TwF D-day nears - 03/06/2026 - Website Ends! Having Preparedness is a NOW thing!!

 The "thetruckingfrog.com" will still link to me....but it will be to my blog that I started about 12 years ago. So you'll be able to keep the same link you have used these past years, no domain name change, just a landing change!

 

The TwF Blog D-Day is getting close! In fact, it is just 7 (seven) days away! As I posted a week or so ago, I will be canceling my website as of 3/6/2026. I have spent the past few weeks canceling quite a few "subscriptions" that I just either don't need any longer or are just a waste of my budget dollars! As I've gone thru the list of subscriptions I realize that I really do not use very many of them, which translates to I have just been giving money to these big corporations without a real good reason to be adding to their deep pockets. So they are no longer in my budget...and still have several more to drop!

The thing  that I  have learned doing these cancellations is....these companies/groups will do work their hardest to NOT have you cancel. There are several that I do use/like that cut the subscription price more than 50% to keep me from dropping them. I can make a lot of them work in my budget, especially when they ask what it would take to keep me and I give them a "price"....it amazes me just how close, or sometimes less, to the price that I say would fit in my budget. And a couple of them have given me a 50% plus cut in cost AND have locked me into that price "for as long as you keep the service"! I must say that I do like those price deals!! :-)

 Now, in all truth, I am having to "relearn" how to make my old blog site layout, work smoothly, notify followers of new posts....all those fun things that you get to do when you want to be "online"! Bah-humbug!! LMAO! But it does let me stay in touch with the folks that check in every so often to see where I'm located/seen/headed to.

Mentioning that - where am I now and upcoming - I am in Alabama for the
foreseeable future. To be totally honest...just getting real...things are getting so stupid, both in the USA and in the Global area, that I honestly just do not want to be on the road much any longer!  It is really sad for me to say that, but there are just too many stupid actions going on and I just do not want to deal with it. SO.......

I'm almost through with the drawings and listing of needs to build myself a little off-grid cabin here in N.E. Alabama on the kids land. I've lived in very small spaces for so many years that "going tiny" is not "a thing" for me. It is a fact of life that if we are to survive and thrive and still have something to pass on to the next generations, then we have to scale back out "wants" and live with our "needs" (and if there's left over $$ then we an add some of the wants to life).

This is the reason that I have been purging for the past...oh let's say....10 years!! YUP! I have been lightening up the load for 10 years. Living in a van for 3+ of them has made it easier, but I still have stuff that I actually rarely, if ever, use in daily life! It is just dumb to have so much crap just because we can afford to buy it and we see all the "social trendsetters" just having to have it to make life easier! Well...to that I say....B*ll$h^t!!! 

 

 

 

This post is getting longer that I expected, but I feel I needed to put this out. I have talked about be in a state of "Preparedness", not with a "prepper" mentality but in a state of mind of being prepared for most any 

situation that might happen to come along. I am working on some videos about that I have done to be as prepared as is possible for just about any "happening" that might crop up. My YouTube channel will stay just like it always has been. And my Patreon page will stay in the same place as it has been. 

I have also been working on my plans for my little cabin. Cleaning out the camper to be able to close it up has shown me just how quickly a person can "acquire" things that they really do not need or even necessarily want! It is almost mind blowing! But I'm wading thru it and still sorting and throwing! I almost have my desk top cleared and actually have an empty storage tub! :-)  My actual goal has been to be able to feed myself and help a few others if needed for at least 45-60 days. My real goal is to get to the point that I do not have to "go to the store" for 3-6 months. But I'll have to be in my cabin before I an really reach that goal. 

 

As you can see I've gotten my 2-wheeled suitcase ;-) out and cleaned up and reloaded. This does not show the stuff that went into the burn can or into the trashcans! LOL! 

 

I think I have gotten the links on the blog homepage fixed. It is interesting to have to relearn the things that you were able to do so easily a few years back! The learning curve is definitely bigger as I've gotten older! 

