Living off the Grid

I'm not there yet, but it's my goal to be completely energy independent with the next house I have.  

I'm slowly transitioning to solar. Right now I'm still in the RV with at least two dogs.  It gets warm in there for them, so I have realized that they are better off either outside while I'm at work, or I get an AC unit set to a timer for the hottest hours of the day, from 1pm-6pm.  I tie them up outside when I get home so that they don't get too warm

The solar cooker I got two weeks ago works beautifully.  I can have steamed chicken legs with stir-fry veggies within an hour.  This is much healthier eating than having Taco Bell three times a week, switched off to JackInTheBox on the other days.  I have to watch my sodium.  I also found our SunOven, still in the box it was shipped in and totally damage-free despite being in the living room corner during the fire.

Today I finally broke down and purchased an EcoFlow Delta Pro power station with a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery.  It's the most powerful power station I've purchased, with 3600KWh expandable power.  I've been focused on either EcoFlow or Bluetti for a powerful battery and I couldn't turn down a decent sale via CostCo.  I will buy expandable batteries later this year.

So how much is all this costing me so far?  Adding the three Jackerys and three of their solar panels, an AlPowers 200W solar panel ($247.40) and a 200W FlexSolar solar panel ($347) and my latest purchase, this all comes to $7711.83.  Granted, the two 200W panels are not hooked up yet, but they will go to the EcoFlow Delta when that arrives next week.  I'm not planning on getting any more solar panels until the new house gets built.  I will have to do with what I have for now.   

Is all this worth the steep start-up price? The one purchase I could have gone without is the Jackery 1000 ($1590.44) as it's just not powerful enough for a coffee maker, heater or fan.  It works well as a cellphone charger by my bed, though. Only time (like a few years) will tell if everything else will pay off.

https://www.costco.com/ecoflow-delta-pro-ev-recharge-bundle.product.100972938.html

My next purchases will be a small air conditioning unit for the summer, and a small heater for the winter if I can't get the internal AC or heater in the RV to work efficiently.

The only utility I pay for is water, and I appreciate having running water in the RV. Our electric bill was around $70 a month.

Dinner in Tucson

I had a dinner date with Eric and Margaret at Rocco's Little Chicago tonight. Margaret had to work on theor ing, so we couldn't meet until 6:00pm. That's rather late for either of us due to the drive, but still worth for the conversation.

I took Sweetie and Gretchen for the ride. Both did very well the entire time. The sun was behind a building when I got to Rocco's at 6:25pm, so they were in the shade and could see me enter the outdoor patio. Eric and Margaret arrived ten minutes later.

Eric was in fine form tonight with his ascerbic wit. Every question I asked him --how is school coming along, how is the weather in Tempe, how was your visit with your dad last week-- was followed by a rant of a similar topic. I learned tonight that he doesn't like the area I live in because it's riddled with criminals and Mexican cartels and "feels too much like the frontier.' He also ranted about Northwest Indiana and its lack of culture; only a really good paying job would lure him back there, which he doesn't see happening.

The deep dish pizza we had was not as good as the previous ones I had with Steve. The crust wasn't completely baked through and had some raw parts to it. We had a sausage-pepperoni-green peppers-mushroom 12" and the meat gave me the shits soon after we finished. There is the reason why I prefer vegetarian pizza!

We ate out meal and then went on our separate ways. I had to get back home to my dogs, but stopped for a mile- long walk around the two ponds in Reid Park. There were plenty of people walking around the lake or having late picnics in the park. I had never been to this part of Reid Park.

We only walked a mile. The dogs got to walk s bit, drink from the pond, then snoozed in the cab for the drive home.

Heat Wave

 We are now having highs in the 90s and lows in the 50s.  No rain in sight.

I didn't get up to walk the dogs until 10am (!).  It was  already 84F.  Luckily I only had four dogs to walk.  Sahne and Gretel were in the RV with me.  I walked them first around the block, then put them inside the house.  I took Sweetie and Gretchen and tied them outside in the shade while I tried my new solar tube cooker which arrived yesterday.  It was too hot even for me to walk the dogs.

While I only used it to warm up two spring rolls, it didn't take long for the rolls to heat up.  I'm impressed! I can now experiment with other recipes, and try fresh chicken and steamed vegetables.  I want to get away from always eating fast food.

I showered early after 12pm, then collected all my laundry and drove with both Sweetie and Gretchen to Bisbee's one laundromat, which is next door to the Electric Brewing Company. My plan was to wash a large load of clothes, sit at the brewery next door, and listen to some live music.  I've been washing small sets of clothes in the RV, but I needed too many jeans washed and I really don't like washing clothes or driving into Sierra Vista to wash clothes there.

The live music turned out to be kareoke, which I don't do, but I still spend three hours here while the dogs were tied up outside enjoying the shade.  Anything has got to be better for them than the hot RV.  The view from the patio is lovely.  A fire burning in Mexico was still smoldering in the afternoon. Both dogs were mellow and well-behaved.

Upper Carr Canyon with Hansel, Ellen, Tom and Deb

https://www.strava.com/activities/7104674030

This exploratory hike that started at the upper Carr Canyon road campground and 1.5 miles on the Comfort Springs trail was Ellen's idea.  She wanted to explore a hill off the trail and do some exploring. 

