Apollo 11

As of today, July 27, 2019, we are 50 years and one week distant from the Apollo 11 moon landing.  As I age, I guess I don't see 50 years as all that old, but when I was a boy of eleven, I am most quite certain that I thought fifty was old.  It was less than a year before the first moon landing that my Dad turned 50, and we children started calling him an antique. 

Apollo 11 Crew

Whether or not a person can be an antique is another story, but what we do know is that the nation was able to reach the moon with technology we can only marvel at, or shake our heads at today.  On the one hand, the computing power was quite small, some say 1300 times less than that of an I-phone 5.  Yet the computer was very reliable in part due to a technology of which I had never heard until recently reading the book Shoot for the Moon by James Donovan (2019, Little Brown).  I still do not understand how it worked, but it used a slim coiling of copper wire to provide some of the memory and do recall.  It was called the old lady device, because MIT, the developer of the computer, and NASA, had used old women that had once worked looms in textile factories of New England to loom the copper wire to the necessary configurations.  We all have dealt with, and still deal with software that has requires rebooting of the computer, or worse reloading. 

LM of Apollo 11

The departure from the moon of the top part of the lunar module (LM)  was time critical, due to the position of the command module piloted by Michael Collins.  Imagine, if Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were about to fire the ascent engine, and found out the LM computer was not working.  What would they do?  I don't think reboot was an option.  However, both were well trained engineers, and Buzz Aldrin was likely picked as the third person of the flight due to his expertise in math and science.  Aldrin had written his PhD dissertation  (1963) at MIT on lunar guidance, and it was titled: "Line-of -sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous."  It is quite possible that if the computer failed Buzz would have pulled out his slide rule and completed the necessary calculations.  If a reboot was possible, one would hope the computer system would not take as long as a Microsoft operating system takes to boot up on a non solid state drive machine.

Cover of Aldrin PhD dissertation

To this day the Saturn V rocket is the most powerful machine ever created and used by man.  At the time of the space race, the then Soviet Union was preparing a large rocket, but it was never used after what were two failed tests.  NASA is currently developing a mega rocket that will be even larger, bureaucratically titled "Space Launch System (SLS)."  It was announced earlier this week that they will green test (green meaning testing for the first time) the engine before it is used to send un-crewed Artemis 1 to the moon in 2019.  NASA is hoping to, once again, land a person on the moon in 2024. Elon Musk, who perhaps was smoking too much weed, announced this week that he could get a man to Mars in two years.  The preparation and training required for the LM was extensive, so I cannot imagine how long it would take to prepare for landing on another planet.

Image of moon showing Walk paths of Apollo 11
Astronauts while on the moon 

As with people and machines things can go wrong.  As the LM was descending two computer error codes were received, generally indicative of insufficient memory, in which case the computer would prioritize what needed to be done.  The errors turned out to be related to the use of the rendezvous antennae landing at the same time as the other systems.  After a night of study MIT suggested they turn off the rendezvous antennae when ascending from the moon to avoid the same error codes.  Then there was Buzz Aldrin noticing a piece of black plastic on the floor of the LM amid the grime of the moon.  Looking around he noticed it came off the circuit breaker for the ascent stage firing.  Houston was told and they said they would get a work around, but Buzz simply noticed that he could probably use his felt tip pen to push the metal piece to get the proper connection.  That is what he used.  I am not sure if Houston created a work around.  Aldrin believes the breaker piece fell off when it was inadvertently knocked while he was getting on his gear for the moon walk.  The LM, as quoted by Jim Lovell character in Apollo 13, was not much bigger inside than a couple of telephone booths.  Thus, it was a tight space for what was  required. While it may have been small, the LM was well designed for its purpose--landing on the moon and allowing two men to leave its surface.

