Life in a Tin Can

POWDER PICK'S

2009-03-07T13:54:00.001-09:00

Top of the world 10,500 feet
Winter wonderland
The village below
Pushing snow
The village
Scenes from my back country skiing

Me attempting to ski deep powder
Hiking to the top

Still climbing
Some of the scaryest climbing ever

Prelude to a hike

I was Lost but now I am Found, the camera anyway!

2009-03-07T13:12:00.005-09:00

Me on the lift

Patrick The Bossman
Broken stuff we fix

My favorite place
The Thirsty Squirrel
Justin AKA Sasquatch
Barman Ken
Me and my son Harrison
Well Cameron's son anyway
Parker 3 and wide open
Snowcat and me
Fun with snow removal loader
The now infamous shuttlecat
Christmas in the Can
Well as you know I broke the first camera by dumping a glass of water on it while in Eastern NC, I then had the second camera stolen from my truck. The third camera I got was lost on the first day I used it, or so I thought. It turns out that I had put the camera in an inside pocket of my day/ski pack for safe keeping. That night I went to the Thirsty Squirrel, the resorts finest watering hole, and had a few of their finest Utah 3.2 PBR's and a few shots of Jameson's finest Irish Whiskey. Needless to say the next morning I could not for the life of me figure out what I had done with the newest camera.
I must have looked for a few weeks and was just about to go and buy another #4 camera when I stumbled on camera#3. To say I was excited was an understatement!
So now without further a due, I give you PICTURES!!!!!!

Powder, Powder, Powder

2008-12-23T08:17:00.003-09:00

Well the powder is falling and wont stop! It is ridiculous and fabulous all at the same time. I have finally skied real powder, knee deep+ , It's not so easy at first but I'm starting to get the hang of it.
For those of you wondering at just how good a skier I am, I will tell you that Skiing dose not come as easy for me as biking, motorcycling or any other thing that I'm pretty good at. I am able to get down the slops with some style, just not good style. I am getting better every day I ski so there may be some hope for me yet. I just need to get over my fear and point the skis down the mountain more and turn less.
I will just have to keep skiing until I get it, that might take a few seasons so I will just have to suck it up and stay here.

Tin Can update: Coldest temp so far, 12 degrees outside and 67 inside the can. I have not used the propane furnace yet just an oil filled electric heater and a small cube heater in the bedroom. I feel like all of the expense and effort with the insulation was completely worth it. All other systems seem to be working well no freeze ups yet.

Now let me tell you about the motorcycle riding in the desert. Holy sh** WOW Freaking incredible! The speed and thrills are indescribable, It's like the best rides on my mountain bike times ten. At times it's outrageous fun and then scary as hell, it all happens so fast you stay in a constant adrenaline rush. I will tell you that I had a few crashes, really more of fall overs in some of the really technical slow spots where I just couldn't stay fast enough to keep upright. Very slow speed stuff seems to be the hardest to ride, along with the steep, loose, rocky and sandy climbs. If you don't make it to the top and stop short it is all most imposable to get started again. You either dig yourself a hole or slide sideways and fall over. I think that was the absolute hardest part of my first rides on the bike. I have ridden three time now with Brian and Patric and they have been great at showing me the ropes so to speak. I will tell you now, that the day after two consecutive days of riding, I have never hurt so bad in my life! Every muscle from the top of my head to my toes hurt and ached so bad I went home early from work. You just don't realise how much effort it takes to move a 250lb motorcycle around when you ride. It's not like a 30lb mountain bike! I got so worked over, using muscles I didn't know existed much less have ever used. Luckily I got over the pain before the next ride. It wasn't as bad on the pain side as the first ride.
Unlike skiing, I have taken to the motorcycling almost without effort. All the years of mountain biking have paid off making the transition from pedaling to twisting the throttle much easier. I will still mountain bike, probably more then motorcycle riding, because it is less difficult to facilitate and I really love it as well.

Picture will return soon as the PO PO have not found my camera yet, I will be buying a new camera today.

So yall give me a shout when you want to come out skiing, It is truly the best snow on Earth out here.

Let it snow Let it snow let it snow

2008-11-18T11:14:00.002-09:00

OK as you all know I am working at Solitude ski resort, what you don't know is just how cool it is. All of the people I work with are great, we have a lot of fun and pretty much laugh most of the day.
Now for the important word from our sponsor. I skied my first turns on Sat. Skied for about an hour and it was fantastic. The first couple of turns were not the tightest you have ever seen but I got back in the groove quickly. I can't wait for it to start snowing again. It's about 55-60 outside here in the valley and not much cooler on top, I hope the cold comes soon, I'm ready to ski!!!

Now you all know I'm in the year of Rick--maybe the two years of rick? Well since this is all about me I decided to do something I have always wanted to do.
Are You Ready for this!
I bought a Yamaha WR 400 dirt bike to ride in the desert. Many of the guys at work ride and that gave me the incentive to get one for myself. I have Mon. and Tues. off and two of the guys with bikes have the same days off. You see where I am going with this. I will be able to ski in the afternoons, after work and ride the motorcycle on my days off. I just don't think things could get any better than this.

Overall things are as good as they could possibly be. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well and remembers to enjoy life while you can.
Rick

