Jekyll Island

After a great night sleep Peggy and I headed off to visit Jekyll Island this morning. Jekyll Island is a barrier island separated from the mainland by the east coast's inter coastal waterway and is just south of Brunswick, Georgia. Jekyll Island was a large cotton plantation before the "war between the states." After the war the owners decided that they couldn't make cotton growing/harvesting a thriving business without slaves - so they decided to sell their island. Ultimately the island was purchased by a group of very rich northern industrialists - men like J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller. They wanted the island as a winter vacation spot and they formed the Jekyll Island Club - and proceeded to build a "club house", various "cottages," and other trappings of the very rich and very famous (some infamous depending on your outlook). The "club" atmosphere thrived in the early 1900s but started to become less exciting after the great depression and the "club" started to fall apart after World War II. The State of Georgia pretty much "purchased" the island in the mid 1940s for back taxes and uses the island today as a state park. They have restored many of the old victorian buildings including the main clubhouse and some nearby cottages built by the club members - running the club house and cottages as a very nice 4 star hotel complete with croquet court and the rest of the island is kept relatively natural. There are a few hotels and the northern end has an RV Park. If you are looking for an idyllic place to visit Georgia as life "used to be" - then Jekyll Island is the place for you. The ocean side of the island has about 10 miles of very nice beach and there are plenty of walking/bike riding trails.

Peggy and I spent a few hours walking around the historic district and then we splurged for the guided tour. All in All - a fun afternoon.

Well it looks like the line of thunderstorms moving through the southeast is going to come through here tonight. I was hoping it would move more north but at least we aren't supposed to get the SNOW being forecast for Atlanta and places where we were just a few days ago - like Savannah and Florence, SC.

So tomorrow Peggy and I will head west across lower Georgia and maybe into Florida near Tallahassee.

Put the Kettle on Darrell and Judy - we're on our way!

Short Pants!

Today was another milestone on our 2009 Winter Warmup trip - I made the change into shorts and short sleeve shirts. Even Peggy made it into her shorts today!

After a leisurely morning we left Savannah this morning but didn't make it too far since we had a planned stop at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. When we are traveling we do try and have most of our meals here in the motorhome - but the Cracker Barrel is definitely one of our weaknesses. We stop there mostly at lunchtime - but their breakfast's are super good also!

After our fill of eggs and buttermilk biscuits we were back on the road once again on I-95 South. Today will be our last day on I-95 and I think that may be good thing since the traffic is starting to pick up since it is Friday, I think we must be approaching Daytona Bike Week, and we are getting close to Florida. I mentioned yesterday that we were going to be staying on Jekyll Island. Well it appears that the Jekyll Island Campground is a popular spot and I waited too long to make a reservation - so we are staying a few miles away at a county campground/park on Blythe Island. We arrived around noon at were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice (and large) campground in a very rural setting with a few lakes, lots of trees, and huge campsites. All that and cable and WiFi to boot! Can't beat that! After settling in we took off on a few mile nature walk around the campground and then came back for an afternoon of R&R. We didn't make it all the way to nap time - but we came close.

In spite of the fact that rain is forecast for tomorrow - we are going to try to get in some sightseeing on Jekyll Island and the surrounding area. Hopefully the rain won't be too heavy or steady.

Can you imagine what our grandparents (and/or parents) would think of the idea that you could travel the country by motor vehicle - bringing your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room along with you - including multiple televisions. Then you can pull off the side of the road when you want to and park in some really nice areas where water, electricity, sewer, and cable TV are right where you want them to be - and if that don't beat all - you can then fire up your laptop computer to check your mail, the status of your investments, read the local paper, and pay a few bills.

Now that's what America is all about!

Savannah

Today we played tourist as we toured the historic district of downtown Savannah. First let me tell you what a beautiful day it was here in northern Georgia - low 70s and generally clear skies!

As I mentioned yesterday - last night we watched the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which was set in Savannah. Interesting movie - not quite the type we would have flocked to the theater to see when it first came out - but an entertaining flick to get us in the mood for visiting Savannah today. We started at the downtown visitor's center where they have an info center, a touristy gift shop, a museum, and it is also one of the main stops for the various tour trolleys where you can purchase a guided tour. We opted for parking at the visitors center and then taking our own self guided walking tour of the city. The historic district is about a mile square and is easily able to be walked at whatever pace you prefer. This older part of Savannah was laid out back in the late 1700s with many area "parks" or "squares" all with beautiful statues or fountains in the center, brick pathways around the square and lovely old oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. Kinda makes you want a Mint Julep now doesn't it?

