Yes, you guessed it folks… Woke up on #StateRoad in the #SmithvilleFlats,NY to more rain… Didn’t stop until around 1pm… I did a lot of busy work inside while I waited and of course, wrote in my blog…

After the rain stopped, #TheTravelingMac was itching for a #hike… I figured I would look at some #trails, if they looked good I would stay another day, if not then I would get the hell out of Dodge… I wasn’t really feeling this #campsite…

The main turn off for me was all these shot gun shells laying around and used targets… People don’t even clean up after themselves when they are #TargetShooting… This is a #StatePark for Christ’s sake! It’s great that you have the freedom to come out here and fire off your precious #guns but to just leave everything explains why people tend to dislike people with guns and the #NRA… You guys don’t give a shit about anyone or anything else… Just the right to shoot off your guns!

At least make an effort to keep our #environment clean and healthy because your gun isn’t going to do shit when battling things like #GlobalWarming, if you choose to realize it or not! Even your Pope is supporting efforts to battle Global Warming… I know shot gun shells are not the main problem causing Global Warming but your attitude that results in you leaving those shot gun shells is… Why do we need to even bring up the issue of Global Warming when it comes to preserving this #planet? Why would we want to knowingly pollute our lands and air in the first place? To save money? With every action there is an opposite reaction. If that is a law of physics then it applies to polluting our earth also… Sometimes I am ashamed to be apart of the human race…

After 5 minutes of hiking I ran into this little fawn grazing… I tried to get as close as I could and was making progress for a few minutes but then he saw me and ran away… Seeing this little creature made the trip out here worth it, even if I didn’t stay another day…

Then the fun quickly ended when I stumbled upon this sign… I also heard some gun fire in the distance… I decided to get the hell out of here… I didn’t feel comfortable here and there was not really anything to see… So I headed back to #TheMillenniumFalcon and decided to sand #Milene… I had burned up the letters pretty good, now it was time to sand the outside so the letters can be seen…

Here’s the result folks… After about three weeks of #burning, wear and tear and many hikes the walking stick is almost done… It just needs a couple of weeks for the wood to turn back to its natural color… This #WalkingStick is going to be one of my prize possessions… I hope I don’t lose it…

So, I took a moment to sniff the #daisies and hit the road… Honestly, I was feeling a little bored with my #SightSeeing, so I decided it was time to be wowed! I mean I wanted something that would really knock my socks off… Give me a real jump start… Then I realized I was only 3 1/2 hours away from one of those sights that is known to be a #NaturalPhenomenon… One of the real #WondersOfTheWorld… It was time to visit #NiagaraFalls!

Do you know I was actually contemplating skipping Niagara Falls? What was I thinking? I figured if I leave now I could get there around 7:30 and park at a Walmart close by… Also, I wanted to look into getting an extra battery…

So, it looks like I needed another #MarineBattery… I have enough #battery power to get me through the first day and night but after that, it goes dead… Don’t worry, my #EngineBattery has nothing to do with my #HouseBattery, so getting stranded with no power to start #TheMillenniumFalcon is a very hard thing to do… Whenever the #generator battery goes dead, all I have to do is start up my #engine and then start up the generator… This #vehicle is pretty full proof when it comes to such things, knowing how stupid we #humans are… lol. Trust me, don’t put it past me to drain both batteries at the same time and get myself stranded for another #TowTruck catastrophe… I do have an #EmergencyStarterKit for such problems, so it’s even harder to get #stranded with no power… But somehow I find to a way to defy the impossible…

Now, some of you are probably like, how much is he going to spend? Well think of this… When I am driving my #alternator is charging all the batteries and has enough power to charge a dozen batteries on a #LongDrive… Why wouldn’t I take advantage of this free #energy… I know it’s costing me gas to drive but that’s a given… There’s no avoiding #gas consumption when you are #traveling #CrossCountry… But why not use that travel time to reserve battery energy for when I am #camping? So the more batteries the better because the more power I reserve while driving means the less times I have to crank that generator up to #recharge the ones I already have… So, I save a lot of gas in the long run…

A new #MarineBattery will cost me around $100…. So I will have two batteries that are designed to provide power to my house instead of one… I just hook them up #positive to positive and #negative to negative… By doing this, I increase my battery time by more than 50%… That means another 4 to 6 hours of power, I hope… If that’s not enough, I will go ahead and get three batteries…

We all know the saying a penny wise, a pound foolish… That’s what I would be if I didn’t buy more batteries because it will cost me up to 10 times more to do what I am doing now… So, I will take the $100 blow knowing it will save me tons in the near future… Honestly, with #GasPrices the way they are, the battery pays itself off in a few weeks at the most… I am wasting so much in gas, I have to do something to soften the blow…

Sorry to over explain this but I think it’s crucial to explain my thinking so when and if you decide to go #RVing, you know to plan ahead like I didn’t in this situation… It’s not that I didn’t know or wasn’t told about this, I just wanted to start from scratch and learn the best approach as I was #traveling because there are a few different approaches you could take when it comes to this problem… So, I learned through trial and error which one is the best for me and I learned a lot throughout the process… People go to school to learn such things but experience is the best teacher…

I hit this amazing flash #ThunderStorm on the #freeway… You can see the #storm up ahead in the first picture… I took pictures as I entered and exited the storm… absolutely gorgeous and it was only a few minutes long… I find I like the #driving more than the #camping… I really feel free when driving this huge #BucketOfBolts… I can’t describe the feeling… You have to be on the #road for a little while then it hits you… It’s this #spiritual excitement that streams through your body, looking forward to every moment… I guess that’s what being in the moment is…

I stopped half way to the falls and went to three different places. They all didn’t have the marine battery I needed… I wasted about an hour going place to place… I was in this huge complex that had a bunch of different auto stores, near #Buffalo,NY but no dice…

So I headed to Niagara Falls and figured I would find a #Walmart close by to #camp… Now, I was scheduled to get there at 9pm… I decided to leave the battery hunting for a later time… Here I am crossing the #NiagaraRiver heading into Niagara Falls…. I have never been here and was very excited to see what all the hoopla is about…

I soon entered this town that was obviously set up for the #tourism… I stumbled upon an #AutoZone and figured I would check to see if they had my battery… Well, it looks like Niagara is a lucky place to be because they had the exact same brand and style… You can’t miss match batteries because the stronger one will end up destroying the weaker… So the best approach is to pair up the exact same types and brands…

So, I have some work ahead of me tomorrow and I still have to eat and shower tonight… It was already 10pm when I parked in a Walmart close by… Looks like it’s going to be a late night but the reward that is waiting for me tomorrow will be sure to yank my tired ass out of bed… Till tomorrow folks!