This week I inadvertently scheduled myself for two late shifts due to the week being split by two different months. Monday was one of those shifts. I started my day with writing and posting blogs and working on crocheting a scarf with a new pattern. I also did research on our potential next dog. We looked at Pomskies as a possible trail dog. They are a cross between a male pomeranian and a female husky. They range in size all the way from the size of a pomeranian to the size of a husky, around 15-60lb! They have multiple coats which makes them good for cold weather while also being able to tolerate warm weather. They are an active breed that have moderate exercise needs, as you'd expect they require more than a pomeranian and less than a husky. They are a mouthy breed as both mom and dad tend to be vocal. We accidentally found a breeder while Christmas shopping who is practically next door. We were reminded that we had quickly looked at this breed in the past before we were as active and liked their look. After considering their variable size, temperament, and exercise needs; we decided that they are in second place as a possibility for us later down the road, right behind a miniature Australian Shepherd.
The Australian Shepherd comes in three sizes, toy (around 10lb), miniature (around 30lb) and full size (around 40-65lb).
On Tuesday we discussed heading to Fruita, CO for the winter instead of staying in Texas. We looked at the average weather for winters there and saw that they are generally around 10 degrees cooler than the part of Texas that we are currently in. Because it is a high desert climate, they don't get much snow or rain either. We feel like this will afford us more opportunities to ride since the trails will stay open. I finished the scarf I was making and it came out great. I have a new pattern now to try going forward.
Wednesday we did more planning on the CO trip. We discussed how quickly to get there (two or three days of driving), where to stop for the night or week, and where to stay once we go there. We found a good campground and called them for availability. They had sites open and sent us an email with the application for a long term stay. The application had some requirements that didn't make us feel 100% comfortable, like sending them copies of our licenses and pictures of all four sides of our one year old RV, and other personal information. So we responded back to inquire about their data security policy. We received no reply.
The next day we found another campground and called them for availability. They also had sites available, we liked this campground as much as the other one so we decided that this is where we would spend our time and money. We continued to plan out the best way to get there and how long to make the drive. It is far for a two day drive and would be nice to take three days to get there but, where to stay for a week in-between drive days two and three could cause data connection issues while we work. We have to think very carefully about this.
Friday was another late shift for me. We bought tank heaters and an inverter to help our RV function in the colder weather. Nobody wants to deal with a poopcicle! We bought one heater pad for the black tank and one for the grey tank. We don't use our fresh tank at the moment so that one can wait. We also watched some videos on how to install them and figured out how and where we wanted to wire them into the RV. We decided to wire them to work off both 12V and 110V so that we can use shore power to run them in a park and the battery to run them if we can't plug in anywhere.
Saturday was going to be the better weather day of the weekend so that was ride day. We started the morning with continued route planning for our trip, this really is taking some thought. Then we headed out to Erwin Park and were able to ride the entire off-road trail for the first time since September! We rode 12 miles and made it over some features that we've never made it through before. We really love our new bikes! The difference between our old trail rated bikes and these all mountain rated bikes is really making a difference in our riding abilities. Having the right equipment to do the job really is important. It was a great ride. On the way home we found a name for the Jeep and will be making a post on Instagram in the next few weeks to reveal it. We have to get the right picture to go with the name.
On Sunday we Christmas shopped for family. We looked online mostly and drove to the store for cards. We took a couple walks around the campground and had a relaxing day. It was a day you hear about from most RVers. The truth is though, that this life is not all sunshine and candy. There are great days but there are also normal tougher days. We have work/maintenance to do on the camper, upgrades to make it work for us, and planning everytime we want to travel. The travel planning is further complicated by Covid as we think about what is the safest choice for us.
As we get closer to making our next move, we will keep you updated on what we find out. See you next week!