We made our way down to the river where we happened by The Shrimp Company Restaurant. Sounded good to me so we had a real nice lunch complete with boiled shrimp, blueberry muffins, and key lime pie. Yum-Yum.

After lunch we walked around some more - absorbing the beauty of the city along with the welcome sunshine. That pretty much wore us out so we found our way back to the Vue and headed back to the rig for a much deserved nap. Playing tourist can be hard work!

Tomorrow we hit the road again. This time we are not going far - just a bit down the coast to a place called Jekyll Island. I understand it is another really interesting place. Stay tuned to find out what new adventures await the Maineiacs (again) In Motion.

Finally - Warmth!

Now we're talking! Today the temperature made it up to the mid 60s as we drove the couple hundred miles to Savannah, GA. Savannah is one of our mini-stops along our Winter Warm-Up Trip. After arriving here we took a drive into Savannah to the historic district visitors center and picked up a few brochures and a walking tour map. Apparently downtown Savannah has quite the historic district with many old restored buildings so tomorrow we plan on seeing what we can see and experiencing what we can experience. I hear the seafood is pretty good too - so we'll have to find a local restaurant for lunch!

I sorta promised some pictures for the blog - and my head photographer has really been slacking lately - so I'll have to resort to some pictures Stacy sent of our "other" home. Needless to say - we are glad we are here! I hear the temps here tonight will actually stay above 40 degrees and the high tomorrow may be near 70!!!

So far the trip has been going pretty much according to plan. Fortunately the plan has been pretty flexible so it has been easy to meet. One thing I have been surprised by is the cost of tolls along our route on I-95 from NJ to VA. We had to cross 4 toll bridges and some stretches of toll highway at a cost of about $30 for about 200 or so miles. Ouch!

The other surprise (not really a surprise - more like an unknown that now I know more about) is the amount of propane it takes to heat one of these rigs in subfreezing weather and with a wife who really likes to stay warm. It's already time to fill up the tank again.

The really good news - it is a lot nicer traveling and paying around $1.70 / gallon for gas instead of $4.00.

I understand that Savannah is also famous as the site of the book and movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." Since I have never read the book or seen the movie - I have no idea what that means. Soooo - we picked up the DVD today and we'll watch it tonight to get in the mood.

Heart of Dixie

Well we drove a bit farther today than originally planned and made it all the way to Florence, SC. The weather was good, and the traffic was relatively light so we drove on through North Carolina and on into South Carolina. I can't say it warmed up a lot - but it did make it all the way into the low 40s. Tonite it is supposed to get down to around 30 degrees but I am hopeful that this will be the last subfreezing temps we will see for awhile.

Stacy reports that the power was finally restored to the Maine house today so that issue is behind us. Since the DJIA almost recovered what it lost yesterday - things are looking up! All this good news and I haven't even listened to our President this evening to hear all the good news he has!

So tomorrow we are off to Savannah, GA to spend a couple days seeing what there is to see and hopefully enjoy some warm(er) weather and clear skies. We may even break out the camera and finally add some pictures to our entries!

Good News - Bad News

Good news – It snowed a foot yesterday in Maine (more in some places) and I wasn’t there. [Oh yeah - and the house has no power]

Bad news – Stacy was there and was nice enough to snowblow the driveway!

Good news – We had a relatively calm drive from New Jersey to Fredericksburg, VA today. Calm that is except for the wind that made the bridge trips across the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay pretty exciting.

Bad News – It is supposed to get down to 19 degrees here this evening. What’s up with that! There is no sign of snow here but that is because it is too cold to snow!!

Good news – Stacy informs me that she thinks she can save me some $$ on my car insurance.

Bad News – the DJIA dropped another 250 points today!

Oh well – whaddaya going to do? Good stuff happens and bad stuff happens and then you move on. So we will try and get a good night’s sleep and move on tomorrow – aiming for North Carolina – somewhere near Fayetteville or perhaps further south. Maybe it will be warmer there.