Too much time, not enough Blogging

2008-10-21T17:54:00.002-08:00

Well you know it's time to update when you get phone call asking whats going on.
I will now tell you of the last months exploits, but first a side note. There will be no photo's for a while, you see it seems that someone wanted some things in my truck more than I did. Some kids, I think, broke into my truck a few nights ago and stole my red North Face jacket, OR gloves and worst of all my camera. The jacket, gloves and camera can all be easily replaced but the memory card in the camera can't. I had over a thousand photo's on it and only about 400 - 500 had been downloaded to my laptop. So unfortunately there will be no new photo's for the foreseeable future or until I get a new camera.
OK now that the side note is over I can get on to what you all want to know. After leaving Zion I made my way over to Brian Head ski resort for some fun and exciting mountain bike action, you know the downhill kind. You take the chair lift up to the top, jump on your bike and banzai down the mountain like an idiot. Sounds fun right? Well it didn't work out quite the way I had envisioned it. I thought I would ride up the lift and be a superstar on the downhill, but instead I was out of control and out of my mind, literally. I rode up the lift for the first of four downhill rides and at the top, which is at 11,000 feet elevation, I didn't feel quite right. I couldn't seem to get on my bike right and had trouble getting going, just trying to peddle was difficult. i finally got going and rode over to where you start the down part, I figured I would ride slower and with more caution than I usually do, because I didn't know the trail and mostly because I was having trouble staying upright. I made it down that first run with out much problem but when you are only going about 4miles an hour you can't screw up too bad. Back down by the chair lift it dawned on me why I felt so odd on my bike, I had not been wearing my camelbak. You know a pack that holds you water and whatever else you would want on a bike ride, tools, spare inner tube etc. I just knew now that I had my pack on all would be right again. Well not so much. I did manage to get down the mountain a little faster and with out crashing but I was just not right. I had tummy issues and just felt really weird. I went for a third try and more of the same, no control all over the trail and definitely not my usual self on the bike. I am usually pretty good on most downhills, always struggle on the climbs but really fast down. This time though I couldn't seem to grasp the concept of going down the mountain with any amount of control or finesse. By this time I was stating to feel really bad, stomach not good, head in the clouds and nothing made sense. I rode the lift back up to try again more determined than ever to conquer the mountain. I got on the bike with confidence and determination, this was my run. As soon as I started down I realised that this was not to be my run, I pretty much white knuckled my way down, completely out of control trying to just stay on the bike. I couldn't even slow the bike down, try as I might to pull the brake levers the bike just wouldn't respond. Too much speed, not enough control, disaster looming ahead as I tried to focus on the turns and jumps only to run right off the trail and flat on the big rock I decided to use as a convenient stopping point. Now I'm sitting there with a flat tire, halfway down the mountain, completely shaken from the near death experience and I figure walking the rest of the way down might be a prudent choice at this juncture. So here I go the rest of the way down dragging my bike with me right past the lift and straight to the truck. I put the bike on the rack and got away from there as fast as I could.
On the ride back to the camp ground I was still feeling terrible headache and all the rest. When I got to the Tin Can I went straight to bed for a couple of hours and when I awoke I was feeling fine. I really think that I had gotten altitude sickness while at that 10-11,000 feet altitude. The gist of this story is my first chair lift downhill was a complete disaster. I will try again but at a much lower altitude. The end.
OK, so after my failed biking adventure I cruised on over to Brice canyon, This is another one of those WOW places that just blows you away. I spent the day hiking the canyon, about eight miles of the many trials, just getting blown away by the rock formations. There are so many spires and hoodoo's, Google Brice Canyon, that will keep your attention for hours on end. Brice is not as big or grand as Zion but offers a tremendous amount of very cool scenery. I do wish I would have taken a horse back tour there, I think that would have been a great way to see the canyon. Brice was fantastic but a full day there was enough for me. I was starting to get a little burned out on the canyon scene but had one more to see before heading to Cameron and Travis's place.
Onward and north to Capital Reef where when I got into the park at 6:00pm there was no room at the inn--- I mean campground. This was a Tues. after Labor Day. Who would have thought that there would be so many people there? Well I turned around and went back to the little town of Torry Utah. I had past this nice little campground on the way to Capital Reef so I hoped there would be a spot for me. As luck would have it there was room at the campground and I got a nice spot with a 10foot tall tree. It had a great view of the road and free wifi. It really was a nice place clean and well kept. While I was filling out the paperwork an older gentleman, 68 I found out later, was asking about firewood for the group fire pit...the only fire pit. He said he was with the biker group and they wanted a campfire. I was thinking, this could be cool a group of motorcyclist hangin by the fire drinking and telling lies, this could be fun. I offered a bundle of firewood that I had in the truck if I could join them and Jim said that if I hurried that I could trade wood for chicken and other food stuff but I would have to bring my own beer. I thought this was a good deal for me as I wouldn't have to cook. So I hurriedly set up the Tin Can and rushed over with my bundle-o-wood. Jim told me to get a plate and get to eating. When I was looking for the plate I asked this very attractive girl where I might find said plates, she immediately asked me if I was part of the biker group, to which i told her of my deal with Jim the whole firewood for food thing. I'm not sure she really believed me but she did let me get a plate and some chicken. After eating as much as I could, two large helpings, I walk over to the fire pit. Now I must tell you that when I initially walked over I didn't see any motorcyce but instead a whole lot of road bikes, the bicycle type, It hen realized it was some sort of bicycle rally. It turns out it was a seven day or something like that ride across Utah, some five hundred plus mile ride. Anyway I sat around the fire talking with everyone and then, miss are you with the group girl shows up, and we get to talking. She turns out to be a very nice person and interesting to boot. She happens to be a professional Racquetball player, I know I didn't know there was such a thing either. She gets to travel all over the place playing a sport she loves, we should all be so lucky. I really enjoyed getting to know her and wish her nothing but good things in the future.
Well the next morning when I finally crawled out of bed I drove back down to Capital Reef. I parked and went to the Mormon settlement which was really cool and looked around a bit bought some homemade pies and decided I had had enough with the parks for a wile.
It was time to move on to the winter planning stage of my trip, plus I was running low on funds and needed some more work. So off to Salt Lake City Utah. Home to Cameron and Travis Treat and there two boys Parker and Harrison. Cameron and I used to be roomies at NCSU we were also in the outing club there. Cameron taught me how to climb an paddle and we spent a lot of time out in the wilderness with the outing club during collage.
So hear I am, the Tin Can parked snugly next to Cam's house, happy as can be. I have all ready been mountain biking four or five times, and yes I can go downhill very well here, and climbing twice. I have even done a little work for Cam and his workmate, enough to get me through.
For those of you who have not been to Utah it is an amazing place, it offers so much for the outdoor enthusiast that it is a little overwhelming. It dose not have an ocean but it has the great Salt Lake.
The good news is that I am now employed by Solitude Ski Resort. I am one of the two Snow Removal/ mechanic peoples. It seem to be a great job so far, great people and very very laid back. That might all change when the snow flies but we will see when that happens. Now that I am almost an official ski bum I expect a few of you to come out to ski with me, so let me know when you can come and we will make it happen.
For now everyone pray for snow and be good. I will try a little harder to keep up to date so you wont have to read so much.
Rick

ZION

2008-09-20T12:32:00.003-08:00

Zion, Refuge in Hebrew, should mean Oh My God!! What an unimaginable place so grand in scale as to be completely overwhelming to me. I spent about 4 or 5 days here I’m not really sure. Anyway the hiking here is just amazing, first they have a transit system to be marveled at, you can take the shuttles all over the park which really reduces the vehicle traffic. OK the hiking trails are super maintained and some are pretty difficult to hike. Steep and many with very scary cliff drops to the edge of the trails. I did a couple that actually had chains for railings that if were not there I may not have been able to hike because I am chicken shit when it comes to exposed heights. I hike to a hidden canyon that had the chains but getting past that was worth the hike. The dcanyon went on for ? miles and I hiked in about 2-3 miles with the last two hrs. being half climbing and bouldering up the canyon. This was one of the dry slot canyons and was just amazingly beautiful. The next day I hiked up the Narrows a wet slot canyon where you basically walk up the river at time up to you waist in the water. Believe me it is just as cool as you can imagine it. And yes the water is cold as !@#$% but oh so worth the ten minutes of pain before your feet get numb.
I did take a day off from hiking to ride at a place called Gooseberry Mesa, It’s a combination of Moab slickrock and desert single track. This trail was very technical in places with some of the slickrock sections almost impossible to climb on the bike. What a great trail though. The Rim loop trail that goes all the way around the mesa is about 12+ miles and a great ride. Thank goodness there was not much elevation change because the technical sections wore me out. There are some spots along the rim of the Mesa that you literally ride with your tires just a few feet from the edge of a 1000 foot vertical drop. I found it less scary on the bike than off, I’m not sure why but maybe if I’m peddling my brain cant figure out what to think about the drop? Unfortunately I forgot the camera so no pics of the trails this time.
After a good ride I felt like I could explore more hiking in Zion, so off to Observation Point another strenuous trail that goes up through another spectacular slot canyon to an overlook. It is all really so grand it can’t be described by me or the pictures, you just have to come here for your self.
The only pitfall to this magnificent place is the tourist. I include myself in this group. This place is easy to access but you can’t see the really cool stuff without putting on your hiking boots and working for it. I came on Labor Day and there was a mass exodus of people but it was still very crowded after that. On the upbeat side is that I met some really great people there. Chan and Jason were staying in the same campground, which was very nice by the way, rite in the canyon. We had a great time in the evenings sitting around the campfire talking and meeting others as well. I met a great German family that were on a long vacation, it seems that there were a lot of foreign tourist from all over the word there.
All in all a fantastic place to go I will return one day to hike all the trails I didn’t get to this time.

