Jul 8
It’s fire season again, and we’ve got one near us . . . not threatening us, but part of the Washburn fire is burning old growth trees in the Mariposa Grove.
The fire started Thursday afternoon and as of 4 pm Friday its at 466 acres.
We really became aware when we saw the water helicopters flying overhead . . .
Here’s a map that shows the Washburn fire is relation to the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite Park, and Mariposa where we are.
Jun 28
It’s been almost 5 months since my last solar update and a lot has happened.
Here’s what transpired visually . . .
I installed the inverter over several days and finished this morning. With temperatures in the high 90s the last month, it’s only been possible to work in the early morning.
The solar panels and other equipment will be purchased in September and October as it’s too hot to do anything now. So the next solar project update will probably be in November.
New Batteries
The new battery box, AC and DC wiring, and new batteries were installed over March and April.
Wiring
Running 50A AC lines from and back into the RV’s AC breaker panel proved to be a challenge.
Inverter Install
The Victron MultiPlus II inverter/charger was the latest equipment as the new batteries and wiring had to be completed first.
Victron equipment is very good. Well designed, very functional, and pricey. The MultiPlus II is no exception, but OMG it’s heavy (50 pounds) that had to lifted onto a metal hanger – that you can’t see as you lift.
Software Interfaces
There are many, many, many settings available on Victron equipment. For the most part, it is seamlessly handled automatically. However, there are (and continue to be) several “gotchas” that I discovered during MultiPlus II installation process. (The current one is “Storage” mode shown below.) But no game stoppers.
Jun 10
May 12
Apr 27
We camped at Barrett Cove Campground for 4 nights starting April 11. We loved it. We will definitely be back.
Barrett Cove has 249 camp sites, most of which have water and electric service, but many of the sites have full hookups (water, electric, and sewer).
The campground is part of the Merced Irrigation District who have upgraded many camp sites to full hookups this year. Kudos!
However, as luck had it the site we reserved was in the middle of being upgraded so we were given another site . . . one that turned out to be much much better.
ANOTHER DROUGHT-STRIKEN RESERVOIR
HIKING
Barrett Cove has a couple of 2- to 3-mile hiking trails – a Peninsula Trail and a Woodland Trail. We hiked each of them on separate days.
WILDLIFE
We’ve discovered that the Acorn Woodpecker can really wreak havoc on wood, especially telephone poles . . .
During one of our hikes, we discovered an Osprey nest.
Finally, on one of our last days a lone peacock discovered us.
When you Google “are peacocks stupid”, here’s what you get . . .
“They’re super-dumb birds. They may be beautiful, but they’re dumb. They’ll open their tail feathers for a pigeon.”
From our experience, this seems to be true.
DEMCO BRAKING SYSTEM SHOUT OUT
We have used a Demco braking system on both the Newmar Mountain Aire, our previous RV, and our current National RV Sea View.
Motorhome-Towed Car braking system ensure that the car’s brakes are applied whenever the RV brakes are used. This assists the overall braking, especially while traveling down grades. Very important.
The Newmar used the Demco Air Force One system and our Sea View uses the Stay-IN-Play DUO braking system.
Anyway, our Demco system came with a plug-in box that indicates when the car’s brakes are applied.
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