Wandering Spirit

One way to lighten your spirits is to give a Concert For Cows. I hadn’t planned it, but there were so many black cows on the way to Maple Grove Campground, I stopped to play some music for them….a CD by Will Tuttle. I did it once in Big Sur some years ago…stopped by the side of the road to say hi to the cows and noticed their interest in the music on my CD player, so I turned it up and soon had a group of 20+ cows coming by to listen.

Today I tried it again. Would Utah cows respond to music like California cows? I stopped at one of the boondock sites on the way to Maple Grove. Only one cow was close at that time.

One cow.

It wasn’t long before a few more came by to gather near some trees and listen. Notice they aren’t eating for the most part, as cows usually are. Just listening.

More cows

Well, after 15 minutes of beautiful piano music, there were at least 15 cows gathered at the concert. You can’t see them all here because some are behind the trees. Some are on the other side of the road.

At least 15 cows here, some behind the tree and some on the other side of the road, still on their way.

The rest of the pictures are of Maple Grove Campground…another spirit lifting encounter. WOW!

JOY

Joy in Ivie Creek

I’m limiting my photos because I can’t get the free wifi to work here so I’m using mine and pictures eat it up fast.

**Note from yesterday. I was able to remove all the marks from the side of WS, made by the ramp sliding along it!! Big YAY there. I used the polish I usually use on WS and a lot of elbow grease and she’s lookin’ good. 🙂

This morning we leave Deer Creek State Park and drive a relatively short 100+ miles to Salina, Utah. I say ‘relatively’ because part of it is on I-15 and it’s never fun in the area of Salt Lake City and Provo, on I-15.

I’m sure at least a MILLION gigantic trucks go whizzing past me while I am on that Interstate. After about half a million , it becomes just too much.

Salina is on my way to the red rocks that I want to spend time with, but I wanted to stop here because I would like to explore some of the boondock possibilities that RVSue has mentioned in this area. Unlike Sue though, I’m not inclined to tow WS into questionable dirt roads, not knowing what lies ahead. I want a base camp where I can park WS and then explore in JR. So…my base camp is the only RV Park in Salina. Butch Cassidy Campground. Whatever.

I arrive about 1pm and find that the office is closed from noon until 2pm. Note that I’m already crabby from the drive. So I find a spot to park in some shade, and then I walk the dogs around the campground. I’m not thrilled with the place and I find only one acceptable spot that has shade, grass, and a bit of space for the dogs. It’s also close to the laundry and showers. That’s the one I want. Oh yeah, it’s also close to the road. Whatever.

Ar 2pm I put Joy and Shiloh back in JR and go back to the office. I am able to have the site I request. Yay. (1)

I drive over. It’s a bit hard to get into with a sharp curve and trees, but I make it. The site is terribly uneven, so my next project is working to make WS level. In and out of JR…hard on the back. And it’s hot. Crabbiness increases perportionatly.

And then…AWK! What’s this? Big scrape marks on the side of WS! How did THIS happen?! I know I didn’t scrape the tree. I watched in my mirrors and I was very careful. Suddenly it hits me. When I put Joy and Shiloh back in JR to go back to the office, I left the ramp leaning against the side of the truck. ( I use a ramp to get them in and out of JR because it’s too hard for them to do that jump at their ages.)

As I drove away, the ramp slid easily along the side of JR (no marks were left there) but then the truck ended and it must have tilted into WS. I see the ramp on the ground and I go to retrieve it. Some pieces are broken on it but with a hammer and a screw driver it is still perfectly usable. I can hardly bear to look at the marks on the side of WS though. I wonder if they will come out ? I’ll think about it…and work on that project, tomorrow.

There is a half picnic table/bench thing at my site and it’s right in front of WS’s door. I have to move it or Joy and Shiloh will wind around it and get their tie outs caught in it every 2 seconds.
Stupidly, (and crabilly) I do it by myself. Should have gotten help. Ouch.

