Thursday, June 21, 2012

Preparation is Key

While Lenny is having his various kinks worked out we have been taking this extra time to make sure we are 100% prepared for our trip.  Last time we purchased the D. Light solar lantern and absolutely loved it!  It charged even in cloudy weather and since it recharges freely we never had to worry about leaving it on during night time walks or using it too much.  There are 2 settings- dim and bright but they are both about the same...  Since our trip we have lost our beloved solar lantern so we purchased two more.  This new and improved lantern even has a luminous button!  Its affordable and works beautifully.  I highly recommend it.  Now, it isn't as bright as a flashlight or headlamp, but its a great lantern.
Last time we found ourselves with a tad too much stuff inside the cabin.  We found ourselves wanting to get rid of items we were not currently using, but was very useful in the future (i.e. seasonal clothing, full propane canisters, seasonal bedding, etc).  We purchased this water, grit, and light proof cargo bag to fit on top of our luggage rack.  Since it is summer time, we will store our down comforter, winter clothing, and various others safely out of the way.
I mentioned before in my post about my Goodies for the Road that our diet was severely lacking in the health dept.  Also since we were eating bland, highly processed meals we found ourselves dining out more often.  With all the delicious new foods you find traveling that instant box of mashed potatoes is quickly forgotten.  So we purchased a sampler pack of dried foods from Harmony House (who is based out of Greenville, NC) and a 12 ounce container of dried veggie mix for use in soups, rice, and other meals we will make. The sampler pack is amazing and will allow us to figure out what we will use the most and what we like.  We plan to order more from Harmony House in the future. The deluxe sampler pack we ordered contains 1 cup of the following- " Broccoli Flowerets, Green Cabbage, Diced Carrots, Sliced Celery, Whole Sweet Corn, Green Beans, Jalapeno Dices, Tangy Green & White Leeks, Chopped Onions, Green Sweet Peas, Red & Green Mixed Bell Peppers, Diced Potatoes (excellent flavor), Spinach Flakes, Tomato Dices, Tomato Powder, Lentils, Split Peas, Red Beans, Black Beans, Navy Beans, Garbanzo Beans, Great Northern Beans, Dark Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Garbanzo Beans, Beefish Bits (Meatless), Chickenish Bits (Meatless), Hamish Bits (Meatless), Taco Bits (Meatless), Chickenish Chunks (Meatless), Beefish Chunks (Meatless)."
Last, and *eh hem* most importantly we purchased this privacy tent, or as I like to call it, the "Poop Tent."  Now we won't have to worry about late night trips out into the desert with a shovel, or early morning drives to the nearest gas station/walmart/ etc to use the restroom.  We have our own.  It even has a hook on the inside to hang our solar lantern on, plus screened windows.  Reviews stated that the hook is not strong enough to hold a solar shower, but I figure I can set it up close to a tree or the Bus and set the shower bag on something sturdy.  The fabric does feel a bit thin, so we must take care to not tear or rip the tent.  But it sets up easily and is something we very badly needed last time. 
Now all we need to do is pay 6 months of insurance ahead, get the Bus all in order and hit the road.  I've already written down some of the best looking free campsites from the wonderful site http:/www.freecampsites.net

2 comments:

  1. We put our solar shower (aka large plastic bag of water warmed by the sun) on the opened hatch, and set up the shower tent next to it. For places that don't want you to dump water on the ground (Joshua Tree, for example) we have a child's wading pool to put in the bottom of the shower to catch the water.

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