Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Daily Life (page 11 of 12)

Extremes in Baja California, Mexico – From Peaceful Paradise to Ferocious Flames

March 13, 2022 / / 58 Comments

I invite you to come along for a particular 24-hour time period in Mark and my life, last week, in an area south of Todos Santos, on Baja’s west coast.

Mark, Maya, and I are driving north along the southwest coast of Baja California in Mexico. We’ve picked a free camping spot for the night at Jimi Beach, which we read about in iOverlander. Tomorrow morning, we will try to access a different place by a waterfall, which promises to be peaceful yet adventurous to reach. That’s why we opt for an early start and not push our luck today.

“I’m not sure camping at Playa Jimi is such a good idea,” I mention as our truck camper T&T (Temp & Thirsty) bridges the gap to our destination’s turnoff on the GPS.

“Why is that?” Mark asks.

“Well, you also read that people were robbed at gunpoint just south of there, two weeks ago. We want to be able to sleep at night and not worry about intruders.”

So far, we have never felt unsafe on the Baja peninsula, but it appears that the southern tip is more crowded, touristy, and potentially dangerous.

“I guess we can go to the waterfall spot instead. Better safe than sorry. It is getting late, though,” Mark says, as he focuses on the road ahead.

We usually aim to be settled by 5pm. It is 4pm and we have no idea what to expect. We change the waypoint on the GPS to the turnoff for this new location. Mark had scrutinized that area on satellite images ahead of time.

“I read the turnoff is very tricky, so look for it carefully. It is situated just past the second bridge,” he says. These “bridges” span arroyos (washes or dry river beds), which are often used as roads.

We slow down and pull over, off the main road. The turnoff is behind us, an extremely sharp bend that double-backs parallel to the highway. The only way to get there is by making a U-turn over four lanes. Luckily, this section of the pavement does not have a divider.

The access road to the fence and arroyo runs parallel to the highway and requires an approach from the north.

We wait until no cars are seen and make a quick loop on the asphalt to reach the dirt road, which leads to a barbed wire fence. I drag it open and close it again after Mark passes. That would keep the riffraff out, we both think.

The highway, seen from the dirt road after the turn-off

“Well, that was the worst part,” Mark sighs.

We follow the dirt track and turn left. Based on Google Earth, this is a short and easy stretch to join the wide arroyo Mark had spotted. Except, now, years later, pointy bushes and plants with needles have grown and the access route is very narrow.

Google Earth image of the area

Not again, I think, remembering our hours of cutting and sawing trees and brush to reach a lovely pebble beach last month. All in an attempt to prevent scratching up our truck camper.

Mark grabs our handsaw, which now lives in the cab of the truck, and jumps out. “You drive, while I cut branches,” he instructs.

For the next forty minutes, he labors and sweats, while I inch our camper forward, trying to avoid the remainder of overhanging branches. There is no room to turn around and we have no idea how much further it is to a less narrow part of “road.”

Mark saws branches while I slowly inch the truck forward

The sun is setting fast. Eventually, we reach a wider stretch – we have arrived in the arroyo, where soft gravel and sand await us. Mark takes over the wheel and stops again after a few yards (meters).

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Monthly Expenses of a Nomad – January 2022

February 24, 2022 / / 24 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

This monthly expense report is a bit delayed for two reasons: I recently posted our yearly report (and who wants to be bombarded by numbers every week?) and I have taken a step back with internet “chores,” because our data is limited, expensive, and often inaccessible. And, I’d rather explore the Baja peninsula at the moment than sit behind a computer. 🙂

(As always, hover over or click on the photos to read their captions.)

Building a frame for our platform at the Home Depot of Yuma, AZ – another failed attempt as it didn’t support the camper enough
Using 2-inch foam as part of our platform did not work well – it compressed due to the off-set weight of the camper. We needed a new solution.
New platform, which consists of a built-up frame and stall mat
Taking the camper off the truck again in the California desert, to fix the platform
Mark lowered the bumper of the truck to make the camper fit better in its bed.
The newest platform set-up, which is much lower and thinner than ever before.

