The Great Battle...

 For the final Defeat of the Fanatical Plumbing Insurgency...

Water Heater Plumbing... An evil insurrection... Who knew?

I'm layin' here wet and exhausted. The fight was tooth and nail; Wrench and fittings; teflon and pipe dope; Spraying water and busted knuckles. But... with cautious optimism, I believe I've finally come out victorious!

I don't exactly remember how long ago it's been since I replaced the busted water heater and initiated the conflict... Was it June?

Ever since... I've been chasin' lil' drips that amounted to a gallon or better a day if the pump was left to run... fillin' pan after pan... grrrrrrrrr

It all started with a pair of fresh schedule 80 PVC nipples that were called for by the manufacturer when I installed the new tank. Since the tank is aluminum I couldn't use steel or copper nipples or I'd have some hellacious corrosion. Bi-polar Chemispherical conflict of the dissimilar metals or some such.

Kinda like a cowboy struttin' around in High Soh-sigh-uh-tee. Pretty much a gar-uhn-tee of a vociferous oral conflagration.

Bein' plastic I was a mite over gentle wrenching them sch 80 nipples tight. I feared crackin' 'em in two. The consequence being... of course... those first gol dang nipples connecting the water lines and their Sharkbite fittings to the tank leaked...arrrrrrgggghhhhh....

So... Drain the tank and wrap FRESH nipples with even MORE teflon tape this time...That'll do it! :)

Reinstall ~ Refill the tank ~ Pressure up the system... No Leaks! HooYa! :)

Nope. Not until I get back from town a couple of days later and... Uh Huh... drip, drip, drip... with the pump goin'; Burp! Burp! Burp! Like a pot bellied redneck slurpin' his coffee and finishing his chicken fried steak supper at Denny's. grrrrrr....

Rinse... Repeat... and...???

Thass right... DRIP DRIP DRIP!!!! 

What in the un-Holy Hell is goin' on? It's a freakin' lil' pipe joint! Not a high tech quick connect on the Space Shuttle!!!

Well... I have a conversation with an old plumber at a supply; "Why are you usin' plastic? You can't trust that crap! Use brass! You won't get ee-lek-trawl-I-sis from that!"

SO... I take two shiny brass nipples long enough so's I can get a big ol' pipe wrench on the suckers... goop 'em all up with 'bout 7 pounds of high grade pipe dope a piece... wedge that 36" pipe wrench on there good and snug... and jump off the roof!

Yes sir! Those suckers are sealed up tight! Ain't gon' Be No dang leaks this time! HooYa! and he walks away grinning...

Poor misguided fool...

Nope, no leaks.... not until ... drip... drip... drip....... BRRRRRP! ... it leaks!

EEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!

Uh Huh... one of the two fittings... after two fittings, six nipples and three resets... started leaking again... three days after it was made to stop!

Whack! Whack! Whack!... That's the sound that rubber, tent peg mallet makes when I'm smackin' the side of my head with it.

This by God is War!

I collected a welder, an acupuncturist, stainless steel chisel, four rolls of teflon tape, two tubes of pipe dope, a hammer, fresh BVD's at Wally World, six donuts, one of those mah-ha-ragi fellas, a six pack, four wrenches, a screwdriver (the vodka kind) one flashlight, one new fitting of a different type... plus my IPOD (even Custer knew you need good martial music when you're marching into battle!) along with one fat Victory See-Gar... and crawled into the fray within the fearful and shadowy confines of the plumbing compartment.

Well... that was after I went outside... Again... and opened up the drain plug to empty the tank. Of course... Though I made sure the pump was off... I forgot to release the pressure in the tank 'fore I done that...

Yup... PFFFFTHHHHPPPPPPSPLAT!!! Water under 'bout 50lbs of pressure blew ever'where as soon as that last thread on the plug let go...

Broke four old teeth gritting them so hard...

This is gonna get bloody! NOW I'M MAD! ...

