Day 103, Thursday, January 29, 2026 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 61 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip
49°F overnight, 53°F for my morning walk, 72°F by noon; the high for the day was 75°F. Just in case you were wondering if it was "dry heat" the humidity is 24%, 19% in the trailer. You need to keep your mouth closed to keep it from drying out.
Warmer than the last couple of days; I was able to wear my vest for the morning walk.
After breakfast I read for a bit, then headed out to take down the Clam. While they are called "Quick Set", and they do open in less than a minute, if there is going to be any wind you need to stake the inside corners, and if there is going to be lots of wind (which you can expect here in the southwest) you also need to tie down the pull out handles. So, the actual time is a little longer. Same for taking down. A good half hour taking the sides off, folding them and putting them back in the stuff bags, pulling up the 2 sets of stakes, and folding up the door rods. At that point is is under a minute to knock it down. Another couple of minutes getting it back in the storage bag. While it was a bit windy, not enough to fold the Clam before I wanted to, and it helped fold up the sides.
Still, faster than the tents I camped in in the past. The Guidos had a tent that was faster than the Clam. Take it out of the bag, shake it and it was done. You couldn't stand in it but it was easy up. My tent was big enough that I could stand with lots of floor space, but it took forever to put up & down.
After arranging the truck bed so the Clam would fit, I put everything else back in. The size Clam I have is nice in that it will fit over most picnic tables, but it is a little over 6' long in the storage bag. I've been considering a new truck, and if I want one with 4 normal doors, a six and a half foot bed makes for a very long truck, and at least back east, a special order. I might have to switch to a smaller Clam if I want to keep the same wheelbase as my current truck, which in many parking lots already seems too long. There is at least one version of the Clam that is 63" stored length and is still large enough for a couple of chairs, This would fit in the five & a half foot bed that the Super Crew Cab truck usually has and are they are the same wheelbase as my current F150 Super Cab. Plus, the hybrid F150 can be ordered with "Pro Power Onboard" which provides a 7.2kW inverter.
The large outdoor mat and two chairs are all I have left to put in the truck bed. I switched to Verizon for the rest of my stay here & put the Starlink Mini away.
It is still windy, with 31MPH gusts so even though it is nice and warm at 75°F, it isn't all that comfortable sitting outside.
Dinner was a Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken Bowl.
Until Next Time -
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