Road trip to North Carolina

I've got some catching up to do on the blog since my last post.  I'll have to fill in the missing days at a later time but I wanted to share my experience traveling to the Co-housing Conference in Durham, NC with my good friends Greg and Chris from Boulder.

This is our first full day on the road.  We left Boulder yesterday at 4pm but got caught up in a massive traffic backup near the Denver airport that delayed us 2.5 hours. We made it to an independent RV park down a dirt road in a tiny town called Siebert, CO.  Tonight we just made it to a KOA park on the east side of Kansas City.  This is our first time staying at KOA campground.  I've stayed away thinking I wouldn't like them but took the advice of the owner at the BBQ restaurant where we ate dinner and tried this one out.  This one is right off the interstate.  It has lovely trees.  It has all the hookups plus WIFI and cable.  It has a fitness center.  That's different.  They even pick up your trash if we put it out at your curb in the morning.  This is glamping at it's best.

It's been great to have Greg and Chris travel with me.  Chris thoughtfully planned and brought healthy, good tasting edible treats and Greg has been sharing the driving responsibilities.  It's so nice to be able to kick back and relax and let someone else do the driving and experience the RV from the perspective of a passenger.  I love spending time with both of them and we can take turns taking a nap.

Here's a short clip of Greg driving with Chris navigating and me getting the opportunity to see the countryside.

  

I'm back tracking to get caught up on the days I missed blogging.  Here's a great picture of Reid on his Memorial Day weekend visit with me in Boulder and Golden CO.

He took some nice ones of us together that I'll have to get him to share so I can post.

Visit to Sunrise Ranch near Loveland CO

I got a call back from the Sunrise Ranch community after a few voice mails and emails.  Asking if I could reserve a camping spot worked better than asking if I could come for a visit.  Sunrise Ranch is an Emissaries of Divine Light (EDL) spiritually focused community.  They are celebrating their 70th year making them one of the if not the oldest community in the US.   To be continued.....

Today's been another long day at the Mercedes dealership in Littleton, CO finishing up RV repairs.  I woke up at 6 am  in order to get on the road so that I could get a spot at the head of the line.  However, there were two other RV'ers in front of me by the time I got there.  So, I ended up waiting from 8:30-3:30 for a 1 1/2 hour brake pad and rotor job.

While I waited, I ended up having yet another long phone conversation with Apple phone support related to the the iCloud.  Honestly I don't believe the advantages of the iCloud are worth all this trouble.  They had me typing in a long string of commands on a black screen trying to get my MacBook Pro to accept my normal ID.

What happened to that graphical user interface?

Normally, that kind of a time suck would make me nuts and it was frustrating but this time, I knew I'd be waiting at the dealership  for several hours anyway so why not get my Apple devices fixed too.

Fellow travelers I met at the repair shop

After that I struck up a conversation with a couple who were also waiting with their boxer Sadie.  They were retired from Sarasota, Florida traveling west for two months.  We compared notes on RV acceleration issues up big mountains, personal wifi hot spots, and good iPhone apps to use to find campgrounds.   We ended up having lunch together at a nearby restaurant.  

One of the unique things about traveling alone--at least for me--I'm much more inclined to strike up a conversation with strangers than I would otherwise.  We had a nice visit and actually made the long day of waiting much more enjoyable.  

After looking online for a nice place to stay around Littleton, I decided to go back to the Clear Creek RV park in Golden, CO.  It's a real gem because it's right on the roaring creek, a short walk along the creek to a quaint downtown and the site I got has full hook ups including a screaming wifi connection.  Yah!

What a great way to end the day!

Rainy day Monday in Boulder

View of the Flatiron mountain range from the Apple Store

I rode my bike to the Apple store in Boulder and spent the morning there with my three Apple devices.  I stumped the store staff (which was kinda fun) and they sent me to the next level up for phone support to try fix my problem.  I tried to update my Apple ID with my new GMail account and all three of my devices (my iPhone, iPad, and laptop) started sending me iCloud error notifications.  Evidently, you must log out of iCloud on all 3 devices before you update email address/Apple ID.  What a mess.  I must have spent an hour online with technical support with all 3 devices open in front of me.