Snow in the Desert

2008-09-20T12:12:00.004-08:00

Snow Snow Snow everywhere!!!!! In the desert!! Ohhh wait a minute it’s not snow it’s bright white,……..SAND Welcome to the White Sands National monument. If you are ever in New Mexico you need to come and go sand skiing/sledding. This is a pretty unique place. Just be sure to put sunscreen under your chin, the reflection from the sun will cook you! Not much here, just miles of white sand. Well been here have the stamp to prove it so now off to Tempe AZ to see my uncle and aunt.

A big little mountain in Texas!

2008-09-10T11:23:00.004-08:00

The Guadalupe Mountains are part of one of the finest examples of an ancient marine fossil reef on earth. This extraordinary natural phenomenon formed around 260-270 million years ago. During this time a vast tropical ocean covered portions of Texas and New Mexico. Over millions of years, calcareous sponges, algae, and other lime secreting marine organisms, along with lime precipitated from the seawater, built up to form the 400-milelong, horseshoe-shaped Captain Reef. Eventually the sea evaporated. As the reef subsided it was buried in a thick blanket of sediments and mineral salts. The reef was entombed for millions of years until a mountain building uplift exposed part of it. This ancient reef complex now towers above the Texas desert in the Guadalupe Mountains.
(Copied from the National Park handout.) It seemed to be the perfect way to describe the mountains there. I stayed at the base of the mountain in Pine Springs campground for the night and hike to the “Top of Texas” or Guadalupe peak. This peek towers over Texas at 8749 feet. The trail is very steep with 3000 feet of elevation gain from the campground in 4 miles. I hope my legs will recover. The hike up was great the sky was cloudy with a few sprinkles along the way which really helped to keep me from dying in the summer heat. It being the rainy season and all I had a great view of a green and lush desert. There were so many flowers and grasses not to mention trees and shrubs. I hiked this trail with the park ranger that was the guide for my Carlsbad Cavern tour and a couple of the other rangers Mike #2, Steven and Dan. Mike was extremely knowledgeable about the Guadalupe Mountains as well as the Caverns. It was a joy to have a free guide on the mountain. Thanks Mike!
Now off to stay another night at the Wal-Mart.

Let's Get Deep For A While

2008-09-10T11:10:00.004-08:00

Carlsbad Caverns New Mexico; What can you say about a natural wonder so grand, that when you see it you feel like you have stepped into a movie set of Journey to the Center of the Earth. I tell you it is something to behold. Mere pictures or words can ever describe the magnitude and beauty of this place. I would try but it would sound pathetic, so I will show you a few pictures and give a brief rundown of it all. The bottom of my chin is still a little sore from it hitting the cave floor so many times. Around every corner is a formation that is awe inspiring and so beautiful that it makes you feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I suggest that when you go, and you should go, that you take a guided tour of one or more of the special caverns that are not open to the general public. The guides are very informed and give a great history of the cavers. I loved it!
So now it’s off to the Guadeloupe Mountains for some hiking.
Rick

Where are the Space ships?

2008-09-01T18:51:00.006-08:00

OK Roswell New Mexico is a bust. I did however stay at a nice little campground, very clean and Quiet. I did ride my bike the 4 miles into town and searched in vain for the Aliens, I did find the UFO museum which was actually pretty cool. They have a lot of info about the 1946 Roswell crash and it seems to me that the government is hiding something from us. I know you wouldn't believe something like that. Any way it was a short visit and probably my last one there.

So up up and away, or at least I'm outa here.

Rick

Austin :) :) :)

2008-08-31T16:42:00.004-08:00

Austin, Austin, Austin, what can I say? I love this town! If you love the outdoor lifestyle, getting out on the town, sitting at a coffee shop, listening to live music, biking, kayaking, jogging, swimming, playing with your dog and everyone else’s dog then this is your town! I think I could have just stopped and stayed here for a while. I had the chance to do all of the above in just three days. This is a town I could get used to, I really liked the atmosphere and the fact that everyone got outside and is active. Austin is a very bike and dog friendly place I was able to ride my bike everywhere. From the Pecan Grove campground I was able to walk to any number of restaurants, saloons, coffee shops, food shops all of which had live music at some point. I tell you this town rocks! They say it is a small town in a big city and they are right.
Austin being a college town has 6th street which is a hundred bars in one place, I’m not kidding there are so many you can’t even look at them all. I only sampled a few but found 4th street which has a more age appropriate setting for me not to mention a bar that served my favorite beer Victory Hop Devil IPA the best beer I have ever had!!!
Austin has a series of Green Belt trail systems that follow all of the rivers in and around town. They simply rock and are used more than any I have ever seen. I was able to ride a few of them and they are really fun and LONG. I rode about 15 to 20 miles and never saw the end. On this ride I met another biker Larry and he showed me some of the trails to ride and I tagged along with him for a little bit. So hi to Larry. The main trail follows both sides of the river that flows through the middle of Austin (Town Lake) and has many parks and places to get to the water. There are three or four places to rent kayaks, canoes, and rowing skulls. And yes I did go kayaking and it was fantastic!
Now Austin even has some mountain biking right around the corner from the Grove. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever ridden but it was a lot of fun. I was able to get in about 16 miles on the trail- out and back. It was however a very technical trail with mostly cat and baby head rocks with a little smooth trail thrown in for good measure. There were even a few natural climbing walls along the trail. I met a couple of guys climbing a 5.11+ rout. No I didn’t try to climb I think my climbing days are done.
But there is still more that Austin has to offer, I know it’s getting a little much with all of the things there is to do there, but there is more! How about a natural spring fed swimming pool? Well Austin has one, Barton Springs. This spring puts out 68 degree water year round and flows thousands of gallons out to Town Lake. The pool is huge somewhere around 300 feet by 100 feet. You could swim for days and not get to the other side. I thought about trying but I swam just below the pool where all of the dogs swim, more of my kind of place. In the end I highly recommend everyone needs to at least visit.
I even found some 3rd cousins in Austin. Hi to Katie, Gilbert, Pat, and everyone there, I had a great time getting to see you and hope to get back there some day.
So now I’m off to Carlsbad New Mexico.
Rick

San Antonio is---Coyote Ugly

2008-08-22T14:52:00.003-08:00

I did it I fell into the trap those hot ladies put forth and had to do it, yes I went to the famous Coyote Ugly Saloon. I now know there are a bunch of them and it has lost some appeal but I had a good time there anyway. Not much more to say, so OK here are the pictures.

