Wednesday, January 14, 2009

THE WINDS OF TRAVEL ARE STIRRING

MOVED TO OUR NEW DIGS THIS MORNING

Late Monday afternoon a truck camper rolled into the desert & parked in our back yard!! Acres & acres of room here but this fellow decided to set up shop about a hundred yards from our rig. Now, in an RV Park a space of a hundred yards between rigs would be pure heaven but out here in the desert, that's not only un-acceptable, it's downright rude & inconsiderate. Well, at least in my books anyway. The people had 2 dogs so that immediately presented a problem with our gang as the bunch ran over barking their tails off. I walked over to fetch our guys & the older couple did not seem friendly. It wasn't long after that I heard the loud radio station inside their camper. Very loud!!!! I have zero tolerance for people like that so the handwriting was on the wall. We were going to have to move. No point in asking them to turn the music down because by then the damage is already done. If someone is that inconsiderate & uncaring in the first place then I have no interest in talking to them at all for any reason. And I don't want to be camped near them!!!!

After a short dog walk this morning Kelly & I put the computer in the car & drove to another area west of us checking for a good Verizon signal. Just off Rockhouse Rd Kelly spotted what looked like a solar oven out in the desert. Doug & JoAnn had told us about an oven some friends of theirs had built out here somewhere so we're thinking this is it. We drove over to the pile of rocks & domed adobe oven & had a closer peek. Looked like a great camping spot plus we were able to pick up a good Verizon signal. The decision was made!! We zipped back to the rig & half an hour later we were all packed up & on the move to our new site.

Ever since setting up in the desert a couple of weeks ago our nearest neighbor was a 5th wheel just to the south of us. We never really got over to meet the people except one time at Butch's four o'clock fire ring. Yesterday morning I walked over & said good morning. As it turns out, Suzanne & Bob are a lot like us. A bit on the shy side when it comes to meeting people & not wanting to bother anyone. That happens a lot with boondockers. People tend to stick to themselves & I'm sure some great friendships are missed that way. Kelly came over & it wasn't long & we had all found some common ground to converse on. And, is so often the case these days, the main topic turned to computers & the cyber problems encountered on the road. Always nice to hear new ideas & learn new things. And meet some likeable people along the way.

Before we pulled out this morning Kelly went over & let Suzanne & Bob know our change of plans. They are heading for Mexico next week so hope we see them again before they leave. Stopped at Butch's for a minute & told him we'd just be down the road a bit.

We like our new spot because the closest rig is about a half or a mile away. No more worrying about the dogs bugging people or someone in the backyard with a loud radio!! And, we have a view of Borrego Springs down in the shallow valley to our southwest. Am looking forward to seeing the lights of Borrego shimmering in the night air to-night.

Kelly slipped into town for some groceries while I reversed the solar panels on the roof because we changed the direction of the coach in our new spot. Our door now opens to the south & we have put the awning out for the first time since putting it up in Truth or Consequences at the end of last February. STEAKS ON THE CHARCOAL COOKER


A month or so ago we had heard from another RV couple (Doug & JoAnn) about a possible ranch sitting job over in Arizona for the month of February. We have been in contact with the ranch people & to-day received an email saying they would like us to come over & take the job, so that's what we are going to do. The winds of travel are stirring & we've been putting to-gether some travel plans this afternoon. Will probably leave here around the end of the week heading over into the Quartzite area for a few days & then eventually working our way southeast through Gila Bend, Casa Grande, Tucson, Benson, & then on down into the Bisbee/Douglas area.

This is a good example of why we love this RV lifestyle so much. Nothing ever remains the same, change is always afoot. New adventures around every corner & over every hill. Hardly ever two days the same. Plans made, plans changed. Sometimes it's the weather that determines the destination & sometimes it's a comment from a fellow RV'er about a great place just over those mountains there. We ended up in Borrego Springs last year because of a chance encounter with another RV'er over in Slab City who said what a great place Borrego was. He was right:)) I like the friendships that are made out on the road as well. They are generally brief encounters with people you may or may not ever see again. And that's what makes the friendships special because there is an unwritten bond formed. We are all fellow travelers living a vagabond lifestyle helping each other along the way. Some full time & some part time. People never really get to know each other well enough to get on each other's nerves over a long period of time & I really like that. It's one of the true beauty's of the internet in how people remain in contact with each other over the years. You may never see them again but you follow their lives as they travel about over the land. Some, like us, have blogs & some can be found on RV Forums, Facebook or My Space. Many varied ways of keeping in touch with each other. You are only an email away from people at any time. It's a special kinship & it is our preferred style of life................................................


THE SOLAR OVEN BUILT BY A PREVIOUS RV PERSON CAMPED HERE


OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

6 comments:

  1. Too bad about the truck camper idiots. We've not done any boondocking, yet. However, it always seems like, in campgrounds where you get to pick your spot, someone is always going to decide to camp next to you, no matter how far away the spot you picked was away from the people who were already there.

    The ranch job sounds like a good opportunity.

    Mike Goad
    Haw Creek Out 'n About

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  2. Just thought I'd let you know how much I enjoy reading your blog every day. Like you folks we enjoy boondocking and you can be sure after your comments about the Borrego Springs area that it will be in our travel plans. Right at the moment we are amongst the hordes north of Quartzsite and feel a need to stay and see what the excitement is about. Good travels

    John and Brenda
    http://johnbrendasincredibleadventure.blogspot.com/

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  3. Kelly & Al
    Great blog. really enjoyed it. We clicked on Doug and JoAnn's link to your blog to check out the solar oven. Headed for Quartzsite today for a two week party!

    Happy trails,
    Tom and Nancy
    http://tomanansblog.blogspot.com

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  4. Kelly and Al,

    Tom just remembered a "cure" for unwanted neighbors. Wait until they leave their rig and when you're sure they are out for a while, leave handfuls of birdseed on their roof. Do that a couple of times then when they ask you if the birds are bothering you, say not at all. Learned this from our old friend, Jerry (now laughing from that campsite in the heavens)

    Tom and Nancy

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  5. Wow, I seriously don't understand how some people can be so CLUELESS! I mean if someone is boondocking in the middle of nowhere, doesn't that say something? Sheesh. We wouldda moved too, if they weren't friendly tbat is.

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  6. Hey, Kelly and Al. Yes, we helped our friend Richard build that oven (he was the mastermind, we were grunts) a year ago. Great to see that it is still there!

    You will be ranch-sitting for very good friends of ours. We "sat" for them a couple of years ago when they still had some cattle (a real first for us). We're going to be in that area in February (visiting my cousin Rosanna - you might have read about JoAnn and Doug's stay with her at Thanksgiving) and will undoubtedly meet you then. Yes, it is a small world.

    As far as using the oven goes, if you go to our blog [http://LaurieAndOdel.blogspot.com] and click on the "oven" label, you can see the posts I have done about cooking in and building a much larger oven. For the small oven, you can plan on burning a small fire for 60-90 minutes (the clay will be hot to the touch). You need something to scrape the coals out with (onto twig-free sand - they are still hot, of course). Put a wet rag on the end of a stick and swab the firebrick floor, then put in your pizza or bread directly on the bricks. Five or 10 minutes for pizza, longer for other stuff... it's sort of trial and error until you learn your oven. Much more work than other methods of cooking - also more fun and the results are delicious. Try a baked potato. :)

    See you down the road, Laurie

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