January 31, 2008
Thursday afternoon at the office on a very gray day
No time for lunch today, I settled for fast food from the snack machine downstairs, a candy bar, some pepperoni sticks. Eating that junk just made me want some real food. I have some leftover winter vegetable stew in the fridge at home, and hopefully on this dark rainy day that will be hot and satisfying whenever I get there.
Been fairly focused at work this week, going in early and coming home late. Without much in between. Working in NASIS, checking pedons in Pedon PC, writing OSD’s and TUD’s and trying to get a start on the DMU’s. All at once. And the digitizing of the maps is on the back burner again, while I tackle all this other stuff. Also on the back burner is the planning for the new crew coming in March. But that’s another story as well.
Deanna and Steven are blogging about their travels and adventures and Melody has some really great photos up to distract me, but not for long. I have also found a bunch of rv travelogues which just make me want to be anywhere but here going to work day after day. They show photos of Arizona sunsets and California deserts and Texas Big Bend Canyons that are all blustery and sunny on cool winter days, but not gray and rainy and dull. February is the same no matter where you are I guess, unless you are really very far south in this country, or in some tropical place.
Been watching the weather on Kauai as well, in Anahola Bay where we will be staying, and it’s raining there too, almost every day. The difference is that it is warm, and the rain comes every day, but not all day. Sunlight and warmth and tropical rains sound really delightful after all this gray wet cold stuff that has been coming down in the Mother Lode.
I got a call from Matthew today in Salem, saying he had been talking with Chad about the jobs to be advertised in Oregon. Looks as though they won’t get advertised until late February now, and that means the timeline for that possibility has moved up into late May, probably after I teach Basic Soil Survey in Lincoln. If then.
I go back and forth on that possibility, should I apply? Should I just stay here and ride it out? Deanna brought up the one thing that made me stop cold however, and that was the thought that even if I stay here, what if I decided that I needed to work longer anyway, then I would be stuck here for another two years. Two more killer hot summers working in poison oak, being far from my family, no chance to go hang out with Mo in the cool northwest, to kayak the Klamath, to get out of the heat and traffic and smog. Two more whole summers. That one brought me up short.
I have been thinking that if I stayed here I would try to retire in little more than a year, one more field season. Retiring in June of 09. But the reality is that I will probably procrastinate, trying to build up just a little more savings, trying to save a bit after the bills are paid, the debts are gone, the house is sold. How hard WILL it be to give up my salary, to actually do it!!? I don’t have a clue.
My house feels good now. Mo is here visiting, and during the day she works on the remodeling and painting. I go home and fix something for us to eat, since she really doesn’t like to do that. Mo is great at cycling laundry, I keep things clean, she does the wash, I cook. We watch Morning Joe at 530 after the dog is walked and the cats are fed, sharing coffee and laughing at stupid commercials and the antics of both political parties. We read the paper, watch the news, and play some dominoes after supper, and usually go early to bed and get ready for another day. It’s a simple routine, easy, quiet, predictable. The only time we have argued since we have been together daily since last Dec 1 is when I worked too late one night and she got pissy about having to do all the remodeling alone. That went away quickly, though, as soon as we had a 3 day weekend and I had time to do my share at home as well.
It’s all ok for now, but how will I feel when she goes back to her home in Oregon and one more time I am here, feeling lonely, feeling isolated, frustrated because the miles and the money back home to kids and family is more than I can manage? Do I really want to keep living like that for another 2 years?
All that is why I keep thinking about applying for the Redmond job. But that’s not necessarily any better work than I have here. It’s new, it’s a crap shoot, really, with new people to manage, new digs to get adjusted to, new boss, all new again. This job is hard, it sucks up my life, but that one would probably do the same. Any work that I do between now and the time I retire will suck up my life I am afraid. They just want more and more from us, and it gets more and more demanding to get it all done.
Redmond isn’t that great a place to live, either, it’s funky and not too clean, with funky people and snow and ice in the winter. Smith Rock SP is there, and I wouldn’t mind living near that place on the hill facing the western sky, with a view of the Cascades, and open space, but who knows if there is even anything there that would be possible for me to live in, that I could afford. Bend has all sorts of wonderful amenities, shopping, food, water, restaurants, but the traffic is every bit as bad as it is here. It’s more open, not claustrophobic, and of course, there is the 3 hour trip to get back home to Klamath, something I could do quite often if I didn’t have a home that demanded a lot of time.
All these thoughts just go round and round in my head. Do I want to go back to Oregon? Do I want to just finish it out here and deal with what is a known, rather than going back into the unknown again. Really, it’s more about where I would be living and working than anything else. The office in Redmond is crowded, and probably doesn’t have any kind of view, and no privacy, and I would have people around me all the time, no freedom, no space, no way to get away from all of it. Unless of course I was actually mapping on my own. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, mapping in country that actually had access and vegetation correlations and soils that aren’t 100 inches deep everywhere with bullet proof argillics. Maybe that would make it ok.
But the home thing is still out there. I don’t have a clue about that one. If I do sell my house, and there are no guarantees there, but if I did, my debts would be reduced considerably. I would use the dollars to pay most of the debt down, at least the biggest part. And if this place sold and I didn’t have to worry about rent here in California, I could then rent something there in Redmond that might feel ok. Maybe. Maybe. That’s the whole thing, that damn maybe thing. I know it took me 2 years to settle in here, finally, and sometimes I feel as though I am settling, and then of course the hot smoggy days full of cars and traffic and I yell, “I hate it here”. What to do, what to do. Sigh again.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
new travel post
http://mohotravels.blogspot.com/
Just a little post over on the travel blog about some of the funnier details of having an RV.
Just a little post over on the travel blog about some of the funnier details of having an RV.
Wild rides and seeing Deanna
http://picasaweb.google.com/kyotesue/MoHoToOregon
Last Monday was a holiday for me, so Mo and I ran down to the valley to get some work done on the MoHo. Didn't happen, but we had a fun day any way. Did the Home Depot thing and even got to go to Costco, which I don't do here in California because it's too far away for me to justify the purchase of a membership. Got home by 3 and had time to make a great baked chicken dinner with oven fries. Amazing how easy it is to not feel guilty when your fries are baked not fried.
Mo was was planning to go to Klamath this week by herself to try to get the MoHo registered, and we kept watching the weather window, with really cold temperatures and snow. The window was pretty short and the T up there was 0 to 5 degrees, not a good plan for being in a motorhome with the water lines still not winterized. So Monday afternoon while cooking supper I had a brainstorm. "Let's leave a 2 am, I'll go with you, we will get to Klamath mid day when it is a warm 25 degrees, there is no snow predicted for at least 2 days, and we will get out of Klamath and back down off the mountain (Shasta) by dark. I can help drive and we can do it."
So we did it. Left at 2 am, got home 24 hours later at 2:30 am. whew. The funniest part for me was that while the alarm was set for 2 am, so we could leave at 3, I woke up at something like 11:30, and couldn't sleep, so we just gave up and got up and left. 3 hours sleep doesn't work too well for me! I am at work today and my brain isn't functioning at all. It was a fun trip, though, an adventure, with a bit of excitement added. About 80 miles from home with more than 300 to go the moho dropped something important on the freeway at high speeds. Guess the manifold and exhaust system didn't have a clamp done right and everything came undone.
