TD2 2019 Adventure - NH - Getting Thistle Dew Too on the Road

So up at our cottage, our first job was to prep Thistle Dew Too with food, water, and all of the other regular essentials.

After that, we needed to close up the cottage and try to keep the mice at bay over the winter (good luck with that!)

Thistle Dew Too was having an issue with her levelers.  They weren't getting power, and I had "jumped them" to retract them most of the way.  No one could explain where I might find the circuit breaker that probably needed to be reset.  So, alas, we had to make an appointment at the Big Foot factory in White Pigeon, MI.

We were all set to go and have a leisurely 4-day trip to Michigan, except when I unplugged from shore power, the inverter was suddenly not working properly, even after I reset it.  We rely quite heavily on our inverter, so we delayed our departure to try and figure it out.  Finally, we decided to leave anyways, and now having lost a couple more days, we needed to drive straight to Michigan via highways, spending an overnight in a rest area (not the way we prefer to travel).

But we made it to the appointment, they found the self-resetting circuit breaker that was heavily corroded (located behind the generator for some unknown reason), replaced it, and the system was working fine!

After that, I used at tip from Jane on LazyDazeOwners forum to check the fuse between the batteries and inverter, and sure enough, the 200 Amp Class T fuse was blown (for some as-yet-unknown reason).  After replacing it, we were back up and fully operational.

Next stop ... somewhere to start unwinding!!!

Gratuitous cottage pond photo:

Reflections of Beauty!

Valley of Fires

Well, we had a long drive from our last stop, and were targeting a not-so-well-reviewed camping area that we might have arrived to after dark.  Basically, not a good plan ;-)

So when we passed the Valley of Fires National Recreation Area, we thought we would check it out.  Thankfully, they had one spot left, so we took it.  Not the most level site as you will see in the pictures, but we put our levelers on overdrive and made do.

And we also really enjoyed the views.  In short, we had a nice stay, good evening and morning hikes, and avoided a possible boondocking faux pas.

Level Up, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo, NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Kind 'o the Hill, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo, NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Catching Rome Rays, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo, NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Old Fires, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo, NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Valley of Fires Sunrise, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo, NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Sunset Paintbrush, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo, NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

And as far as a vegan recipe for today goes, I offer you a humble volley into the Coffee Wars.  I bought one of these Aeropress contraptions back in 2008 when we bought Thistle Dew Too.  Never used the dang thing.  Carried it around for a month before I tried making hot coffee with it.

Aeropress Rules!, Vally of Fires National Recreation Area, Carrizozo,NM, March 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

And let me tell you ... I AM SOLD!  This makes a cup of coffee in 30 seconds ... a minute if you are slow ;-)  (This assumes you have hot water at the ready.)  And the best part ... it cleans up in less than 30 seconds, with NO water.  Perfect for when you are boondocking.

So go ahead -- buy one if you haven't already -- and see just what it is I am smoking.  Or leave me a comment with *your* preferred coffee preparation method.  But only boondockers need reply -- don't want none of those fancy-pants expresso machines ;-)