Thursday, May 8 – Friday, May 9
The photos in this post are a hodgepodge collected over the past few days in and around our camp in Lower Gray Canyon Campground, Green River, Utah.
What kind of fool makes a 120-mile round trip to shop at Wal-Mart?
That’s what I think as I drive north on Highway 191 across the desert valley that stretches from Green River to Price, Utah.
When we first dropped off the interstate into the city of Green River several days ago, I asked the ladies at Burger King, “Where do people buy groceries around here?”
One of the ladies answered, “At the Melon Vine, but only if they can’t help it. (laughter) We go to the Wal-Mart in Price.”
Now that I’ve had a few shopping experiences at the Melon Vine Grocery, I know what they meant. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. It is what it is — a small town grocery, meaning high prices and limited stock, although the cashiers are a gold mine of local information.
I’m not that crazy. Rural people routinely drive long distances to stock up.
You might be saying, “Gee, why not camp closer to Price? Then you wouldn’t have to drive so far.”
Well, let me tell you why I don’t camp closer to Price.
The crew and I disembark the Perfect Tow Vehicle in the Price Wal-Mart parking lot and we’re hit with a blast of cold air, the likes of which we haven’t felt in many a moon. Quite a change from the relatively balmy weather of Green River! Further north of Price, the sight of snow-capped mountains effectively remind me that it’s not yet summer.
I walk Spike and Bridget around the parking lot, all the while shivering in a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Other shoppers wear coats. I pop the crew back into the PTV and set out on foot for Wally’s land of plenty. A modern-day hunter-gatherer am I.
Boy, did I stock up! I now have a freezer and refrigerator crammed with meat for Bridget and Spike.
Somewhere in there is a chunk of cheese, a container of yogurt, a carton of milk, a container of deli coleslaw, and a few fresh vegetables for me.
I also bought stuff.
A bundle of washcloths ($4.00), a 16 Gb memory card for the camera ($14.88), a box of flatware ($14.97), a divided tray for the flatware ($2.37), a plastic drinking glass with a keep-the-bugs-off lid ($4.97), a pack of four gel pens, black, bold ($4.24) . . .
But wait! There’s more!
A handy-dandy scrub brush ($2.97), and — the shocker, so shocking I hardly believe it myself — a DVD set of eight Westerns ($5.00).
Why is that last item a shocker?
Because, my dear blogorinos, I do believe it is the first DVD I’ve ever bought in my life. True! (I told you I was cheap.)
Anyway . . . I tell you my purchases to show you how little it takes to give me a very satisfying shopping fix. I’m good for several months!
Whoa . . . The river is high again!
The past few days the shoreline retreated as much as 30 feet in some places, forming shallow pools and sandbars, like in the next photo.
Today the waves break past bushes, reeds, and small trees on the river bank. The rafters and kayakers love it. I sit in my lounge chair and watch them go by. They bob and paddle rhythmically, squealing with excitement, as the noisy river propels them down to the beach.
Have you read this book?
Probably several of you have. It’s been around for a while. I don’t read books when they are first published. I wait around until they’re 99 cents or free from the Kindle e-store. The book is The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America by Mike McIntyre.
Many of the lessons the author learned as he traveled across the country without spending a penny relate to simple living as a full-time vagabond in an RV. He’s very perceptive about the people he meets along the way, noting how their behaviors sometimes contradict who they really are.
Here’s a quote from the book . . .
“I’ve never understood what people mean when they say they have to find themselves. We know who we are. The hard part is being that person. It’s always so much easier to be someone else.”
I hope you are having a grand time being you!
rvsue
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Not trying to be a chickadee or a wren
