Going Solar

  In September we were living off the grid most days. We were campground hosts at a campground with no hookups. We had to use solar for our power. Below are the solar powered things we used.

When I say we were off the grid, I mean we were really off the grid. The campsite was just a place to park the RV with a tent pad and a fire ring. No power, no cell service, the Park Service gave us a walkie-talkie, but even that was hit or miss on whether or not you'd get a signal. There was water available, but it was on the other end of the campground. There was a water fountain with a spigot on the side that you could fill a container, no hose hookup. 

The Park Service gave us the solar powered radio (weather radio) and the solar generator to use. Mostly we used the generator to charge our phones and power our TV. When we were where we had cell service we'd download shows to our phones and then stream them to the TV to watch in the evenings.

 The campsite was surrounded by trees so I spent a lot of time chasing sunlight to charge the solar generator. The light and radio I just put next to the window to charge. I tried moving the solar panels on the roof around, but gave up on trying to find a good position for sunlight.

The closest place to get a cell signal was the Au Sable Lighthouse a mile and a half hike down the trail. Otherwise it was 5-6 miles down the road towards town. One day we took a drive to the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point and Nancy's phone kept alternating between "Welcome to Canada and Welcome to US". Whitefish Point is close enough to Canada that you can see it across the lake.

Solar powered light 

Solar powered radio 

Solar generator 

Solar panels on roof 

     
                      I started this post while we were still camping, but had trouble getting the photos from my phone to blogger. Recently I finally was able to do a work-around and got the photos on the post.