Friday, December 10, 2010
Does it ever seem to you that people or money or messages arrive when you need them most? Not always when you want them most, mind you. I can wish all day for my mom and Joe, or my dad or anyone else I love to be sharing this journey with us. Or for a windfall worth billions to land at my feet. Or the answer to the long-debated chicken-or-egg dilemma. But it does not work that way. Sometimes life takes you by surprise; it's up to you whether you enjoy and appreciate the adventure, or you resist and resent it. Naptime started out horribly today but suddenly Sage sighed. "Mommy? I really love you." She hugged me tight as she drifted off to sleep. I cherish every hug, every smile, every I love you, but today's was extra special. Today I really needed it. More than she or I knew.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Catsup or Ketchup?
Neither. Really, it's catch-up. As in, "This is one heckuva catch-up post."
Let's start with our energy situation. We calculated our consumption needs in watts and determined the size of our deep cycle battery bank (to store the renewable energy to be harvested), and were ready to invest in one 100-watt solar panel, one 400-watt wind turbine, and three deep cycle batteries. The trailer (aka truckwagon) will be modified this winter to become our tiny home on wheels. Installing the new sources of energy, and then reinstalling them after the rebuild, would be a waste of time. Plus, our departure from Cedar Hill had already been delayed two days after our camper, El Valor, crashed...twice...so we did not have enough time to mount the panel or turbine before returning to Rockport. We decided to buy a new generator instead and to postpone the solar/wind install until after the trailer is finished.
Meet the Generac 2000 watt inverter generator. Plenty of power to run the air conditioner and one laptop, or two laptops and all the camper lights, on one gallon of gas for about four hours. An inverter generator is imperative for providing energy for a laptop, especially. Our old generator was not an inverter model, and we fried the battery on both computers. Now that we have the new generator we can replace the batteries without worrying about power surges. Furthermore, we won't need to be plugged in except to recharge the new batteries, so we can back off our consumption of fuel used to operate the generator. More efficient!
The solar kit will cost around $500 and the wind kit around $600. Deep cycle batteries run around $90 each, so 3 new ones will cost just under $300. The Texas Coast is mighty sunny and windy. Based on conservative estimates of energy collection and liberal estimates of consumption, our investment will be returned in less than 6 months. Additionally, when/if we take the wheels off our home, so to speak, we can always reuse these kits.
Connections to cell phone and internet service are patchy in some of the more remote areas we "live." There is a gadget that costs around $500 that enhances these signals. It is popular among RVers, especially folks like us with off-road capabilities. But like the solar/wind energy combo, we will have to postpone that purchase until after the trailer is finished. This relayer, I think it's called, could also be reused on our future home-without-wheels.
When we travel on highways, I power my laptop and charge our phones by utilizing the 12V outlets inside the cab of the truck. The outlet draws energy from the truck battery, which is recharged when the engine is running. The deep cycle battery we currently have installed inside El Valor is also connected to the truck battery, making our pickup a sort-of diesel powered generator. Because it is durable and can handle the load of several tasks simultaneously, and diesel burns relatively clean, it is considered an efficient and green method of accessing energy. The other benefit of working while we are in-motion is that I almost always have a clear, strong cellular and mobile broadband signal. The downside is, we are ALL IN THE TRUCK TOGETHER. If you call, you will be treated to a heaping helping of background noise. Ha ha ha.
Refrigeration is next. I really appreciate all the suggestions from our facebook friends. There are so many good options to choose from! For now, we have turned off the fridge except when we are staying in locations with water and electric hook-ups. When switched to propane, at least this time of year, we could probably keep most produce cool enough for a few days. That is the next experiment; I'll post the results soon. Down the road, we will probably replace the fridge or maybe just buy a new one for the trailer. Again, the design of the rebuild will dictate that purchase. Until then, we will continue to focus on self-packaged and non-perishable foods when dry-camping, and expand our choices when staying in "civilized" locales.
Water is more valuable than gold. To campers, at least. Access to clean and palatable water is scarce, more limited than you mght imagine. Bottled water is not the best solution due to the cost and the amount of trash/recyclables that generates. (More about waste management in a moment.) Filters are great, but not for our situation. The holding tank on El Valor is old and in desperate need of flushing. Even then, I'm not interested in actually drinking the water that pours forth from this 25-year-old faucet. One idea has been to replace the tank. Another has been to buy a gigantic tank and mount it somewhere on the trailer. Like most of the solutions, this one will also have to wait until after the rebuild. Until then, we refill a 5-gallon Igloo container with drinking spigot and two 1-gallon plastic jugs. We also have two 5-gallon shower bags: one is used for washing hands, the other will be used for rinsing off the rest of our bodies. The source depends on our current location. When dry-camping on the beaches near Corpus Christi, we use the potable water station near Malaquite Beach. In Rockport, our client allows us access to her water (and commercial ice maker!!!!) Otherwise, we use the water connections at the parks where we pay to stay.
