Aquarium

Mel LOVES all sea creatures. When we moved to Augusta we knew we wanted to take her to the Atlanta Aquarium. With Mel's 3rd birthday fast approaching and my mother visiting, we finally found the perfect time to go. As we expected Mel LOVED it. She was so in awe of all of the fish and other creatures. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Whale sharks are one of Mel's favorite

Can you see Mel? :)

Mel didn't even hesitate to reach in and touch the ray

Mel found Nemo!
Clown fish and blue tang fish are some of her favorite ones.

Little Guy

Did you know that January 21st is National Squirrel Day? Weird but true. I figured it was an appropriate day to tell the story of Little Guy.

One day in March of last year I was in the back yard running laps. As I ran around I noticed Emmy poking at the ground in a certain spot. Pausing for a moment I saw that she had found a baby squirrel that had fallen out of a tree. Running back near the house I got Meric's attention and told him about the squirrel. I asked him to take care of it.

Now when I said take care of it I meant to put it out of it's misery and bury it somewhere. Meric thought I meant to put it in a box and start looking up what a baby squirrel needed to survive. I was a little frustrated because while Meric had the week off and could be the one taking care of it I knew it was only a matter of time before I was the one responsible for it.

After doing a little research we estimated that the squirrel was maybe 5 weeks old. His ears were starting to stand up but his eyes were not yet opened. For the first week I referred to him as "daddy's squirrel" and Meric faithfully fed him homemade food from a syringe.

Mel loved having a squirrel and I have to admit as the week went on the little guy started to grow on me. In fact that is what we started calling him Little Guy.

After a week he opened his eyes. I started taking care of him and didn't mind it too much at all. I would feed him and wrap him up and carry him around with me. Little Guy started moving around and exploring more. We moved him from a box to a cage. Mel loved playing with Little Guy.

Eventually I weaned him off his homemade formula to solid food and taught him how to drink out of a rodent water bottle. Slowly we started taking him outside to explore the back yard. At first I would stay with him but then slowly started leaving him outside for an hour at a time.

One day I put him outside and then went shopping. The shopping trip took longer than normal and by the time we got home it was almost dark. I went outside to get Little Guy but he was nowhere to be found. Usually when I went out to get him he would see me and come down the tree but this time there was no squirrel. The next morning I went out and down the tree came my squirrel. I tried to bring him back in but he didn't seem to want to so I left him outside.

I rigged his water bottle and a cup for food in the tree so that I could still take care of him. Most times when we would go outside Little Guy would come down the tree and play with us and get treats. I fed him rodent block for the nutrition but his favorite snack was sunflower seeds.

I did bring him back in for a couple of days. During the spring/summer we get downpours. It pours rain then stops, rains then stops, rains then stops etc. In between the showers I took Mel into the back yard to splash in puddles. Little Guy came running up to us soaking wet, muddy and shivering. I took him in until the storms past. He was not ready to deal with that yet.

After Little Guy had been outside for about a month Meric, Mel and I left on a trip for a week. I made sure Little Guy's water bottle was full and spread around extra sunflower seeds but I really wasn't sure how he would do. We returned after a week and the first morning I went out, my squirrel came down the tree. I was amazed he had survived and was so happy to see him. He was happy to see us too. We could be outside for the next two days without Little Guy being on our heels. Meric was doing some work on our truck in the backyard and I had to sit out there and keep Little Guy company or he would get in Meric's way.

I kept the water bottle full of water and everyday put food in the cup in the tree. Little Guy came down whenever we went outside. He let me carry him and we had a little game we would play. He would stand on my arm and jump to the tree. I would stand further and further back and he would jump.

I am always amazed by nature. I taught Little Guy how to drink out of a water bottle and tried to help him practice jumping but there is only so much I could do. He started making his nests in the trees and acorns became one of his favorite treats. Sometimes he would eat them and other times he would run off and bury them. It was fun watching him dig a hole and then shove the acorn in it. Guess that is a natural instinct.

We got Little Guy in March and he was outside full time by May. He would come down for treats and to play. It was such an unique experience to go out and have a squirrel come running to you. He was very friendly especially if you had sunflower seed.

October was the last time I saw Little Guy. I would like to believe that he found himself a family and a new home. Probably not but that is what I would like to believe. I never thought I would miss a squirrel.

Country Fried Weekend

We went camping in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers Meric met online. Seriously, that is what we literally did this past holiday weekend and we had a blast!

Meric is a member of a website called Expedition Portal. It is a forum where people can discuss camping, off-roading, trailers, travelling, tents, vehicles, and just about anything especially if it has to do with exploring the outdoors. Every year a group of people on this forum get together and go camping. The group is all from the southeast and they call this camping trip "Country Fried Weekend".

We figured it would be a great weekend to try out our new trailer set up. The camping spot was located in northern GA about 4 hours away from us. It was a nice secluded location. We were given coordinates instead of an address if that gives you any idea. Once we arrived at the location we discovered why they choose to camp at this location. It was in a beautiful valley with plenty of room and tons of off-road trails. The property actually use to be used as a wildlife sanctuary and there were still structures, water features and cages.

