The 70’s are back!

The winter temperature hit 70 today and Johnny Mathis’ It’s a Long and Winding Road is drifting through the air.  It was the perfect time to pull the Vardo from under cover.

We’ve spent the winter with her tucked away under a carport, shielded from the weather.  Yet every night we’ve slept out there.  The temperatures hit their lowest with -19 wind chills. Yet we were determined to see if we could manage it.  With our goal to be traveling a great deal of the time we had to be certain we could hang with different weather encounters.

The unfortunate part was that although we have a wood burning stove inside, being under the carport stymied building a fire.  We had to rely on a tiny 12″ heater, a heated mattress pad, and natural body heat.  The foam used for our bedroll is solid as a stone when frozen, so the mattress pad was used just enough to soften it up, then it was shut down.  Breath coiled and smoked with every “brrrrrr” we uttered.  Mornings were a crazy rush to grab clothes which  hung on pegs and make it to the house for a hot shower before parts started freezing!

My husband had spent the winter months finishing the roof with a copper tinted aluminum sheeting (we are certain this will stop the leaking), reworking the outer ribs and adding some creative touches.  The torment was that I’m not a tall woman and I couldn’t see his work, even with a ladder it just didn’t have the angle.  So for months I’ve been waiting for a day like today!

It’s beautiful of course.  And we built our first fire!  It roared with great vigor and gave off the sweetest heat.  We used wood from an old growth forest, in southern Indiana, that had been blessed and, in my husband’s native practices, used to honor the ancestors.  This wagon has been built with the knowledge that our ancestors have always been a part of it and will travel with us as they so choose.  Another reader shared with me that my Aunt Louise, who had passed and was a true little corker, claimed that she will have to travel with us when I am reading because, “She doesn’t have the balls to do it alone!”  Ah, blood of my blood Auntie ~  I am fearless!

Paul is working on the air cooling system, old school of course with water, insulated compartments, copper, coils, spigots and then it’s off to finish our electrical component.  Batteries and inverters are pricey and those will just come in time.

Until then we’ll just be a jallin’ a drom!