Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the tag “Reflections”

04 May 2013

Morning View

Originally posted 11/13/2012

I imagine the temps are starting to get pretty crispy wherever you are these days. Here in the desert outside Quartzsite AZ, it hit a low of 38 last night. By 5AM, the trailer interior was 50 degrees which isn’t awful, but I fired up the Buddy heater on low to break the chill by the time I got up for the day. Then I went back to sleep.

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When I woke up, the photo above represents exactly what greets my opening eyes most mornings here. Admittedly, my mind often gets too busy with the day’s “to-do” or “how-to” list, and I get up at 5 or 6 when it’s still only starlight out there. The hills to the west of me look featureless and drab just before sunrise, but the sun’s rays then begin to slowly crawl down them at a pace you can actually watch, and they come into their beauty. With a clear sky, sunset seems to occur so quickly that it’s like throwing a switch. The black outline of the hills against the dimly glowing sky is striking, as you may have noticed in an earlier post.

In those few moments (so far) when I’m not distracted by malfunctioning devices or equipment, or what needs to happen and how, the desert seems to transform itself from something to contend with into something that exudes a little peace – if one can tolerate not being busily preoccupied for a moment. It doesn’t calm you if you’re wound too tight. It just kind of stays available for awhile in its current form, if you’re ready to receive it and let it soak in.

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04 May 2013

How to Tell a Midwesterner

Originally posted 11/10/2012

The temperature reached a perfect 72 yesterday, and I decided I wanted a photo of the barbershop-in-a-trailer because photos make blog posts a lot easier to slog through. I was in my shorts and a T-shirt when I rode back with a camera for some snaps. A vendor parked next door was still there too, and the barber, Donna, looked at me and said, “You can always tell a visitor from the Midwest. It turns cold and they’re still wearing shorts!” Her neighbor cited his Midwestern heritage, “You know when it gets up to 38 in Michigan. Everybody’s out starting up their Harleys.”

Donna was wearing a jacket! Yet lest I accuse her of wimpishness, she also doesn’t leave Quartzsite until May or June, and returns no later than September. “It doesn’t get really hot until August,” she claimed. Cripes. I bet Read more…

Posted in Tourista! and tagged | Leave a comment
04 May 2013

Paper or Plastic?

Originally Posted 11/2/2012

In my case, the conundrum is paper & plastic, or water? RVers who boondock in remote areas typically need to minimize their use of water because using up fresh water and filling their waste tanks means packing up and hauling the RV to a dump station many miles away. They usually then have to pay for the privilege, too. To avoid this, they typically use considerable amounts of paper towels, plates, and drinking cups that need to be disposed of somewhere, which becomes a different problem.

I’ve been trying this for awhile and will likely continue at least until I can get the primary solar panel up and charging. Why? The onboard water pump uses a fair amount of electrical energy, so washing dishes and yes, taking full showers can run me into an electrical dead end. At the moment, the only way I have to recharge the house (or any other) batteries is to hook up to the truck and run its engine to slowly recharge them. It’s not like a jump start, as if the trailer can then take over battery charging on its own. It’s a leisurely and expensive way to Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, Navel Gazing and tagged | Leave a comment
04 May 2013

A Realization Dawns

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Originally posted 10/27/2012

It finally came to me – camping is campfires, and tents in mud, and wet sleeping bags, and cold snaps, and cook stoves that won’t light, and violent storms. It’s usually a reduction in personal hygiene and patience. Often, the later stories of camping are more fun than the actual camping was. Not always, but when the weather or the spouse or the kids just didn’t cooperate. When it works, it’s glorious, building something in the soul. When it doesn’t work, it’s fodder for entertainment or pity. Camping is elemental living, specifically living away from home with its accouterments and comforts.

People in recreational vehicles such as motor homes and travel trailers like the mighty Enterprise aren’t “camping”. I may be in a dispersed camping area in the Arizona desert, but this is hardly elemental living. We’re living in transportable homes, however temporary or permanent. A weekend, half a year, or decades – it makes little difference. This isn’t roughing it. When everything is working, we have Read more…

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03 May 2013

That Statement is No Longer Operative

Originally posted 9/13/2012

The title for this entry is a quote from Ron Ziegler, Press Secretary for President (tricky Dick) Richard Nixon, serving as a way of admitting that “he lied” without saying it directly. You know, weasel words. If the situation around it had changed, he would have said so and blamed that. But, the underlying situation hadn’t changed, and so came his explanation for the change in direction.

I’ve been preparing the ancient Innsbruck camper for extended dry camping with the assurance that I’d be able to stay onsite until it was completed, the target departure being mid-October. Hooked up to clean water and electrical power, progress has been good. Plan the work, work the plan.

Alas, the assurance and the resulting schedule are no longer operative. Instead of six weeks to fabricate and mount an unusual home-grown solar panel system, extend water tank capacities, and build out the interior for full-timing, I’ve now been given just Read more…

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03 May 2013

The Sea Change

Originally posted 8/20/2012

In our journeys through life, not everything works out as we hope it will. I’ve been called inordinately tenacious (among other things) but sometimes, hunkering down and doing the best you are able during the bad times isn’t enough. Of course, the greasy underbelly of “tenacious” is “stubborn” with just a hint of “dullard” thrown in, but let’s stick with “tenacious” because it sounds more like a positive quality.

Obviously, not every decision is ours alone to make, not every event is within our control, and not all of us are equipped to properly handle the full scope of life’s challenges. Doing the best we can sometimes gets us through, and sometimes not. I’m a slow learner, but at least I’ve finally managed to pick up on the full depth of Read more…

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