Waste management has become a tremendous task. In parks and on the beaches, we have unlimited access to trash and recycling receptacles. In Rockport, however, we have to drive our trash to WalMart's public bins or parcel out our packages of waste in the bins of the many businesses we frequent: the gas station, the grocery store, WalMart, the laundromat, etc. Regardless of our location, we have discovered ways to minimize our refuse. One is to buy self-packaged foods, such as bananas, avocadoes, assorted berries and citrus. Yes, even peel-and-eat foods leave "packaging" behind, but at least it's bio-degradable. I have no problem flinging produce refuse into vegetation. Maybe some desperate animal can gnaw on my old banana peel until its typical foodstuff comes around again. Another is to avoid glass packaging. Along the coast, glass recycling is not available so all those jars and bottles get tossed into the landfill. Not green, people. We recycle metal wherever available. Anything that is paper or plastic, we burn. We "reuse" those items as kindling for our campfires. Cutting the recycling machinery out of the loop is more efficient, energy-wise, and therefore greener. I can't guarantee that it always smells all that great, though...
Exercise. Putting out these fires these nearly-three months has kept us very active, both physically and mentally. We are still very fit. But as we streamline processes, we will have more time and (pardon the double meaning) energy to restart our running regimen. I find myself fantasizing about it, really...that and consistent access to showers and toilets. But that's another post...
Let's start with our energy situation. We calculated our consumption needs in watts and determined the size of our deep cycle battery bank (to store the renewable energy to be harvested), and were ready to invest in one 100-watt solar panel, one 400-watt wind turbine, and three deep cycle batteries. The trailer (aka truckwagon) will be modified this winter to become our tiny home on wheels. Installing the new sources of energy, and then reinstalling them after the rebuild, would be a waste of time. Plus, our departure from Cedar Hill had already been delayed two days after our camper, El Valor, crashed...twice...so we did not have enough time to mount the panel or turbine before returning to Rockport. We decided to buy a new generator instead and to postpone the solar/wind install until after the trailer is finished.
 |
| new "pumpkin" generator |
Meet the Generac 2000 watt inverter generator. Plenty of power to run the air conditioner and one laptop, or two laptops and all the camper lights, on one gallon of gas for about four hours. An inverter generator is imperative for providing energy for a laptop, especially. Our old generator was not an inverter model, and we fried the battery on both computers. Now that we have the new generator we can replace the batteries without worrying about power surges. Furthermore, we won't need to be plugged in except to recharge the new batteries, so we can back off our consumption of fuel used to operate the generator. More efficient!
The solar kit will cost around $500 and the wind kit around $600. Deep cycle batteries run around $90 each, so 3 new ones will cost just under $300. The Texas Coast is mighty sunny and windy. Based on conservative estimates of energy collection and liberal estimates of consumption, our investment will be returned in less than 6 months. Additionally, when/if we take the wheels off our home, so to speak, we can always reuse these kits.
Connections to cell phone and internet service are patchy in some of the more remote areas we "live." There is a gadget that costs around $500 that enhances these signals. It is popular among RVers, especially folks like us with off-road capabilities. But like the solar/wind energy combo, we will have to postpone that purchase until after the trailer is finished. This relayer, I think it's called, could also be reused on our future home-without-wheels.
When we travel on highways, I power my laptop and charge our phones by utilizing the 12V outlets inside the cab of the truck. The outlet draws energy from the truck battery, which is recharged when the engine is running. The deep cycle battery we currently have installed inside El Valor is also connected to the truck battery, making our pickup a sort-of diesel powered generator. Because it is durable and can handle the load of several tasks simultaneously, and diesel burns relatively clean, it is considered an efficient and green method of accessing energy. The other benefit of working while we are in-motion is that I almost always have a clear, strong cellular and mobile broadband signal. The downside is, we are ALL IN THE TRUCK TOGETHER. If you call, you will be treated to a heaping helping of background noise. Ha ha ha.
Refrigeration is next. I really appreciate all the suggestions from our facebook friends. There are so many good options to choose from! For now, we have turned off the fridge except when we are staying in locations with water and electric hook-ups. When switched to propane, at least this time of year, we could probably keep most produce cool enough for a few days. That is the next experiment; I'll post the results soon. Down the road, we will probably replace the fridge or maybe just buy a new one for the trailer. Again, the design of the rebuild will dictate that purchase. Until then, we will continue to focus on self-packaged and non-perishable foods when dry-camping, and expand our choices when staying in "civilized" locales.
