Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

Campfire success. @rotuts may laugh because I have ice in my white wine, but I'm enjoying it.

 

 

[Jacksoup]

I’m so impressed with your courage to drive this big rig on your own.  And moving on so well, I know it’s a heartbreaker without your darling.

[Katie Meadow]

@Smithy  YOU.  ARE.  AWESOME.

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

no problem w ice in wine .  Table Wine .

 

I frequently ice-up Tj's Coastal Chardonnay .  esp in the summer .

 

even now .  12 F outside .

[Shelby]

I just trudged in through the snow to thaw out and see you in flip flops by the fire.  Sigh.  Looks heavenly.  My toes are jealous.

[liamsaunt]

I am so glad to see that you decided to get back on the road again, and look forward to following along on your adventures.  Your new rig is very impressive looking!

[Smithy]

I'm finding another thing to love about this new rig: the solar panel and the 12v accoutrements on board. As I noted above, I opted not to get an inverter because it wouldn't produce enough oomph (that's scientific lingo for "wattage") to run things I really wanted to run. However, a lot of the gear on board is 12v...including the ceiling fan. See it, there behind the island pendants?

 

 

When I got up this morning the trailer batteries were almost fully depleted. The sun was up, though, and bright. I made coffee and eventually went for a walk, and when I got back the batteries were nearly charged. Unfortunately, the trailer was hot (eat your hearts out, snicker snicker) and It's too windy to put out awnings. So I have open windows and a ceiling fan doing its thing, and the batteries are still fully charged! 

 

 

It's a shame the range vent hood doesn't also run on 12v, as it did in an earlier trailer. It does, however, vent outside rather than recirculating back into the trailer as it has in the last two. That's an improvement. I just have to start the generator if I want to use it.

 

Breakfast this morning -- brunch, really, since I ate it at noon: smoked salmon pate from my favorite Duluth store, and watermelon I picked up at the grocery store last night when the hunger alarms were shrilling.

 

 

This is the last container of smoked salmon pate I brought from home. When it's gone, it's gone...and I'm sorely tempted to try to hoard it. However, it's the sort of thing that won't last forever. I'm already past their "best by" date, though the quality doesn't seem to be suffering yet. I do have some of their specialty meats tucked away in the freezer. You'll see them as I pull them out. You saw some of their smoked salmon already in the pasta dish.

 

The pate went on Club crackers. I'm happy now.

 

 

[ElsieD]

@Smithy Seeing your smoked salmon pate reminded me that i used to make a smoked salmon mousse.  I must dig that recipe out and make it.  It's been a couple of years since I've made it.

[Smithy]

2 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@Smithy Seeing your smoked salmon pate reminded me that i used to make a smoked salmon mousse.  I must dig that recipe out and make it.  It's been a couple of years since I've made it.

 

Please do...and show us the result and method!

[ElsieD]

Will do.

[Shelby]

I love that spreader in the pate.

[Smithy]

19 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I love that spreader in the pate.

 

Thanks! That was part of a years-belated Christmas and birthday gift from my sister. 😀 The amaryllis bulb starting to bloom next to the couch was also part of that package. I think there was some other kitchen gadget included... when I stumble across and remember it I'll show it. 

[Smithy]

17 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Thanks! That was part of a years-belated Christmas and birthday gift from my sister. 😀 The amaryllis bulb starting to bloom next to the couch was also part of that package. I think there was some other kitchen gadget included... when I stumble across and remember it I'll show it. 

 

I just remembered the other item!

 

[Shelby]

5 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I just remembered the other item!

 

Awwww cute!!!!

[Smithy]

Further to the question of what I left behind, accidentally or otherwise....

 

I'm not sure why I decided to leave behind my 1-quart pot that we always used for reheating coffee. It's T-Fal, relatively old, and each of us was sure we'd brought it to the marriage: in other words, we probably each had one at one time. Anyway, I left it behind deliberately and regretted it the first time I tried to reheat coffee in the 2-quart pot and pour it, without spilling, into my coffee cup. I corrected that omission in Texas when I stopped for a day on the way out here, and went to Walmart.

 

 

I mentioned before that I'd deliberately left behind the electric food processor. I have a 110v wand blender with me, but I also have a small handheld food processor that's like a mini salad spinner. I've had it for years, but been too lazy to use it. Today, I wanted hummus and I haven't wanted to start the generator yet. It was time to try the Swizz Whizz and see if it's worth keeping. Here it is, about to accept ingredients. Its capacity is something along the lines of 2 to 3 cups.