Mark, Maya, and I started our new year in the desert just west of Yuma, Arizona, getting ready for our postponed multiple-month trip in Baja California, Mexico. We had to fix a few more things on the camper and the car, like rebuilding the platform that goes in the bed of the truck for the umpteenth time and making sure the “basement” was secure. We eventually ended up dropping the bumper of our pick-up truck and taking the clearance lights off, after another improvement attempt on another Home Depot parking lot failed.

Greg helps Mark inspect the “basement” of our truck camper
Mark takes off the clearance lights on the truck and needed electricity from inside the camper to drill out the holes in order to plug them.
Thirsty without the orange lights on top of the cab – we’d already put black caps on them as a blend-in mechanism right after buying the truck.
Mark assembles the truck’s interior parts after the job is done.

While the camper was off the truck, we decided to go on our first off-road adventure to explore a bit of the area, like the “Valley of Names.” What a bouncy endeavor that was! None of us can say we actually enjoyed the jerky experience…

Our first time “off roading” in Thirsty
A bumpy ride
Extinct volcano along the way to Valley of Names
Valley of Names
Walking by hundreds of names formed by people using rocks
The Valley of Names stretches for miles!

I also needed a dental check-up (and a $10 haircut apparently) right across the border in Los Algodones before we could really head south. Luckily, none of these visits and repair tasks were expensive, so we were off to a good year, moneywise, despite a few more delays. Having friends around made everything more fun!

Strolling in the border town of Los Algodones, famous and popular for its amount of dentists and pharmacies
Walking around Los Algodones
Long line at the border to cross back into the US
Short hair again, for $10
Visit from Patti and her dogs, in the desert near Yuma
Maya had doggie friends visit.
Our friend Greg, from the blog “Make Like An Apeman” joined us for a little while as well, in between house sits.

Life in Mexico is cheaper than in the US, so we had high hopes for a less-than-average month as far as living costs were concerned. We knew gasoline would be pricey (the equivalent of $4/gallon) and ended up driving bigger-than-planned distances from the start.

Our first boondocking spot in Baja California, at Shell Beach, half an hour south of San Felipe
Sunrise on Shell Beach, along the Sea of Cortez
Expansive and pretty Shell Beach
Walk along Shell Beach
Bounty after a long beach walk

We arrived in Baja on January 12th and soon realized that Mark should leave the country for an impromptu visit back to his parents in Massachusetts. The price for that “detour” resulted in an extra $530 for flights, public transportation, parking, a Covid test, and a ten-day campground stay for Maya and me in Loreto. All our other camping spots last month were free.

The dunes of Guerrero Negro were our second stop on the peninsula, before heading south to Loreto.
Hiking in the sand dunes of Guerrero Negro
Maya digging a hole to cool off – or have fun, or get me all sandy!
Funny girl!
Resting on the dunes with my pup
Nope, we are not in the Sahara Desert…

From 2022 on, we are splitting the camper category into two parts – car and camper – to keep better track of those expenditures separately. Our Mexican car insurance was higher than stated below ($442 instead of $113), because it incorporates the refund for our American insurance, which we paused.

Camped for free in Mulege, the last stop before “settling” in Loreto for twelve days
The mouth of the Mulege River
Moonrise in Mulege
Delicious dinner after finding clams at low tide on a rocky beach in Mulege
Ospreys are abundant in Mulege

The grocery category is lower than usually, as food is cheaper in Mexico and we eat out more often for the same reason. Since our favorite rum (from Nicaragua) is available on the peninsula, we splurged buying several bottles of Flor de Cana instead of Bacardi, hence the pretty high number for alcohol. For now, we kept our affordable unlimited (and now unavailable) $35 AT&T data plan in the States, on top of buying data for our Mexican SIM-card ($27), which explains the larger number in the utilities section.

T&T in our preferred campground in Loreto
Rivera del Mar RV Park was much busier this year than in 2021.
One of the bathroom buildings at the campground in Loreto

Tourist cards for Mexico cost about $33 a person, which created an extra expense category this past month. Other than the money needed for Mark’s trip back to attend to a family situation, January had us on track for an average $1,300 month… February – so far – is looking much better. ????

