Making a Toilet Paper Campfire

It's dark and chilly and you have no wood for a fire.

What do you do?

Well, if you're a bunch of silly nomads, 

you'll gather supplies and make yourself a toilet paper fire!

You will need:

1) A nice fat roll of toilet paper, 

the more firmly packed, the better.

2) A METAL coffee can with any paper removed from outside:

3) Some Rubbing Alcohol, 

the higher the content the better, 70-90%

4) Matches or Lighter

Directions:

1) Take the cardboard out of the center of the toilet paper.

2) Stuff the full roll of toilet paper down into the coffee can.

3) Pour the entire bottle of alcohol onto the TP

4) Give it some time to absorb

5)  Light it and enjoy!

This fire will burn for quite some time, 

well over an hour, 

longer if you continue to add alcohol

until the paper is entirely charred.

If you don't need to completely burn the TP to ash,

then let it cool down,

pop on the lid,

and use it again tomorrow.

Here we are at Cibola

enjoying our "campfire!"

Thanks Nelda, for this awesome idea!

Happy Trails!

Keeping Warm in the Desert

Boondocking in the desert during the winter can be a wonderful experience. For the most part, the days are sunny and beautiful and warm.  However, once the sun sets, the temperatures drop and nights can be quite chilly.  Here are some of the ways I stay warm.

For cold days, the key is to LAYER your clothes. A good pair of long-johns under some fleece will keep the wind off you. Cuddleduds are a good brand of long underwear and all you need is one or two pair. As far as fleece, I just ordered two pair of fleece pants for this winter's vanning and I'm in love with them both.

These are the THICKEST, warmest fleece pants I've ever owned. They will not win you a fashion contest, but who the heck cares in the desert? They will hold up and keep off the chilly wind.  They are roomy and comfortable. I've gained quite a bit of weight this year and so at 5'3" and 165, I ordered an XL. They are loose enough to be comfie but don't fall off. They have an elastic waist. I have to turn up the hem when I have time because they are a few inches too long. 

Here is a link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077D8MVJ2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also ordered a pair of these black fleece pants for times I wanted to "dress up" a bit. They are also very thick and warm, but have narrower legs so I don't look like a hobbit in them.

Again I ordered an XL and they fit comfortably. 

I don't know if clothes are running smaller these days

or if I'm just getting big as a barn in my old age,

but it hurts my heart to have to order an XL.

I will not have to hem these, as the cuffs are narrow 

and will stay above my shoes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N7A6FTT/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I ordered two tops.

This fleece tunic top is roomy, plush, and warm!

I'm in love with it.

I again ordered an XL.

I probably could have easily gotten by with a L,

but I wanted to be able to layer under it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G5YZX7T/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a heavy denim skirt that I'll sometimes put over my fleece pants if it's super cold. That really keeps my legs warm. I bought it at Goodwill for $6.99.

I went to Goodwill last year and found a really good DOWN jacket to wear over everything if it's REALLY chilly.  I also have a good wool hat to cover my head outside.  For inside the van and sleeping, I have a fleece beanie that is really comfie but warm.  Something like this one:

When it's super cold outside, I wear fleece lined mukluks like these.  The rest of the time, I'm in sandals or running shoes.

To keep warm at night, I went to Goodwill and bought a down comforter. It cost me $12 and was for a queen sized bed.  I doubled it and put it into a twin sized duvet - also purchased at Goodwill for $6.  With this double down blanket, it's lightweight and warm as heck! I've slept in 20 degree weather and kept toasty!  

You can find down comforters on Amazon for under $50. If you buy a large one and double it, they're awesome!  

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Down-Alternative-Comforter-Queen/dp/B071F2V3KT/ref=sr_1_4_acs_sk_pb_1_sl_2?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1544366117&sr=1-4-acs&keywords=Down+comforter

At night I do not sleep in my clothes. I change into warm flannel pajamas. 

I wear my beanie.

If it's super cold, I wear wool socks to bed.

And if it's SUPER SUPER cold, which is rare, I'll wear gloves.

I do not run my heater except in the early mornings when I first get up.

In the desert there's not much to do once the sun goes down, 

so I usually hit the bed early and read, then sleep.

That way I'm up before sunrise and can make my coffee and watch the spectacular colors as the sun comes up.

I have a Buddy Heater and it keeps me really warm. It runs on a small propane tank I bought just for the heater. I turn it on when I get up and run it for 5 minutes and the van is nice and warm. I may turn it off and on several times before the sun comes up, ALWAYS leaving a front window cracked at least 1/2 inch.  I NEVER sleep with the heater running... NEVER.  Each year, there are people who die because they fell asleep with the heat running and were killed by the carbon monoxide.  Don't do it. Just don't.

The buddy heater is very inexpensive to use if you don't run it continuously.