 

 But just know that I am not "going anywhere", still going camping in the area (up to 4 hour away) in the Nat'l Forests that are in this part of the country. And the backroads in the South are truly backroads!

 

That's all for now! I hope to get the email notifications working correctly in the next couple of days also. Bear with me as I make this change.

 

Until later....Be Safe, Travel Easy, Go To The Woods & Be Prepared11

 

Frog & Rosie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparedness! Are You Ready?

 Good Morning Folks! We're still in Alabama...and will probably be here for a while...as in for the foreseeable future! 

 I finally got around to getting the camper 95% emptied out and closed up for the time being. I'll be moving it over to an area to "store" it until a trip out to the forest for a few weeks. The reason for the closing of the camper and moving it is because this spot is where I will be building my "cabin" - or tiny house if you prefer! 😉 

 

I have lived in small spaces actually the majority of my life and still do! Only during the military time of my life I had always had small bedrooms. I'll dig up some pics of all the places I have pics of where "home" was over the years. And when you consider that I "lived" in a semi for over 12 years and have now been in either under 21ft motorhomes or in a van, I really am most comfortable in a small space. AND...the Carlson genes also have a weak point! If there is a flat surface, well, we tend to

make sure that it is covered with something! 😉 This genetic "flaw" is also kept partially in check be limiting the space we live in! LOL! I was doing the same thing n the camper! But I am now back in "purge mode"! It is amazing that in just a few months how much stuff can be gathered around us!

 As you can also see from the pic that I am in preparedness mode to a fairly high degree. The two storage cabinets are basically a pantry. The two milk crates are canned meats or veggies. Heheheh...the 3 small brown boxes are citronella mosquito coils, green spray can tops are mosquito spray (the mosquitoes in Alabama are quite nasty and have an attitude...they are already coming out!) and the box on the bottom middle under the coils is .... of course .... toilet paper!!!  LMAO!  Always think preparedness!! There are things in the tubs that are about to go thru a purge, and some of the things you an see will also go thru the purge!!

 I am finally working on a "Preparedness Series" of both blog posts and a video series. I guess you could say that I am becoming rather passionate about being prepared for anything that could disrupt our daily lives! Folks tend to think that being prepared for weather "happenings" is what you need to think about, as in major storms. And natural disasters is a large part of being prepared. BUT...man made disasters are also in that picture....economic, political, family.....there are many different faces to "disaster"! To be in a proper prepared mindset you have to think outside the box!

We are entering the the time of the year when weather disasters are fore front, especially when you live in the zone I'm in...Tornado Alley! But  this affects a small percentage of the populace. If you don't keep up with the news, at least one or two times each week, then you need to. To be honest, legacy media gives us a very sanitized version of the news. I hear things several days or a week before they appear on news feeds...and they usually do not give the whole story for quite a while after that. 

 Enough of that rabbit trail! Just look around you and think about how long you would be able to have a "normal" daily life if you had no electricity, no cell phone, no internet, maybe no water in the tap. If you really sit down and think about it, from a realistic point of view....you might go thru an unsettling thought time!

I regress! So many thoughts and points that run thru my head to share...time to get busy on my projects!

Don't forget, my website will be no more as of March 6, 2026. So everything will be put out through this blog, YouTube channel and Patreon site.  😉

Until next time.... Be Safe, Travel Easy, Go To The Woods & Think Preparedness!!

C'ya - Frog & Rosie 🐸🐶 

 

 

 

 
 

Welcome back to the NEW/OLD Frog's blog!

 

Welcome back to the NEW/OLD Frog's blog!  LOL! As I was saying yesterday, as of March 6th I will be shutting down my website. Rising prices, tightening budget, AND, I don't like to and won't do battle with the aspects of Social Media - 99% of it is just a load of....ca-ca!!  LOL!

