A New Skirt...

The Fox has proven to be quite dependable...

Very little maintenance required and she is holding up well with our full-timer demands.

She just had the 10,000 mile wheel bearing maintenance completed and passed the annual PA safety inspection...whoo hoo...

We are ready to hit the road again!

We are comfortable on Windy Hill and it is easy to remain hunkered down at home...

But yet, we have an urge to travel. 

Unfortunately, with the whole Covid confusion, those plans remain a bit "fluid".

We don't have health fears for ourselves, in fact, Judy experienced classic Covid symptoms early this year while at OBX...before it made the headlines. 

It's just concern about the unknowns...State governments getting crazy about interstate travel...

J wants to stay through Christmas this year...so we may not depart Windy Hill till after January 10th, the 2nd anniversary of her 49th birthday.

Thinking about heading straight south when we leave...and hoping the Florida Jumpers don't get kicked out of their state between now and then...so we can visit them.

Remember guys, try to behave!

And we can't pass through NC without stopping to check up on two favorite nieces...

Just hoping D&J might be able to carve 15 minutes out of their busy schedules to join us over a cup of joe...

Otherwise it will be just us and the girls!!! 

And in spite of Covid, we have other very compelling needs to head south at some point soon...

A few weeks ago, we ran out of "White Lily Self Rising Best Buttermilk Biscuits Ever" flour. 

Judy ordered an emergency air-lift (life flight copters will do house calls) for a 5 pound bag so we could make some 'Sunday morning hot buttermilk biscuits with honey' for Jennifer's last visit.

And that little 5 pound emergency ration of flour won't last long.

Just hope we don't get pulled over coming home from our travel...

Smuggling 300 pounds of fine white powder north, across the Mason/Dixon line is a terrible offense!!!

Last year, we left for the Outer Banks on Dec 11th...this year it will be a month later before we leave the Hill...

So knowing we'll have 30 more days of winter has resulted in some other late fall activities.

The Fox normally carries two 40 pound RV propane tanks hidden away in a storage bay.  Each are twice the size of a typical BBQ grill propane tank.

We ran all summer using less than one tank for the stove...a combination of the large size of the tank, the efficiency of the stove...and not cooking! 

When there's no electricity available, the propane can also power the frig and water heater...

And in the winter, The Fox also uses the propane for the furnace.

It is the furnace which has an addiction to propane gas huffing.

 

So last winter I got to know the guys at the propane refill station pretty well...first name basis kind of well...let me show you pictures of the fish I caught last week kind of well...hey, you want to come over for dinner kind of well...

I got to see them often...too often!

So this year we had some ginormous propane tanks brought in for The Fox.

What a concept! 

They actually deliver propane to us, rather than having to go get it!!!

I love America!   What will they think of next???

In spite of having a propane habit, the Fox is considered one of the better four season rigs by the RV industry...and highly recommended for crazy full-timers living in Siberia...or on Windy Hill.

It has full insulation top, bottom and sides, plus additional features like heat in the underbelly to keep the water tanks thawed...

But it's still an RV...

And based on what we learned last winter during the -14 degrees of Blanca, Colorado...

We can make it even better!

So with all the free time we now have from not going after propane, we are adding a skirt to The Fox.

Basically a wood frame covered tight with two inches of rigid foam to block the wind from getting under the RV. 

It should help provide a buffer from the coldest of winter days. 

Now about 75% complete, we plan to finish it up mid-week.

It's solid and tight, but not permanent...should be relatively easy to take down, store flat and reinstall again later if desired...

In addition to blocking wind, it should help hold heat in the critical areas.

So com'on Old Man Winter, we've got propane and we've got skirts...

We're ready...

Give us your best shot!!!

 

Oh, and Friday's forecast    ->   1 to 3 inches...

And it's still only October!!!

Let the adventure continue...