The electrical labyrinth

What is electricity? Ohms, watts, volts, amps have been terms I have often heard and use daily. Yet, trying to understand these concepts has been like traveling in a foreign country where I don't know the language or customs. 
RVing is different in many ways mentioned previously, but the most difficult to grasp is the electrical system. In a house, you just switch on the lights or use appliances without any thought about where the power comes from. When the electricity fails, as in a storm, life suddenly becomes very unsettled.

In an RV, electricity is a daily  concern. At RV parks, you can plug into their electrical outlets but dry camping requires the use of a generator or solar panels to charge the batteries. ( I even saw one RV with a small windmill!) There is only so much power available with the 2 batteries I have and I have to keep track of what I can use.
I've leaned that electrical current is really the flow of electrons through a wire.(amps). The force ( pressure) with which it travels is the volt. The resulting amount of electricity is the number of watts supplied. 

my panel for batteries and tanks
12.9 volts of electricity topping up my batteries
from my solar panels

I chose not to buy a generator, determined to supply all of my electrical needs using the free energy from the sun. Generators require gasoline to run  and are quite noisy. Besides, I don't have room for a portable one and a built in one would cost a lot. I don't even like them! The suns rays are free and silently charge the batteries.
And so, I began with one 100 watt solar panel and gradually added more panels to the 430watts I have now.

Solar panels on the roof of my RV

  The solar panels are made up of cells that convert the photons of the sun's rays to electrons. 
My batteries store the power from my solar panels and after the sun goes down it limits how much I can use. I know someone who is able to use a microwave and a toaster but he has 8 batteries.

I returned to Quartzsite to "Solar Bill" to assess my needs. He found my batteries defective and replaced them. His staff then checked my wiring and replaced a ground wire. They also adjusted the controller ( controls the amount of current from the solar panels so that my batteries don't " get fried". )
The service was excellent and I was given a very good deal. I have enough solar power to charge several larger batteries but the problem is that the battery compartment is not big enough to handle more than what I have. Building another compartment is a major job and expense that I may do later. (I have room for this in the space where the generator would be).

Getting my wiring checked at Solar Bills

While at Quartzsite,I stayed at LaJolie BLM land a few miles north of town. Camping was free and I was happy to have some very good neighbours, including a couple from Alberta on their way to Mexico.

From there, I returned to Slab City and finally caught up with the LOWs there. "Loners on Wheels" are another group of solo RV travelers and have a permanent place set up at  "The Slabs" . There is a kitchen, library, and lounge. Every morning they gather around the campfire to watch the rising sun and catch up on any activities happening that day. They are like a family and many of them spend the winter there. I was made very welcome and enjoyed being shown around some more. I had been to the Slabs last year and felt at home. This time I discovered some other RV groups there eg The Traveling Pals and the Rubber Tramps. Down the road at the " Oasis" there was breakfast offered and often some music around their fire at night. I made some new friends and one of them took me to a nearby lemon orchard to pick up lemons that had fallen on the ground. I also attended a very good yoga class offered daily by an excellent teacher from  Woodstock, Ont,Canada, close to where I used to live as a child.

While there, I tried to learn more about electricity and someone gave me a simple multimeter so I could check my batteries and electrical system.
It's been quite a big learning curve!

The 2 coach batteries

Multimeter

Leaving there was like leaving home but I wanted to continue my journey back to Canada.
I arrived at the Joshua Tree national park on Feb 13 but could not get in because the campgrounds were full ( long week-end due to President's Day) so I camped at BLM land just south of the park. Again I had some terrific neighbors, a family from Los Angeles,who invited me to their campfire.
The disadvantage of BLM land, ( aside from no services), is that the roadways, if you can find one, are not graded. You just drive into the desert until you find a spot that appeals. There are no markings and sometimes there are areas of soft sand, similar to a snowbank, I did get stuck driving out. Luckily I made it after digging out the sand around my tires and placing several stones for grip. RVs frequently get stuck in the desert sand and people sometimes need to call roadside assistance to get towed out.

