John_Goodspeed

Donna and Scott -- I just want to let you know that Marianne Odom and I plan to bring our trailer to the rally. I will send you the site number when we register. To others who plan to attend, who are not familiar with Texas state park reservations, the sites usually go fast once registrations are open. So plan to register as close to 8 a.m. May 21 when registration opens for those dates. By the way, if you haven't been to Inks Lake before, it's a great park for the scenery along the water. Be sure to check out the Devil's Waterhole on the far east side of the lake. There is a trail there. Also, you can rent a kayak at the park store and paddle there.

I checked my original Michelin tires on my 2016 EII hull 128 yesterday prior to a trip and found tread separation on one tire. I bought Discount Tire certificates when I acquired the trailer so one tire on the new set was free. Michelin no longer makes the model of original tire, but there is another. See photos.

I can't speak to the Traegers. But I bought a Davy Crockett several years ago to use camping. It works great and is a good size to cook for up to four people. Or more. Brisket, ribs, steaks, tri tips, whole chickens, whatever. The WiFi controls make cooking a breeze. And I've heard that some competition folks would like to ban pellet grills because they make cooking too easy. I'm a long-time slow smoker, shoveling coals into my big grill at home. Like you, I wanted similar cooks on the road. Pellet grills fill the bill. The Davy Crocket, and other pellet grills, do not provide an overwhelming smoke flavor. Which is OK. But you can use a smoke tube to add more flavor. Or smoke for several hours at the 150-degree setting for more smoke flavor. I'll often do that with steaks, remove them, crank up the heat and put the steaks back on for reverse searing. Adding Grill Grates https://www.grillgrate.com puts great grill marks on the steaks or whatever. Plus they get hotter than the grill on the smoker. They make a sear station for the Davy Crockett. One downside for me with the Davy Crockett is the spring-like feet on the bottom. I carried it in my truck bed, and bumps on the road tended to make it tip and flop around. Also, I liked it so much I carried it to the back yard when not traveling. It's a long way, and that got old. Its shape is a little unwieldy. In November, I saw a smaller one that came out last year -- the Country Smoker Traveler. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VNN775P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's $200 at Amazon. When I bought it in November, is was $10 less. It's a lot smaller and way more portable than the Davy Crockett. It does not fit in the Oliver basement. It weighs 43 pounds and is a much more friendly size and shape to tote around. It does a good job, too, although it does not have WiFi and the grill is smaller than the Davy Crockett. But it's more than big enough for two people. I've cooked the same meats -- and vegetables -- on it as on the Davy Crockett, although a full-size brisket won't fit unless it's trimmed down. Plus the Grill Grates that fit the Davy Crockett also fit the Traveler. So now the Davy Crockett is set up in my backyard kitchen. And it has a big brother. I bought the Green Mountain Grills' Jim Bowie, their largest model. They must have an affinity to the Alamo. But, hey -- so do I. I live in San Antonio and know the Alamo's former historian/curator. And a Western artist who recently completed what may be the definitive painting of the battle. The Jim Bowie, which I use to feed crowds, replaced my big steel wood-fired grill, that after 25 years, finally rusted through in too many places to be able to control the heat properly. For pellet usage, the Jim Bowie goes through a lot. The Davy Crockett much less. The Traveler less than the Davy Crockett. I use the Davy Crockett often. Yesterday, I spatchcocked a chicken. Smoked it for about two hours and turned the temperature up to 250 until the chicken breast reached 165 degrees -- about an hour and a half more. It was juicy and delicious. BTW, when I cranked up the temperature, I was working in my office upstairs and changed the setting with the app on my phone. And it notified me when the internal temperature reached 165. I did that sort of thing while camping, too, as the Davy Crockett has its own WiFi. If you have a hotspot or WiFi at the campground, you can do that while out hiking or whatever. Sure beats shoveling coals. Let me know if you have any questions about these pellet grills.