Getting Sherman ready for three months in Mexico

The sun never appeared like the weather forecast said it would, but at least they got the temperature right and it turned out to be a decent day despite the lack of sunshine. So I spent most of it outside giving Sherman a sponge bath and puttering around on a few fixer upper type of projects.

While I was doing that, Ruth was cleaning the inside of the windows and frames in our bedroom. Took all the screens out and cleaned them properly too. Sherman had sat for a full year prior to November 15th, and it has been so cold for the past six weeks of this trip that we've never been able to properly clean things.

Plus, because of the cold and dampness and lack of sunshine the past week, it was good to be able to open the windows and the door and let things dry out a little bit.

I grabbed an old quilt that I keep just for when I have to crawl under Sherman. That quilt belonged to my grandmother and I don't quite remember the story behind it, but I'm sure it must date back to the 1940's. It had become worn anyhow, so a few years ago I started using it that way. I think of my grandmother every time I use it, although I'm sure she wouldn't have approved of it being used this way!

Grandma's old quilt.

Strange, but the name "Branham" is written on the quilt. I say strange, because the spelling is incorrect and should be Bramham. I wonder who wrote that there.

Barb and Mark who are staying at the nearby state park, sent a message saying they were going to town and asked if we needed anything. Ruth was going to do some baking, but realized she didn't have enough butter. So she asked Barb if they would bring us some butter.

Here comes our butter delivery!

They showed up with our butter and sat and visited for an hour. I remembered that I wanted to test out the new radio that was supplied to us for the caravan trip. They used to use CB radios but are migrating to a new GMRS style radio. Mark has already installed his 15 watt unit, and so I quickly hooked up our 15 watt unit to see how it did.

I'll install it permanently today.

Using channel 7, they were clear as a bell until they got to the entrance to the state park, and then the signal went downhill and when they got to their campsite almost two miles away (as the crow flies) we couldn't make each other out.

But it turns out that if you use the higher channels (17 and up), the unit is put into a higher power mode, and we could talk to each other just fine. So these are going to work out far better than CBs. You're supposed to have a licence for them in the U.S., but it's not necessary in Mexico.

This is the radio we're using...

Midland Consumer Radio MXT115 Micro Mobile 15W

They also have a five watt unit that should work well for our caravan purposes, and a more powerful 40 watt unit if you feel you really need it.

With Sherman all cleaned up, I only have to change the oil and finish greasing the front end and check the tire pressure as I do once a week or so. Then, we're ready to go!

It was even warm enough to get out the Weber and do some outside cooking...

Grilled potatoes and pork loin chops.

A little change of plans coming up, I think. There is an arctic cold front coming into Texas. Surprise, surprise. Today is supposed to be okay, but it will get cold overnight and stay that way for Monday and Tuesday. So I think we're going to move over to the state park where we can plug in and run our electric heater. Our Mr. Heater Buddy works well, but when you're using it on a continuous basis it causes lots of dampness and humidity in the motorhome. Then we'll move down to Mission on Wednesday and visit with friends Bill and Bonnie, and then Thursday to meet up with the caravan group. 

Have we mentioned that we can't wait to get to Mexico?!

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