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.
Randy -
ReplyDeleteYou really need to get over yourself. I enjoy reading your blog (Boonie's as well), and envy your lifestyle. However, comparing yourself and your friends to Ben Franklin's Junto... give me a break! I work in the Old City section of Philadelphia.... Ben Franklin's stomping ground.
Franklin's legacy is everywhere in my fair city... Founder of University, Hospital, Insurance Company, etc. Diplomat. Scientist. Author/Publisher. Compared to him; you and your friends are truly "Men of Low Intent"... but, far be it from me to judge you.
Wishing you continued enjoyment in your life of leisure,
Paul
Psa 121
ReplyDelete1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills--From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
Anonymous#1---Franklin's Junto--his Philadelphia club of friends was everything you say---and more--surely one of the most influential group of progressives in history. Which is why I adopt it as a model for this circle of friends.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous#2--thanks for the reference.
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ReplyDeleteANONY-MOUSE:
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How childlike to judge . . . and then hasten to disclaim responsibility for what you just did.
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sail4free
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ReplyDeleteWhoops! My newest bad habit of enclosing quotes with 'less than' and 'greater than' symbols gets read as HTML . . . and the quote gets deleted!
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The quote I meant to include from ANONY-MOUSE is:
"Compared to him; you and your friends are truly 'Men of Low Intent' ... but, far be it from me to judge you."
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sail4free
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Randy is fine in the Ben Franklin club. Randy is part of a new American revolution on the other end of humanities depletion of natural resources. What he's doing is completely necessary.
ReplyDeleteAs far as criticizing Randy for judging. I'm tired of the Biblical and binary view of discernment. How about this binary one?
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You will be judged (or you will be ignored)from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin
Those are pretty much the only two choices.
Being judged is uncomfortable. Snap judgments, prejudices, misinformation... all of these, combined with not enough time (how could there be) to truly know you, means that you will inevitably be misjudged, underestimated (or overestimated) and unfairly rejected.
The alternative, of course, is much safer. To be ignored. Up to you.
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Playing it safe is for the complacent or those who want the status quo. Keep it up Randy.