I finish unhooking and setting up camp. I go take a shower. It’s very clean in there. Yay. (2)

As I write, I’m sitting , leaning against my recently acquired heating pad. And that’s Yay # 3.

I have some pictures. Next time. Supposed to be free wifi here but I’ll need to go searching for it with a fine tooth comb.

I warned you about the crabby part!

On October 6, after carefully packing up and hooking up (taking two days to do what usually takes less than two hours), we leave Idaho Falls, taking I-15 into:

We drive all the way to Deer Creek State Park, about 10 miles past Heber City on Hwy 189.

Slowly and carefully I unhook and settle in. Wow. This looks like a nice place to continue healing.

My front yard for now.

On the other side.

After settling in I’m happy to report I have only mild back pain. Perhaps I really am getting better this time.

We spent a couple days here last year and I liked the area, although it rained that time. No rain in the forecast now. I’ve paid for six nights.

There are two campground sections here. I’m in Chokecherry with full hookups, and the other section is called Great Horned Owl. No hookups there. Both sections have clean showers and bathrooms. It all sits up against Deer Creek Reservoir, and there is a boat launch area down the road.

As the sun sets, a pink/peach/gold glow begins over the lake, and it ends up like this:

That’s a healing view, wouldn’t you say?

I’m doing some gentle back exercises, and this morning I’m excited because the back pain is minimal. I take the dogs walking about 45 minutes and come back feeling good. I putz around a bit. Then in early afternoon, pain increases so I retire to my antigravity chair for quite awhile. We take a short walk this evening…all in all, I’m doing much better. I expect it will come and go, hopefully going more than coming, over the next week or two. I won’t keep writing about it because I don’t want this blog to be all about my aches and pains! If it gets worse, you’ll know, but otherwise, just figure things are improving!

Doing a lot of this:

Yeah, it’s taking awhile.

Looking back to a week ago, I know that there has been improvement, but at the same time I feel like if I make a wrong move, I’ll have to start all over again.

So…I’m taking it slow.

VERY slow. Reading, writing, playing on my IPad and IPnone.

We walked (slowly) for a half an hour this morning. That is the most dog walking I’ve done in over a week, and I feel very bad about that.

When we leave here Tuesday, we will be going to a State Park in Utah about 200 miles south of here, and spend some time. We’ve been there before and I know it will be an ‘easy’ place. I was hoping to head over to the Tetons to explore, but I’ll do that another time. Another year.

Jello plans are good!

If I had to choose
A season to favor

Autumn would be
The one that I savor.

Kicking up dry leaves of red, orange and gold
is something for me, that never grows old.

The crisp ‘fresh’ in the air
Blows through my hair.

The fragrance of dry leaves
Is beyond compare.

Thinking on autumn
There’s something I know.

I’m in the fall of my years
As lifetimes go.

It’s not a sad thing!
It’s a joy and a glory.

It’s so far, the most
Precious part of my story.

Unfurling my colors
To be who I be.

Experiencing the harvest
Of what it has been to be me.

**************************

Each day is a gift of
Trees, mountains, and sky.

Of the beings who roam
And the beings who fly.

Sunrise, sunset…
All natures dashing displays

Of colors and lights
Come out to play.

My life and this season
All intertwined.

Each day I give thanks
For the beauty I find:

In my heart…
In the leaves…

In my mind…
In the trees…

In my soul…
In the hills…

In the rocks…
In the rills…

In my spirit and senses…
In the stillness…
I’m filled.

One in the same,
Related to all.

Nature within me
I hear the wild call.

All life is a circle,
I feel this is true.

You’re part of me.
I’m part of you.

That’s how the healing is progressing. I have so-so days, and bad days. Today I’m moving on, and packing up and hooking up is going to be hard.

