Experimenting
I bought some diesel fuel when I was in town, and it cost me $4/gallon, which was the highest I've paid for diesel fuel in quite some time. On this trip, I've been buying diesel for around $360. It just goes to show that Ajo is an expensive place to live if you plan to drive a lot. And you have to do a fair amount of driving because the nearest town is Gila Bend, and it's about 30 miles away. And it's barely bigger than Ajo.
Since I have nothing else to do, I've been experimenting with my new 18-inch laptop and how long my house batteries will last. Up until now, I've been using my 13-inch Asus laptop for everyday tasks, and my 18-inch Asus laptop for power-intensive work like editing photos. And I was surprised to learn that the new 18-inch Asus uses far less power than the old one. And I can leave the new Asus running all day, doing everything with it, and the batteries will be charged up around lunchtime the next day. For a boondocker, that's some very good news.
The problem is, I won't always have sunshine every hour of the day, and even in the desert, it gets cloudy and rains. So, experience tells me that my 400-amp battery system is fine, but I need better charging, and that means more solar panels. Fortunately, Quartzsite is on my short list of places to be. I'm fairly knowledgeable about permanently mounted roof panels. but I’m completely new to the idea of having solar panels laid out in the yard, but Quartzite is a great place to get enlightened.
Theboondork
These are the contrails I see in the sky made by the military jets over the bombing range. Notice there are no airplanes visible; the contrails are the only clue that there's a plane up there. To get a picture of an airplane, I look at the newest part of the contrail, which is the smallest end, and take a picture of that part of the contrail. With any luck, there will be a plane out ahead of the Contrail.
When I zoom in with my editing software, this is what I get. It's not a very good picture of an F-35. But, figuring that the plane is probably 8 miles away and 20,000 feet in the sky, I feel lucky to get anything.
Sunrise this morning.