“What do you do?” she said, and I laughed.
“My current list is three things,” I said.
“I walk barefoot as much as possible
I draw things that make me smile
I wonder what my dog thinks about when we go out walking.”
“I meant for a living,” she said
& I said “I did too.”
~The Story People
Monday morning the last of the weekenders left nearby spots at Marshall Lake. Most had pulled out Sunday afternoon, but two men pulled in at an adjacent campsite for the night. They parked at the end of the site farthest from me, set up a tent and went to bed. In the morning they left and there was not another car, van, camper or RV anywhere in sight. That has never happened to me at Marshall Lake. Sometimes fellow campers are far from me, but I’d never been there before when I could not see someone else. I felt like I had the entire Coconino National Forest to myself. Cosmo went outside without a leash, and we played fetch until he got tired. I put on my favorite playlist and danced (It was a spastic little dance, but somebody had to do it) and sang (I use that word loosely) along. The wind through the pines joined in and the sun pretended to be the spotlight, warm on my skin. The air still had a chill to it, but the sun was gradually warming everything up. Bliss. Pure bliss.
I got back in the van and cut up a banana to go on my Cheerios. The music continued and I poured a second cup of coffee and sang with my mouth full. After breakfast, we went for another walk, knowing that this condition of being alone could not possibly last in such a beautiful area of free camping.
The night was cold, probably below freezing, but the Tuesday morning sun warmed things up quickly. A young couple had pulled into an adjacent spot late Monday night and I could see smoke from their morning campfire as they cooked breakfast. I had a lazy start to my day and then took advantage of the warm morning to take Cosmo for a long walk. Down the road we met Tammy, living with her dog in a van. We chatted for about half an hour while the dogs played. We swapped “origin stories” and Tammy took notes on places I told her were my favorites. On our way back to the van, I met my neighbors in the site next to me. August is a Navajo attending college in Iowa, and he and his girlfriend took the summer off to travel, and August just got a job here in Flagstaff for the summer, I believe he said he was doing tech work for a casino.
What an interesting two days: One day where I didn’t have any contact with other humans and one day where I met three wanderers whose company I really enjoyed. I would have be tempted to stay at Marshall Lake with it being so sparsely populated, and me in the best lakeside spot and the weather becoming just perfect. But I’ve been there on holiday weekends in the past and it was pure torture with the hordes arriving from Phoenix to turn this pristine section of forest into a drunken wasteland. So I enjoyed the peace and calm while it lasted.
Thursday morning we packed up and headed to Two Guns. We had many errands to do on the way. First stop was to top off drinking water and propane at a nearby General Store. They are always friendly and efficient and this stop was no different. From there I went to Planet Fitness in Flagstaff and took a long, hot shower. A final stop at Walmart for some groceries and supplies for refinishing my kitchen cabinets and we were back on our way east.
Two Guns is not a place where many camp. Although it is sort of a tourist spot, the people who stop there probably saw something about it on YouTube or read something online and they pulled off the road between Flagstaff and Winslow to take a few photos and be on their way. When I pulled in just after noon on Wednesday, there was one camper on the far eastern border of the old town. I took the frontage road west and as I passed “the zoo” (where in the past someone really tried to make this a tourist town complete with trading post and “zoo” consisting of a display of mountain lions and other local animals) there were two cars from California parked, partially blocking the road in. They never looked up or waved (a sure sign that they were not nomadic) as they got in their cars and drove off.
I drove down a very rugged road in 1st gear, crossed a narrow bridge over Canyon Diablo and headed up the hill to a spot that I’d so totally enjoyed last year when I was in Two Guns.
The wind howled most of the afternoon, but that didn’t stop us from getting outside, checking out some ruins and playing ball far removed from other humans.
Lessons From The Road: I was tempted to stay in Flag
staff for the holiday weekend. The week preceding it was so calm and peaceful and beautiful in every way. I kept coming back to the old Woody Allen joke: “A guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office and says, hey doc, my brother’s crazy! He thinks he’s a chicken. Then the doc says, “Why don’t you turn him in?” Then the guy says, “I would but I need the eggs.” I stayed in Flagstaff last summer over 3 different holiday weekends. I stayed due to FOMO. I stayed hoping beyond all odds I’d meet some of my tribe, make a fun connection for part of the summer. I hoped beyond all reason and beyond all odds, and they were miserable 4-day weekends. I wasn’t going to let that happen this year. My new mantra: I really don’t need the eggs.
I have ideas for summer travels, but no actual plans. I’m hoping to keep it that way. I don’t need to decide in May where I’ll be in August. My goal is to spend the summer deciding where I want to be tomorrow. There are certain logistics like obtaining food, propane, potable water, etc., that make spontaneity not always practical, but I can at least head in the direction of less planning. As Joni says, “I’m a wild seed again, let the wind carry me.”