I planned to do a little boondocking in the Beaverhead Dearlodge National Forest. I am missing boondocking! I scoped out some sweet spots Last week with the help of a Forest Ranger. BUT…plans have changed because my back is nowhere near stable at this point and it doesn’t feel good to me to go miles into the forest with no internet and no cell service while I’m in this situation.
SO…provided I can actually get packed up and hooked up this morning, I’m going on to Idaho Falls, and another RV Park, because I’m trying to be safe.

While I’m there, if I feel well enough, I can visit Craters Of The Moon, and take a drive on Hwy 26/33/32 over near the Tetons, to at least get some nice views.

I know that there is a reason for this, so I’m just going to go with the flow. Wish me luck!

Slowly.
Which is how it usually is with backs, I think.

I’ve been doing as much of nothing as possible…and that’s a lot of nothing!

Yesterday the big accomplishment of the day was a short walk with the dogs. Much needed for all of us. I’m moving slowly, but I’m moving.

I learned…or at least remembered…a few things during this experience.

1. I need to take good care of myself.

2. I do a lot more than I think I do and some of it is harder than I realize it is.

3. Healing happens.

4. The human body is a miraculous instrument.

5. Being quiet and still is a good thing.

6. How very important every aspect of health is to life on the road (especially solo) and life in general.

So what caused the flare up of back pain and what made it so bad this time?

I’ve been thinking about that. Nothing I did seemed to ‘set it off’ and my back didn’t ‘go out’. I remembered though, that a few days before the major pain there was some minor pain. Warning signals that I ignored, thinking it would pass. What caused the minor pain? This is the only thing I can come up with and I don’t know if it’s correct. I sleep on the regular Casita cushions with a two inch memory foam topper. (Peggy and Doug if you are reading this, I know you sold me WS with a four inch memory foam mattress, but it was too much…too thick. I learned before I left on my travels that it wouldn’t work for me and I gave it away and replaced it with the two inch memory foam that I had on my mattress in the house).

After sleeping in the same exact spot for a year the two inch was getting seriously squished and I could really feel my hip bones when lying on my side, SO, I bought a little $12 foam topper to put on top of the two inch memory foam. It was shortly after putting that on the bed that I began to notice the minor pain.

Could it be that silly foam topper causing all this?

I didn’t know, but I was feeling the need to get rid of it.

Making my bed which is all enclosed except for about 31 inches where you get in and out, is really a lot of work. Have to climb on the bed to do it. How was I going to remove the foam when I could hardly move myself? Well again, slowly. A little bit at a time, and then I didn’t actually remove it. I was able to get it folded over so it’s not on the part of the bed that I use.

When I laid back down I noticed a distinct difference. The firmer pressure felt good. I’ve slept that way for two nights now and am gradually feeling better. I don’t really know if it’s related to the change in the bed or just that things are healing anyway. Whatever it is, I’m grateful. I don’t plan on using the foam again. I will cut it up. I’ll make one piece the size to fit in a pillowcase that I can use for the hip joint if needed. Some I’ll use to augment dog bedding.

Phew. Long story about doing nothing, right? 😀. And way more that you ever wanted to know about my aches and pains. Hopefully better subject matter next time!

My back hurts!

This is a chronic thing I’ve had over the years related to abusing my back as an RN. Since I retired though, flare-ups have been rare and usually mild. Mild until a few days ago when I began to notice some pain and then yesterday it got much worse and isn’t something I’d describe as mild. It’s come complete with muscle spasms, just in case the jolting, zinging sensations with movement are not enough!

I’m about 15 miles from Butte, Montana, in a lovely spot surrounded with mountains, and the weather is good. When I arrived here I paid for two nights and asked if I needed to stay longer, would it be ok? No problem there.

My plan was to stay here at Fairmont RV Park and Campground and use it as a base while I explored the surrounding BLM and National Forest campgrounds….there are quite a few by the looks of the map. If I found something to my liking I was considering staying there up to a week longer. Now, the way things stand, I’m not in much of an exploring mood. I wasn’t even able to walk Joy and Shiloh this evening. My back needs to rest and heal.