While that was annoying and time consuming, I did realize that the Apple store is a good place to work if there is one close by for free wifi.  After I got the iCloud issue fixed, I went to the nearby AT&T store to try to determine the best solution for wifi while I'm on the road.  Of course they recommended Starbucks and McDonald's and even AT&T stores but I don't know that these options will exist in all the locations that I'll be visiting.  So, I'll use my iPhone as a personal hot spot (my own wifi) when I need it and I upgraded my service from 6 MB per month to 10 MB and learned how to monitor my usage so they'll be no surprises when the bill arrives.

Thanks to my friend Dennis Tardan's recommendation, I checked out Grace and Frankie on Netflix--a new series featuring Jane Fonda, Lilly Tomlin, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterston.  It's quirky and fun so I like it.  Unfortunately, Netflix doesn't let me download programs for later viewing so I have to stream the show if I want to watch it which gobbles up my data minutes.  I'd love to know if anyone can recommend a better (and affordable option) for wifi while I'm on the road.

Reprise:  It turns out my bike suffered more damage than expected but it was all repairable.  Reid told me how to do my own chiropractic like adjustment so that I don't have to ride the bike in circles.   It worked.  It's gratifying to do my own repairs.  Just to be on the safe side, I took my bike to the repair shop 100 yards from where my Navi is parked behind the Millennium to give it a once over and bought new grips since mine were destroyed by the dragging incident.

Reid also recommended that I always put the bike back on the rack just to be on the safe side in the future.  Excellent idea.   I guess it's a good thing that I didn't back over it.  Then, I might be buying a new bike at the local bike shop instead.

Because the Navi was low on water, I decided to go on a reconnaissance mission around Boulder in search of a source. This is another reason why I'm now so careful with it now.  It's a pain to have to find it when you're living in a hundred foot square foot box on wheels.  

Greg had offered to let me use the water from his garden hose but the parking at the Gold Run Condos is quite tight and he was in Longmont investigating aquaponics with 2 other community members. So, I stowed everything away as I do before I take off. Inevitably there is something I forget to tie down or stow away and I have to put the Navi in park and remedy. I suppose I should make myself a checklist.

But this time seemed to be different. I slowly pulled out of the parking lot and nothing banged against the wall or bounced onto the hardwood floor.  So, I felt good about my ever improving RV driving abilities as I pulled up to the first intersection. A young girl pulled up next to me and was honking--at me.   Startled and a bit perturbed, I rolled down the window to see what she wanted. She said, “you're dragging your bike behind you”. O-M-G, how could I have forgotten that? After my bike ride around town, I parked it behind the Navi on it's kick-stand and locked it to the ladder for security.

Embarrassed, I rounded the corner driving ever so slowly and pulled in to a parking lot to size up the damage. Amazingly, the rubber handle bar grip seemed to be the only sustained damage. I unlocked the lock and freed my poor bike and gently placed it in the bike rack hoping that when I ride it next, I didn't discover more problems.  Then, I continued my search for water hoping there would be no self-inflicted problems.

There is an RV repair shop in Boulder that is known to have water but they were closed. I called and left a message on Greg's phone and while I waited, I decided to treat myself with a mani/pedi. When he got home, he called to give me instructions on where to park and where to find the water before he took an afternoon nap.

As I was walking out of the nail salon at 6pm, it was raining and Greg and Kimberlee and I had agreed to meet at 6:30 at Greg's so we could drive up to the Wild Sage co-housing community north of Boulder for a happy hour, networking session with the FIC board members who were meeting there.

I had to get water, so I put on my Columbia, all weather jacket and squeezed the Navi into the Gold Run complex and hooked up for water. As I finished, Kimberlee walked up looking cheery, and clean and nicely made up. I, on the other hand, didn't. It was 6:30 and they were ready to go. So I quickly drove the Navi back to her spot behind the Millennium and changed into something more presentable than my bumming around clothes when Greg and Kimberlee drove by to pick me up.

