Wandering Spirit

And all that he could see,
Was the other side of the mountain!

Both sides were beautiful! In all my worrying about the weather, I forgot how beautiful Donner Pass is. It wasn’t very easy to look while driving, but I was able to stop at view places and at the Donner Pass rest area, so I got to take it in.

If people would just not be in such a &%$#+ hurry! Gosh, everybody seems to be going at least 80mpg. Ok, I sound like an old lady. Well, I am, so there!

Anyway, we made it, and we also made it through Sacramento, and we are in Lodi, at an RV ‘resort’ that takes my Passport America card for a discount of 50% off the regular price, which is really nice. They have the biggest fenced, off leash dog area I have ever seen anywhere. Joy rolled, Shiloh ran, and now they are sacked out in WS’s air conditioning. (so am I). We’ll go back and play later in the cool of the day.

I’m trying to download pictures to show you but the free wifi here is v-e-r-y slow, and I am not willing to use my own just yet. Maybe later I can add a few pictures.

I’ve decided on one more day in Sparks. I want to leave.  I check the weather over Donner Pass hourly or more, but that ‘frozen mix’ forecast persists.  I’m not thrilled with driving Donner Pass on a nice day in a car, not towing, so I sure don’t want to drive it in this situation.  At  10am I go to the office and ask if the charge for Sunday night will be back to the normal rate.  The lady hims and haws….finally says yes I can have the regular rate, like she’s doing me a big favor.  I don’t know, maybe she is!

I’ve already prepared to leave in case the forecast would change.  Tanks are emptied and I never even unhooked from JR, so I’m ready to roll.  That will make it all that much easier tomorrow morning.

We  walk between the raindrops early in the morning and Joy and Shiloh take a couple more dips in The Fountain Of Youth….er…the Truckee River.

I’m not sure about fruits and veggies going back into CA, so I start cooking all the ones I still have on hand.  Lentil soup, fried potatoes, boiled cabbage and….applesauce.  If everything is cooked and in containers in the fridge perhaps CA will leave it alone!  I’ve never come into CA in a travel trailer so I don’t know the boarder procedure.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

A Note About Comments:

If you tried to comment yesterday and found you had to be logged in, that was my fault.  I was making changes in “settings”, trying to fix whatever was causing me not to be alerted to comments, but  I accidentally checked the box that made it mandatory to “log in”.  I’ve fixed that now.  I never did figure out why the email alerts stopped, because that box was still checked.

On to Reno/Sparks

I arrive at Rivers Edge RV Park.  Somehow I pictured this to be a ways out of town, in a peaceful setting, mountain backdrop (as mentioned in their description.)

The Truckee River is right here, and yes I can see some mountains, so the description is all true, but this park is in town…pretty much between the two towns and they are right next to each other.  There are casinos and restaurants and auto repair places all around.  Lots of traffic, but the worst is the busy airport.  This RV park seems to be first in line in the flight path and the planes are low, loud, and frequent.

Because there is a popular activity going on in town, (a huge motorcycle gathering),  the RV Park raised the rates substantially and have a two night minimum stay.  I figured I needed two nights to wait out the storms, so here I am.  The last time I checked the weather, the snow alert for the mountains had been removed.  :-))). If it didn’t cost so much, it would be funny.  Well, it’s funny anyway.

The RV park is completely blacktop and cement, except squares where the trees are growing.  I’m trying to think positive about that because with all the rain that is supposed to happen, there won’t be mud.  That’s a good thing, with 8 big dog paws, right?  There is a nice little city park next door to the RV park, and it has lots of very green grass, great for the dogs….except this is where the geese like to hang out and as we reach the grass we find it covered with goose poop.  There is the Truckee river, literally right in my back yard, and there is a blacktop path for miles, a nice river walk.  The problem is that this area seems to attract the ‘down-and-outters’.  The area directly behind the RV park is clear however.  In fact today a group from REI is here cleaning trash out of the area.

Who would think, with all my complaining here, that this is the place that Joy would find the Fountain Of Youth?

Bums be darn, we walk by the river and Joy and Shiloh take at least a dozen delightful dips.  Joy is really loving it and between dips she tears around in circles in pure exuberance!  This is something that she has done most of here life but stopped last spring and I assumed it was age and arthritis related.  Today she seems to be 3 years old!  Shiloh would like to chase geese but of course I don’t let him.  They both end up rolling, in and out of goose poop.  When we get back home they both get a good rinsing to remove the river water and mud….and the duck poop.

Its after 10 am on Sept 27 and the rain that was supposed to start in the middle of the night has yet to start.  I do laundry and we walk the river walk again.  The forecast for the mountains changes to ‘icy mix’.  Yuck.