January 2022 Overview:

Car (fuel: $337; insurance: $113; repairs: $13):

Travel (flights Mark):

Groceries:

Alcohol:

Utilities (internet: $62; propane: $10; water: $6):

Accommodation (camping):

Camper (repairs):

Customs & Immigration:

Dining out:

Medical (Covid test Mark):

Drinking out:

Health & Fitness (tooth brush M, haircut L):

Gifts (B-day friend):

Transport (trains M):

Laundry:

Clothes (flip flops L):

Postage:

Miscellaneous (agricultural spray Mexico):

 

TOTAL:

 

$463

$402

$217

$98

$77

$74

$72

$67

$59

$40

$39

$32

$21

$17

$11

$10

$2

$1

———

$ 1,702

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

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Five Things to Do in Loreto, Baja California, Mexico

February 16, 2022 / / 47 Comments

Mark, Maya, and I visited Loreto for a few days last year, in our campervan Zesty. It was pretty much our most southern stop on the peninsula during a two-month Baja California sojourn. We spent most of that time on the beaches of Bahia Concepcion and in Mulege, a town we liked better than Loreto. I wrote about that “comparison” here.

Every city in Baja California has a statue of their name in colorful letters.

When it became clear and imminent for Mark to fly back to Massachusetts last month, we decided Loreto would be the best, most convenient, and cheapest place for Maya and me to await his return. We managed to snag a “dry camping” spot at Rivera del Mer RV Park ($5/person/night), which has splendid bathroom and laundry facilities.

T&T at Rivera del Mar RV park this year
Zesty parked at Rivera del Mar RV park last year (spring 2021) – nobody else was around
In perspective: T&T parked in the corner of the tight “dry camping” area

Vendors with fresh tortillas and other goodies pass right by the gate and the center of town is a short walk away. Unless you have a dog. That requires a detour to avoid all the barking, aggressive, local canines guarding their properties.

Lunch on fresh corn tortillas, bought from a passing vendor

(As always, hover over or click on the photos to read their captions.)

Here are my five highlights of Loreto, which grew on me when I camped there in T&T the last twelve days of January.

Seal on the pedestrian walkway in town

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Free Power – How Do We Get Sufficient Electricity to Camp Off-grid?

January 27, 2022 / / 30 Comments

Most of you already know that Mark, Maya, and I enjoy boondocking, also called wild or dry camping. This means we don’t utilize hook-ups (connection to electricity, water, and sewer), which are standard utilities at RV parks and most campgrounds. Not only is boondocking free (or affordable in official camping areas), but it provides us with privacy, space, and peace. We just love to spend our nights in solitude, surrounded by Mother Nature – a quiet environment, starry skies, the distant howl of coyotes.

Our RV has three tanks: fresh water for drinking, showering, dishes, and cooking; a “grey” tank to collect water going down the drains, and a “black” reservoir to collect contents from the toilet. We usually fill the fresh water tank and dump the others at dump stations. In Mexico, we buy our water at the “agua purificado” store. So, these essentials consist of the process “fill, use, dump, repeat.” But how about that other commodity called electricity? How do we collect and retain enough “juice” for our computer, lights, and few appliances? How do we manage to keep our devices charged when sitting still?

Ever since we owned our 35ft sailing catamaran Irie from 2007 to 2015, we have been fans of solar power. It allows us to be self-contained, free, and camp/anchor off the beaten path. If you are curious how that materializes in our current truck camper, Temp, please read on…

Mark and I recently installed an additional solar panel on the roof of our camper to augment the existing 160W panel that came with our “new” set-up. Last year, Mark built a 270Ah LifePO4 12V (Lithium) battery for Temp and we have been using that successfully for the past months. Our camper came with a Zamp Solar 160W roof-mounted solar panel and a Zamp Solar 30A PWM charge controller when we bought it last June. The charge controller does not work well with LifePO4 batteries, so changing that out was also on our to-do list to get the camper’s electrical system better prepared for full-time living.

We installed an additional 180W fixed solar panel from BougeRV (link here) to our existing roof rack. This avoided drilling new holes into the roof for the panel itself. We used the Z-bracket mounting hardware that BougeRV sells specifically for their panels, (see link here) which attached directly to the new 180W panel and then provided a horizontal surface to mount it on our roof rack. We also utilized their pass-thru gland for the new wiring into the camper from the roof (click link here), and received 30ft of 10AWG wire (see that link here).

