Testing new solar under clouds in the winter desert

Because I’d been staying plugged into electricity at Shady Lane RV Court I hadn’t gotten around to testing new solar on the camper.  Time to head out into the desert and off grid.

Seems there’s always town chores to do after sitting in one place for several days.  While doing laundry I added ratchet tie-downs as another way to keep the camper from sliding backwards.  I had to watch a YouTube video to learn how to thread the darn things.  Lots of strap left over so I knotted it on instead of cutting it off and thankfully, without planning, used a series of sliding knots so I can easily move it for tightening the strap later.  I’m sure you’ll see the neon orange strapping in some camper photo along the way.  Only picked up a few groceries as the three store choices in Quartzsite have limited selections and are expensive.  Fueled the truck and one propane tank that only took 2.7 gallons, what a joke for a 5 gallon tank.  Stopped at some Tyson Wells vendors and bought a flag with a long pole I’ll have to figure out how to mount and pack.  Please, get me out of town before I spend any more money.

Ah, finally, back on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) desert.

I drove that four miles of gravel super slow but it didn’t do anything good for the camper corner separations.  Still thinking about what to do.

One thing to do, enjoy an unobstructed desert sunset.

Then later turned on the laptop, plugged into the inverter, and ran a few hours from the solar charged battery.  Testing new solar after dark.

I not only woke up in time for sunrise I went outside before coffee to take photos.

In fact I was up before the sun could charge the new solar panels.  That doesn’t really start happening until at least an hour or two later.  They lay flat on the roof as I’m no way crawling up there to adjust them daily.  But even with partial clouds the battery still fully charged and I used the laptop for several hours that evening.

As per most places of boondock, people are keeping their distance at way more than six feet thank goodness.  It’s more like 100s of feet.  But when the nearest RV in sight pulled out my first morning I smiled.

Sat outside in the afternoon reading in 63° hiding from a light northwest breeze.  It is often windy in the winter desert.

The next morning began nice and clear for charging with the new solar but most of the rest of the day was gray with heavy clouds.

I love clouds for photography but wondered if my battery would still get charged.  It did, just more slowly.

Also had to adjust the new flag pole because of wind banging the pole against the ladder. Noises like that drive me crazy.  I’ve wanted a flag for a while to easily read wind direction.  The pole is easily 8-10 feet long.  If I roll the flag around it and bungie it tight it’s the last thing to put into the camper and the first thing out.  I’m not usually into decorating either inside or out, best keeping things simple. And there was simply no color that night for sunset.

However, the next morning sunrise put on quite a show.

In every direction.

And then the day put on a show of ever changing cloud shapes that beckoned my camera.  I get much of my exercise going in and out, up and down the camper step, to take photos as the clouds call my name.  Trust me, I do love Arizona blue skies, but they make for rather boring photos.

The day’s excitement when the fridge started to act up by not staying lit.  Though the tank was low it still had propane, yet switching to the full tank did the trick and the fridge then lit and continued to operate.  Must be very sensitive to pressure as the stove still lit. These tanks are a true pain in the ass.  Even after replacing one that was obviously wrong from the manufacturer this new “legal” design doesn’t work well.  I should write to Manchester with a complaint. For whatever good it would do me.

Day three with clouds right on through sunset still charged the battery with the help of the new solar.  I took way too many photos with all those lovely clouds.

Clear sky at sunrise offered an early start to charging for the new solar.  The day was filled with an interesting variety of clouds.  I sat outside for a little while reading in the sunshine.  If I don’t have anything to do, I don’t do anything.

But as the clouds thickened I went back inside.  Had plenty of power to work on processing photos and writing posts, thinking it’s a good thing I’m usually 1-2 weeks behind on this story.  Otherwise all you’d get was photos of sunrise and sunset in the desert.  Oh, wait a minute.  That’s about all you get anyway.

That night was predicted a 30% chance of rain and even with all the marvelous clouds, I just didn’t hold my breath.  I’d have to look up how many months it had been since rain in this area.  Yet before I went to bed I heard the almost unfamiliar tapping of soft rain on the camper roof.

In the morning, clouds hung low over the Kofa Mountains and sunrise put on a show.  I stepped outside to the outstanding aroma of petrichor, and creosote.  The air felt rich, igniting all my senses.  And though the ground was dry I swear the Saguaros stood a little taller and the bushes sparkled.  Deep breath.

The wind blew enough to make it unpleasant to just sit outside.  So another inside day for me enjoying my desert yard view.  Like deja vu, I sat labeling photos from my January visit to Kofa.

By day six testing new solar a pattern emerged.  Turning the phone off overnight with around 50% battery means I can use it in the morning to check stuff online, email, facebook, whatever.  After an hour or so I turn on the laptop to run on its own battery if lucky another hour.  Then I run the truck about 25 minutes, plugged in to those batteries via an inverter to the camper gives me almost 4 1/2 hours of power, plus another hour on the laptop battery depending on what I’m doing.  And by then solar has the house battery up to snuff so I can plug into it by inverter for 5-7 hours.  Adding another solar panel so I’m up to 290 watts on the roof passes my test.

Decorated desert Christmas tree

Almost a week out and by Friday decided to go shopping in Blythe, if they’d let me cross the border.  Surprisingly I couldn’t find any specific information about crossing into the locked down state of California.  Didn’t find anything specific about going to Mexico either as I considered Algodones for eye exam and new glasses.  But the agricultural border crossing was no different than has been for years, waving most people through.  After shopping at a good-sized chain store I felt stocked up again for a little while.

I returned to Arizona and drove only about four miles south of Quartzsite to the BLM short-term Roadrunner/La Paz area to camp.  Certainly a place I’ve been before but barely recognized with so few RVers.  Surely this is partly because of no Canadian, or international, visitors, and others just staying home, which is nice if they have a home to stay at.

I stayed for three days, fully charged and a good signal, a happy camper.  The wind blew and I didn’t go out much.  Did empty one propane tank.  I am perfectly content with my basic needs met.  I spend loads of time online.

I spent time thinking of where to camp for Solstice, Christmas, and the next full moon.  Researched Castle Dome on the southwestern Kofa but that seems to require more rough miles than I want to drive right now.  To be honest I feel a little guilty about traveling at all.

I could hunker in around Quartzsite through the rest of the month.  If I hang here much longer I may start to call Quartzsite home.  Sadly, all of this doesn’t fix the camper coming apart at the front corners.  So, it’s back to town again.

Lazy days