Posts Tagged ‘foldable gear’

To rectify a massive oversight and kill time until we get back on the road, I asked Ralph, co-pilot of our DWR, to finally guest post on ‘Streaming. Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, put your hands together for “The Master of History”:

Hello! I’m the other half (or quarter, if you count Ripley and Raven) of the quartet that’s featured here. I’m the one that’s the product of that celebrity math equation on the “Who is ‘Streaming?” page, and the one with the foldable fetish.

Things have been quiet….Rhonda been very busy writing, about Airstreams of course, and we haven’t been out on the road much at all. That’s what happens when you lose control of your life; when work and a new house start getting in the way of having Airstream fun. 

The move to Bend has changed our approach to Airstreaming. Here, the weather starts becoming a factor–at least that’s what our predisposition was. Either roads are icy, campgrounds closed, or you just want to hunker down. Now, this year, there’s no excuse. The weather in late November and December was good, but the Holidays just got in the way. Also, the house is too nice. Yes, the Pine Cone Lodge (the nickname we gave our house) is a pretty fun place, and we’re busy exploring Bend. So, lots of reasons but no excuses. 

The upside is that we’ll have some great adventures once we get going, because Central Oregon is a target-rich environment for the short trips we make during the late Winter and Spring. There’s Crater Lake (when it reopens), the Lakeview district, and maybe even stopping over at Frenchglen again, but this time taking it all the way out to Winnemucca. I’ve got a couple of fishing trips lined up (thank goodness we now have seat covers), and Rhonda’s planning another visit to Burning Man.

So, stay tuned…

I was outside at a Utah Starbucks when a man arrived with his two chocolate labs. He left them unleashed near a table, and without a word, went inside to fetch his latte. The dogs watched him disappear, then sat politely to wait for his return. “That,” I said to my friend, “is the difference between a lab and a dachshund.” Ralston would lie down to wait. Ripley and Raven would cry, “Yay, she’s gone! Let’s play in traffic!” and I’d never see them again. 

Thus the need for Invisible Fence at home and a new camping must-have: “The Rock” PetFree™ Outdoor Solution Plus portable electronic fence system. It works like a charm and the concept is fiendishly simple. 

Before The Rock, glamping with the doxies meant they either a] hogtied us to our camp chairs with their tangled long leashes (on purpose, we’re sure), or b] promptly darted away. (I get why people call them “dash-hounds”.) Now, with The Rock fence, we establish a big yard around the Airstream with one hundred feet of wire attached to a transmitter hidden in a little plastic boulder, and inform the dogs of the wire perimeter by planting the white flags they’re trained to recognize at the border. While wearing their special “beep collars”—which issue a wristwatch alarm-like tone if they get too close to the flags (and a mild shock if they dare to cross the wire)—the dogs play safely nearby without knocking over the cocktail table with their outdoor leads, or running off to chase the campground squirrels and neighbor pets.

Does the collar hurt? Not really; it’s more of a creepy pulse than a pain. (The Central Oregon Invisible Fence trainer/installer—a kind and patient man that the dogs adore—encouraged me to take the adjustable shock myself.) It’s as intense as touching the TV set after walking on the carpet in sock feet; just enough of a surprise to get the pet’s attention and divert them away from the boundary. Dogs are not dumb, and learn the rules quickly.

R&R jump for joy when they see the collars coming out; they represent freedom, smells, and playing leash-free outdoors. Soon, we’re told, they may not require the collars at all; just placing the white flags around the trailer should keep them nearby. We’ll see. (Again: Dogs—not dumb.)

My friend Karla—a spectacular cook—sells high-end kitchen tools as a Demarle At Home instructor and host. Recently she suggested the obvious that I’d overlooked: wouldn’t Flexipans be perfect for your Airstream?

Of course! Yes! If the DWR had an oven. 

I made these Halloween brownie bites in a mini muffin tray at home (using a low cal version of a box mix, with applesauce instead of oil), but YOUR trailer or RV certainly has an oven and you’ll want this rubbery cookware for your galley. 

Made of some kind of silicone, they don’t need prepping (no polluting your Airstream interior with greasy Pam spray), they barely need cleaning (rinse and wipe), and they squish to stow and don’t clank around in the cupboard. The Silpat baking sheets roll up as well, and the roundish one even doubles as a pot lid.

Demarle products aren’t cheap, but Christmas is coming. Get the cookbook-like catalog from Karla and assemble your wish list; the pans, molds and sheets come in dozens of diminutive (and regular) shapes and sizes.

It doesn’t fold but for Christmas I received the MyPressi TWIST Easy Elegant espresso maker, which claimed to change how and where I will enjoy my delicious espresso and espresso-based beverages, as it is “perfect for home and office”. Somehow they overlooked its most obvious application: for use in the Airstream.

Producing “perfect crema every time”—I suspect that’s the beige foam at the top of the coffee—the unit uses pressurized cartridges (the ones that make carbonated water from a seltzer bottle) in lieu of external power, and dispenses single or double shot extractions. A separate “frother” turns hot milk into a fake-steamed latte lather.

The Twist is advertised as easy to use—“put in the coffee, pour in hot water, and pull the trigger”—but it’s a hell of a production when one can just drive through the ampm for a 24-ounce High Voltage Java. Keeping the coffee hot is an issue; you have to practice, preheat, work mad fast and get the sequence of events exactly right or your drink will be tepid.