We did have one interesting experience today. We pulled in to a Flying J in southern NJ to fill up on some cheap NJ gas ($1.519/gallon) this morning and I needed to go inside to get my receipt. When I asked the cashier for my receipt she noticed my name on the computer (from my credit card I assume) and asked if I was Mike’s father. When I said I was Mike but not his father – she told me that the cashier working out at the pumps (they have to pump your gas in NJ) was named Mike Everingham. So I went out and said “Are you Mike Everingham? He said yes. I said “ME TOO glad to meet you!” We didn’t talk much more than that as he was busy and I needed to clear the pumps I was parked at – but it was an interesting experience anyway. I knew from my earlier research that there are a few Everinghams in NJ but surely had never met one. Someday I will need to complete linking our family from western New York and the New Jersey Everinghams. Even though they spell the name differently – I’m sure we are related – even if the link may go clear back to Nottinghamshire in England.

Discovery Museum

Yesterday was a fun day with the grandkids. We all went to the Discovery Museum and had fun watching (and helping) Alyssa and Emily experience all the fun exhibits. The museum wasn’t that far away and had plenty of fun stuff to do. We really did have intentions to post some pictures - but of course yesterday was the one day we forgot to take the camera. Peggy did get a few shots with her cell phone camera and Brian got a bunch with his as well so when I can get them on the computer here I will “revise” this entry.

New Jersey isn’t far enough south! It is still below freezing in the mornings so we are going to break camp this morning, team-up the horses, and head further south. Our plan is to head south on I-295, cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge, hook up with I-95 towards Baltimore, skirt Baltimore on I-695 and also skirt Washington DC on route 301. Hopefully that route will keep us away from most of the Baltimore-DC area potential traffic mess. Perhaps someday we will make the DC area a destination and spend some time in the national museums – until then - I look forward to getting out of the east coast traffic corridor.

Look out Dixie – we are on our way!

Still In NJ

On Friday the stars all aligned and with only a minor amount of angst - Brian and I managed to cut the required holes in the final bath surround panel and get it in place. That sounds easier than it was but we got it nonetheless. After some time getting all the seams caulked the job was done. Well not exactly done-done as Brian still has some work to do to finish out the alcove with some green board, fix some floor tile and then paint. But the tub and surround are in with all new plumbing and fixtures. I think we did a pretty good job! But I’m not ready to do it again anytime soon. Remember back a few months when I was complaining about the cost of having Bathfitters replace the tub and surround at our home in Maine? I still think the cost was too high – but I’m complaining about it less and less.

Yesterday was kind of a recovery day. We got a little later start here at the campground, had to unhook and drive out to the front to fill up with Propane and then set up again here at our site (no big deal), and then we headed over to see Brian, Nicky, and the girls for awhile. We took some time in the afternoon to do a little shopping and then we all drove over to Red Lobster for what has become our traditional NJ dinner out with the gang.

Today it is rainy and looks like it will continue on-and-off for much of the day. We have decided to stay over one more day and leave here tomorrow on Monday. Since we have another day with the gang we have decided to take the girls (and Brian and Nicky) to the local Children’s Museum. It ought to be a fun thing to do on a rainy Sunday in NJ.

Tomorrow we will be back on the road – heading south – looking for warmer temperatures – and more adventures. We are relying on Darrel and Judy to will the spring tornadoes out of the south for a few more weeks!

Winter Camping

Boy this working for a living has got to stop! I spent pretty much the whole day over at Brian’s playing Plumber-Man – re-routing the hot/cold water lines to the new tub mixing valve and making up new lines for the shower and tub outlets. The good news – no leaks so far! We also got the back panel and one side panel of the tub surround in. Unfortunately I think those may be easier than the last panel that we have to install today – we have to make holes in this panel for the mixing valve and the tub spigot – and we have to put the holes in precisely the right spots and we have to be able to install the panel which – by the way – has to interlock with the back panel. It ought to be another interesting home-project day here in NJ.

