My wife and I took the plunge and purchased a new USA Made 2022 RV, the Rockwood Mini-Lite Model 2104S for camping. We tented when we were young but now we will camp and travel in comfort and style.

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2020-forest-river-rockwood-mini-lite-travel-trailer-floorplan-2104s-tr45035

My  2021 Toyota Tacoma 4×4 tow capability is up to 6800 lbs. and set the stage for RV size. This RV dry weight is 4841 lbs. and can have a payload of up to 1933 lbs. We figure our load will be 600 lbs. or less for most travel. Our murphy bed is a short queen size and can be stowed to increase room. The U-Dinette converts to a long bed and is nearly a queen in width. We have a gas stove, microwave, fridge/freezer, TV, sink, bathroom and lots of storage. And outdoor mountable grill.

We will be in training for it next week and take it on our first New Hampshire camping trip soon, up in the NH lakes region. 

More soon…

Some folks, like myself, are trying to avoid purchasing from adversary countries, aka China, and prefer to buy USA goods. Sometimes you can’t.

Looking for USA made Outdoor products can be a daunting task when the majority of outdoor goods are made in Asia/China. If you are concerned and want to buy American then you are in luck for some gear.

Coleman makes some US made goods but majority appears to still be  Asia made.

When searching for goods, look to find where it is made.

The truth is USA businesses are still importing from China and you may not be able to avoid buying Asian/China goods. But stay at it. I found some alternatives. You can too.

In your Internet search bar use words like “USA made” does help some.

On Amazon you can read “answered questions” on a product and can give you a “where made”. I was able to sometimes find alternative goods but we are still forced to buy some China goods. 

Some US businesses are getting the message to seek other non adversarial manufacturers.  Example: I believe it is not “If”China invades Taiwan but “when”. And then we will be forces into change.

Start Now! You can do this!

Good Searching!

Striper Migration Map – June 17, 2022

Today tree stands get taller, and I keep getting older. The other day my friend and I beat ourselves up getting my Muddy Excursion 17 ft Stand up, or not so up. The tree was the best of several we observed near a deer trail. We are not as spry deer hunters as days gone by, accordingly we had to work smarter not harder.  We left the stand down and I reconnoitered a solution back at home on the internet.

Muddy sells a hand crank hoist and 25 ft strap that can ratchet hoist-up my stand. I bought one. It is on the way so we will have it soon to report on. Below is a helpful video of it but would use two people instead of one. Safety is key.

Update 

I used this hoist yesterday and it worked like a charm and made it very easy with 2 people. Some hunters hoist solo (alone). Be safe! Just be sure the ladder is not on a slope because the stand platform and seat will tip forward (not level). Or you can buy a leveler for your ladder base if that tree is your only choice. I like my Muddy tree stand and Muddy hoist. I also purchased snap-on pins for fast disconnect. Tree Stand Snap Pins – Muddy Outdoors (gomuddy.com)

 Good Hunting! 

Here in Southern NH it is early June and the deer ticks aka black leg tick that carry several very serious diseases, such as Lyme Disease, are very active. A 15 minute walk on our back lawn near woods produced 5 deer ticks on my wife and dog. My pants were sprayed with permethrin thus none crawled on me. 

https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/disease-prevention/infectious-disease-control/tickborne-diseases 

The primary disease they can carry is Lyme Disease but here in NH the diseases according to NH DHHS include:

• Lyme disease (most common reported tickborne disease)
• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Powassan virus and
• Borrelia miyamotoi.

Symptoms (from NH DHHS)

Many tickborne diseases will present, at first, with nonspecific symptoms that may include:

• Fever,
• Chills,
• Malaise (not feeling well),
• Headache,
• Muscle and joint pain, and
• Lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes).

Some may also present with other systemic (body systems) symptoms, such as:

• Neurological,
• Cardiovascular, and
• Gastrointestinal symptoms.

Powassan virus infection, in particular, can progress to meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord).

•  About 10% of Powassan encephalitis cases are fatal (cause death).
• About half of those who survive the clinical disease have permanent neurological sequelae (nervous system injury/damage). 

As an Outdoorsman, I am acutely aware, but these ticks are sneaky, and I have been bitten several times. Luckily, I discovered them early or took a prescribed medicine by pill such as Doxycycline to destroy the bacteria.  

My primary defense is awareness, and to spray clothing and shoes/sneakers with Permethrin. You can buy it as a spray in the camping section of most department stores. And when inside, change clothes and do a tick check in front of a mirror.

Also you can put suspect clothing in a dryer for say 20 minutes or so to kill the ticks. 

Stay Safe!