Detour

Retirement is great, but I am ready for a vacation from retirement already. We have been getting ready for a retirement party in October, as well as working on the 1959 Airstream. I am not sure how I had enough time for work. As if these projects weren't enough, I found another wrecked Airstream on eBay. We will need everything for the inside of the 1957 Airstream Overlander, so it made sense to bid on it. Well, as luck would have it, we won the bid. I am not sure whether the luck I am referring to is good, or bad. So we packed up the bags last Saturday and the camping gear and started for St. Louis again. It is only 12 hours away, and what else did we have to do anyway. We stopped at McGee creek state park in Oklahoma and pitched a tent. Shelly reminded me several times how crazy it is to camp in a tent when we have 4 Airstreams sitting in our yard. 

 Yup, tent camping!

 That is the reflection of our truck from a 63 Airstream we saw on the road!

 We drove most of the day on Sunday and tent camped in Babler State park just outside of St. Louis. We were not able to pick up the wrecked Airstream until Monday morning. The weather was great for camping both nights, and luckily there were no bugs either. We had a campfire both nights, and watched the stars. We met Dimitry ( Eugene's brother - in - law ) at Copart in St. Louis about 8 in the morning. The Airstream is a 2006 Safari se and is 25 feet long. The trailer was rolled onto it's left side, and the door side was in good shape. The Airstream pulled great even if it was leaning to the right. We drove most of Monday and camped in Village creek state park in Arkansas. We had to clean the trailer up quite a bit, but we got to see what worked, and what didn't. Most of the lights worked, and the plumbing worked, with only one drain leak under the sink. The trailer did not have a shore line, so we did not have electricity, only 12 volt lights. The Mosquitos were bad, and several got into the camper, which kept me awake for several hours trying to swat at them in the dark. We decided to drive all the way home on Tuesday, and left early so we got home around 5 in the afternoon.

 

It looks good from the front right side!

Now, to plan for Houston on Thursday.

Shelly got the 73 Airstream ready to leave for Houston, while I cleaned the barn. We drove down to Lone star lakes rv resort on Thursday, and got there about 4. After setting up, we drove to Ashlee's and Tyler's house. We visited with them until about 9, and decide we were all tired. In the middle of the night, Shelly noticed the floor was wet, and the air conditioner was dripping. She put a pan under the drip until morning. The next morning, I found that a bug had built a nest in the drain line. But that didn't stop the drip. I guess the humidity in Houston was too much for the drain line. So, I got to take the inside cover off and clean the coils and drip pan. That worked! We spent the day at Tyler's and visited. Mom and dad also came down and visited. Ashlee made taco soup for all of us, which was delicious! By the end of the day playing with Parker and Dallas, I was worn out. 

The air conditioner drain was working until the middle of the night, when it decided to stop up again. And drip everywhere. Including the edge of the bed. Ugh. After relevelling the trailer, we got the drip to stop, but everything was wet inside. We drove to Bush international airport and picked up Damon and Erica. Tyler made breakfast for all of us, and we visited until the party. The turnout for the party was good, and we got to visit and take pictures and video. After saying goodbye we packed up the camper and headed home. Erica and Damon went with us and helped us unpack at home. We got to spend some time planning our Arkansas trip in two weeks. It should be a lot less hectic.

1959 Tradewind restoration interior

With the wiring done, I finally get to start putting the interior skins back 

The old skins were in decent shape, but had three layers of paint on them. I found the most effective way to strip the paint was to brush paint stripper on, then wait about five minutes. After the stripper has set a few minutes, I used a wire brush on an angle grinder to get through most of the paint. It makes a mess, but seems to be the quickest. I was able to reuse most of the insulation from the 2003 Airstream. 

This is the left lower side

This shows the right side and back

This is the kitchen back splash, which will not be painted. It is a panel from the outside of the 2003, and had the clearcoat on it. I think it will be a great backsplash for the kitchen. The top section of the interior skin was the biggest. It was 8 and  1/2 feet wide by about 14 feet long. We had to bend it over to get it through the door. Holding it up was a struggle, until Shelly told me to build a prop to hold up the skin. That went a lot easier. Once we got a few Clecos in, the rest went much easier.

Even before being painted, it looks better than before.

The before picture

It was a riveting good time!

