“Life takes you unexpected places; Love brings you home.”
~Unknown
This was a “winding down” week. Or perhaps it was a “gearing up” week? I’ve so enjoyed my time in the Magic Circle, but I started getting itchy feet again. David told me that he’d talked to several friends of his who live in skoolies and they were already heading over to Ehrenberg for the event at the end of January. I got the idea to head over there early.
Skoolie Palooza has always been a “non-event.” In order for someone to hold an event on BLM land, they must file for a permit, and depending on crowd size, pay a deposit, arrange for dumpsters, porta-potties, maybe for police as security. So (until two years ago) no one ever claimed “ownership” of the event. It was just understood that people living in school busses and their friends would show up in Ehrenberg the last week in January. Two years ago, there was a bad decision by the elusive organizer, people got pissed off and someone offered to buy the website and trademarked name SKOOLIE PALOOZA. I don’t know all the details, but I don’t trust the new people. They are just a bit too “woke” and seem very phony to me. They have been trying to cash in on the event with major resistance from the old school skoolie folk. Still, they have managed to hijack many of the newbies to the event and last year advertised heavily that it would be held a week earlier than usual. That backfired since many of the real skoolie people arrive several weeks early. They tried to force people to stay in certain spots: a designated area for people who went to bed early, a certain spot for “night owls,” and a family camp. If you’ve ever met anyone who lives in a skoolie, you would know within 5 minutes that you are not going to control where they park and what they do. They were having none of it, and the new “owners” tried to turn people against the “rude and noisy” renegades. That too backfired. Anyway, the hijackers are trying a different tactic this year, advertising Skoolie Palooza will be held mid-February. The newbies and unaware will show up then; the rest of us will be there the last week in January, and apparently the hard core skoolie folk (and me) will be there even earlier. I decided to pack up camp at the Magic Circle and move over to Ehrenberg with the early bird skoolies.
When I woke up Sunday morning, David had left. His van was gone but his bike and tent were still at the opposite end of our campsite. He returned Monday afternoon to pack up the bike and tent and said he was going to babysit his friend’s mineral booth down at Tyson Wells where the gem show and RV show are going on for the month of January. I told him I was leaving for Skoolie at the end of the week and he said that’s why he was packing up camp—so that he could head over to Ehrenberg as soon as his friend returned to man the booth again.
It’s bittersweet. I’m ready to move on, and really ready for Skoolie Palooza, but I’ve so enjoyed my time here at the Magic Circle. It was nice camping with David, at least once I got the hang of it. David is extremely private and radically independent. The winters I spent near Bonnie, we would always check in on each other and let each other know if we were leaving for any reason. If one of us were going into town, we’d always check to see if the other needed anything. Other people I’ve camped near, even if only for a few days did the same. Whenever I left the Magic Circle, I’d check in with David, tell him where I was heading and ask if he needed anything. He never did. I learned that he just never would. So when he’d leave before sunrise and be gone for days on end without saying a word, I initially had hurt feelings. Not because he had any obligation to tell me where he was off to, or even tell me he was leaving, but because I just couldn’t comprehend leaving without letting someone I was camping with/near know. (I probably still could not do that.) David on the other hand is a free spirit. He’s been on the road for 12 years and I suppose in that time has grown resolutely independent. Once I got the hang of letting him be himself, we’ve gotten along splendidly, and we’ve really had some fun times together. I will certainly see him in Ehrenberg over the next few weeks.
Wednesday was my day to pack up as much as possible so I could leave early on Thursday morning. A couple I’d met earlier in the season invited me to dinner over at Dome Rock where they were staying. I was heading there (still in Q) for Thursday night and would leave for Ehrenberg and Skoolie Palooza on Friday morning. The weather wasn’t cooperating. It was windy and chilly, at least compared to recent days. I realized that I don’t travel as lightly as I used to. I now have an e-bike to secure on the rack, a table, chair, tent and cactus plants. I have two portable solar suitcases. I have a pile of firewood which I’d like to take to Skoolie as I’m sure there will be many campfires there. It takes time and a little bit of ingenuity to pack everything up and fit it in the van. And since I won’t want to unpack all of it when I move to Dome Rock for one night, creative packing is going to be a must.
I went to Dome Rock and through the miracle of GPS coordinates, I found my friends out in the middle of nowhere. (It wasn’t easy.) Rion made dinner for his boyfriend and I, and we were joined by another semi-nomadic friend of his. We had cheese ravioli with asparagus and a delicious white sauce, along with a salad. I LOVE sharing a meal with fellow nomads. There is something very spiritual to me about feeding someone else, or being fed. The food was delicious, the company delightful. The wind picked up and I was rocked gently to sleep in my van.
Friday morning, I battened down everything. I had not unpacked much since I was only staying the night and then headed to Ehrenberg. I was pleasantly surprised as I crested the hill on the BLM land to see many people camping down where Skoolie is held.
There was a good mix of school busses, short busses, vans and pull behind trailers. I let out a sigh that I didn’t know I’d been holding in. I was home.