Categories
Solar & Power

Solar Power Upgrade Part 3 – Self Install Running Wire

At the conclusion of Part 2, we had panels mounted on the roof and wired up to the combiner box. We connected the 6 gauge wire to the combiner box and dropped it behind the fridge. The next phase of this project involved running the wire from behind the fridge to the forward compartment. In the forward compartment, I’ll wire it up to the solar charge controller. But first, we must get there.

I drilled a hole in the lower segment of fridge compartment side wall. The side wall there is plywood with a metal covering. I drilled through both the metal and the wood, enlarging the holes so it fit the 6 gauge wire. That hole places the wire in the utility space underneath the wardrobe. Solar project_19In the utility space there is one side of a wire chase that runs side to side under the hallway down the middle of the Airstream. The other end of the wire chase comes up behind the electrical panel and underneath the pantry. I pulled the electrical panel out, which is pretty easy to do. I had done it several times before, most recently to upgrade the single stage converter to a multi-stage converter. Threading the wire through that wire chase was actually easier than I had imagined. After pushing the wire into one side, I was able to pull it out of the far end using my fingers. After I had a handle on both sides, I was able to thread the remaining wire pretty quickly.

Me, looking both tired and surprised at how easy the wire chase was.
Me, looking both tired and surprised at how easy the wire chase was.

I paused my wire-running activities here to install the remote control panel for my Blue Sky solar charge controller. I measured and taped, and then drilled holes and used a small hand saw to cut the right hole for the controller in the upper kitchen cabinet. Solar project_20We fed the wires through a new hole in the pantry panel, and down the back of the pantry to meet up with the 6 gauge wire from the roof. There were two wires connected to the remote control: the remote control wire for the charge controller, and the shunt wire that connects to the battery monitoring shunt that I would install. After joining the main 6 gauge solar wire, these wires followed the same route for the remainder of the trip.

I then ran the wire through the side wall and above the hot water heater under the bathroom sink, later securing them with zip ties to to the underside of the shelves. I then ran the wire behind the back of the bathroom cabinets, and through a hole I drilled in the bathroom wall and into the bedroom.

My wiring route at this point is very specific to my bedroom configuration. During the remodel last year, I removed the walk-around queen and installed two rv-twin sized beds along the side walls, and a toddler sized bed in the very end. This configuration means that the remainder of my wire run is hidden underneath one of the side beds.Solar project_24

If you have a walk around queen, the wire run would not be hidden. In this case, the best solution I have seen is to run the wires along the floor, have a metal wire cover made, and screw it down to cover the wires. This solution is very nice looking, and barely noticeable at all.

I should mention here that an alternative wire run is possible. I’ve seen several installations where they ran the wire out through the bottom of the Airstream, through some conduit, and back up into the forward compartment. I didn’t like this solution for several reasons, including durability and aesthetics, but it might be a viable option if none of the other wire route paths work.

To run the wire underneath the bed, I needed to cut a notch in the vertical supports of the bed. When my Father and I designed the beds, we designed them to be removable without full disassembly. I emptied the storage compartments, removed some trim, and pulled the bed outside to make the cuts.Solar project_26

In the corner underneath the kids’ bookcases between the side bed and the back bed is a bundle of wire. During the bed remodel, I had made a cover for that wire bundle, and the added 6 gauge wire fit in just fine. I ran the wire along the same path, which led it right into the wiring panel underneath the front bed compartment.

I put the side bed back into place, replaced the electrical panel, and sealed the wire path in the fridge compartment with some silicon.

The next step is the big electrical re-wire!

Categories
Biking Driggs Idaho

Mountain Biking in Horseshoe Canyon – Driggs, Idaho

We have been hanging out at my brother-in-law’s house in Driggs, Idaho for the last week. Sam has some renovations he’s been doing to our battery box (including some welding by said brother-in-law). Between work, Airstream projects, and the rain, we haven’t had many chances to get out and explore and I’ve been going a little stir crazy.

Apparently my attitude was a little negative this morning, so the boys suggested I get out for a ride. Its amazing to me how quickly getting outdoors improves my mood.

When I went: May 22, 2015

Where We Stayed: With family, but there are a couple of great camping spots in the valley. Check them out on campedium.com.

Trail route: Climb Bovine Bliss, merge onto Shark’s Belly. Turn right on to Bumper & Cody’s at “the five-way”. Go left onto Sodbuster at the “T”. Turn left onto Southbound, and then ride down Channel Lock to the road.

Map: They’ve got a great one on mtbproject.com with coordinates for the trailhead.

I chose to ride the Dude Creek Loop #249 up Horsehoe Canyon. In the Wydaho Mtn Book my awesome brother-in-law picked up for me its recorded as a 6.2 mile ride with a workout factor of 5, a skill factor of 5, and a fun factor of 9. Sounds fabulous, right?

