It’s 7:30 a.m., the start of a beautiful day in southeast Arizona!
The crew is suited up and ready to hit the road for our first boondock in almost two years.
Reggie and Roger wait inside the cab of our new pick-up truck, a 2013 Chevy Silverado 1500, extended cab, V-8, 4×4. (More about the truck at another time.)
“Rog, we have to wait for RVSue to do a safety check. Then away we go!”
It’s Sunday, March 15
Gee, almost two years since the crew and I came off the road. Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long . . . . I’m glad I had the guy at the shop check the tires and air pressure . . . . Love this truck . . . .
The center console is put back so that the front seat is like a bench seat for the boys to be next to me.
Before reaching the interstate, while on a straight road with no traffic, I press the brake pedal to test the adjustment of the brake controller for the Best Little Trailer.
Hmm . . . . Seems too light. . . . There, that’s better, just right!
The old feeling returns . . . .
When we reach Interstate-10 and roll up the ramp to head westward, that delicious feeling of anticipation returns. There’s something about the open highway that stirs the spirit of a natural hobo like myself.
(Our journey begins shortly after the nation was shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak. Businesses and other workplaces are closed. That situation, plus it being a Sunday, means very little traffic on the interstate, even as we pass through Tucson.)
“Well, boys, whaddaya think?”
“Are you getting that boondockin’ feeling?”
Reggie has settled himself down beside me. Glassy eyes indicate sleep will overcome him soon. He knows what this is about and is relaxed.
Roger, on the other hand, sits at attention, eyes fixed on me.
“Roger, are you going to sit there and watch me like a zombie for the entire drive?”
Yep, he does.
For six and a half hours, except for the two breaks at rest stops and one stop for gas, Dome Head sits there staring at me.
Much more traffic in central Arizona. Lots of trucks and folks with California plates heading home.
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“Isn’t this a great place for dogs? Be still a sec so I can get a good shot.”
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I think this was the rest stop a few miles east of Gila Bend. If so, those are the Maricopa Mountains.
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“Ooh, look at all the brittle bush (yellow) in bloom! And there’s globe mallow (orange), too!”
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Longtime readers, you probably guessed . . . .
We’re on our way to Midland Long Term Visitor Area, our familiar winter home during our full-timing years. (Midland is about eight miles northwest of Blythe, California.)
“Reg! Rog! We’ll be there soon! I see the Big Marias!”
Our friend Del waits for us at Midland.
He’s expecting us to arrive today. While we were getting gas at the travel center east of Quartzsite, I called to let him know we were almost there.
Brittlebush blooms reach for the sky all across the desert here. Gorgeous!
“There’s Del’s place! Let’s stop and see Skeeter first, okay?”
Roger’s eyes widen.
He turns his head, searching for his friend whom he hasn’t seen in years. He’s never forgotten the name Skeeter. Reggie jumps up to the window to peer out with Roger.
I park, open the door, and here they come — Skeeter, Buddy, BeeBee, and, of course, Del. Del, a snowbird from Idaho, is tanned from months of desert camping. He greets me with a big smile.
Pandemonium erupts as I open the truck door.
With all the jumping around, barking, general confusion and excitement, I don’t take a photo.
“You made it!” Del exclaims as we hug.
He’s probably thinking he’d never see us again. For several months in numerous phone calls I promised we would come for a visit “soon.” Reasons kept coming up and “soon” never happened.
Until now!
After we all visit for a while, I position the Best Little Trailer so our back window faces sunrise and flowers.
How strange it feels to be here again.
Tomorrow morning we’ll take a long and lazy walk like in the old days. Reg and Rog will like that. It’ll be fun.
We’ll follow a sandy wash and let it take us wherever it goes. We’ll meander through creosote and brittlebush, around palo verde and ironwood. Memories of a life untethered will flow like run-off from the Big Marias. And when the cool night air has faded, we’ll turn back to beat the sun, the crunch of desert gravel marking each step on a path of our own making toward home.
In the next post I’ll tell you more about our reunion and include photos of the canine campers!
rvsue
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NOTE: For those of you unfamiliar with Midland LTVA or the characters mentioned in this post, the link below will get you up to speed. You’ll see photos of a previous campsite as well as the area around Blythe. You’ll also meet the crew’s pals (preview pic below).
https://rvsueandcrew.net/easy-living-at-midland-ltva/
BeeBee, Skeeter, Roger, Buddy, Reggie (Toby and River, not shown, passed away at ripe old age.)
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