ROLLING---ROLLING---CARAVAN UPDATE

AFTER A WEEK ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP

Having driven up up up this one lane mountain road.

                                         
                                                                              I arrived at a hill I simply could not climb---Boonie insisted that together we could do it----got out his tow rope----and---sure enough we did!  I am not ashamed to record my little trucks limitations.

Lynn of course had no difficulty in her splendid Pleasure way motor home.  She settles in under an oak tree and does a curious thing:  Circles her tires with a white powder on the ground to ward off the ants.  Can you see the white line?

Here is a distant shot of her rig showing our juniper tree mountaintop campsite.

Another angle.   AAAhhh but it's delightfully cool up here.  Mobile people never need to grunt and sweat in wearisome heat.  Up, Up is the answer. (remember, 4 degrees cooler per thousand ft of elevation)

View from the top!  A bible verse just popped into my head: "I will look to the hills from whence cometh my strength"

(no, I've not gotten religious---just like that verse---guess you can't take all the Southern Baptist out of this boy)

For all its mechanical wizardry---Lynn's proud Pleasurway van is not equipped for boondocking---it's single battery is insufficient.  We run a chord to my powerful solar array to recharge her---takes about an hour. (note to Mr Pleasureway---and Mr Roadtrek--Give me a call---I will tell you how to make a van capable of boondocking)

Some of my companions are camera shy---so I persuade them to wave to you via our shadows.

After a week on the mountain---we decide to go---to Silver City for a city fix.

A great drive down the mountain---for those trying to calculate our position---that's Cooke's Peak in the background.

Here's 4 of our rigs at Wal-Mart.

On the way to our new location Boonie swings us by this copper mine---a whopper mine.

He is our Kit Carson--guide--way-shower--pathfinder--campsite finder.  And he leads us here---only a few miles from town-- to a six star location:  1. flat 2. close to somewhere 3. pretty 4. free 5. phone and internet service 6. cool

Each finds "their spot"---a process that always fascinates me---everybody has their preferences--factoring in things like afternoon shade---nice view---sunrise direction--prevailing breeze--satellite direction etc.

You've met Laurie before---not camera shy--just in from Yuma where she released her new cd--"Only Love".

And mystery man Boonie who only allows rear-shot photos.  This day he rode his bike nearly to the top of the mountain with his delightful doggie Coffee girl running alongside.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:   My cup runneth over---the caravan is as much fun as I could have imagined. I love having good friends to walk and talk with.  Having separate rigs takes away most of the difficulties of conventional communities. We're having a great time inventing ourselves. In my next report I will share some of the "traditions" we have established.

This caravan is far beyond trivial for me---I am after big fish:  I hope to recreate Benjamin Franklin's famous transformative community of friends he called his Junto. Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junto_(club)

We are just getting started and there is room for another couple of inspired personalities.  If you are mobile and think you could enjoy and contribute to this experiment---contact me personally at randythepoet@yahoo.com.