It was a great opportunity to meet and get to know the FIC board members and explain that I hoped to visit their communities on my RV journey. One member in particular, Aurora D. from a community in NY said she had been contemplating traveling the US to visit communities as the new development director. We agreed to meet up before she left on Monday to discuss possibilities then Greg and Kimberlee and I left in search of food for dinner. I was starved. I hadn't eaten since breakfast at the Boxcar coffee house.

Here's a photo of the bunged up bike re-attached to it's bike rack behind the Navi.

Bicycle contusion

I was going to try to do a re-enactment but the idea of it was too painful. Did anyone else watch Chevy Chase in the movie Vacation where he forgot that he tied his great aunt's dog to the bumper and took off?  Thankfully, in my situation, it was only my well-used bike.  

Back in Boulder Again

It's Saturday morning and I searched Yelp for a coffee shop with free wifi and found an eclectic place on Pearl St called Boxcar something, something.  I rode my bicycle here.  It's perfect.  They've got great ambiance, delicious cappuccino, I'm close to an outlet to charge the electronics and I have strong, free wifi (what a huge blessing that I've taken for granted in the past).

I have a killer site for my Navi--it's in a parking lot behind the Millennium Harvest Hotel in Boulder. I'm under a tree next to a swank Tennis club and am a 5 minute bike ride to my buds at Boulder Creek Co-Housing Community along Boulder Creek.

Matt the manager at the Millennium and his wife Mirenda live in their Class A RV with 6 rescue dogs and 2 cats behind the hotel.  Greg and I saw the RV when I was in Boulder in April and asked if I could park my RV there too next time I was in town.  Since Matt was the one who owned and lived in that RV, he was fine with me parking mine there too.  So, he's allowing me to stay there free of charge.  How sweet is that?  I met him as I drove in on Thursday and he was under his RV doing repairs.  I told him I wished that I had taken that class I heard about where they teach people like me about all the systems in your RV.  He said he's a mechanical engineer and would be happy to teach me a few things.

A levels check inside Navi this morning, showed I'm low on water so I need to replenish the water tank today.  Greg has offered is water hose at the Gold Run Condos if I can squeeze the Navi in and out of the tight parking lot.  They just had dirt delivered yesterday for their community garden and I think it was delivered in a big dump truck so I think I can get in.

Having limited water causes one to think differently about water consumption.  No longer do I wash dishes with the water running.  I get one large bowl for soapy water and another for rinse water and set my dishes out on the cutting board to dry after washing and rinsing.   Similarly, I was going to take a hot shower this morning but ended up doing a fancy spit bath with hot water and a wash cloth instead and calling that good.

Thankfully the weather is cool and dry (40's at night and 60's during the day) so I'm not feeling that sticky, icky feeling so prevalent in Houston.  Many a day, I'd get up, take a shower, put on makeup and dress for work and walk outside and immediately feel like I needed another shower.

My first RV repair job

Investing in community

I drove up from Golden along the beautiful back roads for a lunch meeting at Greg and Christine's place with others interested in  how to make community living affordable.  I remember thinking how terrific it felt to be able to be able to share a healthy lunch on Greg and Chris's deck overlooking the rushing Boulder Creek discussing socially responsible issues with 5 1/2 other intelligent individuals on such a glorious spring day.  The 1/2 accounted for the 5 year old daughter one of the women brought with her to lunch.  

Greg and one of the others at lunch--Wendy created a concept and website for matching potential investors with potential individuals in established communities who need limited financial backing similar to a bank.  Check out their website http://www.investingincommunity.net to learn more.  Given the volatility of the stock market, this is an interesting investment alternative to consider.  It's seems to be a trifecta in that the established community, the individuals the community knows and vouches for and the investor could all potentially benefit from the relationship.

It reminds me of a man I met at Hummingbird--Luis B.  who wrote a book called Dare to Care explaining how we as a society could let relationship drive financial decisions rather than the other way around.  

Luis said many criticized before even considering his proposition thinking he was advocating socialism or communism.  He says that's not what he's about.  He gave me an autographed copy of his book that I look forward to reading to learn more.

The good and bad of RV travel

I sat at the Mercedes dealership in Littleton from 7:30 this morning to 2:30 getting the oil leak fixed and in the process discovered some other needed repairs at a tune of $1200.  But let me tell you, they have one clean shop and the nicest service writers. Reid found them for me as I was traveling back down from the mountain leading to Pike's Peak.  I'm very thankful that the one of few Mercedes dealerships in the country was close by when I needed it and that I could drive the rv their without a tow.

