2017 One Item A Day For BM List......

[Netty58]

Also known as hummus-in-a-can.

[TT120]

New battery, tires, brakes, alternator, and water pump for my truck. Check.
$900 transmission repair. Check.
Trailer rental confirmed. Check.
Fat tire bike ready. Check.
Windows sewn shut on my old tent. Check.
Whiskey and pickle juice purchased. Check.
Tickets finally arrived. Check.
Credit card maxed out. Check.

I'm ready! Lets do this!

[FIGJAM]

YOU'RE NOT READY!!!!!

Do it anyway.

[Savannah]

"shelf-stable hummus"? Isn't that also known as sheetrock mud?

It's organic and in a vacuum-sealed box; that's all I know.

It's an experiment!

[Molotov]

Just back from a shake down cruise 3 day camping trip in my little travel trailer. All systems go! Departing 8/9 on my 31 day, 5000 mile road trip, which includes 14 days in Black Rock City.

[Strata]

Ordered another box of 10 lag screws, because one already bent during a test setup of one rib of the monkey hut, hmm. A bit concerned about that. We'll see what happens tomorrow during the test set up of the whole hut.

[Strata]

Today's project, taping up all the joint stabilizers for the monkey hut. Pictured below, the vertebrae sleeves that the ribs go into. The marks are where the ends of the X or T connector should be, so I don't have to guess on the playa if it's in the middle of the connector. Planning vs playa brain!

Debating bringing the 10 foot pieces into the house too, it's 76F in here with the air on, and 91F out in the shaded driveway where the ribs are...

[euphoria101]

Got our tickets today, wooohoo!

Also electrolyte powder, 'cause I hear it's the shit when you're thirsty and grumpy.

[Strata]

Ordered 30x15 foot tarp to be delivered to local Home Depot. Stopped by local Home Depot first and found out they don't carry that size in stock. Picked up bungees for monkey hut spine (to replace finicky ratchets) and galvanized spikes to stake down tarp as floor of monkey hut.

Also ordered a bunch of groceries online for playa packing, stuff you can get cheaper in bulk online like tuna-n-cracker packs. And threw in various other stuff since I was being lazy^H efficient. The little cans of condensed milk we put in our oatmeal in the morning, the dozen ramen cups (no brainer chow with electrolyte solution), etc. OMG, it's a month and a day until we leave for Reno to overnight before hitting the playa. Yikes!!

[Joeln]

This is the weekend to really fix up our trailer - a 1978 Great Range 17 footer. Took out everything moveable and attacking the dust and gunk - decades worth. Got the electric and gas sorted out. The fridge pilot lit and the freezer is cooling, not so much the main compartment. Gotta go pick up some hose for the water supply. Tires come soon and maybe some paint?

[Ratty]

I finally had my costume sale. Whew. Glad that's over. The front of my house now looks like coachella. bins of sparkle and bling for the passers-by. I have to let it go and move on towards the prize.

[Strata]

Bought oatmeal and arnica cream and tuna-n-cracker packs and gatorade, tossed them into the appropriate bins. Need to demoop the food bin, put the oatmeal packets in ziplocs, etc. The bins are starting to pile up in the livingroom, must be That Time of Year.

Also washed out the newly-arrived replacement Sun Tea container https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VET4Q8/, and salvaged the cover and spigot from the cracked one. This year, we will NOT fill it with water on the way to the playa, we've lost two that way so far-- one developed a crack on the bumpy road to Saguaro Man, and one leaped out of the back of the truck when the Gate inspectors pulled the tailgate down, cracked on the playa. So, we'll do without an extra 2.5 gallons of water and hopefully have an intact container for sun tea this year!

[TT120]

My meal plan arrived today.

[trilobyte]

It's been a while, I've got a lot of days to account for...

First, the real gut-crusher. Vehicle check-up and maintenance. We'd been having some oil drips, and wanted to make sure it got taken care of. Our van is older, and it's been to the playa a lot. Seals and gaskets wear, we were hoping for no whammies. Unfortunately, whammies we got. Actually it was only seals and gaskets, but they were in the hardest to reach spots and required the most labor. We don't blame the shop, they're good people who were highly recommended and have a lot of great reviews. They also did everything they could to help soften the blow... but oof.

Second, some shower upgrades. For years we'd been using a wooden pallet under our evap tarp as part of my shower stall design (a rubber mat goes on that protect the tarp and minimize the risk of slipping or injury). It's worked, but been awkward and had a risk of tearing the tarp, and generally a pain in the ass. This year we got a plastic pallet, and the rubber mat will go on that. I also got a new shower pump. Our old one still works and will be re-purposed for another project, but this one doesn't need to be submerged in the water so I can run a hose to a 30-gallon barrel we've got (instead of having to fill a shower bucket before/after each shower).

Third, new playa goggles. The main goggles I've been using over the last few years picked up enough scratches on them on the way home that it was time to replace 'em. Both of my main goggles are basically shop glasses, intended to keep wood/metal dust out of my eyes. One tinted and one clear (because dust happens at night, and it's not always so bright that I need sunglasses), and both have bifocal reading glass lenses.