After 2 days,  I decided to drive the short distance to Indio to meet an RV friend there and get some supplies, We both parked for free in their parking lot overnight.
When I returned, I was able to get into Joshua Tree park and got a campsite very close to where I had camped last winter. 

my campsite at Joshua Tree park

I love those rocks! Once again I had some good neighbours, a family from British Columbia and a new friend Kathy, from California.
When traveling like this, time in one place is limited and you learn to make friends quickly. Most RVers are 
in a relaxed holiday mood and have time to share stories. It's refreshing to be spontaneous and not have to make an appointment to get together with a friend, as is so often the case in a city.

A Joshua tree stands in front of those rocks

Sometimes I can have a close friend for a brief time and never see him or her  again or I may make a lasting friendship.
What a wonderful place the desert is!
 There is no official internet or phone service in the park but last year, my friend Shirley showed me a hill from which we could get a signal. I revisited this  natural "phone booth", a short hike from the campground.

Making a phone call from the deserts natural " phone booth"

One warm sunny day, I decided on a longer hike in the desert to see the rock arch. Besides taking water and a snack, I used my hiking poles. Not only is the ground uneven but there is always a possibility of rattle snakes (although they hibernate over winter, the weather is getting warmer ).
At the rock arch I met an Australian man on a round the world trip. He was flying to Fiji the next day and already has a ticket for the trans-Siberian express train from Moscow to China, a trip I have long wanted to do.

I left the park a few days later to drive to Yucca Valley to visit some friends there. I had met them last year  at Joshua Tree park and we have maintained a connection. Shirley and Craig treated me like royalty, hooking me up to their electrical system and providing meals. Craig also fixed some broken latches for me and hooked up my TV and DVD player to the remote. My brother had done this last summer but I somehow messed it up. Technical I'm not! I have an ongoing invitation to return to Yucca Valley for a visit. Life is good!

After that, I left for the coast and the Pacific ocean. 
I have been thinking about my electrical system and the problem isn't really that big. My batteries get fully charged throughout the day and I wonder if I could just change my lifestyle. It would be more natural to go to bed after
the sun sets and get up with the sunrise, hence needing very little electricity during the night. Staying up until 11pm has become a bad habit!

More adventures follow along the coast.

"You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth"

----Evan Esar ,humorist

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in determination"

-----Tommy Lasorda, Sportsman

"Our limited perspective, our hopes and fears become our measure of life, and when circumstances don't fit our ideas, they become our difficulties"

-- Benjamin Franklin

"Do not drift through life. Live every day as if it were your last and every minute as if it were your first.."

-- "Notes from the Song of Life" by Tolbert McCarroll

Did you know that:

--On a bright sunny day, the sun's rays give off approx 1000 watts of energy per sq meter of the earths surface? ( internet search)

May your life be filled with sunshine

Maria

whyknotrvmaria@gmail.com

Winning adventures

January sped by like an olympic sprinter and I can finally catch up to my writings.
This winter has been an unusually cold one for Arizona and California, with temperatures diving to freezing, (or even below!) some nights. It appears that the usual warm winter climate of the southwest has been pushed aside by El Nino. Several areas, such as Death Valley, have had snow a few times. Having worked in Canada's north, I am used to the cold but didn't think to bring a down jacket as one man wore last week, along with some mitts and a toque!
Nevertheless, there have been many beautful warm days with plenty of sunshine and the temperatures are rising.

It's been interesting to drive along the dry desert and then come across the lush green fields of vegetables, irrigated by water from the Colorado River along the border of Arizona and California.
The currnt severe drought  conditions are having an impact on growing crops and will effect export.

The arid desert

We may have to learn to live more in tune with the seasons and eat food grown locally. Do Canadians need to eat lettuce,tomatoes, oranges and strawberries imported from California in the winter or can we go back to living more naturally with the seasons? My grandmother used to collect pears,plums and wild mushrooms to dry on racks in the attic and enjoy eating over the winter. Apples would get pressed into cider. How have our lives and appetites become so complex?

I continued to follow the WINs northwest to Martinez Lake, a resort town along the Colorado River, where we once again stayed on BLM land. This time we were within walking distance of the many services the town offered. It was a treat to have access to laundry, showers, restaurants, water, garbage bins, and a dump station.

