Father. Uncle. Husband. Grandpa!
Found a simple way to toggle the viewing of hidden files on a Mac today (macOS Sierra).
Command-Shft-. (command + shift + period)
This is system wide and is a toggle. This will show hidden files on the desktop too, which is just another instance of Finder. Very handy.
I have been preparing, as I have time, to get us into more Overlanding activities. This includes upgrades to the F250, planning for space in the truck for the dogs and Engle and deciding what other bits of kit we will need ( Leitner Active Cargo System, RTT, etc)
We also need to find great places to go! I had been camping years ago with my kids and our friends the Winn’s. I could not remember where we went but knew the general vicinity (east of Tucson).
I then ran across the site Campendium. It is awesome! It will show you what RV Parks, National Parks and Forests and State parks have camping near you! I was able to quickly use the site to find Riggs Flat Campground which is where we went with the Winn’s!
Anyway it is a great site and we plan on using it to plan some trips hopefully soon!
People from Arizona are always saying “it’s a dry heat” because it actually is. Personally, I like it hot. It’s not “hot” until its over 110. Today its hot.
Just for giggles I used the laser temp gauge to test how how the cement on the patio is – its 132.2 degrees!
Drink lots of water and be safe out there Arizona.
They are actually cancelling flights out of Phoenix because its so hot!
According to American Airlines, the maximum operating temperature for each aircraft is based on manufacturer data:
• Airbus: 127 degrees
• Boeing: 126 degrees
• Bombardier CRJ regional aircraft: 118 degrees
Well, got the upgrade parts today and was able to get the installation done today as well after work. The install took me about 2 hours because its the first time I have wrenched on the F250 and the fitment of the pipe, given that its comprised of 4 parts each of which can rotate and need adjustment, took some time.
Its also the first time that I have needed Vaseline and window cleaner when working in an engine compartment. Stop giggling Jim and Chris. The Vaseline is for the lubrication (ok, now just Chris stop giggling) of an o-ring that gets removed from the old intercooler tube and placed into the new bad-assness part (beautiful CNC-machined aluminum piece) on the top of the engine. The window cleaner allows the boots to slip onto the pipe and will dry so not as to allow slippage later.
I used the H&S Intercooler kit and it comes with very good installation instructions. Even though the instructions provided are online and in color, I believe a couple of things are missing from them:
1 – There should be more detail about the fitment of the high quality bead-rolled stainless steel pipe to the boots. The pipe itself has raised ridges and I had some question about where the clamps should be placed in relation to the ridges on the pipe. I had seen a picture during my research showing the correct fitment but alas I did not bookmark it. I figured it out however and placed the clamps to the outside of the ridges on the boots so that any pressure created inside the boot would end up pushing the boot against the pipe and not OFF the pipe. That’s what we are trying to avoid in the first place…. well that and the pipe exploding. I don’t think this stainless steel pipe will explode like the plastic one did on Mike’s truck but I digress.
2- There should be a better picture showing the correct position of the air temperature sensor connector on the CNC machined aluminum part which fits on the throttle body assembly. I could not find a way to have the H&S logo on top as stated in the instructions as this would rotate the air temperature sensor connector right into the fan shroud. I still have not found a way to make two items occupy the same physical space thus my rotation solution.
3 – For those of us who are new to wrenching on our F250’s there should also be a mention of the “gold wrench”. Upon reconnecting the battery and jumping in the truck to start it, I was confronted with a nice golden wrench on the display on the dash. I assume this is the trucks way of telling you “hey someone disconnected my battery” as after I started the truck, turned it off and put the key back in – no more golden wrench. I am sure there is a better description of this on the Powerstroke forum.
4 – The instructions should also state that small children and those with sensitive hearing should not be present during the installation as foul language will most certainly be used and at increasing volumes.
So here are the pictures:
I then took a vigorous test drive and threw some turbo pressure at the new parts and they did very well, didn’t blow up or off and got me home. There was a slight hiss on the long boot and a spray of windex while the turbo was spun up did show some bubbles so I tightened that clamp a bit more.
