In previous years trips, I have always been stopped by a cold weather at one point, so I had to turn around at some point and head south. Although I have full clothes and sleeping system for very cold temperatures, but the main problem is that my comfort zone is very small and I can't move around a lot. This time I was focused on ideas to improve the cold weather comfort and test how far I can go. As a side note, I have learned that holidays are not good times to travel to places with good weather, nevertheless Christmas is one of those times that I will be miserable staying home. I always have very nice neighbors and friends and their attempt to make sure I am not feeling lonely makes me feel pathetic. So it is the best time to leave the town and go somewhere. If they ask why, I would say I am missing the snow. And if they say, well, you can just drive a shorter distance to the north and see the snow, I would say I miss the desert. And it is true, I miss snow and desert.
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| The magic glow of the wood burning quietly. Mesmerizing dance of lights. |
Highlighted song:
1- Saturday, December 14:
Campsite: B.F.Grant WMA
28 miles
I left home around three today and this was a short drive about 30 miles from home. This is first campsite and the reason for being this close is :
first I had some maintenance to do.
second I wanted to do deep test before I drive any farther.
The main test was the wood stove. There is no major problem and it appears it’s working fine. It looks like it is a work in progress but not bad.
The weather is very nice. There is a cool breeze, but it’s very very pleasant. For dinner I had a bacon sandwich. I have a lot of extra foods, but I think should be fine For first few days. We will eat really nicely.
The main problem with the wood stove is timing, because with a stove this small it doesn’t burn for a long time so I should constantly fill it up. It’s not annoying, because this is not full-time source of heat. I will mostly use with my sleeping system, which is fine down to single digits. This wood stove is mostly for drying, cooking and temperature maintenance. I got some compressed logs from Ace Hardware and it says it should burn up to four hours. I’m testing it to see how long it will last. Four hours is great but I don’t think it will go that far. We’ll see.
Note: about 2 hours of effective heat. There is hot coal after that, but not hot enough to warm up the space.
2- Sunday, December 15
Campsite: Busby campground, MS
369 miles
It was basically a long day of driving. Passed through Alabama and made it to Mississippi. Drizzle along the way. Interesting campsite observations: 1- A family with 2 barking dogs, I mean barking at anything that is moving. 2- A home trailer. Man! it was giant with big windows, probably two stories! Nice guy. I couldn't take a picture, I thought he doesn't like it and with those big windows, it wasn't easy to do it discreetly.
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| Revisiting this spot one more time. Good to be out again. |
3- Monday, December 16
Camp: Lake Winnsboro, TX
832.1 463.1 miles
832.1-369 = 463.1
Long driving day, just a couple of rest stops. I had initially planned for Lake Corney, LA, but I decided to skip that and move right to Texas. I can use this one day better. My main goal is to spend more time on the western side of this journey.
We arrived in a rainy and misty weather. It was drizzle most night.
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| I didn't see these white geese last year. Probably new additions to the lake. |
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| I planned and worked on these simple woods for a long time. And I am proud and happy about the final result. They look great and they performed amazingly well. |
4- Tuesday, December 17
Camp: Lake Hubbard Creek, TX
1095 Miles
We woke up to a nice wet morning, misty but not raining anymore. This was the second day of driving near a big city, Dallas, the first city being Atlanta. Dallas is not as annoying as Atlanta, but it can get blocked from time to time. The last year’s drive was a nightmare, but this year wasn’t as bad as the last year. It is always grinding just driving through Dallas and Fort Worth, it seems it will not end. We arrived at the campsite late afternoon. After food and walk, I washed my head and cleaned up myself with no-rinse cloth. It wasn’t bad. The weather is warmer than usual. It is now 67F at 8:12 pm.
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| My favorite stop in many small towns in west Texas. Good cheap water! |
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| I didn't install the stove permanently. Not enough room for that. Moreover I don't live in cold environment and use the stove occasionally. |
5- Wednesday, December 18
Camp: Muleshoe NWR
1368 Miles
Today we woke up to nice and cool weather. There was a light drizzle over night but sunny morning. We drove mostly small town, west Texas. We got cheap filtered water and free spigot water in Knox City, Texas. It was fun driving through Munday(pleas come visit us again, any day of the week) and desolated region near New Mexico line. Tomorrow we will be in New Mexico. There will be a few cold days, due to higher elevation and dispersed mountains in New Mexico. Even here is cold and I have bundled layers upon layers.
