“I fell in with some drifters
Cast upon a beach town
Winn Dixie cold cuts and highway hand me downs
And I wound up fixing dinner
For them and Boston Jim
I well up with affection
Thinking back down the roads to then ”
-Joni Mitchell
On Sunday I packed up and moved from New River to Tonopah, about an hour’s drive southwest. I was quite content in New River, but I wanted to stop in Tonopah at the hot springs before moving to Quartzsite for most of the winter. Looking at the weather forecast, I saw my window of opportunity was going to be Sunday to Wednesday morning if I wanted to avoid extreme heat. So I arrived in Tonopah and checked in at El Dorado Hot Springs.
I found a beautiful spot by the pond and had it all to myself until Tuesday morning. A Honda Element pulled in and paused right in front of me, driven by a 30-something woman with a floppy hat. I cringed. I think sometimes that I might be guilty of stereotyping, but more often I believe that after almost 4 years on the road, I have learned how to read people. This woman just screamed “Look at me! Look at ME.” I gave her the benefit of the doubt and as she drove slowly past me and pulled into a small clearing surrounded by trees and bushes, I hoped that perhaps I was wrong. I had been the only person staying in the entire place, probably due to the heat. Other people came and bought day passes, but I was the only one staying there overnight. With more than an acre of ground and 25 to 30 other spots she could choose from, it was quite annoying that she felt the need to park adjacent to me, but at least she wasn’t visible. I got my towel and bottle of water and went and soaked in the hot tubs. When I returned, I found that she had moved to be directly across from my van, less than 20 feet away. I was pissed and then she yelled in my direction in a sing song voice, “Good morning. How are YOU today?” I nodded but said nothing. I could tell that wouldn’t be enough for her and that my conclusion had been correct. She needed attention and validation from someone, and I was the only someone staying in the entire compound. I went to my van and made lunch as she paraded around her car, adjusting the solar panels across her dashboard, moving her chair from one side to the other, and then back again. When that failed to get me to come out of my van and chat with her, she got in the car and moved it toward me about 10 feet. She was now literally within spitting distance. I decided that since there were 25 or so other spots, I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my stay dealing with her, and so I started packing up the inside. She got a rake out of the back of the car and started raking and singing. When I went out to pack up my cacti and solar panels, she immediately said “Oh, I just had to move so I could rake my spot. I didn’t mean to get in your face.” I said, “And yet, that’s exactly what you did.” She started to explain more, but I just took my panels inside, closed the door and drove off. I moved about a quarter mile down the dirt road and set up camp for my last night.
In the morning, I took a final soak and had a long hot mineral shower (the many showers there use water that comes directly out of the ground). I packed up and headed toward Quartzsite. It was Wednesday and the Visitor Center at the LTVA (Long Term Visitor Area) is closed on Wednesdays, so I pulled into Scaaden Wash, just a tad north of La Posa South/Magic Circle and parked in a huge expanse with only a couple other campers in the distance. I was close enough to I-10 that I could hear the hum of tractor trailers passing by, but it was white noise and very soothing. I was in Quartzsite finally and although not at my final destination, I was pretty close. I could recognize familiar rock formations in the mountains. I parked next to a Saguaro Cactus. Quartzsite was pretty much the first place I boondocked when I first started out. I had stayed at Cracker Barrel and Walmart parking lots in the east, then made several stops to stay with friends during my first summer on the road. In between I would find a spot to park safely for the night, but it wasn’t until I got to Quartzsite that I fell in with some other nomads and stayed put for three whole weeks. It was an awakening. Up until then I had thought being nomadic meant driving long distances every day, settling in for the night, getting up, and starting over. Staying at Dome Rock with a group of musicians felt like I’d found my tribe–my people–and indeed, I do see many of them each year either in Quartzsite or at Skoolie Palooza in Ehrenberg. So being in Quartzsite, even in an unfamiliar wash, still felt like home. I know my way around. I know where to get water, propane, and groceries. The small town is close by and yet I camp in wide open spaces that feel like they are hundreds of miles from anything resembling civilization. My sense of connection to Mother Earth and Father Sky flooded my senses. It felt like coming home. It was nice.
I moved on Thursday morning over to La Posa South/Magic Circle only to find that the visitor center where I need to get my yearly pass is closed not only on Wednesdays, but also on Thursdays (I think because it is early in the season and not many people are coming and going.) I drove up the hill to the Magic Circle, found a spot and spent the night. There was still a hint of the Milky Way in spite of the month and the lights from Phoenix.
In the morning I drove back down, got my pass, which is good for 6 camping areas throughout southern Arizona and California, dumped my trash, filled my water and headed back to the Magic Circle. I settled into the same spot I occupied last year. Now I was truly at home.
I can stay here through May 15 if I choose but will probably alternate between here and Ehrenberg through January. After that I’ll head over to Holtville Hot Springs (Included as one of the places my pass covers). I might venture down to KOFA between Quartzsite and Yuma for a week or two. It feels pretty good to not really have to think about it. My spot is near one of the walking trails, and I’ve vowed to take Cosmo for a walk every day while I’m here in the hopes of upping my calorie burning game. Lots of people walk the trails, so there are often naked people passing by throughout the day.
Lessons From The Road: I’ve mentioned often that my life is, for the most part, stress free. Once every 2 weeks I need to drive to go get groceries, propane, water, or a combination of those things. This summer and fall I had to keep an eye on the weather so as to not die from heat stroke, and so I sometimes had to move when I wasn’t ready, or to a place I hadn’t planned on going. Even that was nothing compared to the many stresses I had when running any one of my businesses over the years. But now that I am in Quartzsite, my life becomes even simpler. With my LTVA pass, I could stay in the same spot until mid-May. I like Ehrenberg, which is only 20 miles to the west, so I’ll go back and forth for most of the winter. Here in Q, I have access to a dumpster and potable water down by the entrance. Over in Ehrenberg, there is an Albertson’s right across the river, and several dollar stores, a convenient laundromat and a very good Mexican restaurant. I can also get mail sent General Delivery to the Ehrenberg P.O. So I can move back and forth at my leisure. It feels so easy.
Nudity is weird. Last year, I felt very self-conscious going outside without pants on. Well, I felt weird at first. Then when I realized how convenient it was to not have to put on a shirt and pair of shorts every time Cosmo had to go out to pee, I started liking it. I was self-conscious partially because I’ve gotten a belly in the past few years. But the people passing by naked are, for the most part, much heavier and in far worse shape than I am. They don’t seem to have any issue with the size and shape of their bodies. And throughout the summer, when it was so blazing hot, I wore only gym shorts most of the time. During the summer I was so often parked in such a remote spot that when I took my shower outdoors, I didn’t think twice about taking my shorts off before I left the van, and leaving them off until I got back in and dried off. So this season in The Magic Circle where clothing is optional and many naturalists (I am finding them to be somewhat of a cult) seem to walk the paths often throughout the day, I really don’t think about being naked. It’s still hot, so it makes so much sense. But on another level, it is weird that walking around naked and doing chores outside without any clothes seems perfectly normal to me. It’s also weird to not have pockets. The marsupials got that one right. If kangaroos had keys and a cell phone, I bet they’d know where to carry them.
I have a new app. It is called What Three Words. Using that app, I can pinpoint my exact location to a 10’ x 10’ square. I am going to try to remember to post three words at the end of each e-mail so friends will be able to find me if they are in the area. Giving directions to where I am in either Quartzsite or Ehrenberg would be next to impossible due to the number of bad and convoluted roads I travel once I leave I-10. If you care to know where I am, download the app and just plug in these three words:
scheduled.substantial.warblers