Page 58, Winter 2026

27 December…I know, it’s still 2025 for a few more days but I needed to start a new page…had a nice drive on I-10 yesterday…about 550 miles over to Baton Rouge…another Cracker Barrel for the night…the only highlight of the day was paying $2.99 a gallon for diesel in Mississippi…nice…my buddy Jeff is closing on a really nice house on 35 acres in Trinidad Colorado…I’m looking forward to a visit as Trinidad is right in the middle of some of my favorite places to ride the motorbikes and explore…plus it’ll be a good waypoint for my trips back and forth across the country 🙂

Nice and quiet this morning at the Cracker Barrel

440 miles today…traffic through Houston wasn’t bad for a Saturday…stopped tonight near San Antonio at a Walmart…got the grub restocked and now watching some Youtube crap…got a text earlier from Alyx letting me know I forgot to send her allowance…oops…that was a really good stinkeye from her…funds sent and now all is well in the world of 11 year olds :)…haven’t slept very well the past two nights…gonna try not eating or drinking anything at least 3 hours before bedtime…we will see.

28 December…it’s 0600 and the first cup of coffee is being consumed…so good..why can’t the next cup taste as good?…67 degrees here at the Walmart in Seguin Texas…I’m near San Antonio and Kerrville TX…Kerrville is the place where the massive floods last year killed so many young campers…I’ve said many a prayer for them…so sad…one child is still missing…I can’t comprehend the grief and sorrow her parents must feel knowing their beautiful daughter is buried somewhere in the debris.

Probably be a shorter day today…I’m headed to Fort Stockton…when I get there I’ll decide if I feel like going further or just hand out there…the weather will determine if I turn north up to Carlsbad and over the summit at Cloudcroft…it’s a beautiful drive but I don’t like driving in snow…time for brekkie and my morning walk…more after the break.

29 December…quiet night last night at the Walmart in Fort Stockton Texas…this morning, during my preflight check, I discovered one of the mounting brackets for the front solar panel was coming loose…changed the high bond tape and secured it further with two stainless metal screws…I carry all the tools and parts I’ll need for most repairs while on the road…all good.

Another easy drive today…about 350 miles over to Deming New Mexico…El Paso was as usual a mess but made it through fine…stopped early at the Walmart in Deming…took a nap and got the blog caught up…veggies for dinner….I’m sleeping much better now as I don’t eat or drink anything for two hours before I crawl in the rack…I also don’t look at my phone, iPad, or laptop for at least 30 minutes before bed…I relax, look at folks in the parking lot, and think about how I love being on the road…all seems to get my brain ready to take care of the repairs the body needs that take place only during a deep sleep.

Had a little chicken pot pie for dinner…now watching the other RV’s pulling into the parking lot…it’s like watching sharks circling trying to find a good spot…I try to get to where I’m gonna stay for the night a bit early to grab a good one.

30 December…looks like it’s gonna be a nice travel day today…it’s 0600 and the coffee is good…temp is around 30f with clear skies and calm wind…I expect the winds to pick up like they always do this time of year in the southwest…about half a dozen vans in the parking lot…all are store bought…I’m the only DIY…makes me kinda proud that I built my home with my bare hands and a little bit of knowledge…will finish my grub restocking this morning before I pull out…I need food and liquids to last me at least two weeks off grid…then it’s into town for another restock…fuel prices have been really great coming across the country…diesel has been under three dollars a gallon…so nice…total cost one way out here will be a little over $400…nice…have not had to use my little Honda 2200 generator at all…500 watts of solar on the roof of Petunia is working well to keep the batteries charged even with a lot of overcast skies during the past few days…I set the Espar heater for 67 degrees last night and it just silently hummed along keeping me warm and happy…this spring I’ll do the normal servicing…one of the best investments I made for the camper…life is good 🙂

After I think about 3 years I’m back in Quartzsite! Grabbed one of my favorite spots on Plomosa Road just off Hwy 95…calm wind, temp around 65, and not many folks out here…perfect…I’ll post some photos tomorrow after I get back from town and have my camp set up.

December 31…Merry New Year’s Eve…all set up here on Plomosa Rd…supposed to be overcast all day with rain in the afternoon…got the little generator running to top everything off cause there’s not too much solar energy this morning…it runs really quiet on the eco setting…I set my Victron charge controller in the inverter to only draw 5 amps at 120 volts…that pumps about 24 amps into the 12 volt battery bank while charging…my new 9×12 sand mat is going to work great at keeping dirt out of Petunia and makes the camp look nice…I’m using my new rocking chair this trip and I think it’s gonna work out very well.

Lazy day for sure today…no sun at all and rain all around…I think I’ll have another cup of coffee and start one of my new Dan Brown books…just got a text from Vee, my friend from Toronto…all is well with her…hope so meet up again soon.

