The Monday after Thanksgiving we left the desert behind us and found ourselves staring in wonder at the Pacific Ocean, on a perfect day filled with sunshine.  The New Mexico skies were wonderful; the Arizona sunsets amazing; the desert growth fascinating.  And this?  This is — well, pacific!

When we find ourselves in a surprisingly beautiful place, it behooves us to linger a bit, whenever possible.  This little strip of road right on the California coast has places for RVers to “boondock”.  For those of you not  RVers, boondocking (also called dry camping) is parking in a place with no water or electricity or sewer access: parking and using the onboard facilities only, and because RVs are self-contained (they have water and electricity and sewer built-in), they can park anywhere and be functional. Read More…

That’s what it feels like here.  We’re in Santa Rosa, New Mexico (population 2744), which is a hop, skip and jump east of Albuquerque.  This campground appears to be the back yard of a Mexican family.  There are a few RV sites, but the rest are rental house trailers.  We’re the only “travelers” here.

We’re only here for one day of R&R, and we’re so enjoying this!  Our site — as you can see above — is a “corner site” and we have lots of room for our dog fence and our chairs.  Our patio faces east /sunrise, and the morning sun warms us up quickly.  By the time the sun is high, our patio is in the shade of the motorhome.  There’s a wonderful breeze that occasionally kicks up into a howling wind.  I’m not accustomed to a treeless landscape, and I can’t figure out what the wind is howling through to make its music.  Maybe nothing.  Maybe it can sing all on its own, but it’s a new experience for me.

I lounge on the patio; there’s perfect silence except for a sporadic dog bark in the distance.  I watch small tufts of clouds wander through the perfect blue sky, and I really do feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere, and it’s a beautiful place to be.  Nothing needs doing; thoughts can wander aimlessly or be still; who knows what time it is, and what’s more, who cares?  This adventure into where I’ve never been before just gets better and better!

Tomorrow (Oct 5th): ALBUQUERQUE!

photo by foooooey

This newest adventure is really stirring my pot.  I’m getting all mixed up, like a gumbo.  Normal routine?  Gone.  Nada.  Zip.  Waking earlier, getting moving earlier; different foods than normal; forgetting to eat lunch; fitful sleeping (a different bed); the sense of being in a fog.  Yes, call me Gumbo, and we’ve only been on the road for two days!  Only 178 more to go.  I should be out of the fog by then. . . Read More…

A simple life, with simple pleasures, in a simple place.  A few belongings, just enough to accommodate simple needs.  A small recreational vehicle to call home, reliable and comfortable and agile.  Computer and printer.  Cell phone.  Pens, pencils, pads.  Good books, good stereo/CD player.  Good supply of shorts, jeans, shirts, socks.  Good shoes and boots for hiking.  A good little dog for companionship.  Give me these simple things and I will find the simple job to provide the necessities.  I’ll explore the world of nature and things spiritual, and I’ll write it as I see it.

Jeanne wrote this in September 1993.

Now she lives it.

For some, retirement means ‘stop working and enjoy the fruits of your labor’ but for me it took on a different meaning: it meant ‘stop working at your corporate job; sell your home, get a travel trailer and live in it and hit the road with it but keep on working till you die, because you have no retirement income except Social Security!’

Well, I got off the corporate treadmill, with gusto sold my home Read More…