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| Munday. There is a sign that says you can visit Munday any day of week! |
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| Winter sun is low in the sky. The magic of low angle light dispersion. |
6- Thursday, December 19
Camp: Cave campground, NM
Miles
Cold night lead to very warm and windy day. Yesterday near the sunset a giant truck pulled into the campground. Very big and tall tires, a couple I heard, later there was a child voice shortly, probably a family of three. I used the wood stove briefly just to cut the chill. After the walk and the breakfast we headed out. I stopped at Walmart in Roswell, to resupply. We drove to the historic Lincoln county and camped in. There is another truck camper on the other side if the campground. It is getting cold and there is no fire restriction and the fire danger was indicated low on the way in, all good excuses for the wood stove running at low.
I even had a hot cocoa.
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| One of the many ways to warm up the semi-frozen banana. |
7- Friday, December 20
Camp: Apache creek campground
202 miles drive
1813 miles in total
It was a very nice short drive around 200 miles but it was mostly remote roads so it took longer than usual. We woke up to a very cold morning after the breakfast and a walk I drove to Captain and on our way we visited the Trinity site I have missed the site multiple times that’s interesting but this time I saw the sign and I remembered the history so we stopped. A sobering reminder of how our civilization is susceptible to mass-self-destruction. Then we visited Socorro, not a long stop just drive-through and then driving next to VLA and usual pictures.
We arrived in the campground then. This is a beautiful campsite. There are a lot of big tall pendorosa pines. Last year it was very cold and the ground was covered with snow and ice, however, it was busy; but this time it was much warmer and no one else was there. We had a lot of firewoods and first I was very happy and excited. I can run the wood stove all night, I thought. But it turned out these pines create a lot of soot and smoke so it turned to be a miserable long battle with the thick smoke and at the end I had to burn those long time pressed logs instead. Even though they smell fantastic, and they start firer very quickly, but they produce ton of smoke and so not very good option for the wood stove. We had a nice cold morning and we are getting ready to hit the road. Today, we will make it to Arizona.
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| Valley of the fires. |
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| Plains of San Agustin. This is a flat desert at 7000 ft elevation. What a fantastic choice for VLA! |
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| I feel tiny, compared to these ponderosa pines. |
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| Apache Creek. Calm and quiet and partly frozen. |
8- Saturday, December 21
Camp: Holbrook BLM land, AZ
2048 Miles
After cleaning up the pine soot mess, we headed to Arizona. Many lovely alpine towns (they are actually called village around here), we visited Springville, which is a cute transition from mountains to desert. I was planning to get in Caibab NF, but short winter days don’t allow longer drives. Got water and groceries at Winslow. It seemed I would arrive after dark and I couldn’t find another suitable campsite nearby so I headed back 30 miles and camped here. Another winter restriction is campsite closures. I know many good spots around here but they are very likely closed in winter. This is not an impressive place but should do the work. I am testing using the MSR stove inside the wood stove, not bad but there is room for improvements.
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| Twyla didn't eat her apple this evening. But she kept an eye on it all night. |
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| Another method to warm up your banana. Oddly my favorite breads, that are supposed to be baked fresh in store, were not fresh. Not only that, they were like frozen. So I went with these nice big bagels, new to me. They were nice and relatively fresh. |
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| Now I can enjoy my apple, she said in the morning. Do you need any help with that banana-peanut butter sandwich? I am free to help! |
9- Sunday, December 22
Camp: Kaibab NF, AZ
? miles
Nice and short drive from Holbrook to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. No, I am not going to visit the Grand Canyon National Park. I have been there before, and although magnificent but the amount of tourists takes away any meaningful connection, unless I hike far away. Early morning we packed up in a very cold (due to wind) weather. Since this campsite, not far away from Holbrook, was in clear view, there wasn’t much we could do. I drove to Holbrook and stopped by the Tractor Supply. I should mention suddenly Twyla was so impatient. I detoured to the playground and the small dog park. It turned out poor girl had hold up for more than a day. Even though I stop regularly but I think she is confused that there is no green grass, so she assumes she should hold on. I think she is learning that it is okay to do her business on yellow mini grass or under pine tree (with pine needle blanket). Any way, I stopped by the Tractor supply and in my surprise they were not only well stocked with different types of firewood, including pressed logs, but also the price is good. I packed with long burn compressed logs and headed to the campsite. It was an easy access campsite, the main problem was tourists in out way who were crawling on each other and driving at many order higher than the speed limit.
I found a nice next to junipers and pinion trees spot. Decent amount of juniper firewood was a welcome discovery. We settled in around afternoon. The weather was very nice with a little wind that soon died down.
