A little coffee to start my day in my old fashioned percolator. I bought this ultra dark roast day blend from Trader Joes… Great Java… Very strong and kicks you right in the ass! Got this old timer in the camping section at Dick’s. I was going to buy a plug in one but there is nothing, I mean nothing, like a fresh cup of Joe made on an open flame. It makes your home smell so wonderful also.

So today was a catch up day. I spent half the day doing minor repairs on my RV and caught up with my blog. You have to remember I am still new at this, so I am trying to catch my stride here…. trying to get some sort of a pattern going. I have found that getting up and writing the blog immediately after I have made coffee is a great start.

When I first moved to Brooklyn, NY… I read this book called “The Artist’s Way.” I was feeling very disconnected from my art, which was acting at the time, and was looking for a way to channel my creativity. Well I read this book and it helped out a ton. What I got most from this book was ‘morning pages.’ Right when you woke up, every morning, you would write 3 pages of whatever came to mind. Didn’t matter if it was gibberish, just as long as you wrote every single morning.

Well, I did this for a few years and it’s what made me realize I was a writer at heart. I always fantasized about writing a book when I was in my early teens. I was a huge Stephen King fan and read almost everything he wrote at the time. I always day dreamed about how I could write a great story but never really had the discipline or the ‘know how’ to do it. Well, “The Artist’s Way” gave me that discipline. I wouldn’t write my first play until 4 years later but when I started journaling, that’s when the writer in me was born and came out.

Well, I was going to take a hike, so I went out and gathered some firewood first and set up my fire for later. It was already 4pm when I was done, so I was rushing to get hiking before it got too dark…

But then I noticed some smoke coming from the new fire I had just built. I crouched down and noticed that a few hot cinders were still alive in the ash below. I was captivated by this. 18 hours later and the fire from last night was still barely alive. Now, I don’t know if I am a pyromaniac or something but this totally absorbed my interest. I forgot all about the hike and decided to see if I could start this fire with these few surviving, very fragile cinders.

So I grabbed a bunch of leaves and crowded them around where the smoke was emitting. This was a really fun test to see if I could keep the same fire going for two nights in a row. And you better bet, I will try to break that record in the future! I am a pyromaniac… Oh my god! Well, as long as I don’t start burning other people’s shit down or burning whole forests, I guess I will fly under the radar… If I can just stick to campfires, I think I will be o.k. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!

And look what happened folks! A raging fire from 18 hour old cinders! Oh yeah, the cave man has emerged! I know I may sound crazy but it does feel instinctual manning a campfire. It comes naturally, like I have done it many times before. I have also watched a lot of survival shows like “Dual Survival.” Great show if you ever want to see a hippie, who refuses to wear shoes at any cost, teamed up with an Army Ranger, who basically can’t stand hippies… I hate reality t.v. but you do learn a lot form these guys and it’s entertaining as hell!

O.k. it’s time for a fire model shoot. This log I found was covered in some sort of oil. I had to burn it off before I could even think about cooking. I figured burning it off would be better than leaving it to pollute the streams. Somebody tell me if I am doing something wrong here! Don’t be shy…

Well, after about an hour of burning, the fire was ready for cooking. It was about 5:30 at this time and a hike seemed pointless. So I grabbed my raw grub and started preparing dinner.

Here’s the same meal as yesterday but this time I pulled out a mini crock pot to cook the beans in. I found that the larger sauce pan was spreading out the beans too much and was burning the beans when any substantial heat attacked it. So I figured a tiny crock pot with a lid would suffice. I filled it to the top with beans, which is a little more than one serving.

Well, here’s the result folks. I am so proud of this meal, I had to take a picture of it. I cooked the bacon like yesterday and used the bacon fat to cook my eggs. This time I didn’t even break a yolk, which was nice and runny in the middle, just the way I like it. I didn’t burn even the edges of the bacon this time and the chicken was perfectly cooked… Very tender and juicy with a charred outside.

The beans were phenomenal and this crock has just become a main player in my cooking tool department. Delicious and amazing meal! There’s nothing like cutting a piece of tender chicken and then dipping it in warm egg yolk… hmmm hmmm hmmm…. The White Mountains will go down as the place “The Traveling Mac” learned how to cook properly on a campfire. Trust me folks, I will start getting a lot more creative with my meals. Beans, eggs, bacon and chicken are just the beginning and were quite a challenge to learn… It took me three tries for Christ’s sake…

Had to pull out the bug zapper, which is leaning on the burning log. The gnats were a little out of control last night, especially as the sun was setting. No bug, I mean no bug, is a match for this device… I don’t care how fast the fucker is. You just hold down a button and wave the racket at the general area the bug is in and you will eventually get him. Not to sound sadistic or anything but it’s kind of neat how the zapper pops and sparks when it has caught it’s prey. Muhahahahaha!

Did a little whittling after my meal. I have carved “The Traveling” so far. I will get the “Mac” part done very soon. After I will put a big knife on the fire and get the tip cherry red. With the hot tip I will burn the inside of the carved letters I have made. This walking stick will be my new companion on my trip. Hopefully she will survive the whole trip. I need to think of a name for her. If anyone has any ideas, please share.

Here’s a little sexy model shoot of the nameless creation… She is so sexy… Oh yeah baby! I think I may be getting a little lonely here. Lol!

So, tonight was shower night. When you are boon docking, you only have a 40 gallon tank of water to live off of. So, I decided to shower every other night to conserve. I have been on the road since Thursday May 21st and I haven’t refilled my water or dumped my waste at all.

I only have a third of a tank of fresh water left… as you can see on my level gauge. The black tank is the bad stuff and as you can see, it’s practically full. You can blame a huge farewell lunch with my Mother for that one. I ate way too much seafood and my stomach does not agree when I do that. I thought I would share, I’m sure you are really interested…

Also you can see that the gray tank is 2/3’s full. That’s all the shower water and sink water, basically the soapy stuff they don’t want you dumping into the environment. The gray tank is really helpful when dumping because it comes out of the same hose as the black tank. So you dump your black tank first and then wash it out by dumping your soapy water after.

I am also going to cheat a little when I refill. After you dump your black tank, don’t dump the gray tank immediately. If you can hook up your water and dump at the same time, you can do your dishes and clean up a little with unlimited water and the clean water you use continues to wash out that hose. I know… I am really thinking now!

You can’t do your dishes while camping because it wastes too much water. So you dry wipe them and keep them in a dish tub for when you have water and can clean them. A great excuse so you don’t have to do those dishes after dinner… A problem I don’t mind having, I must say… This trip is just a gift that keeps on giving…

So I will leave you with a fresh, clean, unshaven Daniel sitting on his couch… It feels so good to be fresh and clean… I guarantee I will have a great sleep tonight! Good night…

P.S. If anyone has any questions or suggestions for my blog… please don’t hesitate to comment… I would love to try new things and even though this blog doesn’t post everyday, due to service issues, I am writing everyday… So I will get to your questions and comments eventually…