Aldrin saluting US Flag

Then of course, their was the iconic statement by Armstrong when he stepped on the moon, where he left out the word 'a".  Saying:  That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  Of course without the "a" between for and man, as Donovan says, the saying statement did not make sense.  I think most people have overlooked the missing syllable, although Armstrong was both praised and criticized for the statement that is in the history books.  Donovan quotes Armstrong as hoping "that 'history will grant me leeway for dropping the syllable and understand that it was intended'" for with out it Donovan quoted Armstrong as saying it would be "inane."  This makes me wonder what type of reception the statement would have received in polarized blogosphere we inhabit today.

Apollo 11 Crew on 45th Anniversary of Launch
l to r:  Collins, Armstrong, Aldrin

When speaking to Armstrong and Aldrin while they were walking on the moon President Nixon ended his short conversation with: "For one priceless moment in the whole history of man all the people on this Earth are truly one--one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth." Mike Collins would comment after the astronauts completed a month long tour around the world that people would comment: "We did it."  A collective we.   One in six persons watched the moon landing on television, and it probably would have been more except that the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, to name a few countries, would not televise the event.  Russian cosmonauts were allowed to watch the landing and they would toast their American counterparts after seeing the historic walk.  As I write this, I think back to that midsummer day over 50 years ago and find that I am perhaps now more in awe of what was accomplished at that time than when I was eleven. 

Glamping

Glamorous camping has a portmanteau--glamping.  As many readers of this blog know my spouse and I purchased a small tear drop camper of which we took delivery in early June.  This past week we took our fourth camping trip--a three night trip to northwest Wisconsin at the Eau Galle Recreation area, which is on a man-made lake, owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Until this year, always having tent camped, we have our ways of doing things, and to get full use of the camper could require us to change some of our common routines, although I don't see that occurring for all things.

Our First Camping Electrical Connection, Notice Surge Protector at Power Pole

The Eau Galle campground has electricity at most all sites, and the cost of an electric site is only $4.00 more than non-electric.  Given the few non electric sites, we chose a site that provided electric hookup.  This was our first trip using an electric hookup.  In preparation for this, I purchased a used surge protector (used by the prior owner on eight camping trips last year) to guard against electric issues that could hamper camper operation, or damage the electrical system.  Funny thing is, I have talked to five persons that own campers, some of whom I do not know, and only one used a surge protector.  Yet, this piece of equipment is perhaps the most commonly mentioned item to purchase after getting your camper.  

Heating our First Pot of Water in the T@B

After buying the surge protector we hooked up to shore power, off of our house to see how well the small fridge cools down when connected to shore power.  It takes a few hours, but it gets cool,  The fridge can run off the battery, but it could quickly drain the battery, so the other main option is propane.  Both propane and battery, so I hear, lack control of the temperature.  On the way up we put two half gallon jugs of frozen water with some cold beverages in the fridge.  The ice stayed frozen and on Tuesday night moved that ice to the cooler and the cooler ice to the fridge.  

View of Beach from Overlook near Campground

Yet, our experience with glamping did not end at the fridge.  Twice, to make sure the stove worked, we heated water on the propane stove in the camper.  It worked well.  Wednesday night we used heated water from the camper water heating system to wash dishes.  We filled up our dish pans from the outdoor shower unit.

Part of Crystal Cave

Yet, our glamping experience got real when we ran the air conditioner for a few minutes on Monday night.  It was a hot and humid day, and the temperature in the camper when a thunderstorm started was approaching 90 degrees, so while the thunderstorm was raging outside, we were playing Yahtzee inside when the camper which cooled down to the set temperature of 76 degrees in a short period of time by running the air..  As the thunderstorm moved along temperatures dropped so we did not need the air conditioning later in the evening or at night.  In fact, that was the only time it was used. One of the reasons we purchased the small camper was to get better shelter during rain events, and we have had rain during all of our camping trips so far this year.  Two have involved thunderstorms.  

