They call the wind Mariah
We’ve been in some wind on our journey. A snowstorm in Indiana with 30+ mph gusts hitting us sideways as we tried to drive the hell out of Indiana. On the bluffs overlooking the ocean in Oregon and California with 30 mph gale force winds and gusts up to 50mph. On Chimacum ridge of the Olympic peninsula with 60mph gusts. None of that prepared us for a windstorm in the mountains of Arizona.
The windstorm lasted for three days. It was unrelenting waves of wind that would drop off to about 5mph and then slowly build up until the camper vibrated. About three or four times an hour a truly severe one would come through. It would hit what was the normal cap and then a much strong wind would strike like a hammer blow. I have no idea what the windspeed of those blows was, but definitely more than the sixty I had experienced in the past. We weren’t in danger of being flipped, but we had to have the slide in, everything locked down, and we were largely trapped inside. It was so loud sleep was difficult. The first day and a half it was so dusty it looked like scenes from The Mummy. We had windows slightly open on the opposite side from the wind and yet everything was coated in a layer of grit. Late evening of the second-day rain, Tess, rolled in and stayed steady for about eight hours. The terrain soaked it up like an overly dry sponge, but the dust level was much reduced after that. In the future, we will take wind more seriously and get out of dodge.
The Solar is Joe?
Our plans originally involved a great deal of getting off the grid. World events thwarted that but are still what we see in our future. However; the solar setup was having issues and to Arizona, we came for upgrades and fixes. We had a faulty color panel, picture below, a faulty breaker, and two external panels that were a royal pain to use. As of yesterday, we are fully set up. In the below picture the 719W is our solar coming in, which includes about 150W from a new suitcase with stand. That is enough power that we don’t have to monitor energy consumption during the day even on rainy and cloudy days. Also, we added WIFI capabilities, can check the system from the web, and getting firmware updates all happens on its own. Today makes seven days off-grid, our longest ever, and we are hoping to hit thirteen before we leave. Our limiting factor is now our black tank.
The fun stuff
This part of Arizona is amazing. I love that this area has been so impacted by music. Every little town that Route 66 went through has kept it up so you can drive on it all over the place, and I am pretty sure Winslow wouldn’t have survived without the Eagles. There is far more to do and see than we will get done in our couple of weeks, but we shall return. Image gallery, the real reason people come to my blog, is below.
May peace find you.
Found a lot of blooms while hiking. 
No clue what any of them are. 
They make a nice foreground for mountains. 
Rain in the distance this shot. 
Lovely orange flowers all over. 
Local daycare agrees with Shanti. 
900 year old lava flow. 
Kendra in front of peaks. 
Ponderosa pine in front of peaks 
Ancient cliff city 
Mostly pinion pines growing. 
So many dwellings in the cliffs 
I could see living here 
Might need kneepads to get in and out. 
The rooms with windows are nice. 
So lush and green after the storm. 
Can you see the distant dwellings? 
Citizens must have been in great shape. 
Another great view from cliff city. 
Solar is fixed celebration. 
Who doesn’t love a Meade hall? 
Campsite on closed road is lovely. 
Celebrity Siting! Hi Vegan RV. 
Sunset in front of Tortuga 
Sunset 
Another Sunset 
Arizona has great fucking sunsets!
Torta Log 