Surviving the Freeze!

 

(We are on our way to Arizona!)

COLD!!!! That’s been the word for the past 5 days!

We are able to get packed and leave last Saturday morning.  Not  a pretty travel day but not too cold.  Made it to a Meridian, MS Passport America park….not much there.  Just a gravel parking lot with a nice bathhouse and office.  Free chocolate candy!

The next day the forecast got scary with talk of sleet and snow but we pressed on driving through rain and wind and back into the sunshine….cold sunshine!  Got through all of MS and LA arriving at another Passport park in Longview, TX.  The predicted low for the night is 19 degrees!  (Need to stop here and remind everyone that we do not have a furnace….just a little ceramic space heater!)  We manage to sleep warm with our  comforter and a few throws.  I worry about our cat, Sylvester, staying warm.  I try to cover him and he does not cooperate.  Eventually he makes his bed on David’s stomach.

The next morning we have ice on all our windows….on the inside!!!!  It is 17 degrees that morning and I hope to never experience that again!  The freeze is predicted to extend another day and night but I’m not concerned as we will be camping inside Little House Customs’ shop that night. 

For the past two years we have had BAL stabilizers on our wish list for the Casita.  And it’s going to finally happen!

Tada!  The finished product!

Since it has been way too cold to take any pictures outside….and thought it might be different to show what it’s like on the inside of a Casita. Not the pretty little doll house pictures that I see on Facebook and the forums but our version of real camping!

David reading his Nook (or sleeping!)

Sylvester enjoying the heater!

Supper….the leftovers did not fill us….second course, vanilla wafers and peanut butter.

Baby boy staying warm.

Enjoyed our time at Little House Customs as Larry and Debbie are great hosts!  I stuck to Larry’s huge wood burning stove…it felt sooo good to be warm!

A better view of this wonderful stove!  This is the main source of heat for his shop.

Our Casita baby all snug and warm for the night!

View from upstairs.

Writing tonight from Monahans Sandhills State Park (west Texas) ….last night was spent in Ranger, TX.  May be through with Texas by tomorrow afternoon….sure takes forever to drive!

The good news!!!!!!  It was 60 here today!  But 28 predicted tonight….still camping with hookups.

Winter Solstice, Valances and Good Tidings to All!

While fighting the cold, a bitter winter day five or six years ago, I made a vow to escape winter once retirement happened.  And we have, fleeing successfully for the past two years!
The pictures below are from our last winter at home in 2011.  This snow was much heavier than normal but it does happen occasionally.  I do not like snow; can tolerate maybe two hours of it!


Yesterday was the winter solstice…the shortest day of the year.  I always look forward to the day that signifies the increasing daylight.  Suffering in the past from seasonal affective disorder….I hate the long, cold and dark nights.  Our annual trip to the sun has eliminated the depressive symptoms.  Looking at pictures of the desert sunrise is great medicine!


We’re getting excited as our exit day approaches but also a bit worried that winter will follow us into Texas where we will be visiting Larry and Debbie Gamble.  Another mod, BAL stabilizers are on the schedule.

The long awaited valances are finally complete!  Pleased to say they are up and there are no complaints.  Enjoyed taking the sewing machine out of storage and dusting it off.  The last time it was used was when curtains were made for the old 13' foot Casita.



The material is leftover upholstery from a chair…(see previous post).  The café rods are from the Dollar Store and they were secured by zip ties.  The blue in the window is not the ocean but a tarp that’s covering the trailer!
Just mentioning the old trailer makes me nostalgic.  We sold it  after two years in order to get a bathroom.
This was our first love……a 1990 13’ Casita.  Sure hope it’s somewhere still on the road!



Just had to share the pictures from our first Casita!  We never, ever realized how that purchase was going to change our lives. Changes including travel all over the states and a new family of friends….our fiberglass trailer friends!
Wishing everyone out there a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! Please stay safe on the road for another year of travel and good times!