Blog Update - Making my winter home a little more homey!

I am now fully settled in my new spot in Twentynine Palms RV Resort and busy making things a little better. Outside and inside. This seems to be the year of upgrades to the little RV.

For my RV Followers!

I have been frustrated for several years with the exhaust fan over the stove - it is loud and noisy and does not move much air - and I have had to replace the motor twice. It is also a battery eater when not plugged in. A few weeks ago while shopping on Amazon a vent fan showed up in my suggested products - mostly RV Stuff. I did some more searching and found exactly what I was looking for - a reversible fan that fits in my ceiling vent. It is actually designed to replace the small inefficient bathroom fan which already has 12 volts to it and fits the standard vent opening perfectly. I never use my bathroom fan and it is fine as it is but wanted to install in the main salon area over the middle of the trailer. This vent had no fan or electric to it, just a roof vent that cranks open to allow air in and heat to rise out.

I ordered the fan that was reversible so I could have incoming or more important exhaust when cooking. It arrived day before yesterday and that was my project for the day. I had to do a little more work than required since I had to tap into an overhead light nearby for 12 volts for the fan. I removed the interior trim and undid the light fixture found the junction connectors to the electric in the ceiling and drilled a hole in the vent frame and fished new wires through and tied them into the supply. The whole installation took less than and hour.

So Now I have a wonderful quiet exhaust fan in the overhead vent!



I also ordered a set of 10 solar lights to put outside around my site - pleasantly surprised at the amazing light pattern they create. My site is now much nicer at night.





And the perfect compliment to my sign I got earlier this year!



Big day today - going to make the 15 mile drive to Wal-Mart in Yucca Valley to pick up my prescriptions.

Stay tuned for more activities and projects!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!

Blog Update - Trip South Change of plans!

I am now in my winter home in Twentynine Palms RV Resort - got here on Tuesday afternoon and have spent the past two days getting settled in my new spot - my old spot had someone in it, so I took another and like it better.

Change of Plans!

When I left Salt Lake City on the 29th of October I drove straight to Moab Utah for a planned stay of two nights - I ended up extending that stay an additional night so I could visit Canyonlands and Arches for more pictures.

The plan was to then drive to Mesa Verde in Colorado for a couple nights, however had a small problem with the truck which I needed to repair - a coil pack on the number one cylinder went bad and I had a terrible miss and the gas mileage went to crap and I limped into Monticello Utah and stopped at the local auto parts store to investigate, actually parked at the visitor center across the street. While making repairs I met some people who had just come from Mesa Verde and they informed me the commercial campgrounds were all closed for the season and the concessionaire in Mesa Verde NP had also closed and the campground was a mess. With my delay and a long look at the weather report on the cold front coming, I decided to skip Mesa Verde and head to Monument Valley...so I headed further South and drove through Monument Valley with the intention of staying overnight. When I arrived at the Native American Campground I discovered is was a dirt parking lot with no hook-ups which was fine until I discovered that they wanted $40.00 per night to park there...I tried trading beads but they are wise to that trick after New York...so I told them No Thanks and drove on, deciding to head on down to Winslow AZ and adjust from there and get more details on the cold front which was coming and the possibility of snow.

Here are some pictures from my trip!

This is from Salt Lake!



This is Skyline Arch in Arches NP



This is Sand Dune Arch!



Canyonlands NP



Arches NP





South Window Arch!



Monument Valley



Standin' on the Corner in Winslow Arizona!



The real reason I cut my trip a little short! First pic is mine..the second one is from yesterday and Mesa Verde is even higher and there was also snow in Flagstaff.





Stay tuned for another winter in Joshua Tree and here at the Park - good to be back with my friends here!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!