Living in Paonia

Drove to Paonia, CO (http://www.townofpaonia.com) today. Bought a cup of Jasmine tea at Nelle's, walked around town, bought a loaf of fresh bread and a bran muffin at the Flying Fork Cafe and Bakery (http://www.flyingforkcafe.com) and met with a realtor.  Nice little town but I probably can't afford it; its been discovered by the hipsters and Californians:) No offense intended to Californians but they seem to have more money than the rest of us when they sell their California houses - more power to them! Good building sites near town are rare but from what the realtor showed me, they sell for $60-$100k per irrigated acre depending on how close and flat they are as well as their views of surrounding Mesas and water rights.

Hotchkiss (http://www.hotchkisschamber.com) be more in line with my bank account; realtor says it is about 20% less than Paonia. So I drove to Hotchkiss (about 9 miles southwest of Paonia).  Hotchkiss is further from the mountains and about 300 feet lower in elevation (approx. 5300' vs. 5600'). Hotchkiss has a small City Market but downtown seemed less vibrant than Paonia's. I liked both towns but need to spend more time in each to determine whether they are right for me. When one is on the outside like I am, it is my belief that one will pay a premium for real estate. One needs to be on the inside (living in the town) to know what land is really worth and to take advantage of opportunities when they present.

Crawford is another town I passed through; about 11 miles southeast of Hotchkiss and about 1000' higher in elevation. Crawford is the smallest of the 3 towns I visited today and at first glance, my least favorite, primarily because of the very small (around 500) population. I plan to camp at Crawford State Park tomorrow night and visit each town again.

Downtown Paonia.

Scenery along Highway 133 from Hotchkiss to Crawford

Luckily I witnessed this cattle drive on the Highway in front of Crawford State Park:) 

Photo of cattle drive; basically moving cows/calfs between pastures.

Where to Live?

During this current phase of my journey, I'm considering where to live. Several options are part of my current thinking. These options will probably continue to evolve and others will come to light over the summer but this Blog helps to clarify my thinking.

1. Full-Time RVer and Park Membership
Mentioned in my last Blog, membership in RV Parks is an option.  One would need to be a full-timer for this to make economic sense and one would need to enjoy the RV park lifestyle and specific parks. This doesn't currently appeal to me but I'm keeping an open mind and may spend this winter at a park in AZ. Two that seasoned full-timers have recommended are:
http://www.palmcreekgolf.com
http://www.voyagerrv.com

2. Part-Time RVer and Buy a Home
A lot of people own a home, which they use as a base, and take their RV on trips throughout the year. While having a base to operate out of is appealing, at this point, I'm not interested in owning another large, expensive home. The costs, maintenance, and housing market risks are big turn offs.

3. Multiple Parcel Location Owner.
One option I'm considering is buying small parcels (e.g., 1 acre lot) in multiple locations where it would be nice to live during different seasons. For example, wouldn't it be great to  live on the western slope June 1st - September 30th; Arizona December 1st - April 1st; and move around in the shoulder seasons (May, October, November). I could build (or not) a small home at each location that provide the basics - sewer, electric, water, shelter. I've been following this tiny house trend, which with some modification, might be an interesting option. http://tinyhouseblog.com.  For example, one could build small, solar-powered homes at each location; the solar panels might be on the roof of the house and/or a shelter to house the Airstream.

4. Work for Rent.
Another option that has crossed my mind is to work on a farm, estate, etc. in exchange for letting me live there in my Airstream or a house. The work would have to be fun and not too intense; something like - gardener for an organic farm that serves a local restaurant or estate.

Thanks for letting me think out loud:)

RV Park Memberships and Costs

When I purchased my Airstream, several RV parks offered free camping at their parks in exchange for listening to a 90 minute membership presentation. Since I was planning to be in the Gunnison area anyway, I decided to take advantage of 4nights/5days free at the Blue Mesa Recreation Ranch. Before purchasing my AS, I wasn't aware of RV park memberships and after listening to the 90 minute presentation, I've decided it isn't for me; however, it is an interesting business model.

