A Whole New World 3/8/22

What a crazy week it has been! After being in the same spot for a month, it seemed we were getting itchy feet and needed to move on. Our space was also starting to look very “lived in” and we didn’t want to alter the ecosystem too much.

So one day, after I finished work early, we drove around in the Jeep and picked another spot. We are still in the same area just down and across the road a bit. The dirt road to our new spot is much smoother, but windy. We weren’t even sure if the bus would be able to make the tight turns. We packed everything up, cleaned up our area, battened down the hatches, and headed down the road.

The bus did great on the twists and turns and we backed it up the driveway. The backing up part took more effort than I had anticipated as there were creosote bushes lining the driveway.  The creosote bushes have lots of dead branches surrounding them – if you run them over with a tire, the tire will likely be destroyed. So we backed up carefully and parked at the end of the cul de sac. We unpacked and tidied everything up (picture to follow as I forgot get one and need to get this posted).

In our previous spot the bus was facing north meaning the sun shone on a long side of the bus in the morning and the other long side all afternoon. We decided with the warmer temperatures coming it would be best for the sun to shine on the short sides of the bus in an effort to keep it cooler. Parking over here gave us a change of scenery as well as a better angle for the sun!

After getting cozy in our new spot, we were ready for our next step. We have been saving up for weeks to get a utility trailer and a generator. We needed a generator to power our air conditioner and we figured if we were buying a generator, it should be big enough to power Jeff’s welder, too. We found a big 7500 running/9500 surge watt generator from a guy who sells generators but this one was scratched and didn’t have a box so we got a deal! It was too big and heavy to go in the Jeep, so we needed a trailer to haul it. If we were getting a trailer, it might as well be big enough to haul extra water and propane in addition to all the welding stuff, so we found a great one and were actually able to pick up the trailer, head to Motor Vehicle Services, and then meet up with the generator guy all in one day! How convenient?!

But as always, nothing related to the tagging and titling of vehicles is ever easy and this time was no exception! The trailer was actually homemade in Texas. In Texas, homemade trailers don’t need a VIN or a title. The guy we bought it from bought it from the guy who made it in Texas and used it to move back to Arizona. He didn’t need it anymore, so he decided to sell it instead of re-tagging it in Arizona. Thankfully, he was a great guy and was willing to go with us to get it tagged in the event he had to sign anything. He did, so it worked out. We were not able to get it officially tagged and titled because it needed a VIN and that could only be assigned at a full service location that wouldn’t open until Monday. We were given a three day temporary tag to allow us to legally tow it home and told to make an online appointment for the VIN assignment. We got the generator (it’s great: even has a push button start and a remote key fob to start it from a distance!) and got it all safely back to the bus.

We went to the website to make an appointment for getting the VIN assigned and the next available appointment wasn’t until April 4th! I was scheduled to work on Monday so I left the phone with Jeff and he dropped me off for work. He called MVS and they said he didn’t actually need an appointment for a homemade trailer and to come in same day! He was able to get a VIN, apply for a paper title, and get Arizona permanent trailer plates for it! The nice guy we bought it from said we could use his address for the paperwork so the plate and paper title should be at his house in about 2 weeks and he will text us when it arrives. In the meantime, we have a temporary tag for the trailer that won’t expire. Conveniently enough, Arizona does not require insurance on trailers and with a permanent plate, we will never need to renew it! (We plan to add it to our insurance if we tow it out of Arizona just to be safe.)

In other news, Braydon’s shoes arrived, they fit, and he loves them! They are from Vivo Barefoot, we haven’t tried them before, but heard they are wonderful for kids. With the genuine leather uppers and natural rubber sole, these wide toe-box “barefoot shoes” are super durable and comfy. Braydon loves that they are blue and have stretchy laces so he can slip them on and off!

The cats are really enjoying the new scenery. They loved where we were before, but it’s always fun to find new hidey holes! Scarlett has gotten lost a few times, but she always meows really loudly when we call for her so we can find her! Sue likes the evening a lot. She has about three weeks until kitten time. She isn’t very round yet, but we can feel something inside her belly that we are pretty sure is a kitten! Maybe there will just be one 🤞

This weekend, while the rest of the US begins Daylight Savings Time, we in Arizona will not. We will be 3 hours ahead of the East Coast on California’s Pacific Standard Time. What we thought would be more convenient is actually turning out to be more chaotic as we now have to get used to being a different number of hours away from other people!

Lastly, head on over to our Sticker Check-In wall and see where our stickers are ending up! If you have a sticker and want to add a photo to the wall, just email it to notanormalfieldtrip@gmail.com and we will get it posted! Also, if you don’t have a sticker yet, you can buy one here.