Last Sunday after we left Ben and Lauren, Cosmo and I drove north to Tucson. It was a chore day. Our first stop was at Empire Ranch, just down the hill, to fill up with potable water, and then off to the grocery store, where we spent $100. Food is getting very expensive. I feel good that I got lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, Beyond Meat, tortillas, and some snacks and drinks. I got plenty of fresh greens. The issue will be to keep them fresh until I can consume them all. They won’t all fit in my tiny fridge. After food shopping, I headed to Planet Fitness where I indulged in a 20-minute, steamy hot shower in one of the cleanest gyms I’d ever been in. When I got out of the shower and back to the locker room, two little Asian boys were posing in front of the long mirror above the row of sinks, taking selfies and showing off their 6 pack abs. I smiled at their show. They were totally oblivious to me. I’m fairly sure that the two of them together weighed only slightly more than I do. I’m positive that the two of them together didn’t didn’t add up to my body fat percentage. Ah, I remember being that young and that thin. Then we made our way to get propane, but the truck stop where we went said they didn’t have anyone to pump it for us. We arrived at Cracker Barrel and decided we could stay there for the night and go down the road in the morning to Tractor Supply and top off our propane.
Cracker Barrel was interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to stay in a parking lot for lack of BLM land. When I arrived, it wasn’t too crowded, and they have pull-through spaces marked for RV’s and Busses. I parked in one close to a little island, knowing that would mean we’d only have to deal with neighbors on one side at the most. I made dinner and caught up on e-mails. The parking lot filled up. Lots of vans, campers, larger RV’s and even a couple car campers with overhead storage and bikes on the back. The RV spots filled up quickly, so most of the vans backed into regular parking spots along the perimeter. One giant class C parked across 5 parking spaces, making the two parking spaces at his front and back useless as well—if someone parked in either, he would not have been able to navigate out without asking them to move. So in total, they took up 7 parking spaces! I wondered how someone could be so inconsiderate. There was a sign on the back of the rig advertising a YouTube Channel. I had to go look. It showed a middle-age, pudgy dad in a Lacoste shirt showing his son how to play golf. I only watched long enough to decide that the whole family seemed fairly pretentious and just reeked of white privilege. I shouldn’t let such things bother me, but they do.
Cosmo barked at everyone who passed within 10 feet of the van. I try to train him not to bark at every car that drives by, and yet, when someone is passing within 3 feet of my bedroom window, I think I want him to bark. It lets me know someone is there and lets them know they maybe should back off a bit. As it got dark parking lot lights came on. It was lit up like a football stadium, so I pulled down my curtains. I rarely do that because I want to know what’s going on outside. But I knew I’d get no sleep with the brightness and Cosmo jumping at everyone who passed by, so I “closed up” and settled in for the night. It was quiet. I woke up before dawn and peeked out the curtain. The lights were still on and the sun hadn’t risen, but a look at the clock assured me it was after 6:00 a.m. so I got up and made coffee. I took my time packing up, and it was just about 9:00 before we left to get propane and gas and headed back to Red Rock where we stayed a couple weeks ago. It is a beautiful cactus forest. It’s quiet, sunny, and warm. The afternoon was spent mapping out my week. I planned to get to Prescott Valley by the weekend to see my friend Barbara. I can’t get there any sooner as it will be freezing most nights and I cannot risk my pipes freezing, so I must first consult Google Maps to see how far places I’m interested in are from me. Then I check The Weather Channel to be sure the temps are above freezing and then finally, I search my camping apps to find a nice, safe, and if I’m lucky, free place to stay each night. I think I have us covered for spots to stay each night until we reach Prescott Valley over the weekend.
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I drove back to the spot where I’d stayed at Red Rock a couple weeks ago. On that side of the road, there didn’t seem to be a good, level spot. The spot I’d had before was occupied and a nearby spot looked OK, but was, I thought, too close to the other camper, so I drove back across the road and down a dirt road to find another spot. I got lucky. I found a huge spot right before the road got so bad that I didn’t feel comfortable driving any further. I pulled in and stayed way over to one side. It is common courtesy to not pull into a spot already occupied by someone, but if it is a big spot and the person is clearly not occupying the entire spot AND if the campground or BLM land is crowded, then I think it is OK to ask if the person would be willing to share. I wanted any other small rig to know there was still space left. Many drove by and turned around and left. Finally, another van with a couple my age pulled in. The man got out and so did I. He asked if he would be crowding me if he parked there. I told him he was welcome, and he pointed to an empty space at the opposite end from me and asked if that would be OK. I said it would be fine. He and his wife parked, and never came out until morning. We talked a bit before they left the next day. They were quite nice. Afterwards, I made French toast with real maple syrup and Impossible Sausage. I had nothing on my schedule that day, so I took my time and ate my breakfast and had another cup of coffee. The day was sunny and cloudless. It was nearly silent outside. I could see other rigs in the distance, but they were far enough away so as not to be heard. Cosmo and I went outside, and I ate an Asian pear as I sat and read in the sunshine. Cosmo took a nap. The sunset was, of course, totally awesome. Sometimes it’s enough to just exist and to appreciate.