The thing I try to do is to get folks to "be prepared"! A "prepper" I am not! Whatever is coming in the future is going to come. No matter what it is, social, political, spiritual ... it is going to come. The best we can do is to be prepared for "something unspecified"! That can be floods, blizzards, winds, civil disturbance, the plague { ;-)} ....  Whatever it is that will come, will come! We are just sorta along for the ride! But that also means that it is the responsibility of each of us to be as prepared for WHATEVER it is that comes to be able to take care of ourselves and loved ones,  and offer assistance to our neighbors.  IF you are of the mindset of "the government will take care of me/us".... I hate to be the one to tell you....BUT you are sadly mistaken!

If you have been living during the past 2+ decades, I want you to think back...and I mean THINK back to the hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes.... all those "little" inconveniences that have come along. God forbid you were caught in any of them, how prepared would you have been you to look after those that needed you to take care of them? Were you able to feed, water, warm, cool, bandage, etc those that look to you to help them thru those times?

 Am I totally prepared for whatever comes along? Well, probably not....not yet

anyway! But it is a work in progress! But we have to start somewhere and think out just what should be in a "preparedness kit"...and there should not be a size restriction. You don't need a house/shed/garage full of items, but you should consider just what you would need/use for a timeline that could run into a few weeks. OR....you could consider what would be needed for a year! ;-)  

Now in my case, I have been living on the road and off the grid for close to 16+ years. So what I carry or should I say what I consider necessary will be different for the majority of you folks! But we will be talking about these issues in the coming weeks and months.

 

 

Today I also got my replacement weather station remote monitor mounted and "fairly" straight on a slant legged canopy! LOL. 

I also took a little time to improve my shortwave radio wire antenna. I really enjoy listening to shortwave (SW) stations, especially from other countries. I don't talk, I just scan the bands to find stations that  have news, music, etc. It's one of my preparedness things! And I just enjoy it! But if a disaster does hit (be it solar storm, high winds, flood, etc) and your power gets gone....you can still hear from the outside world information, hopefully!

I guess this is a long enough read for this Post. :-)  There will be more regular posts coming down the way as the days go by. Especially as I begin to build my little cabin here on the property!

 Until next time.... Be Safe, Travel Easy, Go To The Woods..&...Think Preparedness!!

 C'ya, Frog & Rosie  🐸🐶 

IT LIVES!! My old blog has survived...Never knew!!

I'm so excited!!  My old blog still exists! To be honest I had thought "Blogspot" was long dead...but NO! I guess I had forgotten that it was "Blogger" and since I am "downsizing" I am letting the TwF website die on March 6, 2026. So now to get down to some serious business and  prepare and make the move BACK to "the old days!" And the amazing thing is the creation layout has basically not changed! Having flashbacks to "the good old days"!! 

It is really just amazing at how good certain things from the past feel, oh so good!! LOL! But it also is a reminder that as things change, the things that work will usually survive.

 I am just so glad that I'm back into a format that I have always liked and enjoyed and that I won't have to "jerk you guys around" too much to find me and change the links to find TwF,AYNTSI and Lilypad Productions.

 As you can tell, I am still in Lily and living basically off-grid. Even setup basically "in town" I'm still about 90% off grid. 

One reason is that I don't like to have to be dependent  on "the government" for my daily needs and/or survival. And I feel that everyone should think about the fact that when/if there arises an incident where the infrastructure fails, or even just a part of it, people should have prepared themselves to not have to make major changes in their daily lives. 

Why is this a concern to me? Think to just recent times. Massive snowfalls, floods, very large storms, even solar blasts that have been coming from our Sun. The more prepared you are to meet the daily needs of your families the more you will be able to move on with life with the least upheaval!

This is my goal and I guess it has always been my goal. Here on my blog, on my
channel on YouTube and on Patreon I hope to be able to get ideas and suggestions and useful information to you and others. I am NOT an "expert" on any one  topic. But after so many decades of what I call "life experience" there are many areas I am fairly....competent? 😉  I  guess that is what I would call it. 

