After all the driving we’ve been doing, we’ve been enjoying staying put at Williams Fork Reservoir Campground. We’ve all been catching up on some work. My day job got quite busy, and on top of that I started writing for ADVRider this past weekend. I’ll be doing a few news stories each month, the first of which was published yesterday, and occasional feature articles. The first feature will be about mixing motorcycles and van life, which I’ll share here once it’s published. I actually wrote that first, at the editor’s request, and one thing led to another with the regular news writing. Of course, everything always seems to happen all at once, so I’ve been quite busy with all my writing projects, including catching up here. Finally, I’ve caught up to the present day on these posts. If I write about adventures too long after they happen, a lot of the details slip my mind, especially if I’m having amazing adventures every day like I did on my way here from Oregon.
I haven’t been too busy to have some fun, though. Honey Badger, Jenn, and I went to a fair in nearby Kremmling. Unfortunately, it was the very last day, so other than a few lingering vendors and some rodeo stuff, it was already done. Jenn was most disappointed to not get to see bunnies because that’s her thing. Christina’s been hanging out with us a bit, too. There aren’t too many other people here during the week, so it feels like we have the place pretty much to ourselves.
We appear to have an antelope family as neighbors. I’ve seen one in particular several times over the past few days. Yesterday I saw three of them right next to our campsite. I’ve never seen antelope before, since we don’t have them back east where I used to live, so it’s been great to see them up close. There are lots of prairie dogs around, too. They haven’t hopped into the van like in Bend, but they’ve come pretty close. Many birds are flying around here, too, including magpies, herons, hummingbirds, and even an eagle known to live nearby.
I’ve been doing some exploring on the bike. I’ve ridden every road (almost entirely dirt) around the reservoir and got this fuzzy picture of our camp from the other side. There are some day use and camping areas over there, too, but I like where we are best, so I have no intention of moving.
I also had an adventure riding across a ranch. This sign clearly states that it’s both private property and that I’m allowed to ride through it, but only on the road. That narrow tan strip winding off into the distance called to me, and I had to see where it went — especially because it’s allowed. I rode probably six or seven miles across this one ranch. It took me to a point where several smaller trails branched off. My Garmin, which I’d programmed to show me a route through, told me to take one of these trails, but it didn’t look anything like the public road I’d been on. Not wanting some literal cowboy to shoot me, I decided to go back the way I came. It was still a fun road, though, and I’d never seen a ranch up close and personal before.
And, of course, Honey Badger and I have been enjoying each other’s company. She brought me this Starfleet Command doormat directly from Vulcan. No, not the planet, but a town in Alberta that has completely embraced sharing its name with Spock’s home planet.
We’re slowly starting to make the transition from being two independent solo travelers to combining our efforts somewhat. It’s easy enough to make coffee for two, rather than one, in the morning. She just got back from a grocery run, where she picked up things for herself, for me, and for dinners together. We might as well — it’s less work for each of us if we work together on some things, like food and drink, rather than alone as we’re both accustomed to.
This requires a significant change in my mindset. I’ve gotten used to being fiercely independent, particularly after how badly things went for me the last time I merged my life with someone else’s at the beginning of this journey. But Honey Badger isn’t that person. She’s earning my trust, and I’m slowly opening up to such possibilities again. It hasn’t been the smoothest transition for me, but I’m doing better than I expected. I’m fortunate that Honey Badger is a teacher, and applies her seemingly infinite patience to me as well as her students.
Christina has to move on this week since her 14 days will be up. We’re planning to stay our full 14-day limit as well, which means we’ll have to find somewhere else to be for the week between here and Overland Expo. I’m not worried about it. Like Jenn told me to begin with, there are lots of camping options in Colorado. We have time to figure that out. Meanwhile, we’re just going to kick back and enjoy it here, with good company (including the prairie dogs and antelopes) and great views. This is what van life’s all about, right here.
Smokey Da Van 