Panel and accessories arrive

Unpacking the panel

Junction box

Inside junction box

Z-Brackets

30ft of 10AWG cable

Gland for camper roof

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Back in Baja (Kind of) – A Week of Dunes, Drives & Decisions

January 24, 2022 / / 53 Comments

It might not have been obvious in my previous blog posts, but Mark and I were antsy about returning to the Baja California peninsula of Mexico this winter, because we had a great time here last spring, meeting like-minded travelers and taking a welcome break after publishing a book. On this subsequent visit, we hoped to hang out with friends, explore this 1,000-mile narrow stretch of land a bit more, and relax on its many beaches. Our initial goal was to arrive in early December and stay until sometime in April.

Shell Beach vista

After multiple delays – trying to find jobs in Arizona, going to the dentist in Los Algodones, more camper projects in the desert, and a few important phone calls while still in the US with good cell service, we finally crossed the border into Baja on January 12th, six weeks later than planned. It was a good day! We had arrived back in Mexico and we could feel the stress and anxiety leave our bodies. Yet, we realized it would take a while to fully adjust to the life we intend to have: one of plenty adventures with a good balance between work and leisure, and plenty of walks for Maya.

On the access road to Shell Beach, 4WD is recommended
Parked at the end of the dirt road. We didn’t feel comfortable driving and camping on the soft-sand beach

Now that we have a 4WD vehicle (as opposed to our campervan Zesty, last year), more remote campsites are accessible and we feel that’s what a lot of Baja California is about: reaching peace and solitude surrounded by nature and the sea. One thing we noticed from the start, though, is that it’s much busier than last year. We were spoiled in 2021, when rarely a soul crossed into Mexico, and we often camped by ourselves.

A big shell!
Walking Maya on the pretty beach

Half an hour south of San Felipe is “Shell Beach” along the Sea of Cortez. This was our first stop and an awesome one. Miles and miles of empty beach, low dunes, gorgeous sunrises, clear night skies, and oh-so-quiet.

Sunrise on Shell Beach (Photo courtesy of Mark Kilty)
The empty beach runs for miles
The mountainous backdrop of our camping spot
Small dunes along the beach
A huge flock of pelicans on a sand spit at low tide
Huge sand spit
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What’s on the Horizon? – Roaming About Blog & Lifestyle Changes

January 8, 2022 / / 64 Comments

This post is not about resolutions, goals, plans, or gratitude. It’s not a bucket list (a word that is wrongly and over used in my opinion). It’s about what I have in mind regarding this blog, my online presence, and our upcoming adventures.

But first, I would like to wish everyone a healthy, prosperous, recovering, and adventurous new year. I truly hope that we will turn a leaf in 2022, on many fronts. Have a rewarding and happy one!

Roaming About blog

Like my previous website, It’s Irie, which I maintained from 2007 until 2015 to document our sailing adventures and which is still active, this blog (started in 2015) was initially meant to keep friends and family up to date about our whereabouts and whatabouts. But it turned into so much more than that! Thanks to you, dear reader.

It’s Irie blog

My blog’s main theme is travel related, so I want to get back to those roots. I hope to write more compelling posts – entertaining and informative – with a smaller selection of photos. This will be a work in progress. As always, I’ll update our current location in the sidebar.

While my writing journey has been a big part since I started this blog, it should not take up 25% of the content anymore. I wrote a book, edited it, published it, and promoted it. Not everyone is interested in all those details or experiences. I will still post updates, but not monthly anymore; maybe every other month or quarterly. January is the first time I skipped this tradition since the mid-2016.

The first box of Plunge books arrived in December 2020.
Proud of my first book, posing inside Zesty
Posing with my book in the desert of Arizona in 2021

The expense reports are fun to compose and seem to be well received. They also give me an opportunity to display places, occurrences, and photos that didn’t appear elsewhere, so I’ll keep them.

Income from this blog

Ever since I became a nomad in 2003, I’ve been very good at working for free or for a pittance. Yes, earning money should be fun too, but there has to be a balance. I’ve never placed ads or pop-ups on this blog (and never will as they annoy me as a reader) and only recently added a couple of affiliate Amazon links for my book, which offers pennies when used.

