I'm a songwriter, short story writer, essayist, musician, husband, both a cat and a dog person, and these writings will be a fun mixed up jumble of all of me. Thanks for popping by.
Showing posts with label travel blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel blogging. Show all posts
Okay, okay I admit it. I’ve been watching way to much Sci-fi on Youtube. You know that place is a crazy little rabbit hole. Once you go down it’s really hard to get out again.
Today’s blog is all about putting the finishing touches on the solar system.
Specifically the mounting of the panels on the roof of our van.
Initially I was going to just buy a mounting kit, but when I saw the price and what it was I figured I could do just as well. I went to the hardware store and got a bunch of screws, some angle iron, and a couple of other things.
I cut them with a jig saw and then painted them. I used purple because
A. It was the prettiest of the spray paint I had it on hand and
B. It was the kind that stays on metal
You’ll see in the photo’s that I also cut some non angle iron pieces. Those are made specifically for putting the panels at an angle to better get the sunlight.
The solar panels are two 100 watt ECO-WORTHY monocrystalline that I got from Amazon. (Link below) Then I got 10 feet of 10 gauge red and black solar extension wire from a place called Windy Nation also off Amazon. The heavy duty ladder carrier is from NC Deals Online and it was a bugger to drill through. It is very heavy duty steel. Links to all of these will be at the end of this entry.
Drilling a hole in the van was tough to do because well there’s now a big hole in the van, but if you do it right you won’t get any water inside. I am not an expert, but I just wanted to do it myself. Once you drill a hole you need to put a rubber grommet in it. You can see it in the photo. It’s just this rubber thing that prevents the wires from getting cut on the sharp edges of the hole you’ve just drilled.
Now’s the time for this thing called a Weatherproof solar double entry gland. Say that five times quick.
When you combine that with this putty tape, and some Dicor Self-Leveling Lap Sealant. No water’s going to get in.
You’ll be able to see the whole process in this video, or if you don’t have that kind of data package there’s always the photos.
Here's this weeks video.
See ya next week.
Keep the shiny side up.
Trevor & Elissa
Links where you can purchase these things from Amazon.
Dicor http://amzn.to/2yCxoT4
Ladder Rack http://amzn.to/2xQXeFA
Solar double entry gland http://amzn.to/2x8rdVC
10 ft red & black 10 gauge solar extension wire http://amzn.to/2yCo6GV
Windy Nation 100 watt 12 Volt solar panels http://amzn.to/2xLjeQl
It’s located at the top of sandstone bluffs overlooking the great Mississippi river and our neighbors to the east Wisconsin. This park is filled with life and amazing overlooks. Bring your binoculars and cameras because if you don’t you’ll kick yourself.
While we didn’t camp out here we did walk through the campground and it’s pretty great.
When you enter the park you go through butterfly and meadow land and pull up to a smallish parking lot. (It’s just the first there are more further on down the hill.)
The paths are well kept and bring you through several twists and turns and (at least the one we were on) brought us to this giant vista. It overlooked the Mississippi river and the south-western bluff side of Wisconsin.
It was amazing.
Tons of bird life. Being on the Mississippi I wouldn’t doubt that it’s on the migration route of a lot of different bird species.
On the fourth day of our journey we ended up at Perrot State Park in Wisconsin. A cute little town named Trempealeau is very near the park. Both are worth visiting.
The park is cradled by the banks of the Mississippi river on one side and bluffs of Southwestern Wisconsin on the other. Wildlife abounds here. You will find everything from meadow lands with its butterflies, varied plant species and flowers to deep forest with a great variety of different species and ages of tree’s. The trails walk you through any of these places at any level of hiking you will want or need. There is also a wildlife refuge area very near the park and both are excellent for canoeing or kayaking, but I don’t believe you can fish in the refuge.
Some of the towns near the park are Trempealeau (as I’ve mentioned), Centerville, Galesville, and Winona is on the Minnesota side but only a drive of maybe 20 minutes if you drive slow. Galesville is a cute picturesque town with a really neat greasy spoon named, ‘The Garden of Eatin’. They have guitars mounted to the almost every space of wall there is.
Centerville too is located just before Galesville and if you’re coming from the Minnesota side you have to go through it to get to Trempealeau and the park.