Basically, one pays an upfront membership fee ($10-14k) and annual dues ($400-600); this allows the member to stay at several hundred RV parks around the country for up to 14 days at a time for $0-9/night. I've simplified the membership but it does seem to make economic sense deal for full-timers (it would take about 2 years of full-timing to break even) who stay in RV parks but since I don't know whether I'll stick with this lifestyle, it isn't right for me.

Whether one stays at public or private parks, there are fees for camping. For full hookup (i.e.,g sewer, electric, water), my experience for nightly costs has been $25 - $40. Private parks often provide weekly, monthly, and seasonal discounts. Everything considered (e.g., public parks often charge extra for showers), public parks are about the same price as private parks. There are advantages and disadvantages to each; for example, showers, bathrooms and other facilities are typically nicer at private parks while the scenery is sometimes nicer and campsites may be further apart at public parks.

Crested Butte

Camping outside Gunnison, CO for a couple of days so decided to visit Crested Butte; I haven't been there in years.  It is still very much a tourist and ski town so not someplace I'd settle down in but it is a nice (and cool in the summer) place to visit. Just for the heck of it, I looked at some real estate adds; saw 6 empty lots in town - $1.2M each!

Dragon art in Crested Butte.

Dragon art in Crested Butte.

Looking north a couple miles outside of Crested Butte on Highway 135.

Spring has sprung in the valley between Gunnison and Crested Butte. The land is green, the water is flowing, and the cattle (and some sheep) are munching:)

Gunnison River near the town's White Water Park.

Montrose

Drove to Montrose, CO today and checked into the Cedar Creek RV Park; nice park, especially since most other campers exited after the Holiday weekend:) This small campground is away from roads so it is quiet; my back-in site (#41) is located at the back of the park and shaded by large cottonwood trees.  The nice couple who own the park bought it about 4 years ago after living in Colorado Springs most of their lives.

 I walked and drove around Montrose today; nice town - more on the town later.

Site #41 Cedar Creek RV Park

Next Step

Memorial Day in Fruita is sunny and beautiful! Its been about 2 months since my journey began and it seems time to take the next step. Step 1 consisted of leaving cold, snowy, Denver; figuring out the Airstream life: and enjoying the western outdoors. Been there, done that:)

Enjoying the western outdoors will hopefully continue, but it seems ripe to enter a new phase or start the next step in my journey. Time to start focusing on whether and where to settle down and the spiritual part of my journey - being present. 

To this end, I drove around Fruita today; nice little town. A quiet town about 4400 feet AMSL with an agricultural base/history, Fruita seems to be trying to diversity.  Seems there is an emphasis on attracting mountain bikers; not sure why. The town is near the western entrance to the Colorado National Monument; the latter seems to be a favorite playground for locals. Like a lot of small, agricultural towns, housing is mixed from block to block. There are several houses with 1+ acre lots that include irrigation water; real estate prices are surprisingly inflated.

Will be moving on to Montrose and Gunnison from here.

Jogging - changing the rules

Only a week after my first posting on jogging vs. running and I've changed my rule of not jogging on consecutive days. I'd forgotten what it is like - one has to run when one has the opportunity or when one feels the urge/need. While limiting my distance to 2-3 miles each time, I've jogged the past 4 consecutive days because it feels great and because there is a nice trail near my campsite. Accordingly, I've also increased my upper limit from 10 to 15 miles to accommodate more running.

After reading horror stories of recurring stress fractures from runners who came back too fast/hard from an initial stress fracture, I'm admittedly a bit paranoid. Rehabilitation for a leg stress fracture requires one keep weight off the fractured leg for around 8 weeks. In addition to being difficult for an active person, this prescription leads to muscle atrophy. Moreover, not putting weight on one's legs/bones for 8 weeks is the opposite of the prescription for someone with Osteoporosis - do weight bearing exercise. Recurring fractures can therefore lead to a downward spiral in bone and overall health.

There is no specific guidance for how much or how frequently stress fracture and Osteoporosis patients should run, jog, walk, hike, or do other weight bearing exercise so individuals are left to develop their own rehabilitation prescription. My RX now is to limit jogging and hiking each to 15 miles per week (30 total); to run "gently"; to limit my hiking pack to 15 pounds; and to listen to my body and try not to push myself too fast/far.

