AF but hard to truly see it and keep her between the lines.



After forever in the turns, the highway suddenly becomes pin-straight and cuts across the desert. Then there's some more curves and elevation, before settling into Wickenburg. We grabbed some veggies at the grocery store to cook with dinner and then headed out into the desert. Off Vulture-something road, there's a bunch of public land for free use with a permit. We were meeting some Internet friends, so they drove out to the road to meet us and show us the way to their little spot.



One of the vehicles parked in the clearing we occupied was a full-length school bus. We were offered a tour and accepted. When we stepped inside, I legitimately lost my bearings. It felt like a full-on house. It was SO BIG inside! What a strange feeling. I was feeling a bit hangry, so we didn't linger long after the tour. It was already somewhat late, so we wanted to get started cooking dinner. We had chicken, broccoli, and roasted potatoes. We took a peek at the sky afterwards, but it was washed out much more than we expected, I think due to the proximity to Phoenix.

 

[rob cote]

Our goal for Sunday was Phoenix. We started in middle-of-nowhere, Wickenburg, as shown above. We could have driven pavement the whole way, but after a morning stroll, I had a different idea. I don't want to say better because that's not really clear.



We took a hike up a small hill adjacent to where we parked after we had breakfast and all that. It gave us a spectacular view of the surrounding nothingness. But there were roads. "Roads". I mean trails, really. Some of them (like one or two, max) were labeled on Google Maps. We watched a convoy of 5 or 6 Jeeps roll out and the idea struck me that we could do that. We have 4WD, ground clearance, a tow strap, and most importantly, experience. We'll be fine, right?

Google was actually able to find a route from where we were to what I thought was like northwest greater Phoenix. It was only forty-five minutes driving. Great, we got the whole day, clement weather, no deadlines or other objectives, other than laundry. It's the perfect opportunity to get a feel for off-roading this rig. Not that we want to regularly, but it's important to know the limits in case of emergency, you know?

So, we set off down N. Vulture Peak Rd. Southeasterly. Then we set the shocks to mid-floppy because the trail was washboard. It's fine if the ruts are in phase. But they never are. The side-to-side oscillations get going immediately, and for whatever reason, magic I guess, the frequency of the washboard always exactly matches the resonant frequency of the suspension. So, we took it very slowly to attenuate the oscillations. We averaged about 4mph. And it took us a couple hours. It was a little tight in some spots. A little sketchy in others. We earned some cactus pinstripes. And we learned where the van doesn't roll over, so that's helpful.



We navigated to what I thought was pavement. But when we got there, we discovered it was a whole development of rough dirt roads. So, we had another half hour or more until we finally reached pavement. Like I said in the beginning - at least we had all day. We took normal roads to Tempe. I wanted to switch out the plastic jewelry I got yesterday for titanium at a more reputable piercer. I got taken in straight away at Club Tattoo and everything is all good in that neighborhood. Side note: ASU Tempe is a pretty sweet campus.

We went right next door to Eat My Taco for tacos (obviously). Their street tacos were pretty legit. Get the steak or pork. The chicken was good, but the others were great. From there, we drove a bit closer to Sky Harbor to find a laundromat. Another laundry day, but we're getting more efficient at it. We packed our warm weather clothes into backpacks and put the rest away. We packed a few of Loki's things and made a list of morning items to grab.



We parked for the night at Walmart just south of the airport. We pretty much just went straight to bed so we could get up early. We had a short drive in the morning to drop off Loki at a sitters on the way to the airport. We caught a flight out later in the morning and I'll continue the story when we're back in the van. For now, we're taking a teeny week-long vacation to Mexico.

 

[rob cote]

We went to Cancun for the week. We flew out of and into Phoenix because it was direct. We left the van in the economy lot there because it was about the same cost as parking at a friend-of-a-friend's and getting an Uber and that saved us a bunch of time. So that was a no-brainer. We left Loki with a sitter from Rover who conveniently lives about 5 minutes from the airport. That was the meeting we had in Phoenix a week or two prior.

It was kind of neat to be home as soon as we got to the parking lot of the airport. We had left the window covers installed, the heating thermostat set to our usual 68F, and the fan set to automatically open and turn on at temperatures over 78F. We left the inverter off since we wouldn't be using any AC power. The fridge remained on although it was mostly empty save for a few items like condiments and whatnot that would last. The only other thing that was on was the fan venting the toilet I believe. When we returned, the batteries read 13.0V, and there was no evidence of our chocolates having melted in the dining room. So, it didn't get super hot inside and there's tons of battery, probably enough for a few weeks at least. As a reminder, or in case you didn't read the build thread, that's 510Ah of lithium.