Because of the time window, heavy rain in California, at the fact that it was 3 am and nothing was open, we just kept going and made it all the way to Klamath. I can't tell you what a Ford V10 sounds like with no muffled exhaust system, especially climbing up the pass over Mt Shasta. Hysterical. We bombed into the rest areas in our new fancy rig sounding like some kind of teenager from 50's hell. Got to Klamath by 10 am and managed to get the thing fixed right away at the Ford dealer. Amazing that they said, "oh here, let us roll her in right now", instead of "come back a week from Tuesday" The guys were laughing when we drove it in, saying, "Hmmm, did someone drive over a snoberm somewhere?" "No, we don't live in this stuff, we did this in California!" The question was valid, since Klamath has had a real winter this year, and the berms are piled up everywhere in parking lots and between driving lanes on the roads. Some are so high that it's even hard to see the top of the MoHo which is nearly 11 feet.
After getting things fixed, we parked in Wal-Mart and rented a car to drive out to Mo's house where the snow is many feet deep. That was fun as well just trying to walk up to her door without crashing into a big snow hole. Drove back to town, bought a burger and and actually got back over the pass before any more snow hit. It was a gorgeous sunny 4 degrees when we left Klamath, and pouring and 43 degrees by the time we hit the valley in California.
You never saw 2 more worn out old ladies in your life. We both drove, but Mo did the last really hard part from the valley up to my house with all the hard rain and narrow roads with no shoulders and curvy stuff. I hate that awful feeling of driving and having to keep driving when I am sooooo sleepy and tired. ugh.
When we hit I-5 yesterday I also had a feeling Deanna had to be somewhere around since her trainer does most of his driving on that I-5 route and I was hoping to at least pass her and wave. Of course, I didn't know what color her truck was or even where she was and didn't get an answer when I called her in the morning. But as we left Klamath, she called, and lucky for me she was actually about 300 miles south of Sacramento, and we were just about 300 miles north of Sacramento, and all this meant a good chance for meeting in the middle. Yaay.
Next thing I know, it's Deanna again, saying she can't get her big rig into any parking lots and would I mind shopping for her for some goodies that she needed? This was good for a laugh and I stopped at the Redding Wal-Mart. As we got closer, we kept checking in and decided that the Dunnigan Pilot was a good place for us to gas up and for them to actually be able to park the truck. So much fun to see Deanna coming into that huge place in a huge rig in the dark. We sat there waiting for half an hour or so watching all those rigs and were amazed at the number of big rigs coming and going. The number of trucks on that road is pretty staggering. The other thing that we noticed is that most of the I-5 truckers are pretty nice, courteous, and don't really do that awful tailgaiting and speeding that was so prevalent as we crossed the country on I-80 back in May last year. Will have to ask Deanna what that is all about.
Deanna jumped out of her rig looking great as always even in her flannel shirt and work boots. I got to meet her trainer Mike and took some photos, of course that was embarrassing to both Deanna and Mike with all the other big rigs around there watching, but gee, I'm the mom, I can do stuff like that.
It was so fun seeing her and giving her a big hug, even though the whole visit lasted maybe 10 minutes. Might be different when she and Keith are driving together, we could actually meet somewhere if they are close by and maybe have a meal. Haven't seen Deanna since the reunion last August, so this was a little treat, for sure. Photos are up on the picassa site as well.
Last Monday was a holiday for me, so Mo and I ran down to the valley to get some work done on the MoHo. Didn't happen, but we had a fun day any way. Did the Home Depot thing and even got to go to Costco, which I don't do here in California because it's too far away for me to justify the purchase of a membership. Got home by 3 and had time to make a great baked chicken dinner with oven fries. Amazing how easy it is to not feel guilty when your fries are baked not fried.
Mo was was planning to go to Klamath this week by herself to try to get the MoHo registered, and we kept watching the weather window, with really cold temperatures and snow. The window was pretty short and the T up there was 0 to 5 degrees, not a good plan for being in a motorhome with the water lines still not winterized. So Monday afternoon while cooking supper I had a brainstorm. "Let's leave a 2 am, I'll go with you, we will get to Klamath mid day when it is a warm 25 degrees, there is no snow predicted for at least 2 days, and we will get out of Klamath and back down off the mountain (Shasta) by dark. I can help drive and we can do it."
So we did it. Left at 2 am, got home 24 hours later at 2:30 am. whew. The funniest part for me was that while the alarm was set for 2 am, so we could leave at 3, I woke up at something like 11:30, and couldn't sleep, so we just gave up and got up and left. 3 hours sleep doesn't work too well for me! I am at work today and my brain isn't functioning at all. It was a fun trip, though, an adventure, with a bit of excitement added. About 80 miles from home with more than 300 to go the moho dropped something important on the freeway at high speeds. Guess the manifold and exhaust system didn't have a clamp done right and everything came undone.
Because of the time window, heavy rain in California, at the fact that it was 3 am and nothing was open, we just kept going and made it all the way to Klamath. I can't tell you what a Ford V10 sounds like with no muffled exhaust system, especially climbing up the pass over Mt Shasta. Hysterical. We bombed into the rest areas in our new fancy rig sounding like some kind of teenager from 50's hell. Got to Klamath by 10 am and managed to get the thing fixed right away at the Ford dealer. Amazing that they said, "oh here, let us roll her in right now", instead of "come back a week from Tuesday" The guys were laughing when we drove it in, saying, "Hmmm, did someone drive over a snoberm somewhere?" "No, we don't live in this stuff, we did this in California!" The question was valid, since Klamath has had a real winter this year, and the berms are piled up everywhere in parking lots and between driving lanes on the roads. Some are so high that it's even hard to see the top of the MoHo which is nearly 11 feet.
After getting things fixed, we parked in Wal-Mart and rented a car to drive out to Mo's house where the snow is many feet deep. That was fun as well just trying to walk up to her door without crashing into a big snow hole. Drove back to town, bought a burger and and actually got back over the pass before any more snow hit. It was a gorgeous sunny 4 degrees when we left Klamath, and pouring and 43 degrees by the time we hit the valley in California.
You never saw 2 more worn out old ladies in your life. We both drove, but Mo did the last really hard part from the valley up to my house with all the hard rain and narrow roads with no shoulders and curvy stuff. I hate that awful feeling of driving and having to keep driving when I am sooooo sleepy and tired. ugh.
When we hit I-5 yesterday I also had a feeling Deanna had to be somewhere around since her trainer does most of his driving on that I-5 route and I was hoping to at least pass her and wave. Of course, I didn't know what color her truck was or even where she was and didn't get an answer when I called her in the morning. But as we left Klamath, she called, and lucky for me she was actually about 300 miles south of Sacramento, and we were just about 300 miles north of Sacramento, and all this meant a good chance for meeting in the middle. Yaay.
Next thing I know, it's Deanna again, saying she can't get her big rig into any parking lots and would I mind shopping for her for some goodies that she needed? This was good for a laugh and I stopped at the Redding Wal-Mart. As we got closer, we kept checking in and decided that the Dunnigan Pilot was a good place for us to gas up and for them to actually be able to park the truck. So much fun to see Deanna coming into that huge place in a huge rig in the dark. We sat there waiting for half an hour or so watching all those rigs and were amazed at the number of big rigs coming and going. The number of trucks on that road is pretty staggering. The other thing that we noticed is that most of the I-5 truckers are pretty nice, courteous, and don't really do that awful tailgaiting and speeding that was so prevalent as we crossed the country on I-80 back in May last year. Will have to ask Deanna what that is all about.
Deanna jumped out of her rig looking great as always even in her flannel shirt and work boots. I got to meet her trainer Mike and took some photos, of course that was embarrassing to both Deanna and Mike with all the other big rigs around there watching, but gee, I'm the mom, I can do stuff like that.
