theboondork's RV blog

it looks like winter but it's not

8/19/2016

Infrared picture at poverty Gulch

I've decided to move Saturday morning. there's some National Forest Boondocking spots near here and I need a change of scenery. I was going to leave Friday morning but my accountant called and said my taxes are ready to be picked up. So that means another trip to Colorado Springs Friday morning.

I'm still fighting what appears to be a losing battle against the mice. I've trapped 4 of them so far but I can still hear them scurrying around at night. This morning I crawled around under the Arctic Fox and filled up a few holes with steel wool, I've always heard that mice won't chew through steel wool but just my luck they will use it to polish and sharpen their little teeth.

But now that I filled up some holes does that mean that I'm keeping mice out or does it mean I've trapped a bunch of mice inside? At this point it's hard to tell where they're at, what they're doing, or what they're thinking. I do know I had two traps set last night and neither trap has been touched, I wonder if they're getting wise to the traps. Maybe I need a cat, not a real pet cat but a temporary cat that will kill all the mice and then run away from home. Maybe I could bring Litterfoot back for a brief visit.

This is obviously becoming a battle of wits and I'm feeling unarmed. It appears that the mice are winning the psychological part of the battle, I've got the best kill ratio, but they're driving me ca-razy.

I took some infrared pictures the other day and it seems like all it does is make the place look like winter. I think there needs to be more greenery for infrared pictures to look cool. Maybe one day when I get to Florida my infrared pictures will start looking interesting. But so far Arizona and Colorado haven't been the best places for infrared photography.

theboondork

Infrared picture at poverty Gulch

Infrared pictures of aspen trees South Park Colorado

Infrared pictures of aspen trees poverty Gulch

Infrared picture of 11 mile reservoir poverty Gulch Colorado

8 Comments

Maggie

8/19/2016 09:07:43 pm

Hi Boondork, sure do love your photography, I really like the infrared pictures. Makes me stop & really look at the different levels of the landscape & scenery is amazing, just my personal choice.
Sorry you are having problems with mice, I went through the same thing with mine for awhile. I bought some original Irish Spring bath soap (got it at the $ store 3 bars for a dollar) & cut it into fourths, then placed it around my rv. My son & daughter-in-law made fun of me but I don't have a problem with mice anymore, & guess who had a mouse nest in their car engine. I put the pieces in small plastic containers, because here the heat makes it kind of sticky. Worked for me, hope it will work for you!
In one of your post you mentioned not having internet service at your property. I had read in another blog how one person solved his same problem, took me sometime to find it & don't know what server you use, but here is his solution. He got a Verizon Mifi wireless modem it gave him a 4g hotspot on Verizon, plus he got a Verizon Mifi card which makes your own wifi network. He also bought a Wilson Electronic Sleek 4 G vehicle cellular signal booster, he substituted the stubby antenna that it comes with for the Wilson Dual band 800-1900-MHZ magnet mount antenna that he sets on the roof of the cab of his rv. He says he has never had a problem getting service for his cell or internet, even when they are boondocking in the mountains out west or in any of the national parks. If you want to check it out it's on roadtreking.com under Mike Wendland, he is a reporter for roadtrek.
Sorry for the long rambling post but hope it is helpful!
Sincerely
Maggie

theboondork

8/23/2016 02:48:48 pm

Maggie your post isn't long and rambling it's long and chock full of information. I'm glad you like my infrared pictures it seems that you see a lot of things in those pictures but to me it just looks like winter.

I've had an RV of some kind for the last 25 years and fortunately this is the 1st time I've had a mouse problem. I'm not sure why it happened now and the only thing I can think of is while I was in Pueblo Colorado having my motorcycle rack installed I took down some of the plastic stuff that covers the belly of the Arctic Fox to expose the frame so the motorcycle rack could be welded to it. The stuff was down for 2 or 3 days which would of given mice plenty of time to move in. I'm not sure if that's what caused it because it was over a month later that I started hearing mice in the Arctic Fox. I've had several suggestions now on how to keep mice out of the Arctic Fox and my question is always the same which is, how can I tell if these suggestions work if I only get mice problems once every 25 years. I have filled up any holes under the Arctic Fox that looked like an entrance for mice and I think the best solution in the long run is to make sure they have no way of getting in. I've trapped 5 of them now and for the last 2 nights I haven't heard any mice and my traps are empty. Your idea of the soap scattered around outside the camper might work but you failed to take into consideration that REAL boondockers don't have soap because if you come into contact with soap it will wash off the protective crust that REAL boondockers have spent years in the deserts and the mountains acquiring thereby exposing us to sunburns and insect bites that we normally don't have to worry about.

