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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

POST 535 - 01/03/12; OUTER BANK, NORTH CAROLINA

42 degrees inside SPIA at 6:00 am this morning. Now 5:00 pm with 29 degrees F. outside - before wind chill...with a strong 20 - 30 mph North wind -... with possible snow in the nearby North Carolina hills.

Have added additional insulation around the bathroom door to SPIA living quarters. Discovered a strong cold draft coming from the overhead skylight cover...someone installed a small exhaust fan which is not allowing the cover to close properly. Will fix it in the morning. For now, have insulated the inside door with adhesive foam.

Have run the propane furnace most of the day, easily maintaining 62 degrees inside SPIA. If the winter continues cold...or colder, propane could become a $$ consideration.

Planned departure for the St. Lawrence River is only 4 weeks away. If it remains cold, I may be forced to stay put in Rodanthe for a bit longer.

Tried to do some SR 12 policing, but was simply too cold to continue. This cold snap is projected to be with us for a couple more days.



Bedding folded ready for the road. The tote bag, gifted from friend Les Blackwell, is my "getaway" bag...kinda like an "abandon ship" bag, filled with toiletries, spare clothes, medications, and a bit of water and a bite. So far, it has not been needed.

My two air mattresses can be seen tucked between the hanging blanket and the back of the couch / bed. They remain filled with air all the time, minimizing the "cold" normally associated with air mattresses.

SPIA is furnished with complete service for three (3), including a good assortment of pans and utensils. In actual fact, the two items being washed in the above photograph are my mainstay. Since I am alone, I cook and eat from the medium size camping pan, using the white spoon as stirrer and for eating.

I ration 1/2 gallon of water a day for "domestic" uses - washing, flushing, cleaning, etc. Am practicing conserving water as I intend NOT to use SPIA's 17 gallon fresh water tank through the winter walk across the top of America. This, because of expected freezing temperatures which could damage plastic water pipes and SPIA's new hot water heater.

Temperatures are predicted to reach 18 degrees tonight - before wind chill -, so I am draining the hot water heater within the next few minutes.


SPIA's kitchen with basic implements: Teakettle, pan, and spoon.

The propane stove has four (4) burners plus oven. Have so far not used the oven. Within the last couple weeks, a mouse has pulled insulation onto the oven floor. No sign of a critter, so perhaps he/she has gone someplace else.

Storage for my pan above the sink. Once in a great while, I use a larger pot to cook up some pasta.

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