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| I never understood why people use noodles when you can cook a real spaghetti/macaroni. A little longer boil, but much better quality. |
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| Colorado Pinion |
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| Utah Juniper. Junipers typically live from 350 to 700 years |
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| I still have a few more of these nice bagels. |
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| Orion constellation and the Orion Nebula at the center. If you zoom in, you can see the pink/reddish color of it. |
10- Monday, December 23
Camp: Kaibab NF, AZ
0 miles
Day of rest. I spend most of today cleaning up, washing and processing wood for the stove. Weather was nice and cool. Very pleasant. We saw more people driving by today than yesterday, but it is still secluded and quiet.
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| We made friends with these trees during our daily walk. In the picture there are two Colorado Pinions on the right and one Utah Juniper on the left. Some of my favorite trees. |
11- Tuesday, December 24
Camp: Kaibab NF, AZ
0 miles, 2209 miles read
Tire rotation sucks. Nice weather, we just walked around. We had enough juniper wood to burn for a few hours before switching to long burn pressed logs. I was chasing the new moon these days. It was nice and cozy Christmas Eve. I am glad for the last three years I am not spending this time of year alone.
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| Somehow I missed this sign in the way in, so I took picture when I left the area. |
12- Wednesday, December 25
Campsite: Somewhere close to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ
2314 miles
Merry Christmas!
We woked up to a cold morning. It was cloudy, but soon the sky opened up to a nice sunny day. Twyla barked more than usual after I let her out. I thought it could be a deer or something, later when we walked out, I noticed someone is camped in a small road shoulder and was ready to head out. It was a truck camper with a bike mounted in the back. I guess a quick night sleep on their way.
After the breakfast I notice the power is off. Not sure what happened but I had about 47% after two days, so I assumed I have two more days, but I guess not. This is lithium battery so I can use the full capacity. I am also out of water, just a gallon for both of us, until tomorrow that grocery stores open up. Convenient stores are open, but they usually have higher price and I need other groceries anyway, moreover, it is not an emergency.
After quick thinking, I decided to drive a short distance to another camp. The battery turned to 100% not long after I drove on the highway. Again, numbers don’t make sense and I will keep an eye on my power consumption to see what is going on.
Vermilion cliffs BLM is wonderful campground with a nasty road in. We managed to make it early afternoon and after a short rest we walked to the end of the road (not all the way though). We marveled the fascinating 2000 feet drop to the Colorado river view and the opportunity to camp right next to it, hassle free, for free, while tourist are crawling on each other in the south rim.
After the sunset I lit the wood stove. Cozy and nice. I made a cup of hot mocha. I think I have started learning how to use the stove more efficiently. Tonight I experimented with the barometric damper closed and it seems it reduces the smell of the smoke significantly. I still have full control and it worked fine in the wind.
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| Vermillion mesa |
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| Colorado river |
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| NO MANS LAND? |
13- Thursday, December 26
Camp: Tom's Best Spring Road, UT
2507 miles
We woke up to another cold morning, not cold cold but about freezing unfortunately it’s overcast today so it’s cloudy and it doesn’t get any warmer after the sunrise. It’s actually about an hour after sunrise but it’s still cold. It’s going up a little so we went for a walk and then looked around. There is no other camper. We are the only camper at this point and it was absolutely quiet in the morning with a few desert birds, but that was all right now it is just howling wind.
We made to the beautiful Red canyon. The combination of red rocks and the white snow is a spectacular view.
I forgot to take note yesterday when we arrived. We were so excited about camping in the snow because this was something we’re looking for a long time. The main problem with the snow is the road condition so you can’t do a lot of off-road driving, but fortunately this one was accessible. We drove in not too far but enough for a nice campsite. It snowed all night, very lightly. It was cold most of the day and night so I had the stove running all night without any problem using this long burn logs. It’s very helpful they last for a long time. It's very convenient and I didn’t need to fill up the stove every 20 minutes, just every two to three hours. This is the land of national parks. It looks like Bryce Canyon is going to be very busy so I’m not sure if I will visit it.
