Friday
– June 30, 2017 – Richardson Lake Camp Host
Temps:
High 73º, Low 52º
We
are nearing the end of our first week here at Richardson Lake. It has
been a bit cool and rainy but today we finally got a break and the
sun is coming out between the clouds. Today is Friday of the Fourth
of July weekend. Should be lots of campers coming in today and over
the weekend. Many of them will leave on Tuesday so we will have our
peace and quiet again.
When
we were in Goshen at the Heartland Rally, Dennis was chastised by a
gentleman that asked him how he could submit me to the awful experience of camping without hookups! I have to admit having full
hookups (electric, water and sewer) is nice however most of the time
it comes at the expense of privacy and ambiance. Most places, at
least where we have been, the full hookup sites are spaced pretty
close together and in some cases you can see right into your
neighbors unit and practically shake their hand. They typically cost
more and the setting is more city like than a true camping
experience. At this national forest campground we have no services to
our site which is referred to as dry camping. We rely on our
batteries for electricity and use fresh water from our tank and live
in relative comfort.
So
what do we do about electricity?
I
mentioned in one of my first blogs that Dennis installed a solar
collection system on our rig. And in January purchased a new set of
6-volt renewable energy batteries. He installed a monitoring system
so we can see the status of the batteries. The batteries have
performed very well as we have been here 5 ½ days, have not run the
generator to charge them and they are still at 91% of charge. Because
we are in the woods there is not enough sun getting to the solar
panels so eventually we will have to run the generator to charge them
but at the moment we have plenty of electricity.
In
addition to having the right batteries we have to adjust our life
style a bit. Some people would probably say its adjusting it a lot
but to each their own. A lot of the lights in the camper were already
LED so Dennis replaced most of them that were not. The first few days
we were very frugal with lights, turning off any that were not
essential at the moment. As we were seeing that the lights are not
drawing much we have been less concerned about them. We have run the
gas furnace, which has an electric fan, a few nights and in the
mornings to take the dampness out of the camper. We have not used the
microwave and use the gas stove to cook, heat water for tea and make
coffee as well as cook outside over the fire or use our dutch ovens.
Of course the water pump and gas refrigerator uses electricity among
other misc. components in the camper. Dennis installed a 12-volt
outlet in the bedroom so we can charge our phones with a 12-volt USB
plug. There is virtually no TV signal here so we are not using the TV
which if we did would require running the inverter. That would be a
double whammy as both the TV and inverter need electricity to run.
For
these “sacrifices” we get pleasant surroundings, a great view and
solitude. Next post...how do we manage our water.
Where
we are parked: Richardson Lake Campground – Wabeno WI
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