Ellen's "exploratory hikes" normally translate in "I want to look for caves."  I'm always game when she plans a hike as we go off trail and discover new things.

I was up early to walk the dogs that were in the cars overnight (to cut down on barking from the back yard): Fritz and Sahne, who slept in the RV with me, Gretchen and Sweetie, and then Hansel and Gretel.  I didn't notice until later that Gretchen did a good number on chewing up the Honda Ridgeline passenger seat cushion, foam and all.  That dog is so destructive...grr.

I wanted to take Fritz on this hike as he hasn't been on a hike in a while, but in the end I decided he would have been too much of a risk around other people if we were to meet any on the trail, and took Hansel instead.  He was a good choice, as he stays by my side.  Tom and Deb later praised how well he behaved.

We met at the lower Carr Canyon Road parking lot and drove in two cars.  I hadn't seen Tom and Deb in at least six years.  They moved back down from Sedona last year after ten years living there.  They came back here where life is calmer, there are less tourists, cost of living is cheaper and traffic isn't quite so congested. 

I sped on ahead and then waited at the top, where quickly a Border Patrol followed Ellen and me until it turned into the group campsite.  The agent must have responded to illegals in the area.

It was going to be another 92F day, but it was cooler at this higher elevation, 71F at 8:30am with a breeze.  The high winds aren't due until tomorrow, though, but this breeze was welcome.

We walked through the Ramsey Vista campground, then got on the Comfort Springs trail. There were a few people camping, but there were no dogs to bother Hansel.  

It's been years since I've done this trail from the lower Hamburg trail with Kevin. It's a steep climb from the Hamburg trail in Ramsey canyon, but today we didn't go far on the trail.  Our elevation gain was just over 1000 feet. The springs was dry, but there was some water in a small drainage that Hansel took advantage of.

The oaks around us are looking dry.  The leaves are yellow and dropping.We desperately need a spring rain storm!  This is perhaps a phrase I say multiple times a year.  The lack of rain has prevented any flowers from blooming besides those on some cacti.

We turned off an abandoned trail off the Comfort Springs trail which we soon discovered was a popular trail among the many illegal border crossers.  We were walking among the manzanitas when the trail thinned out and discarded plastic bottles and sunr-bleached clothes were scattered on the forest floor.  Soon we hit the ledge with a view of the valley to our north.  We got phone reception here, and this is perhaps why the illegals gather here: to arrange for their pick-up so that the load driver can quickly come and pick them up and speed away.  I'm seeing arrested load driver every day in town now.

We made this ledge our turn-around point.  It was too steep and bushy to explore here, so we got back on the mail trail to get back to our cars.

Ellen and I then had a late lunch at Culver's, where Hansel enjoyed a pup cup and Ellen's left-over hamburger.

 

A shopping extravaganza

I did my usual morning walk with the dogs after sunrise, walking Gretel, Gretchen and Sweetie around the hood for a mile. Gretel wasn't ready to go back into the house, so she got a small lap by herself before I tackled Hansel and Sahne. It was already reaching 60F by 6 :30.

Somewhere on today's walk, my reading glasses slipped out of my front jeans pocket. I can't read small print without my reading glasses, so shortly after the Dollar General Store opened at 8am, I was there to get more glasses and the usual dog food 

But today was special. There were so many items marked 50 percent off that I use: personal hygiene items like toothpaste, creams and cold medicines, to food storage bowls with lids, laundry detergent,  Colombian coffee by Dunkin Donuts, and leftover Easter jelly beans. I must have scrutinized every aisle because I didn't come home till 10:30 and spent $217, a record for me at this DG store. 

I couldn't resist the prices on things I normally buy anyway, especially with the cost of everything else going up.I've been trying hard to save as much as I can on food for the dogs, a big part of my food bill, so when I see sales for other items that I use, I jump on it.

I came home and Gretchen had found my open bag of sugar and scattered that all over the floor. I had left it out after savoring some cold tea earlier and forgot to put it away.  I scooped all that up and made fly attractant by pouring the dirty sugar into an empty gin bottle and adding water to it. Flys here seem to like gin and sugar.

I can't leave Gretchen alone for long. That dog gets into everything!!! I get angry at her, but I can't stay angry for long because I know I can't keep her with the other dogs because they attack her and she doesn't like being put in the back yard with her siblings because she immediately goes into submission.

She is going to be my Special Needs dog for life.

I bought a lot of things, including macaroni and Prego mushroom sauce to attempt my first home-cooked meal in the RV using an electric grill hooked to my solar battery. I need to find cheaper means to eat. This was a bit disappointing as the water took over 40 minutes to boil, creating very soft pasta and over a pound of soft, goey pasta that I now must eat within a day as I can't keep anything cool. I'm going to have to learn to  cook all over again using solar power.

I may try an electric percolator next so that I can book water for instant soups. I am also considering getting two more solar panels and then connecting the two bigger power stations together for when there is heavy nighttime use.

The high winds that were forecasted to arrive from 11am to 8pm never materialized. It was hot in the RV and Sweetie was happier being outside under the RV's shade. Gretchen slept and I tumbled more clothes clea, hanging shirts and jeans from whatever hook I could find.