2015 Trip 2: a little electrical work...

Silver Lake PP - May 2015

Friday
Like Cedar Cove is our first weekend, Silver Lake PP always seems to be our May long weekend destination. It is relatively close, within 2 hours, and we get to visit Helen & Paul at their nearby cottage.

 Traffic was slow, totally expected, given it is a long weekend. Did not eyeball many trailers on the road, only a few, perhaps they are not as brave as us this early in the season.

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2015 Trip 1: season 6 begins...

Cedar Cove, White Lake, May 2015

Friday:
The opening weekend, one of our favourite times of the year. Again we are headed to Cedar Cove, as it is a nice campground, and offers the services we like to have when opening or closing. We always try to snag our favourite spot down by the water.

 For the beginning of May, quite a heat spell this week, every day around 30C or above 80F. A welcome change after the long cold winter we just experienced.

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Adding a little storage

We have contemplated the front storage cabinet for a while now. I was concerned how it would visually affect the smooth flow of the curved ceiling, and the outdoor reflections. We did realize the extra storage would be handy over the long term, so figured it was time to take the plunge. The cabinets usually come with laminate on the doors, but we thought that if the doors were covered in aluminum, it would retain some of the reflectivity I like so much. A quick communication with Safari Condo confirmed the doors could be covered in aluminum, so we placed the order.

We had it shipped to us as it looked to be an easy install, and it would save us a drive to the factory. It came assembled, and was indeed a simple install. It has a length of LED lights underneath, which can be quite bright, so I added a 12v dimmer into the circuit. Now the intensity of the light can be adjusted to suit the need.

We primarily want it for clothing, and on the first trip out, we found it real handy to have a few items of clothing so readily available.

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Adding a little comfort

We have always found the bench foam a little too firm for sleeping, great for being a bench though. We have tried a variety of things to try to get a little more comfort for us while sleeping, even a few memory foam pillows that Dale would perch upon. Not overly conducive to a nice relaxed sleep. We figured a topper was the ultimate solution, but always wondered what to do with it during the day. They are not overly storage friendly. Then we saw how Lissa stores their topper as a bolster along the back window, and figured we would give it a try.

We found a nice 2 1/2 inch thick topper, a nice coordinating duvet cover, pulled out the sewing machine and started sewing. With a little pressure applied when rolling, we can get it down to a good size. It seemed to do the job the first weekend out, a nice comfortable sleep, and when rolled and used as a bolster, it is an awesome back rest. We are thinking we have found our solution for a comfortable sleep.

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Time for a new battery

Last summer I started to notice that the battery voltages were consistantly lower than in the past, and unable to maintain a charged voltage for very long. It seemed time for a new battery. The original is a Deka Marine RV, which is not really a true deep cycle battery, even though it did a good job for the past 5 years. After some research, I settled on a Trojan 30XHS. It is a 130 AH deep cycle battery with 225 minute reserve capacity. It is a group 31, replacing a group 27. It should hold up to off grid camping a little better, and hopefully have a longer recharge life. Should be interesting to see how this performs.

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2014 Trip 9: another season closes...and, more rain!

Cedar Cove Resort, White Lake, Oct 2014

Friday
It seems that a Cedar Cove weekend represents two opposite emotions for us...the excitement of the start of another new Alto season, or the sadness that another Alto season is drawing to a close.

Recently we have been communicating with a number of new or soon to be Alto owners, some in the southern States and California, and it made us realize how much longer their Alto seasons are. Makes us look forward to our retirement, when we will be able to hitch up and follow the Canada geese south to warmer climes and extended travels. We just can't wait.

Beautiful, warm sunny evening driving in but it is forecasted to be another weekend of rain, which is getting to be pretty funny. Last weekend was fabulous, but of course, we were not camping, this weekend, rain while camping. Luck of the draw I guess. Fortunately White Lake is only an hour away, as at this time of year the sun sets so early now, you are guaranteed of setting up after dusk. Sure enough, it was dark by the time we got checked in and were backing on to the site. It is a favourite site facing the water and no one around us.  The site is great but when dark it is a tad difficult to back into. Got nicely set up, services all attached, just in time for a sprinkling of rain to start...naturally.

nestled in...

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2014 Trip 8: exciting times at the dumping station...

Sept 2014: McLaren Campground

Friday
This weekend is truly a get away. We felt because we have been away on our Seattle trip we wanted to catch up a bit on time in the Alto. This campground is a short drive from Ottawa, a perfect distance for a quick trip. It is just an hour away, a nice drive down Hwy 31 south.

