~ Roger Waters
The week flew by. I was so totally into my spot in the forest that I found myself reveling in every minute. Cosmo and I took a walk every day, occasionally coming across a rig or tent in the distance, but from our site, there were no signs of humanity visible.
I got back on my exercise program. After a Zoom meeting with my new doctor last week, we discovered that only a few of my blood test numbers were off, and those were off only slightly. We decided that I could get those numbers back in the perfect range through a little more exercise, cutting down on my sugar intake, and drinking more water. I’ve been doing all of those and believe they are a good alternative to pharmaceuticals. I like my new doctor. She encouraged me to not get stuck on doing everything perfectly every time, but rather to make an effort to make better choices most of the time. That helped clear my aversion to exercise. I was stuck feeling that I had to go back to my old routine of an hour a day, 6 mornings a week. I couldn’t manage that so I kept giving up. Now I have changed to working out 3 mornings a week, for whatever time seems comfortable. Sometimes it’s only 15 minutes; sometimes it’s 45 minutes. I don’t feel the pressure to “not fail” so it’s easy. And it’s especially easy where I am, surrounded by beauty and no distractions. On the days I don’t do my rubber band exercises, I take Cosmo for a long walk. When I’m done, I make a protein drink. I feel better already.
I was running low on some basics, so on Wednesday I decided to go into town. Wednesday is a good day for errands. The place I get water and propane is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Wednesday is usually a “non-travel day” for weekenders, who sometimes come to claim a spot on Thursdays, and sometimes take a long weekend and stay until Monday. Leaving “my spot” on a Wednesday gives me a much higher chance of returning and finding it still empty. While in town I stopped at a new favorite Mexican restaurant for a veggie burrito. They are fast, cheap and the burrito is delicious, and big enough for two meals. I returned to my spot and did some calculations to find a slightly better angle to park to get optimal sun on my solar panels. That’s not an easy task in a forest. I had marked off a sunny spot at 3:00 p.m. the previous afternoon, and seeing where the sun was at noon, it was pretty easy to guess where it would be at 9:00 the next morning. I got settled in, ate half my burrito and then Cosmo and I took a long walk.
For whatever reason, the cattle who share the BLM land with us decided to move closer to us. We’d not seen them for a couple weeks, but this week, they are often present right outside the van. I have to be mindful when I open the van door to make sure Cosmo doesn’t decide to run to herd them (He did that once, and scared me to death, knowing he was way outnumbered by creatures weighing in at over a thousand pounds. Fortunately, he got close to them and then turned around and ran back to the van.) On Thursday night, they mooed and moaned all night long. They sounded distressed, and I expected to wake up Friday to find one of them injured, or stuck somehow, or something worse. Nope. When I woke up, they surrounded us, and continued to wail, but seemed quite contented to just be “mowing our lawn.”
I made myself a restaurant breakfast on Friday morning: A fried egg with rosemary toast, some grits and a large latte. I sat outside (the cows finally mooooved on) and took in the cool morning air.
Friday (technically, Saturday morning just past midnight) the moon was full. I went outside and let my eyes adjust and the forest was just spectacular with the long shadows of the trees in the moonlight. I tried several times to capture the feeling, but was unsuccessful. This is the best shot I got, but it doesn’t nearly convey the feeling of walking in the moonlight.
I guess you’ll just have to come out here on a full moon and see it for yourself.
Lessons From The Road: I’ve got at least a month before the heat will subside enough for me to start to move south. Nomadic friends have posted photos of their spots (mostly in the Colorado Mountains) of beautiful lakes and streams and I find myself a bit jealous. I wouldn’t mind being there, but it feels a bit late in the season to start driving that far north, only to turn around soon after I arrive. I need to make a note to consider that earlier in the season next year. I still have two spots that I wouldn’t mind exploring between now and mid-September: One is the south side of the Grand Canyon. A friend sent me coordinates to a spot she said was among her favorites. It’s not too far from Flagstaff. The other spot is one south of me near Payson, AZ. Another friend sent me directions and said he was enjoying his stay there. I also would like to go back to Two Guns (I’m ALWAYS happy when I’m there) and maybe Winslow if the heat subsides later in the month.
I used to think that being nomadic meant moving often. Now I’ve come to believe that being nomadic affords me the luxury of staying in beautiful places as long as the weather permits. I think I’ve learned to appreciate where I am and stay for a few weeks instead of constantly plotting a course to where I want to go next, which sometimes makes me miss enjoying my current location because I’m already looking for the next spot.