“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” -Benjamin Franklin
This week just blew by. The weather is the thing that seems to take up much of my attention these days. By all accounts, it won’t be long before I must leave the comfort of Ehrenberg, and my home for the past 5 months and move northward, to higher elevations to escape the blazing heat that will soon make living in the desert impossible. Before I leave this area, I want one final vacation (stop laughing. I know my entire life seems like a vacation, but everything is relative) before I leave for the summer. I want to go to El Dorado Hot Springs outside of Phoenix. I want to go there when it’s warm, but before it gets unbearably hot. I’m told that timing that right could be a tricky proposition. Most of the residents of the BLM land where I’m currently staying leave by April 15th. No one stays for the summer as temperatures can reach 120 degrees. Living in a tiny metal box, that kind of heat could be deadly. But some years (I’ve been told) it gets blazing hot early in April and some years it may be delayed until almost May. With climate change, I’ve seen how the weather the past couple years is not nearly as predictable as it once was.
So each day, I check the extended forecast for here and for Tonopah (where El Dorado Hot Springs is located) to see if they are predicting temperatures in the 90’s. I want to leave here and go there for a week before it gets above 95 degrees. (Actually, high 80’s would work well, I think). It’s still up in the air if any amount of weather watching will work. The weather channel can’t seem to predict the weather accurately for tomorrow. How can I trust them to tell me what it will be like in two weeks? But I continue to watch. I’ve got nothing holding me down here. I could leave as soon as tomorrow if I chose. It’s about an hour and a half to get to the spa. I will stay in Ehrenberg as long as I can, because after the spa, I’ll be heading north to Prescott Valley to visit Barbara and Lark and I don’t want to arrive there if the temperature still drops to freezing at night, or if they are having snow. I’ve got several places (BLM land) picked out between the hot springs and Prescott Valley. I’m hoping the weather in those places will be somewhere between freezing and scorching.
Bonnie and I went to lunch in town on Tuesday. After driving into Q last week to meet a friend for lunch, I realized how easy it is to incorporate the things I used to like (Mexican food and margaritas) when I lived in the empire into my life out here. Going out to eat is one of those things. Being on a limited budget, it won’t be a weekly occurrence, but it sure was fun to go to a Mexican restaurant, sit outside, watch people walking by in Blythe, feeling the warmth of the sun and drinking a margarita. Bliss.
While in town, I got groceries and ran a few errands. It was a nice day.
With so many very windy days, Cosmo and I spend much time inside. I’ve been experimenting with cooking this week. I’m trying to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into my meals. Bonnie told me about Haluski (a Polish cabbage dish). It’s simple and was quite delicious. I also made an Indian curry dish with tofu, brussels sprouts, and coconut milk. Served over brown rice it felt healthy and tasted good. I’ve also been playing with my mini waffle maker. I made a pretty delicious banana nut bread waffle. I found some cheap muffin mixes in the dollar store…”just add milk” and poured the batter into my waffle maker. They made wonderful deserts and a nice morning treat to have with my coffee. I also made some peanut butter cookies in the waffle maker. I made a veggie omelet waffle by first grilling some finely chopped leftover veggies on the bottom of the waffle maker, and then pouring a mixture of whipped eggs and cheese over the top before closing the lid. I topped it off with sour cream and a bit of salsa. Pretty amazing!
Lessons From The Road: I’m really happy. And content. This has been such a good month for me. I feel very safe and content here in my huge space in Ehrenberg overlooking an asphalt factory.
I see the caterpillar bulldozers and backhoes down in a nearby valley. I have come to believe they are scooping up dirt to mix with whatever other materials make up asphalt. I can hear their back-up beeps in the distance early in the morning before the sun rises. I look down and watch them, almost like toys because they are so small in the distance.
When the sun sets, I look to the west as the lights come on in Blythe, CA across the Colorado River. From my vantage point up on this mesa, it looks like Las Vegas (with the main casino being the Pilot Truck Stop.)
The waxing moon is hovering above the city lights, with Jupiter, Venus and Mars nearby. (Well, nearby from MY point of view.) The days are mostly warm and are getting longer with each sunrise as we head toward the Solstice. Life is good. I need to remember how much I enjoy some semblance of stability. Going from Q to Ehrenberg, to Cottonwood Springs and back has been very easy and reassuring for me this winter. I’m going to try to duplicate that feeling in the Flagstaff area this summer.