Thursday, September 22, 2016

Wind and Weather... and passage planning Apps

Howdy,

It's 1245 hrs (Thursday Sept. 22nd) and we're sitting in Lucy (hanging on but comfortable) while she rocks 'n rolls to the raucous wind roaring by us on both sides. As you can see in the photo below (or wherever it shows up on this post :-) taken yesterday afternoon, Kathy's precise positioning of big, tough Ricki... has created a wind-break for sweet Lucy... and thank goodness for that.



These predicted weather conditions were shown on one of the apps Kathy uses and, as is our practice, we decided we better hold up somewhere before driving into wicked road and weather conditions.  In fact, this particular "Fire Weather (Red Flag) Warning" predicted wind gusts up to 45 MPH as well as potentially dangerous forest fire conditions.  And so, we used this excuse to spend not one but two days at beautiful Pahranagat Lake Wildlife Refuge just off the highway near Alamo, Nevada.  The weather alert covers the area from here to south of Las Vegas (exactly where we're headed next) and it's supposed to back off by early morning hours tomorrow (Friday).  So, here we are safe and sound and playing musical windows as we open them for air and then close them when the sand and dust blows by :-). And we've books 'n cards 'n beer... So we're OK.
 


Now then; it's occurred to me that several of you have asked about our routes as we travel south.  When we're sailing in the Sea of Cortez, we have used IPad apps like iNavX with Sean and Heather's chartlets   (purchased from Blue Latitude Press online) as well as Navionics.  When we're on the road and land-cruising we are using the following sources of information...

Intellicast (or Storm) ... on iPhones or Android ... Provides weather and driving conditions as well as radar and satellite imagery AND alerts for wind, fire, ice and flooding conditions.

Here's what "Storm" has to tell us today:
 

 AllStays "Camp and RV" ... Allows you to set filters to display Points of Interest on a map, showing campsites in National/State/County Parks, Public lands, Independent RV Parks, etc., as well as Walmart "Ask to Stay" locations.  Each item includes links to site details and user reviews.

GasBuddy ... User-reported realtime gas pricing by location

Passport America... Annual membership which provides 1/2 price (with some restrictions) at many participating RV parks throughout Canada and US

Trip Advisor... Our favorite place for great advice on where to stay and where to eat.


Oh, and www.rvparkreviews.com for valuable independent user reviews of RV parks throughout North America.

And finally, Verizon pre-paid phones have given us the best coverage (while in the U.S.) and they have an inexpensive, month by month, data plan which allows us to get all this info while we are on the road.

So, that's my news for today... Here, enjoying a breezy afternoon... With plans to head off tomorrow.

Hope all is well with each of you... Adios for now.

CJ & K