Working at my computer on our sailboat Irie (2007 – 2015)
Working at my computer in our campervan Zesty (2017-2021)
Writing Plunge in our campervan

Most of you have purchased Plunge already, left a review, and/or spread the word. My tremendous gratitude for all this support! I do hope new and future readers of Roaming About will (eventually) buy and read my book as well, so I’m keeping the little “prompts” on the sidebar of the website and bottom of certain post. As mentioned in my writing update blogs, I earn US$3.50 from every book I sell online.

Our hosting and domain fees total about $400 every three years. This month, it’s pay-up time again. We have always fronted this money, but because our living costs keep increasing, I’ve added a little “tip jar” on the sidebar in the form of a donation button. Followers have been encouraging us to put some kind of “support system” in place. Of course, unless on a laptop or with devices in the desktop setting, nobody will probably see the button. Can you find it? We have no need for contributions to a pizza, coffee, or beer fund; we’d just like to cover the cost for keeping this blog alive and maintained. We are also considering writing product reviews (like this solar panel one), being sponsored by companies, or becoming brand ambassadors as we embark on our next epic trip.

My blogging interactions

This blogging hobby, and especially reading (and engaging on) other blogs, is very time consuming. I think it’s safe to say that I follow about 50 bloggers and have been adamant over the years to read most of their posts and leave a comment. Since I’m curious about the host’s reply, I mark the checkbox to receive all comments, resulting in a flood of emails in my inbox. I’ve become pretty effective at deleting the masses and singling out the reply I was waiting for. Still, blogging is taking precious time away from real-life adventures, reading books (my current average is six a year!), writing, and trying to earn money. If I was retired and/or living in a stable home with not much going on, it would be different.

Rest assured, dear blog readers, my Roaming About website remains a priority. I still plan on posting about once a week and I always, always reply to comments (eventually) and react to legitimate emails sent my way.

Rest assured, dear blogging friends, I will keep following along and reading the articles that interest me. When I give your post a “like,” it means that I read it, and – well – liked it! My internet availability might prevent me from interacting much, but know you are still a part of my life.

My social media presence

And, what to do about social media, that other time-sucker? I’m taking a step back from Instagram (after three years of having an account, I gained a “whopping” 338 followers), hope to engage more with Twitter (how long have I been saying that?), and will keep using Facebook as my main “channel.” I also wonder if we shouldn’t try YouTube one day, but that is opening a can of very different, technical, timely, non-stop, and even more time-consuming worms!

Facebook page Liesbet
Facebook page Roaming About
Facebook page SV Irie
Instagram Page Roaming About
Twitter Page Liesbet
LinkedIn page Liesbet

Our lifestyle

If you know us and/or have read Plunge, you will be accustomed to our attitude of not planning much, going with the flow, and being a tad impulsive. As we get older, however, it feels like we need to be better prepared and organized. Gone are the days that we bought a truck camper – or a sailboat – and set out on an international adventure within months. How long have I wanted to take a small camper to South America? Plunge readers might remember…

Ready for new adventures

So, our big incentive is to get this open-ended adventure started in 2022. Of course, a lot depends on the pandemic situation, our choice/change of mobile living quarters, and preparing ourselves, our vehicle, our camper, and our dog for extensive and indefinite travels again. Stay tuned!

Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

Available on Amazon and elsewhere

eBook: US$ 5.99

Paperback: US$ 13.99

What We (Dis)Like about Western Phoenix, Arizona

December 31, 2021 / / 53 Comments

To be honest, I wanted to title this piece “Why We Don’t Like the Phoenix Area.” Yep, my sentiments are that strong and opinionated; we did not have a good time this last month. Life has its ups and downs. My apologies if I am offending anyone. This post is solely a personal statement and experience.

Saddle Mountain
Hiking on BLM land
Petroglyphs at Saddle Mountain

Yet, we found one redeeming quality of the Phoenix area: its public lands that have not been turned into housing developments, like Saddle Mountain BLM and White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Oh, and the weather was pretty nice the first half of December. Since then: cloudy and rainy skies. Quite unusual.

