Simply, Lesa

I knit and delivered a hat. Got some scrap plywood and made a countertop for my kitchenette. Made a safety cage for my Kandle Heeter - I have a dog now! I seasoned my new Dutch Oven and made stew - check out Al's RollingSteelTent.blogspot.com. Dried off Ozzie after his 7 am and 35 degree - I'm wearing my sweater and going swimming adventure!  Yes he then rolled in the sand (rolling eyes) - Ozzie B. Dirt! And I helped solve a phone issue.

Saw me traveling to and from Quartzsite and Yuma. We may ask what do crop duster pilots and giant poodles have in common? The answer would be the attention of my friend Evelyn! We had an enjoable visit filled with chit chat and campfires and hot cups of coffee!  I even momentarily forgot about my allergy to nuts and ate a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie - and then promptly suffered an entire evening. Will I ever remember?  I do like food. Time to admit that. I like food and cooking and being creative with it and learning the old ways from the elderly in other cultures.  And I need to be gentle with my own digestive system which has been an issue since I was a child. Evelyn brought her new truck with her old Lance six pack camper on the back and  her Giant Poodle Charlie!  He and Ozzie are good buddies and love to run and play together. After this morning's adventure - Ozzie decided to go for a swim on one of the coldest mornings we have had and in his on...

Lol Ozzie was napping under a blanket. ... Fortuna Road and East Yuma has been gently developing into a small-ish fairly comfy maneuverable area. Plenty of BLM camping nearby makes for a good and warm winter experience. We are enjoying ourselves at the Pond. With and without friends.  Jerry from RTR stopped by after noticing the van! Al comes and goes - what a wonderful great guy! Dale & Gail just left for their holiday spot - thanks for being good inspiration! There is knitting happening!  Simply, Lesa

Keep fallin on my roof And just like the guy whose... (Singing) I gentle rain is falling at Fortuna pond tonight it's 730 ish. Ozzy and I have had quite a day of doggy training. It's been exhausting and wonderful. I think I think he is doing a great job as we learn to not bark at every dog we meet. I relaxed with some neighbors at a fire pit tonight. And now it's time to settle in for the night so I thought I would sing the start of raindrops because truly raindrops are falling on my roof tonight I think it'll be a good night's sleep. Please check out Fortuna Pond when you're in the Yuma area. I'm here early this year and there is a little bit of trash and a number of tents with people who have been here for a little while perhaps longer than 14 days. After the snow birds come which is starting to happen now there will be a nice vibe around the pond. If you need directions let me know it's very close to 95 and between a lot of agricultural fields. T...

Church alongside the road! I've wanted to stop each time I was on the road to Yuma.  This was the day! I could so live in some thing this size so enjoying a few solitary moments were welcomed. After taking a few pictures I used the tiny wash station porta john...didn't know that they made these...and then walked Ozzie around the giant hay stacks.

But I feel so happy! And I don't really feel like blog writing. .. So I am just letting you all know that I am fine and Ozzie is well. We are with friends in the desert around Quartzsite AZ. I will re-order another Kandle Heeter from Mr.Doss in California. I sold last year's one to a older traveling woman along the road.  I know it will get cold again at night soon and this is a good low tech alternative heat source for me.  Of course it is very easy to get fuel in California tho I struggled to find it on the East Coast. I'd still like a different vehicle - and will let that develop as changes do... Hugs Happy winter season As I blow out the candlelight to go to bed Simply Lesa

Wrote about our Simply great and Simple Thanksgiving! I wrote that blog post after turning in for the night Thanksgiving day.  My Blogger cellphone app says that the post is still 'publishing' nearly a week later.....darn I tried everything that I could think of. Our small group of traveling buddies met up in Joshua Tree.  We spent a few days at my friends unofficial/private campground. They rent out or will barter RV or van spaces complete with electric and water hook ups.they have a community space complete with kitchen, hot water shower and composting toilet. We spent a comfortably easy Thanksgiving day doing what we each felt was appropriate. That process led us to sit down to any enjoyable 1:30ish meal of Turkey,  rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, gluten free giblet gravy, freshly made cranberry relish, stir fried green beans, a  banana carob chip sweet bread, gluten free crust pumpkin pie, pumpkin custard and homebrewed Chia Cream Ale! We milled around chit c...

So whadya do? Ozzie says chill! We had a great day in town Joshua Tree yesterday. I bought some of Joshua's doggy treats for Ozzie and a small jar of honey from Lisa's Kitchen just cause! Smile. We had a little walk in a parking lot and then through Petco...a bit traumatic meeting big dogs. We survived. I got a brass candle lantern at a thrift store.  Pretty and kinda nautical for $2. I just noticed that my last two posts are stuck in internet publishing land...I will try to get them out and to you asap. Hugs and Keep It Simple! Simply, Lesa

Hard work

I guess that he thinks that he is! Lol LHC or Lake Havasu City AZ is a beautiful area. Fortunately or unfortunately if you're driving, this is a retirement haven kind of town. Its common to see restored street rods or Packards driving around or parked in regular store parking lots. Just outside of town on the north end of Rt 95 there is a beautiful secluded camping area. This is my first time visiting Craggy Wash. I thought that I had good directions tho alass I needed to mqke a phone call and turn around twice to find it.  Now that I know where it is, that won't happen again.  Driving North through town you pass the Wal-Mart and the Airport. After that last traffic light watch for a Right hand turn off between mile marker 190 and 191. Just as you turn Right off 95 you will notice a brown sign...you have the correct road. You will see a Welcome to Craggy Wash sign and campground host signs...the road is a bit rocky and sandy in places...well it is dirt and they had a flood e...

