Wednesday, January 4

“C’mon, RVSue!  Let’s go to town!”

“Okay, hang on.”

Reggie looks forward to our almost-every-day jaunts into Blythe from our camp at Midland LTVA.

When it’s “that” time of day and I step outside the Best Little Trailer and hook him on his tether, he trots over to the passenger door of the Perfect Tow Vehicle, ready to ride.  He gives me the look.

I get the message.

I grab my camera, his water dish, and the bag of trash to drop in the bin on the way out. (No need to grab my purse.  I keep it in the PTV.)

I toss Reg and his tether onto the front seat, unhook the power cord to the BLT, and we take off.

I do like Blythe.

It has a down side though.

It’s not uncommon to see people — both men and women, but mostly men — riding a bike around town loaded down with their belongings.  The number of homeless people seems higher in Blythe than other towns its size.  Or maybe they’re more visible.  I don’t know.

For instance, I stop for gas and next door is a woman wearing several layers of clothing, sitting on the ground with her back against the wall of the building.  Her expression is vacant, her head wobbly.  A few feet away from her, a man lies asleep (or passed out) on the ground.

Sometimes I’m approached by panhandlers.

I always give.

I know, I know. . . . The money goes for booze, you say.  I give anyway.  Not that I’m Mother Teresa, mind you.

A gift doesn’t have conditions attached.  (Bribes do.)  In turn, I receive the gift of being reminded how fortunate I am.  Not an equal trade, the gift to me being the greater one.

I like to take Reg to parks for him to sniff trees and run in the grass.

When I see men hanging around a park, men who obviously aren’t there to shoot baskets or have a picnic, I keep going.

Today we’re in luck!  The park is empty except for a family at one end.  I park and let Reg out before he bursts with joyful anticipation.

It’s a nice day for being in a park.

After a string of cold and rain, the days are warmer and the sky is clear.  Reg and I stroll around.

Reggie notices a woman with a dog!

We walk over, I greet her, and ask if the dogs might play together.

She’s an elderly lady, bent over her dog, putting little, knit booties on his paws.

“I don’t know,” she responds hesitantly.  “He’s a male and . . . . ”  She picks up her dog.

Picking up the dog teaches him to be anti-social, lady.  That dog is friendly and wants to play.

“That’s okay.  Don’t worry.  Reggie can make friends with anyone.”

She sets her dog down on the grass.

The dog is young and eagerly runs to Reg, losing a bootie on the way.

The woman hovers. 

“I don’t want his wounds to open on his paws,” she says nervously.

Her dog is excited to have someone his size to play with.

The fun is just beginning when the woman scoops up the dog and proceeds to fiddle around trying to put the wayward bootie on his paw.  The dog wiggles and squirms, wanting to play.

This is hopeless.  I really wonder if this dog has “wounds” or if this is maternal instinct to the nth degree . . . .

“C’mon, Reggie!  Time to go!

~ ~ ~

A few days ago Reggie and I hike toward the base of the Big Maria Mountains.

This is the longest hike we’ve ever done.  About halfway along, near the top of a low, rocky foothill, I turn and take this photo of our camp.  It’s the white dot in the middle.

One thing about hiking in this desert . . . .

There’s nothing to sit on!  Before turning for the return to camp, I plop down on the ground to rest.

Then, instead of following the two-track path home, we follow the washes.

The sand is rippled from the recent rains.

Waves of sand appear to be flowing still.

I take several photos.  Later I have fun in photo editing (Picasa) fooling around to make my own abstract art from the sand sculpted by rain.

The “saturation” feature adds warmth to the sand.  Cropping zooms in on small sections of photos, revealing patterns.

Ooh, this one has dark energy . . .   That’s nothing but sand . . . .

The artistry of nature is limitless!  Swirls, ridges, texture, soft tones . . . .

Photography can be so much fun! 

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on lens.  Get a decent camera, download free software, and you’re all set!  And don’t worry about being perfect, unless perfection is your goal.

Do you have a hobby that adds to your enjoyment while on the road? 

Maybe you’re still in the dreaming and planning stage — What will you do during the winter months when you slow down your travels?  Besides maintenance and repairs.

This is what I do when waiting for a refrigerator to arrive!

The photos in this post were taken on more than one walk in washes.

After playing with the photo editor, Reg and I go out at sunset for pics with different lighting and effects.  I’ll show those in another post sometime.

Before I close this post . . . .

Thank you for your enthusiastic responses to the list in the previous post, “Our camps of 2016!”

rvsue

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AMAZON FROM MY BLOG!

Reggie says, “And sand is fun to run on, too!”

CLICK LINK TO SHOP AMAZON NOW!