The Ghost of Crystal Cave

But, camping is not the experience of using a tent or a camper, it is what you do with your time on the trip.  Besides being visited by and visiting relatives on my wife's side and swimming at the beach we hiked, read and visited Crystal Cave in Spring Valley, the small town whose football stadium is on the other side of the dam that provides the lake.  Three main experiences stuck with us on this trip, however.  First, was a Tuesday morning hike down (and back up) the ridge my wife and I ended up near a finger of the lake and watched as two bald eagles flew around the area one so close we could easily hear its wings flapping in air, perhaps 60' above us.  Second, was the amount of fireflies present in the evening, it was alike a million points of light.  My wife referred to them as fairies.  She misses them as the number is not as great at home as at Eau Galle.  We had a few fireflies when we camped at Frontenac State Park and  we noticed how the Minnesota fireflies light differently than those in Wisconsin.  Finally, our excursion to Crystal Cave was well worth the admission.  My wife is on the shorter side, and I think there was only one occasion where she had to duck, making me think she should have gone into spelunking instead of nursing.  Although her nursing skills have come in handy.

Stalactites, which remind me of Jaws 

While caves can be tight, the Command Module used in the Apollo missions was also small.  This week is also the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the first moon landing by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.  While our camper has a TV, we forgot the remote, and directions, so we did not have a chance to do the required high definition television search for channels, although the only time we probably would have watched TV was during the storm Monday.  When my wife was a child her family and some relatives would camp for two weeks straight during the summer.  In 1969 their annual excursion coincided with the moon landing.  To not miss such an historic event  they took a television along to watch the moon landing.  My wife recalls the family setting the tv up at a park shelter.  Televisions back then were not the light weight devices of today.  As for me, I watched it at home and recall taking a photo of the tv screen as Neil Armstrong was on the moon, but that photo did not turn out.   

My Wife's Art Work Commemorating the Moon Landing

On our camping trip this past week we found some sidewalk chalk wet on the side of the camp road on Tuesday morning, following the one inch rain Monday evening.  On Wednesday evening my wife did some art work near the shower building which commemorated the moon landing.  I later added a couple memorable phrases from that historic event.  As Michael Collins has said, people around the great earth would say to him:  "We did it." 1969 followed the riots of 1968, and war protests were still going strong.  Yet, this one event drew the whole world together for a brief moment.  Camping or glamping, it was an event in 1969 not to be missed.

Crystal Cave

 Images by author, July 2019

missed.

Of Finger Nails and Pangolins

On the Friday before Father's Day, I broke a good part of my right thumb nail.  What you never realize, until something like this happens, is how important a nail on a finger is.  This seemingly innocuous piece of the body obviously has a purpose, and you quickly find that out when it gets broken.  Little things matter. Yet there is a connection between our finger nails and an animal on the verge of extinction.

The uneven  fingernail break was so far down I was unable to cut it off far enough to get rid of the sharp edge.  As the finger nail started to grow back the sharp edge would get caught on clothing and would further break.  Finally, this week it started to break again, but I found that it had grown sufficiently for me to cut it straight to get rid of the jagged edge.  Yet, it is still not to my desired length.  I never realized how important it was to every day activities, like flossing your teeth, getting your keys in and out of your pocket, and other mundane tasks. It was hard to untie knots when you lack a thumb nail in which to help grab and pull out part of the rope, cord or string.

Pangolin

Fingernails are primarily composed of a hardened protein called keratin.  This protein is also found in our hair and skin. While our skin is supple and malleable, to a degree, the scales of African and Asian pangolins that cover much of their body, but for the soft underbelly, are also composed of keratin.  Rhino horns are also composed of the same compound.  Yet, pangolins and rhinos are losing their battle with humans due to illegal hunting.  In Africa the pangolins are often a delicacy, and in Asia their numbers have dwindled to such a large degree that Asians, particularly the Chinese have an illicit trade involving pangolins.  Pangolin scales are said to be prized in certain Chinese traditional medicinal products.  However, an eastern medicine expert, as reported in National Geographic (06 2019) believes that pangolin scales can be easily replaced by other items that do not cause death to an animal.  While China has banned the import of the pangolins, they often look the other way, so while illegal it is allowed.  I suppose saying it is illegal is a way for them to garner favor with Western democracies. Another occasion where one cannot trust the Chinese, and where they are, yet again, the major country leading to the extermination of another animal.