It took me about 20-25 minutes to ride from his house up the canyon. Unfortunately, because of all the rain the road to the trail head was too muddy and I spent about 15 minutes trying to make it. Giving up, I backed down the road and took the fork on the left side of the road instead where there was additional parking.

Getting that all settled, I biked up the road and started on the trail which was (hallelujah) obviously marked with a carsonite post.

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Bovine Bliss was a pretty good climb. I was breathing pretty hard, and having just worked my legs with 21 Day Fix Lower Extreme yesterday, my legs were also not happy with me at all. I couldn’t beat the views though:

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There were a few breaks in the climbing which was definitely a welcome relief. I merged onto Shark’s Belly and then it got wet. This part of the trail wound through the trees and there were a few streams that leaked onto the trails. Also some bridges to cross, which I felt more comfortable walking rather than riding. A few sections were too muddy to ride (if you leave a track deeper than a 1/2″ you shouldn’t ride it! It ruins the trails), so I attempted to walk around them. I’m just happy I didn’t slip and end up face down in the mud!

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A few more ups and downs and I hit the cutoff for Sod Buster and then Southbound.

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You can take a shortcut, skip Southbound and go straight to Channel Lock, but I don’t recommend it. Southbound was one of my favorite sections! It would around on top of the mesa with amazing views of the Teton Valley.

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Then there was the awesome descent on Channel Lock back through the gate, and then a short ride up the road to my car. I’m pretty sure I had a goofy grin on my face the whole way down.

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Overall it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes, and Endomondo clocked 9.5 miles instead of 6.2. It seems like quite the difference in mileage, so I’m not sure where the discrepancy comes in.

It was definitely a great ride, and I would LOVE to come back later in the summer and ride it when it’s fully dry!
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Categories
Fitness & Recipes

Airstream Kitchen: Corndog Muffins with Vegan Cornbread

Corndog muffins are super yummy and a great hit with the kids!Okay, so I know adding a hot dog to a Vegan Cornbread recipe kind of defeats the purpose of the whole vegan thing. Trust me, though, the cornbread recipe is so good I couldn’t imagine using any other one.

We’ve made this cornbread recipe plenty of times and even taken it to a full time traveler pot luck or two (although we did always serve with butter and honey!). Everyone agreed it was delicious. Then I saw a recipe where they added hot dogs in the middle of cornbread muffins to make a corndog, and thought “That looks WAY healthier than the breaded, fried, and frozen versions”. So I tried it and my kids gobbled them up! Total win-win.

It is super easy to make, is filling, and best of all, healthy! Unlike most traditional cornbread recipes, this leaves out all the fattening butter and replaces it with the flaxseed mixture. Don’t let it scare you! Ground flaxseed can be found in most grocery stores (trust me, I’ve found it all over the country), and is usually in the baking aisle.

Corndog Muffins/Vegan Cornbread

adapted from livinlightly.com
serves: 22 muffins or a 9×13 pan of cornbread
21 Day Fix: 1 1/2 Yellow

Ingredients for Cornbread
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup water
2 cups non dairy milk (we use Soy)
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups flour (we usually just use white)
8 tsp baking powder
2 cups whole grain cornmeal
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
For Muffins:  1 package turkey hot dogs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line muffin tin or grease a 9×13 pan.
2. Heat water in a small sauce pan on stove. Once it is boiling, add the flaxseed. Reduce heat and whisk until you get a gel-like consistency.
3. Combine milk & oil in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture (Sift flour if you want – I’m always too lazy!) and mix well.
5. Stir in flaxseed mixture.
6. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, or spread cornbread mixture into a 9×13 pan. It’s pretty thick, but don’t worry.
7. If you are doing muffins, slice each turkey hot dog into thirds and then stick one in the middle of each muffin.
8. Bake – 9×13 pan for 20-30 minutes, muffins for 12-15 minutes.
9. Eat & enjoy!

Corndog Muffins are a great way to spice up lunch for your kids.

Categories
Arizona Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing in Prescott, AZ With Friends

It’s no joke we fell in love with Prescott, AZ (really, we did a pretty awesome April’s Fool Joke) and one of the reasons was the plentiful outdoor recreation opportunities. We were only going to drop into Prescott Valley, spend a night with college friends and then leave, until another full time Airstreamer (whom we met at Organ Pipe National Monument a few months earlier) started posting photos of Point of Rocks Campground and the Granite Dells. Although we were slightly nervous about a private RV park (they are never our favorites) we couldn’t resist coming into town and seeing what the hype was all about. We warned Rich & Jodi we were coming to crash their space, and Rich even visited their storage unit and pulled out his climbing gear in anticipation of our visit.