Cleaning years off the window trim pieces 

After several thousand rivets, we are still finding holes that need another one. The pneumatic rivet gun helps. Now, on to paint. We had planned on using Zolatone, despite the expense, and hassle of spraying it. What we hadn't planned on was everyone's reaction when we asked for it at the automotive stores. What is Zolatone? No, we don't have anything like that. Maybe you could try so and so. Well so and so hasn't heard of it either. We knew it was over $100 a gallon, and we were told it would take at least 3 gallons of primer and 3 more of Zolatone. We finally called someone who could order it, but we had to wait until Monday. While looking at Lowe's for flooring, we found a gallon of rustoleum for under $30, and it was in stock. So, I am up for a challenge, and always ready to try to save money. Rustoleum it is. I rolled on the primer coat, and it left a nice textured look, which increased with the color coat.

So far so good. I wanted the splattered paint look of Zolatone, so I experimented with spray paint cans. Googling splatter paint does no good. Apparently normal people do not want their spray paint to splatter. There are however, tips on preventing splatter. After about six nozzles, I finally got the right size hole to splatter the paint. I had to hold the can about two feet away from the wall, which wastes some of the paint, but I got the look I was after. I used black, silver and blue splatter.

A small section

 Here you can see the texture of the base coat

 The splatter helps hide the imperfections.

I am happy with the look. Now, all we lack is finishing. The next step will be hooking up lights and batteries. In the meantime, we are having an axle party. Our daughter and son in law's 1971 Tradewind needs new axles, as well as our 1973 Overlander. So we ordered four axles, and we get to put them on today. Axle party!

1959 Tradewind restoration wiring

'Whew, finally past the polishing. For the most part, that is. I still have to polish the propane tanks, and buff out some swirl marks that I couldn't see in the shop. But it is looking good!

 

    This is the before and after shot!

 

This is a picture the previous owner gave to me. This is what it looked like when he got it.

It looks slightly different now!

I started wiring the 110 volt system first, and added a Furrion  twist lock connector, so the shore line can be disconnected. I got the running lights wired next, including the brakes, and breakaway switch. The 12 volt system has taken 3 days so far, and I am not done yet, but it is the majority of the electrical system. 

I moved the jungle of wires from my shop floor to inside the Airstream. Note the thermostat to the air conditioner on the wheel well. The temperature has been at or above 100 just about every day since we got back from New Mexico. The air conditioner has kept it comfortable inside. I have also hooked up the tv antenna, and the vent hood, and run the wires for the solar panels. I also ran the copper gas lines under the trailer and hooked them up to the furnace and water heater. I ordered a 100 watt solar panel, and a 30 amp solar charger from solar penny, and got them 3 days later. I am I impressed with their service and their prices. I mounted the panel on the roof just behind the front vent, and ran an extra wire to the outside compartment to add a second charger if the one is not enough. We have been using a 45 watt panel from Harbor Freight. It is not quite enough to keep the batteries charged in New Mexico, so I also got a second 100 watt panel for our Airstream. I am ready to put the interior skins back on! I realized the interior skins have been off about 10 months now. It's about time to put it back together. 

The solar panel

Our 73 and the 59.

Cedar ridge park

Erica and Damon have a few days off, and have been ready to try their new Airstream again, so we threw a dart at a map and it landed on Cedar ridge park on lake Belton. $22 per night.  We actually did put a little more thought into it than that, but we've never been to this park , and it sounded nice. Turns out, it is a really nice park. Sheron said the Parkers come here often, and we can see why. Most of the park is on a cedar covered ridge over lake Belton. We got here about 3 yesterday and set up camp. Shelly made taco salad, and then we went tubing in the shade of the cliff across the channel. It was a good way to keep cool in the afternoon heat. We walked the dogs after sunset, and sat talking and watching the stars after dark.

Erica and Damon's new 1971 Airstream! Campsite # 35

Our campsite # 34

Monday, August 26

Had a lazy morning. Shelly and Erica went shopping for a few things. We all went to the lake for tubing to continue a lazy day. Shelly made chicken and spaghetti for supper. We walked the dogs about two miles around the park trying to make up for the lazy day. We visited with Ray and Catherine and their five dogs, and listened to their stories. Back at camp, we sat in the lawn chairs and watched the stars and talked.

Tuesday, August 27

Woke up to a drizzling morning. With the lake being over 10 feet low, the rain is welcome, but at this rate it won't help much. We drove into town, and went shopping at harbor freight and Target. We drove to Belton lake dam and drove through live oak park. We had camped there over ten years ago when we first got a camper. We decided we like cedar ridge park better. The sites are a little more secluded, and getting to the water is easier. And lots of deer to look at!

We played bean bag toss and golf ( the card game) until after dark, and then sat out under the stars again relaxing.

 Wednesday, August 28

Yesterday's high was about 85 and cloudy, but today is sunny and supposed to be in the upper 90's again, with the temps returning to the 100's by this weekend. Ugh. Maybe we should head back to New Mexico.

