“Oh, I get by with a little help from my friendsMm, I get high with a little help from my friendsMm, gonna try with a little help from my friends. ”
— Lennon/McCartney
First, an apology if you did not get my e-mail last Sunday. I included lots of photos and for the first time I decided I should post the photos in a larger format. Comcast did not like that I sent large files to 50 people and blocked many of you from getting it. Those of you who contacted me, I tried to resend. I’m going back to my smaller picture files for this e-mail, hoping Comcast will not block me again.
It’s “pre-Skooolie week.” I’ve been alternating between enjoying my quiet perch here in Ehrenberg, high above the event and riding down with Matt in his side-by-side and joining in on the celebrations by the early arrivals. I took my sheet that I use for the side of my awning to make an enclosed room down to Tie Dye Bob. I told him to do whatever he wanted. He did not disappoint.
Matt is once again camped nearby, and Bonnie is across the “road” from us. Another friend who I met a couple of years ago joined us for two nights, and several other old friends are on their way here. Matt and I have been exploring spots down in the heart of Skoolie. There are so many variables. I want a space where I won’t be crowded in by late-comers who just fill in any empty space they can squeeze into, no matter how close they park next to someone else. I also want a spot away from the two DJ buses so I can sleep at night (the music often goes all night long, and the bass can rattle your windows if you aren’t far enough away, or don’t have lots of rigs between you and the music to block the noise.) Matt wants to not be too far from the other Matt (hereinafter referred to as “DJ Matt” or maybe just “The other Matt.”) because we have been driving down there some nights to hang out in his outdoor space. I think I’ve convinced MY Matt to camp down the far end of a peninsula where the land is so narrow that nobody could settle across from us and last year when I stayed there, the many buses, vans and campers blocked the sound so I couldn’t hear the loud music when I went to bed. It’s about a quarter mile (maybe slightly more?) up the road to DJ Matt’s space. I walked up it daily last year and was happy for the exercise and the ability to get away from the crowds when I wanted to. We’re going to wait until Monday, tear down and go into Blythe for supplies and when we return, set up in our new spot. One of the many advantages of camping with a friend, is the ability to set up next to each other, put out awnings and a small tent and occupy a space that makes it less likely that someone else will encroach on our spot. I’ll update you when we’ve set up in the new spot.
Thursday the wind was horrific, and Cosmo and I went outside only to pee and move the solar suitcase to a spot where it wouldn’t be carried away by the wind. Friday was even windier with gusts over 30 mph. All of us (Me, Bonnie, Matt, Sunshine and Cosmo) stayed mostly in our vans which rocked like we were in an earthquake. Friday night the temps dropped down into the 30’s. We survived and the weather channel says we’ll have abundant sunshine and temps in the mid to upper 70’s for the coming week. I hope they are correct.
Matt took us on several rides over barely passible trails in the mountains. The ascent could be a bit daunting (to me) but Matt is a pretty good driver, and we made it to some amazing vistas.
As always, the sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular.
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Friday night Matt said he was ready to move down into the bowels of Skoolie. He offered to drive us in his van to Blythe first to top off our supplies on Saturday morning. When we came back, we finished packing up and drove down to Skoolie. I convinced Matt to take a spot out on the peninsula that we’d scouted earlier in the week. It is at the far west end of the event. It would be possible for someone to be farther west of us, but not likely. We are close to the end of the road.
We parked strategically, our doors facing each other. Matt set up his EZ up tent halfway in between us, and we measured carefully so that our awnings can face each other and connect to the EZ up from opposite sides. It was too windy to put the awnings out, but we’re hoping that they’ll be up by the time you read this.
Lessons From The Road: Skoolie is and always has been my favorite event of the year. Last year was difficult because I had to move several times to get away from newbies encroaching on my site. For true nomads, there is a common belief: first come, first served. If someone is occupying a spot, you find another spot. What is a respectable distance from another camper varies, but we all know not to get up in someone else’s space. Often, I’ll park down the road from my preferred spot, where someone else has set up and take Cosmo for a walk and visit the person who occupies that space. If they invite me, or I can feel them out about moving closer, I will do so. If they seem to want their privacy, well, they were there first. At events, the “acceptable distance” between people shrinks. So many want to be close to the center of the event, and we accept that others will want to be as well. But the newbies, city folk, and party kids have a very different perspective. If they can squeeze their rig in between you and the next rig, they think that’s perfectly acceptable. In these times, it’s worse than it was 5 years ago when I started out. Too many Americans have decided that they are entitled to a good spot, even though others arrived early to claim those good spots. So, there are trade-offs to be made. Do I want to be in the thick of it, or do I want some semblance of peace and quiet? Do I want to be close to my friends who are coming to Skoolie? And if so, am I willing to have people I don’t know close enough to hear them talking inside their vans? And the biggest question of all: Am I really an “event” person? I think I’m getting to be less and less of a person who wants to be around crowds. Matt and I have a plan to have the best of all worlds. I’ll send photos next week.