When We Visited: March 27 – April 2, 2015

Ages of Kids: 9, 7, 4

Where We Stayed: Point of Rocks Campground is not your typical RV Park. The park has lots of shade, dirt roads, and huge granite boulders everywhere. Definitely more of a campground than an RV Park. We loved it. We were given a smaller site on the end (the best spots are in the back loop up against the boulders – note to self for next time) and settled in. And then we kept extending our stay again, and again, and again. By the time we left we had spent a week in this awesome town rock climbing, exploring, visiting nearby Watson Lake, and mountain biking.

Sam and I climbed quite a bit in college, so rock climbing isn’t new to us, but our kids had never been outside on “real” rocks. Andrew especially was pretty excited as we try to have regular rock climbing gym dates.We lined up an afternoon and a small group of us (including the awesome Ty, Sarah, Luna & Aki from mywifesadventure who we met the day before) walked out the back of the campground and into the Granite Dells.

Rich & Jodi frequent this area as a sort of “home base” of operations so Rich has been climbing all over the Dells and took us to a spot with a pretty easy 5.5/5.6 to start. Sam and Rich walked to the top of the crag to set up a top rope and the rest of us made our way to the bottom. After getting set up we took turns climbing the relatively easy first route and then Sam went up and switched the chains over to the next one for a little harder of a climb.

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We had a great afternoon! We encouraged each other, talked, the kids made forts, scrambled over the rocks, and ate snacks.  The littlest ones didn’t climb, so we took turns entertaining them. I also couldn’t resist pulling out my camera and doing a little impromptu lifestyle session of the Bennett family:

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Sarah’s first time rock climbing – doesn’t she look like a natural??

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How did it go with the kids that did climb? Andrew spider-manned his way to the top, but had trouble coming down. Jodi eventually went around to the top and pulled him over that way so they could walk down. Rachel struggles with heights and didn’t make it very far at all before she decided she was done, but had no trouble coming down. Sam, Jodi & I all climbed twice, Ty & Sarah both got in one climb (they had the youngest baby to juggle) and since Rich scraped up his leg mountain biking, he designated himself as belayer. After everyone had climbed we had Andrew practice climbing a bit, leaning back on the rope and coming back down. He was much more confident after that!

Rock Climbing Prescott_17I’ve warned Sam that if we really end up back here for a month or so next winter I’m so buying a rope and we are going climbing at least three times a week. We had such a fantastic time, that we did it again a few days later – only this time we brought livinginthemomentum with us as well! We are so grateful to Rich & Jodi for the use of their gear and expertise. You really can’t beat a rock climbing location with a view like this!

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Categories
Faith Musings of Sam

Signs and Footprints

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A few weeks ago, we found ourselves hiking the Sound of Silence Trail in Dinosaur National Monument. It had been a rainy few days, but we found ourselves with a few hours of sunshine and set out on the trail. We were blessed with visitors from Jess’s family, and had a wonderful time chatting as we hiked up the trail.

Fairly soon on the hike, the trail dipped into a wash, and we followed the winding course of the wash for a mile or so. The rain the previous few days had washed the trail clean, safe for some wild-animal hoofprints and the footprints of one lone hiker. The trail was beautiful, and were were enjoying the solitude. An occasional trail sign assured us that we were on the right path. About a mile up the wash, the trail (marked with a sign) led up and to the right. The trail led up and out of the wash, and then wound through some clay hills that reminded me remarkably of the Painted Hills in Oregon.

The tight turns in the trail through the clay hills soon revealed the name of the trail: despite being only a few hundred yards in front of the rest of our hiking party, we could not hear any sound of their talking. It occurred to me that this point that I was glad to have signs along the trail to guide our way. Without signs, the limited visibility and inability to hear could create a dangerous situation should we become lost.

The trail had signs at every significant turn, but at points I began to wonder if we were still on the trail. The rain had wiped out all previous footprints, and sections of the trail were not that distinct from the surrounding landscape.

I found myself watching for the footprints of that lone hiker who had hiked the trail before us that morning. Seeing the path of somebody who had gone before us was comforting. The trail signs were sufficient to guide us at forks in the trail, but it was the footprints that gave me confidence.

God’s prophets (ancient and modern) serve as signposts along our trail of life. At significant junctures we can learn from their teachings and choose the path that aligns with principles of The Gospel of Christ.

At times on our journey through life, we might wonder if we are still on the right path. Recent controversy, disasters, or personal relationships at times wash out our trail. During these times, it is often the examples of others that give us confidence in our direction. Their example, living the Gospel day by day, little by little, are the footprints that stretch before us.

As we neared the end of our hike, the footprints before us gave us confidence. The gap in the rain was closing. With a rainstorm moving toward us and raindrops starting to fall, we started to hurry. We followed those footprints rapidly down the trail, and made it back to the truck only slightly wet.

I’m grateful to those whose footsteps I follow, both in life, and on the trail. Their step by step examples give me courage and confidence as I push onward.