“Two of us riding nowhere
Spending someone’s hard-earned pay
You and me Sunday driving
Not arriving on our way back home”
~Lennon/McCartney
My week on the Colorado River with Matt was pure bliss. We were on a peninsula, and the road we took to get there dead-ended at our site. The space was huge and Cosmo could easily be off-leash to play ball and run down to get a drink from the cold river. Matt and I sat outside in the sunshine with the temps reaching 85 on some days, and the “cold days” still getting up into the upper 70’s. Matt flew his drone and got some great shots, and it inspired me to get my drone out after having been packed away for almost 2 years. The views were breath-taking.
We had both agreed early last week that we’d stay until Monday or Tuesday. Monday was so nice that we just couldn’t go. I decided to take a bath in the river since the air temperature was in the mid-80’s. The water was cold but refreshing. After I washed myself, I washed some clothes and hung them out to dry.
I had to laugh at the obvious predisposition in my wardrobe.
Matt and I started packing up stuff that wasn’t necessary for our last evening there. We each have many kinds of solar lights that we string from our awnings and over bushes when we set up our compound together. Those came down, and by Monday night, we both rolled up our awnings and got ready for the move. It was an easy pack on Tuesday morning. We just had to load stuff into our vans and go. We both had to go into town to get some food. Blythe was on my way to Joshua Tree, so it wasn’t a hardship to stop for supplies. Matt drove in about a half hour behind me and then headed back to the Colorado River. He decided to move farther down the river for a bit. We said our good-byes again. It wasn’t nearly as difficult for me this time as I feel quite certain our paths will cross again. Maybe even this season.
The drive to the BLM land south of JTNP is almost 2 hours. I found a good playlist and sang (I use that word loosely) my heart out with my favorite artists. I arrived, found my favorite spot by a wash and quickly set up camp.
But not before going over a hump that scraped the bottom of my van. I later discovered that I’d pulled a drainpipe loose from my grey water tank (water from my sink). I let it drain, crawled under and it appears to be an easy fix once I go to Walmart and get some Flex Seal. Fingers crossed.
The weather was much cooler and my first full day here was very cloudy. With hoodie on, I played fetch in the wash with Cosmo. We hung out inside much of the day and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.
The BLM land just south of Joshua Tree National Park has always been one of my favorite spots to stay. My first year here, I met a lot of new nomads who had about as much experience as I did being on the road. We all became fast friends and I am still in contact with some of them. In the years that followed, I often met up with some friends here, and usually met some new people to hang out with as well. And when I ended up alone here, the weather had always been beautiful, the night skies full of stars, and this was a nice place to relax and regroup before heading to hot springs. This stay was without friends. Nobody was camped remotely close and the weather was not really conducive to walking around to see what new friends might be here. It was safe, and quiet and it did indeed offer a place to regroup, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I’d made reservations for the Fountain of Youth spa for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. By Friday, I was wishing I’d made arrangements to move there sooner, but since I had already reserved space, I decided I needed to make a new plan. I need to go to Walmart to get supplies to fix my broken pipe. That’s not on the way to the FOY spa. I was going to go Monday on when I left JTNP, but decided instead to go Sunday morning, get what I need for repairs and then start heading toward FOY. I found some campgrounds in Mecca, on the Salton Sea, that offer seniors a spot for $8 a night. I can stay at one of them on Sunday night, do my repairs under the van and let the sealant set up before moving to the spa on Monday morning.
Matt texted. He said the spot he’d chosen (from a map) on the California side of the Colorado River was a bust. All sites were closed and barricaded. He went back to the Arizona side, found a spot for the night, but decided to move on to Holtville Hot Springs. It was (still is) my plan to head there after my “vacation” at the Fountain of Youth spa. I was a bit jealous that he not only went there but arrived before I did. He said he found a great spot deep in the Long Term Visitor Area and saved a space for me if I wanted to set up next to him. I will certainly take him up on that offer when I arrive there on Thursday. Last year I settled in deep, away from people who wanted to be closer to the hot spring. I had my e-bike, so I could ride over two or sometimes three times every day. Matt said if I stay next to him, I can always ride over to the hot springs with him in his side-by-side, or if I wanted to go when he wasn’t going, I can use his e-bike. How can I turn down an offer like that?
Lessons From The Road: My first year on the road, my goal was to visit as many National Parks and see as many sites, and visit as many friends as possible. It didn’t take me long to come to the conclusion that tourist spots were not going to be my thing. I soon switched to looking for remote spots, far from other humans whenever possible. I enjoyed that for the most part. And when I felt the need for human contact, I found events like Van Pride and SkooliePalooza. Those things gave me my social time and I could easily move back to the wild and be alone and glad for the peace and quiet. This year I’ve begun to morph into a new mindset. I can still do alone quite well but have decided that I should be staying in places that are not only easy to be in, but easily accessible to necessary supplies. While staying by the river last week, a light bulb went off in my head: “Why am I not staying in beautiful spots by the water more often?” Here at Joshua Tree, in my favorite spots, I realized that I should never stay in a place where the temperature is uncomfortable if there are other options (and there almost ALWAYS are other options) and when I find a spot that is so wonderful (like the river, Holtville Hot Springs, or Mitri Lake) I should stay as long as I can rather than feel the need to move to someplace I was last year at this time. I think when I get to the hot springs, I’ll stay a month or maybe longer. There is no real need to move. My self-imposed need to “explore” has gradually faded. I will probably start staying in my favorite spots, for long periods of time and with any luck, will stay in those spots with good friends.
That’s all I got
Love you like a dog
See you down the road,
Scott
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