That said, if you’re confined to a campsite miles from a Starbucks (hard to imagine, in the northwest) the Twist is fun to use, easy to clean, looks bitchin’, makes rich coffee, and the loose parts travel neatly in a pouch.

I made peppermint espresso with frothed milk as a treat for the holidays.

Dinnertime in western Oregon and Washington while camping with the DWR means huddling inside, out of the wretched weather, preparing meager, unobtrusive meals in the tiny galley, and smelling wet dogs drying by the floor heater. Roll east of the Cascades though, where skies are clear, and the great outdoors becomes your dining room. Time to barbeque.

Storage within the trailer remains on a miniature scale, so we ‘stream with the HotSpot Notebook Portable Charcoal Grill. 

Only 18 x 21 and less than 2 inches flat when folded, it pops into position ready to receive whatever fire source you choose to dump inside. (Make it easy on yourself, get the instant light briquettes). If you’re not hosting a family reunion there’s plenty of space for mixed grill or burgers.

I haven’t weighed it. Seven or eight pounds? It sleeps with the folding chairs, cafe table, and trash can inside the bathroom we will never use.

Ripley required only minor first aid after stepping on the cactus but Ralston, age ten, inconveniently fell ill with some kind of undiagnosable ailment the day we left and appeared to be at death’s door during the entire first week of our trip. After consulting vets in three states he was eventually back to what passes for normal. We kept him hydrated and cool along the way with the help of this special mat and bandana.

Soak the mat in water to activate the “cooling crystals”, then plop it down as a place to ride in the car or rest in the shade. (I’m not sure of the manufacturer of Ralston’s safety orange version but the popular MiraCool mat is the same principle.) Combine this with a cooling bandana to keep your pet’s pulse points moist and he’ll comfortably pant with a cool belly and neck. Purchase the pictured human version at any REI but MiraCool also offers one that looks sharper on a dog.

I learned the warning signs to watch for when Ralston was ill from a Red Cross Pet First Aid class. Owners, you’ll have greater peace of mind roadtripping with your dog or cat when you know you’ll be ready to perform rescue breathing or administer stop-gap emergency treatments on your way to the nearest vet. You’ll also learn how to assemble a custom pet first aid kit, and the class workbook is a handy reference to keep in the glove compartment.

Ralph ordered a new bike to arrive just in time to take on the road trip. He chose a Tikit from the many Bike Friday models because it folded down the smallest and quickest.

Back up. Why a folding bike? Commuters ride them into work and park them under their office desks. Cycle tourists stuff them into a special suitcase (that converts to a luggage trailer), check them on airplanes, and ride around Europe. Ralph slips his into the pouch it comes with and the Tikit travels from campsite to campsite on the bed of the DWR or on the backseat of the tow vehicle. He pops it out whenever the scenery or the mood strikes him to ride.

How does the Tikit differ from his other bike, (a handbuilt Bill Davidson touring bike)? “You have a higher center of gravity; turning is a little weird at first,” he said. “And you have to work harder because it has smaller wheels. It’s like a circus bike.” Ralph reports that it’s just as fast and performs well. “It’s kind of funny—when people see it, they do a doubletake. A slow doubletake. But I got a thumbs up from the local youth!” he reported after returning from a ride twice around Detroit Lake. “‘Cool bike’ they said.”

Claiming to be “the fastest folding bicycle”, I witnessed Ralph collapsing it in under 60 seconds, but “l’ll get that down to 30 or less,” he predicted. “Tap, swish, click and go!” are the four steps to reassembly accurately claimed on their (confusing) website. Bike Fridays are manufactured in Eugene, Oregon; customization and assembly is performed by cooperating local dealers.

With his Kestrel 3500 Portable Weather Station, Ralph can gauge temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, current and average wind speed, maximum wind gust, heat stress index, altitude, dewpoint, wind chill, time of day and something called “wet bulb temperature” wherever we camp.

Why does he need these readings? “It’s fun.”

When he pulls the weather gear from his fetish bag and observes my eyeroll, Ralph reminds me that I created this monster three years ago when I purchased a home weather station for him from Costco, which, in his words, “took 432 hours to get running, not that I begrudge a second of it honey.”

The tiny pocket station is much easier to set up and issues its critical data right away on site.

Ralph’s inflatable pontoon weighs about 40 pounds, fits in the trunk of his tiny Audi TT, and requires only a few minutes to inflate, affix the oars, and put in.

You can outfit it with a motor but “it’s fun to row and good exercise,” says Ralph. “Though it’s a bitch to fish out of.”

The delux package includes the boat, inflatable seat, foot pump (though a pump that runs off your vehicle cigarette lighter makes life much easier), set of oars, stow pouch and storage bag.

The website assures the owner not to worry about dock punctures and snags, as they’ve tested the durability of the hull material by hitting it with the sharp end of a claw hammer.

"We’re off the grid honey!”

Ralph’s expensive, portable, foldable solar panel charges all the small devices that we now find essential: MacBook, cell phone, weather station and satellite services like X-M radio.

Not like we ever do, but theoretically with this device the DWR can venture beyond hookup sites without a lapse in service from the electronics we need to call our lives fulfilling. It even charges the full size Airstream battery in 12 to 24 hours.

“You can kind of straddle two functions,” raves Ralph. “You can take it backpacking, sleeping in the dirt, or, just use it sitting in the back yard,” (which is where it’s usually employed, spread out on the lawn to power the east coast baseball games).

It folds down to the size of a sheet of notebook paper, about an inch thick. It’s nice to know we can function on our own without electricity…provided it’s a sunny day.