“We were told magic didn’t exist, but when the afternoon sun snuck through the branches to light everything up, we knew the magic had been hiding in the forest all along.”
― The Story People
At the end of last week I suspected I was low on fresh water. I can never know for sure because my freshwater gauge has not worked since I bought the van. After two years (I celebrated my two-year anniversary on the road July 1) I’ve learned to have a “feel” for many systems in my van. My fresh water is in a tank below the van. It holds (according to the owner’s manual) 32 gallons. It is pumped via a water pump under my kitchen sink, to the sink and my indoor and outdoor showers. I believe (though I’m not certain) that the pump pressurizes the tank and thus forces both hot and cold water through the system depending which faucet(s) I turn on. It’s taken a while, but I now instinctively notice how long the water pump runs after I turn the water off. My theory is that the longer it runs, the more air is in the tank. More air = less water. So when I start to notice it running for more than a few seconds I know my water level in the tank is starting to get low. I drove down one day last week to get supplies in Flag and on the way back stopped at an RV park where I’ve gotten my water and propane since I’ve been in Coconino Forest. Their potable water system was out of order, so I didn’t get any. I figured I could hold off for a few days. But on Sunday morning, I turned the kitchen faucet on and the water came out slowly. The pump ran and ran but was only producing a trickle. I knew for sure that my tank was nearly completely empty. I searched the Great Google Machine (I could not continue on this journey without Google—it is integral to so many of my necessities in life) and found out that if I drove about a mile down the road I was camped off (Ashurst Lake Road) I would cross Lake Mary Road and be in a paid campground where they have fresh water for sale to the public. So Monday morning, I packed up everything, put all pots and pans and electronics safely away (or so I thought) and headed down the rugged road. I had only gotten a few yards out of my campsite when I heard a crash. I’d forgotten to lock one of my cupboard doors and a bump (bump is putting it mildly) popped the door open and out crashed my filtered water (in a Britta pitcher) and many cleaning supplies. The water spilled all over my floor and rug. Fortunately, the way my van is designed, the floor doubles as a shower pan and has a shower drain at one end. It was an easy task to sweep all the water (about a gallon) toward the drain. I put everything back in the cupboard and locked it and continued on. I made it nearly to the bottom of the hill before I heard another crash. Items that were on top of a cabinet and a few things that are normally stable while driving had gradually wandered due to the vibration caused by the deeply rutted dirt road. Things were hitting Cosmo’s metal food dish and clanging before hitting the floor. I stopped at the main road, decided that nothing needed immediate attention and drove across into the campground. I got water without incident, and while my tank was filling (it takes a long time to fill a 32-gallon tank) I cleaned up the mess inside, and secured everything back in place. With a full water tank, I drove back up the hill to my campsite.
The day before, I happened to notice a very tall dead tree, leaning against another tree. Upon closer inspection, the dead tree looked pretty rotted at the bottom. I looked around my campsite and realized there were many fallen trees. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this tall, leaning tree could, at any minute, become one of the tree trunks on the ground. I did my best calculation based on the angle it was leaning and decided there was a pretty good chance that if it fell, it would fall directly on my van.
So, when I came back from my ater run, I parked at the opposite end of the campground. It took a bit of maneuvering to get level, but I did, and the new angle provided me morning and afternoon shade, with enough direct sun mid-day to charge my lithium batteries. It stayed cool about an hour longer in the morning and started to be out of direct sun by about 5 in the afternoon. I was at an angle where my back was to the forest when I sat in my living room/dining room/office, and I could look out the window across from me and see anyone coming and going. I much preferred this to hearing a vehicle and having to scoot around to look behind me to see what was going on. My front doors now opened to the densest part of the forest near me. It was a good spot.
With a full tank of water, and the temperature in the mid-80’s, I decided it was a perfect afternoon for a shower. Traffic on my side road was minimal—hours would pass without anyone going by, so I went outside, attached my shower head to the side of the van, and took my time washing and conditioning my hair and beard, and scrubbing my feet. I paid extra attention to scrubbing my arms and legs, still covered in welts from chigger bites. I returned to the van a new man.
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I woke up to a very cloudy day. I tend to wake up with the first signs of daylight, but with heavy clouds, I could have easily rolled over and gone back to sleep. But I was awake and so was Cosmo, so I got up, did my morning routine and we went for a walk. It looked like rain, but the forecast showed there was not much hope of that. I made myself some marbled rye toast with cream cheese and a dollop of fig jam. As I sat down to eat, my friend Kent called, and we took a huge step in finalizing our plans to camp together next month. I know Kent from Delaware. He often took time off work and went out in the boonies camping in one of his many (over the years) vans. We promised each other that at some point on my journey we’d share a campground and after two years, it seems like that plan will come to fruition. He’s going to fly out to Hurricane, UT with his son, Felix, in August and head east toward me, and we’ll spend a few days together at various sites in the area. Then he and Felix will head back west to see dinosaur tracks and to meet up with several of Felix’s YouTube favorite celebrities who rescue poor souls who get stuck in sand in the desert. Can’t wait to see them.