 

 

 

The ingredients, those that I bothered to photograph:

The last of the chickpeas I cooked before leaving home;

 

Some of the best tahini I've ever had, from a favorite shop in Minneapolis:

 

 

Chickpea juice from cooking almost went into it, until i opened the container and it fizzed at me. Well, it IS old. It's going out to the bushes.

 

 

Not shown: garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt. But how could I have forgotten to pack ground cumin?? I must have 2 bottles still in the freezer at home. There's none in the wire baskets, and none in the spare tub of spices.

 

 

There is whole cumin only. Time to see whether the Swizz Whizz could cut it too.

 

 

Everything went into the whizzer, and I began pulling. Not unlike starting the generator. I pulled 10 times, checked; added water; pulled 20 times; checked, tasted, and added more lemon juice, salt and tahini; and kept pulling until I had the consistency I wanted.

 

 

Actually, it worked well. The flavor isn't as good as it should be but I suspect that's because the chickpeas had been out of the freezer and aging in the refrigerator for too long.

 

 

So far, I'm not regretting leaving the food processor behind. But how could I have forgotten ground cumin? 

 

 

[Smithy]

Hmm. It looks as though I forgot to pack bulgur, too. Either that or it's in a canister in the belly box, in one of the two coolers or the produce box holding overflow stuff. I have fresh tomatoes, cilantro, mint and parsley...but no bulgur.

 

I found this in the pantry:

 

 

Babylon Market. In Tucson. How long since I bought this?

 

 

Oh. 

 

Well, time to try it and either use it or feed it to the wildlife. If need be, I can supplement it with the fresh herbs I'd bought for the purpose. The instructions are simple enough:

 

 

Just have to dig out a mixing bowl. The Swizz Whizz is up there too.

 

 

It really did sit for an hour after I mixed all the ingredients. I wasn't willing to put it into the refrigerator to cool, though, no matter what they said to do. (The dark color is mostly the photographer's fault.)

 

 

It's been an hour, and the result isn't bad, although I can taste some age. Amazing for something so old. I'll be able to polish this stuff off. I'll probably add more lemon and salt after a few tastes, and possibly some of those herbs.

 

 

And hallelujah, I've emptied a box from the pantry!

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Smithy
Removed extra (duplicate) photo (log)

[C. sapidus]

I am so glad to see your travels continue. I hope you continue to enjoy roaming to your heart’s content.

[C. sapidus]

In the spirit of travel, here was our latest adventure. Blew a rear tire on the van, which immediately fell down onto the rim. Mrs. C was driving and did a great job of bringing the van to a controlled stop. The tire explosion blew off the rear quarter panel, and we saw pieces of tire fly out the front of the van at 70 mph. 🤯

 

After 4 hours on the shoulder of I-65 we were back on our way. Had both rear tires replaced today, and the spare is back in place for the trip home.

 

Van projects when we get home:

 

1. Get a 10-ton cylinder jack and attach it securely.

2. Practice tire changes in the driveway.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, C. sapidus said:

In the spirit of travel, here was our latest adventure. Blew a rear tire on the van, which immediately fell down onto the rim. Mrs. C was driving and did a great job of bringing the van to a controlled stop. The tire explosion blew off the rear quarter panel, and we saw pieces of tire fly out the front of the van at 70 mph. 🤯

 

After 4 hours on the shoulder of I-65 we were back on our way. Had both rear tires replaced today, and the spare is back in place for the trip home.

 

Van projects when we get home:

 

1. Get a 10-ton cylinder jack and attach it securely.

2. Practice tire changes in the driveway.

 

Wow! Good job all around on handling the emergency!!

[Maison Rustique]

You're inspiring me to use some of the old stuff I have in my pantry. 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

10 hours ago, C. sapidus said:

In the spirit of travel, here was our latest adventure. Blew a rear tire on the van, which immediately fell down onto the rim. Mrs. C was driving and did a great job of bringing the van to a controlled stop. The tire explosion blew off the rear quarter panel, and we saw pieces of tire fly out the front of the van at 70 mph. 🤯

 

After 4 hours on the shoulder of I-65 we were back on our way. Had both rear tires replaced today, and the spare is back in place for the trip home.