Water is more valuable than gold. To campers, at least. Access to clean and palatable water is scarce, more limited than you mght imagine. Bottled water is not the best solution due to the cost and the amount of trash/recyclables that generates. (More about waste management in a moment.) Filters are great, but not for our situation. The holding tank on El Valor is old and in desperate need of flushing. Even then, I'm not interested in actually drinking the water that pours forth from this 25-year-old faucet. One idea has been to replace the tank. Another has been to buy a gigantic tank and mount it somewhere on the trailer. Like most of the solutions, this one will also have to wait until after the rebuild. Until then, we refill a 5-gallon Igloo container with drinking spigot and two 1-gallon plastic jugs. We also have two 5-gallon shower bags: one is used for washing hands, the other will be used for rinsing off the rest of our bodies. The source depends on our current location. When dry-camping on the beaches near Corpus Christi, we use the potable water station near Malaquite Beach. In Rockport, our client allows us access to her water (and commercial ice maker!!!!) Otherwise, we use the water connections at the parks where we pay to stay.
Waste management has become a tremendous task. In parks and on the beaches, we have unlimited access to trash and recycling receptacles. In Rockport, however, we have to drive our trash to WalMart's public bins or parcel out our packages of waste in the bins of the many businesses we frequent: the gas station, the grocery store, WalMart, the laundromat, etc. Regardless of our location, we have discovered ways to minimize our refuse. One is to buy self-packaged foods, such as bananas, avocadoes, assorted berries and citrus. Yes, even peel-and-eat foods leave "packaging" behind, but at least it's bio-degradable. I have no problem flinging produce refuse into vegetation. Maybe some desperate animal can gnaw on my old banana peel until its typical foodstuff comes around again. Another is to avoid glass packaging. Along the coast, glass recycling is not available so all those jars and bottles get tossed into the landfill. Not green, people. We recycle metal wherever available. Anything that is paper or plastic, we burn. We "reuse" those items as kindling for our campfires. Cutting the recycling machinery out of the loop is more efficient, energy-wise, and therefore greener. I can't guarantee that it always smells all that great, though...
Exercise. Putting out these fires these nearly-three months has kept us very active, both physically and mentally. We are still very fit. But as we streamline processes, we will have more time and (pardon the double meaning) energy to restart our running regimen. I find myself fantasizing about it, really...that and consistent access to showers and toilets. But that's another post...
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Midnight Writers
This will be somewhat of a collaborative post. It is late (by our standards) but we have meetings in Dallas starting tomorrow and for the next several days. We must drive tonight until we are at least within 2 hours of our destination. David spent a lot of time photographing and reveling in the progress of the Rockport project today. He was not really needed onsite, and we were scheduled to leave early. But if you know him or his work, you know he could not leave until the last boulder was placed. Keith and the Appealing Gardens crew still had about two hours of hard labor today and will work a half-day tomorrow cleaning up. We will all be back very soon to plant and continue working on the homage to the Appian Way. The project is jaw-dropping, truly. I will let David add to this post later his thoughts and pics of this magazine-worthy masterpiece.
So David is dictating to me, reminding me that more than 100 tons of stone were laid in 6 days...and there is more to set when we return. Amazing is an understated description of the transformation of this one section of the property. The home and the view are priceless, and the vegetation was beautiful as it was. But this little "enhancement" has seamlessly connected the architecture with the million-dollar view of Copano Bay; and the native plantings to come will render the place undeniably stunning. This is a once-in-a-lifetime creation for any artisan, and we cast members are grateful for our roles. So many blessings...
Tomorrow will mark 9 weeks since this journey began. Our energy issues will be resolved soon -- work-wise, our plate has been too full to settle in one place long enough so that we may address each weak link in the energy chain. We know the problems, now we have to fix them. We also want to reconfigure the trailer to be more like a tiny house on wheels. That is the heart of our camp, we have discovered. Change is constant when you live a mobile lifestyle, and if you embrace the beauty of change your journey will be richer. If you resist it, a magical moment can be lost in a soup of struggle. A lesson that reveals the first step down a new path of opportunity and enlightenment might be ignored. Sometimes, like when I wake up stoked about breaking camp and changing my perspective (literally), I find that I actually thrive on change. Sometimes I have difficulty letting go of people, places and possessions steeped in nostalgic value. After 12 years, I finally set Grandma's gowns free...but not her scarves or her books about poetry...El Valor, as sentimental as we feel about her, might also be liberated. As "truckwagon the trailer" (gets a new name and) becomes more central to our rolling homestead, we might not need the camper. We have other ideas that would further simplify our set-up, and would enrich our experiences as we live.work.travel together. Bluebonnet aka Hula Girl -- my truck -- might also be allowed to find a new home. In nearly ten years, she has paid for herself at least a hundred times, and has continued to be dependable in landscape "retirement." It seems shameful and disrespectful to stow her in a sandy lot, exposed to the brutal coastal conditions. Nobody is ready to say goodbye to her yet, but we are preparing ourselves. Change is good, and sometimes very good.
Nearing Austin. I don't think David can keep going much longer. Maybe this is a good time to just do a quick summary of our journey so far:
One night in Austin, three nights in Plano, then two weeks in Cedar Hill.