Demand for Pangolin Scales has put the animal on
the path to extinction

Rhinoceroses are killed simply for their horn.  Why?  Because the Chinese and other Asian cultures view them as an aphrodisiac.  Given that fingernails, pangolin scales and rhino horns are primarily composed of keratin, whey can they not simply gather finger nails and crush them for use in their traditional medicines to increase their sexual desires.  Why kill a rhino or a pangolin?  The neat thing about fingernails is that most people keep them trimmed so there would be plenty of supply.

The next time I trim my fingernails, or break one, I should find some traditional Chinese medicine source and send it to them as keratin for their concoctions.  Or, better yet some sex shop in China could sell fingernails to serve in lieu of rhino horn extract.  Who  would have thought that there was a connection between an animal that is more like an armadillo or anteater would share something in common with the human finger? 

For the Birds

Due to my retiring in the middle of last year, this May , and early June I was home during the day for a good part of the day.  During this time frame I was able to see in the backyard that are normally not present, and which my wife had told me about in prior years.  Most could probably nest in southern Wisconsin, but  they have chosen to move on to other locales and our back yard was but a brief stopping point.  Usually their presence in the yard was less than one week, but those few days were filled with the joys and colors of God's great creation.  

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

My wife told me the Indigo Bunting appeared last year and so we anxiously awaited its return to our yard, even if for a brief perhaps two day stay.  A deeper blue than the sky, perhaps it is the color of the deep blue sea. 

Cat Bird

The Cat Bird and its grey morning-coat foliage also appeared.  We also had the Cow Bird, but I was not able get a photo of that bird.

Rose Breasted Grosbeack\

The Rose Breasted Grosbeak I think hung around slightly longer than the other transitory birds.  This bird is in a device usually above the feeder to protect the feeder from squirrels, but we had little luck with its true purpose.  It was in storage for years.  Birds are very messy and they drop so much seed that it made for plenty of food for squirrels, rabbits and probably raccoons and other nocturnal animals which we do not see.  This year we decided to invert the squirrel feeder protector and let it catch the feed they flip off their plate.  We have had some success, but need to dry it out when it is soaked by our rains that seem more common than not.  I have gone through much less bird feed this way.

Baltimore Oriole, female

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole, male

A year or two ago we had the Baltimore Oriole, as we did again this year--both male and female.  They too not chose to make a home in our yard,, but are not uncommon in southern Wisconsin.  My wife likes to put out some grape jelly and you can see the female in a container over that contains the jelly.  If memory serves correct, the Cow Bird was also attracted to the jelly.

Female Baltimore Oriole 

We also have colorful birds that remain for the season or year.  These include, but are not limited to: Goldfinch, Cardinal and Blue Jay.  We also have hummingbirds, but they leave very quickly that often by the time I grab a camera they are gone.  The humming bird feeder hangs off an eve to the house and they seem quite attuned to activity nearby even if it is in the house.  A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was seen just the other day after what seemed like a long absence.  Hummingbirds had nested in a neighbors tree, but that Ash tree came down a few years ago so I am not sure where they now nest. 

Goldfinch

Cardinal

House Finch

It is interesting watching birds move around and about.  Bird houses provide nice shelter.  But, bird houses make me wonder where and how the birds nested before houses were built?  Are there now more than before since the houses are often designed to protect the resident bird, say Bluebird, from predator birds?  While Blue Jays are rather interesting to look at they act like a bully, pushing other birds away. For all I know maybe the small birds are their dinner.  Of course, there are larger predator birds like a Cooper Hawk.  A few years ago we had several juvenile cooper hawks in the yard and I suspect that accounted for the disappearance of small birds such as finches for much of the summer.  One day I watched as a Cardinal would appear at the feeder and a cooper hawk would swoop in only to be denied when the cardinal quickly made a bee line a few feet to the nearby magnolia bush.  So, it goes with the circle of life.  When the Cooper Hawks moved on in the late summer the small birds returned once again. Don't get me started about cats which are often the demise of song birds.  It is rather ironic that cat lovers may also be bird lovers.  They seem to know what is in the neighborhood.  Perhaps they have a bird neighborhood watch program that would rival that of any human watch program.  We are all part of the wonders of nature, of which even though we may not appreciate, does not mean we should not be conservation minded.

