Good to be back on the road!
In my last post, I mentioned preparing to get our nomad life up and running once again. Well, last weekend we completed the move out of our colonial sanctuary and are finally back in our primary residence, the wheeled adventure lodge known as Discovery.
Confused yet?
It’s a weird arrangement, I know. One day, our new property will officially be “home”. Off-grid, a little garden, lots of sweat equity. A stationary, self-contained homestead like our home on wheels.
But for now, it’s amazing to have our world once more pared down to several hundred square feet of space.
The transition made for a lot of adjustments. Discovery needed to be winterized while we hunkered down. With all the snow, she also required regular clearing of the roof and solar panels and a close eye on the batteries.
We also had to learn the ropes of surviving in a place where winter actually means more than a few days of sleet and ice. Plus we had to manage that in a very old house.
Many lessons learned. Many still to come.
Shoveling snow, firing up wood stoves, spreading salt, washing said salt off of vehicles on a regular basis, defending against critters intent on sharing our warm home, and learning about “mud season” all come to mind.
(The last one wasn’t a steep learning curve – we spent nearly six months on the Oregon coast…all mud, all the time.)
Living on a rural, quasi-homestead it turns out is very similar to the RV lifestyle. Weather dictates how and when you do things and you often find yourself babysitting a quirky patchwork of systems to keep everything running smoothly.
In the process of making this possible, we had to winterize Discovery for the first time. Nothing too difficult. Pump some RV antifreeze in the lines, dump a large bottle of cheap vodka in the freshwater tank, then we drained it all out the minute we caught the first whiff of spring.
(Assuming you can smell anything over the vodka…)
In reality, the weather we call “spring” doesn’t quite get here until May. But we weren’t going to let that stop us.
So, we’re back in New Hampshire. There’s still plenty of snow up in the White Mountains, ski slopes included. We found an excellent year-round spot, but to pull this off, we’re half-boondocking.
Nobody turns water on up here for campsites into well into May. And the sewer connections are buried under a foot or two of snow and ice.
The goal is to see if we can make it a month. Two weeks in the mountains, then two more on the coast of Rhode Island. It’s doable, though the longest we’ve ever boondocked is closer to three weeks and that’s been during a Lake Mead “winter.”
One of my favorite things about Discovery is that she’s all contained. Bathroom, kitchen, water tanks, holding tanks for wastewater. She even generates her own power with the solar panels I installed. And our stock diesel generator serves as an excellent (and, at times, necessary) backup.
Our supply tanks are still reading full five days in. Time to find out just how long we can go…
Word of warning – if you see us on the road, might be best to keep your distance. Assuming we’re recognizable. Hair unkempt, reeking of vodka, and bundled up in several layers (some of which we may or may not have slept in) you might have a different impression.
But if there’s any question whether or not we’re enjoying our cozy little adventure, just look for the goofy grins.
***
Work continues on the thriller series. Planning phases for book three, final tweaks on book two…already snuck in a scene set in the Presidential Range. Couldn’t resist. Hopefully, my wanderings can become our shared adventures! Stay tuned…
Categories: Author News
RUSS LINTON 
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