I had a gig in Trempealeau, Wi the night we arrived at the park. I played at a placed called, ‘The Historic Trempealeau Hotel’. It sits at the base of a hill with the great Mississippi to look at through the windows of the restaurant or your room windows. The food at the restaurant is among the best you’re going to find in all of Wisconsin. They locally source their organic dishes do veggie, vegan, or not if that’s your preference. The hotel is listed as a haunted hotel, but I haven’t ever experienced anything like that. It is a period hotel in that you share two bathrooms with the rest of the floor. However don’t let that stop you from experience this place. It’s a wonderfully comfortable environment with great people, food, music, drinks, and a solid nights rest.
The next morning we awoke to bird songs and sunshine. We had all day to hike around before moving on to the next adventure. We hiked along the bluffs and meadows and took a lot of video’s. Have a look at the video to see just where we went.
Today's entry is a short video about our journey to the famous Gooseberry Falls in way northern Minnesota. We were so excited to be there that we forgot to take video shots, so this video is a smallish (under three minute) montage of our photo's.
We hope you like it.
Hey gang!! I hope that you're doing very very well today.
Elissa and I have spent that last week on the road. We've traveled in our little van through out Minnesota and a good section of Wisconsin as well. Here's what we did day by day and we have a guest writer too. My wife Elissa makes her writing debut here today.
At the bottom you will find Part one and part two of the video of the first stop on our trip. Nerstand Big Woods Minnesota State park.
Monday the 24rth:
The van had an appointment with the mechanic aka “The Van Dr.” after coming back with a clear bill of health we hit the road. It was sometime in the afternoon. Our spirits were high and the van was driving like a dream albeit a sixteen year old one with a ton of rust under him. We thought of it more as a sweet sixteen.
Our first goal was a Minnesota State Park called Nerstrand Big Woods. Our GPS brought us on county roads and single lane highways. Corn, farms, beans, and cattle lined the roads on both sides. The sun was happily shining down on our day.
The town of Nerstrand is quiet and has a listed number of people just over two hundred.
The park is down a gravel road which comes just after the town and at its border is a series of large solar panels. You can’t miss them. After checking in we drove down one of those smallish camping one ways. It was really nice. We immediately felt the stress from our lives drop away as the leaves from the trees surrounded us in a sort of Great Earth Mother hug. There’s nothing like that feeling.
I will admit to being a bit nervous about backing our big van into place. I don’t have all that much experience driving these over sized vehicles around; however, I did fine. There weren’t a whole lot of people there because it was early on in the week, and we loved that. It’s not that we hate our own species we just don’t like them all that much. The rangers here are very helpful and nice, but before I forget Elissa would love for me to talk about the bathrooms. I think I’ll let her do that though.
Elissa:
I went to Nerstrand Big Woods for one day and we walked their trails. They are beautiful and the hidden falls I highly recommend seeing if you get chance. As a woman wanting a clean restroom while traveling is important in my opinion. The restrooms were very clean and well maintain as well as the showers.
Okay, I’m back.
That first night sleeping in the van went pretty well, but early in the morning there was a crazy storm. Hail, lightning, thunder, wind, and heavy rain fell on the van and his solar panels. Woody kept Elissa, Marley, and I safe and sound. Here’s where I bring up something I should have done. There are several types of sound proofing on the market. Some very expensive and some not so expensive. Whatever your budget allows I would say put some on the roof before you insulate it. I love the sound of rain on a tin roof too, but hail and a huge rain storm is a bit much.
The park sports several hikes. These have varying degrees of difficulty. We went on as many as we could find and they were all terrific. Bridges, butterfly’s, birds, nature, and hardly any mosquitos.
Tuesday: Gooseberry Falls
We took the long way because we’d heard that 35 north through the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis is under long term construction and will have delays for the next four years. We figured it’d be prettier to see more corn fields then to see a semis rear end. Gooseberry Falls is a long way from Norstrand, but is way worth the drive. When we finally got there we had another beautiful spot. I backed in like a pro this time even as the jeers and cat calls of the birds echoed off the trees which sheltered us. The spot had a beautiful open center which allowed for star watching and yet the tree’s were around enough to shelter us. It really was a prime spot. On the other side of the park road was a water source and we were maybe a hundred yards from the bathrooms. Beyond the water source was a paved combination bicycle path and walking path and just beyond that was a smallish path our to a rock outcropping and cliff which faced the great Lake Superior. We couldn’t have asked for a better spot. Here again they had hikes for all abilities, and the ones I was one were very wheelchair accessible. We had a lot of luck here and didn’t have a single mosquito. This is where I hooked up our solar panels for the first time. In the morning I made coffee and hooked everything up. It went very well and was easier then I expected. We hadn’t used the house battery all that much to this point because we were using our Lucy Lights which are crazy crazy bright and wonderful. We had drained it a bit though and the solar panels did a great job of topping it off.