I fell in love with running while in graduate school at UVM. I specifically recall the moment - running on Shelburne Road in Burlington, VT. I'd been running for about an hour and suddenly realized that I was not tired; instead, I felt great, smiled, and felt I could run forever. Call it a second wind, but from then on, I loved to run. I stopped running in my 30's, due to back problems - I ended up going to the chiropractor for realignment every time I'd run.  As much as I loved running, it wasn't worth the pain and being unable to stand up straight for a week when my back would go out after running. So I quit running for 25 years and took up hiking and mountain climbing instead.

Less than 6 months after returning from a mountain climbing expedition in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru, I developed a stress fractured in my tibia and was diagnosed with severe Osteoporosis. This made me think - what if the fracture had occurred while being roped up with my climbing partners 20,000 feet above sea level. I decided I couldn't expose climbing partners to this risk and gave up expedition climbing. This was a tough decision and it left me without any exciting aerobic exercise outlet. Hiking trails are not always available and it takes a half-whole day to get much exercise. As a means to supplement my hiking activity and as part of my Osteoporosis prescription, I recently decided to start jogging again; it isn't the same as running but I feel so fortunate I'm able to do it.

Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots

With the library closed for the long holiday weekend and a rainy forecast for most of today I drove to Grand Junction to browse the bookstore; I typically gravitate to three sections:

1. Gardening
2. Cooking
3. Spiritual

The relationship of my interests in cooking, gardening, and spiritual (think eastern religions) was initially not obvious to me but it essentially reflects my growing practice of being present. I’ve been thinking about this relationship a lot during my journey; my thoughts are still evolving and sharing them in this blog will hopefully help clarify them further.

1. Living on a small parcel of land close to town and growing much of my own food is something In addition to growing up on a small farm, I lived on farms during and after college; I find myself smiling whenever I observe, read about, or directly experience this type of environment (e.g., visiting or driving by a farm).
2. Where to live. To some extent, the location doesn't matter as much as I once thought; however, location would determine what type of food I could grow and it seems important to live in an area with recreation opportunities and beautiful scenery.  More important is establishing a connection to people and a nearby community. For example, selling produce or baked goods to a local cafe or store; however, this approach would seem to require  a long-term, daily commitment - not what I’m seeking. There are many other ways to establish community connections; still working on this.

more later...

WiFi

The purpose of this blog is to share my WiFi experience during the past 2 months while traveling the west in my Airstream (AS).  Not surprisingly, WiFi in small western towns and campgrounds ranges from not available to marginal. Granted, my experience is limited to 4 states (NM, AZ, UT, CO) and about a dozen campgrounds; hopefully, I'll have better luck in the future but I also hope someone out there may have helpful suggestions for improving my experience.

First - most private and a few (e.g., Chatfield State Park) public campgrounds advertise free WiFi service for campers; however, my experience has been disappointing. The reasons given by the campground managers for poor/slow WiFi connections range from - too many people using it (not enough bandwidth) or “your campsite is too far removed from the base router”. 

After disappointing WiFi experience at campgrounds, I've tried on several occasions to find WiFi in nearby towns. For example, I discovered that McDonalds no longer has WiFi service and have gone a step further by covering or removing all electrical outlets in their restaurants so customers can no longer even plug in, let alone connect to the Internet. Most towns I camp near don't have Starbucks but when they do, my WiFi experience has been disappointing (e.g., slow or non-existent).

I purchased a Verizon Hotspot before starting my journey; this hotspot provides connection to the internet where there is cell service. In general, Verizon’s coverage in the west is pretty good and this hotspot works better than any free WiFi service I’ve found; however, there are many dead spots.  When service does exist, the downside is cost - $40/month for the hotspot plus about $10/GB of data down/upload. Given that I down/upload a lot of photos for this blog, the cost can be very high; currently, I’m paying about $90/month for the hotspot and 5GB which is not even close to adequate for the capacity I’d like. BTW this is in addition to my monthly cell phone charges (about $110).

One of the best workarounds I’ve found to date are libraries (when available); they typically have free WiFi although it is often slow. The best solution is when libraries have public computers with a hard wire Internet connection.  I’m not the only person to discover the benefit of libraries; they are often crowded with senior citizens and others who likely don’t have good/any Internet connection at home. Of course, libraries are few and far between in my travels; and who wants to drive to town to check email or post a blog.

