Chillin

When we moved into our home in 2001 one of my first project was to install a swamp cooler in the garage. I was able to locate one that had the duct oriented vertically so that it fit between the wall studs. Wasn't cheap, but was an easier installation.

The pan has been rebuilt a couple times but last year was the end of life for it. This summer, since we returned to the valley earlier than usual, I decided it was time to replace the old swamp cooler with a thru-the-wall air conditioner. The swamp cooler was 110 volt and was on the same circuit with the rest of the garage.

When I went shopping for an air conditioner, I expressly wanted a 220 volt unit so that I could move the load to the circuit that was only carrying the table saw.

I thought about a 18,000 BTU unit but that wasn't going to allow me to run the AC and the table saw at the same time.

After getting the parts in stock, I got up my nerve and ripped out the old swamp cooler. Pretty sure the bottom was rotted out!

I couldn't put it off any longer. Time to start cutting out some drywall,

and frame up the new structure for the air conditioner sleeve.

I should have finished up the drywall patching before I installed the air conditioner, but I had to see if it would fit and if it would work. The answer to both questions was yes!

It struggles to cool the whole garage in 110+ degree heat but it does a great job keeping the area around the workbench very comfortable! I'm just chillin'

And yes, I did get the drywall finished - and some geocaches started.

Sunrise

I've been out placing a few caches and finding a few other caches around the neighborhood, enjoying the sunrises and the views. It isn't often that we get a chance to get a sunrise reflection in a mud puddle. This was my view on the way to check out my Ponder cache.

Since it's monsoon season in Arizona, it's difficult to get a sunrise (or sunset) picture that isn't obscured by clouds. I'm learning that the clouds effects makes for some very interesting sunrises. This is the view from the logically named Lake View cache.

Occasionally, the sunrise looks like fire. This was my view when I place the How Many Kids?? cache.

On rare occasions, the sunrise is viewed over a sea of houses with lots of early mornings joggers about, although my preference is for the solitary peace of the desert. This was the view from the Arizona Jasmer Challenge cache.

My favorite sunrise this past month was this one, seen from a fun mystery cache called The Voices Are Back? Never did see the sun, but loved the reflection of light on the low lying storm clouds.

The whole month has been a reminder that even in stormy weather, the sun rises again.

Love That Truck!

We towed the trailer just shy of 5,000 miles on this trip and drove the truck almost 7,500 miles. We wandered between sea level and 10,000 feet elevation and visited nine states or provinces in the process.

The Scamp is back in it's shady spot, sporting a to-do list of  minor fixes or mods - some that have already been finished by the time I got around to writing this.

The truck proved to be a wonderful match. We had plenty of clearance between the trailer and the top of the bedrail on the pickup. I LOVED the optional 32 gallon tank and wouldn't consider one without it. The 8 speed transmission was spectacular, especially in the mountains. The tow/haul mode worked so well that I never had to manually select the appropriate gear.

The Hemi engine and the 3.92 rear gear ratio were probably both overkill, but the end result was that we could (and often did) stay on cruise control, up mountain and down. Summed up, this truck was much more relaxing to drive, with excess capabilites in every regard except GVW where we would run very close, especially with full fuel. All in all, I'm very pleased.