After an exciting weekend, it’s been a very unexciting week so far — and that’s okay. I’ve managed to catch up on work, both the day job as well as other writing projects I’ve had going but were on hold for a while. There’s been rain nearby the past couple of days, so I haven’t explored the local Forest Service roads as much as I had planned. But I’m only on day six of the 14 I’m allowed here, so I still have time.
I admit I’ve been feeling a bit lonely at times. Particularly during the week, there aren’t other campers nearby. A few do pull in each night as it gets dark, spend the night, and then leave before I’m up the next morning. That’s quite different than the community I had in Quartzsite last winter, which I think is what I’m actually missing right now. I keep watching the 10-day forecast for points south to see when temperatures cool off enough for me to start heading that way.
Though I’m not alone today. Here’s a little ditty about Jeff and Diane. No, I’m not misquoting the song. They had the campsite next door to us when we were all the way back in Bushnell, Florida. We were all there to get our Florida residency before embarking on full-time travel. We both ended up out here at the same time, and they hung out at my camp a bit today. They stopped by this morning, then went off for a bicycle ride on the nearby trails while I worked. They came back later after work, and with beer. It’s funny that they’ve gone to many of the same places I have, but at different times and in a completely different order than I did. We’ve also both upgraded our homes on wheels. I’ve continuously modified the van and added the trailer, and they swapped their tow-behind camper for a class A motorhome that now tows their truck! It’s good to catch up. I’m definitely not feeling lonely anymore.
They told me the Imax movie about the Grand Canyon was really good, so I took myself into town to see it. They’re right, it was. I could watch those low altitude shots flying in the canyon and just above the Colorado River all day. They also mixed in some good history about the place and the various people who have explored and lived here.
Afterward I took myself back to the actual Grand Canyon to watch the sunset. Instead of Mather Point, where everyone goes, I rode down to the first overlook to the east, which was much less crowded. It was so quiet that I was able to pull up a seat on the edge of the canyon itself to watch. The colors weren’t as brilliant with all the clouds in the sky, but they added some color of their own later. Also, that big cloud right next to my head in this picture looks like an Imperial Star Destroyer.
I’m getting low on clean laundry and some supplies I can’t get here in Tusayan (specifically, Lister’s preferred cat food), so I will likely make the drive down to Williams tomorrow to take care of that. I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll detach the trailer, make the trip, and come back, or move to a new campsite down in that area. The weather’s just about the same. There are a lot of mixed reviews of numerous dispersed campsites around Williams and Flagstaff, and I have a good one here, so I might just make an afternoon trip out of it and come back.
Smokey Da Van 