Sometimes if I want to be outside to watch the sunrise, I'll sit on the edge of my open van door, take it out with me and keep it near my legs. You can use small green canisters for it, and I've tried both, but prefer the small propane tank, which lasts longer and is cheaper to use.

Once the sun is up, the desert warms up quickly. Unless a storm rolls in, you're likely to have beautiful blue skies and sunshine! And then you can take those layers off and wear shorts!

All the clothes I take in my van fit in two bins under my bed. 

I change underwear daily but might wear the same outer wear for up to a week.

And that's it. 

Keeping warm isn't so difficult.

Right now I'm in Portland, Oregon and the wind is so cold it cuts through you.

I've NEVER experienced this cold in Quartzsite. 

Even on the coldest days in the desert, it's warmer there.

So don't worry.

Just do a bit of preparation and you'll be fine.

Portland, Oregon for the Holidays

My son needed me to pet-sit his dog and cat during the months of November and December, so he sent me an airline ticket and here I am!  It was less expensive than paying for a kennel for the two furry grandchildren.

It's nice to be in Portland again - to see the family - but my gosh it's cold here!

This weekend I went to an RV show.  I've been thinking about getting something larger to live out of; something I can stand up and cook in. I fell in love with a T@B Trailer and actually put a deposit on it. But after a couple of sleepless nights worrying, reading for hours on T@B forums about problems with the trailers, talking to female friends who had towed rigs, I decided to wait and get a larger van instead.  It was a fun ride though for those two days I thought I'd be in that sweet little trailer!

I'm using the time while I'm here to do more art.

I'm learning to use a variety of mediums.

I still have my lessons with Anna Mason.

That has been such a great foundation!

In addition,

I've signed up for 3 Patreon accounts; one with Lisa Ann Watkins, who does incredible colored pencil work, one with Jason Morgan, whose pastel pencils and panpastel work I"m interested in, and one with Leontine Van Vliet, who also works with colored pencils but has an entirely different technique.

I'm really enjoying learning!

I did a series of free pet portraits for some of my vanning friends last month.

I needed to practice and I needed some photos for my new website, 

which I hope to get up before the holidays.

Here are some of those portraits. 

I used various techniques for each.

1) Leo the Boxer

Colored Pencil and Watercolor Underwash

Arches Hot Presses Paper

2) Sherlock the Mixed Breed

Watercolor on Arches Hot Pressed

3) Quinn the Australian Shepherd

Colored Pencil on Anthracite Pastelmat

4) Cookie the French Bulldog

Colored Pencil and Watercolor

Pastelmat

5) Emily the Cat

Colored Pencil and Watercolor

Pastelmat

6) Mittens the Cat

Colored Pencil on White Pastelmat

This one isn't finished. 

I just bought some panpastels and want to do a dark background.

Her fur also needs more work.

7) Abbey the Cat

I'm working on this portrait this week.

It is one of my commissions.

This is just a very quick, rough watercolor study on Arches Hot Pressed Paper.

The original will be on Pastelmat 

and will be in panpastels, pastel pencils, and colored pencils.

I really feel I've found my niche.

I wish I'd figured out that I could do art when I was in my 20's

instead of finding out in my mid-60's!

Doing pet portraits is a great way I can earn a bit of 

extra income while moving around in the van.

So I'm pretty excited.

I will also do other subjects.

Here is a Kingfisher I painted for Joe's Yule gift

using an Anna Mason tutorial:

Soooo.. that's what I'm up to.

I purchased business cards, and made a Facebook page.

I've picked up my first few commissions.

I just have to set up a website.

I'm flying back to Palm Springs on December 29.

I'll pick up the van and head for Quartzsite,

and be there in time for the WRTR and RTR.

For those who don't know what those are:

WRTR:  Women's Rubber Tramp Rendevous

RTR:  Rubber Tramp Rendevous

Last year, there were over 3000 rigs at the RTR.

I'm looking forward to connecting with old friends!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and whichever winter holiday you celebrate.

Happy Trails!

Annie

Another Big Clean-Out!

Well, this week was an exceptional one for me.

I made the decision to let my needle-felting fiber go to a new home.
The supplies are lightweight, but bulky, and so just aren't "right" for van-dwelling.

I enjoy doing the felting, especially the pet sculptures.

But the craft supplies are just too big to carry around in a van.

I put up my Addi-quick machine on my Etsy page, and within a day, it was SOLD!  In the add, I mentioned having a huge stash of fiber.  The gal who bought the machine emailed me and was very interested in the fiber, so I took photos and told her "make me an offer!"

Here is just a small portion of what I had to sell:

Within a couple of hours, she wrote back saying, "How about $250?"

Well.. it was hard for me, because I have several THOUSAND dollars worth of fiber. The photos just show a portion of it.

HOWEVER, it's doing me no good sitting in storage.

So I accepted.

The money will pay for the new colored pencil sets I bought.