San Antonio

2008-08-22T14:00:00.004-08:00

Now that I am on the first leg of my trip that I am not staying with friends or relatives I have more time for blogging and relaxing. I rolled into San Antonio on Tues. afternoon and stayed in a campground for the first time on this trip. I did spend one uncomfortable night in a WalMart parking lot. Not the best Wallieworld I could have chosen but it worked out ok. Well the KOA I stayed at was nice and close to town, I was even able to take the bus into downtown to see all of the sights that San Antonio had to offer. OK, there is not that much to see but what there is is very cool! The Riverwalk is way way cool, beautiful and would be a great place to spend a few days with friends, lots of bars, resturants and shops. There are also a whole buch of Cathedrals and churches to see, but after two or three they all start to blend. Now the Alamo is a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but what a great historical place. My buddy Davey Crockett fought there, as most of you know I used to live on Davey Crockett Rd. in Asheville and he did hang out in that part of the state. I know it's way cool! I didn't see much more of San Antonio and I'm not sure if there is anymore??? Well I'm off to Austin next so look for updates soon.

Rick

Texas....It's a Big State

2008-08-22T06:21:00.004-08:00

From sunny Florida to Texas was a bristling white knuckle ride through huge thunder storms and stupid drivers. Getting through New Orleans was frightening, with heavy rain falling pole drove like idiots. I was lucky to make it out alive but that was the worst of it. Once securely in Texas it was an easy drive to Texas City where my cousin Wayne Evans and his family lives. I had planed on staying only a day but was enjoying getting to know some more family so much I stayed a couple of days. The list of family goes like this, Wayne & Lisa, Bob Lisa's dad, Brook+two Wayne's daughter and her two kids, and Super Dave Brook's boyfriend. sorry if I left you out as my memory sucks and it's been a few days out of Texas City. Anyway I had a great time getting to know more of my family on my moms side and everyone showed me a huge helping of hospitality, from the TinCan parking spot to the incredible biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I wish all of you great success for the coming year and look forward to seeing you again sometime.

Love to you all, Cousin Rick

Florida the sunshine state

2008-08-19T16:56:00.005-08:00

Good to see you all, or at least to blog to you. I have been down to the sunny and rainy Gainesville area to see my good friends Steve and Marcia. I have to say hi to their son and nephew, Stevie and Clint, The neighbors Steve and Bevin, and the dogs; Jada, Teddy, Rocky and Gracie. Thank you all for a great visit and lots of fun and food, too much great food. I think I gained ten pounds there. Bevin I had two of your rolls tonight and they ROCKED!!!! Marcia I will be cooking up some of your chocolate chip cookie balls soon, more on those to come.

Wile down in FLA. I had a chance to go scalloping with Steve's brother Sid and nephew Clint. What a fun and productive trip, we filled our quota and then some, and when we got back to the house Stevie cooked up some scallops with a chipotle cream sauce that was out of this world good. Thank you Sid for that fun day on the water. I wish I could get across the fun I had while visiting everyone there, but since I can't I will just say Thank You All!!!!!!! Now about this Wii thing, you know you guys ruined me I want one in a bad way. Hang on to Tinman for me I will be back to play again and to get my Pro status back. For anyone reading this that dose not know about the Wii gaming system, STAY AWAY it is addictive and FUN!!! The bowling game is out of this world fun and I'm sure the rest are too.

Thanks again to the Fla. Crew, all of you. I will return one day!

Rick

Stairway to Heaven

2008-07-17T12:31:00.003-08:00

As you can see, the stair project is complete, at least my part. It will need to be finish painted and stained, truly that is the hardest part of those stairs, and I am glad that it will not be me who has to do that job. I am thankful for having such good friends as Cliff and Cindy, as they have made it possible to keep on my journey with this job. You know with gas at $4.00+ a gallon I will have to work everywhere I go but it lets me stay around the people I love and like to be around. I wish I could stay longer at every stop but I would need about two to three years to get to all of the places I want to go. Now that I think about it that sounds pretty good. Well now I am in Charleston, SC for a few days, it’s really a pretty cool town with lots of rooftop bars and good food. From here I will head down to Gainesville FL., to visit my good friends Steve and Marsha. I hope to get in some fishing and good seafood wile I’m there. I will let you know on both accounts. I think it is about time for a beer as it is 4:53 and by time I get and open one it will be 5:00.
Cheers to you all.

Return to Van Michael "Area 51"

2008-07-09T10:06:00.005-08:00

OK! I Rode the Van Michael trail in the reverse direction from my first ride. I guess I was a little premature on my review. Having now experienced this very fun and somewhat difficult trail in the "Fun" direction I can justify a much more positive description of Area 51. First off it feels like they built this trail going in from this direction, Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri., the direction changes daily, because you can feel the flow and ebb of every turn, climb and decent. I have now ridden it this way twice and feel like I can truly give it a Thumbs Up for the Fun to Effort factor. The climbs are pretty tuff, a couple of granny gear over revving of the heart rate, with most being middle chain ring pushes. Now in this direction you get some fast downhills with a few good jumpable water bars and fast corners. You still need good brakes but you can use them to set up for the 180 degree hairpins that flow very nicely. The trail is still rideable for anyone that is not a true beginner, but in another year as the trail wears in and becomes more technical with rocks, ruts and roots, it will really be an expert only trail.
Hopefully riding a trail near you'
Rick

Bike Riding GA style

2008-07-01T15:31:00.002-08:00

I have been mountain biking a few times since I have been here in Canton and today I went with camera in hand. I wanted you to see what really makes me happy, Blasting down some fast and scary trail with wild abandon! Well there not all wild and scary but they are always fun!!! The trail system here is called Blankets Creek and they have about four or five trails. They range from very beginner to almost expert. They have a new trail called Area 51 that they insist is an expert trail, I give it a 7 out of 10 on skill level needed. It has a few grinder climbs that will make you huff and puff but they are really smooth and don’t require anything but strength and stamina to get up, I even cleaned them and I’m out of shape. The down hills could have been pretty spectacular but they made every downhill stretch short with an uber tight hairpin turn at the end. They had a few nice water bars but they placed them with no run out at the end. You can ride this trail pretty fast if you have strength, stamina and good brakes. I like the Dwelling trail, It may be only 3.5 mile and an intermediate trail, but it is fast and fun with some very enjoyable jumps and drop off’s. The South Loop tail is fun also a little steeper and rockier, but a good ride too. All in all a really fun set of trails with something to offer anyone from I just learned to ride today to the racer guys. I think I may go back tomorrow and rid some more!