Our campsite at Martinez Lake



Burros wander freely and visted us

When dry camping in the desert, we have to think about those things daily and always have a plan, eg is there enough fresh water in the tank to last until there is water available? What to do if the black tank (sewage) gets too full?  Where to dispose of garbage? How about food, gas for driving, propane for cooking and heat? It requires a lot of planning and checking. A big benefit of travelling with a group is that many of these issues are taken care of. I can check ahead to see their schedule and info about services, then stop to fill up or dump before catching up to the group. Sometimes a member of the group who has a pick up truck will offer to take everyone's garbage to a disposal site in the area. 

            Martinez Lake was a delightful place to spend a week. Dancing, restaurants, and a fabulous day of kayaking on the Colorado River were just a few of the activities that kept us busy. At the nightly campfires we would talk about the day or listen to a pack of coyotes singing very close by. They can sense people's pets and everyone kept their dogs or cats inside at night.
As in other places we have visited, each day there were activities we could take part of.

A hike along the Colorado River

A visit to an old silver mining town ( now a museum)

I loved the early morning routine of "hugs and mugs", a time to gather, spend the time with friends and discuss the activities for that day.

The group's activities and travel are planned by volunteers. The WINs travel throughout the year and there are usually one or two circuits on the go. The one I have been traveling with is their winter circuit including Arizona and California.

There is also a group exploring the east coast and recently, some of the WINs are driving down to Mexico. I would have enjoyed that experience but soon need to begin my journey back to Canada. 

On Jan 10 many of the WINs and thousands of other RVers congregated on the BLM lands surrounding Quartzsite, Az. I was there last year and it felt good to be back. Quartzsite is a small town that swells to a major destination in January for their RV and gem shows. A huge tent is set up and vendors set up their booths inside and out selling mostly RV related supplies but also various crafts. At flea markets you can find just about anything you could possibly need or want.
The atmosphere is festive and the bustling crowds look for bargains or enjoy the food and music.

Camels used to live in this area

One of Several RV sales companies

A booth in the big tent

Staying with the group for so long meant I was getting to know many of them and make some lasting friends. Most are retired professionals and solo travelers like me and many are full timers. They are from all over the US and Canada and may have lived this lifestyle for many years, resulting in a wealth of experience.

It's been fun listening to their stories at the nightly campfires. There is often laughter and I no longer felt alone.

When we travel together, the camp host would discuss any planned activities for the day. Those with cars would offer rides, the passengers pitching in for gas. The most difficult part of the process is choosing which activity to attend , eg go kayaking , visit a museum or go on a hike? ( or just stay at the campsite and hang out). How wonderful to have friends to share these adventures with!

the board is updated daily

Playing "desert golf"

A hike to Crystal Hill, a wildlife refuge where mineral collecting is permitted. Quartz crystals occur along the slopes and almost everyone found some.

While at Quartzsite, we visited some other RV clubs camped nearby.  The LOWs ( Loners on wheels) invited us for wine and cheese while we went over to dance with a chapter of "The Escapees". We reciprocated by inviting everyone to an ice cream social.
I had no idea there were so many RV clubs. I have met " The traveling pals" and have heard of the "Rubber tramps". It's a whole different world than what I had been used to and I am loving this lifestyle and the interesting people I am meeting.

From Quartzsite, some of us left the group to travel a bit further north to Parker. One of the WIN women invited us to spend a few days at a resort as guests of her brother who lives there.
For a very small fee, we were able to hook up and take part in their many services such as a heated pool and jacuzzi, a bar for dancing and karaoke, and a  community center.
The Emerald Cove resort was situated along the Colorado River, across from Parker and had a lovely beach. One day, her brother invited us for a trip on the river in his platoon boat.
I felt like royalty!
A few days later, I left there to drive back to Quartzsite to try and sort out my electrical problems that continue to be a mystery. That journey will be described in my next blog as I had better send this before people think I've given up writing!

"Life is what's happening while we're busy making other plans"
( so we miss out on life rather than living in the present moment)
--- John Lennon


Did you know.........

That the microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket?

That Winston Churchill was born in a ladies room during a dance?     


That February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon?


Spring is on its way!!! Don't forget to take time for laughter.


Maria

whyknotrvmaria@gmail. com