White Tank Mountain Regional Park
Petroglyphs at White Tank Mountain
White Tank waterfall
Pool near small waterfall after the Christmas rains
Sunset at White Tank Mountain Regional Park on Christmas day

As far as the RV park in Buckeye, where we spent one month of our lives: it was a place to stay, with water (salty), electricity (extra charge), WiFi (adequate, but it did drop out twice during important phone calls), and facilities like dumpsters for trash and recycling, laundromat (always busy and/because the majority of washing machines were broken), clean bathrooms (except when Mark found a human turd in one of the stalls), and a gym (closed by 9pm, so I had to plan around this during my night work).

Holiday spirit
Quite a few campers had lights and decorations up
Christmas in Buckeye!
Holiday cheer
Our neighbors joined in the festive spirit.

The biggest pros: a dog washing station, poopie bag dispensers, hot and pressurized showers, recycling options, unlimited juice for my computer, and a propane bottle refill.

Propane filling station – we did make use of this and the price was not exorbitant
Maya getting her second bath of the month – easy this way!
I really liked the fact that we could replace every used poopie bag!

Here is what we struggled with, just to get all the negativity out of my system before the new year and as a little warning for anyone ending up in a similar situation…

Why we don’t like Buckeye and Goodyear

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Why Don’t You Find a Job?

December 23, 2021 / / 76 Comments

Most of you know that Mark and I are not retired. We live frugally as nomads – now on the road, previously on the water. We’ve been at that for over eighteen years. I’m a freelance writer, translator, editor, and photographer (and since last year author and book promotor). Regardless of his master’s degree in computer science, Mark picks up work along the way and ran a successful marine WiFi business for nine years. Because we are careful with our expenditures, we manage to maintain a less than ordinary lifestyle without working fulltime. Combining travel with eight to ten hours of work a day is extremely challenging and close to impossible – we do have experience with that while sailing.

These last months, you might have read between the lines that a higher cost of living, inflation, and the need of camper and truck improvements to prepare for travels abroad have been troubling us. For that reason, we decided to postpone our trip to Baja California, Mexico, and work in Arizona during the month of December. I would focus on more paid projects and book promo; Mark would apply for a job, locally. How hard could that be? You’ve all seen the “for hire” signs everywhere. And experienced how “nobody wants to work anymore.” And heard the rumors about businesses dying to find employees. Right? One thing is for sure, during the holiday season, many companies do need extra help.

It was mid-November 2021, when we found ourselves in the desert of Tucson, Arizona, and Mark uttered we’d spent $1,000 on fuel to drive across the country, still needed new tires for Thirsty (costing a similar amount), and that months of research and patience to find items on our list for a better price stopped being productive. Price tags online rarely drop anymore. “I need to find a job,” he decided.

The UPS delivery job

We preferred to stick around Tucson if at all possible, despite Phoenix offering more potential with its abundance of warehouses. Mark scanned hiring ads. Delivering packages for UPS with your own car appeared to be the most profitable temporary job. We could stay at our not ideal but free camping area on the edge of Tucson, separate the camper and truck, and make good money (over $20 an hour), plus a generous mileage reimbursement and a weekly bonus. All we had to do was “cover and secure” the bed of our pickup by buying a locking cover. Hours later, we remembered one vital part: our tailgate was still in Massachusetts. It had to be removed and stored for the camper to fit.

Storing our tailgate at a friend’s place in Massachusetts

The position of driver helper earned much less money ($15/hour, no bonus) and still required commuting, but Mark found one in the area that would work. The next day – as we figured out logistics – the job was gone. We needed a different approach.

The Amazon warehouse

Our attention turned to Amazon. Longtime readers might remember that Mark worked at an Amazon warehouse in Kentucky two years ago, with a program called CamperForce. Somebody was in charge of matching seasonal employees with Amazon and a campsite was included. This time, we were on our own. Mark filled out a job application online for an Amazon warehouse in Phoenix and was approved for a nightshift.