It was so fun seeing her and giving her a big hug, even though the whole visit lasted maybe 10 minutes. Might be different when she and Keith are driving together, we could actually meet somewhere if they are close by and maybe have a meal. Haven't seen Deanna since the reunion last August, so this was a little treat, for sure. Photos are up on the picassa site as well.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Amxious dreaming
I woke this morning with a dream still strong in my consciousness. In an airport and rushing to the gate, feeling anxious about being late. Sure enough, when I got there, the gate captain said the plane was loading at 3pm and it was already 3:15. Too late. My heart sunk as I realized that the next plane didn’t leave until 5pm and I didn’t know if I could get where I was going when I needed to be there.
A dream like this is fairly common, I am sure, so I got out all my dream book and tried to find the easy interpretation, the one where I didn’t have to do all the dream work that is required for a real interpretation, aka journaling the dream, identifying the characters and the symbols, processing what the symbols mean to me. After all, it’s Wednesday and I have to go to work, and I’m feeling all squirrelly because of this dream. Anxious.
So I look it up in the old Betty Bethard’s quickie dream dictionary and find out that an airplane, much like a stairway, suggests going to a higher ‘plane’, a higher spiritual place, and I see that I am missing that right now, not going there. OK, I can see this. I have been focused on work and house remodeling and of course, on the coming possible changes at work, in my job, in what is required of me here and what may be required of me in the next few month. Hmmm
Then finally taking the easy way out. Google the “missed airplane” and what comes up but this:
To dream that you are late, denotes your fear of change and your ambivalence about seizing an opportunity. You may feel unready, unworthy, or unsupported in your current circumstances. Additionally, you may be overwhelmed or conflicted with decisions about your future. You feel time is running out and that you do not have time to accomplish all the things you want.
Ahh, perfect. Resonance. I feel this one clearly, and see also how the other dreams I have had lately about my old flower business, of not being ready and not having anything ready to sell reflect this same fear and ambivalence about the change I may make fairly soon. My subconscious telling me that this may not be easy, that there may be some problems that I am not aware of, some difficulties associated with jumping off one more time into something new. One more time.
So later, after thinking a bit, I did some more internet searching and found this:
Description: You are rushing to catch a bus, train, ship, airplane or other public transport, only to miss it, usually by a fraction of a second. The dream may involve various misadventures en route to the transport. You often feel frustrated rather than afraid in these dreams. You may be lacking vital papers, such as tickets, passport or visa. In a variation of this theme, you arrive too late for a performance in which you are supposed to participate and find that the play, musical production, sports competition or other event has already begun. (Dreams in which you are having trouble during a performance are classified with "I fail on a test or perform poorly.")
Frequency: Missing the boat dreams are moderately common. Some people have them often, others rarely. They usually arise when you feel anxious about making an important connection to one of your waking goals.
Usual meanings: You feel you've missed some opportunity in your waking life; you're too late; you can't make a connection, that you need to pull yourself together to make the connections you desire.
Where are you going in your dream?
Why are you going there?
What is it that makes you feel you are "too late" or that you don't have what you need to take your part on the stage of life? If missing documents variation:
What are you currently trying to accomplish in your waking life?
What's missing for you to do your job properly or to get what you want?
How can you better prepare yourself for what you want to do
So now, instead of worrying, I’ll take the message of my dream world, answer the questions, and do the work. My dreams are here to help me, to wake me up, no pun intended, to make me pay attention.
I am not really sure where I am going, except I hope to be going back to Oregon because I want to be closer to my kids and I want to be back in a place that feels like home.
Why I feel I am too late? Maybe because I didn’t try to do it last September the first time I had the chance, or maybe because it’s too late in my career for these kinds of jumping moves. I’m feeling anxious about the shift, the change and that I may actually miss the opportunity. Ahh well, I guess I’ll wait to see what the dreaming self has to tell me now that I have come this far with it all.
A dream like this is fairly common, I am sure, so I got out all my dream book and tried to find the easy interpretation, the one where I didn’t have to do all the dream work that is required for a real interpretation, aka journaling the dream, identifying the characters and the symbols, processing what the symbols mean to me. After all, it’s Wednesday and I have to go to work, and I’m feeling all squirrelly because of this dream. Anxious.
So I look it up in the old Betty Bethard’s quickie dream dictionary and find out that an airplane, much like a stairway, suggests going to a higher ‘plane’, a higher spiritual place, and I see that I am missing that right now, not going there. OK, I can see this. I have been focused on work and house remodeling and of course, on the coming possible changes at work, in my job, in what is required of me here and what may be required of me in the next few month. Hmmm
Then finally taking the easy way out. Google the “missed airplane” and what comes up but this:
To dream that you are late, denotes your fear of change and your ambivalence about seizing an opportunity. You may feel unready, unworthy, or unsupported in your current circumstances. Additionally, you may be overwhelmed or conflicted with decisions about your future. You feel time is running out and that you do not have time to accomplish all the things you want.
Ahh, perfect. Resonance. I feel this one clearly, and see also how the other dreams I have had lately about my old flower business, of not being ready and not having anything ready to sell reflect this same fear and ambivalence about the change I may make fairly soon. My subconscious telling me that this may not be easy, that there may be some problems that I am not aware of, some difficulties associated with jumping off one more time into something new. One more time.
So later, after thinking a bit, I did some more internet searching and found this:
Description: You are rushing to catch a bus, train, ship, airplane or other public transport, only to miss it, usually by a fraction of a second. The dream may involve various misadventures en route to the transport. You often feel frustrated rather than afraid in these dreams. You may be lacking vital papers, such as tickets, passport or visa. In a variation of this theme, you arrive too late for a performance in which you are supposed to participate and find that the play, musical production, sports competition or other event has already begun. (Dreams in which you are having trouble during a performance are classified with "I fail on a test or perform poorly.")
Frequency: Missing the boat dreams are moderately common. Some people have them often, others rarely. They usually arise when you feel anxious about making an important connection to one of your waking goals.
Usual meanings: You feel you've missed some opportunity in your waking life; you're too late; you can't make a connection, that you need to pull yourself together to make the connections you desire.
Where are you going in your dream?
Why are you going there?
What is it that makes you feel you are "too late" or that you don't have what you need to take your part on the stage of life? If missing documents variation:
What are you currently trying to accomplish in your waking life?
What's missing for you to do your job properly or to get what you want?
How can you better prepare yourself for what you want to do
So now, instead of worrying, I’ll take the message of my dream world, answer the questions, and do the work. My dreams are here to help me, to wake me up, no pun intended, to make me pay attention.
I am not really sure where I am going, except I hope to be going back to Oregon because I want to be closer to my kids and I want to be back in a place that feels like home.
Why I feel I am too late? Maybe because I didn’t try to do it last September the first time I had the chance, or maybe because it’s too late in my career for these kinds of jumping moves. I’m feeling anxious about the shift, the change and that I may actually miss the opportunity. Ahh well, I guess I’ll wait to see what the dreaming self has to tell me now that I have come this far with it all.
Another great grandchild, my third
Orion was born in December to Tracey in Wenatchee. My grandson Jeremy is his father, and yet he is no longer with Tracey. Life goes on, I guess, and this is sad, but no one knows the inside workings of a relationship and why they go awry. Iraq? Youth? Who knows. But here is a sweet little boy that I may never get to know with time and distance and the way life can get in the way of these things. I'm glad Deanna and Keith were in Wenatchee when he was born and at least got to spend a bit of time with him before they went on the road in their trucking adventures. I have some sweet photos that I will post shortly, but wanted to honor this baby boy as the newest member of my ever growing family
Monday, January 07, 2008
Last days Quartzite Joshua Tree and Home
January 3, 2008
Thursday morning
We are driving west for the last time on this adventure, going down the curvy freeway over HWY58 Tehachapi Pass heading into black scary looking clouds over Bakersfield and fighting big trucks that smell like nasty diesel smoke as they gear down for the grade. We left Mojave at 6am knowing that we need to get to Jamestown before the big storm really hits hard. The weather service has changed the high wind watch to a high wind warning for northern and central California with winds up to 65 miles an hour in the valleys. Valleys? One storm after another is predicted with the really big ones to hit tomorrow. Let’s hope that they are right and that one more time we are just out of reach of the worst of it and safely home and parked. Sonora has rain and wind predicted for the next week. A great time to lay low.