History Lesson

2008-07-01T14:37:00.002-08:00

Well I went into historic Kennesaw, GA. To get some stair parts for Cliff and Cindy’s Stair project and found a really great Civil War and Locomotive museum. What a great museum! I stayed for about 2 and ½ hours and had a blast. It turns out that one of the most exciting battles that didn’t involve guns started here. They called it the Great Train Chase. James Andrews a Union civilian and about 20 men, later called Andrews Raiders, boarded the General (the train engine) and took off running North trying to destroy the tracks and bridges along the way. This was William Fullers train and when the train took off he and two other men chased the train on foot. Finally they came upon another train started chasing down Andrews. It took about ninety miles and a lot of luck but they did it and the Union guys were all caught. This is a very abbreviated story, Disney made a movie about it in 1959, on my part but very cool none the less. There were lots of other very interesting things about the Civil War and Slavery in the museum, Weapons, Uniforms, Pictures of War and life during the time, but for me the most impressive thing was the Locomotive Manufacturing plant. They reproduced the plant and had a good amount of the original equipment restored and even a couple of small locomotives in various stages of assembly. My kind of museum! This made for a great day of learning and discovery. Speaking of discovery, across the train tracks was an incredible old South/Rebel store/museum. I say this with a loose interpretation of both. The store is owned by a guy named Wild Man, he fits the description, wild hair, big shaggy gray beard and an old Colt 45 on his side. Just a little on the frightening side. He did however have more stuff on the old southern generals and war relics that I have ever seen in one location. There were books and anything else you could think of on or about the South and its Rebel Flag, the KKK and even period muzzle loading guns. I did not stay very long in the store it sort of made me just a little uncomfortable but it was definitely interesting to look at.

Georgia Bound

2008-06-29T13:34:00.004-08:00

I am now in the town of Canton GA. I am house and dog (Cricket) sitting for my good friends Cliff and Cindy Austin. They have taken their two kids Parker and Kailey on a vacation/baseball tournament In NY. I also have started to rebuild their staircase. They did not like the way it came down to an unusually wide bottom step, so I am attempting to make it a straight staircase. I think I can get it the way they want it or at least the way I want it. Wile enjoying my HOT and Humid GA. days, I have also been riding my mountain bike a good bit and met some really cool people out riding. I will post more on that later. Cliff being the ever giving friend that he is offered me the use of his wave runner while I am here. Bad Bad Bad idea! After only one seemingly innocuous trip to the lake, I now feel the need to own one for myself. This is a problem seeing that I don't think that towing the Tincan and a wave runner is going to work out, not to mention the extra gas, never having time to work any, or all of the other things I want to accomplish on my journey. So now I must use it as much as possible while I have the opportunity. (Thanks Cliff and Cindy) And a special thanks to Cindy for leaving plenty of BEER for me!

Coming to a town near you soon,

Rick

shower in the great outdoors

2008-06-29T13:24:00.002-08:00

Before starting the bathroom adventure, and what an adventure it was, we built a grand outdoor shower. This was a great addition to the house as now no one will even use the new indoor shower. Imagine someone wanting to shower in the sun or under the stars, I just don't get it? As it turns out after Maryann's Mom used it she wanted me to build her one too. I think I could have stayed another month and just built outdoor showers. Enjoy the shower as long as you can guys!

Bathroom Blues

2008-06-29T12:34:00.005-08:00

Hello everyone! I told you in the last blog that I would show you the old and new bathroom that I helped to rebuild. I think it turned out pretty well. I had a lot of fun with the LeRays and the benders and still want to extend my gratitude to them for giving me such a spectacular place to stay and hospitality that would rival any 5 star establishment.

Life at the Farm

2008-06-06T12:11:00.004-08:00

The first leg of my adventure begins in the great town of Pollocksville, NC. For those not familiar, eastern NC 15 miles south of New Bern, NC. It is a peaceful town where hunting dogs outnumber people two to one and everyone knows everyone. My great friends Maryanne and Jeremy with their son Joshua and dog Zack live on the family farm. Close by Maryanne's Mom and Dad Jean and Allen Bender are the most gracious and sweet hosts to me and my Tin Can. They gave me the most perfect spot to park the Can, large pasture with great big old Oak trees for shade and a never ending breeze that blows though all day. I came to this lovely spot to see and help out Jeremy with a simple bathroom project, you know the kind, two to three days and Walla- a new bathroom! Well....it is more like, Lets just start a new, Strip it all down to the studs and make a whole new room. So that's what we are doing now, but it's not all work and no play we are hoping to go sailing on Sat. I will let you know how that works out. We also had a Pasture Party last Fri. night with the whole family, Maryanne, Jeremy, Joshua, Maryanne's sisters April and her son Justin, Holly and her husband Scott and Jean and Allen. We all had a great time and hope to do it again soon. I will be here for a little wile longer, have to finish the bathroom. (Bathroom Blog to come)

I will Blog again soon

Rick

Finished Product

2008-06-06T11:55:00.002-08:00

Well It's finally finished or as finished as it is going to be for a wile. I have done just about all I can do without loosing my mind and what's left of my wallet. I have enjoyed building this thing and now I am ready to use it. I wont ramble on and on about what I have done I will just show the pictures, they do say a picture is worth a thousand words----enjoy!

Thank You

2008-06-06T11:31:00.003-08:00

I would like to thank some folks for all there help and patience during this long and wonderful Tin Can restoration. First and foremost I would like to thank Scott and Ross Shaheen and Cary Refrigeration for allowing me to use their shop, I know it took a lot longer than they and I thought. I would also like to thank my Mom and Dad for letting me stay with them wile working on this project, thy are the greatest parents ever and almost never told me to clean my room :)I want to give a shout out to some Friends that were there for me along the way: Scott and Wendy Shaheen who fed me and gave me drink more often than not. Jack Jack for endless hours of entertainment. Allen Tutt for lunches and encouragement. John Stauber for many o night of fun and adventure. Todd and Anna Bozell for hot tub therapy. John and all of the great people at Custom Engraving and Trophy for help with my electrical panels, they are spectacular. I would also like to give thanks to all of my family and Friends that have been there with support and encouragement for my Tin Can Life.

Thank You all!

Rick

That's Entertainment

2008-03-30T15:24:00.009-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, I have no real excuse, I have just been kind of slack-working-riding, mostly working.

OK one of the most important parts of the Tin Can is done. The entertainment section is very cool and seems to work great. I have installed a Sony car head unit for the stereo part, this unit has an input on the front for both 1/8 inch jack, mp3,satellite radio etc. and a USB port for any kind of music files. This unit also has an RCA input on the rear for satellite TV and DVD player.

I included an Alpine amp and sub woofer for a nice sounding system, plenty loud to offend everyone at the campgrounds. Just kidding, no loud music after 10:00pm. I have installed a 20" LCD TV. Direct TV Tivo and a DVD player as well. All of the entertainment including the TV can run off of the 12volt dc to 120 volt ac power inverter, no sense in not having entertainment wile out in the woods, you have to have the Weather channel to be safe you know.

