Sunset almost looks like Egypt

Sunset at Voyager, Tucson June 11, 2022

 

We were at the Voyager Resort in Tucson and went to Fat Willy's, the independent bar and grill within the resort.  As we exited after dinner this is the sunset that greeted us. 

One could almost imagine those are pyramids in the desert. 

(c) 2022 N. Retzke

Heat and approaching monsoon season

Tucson Sunset

 

It's June and that means high heat and the Monsoon Season is approaching.  This time of year is called the Monsoon Tease. There have been rainstorms in the area, and they bring spectacular sunsets and the occasional rainbow.

Rainbow at sunset

Fiery sky looking up and easterly at sunset, with the rainbow to my right

A few minutes earlier it was a much less dramatic sunset

(c) N. Retzke 2022

Trek and Sunset Elephant Butte, NM - Towing 15+ MPG

 

Elephant Butte Sunset

This trek we took I-80 to I-76 to I-25 through Denver, but we also took highways such as NM 26.  We were towing a trailer, estimated weight 1500 lbs. As a consequence, we generally travelled via the interstate highway system at 55-60 MPH, and I wanted to be on a main road with a good shoulder should there be an issue with the trailer.  Ergo the trek through Denver, rather than via US 350, the old Santa Fe Trail. 

I've included a few statistics in this post.

We did investigate the Colorado E-470 tollway which would have allowed us to bypass Denver. According to the online Colorado website our cost for a vehicle with three axels would have been about $35.  However, if we pre-registered the toll would have been half; that's a significant savings. But there is a minimum "charge" to the account of $35 which goes in a digital wallet.  We're not sure when we'll be going through Denver again.  So, we saw no advantage to the pre-registration and leaving about $18 for future use in Colorado.  

There were speed restrictions imposed by UHaul.  They said the trailer max speed is 55 MPH. The trailer had new tires and we were towing about 1,500 lbs.  I followed their recommendation.    

We began on June 4 at 7:10am and arrived at our final destination on June 8 at 12:30pm local time.  The trip was about 4-1/2 days. We spent four nights in a variety of campgrounds.  

About every two hours we would stop for 30 minutes to stretch and get gas, etc. We also stopped once each day for a meal and that stop was about one hour. Sometimes our meal/stretch stop was a breakfast, and on other days it was a lunch.  Our stop one day was a 1-1/2 hour lunch break which included some shopping.  Other meals were with food we brought in the Roadtrek.  The stops were more frequent than usual for us; I guess this is what Class A or Super-C owners may experience.  I've spoken with a few and I was told that they generally travel about 300 miles a day with frequent stops each day.

One thing we observed on this trek was the difficulty of some RVs getting gasoline.  I'd never thought about this, but many of the "truck stops" have one side with pumps for gasoline powered vehicles and the other for diesel.  Getting in line at the gas pumps was clearly a challenge for some of the RVers.

Another thing we noticed was the Roadtrek seemed to travel more smoothly when towing. Some of that I attribute to the rear weight on the hitch.  I usually trek with water only in the front tank.  That's because I can visually inspect how full it is when the side drawer is open.  However, after this experience I may fill the inside fresh water tank at the rear of the vehicle instead.  That would put more weight on the rear wheels. 

I suppose I could have the vehicle weighed at each tire to determine the actual weight.

Trip Summary - To Lordsburg, NM 

This includes the portion of the trek up to and including Lordsburg, NM, which was our final gas stop for the 1,909 mile trek. To Lordburg was 1,760 miles. I didn't gas up when we arrived at the ultimate destination and so at the time I wrote this I was unsure of how much gas was actually used beyond Lordsburg.  That final leg was 149 miles plus local driving.  I used the receipts to calculate gas used, etc. Distance was per the odometer and our mapping software. 

• Miles driven for these statistics: 1,760
• Gallons of gas: 125.583
• Average cost, per gallon:  $4.73  (some gas at a $0.05 discount per gallon)
• Cost of gasoline: $548.49
• Octane of gas purchased: 87 and 88 (some stations only had 86 and 88)
• Average driving speed: 55.94 MPH
• MPG (based upon receipts): 15.2 (towing an estimated 1,500 lb. trailer).

Daily Miles

• June 4, 342 miles
• June 5, 445 miles
• June 6, 439 miles
• June 7, 379 miles
• June 8, 304 miles
• Total trek 1909 miles.

We experienced some overnight rain in Alda NE and Ogallala, then smoke from fires as we proceeded west.  There was a nice sunset at Elephant Butte NM.  We didn't drive to the lake because I was towing a trailer.  That means very wide turning radius and less than simple backups.

Iowa Storms

Castle Rock CO

Smoky Haze in the distance, NM

Smokey Haze at sunset - Elephant Butte NM

Sunset - Elephant Butte NM

Rio Grande River near Hatch NM

Entering Hatch on NM-26 - "Chili Capital of the World"

At the destination

(c) 2022 N. Retzke

Western and Canadian Fires create haze

 

Sunset disappears into smoke and soot - July 19, 8:55pm 

The sunsets over Lake Michigan disappeared in soot and smoke created by fires to the west. 