Not necessarily a good thing when a 160 lb. geezer with fuzzy eyes, a twisted spine and a bad attitude is trying to wrench on plumbing through a compartment access the size of a pinhole!

How-some-ever... with the sheer western Herorics of a pussgut Biker Cowboy and the skill born of many years of experience destroying the contents of amber colored bottles in smoky dives across the west... and though my adversary put up a valiant if malevolent fight... that recalcitrant, vile and defiant plumbing demon was ultimately subdued; leaving me prostrate but serene.


The Sweetness of Plumbing Victory
Brian

The Question Was Asked;

Anonymous said...
"Where you gonna' get the money to do all that? Way you been talking, you're broke. Aint got any!"

That's awful close to tallying up all the reasons a thing can't be... rather than nurturing all the ways they can.

I'm not one for dwelling too long on my weaknesses. I tend toward; This is what I have... How can I put it together... to take me where I'm going.

The foundation of every building is begun with a single shovel of dirt. Every journey has a first step. The explorers of old had no idea of where they'd go or what they'd find.

Hell, Lewis and Clark traveled clear across the continent with not much more than a few tools and the clothes on their backs. They had faith and hunted up what they needed along the way.

I've survived, where others have not... because I believed in Myself. I had faith. I knew I would not fail. If you know you'll fail before you set out down a path; you've already guaranteed that failure is what you will know. I'd suggest it may be best that you not start out.

I've chosen a path to follow. It's a sure and certain truth that at present, I don't have what I expect the journey will require of me. I'll worry about the Needs part as I come to 'em.

Let's put things in a bit of perspective here... I don't believe the way I'm headed compares to the difficulties and risks confronted by them Lewis and Clark wanderers... now does it?

I'll cross the creeks that block my way when I get to their banks.

I've found in life that if you want things to change there are two ways of thinking.

One is to wait for a better situation and hope for a smoother road; "This one is too tough." That's plenty close to an "If I wait long enough, someone else will do it for me" sort of attitude.

The other is to shoulder your ruck and get on up the mountain. Make it happen.

Those who wait, tend to do just that... wait. Maybe, somewhere up ahead the waiters will catch up. Me? I'm gonna shoulder my ruck and carve the world around me that I want... Just like I always have. I don't have time for waiting. Living is what I'm about.

The Doubters can piss and whine, and sit in the shade counting all the excuses for why they can't... and waiting on everything to be juuuuust right. They can call me names and ridicule my efforts and count me as foolish... I couldn't care less. I've no time for that.

I've too much living to do while they're brushed up waiting on juuuuust the right conditions.

Not enough money? pshaw... Success doesn't come from money. It comes from perseverance, imagination, hard work, and guts. But then I'm not really about success anyway. What's success? Seems to me it's the same thing as reaching a destination. I've never truly enjoyed getting where I'm going... it's that journey in between the leaving and the arriving that I live for.

Hell, that's where adventure lives.

For those that require it, they can sit in the safety of the shady places... That's their choice and if that's what pleases their thoughts; Fine and Dandy... Enjoy.

The sure and secure life that never tastes the exhilaration of testing yourself, win or lose, is like having a pair of boots sitting in the closet waiting for good weather to be worn safely.

What is the use of being filled with life... Yet, never taking it out and living it? What good is it kept all locked up, secure and safe? There ain't no reruns or do overs... This is it... Taste it. Risk it. Live it.

I require something that carries the fresh and pure flavor of the unknown. And all it takes to be unknown is to be unknown to me! Thousands of Indian eyes had seen for hundreds of generations... The "discoveries" that Lewis and Clark, Colter and Bridger made. Thousands of moccasined feet had traveled those same paths before they were "Discovered" by those Explorers...

There's no less to be explored and "Found" today... You Virginians just get to Discover... What Idahoans have been living for generations. ;) Yet it's still a New Discovery for YOUR eyes isn't it?

