“Take it easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
Take it easy.”
~ Jackson Browne
Another near perfect week in paradise(s). Sunday, it started warming up in Winslow, so my neighbor. and I decided we’d need to get out on Monday. He was going to head back to Flagstaff to visit a friend, and I decided that I’d head in that direction as well to avoid the heat. So Monday morning, we tried one more time to get sushi, without success. The place was closed during posted business hours, so either they are out of business, or they just come and go as they please. Disappointing, but we found a sandwich shop a block away and got lunch.
Afterwards, I headed to Ashurst Lake. I found a spot and settled in, but by Thursday morning, I was disappointed in the site I’d chosen because although it was beautiful, the surrounding trees only allowed my solar to charge when the sun was directly overhead. I wanted to move, so I all went for a walk, deeper into the forest, scoping out passible “roads” and found a spot that worked. I could park in the meadow and get full sun from about 10:00 a.m. until late afternoon. It’s one of the nicest spots I’ve been in.
Later that evening I decided that it would be a good time to indulge in some mushroom tea. It was a new moon, and the sky was without a single cloud. I brewed up some of my homegrown mushrooms with some hibiscus to override the taste, added some honey and drank it sitting outside as the sun set. I put on some music from my massage days, and just sat back and enjoyed my wonderful spot and the beautiful sky. It was a religious experience.
Thursday a neighbor texted to see if I wanted to go for a joy ride. He has a nice truck, and offered to drive into Walmart to pick up a few things. I was low on milk to make my afternoon lattes and he wanted energy drinks, so the two of us and our dogs piled into the front seat of his truck and drove into Flag. We got our supplies and returned back to camp just in time for happy hour. In the short time we were gone, the weekenders had started arriving and setting up camp nearby. Closest to us were a myriad of tents and what appears to be two young families with lots of small kids. Fortunately for us, that meant they went to bed early, and no loud music or a all night long. Far away (several miles) on the other side of Ashurst Lake Road was a gathering of young hooligans; lots of tents and just as many off-road vehicles. They crossed the main road and drove down where we were, I’m guessing because there are many tiny dirt roads in our vicinity. They were annoying, but short-lived. I didn’t see them after dark which was a blessing.
I’m keeping an eye on the weather. It’s been beautiful here just outside of Flagstaff to the south, with temperatures between mid-70’s and low-80’s during the day. It cools down at night and is perfect for sleeping. When we arrived, the weather channel predicted rains starting next Wednesday. The roads here could be impassible if we had heavy rains, and even the grassy area where I’m parked could easily become too soft and muddy to get out. As of the time I’m writing this, there is only a small chance of scattered showers through the week. I’ll keep watching.
Lessons From The Road: I’ve settled in this summer. Last year, I loved arriving in Flagstaff in May, but by July the rains and heat made it necessary for me to move often and I soon tired of the area, longing to go back south to Quartzsite and Ehrenberg for the winter. This year, I’m much more comfortable moving between Flag and Winslow, with many stays at Two Guns in between.
I love cooking, and it’s been nice to make some meals and have a neighbor to share them with. I’ve always thought that feeding people is such an important part of life. I inherited that gene from my mother who could never stop insisting people have something to eat whenever they were in her house.
It’s been nice to have a kindred spirit to share these beautiful spots with. And although there are a couple of families within sight across the narrow, rutted dirt road, to the back of our camp and either side, there are acres and acres of unoccupied forest. I’ve thought several times this week “If life doesn’t get any better than this, I’m OK with that.”