After spending the better part of the day there, I found the last spot at Clear Creek RV park right on a beautiful rushing creek in Golden, Colorado (see view from site below) t's operated by the city of Golden which is unique. It's much better than the RV park I stayed at last night in Colorado Springs. 

I'm sitting in an eclectic coffee house as I type this watching it rain while drinking a a hot cup of lemon chamomile tea.   I consider it a just reward given my RV troubles of the last two days. 

Once it stops raining, I'll ride my bike the half mile back to the Navi.

I suppose the reality of this trip is there will be good days and bad days.  Instead of making lemonade, I ordered a lemon tea.

I woke up and had a light breakfast in the Navi before meeting at 9:15 with two other visitors like me for a beautiful walk across the property to the campground area for volunteer work assignments.  I had the opportunity to spruce up the labyrinth created with stones in an open field with a handful of others including one of the founding members David (Dabo) Fischer and apprentices Patrick and Layla along with other volunteers.  We spent 3 hours on our hands and knees weeding.  I've never enjoyed weeding so much.  It was a great opportunity to hear from Dabo how the community got started and to hear how he got the name Dabo.  He said he was trying to teach a young child just learning how to talk how to say David so he repeated it three times slowly for her.  She looked at him and replied with great confidence "Dabo".  He decided to embrace the child in him and stuck with Dabo.  He's an affable, fun loving person who seems to embrace life with both hands.  It was a joy working along beside him and the others in our group.

I also got the opportunity to visit with Layla who has a Master's degree from Naropa--a Zen University in Boulder in Contemplative Psychology.  I asked her if she had an opportunity to use the degree and she said she wrote a book about her experience living in Hawaii off the land with Patrick where they conceived and she gave birth to Iziah all on her own.  She said that it was through her book that she shared how she applied what she learned in school.

I told her that I would love to read her book and she agreed to include me in when it was ready to share.  Can't wait!

  

So I discovered that Mora, NM is 41 miles "as the crow flies" but would take me 3 hours by automobile.  I decided to drive south towards  Santa Fe and then north towards Mora rather than take the Navi-gator into the Carson National Forest assuming the roads would be wider and flatter.   Chugging along in a 9500 pound box on wheels is a challenge in the mountains.  Plus, I wanted to stop at Whole Foods this time for provisions for the weekend.

So in the process of doing all this, I made three rookie mistakes.  First, I left the bike lock draped across the spare tire on the back of my RV rather than re-attaching to the bike and the RV.  I didn't discover it until I got to Santa Fe.  I can't imagine how it stayed hung over the spare with all the typical RV bumpiness.  Second, I forgot to shut the gas cap after fueling up in Las Vegas, NM.  At least I didn't forget to remove the gas nozzle.  Finally, I set my water bottle one quarter full on the table intending to drink it before taking off.  I've been having mild headaches that I'm thinking are related to the high altitude and not enough hydration.  Well, I forgot that I left it there and took off without drinking the water.  Thankfully, it was only one quarter full when it fell off the table onto the new, hickory wood flooring.  At a traffic light, I put the Navi in park and quickly ran back and cleaned it up before the light turned green.

Something happened unexpectedly.  I put the Navi in reverse to back out of the Whole Foods parking lot and the rear view camera turned on the way it is supposed to when the coach is in reverse.  However, when I put the RV into drive, the rear view camera stayed for the next hour or so when I stopped for fuel.  That was great to have the ability to see what's going on back there.  I would love to figure out how to work it so it does that all the time. Does anyone know how to do that?

Other than those three minor details, it was a good day traveling to my second intentional community--the Hummingbird Community.  They've been in existence for 18 years which is impressive.  Many communities are well "intentioned" no pun intended, but don't have the skills to make it work over the long term.   I've been told that like minded individuals come together, usually around ecological, sustainability, and/or social justice issues and feel the common passion will sustain them but they don't have the skills to handle the conflicts that no doubt will arise whenever you people try to live together.  Imagine how difficult it is when two people get married and must learn to live together and multiply that times the number of individuals in the community.