Wednesday, August 28

Watched the deer invade our campsite, and took some pictures. We went swimming- tubing, and I paddled up the creek to the bluff just past the park, and found a cave tunnel above some old rock steps. Makes you wonder who built the steps, and why. After lunch, we packed up to leave. This park is a definite do again!

Beating the heat

Thursday, August 8, 2013

 This is our third trip to Santa Fe in August. Our first trip was planned to be just a stop in Santa Fe on our way to Colorado. After spending a few nights in Black canyon campground, we decided there was no reason to keep going. The nights got down to 50 degrees, and the highs were seldom over 80. Perfect weather, and we were only 15 minutes from town. Not to mention the price of $10 a night fit right in our budget. The campsites are paved, and in a forest of pines which smell great. It doesn't get much better.

  Our trip started uneventful, and in August that is a good thing. We did get in an unexpected thunderstorm in Dublin, that seemed to come out of nowhere. Shelly had just washed the truck yesterday, so she wasn't too happy about that. We turned west in Post, Texas and was heading to Brownfield to a stopover rv park Don and Sheron told us about. We had a blowout on the right rear tire on the airstream. It dented the lower curved part behind the wheel, but shouldn't take too long to fix. Changing the tire in 100 degree heat is not fun. We should go someplace cooler. We set up camp in Brownfield, and found a tire shop still open at 6 pm. 10 minutes later we had a new tire and were ready to go. We watched old home movies, and waited for the temperature to cool down before taking the dogs for a walk.  

Friday, August 9, 2013

  I changed the tire early this morning to get it done before it got hot. We drove west to Roswell, and then north to Santa Fe. Not the prettiest scenery, but they had gotten rain recently, and it was the greenest I had ever seen this part of New Mexico. We got to Black canyon campground about 4, and set up in site 13. Our reservation isn't until tomorrow, and someone else is in 24. The temperature was 73 and the pines smell great. Ahhh, now to unwind. We hiked the trail to the top of the hill, and could both tell we were above 8000 feet. Just a little out of breath, but the hike felt good. 

 The top of Black canyon trail.

Our campsite #24

 This is site 13

  Saturday, August 10, 

We woke up to 42 degree temps this morning, but it was 60 in the Airstream even with the windows open. It rained a little bit last night, but the sun came out this morning. We moved over to site 24, and got set up. We drove into town, and I bought a Nikon D5200 camera at Sam's club. The firefighters gave me a retirement gift, and I have been wanting a good camera. It was a confusing choice to pick which camera. This should do everything I need. Now I just have to figure out how to use it. The traffic in Santa Fe was bad. I don't remember it being this bad last year but it is a Saturday. We ate at Panda Express, and found wifi in front of McDonalds, so we checked emails. We checked in with our parents and kids to let them know we made it here.  Drove back to camp, and it started raining, so we sat under the awning. I had the brilliant idea to eat ice cream, and got chilled, so I had to find warmer clothes. We watched another home video DVD, and kept an eye on the voltmeter. It only dropped .1 volt to 12.2 volts, so we were good. That was the first time to watch television while boondocking.

 Sunday, August 11

 Sat by a campfire to start the morning. Relaxing day! Beautiful sunny, and low 70's for a high. We hiked the trail behind the camp again, and I got to try out the new camera, and read the manual. The night was clear, and we watched for meteors, but we only saw a few. It started sprinkling about 6 in the 

 Monday, August 12

Drove into town to check on the status of our health insurance for Shelly. We found a wifi spot in front of la Posada hotel, and checked emails. Went shopping at restore, and found abs plastic pipe fittings very cheap. Shelly was super excited! Ha! Drove to Camel rock casino and spent $5 there, but we got 4 bottles of water! They didn't have the slot machines we liked from last year, so we drove to Buffalo Thunder casino. Shelly started winning and was up over $3, and I was down $2 when I got bored with the 1 cent bets, so I gambled big with 10 cents, and won $30! I knew that wouldn't happen again, so I cashed out and quit. That was the first time to actually win. Last year we broke even, and I was happy. We are going back for Shelly's birthday, so it'll probably be back to even for this year. We hiked Black canyon trail again, and relaxed outside waiting for the meteor shower. Just as it got dark, the clouds rolled in, so we called it an early night. 

  Tuesday, August 13

 40 degree morning again! 

A great way to wake up!

After breakfast sitting around the fire, we drove to the ski basin to hike. We hiked the Winsor trail into the Pecos wilderness area. It is a beautiful trail through the pines and aspen. We stopped at a creek for lunch, and I hiked about another half mile toward Nambe lake. I heard it is a beautiful lake, but I wanted to be back at the truck before the thunderstorms build up, so I turned around and hiked back to where Shelly was. We ate lunch on a flat rock next to the creek, which had several small falls, so it sounded peaceful. The hike to the creek was 2&1/4 miles one way, and the first half mile was steep. Both the dogs were wore out by the time we got back, and all they wanted to do was sleep all evening. We built a fire again, and sat outside to see if there were any meteors, but we didn't see any. It was a clear night, and a good way to end the day.