I have also added lights in the large closet so you can find everything, they have been hooked to door switches so that no matter what door you open the lights come on and go out as soon as you close them. This is a must have for any dark closet!I have installed a convection microwave oven so I can bake and or microwave. Saves room and gives multiple cooking options.

Now for the most impressive of engineering projects to date on the Tin Can, The Electrical System! It is so way over board it isn't even funny. I sort of got carried away with the, I want it to be fail proof forever kind of thing. I wont go into too much boring detail but it has power distribution, multiple power sources I.E. two AC power inlets, two batteries all with switching between each other. Redundant battery chargers that will charge one the other or both. Power converter for 120v. AC to 12v. DC and Inverter power for 12v. DC to 120v. AC. I will be able to run everything in the trailer of of just AC or DC power. I even have a generator for back up of back up power. If you are not confused by now? I sure am.

I have started putting up all of the interior trim and will be installing the flooring this next week.

The it will be recover the couch and make new curtains install a bed and on the road I will go!!!!!

Some how this stuff never goes fast enough for me. It seems to take forever to do it all.

I will be flying to South Dakota to get vehicles registered and a drivers licence. They have better insurance rates and lower TAXES Than most all other states. So I guess I now have to put that I am from SD on the Blog info....or not.

Well enough for tonight I promise to blog sooner this time.

Everyone take care and I look forward to seeing you all on the road soon,

Rick

Storage Galore

2008-02-21T16:26:00.000-09:00

Hello to all. I'm glad to be Blogging to you today because I am closer to my goal than ever, I now have my storage back in the Tin Can. I was able to get the overhead storage bin over the kitchen area up and all of the electrical connections hooked up on the control panel. I was also able to rebuild the range vent fan and hood control. I added two more overhead lights in the kitchen for better cooking and storage bin illumination.

With the help of Steven, Scott and Ross, great Friends, we installed the very long and awkward closet side overhead storage bin. Thank you guys for the help it would have been imposable without you! We also installed the closet doors and part of the kitchen cabinetry on the driver side of the Tin Can. All and all a very good few days.

Much more to come very soon as I am still looking for a mid March departure for FL. and possibly a few stops along the way.

Take care and be sure to leave me some feed back in the comments section.

Rick

Bath Time

2008-02-13T18:28:00.000-09:00

Finally, I have got some good work done, the details are a killer when it comes to a bathroom. There are so many pieces and parts to a bathroom you just wouldent believe.

I thought that I would never stop cleaning and preping and painting and covering and fastening and........wow, OK it's done. The bathroom anyway. This tiny bathroom was a really fun to redo, I painted all of the plastic and wall papered the walls. I installed all new fixtures, sink faucet, shower faucet and drains. A new shower cutain Rod and curtain. I was going to install a shower door but looking at it, I thought that it would close up the space too much. So I opted for a curtain instead. This way I could leave the curtain open and it would look like a larger room. It's such a tiny space!

So, I have also finished the heating ducts and part of the kitchen walls. I used a faux Stainless Steel laminate on the kithchen walls and backsplash for a more modern look, it will come together when the cabinatetry is in and the appliances are installed. I finnished some roof details including plumbing vents and the air conditioner shroud. I installed a refrigerator vent fan to help cool the refer space when the temps get high. I was told by an older gentlman that when it is very hot outside that the refrigerator would have a hard time keeping cool unless you could provid adequit cooling for the frige vent. I also installed a automatic thermastat for the fan to be completely user friendly.

Hopfully the closet space and refrigerator wont be as hard or time consuming as the bathroom. There are not as many parts to these as the bath so it might go a litle faster? It seems that I say this on every blog, Hmmmm..... I think it will all take forever to finish, but forever is just a few weeks away.

Here is to forever may it get here soon.

Rick

Let There Be Light

2008-01-25T12:17:00.000-09:00

Hello everyone, since last we blogged much has happened. The last few weeks have been very productive and I am starting to see the light at the end of this long arduous labor of love. The Tin Can has seen many improvements including but not limited to:

All new plumbing. I used Pex plumbing for ease and better freeze protection than the original copper. I also added a few features not originally available, I fabricated a permanent black water tank wash that goes through the black tank vent pipe, so when you are emptying your tanks you just hook the hose up to the fitting and it sprays a jet of rotating water around the inside of the tank. No more sticking the hose or spray wand down the toilet drain, that's just so nasty! I also included a hose bib for cleaning stuff outside the Tin Can, Me/the bike etc.

Furnace LPG line pre heater. Funny thing about Propane, when it gets really cold LPG has less energy per gallon than when its warm. I read a chart that said at 70deg F. a 20lb. grill bottle has about 55,000 BTU's of energy, that same bottle at -5deg F. has about 5,000 BTU's of energy. Somehow I think we are all getting ripped off when it's cold because so many people heat with LPG, shouldn't it be the other way around, the colder the temp the more it will heat? Well I think it's a sham created by the oil co. Those Bastards! That's OK since I have a genius plan, preheat the gas before it gets to the furnace! Stop me now you big Oil Co. Bullies......Sorry I keep getting off track but they are trying to kill my soon to be road trip. Now we return to the preheater It's an insulated box with about six feet of copper gas line in a coil, when the heater starts it blows hot air across the coil befor heating the Tin Can. Now the furnace gets warm LPG, More BTU's per gallon, less fuel burned for heat. I know, "It's so easy a Cave Man Could do it" Some time things are so much funnier to me than anyone else.

Last but not least is the new cool interior lights. I used under the counter Puck Lights, they are small, bright and fit nicely. I used ten; 4 for the living room with dimmer switch, just in case you need a little mood lighting. 4 for the kitchen and hallway for good counter top and closet lighting, no dimmer. 2 for the bedroom, yes on a dimmer too. You have to have good lighting in the bedroom, everything looks better when you squint. Right? I will also add wall mounted gimble oil lamps in the bedroom for that special mood lighting...I mean back up emergency lighting and heat.

So as you can see, things are coming along nicely. I have started to refurbish the bathroom counter and base, the shower pan and the vanity mirror cabinet. I purchased a new nicer toilet, the Thetford Auqua Magic V it seems really nice. It is taller and white, not dingy yellow stained like the other one.

It's been fun writing to you today so everyone have a great couple o weeks and I will write to you soon.

Rick

Back on the JOB

2008-01-10T14:40:00.000-09:00

Welcome back to the Tin Can. I hope everyone had a great holiday season of too much food and drink.
I have great news for everyone, My knee surgery seems to be a huge success!! I am on the sixth week of recovery and an doing very well. I took about three and a half week break on the Can but have been hard at work for the last few weeks. The first week back was slow to say the least but the last week has kicked butt. There has been allot happening at the old Can, I rebuilt the lower door hinge and spent about eight to ten hours getting the door to seal and latch properly. All of that time dose include installing a new style door latch and deadbolt.