Elissa:
Gooseberry Falls State Park was great. The lake was near our camp site and it is a gorgeous lake! The restrooms were ok for being an old park. I thought that they could definitely use a couple more showers and the cleanliness of the restrooms was ok for being big park.
Wednesday:
We drove into Wisconsin and visited my father. I’m not going to say where he lives, but it was very nice and we had a good time. Except he had a lot of mosquitos. What I will say is that those Lucy Lights work great for mosquito killers. You won’t find a better one.
Thursday Trempealeau, Wi. and Perrot State Park:
The roads from my fathers place to Trempealeau were beautiful curvy, hilly Wisconsin backroads. That part of Wisconsin is known for this and it didn’t disappoint. The sun was shining in, the temperature was perfect. Picture yourself in a big van doing about sixty mph with the windows down and the radio off. (It doesn’t work) Traveling down windy backroads. Perfect. It just doesn’t get any better.
Perrot State Park is a place I am very familiar with because right across the Mississippi is my hometown of Winona, Mn. We went here all the time, but living right across the river I had never camped here. Boy, was I missing out and now Perrot is one of my favorite camping spots. We parked on the lower loop. The whole east side of the spot was filled with trees and the western side had the start of meadow. Which means that the morning sun was a lot more dappled then the afternoon which beat down a bit more still it was a great spot. We had a water source across the road from us and a pit toilet down the a bit. Here again the trails were accessible to most and everyone we met was very friendly.
I had a gig at the Historic Trempealeau Hotel that night which is a spot not to be missed. They have five star food in a quaint restaurant and bar. It is also a high spot of the musical community, so if you’re able to see music there you can guarantee it will be among the best.
That night we ventured out of our little van and saw the most stars either of us had seen in long long time but the sky had a surprise for us. As we stood there a shooting star screeched by. It was a perfect almost end to a week of camping and driving the van.
Here’s Elissa again for her take on Perrot and it’s bathrooms.
Perrot State Park has awesome trails. I didn't get to use the showers in this park, but I used a pit toilet. For a pit toilet I thought it was very clean well maintained. There wasn't a nasty smell like most pit toilets have.
Me again:
Friday we stayed at a hotel in La Crosse, Wi. There happened to be a big bunch of stuff going on there as well. Street fairs, live music, and tons of happy joyous people of all ages wandering around getting to know one another.
It was nice sleeping in a king size bed and having tons of wifi and cell coverage.
Saturday Morning:
We drove back with a last quick stop at the Great River Bluffs Minnesota state park. It is just off of I90 by Nodine, Mn. Its very easy to get to and sports incredible vistas of the Mississippi river it’s backwaters and the far western side of Wisconsin. Great meadows, and woods to walk in.
Now it’s Sunday as I write this and I have to admit to being both glad to be home and wishing we were still in the van. I promised you a few of the things we found we need to adjust to our van/camper. Here they are in no particular order.
The solar. We weren’t going to mount it on the roof and just put it out where ever we found ourselves. This has changed. I still like the idea of keeping them in the van so we can park in the shade and put them in the sun. However they are pretty bulky and took up to much space, so on the roof they go.
A cooler versus a fridge While the cooler worked just fine I have to admit to thinking a small 12 volt fridge would be better. All of our food got wet from ice melt. We had to throw away to much food and we both hate that.
ShelvesI didn’t build any shelves for a number of reasons and I think this has to change. We found ourselves stumbling around and hitting into each other because of the stuff sitting on the floor. Everything was very chaotic at first. This is probably also because we had brought to many things along.
Lastly Screens It is important to be able to keep the windows open so that it doesn’t get to stuffy and hot in the van at night, but you don’t want mosquitos getting in and ruining your good time. We have them, but I think they need to be worked on a bit more.
Part One:
Part Two:
Well this was our journey and I hope we take many many more in our little camper/van ‘Woody’.
Keep building your dreams and keep the shiny side up.
