Simple Living and Simple Travel

I pass through some fabulous areas but, unlike most, I don’t get much from seeing awesome scenery through the windshield. To me it’s like watching a movie; I’m just sittin’ there on my butt. Does anyone really think looking up at a mountain is more impressive than looking out from a trail near the top or from a ridgeline? And as I’ve said before, it’s not as if the most majestic scenery is along the asphalt. It’s certainly beautiful—but I don’t feel anything. I need to be out in it—hiking, running or mountain biking. I need to have all my senses open to Nature. I get a charge out of feeling my heart pumping and my muscles working. That’s when I feel most alive and in-touch with the outdoors. Running along a single track in the early morning while taking it all in makes this lifestyle truly special for me. And it’s stellar incentive to keep active. Different strokes—but not bad for a senior. Once off the two-lane blacktop, my traveling begins. Sometimes deer came wa...

Well, we’re in our new home. While heading north, I knew when I was passing through Utah. I took a campsite in southern Utah for one night after a long drive and wanting to get a real early start the next day. The campers in the next site had Remington low riders! I read an article about a couple traveling in a 5th wheel and it stated, “…they often boondock—staying in the parking lot of a casino or a Wal-mart.” Can’t quite bring myself to comment on that. Along similar lines, there is something called The ND Indoor RV Park (www.ndindoorrvpark.com). I just skimmed something on it so I’m probably wrong. It sounds as if one can set up their RV in an insulated building and LIVE in it. Like I said, I must be wrong. Each building can hold up to 24 rigs. Each of the 10 buildings has carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, climate control and air exchanger ventilation. Again, it would probably be best if I do not comment on this. I did the ‘butt voyeur’ thing for two bac...

I had a very nice surprise last week. I was inside trying to make sense of some pages that I had downloaded while in town. Voices called from outside and it was the couple from Salida, CO, I wrote about back in April of 2010. Jack and Linda were just passing through and saw my trailer. It was great talking with them again. The last time through they were in an old ‘canned ham’ trailer. Jack is actually in the process of building a new one. Linda and Jack made Salida sound like a stellar place. I played with the idea of spending some time there last summer but never got over there. So not this summer either, but maybe in 2014. After all the driving I will be doing this summer, going only as far north as Salida next summer will look pretty good. We’ll see. I had another good stay over in the Burro Mtns. last month, right along the Continental Divide trail. Had some outstanding early morning runs up to Jack’s Peak. There were a couple overnight campers in the area but the...

Sure wish I were selling the Casita now. Last month I used buffing compound on the duller sections. Then I went over those sections and all the rest of the trailer with polishing compound. Lastly I waxed it. Lookin’ good. Sure hope I don’t hit too much mud on the dirt roads I’ll be doing in the next couple months. I’ll be selling up in La Grande, Oregon in early May. Hope everyone does not already have their trailer lined up for the summer. It will be listed for $6,000. When you are waxing or washing your vehicle and someone says, ‘Hey, when you’re finished, you can do mine’—is it still illegal to shoot him? That line is SO lame. I’ve been known to respond with, ‘I guess original thinking was not called for in your profession.’ Sometimes I totally forget about following the precepts. I really need to get back off-the-gird. Back to City of Rocks. As this photo shows, there’s more to the place than most see. Also, a volunteer graded the old cow path to ...

I follow the geese south to get away from the snow and cold weather—it does not always work. I was listening to NOAA weather one morning on my eton and they mentioned that St. Angelo received a new record snowfall. The old record of 0.4” was blown away with a whopping 2.8”! Can’t see how they will ever be able to top that. What do you think, Ted? Glad you and Judith didn’t come down here this winter? I’m sure you don’t get this much snow up there in northwest Montana. I ran across Dennis at Brantley. He had quite a few changes in his life last summer. It was good catching up on things. I met some new people who started doing the winter state park thing—Hank in a Scamp 5th wheel, Sam from Montana traveling with a Weimaraner, Alan in an ’87 class A pretty much in mint condition, and Victoria traveling in a class C with her one-eyed dog, Henry. Taking care of my social-fix. Back in the August 2011 entry where I wrote about ‘not my realm,’ I mentioned I was g...

M&M were checking out some ducks down below. Most days we climbed up the bluff for walks on top. Our camp was down at the level of the lake and a few hundred yards to the south. This is SO cool. You have to check out, A Story for Tomorrow on Vimeo I met a great couple at Bottomless, Judy and Larry from Illinois, traveling with a Casita. They stood out from the people I generally come across in the state parks in that, they were active. It’s more or less Slugsville down here in the winter. Larry and Judy were out hiking everyday and Judy was frequently out on here bike. One day she actually waded out a ways into one of the lakes. It was DECEMBER! No way could I do something like that. I would have died, literally. ‘Hey, is that a body floating out there?⁏ Yep. They spent 7 years in Spain, and from what they told me, it was quite an experience. One evening they invited me over for wine and cheese and I had a thoroughly enjoyable time. I don’t get many chances to do tha...

I stopped at the natural food market in Durango to restock. It was pretty cold when I reached Chama. As I was getting propane, I asked Ernest what it has been going down to at night, ‘6 degrees last night and 3 degrees the night before.’ Sure glad I was going to my first electric hookup this winter. One morning I ran to the end of the trail going upstream and then down to the lakebed. Kind of low. It was also snagging season. That can bring out a different class of people. Oh well, I was only going to be in Heron for a week. I took M&M to the vet for worming and Meadow needed her shots. I got Mesa here two years ago so his shots are good till next fall. I’ve also been hacking at my hair since May so it was nice to have an opportunity to get a haircut. I’m going to check out ‘cutting your own hair’ on the web to see if I can get through next summer better than this past one. We’ll see. As always, I stopped in to see Paul and see how his shows went this pas...