Only time…and weather….will tell how long we stay here, but at least we have the Fountain Of Youth in our back yard.  I should probably go jump in and hang out there for awhile. 🙂

First let me mention if you get a message that says your comment is in “moderation” it’s because for some reason it needed to be “approved” and I haven’t found it yet.  It’s probably just me but it seems like things change on wordpress and I don’t realize it.  I was getting email notifications about comments and now suddenly I’m not.  I love your comments, so please continue with them.  I’ll get this figured out!

Between fires, smoke and forecasts of possible snow in the mountains I seem to be changing my decisions on which way to get back to Monterey, daily.  I need to spend about a week there with family before I head down to Texas to the much anticipated Casita Rally I will be attending.

I had planned to go across Nevada on route 50/6 which I did.  When that route broke into separate routes I first planned to take 50, then changed that to 6, then ended up using I80 instead, kind of a cop-out on my part I guess.  Be that as it may, I’m now in Winnemucca at an expensive and not that great RV park which I’ll be leaving this morning.  Yesterday when we got here the wind was so bad that we spent little time outdoors until about sunset when the wind died down.  Then we walked and went to the RV parks dog run.

Today I don’t want to go farther than the Reno/Sparks area.  There is rain and thunderstorms in the forecast, and at slightly under 200 miles away is about as much travel as I would like to do anyway. If it actually does snow in the CA mountains I’ll need to wait  on the east side of them until it melts.  I’d hoped to take some senic drive through that area, like 395 to 49, and avoid the big cities as much as possible, but with road closures due to fires, I may end up sticking to I80 and leaving the senic views for another time.

If you happen to be reading this and know of a nice place to stay around Sparks/Reno I’d appreciate it if you comment here.  I’ll try to check comments before I light for the night.  Not that there is a shortage of places to stay in the area, but recommendations help sometimes. I noticed there is an RV park near Sparks on the Truckee River and my first thought was that Joy and Shiloh would enjoy that, but if it’s pouring rain or temperatures are dropping, I won’t be taking them swimming anyway.

I have every modern convenience, and I still have concerns about crossing these mountains. Can you imagine the pioneers in their covered wagons, and the concerns they must have had about crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains?

From the evening of Sept 23.

I’m  not near city lights, there will be no moon, and the sky is almost cloudless.  I’m anticipating an evening of star gazing!

A beautiful sunset closes out the day.

I bundle up and lie back in my anti-gravity chair and watch the sky as “the faintest first starlight” appears.  The “North Star” is the name by which I know the first star that twinkles  at me.  It’s straight up and comparatively bright.  I don’t know any others by name.  I have a chart somewhere in the closet, but I’m not out here to study, I’m out here to absorb some of this mysterious, magical universe that is a part of me, and I am a part of.

One by one, more and more stars reveal themselves as the sky darkens further.  Soon the original light show is displayed before me….the beauty of the sky is just overwhelming  and tears trickle down my cheeks.

As I stare up at it all I feel small…and smaller and smaller, like an amoeba…like a molecule…an atom…a proton even.  I like the feeling. It reminds me of what I am and what I am not.  It reminds me about perspective.

On this tiny blue dot, in this solar system, in this galaxy, in this universe, I am a teensy living creature , in the midst of other teensy living creatures, living our tiny lives that last for but a second, in the scope of time.  And what is ‘time’ anyway?

What are we a part of ?  This universe is so uncomprehendable.  The mind can not begin to grasp the distance and time involved.

In the magnitude of all this, what is important, anyway?

What are the answers to the big questions of teensy humans?

I think….

Its simple.  Or it should be.

Be kind.  Love.

Do to others as you would want to be done to.

And who are these “others”?

My thought is that “others” are all living beings.  We are all one.

And what of this mind boggling vast expanse?  Are there other teensy creatures on other tiny blue or green or orange dots?

“You know there are 400 billion stars out there just in our galaxy alone.  If only one out of a million of those had planets, and just one out of a million of those had life, and just one out of a million of those had intelligent life, there would be literally millions of civilizations out there.”

Ellie Arroway in “Contact”

“The universe is a pretty big place.  If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

Carl Sagan

I get a late start this morning.  I’m doing some research on line for a dog ramp.  I’ve tried two different ones in the past, and neither are what I need for Joy.  I order another one from Amazon.  It should be waiting for me at Terri’s house when I get back to the Monterey area.  Hope this one works better.

