Monday night was very cold, 20 degrees, had snow, maybe a couple of inches, but really looked like machine made snow back east on the ski slopes, closer to sleet. But for Texas it was snow, and I doubt that most Texans even know there are various types of snow.
Tuesday, it never really got out of the low 20s. I walked to the Visitor’s Center, toured the museum and then did a short hike up this side of the Tejas trail. It was a winter wonderland.
Today, Wednesday, I woke to low 20s and 25-30 mph wind, but sunny. Had a great sunrise and finally got motivated to hike to Devil’s Hall, 4.2 miles round trip, after lunch. It’s a moderate hike. The first mile is on a trail, the last mile is in a wash loaded with boulders of various sizes from bowling ball to Volkswagen size. The wash was sheltered from the wind, so I shed a number of layers. Last night, there was only two other campers in the RV lot, tonight, there’s a dozen and I'm sure when I wake there will be more.
My dual 6 volt 240 amp hour battery system, 200 watt solar system. held up well through the cold weather, even with the furnace running most of the night. This morning the batteries were at 56% depth of discharge. I ran the truck for 30 minutes before the sun was high enough to hit the solar panels, then lowered one end of the roof to tilt the panels southward. By sunset, the battery bank was almost fully charged. Tonight’s low is predicted to be 38 degrees, so with less demand tonight and the predicted sun tomorrow, they should reach full charge.
Since this blog is also to help others, I have determined that the truck’s alternator does a much better job charging the batteries when they are low. I believe the truck is equipped with a smart alternator which decreases the voltage as the battery gets close to 90 % charged. So if I run the truck, it's first thing in the morning when the batteries are the lowest, then the sun does the rest.
I cooked many meals inside, just to cold and windy to cook outside. I think that will change as the weather is predicted to warm into the high 50s and mid 60s. My plan is to take a slack day tomorrow and then hike to the summit of Guadelupe Peak on Friday, scatter some of Nancy, and return to camp for a steak on the grill and some wine. And yes, for those of you worried about my balanced diet, there will be some sort of vegetable as well. LOL
Tight lines and safe travels
Looking good, my friend! More snow in TX than NH right now - may change tomorrow!! Sounds like Enzo is working out great! Driveway camping tonight, gotta do a NASCAR pitstop winterization tomorrow when we get home! Keep smiling!
ReplyDeleteI admire what you are doing, going on with life and including Nancy in the places you two would have gone together. My heart goes out to you--both of you! We have had rain for the past several days here! Whew, ready for some nice, mild fall weather!
ReplyDeleteWheeeeee! Without a doubt, Nancy is proud of you for being out there, it take such guts (with a dash of lunacy), and it's exactly how you two always lived your life. Good weather, cold weather, and everything inbetween. Right on!
ReplyDeleteEven the cold snowy scenes make me yearn to get the hell out of L.A. It's nice living vicariously through you right now!