We came here at the beginning of the season, and liked the park for its simplicity. Although pretty open grassy sites and exposed to your fellow camper, it does have a casual relaxed feel and as a bonus most sites have good views of the St. Lawrence river.

Rolled in just before dark and got set up. Nice site, with a gravel drive and 2 services. Our back end is facing the water, which is nice. Quite a few campers here, which is a bit surprising given the time of year, and that it has been a little cooler than normal this fall. Cranked up the heat pump and the Alto was toasty in no time. A vid and a beer and that was the evening.

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2014 Trip 7: dare I say more rain...

Sept 2014: Murphy's Point

Friday
The weather this week has turned a tad chilly, and as per usual the forecast is calling for rain Saturday. Camping at this time of the season is less about the weather and is about to getting out of the city and relaxing.

We were in the city last weekend since we had just arrived back from our flying trip out West (to Seattle & Edmonton visiting family) so last weekend was our time spent catching up around the house. My initial thought of just washing some of the grime off the Santa Fe eventually turned into a wash and quick wax of anything on wheels, including the Alto. Next thing you know, weekend was over and then back to work. There in lies the true benefit of the Alto, get away from the house and just relax for the weekend. There is only so much that even I can get into with this small footprint. Forced relaxation.

Not sure if we have mentioned it previously, but we are going to change the upholstery in the Alto? When we purchased our trailer 5 years ago the fabric selection was pretty basic, and we selected a hardy darker material. It has served us well, but now that our cat travels with us most trips, we have discovered it is also is a cat hair magnet. Thinking it is time for a change, we found a real nice lighter patterned fabric, at the ridiculous low price of only $4.00 a metre that should help conceal some of the cat hairs.  We always vacuum the upholstery after all trips but while we are camping, we prefer to have cat hair a little less visible. All our cats tend to be tan and ginger coloured, so the lighter tan background upholstery colour should do the job much better. We then needed to find someone to do the sewing, as it is a bit of a job that we do not want to tackle. We found a lady with a home business, and to tie it into this weekends blog entry, on this trip out we stopped by to see her in Kanata. We wanted her to see the Alto with the cushions inside, to give her a frame of reference of the cushion layout. After talking to her, we were very impressed and just know she will do an awesome job and she has all winter to sew them.  Next season the Alto will have a whole new look.

Pulled in a little after dark to our site, but we have been on this site before and knew just where to place the Alto. It was definitely cooling off and nippy, so it was nice to get set up and inside, where we cranked the heat pump to get nice and toasty.

Saturday
Cool overnight, but we left our little occilating heater going and it kept the chill at bay. Woke to an overcast day, which we expected, and it was only a short time later that the rain started. Rained pretty much all day, although around dinner time it stopped, the sun came out, and we were able to get in a nice walk around the park. There is a good park store here, so we headed in that direction. Picked up a couple of treats for dessert, then headed back to camp. Watched a vid, and that was the evening.

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2014 Trip 6: really...more weekend rain!!!

Bonnechere P.P.

Friday

Let's just start off by saying the weather is going to be crappy this weekend. The forecast and radar shows precipitation covering a huge area, right over where we are heading. This is the weekend we had planned for our friend Sandra to camp with us, however given the weather predicted and that she would be tenting, we all agreed that it would not be a good weekend for her to join us. It would not be much fun if it is raining the whole time.

It does not look to be a swimming or sit around the campfire type of weekend. We made the decision to try to camp together another weekend.

We are still going to head up, as we can be quite comfortable and cozy just staying inside. Heavy overcast sky when we left on Friday night, and as usual, the traffic getting out of the city is crazy. It is quite clear that the Queensway, the major highway that bisects east to west right through the centre of the city, can no longer keep pace with the growing size of the population. On an average Friday evening in the summer, with people heading home from work and leaving the city, it can take around 40 minutes to travel from the downtown core to the west side of Kanata. From there, it moves relatively smoothly. We drove into periods of rain all the way there...and of course, it was raining when we pulled into the park. 

We have been on this particular site many times, so setting up is a breeze. This is our first time using the newly installed front stabilizer jacks, and they are much easier to set up than the screw jacks we had been using before. Once lowered onto the Lynx Levellor pads, they make the Alto quite stable. The new jacks are mounted at the front outside corners of the trailer, so it gives a wider stance for support. It is important to also use some sort of pad on the ground below the jack leg, as without, I think the narrow tip of the jack leg would just work its way into the ground. The pad spreads out the pressure and provides a firm resting spot. Very pleased with this new addition. Further details and pictures of this latest project can be found on the Mods page.

