John Hotze's Trip Report
12-8-2002 - Rose & I arrived at the cabin about 10:30 in the morning after stopping by Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. We arrived to several inches of snow on the ground & we were told they had about 9 inches from the last snow storm. I will post some pictures of this preparation trip and more after our Christmas trip in a couple of weeks. Rose & I came down this time just to prepare for the Christmas gathering we are having in a couple of weeks at Mossy. Anybody that should happen to go down before our Christmas trip will be in for a surprise. We have done some decorating and put new sheets and pillow cases on several of the beds. I have also left several Hotze blankets out on beds to air out some since they have been stored with moth balls for quite sometime. I said in the logbook for anyone that should go down before our Christmas trip to feel free to use the bedding that we have left out. I left a few items in the back bedroom, on the table next to the wood stove, & in the metal cabinet on the porch. These items are for our Christmas gathering. I hope anyone that might go down in the next couple of weeks won't mind.
I noted Bill's suggestion in the logbook about the clutter that builds up on the main room dining table. I really agree with his suggestion about trying to just leave the log books on the table. Maybe sometime it might be nice to have a wall mounted shelf or small cabinet in the main room to store such things as old log books, cards, chips, games, and some books. I dislike clutter too. I plan on moving all the clutter on top of the Hotze storage to the attic or under the cabin. The point about keeping the sitting units on each side of the fireplace clear to sit on is also well taken. I am to blame for leaving some containers on the Hotze side. I will be sure and store it under the cabin or in the attic in the future. Thanks Bill, for bring that up in the logbook
I tested the new heater again, in a safe area out on the porch table. Although it didn't burn without a small yellow flame it did a lot better than my first try with it. There is one secret I learned in that once you open the deely knob up to light it, you need to make sure the main burner is centered. It seems to not always center itself automatically after moving the deely knob into burning position. I also believe that the yellow flame could probably be eliminated by trimming the wick a little. Anyway I thought it would be good to post this update on the new kerosene heater. Hopefully I will get it ironed out and working well on our Christmas trip. I did try and get some kerosene at the Texaco station but it was closed. I am pretty sure that they do have a kerosene pump around on the side so hopefully I can purchase some when I come down at Christmas. I forgot & left all the my containers in my trunk however I did empty one into the blue container. All heaters should have a fair amount of kerosene in them now plus a couple of gallons in the blue container. I will be sure & leave some kerosene after our Christmas trip. jkh