14- Friday, December 27
Camp: Temple Mountain Campground, UT
2702 miles
It has been an amazing drive today. We started just before Bryce Canyon City and the national park. My destination for today is San Raffael swell and reef. I had a shorter more highway-ish path and a longer scenic path. I wasn’t sure about the scenic route, but I decided to give it a shot. I am glad I did. I wish I knew how to read the history of a land, this land sure has a fascinating history. In some regions you can see the shoreline and ancient lakes marks. In other areas the rocks have clearly been molten at one point. Another part is a rock reformed by wind and rain. Colors are different at different locations and the elevation change adds more complexity to this story. Escalante was a lovely little town. Although cold to me, it seems nice day for families to play in the park. The restrooms were close for the season. Cathedral valley was so vibrant in colors. Between Cainville and and Hanksville, the landscape changed dramatically from warm desert colors to cool bluish desert. I read later that there is actually a Mars simulation laboratory running here, not open to the public though. Near San Rafael and my camping area, it started raining. Light and chili. There are a few camp spots around and on the paved road but my camp was after all of them. The road is gravel and at some parts covered by the snow and ice. I proceeded with care and the other side was warmer and clean. No one was there. Later at night I heard a group turned in. It turned out to be a family in a teardrop camper.
We walked around the mine (now closed) area. This area has been a big attraction for uranium mining. Even there is connection between this location and Marie Curie. The main boom was during the Cold War, when uranium was in high demand.
This area has been used for a very long time and we visited the remaining petroglyph on our way out.
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| The entrance of the Bryce Canyon National Park |
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| Escalante |
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| Looking down at Abbey's country. Moab and La Sal. |
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| Two types of pressed logs. Pres-to logs are round, you can easily break them into any size, they burn a little hotter and they are a little more expensive and more difficult to find. The rectangular ones are more common. Sometimes they are in smaller size but mostly they are large for my stove so I have to break them in half. They don't break easily, they burn easier, and they are cheap. Both types burn about the same time. Your best options to burn long time in a small stove. |
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| Temple Mountain |
15-Saturday, December 28
Camp: Valley of the Gods, UT
2954 miles
This morning was surprisingly warm after the sun came up. From our point of view, the sun rose just in the middle of the canyon, between two sides of the reef. There was a layer of snow dust all over the ground on top of the previous thicker layers of snow in some places. The sun soon melted this snow dust. The noise after the dark turned out to be a neighbor. I could see now that they are a lovely couple with a kid and two dogs. One of the dogs was a big pirenese.
We walked around to see the mining remaining cabin and a small rock shelter. I read that this was uranium mining center. Even Marie Curie visited? this cabin.
After the usual morning chores and the breakfast and one more walk for Twyla, we drove out of the valley and visited the petroglyphs in our way.
I detoured 34 miles to see the “reef view“ on I70. Because of the cold weather a thick layer of water vapor was floating above the ground. It was a dramatic view of clouds and red mesas and the mountains.
We stopped at the small town of Green River to get some groceries and firewood. Unfortunately the only available wood was a semi-wet bundle of pine. I got one, just in case of emergency as I am heading to desert for the next few days.
We drove by Abbey’s country, arches, Moab and the magnificent La Sal mountains and Mt Tukuhnikivatz. It was nice to revisit the Desert Solitaire.
We made it to the Valley of the Gods. It was busier than the last time. There should be a way we don’t turn the wonders of the earth into city parks. There is also a fire ban here.
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| The road goes around this tree. |
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| Look what is here! |
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| Anybody knows how it works? I date myself with this. You know something is missing! |
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| Valley of Gods |
16- Sunday, December 29
Camp: Bisti wilderness, NM
3117 miles
It was a cold night. I ran MSR all night. Outside the box it would heat up the space very quickly but I used it inside the wood stove for added ventilation so the heat was significantly less. Nevertheless it kept the inside temperature between 55-60 F which was comfortable.
After the breakfast I spent most of the day cleaning and washing. The traffic was annoying. Almost every few minutes someone would pass by and most of these adventurous tourists don’t go all the way to the end, they just turn around at some point. This means more traffic on my side. Combined with the fire ban, this valley is not your solitude destination at this time of year. People being interested in seeing these beautiful places is fantastic but what is annoying is the method. They barely walk away from their cars, and they think the flat secluded area you’re camping is one of the nature’s wonders, so they have to stop and take a selfie right next to your camp.
We headed to Farmington, got water and made it the Bisti wilderness just around the sunset.
I processed the woods for the stove and prepared quick food and relaxed.
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| My oatmeal recipe at its best. Basically every good things you can find. |
17- Monday, December 30
Camp: Apache Creek, again
3349 miles
Back to Gila Wilderness. Coyotes and elks calling at night. One neighbor this time. They were a couple from Colorado, sipping their coffee and walking around the campsite in the morning with their cute little dog, until they were surprised by Twyla.