Time will tell but I now will feel more confident when towing or carrying some good weight in the truck. And if anything fails it will be my fault and I will know how to fix it.
This experience also has given me an idea for the trucks name. Yes, I name my vehicles but they must earn the name. Since the truck did draw blood and it has a blue logo, I was thinking that “blueblood” might work. Then I decided to extend that to some noble blueblood name, so I am thinking Alfred or something like that. Ohhh – how about Frederick the Ford? He was a pretty calm monarch. Plus Pixar does not have any hip white truck names and I will not call the truck “Mater”. I will have to run the idea past the naming committee (Linda).
Someone today asked me explain my Planet Z Theorem to them. What the heck is that? Well, let me tell you!
Have you ever had a feeling that something was happening that you could not put your finger on? You just know something is going on, someone is doing something that will impact you. It may be comments from people or a strange set of occurrences. Its just a feeling you get. And then – boom – that “something” is revealed to you – your instincts were correct.
I call this my Planet Z theorem. Two thoughts lead me to this:
1 – In planetary science we can often infer that certain things are occuring which we can not see due to how other objects are effected by gravity. In fact, scientists today are looking for “new Earths” using a variant of this – by looking for a certain wobble in a star or shadows of objects in front of stars we can infer that a planet we can not see exists. They can also calculate the path of planets in a stellar system and compare to what they actually see. If there is a difference between what they compute and what they see – they must be missing something! Come on, you watch the Discovery channel don’t you?
2 – My father tells an amazing story (yeah – multiple times) about a physcology class he took during his undergraduate studies. Their professor brought in a person whom was supposedly crazy and had been abducted by aliens so that the class could interview them. This person told the class that the aliens showed him a planet we didn’t know about (lets call it Planet Z so this all makes sense) out in the far reaches of our solar system. He also told the class that the aliens took his very old dog and placed him into a machine which made the very old dog a puppy again. Scientists later discovered the planet – Pluto – and I have hope someday I will be abducted and get some of my dogs back!
So when you have a feeling that something is going on and your feeling the “gravity” of a situation or sense a set of decisions you may not be aware of have been made that your just not aware of yet – trust your gut – its Planet Z.
I use this gut instinct to make me think more about what may be happening, or how I may be impacting others around me in ways I did not initially understand.
There have been times when there was no “Planet Z” either, so this might just be a bunch of hokum. Maybe I am just becoming paranoid in my middle age.
I just ordered the charged air cooler (intercooler) upgrade kit and plan on installing it this weekend. Happy Fathers Day to me! We are preparing for a trip to Colorado and I do not want to repeat my roadside repair episode from the recent fishing trip so we are upgrading to this:
We got the official invitation today! Looks nice don’t you think? I can’t (and at the same time CAN) believe its getting so close – even though we have been planning for quite some time. Well – at least her initials won’t change!
Ended up staying Amarillo last night. We are using mostly Apple Maps for navigation. I assumed it would take basically the same route in both directions. Nope. Looking at a way lot of this. Reminds me of driving in Kansas…. flat. No traffic so far which is great!
Well what do ya know, going to roll through Roswell, New Mexico. Stopped for fuel and a leak. Will save the tourist stuff for some other trip. Didn’t see a single alien, dang.
I did happen on a sticker for the Engle MT45. When we travel with it we get travel stickers to remind us where we have been. The goal is to cover up all the grey metal. I’ll try to post a picture once I get back to the ranch. Here is the Roswell sticker before application.
Update: So we ARE using the same route coming as going. Oh well. Here is a nice not-driving picture of the white sand. I remember the white sands from trips through here as a kid.
The landscape is certainly changing. I can’t wait to someday drive this again with some time to stop at the historic markets, but there is an app for that. LOL About 5 hours left.
Oh, the truck took another life, this time a little birdie, yesterday was a large Meadowlark. Both taken via chrome grill impact method. Pictures later. There is a truck name in here someplace, I just know it.
So, if you have ever driven I-10 either to Tucson or away from Tucson, you have seen signs for “The Thing”. They taunt you every other mile or so for like 100 miles. Its a road side attraction. I have seen it but I wont tell you what it is.