Organized or Disorganized

As many readers of this blog probably know, my wife loves to organize stuff, which you can read about here.   Now that we are both retired she has organized, and even reorganized what she previously organized.  One day, this month, when I was at a long meeting, she even went so far as to organize my basement workbench and related area.  One would think that organization would make items easier to find.  But, that may not be the case, due to the human mind and long entrenched patterns, or habits.

Organization is simply a matter of placing an object in a specific place, but it is more complicated since it requires cognition and recall of the item in that place.  If an area is reorganized, you may recall the PRIOR place the item was located and not the new reorganized place.  So, in effect, the reorganization may make the item more difficult to locate.  Your memory had it in one location, but you moved it to another and the synapses of the brain failed to pick up the change.  This is akin to grabbing your car keys and placing them somewhere, but not recalling where.  If one organizes fast, as I think my wife does, she moves the items quickly.  She reorganized pots and pans and baking items, and in changing the location of some bowls and baking racks it took a while to become accustomed to the new location.  One time she could not locate an item, and sure enough it was something that had been just reorganized.  I think it involved a product needed to make cookies, so obviously it was of major importance.

I know that when I am working on a project I sometimes place a tool down to attend to another matter on or off the project.  I then may forget the specific location of the item I had set down, and then set out on a search.  For example, trimming the rose bushes in late April I had my clippers, but saw some weeds that needed to be pulled, so I set the clipper down in the mulch to grab the weeds.  Well, I noticed other weeds to pull so I continued for another minute and then I went to grab the clipper, but could not find it.  What occurred is that I had moved a further down the bed than I thought, and the clipper being in mulch was somewhat obscured, so it took me a second to figure out that I had placed it further down the bed.  Finding a tool, or an item can distract you from the work or chore that needs to be accomplished.

Luna Moths mating next to our basement window. June 2019
Author photo

Think about it, if you are making cookies and you can't find the vanilla, it would make for some uninteresting cookies.  What about cooking, and you cannot find that certain ingredient to get into the pot in a time sensitive manner?  This shows the need to make sure you have what you need on the counter before you start baking or cooking, unless you are sure you know where an item is.

I am sure we all have such experiences.  Last year I was doing some repair to an outdoor electric outlet in my flower garden.  I used my needle nosed pliers for the project, but a few weeks later when I needed the needle nose pliers once again, I could not locate it.  A year later, I still don't know what happened to it.  The new one I bought has bright blue handles so hopefully it will be easier to find.  Perhaps tools should come with a lime green handles so they are as noticeable as construction workers.

Add caption

I have tools and other items hanging up on peg board above the work bench, and luckily my wife, when reorganizing around my work bench kept the same system I had in place, just simply organized some things better.  That is good for me because otherwise I would start looking all over the many feet of pegboard to find the item I required. One knows she has run out of things to organize and reorganize when she decides to tackle my workbench.  We also put some small shelves near the garage door for commonly used summer items, such as diatomaceous earth, blood meal and bone meal, fertilizers and some other products for use around the yard and flower beds.  These items moved from shelves in front of the car to the side of the large garage door.  I need to get used to the new location, since I sometimes find myself going to the front of the garage to obtain the item.  My oldest brother once told me it takes 30 days to form a habit, which makes me wonder how long it takes to break a habit.  One item I placed on the shelf that I regularly use are my work gloves,   but I still find myself going to the front to get them; halfway there I realize they are in a new location.  They were in the same place for about 29 years, so that instinctive habit is not easy to break.

Sometimes I wonder if my wife is reorganizing too much.  Although she would disagree.
Memory recall, it seems, takes time to change.  Human body, I think, forms habits of where something has often longed been placed, and changing that location can make a big difference.   Not unlike my body wanting to go to the front of the garage to get the work gloves which require a break in a 29 year habit.   I suggested back in April, when she could not locate the ingredient for the cookies that perhaps she had reorganized too much.  She did not agree with my comment. 