It's standing on that high ridge looking off at the horizon and wondering what lays out there... just out of sight.

Hell, I don't know I'd give a Canadian Nickle for some guaranteed success... Achieving Success just means that journey is done and I'm needful of something else to stir my imagination and feed my spirit.

So... where am I gonna get what I need for the path I've chosen? Who the hell knows... or cares? I'll find it along the way, or I'll find another way.

Ya'll can do what pleases you, that's your choice. In the mean time, for me, goin' out and hunting along the trails I've found sure beats sitting in the shade, scratchin' myself and ... waiting...

... A few pics from the end of my recent ride posted on a Ribbon of Highway.

In Pursuit of New Horizons... Always
Brian

Some Thoughts as I Cogitate 'bout an RV Home Base

There's several motivations I have for coming around to thinking of building an RV Home Base. They wander from financial benefits, to maintaining options, to maybe even providing a lil' workshop space for wished for projects.

In the end it all allows a guy a lil' more leeway to take a lil' risk now and then. It's not quite so spooky to walk out and climb on a wicked Bronc... if he knows he he'll have at least a weak net under him to break his fall. ;)

For those that feel like setting up such a camp is somehow a betrayal of the Gypsy lifestyle... consider this... Jim Bridger is arguably one of this country's greatest wanderers... and the simple fact is; Even Ol' Jim had hisself a winter camp! and eventually a lil' farm all the way back in Missouri...

Now... Missouri is NOT a place I'll be settin' up for any length of time... and I'll still be wearing out the asphalt seven months of the year or longer... by Motorcycle and RV... but ya'll get the idea. 

I've also decided to just go ahead and start the work of beginning that new Website section; Building Our RV Home Base. It should start appearing in the next few days... I expect it'll start out pretty slow. Not a whole lot will happen there until we actually have a spot picked out and locked down to actually start putting a camp together.

I'm thinkin' maybe if I'm writin' 'bout it... it'll help keep me focused on the task ahead and maybe have a couple fewer mental detours and meanderings gettin' in the way...

... well... a fella can hope anyway! :)

Some of the Motivations I have for choosing to go the way of having an RV base camp...

1. Maintain reasonable long term Seclusion/Privacy/Solitude

2. A place with the lowest possible cost of living for a lengthy winter camp to address the significantly higher living costs that have risen the last couple of years. The idea being if we can cut the winter costs sufficiently and possibly even generate a bit of additional income (I have a couple of ideas for that) it would allow our summer travels to continue unhindered.

3. A place that would simplify longer lay ups for major repairs/maintenance or even heal up from possible injury or sickness.

4. An RV base camp to act as a plan B/alternative if  "something" unexpected happened that would force an end, or at least a heavy reduction of our wandering ways.

5. An "Off Grid", Self Reliant, RV Homestead sort of layout.

6. Lowest Cost possible in all areas. Initial land purchase, construction, and ongoing expenses.

7. Allow the use of our existing and road weary (frame and suspension) fiver to be used as the winter housing while acquiring/building/creating/setting up a lighter, more economical to drive summer Travel Rig. We'd like to have a lighter rig for those summer circles. My ambition is something that puts us more into the landscape in the way my Motorcycle does... without quite the same amount of austerity required! :)

As we do get into the actual work of our RV Home Base there's a few specific things I'll be working on and writing about;

1. Land acquisition and sitework
2. RV Port/Ramada Roof to shelter the fiver.
3. Paved and covered patio
4. Auxiliary Lodge Room Living Space to include a secondary bathroom and laundry room
5. Fresh Water system to include;
       a. Filtration
       b. Rain water collection and storage
       c. Supplemental Water Hauling from a community well (eliminate the cost/risk of our own well)
6. Waste Water systems
       a. Grey water
       b. Composter toilet to eliminate use of water for flushing
7. Lowest cost / self reliant living space heat and cooling systems
8. Redeployment of the existing onboard Solar power system to the Ramada roof and a likely expansion

... and a few other projects I'll save for future posts and the website!