We enjoyed Quartzite, although we were a couple of days too early for things to be really going yet and most of the shows were still closed. There were enough places open along the main drag that Mo could get the flea market crazy feel of the area a bit and we shopped for things like duct tape and a hammer to replace what we had left behind in the Baby MoHo. We camped out beyond the BLM Long Term Camping Area which was about 6 miles south of town. The Long Term Area was about 1/3 full of RV’s, many of them with tall flags blowing in the strong wind so that their owners could find them out there. It’s all random and a lot of it looks the same so it’s easy to lose your rig.
The LTCA areas require a permit for 14 days consecutive or for a season, and charge a very small fee. In that area there are trash and outhouses and minimal water available at La Posa, but the regulations say come prepared to dry camp with plenty of water and gas for your generator and empty waste tanks. It’s an interesting place and many people go there to escape the winter cold and camp for almost nothing in the desert.
When we were there, it was fairly chilly and windy, enough so that we didn’t want to take advantage of the fire ring and the ability to have a fire. We haven’t had one on this whole trip. But this really was the trip of exploration, not a trip to camp and relax around the fires. Just talking about how we really didn’t even have much chance to sit around outside at all because it was either too cold or too dark by the time we would settle in for the night, or the few times we were in a place for more than one night, we were busy doing things that we wanted to do in the area. I do imagine it to be a bit different when I am actually retired and on a bit off a less tight schedule. Staying for a week somewhere might give us time for the delights of sitting around in the evening with a fire and our little lights that look so cheery. At least we got to put them out in Florida, and they delighted both of us. No flamingos, however, just refined little lamps and some chili ristras. LOL
At the La Posa area south of Quartzite, there were circles of motorhomes that looked like the old wagon train thing, and they had big fires, maybe a dozen rigs camped together out there for reunions or celebrations. Looked as though it could be fun sometime, but I wouldn’t want to travel that way for any length of time.
We slept well there, and the rv performed just fine with the slideout working well, the levelers doing great on the uneven rocky ground, and the generator giving us enough power to use the microwave and charge up the computer and catch up on email. We didn’t both with the tv or trying to get a signal there at all.
Next morning we got up and had a good breakfast, enjoying the desert light a bit and didn’t get packed up and driving until 10 or so, thinking we had an easy day. 300 miles should be an easy day if we don’t try to do anything extra, but on this day we planned to see Joshua Tree National Park. Even though it was overcast in the morning, but the time we got on I-10 the skies were clear and bright. The turn into Joshua Tree wasn’t far from the California State Line and we went into the park, ambled the narrow roads and checked out the visitor center. This park doesn’t allow dogs on any of the trails, so we couldn’t go walking with Abby anywhere, but we did drive around a couple of the campgrounds, including the Belle campground which was small but seemed like the least crowded and the best place for us. The Jumbo Rocks campground was almost full and much busier, and we managed to get back on a cul-de-sac where turning the rig around was a bit dicey, especially since it was an uneven dirt road where we would have a much difficulty trying to unhook the Geo. After a bit off jockeying we got around the turn and breathed that sigh of relief that also said we were glad none of the tent campers there were around to watch us!
We looked at a few more campgrounds, and then stopped at a simple wide place in t he road all on our own to park and have lunch and take Abby for a little walk just out into the rocks. Perfect. No people, nice view, perfect amenities, while I made a light lunch for us and we relaxed a bit looking at the soft rounded granite shapes of the landscape. Joshua Tree would be a nice place to camp and relax a bit, and maybe have some time to actually build a fire and bring out the cards. I think we played dominoes once on this trip, and am not sure if we ever managed a single card game. Geez.
Leaving Joshua Tree we traveled along the desert through Johnston Valley, which is still BLM land and designated OHV area. The good part about this is that we didn’t see any OHV’s, just a very long vista of wide open undeveloped desert. Something to think about when I complain about those OHVer’s taking over the country. Not a house or a pole in sight. It was truly beautiful. On west to HWY 18 and Bear Valley Road where we took a side trip south on Central and east on Roundup Way to find Mo’s old rental house in Apple Valley when she was teaching there so long ago. The little block house was actually still there, although surrounded by some mcmansions, but they all shared the same once magnificent view of the desert to the north, marred now by development as far as your eye could see. It was especially bad to the west toward Victorville and Hesperia, and as we headed west again on Bear Valley Road I felt as though we had dropped into some kind of hell. All I could think of is how grateful I was that I never applied for the soils job in Victorville and felt sorry for Paul who went to that job from rural Colorado.
Ahh, back on HWY 99 going north now, passing through Bakersfield, and the road is so rough I can barely type, the air smells like oil and there a lots of trucks. California. Maryruth doesn’t like it when I say these things, but I just can barely tolerate being anywhere here anymore. Especially now, after traveling more than 6,000 miles, the contrast between most of California and the rest of the country is intense. Most of the population density in other places seems to be concentrated, and as you leave the cities you can escape the pressure. Here it is just everywhere, and the infrastructure is aging and there is more trash than anyplace else on the trip. It just feels so old and dirty . As dirty and worn down as New Orleans felt, I still didn’t see the kind of trash along the highways that I see here in California. I really don’t understand this part, all the other states seem to manage to do a great job of cleaning up highway trash except this one. What is that all about? Driving along the highway here the smells are overpowering as well, cows, onions, diesel, and oil fields. Yum.
We finally made it to our CampClub USA campground just before they closed at 6 and found our place to settle in. One more time one of the fancy bells and whistles for the MoHo gave us some trouble. While we were driving through Joshua Tree, the warning light for the leveling jacks came on, and we stopped, turned off the engine, and it went off. But then last night when we tried to level the rig, nothing happened, no lights, no power to the touch panel, nothing. In spite of all the manuals we have in the huge box, there wasn’t a speck of info on the levelers, so we went searching the internet. Only problem, is that in Mojave, even though I had 4 and 5 bars on the phone card, the connections was still s l o w w w . as in very nearly not moving at all. In spite of that, we found the HWH Hydraulic Levelers web site and found the owner’s manuals, the operation manuals, and even a powerpoint demonstration on how to level the rig. Sure do wish I had that in the beginning! But all to no avail, except to reassure us that sooner or later we will get some good help from either Rueben at Stahman’s or from HWH directly and eventually the levelers will work again. Lucky for us it was the last night and our site was unbelievably perfectly level. Something that doesn’t often happen even in the most expensive parks. And our little place only cost 13 bucks last night! It was after 9 when we finally gave up on figuring out the problem and went to bed. About then Mo discovered some glitches in the Fantastic Fan in the bathroom, but thank goodness she agreed that we didn’t want to spend one more minute trying to figure something out.
After a good night’s sleep we woke around 5 and decided that we could leave in the dark, a good plan since as I said, we are trying to beat the big scary storm that is on the way. I may need to just give up on typing now as well, since this pavement is too bumpy to manage a full line without having to backspace and make a ton of corrections.