Three nights in Lockhart, then three weeks on the beach.
One night in Mission for the Texas Butterfly Festival, then one week in DFW.
One night in New Braunfels, then to Wurstfest for the afternoon and one night in Mathis.
One week in Rockport.
So many memories, already. So many lessons...about energy, portable food, water, precious value of TIME...and priorities that allow you to savor the deliciousness of Now. Too often, we fill our mind-bellies with thoughts of Yesterday or plans for Tomorrow that we can not fully appreciate Today, and more specifically, Now. This.very.moment.
At this moment, my little butterfly girl is snoozing alongside her furry brother, Folsom. Like most days, she has played in her playhouse (aka truckwagon...we really really need a new name for it...) and sung songs and made up stories about her dolls with Mommy. She practiced writing letters and pretended to read her books. As we said goodbye to the Rockport folks, she kissed Keith on the cheek and thanked Damion for taking her for a ride on "the tractor." She picked up her mail and squealed with delight when she opened her new Dora shoes. She told the cashier at the gas station she is not allowed to have cookies anymore because sugar turns her "into a monster." After a huge glass of milk and much more singing and dancing in her carseat, she finally called it a (long) day. Precious girl lives every moment, every day, as if it's her best, not her last. Just like Mommy and Daddy are teaching her.
So David is dictating to me, reminding me that more than 100 tons of stone were laid in 6 days...and there is more to set when we return. Amazing is an understated description of the transformation of this one section of the property. The home and the view are priceless, and the vegetation was beautiful as it was. But this little "enhancement" has seamlessly connected the architecture with the million-dollar view of Copano Bay; and the native plantings to come will render the place undeniably stunning. This is a once-in-a-lifetime creation for any artisan, and we cast members are grateful for our roles. So many blessings...
Tomorrow will mark 9 weeks since this journey began. Our energy issues will be resolved soon -- work-wise, our plate has been too full to settle in one place long enough so that we may address each weak link in the energy chain. We know the problems, now we have to fix them. We also want to reconfigure the trailer to be more like a tiny house on wheels. That is the heart of our camp, we have discovered. Change is constant when you live a mobile lifestyle, and if you embrace the beauty of change your journey will be richer. If you resist it, a magical moment can be lost in a soup of struggle. A lesson that reveals the first step down a new path of opportunity and enlightenment might be ignored. Sometimes, like when I wake up stoked about breaking camp and changing my perspective (literally), I find that I actually thrive on change. Sometimes I have difficulty letting go of people, places and possessions steeped in nostalgic value. After 12 years, I finally set Grandma's gowns free...but not her scarves or her books about poetry...El Valor, as sentimental as we feel about her, might also be liberated. As "truckwagon the trailer" (gets a new name and) becomes more central to our rolling homestead, we might not need the camper. We have other ideas that would further simplify our set-up, and would enrich our experiences as we live.work.travel together. Bluebonnet aka Hula Girl -- my truck -- might also be allowed to find a new home. In nearly ten years, she has paid for herself at least a hundred times, and has continued to be dependable in landscape "retirement." It seems shameful and disrespectful to stow her in a sandy lot, exposed to the brutal coastal conditions. Nobody is ready to say goodbye to her yet, but we are preparing ourselves. Change is good, and sometimes very good.
Nearing Austin. I don't think David can keep going much longer. Maybe this is a good time to just do a quick summary of our journey so far:
One night in Austin, three nights in Plano, then two weeks in Cedar Hill.
Three nights in Lockhart, then three weeks on the beach.
One night in Mission for the Texas Butterfly Festival, then one week in DFW.
One night in New Braunfels, then to Wurstfest for the afternoon and one night in Mathis.
One week in Rockport.
So many memories, already. So many lessons...about energy, portable food, water, precious value of TIME...and priorities that allow you to savor the deliciousness of Now. Too often, we fill our mind-bellies with thoughts of Yesterday or plans for Tomorrow that we can not fully appreciate Today, and more specifically, Now. This.very.moment.
At this moment, my little butterfly girl is snoozing alongside her furry brother, Folsom. Like most days, she has played in her playhouse (aka truckwagon...we really really need a new name for it...) and sung songs and made up stories about her dolls with Mommy. She practiced writing letters and pretended to read her books. As we said goodbye to the Rockport folks, she kissed Keith on the cheek and thanked Damion for taking her for a ride on "the tractor." She picked up her mail and squealed with delight when she opened her new Dora shoes. She told the cashier at the gas station she is not allowed to have cookies anymore because sugar turns her "into a monster." After a huge glass of milk and much more singing and dancing in her carseat, she finally called it a (long) day. Precious girl lives every moment, every day, as if it's her best, not her last. Just like Mommy and Daddy are teaching her.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Our Island
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| Drive leading to our camp on the 'island' |
Salute to Sausage!
