8 years of cycling together

Starting Jan 1, 2012 and going through December 31, 2019.  We still have a few days until the new year, but later today we have two grandsons arriving, so our riding is done for the year.

Our totals:

Number of rides:  762  (a little over one ride every four days for eight years)

Total miles:       17,544   (of which 2845 were on the tandem)

Miles/ride:      23


After completing our 7th, and, sadly, our final, Seattle to Portland, 210-mile bike ride:

Horse Heaven Hills, our very favorite biking location.  On the Inland Empire Century ride.

20 Mule Team Borax

In the 1880s two mule skinners drove a team of 20 mules over 100 miles out of Death Valley to a rail head.  They had a load of Borax, a compound that was used in cleaning materials.

These were exceptional men.  They had to train these mules for the journey, including how to make turns.  Turns were made by some mules jumping the line.
In the 1950s, there was a TV show called Death Valley Days.  It was hosted, for a time, by Ronald Reagan.  The show was sponsored by 20 Mule Team Borax.  You could send in a dollar and get a model kit of the mule team pulling the wagons loaded with Borax.

I got some of these kits on eBay, and started assembling them four years ago.  I assembled several and painted several, until I could learn how to create the appropriate weathered look.

This fall I turned my attention to the diorama that the model would sit on.  Vicky and I know Death Valley, having hiked there over many years.  So I tried to build something that we had actually seen ourselves in Death Valley.  I built it out of plaster of paris, air drying plaster, grout, various types of paint, various types of rocks, etc.  I made several practice runs at this until I could get something that we both knew looked like some of the areas of Death Valley where the mule team actually went.

The thing is huge--over 40 inches long.  And heavy!  Now our problem is where to put it in our small home.

 

This is what the model kits looked like before I started.

Starting work on the plastic model, 2 1/2 years ago. 

And what the diorama looked like at various stages:

The first step was to create a very firm base.  Otherwise, when moved, the plaster on the very top would crack.  Two 2X6 40-inch boards were glued to a 1X12 base.   The back is also a 1X12.  

The base is approximately 3 inches deep, providing plenty of support.  The next step was a layer of insulating foam board:

We found, online, a terrific poster of Death Valley, which Vicky and I carefully cut to be the correct size for the background:

Finished model.  Lots and lots of attention to detail.  It was a blast.

p.s.  those are actual Borax crystals in the wagons. 

Into the wild with the Quail

We took the Quail out to the Four Peaks Wilderness.

To get to our camping spot we had to drive over rough, rock-strewn roads, through streams, and through narrow passages.  The Quail passed with flying colors.

Sleeping was an adventure.  The Quail Teardrop is basically a sleeping area, and we chose the smallest one made.

Our mistake was trying to cram too much into it.  We had more blankets and pillows than we needed and than we had room for.  But that was the purpose of this trip--to learn, and learn we did.

In terms of what we can do with the Rat and Quail, this doesn't scratch the surface of what we can do.  As rough and tight as this area was, it is nothing compared to where we plan to go...and will go.  But it was a good way to learn.  A good start. 

Here are some photos:

 

Our campsite.  Only two groups drove by the main road in the time we were there  ("Main road" being defined here as a one-lane dirt/rocky Forest Service road designated for off-road vehicles).  Both groups were using off-road vehicles.  One group of two were on dirt bikes and another was a couple in a Polaris.  And here we were, in the same place, in a Toyota you can drive in comfort to a grocery store and a Teardrop!!!

Here is our site:

Our set-up:

Cooking is soooo much easier than when we were tent camping.

Cooking dinner:

Cooking breakfast:

Dan gets breakfast in bed.   This photo also shows how the sleeping compartment is only the size of the mattress (46" by 74"), which is 8" narrower and 1" shorter than a standard double mattress, and only 7 inches wider than a single mattress.  

We took three nice hikes.  They were all on rough and rocky forest roads.  Two were into wilderness areas.  Because we were in desert mountains we had a lot of elevation gain, and hiked very slowly so we didn't twist an ankle.

On one of them we saw a Javelina--the only one we have ever seen anywhere except in southern Texas.

 

The Quail (Teardrop) is in the very center of the photo, over Vicky's shoulder, far down in the valley:

These may be the tallest Saguaro cacti we have ever seen.  Many were absolutely huge.

The four peaks that the Four Peaks Wilderness area is named for are above Vicky in the following photo:

See Dan?

See Vicky?

Here are some videos showing where we can go:

Dry run with the Quail

We are going to take a short camping/hiking trip in the Quail in a couple of days.  We aren't going far.  All we want to do is to experiment with it--see what we need, how to make it all work, etc.

Today we hooked it up for the first time and drove it around Leisure World.  We did some backing with it--remembering to turn the wheel in the opposite direction you want to go.

We actually got it back into the garage........on the first try!


Dan hooking up the hitch:

 Vicky hooking up the electricity.

 

Plenty of room for it in the RV lot, in front of the Turtle:

Backing it into the garage:  A two-person job.

Finishing touches on the Quail

We spent the day working on the "bedroom" of the Quail (actually the entire thing is a bedroom).

One feature we added was latches to hold the inside storage doors closed:

Most of the time was spent making curtains for the doors and windows.

We knew we would need them, as otherwise at night anybody driving by could look right into the windows.  In addition, we need them for shade.  The constraints were that there isn't much space to be able to hang standard curtains or shades.

We came up with what we believe to be a terrific solution.  And, like for most things we end up doing, after we got the problem solved we couldn't reconstruct how we got to the solution.  We can't remember what part of this solution each of us came up with.  Totally gone.

What we did was hang small hooks above the windows and doors.  Then, Vicky cut squares out of a vinyl-like material the appropriate size that would cover them.  The vinyl-like material is heavy enough for them to hang appropriately.

Then we put grommets into the corners.  Now they hang just fine, right next to the windows, but if we want to we can lift a bottom corner and put it onto one of the top hooks and sort of have a half-shade.

Totally a good solution.  Vicky did all of the fabric work, including cutting the holes for the grommets.  I pounded the grommets into place and hung the small hooks.

Vicky cutting the fabric:

Ta da!

Then Vicky made the bed, using the new quilt she made just for the Quail.  She started with a 1950s tablecloth/map of Arizona, and built it around that.  On the reverse side is a 1950s tablecloth/map of Utah.  Pretty cool, huh?

Looks comfy doesn't it?

Vicky also planned what she wants and what we should try to carry in the kitchen area.

Most of what we take will be carried in the Rat.  But without bedding and all of the supplies that we put into the front metal storage box of the Quail, we will have an abundance of space.