Once more, reflection is left till the end and goes wanting. It’s the last day and we are going home. Maybe some reflections on the trip overall will come on a quiet evening at home when it’s all done. But more than anything, I have to be thankful for how safe and blessed we have been throughout this entire trip, as though angels were following us and leading us and making the way. It can’t just be coincidence for 6000 miles, I don’t believe, I do believe we have guardians watching over us keeping us safe, and even keeping me from having to do the painful loss thing that I thought I was going to have to do with Teddy. Thank you is too small a phrase for what I feel about this. But. Thank you.
Thursday morning
We are driving west for the last time on this adventure, going down the curvy freeway over HWY58 Tehachapi Pass heading into black scary looking clouds over Bakersfield and fighting big trucks that smell like nasty diesel smoke as they gear down for the grade. We left Mojave at 6am knowing that we need to get to Jamestown before the big storm really hits hard. The weather service has changed the high wind watch to a high wind warning for northern and central California with winds up to 65 miles an hour in the valleys. Valleys? One storm after another is predicted with the really big ones to hit tomorrow. Let’s hope that they are right and that one more time we are just out of reach of the worst of it and safely home and parked. Sonora has rain and wind predicted for the next week. A great time to lay low.
We enjoyed Quartzite, although we were a couple of days too early for things to be really going yet and most of the shows were still closed. There were enough places open along the main drag that Mo could get the flea market crazy feel of the area a bit and we shopped for things like duct tape and a hammer to replace what we had left behind in the Baby MoHo. We camped out beyond the BLM Long Term Camping Area which was about 6 miles south of town. The Long Term Area was about 1/3 full of RV’s, many of them with tall flags blowing in the strong wind so that their owners could find them out there. It’s all random and a lot of it looks the same so it’s easy to lose your rig.
The LTCA areas require a permit for 14 days consecutive or for a season, and charge a very small fee. In that area there are trash and outhouses and minimal water available at La Posa, but the regulations say come prepared to dry camp with plenty of water and gas for your generator and empty waste tanks. It’s an interesting place and many people go there to escape the winter cold and camp for almost nothing in the desert.
When we were there, it was fairly chilly and windy, enough so that we didn’t want to take advantage of the fire ring and the ability to have a fire. We haven’t had one on this whole trip. But this really was the trip of exploration, not a trip to camp and relax around the fires. Just talking about how we really didn’t even have much chance to sit around outside at all because it was either too cold or too dark by the time we would settle in for the night, or the few times we were in a place for more than one night, we were busy doing things that we wanted to do in the area. I do imagine it to be a bit different when I am actually retired and on a bit off a less tight schedule. Staying for a week somewhere might give us time for the delights of sitting around in the evening with a fire and our little lights that look so cheery. At least we got to put them out in Florida, and they delighted both of us. No flamingos, however, just refined little lamps and some chili ristras. LOL
At the La Posa area south of Quartzite, there were circles of motorhomes that looked like the old wagon train thing, and they had big fires, maybe a dozen rigs camped together out there for reunions or celebrations. Looked as though it could be fun sometime, but I wouldn’t want to travel that way for any length of time.
We slept well there, and the rv performed just fine with the slideout working well, the levelers doing great on the uneven rocky ground, and the generator giving us enough power to use the microwave and charge up the computer and catch up on email. We didn’t both with the tv or trying to get a signal there at all.
Next morning we got up and had a good breakfast, enjoying the desert light a bit and didn’t get packed up and driving until 10 or so, thinking we had an easy day. 300 miles should be an easy day if we don’t try to do anything extra, but on this day we planned to see Joshua Tree National Park. Even though it was overcast in the morning, but the time we got on I-10 the skies were clear and bright. The turn into Joshua Tree wasn’t far from the California State Line and we went into the park, ambled the narrow roads and checked out the visitor center. This park doesn’t allow dogs on any of the trails, so we couldn’t go walking with Abby anywhere, but we did drive around a couple of the campgrounds, including the Belle campground which was small but seemed like the least crowded and the best place for us. The Jumbo Rocks campground was almost full and much busier, and we managed to get back on a cul-de-sac where turning the rig around was a bit dicey, especially since it was an uneven dirt road where we would have a much difficulty trying to unhook the Geo. After a bit off jockeying we got around the turn and breathed that sigh of relief that also said we were glad none of the tent campers there were around to watch us!
We looked at a few more campgrounds, and then stopped at a simple wide place in t he road all on our own to park and have lunch and take Abby for a little walk just out into the rocks. Perfect. No people, nice view, perfect amenities, while I made a light lunch for us and we relaxed a bit looking at the soft rounded granite shapes of the landscape. Joshua Tree would be a nice place to camp and relax a bit, and maybe have some time to actually build a fire and bring out the cards. I think we played dominoes once on this trip, and am not sure if we ever managed a single card game. Geez.
Leaving Joshua Tree we traveled along the desert through Johnston Valley, which is still BLM land and designated OHV area. The good part about this is that we didn’t see any OHV’s, just a very long vista of wide open undeveloped desert. Something to think about when I complain about those OHVer’s taking over the country. Not a house or a pole in sight. It was truly beautiful. On west to HWY 18 and Bear Valley Road where we took a side trip south on Central and east on Roundup Way to find Mo’s old rental house in Apple Valley when she was teaching there so long ago. The little block house was actually still there, although surrounded by some mcmansions, but they all shared the same once magnificent view of the desert to the north, marred now by development as far as your eye could see. It was especially bad to the west toward Victorville and Hesperia, and as we headed west again on Bear Valley Road I felt as though we had dropped into some kind of hell. All I could think of is how grateful I was that I never applied for the soils job in Victorville and felt sorry for Paul who went to that job from rural Colorado.
Ahh, back on HWY 99 going north now, passing through Bakersfield, and the road is so rough I can barely type, the air smells like oil and there a lots of trucks. California. Maryruth doesn’t like it when I say these things, but I just can barely tolerate being anywhere here anymore. Especially now, after traveling more than 6,000 miles, the contrast between most of California and the rest of the country is intense. Most of the population density in other places seems to be concentrated, and as you leave the cities you can escape the pressure. Here it is just everywhere, and the infrastructure is aging and there is more trash than anyplace else on the trip. It just feels so old and dirty . As dirty and worn down as New Orleans felt, I still didn’t see the kind of trash along the highways that I see here in California. I really don’t understand this part, all the other states seem to manage to do a great job of cleaning up highway trash except this one. What is that all about? Driving along the highway here the smells are overpowering as well, cows, onions, diesel, and oil fields. Yum.
We finally made it to our CampClub USA campground just before they closed at 6 and found our place to settle in. One more time one of the fancy bells and whistles for the MoHo gave us some trouble. While we were driving through Joshua Tree, the warning light for the leveling jacks came on, and we stopped, turned off the engine, and it went off. But then last night when we tried to level the rig, nothing happened, no lights, no power to the touch panel, nothing. In spite of all the manuals we have in the huge box, there wasn’t a speck of info on the levelers, so we went searching the internet. Only problem, is that in Mojave, even though I had 4 and 5 bars on the phone card, the connections was still s l o w w w . as in very nearly not moving at all. In spite of that, we found the HWH Hydraulic Levelers web site and found the owner’s manuals, the operation manuals, and even a powerpoint demonstration on how to level the rig. Sure do wish I had that in the beginning! But all to no avail, except to reassure us that sooner or later we will get some good help from either Rueben at Stahman’s or from HWH directly and eventually the levelers will work again. Lucky for us it was the last night and our site was unbelievably perfectly level. Something that doesn’t often happen even in the most expensive parks. And our little place only cost 13 bucks last night! It was after 9 when we finally gave up on figuring out the problem and went to bed. About then Mo discovered some glitches in the Fantastic Fan in the bathroom, but thank goodness she agreed that we didn’t want to spend one more minute trying to figure something out.
