Scout

I’m sitting here in Scout listening to the wind sigh through the ponderosa pine that nearly hide one trailer from another.  Supper, a pot roast, is simmering away on the hotplate while I work on my computer.  The temperature always drops quite sharply when the sum sets.  Tonight the temperature doesn’t matter because my very small ceramic heater keeps Scout warm enough to be comfortable.

Night temperatures have been in the high to mid twenties for a few weeks so tonight’s temperature is not unusually cold.  High twenties aren’t so bad, especially if I have picked my site well and get early morning sun, Scout warms up as fast as it cools off.  After a half-hour of sunshine it feels warm and after an hour of sunshine and breakfast cooking heat its quite comfortable.

Let the temperature drop just a few more degrees and I don’t like it at all.  Even putting warm feet into cold shoes doesn’t help.  At 25 degrees, I creak when I first start moving and the toilet is always too far away.  So, I moved to a place with electricity. 

Scout is not cold proof.  Oh, it has insulation in the walls that works well at reasonable temperatures however I can see light where wall meets slant.  Now that it’s colder, those cracks also leak lots of chilly air.  At the table side its doesn’t matter so much, however when I sleep, I like to sleep cool so the heater is off and those leaks are inches from both my neck and my feet.  What to do, what to do. 

While shopping at my least favorite national chain store I found a package of four foam pipe wraps that just happen to be a very good size for fitting into those pesky cracks.  An extra bench cushion fits well against the outer wall I occasionally bump in my sleep.  Voila! Warm as toast.

With the 12v lights not working, I became creative with that problem too though it took a few tries.  One or two candles add a nice glow to the inside and are bright enough to read by, however it’s difficult to see into a pot so I used a flashlight for that.  Unfortunately holding a flashlight puts it too close to the pot and I mostly saw steam, like having your high beams on when its foggy.  Hanging the light would help, if I had a way to hang it.

Scout has some very sturdy looking levers that lock the sides to the top.  They also make very handy holders for light rods.  By light I mean light.  After a day of diligent searching I found two yucca seed stalks long enough to span wall-to-wall.  It was easy to find a shorter one that would reach across between the two rods.  And I have a yucca walking stick given to me after a New Mexico trip I couldn’t take.  It almost fits and I use it when I want a fourth rod. 

Hanging a flashlight over the pot works sort of, and the light, which is on a bit of cord, easily moves to over the table.  Even though it works, I wasn’t happy with it.  I tried the idea with a different kind of flashlight and it still wasn’t what I wanted.  The trailer guy suggested using a battery charger on my battery and then I would have lights.  Battery chargers are expensive and they take lots of space.  His suggestion did get me thinking about electric lights and I went through a home decor department where I found a very inexpensive clip-on light.  Again, success!  The clip easily fits my poles, the cord is long enough to move the light anyplace I want it and the light beam itself is clear and uniform.

Light, warm and a beautiful setting; now if I could just solve the problem of keeping a picture fastened to the wall ………..