successful relo to Alamogordo

This relo went particularly well.

leaving Capitan

As I headed out to Jagger to pick up water I though about the probably trip to AZ in December. Specifically that I should change the oil and filter beforehand.

I took on ~20 gallons of water, coiled up the potable hose and headed out to Capitan proper. When I started the engine the OIL CHANGE REQUIRED timer appeared on the dash. :-) I added oil and filter to my task list for my next walmart run.

library downloads

Stopped first at the public library and glommed onto the wifi. Updated and downloaded everything that needed updating or downloading. Took Muffin for a walk while it finished up.

the drive

I noted gas prices in Capitan, consulted the range predictor, and saw I could easily make it to Alamogordo with ~70 miles to spare. This paid off; it’s about $0.45 cheaper per gallon in Alamogordo.

The drive was uneventful.

Alamogordo

My route hit a few spots before heading out to a boondocking spot:

thrift store

I picked up a few things I needed and a couple good deals. There were rolls of thermal fax paper for $1 so I picked up a few. The stuff does go bad after a few years so it’s not a sure thing. Will test before I leave this spot.

Also picked up some foamboard to make an insulated box. I haven’t been successful in my attempts to trade my original 100Ah LFP for a bottle of rye whiskey, so I’ll parallel it with the 280Ah SFK. I found the heavy paralleling cables and dug out the battery. It’s sitting at 13.15v so I’ll make the change some morning when the main bank is about that same voltage.

I don’t really need the extra 100Ah but using it is better than carrying it around for no reason.

planet fitness

Took a cold shower at the world’s worst PF. The worst park about it is my old Soviet-era Vostok watch had developed a problem with the stem and would not screw down. I knew it was a matter of time before water ingress wrecked it. This was the day.

I ordered a different one, a used Vostok Komandirskie from the Soviet era and will move the watchband from the dead one to the new-to-me one. It might seem strange for someone involved in the cold war army would have a Soviet object. It is my reminder that authoritarian government was the enemy, not the people of the USSR.

salvage grocery

I like to hit this grocery first. Got a loaf of excellent multi-grain Orowheat bread, a bar of Ritter chocolate, Matzoh soup mix, etc. The most surprising find was a NIB Lee case case length gauge & shell holder(.357 magnum). It and two others in calibers I don’t shoot were $0.50 each.

filing in the gaps at walmart

Picked up the other groceries I needed at WM, and the oil/filter for the oil change.

new campsite

I did stop by Holloman but the gates were closed. Seasonal or because of shutdown? Dunno. So I hit up the other place.

tasks

oil change

When I first got the Promaster I installed a Fumoto drain valve. With this setup you an attach a hose to the spigot and run it directly into the recycling container. Open the valve for a dripless oil draining experience. Also makes it trivial to remove a bit of oil for analysis or to fix an overfill.

After putting in the new filter and oil I cut open the old filter media. No sparkles anywhere (they can be the first signs of rocker arm issues).

coolant

My PM, like many of that generation, has a tiny coolant reservoir crack somewhere. It tends to crack again after replacement so many folks (myself included) just carry some extra and top off as needed. Takes me about about 1.5 years to go through a gallon of coolant. I added the last bit of the old gallon to the reservoir. I reused the empty gallon jug and a gallon of distilled water from WM to dilute the gallon of concentrated I’d been lugging. So now I have 2gal of coolant which should last me 2-3 years.

dashcam

Dog and I have been fighting over the dashcam; she loves to unplug and I don’t want her to. So I removed the wiring she had access to and ran the mini USB through the overcab storage area.

Since this new power source is effectively always-on, I changed the dashcam setup to record only when it detects motion. And set it to turn off the LCD screen. We’ll see how I like it.

state park

Offloaded the scooter to access to the back doors. Since it was out I bopped up to the state park that is a couple miles up the road. I’ve always wanted to look around. The scoot was so stable on the curvy road up there that it was too easy to end up in excess of the posted speed limit….

There’s nothing up there I’d be willing to pay $30/night (hookups) or $15/night (no hookups) for. The $5 day pass might be worth it for some if the “hot showers” are working.