After a good night’s sleep we woke around 5 and decided that we could leave in the dark, a good plan since as I said, we are trying to beat the big scary storm that is on the way. I may need to just give up on typing now as well, since this pavement is too bumpy to manage a full line without having to backspace and make a ton of corrections.
Once more, reflection is left till the end and goes wanting. It’s the last day and we are going home. Maybe some reflections on the trip overall will come on a quiet evening at home when it’s all done. But more than anything, I have to be thankful for how safe and blessed we have been throughout this entire trip, as though angels were following us and leading us and making the way. It can’t just be coincidence for 6000 miles, I don’t believe, I do believe we have guardians watching over us keeping us safe, and even keeping me from having to do the painful loss thing that I thought I was going to have to do with Teddy. Thank you is too small a phrase for what I feel about this. But. Thank you.
Friday, January 04, 2008
January 4 and it's raining in Sonora
I am home, the travels are finished, and I am back to work, trying to catch up. Might take some time. My internet connection at home is down, thank you ATT, so it might be a few days before I can finish up the last of the travels.
I can't believe how blessed I was on this whole trip. Very few glitches and home safe after 5 weeks on the road, yeah sure, a minor detail here and there. Moana's rib is still tender but her cuts have all healed. Teddy is home acting as if life is completely normal after his little escapade. The huge storm battering California waited until we had parked and emptied the motorhome and settled in, only waking me in the night with the pounding rain and wind blowing the car port metal around a bit. Lucky or angels, who knows, but I am grateful.
I'm looking forward to some quiet time, to the weekend, to actually getting the laundry finished and the mementos put away, but that will all come. For now, I'm watching the black clouds race by outside my window and getting back into work mode
I can't believe how blessed I was on this whole trip. Very few glitches and home safe after 5 weeks on the road, yeah sure, a minor detail here and there. Moana's rib is still tender but her cuts have all healed. Teddy is home acting as if life is completely normal after his little escapade. The huge storm battering California waited until we had parked and emptied the motorhome and settled in, only waking me in the night with the pounding rain and wind blowing the car port metal around a bit. Lucky or angels, who knows, but I am grateful.
I'm looking forward to some quiet time, to the weekend, to actually getting the laundry finished and the mementos put away, but that will all come. For now, I'm watching the black clouds race by outside my window and getting back into work mode
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
New Year's Day 2008
January 1, 2008New Year’s Day
Traveling west on I-10, the pavement here is smooth and dark, and great for writing. We left the campground this morning just before 9am and had some fun conversation about the old days when I used to do the show circuit selling flowers. Talking about the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the biggest in the world with Wes and Gayle last night was interesting. They were traveling in Holland last summer and Gayle wanted a very special gemstone ring that would commemorate her visit there, and found out after buying it that the owner of the little shop in Holland had purchased it at the Tucson show. Funny. Told Mo the story of the people at the quartzite show so many years ago when I was selling flowers there who were selling rv vents for 10 bucks each and making way more money than I was with all my fancy stuff. We laughed about “plastic sunglasses” and how easy it seems to have some little inexpensive thing to sell while you are traveling, but of course it never is as easy as it looks. Then we talked about having a little tent and I could do tarot readings. Once long ago I thought that might be fun, but I would definitely have to get my mind and soul back into a different place than I have been of late.
Yesterday was fun as we looked up two different sets of friends that Mo had in Tucson. The first people, Joe and Joan, have been friends with Mo since she and Carol lived in Monterra in the 70’s, and were actually married at the ranch there. They lived in a typical Arizona country club, with winding streets and generic houses that went on for a long way, but their home inside was lovely and their xerixcaped gardens were great. They have only lived there for a little more than 2 years, moving from Grass Valley in California and they loved it. We visited with them at their home for a time before going to Wes and Gayle’s home just a few miles away in the same area. Gayle called while we were traveling and suggested that we all come there for dinner instead of trying to go to a restaurant. She said, “I’ll just throw something in a pot, so it’s not a bit of trouble.” Mo had thought that it might be nice for the two couples to meet, but till now that hadn’t actually happened.
Wes and Gayle are Mo’s next door summer neighbors back in Rocky Point, but they are only there for 3 or 4 months a year and then come back to Arizona for the rest of the time, especially the winter. They had a truly lovely home on an acre or so along a typical Arizona arroyo with palo verde trees and cactus all around. The home was like something out of Sunset magazine showing contemporary desert living, with a barbeque patio that rivaled most kitchens I have seen, a big southwest style outdoor fireplace/over, with adobe walls and a beautiful waterfall. The waterfall was very similar to the one at Joe and Joan’s home, so I guess it’s the thing to do in the desert when you have no grass, you need some kind of water here and there.
The inside of the home was every bit as memorable with all the southwest décor that is so open and full of light. There were big windows with views on three sides of the mountain ranges around Tucson and we watched the sunset while eating some kind of incredible appetizers made with corn tortillas, shrimp, avocado and cilantro with a great pepper kick. Gayle also made lovely Cosmopolitans, which were new to me and a surprise as well since I didn’t think I liked vodka at all. Could do that again!
From appetizers in the living room we ambled to the dining room for a meal that was surely more than “something in a pot”. We had some kind of famous southwest chicken soup called “posole” that had hominy in it, but it wasn’t anything like the hominy I remember because this was really really good. They also served corn salsa, and green corn tamales that they brought back from Puerto Vallarta, beef tamales, and chicken enchiladas. After dinner she brought out the liqueurs with desserts and a can of whipped cream which made us all laugh. It was fun.
It was nice that everyone had a chance to get to know each other and I got to know Wes and Gayle a bit better so that when I get back to Rocky Point and they are there it will be fun. Gayle likes to walk and to play “hand and foot” so that’s a good start. Although her heart is here in Tucson so they may not be going back to Rocky Point many more times.
Mo and I were worn out and not up to the New Year’s party thing so we left around 10 and traveled back to the rv park and slept right through the whole thing. I put the tv on the channel where the ball was supposed to fall and don’t remember another thing. LOL
We stayed at a park called Cactus Country RV, which was just off I-10 near Houghton Road east of Tucson. It was a great choice, with really friendly staff, and in spite of being very nearly full, it was incredibly quiet. Maybe it was the direction of the desert wind, but I never heard a sound from the freeway that was about ½ miles south of us. Also, they have the night lighting restrictions in place in this part of Arizona as well and the sky was dark and brilliant with stars since the moon is in it’s waning phase and wasn’t up yet.
It’s interesting to see how we are treated in different parks. Most of the parks are geared to wintering snowbirds with lots of activities and amenities for long term stays. As a result, short timers or overnighters aren’t treated as well now and then. In this park, though, there was none of that, and I would definitely go back and stay here if traveling through Tucson, and if visiting would choose this one as a home base.
Coming up to the interchange between I-10 and I-8 shortly and in the west it looks as though there is a lot of dust. It was windy this morning as the sun rose, windy in that desert coyote way that I love, but a bit worrying for driving the rig, but so far it hasn’t been a problem. I do remember that often around Quartzite this time of year they have wind advisories and make the big rigs get off the roads. So this is the Phoenix bypass route we are taking and the wind and dust now are getting fairly serious. Who knows why rv’rs go to Quartzite, it’s big and flat and full of people, and it’s hard to imagine what draws so many there. It’s just a “thing” I guess, and everyone with an rv needs to see it at least once, so off we go.
December 29 to December 31 Texas again??
Beginning of week 5 on the travels
At the moment, just before 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, we are driving west on HWY 190, which up until now has been a pretty good two lane road. The most unique feature although, is the complete lack of company of any kind, including traffic or cell towers. It is utterly straight, utterly flat and utterly repetitious. There is brown grass and some kind of low tree that has no leaves. Occasionally there is a patch of prickly pear cactus or a dead deer. Have seen at least a dozen since we left Llano, which was a cute little town just a few miles north of Fredericksberg.
