live. work. dream.

For the record, the trees all over the hills around Deadwood, SD have always been dead. One can only assume that’s how the town got it name.

But one thing I enjoy about this full-time RVing thing is how the view from our kitchen table is always different. and whenever I look up through the skylight in our shower – yeah, that’s cool too – I get a kick out of the different view depending on where we’ve stopped.

Granted, it’s a gamble. Sometimes the view is breathtaking like at Silver Lake in the Sierras, Seedhouse in the Rockies, or Crags Campground in Bridgeport. And other times, it’s a freeway or the side of someone else’s big rig. Today we happen to be looking out at the side of an Intruder, the driver of which it seems is intent on leaving the exterior lights on all night. It’s give and take though, a very brief walks puts us deep in the Black Hills complete with old abandoned mining equipment.

So please be considerate to your RVing neighbors and turn off your exterior lights. They may shine directly into someone else’s bedroom window. And if you don’t like the view, draw your shades and rest assured that it will probably be better the next place you stop.

Arizona’s canyon lands, painted dessert and red rock buttes are beautiful sights to be seen and appreciated. That being said, I am happy to say I can check that area off my list of potential places to plant permanent roots. I’ll never say never, but the heat and local societal attitude that I encountered – yes, first impressions do count in my book – throughout Northern Arizona put it on a back burner for now, quite literally.

Whether it’s the weather change, the incredible drive through Monument Valley, or today’s office view of the canyon rim, or the San Juan River swim, I’m already liking things better as we head back north. Good decision to bypass Four Corners and opt for the Valley of the Gods. I will admit the direct sun may actually be just as hot, but the shade trees are better and there is a consistent awning-tolerable cool breeze off the river.

PHOTOS: Sunset in the clouds over the San Juan River near Bulff, Utah (Top); Why they call it Bluff, from Sand Island Campground site #8 (Below) Check out the campsite movie on our Gallery page!

The heat over the past week in Flagstaff was much drier, but the saying “It’s a dry heat,” means nothing when everything is just so hot, dusty, and well, dry. The dirt here from the Southern Utah canyons, however, is much more like sand – course with the multicolored crumbles of this land’s distant past.

It was wonderful to visit with the Agredanos. It is always a pleasure to share good times with them, and I’m glad to have finally seen Jerome with Raul and the Douglas Mansion Museum at the site where his father was a copper miner. A good time was had, hopefully by all. But it feels good to be back on the road. There’s much catching up to do with pictures, videos, and tales of our recent adventures. Stay tuned… Now that we have seen everyone on our agenda for a while and over a month has passed since we officially started our full-time RV adventure, it’s time to get back to work. Life is hard. Life is good. Enjoy it. Thus is the essence of my live/work dream.

I’ve always been a crunchy granola type who recycles everything, eats organic, and tries not to consume mass amounts of paper products. But I’m slowly finding out that applying these values on this trip is going to be tricky.

Ever try going inland to someplace like Arizona, and looking for organic produce that doesn’t look like it was held over from last winter? Forget it.

What about paying a reasonable price for Boca chick patties or fake meat products like Morning Star fak’n bacon? Nope. Say goodbye to your wallet.

Yes, California does have one or two perks it seems, when it comes to living and eating healthy. Even mainstream grocery stores like Safeway carry all that I need to maintain a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. But as we go inland, we are surrounded by cheap agribusiness produce, overpriced fake meat products relegated to the back of the freezer section, and no bulk items to be seen anywhere, especially in the Mall Wart supercenters that trash the landscape.

Some people in the handy RV.net forums have offered some great suggestions on shopping while fulltiming. Overall, part of staying happy on this trip is to just forget about the way I used to shop for food. When in Rome . . .

The reality of this trip still hasn’t sunk in yet. With today’s news from the mortgage folks, we are one step closer to being free but not quite yet clear.

I felt a bit strange today telling one of my campground neighbors, “have a good weekend” knowing very well that he was indeed out for a weekend adventure with the kids while I was off on a new adventure that may last a year. Or years.

While camper dad will return to work on Monday, I will be dealing with the repair of our new trailer’s refrigerator at the nearest RV service center to Lake Francis in Dobbins, CA. Unfortunately that’s in Marysville or Yuba City.

But as Whitman said, “These are the things that must happen to you.”

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