Once we arrived we got to see how the set up of our new trailer compared to other camping trips we had been on. We needed to position the trailer which with the open fields and space was a piece of cake. There was a slight incline to the spot we picked which was easily fixed by leveling the trailer. Setting up the roof top tent is very easy and quick. The optional annex which we have took a little longer to set up but was still very quick and easy.

Once we set everything up we went around to meet some of our neighbors. Meric had communicated with a few people from our area before this trip but this was our first opportunity to meet them face to face. Everyone was very friendly and laid back. This is totally my kind of camping trip. The dogs could be loose and nobody cared and Mel could run around with all of the other kids. I like laid back people!

The first day we set up camp, explored the area a bit, hung out by the campfire and enjoyed other people's dutch oven cooking. (We had vegan meatballs with pasta for dinner and black forrest cake for dessert!) Mel made friends very quickly and ran around in the dark with them for a while.

Sleeping for the first time in our rooftop tent was a bit different than a regular tent. Regular tents we usually have our bed in the middle with our bags and dog beds all around the rest of the floor. Even in our large 6 person tent we are a bit crowded. In the rooftop tent there is an annex room on the bottom which has plenty of room for the dog beds and our bags. Then the ladder goes up the the bed. Mel loved climbing the ladder and always insisted on doing it herself. The tent has a thick foam pad for a mattress which we found to be plenty comfortable. The tent is also made of heavy materials(canvas) and not thinner nylon like our regular tent so it helped keep us warmer at night. Also leveling the trailer made our tent level so no sliding down to one side during the night. Overall I am very glad we did the rooftop tent.

After breakfast the next morning we hiked a bit and explored the beautiful area a bit more. In the afternoon Meric hitched a ride with one of the guys and did a little bit of off roading with them. Mel spent the day running around with all her friends.

For dinner we participated in a potluck and enjoyed everyone's company. Then we enjoyed another evening hanging out by the fire with everyone. I love hanging out with friends by the fire, it reminds me of hanging out in Glendale.

The next day was our last camping. We hung out with all our new friends for a bit and slowly packed up our camp site. We went camping with strangers but it never really felt like that. Everyone was so friendly and fun. Definitely a trip we want to do again. Also we loved our new camping set up and have a little bit better idea of some of the modifications we would like to make to it. It was nice to unplug and get away for the weekend. You don't even think about not having electricity or running water when you go camping like this.

I do feel the need to comment on our weather. As you can tell from the pictures of us in t-shirts and flip flops we were is warm weather. Yes we are in GA but this past week has been warm for even us. (Not complaining) If the camping trip had been held one weekend earlier we would have been in below freezing temperatures and the water features would have had ice in them. Seriously. (Again not complaining!)

Special note: I discovered a new recipe that I think I will make again for camping. I made these sausage cheese biscuits the day before our trip. I wrapped them individually in foil and placed them in a ziploc bag. They made great snacks when we arrived hungry to the campsite and didn't have time to make dinner yet. They also were good warmed up for breakfast. Here is a link to the recipe. Enjoy!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sausage-cheese-biscuits-recipe

Still Trailering

I started this blog when Meric and I moved into our 5th wheel trailer. That is why I named the blog Trailering with the Powells. We still have our trailer but now we live in a house and haven't taken the trailer out much. I debated on changing the name of my blog but have decided to just stick with it. Moving back into a trailer is not completely out of the question.

Besides we have another trailer now. It is our off-road, off-the-grid camping trailer.

To begin Meric is a member of the Expedition Portal and so we ended up attending the Overland Expo which was held in Asheville, NC last October. We saw all different types of camping equipment. Normally we just use a tent and throw all our stuff into the back of the truck and go. This requires a bit of planning since the dogs ride in the back of the truck too and so we need a spot for them. A big thing we saw at the expo were little camping trailers that could be taken off road.

A couple of months ago Meric found a utility trailer for sale on Craigslist. It had been this person's homemade camping trailer but now he was looking to sell. Meric fell in love with it. It is based off of an M416 military trailer.

It was made to extend but we probably will just use it in the lowered position.

 It already was rigged with interior and exterior lights that could be run off a battery, which Meric rewired it so that it could use our Goal Zero Yeti400*. It also was already equipped with a water tank and pump. The guy included a propane water heater and sink. Basically it was a great trailer to modify and make our own.

Meric and I both really liked the idea of a rooftop tent. We researched a few different ones and then found the one really liked for sale online and so we jumped at the deal. Meric worked and planned and eventually came up with a way to install the tent ontop of the trailer while keeping the canvas top functional. Those tents are HEAVY! But somehow Meric and I got that thing up up there and installed. We love it and the ease of setting it up.

We still have a few more modifications we want to make but I think trailering with this will be a lot of fun!

*http://www.goalzero.com/p/165/goal-zero-yeti-400-solar-generator

Holly Jolly Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas day and thoroughly enjoyed the whole season. Hope that your Christmas was merry and bright!

Christmas morning

Raiding the stocking

Stocking goodies and presents.

Time for the dogs' stocking

I think the dogs know there are goodies inside

Mel picked out a special toy for each dogs to put in their stocking.
Each one is laying with their toy.
Mel was so excited to give the dogs' their presents.

A sea turtle!

Doctor's kit

Play dough and Nerf guns

Santa brought Mel some tools.

Mel has always enjoyed working with tools

Emmy the red nosed dog. (she is so patient sometimes)

Merry Christmas!