Still Scheming... So What's New?
Brian

Lessons, Miles, Nascar, Pumpkins, Aspen Gold and Home Base Cogitations

It's been a summer of education I guess... One of those deals where you try to adjust to life around you... and you trip.

'cause that's one of the tricks the "system" uses to herd you slowly back in. It's like pushin' cows. There's some of 'em, when they make a break from the herd and run for the rocks and timber; If you run straight at 'em to turn 'em back it just pushes them old sows to run all the harder... and more times than not, she'll run right over the top of you.

The trick is to just kind of run along with 'em for a bit and slowly apply the pressure until they give... and then slowly they'll yield and turn back toward the herd.

This "system" we're afflicted with does the same damn thing. It applies the pressure and ever so slowly you move away from the pressure, and without even thinking about it... you find yourself right back where you started asking; "What the Hell?"

This summer has been that sort of a deal... We thought to change our way a bit and slow down to save money... the end result was the opposite and a move away from OUR way and toward IT'S way...

Yeah... well... :) It (That Beast I despise so much) poked too hard... It came straight at me and then failed to keep me off a 2000 mile circle on the Motorcycle. Now, THAT is gar-uhn-TEED to blow a man's head clear and purify his priorities for a bit...

Foolish move for the Beast to make, considerin' I got a few years of experience of knowin' about herding and such. :)

This comin' winter, I haven't any sort of an idea how it's gonna get done but we're... uh ... I... am planning a pretty good refitting of our way of going. I'm gonna adjust us to our realities but in a way that defends and supports the things we admire... while keepin' the grasping fingers out of our pockets as much as is possible.

It's our (my) plan to set up a 'minimalist', winter base camp in some secluded Arizona spot using the existing fiver as the core of the setup.

Once that's done, or at least well started (and as we're working) I'll be keepin' my eyes open for some sort of an opportunity to acquire, setup, build, create or otherwise conjure up the lighter, more economical... closer to the "In the Wind" nature of my motorcycle of a Travel Rig that we'll run with into the future.

Come spring, we'll either have succeeded in refitting into the smaller, lighter travel rig for the seven months give or take of annual drift-about... ride-about... walk-about or whichever ya'll wanna call it; Or we'll haul the fiver for another season until we can accomplish that task.

The setup is gonna be off grid, as self reliant as is possible... and Freedom Based.

With that in mind I'm thinkin' of an area in Arizona where the annual precipitation is generally sufficient, that with a little thought and sweat, a large if not total % of the water needs can come from rainwater collection and storage.

Once I get this started, of course, I'll be erecting another whole section of the Main Website showing how we went about it... I'm looking forward to it!... and that's how I'm confronting the financial realities we're facing.

I'm droppin' a rope over that bulls horns and draggin' that squealin', snortin', fightin' bovine right directly where I want him to be! 

So, in the meantime we're making our last few circles of the season here in Colorado 'fore we pull for the Races in Avondale. We've got our schedules and we'll go to driving for NASCAR again ;) come the 7th or so of November.

Anyhoo, down by Longmont there's a place called Anderson Farms where they've set up a seasonal thing, mostly for the kids...

*Pumpkin Silo at Anderson Farms*

We met the kids... ours and the grandkids for a mid day thing there a couple of days ago.

I was a little disappointed by the false advertising right as we entered the gate...

 

I waited across the way for nigh on to twenty minutes! ... and NOPE... not a drop of Espresso or even the free Pup EVER showed up! It's just not right to promise such things and then not deliver!

*Prepping For NASCAR at Anderson Farms*

Heidi loaded lil' Jillian into one of the pedal carts to start warming up for her driving duties coming up down in Arizona... She's gonna have to toughen up a bit... I don't think two laps is gonna cut it down there! :)

and I sure feel bad for my Daughter... She's got a genuine Prima Donna in Development comin' along.