Even though we haven’t spent much time in the motorhome over the past few days except to sleep – I have learned a few things about winter camping;

Although Winnebago has done a number of things to help make the motorhome livable in cold weather (like heated basement compartments and double pane windows on most windows) – these rigs were really not designed to be lived in when temps are sub freezing (although several people seem to be doing that here in this campground in NJ!).
You will use A LOT of propane keeping the inside of the rig warm (I estimate we have already used about 10 gallons since we left Maine). We did bring a portable electric space heater along to help – and it does help – but we don’t leave it on when we have been gone or when we are sleeping.
The basement compartments that contain the freshwater tank, the on-board water pump, and the majority of the freshwater piping stay pretty warm as long as the inside area is heated. The compartment that contains the waste tanks and the outside freshwater hook-ups doesn’t stay as warm and can dip below freezing on cold blustery mornings – even though I have placed a drop light with a 75W light bulb in there to add a little extra heat.
Although this campground has outside water spigots that are insulated and heat traced (taped) - since our hook-up hose isn’t – we disconnect and drain it if temps are going to drop below freezing. I notice that some of the folks staying here longer term have installed heat traced and insulated hook up hoses. They probably work OK if temps don’t dip below freezing for too long.

Other than those few things – we are doing OK in these relatively cold temps. Once we get a bit further south and the temps get up to around 40 degrees or so it will be nice to use the heat pump for heat and save on the propane usage!

Right now our plan is to stay here for a couple more days and leave on Sunday for points further south. Until then – we continue to enjoy our visit with the NJ Evringhams and I will continue to play Construction/Plumber Man.

Construction Man

Yesterday I played construction-man with my son Brian. He had already started the tub alcove demo by removing the walls so that messy part was already done. We got a rather late start on the project since Peggy and I didn’t arrive until around 11:00 and then Brian had an appointment he had to keep – but we managed to get the old tub out and dry fit the new tub by the time Brian had to leave for work around 5:00 PM. That’s when the fun began ....

When we did the trial fit I noticed that the tub drain connection sat a little lower than the new tub but I figured I could simple loosen a connection – move up the drain connection – and all would be good. I was wrong. The connection I needed to loosen – wouldn’t budge, the drain piping is made of PVC, and any further effort to get the connection loose was going to break something that would create a real ugly situation to recover from. So out came the tub again – off I went to Home Depot for a flexible piping connector – back to Brian’s for a little drain pipe modification – and voila – several sore muscles later trying to make everything fit at the same time and the drain was in and the leak test was satisfactory! After a couple more hours installing the overflow pipe, attaching the tub to the wall studs, and temporarily re-installing the water supply valves and shower piping – the tub was usable again for Nicky and the gang’s use in the morning. The short term goal was met!

Today we will try and get an earlier start and get the tub surround walls in and the new water supply valve and shower piping installed. How much do plumbers make these days?

Never mind – it’s not enough!

Jersey

We now know that the motorhome propane heater works pretty well after it ran a lot the night before last in Sturbridge where it got down to around 19 degrees. After crawling out from under the covers (and the electric mattress cover) we managed a quick breakfast and set our sights for New Jersey. We would have left a few minutes earlier but it seems that the leveling jacks that I deployed the night before had frozen themselves to the ground overnight and wanted to keep us in Massachusetts. A small amount of frozen earth chipping later – and we were on our way!

The drive to NJ was pretty uneventful – which really says a lot. I never really enjoy the drive through Hartford, Waterbury, Danbury, and around NYC. But the traffic wasn’t too bad yesterday. After arriving here in NJ we set up the motorhome here in Clarksboro at one of the only camping areas here in the Philly area that is open all year. We even hooked up to outside water, flushed out the RV antifreeze, and filled and started the hot water heater. We then made the relatively short (about 30 minute) drive over to visit with the gang in Sicklerville for a few hours before heading “home” and settling in for the evening. Since it looked like it was going to dip below freezing last night I unhooked and drained the outside water hook up hose. Although it looks like we are in for some wet and cold weather here today – it also looks like it is going to stay above freezing for at least the next 24 hours.

We are about ready to head over to Brian’s house this morning. Since I am providing labor for the bathroom remodel job I guess I better be prepared to do some work. Today’s priority – remove the old iron bathtub and install the new fiberglass tub. Sounds like a couple of busted knuckles to me … stay tuned.

Rollin South

Finally - we are on our way!

After finishing most of our pre-trip chores yesterday we awoke early this morning, got ourselves ready, loaded the car, and headed over to the motorhome to finish loading the rig. By 8:00 AM we had finished our loading and met with Stacy, Eric, and Jenn for breakfast at the Copper Kettle in Topsham. Since we had a short travel day planned it was nice to have a relatively leisurely breakfast with the kids before heading back to the motorhome, driving to the mall, hooking up the car and hitting the road.

