Woof, Snore, Gobble Gobble.

Well, we are back in the DogHouse.

Woof!

Having left home yesterday, we are back on the road and headed West.

Our first stop is Asheville, North Carolina - a 400mi drive west.

We left home in a growing Nor-easter.   

The balmy tropical airmass we had been

living in during the past week provided the fuel for the growing storm.

The rain was coming down in buckets, the winds were blowing and travel was slow.

About 100 miles west of Raleigh however we had crossed to the west side of the

cold front and the skies cleared while the temperature plunged.

Last night the temps were in the mid 20's.

We had light snow.

Thankfully the DogHouse (aptly named an Arctic Fox) is

well insulated with a great quiet heater.  We were snug and cozy.

The bed in the DogHouse is the most comfortable one that we own

 and we all slept like....  Doodles.

Snore!

Normally I stuff and cook a turkey dinner before we travel over the holidays,

and then we vacuum seal and freeze the meal to eat on the holiday.

This time however we decided on a change of pace and go out for dinner.

It's been a dozen years or more since we ate out on Thanksgiving.

After checking around and making some phone calls we decided to make

reservations at the Highland Lake Inn, south of Asheville in Flat Rock.

The HLI we learned has a Thanksgiving Buffet 

arranged by their award winning Chef and staff.

The reviews have all been stellar and the menu looked amazing

so we have been eager to visit and graze.

The dining room was casual with a rustic elegance.
There was plenty of room between tables and the service was
efficient but unhurried.   We were seated next to the window and enjoyed
a nice view with our meal.

The dinner buffet was varied and delicious.
Soups and salads.   A half dozen entrees.  All the traditional Thanksgiving
fare plus a number of imaginative additions.

We enjoyed it with a couple of glasses of white wine followed by
 desert and coffee.   We were not disappointed.

We left just as the sun (and the temperature) was starting to sink below the horizon.

From here we will depart tomorrow (Friday) and continue our journey west.

I have some interesting stops planned along the way and new sights to see.

Our ultimate goal however is Placerville, Ca where we will visit with Ron and Maxine

and then leave the Doodles with them while Kate and I fly to Europe to

spend Christmas/New Year in Germany and Switzerland and visit our friends there.

The Doodles are looking forward to their return visit at Camp Ron!

(so are we!)

Upon our return from Europe we will pick up the Montana and do the usual

wintertime Arizona/California Desert fun in the sun till spring.

It's going to be busy from here on so stay tuned.

In closing - let me wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I hope that all of you are able to count up an abundance of blessings on this special day.

Kate and I are thankful for so many things:

First of all - for finding each other.

Good health.

Great friends.

A Great Job.

A Great life.

A great country to live in.

All of those who sacrifice to keep us free.

And a wonderful planet filled with so much beauty.

Gobble Gobble!

A Laser Guided DogHouse

One of the more challenging aspects of traveling with a Truck Camper

is loading it into the back of the truck.

When backing under the DogHouse it must not only be centered, but

the truck must also be square to the camper.   There is only about an inch

of play on either side and if we are not square the truck bed sides will scrape the

camper as you back under.  With the camper lifted about 4' off of the ground

any bumping puts strain on the legs...  not a good idea.

While I've never found loading it to be particularly difficult, it can sometimes 

require a number of back and forth adjustments to get it right, and then slowly backing

under it - stopping and getting out numerous times to check the sides to make sure we

are backing under straight.

Some folks solve the problem by not unloading the camper, or

only unloading it when they absolutely have to.

Our rule is not to unload if we are only staying somewhere for the night,

but if we are staying longer...  off it comes.   

Its much easier to get in and out

(especially with the Doodles) when it is lowered down to the ground.

Anything to make the job easier and more accurate results in time saved at departure.

Working off an idea that I saw on the internet I built a laser guidance device.

The main component is a horizontal laser that sends out a fan shape beam of light.

This was mounted onto an aluminum bracket that I fabricated and mounted onto

the centerline of the truck inside the sliding rear window.

You can see the green beam shining.

Next was adjusting it so that it projected it's beam straight down the centerline

as well as vertically.   Below I was fine tuning the vertical allignment.

Finally installed, I put 3 pieces of reflective tape on the camper. 

(note - the camper window is NOT in the center of the camper)

Having the one spot on the top front of the camper gives me a plane

(remember Geometry?)

This one closer spot assures me that I am perpendicular.

I used to have to slowly reverse while turned around and stretching to try

and look right down the centerline out the back window.

Now I can simply use the mirror and see that I am aligned properly.

Note - the camper is not yet lifted.

It is also level - the truck however is slightly sloped (as is the driveway)

So you can see in the photo below the upper line is slightly off to the side.

If I was going to load the camper I would first make sure that the camper and the

truck were on a similar plane side to side, but you can see how even at this

point we could load up and go.

It took all of a minute to get the truck backed 

and in loading position in this first test.

I think this will be a real time saver.

It will also be useful for backing up to the 5th wheel - especially at night.

Parts list

DPPS-5b 4.5mW Green Laser Module

A heat sink

A 3v power supply.

Mine uses 2 AAA batteries and has an on off switch.

A way to mount it to your truck.

I had some Aluminum flat plate laying around and was able to

fabricate the mount from that.