“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
― Lao Tzu
Over the weekend George picked me up several times (I was staying at another property his family owns, just down the road) to take me sightseeing. He drove me to two roads in the Forest that allow 14-day camping. One was to the north of him and one to the south. Both had pros and cons. I needed a permit, even though camping on either road was free, so George took me to the visitor center where I got my permit and posed for a portrait with a well-behaved coyote.
On Monday morning, I drove about a half a mile to the local store. It was definitely set up for tourists with t-shirts, hats, souvenirs, and some groceries. They had a surprisingly large number of items, but as is usual for this kind of operation, the prices were through the roof. I did find Taste of India foil packs, which are among my favorite meals. I bought Vindaloo and a Lentil dish, along with a packet of microwaveable brown rice. I already had some tofu, so frying that up and adding spinach and the Vindaloo packet over brown rice made a nutritious, delicious meal. Two actually. I ate the other half the following day.
From there I drove to the southern camping road, called Kitchen Creek. The road had once been asphalt, but that had long since been broken into chunks, and the surrounding dirt had taken over. The leftover asphalt combined with the plentiful, deep, potholes made driving torturous. Even at 3 mph, when my front left tire goes into a pothole and my rear right tire goes over a chunk of asphalt, my tall, heavy van rocks back and forth uncontrollably, throwing anything that is not tied down crashing onto the floor. I got about a mile in and found a really nice spot. It was going to be a chore to get level, but before doing that, something told me to check cell service. I had zero bars. I tried to get onto the internet with no success. I tried to make a phone call, but it wasn’t going to happen. So I turned around and drove back out. I headed north again, up to Pine Creek Road. This is the same road I stayed on last week, but on the opposite side of Mt. Laguna. It was like night and day. On this side there were tall pines, and huge rock formations. It was quite beautiful in spite of roads almost as bad as Kitchen Creek. I drove in about a mile and a half and found a nice pullout to the side. The “driveway” led into a secluded opening that had been ravaged by a former camper, who had made huge ruts in the mud. Fortunately, it was totally dry and solid, so I ventured in. With a little bit of back and forth I was able to get quite level in a short amount of time.
There was plenty of space to set up my table, chair, and solar suitcase. Cosmo and I sat outside while I listened to my audio book, and he kept lookout for squirrels and lizards.
That was pretty much our daily routine: I read or listened to Audio Books, and Cosmo kept watch over our domain. We were warned by the ranger at the visitor center that dogs can never be off leash due to the number of mountain lions in the area. Since the start of spring and temperatures above 65⁰, I am constantly scanning the ground for rattlesnakes when we ago for a walk. This week, I found myself doing double duty, having to scan both the ground for rattlesnakes, and the horizon for mountain lions.
The weather was pleasantly warm—mid-70’s—the early part of the week. By Thursday, it got bitter cold with wind chills dropping into the 20’s and daily highs not breaking 45⁰. It was cold and drizzly on Thursday, and except for a few pee breaks, we stayed inside listening to the howling wind outside.
Staying inside for two days straight got Cosmo off schedule. I think we both ate more than we needed to and both Thursday night and Friday night, Cosmo needed to go outside to poop at 3:00 a.m. Believe me when I tell you I was none too happy to get on my sweats, hoodie, and wool cap to go out into the cold, windy drizzle and wait while Cosmo found the right spot. But hey, he’s the best travel companion I’ve ever had, so I can cope with a couple cold, late-night excursions.
Saturday morning, we moved. I’m gradually working my way up to Long Beach where I’ll retrieve my new E-bike, and have my friend Richard help me with a new kitchen cabinet install before moving east again, toward Flagstaff for the summer. We went just a short way and stopped outside of San Diego at a casino on the reservation. The camping part is really pretty nice. I opted for dry camping (no hookups) which was cheap, and they put us out in the “east meadow.” The weather was much warmer than it had been in the mountain, and it was nice to look out and see the mountain, instead of being freezing on top of it.
Lessons From The Road: Weather is always a deciding factor in where I stay and for how long. For the most part, I am trying to escape the heat, moving north in the spring and jostling around all summer to find a spot that is not blazing hot. In the fall, I look forward to moving back south as the temperatures cool in the mountains, and I’m once again able to move back to the desert and meet up with many of my winter friends. This week, I was reminded that cold and rain are also factors. Being parked in a site that was clearly a mud pit at one time (and could become one at any minute) the forecast of rain made me question whether or not I should stay. Since I hadn’t planned on moving until at least Saturday, I figured that unless we got a deluge, it would dry up and I’d be able to get out by then. And then there is the cold. I can’t remember the last time it was so cold all day. A few times in the winter in Quartzsite, I’d turn my heat on for a few minutes before getting out of bed in the morning, and have to put on sweats to go outside, but almost always, by mid-morning the sun had warmed things up. I spend most of my life in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. How strange to be sitting in my van when it is almost May, wearing sweatpants, a hoodie and wool socks to keep warm. I could drive an hour and be in San Diego where it is sunny and warm, but I have “destinations” for the next two weeks, involving other people, and as far as I can tell there are no free places in the San Diego area that are not extremely expensive. (Believe it or not, I found RV parks costing hundreds of dollars a night. These are not only unappealing to me, but clearly outside my budget.)
And speaking of budgets, I’ve blown mine for the next few months. I bought an E-bike which I’ll pick up next week when I drive through Long Beach. I also ordered things for my “kitchen remodel.” I’m adding a pull-out pantry, which I got from Home Depot. It will fit in the tiny space between my lower kitchen cabinet and my solar controller. It is only 6” wide, and is 11 inches deep and when pulled out, will offer me 4 stacked shelves on which to put items that are currently just stuffed behind my solar unit. I’ll need to build a box/cupboard for it. I will also need to get a bike rack or carrier that fits into my trailer hitch. All that will put me about $1000 over budget this month, but hey, that’s why I have savings. I also expect to get an oil change, have my tires rotated, and perhaps new shock absorbers if needed. That should hold me for summer and most of the fall. I’ll go into low budget mode for the rest of the year, barring any surprises.