18- Tuesday, December 31
Camp: Tanque road, AZ
3507 miles
Today was a short drive. I started late because last night I didn’t have very comfortable sleep. It was very cold and I didn’t have long burning logs. I only had Pinewood and pine is soft wood so it burns very fast. It also produces a lot of smoke so if you don’t burn very hot, you can actually clog up stove pipes so in the morning I had to clean up all pipes then I had to call home and took a while. Finally we hit the road. This was the same road. After a while driving I was looking for a rest stop and I took one of the exits in Apache national Forest looking for a rest area. It turned to gravel road and I realized it’s actually dispersed campsite but what was interesting I noticed something is moving in the bush and Twyla started barking. Looking among trees, I realize there is a bobcat running away from this campground and it noticed us. This was my first time seeing a bobcat in nature, quite remarkable.
We drove from Gila wilderness to Safford Arizona. Today is the last day of year and tomorrow is new year so I decided to do some shopping as well. The main item was presto logs, because I am planning to camp in New Mexico high elevation and it will definitely be cold night so these long burning logs can help with sleep. I also stop by Walmart to get some water and bathing towel. Walmart was very busy. Finally I stopped at Ace Hardware to get a nut for the chainsaw. Somehow I lost the nut along the way they come loose and I didn’t pay attention but fortunately I got exact part and I bought two of them. Before Ace Hardware, I stopped at the rest area to give Twyla food and water. This rest area is inside town so it gets pretty busy. I also noticed there are a few people who was sleeping in there. Apparently homeless people but they had what is called exotic clothes so I presume they are from different country. We made it to our campsite around the sunset. This time I draw a little further. I was too tired because of last night and today’s driving so I didn’t do any long cooking. I had a very nice and a rich oatmeal.
It is not very cold, so no wood stove tonight. A beautiful classical music fills our peaceful night.
19- Wednesday, January 1, 2025!
Camp: Tanque road, AZ
0 miles
Rest day. The weather is so nice here that I decided to take a day off. Temperature drops overnight, but nothing freezing and as soon as sun came up we had very nice warm day. I spent most of the day cleaning up and relaxing, and re-organizing my stuff. We had a few short walks. A few people drove by, but it was peaceful and quiet for most of the day, no cloud, not even wind. It was just a calm day. Twyla enjoyed being outside. I washed most of the essential clothes. I don’t wash heavy clothes that’s just doesn’t work but only light clothes. I wash them regularly. It’s very easy and they dry very quickly. The sunset was spectacular because it was a few days after new moon so it was very very tiny crescent moon in the sky and a bright planet. I’m not sure but it might be Venus. We also had magnificent sunset colors of Arizona. I didn’t burn the wood stove last night and tonight because it wasn’t too cold, but near the morning I just run the stove to take the edge off.
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| New moon. Venus and Saturn are a little higher in the sky. |
20- Thursday, January 2, 2025
Camp: Cave Campground, NM
3885 miles
We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. It was nice and warm. I didn’t need to run the wood stove all night. It was early morning that I ran it, just enough to take the edge off and prepare my breakfast. We had a long drive because my initial plan was to camp in Gila national Forest, but it seemed it will be very cold and also I am a little short in time so I decided to drive a little longer and escape this campsite and move to the next one. It was tiring drive and with minimum stops and a few short rest the weather was nice no wind no cloud no cold weather probably notable part was driving through city of Hatch because this city is known for having chili and sure there are a lot of chili stores everywhere is red and actually on our way there was a chilly trailer driving in front of us and dropping some chili every now and then which was funny. We made it to the campsite just near the sunset. We cut the last glimpse of the sun this time I decided to walk Twyla and take care of her before setting up the camp. It worked fine. She was really tired so after our walk, she didn’t move around a lot. She just came in and slept. The weather looks fine. It will go around freezing above freezing actually next morning, but this is very warm for this elevation so we should be comfortable. I also have plenty of fire log and a few big chunk of firewood so it should take us the morning without any problem.
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| Cold outside |
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| Warm inside |
21- Friday, January 3, 2025
Camp: Muleshoe NWR, TX
4091 miles
Waking up to a beautiful morning it’s a little chilly but not crazy cold. I ran the wood stove all night, so it was cozy and comfortable inside and I even made my breakfast on the stove. I had pressed logs and I also had a few cut from previous campsite so I had enough to burn all night.
