“Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow
They’ve got the urge for going and they’ve got the wings so they can go
And I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
And summertime is falling down
And winter’s closing in.”
~ Joni Mitchell
Yeah. A little premature to be thinking about winter closing in when the temperatures here in Two Guns have been in the mid to upper 90’s this week. But the days are getting noticeably shorter, the nights are cooler and my itchy feet are anxious to head south. This was my last week here in the northern part of AZ. I plan on heading to Flagstaff for a final visit tonight and then start winding my way down to visit Barbara and Lark in Prescott Valley before moving to the I-10 corridor (Quartzsite, Ehrenberg and Blythe) for fall and the early part of winter.
This week was marked by routine. Each morning after coffee in bed and lots of belly rubs, Cosmo and I walked to the edge of Diablo Canyon and surveyed the ghost town of Two Guns. It feels like home to me. I’ve spent over a month in my current spot far beyond the touristy parts of Two Guns. Except for my excursions to get supplies in Winslow, I never see another human. We come back and have breakfast; I make the bed (actually un-make it and turn it from my bed into our daytime seating arrangement) and then play ball outside for a few minutes. By then it’s usually already blazing hot, and we get a shower outside, or at least a quick rinse. Cosmo has learned that getting wet is a big relief from the heat and he willingly runs to the shower when I ask him if he “Needs some cool.”
I’ve tried to do a small project each day, usually a cleaning project, but with the heat, anything major is pretty much out of the question. I go outside often to rearrange the solar panels to get the most out of the hours of sun. Most afternoons or evenings it gets cloudy and even if it doesn’t rain in Two Guns, I can see the rain coming down hard in Flagstaff and Winslow.
I’ve made a list of things that need some serious cleaning and some things that need minor repairs. I will get that done in Barbara and Lark’s driveway as I do every spring and fall. I also need to get my AZ driver’s license and switch my van registration over to AZ. (both expire in January, and I’ve no intention of driving to South Dakota in December to renew them). My windshield has had an ever-growing crack for about a year. I am hoping to get Safelite to come to the driveway and replace it while I’m there and of course, I get my oil changed in the van and my bloodwork done at LabCorp every time I’m in town. So it will be a whirlwind week there, as usual. My reward for doing unpleasant chores is that I will get to eat at a variety of restaurants—Mexican, Thai, Sushi and of course Domino’s pizza.
I thought the monsoon season was winding down, but we’ve had rain often, either here or very close. The ever-changing sky is always a photo op.
And with the new moon this week and the tail-end of “Milky Way Season” I had to go out and take some final shots.
Lessons From The Road: I certainly have settled this summer, much more than summers past. I’ve probably spent a total of 6 weeks in Two Guns, with brief intervals in Flagstaff. I liked being down by the touristy stuff, but I mostly enjoyed being on the cliff above it all. That’s where I spent most of my time. In recent years, I’ve changed spots nearly every time I went into a town to get supplies. Even if I went back to the same section of forest, I’d move down the road a bit to a new site. But this summer, most of the time after I got what I needed in Winslow, I came back to the exact same spot. There was some comfort to be had in “coming home.” Now I’m about to move out of the area. I’ll make a few stops, visit some places I’ve enjoyed in the past, but ultimately end up in Quartzsite where I’ll probably pick a spot to stay until Christmas. I’m thinking about the extreme contrasts between forest and desert. I’m also thinking how I’ve been totally isolated for most of the summer and how Quartzsite will bring gatherings, drum circles, SkooliePalooza and friends I’ve not seen since last January. I’ve been in touch with Matt over the summer and soon he’ll be leaving Michigan and heading to Q. We plan on setting up our compound again, at least for the fall and early winter.
The seasons bring such different lifestyles; I love my isolation at times. And yet, I am so looking for the social season to begin. Being nomadic doesn’t mean just changing locations depending on weather but also changing entire social systems from month to month.
And finally…My happy song of the week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av5Bj-YqcSc
See you down the road,