Last weekend after leaving Cedar Hill we drove to New Braunfels. Our friends, Laura and Daryl, invited us to plug in the rig, then join them at Wurstfest. The 10-day salute to sausage! They ended up going without us because we had a meeting Saturday morning and left later than planned. Then, just as the late-autumn sunset enveloped us like a grey sweater, the lights on the trailer malfunctioned. For 2 teeth-grinding hours I assisted David and burned some of Sage and Folsom's energy. He unspliced and respliced the wires more times than I would have patience to do. In the end, it was the bulbs; they had become loose. Apparently that can happen after faceplanting...Finally we arrived at The Manor long after they had wrapped their night of sausage and Shiner. Still, we spent some time gabbing and catching up. We have an open invite which we will gladly use...and we did make it to Wurstfest, after all, the next day. Festive!
Thank you thank you thank you, Laura and Daryl, for your hospitality. And thanks to Sam for taking Sage on her first golf cart ride. :)
Thank you thank you thank you, Laura and Daryl, for your hospitality. And thanks to Sam for taking Sage on her first golf cart ride. :)
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| sage and sam |
Coyotes and Bobcats
The coyotes were hungry early. My brother, Mick, and I constructed a campfire while Sage entertained us with stories and dancing and singing. David was on his way back from meetings and a speaking engagement at a college. It was just after sunset. Folsom's floppy ear stood up straight, and we all heard the symphony of several coyotes singing and yelping. Usually, they begin their song around midnight. Usually, you hear but do not see them. But the next day, mid-morning and just before the weekenders arrived, one coyote emerged from the vegetation that delineates campsite from campsite. He stood in the middle of the road. About 15 minutes later, a bobcat stood in the same spot. Neither approached our camp but looked us over. They were gone as suddenly as they appeared, and before I could pluck my camera from inside El Valor. Now we are in Rockport on Copano Bay. Coyote tracks are sprinkled all over this little peninsula. Raccoon and various bird tracks, too.
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| The gifted and ever-inspiring Mick Tinsley, fireside at cedar hill sp |
Monday, November 1, 2010
Trailer Tragedy
Any story that begins with "Everybody is fine" usually takes you on a few twists and turns, right? For starters, "everybody is fine..."
If you have been following our story recently you know that Friday night and Saturday morning we spent in Mission, just a couple of miles from the US-Mexico border. We took Sage to the Texas Butterfly Festival in Mission and then headed north for a week's worth of meetings in the DFW/Denton area. Initially we had planned to stay at Ray Roberts State Park, but as we approached DFW, we decided to stay in Cedar Hill. We hoped to find a car wash to hose off our truck/camper/trailer configuration before checking into the state park there. Three weeks on the beach have left a thick film of salt, sand and who-knows-what-else on the siding, the windows and everywhere in between. By the time we arrived in CH, we chucked that idea and decided to go directly to the park and check in, then dress Sage for trick-or-treating and head out for an early and quick Halloween celebration. Good thing we had a sudden change in plans...Sometimes all the best-laid plans fall apart. Have I not written about this, ad nauseum? And recently?
We checked in without incident. I asked the reservations clerk about neighborhoods close to the park that might be suitable for t-or-t with a 2-year-old. She drew a map for me and even told me where she lives. Armed with a fistful of useful information, and happy that Sage was napping before the Big Night, I suggested to David that we quickly set up our campsite first, then rifle through Sage's dress-up clothes to pull together a unique handmade costume before hitting the nearby neighborhood. I was recounting some of my favorite childhood costumes -- the gypsy, the year I was Pete Rose (before he was dishonored) -- and the virtues of creating something spectacular from everyday items lying around the house. I think I was mid-sentence describing the map Stella had drawn for me, and thinking aloud about the materials I needed to pull together Sage's trick-or-treat bag costume, as she had requested. Suddenly, I heard metal crunch and an awful grinding sound -- it sounded like the truck's transmission was falling off a cliff and hitting every boulder. Sage continued to nap peacefully.
"What's wrong with the truck?" I shrieked.
And then everything shifted into slow...motion...
Nothing was wrong with the truck. I looked into the rearview mirror in time to watch -- again, in slow motion -- a chasm between the trailer and the truck develop then widen. The trailer pitched forward and made an awful, pitiful moaning sound as it skidded to stop. The truck kept lurching forward -- faster, faster. The trailer faceplanted onto the road. Everything inside surely had been destroyed, because the heaviest item -- the 88-lb. generator -- was at the back of the trailer. And everything in its path forward is flimsy, plastic drawers filled with tiny toys, books and puzzles, and clothing. Surely none of these items escaped the destruction of the flying dead-weight, gas-leaking generator.