After we got set up it was into the Alto right away to get out of the rain. It picked up a bit as the evening went on. We have electricity on the site, so the heat pump was able to get the Alto nice and toasty. Although it is just a bit chilly, the dampness makes it feel worse. Relaxed the rest of the evening and hit the pit early.

Saturday

Steady rain now, and it looks like it will stay all day. Serious hibernating today, although I do have a little project to work on. Pretty quiet around the park as everyone is hunkered down inside. Coffee and breakfast then on to my project. We are changing out all the flourescent bulbs in the Alto. Our version came with these, but later production models now use a number of the LED puck lights. The fixtures we have use 2 tubes, except the ones at the back of the Alto which contain 1 each. The LED replacements use considerably less battery energy than the flourescents (drawing only a third of the energy), an important savings when you are off the grid.

A bit of work rewiring the fixtures, but it went quite smoothly. We ordered the warm white versions of the LED tubes, as the flourescents we have now have a cold harsh colour temperature. We rarely use them because of this, the cooler light is just not pleasant to be in. The new bulbs are quite good. The colour is nice and they are an excellent replacement and well worth it.

The rain subsided a bit in the early afternoon, so we wandered out for a bit of a walk, mostly in the direction of the park store. We have always made it to this park in September, and the store has always been closed for the season. We enjoy the park stores as there is always something interesting to be found, and guaranteed a tasty treat is available. We stopped and chatted with a nice lady who is here with her husband for 23 days, a nice little vacation. They live in Pembroke, and she is 84 years old, although she looks like she is in her 70's. We had a nice visit, then it started to rain again so we continued our walk. The park store has been renovated and looks quite nice. Typical of a park store, it has a great selection of camping neccesities. Not all parks have a little store, but they are always handy when there is one.

Back into the Alto as the rain has started again and is coming down somewhat harder. Had a little nap in the afternoon, as there is something about a dull rainy day and the sound of the drops on the roof that makes having a nap a foregone conclusion. Dinner this evening will be beef fajitas. We found a nice simple recipe, so I made up the marinade before we left, cut up the meat into strips this morning, and fired them into a ziplock with the marinade, to sit all day and get nice and flavourful. Sliced up the peppers and onions, quick stir fry, then the meat went into the pan. Once these were rolled into the tortilla, with guacamole, salsa and cheese, and sour cream on the side it made a nice filling meal. The meat was quite tasty, so I think we will be making this recipe again.

It is still raining, so no opportunity to get outside after dinner. We watched a movie, taking advantage of the electricity hookup. If we do not have have a hookup, using the TV is now out of the question, based on our experience last fall where we had a similar rainy weekend, and we pretty much drained our battery watching episodes of Mad Men. What were we thinking??? No concerns this evening though. We watched a movie called 'Broken Flowers', with Bill Murray and a few popular female actresses like Sharon Stone and Jessica Lange. An interesting movie and not a main stream type which is the type Dale enjoys, but I found it a little plodding. Bill Murray can act quiet and contemplative quite well, which is a good thing, as that is pretty much the whole movie.  Dale does not agree and enjoyed it for it's overall understated and realistic acting.

Sunday

No rain this morning, but still overcast and dull and not inspired to stay long. Then at 9:00am the sun came streaming through the trees and our outlook instantly changed. Campers suddenly appeared and were scurrying around doing regular camper things. We took a walk around the park as it was real nice to get outside and move around a bit. We want to camp on the river side at some point, so we had a close look for some prime sites. It will be great to follow the river inland in our kayaks, the Bonnechere runs a long way.

We pulled out around 1:00 and made our way home. Although a cool and rainy weekend, it is always nice to get out of the city regardless. There is not much that will keep us at home if we have an Alto weekend planned!

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A Nifty Illuminating Idea

When we are just sitting around a night, we don't really want to have even one of the flourescent light fixtures turned on, as we do find they give off a lot of light, and they are in the cooler blue colour spectrum. We came up with the idea of using one of those battery operated rings of LED light, sitting on top of the microwave cabinet, which being relatively close to the ceiling, allows the light to reflect off the aluminum interior. It is a much nicer lighting effect, and easier on the eyes.

Taking this idea a bit further, I thought of using one of the extra LED strips we got for our sink light project, and somehow incorporating it as a permanent fixture. After some thought, I mounted the LED strip to a short piece of aluminum angle stock. Then this was screwed to the very back of the microwave cabinet. One end of the angle was tapered so it would not contact the ceiling when the roof was lowered. I wired the light and placed the switch right beside the one for the sink. It gives off more light than the battery unit, and reflected off the ceiling, provides a perfect amount of indirect illumination. The colour temperature is warm white, which is more pleasing to the eye.  

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