Images by author at Olbrich Gardens on June 23, 2019.  They really have nothing to do with organizing.

Frontenac

This past Friday my wife and I made a trip with our new camper to Frontenac State Park in Minnesota.  We had been invited by our son and daughter in law to join them on Father's Day weekend, so we took them up on the offer.  When offered, and when we reserved a site, we had no idea we would be owning a camper.  There are some interesting differences between Minnesota and Wisconsin, although culturally they seem similar.  Marshall Eriksen on the former television show "How I met your Mother" once said that the only difference between Minnesota and Wisconsin is the politeness in Minnesota.

Rock Formation at Frontenac State Park, MN

Minnesotans being polite is thought by some with whom I have talked, a false belief.  Some say it hides the passive aggressive nature and how that "politeness" is actually manifested in ways much more sinister.  There are other differences of course, but one shocker was that Minnesota State Parks do not allow alcohol consumption.  My goodness, if Wisconsin had, and would enforce that type of rule, the use of the state parks would probably decline by 75% or greater.  It seems that it should be a rite of camping to be able to enjoy a cold beer while eating dinner, or sitting by a campfire.  I suspect, it is not highly enforced in Minnesota and is another citation to provide if one is noisy or disorderly. 

Looking westerly from Ridge at Frontenac State Park

Noise could certainly be an issue at Frontenac as the campsites are very close to each other.  We had a camper perhaps 11' from our camper.  On the other hand, that means water and toilets are not that far from the campsite.  The sites may be somewhat limited by the extreme drop off to the east side down to the Mississippi River (Lake Pepin), and other topographic issues.  It seems to compare best to Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin which is on the east side of the Mississippi near Prairie du Chien.  One can get some great views of the land to the west from Frontenac, and I was a bit surprised that it did not have a tower to get above tree level to better view the Mississippi Valley, and the views to the west.  The nice thing was the park rangers made regular patrols through the campgrounds, particularly in the early evening.  Some patrols were in  park vehicle, others, which seemed most common, were by walking.  They actually checked to make sure vehicles had their admission sticker.  Unlike in Wisconsin where the sticker is only good for the calendar year, in Minnesota the sticker is good for  12 months from month of purchase.  In Wisconsin, when we camped at Lake Kegonsa State Park earlier this month, we saw no ranger patrolling the campground, although we camped during the week, not the weekend. 

Campsite at Frontenac, the rainfly came in handy

When you choose to camp can make a difference when travelling.  Travelling with a camper poses issues, besides gas mileage.  First, the vehicle manual says that when towing you should travel the first 500 miles with the trailer at 50 mph or less.  Thus, instead of driving the interstate to LaCrosse and then up Highway 61 in Minnesota, we took USH 14 to Hwy 61.  It was a long trip of over 220 miles one way, and was made longer by road construction in Minnesota on parts of 61.  It took us a little over 5 hours to get to Frontenac and 5 hours home on Monday.  Sunday afternoon the park cleared out and our loop had only us and a couple camping next door.  Although we woke up to find two other campsites set up, which we did not recall when we went to bed on Sunday night.  The nice thing about travelling Hwy 14 was the view from the ridges and the small towns that broke up the ride.  Although it took awhile to get through Richland Center.  Many of these small towns are in decline, but yet some seem to possess some vibrancy.  I saw some villages and cities I had never before been, such as Coon Valley and Westby.  The nice thing about the long trip, was that, combined with other added mileage, we are now only eight miles from our 500 mile maximum speed of 50 mph. 

