TTRV

I am back outside of Tombstone, AZ and settled in for a month's stay at Tombstone Territories.  It is just what I wanted, lots of land and sky.  The stars at night are spectacular and I only wish they would make it mandatory to turn off all outdoor lights at night.  Now that would be something!

There are several hiking trails which lead nowhere, in the midst of nowhere.

I am nestled within this bowl that is surrounded by mountains.

Home Sweet Home

Life

I am back to life as I know it.

This Sunday I am finally leaving Mesa and heading to Tombstone, AZ to stay for at least a month.  I am looking forward to those big open spaces, sky and land.  Oh, I have missed it!

I had the carpet cleaned and had a final meal with Priscilla and have begun all the preparations for the next chapter.  Laundry, groceries, packing and cleaning.

While in Eugene I secured a job for the summer on the Oregon coast. I am ever so thankful I will not be back in the mountains and instead will be in Lincoln City at the Premier RV Resort.

So life goes on.

Memories of Sam

Sam is the blond kneeling in front, I am behind him in the plaid shirt

I met him when I was 18 and he was still 17.  He was a small town boy from Nebraska and I was a big city girl from New Orleans.  We met our very first week in Boulder, Colorado during freshman orientation.  Our lives would continue to interweave for the next 42 years.

Sam Without a Shirt

A college friend sent me these pictures.  Sam was my Golden Boy during those years, full of sun and laughter.  By the time I met him he had already experienced the death of both his parents and more painful experiences than most of us will know in our life times.  But in those early years, life was full of possibilities and adventure.  Or, at least, women:).

I was not a particularly easy woman to love. My soul demanded travel and independence and I could not be tied down.  But Sam loved me anyway.  In our early 20s he was devastated to learn that while in Greece I had met and married a Greek dancer.  But Sam loved me anyway and waited out the years until I returned to his life.  During our 23 years of marriage he allowed me more free rein than most men would find possible and all he ever asked is that I return.

Sam was also not an easy man to love.  The pain and the hurt he had accumulated created emotional boundaries that could never be scaled.  He was a sensitive soul and the world was a very harsh place.  The walls became thicker and stronger and he became trapped with his demons.  But I loved him anyway.

I will always love him and carry a piece of him within my heart.  Although that is the last time I will see him in that particular form, I have no doubt we will find each other again.

Back At Aztec

I finally made it back to the Aztec park.  I had a very early flight and only briefly slept the night before but the flights were smooth and easy and I eventually found the shuttle bus that brought me back to the sacred womb of Minnie.

And so I am back, trying to plug back into my former life.

My world feels sadder than it was before.  The residents of this park look older than they did before.  I find myself tuning into a techno music station on Pandora.  I look different when I see myself in the mirror.  I feel young and excited, and old and weary.

The dust is still settling, but I know everything will be just fine.

Not Going Anywhere

Flight was cancelled again. I have a very early flight tomorrow morning which may, or may not, be the one that takes me back to the sunshine.

Weather Delay

I was supposed to leave today. The weather had other plans. An unusual storm blew into Seattle, stranding people, cars and planes. I was supposed to be on one of those planes. But here I still sit in my son's apartment, hanging with the twenty-somethings. I have been listening to techno trance/dance music, watching laser light shows and listening to interesting conversations. I have been sleeping on a lumpy sofa and fighting the urge to obsessively clean. I have been having a wonderful time. Maybe tomorrow my flight will leave. Maybe it won't. Maybe tomorrow night I will be back with the 55+ crowd. Maybe I won't. As the twenty-something crowd says, "No worries, it's all good".

Grief

Grief can be so slippery. It will leave for five minutes, for an hour, even for an entire day. But then it finds it's way back. It comes back in so many forms that there can be no defense. It slithers in on words a dear friend has sent. It echoes through the phone call from a long forgotten friend. It wraps around my heart while looking at photos. It clutches my belly while discarding the remnants of a life. It never wanders too far. It slips in and out of my life.

Change of Plans

I will not be going to Quartzsite.  I will be going to Eugene instead.  My former husband has passed and I need to be with my son to ease us through this process.

Quartzsite, AZ

The tramps are gathering.  Specifically, the Rubber Tramps.  They are gathering in Quartzsite and I am going to be one of them.