Based on asking around and searching the Internet, I have yet to find a technical solution to this problem (e.g., boosting they signal). Providing/improving Internet service to rural areas has been a government priority (at least politicians talk a lot about it:) for several years; maybe it is/will be getting better.  Regardless, now you know why my response time to calls/emails may be slow and why my blog postings may sometimes be irregular:) Thanks for your patience.

My Verizon Hotspot

Fruita CO

Great day today on the Western Slope (WS). Began the morning by jogging a couple of miles at the James M. Robb State Park (Island Acres Section); moved the AS to Fruita and did a little grocery shopping and reading; walked a couple of miles of trails at James M. Robb SP (Fruita Section); and finished the day with about a 7 mile bike ride to Fruita open space park near the Colorado River.

Finished Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now". Currently reading:

• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
• Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson
• A New Earth Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Airstream Food - General

Those who know me know I love to cook so its time for a food blog. Transitioning from a gourmet kitchen with all the gadgets and a fully stocked pantry, to cooking in an Airstream was something I worried a lot about before changing my lifestyle. I love to cook, especially for others so entertaining was a big part of my life; the month prior to moving out of my house, I baked bread almost every day - I miss that. On the plus side, traveling exposes me to a lot of Farmer's Markets that I would otherwise have missed out on; so far I've found fresh bread, eggs, honey, sprouts, kale, spinach, and other veggies at FMs in NM and AZ.

During the first two months of Airstream life, I’ve adapted by simplifying; cleaning up after cooking is certainly much easier in the AS:) In general, there isn’t a lot of space so the biggest change is cooking with fewer gadgets (see photos of a few favorites below), less space, and a much smaller pantry; this leads to repetition. For breakfast, my favorites include:

• Fresh fruit, topped with non-fat plain yogurt and nuts
• Low fat, low-sugar granola (hard to find) with non-fat, plain yogurt or whole milk
• Whole grain shredded wheat with whole milk

If I’m out hiking or doing another all-day activity, I’ll typically bring fruit and a PB&J sandwich for lunch. If I’m home, I tend to snack on fruit, nuts, and raw veggies or make a salad.

Fresh, local tortillas are everywhere in NM so while traveling in that state, burritos filled with cheese, beans, HB eggs, and/or veggies were frequently on the dinner menu. I buy sprouts (bean and alfalfa) whenever I find them in the grocery store and try to eat them every day; they make a great burrito filling. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, Tikka Masala, and teriyaki all made great toppings.

When I find fresh spinach, radishes, and other veggies, I eat salads for dinner. One gadget I took on the AS is my flax grinder so I have freshly ground flax in as many meals as possible (also great with yogurt and fruit!). Also add Chia seeds whenever I remember. Avocados seem to be abundant in the grocery stores so I've been eating a lot in burritos or in guacamole; sometimes I'll just mix a ripe avocado with a few grape tomatoes, cumin, and salt and spread it on crackers or a flower tortilla - quick and yummy! Adding cheese, salsa, jalapeños, and/or sprouts make a nice burrito; sometimes I heat the tortilla, sometimes not.

Most of the above is made inside the AS. Since I don’t eat meat, I tend not to cook over a campfire or grill; this simplifies cooking and is one less gadget I need.

Since the Osteoporosis diagnosis, my diet has changed significantly. I still don’t eat beef, pork, or chicken, but I’ve added more fish, eat eggs (mostly HB), and drink whole milk. This has added a lot more fat to my diet as well as more calcium.

The Airstream slide out pantry

Portable Fagor induction stovetop (1600watts); note fresh fruit:).

Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder (200watts)

UtiliTEA hot water kettle (1500watts) sitting on my propane stove lid.

Appliance wattage is critical to know when dry camping; I'll find out soon whether the recent "fix" to my AS will allow me to use these appliances while dry camping. 