Considering that the rig had been sitting in the cold for the past several months - I was very pleased that all systems appear to be working just like they are supposed to! Our motorhome has a feature that Winnebago calls "motor-aid" that uses the hot water from the engine through a separate heat exchanger and fan system to heat the coach area while you are driving - it also heats the hot water system while you are driving. This was the first time we have used the motor-aid coach heating system and it worked really well. The inside of the coach warmed right up to around 70 degrees while we were driving and even more importantly - the bays under the coach that house the water systems also warmed right up to around 50 degrees while it was around 28 degrees outside.

We arrived in Sturbridge, MA around 1:30 PM and settled in for the remainder of the day/evening. It was a relatively short drive for us but considering it was Day 1 of our trip - a short day was fine with us. The Sturbridge area has a few inches of snow on the ground in the shaded areas so we are still in "winter" mode. But all things considered - the motorhome is staying pretty toasty with a only a small electric space heater running. We'll have to wait and see how things work when the sun goes down.

Tomorrow it's off to NJ to visit with Brian, Nicky, Alyssa and Emily. We are really looking forward to seeing them - and to seeing what work Brian has in store for me as he remodels his bathroom. This could be interesting!

It's good to be on the road again.

Final Preps

Today is T minus 1. Although we still have plenty to do today to be ready to roll and in spite of the fact that we need to accomplish the remainder around church, the NBA All-Star Game, and the Daytona 500 - somehow we will manage.

Yesterday I finished up the "outside" chores on the motorhome in the wind and cold (it is not recommended that one change the oil in your generator while the temps are in the mid 20s and the wind is howling) and Peggy worked at getting the house ready to close up for several weeks. Peggy also managed to find time to steam up some Alaskan King Crab legs for my traditional Valentines Day dinner - isn't she great! I'm sure I don't deserve to have her as my Valentine - but I sure do like it!

Stacy will be performing Property Management duties while we are away and I know she will do a great job. She doesn't even have to mow the lawn this time! But I do have to make sure the snowblower has plenty of gas before we leave .

Today we will concentrate on loading our clothes and some food. We have pretty much decided that it will be a lot easier and probably cheaper to wait until we get to NJ to really stock up on food so we won't have a lot to load. The plan for tomorrow is to meet Stacy, Eric, and Jenn for breakfast at around 8:00 AM, drive over to the mall to hook up the Vue (easier than maneuvering around all the snowbanks with a car in tow here in the "neighborhood"), and then hit-the-road for the 2009 Winter/Spring Warmup Adventure.

Darrell and Judy - keep saving that spot on the beach for us - we'll be there soon!

Getting Ready

OK - it's time to get serious about getting ready to roll. Peggy and I have pretty much finished the chores we needed to get done before we leave town so now it's time to load up and go. The weather has continued to cooperate this week and we actually have had a bit of melting of the snow-pack - we even got a bit of rain today! I have been checking the weather forecast for early next week and based on what I see for the northeast - I think we better leave for NJ on Monday rather than on Tuesday as originally planned. So that moves up the schedule a little!! We are now at T minus 4 and counting.

Traveling by RV in the northeast in the middle of winter has many challenges. One of the biggest is where to stop and stay for the night. Very very few campgrounds are open this time of year and as I found out yesterday - even some of those that advertise as being open all year - are either only open when it's convenient or have received so much snow that they haven't yet dug out. But I have found a spot near Sturbridge Village in CT that is open with limited facilities so that's where we will spend our first night. Our kids will remember this place - Jellystone Park - the first place we camped years ago during our first motorhome trip in a rented motorhome. Sturbridge is only about 180 miles from here but the trip to NJ is about 450 miles and farther than I like to travel in one day - especially in the northeast corridor. One of our other challenges is when to "de-winterize" the water systems of the rig. Although the spaces that hold the water and waste tanks is theoretically heated - I'm a little leery of putting water in those areas until I'm really sure it's not going to freeze. So I'll leave the RV anti-freeze in the water lines and leave the fresh water tank empty until we get to NJ. We plan on carrying a few gallons of water inside in jugs until then.

I have added a new map to the blog that will show where we are and where we have been. I'll try my best to keep it up to date.