We drive through Provo Canyon, which is just beautiful with colorful mountains rising on both sides of us.  Every curve in the road brings another awe-filled scene.  My GPS takes me right through down town Provo, but really it’s a nice city and a pleasant ride.  I15 is next….just a short jaunt, but full of huge trucks that all pass me at incredible speed.  I reach Nephi where I get gas and take state road 132 until I meet up with hwy 50/6.  Somewhere in there we come to the little town of Delta and stop at the park for a walk and some play time in the stream.  (The dogs play in the stream, not me:-)).

Back on the highway, more beautiful mountains, then a l-o-n-g stretch of flatness.  No towns, nothing at all, but scrub sage and some cows here and there.  It seems like a long drive….

Finally we cross the Nevada line and soon reach Great Basin National Park. This is Plan A.  We’ve driven over 200 miles now…that’s more than enough.  I’ll be glad to find a nice camp here.  I stop at the visitor center, where the ranger tells me there should be lots of camping available.  He tells me about the different camping loops.  One is at 10,000 feet.  “Oh I don’t want to go up there!” I tell him.  He gives me a map and I’m off.

But things don’t work out so well.  Yes, there are some camp sites but the area is tight, crowded and I can’t find a site I feel comfortable getting in to.  I try at 2 of the 4 loops….and then accidentally find myself on the road to the top….to the 10,000 feet camping/viewing area!  No way!  I don’t want to do this!  I’ll turn around as soon as I can!  But for now I’m on a steep upgrade,  there is NO guard rail, the road is narrow and I’m on the outside…the side that goes straight down.  This is supposed to be a scenic drive?  I dare not take one single glance at the scene below!  I never look…just cling to the road and the wheel and wait for a turn around spot.

Closing in on 9000 ft the chance to turn around arrives and down I go.  Aw come on, can’t you go another 1000 feet up?  NO!  Now on the inside of the road I do sneak a couple of glances at the sight below.  It’s the long flat plain I drove across to get here!  Amazing!

I don’t bother with the Baker loop campground, suspecting it will be  similar to what I’ve seen here already.  I go on to plan B which is to boon dock at Sacramento Pass, not too far away.

Plan B fails when I find that the area is “closed for construction”.  Ely is still 60 miles away and I don’t want to drive that far so I watch for possible boon dock sites. Plan C then… I find an area that might work and explore on foot.  I even drive back into the area, but I find it just doesn’t feel right.  I leave after using another half hour.  It’s getting late…

The dogs are not happy.  I am not happy.  I’m about 11 miles from Ely when I see a sign “Cave Lake State Park 7 miles” with a narrow to the right.  Spur of the moment, I make the turn, and it’s a paved road, yay!  I turn in to the first camping loop I find.  Nice roomy sites with picnic tables,  and only 3 of the 17 are taken, a ranger on duty, water spigots, showers, $7, yay again!

Ok it takes me 15 minutes to back into my site and I’m crooked.  Whatever.  I’m home.  I walk the dogs and meet all my neighbors.  Joy, Shiloh, and neighbor Goldendoodle Jack romp and play for awhile.  Wow they needed that.

Back at camp I finally eat (I fed the kids as soon as we arrived), and sit down to watch the sun set and the stars come out of hiding.  What a beautiful night! Plan D=Delightful!

Sunset

The view from camp

                                                                  Still learning to back up!

Do you remember that song from the ’60’s?  Wasn’t it Billy Jo Royal who sang it?

Well I was UP in the boondocks…8000+ feet up.  I’m not feeling very well on the second day.  I have  some flu like symptoms on and off, and I have trouble taking a deep breath at times, and I’m tired.

It takes me until the second evening to realize the symptoms could be altitude related.

At any rate I decide to leave my boonie place this morning.  I snake my way down 191…the signs warn you that there will be 10 hairpin turns in the next 8 miles or so, at a 5 to 8% downhill grade.

We land at the Walmart in Vernal…the one RVSue told me about in her comment from the last post.  I run in to do my shopping, and when I come out of the store parked right next to WS is another Casita!  That’s 18 I’ve seen now on my journey.  At first I think perhaps it’s  RVSue because I think she will be aiming for this Walmart when she comes down out of the mountains.  But no, it’s a different TV.  While I’m walking the dogs the owner comes out with her bags…another woman on her own.  We talk.  She’s heading for Moab.

It takes me awhile to decide the route I’m driving now.  I need to get back to Monterey, CA for a little while and in the past I’ve used I80 through Utah and Nevada but this time I think I’d like to do something different.  I write on the Casita Forum, an internet group, asking for route advice.  I make my decision with the information from the helpful folks there.

