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So much has sped by since writing “Arrive Alive” but I wanted to let you know I eventually reached my destination, very much alive. But before I drop you right into the thick of a new adventure, I’ll bring you up to speed. When we last met, I had just emerged, crinkly and new, from … Continue reading My Rearview Mirror
I’ve been fascinated by doorways since I was a child, so finding myself in a placed called “Portal” doesn’t come as any surprise. I was the kid that wanted to fall into Alice in Wonderland’s Rabbit Hole, climb behind the dresser in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and was first in line to … Continue reading Day 27: Portals
There are times I’m prepared to pay $52 for the luxury of having 24 hours to take two baths, a hot shower, do three loads of laundry, update my iPad and phone, take a swim, buy water, make important phone calls, clean the inside of the van, wash out my fridge, download music and be … Continue reading Day 25: A Foot.
It rained steadily all night. My neighbour from the valley came up to park beside me so he didn’t get stuck in the mud. It was a good move. Although mucky here too, it’s not “get-stuck” mud. Just squeeze-between-your-toes, mucky-muck. The kind a person can gently sink into, but safely get out of. During a very … Continue reading Day 12: The Sink & Tickle
I feel the rain closing in. Picketpost is doing its best to hold it back, but you can see it climbing that mountain, and just know eventually it’s going to lower itself over the other side. But I’ve decided it doesn’t matter. There is such peace when I stop running away from something. Today I … Continue reading Day 11: Leaning In
Sue met me in the parking lot of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, and before we could finish proper introductions we are caught in some kind of desert-spell. My travel guide points over my shoulder mid-sentence, and we pivot to witness a large Saguaro, it’s small root ball hanging vulnerably below, in the bucket of a … Continue reading Day 8: Live, from the Arboretum
I was up at 3:00 a.m. as I often am. Not that I actually “get up” in my minivan. It’s more of a mental decision to leave sleep behind, and move on to something that agrees to happen. Since I’d begun writing in my head anyway, there was no sense doing it all twice. So, … Continue reading Day 7: Involuntary Solitary Confinement
I searched for those keys at the crack of dawn, for as long as I could. It’s hard to intently scan the ground in a blooming desert, without falling under the spell of every wildflower and sparkling rock. You try focusing on the desert floor when every bird for a mile around is singing, and … Continue reading Day 5: When Lost isn’t All Lost
At first glance, I’m challenged to find the obvious tie that binds the 8000 or so souls gathering each year at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) and Womens’ RTR (WRTR) in the Sonoran desert of Arizona. A survey of the parked vehicles suggests membership probably isn’t defined by rig-choice or economics. Large, newer-model, Class A … Continue reading The Nomad’s Front Porch
I know most people who do a lot of back-roading are adverse to things that smack of “tourist” but I have a closet love of Trolley rides and double decker bus tours. Yes, they are cheesy. Cheese-Whiz cheesy. But they are also a perfect way to get a birds-eye view of a city when you … Continue reading A Holly-Jolly-Trolley Ride