Bridgeport, TX - TT

Saturday - Another beautiful day. It's 68°F at 11am with a light breeze. I have been watching the wind as there was one evening when the gusts got up to 35mph. A bit too high for the awning. 

My epoxied pedal-assist sensor ring seems to work. I had to order a crank puller from Amazon as my other tool is in Hondo (or Fairbanks). The Amazon tool was cheap and I ordered it yesterday and it arrived today. That’s pretty decent. After riding around the park a couple of times to test it out, I returned to the A/C as it’s almost 80°F right now. So much for the cooler weather. 

Sunday - I’ve always wanted to make sauerbraten but never tried it. Today, I’m making it two different ways just to see the difference. The first was a “traditional” recipe I found on the Internet where the beef roast was marinated for five days then roasted in the oven for four hours. The second was an Instant Pot recipe with no marinating and an hour and a half in the Instant Pot. Sides are a traditional red cabbage, German potato salad, and a green salad. 

Since it’s on the warm side, I’m cooking what I can outside. The four hours in the convection microwave is heating up the inside of the RV. Since we are on a 30amp connection, we can’t run the A/C until the oven is off. 

Later - Predictably, the traditional version had a lot more flavor. 

Bay Landing, TX - TT

Tuesday - I have a lot of projects for the next couple of weeks that we are here at the RV park. I called an auto glass shop and they believe that they can fit us in next week with their mobile setup. The toilet has a water leak somewhere so I have to pull that out, and I have an RJ-45 wall penetration for the StarLink cable. So far, I've just been feeding it in under the driver's window. This is not ideal as it pinches the cable.

Thursday - The water leak was a simple fix with some silicone. So one task done. We met with a mobile notary this morning to sign a bunch of papers for the house sale. Hopefully, the whole process gets completed soon.

Yesterday and today have been really nice. Cool nights and very pleasant days. The 69°F in the screenshop is in the middle of the afternoon. I wish these temperatures would stick around. 

Friday - Not much going on today though I am able to join a test session while sitting outside. It's been too warm until this week. The picture shows the e-bike crank encoder ring that broke the last time I put the bike into the basement storage. The chain got tangled in it. I found similar items on Amazon and ordered one with 12 magnets. Since the cadence is used to determine the amount of pedal assist, more magnets means more pedal assist. We’ll see how this works. 

Today, I realized that I could still ride the e-bike without the pedal assist sensor ring by using the throttle. Now, there is little incentive to use the pedals. By adding in the pedals, I can get a little bit more speed (and a little exercise). The sensor ring and crank puller have been ordered for delivery to the Amazon locker. I have put the old sensor back together using some marine epoxy just in case the 12-magnet sensor doesn't work.

Clarendon, TX - HH and Bridgeport, TX - TT

Sunday - Today’s stop is at a museum in Clarendon, TX, called Saint’s Roost. The museum isn’t open today or tomorrow but we put some cash in a donation box. It is 83°F right now so we have the generator running and the A/C on. For these overnight stops, I don’t bother setting up StarLink nor put out the living room slide. The AT&T hotspot is sufficient for Internet. 

Monday - Wednesday arrived about 2pm at the TT in Bridgeport, TX. We did need to make a stop at a rest area to add some tape to the windshield. Yes, it’s started to come out again. Maybe the heat in Albuquerque combined with their horrible roads. Lots of jarring while driving in the right lane. The roads improved once we crossed into TX. 

Tuesday - The forecast is for hot today then much cooler for the rest of the week. We are in the original part of the park so 30amp with sewer and water. Most of the sites don’t have a sewer connection which makes it more challenging to do things like laundry. We are kind of far from the amenities like the pool but that’s not unusual for a TT park. 

Too bad my e-bike is out of commission. I broke the pedal assist sensor ring the last time I was putting it away in the basement storage. Hopefully I can find a replacement part. 

Not much else to report. StarLink is under the slide topper again sitting flat and seems to be working fine. 

Santa Rosa, NM

Saturday - We left the balloon fiesta this morning after dry camping for ten days. We used the generator quite a bit as the solar was barely able to keep up in the middle of the day. It ran for 4-6 hours per day to recharge the batteries and cool down the RV in the afternoon. 

We are at a small RV park in Santa Rosa, NM, about 120 miles east of Albuquerque. Full hookups w/50 amp service for $35. Good price but that’s about it. The park is kind of run down but we needed to dump and get some laundry done. 

Tomorrow, we are headed for a Harvest Host on the other side of Amarillo. 

Last night, we went to the fiesta and I helped a bit with the Party Balloon. This was a large shaped balloon and they needed some help. I was available. 

The evening events are just “glows” where the balloon is filled and heated but not launched. The “glow” is from the propane burner. I don’t have any pictures of the Party Balloon as I was helping holding it down. I qualify as an anchor or ballast. It was a fun experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Balloon Fiesta and felt that the volunteering added a lot to the experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat.