Wandering Spirit

It’s November 11 and I’m at Morro Bay, CA for three days. I leave tomorrow.
I love the ocean and the coast and the rocks. There is inspiration here…in and out of dreams. The poem comes out rather choppy, but here it is anyway.

Open Air School

The Earth Mother kindly invites me to a rock-formed chair.
I’m glad for the offer, and I sit myself there.

Warm from the sun, but the breeze is cool.
I’m a student of hers, in her Open Air School.

In wonder I learn from the wind and the waves,
The ways of the sea, and how beauty behaves,

From the shining sun and the soaring sea birds.
My heart feels joy…
There are no words.

Somewhere in time my spirit joins with the sky.
I perch on the wing of the raptor on high.

My senses are filled with the splendor below,
On this fantasy flight on air currents we flow.

Later I find myself back in my chair,
An unknown time passed since I was there.

All I can say is that it seems,
That this is a part of my night time dreams.

Open Air School opens my heart.
Here are the things I learn for a start.

I am the rock and the hawk and the sea,
And the glory of nature is all part of me.

ALL of us earthlings are One with each other,
And as that One, we are all part of our Earth Mother.

Let kindness prevail, is her passionate plea,
To the fish and the foul,
To the bear and the bee.

There is no difference between them and thee.
We are the them.
They are the we.

Morro Rock

When I was 15 we went on a trip ‘out west’, funded by my grandparents, and they came along. For a month I was squished between my mom and my grandmother in the back seat of the Rambler station wagon. Every teenage girls dream, right?

I gave the appearance of not being interested in anything except reading my Beatle magazines, and to tell the truth, that really was my interest. I remember having cramps so bad at the Grand Canyon that I could hardly get out of the car, and an intestinal upset at Disneyland that kept me in the motel room.
My parents and grandparents thought the trip was wasted on me.

But in Wyoming I remember climbing a hill alone and finding myself gazing out at a magnificent view of the prairie and mountains beyond like I had never seen. That and my other teenage mixed emotions brought tears, but of course I didn’t let on.

At Yosemite I wandered out to the Merced River and climbed on rocks till I was in the middle of it. My mom almost had a heart attack when she finally found me (I couldn’t hear them calling because the water was so loud), but for me it was the high point of the trip, sitting out there in the rocks alone with the water splashing and rushing by me.

My family didn’t realize it then and maybe I didn’t either, but that trip had a huge positive influence on me. I already loved nature but now that love had been reinforced, despite a month of being squished in the back seat, with my nose seemingly only being stuck in teen magazines. Somehow it instilled in me a desire to explore further. My love of nature grew, and is still growing. I swear, I appreciate nature more every day and I’m so very grateful I have this precious time to explore it and get closer to it.

So I just want to say, if you get the chance GO! Explore the beauty of nature. It might be a hike, a camping trip, a driving trip, but get out there, get your kids out there even if they act like they don’t want to go. :-). Getting away from the normal routine opens your heart and mind and gives you a different perspective…gives you a natural high! Enjoy!

Where my mom lived in the late 80’s and half way through the 90’s.

I know this is the place because this was her street

Here’s the red sky

A few desert views near Tucson.

Right back where I started from!

Tuesday November 4, I stop in Tucson. Where there was nothing but desert 16 years ago, there is now an RV park, and I choose to stay at this one because it’s right across the street from where my mom lived from about 1986 to 1996. I’m excited to see the place and take pictures to show her!

But everything has changed so much! Where there was nothing but desert there are now homes and McDonalds and gas stations….and this gigantic RV park. I’m shocked at the changes. It’s right next to Tucson Estates which is a huge and very nice manufactured home area for age 55+.

I find her old street, Red Sky Circle, on Google Maps because I can’t recognize anything, even though I know it has to be right across the street. Joy, Shiloh and I walk there…and I find a completely locked community. I can’t get in. I’m trying to recognize her home…it was right near the swimming pool. I lean over brick walls to take pictures! What’s sad is that some of the businesses and homes have bars on the windows and doors now…the neighborhood has changed…

Next I walk to the hardware store. I ask if Joy and Shiloh can come in with me, and they are welcomed. They LOVE the attention they get! I make a purchase, and we go home. I leave the dogs in the air conditioned WS and hurry back to a little gift store…the only store I actually remember. I want to buy my mom something there. I don’t know if she will remember the place, or even remember living here for that matter. I watch the retired couples walking around, tending to their business. I fight back the tears. My mom, and my dad when he was alive, loved living in Tucson. I wish that they could both still be enjoying this. All kinds of emotions and memories come up. After I am done in CA in November I’ll be returning here at some point soon. There are more things I need to do here…

Wednesday I end up in Tonopah, AZ. If you blink you missed it. The couple next door love the dogs…their Golden passed recently. They invite us for wine under the full moon. Well… Joy and Shiloh get a snack. We talk like we’ve known each other for years.

Thursday morning, November 6, I have decided to cross back into CA today. I collect my fruits and veggies and take them to the couple who shared wine with me last night…can’t take those items into California. At the agricultural inspection station I’m the only one around on Hwy 62. The young ladies ask me about my produce and I tell them I gave it away this morning. They are pleased with that news but they keep me a few minutes as they play with the dogs. Joy and Shiloh are delighted to have people come up to the window and hug them! One gal has 4 dogs, all rescues and one is at the vet being neutered as we speak.

On we go through the California desert. I’ve been driving through the desert for 3 days now but the landscape never gets boring. Sometimes hills, mountains, buttes, some wild and crazy rock formations, flat, various colors and different plants. What an amazing earth! I’m so in love!

(Having trouble with pictures again! Will try to put them in a separate post.)

I’m only too happy to leave Bottomless Lakes State Park on Sunday morning. It actually does get seriously spooky for me there on Friday afternoon. Shortly after I pay for 2 more nights, a guy pitches his tent next to me who is giving off some very bad vibes. My intuition tells me to steer clear of him and I do but having him right next to me doesn’t feel comfortable at all. It’s the first time since I’m on the road that I feel this way about anyone.

I hitch up Saturday evening so I can leave early Sunday. It takes me all day Sunday to get over the creepy feelings. I’m heading into the rain but that’s better than staying where I was.

I arrive in Bernardo, NM in the pouring rain. I’m greeted warmly by the ladies at Kiva RV Park and Horse Motel. Their kindness and warmth wash away some of the anxiety I’m feeling. A glass of wine with my feet up in WS while the rain falls helps too. I recheck weather reports for Gallup, where I’m heading tomorrow. What! Sixteen degrees on Monday night! When did this develop?! I can’t voluntarily drive into 16 degrees. I’d be warm enough inside, but what I’m concerned about it the pipes on the outside.

I begin searching for another route. Gallup is the coldest but there seems to be a wall of cold air heading east…a very long wall, north to south. I consider doing a double day of driving and just plow on through it, but even 400 miles west, Monday night will be in the 20’s. It looks like my best bet is to head south west, to Deming, NM, about 35 miles from the Mexican boarder. Monday night temps there are to be in the low 40’s. Tuesday night I can be in Tucson if I want to be, and hopefully safe from sustained sub freezing temperatures.

On Monday it’s a pleasant drive south on I25, then Hwy 26, where I run into a few raindrops, but when I arrive in Deming, the rain has passed and the sun is starting to shine.

I check into a senior RV Park…ha!…walk Joy and Shiloh, do laundry, shower, and decide to make butternut squash soup! Yum! I also used a big yam, and some carrots in the soup. Really tasty!

I have a deadline to meet to be in Monterey, CA, but it’s still 10 days away, (8 or 9 would be better). If I had loads of time I’d love to explore this area and on into my route into Arizona. I’ll be saving most of that for my return, starting in December!

An old friend called me ‘Highway Child’ today.  It’s a Rolling Stones reference….a song they recorded many years ago and never released.  I have it in my collection…somewhere.  I went to You Tube and listened to it.  It brings back a lot of memories.

Music does that…

Anyway this Highway Child has been on the move.  We leave Ballinger City Park on Tuesday morning, October 29,  and arrive at Post, Texas in the afternoon.  We stay at Post View RV Park, and it’s, well, in a word….crappy.  Not a good experience.  Moving on…:-)

Wednesday, October 30, we decide to check out Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell, NM. Sounds a little spooky, doesn’t it ?  Appropriate for Roswell, and for upcoming Halloween.  I like it, and pay my $14 to spend the night.  I’d like to spend 2 nights but I’m not sure how that works in New Mexico State parks.  The sign says if you don’t have a reservation you can only pay for one night.

Hopefully tomorrow morning I’ll find the park host and ask if I can spend another night.

Joy swims in a bottomless lake.  Shiloh decides it’s not a good idea and doesn’t go in the water!  I have a craving for chili and I make a nice pot of it, and enjoy a bowl on the spot.

I have lots of laundry that needs to be done so I load it into the car and off we go to The Sunshine Laundromat in Roswell, which is about a 17 mile drive.  I would like to get home before dark.

It’s not gonna happen.  We leave the laundromat about 6:30 and the sun is setting.  I need to stop for gas, and that’s when I see…..

A little green man!

Actually he isn’t that little, and he isn’t really the first one I see but he is the first (and only) one I take a picture of.

Now I’m off for my 17 mile drive, through the open, empty, dark land of nothing, that surrounds Roswell.  On the night before Halloween.  Now I know this sounds silly as all get out, but I  feel very spooked!

As I  drive into the night.  I can see why this place…has a reputation. Ten miles out of town is my turn off, and then it’s 7 miles out to the lake where my little home sits waiting.  I’m driving on a small, dark road, and there is absolutely no one else coming or going.

“Shiver!”

Thankfully the only things I see in the sky as I drive are the moon and the stars.  I do see an airplane, and I scrutinize it carefully, but, really it’s only an air plane.  (A tad disappointing, huh?)  🙂

We make it safely back to our ‘Little House’ , and it looks so inviting and cozy.  I carry in the laundry, feed the dogs, get into my Jammie’s, and lock the door against any and all little green men.  Phew, safe at last!   And this is your Halloween story with a happy ending.  🙂

Below are some pictures of the Jack-E-Up that I promised Phyllis.

Jack-E-Up in place

The thing on the top of the propane tanks is my sway bar!

Jack-E-Up sitting in the Jack-E-Hand

Top view of Jack-e-up with no jack in it, oh and see the sway bar down there? 🙂

You make my heart sing.

You make everything groovy.

Wild thing, I think I love you.

Wild things

The wild things are so beautiful!

We backtrack now, back to Cedar Ridge Campground near Temple, Texas, where Shiloh chased the deer.  This time he seems in awe of them, as does Joy.

We leave Salmon Lake Park this morning.  There are only a few Casitas left on the grounds.  This has been a wonderful experience for me!  I’ve met so many kind and helpful people and learned so much.  Thank you Reine and Paul for everything!  And yes I’m using the sway bar now.  🙂  I put it on for the first time with the help of Reine, Paul, and Walt! I also use my Jack-E-Up for the first time.  It really works!  I can now lower the tailgate while hooked up.  What a luxury!

I loved the rally but that was a lot of socializing for me and I’m ready for some serious alone time.  Having the Wild Things for company tonight is just perfect.  (Joy and Shiloh agree) find them mysterious and alluring and enchanting…wildness is so precious!  We so need to protect the wildness.

I want to be part of it!

Watching

Some of the dogs of Pine Knott, and their people.

Getting ready for desert night. Apple crisp. Vegan of course.

Wow.  A good time to be vegan!  Think of all the calories I missed! 🙂

Foggy Sunrise at Pine Knot Casita Rally

Casitas here

Casitas there

Casitas everywhere!

That last one is mine!

Actually the Casitas are so spread out all over the place it’s hard to get an idea from pictures how many are here.  I didn’t count them, but there were supposed to be 83 here today.  There has been ‘open house’ time, so I’ve gotten to see inside many of them, to get ideas about what works for different people.  These little houses are as individualized as the people who own them.

Larry Gamble, who knows Casitas inside and out better than anyone else on earth, and proprietor of  ‘Little House Customs’ did a number of mods for me, and a repair too.

Larry on the roof

1.  I’ve been carrying an Max Air fan cover around with me forever, and he installed it over my Fantastic Fan on the roof.  Now if it’s raining I can still use the fan so air can circulate.

2.  He installed a ‘Jack-E-Up’ and a ‘Jack-E-Hand’.  What this does is get my jack out of the way so I can open my tailgate while WS is still hooked up to JR.

Larry underneath

3.He put a lighted switch on my hot water heater so I can tell if it is running…or if I forgot to turn it off.

4.  He added a switch inside for the porch light.  Before I could only turn it off and on from outside.

5.  He added a reinforcing hinge on the refrigerator door so I don’t have to worry about it coming loose.

Larry beside!

6.  Something he calls ‘valvectomy’, which changes some of the plumbing and makes it more efficient.

7.  The ‘vent mod’ which allows the gray tank to hold a good amount more water.

Larry has been working non stop since he arrived here, but he graciously came back today and

8.  He repaired a leak that has developed under the bathroom sink.

For me, it’s a great relief to get all these things taken care of.

There are more mods I’d like to have done but I’ll need to save up some $$$.

Joy and Shiloh have only escaped once.  Joy came right back…wow her behavior has vastly improved in her more mature years.  Shiloh, as you might have guessed by now, made the rounds and visited most every dog in camp before I enticed him to come back with treats.  They took part in the pet parade, which turned into a ‘sit around and talk about our pets while getting to know each other’ deal, which was really nice.

Shiloh dressed for the occasion, but not too excited about it

And the burning question….why is this rally called Pine Knot?  I guess the answer is….

Why Knot?  I didn’t realize this but east Texas is known for being a piney place and we are in east Texas.  I thought there was going to be some funny story attached to it, but it’s just that this is the east Texas rally, and has been going on for ten years and it’s always been called Pine Knot!

On Sunday the 18th, after a few disappointing attempts at a place to spend the night, we find a place that I like so much, we spend two nights; that is Cedar Ridge Campground, near Temple, Texas, a COE park (Corps Of Engineers).  These parks are usually, or maybe always, built around a reservoir , and the really nice treat is that they honor the “America The Beautiful” senior pass for a 50% camping discount.  In the section I stay in with 40 campsites, 4 are occupied.  The bathrooms in this area are closed, but I have my own bathroom so that isn’t  an issue.  I drive to the other camping area for use of the shower.  More people are camped in that section.

Lesson learned…if you want less company, camp where the bathrooms are closed. 🙂

Sunset on Sunday night

Monday morning we take an early walk.  Shiloh is preoccupied with watching deer.  There are lots of deer to watch.  When they see us they stop grazing and stare.  Sometimes a few bound off and I know Shiloh wants to follow…uh-oh…I remind myself to let go of the leash rather than fall again, struggling to hold him back. There are no other dangers here, and no traffic.

Sure are enough, it happens!  He sees deer, ignores my commands to ‘stop!’ And when I realize trying to hold him back could land me on the ground again, I remember to let go of the leash.  Joy would like to follow him, but she obeys the ‘stop’ command.  She would have gone with him in her younger days, I’m quite sure.  I’m upset with Shiloh but rather than stand there and call, I turn and walk away.  He’s back by my side in about 60 seconds, though it feels like a long minute to me.

(Recently, when I’ve been concerned he will run off, and we are in an area with traffic or other dangers, I’ve been holding his collar, which gives me more control.  I’m also using the ‘Gentle Leader’ more often, which he doesn’t like, but he’d rather wear it than not go for a walk.

Joy says, ‘ I was a good girl, can we play now?’

I’m running low on dog food, and there is a Petco in town, which is one of the reasons I wanted to stop near the city of Temple.  Joy and  Shiloh do well on Natural Balance food and Petco carries it. I bring them in the store with me since we have that option and it’s getting hot in the truck.  They are like kids in a candy store, and they have to touch everything…with their noses.  I let them have their fun…there is no rush.  And yes, they end up with some toys. 🙂

Back home again, they each get a bath.  Funny, they love slogging around in any muddy pond or stream we find…any water is great…except bath water!  But when the baths are over they love being towel dried, and become very excited and invigorated.  Oh boy….they wear me out!

As I write this, we have moved on and at last reached our destination of this Texas adventure, the Pine knot Casita Rally. (Why is it called ‘Pine Knot’?  I don’t know but I’ll try and find out:-). Wait till you see pictures of this little Casita village…so cute!

Next time!