Back to the Western Slope

Wednesday May 21, 2014

Left Chatfield State Park (SP) in Denver this morning for the Western Slope! After breakfast with a friend, I drove nonstop (about 4.5 hours) to the James M. Robb SP (Island Acres section) just east of Palisade, CO. This SP is comprised of 4 or 5 sections along the Colorado River; I camped at the Fruita section on my way to Denver last week and it was nice but fills up quickly. I believe camping is only allowed at these two sections of the SP; in my opinion, the Fruita Section is nicer than Island Acres; primarily because the former is further from I-70 noise and closer to the Colorado National Monument.  All of this SP's sections are adjacent to the Colorado River; the river is just about at its banks and is expected to continue to rise as the snowpack melts. There is also a fishing pond at the Island Acres Section and the facility has a shower ($1 for 4 minutes) and laundry. 

Both sections of this SP, and I suspect most if not all Colorado SPs, are full this Memorial Day weekend so I’m camping tonight and then moving to a commercial campground. In Colorado, one can reserve (for a $10 fee) SP campsites over the internet (http://coloradostateparks.reserveamerica.com); without reservations, your chances of landing a campsite on the weekend are remote so if you have to have a campsite, it is best to reserve. On weekdays (Mon - Thur) camping is on a first come first serve basis but (depending on the campground) you can only pay for one or two nights at a time. 

At Chatfield SP

Campsite 17 at James M. Robb State Park - Island Acres Section

Trail along Colorado River at James M. Robb State park - Island Acres Section

Denver Visit

My visit to the Denver area is coming to a close; I've enjoyed seeing my friends in Denver and hopefully, the inverter issue on my AS is fixed. The dealer replaced the wire from the battery to the inverter; suggesting that the old wire was not heavy enough gage. I'll find out whether this fix works when I start to dry camp.

My Nephew's HS graduation and subsequent party were nice and it was good to see my nephews Jon and Brandon, my niece Jen, and my sister Jean and her husband Ron.  I owe a big thanks to my sister and her husband for letting me park in front of their house (and use their shower:) for a couple of days. With the Airstream, I can see the value of having relatives and friends scattered throughout the country; evidently parking in front of the homes of friends and family is common in the RV community.

In addition to attending my Nephew's graduation, seeing friends and family, and getting the AS fixed, a big goal of this trip to Denver was fixing my computer. While they were unable to fix the failing hard drive, Apple was able to save about 25,000 of my photos; however, I've lost all structure and organization in my iPhoto library, many of my contacts, documents. For $2,300 (includes 3 year warranty coverage - learned the hard way this is essential for Macs), I now have a new Apple laptop and an Airport Time Capsule for backup. I was disappointed at the level of expertise (or lack thereof) of technicians at the Apple Store at Park Meadows mall so guess I'll have to figure a lot of this computer stuff out myself; luckily, I have time:)

My plan is to leave Denver tomorrow or the next day for the Western Slope.

iCloud vs. Dropbox

By no means an expert, unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with crashing hard drives and backup (or not). Just experienced the 2nd hard drive failure on my MacBook Pro; had to purchase a new computer and am dealing with the loss of files and setting up the new computer.

Thought it would be useful to share my experience. I was using iCloud as my backup until I discovered that iCloud doesn't backup most of my important files (e.g., photos, documents, etc.). I learned this the hard way and confirmed it with Apple. I also had a Dropbox account which automatically saves files and that helped to save many of my photos when the latest hard drive failed. It isn't clear to me what Dropbox saves and how useful it might be as a backup too; clearly, it did not prevent me from losing information during this latest failure.  Frustrated with the performance (or lack thereof) of iCloud and Dropbox as backup, I purchased an Airport Time Capsule to backup my computer going forward. Lesson learned - don't depend on iCloud as a backup to your computer - it isn't designed as a backup system. I'm not sure of Dropbox as a backup system but it didn't save me from losing a lot of information. In the end, the old technology approach - an external hard drive (e.g., Airport Time Capsule) is still the best backup system - at least for me.

Running

Really this blog should be entitled - jogging because I've given up running. The difference, in my opinion, is speed; jogging is 6 mph or less. Given my recent tibia stress fracture and subsequent diagnosis of osteoporosis, I've made a decision to begin jogging to help stress my bones but to not overdue it by running.

