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dogyard

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    Minnesota
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    Global cooking/recipes
    Wild yeast (sourdough) baking
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  1. Phoenix Cruiser is worth a look, they invite factory tours and welcome customizations. https://www.phoenixusarv.com/
  2. Having a close familial connection to Xcel corporate planning I can assure you that they have a very strong commitment to this. Utilities are struggling to understand how to compete and stay relevant as technology improves at breakneck pace. If you could go behind closed doors you'd hear executives wondering if they are destined to become a "back up" power source. The Doug's (dumb old utility guys) who grew up in the industry are surprised that new customers may not be compelled to buy their products and they may have to actually change in order to successfully market their goods. We installed a solar system at our home, backwired and metered into Xcel's grid and we continue to receive $15-$30/mo from them even though we purchase electricity from them overnight and in inclement weather. Even those who continued there faith and investment in buggy whips and equine supplies were bypassed by the automobile. We're approaching that same tipping point here.
  3. Watched it last night with my wife, found it very sad. We truly have become a nation divided economically and while full-time RV living may be a choice for those of us fortunate enough to have sufficient means to enjoy all it offers we've met many nomads who have no other choice. Can't imagine working the sugar beet harvest at my age and seems unlikely others would if it weren't needed for income. Bright spot - Frances McDermond is amazing as always!
  4. So a month ago we switched from wired internet (CenturyLink) to T-mobile's cellular home internet offering just released for our area priced at $50/mo for unlimited data. My wife is working from home so reliable, fast connection is essential for her almost constant Microsoft Team collaborations, heavy video conferencing, etc and we've been delighted with T-mobile's service. As of yesterday we added T-mobile's 5g Inseego M2000 hotspot with 100gb plan to lock in service for our travels. Not on the road now but I will attest to amazing speeds as we're getting over 100mb down and 50-70mb up inside our home, about 25% increase in performance over their 4g LTE cellular home internet router. For $100/mo we've got home and mobile service that should serve us well.
  5. I've used Purogene ever since I saw this video from Escapade - When I did further research I found it was used by many boaters. Works very well for us and seems much safer than chlorine solutions.
  6. Jinx & Wayne, may I say that you have presented the most concise, practical and encouraging outline for traveling safely and comfortably. It's folks like you who make the full-time lifestyle attractive and hope to meet you on the road someday when it's possible. Stay safe!
  7. My daughter and son-in-law purchased a "gently used" trailer (82 yr old seller used 4x/4 years) this summer and they invited us to join them for a couple of outings. They stayed in very full and expensive (to us) MN state parks and county parks near Mpls/St. Paul in consideration of their 3 yr old. Of course to secure spots we booked well in advance and avoided weekends made possible by them working remotely. They definitely found lack of high-speed internet and reliable cell service were obstacles for them and were relieved to have our mobile internet connections available without cost to them. I'm hoping they stay excited about camping and hope to get them to some COE, Nat'l Forest and other less expensive, more remote places in the coming years but with their preferred parks being not much less costly than a decent motel it remains to be seen if the reward will be worth the effort for them.
  8. I bring my E-450 MH to a heavy duty truck service business near me, they're nice enough to make an exception for my "non-commercial, non-fleet" truck and have provided everything from oil changes to alignment/suspension upgrades to tune-up with new spark plugs/coils - BTW the cost to replace plugs/coils on the V10 is painful but considering they have to dig for access and need to remove fuel rails to complete the job paying $$$$ is worth it. At any rate, they don't sell it but the owner told me he buys SeaFoam in gallon jugs and adds it to his personal gas & diesel vehicles on a monthly basis so I've become a follower.
  9. Previous 2 (used) Scamp trailers = 0 issues in 15+ years. Previous 2016 (new) Winnebago trailer = over 6 months in shop, multiple issues (leaking roof & belly, appliance & A/C failures, etc) during 2 years of ownership. Current (used) 2014 Phoenix Cruiser just turned 110,000 miles after 4 years ownership and only improvements, no repairs. Sometimes you get lucky.
  10. I've used most solutions suggested above to run my previous Phillips Dreamstation CPAP in various RV's (and even tents before then) for decades. Last year I purchased a HDM Z2 Auto Travel APAP machine with the optional battery and the 12v adapter and it's changed everything. It runs off the 12v plugged into a lighter socket I mounted above my bed, it runs off the battery "dock" when needed or can be plugged into 120v outlets powered by my inverter. It's small but every bit as good as my full sized machine at home. Take a look here to see more info - https://www.sleepdirect.com/travel-cpap/hdm-z2-auto-travel-apap-machine-with-z-breathe
  11. Thanks Cherie, as an ongoing subscriber to your service for INVALUABLE information I'm very glad that you weighed in here!
  12. Qanon is the main distributor of conspiracy theories. Unfortunately we've reached a point in time where anyone with an internet connection and social media accounts can be valued for information as much as publications that hire journalists (rather than infotainment celebrities with devoted followers) and adhere to standards of fact-checking, ethics, etc. Alternative facts have become gospel for a good deal of citizens. Turns out Mr. Barnum was correct and there IS one born every minute.
  13. Not full time but on the road a good deal and for a month we kept our Verizon Jetpack and wife's iPhone on Verizon after I switched to be certain we'd stay connected as we both work remote. We definitely found some spots in remote Nat'l forests in N. Wisconsin and U.P. Michigan where we had better VZ service than T-mobile but generally where we have one we have both. I'm on the waiting list for the new cat18 Pepwave Transit MAX with unlimited T-mobile as detailed here - https://rvlife.com/unrestricted-internet-access-for-rvers/ I do think there's more parity in the industry than just a few years ago and hope with T-mobile acquisition or Sprint's frequencies it will continue to improve. The band 71 to serve rural areas should be better than their previous city coverage. In the meantime I've got a 3 month old Verizon Jetpack 8800l with Netgear antenna for sale for $100 plus shipping if anybody is looking!
  14. BTW, T-mobile offers a free 30 day trial period with use of their hotspot device that you can use for voice (if your cell phone supports Wi-Fi calling) and data. I got one and that's what convinced me to switch from Verizon. Couldn't be happier! Here's the link to sign up for free 30 day hotspot use - https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/free-trial
  15. Glenn, I'd suggest you check out the T-mobile 55+ plans as they're 1/2 the price of Verizon and now that they've got band 71 they cover far more rural areas. I had put up with Verizon's high prices & poor customer service due to needing reliable internet but I've been pleasantly surprised at T-mobile's coverage. I use Network Cell Info Lite for monitoring signal strength /speed and I can verify that their reach is nearly as far as the others. Of course it's all local so your experience may be different. Good luck!
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