Jan 5
We are home once again – 17 days on the road now complete. Kelly and I have officially conclude our 2013 travels. This was a good trip; I am sad it is over. Mainly, I am bummed to be back; I would have much preferred that we stayed out on the road.
But as evidenced by this simple iPhone photo, all was not so bad upon our return to the cozy confines of Half Moon Bay.
Sunset over the Pacific
Oct 11
A week ago Kelly and I departed for Zion National Park hoping to spend a week with her family hiking the trails, enjoying the sights, and generally appreciating the natural wonders of the area.
Of course we knew all about the government shut down and how in all likelihood, the park would be closed. Despite this probability, with cautious optimism Kelly and I set GPS coordinates to the park and began our two-day journey. Unfortunately, the grid-lock in Washington continues and we were not able to visit Zion as we had intended.
Also impacted were Kelly’s brother and his girlfriend (who drove down from Boise, ID) and Kelly’s Dad and his wife (who drove up from Phoenix). Suddenly, all six of us were wondering what plans to make as an alternative.
Fortunately, anticipating the on-going park closure, Kelly found a very suitable Plan-B … the solution being Sand Hollow State Park, just outside of St. George, Utah. While no Zion National Park, the location was quite nice actually, and we all made the best of an otherwise pretty shitty situation, especially since this trip was also about spending some time with Kelly’s family.
Our site overlooking the lake
Looking out at the other campsites
Sand Hollow State Park offers a fair bit of recreational opportunity for those who seek it – we saw lots of off-road ATV’s and also some over the top dune buggy vehicles. Additionally, there is a lot of fishing activity on the lake.
Not interested in any of these activities, we sought out hikes and also made the quick drive to Zion National Park.
Kelly’s brother and his girlfriend joined Kelly and me for a hike through some of the public lands surrounding St. George. This area is a haven for mountain bikers and hikers alike … and it’s easy to understand why. The geography of the area is wicked-cool and the views are not too shabby. A variety of slick rock, single trail, and fire roads provide hours of exploration for anyone seeking as much.
Slick-rock everywhere
Views from the trail
Pausing for lunch
Once Kelly’s father and his wife arrived, we all went to visit Zion. Highway-9 is the primary east/west road through Zion National Park and remains open during the shutdown. Park Rangers (who I’m guessing are not receiving any pay) quickly brief everyone and explain the rules – chiefly – that no one is to stop and/or exit their vehicle.
Entering Zion National Park
Mountain goat relaxing above
The park was eerily quiet. What I’m guessing is an otherwise bustling area was nearly devoid of anyone. It was odd to see a marquee park such as Zion so empty. Driving the highway was pretty spectacular, but I know from experience that the real beauty of the parks such as this reside far from the main roads. At one point, we noticed that Kelly’s dad was sleeping .. perhaps unimpressed by the scenery – or more likely, tired from the long drive from Phoenix, Gene assumed full-on nap mode.
Tired or bored?
As for me, I found that driving through the park simply is not sufficient. Kelly and I will definitely need to schedule another visit sometime.
Back at the campground, Kelly’s dad – fully refreshed from his nap, assumed dog duty before receiving the box of stray gold balls Kelly and I have been collecting for him. Living next to and walking Lilly along a golf course provides ample opportunity to gather otherwise forgotten balls.
Kelly’s dad – perhaps momentarily overwhelmed.
All in all, the government shutdown proved to be on only a minor hassle. Lot’s of people are far worse-off than any of us in our little family gathering, so despite our disappointment to come all this way and miss Zion, things could be far worse for me/us and I continue to remind myself of that.
Thursday morning we all packed our bags and departed. Kelly and I relocated to Nevada for a few days before beginning our drive home.
Sand Hollow State Park
Note: for those that might care … AT&T voice and (4G) data signals available at the park can easily accommodate remote working. Conversely, my Verizon MiFi really struggled to carry a decent data signal, even under amplifier boost.
Aug 24
Today was bittersweet.
At the moment, nearly every Airstreamer we know is currently attending the North-Central Washington, into Canada, ending in Banff gathering dubbed #aluminogan. Odds are good that this week-long caravan of travelers – most of whom share similar views and values as us, will experience and share loads of fun.
Kelly and I are not attending.
Not able to free ourselves from work to partake in a trip that far/long, we remain here in HMB. We look in at #aluminogan from the outside, with mixed emotions viewing uploaded pictures and reading updates, all the while wishing we were there.
Following a sufficiently effective self-pity session, Kelly and I decided to get on with our day.
We had decided to take measures towards fully committing ourselves to this “less is more” lifestyle, and after breakfast we drove 30 miles to our storage pods for what was only the second, and last time. A few weeks ago I wrote about a day we spent purging stuff from the pods … a day wherein we rid ourselves of most everything we owned. Actually, that day was our initial time visiting the pods – a year after loading them. Pretty sad actually.
Excluding our major furniture, everything was collected to be sold or donated. It was a good day.
This morning, following one final review of contents in the pods, arrangements were made for all our furniture to find a new home. In a few days, our California pods will be relocated. Loaded atop a truck before traveling east to Minnesota, the pods will find a new home with my sister and her family who have a fabulous new house in St. Paul and are in a better position to put the items to good use.
And in the process, Kelly and I eliminate a $100 monthly storage fee. Sounds like a win-win scenario to me.
Finalizing the release of these items is a bit scary, the realization being just that … final. That said, Kelly and I have a strong sense that someday we will look back on today as the moment we completely let go of our old life – one that is fixed to a single location and consisting of too much stuff. In deciding to release our strong clench on all that furniture, we feel like we’ve affirmed our decision to live non-traditionally in our house on wheels. And I’ll tell you what … this peace we’ve made with ourselves feels pretty darn good.
We started the day with lemons and managed to end the day with lemonade. Good stuff I say, good stuff.
Jun 30
Whirlwind.
That is the word I would use to describe the events of exactly one year ago this week. In the course of five days Kelly and l located, negotiated, and finalized the purchases of our Airstream and pick-up truck. The truck was bought 30 minutes from home while the trailer was purchased nearly 700 miles away.
With events culminating exactly 365 days ago, Kelly and I surrendered our beloved RV named Lulu and took possession of the Airstream. A day we had envisioned and talked about so many times before was finally real. After years of yearning for this moment we pulled away from the Portland Airstream dealership giddy with enthusiasm before suddenly finding ourselves scared shitless, wondering if we had gotten in way over our heads.
New to us, Lulu awaiting many great adventures
A few years later… transferring items from one rig to the other
Our first two nights were spent at the fabulous L.L. Stubb Stewart State Park ferociously reading manuals, learning about our new home, pondering how to orient our belongings, and convincing ourselves that living full-time in this new Airstream of ours was not a mistake.
Somewhere along the line we named her Mabel.
Our first day of ownership
One year later, we couldn’t be happier. Living simply fits us like an old sweater … snug, but not too much so and just warm enough to be comfortable without feeling too warm.
In hindsight, we should have made this move much sooner and we kick ourselves for waiting so long. Fear of change can do these things.
Anyway, Happy Birthday to Mabel.
Joining us on this special day, our dear friends Marty & Brett made time this morning to visit. Marty has been one of my best friends for as long as I can remember. Good friends will do good things – and in this case, driving way out of their way this morning just to spend 2 hours with Kelly and me for brunch before catching a flight back to the east coast.
Brett & Marty
Kelly made a fabulous frittata (which by the way she totally stole from Laura) and while the rest of California was seemingly suffering through insanely high temperatures, the four of us accompanied Lilly for a nearly perfect ocean-front walk.
Brunch
A great start to the day.
Wandering With Purpose 