More new installs include two new power receptacles, one on the front and one on the left rear, and a new city water inlet.

The best news of all though is that all of the insulation and interior walls are DONE!!!!!!!!!! You just gotta love the FLOWER POWER bathroom walls!!

On the lighter side of life I have gotten to ride my mountain bike a couple of times, the first being a 10 mile all flat and paved greenway trail, the absolute best ride I have had in the last six months!!!!! Well the second ride on the same trail was even better, 15 miles of pure pleasure. I know that these trails are not very exciting but when you get to ride again after a horrible tragic bee induced accident it's just the best thing ever. I will be riding more and more as time and pain allow, I need to start working on my beach body, the Florida Keys are starting to call pretty hard. If all goes as well as the last week went, I should be leaving on my great adventure by March first.

Please keep me in you thoughts as I slave for the next six weeks, and may THE CAN BE WITH YOU ALL!

Hope to show much progress soon.

Rick

Wall and Crawls

2007-12-02T10:25:00.000-09:00

OK It has been a wile since my last post but a lot has been going on. First on the Tin Can, I have cleaned up the wiring and added wiring for Entertainment systems, second coach/house battery and another cable for TV in the bedroom. I also Added new speaker wire and power for an amplifier and sub woofer. Got to have the kickin tunes!!! I rewired the 120V. AC system and moved the power distribution center from the rear to the front at the kitchen.

With 98% of the wiring work done I Sprayed in the Tiger Foam polyurethane insulation.
Now for some very important information from our sponsors!:

When spraying the Tiger Foam be sure to: Wear a Tivek suit with a head cover, This stuff gets on everything and sticks! It will not come off of your skin, clothes or anything else. Make sure you mask off anything you don't want to get this stuff on, It goes everywhere, it's only partially controllable when you spray. The Tiger Foam cures so quickly that it will start curing on the spray tip if you stop spraying for more than 15-20 seconds and when this happens it starts to clump and spray in funny directions. YOU MUST CHANGE TIPS FREQUENTLY! This will make the spraying easyer. This really is not as bad as it sounds, there is just a slight learning curve to the process. When you are spraying downward as with the flooring it sprays very well but when you spray overhead it will rain foam down on you and everything around. It goes back to clean tips. Change to a new tip when spraying overhead and don't stop spraying if you can help it. Be sure to take the time to prep for spraying and come up with a spray plan. Map out exactly how you will spay to have as few times of stopping. Luckily the foam is pretty easy to cut and form, I was able to use a cheap flush cut saw, like you would use to cut the lower trim when installing flooring, to cut the areas of too thick foam and to trim the ribs for the int. walls. It took a wile to get the floor cleaned up, a lot of scraping, I would definitely cover the floor with plastic! I guess you learn as you go.

Now that the Tiger Foam is in and the wiring is done I started putting in the Prodex Foil/Foam/Foil radiant heat barrier over the Tiger Foam and the ribs in the walls. I am covering the rib to help with the condensation problem when in really cold weather. The heat transfer from the outside aluminum skin and the aluminum ribs to the aluminum interior walls has been a problem with Airstreams forever. I am hoping that the foam insulation of the Prodex between the ribs and walls will stop 90% of this sweating problems at the ribs. I will in theory have about R21 in the walls now. 1"of Tiger Foam is about R7 and the Prodex is about R14. The Tiger Foam also seals everything and is waterproof and fire rated. I am thinking that it will be extremely airtight and very quiet. Well now that the walls are going back in I hope things will start moving faster. There is only one problem now...

Thursday November Twenty Ninth, 8:00am I had my ACL Reconstruction surgery. All went well and I am not having too much pain. Therapy is going well and I should be back on the Tin Can in A week or so. It has been nice having a short break with lots of legal drugs to keep me happy but like all good things it must end soon so I can get back to the plan and get my Tin Can ready for my new Life!!!

I hope to have an update before Christmas but If I don't I hope everyone has a very happy Holiday season.

Everyone Take Care,

Rick

Flooring a gogo

2007-11-12T14:25:00.000-09:00

The floor is in!!!!!!! Wow the hardest part is over.....I hope. OK I finally finished the flooring, BIG JOB, so I cleaned and cleaned all of the frame rails and used a rust converter on all of the light surface rust. Once this very dirty part of the job was done it was time for the super insulating. I finally got to use the Tiger Foam spray in polyurethane insulation(http://www.tigerfoam.com/) This stuff is great, easy to use, waterproof, fire retardant, a great vapor barrier and offers a good deal of structural help holding all if the underbelly to the ribs and out riggers. This foam really seals all of the gaps and seams/holes and any spaces it touches. All of this in less than 60 seconds dry time. You do have to be fast. Once all of the tanks were foamed in (sides and bottoms) I sprayed the entire under belly with about one inch of the foam, this give about an R value of 6. I then added the R13 pink stuff in all of the open floor sections. Now we have R19! But I am not done yet, Oh No! I then covered the frame and belly with Foil-Foam-Foil insulation from Prodex. (http://www.insulation4less.com/) This stuff is a radiant heat barrier that has an R value of about 14.

Now we are cooking with R33 in the floor section!! That is better than most houses! I finished up by putting down new plywood on the floor. this is a much harder job than it would seem. You see when this Airstream was built they put the floor down first ind then put the shell on it. It went something like this. Build frame, put down plywood, add c-channel around plywood floor, then attach shell to floor and frame. Now putting the flooring in involved driving the plywood into the channel and lining it up halfway on the frame rail so that there would be room for the second piece to fit in the opposite side. Since you have two sides to fit into each 4 foot section went in in two pieces. Long and tiring part but it came out great.

Now it is time to tackle the wall insulation. First I will add in some wiring for a modern entertainment system, gotta have the surround sound! Next will come the tiger foam and prodex insulation and so on and so on...

Well more to come soon, I hope.

Rick

Time sure flys when you are having fun

2007-10-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

It's been too long between posts, I know but the camera batteries died and I had to get some.

Well I have gotten a good bit done but it seems to take so much longer to do anything than you would ever think. Any way I have gotten all of the roof work done, two new fantastic vents, they fully automatic and will even close if it starts to rain. I...Stephen checked the rooftop AC and got it running. 32yrs old and works perfectly, all the right pressure and temps, works like a new one at none of the cost. What more could I ask for. Well I resealed the AC and middle vent and will reseal the plumbing vents when they get installed.

I removed the fresh water tank, cleaned, insulated and added a tank heater just in case of extreme cold on some far off mountain. Now that the tanks are clean and empty, frame rails are treated with a rust converter/primer I am ready to spray in the insulation. I'm just waiting on one 2" heater hose for the waste tank drain valves, as soon as it gets here I can spray. I hope it's here tomorrow.

Ohh I almost forgot I installed the roof top Satellite dish, It is so cool. 2000 channels of nothing!

Well more to come sooner Than later.

By for now,

Rick

The Light starts to shine through

2007-10-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

Hello all, Well it's finally up, the floor that is. I am now ready to treat the frame rails with a rust converter. Lucky for me there is only surface rust, not one badly rusted spot on the whole trailer. Unbelievable for a 32yr. old camper. I hope to be spraying in the insulation by Monday.