If you have a moment to sent some good healing energy and/or prayers my way it would be much appreciated!

From Quincy we roll on to Spangle, Washington. Isn’t that a great name for a town? So patriotic, in a ‘Star Spangled Banner’ sort of way.

You may remember I was in Spangle a little over a year ago, visiting my old friend and co-worker, Marsha. She took early retirement from nursing and went back near her family home. Long story short, she started a dog-care business and it has become very successful…she’s booked up months in advance. And no wonder, everything is clean as a whistle, the dogs get to frolic in the green grass of her back yard, and everyone comes in the house for some special love…not all at once though! Marsha will take care of your dog for a day, a week or a month, plus she has two of her own fur kids.

This is 11 month old Tearian. I probably spelled his name wrong.

And this is Alice!

Cuddle time

Add with Joy and Shiloh added into the mix, we had a yapping good time!

Back to Spangle, with a population of 225. No traffic lights in town, but there is a grocery store…well, sortof.

It’s part of the gas station. There is a group of grain storage silos, and most of the rest is fields…amber waves of grain…as the song goes. All harvested now.

Marsha’s field

My view

And fields next to the grocery store.

Wheat, barley and lentil crops are common.

We have been in Washington since July 29, and now it’s time to move on.
September 18 we pack up, say good-by to all the pupsters, hugs to Marsha, and off we go. It’s only 15 miles to Spokane, and another 10 or 15 to….

Took this picture as I was driving by.

Idaho!

We are now in a place called Osburn, and though I’ve been noticing fall color here and there for quite some time, the recent cool weather with nights in the low 40’s is causing some real color popping.

Just about outside my door…

I love when the leaves carpet the ground in red and gold.

A golden tree peaking through the pines.

We will head south now, slowly, and I hope to be able to share lots more autumn glory with you as we go!

One Day….actually, a couple of hours….takes us from lush, green, moss covered trees, rolling green grass,fog and mist with gentle temperatures:

moss covered trees

foggy morning

To treeless dry and barren, golden-brown withered grass, harsh cliffs, with temperatures close to 100 degrees, along the Columbia River. (Also beautiful, I might add.)

golden-brown along the river

open sky!

It’s desert-like, with a river running through it. As I drive, for the first time I see the smoke everyone is talking about.

We are near Quincy, Washington, near the center of the state. The locals say it’s drier and hotter here than usual (which is normally dry and hot anyway). But everyone is saying that. Everywhere.

Yet, this is farm country, thanks to heavy irrigation from the Grand Coulee Dam. The dam also provides relatively cheap energy for the area, but of course there are huge ecological dam issues. Or you could say damn issues…depends on who you are and how you look at it. At any rate, we either see huge areas of cultivation here, or dry desert-like conditions. Another side of Washington.

We are not particularly fond of 90-100 degree heat, or smoke on the horizon, but on the positive side, which as you know I try to stay on, I can see the stars again! With all the huge trees and the fog it’s been awhile since I’ve had a good star-view. Now I sit outside in the balmy, breezy, clear evening and admire the sky. We have full hook-ups here at Crescent Bar Resort (another Thousand Trails park) so during the heat of the day we have our comfy air-conditioned retreat when we need it.

Just before coming here I was able to spend more time with my son Brian and his wife Sharon. One of the things we did was to get in some shooting practice. I hadn’t practiced since I was with them last year so just about anything I might have learned, I forgot. Sharon is a good and patient teacher. Here is my target.

I can hear you laughing! 🙂

Even though I am aiming in the center, you can see that I hit to the left. Sharon says that’s because I’m right handed and that hand and arm is stronger. I need to strengthen my left hand and arm. And of course I need practice. I feel a little more comfortable with the…um…tool…at this point, so maybe I’ll practice more often.

I know. I know. A vegan with a gun. Not common. It takes all kinds, right?