I've also changed my style from a heel first to mid-foot "runner"; this is supposed to reduce the level of punishment to the legs. In addition to these changes, I purchased a new pair of shoes today. My research indicates that the current trend is away from the minimalist shoe to one with more padding. The Hoka shoes I purchased have lots of padding and appear huge compared to my old Sauconys; however, I'm so glad that the trend has reversed - it never made sense to my logical mind to reduce the amount of padding on the shoe.

I've only recently begun to jog and am limiting my distance to 30 minutes; at about 5mph. I'm also trying to avoid jogging on consecutive days and limit my miles to less than 10/week. If I listen closely to my body, hopefully it will tell me how much jogging is the right amount for me.

New Hoka shoes compared to my old Sauconys

Note the size of the soles; the Hokas are huge; if they were waterproof, I could also use them to ski (water and snow:)

Chatfield State Park

Checked into the campground at Chatfield State Park in Littleton, CO (Site 160); will stay tonight before bringing my Airstream to the dealer tomorrow morning. While walking the campground in the afternoon, I noticed a great-horned owl flying low over the campground with a rabbit in its talons; it swooped abruptly up into a pine tree. It is uncommon for most owls to be flying about with prey in daylight hours but this time of year, owls and other raptors have young so I took a closer look at the tree and discovered two fledgling owls.

In talking to the Park Rangers, it was evident they were not aware of the owl nest so I suggested they close the campsite where the nest tree is located. It is doubtful the parents would abandoned the young at this stage; however, it isn't impossible. Like other owls, great-horn owl fledglings not infrequently leave the nest before they can fly and end up on the ground below the tree. By testing their wings or just because they become too large for the next and are a bit clumsy; it is not uncommon to find great-horned fledglings on the ground before they can fly and fend for themselves. It is at this time well-meaning humans come across the owls and try to "help" by rescuing the owls. Not surprisingly, the owls don't recognize the intention and defend themselves. Once a great-horned latches its talons on a well-meaning human, it will not let go. I've had the talons of great-horned owls pierce my falconer gloves as well as the underlying leather glove liners. Hopefully, the owls will be left alone for the next several weeks while they learn how to fend for themselves.

Chatfield State park

West view of mountains from my campsite.

Fuzzy and cute but not to be messed with.

Grand Junction

Spent a lovely day in Grand Junction (GJ), CO yesterday. A call from a dear friend inviting me to park my AS at her house rather than find another campground was a welcome change in my routine. My friend treated me to a driving tour of the Colorado National Monument - beautiful rock formations and big landscape views; reminded me a bit of Zion on a smaller scale. Following the tour, we joined her two sons and daughter-in-law for dinner at Le Rouge, a French restaurant in historic downtown GJ; I had two of the specials - melon salad and sea bass and a glass of Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley - delicious!

In response to a question on what kind of Pinot Noir the restaurant served by the glass, the waitress said - 1 French and 1 from Willamette Valley; she gave no indication of the vintage or wineries. A similar response was given to a question about Sauvignon Blanc. I found these "geography only" responses interesting and don't know whether it is part of a trend or just how this restaurant handles the questions. It was a first for me; in my experience, the response typically identifies the winery and maybe a comment on geography if not evident by the winery (e.g., Paso Robles). Granted, with an ever growing number of wineries, unless one is really into wine, telling them the winery's name wouldn't help inform their decision and may embarrass them if they are not familiar with the winery.  These simple geographic responses may be a way to quickly respond to what I'm sure is a common question, to simplify choice for customers, and avoid embarrassing them.  The serious wine drinker can probe for more information on winery and vintage (or read the wine list - which I failed to do:).

The wine and food were good; however, my dinner companions were so interesting that my focus was more on the engaging conversation than what I was putting in my mouth. We covered a range of topics from technology ("no tech Tuesday"), to personal stories of joy and tragedy, to Colorado's Public Defender system. This was my first dinner out (with others) since hitting the road March 26th; I miss this type of social/culinary interaction.

On to Denver next.

Grand Junction

After staying in the James M. Robb State Park in Fruita last night, I'm spending the day in Grand Junction. A beautiful, sunny day in the 50s; everything is so green! Been awhile since I've been in Grand Junction other than just passing through. It has seems like a nice town; not too big, not too small. Strolled downtown and stumbled upon a store that sells organic teas and spices (as well as art); bought some tea blends made by the owner. She has special blends for women, men, immune system, and many others; very nice place and owner. Also found a nice coffee shop at 5th and Colorado where I purchased a cup of hot jasmine tea. Couple of downtown restaurants seem promising and were recommended by the tea store owner - Nepal and Cafe Soul.

Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)

Another lesson learned. After the truck's first 5000 miles or so, a message appeared on my dash that DEF needed to be added in about 1000 miles; subsequent messages occurred at 500 miles, etc. Yesterday, with about 4000 miles since I last added DEF, a message - Fill DEF Fluid NOW; otherwise, truck speed will be limited to 65mph in 400 miles. Unlike my previous experience, this time I did not receive the warnings at 1000 and 500 miles. Unfortunately, at the time of these messages, I was in the middle of remote UT where DEF is unavailable; by the time I got to Grand Junction, the truck was very close to being speed limited. When I purchased DEF from the local GMC dealer, I learned that trucks use DEF faster when towing; which I've been doing a lot of lately:). This time, I purchased an extra 2.5 gallons of DEF to keep in the truck for future use - lesson learned.

Back in Colorado!

Typical springtime in the Rockies! After traveling through Utah in whiteout conditions I arrived in Fruita, CO today; camping at the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park (Fruita Section).

Site 38 at the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park - Fruita Section

St. George Utah - Saturday 5/10/14

Taking the day off:) to visit St. George, Utah. Been here before several times but not with time. Sought out the library wifi to post this blog; the library is on the Town Square which is a lovely, quiet spot in the heart of historic downtown. Found a small farmer's market and bought a loaf of olive bread; a bit light on the olives but still good:)

St. George seems like a nice small town in places but don't think I'd want to live here; not sure why but just don't get a great feel for it. Of course one day is not enough time to judge but I'm ready to move on; maybe I'll come back next winter to take a closer look:)

Still having computer issues (now it is with iPhoto); will upload photos later.

Zion NP May 8th

Drove to Kolob Canyon, westside entrance to Zion, to hike to the Kolob Arch via the La Verkin Creek Trail in the Zion Wilderness. Beautiful scenery all along the 14-mile/7 hour roundtrip trail. A beautiful, large rock arch is the reward at the end of this trail. The trail follows a creek most of the way and is easy walking; about 1400 feet change in elevation but most of the gain is on the return trip on the last couple of miles to the trailhead.

Most people hiking this trail are backpackers who stay in one of the 13 designated campgrounds along the trail. Met nice people along the trail, mostly young college age "kids":) 

Present most of the hike and felt really good; my pack weight is 15-20 pounds. No pain the next day during a brief morning walk/jog.  Starting to feel very confident about recovery of my tibia stress fracture:)

Zion NP May 7th

Drove to Zion; rainy day today so I took the free shuttle up Zion Canyon and hiked a couple of short trails - Grotto and Emerald Pools.

Zion NP Lodge

Falls at Emerald Pool

Moving to Hurricane

Still having computer issues so I'm catching up on blogs. On May 6th, I moved from Cannonville to Hurricane, Utah.  A 120 mile drive took me through Zion NP; spectacular views! Checked into the Willowind RV Park in Hurricane and took it easy rest of the day.

Present

Taking a break from reading Les Miserables (whew!); rereading Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now". It's been several years since my last reading and it rings more true than ever. For example, I find that I'm sometimes able to meditate when hiking just by focusing on the repetitive steps and my breathing. I'm also able to more often "watch the thinker" in my we I get frustrated or angry; can't always disassociate myself from these emotions but am getting better at being present.

Meditation

The biggest drawback to selling my home and living in the Airstream (AS) is the loss of my favorite meditation spot/chair:). The comfortable and large lounge chair and blackout blinds in my bedroom were the perfect combination for meditating; I'd gotten in the habit of meditating morning and evening and looked forward to each. There are more distractions (e.g., road noise, other campers, etc.) and no lounge chair:) in the AS and it isn't conducive to deep or long meditation. While I'm still working on this, opportunities to meditate outside are becoming more frequent. For example, while hiking the Under the Rim trail in the Bryce Canyon Wilderness, I took a break on a large boulder. As I was peeling my small orange the sound of peeling my orange was distinct; there was no wind that day, nobody else on the trail, and the birds had finished their morning singing. After peeling the orange and slowly savoring each wedge, I sat there meditating for awhile, visualizing the beautiful rock formations that surrounded me. If the boulder could have been replaced by my old lounge chair, I could have stayed there for hours:)