Fourth, playawear! I still need to get some regular white socks for when I'm wearing boots (I bring a mix of my best/most comfiest and a new package of socks to the playa, then retire the worn out stuff), but I picked up a couple fun and cheap socks to wear with sandals around camp. Bacon & eggs, Cinnamon rolls and s'mores. I also ordered a shirtless piratey shirt I'd seen recently. I've got a few pirate shirts and love 'em, but they're too hot during the day. I had been contemplating getting a new regular pirate shirt, and then cutting the sleeves off an older one... but buying one without sleeves saved some money (woohoo). My gf and I usually make a piece or two of playawear for ourselves to bolster what we have, but this year I'm deferring and she's doubling down. She's had a bunch of ideas she's been excited about, really enjoying the art room in our new place (where the big sewing table and the machine lives), so we're putting most of our efforts into that. I might still re-button my space pirate coat (it had a full set of custom-made buttons for it, but I think I lost a couple), we'll see. It's been a crazy year for us time-wise.

Beyond the beyond.... we got our camp's food permit sorted out... hooray! This year's online process was a bit of a pain, but overall it seems to be better than the old printed and mailed in PDF. We're planning on doing cinnamon rolls on most mornings of event week, fancy shmancy s'mores after nightfall on some nights, and possibly having some snacks during brainy bar service. I also got all set up with HelL station for fuel, so I can travel to BRC with only a few full gas cans, and then after getting things unloaded I can head over there to fill up the rest of the cans. After many many years of 8-10 gas cans sloshing around the back of a truck or van, I can't tell you how much I appreciate that HelL station (at 10 & L) exists. We've also been stocking up on the non-perishable food and drink stuff, slowly getting there.

[lucky420]

Yes that food permit process was a pain, got ours too

I bought an RTIC cooler to help keep things cold. Want to see how it does against my YETI

[euphoria101]

Got our non-shitty RMAX panels for the yurt we're building this weekend. Getting an extra roll of tape on Saturday, pretty much stoked to yurt it up!

Also got a solar powered pump for the swamp cooler. It's happening!!!

[Strata]

Spent some time demooping, bagging, and sorting most of our non perishable food n drink into bins. New this year, organizing by meals and a snack bin. Less rummaging, I hope, and more finding without hassles.

[caffeineslinger]

I fixed my wife's bike and she took it out for a test ride.

That was a couple of hours ago.

[fernley1]

Started packing all things.

[Ratty]

Car check up. Tire rotation, oil change, radio antenna. Done. Yippie.

[FIGJAM]

07_29_17_ca186ff69c1c46e2cd41bf986090bdc2.jpg

[burner von braun]

New tires all around. The old ones still had some tread, but were showing signs of age. All in all, a potential headache I hope to avoid, especially when driving a bazillion miles loaded down with all the things.

[EGAZ]

After a couple of parts sanfoos, the transfer case is finally all back together and back in the truck. Took a long, hourish ride to test. Shifts into/outof 4wheel drive so I guess I did good on my first TC rebuild. Will do the rest of the truck/trailer checks next week.

Finished final changes to my 'gifted' SteamPunk hat. It's fabulous!
Finished assembling/wiring the new Trash Can Evap unit. Need to do a test run when it drys out outside again.
Made up the weeks menu.
Picked up the last of the liquor & mixes.

[Strata]

Added caffeinated hydration and misc snacks to the bin pile in the livingroom. Picked up 15x30 ft tarp that came in via online order to Home Depot (monkey hut floor).

[Strata]

Today I demooped the caffeine cans, packed my sun tea carboy, and added a new flavor of sun tea in a ziploc to my sun tea kit. Republic of Tea Pineapple iced tea its yummy, just found it at Cost Plus and tried it.

I swapped the contents of two camp kitchen bins-- the one with the red lid is the one I always THINK has the stove in it, I bring it, and find it's extra pots and pans. Now it DOES have the stove in it and the extra pots n pans are in one of the ones with the blue lids, which I always check for relevance before I pack. Yay.

We also demooped the aluminet shade cloth for my monkey hut, which had pieces of dried grass and wild oat seed in it from setting up the hut at Baylands Park last weekend. Rolling it up on the grass made it pick up stuff. Now all clean for the playa, and packed into an extra large olive canvas duffle bag, a vast improvement on the big box it came in.

[Joeln]

Busy weekend;
Truck is ready to go, trailer is very close.
new fuel filters in the truck
new safety chains on the trailer
got the equalizer hitch set up
cleaned up the wiring mess that the previous owners left under the dashboard
various small fixes all over the trailer
Made wiring adapters for the generator and solar charger

[lucky420]

Bought a cat mask, knee socks, gorilla tape and bungee balls


Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Lonesomebri]

Signs made

THREAT.jpg

[Lonesomebri]

Ordered a couple dozen "Lost Dog" flyers, just in case my little imagined rag muffin gets out.

[burner von braun]

Snowball's chance in hell if that ever happens