Our trip to Stillwater, Mn and where we stayed. It was at the Water Street Inn.
A few weeks ago my wife and I stayed at a little place called, “The Water Street Inn”. It’s located in Stillwater, Mn and has a great view of the St. Croix river not to mention a marvelous bridge. In the video you’ll see our room, but the video pales to the glimmer of the real thing. If you have a vacation or a longish weekend coming with your partner please go. It’s set up just like it was ‘back in the day’. Which day? Well, I’m glad you asked. As you walk in you notice that dark wood tones that were a staple around the turn of the century 19th to 20th. There is a full size grand piano and large ceilings. The grandness welcomes you instead of pushing you out like so many other places. You know the ones I’m talking about. Anything the Trumps or the Kardashians would stay in. The places where the first thing you think about is money and everything is sterile, modern, and boring. No, this place is not like that. It is welcoming and joyous. It oozes history everywhere you go. Stories and people from the past walk through your mind like ghosts telling you their stories. There is an Irish pub with live music on Friday’s and Saturday’s, a restaurant, and outdoor seating.
Our room, as you’ll see in the video was at the end of a hall with corner windows. We could look in two directions and one of them had a balcony which looked out on a street and the cute architecture that Stillwater is known for. Our bed was something you’d find in an antique store. It was a rich dark wood with carvings on it’s carvings. There was a gas fireplace (which is a luxury to us), a giant bathroom, and a very large shower stall. Now don’t worry about it just having a shower because it also had a ….wait for it….a jacuzzi (also a luxury for us). Why we didn’t even know to wait till the water was over the jets to turn them on. Water went everywhere and you heard the both of us screaming with laughter.
We ate at the pub that night. I had a giant burger that had corned beef and sauerkraut, and Elissa had a baked mac and cheese thing. Both meals left us sleepy, so upstairs for a nap and then out the door to explore the nightlife. The pub was much the same as the rest of the hotel. Lot’s of rich dark wood, a wonderfully old bar, great staff, and a spirit that streamed of Backus flavored adventures. By the way they had a shelf with tons of board games.
After a touch of a nap we went out exploring, but because it was a Sunday night we were just out of luck. That night we ended up at Stillwater's food co op called, ‘The Coop’. It’s a lovely place with good prices for great food.
The next morning we had a lovely breakfast and then went out to explore the town. We were a little early (everything seemed to open up at eleven am) but had a good time nonetheless.
Stillwater is a mid-sized touristy summer river town with it’s history and historic buildings you will have tons of things to do and check out. Don’t forget to stay at the historic Water Street Inn when you go to visit, and yes they have off street parking.
Hey again. I just love chatting with you folks. I don't care what they say about you. You're okay in my book. In today's edition we see the final chapter of our journey to the South-west.
On our road home we drive through New Mexico and our first stop was Pueblo, Colorado. We had the best Chinese food while there. Of course after traveling for that many hours any Chinese food would be good. The next day we drove through Colorado into Wyoming, and finally stopped in Rapid City, South Dakota. We ended up seeing a parade and had tons of fun there. Our final day was driving back home to Minnesota from Rapid City.
We had a really wonderful time traveling through the United States and hope to do more traveling as out time permits.
Thanks to all the folks that helped to make it possible.
Well, here we are it's Monday again. I just love it. The beginning of a new week is still a beginning. Beginnings are wonderful aren't they? I mean sure you have the requisite ending just before it, but after all that grieving stuff you can change your focus on the new adventure before you. Double Fonzie thumbs up, 'Ayy!' for your effort and your new adventure.
This week, as you know, is part two of our three part adventure to the South-west. I know it's sort of the middle child of the three. Can't you just hear it complaining right now. 'Marsha Marsha Marsha!" However this middle child is full of fun and eternal groovitude. It is well worth your time.
In it we discuss 10 hour drives, the great golden plains, Santa Fe public restrooms with fish and beautiful back splashes, not to mention R.C. Gorman's art. I will even defend my darling wife from alien abduction as the hordes of zombie aliens attempt to eat our brains. You'll also hear about the best Mexican Food in Santa Fe, NM. It's in One Burrito Alley in case you're wondering and please try the guacamole.
On the way from Santa Fe to Roswell we journeyed across the Turquoise Trail and it was so worth it. We visited a ton of quirky shops and desert communities and are very grateful to the people of New Mexico for their hospitality.
Thank you.
