Cosmo and I had a leisurely morning in bed. I was awake with the sun, slightly before 6:00 a.m. I was quite content to just lay there for another 15 minutes. Cosmo sensed I was awake and moved up closer and rolled onto his back so I could rub his belly. I gladly obliged. We finally got up and I put the coffee on and then took Cosmo out to pee. When we came back in I got myself a biscotti and got a biscuit for Cosmo. I laid in bed and read e-mails and listened to news headlines on NPR. I played my morning game of Wordle. And then I listened to a podcast as I dozed off and on for about an hour.
Barbara or Lark opened the garage door. They wanted me to have a key to come in, but I told them Cosmo and I were very self-sufficient in the van, and when they were up and caffeinated and ready for company, they should open the garage door, and we’d come in. That has worked well for all of us I think. So Cosmo and I headed in. They were preparing to go to church, and I sat and had a second cup of coffee with them as they got ready. When they left, Lark was gracious enough to let me take a bath in her bathroom. When I used to live in a building, I took a bath nearly every day. Now, it is a luxury that I get only a couple times a year. I enjoyed every minute of it. When I got done, I took Cosmo outside and gave HIM a bath. (In hindsight, we should have done it the other way around so I didn’t get spattered with “wet dog” every time he shook off, but hey, live and learn, right?)
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I had the strangest dream last night. I was in a church that was being remodeled, and all of a sudden, the sirens went off and people were running around frantically saying we were under chemical warfare attack. I woke with a start and was choking. My eyes were burning and the air was thick with the scent of burning tires and skunk and something else (maybe even more horrible). I couldn’t shake myself awake enough to tell if I was still dreaming it, imagining it from the dream I had or was I really under chemical attack. I fell back asleep, but woke several times, still smelling the horrid odor. By morning it was gone, and I thought I must have just dreamed it, but when I got up, I could still smell it slightly. When I went inside, I asked Barbara if she slept with her window open and before she answered I said I thought I smelled noxious fumes in my sleep. She said without hesitation “Javolina.” It turns out a javolina is a medium-sized animal that resembles a wild boar and apparently smells like if a skunk farted burning tires. It was one of the worst smells I’ve ever experienced. Barbara said she doesn’t think they spray, but just thinks they naturally smell like that. She said the stink was so bad it woke her up too. Fortunately, it dissipates quickly once they move on.
Later while we were having breakfast sitting in the back yard with Cosmo under my chair, we talked about how nice the weather was. She said how unbearable it would get in June and asked where I was heading next. I told her my route took me through Quartzsite, AZ and Joshua Tree on to Long Beach. She pointed out a fire map and I thought I better check to be sure I wasn’t headed into the inferno. I wasn’t, but I was headed into blistering heat. Quartzsite, Palm Springs and Joshua Tree (to a lesser degree) would all be in the triple digits by the time I got there. I can’t believe in May that I’d have to deal with that, but I guess it is true. That changes everything. I hoped to camp with my friend Kitty for a week or so in Joshua Tree. That no longer looks to be an option. But I’m not sure what IS an option. I was so set on heading over to Long Beach, and Wrightwood to see friends. Over there, it will be cooler, but I’m not sure I can find a suitable route to actually get there. In discussing it with Kitty, she suggested heading straight north. That takes me back up through Flagstaff, around the Grand Canyon, back to Bryce and Zion where I feel like I just left (and was so disappointed in). She suggested heading up through Idaho and into northern Oregon and THEN heading south into California. Weather-wise, that is the perfect route (if there is such a thing in these days of uncertain climate), but that takes me through places I’ve been, and seeing them once feels like enough. I have been in Quartzsite and Joshua Tree often as well, but those feel like home to me; they feel like my neighborhood. I really don’t see any other reasonable option for going to northern California. Everywhere between where I am and where I want to go is going to be blazing hot, probably until mid-fall.
