Q&A: Pondering the journey so far

I thought you’d enjoy these answers, which are mostly to questions that I am asking myself, one month after leaving Maine. To write an honest and accurate book, it’s crucial to record thoughts and feelings as they grow and emerge during the course of a journey. So, here we go!

What new gear and gadgets did you purchase for the trip?

I acquired most of the “big” stuff (generator, solar panel and charge controller, ramp system for unloading the generator without killing myself, and all of the water, sewer, and electrical gear) last spring and early summer. I lived in the RV for several months in Maine last summer, off grid, and got to know and use it all. New for this journey were my Oru Lake kayak and a number of Christmas and birthday gifts: a new camp table, tea kettle (so I can cook in my one saucepan), toaster to use over a gas burner, and an immersion blender. I remember my Grandma Searls having a toaster like that, but hers looked like a tent and mine is flat with a heat diffuser on the bottom side. It works great! Thanks, Megan and Jacob and Taylor and Lizzy, for all the gifts!

What aspects of the trip have been harder or easier than you anticipated?

Let’s start with things I thought would be difficult but haven’t been. Hitching up the truck to the trailer and the whole process of camp set up and take down. My personal method is to keep hopping in and out to line up the ball with the hitch receiver and it’s gone great. I use a paper checklist for everything and check it faithfully, so as not to drive off with the stabilizer jacks down or anything else catastrophic. For the record, backing up into a site or for an unplanned turnaround also involves this hopping in and out, but it has proven to be every bit as difficult as I anticipated.

Another winner has been campground friendships, as I wrote about yesterday. At the crowded campground in Virginia last spring, people mostly seemed to be in large friend groups, and I had many a lonely evening. So, to discover Don and Joan and Al in North Carolina was a true blessing.

Lastly, my Verizon hotspot and cell phone plan (about $81 per month) has been fast and reliable so far, a necessity for efficient writing.

What’s been harder? Staying warm! I don’t need to tell any of you that we have been riding roller coaster waves of record cold. I bet I have at least five warm weather articles of clothing with me for every one cold weather garment. Thankfully, I brought an old wool Army blanket that belonged to Chris that has saved me many a night. Yes, I have a very efficient propane heater but a finite supply of propane and battery life (when not hooked up to electric). Last evening was the first comfortable one to linger by the campfire and read.

So, what have you been reading so far?

An ongoing read is The Rise and Reign of Mammals: A New History from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us. (Megan always teases me about how long my book titles are. Here’s a rival!). This was a Christmas gift, too, and is engaging and successful in making a mammoth topic understandable to a non-paleontologist. I’ve already devoured Nevada Barr’s Winter Study, also a gift, and have mixed feelings about reading more of her terrifying and suspenseful mysteries set in national parks while camping alone!

Please send along any questions you may have for future Q&A posts, and congratulations if you spotted the pun!