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Wednesday was to be my big splurge. I booked a spot at Copper Cactus Ranch, recommended to me by someone I met last year in Quartzsite. Billed as a “Men’s Retreat” it looked interesting, saying it was for men from all walks of life—gay, straight and bi are all welcome. The website indicated there were drum circle weekends, artist weekends, wellness weekends. Their catchphrase is “A place to become a better man.” Even though it was mid-week, and no scheduled events, and even though the price was way higher than I’d normally pay for a night’s stay, how could I pass up becoming “a better man?” I drove a bit out of my way (heading toward Prescott Valley now to see my friend Barbara over the weekend), and the last 5 miles were among the worst roads I’ve driven, and you KNOW I’ve driven some rough roads. I got there and my heart sank. It was truly hideous. The place was a dump. Understand that I live in a van, with a dog, and have slept in Walmart and Cracker Barrel parking lots, and pulled off a dirt road in the desert for a night. When I say it is a dump, you can believe that it was truly awful. I came to a sign that said “No RV’s past this point” so I parked in a dirt lot nearby and walked down to the building I could see. I tried to remain hopeful. There was no one around, so I went around the building. There was an outdoor shower, which held only a tiny splinter of hope. Everything looked pretty makeshift and dilapidated. They advertised a pool and hot tub, but I didn’t see either. I tried to open what appeared to be the main door, but it was blocked from the inside by a chair. A gruff voice shouted “Use the other door.” I asked politely “Which other door?” The gravely “Harvey Feinstein Voice” just repeated “OTHER DOOR!” I asked again “To the right or to the left?” and he said “To the right, all the way down.” Not very helpful. I went to the next door on the right and opened it. There was a sign inside that said “Please use other door.” By then, I was pretty much over this place. It was ugly, run down, and the one person I encountered was mean and unhelpful. That didn’t appear to be the kind of man I was hoping to become, so I went back to my van and headed down 5 miles of bad road to get out of there.
I was tired and hungry. I pulled into a parking lot in the town (appropriately named “Queen’s Valley.” I booted up my laptop and found a campground that was supposed to be only 7 miles away. I was heading to check it out when my GPS kept rerouting and telling me it was now 12 miles to go. I stopped again, found a Cracker Barrel nearby and headed there. On the way, I spotted a Domino’s Pizza, and pulled in. I had been craving pizza for weeks, and this felt like the right time. I parked, got out my laptop and ordered online. It said it would be ready in 8 minutes. I took that time to map out the directions to Cracker Barrel. I got my pizza (mushroom, onion and jalapenos) and immediately ate a piece. I was starting to get light-headed from hunger and that slice really hit the spot. I put the rest away and headed to the Cracker Barrel parking lot. I didn’t see any designated RV spots, but found a level spot in the back next to a wide-open field. I parked, opened the windows (it was in the 70’s) and ate another couple slices of pizza. I topped it off with a Diet Coke and called the restaurant to make sure they allowed overnight RV parking. Jim assured me they did. It was very quiet except for the planes coming and going from the Phoenix Airport. The sun was warm, and Cosmo napped. Later we went for a long walk in the adjacent field.
The rest of the day was spent plotting a course from Phoenix to Prescott Valley, where my friend Barbara lives. I can’t get there until Sunday morning, as it will be freezing each night there until Sunday. I needed to find places “on the way” that were free, or at least cheap. Beautiful would be a bonus, as two nights at a Cracker Barrel in one week were a bit much. I looked at some paid campgrounds/RV parks. They are $50 to $75 a night in the Phoenix area. I don’t need electricity or water hookups, and they didn’t offer any dry camping, so I took a pass on paying so much for a place to park for the night. Most of those places pack you in like sardines, so even though they have showers, that’s the only thing better than a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot. At least at Cracker Barrel no one is parked right up against me.
