Statistics and Reflections

Always use gloves when handling fresh turmeric. The photo shows my gloves after washing them with soap and water. Also wipe up any spilled turmeric immediately.


To offset the effects of withdrawing from three months of taking daily anti-inflammatory pills, I switched from black to green tea in the mornings, and I've been drinking tea made from fresh ginger and turmeric in the afternoons. Is it helping? I don't know, but it can't hurt. It turns out that I like the tea, so that's a bonus.



I finally tallied all my gas station purchases and mileage notes, and came up with these figures:

  • 7,481 miles driven
  • 17 mpg overall
  • $2.57 per gallon average paid for gas

I figured out some other statistics, but those are the only ones I plan to share here. If you're curious about other stats, you can ask me individually. 😎



My goal was to strike a happy medium between a vehicle I could camp in comfortably and a vehicle that would allow me to enjoy more urban settings. I fell short of that goal on both ends. A lot of people meet this goal by having a full-blown RV and using it to tow a car, or using a car to tow a trailer. I'm not interested in either of those solutions, so I have some problem-solving to do.

My van in its current configuration is really only well suited (for me anyway) to camp in a few kinds of situations. They include urban camping near a place where I can take a shower (like Planet Fitness), developed campgrounds with plumbing available, and occasional short stints of primitive camping. All of those situations require moderate temperatures for me to enjoy them.

My van is not set up well for a few other things that I would like to try. They include traveling to some specific areas that don't have convenient parking for large vehicles, longer stints of more primitive camping, and weather that's too hot or too cold or too rainy.

If I'm going to enjoy more serious camping, I need better facilities for cleaning up after cooking, keeping bugs out, and moderating interior temperature.  If I'm going to enjoy more serious urban travel, I need to use a more urban-friendly vehicle. I have decisions, research, and work ahead of me. Stay tuned.

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