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Each day this week was hotter than the previous one. The low most nights was around 60, which means it was still warm when Cosmo and I went to bed. A search of the region and weather maps has not given much hope that we can move anywhere cooler without driving for days. My back up plan—to rent a motel room and sit inside in the A/C and watch HBO got less inviting when I realized the rates more than doubled on weekends, and that’s when it was the hottest.
I took showers each afternoon, or at least a quick rinse to remove the grit and cool off a bit. One night I went outside. It was still hot and I decided to get a shower before bed. I looked up and could vaguely see the Milky Way. I have to tell you, there is nothing more awe inspiring than to be naked outside, taking a shower and seeing this:
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Friday, the heat got pretty close to unbearable. It was only 92 degrees for the high, but no air was moving. I got online and booked a motel room in town for Saturday and Sunday nights. It is apparently not possible anymore to call a motel directly. You must go through Priceline, or Cheap Motels.com, or some other booking app. They are all bait and switch. The motel I chose was Studio 6. It was $51 a night compared to The L Motel (which even the best photos made it look like a dive) at $46. Of course that was for MONDAY AND TUESDAY nights, based on a two day stay. For Saturday and Sunday night it was just shy of $250. I searched and searched and finally gave in. It was going to be bordering on 100 degrees both days and staying in the forest didn’t seem like a safe option. I’ve spent no money this month except for groceries, so I felt like was time for a splurge.
When we went for our bedtime walk Friday night, I looked up and the Milky Way was clearly visible again in the moonless sky. It never gets old, looking up and seeing the grand galaxy we live in. I took Cosmo back inside and grabbed my GoPro and headed out to take some more photos.
Saturday was Cosmo’s Birthday (can you believe he turned 6 years old?) When I woke up, instead of our usual morning snuggle and belly rub, I sang happy birthday to him, in my most operatic voice. He sang along. Or maybe he just howled because my singing hurt his ears. At any rate, we had quite a duet.
This picture was taken shortly after I brought Cosmo home. Can you believe we both were ever so cute and young?
We did our morning walk at 7:00 and it was already 76 degrees outside. Our motel room check in said “anytime after 3:00.” I sent a request through Expedia for an early check-in. By 3:00 the heat was going be intolerable outside, so the sooner we could get to AC the better.
We packed up and left for Walmart around 11:00 a.m. and after getting a few supplies, we headed to the motel. The room was nice, but the staff were pretty horrible. Bad manners, and bad attitudes. I got to the room and cranked up the AC. I went into the bathroom and ran a tubful of the hottest water I could stand and got in. I turned off the lights and found a playlist on my iPhone that said “Favorite Massage.” I put it on shuffle as I used to do when I did massages in Delaware. Not only was it soothing, but as I sunk back with my eyes closed, I was transported to my massage room, remembering many of my favorite clients and the way life was a few years ago in Delaware. My life is so different now. It is often quite strange. But it is rarely dull.
Lessons From The Road: GPS is a big deal. I forget just how important it is to my life until I find I have no phone signal and cannot use my Google Maps to get to my next destination. This morning, I needed to go to Walmart and when I tried to navigate using Google Maps on my phone, the little hour glass just spun round and round. I had been to Walmart 4 or 5 times since I stayed here outside of Flagstaff, so I thought I knew how to get there. I started down the road, and after the first turn, and another 5 miles I started doubting myself. Had I gone too far? Not far enough? I pulled over and finally got connected and got the map and directions up and working. Without it, I would not have found Walmart. Likewise, driving into town to stay at a motel with A/C would have been completely impossible without the GPS in my phone. When I think about it ahead of time, I send myself a map so in case I can’t get connected, I can pull up the map I sent to myself via e-mail. But I don’t often remember to do that. I’m going to have to try to remember.
I will need a plan for next summer. This is my third summer as a nomad. Each summer has been hotter than the last. At this rate, next summer will be impossible. It seems like spots along the California coast are cooler than here in the mountains. I’m going to have to do some serious research and find spots to stay, near the coast, for free. From what I gather, that’s a tall order. We’ll see.
The spot I have been in for nearly two weeks is quite beautiful—not nearly as nice as the spot on Marshall Lake, but I’ve been told that Marshall Lake is just a mudflat these days. The lake dried up completely. Marshall Lake was always busy with lots of traffic on the main road running through it and even though I was parked on a side road, the dust from the main road was unrelenting. The spot off Lake Ashurst Road was much quieter. I seldom had neighbors, but even when I did, the spots were so big that the site next door was quite a distance away and there were many tall pines in between for lots of privacy. It would be an ideal spot to spend the summer, if the temperatures would only cooperate.