What were my goals? I'm sure I wrote them down, and like everything else on this trip, it only causes problems when you aren't organized. The goals are written down somewhere, I just don't remember where I put them. In a nutshell, this is what plagued me out there. If I needed something, like a tool, I didn't know where I put it. I lost a lot of time and had to endure a lot of aggravation because of that.
Overall, the plan worked. I found out where I stood with respect to my preparations. The answer is that I'm not ready. I'd have had a lot more problems if I had decided to spend even more day out there. I got back safe and sound. These two were the most important goals.
The devil was in the details, which I failed to provide for in depth.
I wanted a solar powered system to recharge my batteries. That didn't work. The solar panel put out nothing at all that I could detect with a voltmeter. It could well be that I did something wrong, but there were no instructions that came with the box. Not only that, there wasn't enough hardware to connect everything.
All the power tools and the microwave worked. The battery worked great, as did the inverter.
The "luggable loo" waste management system worked, but there's a learning curve. Don't use too much water, as the bags get too full very easily.
The tarps are a bit flimsy. I didn't like them.
The freeze dried food tasted great, but was a bit more complicated out in the boonies. MRE's would have worked better, I think.
A drill bit failed, which cut short one of my days out there.
The sat phone worked great.
The conventional cell phone worked much better than I expected. It may even be worthwhile to buy a booster to get a cell signal fairly close to home.
Kindle doesn't work out there. But it is seven years old.
The sleep recliner dealie worked fine. But I only used it for one night.
I didn't get to try the shower system, but I tried it at home. If I had used it, it would have been inadequate. It needs to be desinged better with better control over the flow of water. Water is scarce out there. The little device assumes that you have massive amounts of water, but there are only a couple gallons available each day for cleaning yourself.
The basic construction plan involving the cattle panels worked. The problem was in the execution. If I had framed it first before putting up the tarp, I would have had a much easier time. The tarps in the wind are another problem entirely.
Free wi-fi at motels is something of a fiction. The wifi didn't work at all in one place, and failed to be of much use in most others. I tried all the cheap motels in Van Horn, by the way. Perhaps "cheap" is a clue. One motel worked great, and I thought I'd mention it. Desert Inn at Van Horn is a nice little motel at reasonable rates. You won't go wrong staying there.
There's a laundromat in Van Horn, but it has antiquated equipment. I washed a couple loads there. I needed to, because I ran out of clothes. The place needs a serious upgrade.
Prices are too damn high. How do those people live out there?
The "hobo stove" wasn't worth a flip. Too small to be of much use.
The weather reports were not as reliable as you would think in this 21st century we're living in. But that may be the nature of the place.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
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