Fires in Manitoba and Ontario, Canada captured on 11 July 2021, by the VIIRS instrument, aboard the joint NASA/NOAA NOAA-20 satellite:

NASA July 18, 2021 over the Great Lakes

NASA July 19, 2021 over the Great Lakes

The smoke and haze has been noticeable, and the sun became a bright orb at dinner time.  Sunset was at 9:16pm, but the sun faded and had all but disappeared in the western sky by 8:55pm. We were on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

Sunset approaching 8:02 pm

8:57 PM - Yes, the evening sun is actually in this photo

Link to NASA:

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/worldview/worldview-image-archive/fires-in-manitoba-and-ontario-canada

Original Material: Roadtrek210.blogspot.com

Sunset, January 16, 2020

Original material (c) 2020:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/

Summer Sunsets

No sunset is the same as the one preceding it. Here is a video of the July 22 sunset, with thunderheads over the horizon.

Sunsets on the Eastern Shore of Lake Michigan

Last glow of the setting sun

A couple of sunset videos. We walk to the lakeshore to view the sunset as do many others. However as the park closes at 10:00pm and it is dark, if we decide we will stay to full dark we will drive in. Takes a season pass, which is inexpensive.

Our longest trek to date. Almost 6,000 miles

We are almost "full timers" but we cheat because we have a 5th wheel in Tucson and a 30 ft. TT in Michigan. Our Roadtrek 210P is our exploration vehicle.

We left for the west in November and returned at the end of April. Our most recent trek of 5+ months has ended. Total actual miles 5,948. Planned distance 5,671. The other miles were side trips, miscellaneous excursions, maintenance (changed the engine oil in Tucson, replaced the coach batteries (at 4.5 years), etc.). We stayed at multiple locations ranging from Tucson, AZ to Fredericksburg, TX to Baton Rouge, LA  and continuing to the west coast of Florida and then to the Florida Keys. Some stops were much longer than others. I prefer to spend at least two nights in each location, but we sometimes spend only one if we are going for distance.

Once we find a great locale we may stay for weeks, or months.

Some days we may only travel a couple of hundred miles. On others we may go as far as 713 miles, which was the maximum distance on one day for this trek. We simply wanted to get from point A to point B.

The trip was not without a few mishaps. No real issues with the 210P, but people sometimes break.

We are "almost" full timers; we could have delayed our "return" by three days and gone directly to our summer site in Michigan. But we didn't. Instead we went to "home base #1" No issues of any significance with our 2013 210P on this trek, but I did take the opportunity to replace the coach batteries which were nearing 5 years of age and not able to provide the desired capacity.

Current odometer mileage 25,698.

The above is a mileage history for one period for this trek. The data is from my Verizon Hum, which monitors the vehicle vitals via the OBD port as well as GPS. In general, I guess the data is accurate. I assume the high speed was achieved going downhill because I generally drive the speed limit. For much of the interstate travel that was posted at 70 MPH, but there were segments posted at 75, 80 and 85. My preference is speed limit to 5 MPH under if conditions are good. However, it seems that more than a few travellers prefer 5  to 10 MPH over the posted speed limit. Traveling on four lane interstates can get interesting (two lanes each direction). One can stay in the right lane and attempt to dodge those entering who apparently don't understand how to merge, or one can move to the second lane and be pushed down the road. However, the further west we go the easier it gets, until one hits CA that is, Then all bets are off.

Here is a longer term history summary for this trek:

We had a great time. But we did have a few advantages. For one, we have an automobile stored in AZ. That allows us to do a lot of local AZ travel without using the Roadtrek 210P, which is our major trekking vehicle.

For another, we have positioned a 5th wheel and a travel trailer at two locations which permits us to use these as "home bases" and to put our feet up in more comfort (more than the 700 cubic feet of the Roadtrek) and for longer periods of time. However, we have lived in the 210P for up to about 100 continuous days. I've made 20+ modifications to tailor it to our lifestyle.

Here's our AZ abode; 1-1/2 baths, 5 slides and more than enough room for a "home base." And it has an outdoor cookstation. However, we do take cast iron and in induction burner with us in the Roadtrek. We like to cook.

During this trek, I was able to bake my special recipe of cinnamon buns. We gave most away. I was pleased by the results of this 1/2 batch. No complaints by anyone.

There were the desert scenes, the sunrises, the sunsets and the rainbows:

We experienced wonderful Florida sunrises and sunsets, as well as low and high tides.

and Texas wildflowers as well as the desert bloom.

We experienced mermaids

And we ate extremely well. Most of or meals we prepared.

Ad, or course there were the people we met on our journey.

And there was the wildlife, or "not so wild" life. Some creatures large, and some small.

We stayed at a variety of campgrounds and resorts and even boondocked.

And of course there was laundry to do at a variety of facilities.