Kodachrome Basin State Park

I biked about 20 miles this morning including roundtrip to Kodachrome Basin State Park. A beautiful park of colorful sandstone chimneys. Evidently, the contrasting colors of the park caused National Geographic Society named in Kodachrome in 1949. The road from Cannonville, UT where I'm camping is paved and the Park campground appears very nice, including some sites with full hookups, showers, and paved/level sites - wish I'd stayed there:)
My computer is still down and I haven't figured out how to upload photos from my iphone to my blog so apologies for the lack of photos with this blog. Will upload them next week. I'm also planning to put all of my photos on Picasa.

Red Canyon

Just to see how I'd feel after yesterday's strenuous hike at Zion, I hiked 6 miles in the Red Canyon area this morning. I wasn't stiff or sore but I was tired so took it easy the rest of the day. I'm staying in a campground in the town of Cannonville, UT; very small - maybe a hundred people or so. They have a gas station, post office, and visitor's center for Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument but no grocery or other stores. I walked around the town to get a feel for it; I'm sure the people are nice but the town is too small and isolated for my taste.
After my computer start up disk arrives on Monday (hopefully), I'll be moving west closer to Zion National Park. Stay tuned!!!

Bryce - Under the Rim Trail

The last few days of easy-moderate hikes boosted my confidence in my leg so today I hiked part of the Under-the-Rim (UTR) trail at Bryce Canyon NP. There is a sign near the trailhead to UTR that says - "This is a Strenuous Hike"; I agree with this assessment:) My route took me from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point (truly inspirational!) to along the UTR trail to intersection with the Swamp Canyon Trail where I hiked up to the road and walked back to my truck. Took me 8 hours; based on the time and maps it was probably 14-16 miles. I feel tired now; we'll see aches tomorrow brings:)

I was present for some of the hiking and had a wide range of thoughts along the way.  In all my years of hiking, I've typically been on a schedule (e.g., got to summit before noon; got to get to the campground before dark; got to hike this trail or that; etc.). Starting with yesterday's hike at Calf Creek Falls and continuing with today's hike, I felt more at ease about schedule. I got a late start (for hiking) yesterday (10am) and today (8am) but it didn't matter; I said to myself that I would turn back whenever I felt like it. Yesterday and today, I passed (we were going opposite ways) hikers who reminded me of me (in the past); they appeared on a mission/in a hurry. They didn't want to stop to chat and could hardly be bothered to say hello.

It's been 5 weeks since I sold the house and started traveling/living in the Airstream. I've slowed down and chilled out a bit during this time; much more so than I would have if I had just taken a 5 week vacation from work. There is something about not having a deadline to my journey that is liberating. Even if I could have taken a 5 or 6 week vacation while I was working, I don't think it would have been enough because I would have been focused on the end date. My 3 week vacation in Australia last summer made me realize this to some degree. While I loved my vacation, I realized I couldn't ever totally relax knowing that I had to go back to work.

Yesterday, one of the college kids I met on the Calf Creek Falls trail asked me what I was going to do next. I said I didn't know and it wasn't until this morning that I decided to hike the UTR trail. Not having a fixed itinerary or timeline is truly liberating and is allowing me to reflect like never before.

For example, as I hiked today and noticed the diversity of plant life and habitats, I started thinking about how we as a society use the word "diversity" in a completely different context than I did as a biologist. High species diversity was always a goal when I was an ornithologist. The more different species of birds in an area, the better. On the other hand, when people talk about diversity, they tend to focus on what I would term variation or differences within a species (i.e., humans).  We are all of the same species (Homo sapiens); the fact that humans around the world vary in height, weight, color, language, etc. is really a microscopic view of traits that is (in my opinion) not very interesting.

Musings like today's about diversity are all part of being present and focusing on what is important in life.  I have a long way to go but life is good and getting better:)

While taking a break, I noticed this bat hiding underneath a rock. He hardly moved when I sat next to him.