“Before that altering apple
We were one with everything
No sense of self and other
No self-consciousness.
But now we have to grapple
With our man-made world backfiring
Keeping one eye on our brother’s deadly selfishness.” ~ Joni Mitchell
Coming back to Marshall Lake turned out to be a good decision. Setting up in my favorite spot was familiar and comfortable. On the south side, there is a large half circle pull-out and two 5th wheels were filling it up. They seemed to know each other, and I think were traveling together as they left at the same time on Wednesday morning. To the north side, a van pulled in but he was behind some tall trees, so I never really saw him. All neighbors mostly stayed inside.
The weather was gorgeous all week. Mostly mid to upper 70’s and often a nice breeze. Cosmo and I walked every morning after it warmed up a bit (overnight temperatures dipped into the 40’s) and sometimes we sat outside with me in the sun and Cosmo preferring his blanket in the shade.
I was a bit stressed when I moved on Sunday. I wanted to find a spot closer to downtown Flagstaff because I have an eye doctor’s appointment on the 2nd of July, and I need to have bloodwork re-done as my doctor or LabCorp lost my first tests. I also have a missing filling in a back tooth and will need to find a dentist. Medical appointments can be quite trying when you live on the road. My goal was to see if I could stay near downtown Flagstaff, and condense the three appointments into as small a window as possible and then get back far away from town. That proved quite difficult and since I already had the eye appointment, I decided to go by the old adage: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. (Yes, a strange adage for a vegetarian to go by, right?) I will get my eyes checked and then start working on the next appointment of getting my bloodwork done. After that I’ll find a dentist willing to work on someone “passing through.” If the weather cools, Winslow is a good bet for dentistry. Winslow is a town in decline, inhabited in large part by tourists. When I was there, I saw many dentists, some with signs indicating ‘Walk-ins welcome.” If the heatwave breaks, Winslow may be a good bet for getting my filling replaced.
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On Thursday I met a man named E.J. who camps in his tent in the summer and has a small pull-behind trailer that he stores in Quartzsite for use during the winter months. E.J. and his dog Shelagh stopped by and hung out for the afternoon. He had been at Ashurst Lake (and had seen me parked down the road). We really hit it off and he decided to go back, pack up and join me at Marshall Lake on Friday. After he left, my friend Greg who I met a couple of years ago here at Marshall Lake texted to see if I was in the area. He also stopped by for a visit. It was SO nice to hang out with fellow nomads (especially here in Flagstaff during tourist season) rather than be annoyed by the weekender wannabes.
Late Thursday night, a Class C pulled in at an adjacent site. It was the spot that E.J. had planned on moving into on Friday morning. I was a little disappointed, but I also noticed that they pulled in and immediately turned off their lights. They came out with a flashlight to get settled in and although I could hear them talking, they weren’t shouting instructions loud enough for the entire forest to hear. They made short work of it, went back inside and turned out the lights. At least they weren’t going to be loud, obnoxious neighbors.
In the morning when I went out to let Cosmo pee, the woman (I forget her name) asked if she could pet him, and the man (“D”) introduced himself and shook my hand. We hit it off immediately. I had on a SkooliePalooza shirt, and he related his story about being there two years ago. We knew some of the same people. We shared favorite spots we’ve stayed at, and you could feel the excitement in the air. We were so happy to have run into each other—full-time nomads, in the forest during tourist season. JACKPOT!
E.J. and Shelagh pulled in about noon and we all walked to nearby spots so E.J. could decide which site was most suitable for tent camping. He got set up and then came to my site and we hung out most of the afternoon. We both seem to have similar “migration patterns,” being in the Flagstaff area during the summer and Quartzsite region in the winter. I told him about Holtville Hot Springs and promised to take him there this winter. I also said he could come with me back to Two Guns if the weather ever cools down enough for it to be a viable option. He had a date and headed into Flagstaff at dinnertime. He didn’t return back to camp so his date either went very well, or he turned out to be an axe murderer. Time will tell.
It’s once again chigger season and I have the welts to prove it. I don’t think there are preventative measures, but I’ve found that staying out of the tall grass as much as possible and wiping my legs down with alcohol when I come back inside seems to help to either remove or kill them.
Also, it is Woo Girl season. A group of 20-something young women set up tents a few sites south of me. Their loud, screechy voices and valley-girl speak penetrated the forest and was quite obnoxious, but not nearly as much as when they started drinking Friday night. You could hear them squealing “woo” for miles away. Unlike chiggers, you cannot stop woo girls with alcohol. Alcohol only exacerbates the problem. Usually they evaporate by Sunday afternoon and won’t return until the following Friday morning. Chiggers will hold steady through the fall.
Lessons From The Road: I so enjoyed meeting E.J. and visiting with Greg. It made me realize that there ARE fellow nomads here in Flagstaff during “tourist season” and they too are looking to connect (or in some cases re-connect) with like-minded souls. I had been letting the annoying weekenders, Fauxmads, and “influencers” take my attention away from what I really enjoy. It’s easy to do. The tourist crowd makes a lot of noise. They are showy. “Look at me, look at ME. I’m a Vanlifer” (influencer, YouTube celeb, whatever). The nomads are tucked away but they are there if you look for them. And my lesson is to LOOK FOR THEM. My conversations with E.J and “D” were so animated. It made me remember what I love about living on the road. Instead of dreading the rest of the summer having to choose between extreme heat or extreme morons, I have switched my focus to hanging out with my tribe once again. It really made my week to switch focus from annoying neighbors to finding people that I felt a deep connection with, some even after only a 20 minute conversation.