A map of the trail system in Santa Fe national forest

Shelly near Nambe creek

 

Bright red mushrooms. I did not try to eat them!

 

Shelly with her attitude. She says it is my fault.

Where the Pecos wilderness starts

Shelly being pretty

 Wednesday, August 14

It was 50 degrees this morning instead of the usual 42. Very nice weather. We drove into Santa Fe and  washed clothes. Went shopping at Albertsons for coffee and good bread. We went to Smith's for other groceries. We ate at Red Lobster for lunch. I had the blackened trout, and Shelly had the captain's platter. It was good, but not great, and Shelly and I decided to use the other gift card at Olive Garden. We used the wifi at Lowe's, and got caught up on world events. I got the camera and lenses registered for the warranty, and found the app for the IPad that lets you download the pictures wirelessly from the camera. It also lets you control the camera from the IPad or iPhone. It seems like a neat feature, but I'm not sure how practical that will be. We found a game called Othello at a thrift store, and played it once we got back to camp. It is easy to learn, but looks like it will take a long time to learn all the strategies. We walked the dogs, and talked to several people. One guy told us about solarpenny.com and said they had two 100 watt panels for about $260. Anne Pustejovsky had gotten into camp while we were in town, and we woke her up to say hi. We met her last year, and she was in a turquoise camper called a TaDa! We visited with her for a while, and she said she would show us her pictures of her trip to Africa tomorrow. Shelly and I sat by the fire and talked about a retirement party. 

 Thursday, August 15

 It is hard to believe we have been here six days already. We had a lazy morning sitting by the fire. I downloaded the pictures onto the IPad, and deleted about half of them. It is nice to take several pictures of the same shot, and delete the bad ones. Anne showed us her pictures of her trip to South Africa. it looked like a fun adventure. We hiked the Nordic ski trail which was a little over two miles, but mostly flat terrain.

 Bright red berries. I did not try to eat them either.

Santa Fe off in the distance from the mountain

 A rest stop.

Shelly got to text to Erica while on this trail. I guess it overlooks Santa Fe, and is close enough to get a signal. It is funny how we get used to cell phones, and expect to have service everywhere. We picked up two big bags of pine cones to put in the flower beds at home. We played Othello again, and mahjong. 

Friday, August 16 Shelly's Birthday!

As we drove into town, Shelly's phone kept dinging. It is her birthday, and all the birthday wishes kept her phone busy. She got to talk to Tyler and Parker, her Mom, and Erica. We started at Camel rock casino again, but both lost $3 each, so we went to Buffalo Thunder casino again. Shelly lost $5 and between both of us, they got their money back from Monday. But it was fun. We drove into town, and stopped at Lowe's for wifi again. Shelly's insurance company said they needed proof of prior insurance, so I called United health, and went through the whole automated phone thing where they ask what I need. I tell them "proof of insurance",  and they say I'm sorry I did not understand you. After doing that about four times they finally say they will actually let me speak to an operator. But not before being put on hold for 15 minutes, while getting to listen to their great elevator music. They finally answered, and said they would be happy to mail the proof of insurance to us. Great, except we're 600 miles away from our mailbox, and no, they couldn't email it to us or the new insurance company. Hipa violation. Thanks, government. So, I called the new insurance company and told them it would be a couple of weeks before we could get the proof to them. They said fine, but they really don't need that anyway. Grrrr. We drove to Olive Garden for a late lunch. Shelly ordered stuffed mushrooms, and I got the grilled chicken flat bread.  The waitress said she would be right back with the breadsticks, and salad. About fifteen minutes later she brought us salad, and said they were baking fresh breadsticks. The meal was great, and the breadsticks were fresh and brought to us when we were almost done. But they were fresh. No complaints, just a funny story. Back at camp, we hiked to the top of the trail again, and it was almost dark when we got back. 

Saturday, August 17

We had a lazy morning, and after breakfast we decided to see the Indian market in town. This is a once a year event and draws lots of visitors. All the plaza was closed to vehicle traffic, and booths set up for vendors. We enjoyed people watching. I had told Shelly she could get an Ipad for her birthday, so we went to Sam's and bought the IPad 4, and upgraded her phone while we were there. It was 90 degrees in town today, and we found out that that was the high in Texas also. Back at camp, it was 75, and much better. 

Sunday, August 18