After the breakfast and the walk, we packed out and hit the road. I checked the tire pressure before driving out and for a short time the tire pressure sensor light was on. Guess it was very cold so the reading pressure was very low and the refill brought up the pressure while driving. Not sure why it went away without me reseting the setting. At Roswell I stopped at Walmart for groceries and engine oil and then drove to the Toyota dealership for a filter and gasket. The plan is to change the oil whenever I have a convenient and safe opportunity. The lady at the dealership gave me the wrong filter for a new model. Fortunately I noticed it and replaced before driving off.
Then it was a nice drive of the typical vast land of the eastern New Mexico and cross to Texas and the Muleshoe campground. This time it wasn’t empty and another person in an RV was camping there.
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| Snake skin |
22- Saturday, January 4, 2025
Camp: Lake Hubbard Creek, TX
4362 miles
We had a peaceful night at Muleshoe. The weather was chilly but not cold. After morning walk and the breakfast as usual, we packed up and it was a smooth but a little long drive from West Texas to Central Texas. We didn’t have any specific stop other than a few rest. The weather was calm and warm, but this weather is supposed to change to windy and cold weather as a storm is mowing across the country. The main stop was in Knox City for Water refill. This is the easiest and I think the cheapest refill in this trip. There’s also non-potable water you can fill up for free.
When we arrived at our campsite, wind had already started. It was warm, but windy. The campsite was almost empty. I saw a passenger car when I entered and later when we went for a walk, the passenger car was gone, and there was only a van camping far away from us. It is supposed to stay warm all night and it will cool down to very cold temperatures after the sunrise.
23- Sunday, January 5, 2025
Camp: Lake Winsboro, TX
4616 Miles
I was planning for a few happy calm and easy last days of trip, but everything has changed since yesterday. According to the weather forecast a winter storm is moving across country and it will impact a few you I am traveling through. At this latitude and elevation it will not bring any snow, perhaps rain for some places, but the main characteristic of this storm is the wind. It started when I arrived at campsite yesterday. I was thinking about moving to next campsite will solve the problem, but I checked the weather forecast and sure enough this storm is moving with me and I realized this campsite will be very cold overnight even though this has been the warmest camp in my winter trips in previous years. So I decided to stop by TSC and grab some compressed logs just in case. I also had to stop at Walmart and grab some dog food. The main challenge was driving through Dallas. It’s a giant city and I was driving for a long time just to get from one side to the other side. Fortunately there wasn’t any bad traffic or kind of slow down so it went at high speed. When we arrived at this campsite the wind was blowing hard, so it was super cold; The temperature was around 40s with the wind, it quickly dropped to 30s. It will go down to all the way down to single digits round next morning. Without the wind it’s a little warmer around 20s, but with the wind, it will be around seven. I also picked up two big logs of firewoods. It looks like there is a big tree people had to cut and there are very nice firewood in the next spot. I’m not sure about what kind of tree it is. It is not a pine and it looks like it’s an oak which is good wood. I cut them and I chopped them to smaller size. I’m using them for the beginning before I sleep and then when I go to sleep, I will use those long burn compressed logs and will see how it goes. This can be very miserable night. If the wood stove wasn’t here, even with the stove it would be real challenge, just to keep it running.
I had to wake up and refill the stove a few times, but it wasn't a big problem. The long burn logs worked perfect. The firewood burnt much faster but it saved logs for the night. I can adjust the burn rate and extend the burn time, but the extreme cold required fast burning to keep everything cozy and comfortable. I would say I had to burn about three times faster! But it was so cozy and comfortable inside. I realized this when I walked out the next morning. The wind chill was so bad I couldn't leave any part of my face exposed.
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| I never thought the warmest campsite I always had, will be the coldest day of this trip. |
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| Yes, it is that cold. Twyla didn't want to walk for a long time. After walk she wanted to get back inside but I wanted to collect some wood. She followed me despite getting very cold and watched me collect the wood. Aren't they the sweetest and our best friends? |
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| Wend down to 5F tonight, but we stayed cozy with plenty of firewood and long burning pressed logs. |
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| It's 5F outside and the wind is howling. We are cozy inside. |
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| Warm feet and a good supply of long burning logs. It was so cold I almost burned all of them because I had to burn hotter, so they ran faster. |
23- Monday, January 6, 2025
Camp: Rocky Spring, MS
4925 miles
Long day of driving from TX to MS
24- Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Camp: home!
500+ miles
longest day of driving.
Demopolis Walmart water and cheap, near expire muffins.
Crawford square stop and walk in the dark.
Home and the blessing of nice and hot shower.
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