“Who’s to say
What’s impossible? Well, they forgot
This world keeps spinning, and with each new day
I can feel a change in everything
And as the surface breaks, reflections fade
But in some ways, they remain the same
And as my mind begins to spread its wings
There’s no stopping curiosity
I wanna turn the whole thing upside down
I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found
I’ll share this love I find with everyone
We’ll sing and dance to Mother Nature’s songs
I don’t want this feeling to go away
”
~ Jack Johnson
Soundtrack for a Sunday morning…
(95) Jack Johnson – Upside Down – YouTube
Happy SPRING!!!
It has come to my attention that I’ve been negligent in posting photos. So here are a couple from my recent stay in Craggy Wash, near Lake Havasu:
Matt and I caravaned from Q to H last Sunday morning. Normally, following someone on the road or having someone follow me is stressful. I try to keep up, or I keep watching in my rearview mirror to make sure I haven’t lost my follower. But following Matt was a treat. He drives slowly because he is pulling a trailer with his OHV on it. I keep up easily. And normally, when I’m driving too slowly, I feel guilty if there is a long line of traffic behind me. But if the person in front of me is the one holding up traffic, well, there’s not much I can do, right? I am relieved of all guilt for driving too slowly. It was nearly a two-hour drive, but it seemed to go by quickly. I played my music and never felt a need to check the GPS about when I’d need to turn or how long it would take to get there. Someone else shouldered all the responsibility and I loved it.
We arrived and got set up quickly. The temperature was heating up, but remained bearable for the two days we stayed there. The winds also picked up with gusts up to 40 mph, so we had to take our awnings down. We still had a fun time and Matt drove us around the trails so we could explore the area. It was a short, but sweet stay.
As the sun set on Monday, we packed up to leave for a spot east of Kingman AZ on Tuesday morning. We followed the same caravan procedure with Matt leading the way. We arrived at some BLM land just off I-40 east of Kingman.
I’m not travelling as light as I once did; I have two sets of solar suitcases, an outdoor table and chair, an awning and sides for it. I also have lots of solar lights that I collected when I was in Quartzsite. Setup at a new spot means not only getting level, but also trying to get my driver’s side facing south (that’s where the solar suitcases plug into the van) and I also want to leave a clear space on the passenger side for my awning to go out. Wind direction is also a factor as I like to keep my awning on the opposite side of the van from the wind direction. (Any sailors? Help me out with terminology here.) I managed all of the above when we pulled in near Kingman, and by the time Matt got set up, he came over to help me with my awning, only to find I not only got the awning out on my own, but also put up the sides and lights. He seemed surprised and maybe a tad pleased that he’d taught me well.
Matt hadn’t slept well the previous night, so after setting up, he went in and took a nap. I finished stringing lights on nearby bushes and putting stuff away in the van and then took a short nap as well. Matt cooked us veggie burgers for dinner and we both went to bed early.
It was hot here all week, but only in the low 90’s. Everywhere south of us or at a lower altitude was in the triple digits. We had a nice breeze up on our perch, and with the awnings to protect from the scorching sun, we managed to stay comfortable. We went exploring in Matt’s side-by-side each day and a few evenings. We found some cool spots to hike/climb.
Lessons From The Road: I had not planned on, nor had I wanted to move north this early in the season. The weather left me little choice. But the trip with Matt up to Lake Havasu and then on to Pinion Pines near Kingman turned out to be quite enjoyable. I got to see two new places, both of which I’d heard a lot of good things about. Given the extreme heat south of us, staying would not only have been a mistake, but could have been life-threatening. Up here in the high desert, the sun is strong, but tolerable, and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Moving was only difficult in my head. The lesson is to not be so resistant to or scared of trying new places. It was well worth the trip.
Matt makes my life easier on so many levels. He loves to grill, so he cooks many meals that we share, or if he’s eating meat, I’ll supply some veggies and veggie burgers, and he’ll gladly throw them on the grill and cook them for me. We eat most meals together. He also makes ‘water runs’ for us both, driving his OHV down to the nearby Love’s Truck Stop and filling a large bladder with water and then driving back up the hill and pumping it into my freshwater tank. That saves me from having to tear down and drive my van to fill my tank. He takes me for rides through the desert on dirt roads that I would have thought impassable. I was scared on some of our early expeditions back in October in the mountains surrounding Quartzsite, but Matt’s an excellent driver, even on the most dubious of roads. I always feel safe. He’s been a good friend and I’m so glad our paths keep intertwining. He’ll soon head back to Michigan for the summer and I definitely will not be meeting him up there. But I’ll bet we will reconnect in the fall when he heads south again.