Summer 2023, page 49

2 August…it’s been a long hot summer here in Florida…always have a great time though with family and friends…getting ready to head out west in a week or so…will be nice to get some altitude and cooler weather…nephew bought a new house for my niece and him…all good.

I’ve wanted to add some water capacity to the camper for a couple of years now…finally got my act together…the one I’ve been using for almost five years holds ten gallons…all the cool over the wheel tanks are three to five hundred dollars and that doesn’t include shipping…so…I got a nice 30 gallon tank from Class A Custom Vans…only $115 with free shipping…made out of the same stuff as the fancy ones but at a fraction of the cost…it doesn’t fit against the wall over the wheel well but that’s just fine as I will use that space for storage…a bit of PVC stuff and reinforced silicone hose to hook her up.

The tank extends well past the carpeted wall that protects the battery bank. The little black mark on the side of the tank is the 15 gallon point. I won’t travel with the tank full…I’ll fill it up just before I head out to a boondocking spot. The water pump and switch is for my on demand hot water shower…I’ll plumb it into the water line with a Tee fitting after I finish my enSure.

7 August…I know Know…when I had my little 2021 Honda Trail 125 I loved the thing…lots of fun…when a person offered me more than I paid for it I sold…regretted it…so…when Honda announced the updated 2023 model I took a look…nice green color…updated motor with a proper oil filter and a bit more power…the thing is super hard to get as supply is VERY limited here in the US…stopped by the local dealer her in Florida and low and behold they’d just unpacked one…that day was my lucky day…and not so lucky on my wallet 🙂

I’m headed out for another adventure in a few days…gonna carry the little thing on my MotoTote rear carrier…I’m loving life.

Found a nice case that is a clone of the very expensive Pelican Cases for around $49 on Amazon…plus it was available in a color that just about matches the bike. The rear rack already had mounting points so the install was easy.

8 August…T-Minus 12 hours until I head towards the mountains of NC and away from the heat!

11 August…all set up at my friend’s place in Maggie Valley…the little bike is ready to tear up some mountain back roads…temps here are wonderful compared to what I’ve been in the past couple of months…this morning was around 62F…perfect…next week the temps are forecast to be in the mid 50’s overnight with highs in the 70’s…Heaven.

The Mototote rear carrier is working well…I took off the cheesy rail it came with and replaced it with a 6061 aluminum channel that is much more secure…a small rubber chock for the front wheel and all is well in the world.

12 August…it’s 4am and I’m having a nice cup of coffee…very quiet las night with little traffic up and down the road…cool this morning…heading out for my usual walk in a few minutes…been watching some videos of folks who have lost everything during these times and having to live in their cars…they are homeless and want to get back into a house…me…I’m houseless…big difference…I have a tiny house that happens to be mobile…I love the freedom from the bills and upkeep that comes with a house and property…as I’ve said in the past, I really don’t live in the camper…I live in the places I visit and with the people I meet…all good.

Yesterday I helped my friend Rob around the motel…building new shelving in the maids room and more remodeling…he lets me parkup on the property so I help out in return…it’s a great deal.

Took a short ride yesterday on the little bike…so much fun…today the weather is supposed to be nice so a squirt through the mountains is in order…installed the cable to hook up my electric jacket should the temps drop…one of the best investments ever…nice and comfy when the air is cool and crisp.

Mom is doing well at her assisted living place…my nephew just bought his first home…his daughter, my beautiful niece, is loving her first home, her first bedroom all to herself…and many knew friends her age in the new neighborhood. She’s moving on a bit as she grows and I don’t see her as much these days. But it’s all good. I’m so happy for her. She seems to be more relaxed and carefree…and so she should being 9 years old. I’ve helped out as best I could for a few years and now it’s time for her and her dad to enjoy life. I’m so proud of both of them 🙂

15 August…tonight I tried out my new little fire pit…works great and much easier to carry in the camper because of it’s small size…plus no fake charcoal rock things to make dust and fall apart…cooked a tasty chicken breast in my cast iron skillet…no smoke or spatter in the van…gonna cook hamburgers tomorrow.

27 August…the little bike is really nice…so light, quiet, and nimble…like me :)…a long ride through cool crisp air early in the mornings on beautiful uncrowded backroads here in Appalachia are some of my favorite things to do…I ride slow, breath slow, and always find new things for my eyes to focus on as I putter along. I love seeing interesting old structures on gravel roads way back in the mountains.

31 August…spooned on a nice set of Shinko 244 tires…much larger than the stock tires…nice 50/50 hwy/gravel things…should work well…not much clearance with the front fender so I ordered the brackets to move it up a bit…will need the clearance for riding gravel roads to lessen the chance of getting a rock stuck between the tire and fender…they ride really nice…the larger size holds more air and softens the small bumps.

6 Sept…came up to the Mount Pisgah Campground the other day…gonna stay about a week…love the place…only $10 a night with my senior pass…it’s right on the Blue Ridge Parkway….a little over 5,000 feet high…temps are wonderful.

Installed the fender risers on the front fender of the little bike the other day…now I can ride the gravel roads without rocks getting stuck between the fender and tire. I’m riding the gravel roads around here, puttering over to the store and the showers here at the camprground.

18 September…it’s been an enjoyable last week or so…had a great little getaway up to the Mt Pisgah campground…so nice and quiet…the little store is only about a thousand feet away…good rocking chairs…watching people come and go is fun…when I got back to Maggie I tried firing up the diesel heater in the van…nothing…pump failure code thrown…tried reseting many times still nothing…ordered a new pump ($180)…still nothing…removed both front seats to get to the wiring harness…looked all around…nothing found that was chaffed or broken…what to do now…have power to the pump…sat around for a few hours and my insanely powerful logic told me it has to be the connection to the pump that is bad…looked at the connector again and saw the wires had backed out of the plug a tiny smidgen…reseated them and now all is well…after all that work trying to trace the problem that’s all it was…geez I could have saved a lot of time, money, and aggravation if I’d only looked closer…many times the simplest solution is the best…anyway I now have my wonderful dry heat back…life is good.

The weather has been great (usually) so I do most of my frying outside using my cast iron skillet and the little inTeck fire thingy…no splattering of grease in the van…I’m a bit OCD when it comes to keeping the van clean…last night was pork steaks and veggies all cooked in the skillet…yummy.

So thankful I found the Holiday Motel here in Maggie and became friends with Rob the owner…I enjoy the exercise I get when helping around the place…Rob is so gracious to let me parkup on the nice gravel area by his house…no tracking dirt and crap in and out of the van…I spend many hours sitting in my camp chair watching the world go by between naps.

Celebrated the 50th anniversary of my 21st birthday this summer…still feeling well and love not having to take any kind of medication…I try to eat ok, don’t drink any sodas, or eat too much junk…probably all comes down to genes though…maybe I’m slightly blessed…who knows.

I was told my beautiful niece is doing well in her new school…has made many new friends and is really enjoying just being a kid…just passed the testing for a new level in Karate (Orange belt)…she’s so motivated to excel in the martial arts…is learning many things that will help her be a good person mentally and physically…all will follow her all her life…so proud of her!

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