The trailer did not become unhitched. The hitch and about half the towing arm were still attached to the truck. Metal fatigue is how a few people on the scene as well as on facebook have explained the 'tragedy.' Basically, the arm broke off at the trailer. Here are some of the weird and wonderful details of our catastrophe:
1. None of us were injured.
2. The incident occurred inside Cedar Hill State Park, not on the highway.
3. We were moving at 15 mph, no more but most likely less, on an uphill section of park road.
4. The park is nearly empty so we did not cause any serious traffic problems.
5. The trailer pitched itself forward, tumbling very slowly uphill, instead of rolling backwards and downhill into the trees. Or worse, into the few cars that did follow us uphill.
6. When the trailer landed on its nose, the gas cans mounted on either side were facing upward and did not leak.
7. The generator fell "up", sort-of, so no gas leaked. Only a few knicks in one of the sets of plastic drawers, the generator did not destroy anything, surprisingly. And it was being stored at the rear of the trailer. When it went on its nose, I was certain the generator pulverized everything in its path. Aside from the minor knicks, there is no damage to anything. Miraculous.
8. The generator started on the first test-pull. We might not need it for another few months but at least we know it still works.
The failure of the metalworks is easier to understand than rationalizing the minimal nature of the damage to our belongings. Logically, everything should be completely useless now. Quite the opposite. Everything but the 'tongue' is intact.
Park police were on the scene within seconds. The officer tried not to laugh but eventually he could not help himself. The sight of our bicycles dangling into the sky alone was comical. He remained with us as we tried to assess what went wrong, photographed the 'carnage' (ha), and even assisted us by calling a wrecker service to turn our trailer upright. He continued to stay with us as the tow truck picked up the trailer, towed her, and deposited her onto our site inside the park. Wonderful guy -- thank you, if you are reading this! The trailer was on our site but we still needed to prop her up so we could access the contents -- namely, Sage's clothing so that we could assemble a creative and suitable Halloween costume. First, we needed to open the front end door. When the trailer landed on it, we were certain that all the contents had also landed there. David asked me to stand back while he opened the door. He pried it open...and stood back to the side of the trailer...and out tumbled Sage's tricycle, slightly bent, and one beer. That was all. A few taps of a hammer and the trike was good as new. The beer was still cold...
Apparently when the trailer fell forward the cooler spilled ice, beer and food we had purchased the night before. The beer and food fell INTO the ice, so when we were ready to imbibe, our beverages were cold and ripe for the drinking. Thank you, army of angels. ;-) Feverishly and frantically, we worked to empty the trailer (and an ice cold beer or two) so that we could lift the trailer high enough to stabilize it on blocks. By the time we finished that, and found enough elements to create a Dora costume (the bag idea was not to be...) it was almost 9pm. Who takes their 2-yr-old trick-or-treating at 9pm???
We did. Despite the near-miss-tragedy, and the potential for all of our clothing, Sage's toys and some of our business supplies (e.g. printer and laminator) being destroyed, David and I were adamant about taking our little girl out to celebrate Halloween. Just in case we could not remedy the situation in time, I prepared her for the worst. She started to whine a little. Then she said she understood...my heart crumbled. There was no way I was going to let her down. She was going out, no matter what.
In her drawers I found a pair of orange shorts, a pink sweater (not a pink t-shirt as Dora is known to wear), white and pink (instead of white and yellow) ruffled socks, tennis shoes, and an official Dora backpack with Map hanging out the side. I pulled back her hair -- c'mon, there was no way I was going to find a brunette bobbed wig at that late hour -- and painted flowers and "Dora" on her tiny cheeks. She carried her monkey doll -- Boots -- that she has had since before birth. Maybe it was a half-ass costume, pulled together two hours past the eleventh hour -- but it worked. We made sure we complimented her incessantly and treated her as if she were the 'real' Dora. Smiles galore.
We don't know the neighborhoods well enough but I had that map from Stella, the park employee. In all the chaos, the map fell between other papers and possibly under the seat. I don't know. I couldn't find the darned thing. As of this moment, I still have not excavated it from the rubble inside the truck. So I relied on my memory and we found an area nearby that still had revelers going door-to-door. As you might imagine, there were not many homes receiving trick-or-treaters at 9:30pm. Actually, we found only two homes. I'm sure there were more but there was no way I was keeping her up any later for such slim possibilities. My grand idea was to take her to WalMart (it's almost next door to the park) and buy candy and holiday decor. When we returned to our site, I could decorate the camper and then let her t-o-t for the candy we picked out. She seemed to love the idea, or maybe she felt really sorry about all that we had been through, and decided to be grateful for David's and my effort to make the holiday special.
In my family, we call this the Easter Basket Incident. When I was younger than Sage my mom totally freaked out on my dad because they did not have a basket for me on Easter. She wigged. Seriously. I don't remember the incident but I've heard about it my entire life. There was a time that I rolled my eyes..."oh Mommmmm." Now I'm that mommy. My little girl was looking forward to dressing up, getting candy, and celebrating spookiness. Two of her favorite books are Halloween-themed Dora the Explorer tomes. No way I was going to disappoint her. No way I was going to let something like a trailer flipping over and breaking off our truck ruin her holiday. So we emptied the contents of the trailer all around our site and pulled something together, last-minute. I cried while we worked, because I was concerned we might not be able to get to her things in time to dress her and celebrate. I cried because although I had no direct responsibility for anything that had happened, I felt guilty that her holiday might be ruined. No way that was happening. No way was my little girl going to bed without even a hint of the Halloween spirit.