So I traveled the bumpy, dusty, pot-holed dirt road and arrived at the Hummingbird parking lot nearest the Grace and Ease houses and the solar laundry out building.

I was greeted by Norma, a short and feisty woman who gave me a big welcoming hug.

She showed me around the Grace house where many common meals were held.  There were bedrooms off the kitchen where she and 2 others slept.  She showed me the media room and the large living area warmed by a wood burning stove.  She showed me the bathroom that I could use to take showers if I wanted to and asked that I keep them to 5 min to preserve the hot water generated by solar panels on top of Grace house.

So, while I was one of the first to show up, others started dwindling in.  I went to the Navi and prepared a curried chicken salad dish for the potluck at 6pm.

There was a wide range of people at the potluck.  Michael was one of the first people I met.  He was a big man in overalls with long white hair looking to be in his 60's.  Then I met another tall, thin man rough hewn from the elements (forgot his name).  He has lived in many communities over the past 40 years and he had some wisdom to share.  He said he got tired of living in co-housing situations where he was confronted regularly with others' dirty dishes.  He and his partner Sequoia live in their own place not far from Grace house on the surrounding 500 acres.  I heard they built it themselves out of mud and straw bales.

A lovely young couple came in with their their equally beautiful 1 1/2 year old son Iziah.   Iziah had piercing blue eyes.  He looked like an old soul in a babies body.  His parents, Layla and Patrick looked to be in their late twenties.  They had a wonderful earthiness to them.  They came in with skin browned from the sun and dirt covered feet from top to bottom.  Now these were people I'd like to get to know.

We gathered in the kitchen in a circle and held hands as we contemplated the blessing of one another's company and the colorful, healthy food set before us.  We each introduced ourselves and shared whether we were visitors or residents.  Looking around the circle, I saw a mix of old and young--mostly my age and older with a handful of younger faces.

One person's face looked familiar.  It turns out that it was Amanda, who cycled the US in 2008 with her partner Ryan in search of a community to call home.  They filmed the journey and created a video called Within Reach which was a DVD that I purchased from the Fellowship of Intentional Communities web site and found incredibly interesting. They lived in tents and rode 50-100 miles each day.  They had intended to visit 50 communities in a year.  In the end, they visited 100 communities and after doing so chose one where they felt they most belonged.  In the DVD it wasn't clear to me which community they chose but it turns out it was the Hummingbird community in northern New Mexico.  The closing shot shows them riding their bikes down that dusty road with all the members of the community waiting there for them with big smiles and signs and words of welcome and encouragement.

It was fun to visit with Amanda briefly while we washed and rinsed dinner dishes together.  It was interesting to meet so many new people that first night during the potluck but I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and needed to retreat to the Navi for some time to myself.

Friday was the first night in the Navi that I'd be spending with no electrical or water connections.  I had the generator and filled up the water reservoir so I felt I'd be fine.  However, it was so peaceful there, I didn't want to disturb others with the loud RV generator.  It turns out that when I checked my fluid levels in the Navi, the propane was in red zone meaning I didn't have much left.  Since I had never depended on the generator for lights and cooking and heat, I wasn't sure how long it would last.  So, with the dual purpose of wanting to be a quiet guest and not wanting to run out of propane for the weekend, I went to sleep underneath all the blankets I brought and slept in my hat and clothes.

 This is what the thermostat read the next morning inside my Navi...

Why didn't I bring that down comforter?

Well the internet connection doesn't seem to be fast enough to allow me to upload video so that will have to wait.  I did explore the mineral pools which cost $20 for all day admission.  While that seemed rather steep, after exploring the 5 different heated mineral pools, including the mud bath and trying out the hammock to dry out (after cleaning off the mud), it didn't seem so bad after all.

I wasn't too sure about the mud thing.  I wonder if the native Indians watching all had a good laugh.  One woman told me the mud must be good, elephants like it.  I told her I didn't want my skin to look like an elephant--nor any other parts of me for that matter.  She was just trying to be friendly but I didn't get her logic.