We weren't actually truly home till we picked up the dog, obviously. He was ecstatic. Of course. We were pretty much out of water from my last shower before takeoff, super low on groceries and dog food, and had a mountain of dirty laundry. So we went to Walmart to get a couple bottles of water so we could have some to drink and brush our teeth. And we got some breakfast for Loki. Then we went back to the middle of the desert in Wickenburg for free camping. We like that spot.

When we woke up, we skipped showering and cooking since we wouldn't be able to wash dishes. Mandy drove us back to Prescott, and we filled and emptied our tanks at Affinity again. We had reserved a spot starting Monday at White Spar again, but we decided to head there Sunday, for simplicity. We got some groceries on the way to stock back up. When we arrived, Mandy made us some delicious burgers. After we ate, we set out on a hike and we FINALLY made it all the way to Goldwater Lake. We didn't climb all the way down to the water's surface, but at least now we know how far it is. So that's neat.

We hiked back and replaced one of the filters in our reverse osmosis filter system. Replacing the filter was easy, but pressing the reset button to tell it to purge itself was a challenge. I had to drill a couple holes in one of the cabinet faces to be able to get my finger in there. It's kind of ugly, but it's down by the floor so it's not super noticeable. Oh well. I didn't realize those were buttons!! I thought it was just a display.

Anyway, by back is still messed up so we didn't do much activity after that. I just needed to lay down, unfortunately. So I know I skipped over all of Mexico for you guys, mainly because it's not van related. But we had a lot of free time to figure out our plan moving forward at least for the next few months. I thought I'd at least lay that out for you.

So Mandy's working weekdays here in Prescott, AZ. She wants to do that for the next 8 weeks until the end of April. There is an option to extend the contract, but she's going to pass. Then, we'll head up to Prudhoe Bay, AK. Maybe be there around the summer solstice, so we'll be moseying our way up there. Seeing stuff all along the way. So if you have recommendations, let us know. From there, we'll be turning around, obviously, because we don't want to sink the van in the ocean. And we'll head south to Baja Peninsula. From Cabo, well ferry over to the mainland, and continue down to Panama. We have to figure out how to get the van to Colombia since it won't fit in a container, but from there we'll drive to Ushuaia. Hopefully get there around THEIR summer solstice. After that, who knows. But hopefully that gives you guys an idea of what's coming in the next year or so. That was the plan at the time, but none of that is relevant. I've left it here so you guys can read what we wantED to do, and still intend to do. But that's not how it's actually going to play out from there...

 

[rob cote]

Since we had initially only reserved a site two weeks ago for Monday through Thursday of this week, we weren't able to go to that site a day early. It was occupied. No big deal, we just took the one next door for a night and planned to move over once it was vacated. We noted when we arrived Sunday, though, that the site was kind of a mess. There was trash on the ground and the tent was partially caved in, and the door appeared open. Kind of odd.

I dropped Mandy off for work Monday and went back to our Sunday site to finish and post our video a day late. We had the site until checkout which I believe is at 11, so I was within limits for a time. Eventually, checkout passed, and there had been no change at the site we had reserved for the week. Not long after, the campground host came by and knocked on the van. I hadn't gone to the host because I thought we had learned that she has Mondays off, but I guess I misremembered. I explained the situation and why we were in a site we hadn't paid for. She said if the equipment had truly been abandoned that it has to remain untouched for two weeks. I thought that was odd, because when you reserve a site online it says you can't leave equipment unattended for more than 24 hours. We would play it by the hour, but we were okay to stay put unless someone showed up who had paid for that site, in which case the host would relocate us. Sounds totally reasonable.



So, eventually we had to go get Mandy. All we'd really done was some laptop work, laying and reading, and a couple short hikes around the campground. Nothing too exciting. This back is a lemon and I'm still trying to figure out how to exchange it for a new one. We went straight to the laundromat after work. Mandy handled the laundry, and I set to work making chicken tikka masala and rice. The tag team approach works really well for us. She got to eat while the dryer was running. The chicken was wicked good, but full disclosure, I used a sauce from a jar. It's not feasible to make sauces from scratch in a van; it requires storing way too many ingredients. She folded everything in the laundromat while I cleaned up the kitchen. Tag team.

We went back to the campground. "Our" site was still a mess. No surprise there. We went to the host site around 7:30 and knocked. Their dogs went crazy, but after five full minutes, no one came out. Mandy noted that the golf cart was not there. So, she drove us all around the campground to try and track down the host. No luck. But we did see our first javelina. It was in the road illuminated by the headlights and Loki was A N G R Y. He immediately started barking, which he almost never does, and trying to get out to go see it. It scurried off into the woods and he calmed down.

