Starting to catch up: various kinds of borders and the beginnings of camping
Here's something I wrote on Wednesday, January 17:
Today I crossed the Continental Divide in Southern New Mexico. It's only about 4800 feet above sea level there, so it doesn't seem like much, but it is partly a frame of mind. Now I'm truly Out West.
I also crossed into Arizona, which puts me in the land of somewhat warmer days and nights, and in the same state as the friend I will meet up with either tomorrow or Friday.
For the second time in my life, I had to go through a Border Control Checkpoint in New Mexico. I was a little nervous because one of my cousins told me that plain white vans are considered suspicious, and because the signs said "Cars left lane; Trucks right lane." I'm not in either a car or a truck -- where do I go? I was driving right behind an RV, so I decided to just follow it. I figured that whatever it was, I was too. We stayed in the lane for cars and I was waved through with a "Have a nice day, ma'am."
Tonight is my first night actually sleeping in my van. It's supposed to get down to about 45 degrees tonight, so it will be chilly. I have a nice, warm sleeping bag and some insulation in my van, but now that the sun has gone down I can feel it starting to cool off in here already. Here's a photo I took at sunset from where I parked:
And here's an update written on Sunday, January 21 to pick up from there:
I was toasty warm in my van all night that night, and when I got up in the morning it was breezy and cool and sunny. Here's a short video I took out the front window of my van right after I woke up:
https://youtu.be/IP_yzW16ibI
The wind was not a problem for driving -- it was less than half the speed of the wind that did bother me a few days before. I drove all the way to Blythe, CA and stayed in a motel Thursday night. My friend Carol joined me to take advantage of laundry and shower facilities, and then I followed her back to her camping spot at the RV and van-dwelling convention we were attending near Quartzsite. She was there for nearly the whole thing, and I just caught the tail end of it. I'd planned to get there at the same time she did, but then the whole foot thing happened...
My first day there was in the mid-70's and I sure would not have wanted it any warmer with the sun as intense as it was. I attended a co-ed Q&A session in the morning and a women's meeting in the afternoon that was sort of a show-and-tell with people standing up to say what they either had to offer or needed help with. This was mainly to give women who would not be staying for the women's event on the 22nd-24th a chance to be part of the women-oriented information-sharing.
All the events are outdoors with no shelter. Even with a hat and clothing to block the sun, after those two sessions I needed to drink a whole lot of water and lie down for a while, so the next time I go sit out in the sun I vow to take a parasol to provide my own shade.
I joined some other campers in the "neighborhood" around a fire in the evening and we enjoyed good fellowship among some kind and interesting people. I left on the early side to try to organize my stuff better for camping before hitting the sack. I quickly found out that:
1. When I was deciding between two things to bring on this trip, I often chose the less-useful one.
2. I had no idea where several things were that I knew that I had, that I wanted to use, and that I had definitely seen within the last couple of days.
I'm told that both of those are very common experiences. :^)
I slept very well that night.
Today I crossed the Continental Divide in Southern New Mexico. It's only about 4800 feet above sea level there, so it doesn't seem like much, but it is partly a frame of mind. Now I'm truly Out West.
I also crossed into Arizona, which puts me in the land of somewhat warmer days and nights, and in the same state as the friend I will meet up with either tomorrow or Friday.
For the second time in my life, I had to go through a Border Control Checkpoint in New Mexico. I was a little nervous because one of my cousins told me that plain white vans are considered suspicious, and because the signs said "Cars left lane; Trucks right lane." I'm not in either a car or a truck -- where do I go? I was driving right behind an RV, so I decided to just follow it. I figured that whatever it was, I was too. We stayed in the lane for cars and I was waved through with a "Have a nice day, ma'am."
Tonight is my first night actually sleeping in my van. It's supposed to get down to about 45 degrees tonight, so it will be chilly. I have a nice, warm sleeping bag and some insulation in my van, but now that the sun has gone down I can feel it starting to cool off in here already. Here's a photo I took at sunset from where I parked:
And here's an update written on Sunday, January 21 to pick up from there:
I was toasty warm in my van all night that night, and when I got up in the morning it was breezy and cool and sunny. Here's a short video I took out the front window of my van right after I woke up:
https://youtu.be/IP_yzW16ibI
The wind was not a problem for driving -- it was less than half the speed of the wind that did bother me a few days before. I drove all the way to Blythe, CA and stayed in a motel Thursday night. My friend Carol joined me to take advantage of laundry and shower facilities, and then I followed her back to her camping spot at the RV and van-dwelling convention we were attending near Quartzsite. She was there for nearly the whole thing, and I just caught the tail end of it. I'd planned to get there at the same time she did, but then the whole foot thing happened...
My first day there was in the mid-70's and I sure would not have wanted it any warmer with the sun as intense as it was. I attended a co-ed Q&A session in the morning and a women's meeting in the afternoon that was sort of a show-and-tell with people standing up to say what they either had to offer or needed help with. This was mainly to give women who would not be staying for the women's event on the 22nd-24th a chance to be part of the women-oriented information-sharing.
All the events are outdoors with no shelter. Even with a hat and clothing to block the sun, after those two sessions I needed to drink a whole lot of water and lie down for a while, so the next time I go sit out in the sun I vow to take a parasol to provide my own shade.
I joined some other campers in the "neighborhood" around a fire in the evening and we enjoyed good fellowship among some kind and interesting people. I left on the early side to try to organize my stuff better for camping before hitting the sack. I quickly found out that:
1. When I was deciding between two things to bring on this trip, I often chose the less-useful one.
2. I had no idea where several things were that I knew that I had, that I wanted to use, and that I had definitely seen within the last couple of days.
I'm told that both of those are very common experiences. :^)
I slept very well that night.
So glad things are going well, Karen.
ReplyDeleteI made a list of all the storage places in our camper and then a list of all the things stored in that area because of the "I know we brought it but I can't remember where I put it" problem. You'll get it all figured out in no time flat!