Simply, Lesa

I was a techy! In my past life when working for an income. As a Project Administrator and Program Support for both IBM and the State of Virginia among other positions, I built web sites, designed and buit databases and repaired both hardware and software. Then...I spent years off grid - like really off grid - no lights, no solar, no mechanical anything.  Well I did have a Vortex blender for a while!  Most of my years in Costa Rica were spent off grid. I was raised in a family homesteading situation and homesteaded four other times. (I got tired of losing homes) Among RTRers and RVers power systems seem to run 85% of the conversations and the rest of the conversations are about how to use the toilet! Well not really although it feels like that. I like Low Tech!  (Yes Wolf I do enjoy your company as well) I prefer to live a Low Tech lifestyle. I also gather information, practice using it in practical terms and store it mentally because it is only useful to me that way....

I actually slept in this morning. I think that Ozzie woke me about 7:30 am. I have been at the Post RTR Campsite in Ehernberg AZ. At times the activity has been overwhelming. Some of the guys left for Slab City and others for Fortuna Pond in Yuma. This morning was VERY quiet. My fire pit became the central meeting location. Someone decided and announced that people should be here at 10 am each morning!  And in the evenings the fire would be stoaked and some more story sharing would end the day. It got rather busy and occasionally was busy the whole day. I prefer people to come early, even in thier jammies, when I am busy and have a pot of coffee on because we chit chat and by 10 am we all are ready to go get dressed and start the events of the day. Which means that I get a little break. I don't mind at the least if people gather again around 4 pm, with thier drinks in hand and visit and share their updates of the day while I might be making or thinking about making supper. That m...

In the shape of a trip to Phoenix and back today!  Whew. My cellphone GPS simply is wierd. ..it took us through downtown Phoenix and around the industrial section. I maneuvered well. I am a good driver. I think that I only had a second or two of spoken frustration. With traffic and quite a bit of rain I had to stay focused and even needed to ask my passenger to not talk to me for a while during the more difficult moments. No one was offended and we are back at camp safely - although Vantucket needs more work and I am glad to have taken Mechanic Mike along. Ozzie is a trooper. He had to ride with his seat belt on for hours with only short walks. Though he will be able to run tomorrow. More soon. ... Hugs Simply, Lesa

Hi everyone! Ozzie and I have been hanging out in Ehrenberg. I don't even remember how many days we have been here. The sunrises and sunsets are lovely! In fact I am laying in my bed in the van watching the sunrise now as I write to you using my phone. Vantucket is better. I took her for a test drive yesterday. I took a new New England traveling buddy along. We went over to Blythe California. My buddy had not been in California yet. It was kewl to see her reaction which was similar to the one that I had three years ago. Reacting to the odd border crossing as well as the change in landscape.  We shared lunch at La Paloma which is a very traditional "soda" or Central American restraunt. Then I showed her the town's important stuff like the Ace hardware store, KMart, Dollar Tree and the fabulous new Smart and Final supermarket. We popped into the Rite Aid for one last item and discovered that they have an ice cream counter inside. So we topped off the trip with an ice ...

Vantucket is an old girl as far as vans go. Living the Vandweller/full time tiny RV lifestyle takes its toll on both vehicles and owners because we drive a lot and we are in them so many hours. Wear and tear is normal.  It can be annoying - And upsetting. And worrisome. It can happen a lot or only once in a while - but we do what we need to do to meet the maintenance needs and keep our vehicles in tip top shape because it is all we have. Some of our incomes are limited and limit our choices for both travel as well as for the prioritizing of maintenance. Luckily, after the sale of my Scamp, I was able to finally keep an Emergency Fund. Even though past repairs were mostly put on a credit card which has me on a tight budget as I pay that off as quickly as possible. I am rather sensitive to changes in my vehicle and never felt completely satisfied with the last work done on my front end. While driving from Quartzsite to Ehrenberg AZ a couple days ago, a sound and odd feeling made me...

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RTR continues. We have over a hundred people here and many pet owners with well behaved dogs. Ozzie is exhausted from making doggy friends and visiting with his uncle, godfather and other people friends. I often find him surrounded by toys simply looking passed out in his doggie bed! Evelyn and Charlie (the giant poodle) arrived yesterday. They seem to be having a great time. Once around a campfire we were all laughing so hard and Evelyn leaned over to tell me she was enjoying that and that it had been a very long time ago when she laughed so hard. Yesterday afternoon we shared a community Chili dinner complete with corn bread and corn chips and hot sauce. It was good (I didn't even need to take any benedryl! ) I'm making pots of Cowboy Coffee on my tiny cook fire. I am also loving and using my Dutch Oven every day. I baked whole wheat raisin bread in my dutch oven on Friday. We were able to share toast with butter along with morning coffee.  I snuck off for a while by ridi...

It's been an annual event for Five years. ..the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous! For 2015 the official welcome message is today and the last morning meeting wii be next Sunday. Not sure if the event  schedule is legible, I tried. The RTR neighborhood started filling in a week ago! Some pictures below. .. RTR Main Street is the main drag off the dirt mining road with Bob Wells, Cheaprvliving.com and organizer of this group created event, is on the East end and currently Donna & Mark are on the  West end. To the Left of RTR Main St and just in front of the main fire pit and Free Tarp is RTR Central Park - that is where I am and Karen & Tony, Mr. Sandy from Canada and Nelda & Jerry. To our Left (the fork in the road is just before Bob's & Judy's rigs which are on RTR Main St) is RTR South there are three different off shoot Lanes - one is Vardo Lane where Lou has his green beauty! To the Right of RTR Main St, accessible from the mining road is RTR North it's a bi...

But then everyone is talking about that my friend Steve-Nemo got 14" of snow in the Payson area, Ms Evelyn in Cottonwood got 5"...I've had ice in the coffee pot and solid frost/ice on the inside of my windows. By the way the Kandle Heeter helps dry up the condensation in the air so not much frost. I'm entertaining an old RTR friend who made it down from the north east. We went shopping yesterday although by two we were headed back grumbling about the craziness of drivers and even grocery store shoppers. A nice campfire and grilled burgers and a glass of wine helped calm that inner grumpy monster from earlier in the day. Ozzie is well. He had a rash that seemed to be an allergy. After changing his newer dog food he seems better. He loves running around with his sweater on meeting people and doing his self appointed job of keeping the ducks off shore near our camp. Stay warm people! Be careful with your heaters and candles and campfires! I've had senior moments ...