Sunday, March 18, 2018

Day 2 of Boondocking at the Hugo SWA

SWA: State Wildlife Area.

Woke to pretty good sunrise, though a bit brisk in terms of temperature as I moved around taking in the light. (32°F (0°C)

 So glad I remembered to pack the tripod this trip as
some of the shots involved long exposure times!





As the morning wore on, it became a pretty sunny and mild day, temperatures hit a high of around 65°F (18.3°C) as I motored into the town of Hugo just before lunch to see what was there.

 Good sun for the solar panels till about 4PM, then the clouds moved in.

Bright and clear in the morning.

One duck kept me company in the pond next to the RV

Hugo is a neat little town I must say.  First one I've seen where apparently folks don't object to RV's being located (with sewer hookups) in seemingly random spots around town.  Yep, right next to established houses.  Sure, there were a couple of RV/Mobile Home lots but I also saw 1-3 RVs, with sewer hoses in place, in several spots that were surprising to me.



This is a view of Uma, from County Rd 2G

I had intended to pick up some condiments I'd forgotten in the RV loadout but turns out the local grocery store is closed on Sundays!  Doh.

The afternoon turned very windy and cool, with clouds making their appearance first as fluffy white clouds then turning gray and stormy looking.  We're supposed to get some snow/ice (less than .25" accumulation though predicted) near midnight tonight.

 Stormy Clouds Gathering

Tomorrow will be colder, highs in the low 40s.  I'm going to miss this unseasonal warm weather of the last couple of days.  It's supposed to warm up Tuesday and Wednesday so conditions will drive whether I go home early or not.

The afternoon windy conditions (winds clocked in the 20's mph) caused me to reposition the RV (which was rocking a little bit sometimes).  Uma now has her nose pointed south and her tail to the North where strong winds are predicted for tomorrow, supposed to be in the 30s mph with gusts to 50 mph!  I hope the weather guessers are hyping those numbers.

The clouds did make for a very nice and colorful sunset....

 using Sunset Mode





As darkness fell, I put Scarlett on the trailer and secured her with two tie-down straps.  The trailer is north of Uma now, and Scarlett's weight should help hold her down when the 50 mph wind gusts show up tomorrow.

Strong winds are buffeting at Uma, it feels like she's very slightly rocking at times.  I brought in the slide-out to minimize her wind exposure, hope it helps.


6 comments:

Trobairitz said...

Beautiful sunrise and sunset.

I bet you were glad of your heat in the RV when you woke up. Those winds do not sound like any fun at all though.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks Trobairitz, facing Uma away from predicted wind direction did the trick overnight.

SonjaM said...

Strong winds are not your friend when you are traveling on two wheels or in a big camper van or trailer... Looks like you did the right thing, leaving the slide-out in and re-positioning the rig, Dom.

Sunsets are brilliant as usual, I especially like the one where t's shining through the trees reflecting in the pond. Feature wall material, I'd say.

BTW the "duck" might have been a mud hen (coot). I am not a birder but it looks familiar to bird I've watched in Canada.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks SonjaM re proper name for the coot....and thanks for the comments

RichardM said...

redlegsrides said...

Thanks RichardM, I accidentally deleted your comment, sorry.