Then, we hunted for a campground. Near the Amazon fulfillment center. For a month. In RV central of the USA. During the busiest time of the year: snowbird season. We found two RV parks on Google somewhat close to Mark’s job site – one never answered the phone and didn’t reply to our message, the other (a trailer park) doesn’t allow truck campers! This boggles our mind, as we are as self-contained as any of the bigger rigs. It sure felt like discrimination…

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Discoveries in New Mexico – Gila National Forest

December 16, 2021 / / 70 Comments

We had heard good things about it – hot springs, hiking, off the beaten track. We had seen the green blot on maps – including the words “cliff dwellings” in small print. We’d driven south of it multiple times, crossing the country, not having time for a detour, thinking it would take ages on dirt roads to get there.

Gila National Forest

Until this fall. When we left Massachusetts in our new set-up, Mark wanted to stop in the Badlands of South Dakota and I was finally going to find Gila National Forest’s treasures in New Mexico. We made it happen in early November of this year. Unfortunately, we only had three nights to spare in this expansive area. Fortunately, we have the means to return.

(As always, hover over or click on the photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Unexpected and fabulous viewpoint when we climb the roads of Gila National Forest
On top of the world

In true Liesbet and Mark fashion, we had no idea what to expect. There were the recommendations of friends and the attraction of the map, but that was the extent of our knowledge about Gila. We didn’t research and we didn’t look at photos ahead of time. This way, we are open-minded and malleable. It allows for genuine surprises and discovering new-to-us treasures. It avoids expectations and disappointments.

Welcome to New Mexico!

Cebolla Mesa

When we entered New Mexico, right across the border from Colorado, we stopped at a remote but free campground on Cebolla Mesa for a couple of nights. To our shock, we found ourselves on the edge of a deep canyon, carved out by the Rio Grande. Mark and Maya braved the steep 2.6 mile R/T descend and ascent (770ft elevation gain). I turned back after a few switchbacks, fearing a massive headache from the exertion.

Maya looks out into the Rio Grande valley
Well above the Rio Grande
Campground view
Not a bad spot – peaceful and pretty
Mark and Maya enjoying the sunshine along the edge of the canyon
Tiny campfire, just for the atmosphere
Mark and Maya hiked all the way down there (and back up).
Mark and Maya setting off to the bottom of the canyon
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Snowy Encounter in Mystic, SD – An Artist’s Sanctuary in the Black Hills

November 24, 2021 / / 31 Comments

When Mark and I met Jon and Gail on a remote, gorgeous beach in Baja California, Mexico, this past spring, we hit it off immediately. Jon Crane is a renowned, accomplished, and outstanding painter and his lovely wife, Gail, had just published her book Mystic Travelers around the same time I released Plunge. The four of us had a lot to share – stories, food, drinks, and art.

Jon and Gail (who travel with their cat, Cosme) in front of their truck camper
Gail and Jon sign our copy of her book.
“Mystic Travelers” by Gail Crane

The couple spends half a year on the Baja peninsula in their truck camper and the other six months in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where they built an incredible home based on Jon’s vision and skills. Ever since I read about their place in Mystic and saw a photo of their unique house in Gail’s book, I’ve wanted to visit. So, when we found ourselves in the Badlands, two hours east of the Black Hills, we got in touch with our friends. Would they still be home mid-October or had they already left for Baja?

Exploring Badlands National Park with TT
Mark and Liesbet in the Badlands

We were in luck. Jon and Gail were still around for a couple of weeks and more than happy to see and host us. But there was one problem… They live in the middle of nowhere, deep into the black hills, and the first snowfall of the season had arrived when it rained in our neck of the woods. No worries. We’d amuse ourselves for a couple more days and assumed the snow would be melted when we ventured into the hills.

We stopped in Rapid City to do some shopping and say hi to a bunch of presidents.

(As always, hover over or click on images in galleries to read the captions.)

Mark looks for the president route on his phone.
President Barack Obama and one of his daughters
President George W. Bush
President Thomas Jefferson
President Franklin Roosevelt
President Harry Truman
President Martin Van Buren

Then, we left civilization and were greeted by this. Yikes.

Entering the Black Hills
What just happened?

Mark and I are warm-blooded humans. We don’t do well in cold weather and we certainly didn’t plan on seeing any of that white stuff when driving across the country, except, maybe, if and when crossing the mountain passes in Colorado!

The road condition deteriorated the further we drove.

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