I'm somewhat tied down with a pulled muscle, otherwise I'd be heading to the Harborfest Fireworks Display tonight. So, I sat out on the back deck and shot a few bird photos:
Until next time -
My blog follows my travels through the US & Canada in an Escape 21 Travel Trailer towed by a Ford F150 3.5 Ecoboost Off Road. For anyone interested in additional photos I have a Web Page with photos & journals of all my trips. Shortcut to first Blogger post
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
A Short Trip to Fairhaven State Park, Fairhaven, NY, Day 2
Rain off & on over night as well as most of today. There were a couple of breaks; I managed to do a one mile walk around the campground, and sat outside watching the hummingbirds fight over the feeder for about half an hour. I set it out yesterday, and one found it within 30 minutes. This one has 8 stations; you would think they could share, but there is always one that has to chase away all others.
I thought about staying another day since packing the trailer for just two days seems like a bit of a waste of energy, but decided to stick with the plan. There is only one day available at my site; if there were a few more I might have considered staying. In any case, between cloud bursts I packed away the grill. I hope the rain holds off long enough to pack up the 6' X 12' mat in the morning.
Until the next rip -
Monday, July 11, 2022
A Short Trip to Fairhaven State Park, Fairhaven, NY
One of my shortest trips, both driving distance (16.4 miles) and duration - two nights in the campground. I had new brakes installed on the trailer & wanted to wear them in, plus it gave me a chance to test my new thermostat installation. I'm in site 84, a 30 amp electric only site, mostly dirt & grass with a little gravel, a fire pit & a picnic table that is on the wrong side of the site. While there are no water hookups, there is a water station next door to the site. A short walk to the bathrooms that have hot showers. $57.25 for two nights ($25.00 per night plus a $7.25 registration fee. The reservation was mixed up when I signed in - The registration clerk kept calling me Rush, and when I looked at the tag I was listed as Bob Rush, arriving yesterday and leaving tomorrow. We got it straightened out & Bob wasn't parked in my site.
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| Site 84 |
The thermostat change needs a bit of explaining. I replaced the original thermostat with a MicroAir thermostat. The "touch" capabilities of the original Dometic thermostat left a lot to be desired. Sometimes it did nothing, other times it went through 2-3 "touches" with one touch. It did not show the current temperature, and was too dark to see except when setting it. The MicroAir solved all those problems, shows indoor & outdoor (if connected to the internet) temperature, and also provided WiFi & Internet control, ie I could turn on or off the AC or heat from anywhere using my phone (assuming I am within Bluetooth range or have an internet connection at the phone & trailer).
The problem was the MicroAir thermostat kept freezing at 3:00AM. It would show that it was calling for heat, but didn't fire the furnace. The customer service representative suggested doing a firmware update, and once I had internet coverage I did, and it worked better, but I still had it hang one night. Changing the three wires connected to the thermostat at 3:00AM with frozen fingers was a pain.
So, I decided to put both thermostats on the wall with a three pole, double throw switch to let me choose between them. At the same time I decided to try to solve another minor problem. My favorite electric heater, a 1986 Pelonis ceramic unit died. I bought an inexpensive ceramic disk heater from Walmart & it works, but trying to set a specific temperature was difficult. I decided to add a 120 volt AC receptacle that was controlled by a standard wall thermostat. I added a furnace relay & transformer (an aube RC840T-120) and a household thermostat. The whole thing looks a bit weird, but it solves most of my heating & cooling problems.
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| Three Thermostats |
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| The Furnace Relay |
Another summer project was to replace the sink. The original sink is just a bit too small to wash pots or pie pans. The replacement is the same front to back, an inch deeper, and 3" wider. I also redid the drain. The original installation used a "S" trap, illegal in the US because running a large amount of water will usually siphon out the trap, letting gases into the trailer. I switched to a "P" trap & added an air admittance valve to keep the trap full. While I don't like AAVs because they eventually stop working, there is no other way to vent the kitchen sink close enough to the trap to work.
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| The New Sink |
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| The New Drain - AAV at the Top of the "T" |
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| The New Coupler |
That's it for today. It was a beautiful afternoon, however rain is predicted for late tonight and all day tomorrow. I probably should have spent the early evening outside and saved typing all this until tomorrow!
Till then -
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
2022 Trip To The Spring Fling, Day 9
Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - Home, Oswego, NY, 230.7 Miles, 895.7 Miles For The Trip
By the way, I discovered a second set of bathrooms at Wilmington Notch DEC Campground that do have showers. No heat, but there is hot water.
I had a nice drive through the Adirondacks for the trip home to Oswego. Matilda, my GPS wanted me to take Rt 3 for most of the trip, but I've done that many times, so I decided to take NY 30, 28 & 69. I stopped a short time after leaving the campground for a photo of a small waterfall on the West Branch of the Ausable River, and again at the top of Long Lake for a photo of Buttermilk Falls. I've now taken photos of Buttermilk Falls with low, medium & high water. More photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.
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| Buttermilk Falls |
I arrived in Oswego around 3:30, unpacked the refrigerator, and what I hope was everything I'll need for the evening & tomorrow morning. I plan to pretty much empty the trailer over the next couple of days so I can do a "deep cleaning" before the next trip. I also have new self adjusting brakes that I plan to have installed with the next bearing packing, etc.
Until The Next Trip -
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
2022 Trip To The Spring Fling, Day 8
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - Wilmington Notch DEC Campground, Wilmington, NY, 250.2 Miles, 665 Miles For The Trip
Another rainy night, although it stopped well before morning, letting me pack up the trailer & dump the tanks without a raincoat. I headed out of the campground around 9:30, and arrived at Wilmington Notch by 3:30. A mix of 2 lane county roads, a few 2 lane state roads, and a bit on I 89. Lots of wind & some light rain off & on during the drive, with heavier rain starting just after arriving at the campground.
I'm in site 30, a dry site on sand level enough that I did not need to unhook the trailer from the truck. There is a bathroom building with flush toilets, but no showers or heat. Good Verizon coverage at 74.3Mbps down & 23Mbps up, with weak AT&T that I didn't check the speed. It cooled off when I hit NY; it hit 70°F on the drive, but was only 48°F when I arrived at the campground & the furnace was running. I usually shut it off when driving unless the temperatures are well below freezing, but I forgot this time. Along with the campground photo I'm adding a couple that Anne took during our trip to Mt. Washington.
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| Me at Mt Washington |
It looks like the rain will continue for the rest of the afternoon, so I'll probably just sit in the trailer & read. Still reading Lawrence Block's Enough Rope on the Kindle, and listening to Peter V. Brett's The Warded Man audio book. I managed to get a mosquito inside the trailer that is driving me crazy. I hope to "get" it before going to bed tonight.
Dinner was a microwaved Saffron Road Chicken Biryani bowl.
Until Next Time -
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