I haven't been able to read the website you recommended yet because I don't have any Internet. But you HAVE suggested a solution to my problems. I already have an Internet antenna, I bought a brand called Wi-Fi Ranger and it works really good if there's Internet even a mile away. But what I'm lacking is a cell phone booster, and since the cell phone is my major source of Internet I need a way of getting cell phone signals in marginal areas so your suggestion of the Wilson cell phone booster is something I will look into as soon as I can get some Internet.

Always great to hear from you, stay in touch.

Tom

Vall and Mo link

8/26/2016 03:01:56 am

Howdy Tom,

Just adding our experience to Maggie's info, we have used a Wilson (now weBoost) Sleek 3G with the original small stub antenna, and it enabled us to get 3-4 bars of service where without it we could get only 0-1. With this antenna, it's very important that it rests on a large-ish sheet of metal (like a car's roof), which will operate as the 'ground plane' for the antenna; on the Class C motorhome we were renting at the time, the metal cab roof was almost totally covered by the fiberglass motorhome overhang, so we taped (with gorilla tape) a large pizza pan on top of the motorhome fiber roof next to a vent, and put the antenna (which has a magnetic bottom) on top of it, routing the antenna cable through the vent. The setup worked very well and enabled us to get a usable signal in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
--
Vall and Mo.

8/26/2016 09:03:44 am

Thank you Vall and Mo. as Maggie suggested I looked up the Wilson Sleek and found out, as you just said, that it was discontinued and replaced by the Weboost. So I read up on the Weboost and that one does look like the one to get.

I like the Weboost kit that comes with a "truckers" antenna so I can mount it to my ladder on the back of the Arctic Fox and I believe the ground plane is built into the antenna. I also have a hole I drilled in the back of the trailer when I mounted two rearview cameras that I can run the antenna wire through.

Once I help my daughter and her husband get moved into their new house a weboost cell phone booster will be the 1st project on my list. Thanks Maggie and Vall and Mo for your suggestions that put me on the right track.

Tom

Vall And Mo link

8/26/2016 11:52:42 am

Hi Tom,

With the larger antenna, it ought to work even better as it will almost certainly have a larger gain.

One thing you could do to for an even larger gain is to purchase a directional antenna instead; these are less convenient as they have to be pointed (eg, by turning the pole they are attached) to the nearest cell antenna, but once they are the resulting signal gain simply can't be beat.

This RVing lady here is using one and (as far as I've read in her blog) was very satisfied with it: https://rvsueandcrew.com/2012/11/30/houston-we-have-lift-off/

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
--
Vall & Mo.

8/26/2016 01:24:34 pm

Vall and Mo thanks for reminding me, I've been reading RV Sue and her canine crew ever since I started full-timeing, she's fun to read and has great information on Boondocking and Boondocking locations. But I hadn't remembered that she had a Yagi type antenna on the back of her perfect trailer.

I think at Poverty Gulch a Yagi antenna would work the best because I know where the cell tower is and I can get a tiny bit of signal. I think if I keep them apart maybe I could have both antennas and just plug-in the one that works the best at whatever location I'm at.

Tom

9/2/2016 01:11:21 am

Hello Tom,

Just stumbled on this article about the new Weboost devices, it's somewhat short but we thought you might find it interesting: https://escapees.com/articles-and-blogs?view=entry&id=1566

It brought an info we didn't have before, that some of the old Wilson antennas will not work well in all situations due to different frequency support.

Cheers,
--
Durval.

9/2/2016 09:34:51 am

Vall and Mo, thanks for that information I just read the article and watched the video and it was very interesting. It just so happens that UPS is bringing me a weboost today. I'm not sure when I will get around to installing it but I hope it's while I'm still Boondocking at my daughter's house because projects go a lot easier when you have a garage to work in and a Home Depot nearby. Thanks again.

Tom

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it looks like winter but it's not

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