1 January 2026…it’s a new year and life is good…I LOVE camping in the high desert…cool temps, low humidity, and quiet…mostly…I got tired of having limited adjustment in my passenger seat swivel…it never seemed to swivel enough in each direction when I turned it around to make a nice lounge…I removed the safety pin that locks in place when it turns to the front or back…now I have unlimited angles and dangles…all good…now if it doesn’t turn around and around like a helicopter when I’m driving 🙂

The living room…both seats can be turned to the rear…makes a nice open lounge area.

Looks like my friend Anthony will be coming over next week…he has an awesome expedition tent with a diesel heater for warmth…will be nice to sit around the fire and catch up.

3 January…the sunsets here in the southwest are beautiful…here’s tonight…this photo is right out of my phone…no Photoshop manipulation of any kind…it’s exactly how it is

A couple of shots around camp

Really thick wet fog this morning…the outside of the van was soaked…all good…that gave me a chance to give her a good wipe down cleaning with soft microfiber cloths…now all the grime is gone that accumulated on the drive out from Florida…I feel much better when my things are clean and sparkly like me.

4 January…beautiful day today…finally unloaded the 500 and took her out for a ride on Plomosa Road…love the thing…it’s about the best all around bike I’ve ever owned…it’s perfect for cruising, exploring easy gravel roads, relatively light, economical, and pretty…like me.

Vanlife is how you spend lots of money to live like a homeless person

And did I mention how I LOVE my new GCI Outdoor Stowaway Rocker rocking camp chair? Only takes 2 or 3 rocks before I fall asleep and tip over.

5 January…ran into town this morning for top off all my water and do laundry…with my two 5 gallon Jerry cans, one 5 gallon Primo container, one 7 gallon container, and the on board 20 gallon tank I have 42 gallons of water…I’m really frugal with my water usage so 42 gallons should last me about 8 years…. 🙂

My long time friend Anthony will be here about 2 today…he’s coming over from Vegas…he has an awesome expedition bell tent…I’ll post some pics when he’s all set up.

All set up…Anthony’s tent has central heating, plush New Zealand virgin wool carpet…a full Coffee Bar, heated 1000 count Egyptian cotton sheets on a king sized, nitrogen filled mattress, pillows stuffed with the hair of blonde Swedish girls, and full sized pizza oven…for him life is good too 🙂

It’s going to great having a bit of company and good conversation….we’re gonna run into town tomorrow and grab some firewood…there’s nothing better than sitting around a campfire drinking whiskey and telling lies 🙂

7 January…had a great time last night sitting around the fire…I can sit and watch a campfire for hours.

Evan, Mark, Anthony and I had a great time relaxing and solving the world’s problems 🙂

8 January…the day dawned clear and cool…about 45F…it’s now 1300 and the solar system has topped everything off…no need for the genset…I’ve been eating lighter and feeling great…magically, even the coffee seems to taste better…Anthony left yesterday and headed back to Vegas for commitments…hopefully we’ll be able to get together again before I head back to Florida…it’s always a bit saddening when friends leave but it is what it is when you’re a nomad…more and more folks are starting to fill up the spots here on Plomosa Road…I love watching the different rigs come and go…very entertaining…haven’t heard from my buddies Patrick and Roger…hope they’re able to come out…if not, then later will do…more after the break.

Every day or so I get a text from my niece asking when I’m coming back…there are two things I love to do…travel and hang out with her…it’s really hard balancing my two loves…I feel a bit less concerned about leaving on a trip these days now that she’s able to take care of herself more and more…but being only eleven years old she’s still a child…I pray for her safety and well being every day that I’m not with her…luckily my sister and husband (her grandparents) live only a few doors away from her and her dad’s home…there just a text/call/or quick bicycle ride away when her dad is working.

I used my new NEMO shower enclosure the other day…absolutely perfect…today I had to add the anchors to keep it from blowing away…winds are about 15 to 25 mph.

There are high winds and a big dust storm today…supposed to keep going for a few days…and I’m just plain bored…never thought that would happen but times are a changin….

12 January…a few days ago while having the morning coffee I realized I was totally bored…the scenery is beautiful and the people near me are very nice…but I’ve been there and done that…so…I got back on the road and am headed back to hang with the family units…two more days and I’ll be back in Florida…the drive, droning along to get out to AZ takes five days each way and I’ve come to hate it…I’ve seem many nice things out and back many times but now I’m not sure when I may return to the West…we will see.

15 January….after 2200 miles droning along I-10 I’m finally back in Florida with the family units…slowly getting the van unpacked and everything put away in the shed…plan to do some rewiring on the electrics in the van to further clean things up a bit…I like the power system to be very robust and over engineered for my needs to make it super safe…I’m always thinking of fires…not a good situation…with the way I’ve designed my system I cannot think of any instance where I will have any problems…wire sizes are much more than needed for the amount of current flowing…everything is routed with wire loom and secured so no chafing or kinking….the Battle Born batteries are still doing well after almost 5 years but I do sense a bit less capacity and discharge rate…later this year I may switch to the new RV5, 48 volt system from Bluetti.