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There are only three things in my life that truly disturb me if they aren’t right: My dog’s health, my computer and phone working correctly, and my vehicle running properly. I can deal with just about anything else in a calm, rational manner, but when any one of the above is out of whack, I am your worst nightmare to be around. This week my van was back and forth to the repair shop with a malfunctioning front wheel bushing (I have no idea what that means, the part came in yesterday so it shouldn’t be an issue for much longer). On top of that, two days ago my e-mail account started having all outgoing mail blocked. My friend and savior St. Richard of Signal Hill came to the rescue (once again) and figured out that someone must have reported my e-mail as spam because Google was no longer allowing me to send out e-mails that had a hyper-link (which my signature always includes). He disabled that and all appeared to be fine, but by the next morning when I tried to send an e-mail it said, “Your daily limit of outgoing e-mails has been exceeded.” I’d not sent any, so Richard suspects that someone else is using my e-mail to send spam.
For whatever miraculous reason, the problem seems to have resolved itself overnight. I was able to send and receive e-mails the next morning. I dropped my van off and they said they’d try to get it finished by end of day but no promises; they called a couple hours later and said it was complete. So, for now, I have fully functioning e-mail and van. I’m once again safe to be around.
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Friday was moving day. With the van repairs complete, we were ready to move on. I was going to stop to see Kitty, a camping buddy I met last fall. We’ve camped together several times and always enjoy each other’s company. She has off for the month of May, so she said she’d drive to meet me in Northern Arizona. So Cosmo and I headed to Williams, AZ, about an hour and a half north of Prescott Valley. Kitty drove over from Southern California and met us. I got there first and found a spot that seemed to be indicated on one of my “boondocking apps,” but when I got there, wasn’t quite as nice as I’d hoped. Kitty called when she was almost there and asked for final directions. She thought the app was indicating taking a left under the freeway pass; I told her I went through over the cattle guard and then took a left. She followed my guidance and within minutes saw me up on the hill. When she got there, both of us discussed the coordinates and Google Map’s directions. We decided I turned too late and although we were in the middle of nowhere, we might be on private property. There were no signs indicating BLM land or maximum stay that are always present on BLM land. I was up on blocks, and all set up, so we took her truck and went to follow the other directions. Sure enough there was an AMAZING plot of BLM land just about half a mile away. She drove me back to the van, I packed up and we went to the new spot. It was perfect. There was a loop, with an offshoot (where Kitty parked) and a short “driveway” intersecting the loop. I parked on the loop. There were a stand of trees between us, so we got to be close, and yet had lots of privacy. By occupying both sides of the site, it made it clear that the site was taken; it shouldn’t have been a problem as this BLM land is enormous with lots and lots of other options for other campers. We are all very spread out. Kitty found another stand of deciduous trees and we set up our chairs and a tiny table. We sat outside, had a beer and a snack and caught up with each other. That has been our “living room” (or maybe our “campfire substitute” since we are not allowed to have a fire here due to the dry conditions and danger of starting a sweeping forest fire) since we got here. We meet out there in the morning and have coffee and breakfast. We go for walks, or go back to our rigs for some alone time and meet up for lunch or afternoon snacks, and dinner and hang out until bedtime. It’s a very nice setup. Our plan is to stay until mid-week when she’ll head back west and I’ll venture north for the summer.
Lessons from the Road: I am still having trouble integrating the different parts of my life. Staying with friends always seem like an aberration. It feels like taking a break from my “real life” until I leave and get back on the road and stay on BLM land or in parks again. It doesn’t feel better or worse; it just feels like it’s not a part of my “real life.” I wonder when it will start to feel like just a different aspect of my nomad life, instead of a pause from it. I’m coming up on a year since I’ve lived in a brick-and-mortar home. I think on one level, staying in such a house feels a little like cheating. I used a week’s supply of water one day to take a bath. Every time I open a side-by-side refrigerator, I just stand for a minute in awe of all the food it can hold. Sitting around a friend’s kitchen table feels quite normal, but when it’s time for bed, it also feels quite normal to get up and go out to the van parked in the driveway. I’m not the only one feeling this. I pick up on Cosmo getting antsy an hour or so after dinner. If I stand up, for whatever reason, he jumps to his feet, runs to the back door, and I realize he is “ready to go home.”