The rain teases all morning but as I leave Walmart it starts in earnest….and continues…

Driving the mountainous roads in that weather gets old quick.  I call it quits when I reach Deer Creek State Park, overlooking the Provo River but it looks more like a lake here.  It’s a small park with full hook ups, and showers.  I take advantage of all those amenities!

From the taste of boon docking I had, I know I love it.  Getting off by myself with nature…the beauty…the peace…the spiritual uplifting…the opportunity for growth, for learning about life and myself,  for strength and independence.  There is nothing like it.  But….

I will always like the convenience of electricity and lots of hot running water too!

I see myself living joyfully in both these worlds in my little Wandering Spirit.

Deer Creek Campground

Wild flowers by our camp

Provo River or possibly lake

I’m up in the mountains about 30 miles from the nearest small town so why can I post here and get text messages and check email?

I have a Joel Pole, that’s why!

That is my affectionate term for the wi-fi antenna created for me by none other than my good friend Joel.  He and his wife Laura wanted to give me a retirement gift and since they are very tech savvy, (unlike myself) I suggested a wi-fi antenna.  I also suggested places they could find information about such matters.  One, Mick’s fine instructions on RVSues blog site, and another, the Technomadia blog.

So Joel got his engineer brain in gear and came up with his own creation, and I think it’s pretty neat!

The Joel Pole!

They gave it to me before I left CA in August, but Joel was still adding his little touches to it when we met on Bainbridge Island, about two weeks later.  I didn’t really get to put it to the test though until yesterday, my first boon dock experience.

When we got here to Cow Pie Camp ( the name I gave it…see yesterday’s entry), I have one bar on my little hot spot.  Perfect!  One bar itself is pretty useless, but they say if you have at least one bar, an antenna may improve the situation.

With great anticipation I fasten my Joel Pole to WS’s back bumper.  It has the capacity to rise 10 feet!  I connect the cable to the tv hook up thingie, and Yay! Three bars, sometimes four bars, magically appear!  Is that cool or what?  I immediately text Laura to let her know the JP is working.

If you have any questions about the antenna Joel will try to answer them for you in the comments section at the end of this post.

In other news, our second boon dock day is uneventful, and I mean that in a GOOD way.  Cow pies in the vicinity remain undisturbed!

The cows pay us a visit in the morning and I take the opportunity to sing to them. I discovered in the past that cows seem to like music…even my singing.   The dogs are used to my singing but they seem fascinated with the cows.  Curious about the noise coming from me I suppose, the cows come a bit closer, the dogs begin to bark, and bye-bye cows!  Off they trot.

Nice sunset…

Sunset tonight

It just felt right. Today would be the day for my first boon dock.

I have a few places in mind because I’ve studied the Benchmark map book of this area of Utah.  Driving hwy 191 is a treat.

Wow!

My first boon dock

I pull off of hwy 191 at Red Cloud Loop. This is a senic byway,  which turns out to be a dirt road that is only one comfortable lane.  I drive slowly and here and there I see an RV tucked into a little hideaway.  Eventually I come to a spot that feels like it could be comfortable for me.  I pull over on the narrow road as far as I can and explore on foot. The last thing I want to do is to get into an area that I can’t easily get out of.  All is well and we have our first camp on a meadow like area surrounded with pine and golden Aspen.

There  is another camper away off so I feel ok to let Joy and Shiloh off leash.  I busy myself setting up camp while they scamper off running and playing…and rolling.  Wait. Shiloh is rolling, and …there are cows…big beautiful black cows….and Shiloh is rolling and he likes to roll in…smells….oh dear.. (That isn’t exactly what I said at the time) 🙂

My little boy returns covered and I do mean COVERED in fresh cow pies. It’s caked and matted onto him and his collar and he is so proud!

joy loves to roll but she likes to roll for the Joy of it and she has NOT chosen cow pie perf

Clean dog. Somewhat embarrassed.

ume today, for which I’m very thankful!

Now normally I’d just give Shiloh a bath but I’m boon docking  and the water I have with me is all the water that is available to me.  Still I have to clean him and quick before it starts drying so out comes some gloves a few jugs of water and the shampoo and I must say I did a good job, but not good enough…

so we set off in search of a natural water supply, which isn’t far…a little stream in the tall grass. I wish Shiloh would lie in it but he just doesn’t do that so I scoop water over and over. Joy, who likes her soaks and lies in water every chance she gets, totally enjoys herself.

Did I get pictures, no.  Too busy scooping…

We return to camp and I pour one more jug of water over Shiloh for good measure.

Now I need a glass of wine.  Gosh I never thought my post for my first boon dock would be about this!!

So today I got the pictures into the text but all in the wrong places.  Yikes.