I scheduled a massage after lunch when I was awarded my own bathrobe.  I wore it as far as the masseuse unlike others who wore them everywhere including the restaurant for lunch.  Go figure.

After that, I came back to the Navi for a nap, then woke up and set up my camp chair by the river to have a glass of wine.  With all the intense leisure, I decided to take my bike out for a spin.  I came back and set up my yoga mat and iPad for a vigorous 15 min of yoga at my campsite.  Tough day.

While this wasn't the way I intended to spend my time while on sabbatical, a little of this kind of R&R sprinkled in just seems like good sense to me.

So, while it's getting late, I need to figure out what to prepare for potluck tomorrow night at Hummingbird.  Does anyone have any healthy, easy ideas?  I always stress out when it comes to preparing food for gatherings especially not knowing if there are any meat eaters where I'm going.  I guess those tiny BBQ weenies are out.

This is the third day into my trip.  I made it to Ojo Caliente, a spa and resort just north of Santa Fe, NM.  They added a campground recently and I have a lovely, secluded site for my RV with water and electricity.  As I'm writing this, I'm listening to the gentle roar of a river about 50 feet away and the birds singing sweetly.  A hummingbird dive bombed me a minute ago.  That long drive across Texas is tough but places like this make it worth the drive.

As I drove in and went to register, I saw a lot of people in bath robes.  That was a bit intimidating.  It's not every day you see that.  My sister in law, Lydia recommended OC and I asked her about the mores here.  She explained it all to me so I think I'll give the mineral pools a try today.  They sound luxurious.  Perhaps I'll feel comfortable walking around the place in a bathrobe too.

The weather is a lovely 48 degrees as I write this.  I'm sitting at a picnic table with my laptop and cup of coffee on a Thursday morning.  How wonderful is that?  I feel so blessed to be able to do this.  

What I learned yesterday is that I should have stopped at the crowded Whole Foods in Santa Fe rather than waiting until Espanola for groceries.  It was a nice sized store but they had few of the things I would have normally selected.  I got some fruits and veggies and considered myself lucky to have found them.  I prepared a veggie soup for dinner with a glass of Pinot Noir and watched a video a friend had given me.  

It's interesting not having TV.  I didn't watch much of it when I was living in my apt.  I recorded a few programs to watch at my leisure.  My favorite is the CBS Sunday Morning program and I enjoyed the sitcom Modern Family.  I'm sure I can figure a way to watch them on the internet given enough time to figure it out.  

I'm having trouble getting used to the small bottom bunk bed in my Navi so my sleep is restless.  I'm sure in time I'll get adjusted.  If not, I'll take Reid's advice and try to find a real mattress from an RV store or get some memory foam from Walmart and cut it down to size following my Mom's suggestion.

I'm here for two days and then head to my second intentional community--the Hummingbird Community near Mora, NM for the weekend.  They're having a work weekend to get the place ready for visitors over the summer months.  I thought by volunteering, I could get a good sense of how things work there.  

Signing out for now.  I'm off to explore the mineral pools.

Well, I finally left Houston in my RV today to begin my driving tour of intentional communities in the U.S. I've been off work for a little over a month now.  While I spent the first two weeks in Boulder, I spent the last two weeks providing my boyfriend Reid with moral support as he packed up his home of 14 years for a closing last Thursday. With that behind us, it was time for me to begin.

Time to take off

I liked the fact that he had a lot going on as I was leaving today to make the departure more low key. I don't see the trip as a long, extended separation but as adventure that he and others in my life can share with me via FaceTime, texting, calling, and this blog....not to mention coming to join me at points along the way.

So I left SW Houston at 11:30 am today headed for Lake Brownwood State Park.  I arrived in about 6 hours to a lovely waterfront spot even though the lake level is noticeably low.   Along the way, I stopped at a Buc Ees in Bastrop and picked up an expensive hunk of turkey to cook in my new gadget--a 12 volt mini, crock pot made for truckers.   It resembles a large lunch or tackle box.  Well, 3 hours of cooking resulted in a rather unpleasant looking, dried out slab of meat.  Looks like I've got a thing or two to learn about cooking in the mini crock pot.

Failed attempt at dinner in the new mini, travel, crock pot