 

Van projects when we get home:

 

1. Get a 10-ton cylinder jack and attach it securely.

2. Practice tire changes in the driveway.

We had a similar experience in North Dakota. I was driving the speed limit (65mph) on US 85, heading toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park, when a right rear tire blew. We were driving a Pleasure-Way van and everything rattled violently. I was able to pull over on the modest shoulder in the absolute middle of nowhere--no buildings in sight in all directions and very little traffic. There were chunks of shredded tire for a quarter mile behind us. (We kept a piece as a souvenir.) Of course there was an (inadequate) bottle jack but I told my husband that under no circumstances was he allowed to try to change the tire. We were headed toward an RV park so we called the manager who recommended a tire shop. A nice young man named Derek came out with his rig, changed the tire, and followed us into town. Four tires later we were back on the road the following morning.

 

Lesson learned: Tires "age out" before they wear out. Our tires had plenty of tread but were in some cases over 10 years old. Our van get taken out of storage every summer for a couple of months but the rest of the year it's in an open lot with a couple hundred other rigs. Granted the tires are covered and protected from the sun, but Colorado's a dry place and it takes a toll on tires. I'm not sure that covered storage would solve the problem. This was an expensive lesson, but at least we're assured that our tires are good for another 10 years. Not sure if we are (good for another 10 years, that is). But we'll keep using the van as long as possible because we love driving our little house around the country.

 

One thing we discovered on this trip was the availability of city and county parks. Many of them have electric hookups and are much more reasonably priced than traditional RV parks. When all you need is an overnight with (or without) electricity, these are wonderful options. We found one that was the equivalent of a high-end RV park, and one where the host had planted a vegetable garden for everyone to use. Great tomatoes!

 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Nancy in Pátzcuaro
additional information (log)

[C. sapidus]

7 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

We had a similar experience in North Dakota. I was driving the speed limit (65mph) on US 85, heading toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park . . .

 

 

Teddy Roosevelt National Park is spectacular. We stopped there last summer.

 

Glad you were able to get roadside assistance, and I hope you have safe and happy travels for many years to come.

[Smithy]

34 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

One thing we discovered on this trip was the availability of city and county parks. Many of them have electric hookups and are much more reasonably priced than traditional RV parks. When all you need is an overnight with (or without) electricity, these are wonderful options. We found one that was the equivalent of a high-end RV park, and one where the host had planted a vegetable garden for everyone to use. Great tomatoes!

 

We've seen them sometimes and stayed in a few, but can't reliably find them. Do you have a reliable search source?

 

US Army Corps of Engineers campground are also great, if you happen to be in a party of the country where they exist. 

[C. sapidus]

35 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

We've seen them sometimes and stayed in a few, but can't reliably find them. Do you have a reliable search source?

 

 

Have you tried the RV Parky app? That’s what Mrs. C uses

[Smithy]

I outdid myself yesterday, by recent cookery standards. In addition to the tabbouli and hummus I wrote about above, I went after a batch of green beans I bought last week that really needed to be cooked. Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables, but I dislike trimming and cutting them enough that it's easy for me to "forget" them until it's almost too late. Yesterday it was almost too late, so I got down to it: threw away the moldy ones, trimmed the rotting ones, and still had plenty for 2 meals for me. I used Cookie and Kate's Green Bean Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds, more or less.

 

 

I say "more or less" because I once again discovered things missing. I could have sworn I had chunks of feta that I could sprinkle on top. Couldn't find it. Used some of my Egyptian feta, which has more of a cream-cheese texture. You can see it as white smears in the photos. I also thought I had slivered almonds. Couldn't find them either. They're probably at home. So I roughly chopped the almonds I could find, and used them. I did get to use fresh basil leaves as garnish, from my plant. It was a good dinner.

 

 

Then, I had to deal with the wreckage. All told, during the afternoon I'd made hummus, tabbouli, and the green bean salad - which also included making a vinaigrette.  Mine was getting low, and I think both the hummus and tabbouli will need it due to being rather flat-tasting, so I juiced 3 lemons rather than the half-lemon called for in the recipe, and made a 7x batch of the salad dressing. It'll do well, with its oil, lemon, mustard, garlic, salt and a touch of pepper. But now, I had to deal with all this!

 

 

I admired the sunset...

 

..ate dinner, and got to work. It really didn't take long, but there was a lot of moving-things-around to be done so I could use the sink for washing, then put things back for draining. All finished:

 

 

...and doggone it, it looked the same this morning.

 

 

If household brownies were an option for this trailer, I forgot to add them.