Fredericksberg and Llano were actually on the western edge of what is called the Hill Country of Texas, a general area west of Austin, north of San Antonio, and east of our route through the area. There seems to be a lot to do around the area, and the number of Texans wintering in their motorhomes and rv’s was astounding. Fredericksberg itself was a great little historic German town of around 8,000 people and a lot of cute shops and a few good restaurants. Publicity says it has the best Octoberfest west of Germany, and the Volkwaagen walk in November also draws big crowds.
We drove a few extra miles to see the famous Enchanted Rock, which is a huge batholith of pink granite extending up from the surrounding limestones and offering a view of all the surrounding hill country if one is willing to do the steep ½ mile hike, which we weren’t this time since the western road is beckoning. But there were some other state parks for hiking, some rivers and lakes for boating, and many small towns to explore, with a reputation for really good live music and shopping. Of course, shopping, it seems that Texans really love to shop. I can see going back to this place in Texas, especially in April when the famous bluebonnets and wildflowers are in bloom. The Visitor’s Center in Fredericksberg was actually open and was a lovely limestone building, full of light, airy, and crafted with European/German finesse. There were plenty of maps and brochures, good parking, and helpful people. A good place to check out if you are traveling in the area.
But driving west things begin to change. The lovely low rolling hills slowly give way to flatter limestone area of truly big nothing. That’s were we are right now, and Mo is driving so that I can return to my thoughts and write about the misadventures of the last couple of days.
December 30, 2007
More of Texas
A day later and the story is similar, at least for the moment. Driving west on a 2 lane Texas road with very little traffic. We took a side route off I-10 to get away from the big trucks and the wind, driving north on Texas 54, the “Texas Mountain Highway”, which is the main route north from the Interstate to the Guadalupe Mountains and Guadalupe Mountain National Park. It’s also the route to Carlsbad Caverns.
Yesterday we decided to pull off the highway in early afternoon so that we could get some groceries and set up before dark with a bit of relaxing time. Couldn’t make it all the way to Las Cruces so figured we could stop halfway at the only town of any real size between San Antonio and El Paso, Fort Stockton.
Fort Stockton didn’t have much to speak of, except the visitor center was actually open and also built from the large lovely limestone blocks that are used throughout this part of Texas. The proprietor there was a very old man who was very kind and helpful and gave us RV park lists, maps, and a great brochure on the Texas Mountain Country. Seems as though we unexpectedly were on the edge of another interesting area of Texas, one that will need further exploration another time.
But in the mean time, the important thing was food and rest, so we decided on a funky park south of town. From the highway it looked really terrible, and yet once set up and inside our rig, it wasn’t so bad. First thing to notice was all the telephone poles and wires. Most parks now have underground utilities, so it was strange to see all these ugly things everywhere. The bathrooms looked as though they were made of old cardboard, and the spaces were just gravel and weedy grass full of burrs and stickers, another thing that has been a real pain in texas, the goathead burrs.
But the park had the fastest wifi I have had in some time, cable tv which we seem to never manage to watch, but always think we want it, power, water that tasted good, and sewer, which we ended up not using anyway. Our tanks are still only less than 1/2 full after 4 days now, including our boondocking night, and we haven’t emptied them yet. Lots more storage space for water of all types in this rig.
Haven’t had a pizza since we left a month ago, and pizza is one of the favorites around here, so we bought DeGiornio’s rising crust and decided to give the new oven a try for something more complicated than baking a potato. Worked great after I got the hang of the warm up cycle, and it’s really nice to have a real oven to cook with. Took a little bit of time to fiddle with things and get more settled in for the evening, went for a walk with the dog, and took some photos of the sunset before settling in to write and upload photos and watch a little bit of news.
Walking through the park I got to do one of my favorite things which is looking in people’s windows at dusk while they are doing life. Crazy thing, I know, but I love it. So walking by an older rig I saw a sweet older couple all cuddled up on their sofa watching TV. They waved and smiled and I waved back thinking, ahh, the rv life, not a bad way to retire if you have someone who loves to do it with you and who cares about you as well. They seemed so contented in their cozy little space, and so friendly with the windows all open.
The night was cold but not as cold as some have been on the trip, but the insulation in the back of this rig isn’t enough to keep it warm in the bedroom portion and I kept waking up with a cold head. Guess I have to get an old lady nightcap or something, because I couldn’t sleep. I’d get all hot under the covers, and whatever I stuck out would get all freezing. Finally got up at some ungodly hour and turned the heat up, but still couldn’t get my head warm. Then Teddy decided it was time to play and visit and work on his security issues, stepping on our heads and crawling around yowling for a few hours. I kept wondering why I wanted to find him anyway. He seems a bit traumatized and sleeps hidden all day in whatever space he can find and then wanders around from window to window for a good portion of the night. Hopefully after a bit he will settle down again, but at the moment he has found the space under the sofa between the wall of the slideout to hide and is sleeping there soundly and won’t budge. I decided I needed to harass him all day and keep him awake, so I closed up his cage where he usually hides, but he seems to have found another hiding place after all. Think I’ll go bug him soon.
Morning came, still dark at 7am because we are so close to the time change boundary into mountain time and I got up and made coffee and started planning the day. Heading for Las Cruces now and there is a great park that we hope to stay right within walking distance of Old Mesilla, the historic part of Las Cruces.
The drive west from Fort Stockton has been wonderful in the way driving in the open desert can be wonderful. There were lots of mountains, shadowed desert kinds of mountains, all along the interstate and then when we headed north it was really dramatic for a time. The landscape changes a lot, but it’s fun to be back in an area that I was in 5 years ago when I went to the Soil Science Geomorphic Institute in Las Cruces. Once again I have some familiarity with the landscape, the vegetation, the natural story of this place and that feels good. I’m looking forward to seeing the Rio Grand valley again, and the Organ Mountains. As I remember in this part of the country, once again the sky is perfectly clear and blue and the sun is still straight up, not a shadow anywhere is the white hot light. And it’s December. Highway 54 was a great way to get north and now on 62/180 going west we have skipped all the boring interstate stuff and truck traffic, and even though there is an occasional car and truck, it’s still relaxing and fun to do. Probably adds about 30 miles to the distance to El Paso, but well worth it.
Mo filled up the rig for the first time and the numbers don’t look that great. At first it looked like 8 mpg but hopefully that figure is skewed by the fact that we ran the generator quite a bit the night we were boondocking. We will fill up again all the way the next time we get gas and hope that the numbers go up somewhere in the vicinity of 10 mpg at least. The Baby MoHo got about 10mpg when she was towing the baby car, but that was 10,000 pounds and a ford 350 and this is 14,000 pounds and a Ford 450. I guess we will see how that one goes. Both of the engines are V-10’s, and never seem to be short on power in any situation, so that’s a good thing. Not like some of those old motorhomes that you see lugging down on the hills. Will have to wait for the western mountains I guess to see how she does on a really steep pass.
December 31, 2007
New Year’s eve
Usually on this day I am writing about my life during the past year, but at the moment I am still trying to integrate my life of the last month. Quiet time for reflection consists of a few moments here and there as the miles pass, and then I am usually either writing or trying to knit on bumpy pavement. As we speak. So the reflection falls away and the wild desert scenery takes over my thoughts and the computer goes back to the sofa as I enjoy the ride. ahh.
