“There’s a crow flying
Black & ragged
Tree to tree
He’s black as the highway that’s leading me
Now he’s diving down
To pick up on something shiny
I feel like that black crow
Flying
In a blue sky
I looked at the morning
After being up all night
I looked at my haggard face in the bathroom light
I looked out the window
And I saw that ragged soul take flight
Oh I’m like a black crow flying
In a blue sky.”
― Joni Mitchell
Another week in paradise. I drove over to Ehrenberg again on Monday to pick up a package, and I decided to stay the night. I like it over there. It’s a good break from the masses that have swarmed Quartzsite (and the numbers just keep growing) for the winter. We had some cloudy days and with the hours of daylight being so limited already, and the sun so low in the southern sky, my solar system was having trouble keeping up. I did a bit of research and concluded that I can run most of what I need from the coach battery. My van has two AGM batteries; One under the hood to start the engine and one in the rear that runs all my DC appliances. In addition, I have my solar bank of Lithium batteries. The rear (coach) battery only charges when I drive (which I do very seldom these days) or when I turn the inverter on at my solar charger. I discovered that this is a pretty inefficient way to charge the coach battery. The sun hits my solar panels and brings the watts (I’m sure some electrician reading this is about to cringe at my laymen’s description of what I think is happening) and they charge my lithium batteries. My solar station has 4 “cigarette lighter outlets” on the front where I can plug in my DC electronics like charging my phone, or running my internet, and charging various other devices. My van is “plugged in” via the shore power cord (the AC cord I’d use to plug into a 30 amp outlet if I were at a campground) and that “inverts” the power from DC to AC. I can then plug in my microwave, waffle maker, mini-oven, or charge my laptop from any outlet in the van. When the inverter is turned on, it will also charge the coach battery, but I think it first has to convert it back to DC power. I’ve been told that is an incredibly inefficient way to charge the coach battery. So I ordered a small solar panel with it’s own solar controller that will connect to the coach battery via alligator clips. It will directly charge the battery, instead of changing DC to AC and then back to DC again. When I run the inverter, it takes much more electricity just to turn it to AC and then back to DC. Bottom line: When I get my new panel, I won’t be wasting so much electricity during the winter when the sun is not keeping up with my energy needs. I’ll drive into Ehrenberg later this week to pick it up and I’m hoping it will be an easy connection.
I did a couple of massages this week for guys camping here in the Magic Circle. One had sciatica, the other some lower back issues. Both seemed pleased and it was good for me to be doing massage again, even if it was way more primitive than my set up I had at my studio in Delaware.
Thanksgiving morning my friend David rolled into camp. I’d last seen him at Skoolie Palooza last January. He greeted me with his huge grin and a warm hug. His two dogs that he adopted in Mexico gave me copious kisses through the open passenger window. David and Cosmo and I took a walk to the far reaches of the Magic Circle and found him a very remote spot to set up camp. He said I should join him because he doubted he’d be able to keep that spot to himself for the season, and he would rather have me share it than someone who may not share the same sensibilities. I gladly obliged him and on Friday morning, I packed up camp and moved to the fringe with him.
(That’s David and Hoonka and Lito in the van in the back) It felt so good to move. I’d been having this less-than-settled feeling that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Once I moved, I realized that my spirit is always on the fringe, and yet my body was in the middle of a flock of snowbirds, many of whom I did not share much in common. Moving to the edge let my body and spirit re-connect on the fringe of society, and my disconnect disappeared.
Lessons From The Road: David is quite grounded. So connected to the earth. He is always calm. Nothing seems to faze him. Moving into his camp, I could feel his low-key energy rekindling mine. I immediately felt the same way I did my first year in Quartzsite where I fell in with some drifters–nomadic musicians who seemed to live in the moment and I soon picked up on that vibe and stopped planning where I’d be months in advance. This feels very similar. I don’t think I can ever recapture that exact feeling again. The person that I was then no longer exists. December of 2021 was my first year in Quartzsite. I was still pretty green in my traveling experience. Until then, I’d been stopping most places for just a night or two, then moving on to the next spot. My musician friends taught me that just because I was a nomad didn’t mean I had to move every day. Staying several weeks in one place, with new friends from all walks of life, opened my eyes to a whole new way of life on the road.
I realized where I’d been staying in the Magic Circle was congested. I do very well being totally alone and isolated. I can also manage in a camp full of people where I make many friends. But what was hard for me was being in the middle of lots and lots of people and still feeling alone. People walked past on the nearby path, and many waved and said hello. A few stopped for a brief conversation, but they were just passing through. I saw very few of them a second time. The LTVA is too big and spread out and the walking paths are many. People seem to take different trails at different times, so bumping into them twice would be a great coincidence. Now “on the fringe” as David describes our spot, is perfect for me. There are few other rigs in sight. Nobody is really close by except David. We seem to have worked out a way to live together but separately. David is very independent. We had coffee together Friday morning and then he went down to get his seasonal pass (the registration center was closed on Thanksgiving) and I finished setting up camp and headed into town for Indian food and to pick up some firewood. It’s good to have someone I know and like close by and who has a similar sensibility about “alone time.”