Cozy Camp Cloudy

Here we are at Damp Drizzle Drench. Or is it Cozy Camp Cloudy.

Everything is soaking wet outside including some laundry. I want to pack up with intentions of getting on the road one day soon, but with everything so soaked, I don't dare.

So I wait. 

My patio has been set up since May. I've driven the motorhome to stores and appointments, but left the patio accouterments behind. So far no one has seen fit to rob me of my old chairs,  tattered table cloths, wormy flower boxes, worn rugs or holey gazebo. I guess the thieves are pretty picky these days.  My stuff isn't good enough for them.

Thanks goodness for small favors.

Last night the doggy was over-protective and woke me up a few times thinking something or somebody was bothering us. We're in the boonies, so I kept getting up to investigate his hysterics from the driver's seat where he had perched to announce the latest bothersomes he had noted.

This has made me a tad grouchy this morning.  I need a lot of rest to make it through the next day. Recuperating is exhausting work.

Grrrrrrrrr...

We've been cooped up inside a little too long. Puppy doesn't want to get wet. Taking him out to do his business when it is rainy is another comedy routine. I end up carrying him to a suitable spot where I sit him down and he gives me this woeful look.

Eventually he remembers we are here for a purpose. For some reason he has to thoroughly inspect and personally approve of an area, before he can water or fertilize it. Then he races back over to me, waiting for me to pick him up again.

Yuck. Wet dog.  I pick him up anyhow.

Normally he is Mr Independence, wanting to walk everywhere. But if it involves rain or heavy dew, then he prefers the comfort of  willing arms.

At the door to the motorhome, I have to try to remember to  keep a towel to dry his feet and every speck of fur that might be wet.  He loves this.

So, are we there yet?

We haven't even begun.  Everything outside is wet and I don't want to pack it up wet.  So we wait another day. Hurry up sunshine!

A journey begins with just a single step...  and packing up the patio. 

Let me start on the math next.

I have 800 miles to go and 21 days to do it in, but for 7 days I will be parked at one campground, so that leaves 14 days to drive 800 miles.  If I only drive every other day, that is 7 days, so I need to drive at least 115 miles per day. If I average 40mph (because I like the byways over the interstate) and I stop every hour on average for 30 minutes average, then I am on the road on average for 4.5 hours per driving day.

If I leave between 8am and  noon on the driving days and only get lost once or twice, then I should make the next overnight stop by dark thirty.  I will try to stay two nights, so I can repair and  rest.

So if I stick to this plan, more or less, I should arrive in time for my next workamping gig.

Whew.

Next I work on the gas budget.

According to my log book...

For the past year my gas mileage has been between 4.2 and 8.6 miles per gallon. I drove 4582.3 miles on 651 gallons of gas or an average of 7 miles per gallon. But could go as low as 4 and as high as 8.6.

Not too awfully bad considering I know I have been driving with the extra load of a full tank of water and mostly full fuel tank plus I now own a set of heavy tools and a cargo carrier hangs out back. The pantry is well stocked but the fridge is lonely.

Now that gas mileage includes generator gas, which uses about a third to a half gallon per hour, but my hour gauge randomly counts off hours, so I have no idea.  But there were a few times during the heat of the humidity that the generator was necessary while driving or parking without electricity like at grocery stores where the doggy required an air-conditioned cruising cottage. Then there were a few times when it was in use for hours, due to outages. boondoggling and  boondocking.

Oh and my gas tank leaks, but only when I buy gas. I wrote that down when that was first noticed... been awhile.  Have to check those records. Haven't found anyone willing to fix it yet.

Now if I go through 3 states where gas is selling between $3.47 and  $4.17, then I only need  somewhere between  a large loan or a small mortgage to arrive at my next workamping.

By golly, I am getting the hang of this, me thinks.