My creative life as a vagabond: What's a Girl To Do?

Hi all,

I'm currently still in Arizona. As I mentioned in the last post, I stayed on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land in Quartzite for a week or so in early December, parked near my friend Keith from VT. Boondocking there had it's good times for sure, but I was having troubles with misjudging what things were draining how much house battery supply, and ran them down more than once. This caused it's own set of problems, and I grew frustrated. Using Keith's generator to recharge them enough to start my onboard generator - in order to recharge the batteries enough to run other things.(like lights, heat, coffee maker...) was a daily occurrence once it started of course. The batteries need to get plugged into a good source for like 24 hours to get them back to optimum. Unfortunately I was also damaging them with each draining.

I was already struggling with so many thoughts in my head about everything and needed to get somewhere to plug in (heat, electric, water, sewer) for a while. I headed to Yuma to stay at an RV resort there. I already had a future reservation, but headed down early. That was a relief, and I stayed for about a week before heading back to get Aretha into a shop for tune up and such, and to spend Christmas with Keith back in Quartzsite.

Christmas day actually went better than I thought, considering I was out in the desert, staying on public lands, and missing my family so much. Keith and I made a luncheon and invited the 'neighbors' to eat with us. Keith cooked the pork loin in his solar oven, which was rather cool. Vegetables, stuffing, sparkling grape juice and key lime pie were on the menu. The food, friendship, and conversation were heartening. We played music with them the day before. Then they invited us to share Christmas dinner with them, which was a delicious Ramen chicken meal. Such kind people.

I stayed there for 10 days or so, hanging out, making trips in to town with Keith, walking the area, and playing music by the campfire with a growing group of people. Quartzite is a kind of funky place, and the town swells to nearly one million people during the winter months. Most in RVs. There's a downtown section, with stores, restaurants, shops, RV parks, etc. There's also a whole lot of BLM land that people stay on. A lot of gravel, dusty roads, and shrubs. The Dome Rock area in Quartzite has several rock mountain/hills (I obviously still don't know what to call them) to hike around and up. The sunsets and sunrises over the mountain silhouettes are quite stunning.

I started having the same problems with the RV house batteries, even with running the generator a few hours a day to keep them charged. I stayed until New Year's Day, then headed back to the same resort in Yuma. It was a bittersweet parting because I liked the people and the music jams. Bob, Kristina, Chad, Eugene, Keith and others I met there are very talented musicians, and the camaraderie was good for my soul. But it was time to say goodbye for now.

Since arriving back in Yuma, I've been working on music, coasters, writing, walking, and spending time at the pool each day. The pool is a bit of luxury that I appreciate each time I go. It's outdoors, and a big enough area to be separate. I just like to sit and read and talk to people, and occasionally go in the pool.

I sold little Rebel yesterday. It was sad. But necessary. The cool thing is that the woman who bought her is also person in recovery, and she just finished her motorcycle course. She loved Rebel and was very excited to take her home, so that made me happy.

I reserved a spot back here at this resort because I planned to meet some friends who are also scheduled to stay here this week. I originally met them in Florida last year, and then again in Texas. We've kept in touch ever since. I'm sure looking forward to spending some time with them!

Well good-bye for now, my friends.

Sending love and gratitude and peace to you.

Stefani