Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Portapotty, TP Fire, Blue Fuel

While at RTR, I decided I needed a better way to charge my laptop and phone.

I went to Napa Auto in Parker and bought a Blue Fuel pack, which will not only charge my phone, but will start my car in an emergency!

To charge the Blue Fuel, I bought a small solar panel.

Jane and Marty were staying in our camp, and Marty offered to rewire the panel so I could just plug it directly into the Blue Fuel.  It works GREAT and charges the Blue Fuel in about 1.5 hours. With the Blue Fuel, I can charge my iPhone 2-3 times, depending on how dead it is.

I have an inverter that I plug my laptop into and it charges in about an hour. With that and the HotSpot on my iPhone, I can work most days with no problems. So far, Verizon has given excellent coverage in California and Arizona.

I have been using a Luggable Loo in my van, but got weary of dealing with disposal, so I bought a cute little portapotty!

My van-dwelling friend Vern has this toilet and he gave me some tips on using it. So those of you who are van-dwelling and are considering a potty - here is what he said (for those who do not live out of their van, this may be too much information  :)

1.  Get a potty with a swiveling "arm" - it makes it easier to dump without getting it all over you!  I bought this one on Amazon and had it delivered General Deliver to the Blythe Post Office:

Camco Premium Portable Travel Toilet With Three Directional Flush And Swivel Dumping Elbow, Designed for Camping, RV, Boating And Other Recreational Activites (2.6 gallon)

2.  Do NOT fill the potty with water. Instead, just pour a cup of water into the hole each time you use it. That way, you aren't carrying around all the weight of the water, plus the toilet is easier to move around.

3.  Do NOT pee into the toilet.  If you do not PEE into the toilet, then it will not smell.  Use your pee-device or pee-pot and just do BMs in the toilet. This way you can hold and dump up to 2 weeks or more with no smell. It's the mix of urine and poop that makes the stink

4. Do not put any chemical in the toilet. You don't need it if you don't pee in it.  One every few months, you can put a capful of chlorine bleach in there, but in general, you won't need it.

I am very pleased with this potty, and am so grateful not to have to deal with "doggy bags" any more. It's one of those things I should have done earlier.  

I kept my luggable loo - I'll use it to put dirty clothes into. With the tight lid, it will keep those from smelling up the van too!

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge:

We are now disperse camping on the BLM land across the road from the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge office. There are hardly any rigs here at all. It's rocky, not dusty, and the morning and evening views are beautiful. 

We took a ride on the auto loop to see the Sandhill Cranes, ducks, Canada Geese, and Burrowing Owls, but we tooks photos with Vern's big camera, so I have none to show. The owls had been brought in from other places to try to re-establish a community, but there is only one little guy left, sadly.

This is what the burrowing owls look like:

The day after RTR ended, Jerry, Nelda, and Pat dropped by for a couple of nights.  We had no wood for a fire, but Nelda (I think?) told us she had seen a fire made from a coffee can, a roll of TP, and rubbing alcohol. We gathered the supplies up and lit the fire, and that danged thing burned for at least an hour before we put it out!  It actually gave off some heat too!  When we put it out, the toilet paper roll was still intact. So I bought two strengths of alcohol at the Dollar Store yesterday in Blythe and we're going to test them to see how much of a difference the strength of the alcohol makes.

We took showers today in Vern's shower tent. 

It always feels SO good to get cleaned up!

Heating shower water

This is my battery operated shower. Works GREAT!

Vern's shower tent holds up in wind - Mine does not!

We'll stay here maybe a week, 

then head out to Parker, I think.

There is a good mechanic there and my car is making funny noises,

so I better get it checked.

Camino news!  My Best of Both Trip from SJPP to Santiago is FULL!  

This year I have an all-ladies group and it's sure to be a kick!

Stay tuned - I leave for Spain May 15 - and will be sure to post photos.

In the meantime, 

I'm having a blast!

Love,

Annie

UPDATE!!!  Charging my Macbook Air on my car battery did not work out. It was too much of a drain on my battery. I ended up purchasing a 100 Watt Solar Panel Suitcase and an AGM battery from Renogy. I'll post photos and more information about it when I next set it up, but it makes charging my electronics much easier.