Plus,

She's a beginner.

She's getting a great deal.

It's going to a good home.

It's ok.

But whew!  It was a hard decision.

I boxed it up today and took it to the post office.

That's 4 less boxes of "stuff!"

I still have the needles and eyes and horsehair and other supplies.

They're more expensive tools and worth hanging on "just in case."

But I'm happy.

I've decided the BEST art tools for me in the van

are watercolors and colored pencils.

Now I have to make a decision on my doll business.

Unless I get an RV, 

there's really no room for 300 plus Bratz dolls,

a sewing machine,

and fabric.

Plus it takes a bit of water to sanitize the dolls.

Not quite ready yet to let those go...

I sold this one today so they're still making a little bit of cash.

I do pretty well during the holiday season.

So I'm going to fill the shop before the RTR,

and maybe I'll just work on them from here when I visit Joe.

Anyway, I'm excited.

After a year in the van, 

I'm still getting rid of "stuff."

Can't wait to head out to Quartzsite.

Looks like it will be around January 1.

My son bought me a ticket home to Portland for the month of December.

I'm going to pet-sit while he and Michael are in Hawaii.

It will be nice to see all the kids and grandkids.

I'll be back around the 28th, then back into the van for the winter.

Stay tuned!

Annie

Painting

It's hot and humid here today, 

(about 102 with 35% humidity!)

so I'm staying inside 

and starting a new class on colored pencil portraits.

I finished the Anna Mason class on The Hand 

last week 

before I took off on my trip. 

My Hand Painting

I love watercolor, but sometimes I get bored
and want to do something different,
so I bought some Coloursoft Pencils 

and I'm going to try my hand at colored pencil art.

I signed up for a portrait class from ArtTutor.

Today I work on eyes.

The teacher is using a different set of pencils,
but they cost near $200
so I'm working on a color chart
to try to find equivalent pencil colors for the class.
I wish she'd included a chart with the lessons,
but it's good practice for me.

Soooooo....
I'm off to do art and try to stay cool.
See you on the road.

Happy Trails!

Annie

Gallup, New Mexico

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived in Gallup. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the place is tiny.

I needed to find a campsite before dark, so I drove on through, figuring I'd go back to explore the next day or two. I was getting tight on cash and needed to find a place to hunker down for a week or two.  I found a campground not too far up into a canyon called Quaking Aspen, where the fee was only $5 and half of that for me with my federal pass.

I arrived and as I was looking for the pay envelope I saw a sign that said, "CAMPGROUND CLOSED SEPTEMBER 17 AM!"

Oh crap!  Really?  

Just as I was bemoaning my luck on this danged trip, a car with a sign, "CAMPGROUND HOST" pulled up.

I said, "Is the campground REALLY closing tomorrow???"

He nodded, and said, "And you may want to follow me to the next campground, because the host here says he's locking up as soon as he collects the envelopes in the morning. Last year, he locked a guy in!"

Sheesh!  Apparently the fellow had to use bolt cutters to get out of the campground. I didn't carry bolt cutters, so I followed him a mile or two up the road to another nice campground.  I had the pick of the place as there was only one other camper left. Really nice campground that I'll return to next season. However, it was also closing the next morning. Budget cuts, I guess?

So I parked for the night in this wonderful quiet place with pines and meadows, got a good night's sleep, and decided to head back to Desert Hot Springs next morning.   The Universe just didn't seem to be cooperating with my plans of finding a place to hang out a couple of weeks until the weather cooled in DHS.

I've learned to LISTEN to these signals from the Universe, and though it's over 100 degrees with humidity of 35% here today, I feel I made the right decision. I'll hang out here and paint and do water aerobics in the mornings, and continue my Route 66 travels possibly later in the season. At least I did make it across Arizona.

By the way, I stopped at this place just before crossing into New Mexico. It's on the North side of the highway and a grandmother there runs a little stand inside with the BEST tacos!

New Mexico looks like it will be gorgeous!

My nice campsite

As I was leaving I stopped in Gallup for breakfast and ran across this sign.

Maybe another clue from the Universe that I should get my butt home!

::laughing!:::

Happy Trails!

Annie

 GPS: 35.40581, -108.54017 for the campground

Painted Desert

The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert are basically in the same park. You enter one from the south and one from the north. Both Visitor Centers are worth a stop, though the one at the southern end is better because they have a short trail where you can see petrified logs up close.

The Painted Desert was crazy spectacular!  I'm really happy I visited.   The colors were amazing; blues, purples, pinks, tans, just like someone took a paintbrush to the hills.  Beautiful.















There was a fellow with camels there - he was busy talking to a lady so I didn't stay to find out what his deal was, but the camels seemed to feel right at home ther ein the desert.











After a wonderful day exploring here,
I got back on the Highway and headed to Gallup, New Mexico.