Car show in downtown Red Wing, MN
The one time the sun came out on Sunday was when
we were in Red Wing

Due to weather the four of us made a trip to two wineries in Minnesota and one cidery/winery in Wisconsin.  I think we have become more impressed with the quality of locally produced wines.  The Maiden Rock Cidery (Stockholm, WI)  also sells mead and wines produced elsewhere in Wisconsin.  We all found their Honeycrisp cider delicious.  Maiden Rock, we heard from the Flower Valley owner (who uses mainly grapes grown onsite, although some types are produced with CA grapes), is now for sale, due to the owners wanting to retire.  Maiden Rock, we were told was a pioneer in hard cider. production and assisted others in developing that product.  The Minnesota vintner commented to me how much better the Wisconsin laws for production of alcohol are over those in Minnesota.  Although, one could not tell by the number of quality craft breweries in Minnesota.  The 45th Parallel distillery is located in Wisconsin and not Minnesota in large part due to the differences in laws.  The problem is that the laws cannot overcome the climate.  Apple growers have been hit by late frosts which significantly effect production, and the bottom line. 

Plaza adjoining Red Wing Shoe Company.

Frontenac was a nice state park possessing some good hiking trails through woods and/or meadow.  The campground sits high on the ridge and depending upon your campsite you may have a view of Lake Pepin.  I am not sure, however, that I find the Minnesotans any more polite than people in Wisconsin, so perhaps Marshal Eriksen was not correct in his statement of the differences between Minnesota and Wisconsin.  One thing is sure on the difference, and that is Wisconsin is more lenient when it comes to alcohol. 

Camping Re-imagined

It was over twenty years ago when my wife had a suggestion that we should camp as a family.  So we went and bought a tent, which we promptly returned to Gander Mountain as it was missing parts.  We then bought a tent from REI, which we were using as of last year. Our camping trips have provided some great stories. The one constant through out our varied camping trips can be summed up in perhaps one word:  Rain. We have had short, but intense rains, all day rains and then there was our first major trip to Pattison State Park which presaged the storms to come:  6" in 3 hours on our first evening.   We had rain on most trips, some major storms in which there were tents in the campground that had collapsed, others left the campsite flooded which had us depart for home, and other times it was just so wet we left for home too.   Rain in itself is not bad, but heavy storms and all day rains of cold temperatures certainly put a damper on the camping experience. This past week my wife and I made a change to our method of camping accommodations.  We bought a small recreational vehicle. Our first shake down camping trip with two young boys was a September weekend over twenty years ago to Lake Kegonsa State Park, and going back to the past, our first shake down trip of our new RV was to this same park.  Having the RV begins a journey for us in which camping is re-imagined.

T@B 320S Boondock Lite
Day of purchase, June 4, 2019

The recreational vehicle we purchased is a small RV whose inside is smaller than the family tent we used when the kids were young, and which over the past three years my wife and I migrated back to due to head room, and space for the blow up mattress we started using about four years ago.  We thought having a blow up mattress was glamping.  It was two years ago, or there about, when  my wife and I had our first discussions about purchasing a camper about the time we retired. The idea being to go and enjoy the wonders this country has to offer.  At that time we knew we would need a new vehicle with which to tow, as the minivan was over 20 years in age.  We went to Jerry's Camping Center to get an idea of vehicle weight, and hitch weight, and all other oddities which I really don't understand.  The advice we received was:  Get at least 35% more tow capacity than what you think you will need as out west you lose about 2% of tow capacity for each 1,000 feet in elevation gain.  We also knew we wanted a vehicle that would store our current tent camping gear.  That led us to the Jeep Grand Cherokee with factory tow, which we purchased in July of last year.  I had the mantra, that I would prefer close to a 50% tow capacity.  With camping you can add toys:  kayaks, bikes, etc which all count to gross vehicle weight.  Hence, it is better to not have to worry about overload, and have sufficient capacity.