Anyway, welcome to "the original" Frog's Blog! I'm taking a small step back in time to be able to help in the current day's needs! 

 

 

Back in Alabama - Maintenance & Upgrades!

Summer is gone! The temperatures aren't, but "summer" is gone!!  LOL! I'm back in Alabama for several weeks.

 

 

Left WVa a couple of weeks early so that I would be in Huntsville, AL in time for my granddaughter's first gymnastics competition! And SOOOOOO Proud of her! She took first in 3 of the areas and she took Overall for the competition in her level! Outstanding job, Julia!!

 Another reason for the early departure from WVa....my 13th grandchild is due...any day now!! So I had to down here for that also! So my winter maintenance run is ongoing. 

 

Had two dear friends stop by for two nights on their way to D.C. for a visit. We had not seen each other in the flesh for 3+ years! It was great to be able to sit and visit! And they brought cool air with them!!!  LOL! It has been in the low 50's for the past few nights! Just fabulous!! 

 

Have a whole list of things that I want to get done to Lily over the next few weeks.....battery, inverter, new solar panel, reconfigure storage in Lily, new fuel pump, paint Lily's roof, plugs, air filter, hmmmm....that might be enough for now!!!  LOL!

Stopped by Guntersville SP Lake. Still a nice place for a day trip!

Really nice views of the Lake.

Had a nice drive back to Alabama, quite a bit faster than I will, or usually do, travel this time. But had a good reason to do more than usual! Still,
some really pretty land driven through. Saw a few spots that I will get back to next year as I go back to WVa for the summer months - up on Cheat Mountain in the Monongahela Nat'l Forest.

 

Stopped by the Guntersville Dam....first time I've actually been by there!

 I will be traveling without the trailer this time. I've been carrying so much stuff that I have not touched for the past 18 months that it is time to do another purge!! Living "tiny" is also having to have a "minimalist" attitude, and after 6 decades of "living large", it is a real process to "get tiny". But slowly getting there! 

I hope you will come back and visit me here as I start my "winter run West" in a few weeks! I have several stops planned...Padre Island (as usual!), the 9 Painted Churches of Central Texas, McDonald Observatory, The Mojave Desert, Death Valley, The General Sherman Tree, The Great Basin....and probably more spots as I travel the forgotten roads!

I hope to see some of you out there! So as I like to say....

Be Safe, Travel Easy & Go To The Woods!!!

C'ya!!

Frog & Abbie

🐸       🐶

And the rains have kept following me!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Half Over - So a short Wander!!

My summer in WVa is about half over already! My how time flies when you are relaxed and chilled!! With some really gorgeous views to soak up!

Also have done just a bit of exploring! Granted I did sit on top of Cheat Mountain for about 36 days! And it was glorious! It seemed that summer was never going to arrive in WVa! It was almost cold several days, had lows in the upper 30's! Rain came through at least 3 days each week it seemed. And they were some pretty good t'storms!

 But I enjoyed them! I've always had a soft spot in my heart for t'storms!! 🐸

And when the storms and rain have passed, and things dry out some....and the evenings are peaceful....you just have to have a nice fire!!

 The past few days I went on a drive around the area to get out and see some more of the mountains. I headed to a little hamlet named Helvetia. It was settled in the mid-to-late 1800's by Swiss descendants. Very small, way back in the mountain valleys, lots of the original buildings still being used. Just such a grand place to slow down and go back in time. There is no cell service there. If you have internet, it is satellite from what I could see. Some of my new friends here allowed me to park on their property, and it was gorgeous!

 

 

I loved the place! It was so peaceful, beautiful & just refreshing! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Helvetia the little store has been in the same building since the beginning of the last century! And the masks hanging that are used for the feast of getting rid of "Old Man Winter" just really make the place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Post Office is also in the store...and it has been a long time since I saw such a small Post Office! But I think it is great that there are still places where you truly take a step back in time when you come upon these little jewels of the past!

