Monday, December 20, 2021, La Posa West LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ, Day 12
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| The Moon |
I took a almost full moon photo a couple of nights ago. Kind of soft - there is lots of dust in the air. Still somehow I feel like I need to do a moon shot every trip & this was the first time I had clear skies (or a clear view of the moon).
A little warmer overnight - only down to 34°F this morning. I tried to download a new audio book from the NY Public Library around 9:00AM and both AT&T & Verizon was having none of it. Then, around 11:00AM, Verizon came alive. No idea how long it will last, but it is working well enough to make reading forums enjoyable. Even Facebook works! While Speakeasy only shows 7.2Mbps down & 6.5Mbps up, it is usable. What's more, its been usable all afternoon, something that hasn't happened with either service since December 9th.
I made cornbread muffins for breakfast (well, since the mix makes 12 of them, they will be breakfast for a couple of days). Easy enough to do, although the cleanup, trying to save water and avoid filling the gray tank takes a bit of planning.
A Stealth 5th Wheel (although there is nothing stealthy about it) moved into the far end of this section of La Posa West. There are a few roads in the LTVAs, the main ones marked by the BLM & even appear on my Garmin GPS. That said, there are also many unmarked "roads", only identifiable by the multiple tire marks compressing the Quartzsite gravel. This section of La Posa West has two unmarked roads into it, both crossing a wash. Inevitably, each year someone parks in one of them. While the 5th wheel is OK, the truck blocks one of the roads. Since the other one is the most used, I'm sure he didn't realize he is blocking a road, but if we get enough rain to flood the main entrance, the one he is parked in may be the only way out until the rain and the wash stops. An update - he must have realized the truck was in the road - he moved it to the front of the trailer. He also has a jeep next to the trailer that is right on the edge of the road, but most things can get around it and I suspect he moves it a lot. If interested, there is a photo of the Stealth on today's LakeshoreImages page.
I sat outside for a bit after lunch, then decided to upgrade my Verizon account. They sent me email that said I could save money by changing. The new plan gives me 35GB more Jetpack coverage before slowing down and saves me $.14 per month. If things go as usual with making a Verizon plan change, my next bill will be for $1000.00 with an explanation of why!
After that, back outside, at least for a time. I eventually decided it was time to finish the DC to DC Converter replacement. Of course more than just mounting the new on and attaching the wires. The new one can produce 30 amps. No idea if it ever will, but the old one had a maximum output of 9 amps and was wired with #12 wire. I changed out the wiring to #10. At least it was short runs - the WFCO power station is about 2' from the Victron DC to DC converter. I temporarily connected the input to the trailer battery to set the parameters of the converter. It is Bluetooth, so not much difference from the solar controllers; I did it on my phone. After setting it up I connected the correct wires. I won't actually use it until the next time I move the trailer.
After cleaning up I sat for a couple of minutes until making dinner, which was a evol Butternut Squash & Sage Ravioli meal.
Until Tomorrow -
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