Logistics of planning the next stop can be tricky. I have about 5 different apps/websites that tell me where I can park for free. Some are a little bit sketchy, saying “Usually the cops won’t bother you.” No, that’s not a good bet for me. I’ve had “the knock” before telling me I can’t sleep in my van where it’s parked. If I were 23 and alone, I may risk it. But the thought of getting up in the middle of the night, and figuring out where to drive that is safe, legal and free is not something I look forward to. So I look for free BLM land or sometimes “wild camping” spots. I then check the distance from one to the next, and then check The Weather Channel to make sure it won’t dip below freezing. I think I’ve not only found suitable places for the coming week, but also found a couple “back-up spots” in case the places I’ve chosen don’t exist, or are not what they were purported to be. I also found a plethora of Planet Fitness’s along my route, so it looks like hot showers every day for a while. You know that makes me happy!
In the morning, I woke up and made coffee. Cosmo wanted to play, so we wrestled in bed. (The van is way too small to throw the ball). That seemed to satisfy him…that and a belly rub. He lay across me and slept while I did e-mail and checked out the morning’s headlines. When we went outside, I spotted about 6 or 7 other vans, parked along the perimeter. I think they would go unnoticed by most people; to me they were clearly fellow explorers. We packed up and headed to Table Mesa (If you are bilingual, I think that is redundant. Or maybe it translates to Mesa Table?) It was a bit of a rough road in, but once there, it was quite beautiful. We were barely parked and opened up when I saw a guy throwing a ball for his dog. Cosmo and I got out and I asked if we could join in. He said we could, but Cosmo didn’t seem too interested in chasing the ball. Instead, he found a tiny dog to play with and they ran circles and figure 8’s through the adjacent campsites. Soon everyone came out of nearby rigs. They have all been here for weeks and knew each other. Some of them knew each other from their hometown in upstate Minnesota, and one of the men was from Madison, WI. They all talked and caught up; one couple was heading into town to Costco and asked the others if they needed anything. I was clearly the outsider, but they all introduced themselves and were friendly.
The wind howled all night and the van rocked. It sure has been windy a lot in Arizona. Despite the wind, it wasn’t nearly as cold at night as it has been. The heat didn’t come on at all until about 5:00 a.m. I got up and got coffee and came back to bed to read. Cosmo snored gently next to me. When we finally got up and moving, we went outside briefly. It was about 50 degrees out and the wind was still howling. I spent most of the day inside, still figuring out travel plans for the next week. I’ll be visiting Barbara, my old friend from Long Beach for a few days and then meeting up with Tom who is visiting a friend of his in Las Vegas, and, with a little luck and timing, will also see Angie who I worked with in a photo lab in Hollywood back in the ‘80’s.
Lessons from the Road: The spot I camped in at Red Rock had a pile of junk thrown in amongst the cacti in a far corner. When I first arrived and saw the empty spot, I thought someone might be occupying the site, and just took down the tent so it wouldn’t blow away while they ran into town for supplies. I tried to find any other empty space, but couldn’t. I pulled in to that one again because it was huge, and even if occupied by a tent on one corner, there was plenty of room for several other people. I decided to check it out. When I looked, the tent was clearly not only dismantled, but trashed. There was a small grill, also trashed. It was missing the grill part and a wheel, so it was basically a metal bowl with legs. It was turned upside down in a firepit and the firepit contained burned cans, broken bottles, many cigarette butts and bullet casings. I decided that the space was abandoned, and that the previous occupants were just assholes to have left so much garbage for someone else to clean up. Still, I parked at the opposite corner, just in case they should return after dark. They did not.
Later in the week, I moved north of Phoenix to BLM land on my way to Prescott Valley. To enter, I needed to pass through State Trust Land. It wasn’t clear that it was OK to camp there, but there were many signs saying “NO SHOOTING.” The signs themselves were riddled with bullet holes. Further in, I stopped to let Cosmo out to pee. There were bullet casings and emptied shotgun shells covering the ground along with broken bottles and lots of trash. BLM land in Arizona is often used by many gun owners for target practice. I’ve often heard shots off in the distance, and in some cases, not distant enough. Many times it is clear that they are firing automatic weapons. I’m not a big fan of guns, but I believe that BLM land is for everyone to use. I just wish people using government land for free, for whatever purpose, would be just a tad more respectful. It is unfathomable to me that someone would go camping in such pristine beauty and leave behind piles of bent-up tent poles, tattered tarps, broken bottles and bullet casings. I’m reminded of the anti-litter commercial from the 60’s, with the Indian Chief looking out onto a polluted stream, the final shot showing a close-up of him with a single tear running down his cheek. I sure can relate to that.