January 29, 2023
Course correction
Freeze!
We knew it would be cold Saturday night, down into the teens by Sunday morning. The trailer isn’t really set up for winter use, but Barry installed an insulating heated pipe wrap that keeps the water pipe under the trailer from freezing at least. It’s a cheap rig that has worked well so far. The hope is that the heat inside the camper keeps the rest of the plumbing, which is also inside the camper, warm enough.
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Sometime around 1 or 2 am I heard the water pump spontaneously turn on, a thing it does when it runs out of water, wants more and can’t get it. At that hour I didn’t want to think about any implications of this behavior; I just turned off the pump and went back to sleep.
In the morning, it’s 18 degrees outside and we can't coax any water out of the taps. It's cold inside too, down to 52 degrees. Apparently the operative propane tank ran empty overnight. Barry grabs his clothes so he can go out to turn on the other propane tank and finds his underwear in a soggy heap at the base of a wet wall, which is next to the plumbing for the kitchen sink. This doesn’t seem good. It's possible a pipe froze but he can’t really tell what’s going on until it all thaws out.
By 9:00 am it’s up to 19 degrees in Iola. Clearly there’s nothing to be done about it here so we decide to get going and figure out our next step on the road.
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The original plan was to hammer out 780 miles over two days to Socorro, a cool historic New Mexico town, stay over and bike the trails along the Rio Grande the next day. It’s as close as I can get to bike romance on a road trip. The problem is the lows there will be in the 20s all week and we really need to deal with the plumbing questions. Sigh, the Socorro trails will have to wait for another trip.
Looking further south where it’s warmer, Las Cruces is the obvious destination. It's on the way to Tucson, we can get there in a couple of days, the lows are above freezing, and there are lots of repair services.
Most importantly, we should be able to get in a good ride there. We’re hoping to meet up with some friends and ride the next day. It's just a different kind of bike romance. Getting excited!
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1 year ago
1 year ago
We set our sights for tonight on Ute Lake State Park in Logan NM, front-loading the drive at just over 500 miles today so we'll get to Las Cruces earlier tomorrow. Generally we try not to pull the trailer more than 400 miles in a day. It’s a slow ride. We try to keep the speed at 60 mph, lower in high winds. Our mileage sometimes tanks as low as 7 mpg depending on hills and wind so we’re stopping for gas every 100-120 miles. This trip we’re taking US 54 which has very little truck traffic and less stress than the interstate. It takes us through all the charming towns on the way where we dutifully drop our speed to 25 mph and slowly gear back up. With lunch, 400 miles easily takes all day.
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We've been driving US 54 since Camdenton Missouri last Friday and will continue on it to Las Cruces tomorrow. The Flint Hills and the winter grasses on the Kansas prairie are beautiful on this cloudy frosty day, much more enjoyable here than from the interstate. We keep the gas stops short and grab some food from the camper to minimize delays. Still, by 6:30 it’s dark and there’s still over an hour to go on a two-lane stretch of the highway. We really need to stick to the 400-mile limit.
The campground at Ute Lake is deserted when I pull in, and the site is level enough that Barry doesn’t bother unhitching the trailer. We fill up our bottles at the hydrant and are buttoned up inside before too long, ready for a dry camping night. I have to wait two more sleeps before the next bike ride, but things are basically ok.
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1 year ago