“At night the stars put on a show for free.”
~ James Taylor
What a cosmic week. Wednesday brought us a new moon, the peak of the Perseid Meteor Showers, and 6 planets all lined up. As much as I loved my spot in Flag, the afternoon rains were getting more and more intense. Some afternoons, there were small rivers flowing on the side of the road we’d need to use to exit the forest. The forecast was for increasing rains every day for the coming week, and I decided it was probably time to get out while I could. On our last morning there, we went for a walk and came across a mushroom forest under the pines not far from where we were camped.
They were huge, with some opening up to the size of a dinner plate. On our walk, we found many more upcroppings under the trees, buried in pine needles.
We moved back to Two Guns on Monday after running a few errands in Flagstaff. I picked up my new prescription sunglasses.
My main chore was to get propane as my refrigerator was running on fumes (Having just typed that, I’m guessing my fridge always runs on fumes?) I picked up an insurance form from my eye doctor, then stopped for milk and by the time I was ready to head for propane the sky opened up. I sat in a parking lot for half an hour. Even with my wipers on high, I could not see 2 feet in front of me. When the rain subsided a bit, I started out toward U-Haul for propane, but the rain picked up again and the roads got treacherous.
I soon pulled into Filiberto’s, my new favorite place for a burrito in Flagstaff. I got drenched running from the car to their front door, but it was worth it. Their veggie burritos are amazing and their homemade salsa even better. I sat for another 15 minutes in the van and then headed east toward Winslow. There was no point in stopping for propane. The chances of getting someone to come outside in torrential rain to pump propane were slim to none. I went straight to Two Guns, outrunning the rain along the way. When I got there, I set up camp under fairly clear skies. I finished just in time for the monsoon to catch up to me and once again, the sky let loose with a thunder/hail storm like I seldom experience. When it finally stopped, Cosmo and I went outside. There were many large ponds surrounding us but they were short-lived, soaking into the ground and drying up quickly. We’d made the right choice to leave Flagstaff.
Two Guns has some strange weather vortex. Most mornings I can see black skies and rain to the south, east and west of me. The monsoons approaching from the south split and head east and west before reuniting to the north of us. Most afternoons we got some rain; some days it was light and short-lived and other days there were major thunder/hailstorms. Either way, the sun usually came out for a bit before it set and the rain quickly soaked into the sandy soil except for a few stubborn puddles. Evening skies were peaceful.
Lessons From The Road: You may recall some unspecified rodent woke me up several times in Two Guns and again after I moved to Flagstaff a few weeks ago. Since gnawing didn’t wake me up at 4:00 a.m., I assumed he/she left. One morning, Cosmo hopped out of bed excitedly. He was clearly on a mission. He stood growling in front of my solar battery bank, growling. I listened, but heard nothing. I told him “all gone” which he understands for the treats I’m feeding him are all gone, or the dog he was barking at on the video I’m watching is all gone. He wasn’t buying it. He continued to paw at the crack between the batteries and my driver’s seat and was determined to get at whatever was there. After I got caffeinated, I looked, but saw no signs of a mouse. But later I opened my passenger door to get a new roll of TB and found this:
Upon pulling out some stuff stored in the front compartment, I found quite a nest made from my beloved Charmin. It wasn’t near where Cosmo had detected a mouse (Keep in mind that “near” is relative, as everything is sort of near when you live in a van.)
Anyway, I took everything out, vacuumed and laid down some cotton balls soaked in peppermint, clove and eucalyptus essential oils. Bonnie suggested that “Unstoppables” laundry scent repels mice, so I’ll pick some of that up next time I’m in Winslow. I spent a portion of each morning clearing out, cleaning and adding strongly scented cotton balls too each nook and cranny where stuff is stored that isn’t used often. I will keep an eye out and may need to get traps.
Since I’ve been on the road, I’ve seen many vans parked with their hoods up. At first I thought “This many people couldn’t possibly be having engine trouble.” I asked someone and he told me that packrats often make a home in engine compartments. They love eating the insulation on wiring under the hood and can wreak havoc if the exposed wires touch each other. I was later told that I didn’t have to worry about that as my van was too old and my wiring didn’t contain the new wire covering that the rodents were attracted to. So I never worried about it. And when I did hear gnawing a few weeks ago, I (stupidly) assumed that banging on the cupboard door had scared my visitor enough to exit the opening he’d come in through. When I heard the gnawing again days later in a different city, I should have realized it was not a coincidence, and it probably wasn’t another mouse who just happened to have the same idea. I’ll be much more diligent in checking spaces where stuff is stored long term.
And finally…My happy song of the week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QpjR6-Uuks
See you down the road,