And to be able to still see and step into the past in such a way is so reassuring! That there are still folks that like this way of life gives me a bit of hope for this fast paced society that we seem to live in today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The library was in a very old building. And a very well kept up "old" building! There were more shelves of books there than I expected to see and the open hours tickled me....I believe it was Wednesday & Saturdays from 1100 - 1600! Such a place!

 

 

 

And right next to the library was a small building that I think was one of the original homes. It is the museum for Helvetia, with a lot of items and history in a very small space! But to see things that are over 150 years old and still in actual usable shape is just amazing!

I stopped in Pickens, WVa also. It seems to actually be smaller than Helvetia! But they are known for their "Maple Festival" each year.  So they have their spot in the mountains here also!

Then on the way back to Elkins stopped in at Holly River SP. Really nice area, very well kept up, large campground, swimming pool, lots of open area for kids to run, cabins that can be rented, a nice office/gift shop and even a restaurant there!

One more stop along the road back...the WVa Wildlife WMA & Recreation Area. As with most of what I've found in WVa...it is clean, well kept up and has a nice gift shop with small "cafe" available. The park it self is a wildlife watching area with path ways....but, if you have a hard time with walking, you might just want to sit and watch from the entrance...no vehicles are allowed past the parking area, all is on foot! So needless to say, I didn't get to wander through there.

So I'm back in Elkins til "payday". Visiting some friends, doing laundry, working on several things also that I hope to have done & out to everyone in the next few weeks.

So for now, I hope to see some of you out here in the woods!

Until that day...

Be Safe, Travel Easy & To The Woods!

C'ya!

 

 

Monthly Restock!

I'm in Elkins, WVa for a couple of days. Time for a monthly restock & laundry time! Goal reached....have gone 31 days between laundry runs! And also time for monthly Wally order!

Had a 0700 pickup time, but got my order at 0650! I really do not like shopping, so being able to do a pickup is right down my alley!!

I love hummingbirds! I can sit & watch them for hours...which is exactly what I did! 🤠 They are just amazing little creatures. But it should be pretty close to time for them to head farther North to their nesting grounds.

So I'll get to visit with them next year or possibly later this season if I'm her late enough this year for their migration South.

Spent one night at the Stonecoal Dispersed CG. It is right along the river and a really nice area. Quite cool & quiet. Only 17 sites. 2 vault toilets & really well kept up.

And it rained the whole time I was in there! LOL! But that guaranteed a cool evening & night.

My sinuses don't appreciate the pollen, but my eyes & senses do love the flowers up in these mountains.

I'm waiting on a package to get here, so might be in town a couple days longer than I planned. But once it gets here & I get on the road I'll be making a +/- 140 mile drive, a big circle. Several really neat places to visit & the photography should be excellent.

So that sorta gets me caught up! I stayed on Cheat Mtn 4+ weeks this go round. The little road trip I'm going to do will be 4-6 days, then back onto Cheat Mtn! The difference in the temps & "heaviness" of the air is rather astounding! The cool, clear air of the mountains is calling!

Be Safe, Travel Easy & To The Woods!

C'ya, Frog & Abbie

Back on Cheat Mtn

Have returned back onto Cheat Mtn! The 2500 foot increase in elevation is just mind blowing the difference in "climate"! It is so much cooler here. While in town I almost let myself get way too hot. Took a few hours to cool down. So cut down number of errands, got laundry done.... And..... Topped off Lily-for $138.00! Aaarrrgggghhhhh!

Anyway - back on the mountain, breezy, 70°, calling for more rain, a grand day!

Hope this finds everyone doing well & you're keeping an eye on your personal "coolness"!

More pics to come soon!

Be Safe....Travel Easy..... Go to the Woods!

Frog & Abbie

🐸        🐶