Everything we dragged out of the trailer was left disorganized and strewn around our site. Doors were left open. We hit the town and had a great time. Although she only got a few treats, she enjoyed the experience. She got it. We celebrated together at home briefly before everybody collapsed into bed around midnight. Today, we organized the mess as best we could. A welder repaired our trailer, so now we are back in the mobile lifestyle business. And Sage's fondest memory of Halloween is "driving to go trick-or-treating." Tragedy (somewhat) resolved.
If you have been following our story recently you know that Friday night and Saturday morning we spent in Mission, just a couple of miles from the US-Mexico border. We took Sage to the Texas Butterfly Festival in Mission and then headed north for a week's worth of meetings in the DFW/Denton area. Initially we had planned to stay at Ray Roberts State Park, but as we approached DFW, we decided to stay in Cedar Hill. We hoped to find a car wash to hose off our truck/camper/trailer configuration before checking into the state park there. Three weeks on the beach have left a thick film of salt, sand and who-knows-what-else on the siding, the windows and everywhere in between. By the time we arrived in CH, we chucked that idea and decided to go directly to the park and check in, then dress Sage for trick-or-treating and head out for an early and quick Halloween celebration. Good thing we had a sudden change in plans...Sometimes all the best-laid plans fall apart. Have I not written about this, ad nauseum? And recently?
We checked in without incident. I asked the reservations clerk about neighborhoods close to the park that might be suitable for t-or-t with a 2-year-old. She drew a map for me and even told me where she lives. Armed with a fistful of useful information, and happy that Sage was napping before the Big Night, I suggested to David that we quickly set up our campsite first, then rifle through Sage's dress-up clothes to pull together a unique handmade costume before hitting the nearby neighborhood. I was recounting some of my favorite childhood costumes -- the gypsy, the year I was Pete Rose (before he was dishonored) -- and the virtues of creating something spectacular from everyday items lying around the house. I think I was mid-sentence describing the map Stella had drawn for me, and thinking aloud about the materials I needed to pull together Sage's trick-or-treat bag costume, as she had requested. Suddenly, I heard metal crunch and an awful grinding sound -- it sounded like the truck's transmission was falling off a cliff and hitting every boulder. Sage continued to nap peacefully.
"What's wrong with the truck?" I shrieked.
And then everything shifted into slow...motion...
Nothing was wrong with the truck. I looked into the rearview mirror in time to watch -- again, in slow motion -- a chasm between the trailer and the truck develop then widen. The trailer pitched forward and made an awful, pitiful moaning sound as it skidded to stop. The truck kept lurching forward -- faster, faster. The trailer faceplanted onto the road. Everything inside surely had been destroyed, because the heaviest item -- the 88-lb. generator -- was at the back of the trailer. And everything in its path forward is flimsy, plastic drawers filled with tiny toys, books and puzzles, and clothing. Surely none of these items escaped the destruction of the flying dead-weight, gas-leaking generator.
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| sheared metal |
The trailer did not become unhitched. The hitch and about half the towing arm were still attached to the truck. Metal fatigue is how a few people on the scene as well as on facebook have explained the 'tragedy.' Basically, the arm broke off at the trailer. Here are some of the weird and wonderful details of our catastrophe:
1. None of us were injured.
2. The incident occurred inside Cedar Hill State Park, not on the highway.
3. We were moving at 15 mph, no more but most likely less, on an uphill section of park road.
4. The park is nearly empty so we did not cause any serious traffic problems.
5. The trailer pitched itself forward, tumbling very slowly uphill, instead of rolling backwards and downhill into the trees. Or worse, into the few cars that did follow us uphill.
6. When the trailer landed on its nose, the gas cans mounted on either side were facing upward and did not leak.
7. The generator fell "up", sort-of, so no gas leaked. Only a few knicks in one of the sets of plastic drawers, the generator did not destroy anything, surprisingly. And it was being stored at the rear of the trailer. When it went on its nose, I was certain the generator pulverized everything in its path. Aside from the minor knicks, there is no damage to anything. Miraculous.
8. The generator started on the first test-pull. We might not need it for another few months but at least we know it still works.
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| showing sage the scene..."mommy, i don't think sticky tape will fix this." |
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| my kitchen! |
The failure of the metalworks is easier to understand than rationalizing the minimal nature of the damage to our belongings. Logically, everything should be completely useless now. Quite the opposite. Everything but the 'tongue' is intact.
