Horsethief Lake

Horsethief Lake Campground, Black Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon District, near Mt. Rushmore, South Dakato, May 2008, Nikon D40 with 18-200mm VR lens, Focal length 18mm, Exposure 1/160 sec @ f6.3, ISO 200, exposure bias -4/3 stop, no flash, circular polarizing filter © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Well, it's been a while since my last update. Tough making time for the internet when you are wandering through such natural beauty. I have, however, managed to keep Frito-a-Day up to date. So you can look there for our dog's perspective of the trip so far ;-)

This photo is from this morning, just after sunrise, but before the rest of humanity had awakened. A serene setting (with Thistle Dew Too in the background) at a National Forest campsite just outside Mt. Rushmore. A little pricey ($23 for dry camping), but then, I guess one is paying for the setting and the proximity.

It's been exactly a month since we picked up Thistle Dew Too. We are having a blast! No where to go and all day to get there ;-) Actually, we're taking two months to drive back from the Mothership home to New Hampshire.

In addition to the solar (which has been fantastic -- we haven't had to use the generator once except to exercise it), we've made a few more additions. To allow us to get on the internet, we purchased a Verizon aircard, and have that tied into a Cradlepoint router and Wilson amplifier and antenna raised up about 6 feet above the top of the RV. Generally, that will increase our signal strength by 2 bars, often times giving us access when we would otherwise have none. This configuration also allows my wife and I to share the wireless connection simultaneously, and works for her PC and my Mac, no problem. I'll post about this in more detail on a newly established Thistle Dew Too Improvements blog.

We've had great weather, with just a few days of rain. And I'm so happy that Thistle Dew Too is watertight and ship shape! Just one more testimonial to the Lazy Daze reliability.