Visit our Popular Forums

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 12:57 AM

It was… the Plague Doctor… looking for plague victims…
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Stuarts/plague_doctor.htm

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 12:59 AM

He came to the trailer and hung his shingle, as the flamingos looked curiously on…

(BTW, he would normally have boots covering his feet!)

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:02 AM

One look inside the trailer and the Plague Doctor felt right at home…

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:06 AM

And helped himself to that Autumn Apple Pie and Coffee…

(just what I could use right now, posting at the witching hour!)

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:10 AM

Inside the trailer, he spotted the Flamingo Hat...

and decided to switch hats…

And gave the flamingo a drink of his brew for the occasion…

It seems birds are close to his heart… as well as on his mind.

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:13 AM

He then went outside and practiced his skill with a blade...

and carved a pumpkin…

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:15 AM

After working up an appetite, he feasted on steak and tortillas grilled on the hibachi…

(We’re finding the hibachi is efficient and travels well in a bucket with charcoal).

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:19 AM

This was followed by hair-raising ghost stories…

Which seemed to have just the opposite effect on all, except for the pug, Pau Hoa…

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:22 AM

The next morning, breakfast was cooked with an old Brinkmann Small Fry, 30,000 BTU propane burner that is part of a turkey fryer unit that we’ve had a long time.

Larry found that this eliminates the greasy film that accumulates in the trailer and on the Fantastic Fan blades.

This unit stores well and puts out a hot and efficient flame.

No longer will morning bacon and sausage be cooked in the trailer!

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:25 AM

After cooking the bacon, the omelet was cooked…

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:29 AM

After brunch, I visited the nearby town of Julian, known for its apples and apple pie.

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:33 AM

I was drawn up the "Casket Walk" to the top of the hill of Julian’s Pioneer Cemetery:
http://www.juliancemetery.org/

And visited the gravesite of Marshal South to tie in with our next outing near the remote and waterless Ghost Mountain where poet, author and artist, Marshal and his family lived for 17 years in the Anza-Borrego Desert.

They pursued a primitive life and natural lifestyle as recorded in his over 102 articles for Desert Magazine, 1939 to 1948, which are contained in the book, "Marshal South and the Ghost Mountain Chronicles – An Experiment in Primitive Living": http://www.desertusa.com/web_cart/db/pages/3010.html

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:38 AM

Now our trailer living improvements, new items & ideas, solutions, etc…

We start where we left off… improving the support of the L-Lounge as follow-up to the problem identified in post #283 at:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f396/silvergate-s-safari-home-last-29471-21.html

Since we leave the lounge in the open position, we wanted the lounge to be well supported…

So we added retractable legs with hinges, that can be held up with magnet cabinet catches.

This is done in a way that allows the lounge to fully close when needed.

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:43 AM

We, along with most others, have noticed that occasionally the windows and Fantastic Fan vents stick or are difficult to open. As noted in this and other Airstream Forums threads:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f454/sticky-window-trick-24187.html,
The product recommended by The Fantastic Fan Company, 303 Aerospace Protectant, works well for the fan and window seals along with protecting the tires from the sun’s UV rays.
http://www.303products.com/tech/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=42 8&CFID=2079009&CFTOKEN=34885979

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:46 AM

Did you notice the rain sensor in the last photo? It’s obvious how it works…

(Looks even more interesting when clicking on pic to enlarge it).

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:49 AM

This L.L. Bean Emergency Weather Radio, made by Eton, was instrumental in telling us of a NOAA Weather High Wind Advisory, which helped us to choose the safest route home. This portable FR-300 radio has a hand-crank generator that charges an internal NiMH battery. It can also run on three AA batteries.

It features AM/FM tuner, TV audio (VHF channels 2 – 13), and all seven NOAA Weather Radio Channels. It also has a built-in LED light.
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=43034&shop_method=qs&feat=qs&catalog_ id=JW

SilverGate · 10-08-2007, 01:52 AM

Our factory-installed 2-panel solar charging system continues to serve us well here in Southern California. The sun is now travels on a more southerly arc and it took longer to clear the nearby trees in the morning. But still our batteries were restored to 100% by late morning on most days on this non-hook-up outing. And even on a cloudy day, we generated enough amps to restore our batteries to 95% by 12:34 p.m.

See our complete solar log entries on this outing, post # 55 at:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f448/factory-installed-solar-charging-system-35476-4.html

See Rich Luhr’s log of daily temperatures, sun conditions, and power use/gain when camping at non-hook-up sites starting with September 27, 2007 (at Yellowstone) on his Tour of America blog, along with a discussion of how cold weather and use of furnace affects the solar budget. He discusses the importance of conservation efforts, such as lowering the thermostat, and looking at better power management systems at:
http://tour.airstreamlife.com/wordpress/index.php?paged=2