What if I really want to go somewhere off road and a minivan couldn't handle it?

and Turkey Day on the horizon I tried to get a night time picture of the lights from the town of Blythe but alass smart phones are only so smart. (Smile) Some of you may be wondering why I am making such big changes.  Selling the Scamp. Selling the van.   Whatever is going on?  Well I am healthier!  Woohoo! And I have Ozzie now! And....its time. I have learned that I love to drive. I don't want to sit still very long at all. I want to visit national parks see the northwest us, get further into canada and visit Dee and go out for breakfast (its cheaper) or lunch with friends. I want to go for no other reason than I woke up and its time to go! I'm healthier! My food can be less expensive and my kitchen smaller.  Ozzie - my dear Ozzie,  he gives me something to wake up for, to get outside for, to care for and i do just that. I live more time outside. As I readjust my finances and get back out of debt, if I can lower my overhead then I can actually have...

Ozzie and I are settling down from the day.  Some sweet potatoes are on the stove - I think that I will turn mine into a sweet potato salad. On the horizon we can see Ms Marcia nesting in her new Scamp! Omgosh it's a done deal! As things of this magnitude tend to create some stress in those final moments this surely didn't disappoint! Although seeing how happy Ms Marcia is makes all the hard work worthwhile. Ozzie had a chance to visit with his pal Zeak earlier.  The rocks in this area are kinda hard on all the doggy friends paws. Spoiled - says who? Ozzie was treated to a sore paw epson salt soak as we cleaned up to go inside for the night. Vantucket is still for sale.  I'm aware of the odd logistics that could take place at any time now ... and I feel sure that we will be well blessed with our new home soon. We will be looking for a minivan very soon.

I wrote this to the East Coast Nomadic Van n vehicle full timer crowd ... I think it is a good explanation of some of my thoughts on recent changes. ..isn't computer cut and paste great. ..well sometimes. ~~~~ Mee too cuz. I was so disappointed to have missed you by a 2 hour diversion promoted to be an emergency that turned into a traumatic event. ..the escape route led me westerly! (See I can be nice lol) I have learned so much through my different travels and modes of living.  The big Scamp lesson is that even though I am on SSDisability....low income. ...I don't want to have a sit still lifestyle.  Even nomads can be people who choose to sit still for many days or two weeks or a month or even the 6 months possible with LTVA passes in the South Western US. I like to go and explore. Sure I want to knit or read a book maybe even watch a movie.  Then let's hike to the hot springs and take lunch with us. Or drive 200 or 500 miles to see something new. So and especially s...

Okay readers the Craig's List and other ads are online! Vantucket: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/4760271976.html The Scamp:  http:// phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/rvs/4760173740.html

Towing. I never did tow more than a couple odd times until I bought the Scamp. Towing in reverse? Well, I heard stories. And in the last month I have learned how! (Happy dance) And the squiggly tire tracks. ..well I just keep at it. Check out the snake I saw. Ozzie - well dear Ozzie, he's such a trooper and hiking buddy! But wow the southwest has all kinds of prickly things on the ground. We all love him, it shows in the concern as we help pull or cut things off his paws after a nice days hike. Ozzie had been traumatized before he came to be with me.  The trauma seems mostly to do with his feet and his dew claws (the curly thumb like claw). He can even bite if he is scared and something hurts his foot like when pulling out stickers. I have been working with him to lessen his anxiety and we have been doing well. Then he got some very bad stickers that we thought were out but he kept messing with his foot.  Then I took him for grooming and he came back different - almost s...

Al, Ozzy, Lou and I have been traveling and enjoying each others company. We spent two nights at City of Rocks New Mexico State Park which was a very different and really nice experience. City of Rocks looks a lot like Bedrock from the Flintstones cartoons. You kind of come up a rise and turn a corner and there it is just layed out in the valley. We drove through Tombstone and Sierra Vista Arizona. We spent a few days at Gardner Canyon and drove into Sahuarita to get a few things, fill water jugs and take Ozzie to the vet. Al is a great tour guide and has been really helpful. Of course Ozzie loves him after thier time together while I sick. It's fun to watch them visit together every day. It's very nice to catch up with Lou. Lou plays guitar, loves blues and lives in the kewlest little green vardo. Quite a few changes are being made. We have the Van and Scamp ready for sale. I have decided that I'm selling both so I can downsize. I have sent the ad's out a few day...

This guy....as I watch from the ridge his rig seems to be sinking or mighty close to it. The other picture is everything I own as I straighten up to have pictures taken of Vantucket and the Scamp!

Really I am not fickle! Really I Simply roll with life's punches! And Really I Simply keep it simple. .. So when there is a new van repair sound I really Simply go get more information as soon as possible. ... Ozzie and I are enjoying a breakfast burrito of eggs cheese and potatoes with black coffee at Trip Advior's Carmen's Kitchen. While our dirty laundry spins away at Soap n Suds next door and all this just steps from Larry's front end and tire shop....where Vantucket awaits her turn in a bay for diagnosis of the strange shake and sound that developed a couple days ago. It's Simply a pleasant adventure that is allowing me to wonder about what next adventures I would prefer... Like peppered with less tinkering of the kind I am uncomfortable with.  And more sprinkled with an afternoon's chillin with a glass of organic wine while watching the sunset after a days hiking and exploring some kewl place I've never seen before. .. Where will we be next? ...