At the moment, just before 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, we are driving west on HWY 190, which up until now has been a pretty good two lane road. The most unique feature although, is the complete lack of company of any kind, including traffic or cell towers. It is utterly straight, utterly flat and utterly repetitious. There is brown grass and some kind of low tree that has no leaves. Occasionally there is a patch of prickly pear cactus or a dead deer. Have seen at least a dozen since we left Llano, which was a cute little town just a few miles north of Fredericksberg.
Fredericksberg and Llano were actually on the western edge of what is called the Hill Country of Texas, a general area west of Austin, north of San Antonio, and east of our route through the area. There seems to be a lot to do around the area, and the number of Texans wintering in their motorhomes and rv’s was astounding. Fredericksberg itself was a great little historic German town of around 8,000 people and a lot of cute shops and a few good restaurants. Publicity says it has the best Octoberfest west of Germany, and the Volkwaagen walk in November also draws big crowds.
We drove a few extra miles to see the famous Enchanted Rock, which is a huge batholith of pink granite extending up from the surrounding limestones and offering a view of all the surrounding hill country if one is willing to do the steep ½ mile hike, which we weren’t this time since the western road is beckoning. But there were some other state parks for hiking, some rivers and lakes for boating, and many small towns to explore, with a reputation for really good live music and shopping. Of course, shopping, it seems that Texans really love to shop. I can see going back to this place in Texas, especially in April when the famous bluebonnets and wildflowers are in bloom. The Visitor’s Center in Fredericksberg was actually open and was a lovely limestone building, full of light, airy, and crafted with European/German finesse. There were plenty of maps and brochures, good parking, and helpful people. A good place to check out if you are traveling in the area.
But driving west things begin to change. The lovely low rolling hills slowly give way to flatter limestone area of truly big nothing. That’s were we are right now, and Mo is driving so that I can return to my thoughts and write about the misadventures of the last couple of days.
December 30, 2007
More of Texas
A day later and the story is similar, at least for the moment. Driving west on a 2 lane Texas road with very little traffic. We took a side route off I-10 to get away from the big trucks and the wind, driving north on Texas 54, the “Texas Mountain Highway”, which is the main route north from the Interstate to the Guadalupe Mountains and Guadalupe Mountain National Park. It’s also the route to Carlsbad Caverns.
Yesterday we decided to pull off the highway in early afternoon so that we could get some groceries and set up before dark with a bit of relaxing time. Couldn’t make it all the way to Las Cruces so figured we could stop halfway at the only town of any real size between San Antonio and El Paso, Fort Stockton.
Fort Stockton didn’t have much to speak of, except the visitor center was actually open and also built from the large lovely limestone blocks that are used throughout this part of Texas. The proprietor there was a very old man who was very kind and helpful and gave us RV park lists, maps, and a great brochure on the Texas Mountain Country. Seems as though we unexpectedly were on the edge of another interesting area of Texas, one that will need further exploration another time.
But in the mean time, the important thing was food and rest, so we decided on a funky park south of town. From the highway it looked really terrible, and yet once set up and inside our rig, it wasn’t so bad. First thing to notice was all the telephone poles and wires. Most parks now have underground utilities, so it was strange to see all these ugly things everywhere. The bathrooms looked as though they were made of old cardboard, and the spaces were just gravel and weedy grass full of burrs and stickers, another thing that has been a real pain in texas, the goathead burrs.
But the park had the fastest wifi I have had in some time, cable tv which we seem to never manage to watch, but always think we want it, power, water that tasted good, and sewer, which we ended up not using anyway. Our tanks are still only less than 1/2 full after 4 days now, including our boondocking night, and we haven’t emptied them yet. Lots more storage space for water of all types in this rig.
Haven’t had a pizza since we left a month ago, and pizza is one of the favorites around here, so we bought DeGiornio’s rising crust and decided to give the new oven a try for something more complicated than baking a potato. Worked great after I got the hang of the warm up cycle, and it’s really nice to have a real oven to cook with. Took a little bit of time to fiddle with things and get more settled in for the evening, went for a walk with the dog, and took some photos of the sunset before settling in to write and upload photos and watch a little bit of news.
Walking through the park I got to do one of my favorite things which is looking in people’s windows at dusk while they are doing life. Crazy thing, I know, but I love it. So walking by an older rig I saw a sweet older couple all cuddled up on their sofa watching TV. They waved and smiled and I waved back thinking, ahh, the rv life, not a bad way to retire if you have someone who loves to do it with you and who cares about you as well. They seemed so contented in their cozy little space, and so friendly with the windows all open.
The night was cold but not as cold as some have been on the trip, but the insulation in the back of this rig isn’t enough to keep it warm in the bedroom portion and I kept waking up with a cold head. Guess I have to get an old lady nightcap or something, because I couldn’t sleep. I’d get all hot under the covers, and whatever I stuck out would get all freezing. Finally got up at some ungodly hour and turned the heat up, but still couldn’t get my head warm. Then Teddy decided it was time to play and visit and work on his security issues, stepping on our heads and crawling around yowling for a few hours. I kept wondering why I wanted to find him anyway. He seems a bit traumatized and sleeps hidden all day in whatever space he can find and then wanders around from window to window for a good portion of the night. Hopefully after a bit he will settle down again, but at the moment he has found the space under the sofa between the wall of the slideout to hide and is sleeping there soundly and won’t budge. I decided I needed to harass him all day and keep him awake, so I closed up his cage where he usually hides, but he seems to have found another hiding place after all. Think I’ll go bug him soon.
Morning came, still dark at 7am because we are so close to the time change boundary into mountain time and I got up and made coffee and started planning the day. Heading for Las Cruces now and there is a great park that we hope to stay right within walking distance of Old Mesilla, the historic part of Las Cruces.
The drive west from Fort Stockton has been wonderful in the way driving in the open desert can be wonderful. There were lots of mountains, shadowed desert kinds of mountains, all along the interstate and then when we headed north it was really dramatic for a time. The landscape changes a lot, but it’s fun to be back in an area that I was in 5 years ago when I went to the Soil Science Geomorphic Institute in Las Cruces. Once again I have some familiarity with the landscape, the vegetation, the natural story of this place and that feels good. I’m looking forward to seeing the Rio Grand valley again, and the Organ Mountains. As I remember in this part of the country, once again the sky is perfectly clear and blue and the sun is still straight up, not a shadow anywhere is the white hot light. And it’s December. Highway 54 was a great way to get north and now on 62/180 going west we have skipped all the boring interstate stuff and truck traffic, and even though there is an occasional car and truck, it’s still relaxing and fun to do. Probably adds about 30 miles to the distance to El Paso, but well worth it.
Mo filled up the rig for the first time and the numbers don’t look that great. At first it looked like 8 mpg but hopefully that figure is skewed by the fact that we ran the generator quite a bit the night we were boondocking. We will fill up again all the way the next time we get gas and hope that the numbers go up somewhere in the vicinity of 10 mpg at least. The Baby MoHo got about 10mpg when she was towing the baby car, but that was 10,000 pounds and a ford 350 and this is 14,000 pounds and a Ford 450. I guess we will see how that one goes. Both of the engines are V-10’s, and never seem to be short on power in any situation, so that’s a good thing. Not like some of those old motorhomes that you see lugging down on the hills. Will have to wait for the western mountains I guess to see how she does on a really steep pass.
December 31, 2007
New Year’s eve
Usually on this day I am writing about my life during the past year, but at the moment I am still trying to integrate my life of the last month. Quiet time for reflection consists of a few moments here and there as the miles pass, and then I am usually either writing or trying to knit on bumpy pavement. As we speak. So the reflection falls away and the wild desert scenery takes over my thoughts and the computer goes back to the sofa as I enjoy the ride. ahh.
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