I think the fun stuff is about to begin, the rebuilding part should be much more enjoyable than the Demolition..... I mean the painful removal of everything without breaking anything fun.......

OK so now I am going to got to Scott's house for Survivor Night.... Beer and Food.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening.

Rick

Thanks to my Great Friends

2007-10-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

I would like to take a moment to THANK THANK THANK my great friends Scott and Ross Shaheen, both really great guys, for letting me use their shop to work on the Tin Can.
Without them this job would be unbearable. They deserve more than I could ever repay them for their selfless generosity. If any one in the Piedmont area of NC. ever needs Commercial or residential Refrigeration work you must call them at Cary Refrigeration in Raleigh, NC.

A big thanks to Both of their family's too.

A special thanks goes to Wendy shaheen for letting Scott hang with me so much and for putting up with me at your house all the time.

And last but definitely not least, I want to thank my Mom and Dad for letting me come home wile I prepare for my Epic Journey. Thank you for Everything!!!!!!

A big thanks to all of my friends for being there for me.

I toast you all now with a big ice cold beer!!!!!!!!

Hell in a Tin Can

2007-10-14T12:00:00.001-08:00

There is hell in a Tin Can! It's trying to remove the plywood floor!!!!

After first trying all kinds of tools and brute force, I tried to use brains over brawn. I know I'm short on both but I finaly overcame with the pictured Scary Tool.... It is a 5 1/2 inch Circular saw blade modified to fit on a Roto Zip tool. Nice and safe I tell ya! It works like a charm, just scares the shit out of you when it jumps up.

You see the floor is attached at the sides with carriage bolts dropped in from the top and then they bent the bolts over so the nuts could never come off. (so nice of them) So you have to cut the floor close enough to the sides to be able to get a cutoff tool in to cut the carriage bolts in the middle. That way you can pull the bolt head up and knock the bolts down and out. Luckily there are only about 40 to 50 of the ones around the edges. All of the middle of the trailer floor is scewed down with large phillips flat decking screws, unfortunately they are all seized in place. Ross Shaheen (long time friend) gave me a great Idea for getting the floor out aaround these. He told me to use a hole saw, cut around the screw head and out will come the floor. Then it is really easy to get the little circles of plywood up from the screws and cut or break the screws out. This works like a charm. So now that I have figured out the right tools and process, the job is starting to go well.

One more day of floor removal and I will move on to insulation prep. I will probably install the new roof vents and satalite dish befor spraying in the insulation.

More to come soon,

Rick

Allmost there

2007-10-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well now I'm almost done with Stripping out of the trailer, just the floor left.

I'm starting to wonder what kind of moron dose this much to a perfectly good camper?????

This is, Oh My God a lot of DIRTY DIRTY work!!!
I hope the putting back together work is better than this.

I'm now only about a day behind where I thought I would be, but I did spend all of Tuesday researching and ordering parts. In the end I guess I'm not really behind, I hope.

Otherwise life is pretty good the knee is not giving me too much trouble now, I still just want to get it fixed ASAP. That means I must get this trailer done. I'm hoping to be done some time close to the first or second week of Nov. I know that's a tall order, but I think it's possible. Anyway I hope everyone out there is doing well.

Everyone take care,

Rick

TIn Can Stripping

2007-10-06T05:23:00.000-08:00

Before and after of the Galley and Head.

Once I have the entire Can stripped, walls and all, I will re insulate with a total of R21 insulation in the walls, ceiling and underbelly. I plan on spending next winter in the best skiing mountains I can find!

So far I have found only two very small spots in the floor with any rot, not bad for a 32 year old trailer. I did however find where the grey water drains from the sink and shower had come apart at a rubber coupling. I don't think that it has been used very much because it has not done any damage that I can find. Very lucky for me!

More to come soon. I think I will be able to add more posts now that I am settling into a Work/Sleep/Work mode.

Well enough play time, it's back to work for me.

Rick

The Big Move

2007-10-06T04:37:00.000-08:00

Well, allot has happened since we last talked. I finished getting my house in Asheville ready for the sale and move. Wow moving is such a pian, I had three trips with moving van, car and two trucks, but I finally finnished. After all the stress of moving and the bad knee I neede a quick trip to the parents beach house for a couple of days of R&R.

The beach was fantastic, quiet and stress free! I did nothing but sit and relax, drink a couple of beers and ride the golf cart around the Island.

Well since then I have moved back to Raleigh, NC. I am staying at my parents townhouse while I am working on the "Tin Can". The stripping out process is in full swing and I should be to the re-building stage in another week.

9/17/07 First entry into Tin Can Blog

2007-09-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

Well, now from the beginning. It all started six months ago with the mutual decision for my wife and I to divorce. Very sad but just what had to be. Anyway I digress, after trying to find (not successfully) affordable housing in the great city of Asheville, NC, It being ridicules housing prices and all, I had to make a decision.(run on I know) I finally decided to take an early retirement, so to speak. I figured why not go on that ultimate road trip now wile I'm still young and able enough to enjoy all of life's activity's that I love. "Moutain biking, Snow Skiing, Backpacking, generally all outdoor stuff and of course BEER!!" I didn't wan to wait and retire at seventy and be to worn out to do the things I love.

The planning begins. where will I live what will I do?
Live in a travel trailer of course. Work odd jobs for extra cash. Sounded reasonable to me.
To make a vary long and boring story short, I looked and Looked at every travel trailer known to man and found that they were ether too small or too expensive, too old or too new.
Then I started to look at the older Air Stream Trailers, not only were they available but at reasonable prices for what you get. By comparison a one year old 28 foot travel trailer was about $17,000 and a 32 year old Air Stream was only $ 3,200. I know what a difference you say! Well believe it or not, the Air stream was built so well that it is structurally better than any of the newer trailers that I looked at.

The Tin Can:
1976 Manufactured 09/1975
31 foot Sovereign International
(pictures to follow soon)

The trailer is pretty much all original except for carpet and curtains. Most everything functions pretty well. I have just started to get into it now.

The Plan:

Sell house, Quit Job (done)
Fix, repair, and modify trailer to fit my needs. (started 8/25/07)
Leave and enjoy a year to two year journey to wherever life takes me. (starting TBD)

The setback:

I tempted fate by looking into an old dead bee box only to discover wasps were using it for building materials. Needless to say they came after me and I ran like a scaredy cat. Bad move, about the third or forth step I went one way and my knee went the other. Long hobble to car and longer drive to hospital. Well one completely destroyed ACL, partial tear in the MCL and a torn Meniscus later I am making slight changes to the "Plan"

The New Plan:

Fix, Repair and or Modify trailer to suit my needs. (Restart on 9/28/07)
Fix, Repair and or Modify knee to suit my needs. (after trailer is done, Month to month and a half)
Leave when knee is good enough for driving four hours o more.

Thats all for now.

Rick