So, we decided f-it, we'll just take the site next door again. We parked and I put the window covers in while she walked Loki to the dumpster to throw away our trash. She was back almost immediately, as someone had arrived who had paid for the site and we had to move. Unclear where to go, we just parked in the abandoned gear site. The one we had paid for. The newcomers walked over shortly thereafter, and Mandy explained the whole situation to them as they were rightly confused on arrival. They were nice, and we weren't mad. We actually got lucky that they hadn't shown up right after we got in bed, you know? Just an overall weird situation. We went to bed and hoped we wouldn't hear any knocking in the night. We didn't.

 

[rob cote]

After we dropped off Mandy on Tuesday morning, Loki and I hit up Petco to get him a few things, but mainly his after-dinner toothbrush sticks. He's got pretty clean teeth for his age. Other than the one he had to have removed (he cracked it in half eating a bone!!), they're in really great shape. Then, we came back to the site and walked around a bit. I picked up the garbage that was left on the ground by the previous occupants, put it into a torn cardboard box that was also left, and stuffed it into the tent door. I didn't want it to blow away, but if it belongs to someone out there, I don't want it to seem like I stole it.

We took out some beef I had marinated the night before. Yes, of course Loki "helped" at this part. I laid everything out in our oven, set it to dehydrate for 5 hours, and waited for jerky. This is where all that battery really comes in clutch. I mostly read while the oven was on. I've been crushing The Witcher series lately. I didn't want to wander too far, because paranoia. I assume the van will burst into flames the moment the oven is left unattended. Of course, everything was fine, but you know. That killed most of the day, but my back was thankful for it. It feels almost back to normal, which is a much more manageable level of pain.



We picked up Mandy and headed over to Thumb Butte. Finally. It's like the most popular thing here in Prescott, I think. Probably definitely the most scenic hike around. The views, not just of the town, but all the way to Flagstaff, are awesome. The hike was not terrible, although it looks daunting from the start. It took us just over an hour.





When we got back to the campsite, there was still a busted tent pitched on it. We weren't starving, so Mandy made some ramen, and we had a few cheese and crackers and meat-banana. That's what we call salame/pepperoni/etc. We cleaned a bit and then went to bed.

 

[rob cote]

We got up and took a brisk walk through a short trail around the campground before heading to work. We dropped off Mandy and then checked the mail. Then we went back to the campsite. I packed a bag with some jerky, trail mix, water, and dog treats, and we set off. I was determined to complete the loop around Goldwater Lake.

It was slightly chilly but forecast to be mid-50s and sunny. So, I started off with gloves and a hat, but they didn't last long. No jacket. We took periodic breaks about each half hour. I wanted to try to get a quantitative measure of how much water Loki needs. In the first hour he had about 150mL total, but then didn't really drink any thereafter for the rest of the hike.

Just after our first stop, though, there was an intersection with no sign. Since I'd technically seen the lake on a previous trip by a different route, I took the way that seemed to head in that direction. There was another junction a few minutes later. Again, no sign. I took my best guess. Another 20 minutes or so, and we were on a trail we've hiked a few times with Mandy. Familiar ground. Normally, we hike to the summit of this trail, then turn back. I decided to see where it went. I followed it to the end.



Before the end, it cut through a beautiful meadow. I didn't think to get a picture, but I should have. I was just zoned out. Sorry. It came out onto pavement by a bible camp. Lots of people screaming in the middle of the woods was a weird vibe. It sounded cheerful, though, at least. By this point, we'd completely passed the lake according to the map, without having actually seen it. There was a neighborhood nearby that I thought might have lake access so we walked through there. No luck. I figured it best to turn back as it had been a couple hours and we still had close to that ahead of us, and dog was getting kinda droopy.



When we got back, I noticed the previous occupant's tent was bundled into a pile at the front of the site. Dog and I both flopped into bed for a while until we had to get Mandy from work. While we laid there, I noticed at least 3 deer snacking in the woods nearby our site. Maybe 10 feet from the van. That was neat. I took a picture but their camouflage is so good it's wicked hard to see them.



We picked up Mandy and came back to the site again to make dinner. New potatoes, Brussels sprouts with caramelized onion, and a big ol' steak. The steak was good, but I felt like the vegetables weren't my best work. As we were cleaning up, I noticed water in the shower drain, a couple inches below the floor. We took an emergency run to dump the grey water tank. It seems we can get about 4 full days of water in the tank. What's great is that with the addition of the check valve, the water doesn't run out onto the floor anymore, even if the tank is full. We topped up the fresh water too, while we were there, since no one else was. While the tanks were filling, Mandy whipped up a fresh batch of granola which made the van smell amazing. Since we were taking our time at the water station, by the time we got back to our site it was about 9:30. So we went straight to bed.