Everybody stay safe tomorrow - after all - it is Friday the 13th.

Havin a Heat Wave!

After weeks of below freezing weather it made it up to 48 degrees today! But I can't get too excited - I understand the low tomorrow will be around 6 degrees. On the other hand - I'm not complaining. Over the last few days I have managed to get some more motorhome pre-travel chores complete. The tires have been topped off with air, the new Tire Pressure Monitoring System has been installed and programmed, and the first round of loading all the stuff we took out in October has been completed. Peggy had a Vacation Bible School conference to attend on Friday and Saturday in Massachusetts and she made it through that OK sooooo ... now it's time to focus on getting ready to hit the road again next week.

Our friends the Patterson's report that it was in the 70's today in lower Alabama and they are looking forward to a nice day tomorrow as well. Keep those warm days coming - I'm (almost) on my way!

We have some chores to attend to next week including some routine medical checkups for Peggy and a trip to see our Financial Advisor. I can't wait to hear what he has to say - Peggy's plan of putting our $$ under the mattress is looking better and better. Perhaps I can qualify for a special Mikee Economic Stimulus Package and the feds will simply shower me with money that they simply created out of thin air yesterday ... then again I would probably just do the "wrong thing" and save it.

I am looking forward to traveling with the price of gas being closer to $2.00 a gallon than the $4.00 a gallon I had to deal with last year.

T minus 8 days and counting ... think warm and dry thoughts.

Huffing, Puffing, and Super Bowl Sunday

Getting a motorhome ready to travel - in February - in Maine - is no easy task! Yesterday I went over to do a little prep work and just plumb wore out this old body. First I did the easy stuff like install the batteries. I say easy - but "easy" is a relative term used to describe work that you've done before and generally goes according to plan. Installing the batteries did go as planned but lugging those 3 - 50 pound beasts up the basement stairs and out to the truck was no fun task for sure.

After I got the batteries installed I decided that the next logical step would be to start the engine and make sure all was OK there. But since the exhaust pipes were covered by the cover - it only made sense to take the cover off first. Here is where stuff starting getting hard. In order to get the cover off I had to first undo the straps that go under the motorhome. In order to undo the straps I had to dig a path down the side of the rig that hadn't been plowed out. About an hour later ... and lots of huffing and puffing later ... the shoveling was done and the straps were undone. Then I decided to see if I could get the cover off. Now normally this is a pretty easy job. I simply climb up the ladder on the rear of the rig lifting the cover as I go - then I just roll the cover towards the front as I walk along the roof. Remember what I said earlier about "easy" - well it didn't apply this time. It seems that the roof raking I did the day before was pretty effective at removing the foot of snow that had recently piled up on the roof - but it was ineffective in removing the inch or so of ice that had accumulated on the roof/cover before the recent storm! Now What? Well I CAREFULLY (on my hands and knees) broke up the ice and pushed the pieces over the side while working myself forward. And once again - about an hour later and even more huffing and puffing later - the ice was off - the cover was off - and I was safely back down on the ground! Unfortunately - I was too tired and cold to continue so I decided that was enough and headed home to warm up.

Today I headed back to continue what I had started yesterday. Only today was much colder with temps around 10 degrees. The first step I accomplished this morning was to see if the propane heater would work. Once I opened the propane valve on the tank and turned on the heater it fired right up. I love it when stuff works the way it is supposed to! Then I decided to press my luck and start the engine. Once again success as she cranked a few times and then fired right up. Don't get me wrong - she didn't initially sound real happy about starting - but she soon quieted right down and ran smoothly. Now I had the engine running and the propane heater running so the temp inside was really climbing - up to 26 degrees and slowly rising! After running the engine for about a half hour I decided it was time to see if the generator would start. Now the genny took several cranking attempts but finally fired up and powered up the rig ac circuits just like designed. Did I mention that I love it when stuff works like it is supposed to? After the generator was running I shut down the main engine and let the generator power the rig for about a half hour while testing all the lights and letting the propane heater continue to warm up the place a bit. After another half hour the temp was clear up to 40 degrees so I shut down the furnace and then the generator. Since I now had several success in a short period of time I decided that was enough for today, closed up the rig, and moseyed back home to the nice warm house to settle in for Superbowl Sunday!

I'll get back to my trip preparations tomorrow - T minus 16 and counting!