Park police were on the scene within seconds. The officer tried not to laugh but eventually he could not help himself. The sight of our bicycles dangling into the sky alone was comical. He remained with us as we tried to assess what went wrong, photographed the 'carnage' (ha), and even assisted us by calling a wrecker service to turn our trailer upright. He continued to stay with us as the tow truck picked up the trailer, towed her, and deposited her onto our site inside the park. Wonderful guy -- thank you, if you are reading this! The trailer was on our site but we still needed to prop her up so we could access the contents -- namely, Sage's clothing so that we could assemble a creative and suitable Halloween costume. First, we needed to open the front end door. When the trailer landed on it, we were certain that all the contents had also landed there. David asked me to stand back while he opened the door. He pried it open...and stood back to the side of the trailer...and out tumbled Sage's tricycle, slightly bent, and one beer. That was all. A few taps of a hammer and the trike was good as new. The beer was still cold...
Apparently when the trailer fell forward the cooler spilled ice, beer and food we had purchased the night before. The beer and food fell INTO the ice, so when we were ready to imbibe, our beverages were cold and ripe for the drinking. Thank you, army of angels. ;-) Feverishly and frantically, we worked to empty the trailer (and an ice cold beer or two) so that we could lift the trailer high enough to stabilize it on blocks. By the time we finished that, and found enough elements to create a Dora costume (the bag idea was not to be...) it was almost 9pm. Who takes their 2-yr-old trick-or-treating at 9pm???
We did. Despite the near-miss-tragedy, and the potential for all of our clothing, Sage's toys and some of our business supplies (e.g. printer and laminator) being destroyed, David and I were adamant about taking our little girl out to celebrate Halloween. Just in case we could not remedy the situation in time, I prepared her for the worst. She started to whine a little. Then she said she understood...my heart crumbled. There was no way I was going to let her down. She was going out, no matter what.
In her drawers I found a pair of orange shorts, a pink sweater (not a pink t-shirt as Dora is known to wear), white and pink (instead of white and yellow) ruffled socks, tennis shoes, and an official Dora backpack with Map hanging out the side. I pulled back her hair -- c'mon, there was no way I was going to find a brunette bobbed wig at that late hour -- and painted flowers and "Dora" on her tiny cheeks. She carried her monkey doll -- Boots -- that she has had since before birth. Maybe it was a half-ass costume, pulled together two hours past the eleventh hour -- but it worked. We made sure we complimented her incessantly and treated her as if she were the 'real' Dora. Smiles galore.
We don't know the neighborhoods well enough but I had that map from Stella, the park employee. In all the chaos, the map fell between other papers and possibly under the seat. I don't know. I couldn't find the darned thing. As of this moment, I still have not excavated it from the rubble inside the truck. So I relied on my memory and we found an area nearby that still had revelers going door-to-door. As you might imagine, there were not many homes receiving trick-or-treaters at 9:30pm. Actually, we found only two homes. I'm sure there were more but there was no way I was keeping her up any later for such slim possibilities. My grand idea was to take her to WalMart (it's almost next door to the park) and buy candy and holiday decor. When we returned to our site, I could decorate the camper and then let her t-o-t for the candy we picked out. She seemed to love the idea, or maybe she felt really sorry about all that we had been through, and decided to be grateful for David's and my effort to make the holiday special.
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| oh noooooo |
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| ready to tilt |
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| almost up now |
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| quick and professional, and personal, service...love this company |
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| ilfrey ladies in total shock |
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| oh look, i found a book under all this mess |
In my family, we call this the Easter Basket Incident. When I was younger than Sage my mom totally freaked out on my dad because they did not have a basket for me on Easter. She wigged. Seriously. I don't remember the incident but I've heard about it my entire life. There was a time that I rolled my eyes..."oh Mommmmm." Now I'm that mommy. My little girl was looking forward to dressing up, getting candy, and celebrating spookiness. Two of her favorite books are Halloween-themed Dora the Explorer tomes. No way I was going to disappoint her. No way I was going to let something like a trailer flipping over and breaking off our truck ruin her holiday. So we emptied the contents of the trailer all around our site and pulled something together, last-minute. I cried while we worked, because I was concerned we might not be able to get to her things in time to dress her and celebrate. I cried because although I had no direct responsibility for anything that had happened, I felt guilty that her holiday might be ruined. No way that was happening. No way was my little girl going to bed without even a hint of the Halloween spirit.
Everything we dragged out of the trailer was left disorganized and strewn around our site. Doors were left open. We hit the town and had a great time. Although she only got a few treats, she enjoyed the experience. She got it. We celebrated together at home briefly before everybody collapsed into bed around midnight. Today, we organized the mess as best we could. A welder repaired our trailer, so now we are back in the mobile lifestyle business. And Sage's fondest memory of Halloween is "driving to go trick-or-treating." Tragedy (somewhat) resolved.
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| exhausted but ecstatic about being dora |
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| boots? oh yes, boots. my best friend. right. |
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