Happy Lunar New Year! The storms in California finally worked their way over to AZ. By the time they made their way over this far, they had lost some of their intensity, but Sunday was very cloudy and windy, and the rain started during the night and lasted throughout much of the day on Monday. Cosmo and I had not one, but two “inside days.” I watched a movie and listened to an audio book. We went for walks in between bursts of rain and we both took a nap in the afternoon.
By Tuesday morning it was bright, sunny, and clear, although not nearly as warm as it had been. We drove into town to find a mechanic to look at the O2 sensor in my van. I found the one with the 4.7-star rating. As advertised in his ratings, the place looked extremely run down from the outside, but the owner was very accommodating, stopped what he was doing and came to take a look. I showed him the report from AutoZone, and he said that it could be the O2 sensor, but the O2 sensor could be giving a correct reading and there was actually something wrong with the engine/exhaust system/ catalytic “convertible.” He told me to come back the next morning at 8:00. He said if he wasn’t there, to just wait for his son. I did.
When I arrived (early as always) the gate was locked. I waited and he showed up by 8:00. He asked if I was going to leave it and I said “No. I live in it. I have nowhere else to go. I’ll wait in it until you are ready for me.” I sat for 3 hours as he and his son each worked on separate vehicles. I got out to take Cosmo for a walk and he said I’d have to get out of the van for him to put it up on a lift. He said it would take 2 hours to check all the systems out. I told him to just let me know and we’d walk around (He had no waiting area, only a back lot full of junk cars and parts.) He finally got me up on the lift and handed it over to his son as he left either for Mexico or lunch. He was back in an hour, so I suspect “lunch” would be the correct guess. His son came and told me the catalytic converter was clogged. He said he ordered the O2 sensor and could fix both for around $300. I told him to go ahead.
It was getting late in the afternoon and some friends of theirs were arriving, drinking beer and smoking pot. The music was booming, with a heavy Polka beat and what sounded like tubas for the base-line. Cosmo and I tired of walking in circles in the back lot and went and stood near where my van was on the lift. The friends of the mechanics included me in on the conversation, asking where I was staying and how long I’d been out on the road. I had a good conversation with one who had camped in the spot where I was currently staying. We talked about the skoolie event. He’d driven down there one day last year and said how friendly everyone was. I told him it was happening next week, and he said he might see me there. They offered me a beer and a hit, but I declined both, needing to stay sober for either the drive home or making alternate plans should they not finish the job. In the end, all was fixed, I paid and drove back to BLM land. I was wiped out from walking in circles (literally) and from the stress of not knowing if my home would be drivable by day’s end. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so I heated a frozen pizza in a frying pan and ate it, drank a diet Coke and regrouped. Another crisis averted, with a lot less stress than I usually muster for such an occasion. I slept that night like the dead and didn’t wake up until the sun poked its face over the mountain in the east, and I stayed in bed until nearly 9:00 reading, listening to podcasts and snuggling with my buddy.
The past two days have been sunny and relatively warm. The highs were in the mid-60’s and the clear skies and bright sun make it seem even warmer. It got down to near freezing temperatures at night though. Still, all in all, a good place to be in January.
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On Thursday the school busses started rolling in; small numbers in the morning but coming in a constant stream by late afternoon. They had been coming in drips and drabs all week, but with Monday the UN* Official start of SkooliePalooza, I think most decided to make it into a two-weekend event. I could hear the music coming from far down in the valley the last few nights and on Thursday, the music was constant throughout the day.
*SkooliePalooza is officially a “Non-Event” this year. There was trouble last year with the BLM land in CA as nobody got a permit to hold an event, so the powers that be (not sure who that is, but some CA officials—sheriff, county police or state police—came and threw everyone out. Actually, everyone went peacefully and gladly. I think they would have had a lot of trouble towing 500+ school busses across rocky, rutted roads. They all left in a long caravan that must have been astonishing to see coming down Route 95 into Ehrenberg. They continued the event near the land where I’m staying without incident. It has apparently been held in that same place for the past few years.
This year, a couple bought the name “SkooliePalooza” and took over the web page. They said they would do everything “by the book” and pay for permits and thus, would be charging a fee to get in this year. There was a grand swell of “Fuck YOU” arising from the skoolie nation and they said the whole idea of the event is to live life freely without too much government oversite, and that BLM land is “OUR LAND” and thus, everyone and anyone has a right to come take advantage of it without being charged. The event promoters predicted a big hassle with law enforcement, but the skoolie people prevailed and announced there would be a non-event the last week in January and that a “couple people” living in school busses would be here on Arizona Land Trust land, the same as they have been for the past few years and that any like-minded people were welcome to join them. Well, by Thursday, a lot of like-minded people had showed up.
I ran into town today, picked up a few items and topped off my water tank. I plan on moving closer on Sunday morning, and Bonnie, who lives in a RoadTrek almost identical to mine said she’d come with me. A few other people I met on the road the past year have indicated they might come as well, but it will be near-freezing some nights, so I’m not sure who will make it and who won’t.
The week has otherwise been uneventful. Clear and sunny with temperatures in the low 60’s during the day, and near freezing temperatures at night. The night sky is crystal clear and as beautiful as it always is. The old people who camp nearby rarely come out of their rigs. Bonnie and I continue to sit out in the sunshine whenever the weather allows. Each week someone new comes for a day or two then leaves. Life it easy, quiet and very simple. I have a new wi-fi device from Verizon. It allows me three times as much bandwidth per month as the old one, so I can watch movies without “saving up giga-bytes.” The sky has been clear most days, so my solar panels are gradually re-charging my lithium batteries back up little by little each day. It’s been over a month since they were fully charged, but at least this week they are heading in the right direction.
Lessons From The Road: I’m still learning the lesson “Don’t bleed until you’re shot.” A year ago a “Check Engine” light would have thrown me for a loop. This year, although I had to struggle to not worry, I handled it pretty well. I told the mechanic as he put my van up on the lift “Don’t forget, I have to sleep in that tonight.” He said he would be finished in time for me to get back to wherever I was going, but if something unexpected happened, he would lower the van and I could sleep in it on his lot until he completed the job next morning. It’s scary that if my van breaks down, it involves my home “breaking down” as well; but on the bright side, wherever I break down, at least “I’m home.” It was a long day waiting in the mechanic’s back lot but as they say, “All’s well that ends well.”
I’ve also learned gratitude. I’m grateful for my simplified life. Some minor issues seem a bit more emphasized because I have all my eggs in one basket, but I really do have far fewer things to worry about.