Thursday, January 14
The view behind our camp off Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, California
Hi, there, blog reader!
This is the way it is today. I don’t have photos t0 illustrate all of the text of this post. Instead what you see are random shots of scenes around our camp, plus a few reject pics. I know what you’re thinking: “What? Another photo of mountains and clouds?”
Yep. Ain’t it grand!
As long as we’re on the topic of What I Don’t Have For This Post, I’ll mention that I don’t have much of an idea of what to write about. Instead, in this post you get whatever comes to mind. I hope it will turn out to be better than nothing.
One of the things that really spins a blogger’s cringe-o-meter is the thought of readers slogging through to the end and then spontaneously erupting with . . .
“I wasted my time on THIS?”
Reminds me of that old commercial for vegetable juice — “I coulda’ had a V8!”
Which, in turn, reminds me of my new plan to improve my diet — less salt (see, that’s the tie-in with V8 juice) and less sugar, and — here’s the biggie for me — less carbohydrates! More fresh vegetables! Goodbye to all my former friends: pasta, potatoes, rice, and bread. If a relationship is toxic, end it. That’s my motto!
I like this right-angle set-up. See? The photo doesn’t match the text. Oh, well.
A great discussion under the previous post, eh?
If you didn’t read it, what the hell is the matter with you? Oops! Like I said, whatever comes to mind.
Let me start again….
If you didn’t read it, I urge you to do so. Blogorinos offered their suggestions for healthy eating, including websites with helpful information. That may sound dull. Au contraire, dear one. We talk kombucha here! (What a fun word. Makes me feel like dancing when I say it.)
Take the time to read the discussion. Be inspired. Be motivated. Find out what kombucha is. That’s what happened to me and it can happen to you, too!
The comments are so powerful and enlightening that I haven’t thought of a raspberry danish all day. Well, until now.
Seriously . . .
My thanks to everyone who contributed. Feel free to continue the conversation about cancer prevention and healthy diet (after you read this post).
Our routine for walks is working out well.
Here’s how it goes. No, this is not need-to-know information. Just go with it.
The three of us set out for a walk. A leisurely stroll around a loop in the desert, giving Bridget plenty of time to keep up with Reggie and me and with regular encouragement. I don’t bring the camera because Bridget sometimes stages a sit-down strike when I do (Hence, a shortage of Bridget pics).
We stop at the same ol’ creosote bushes or ocotillo for canine updates on what’s happening in the neighborhood.
Kind of like they check their in-boxes.
Reggie squirts out a few replies.
Well, that was unnecessarily gross. The loop takes us back to the Best Little Trailer where I set Bridget on the bed and give her a few snuggles along with praise for walking with us. Then Reggie and I take off for a fast-paced trek across the desert, going far from camp.
Speaking of camp . . .
We may move soon. I go through a day or two of indecision before moving camp. Not when we’re hell-bent on a destination. I’m talking about other times. I hem and haw.
Should we go somewhere new? But, gee, it’s so nice here. Am I getting into a rut? It would be easier to stay. It would be fun to go. It would give me something to blog about. But I’d like to sit back and read that new book. Maybe there’s a better camp on the other side of those mountains. Maybe we won’t find a good camp at all. Hmm . . . . I’ve always wanted to see . . . .
Round and round I go.
The funny thing is, whenever I do pull up stakes and move us to a new camp, I’m always glad that I did. I continue to be amazed at all the wonderful camps to be found and enjoyed, most of them free or inexpensive!
Not a great photo. I put it here to show you what Ogilby Road looks like.
Why do I hem and haw, I ask myself. Maybe it’s a battle between homebody me and gypsy me. Maybe you’re considering full-time vagabond living and are having the same battle!
The crew and I go for propane.
Whoa! Whiplash subject change! I unhook the propane tank and place it in the back of the Perfect Tow Vehicle. Among the jumble of stuff sits a milk crate filled with, I don’t know, whatever. I wrap a bungee around the tank hooking both ends to the milk crate. This prevents the tank from rolling around while in transit. A propane tank free-rolling around in one’s vehicle is not exactly, uh, comforting.
Propane is sold at the next exit to the east.
That’s Sidewinder Road exit. The Chevron station has a dump station, water vending machine, propane for sale, and the largest display of junk snack foods I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Not to mention a vast array of cute and not-so-cute sayings on little license plates targeted at the dune-riding crowd.
The big, white suppository is the propane tank.
I buy 4.5 gallons at $2.679 per gallon. Then we zip back to camp!
Let’s talk boondocking for a bit.
Boondocking is more than camping in the boonies for free without hook-ups. It’s a state of mind, okay? People, for the most part, boondock to “get away from it all.” We boondockers like camping for free, yes. It’s safe to say that most of us seek the absence of human noise and human activity. We want to watch the sun come up and go down and all that goes with that.
What we don’t want is to look at the side of someone’s RV.
Sunrise at our camp
No doubt the people who own the RV in the photo above are wonderful folks. They probably would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed one and make you a casserole just to be nice and help you with your vehicle when it won’t start and so forth. They don’t want to ruin anyone’s sunrise (and sunrise photos) by plopping right into the middle of it.
But that’s what they do because they don’t look around and think: “How are we affecting others?”
Okay. So now when I step out my door, the first thing I see is that RV.
A few minutes ago another RVer shows up. I watch out my window as he parks between our camp and where the sun sets! Not only that, he positions his trailer so that his door and his sitting area is in view of our door and our sitting area and, conversely, of course, our door and our sitting area is in view of his door and his sitting area.
Reread that last sentence, if necessary.
(I think he realized his mistake because he’s parked his pick-up in an attempt to correct the situation.)
Now, he could just have well parked, oh, about 30 yards back from his present position, turned the trailer so the non-door side is toward us (or parked in line with our position), and bingo! Kombucha! We have sunset. He has sunset.
And neither of us sit outside looking at each other.
Mind you, there are several campsites a lot further away from us and away from the other boondockers here, but I’m not going to bother talking about that, except to say that everyone else has done a super job choosing sites that don’t impact other boondockers.
Is this a big deal?
Well, no, not if you compare it, let’s say, with receiving a diagnosis that you have a life-threatening disease. It’s just something we all might keep in mind when choosing a campsite in a boondocking area such as this one — a wide open desert without much cover and plenty of room to spread out.
Gee, it felt good to get that off my chest.
One day the crew and I motor into Yuma for groceries.
Weird name for a store. It brings to mind, “No, don’t get smart with me, young lady. You can’t go and that’s final!”
I do like Smart & Final stores. I notice this one isn’t a “Smart & Final — extra!” like the one in Blythe. I guess no “extra!” means there isn’t roast chickens in a warmer and the produce section and meat section are pathetic, because that’s what I discover is the case with this store in Yuma.
However, everything else is great!
The spice section, alone, is magnificent. An international selection of foods. Big amounts if you want them. Like the humongous jar of mixed nuts I bought (I know — 55 mg of salt per ounce. I’ll only eat a few at a time. Promise.)
“Surprise, surprise! I came back! All that crying and fussing for nothing!”
Well, this could go on forever. Time to sign off. You made it to the end!
All together now — “Kombucha! Kombucha!”
See you in the comments section!
rvsue
THANKS FOR SHOPPING AMAZON FROM MY BLOG!
A unobstructed view of the sunset. How nice.
CLICK LINK TO SHOP AMAZON NOW!