I am leaving on Saturday and will stay as long as my comfort level lasts, a few days or a week.  I am not set up for boon docking (dry camping) and am trying to figure out all the ways I will need to provide my own water, heat and electricity.  Yesterday I checked my generator and it is working which will supply my electrical needs.  I will fill up my propane tank before leaving which will be my cooking and heating supply and will keep my fridge cold.  I always travel with an ample supply of water bottles and will make sure they are all full and will fill my water tank for additional water.  What else, what else...?

 If a Verizon signal is weak or nonexistent, I may not have phone or internet access and I will just have to deal with that.  Even with a signal, I hope to spend more time in actual conversation than virtual.

A new adventure awaits!!!!!

(This is what I came across on an internet search)

Rubber Tramps is a unique documentary that explores the lives of people who savor the scenery of the open road, in search of an authentic life. These nomads and gypsies make their homes in converted buses, vans and cars. In his last major media appearance, counterculture icon Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) comments throughout the film, linking today's rubber tramps with the famous bus trips he and the Merry Pranksters made during the bygone hippie era.

Ken Kesey on his farm

Grocery Stores

When you live on the road, you take whatever grocery store the road gives you.  When you walk for your groceries, your choices dwindle even further.  And that is why I am so excited to have a new grocery store!

While traveling Walmart is my staple.  They have everything you need, they carry RV supplies and they have very large parking lots.  I have no problem patronizing these stores other than the fact that they have few organic products and it feels like I am shopping in a warehouse.

When I am stationary, sometimes I get a local grocery store and other times friends or family will take me shopping with them.  Trader Joe's is one of my favorites.  New Frontiers Natural Marketplace in Sedona, AZ is my absolute favorite.  I want to live in that store.  Whole Foods,  Market of Choice are also top contenders. I drool just thinking about them.  I love the shopping experience, the sights, smells and colors. 

I miss variety.  I spent the last several months with an Albertson's right across the street.  It became my store and I appreciated its convenience.  But by the end there was nothing new to excite or thrill me.  I knew what they carried, which aisle held what item and it just became a boring process.  I needed new stimulation.

At my current park I have a new grocery store just a short walk away, a Fry's Grocery Store.  It has fresh food, fresh baked goods, beautiful meat and eye stimulation.

I am so excited to have a new grocery store!

Priscilla

My aunt told me a woman might be calling me.  She was a solo woman who had just begun living in an RV and might want some information and advice.  Her name was Priscilla.

Priscilla did call, several times, and she told me about the good deal at my current park.  She was going to be staying here the month of January and I was looking forward to spending some time with her and getting to know her better.  We eventually met, went hiking together and spent some time chatting and shopping.  Good having another solo woman to pal around with.

But soon enough Priscilla gave up the full timing and bought a house before I even moved over to this new park.  Because her closing took longer than expected I did get a few days with her and yesterday went to see her new home.  It is a very nice home in a very nice neighborhood in Tempe, AZ.  It even has an RV gate into the large backyard where she can park her 29' motorhome.

All I could think of while viewing this wonderful house was how lonely it made me feel.  I felt imprisoned, confined within this "box", within this street that had rows of other boxes.

I don't think I can ever live in a house again.

Priscilla Waiting for Moving Day

'Nother Park

Aztec RV Park

Minnie and I have moved again, this time just a mile away.  I have been swinging from deal to deal and for $407 (including tax) I get a month's site, electric, cable and wifi.  It is still a concrete slab in Mesa, but the park is smaller, there are trees outside and I can hear the birds singing. The amenities are not as plush as the last park but it is fine for my wants and needs.

The main reason I am still even in Mesa is because I plan to attend a gathering in Quartsite, AZ this month for at least a few days.  Dry camping pushes me waaaaaay out of my comfort zone but I am interested in meeting up with this group.  I figure I will be good for at least a few days, maybe more if I can figure out electricity and my water holding tank.  I like the comfort of plug-ins but want the freedom of open spaces.  So it is a good time for a trial run and see what happens.

I also want to have Minnie cleaned inside and out this month, redo my much outdated website and actively pursue a summer job on the Oregon coast.

Right now the thought of all this makes me tired, but come tomorrow I hope to have more energy.