Solar panel and bike rack

Beyond visiting Jerry's a number of times over the past two years, we also went to the RV show in February at the Dane County Exposition Center.  My wife was wondering if I would ever pull the trigger on purchasing a camper.  I had joined some camper forum's and quite frankly, some of what I read made me wonder if I should buy one.  Yet, in April we visited Jerry's to look once again at Campers, including the Little Guy Mini Max, the T@B 400, and the Luna Sol, but also once again examined the T@B 320S.  We spent some time questioning the sales consultant about our needs and desires.  For example, I have never towed, and we are going from a tent situation where most of our camping is done in rustic campgrounds.  With no electric hookup, the camper would be dependent upon battery and/or propane.  The T@B 320S seemed to best fit the our needs.  We waited a couple weeks for a new shipment to arrive, and so on a cold and rainy Saturday  in mid-May we once again made our trip four miles to Jerry's to see the new arrivals.  In the show room was a 320S (S stands for shower and toilet) Boondock lite version, which provides 15" tires and higher ground clearance than the standard T@B 320's.  Being off grid in camper lingo is called boondocking, whether in a national forest dispersed camping (in the wilderness with out any services), or in a Walmart parking lot.  The order time frame which was 6 weeks in April was now four months.  Thus, I decided to buy the white with black trim that was in the showroom after having just arrived.   (I would have preferred the white with red.)  What made up my mind, quite frankly, was the cold wet spring this year which showed that Hovel camping weather will not go away. The camper is not a small investment, and additions of bike rack, solar panel, sway control bar, rear camera on the trailer, and brake controller were not insignificant.

All day rain, and mid 50 degree temps (high) at Pattison State Park, Aug 2017
Screen tent with home made rain-fly cobbled from old tents we bought cheap

Jerry's sold over 180 T@B units last year and is on pace for over 200 this year.  They had already sold two the day we  picked ours out.  While promised in two weeks, it took a few days more.  So it was on Tuesday, June 4 that we picked up our camper and promptly went to Lake Kegonsa State Park not far from our home or from Jerry's.  While we enjoyed our three night camping trip, we really did not put much to the test.  We did not add water or use the inside shower or toilet, nor cook inside. We used very little electricity.  With long days and pleasant nights we did not need the heat, although if we had an electric site and hooked to shore power we may have used the air conditioning to cool the unit down the first night.  One reason we chose the 320 is that at its size it is designed to get you outside.  Outside is the reason one camps.  We plan to still do our cooking, and cleaning of dishes outside and use the camp toilets.  The thunder storm on our first night this past Tuesday was not unexpected--it was after all a Hovel camping trip.  I have long thought to solve drought, people could send us camping.

Our Camp site in NE Wisconsin, August 2018
Yes, we had rain on that trip too

What the camper will provide is an ability to provide some heat when nights get cold, or a place to have some warmth and stay dry at those times when it rains all day and the temperatures struggle to get to the low 50's.  For example, our September trip last year the low got to about or below 40 degrees. It was cold even in 30 degree sleeping bags, with a wool blanket on top, and bundled in long underwear.  The days warmed sufficiently for me to swim, and there were only about ten other campers in the campground during that week.  With those not uncommon cold and rainy days we will no longer need to shiver in our screen tent playing Yatzee.  We can now play games in our T@B on those cold and wet days, and if adventurous we can turn on the heat.  As we grow more comfortable with the camper, I can see us using the inside shower when we are in a rustic campground.

Our T@B and Jeep Grand Cherokee
June 7, 2019

For two years we had been looking at campers.  T@B's (tear drops) and A frame pop ups were at the top of our list.   For two years, after first seeing the T@B at the dealer, we have never seen one on the road, nor in a campground.  But, that changed on Wednesday.  As I exited our campsite Wednesday late afternoon I saw a vehicle pulling a gray 320S.  After dinner that night we tracked them down, and it was a couple who bought a used 2018 from Jerry's last year and were on a shake out trip as their first trip this year.  They too live in the McFarland postal code area.  Of this first camping trip with the RV, the most amazing thing is I was able to back it in the camp site, although it took  more than a few attempts. To get it better positioned, we simply unhooked and moved it a little bit.  I am sure we will still have our adventures and stories to tell of camping in this small RV, after all our sleeping quarters have changed, not our desire for the outdoors and the adventures it brings. On second thought, our camping trips will now be beyond re-imagined, they will be a reality using the small camper.  We have yet to name the camper, but stay tuned for further adventures.

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