So yeah – we stopped – here is proof. Still won’t tell you what it is. We did get a sticker.
So here is the final result – three new stickers for this trip. PB – Pensacola Beach, Roswell and The Thing. I tried to get a St Louis sticker but did not goto touristy places. I bet I can find one online someplace, maybe a nice arch.
Here are the totals for the trip from Oro Valley to St. Louis and back. This does NOT include the portion of the trip from St. Louis to Pensacola Beach because we used BroMikes trucks for those legs – his original F250 on the way down and a purdy new F250 on the way back:
So add two 12 hours trips and you have 76.5 hours in a truck. Sounds like a lot and it is, but it was a blast!
Fishing sucked but nothing else did!
We arrived at around 8:30pm into St. Louis and headed to BroMike’s beautiful log cabin. We WOULD have been about 1.5 hours earlier except for the existence of random road side flea markets. Can’t they sell the fleas someplace else? We grabbed some most excellent Mexican food and slept hard.
Here is a good picture of Mike’s new F250 Super Duty Mike and the Schauf Super Duty in White.
I remember an old sewing machine like this in my great grandmothers farmhouse in Fort Scott. I always wondered why it was missing the power cord. It’s coming home upside down. I am for sure and certain that Linda has some plans for this when I get it home.
Below is the truck mostly all loaded up. We added some deftly wrapped 6 pane windows in a very quaggy blue tarp and put those on top and tied everything down. Yes that is a real word, I looked it up. No beers were harmed in the loading of this truck. Yes, I voted for Trump and proudly.
On the way out of town we stopped to see BroMark and family. We caught these two high school hooligans lazing around the house with Luna and Ally guarding them. I think something is wrong with Kaylan’s tongue. And that is Drew’s smile, ain’t he handsome! Pretty good goofballs all in all! They are headed to Europe for a school trip in about a week and a half. Remember to watch out for each other and avoid smelly men with backpacks. They are not selling candy and may not be very nice. Watch each other and be safe!!! Take pictures!!!
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention, I may or may not have purchased some fireworks. Did I mention that before? I forget.
Update: made it to Tulsa, OK. Went to a wedding here once. Should have tried better to stop it. Sorry buddy. Oh, also we decided we would drive 12 hours instead of 2 hours. Thanks to eagle eye!!!
The fishing wasn’t really disappointing. To be disappointing we would have had to do more actual, well, fishing. We did get out in the bay on Wednesday afternoon for a bit and Thursday morning just a couple miles out of Pensacola bay. Bad weather and a broken motor killed the rest of the planned days.
What did not disappoint was the time I got to spend with Uncle Bob and BroMike. Good times and great conversations!!!!
Every time Mike and I visit a Ford dealership, he ends up buying a new truck.
I do however think they should consider outlawing road side flea markets. They are dangerous to a schedule. Every time we drove by one Mike got as excited as a dog hearing a doorbell. He does enjoy him a good flea market or antique store. We stopped at two. 😳 He did get a cool tractor seat, so there is that.
Should get to St Louis today barring random antique stops and then two more days driving to Oro Valley.
We should not have any mechanical issues in Mike’s new fangled 2017 Ford! I love that the rear seats stow and the floor storage goes flat so I can store the Engle front to back. More room for humans and dogs. So many other safety features ( thus begins my personal spousal marketing campaign). 
This allows for the fridge to be accessible by rear passenger or well trained dog. Will have to see if I can make this work in my 2012 F250 Super Duty. It is now 5 years older than Mikes truck. (Less convincing argument tho huh).
The 2017 F250 does also support Apple Car Play and Android Auto which is a safety feature! Seriously. Smartphones still provide better route guidance IMO than built in GPS and don’t need costly map updates. Plus you can talk to Siri or Google (google needs a better name).
Finally, when will we be able to tell our car to automatically set the cruise control based on the current speed limit? That would be nice. A feature to add or remove a few miles per hour would be a bonus. “Hey Siri, set the cruise control to 5 over the limit.” Apple could then program in some witty responses.
St. Louis tonight then 24 more hours of driving to get HOME.