They had this cherried out Ol' Ford set up for taking pictures on the bed...

But... Can't you just see this sweet old rig haulin' a restored airstream?

Or... maybe a custom carved fifth wheel to fit the "Time"?

... with maybe a cummins stole out of an Old... say... '99 Dodge?

How Sweet a lil' rig would THAT be? :)

The kids had other places to be in the afternoon so we took 'em out into the field to pick their Punkins ...

'Fore they rolled south and we turned north...

Yesterday, we took probably our last chance to make a day trip up into the Red Feather Lakes area... We'll be haulin' toward the desert come next Tuesday or so...

*Heart Rock*

There's work to get done for us to be ready to roll... so I'd better get to it... and we gotta decide... Zion or New Mexico? ;) It's always a tough decision to make; Which way do we roll?

Generally it don't get made until we get to the second or third stop sign and a choice HAS to be made. ;)

Livin' Life and Makin' it Happen
Brian

Back from the Ride... and Back to My To Do List!

Finished up the Motorcycle Tour last evening. Ended up at exactly 2012 miles... How weird is that?

*Just a few miles from "Home" coming down the Poudre Canyon*

I'll be posting the daily updates from the ride on Ribbon of Highway for the next few days. It turned out that the WiFi along the way didn't coincide with the road I was wandering too awful well... I guess I should just keep relying on that verizon 4G LTE air card for a few more days. :)

We'll be hanging along the front range for a few more days. Heidi has a trial to do in another week or so, I've go plenty of maintenance issues to take care of... as well as writing to do...

... and some time needs to be spent cogitating about finances for the future... 'cause to put it bluntly... they is kinda ugly! ;)

Income down... expenses up (food, fuel, maintenance/repairs, her medical insurance ~ I thought a recent law was supposed to have put a lid on that part?) guess they were wrong... hmmmm....

So... bottom line, some how some way, things are gonna have to change a bit... 'cause I'm a firm believer that 2+2 equals 4.... and lately... for us... 2+2 has been tallyin' up to somewhere around 3! :) and runnin' a deficit don't work for cowboys any better than it works for Bigger outfits. :) eventually comes crunch time...

While it is my tee total intention to keep up my wandering ways... I'm gonna have to exercise a lil' discipline... makes you think of your mommas hair brush don't it? ;) ... and get back to some genuine steady workin' unless I perfect how to live on air first. You can only cut the beans and Ramen in half so many times. :)

Our NASCAR job is coming up the second week of November. A few of Heidi's Jewelry pieces have been selling through a Gallery just outside of Zion National park... and the books are still selling though not jumping off the electronic shelf... so there's a promise here and there... But I better get to it so I'm out in front of the train rather than under the wheels! :)

Since there's plenty to be doin'... guess I better get after it

Do Do Doin'...
Brian

A little RV'n Biker Cowboy News...

I sorted out the laptop glitch that kept me from updating on my MC blog... I posted up a fresh post of the first days' happenings this morning... le's see... that was three days ago ;)

Three days and 1070 miles in the Wyoming wind, and Idaho Smoke... and I've discovered... I'm as stubborn as ever... just not as young as I once was... though I Maintain I'm as purty as ever... Leastways if you favor bent up Ol' Pussgut Biker Cowboy's with bad attitudes, high ideas and lil' self editing! ;)

Later girls... I gotta get the scooter loaded and get on down the road a ways...

Bikin' Buster is In the Wind
Brian

Come Another Sunrise...

... and I'm putting my knees in the wind for a week or so...

The Raider is sitting outside waiting... the Tank is full, my gear is packed, and come the morning I'll ride.

Updates are unsure but will be posted over on Ribbon of Highway, either by Smartphone emailed to the blog when I have signal or by my lil' acer laptop if there happens to be a McDonalds or a Starbucks along the way for WiFi. :) ... and it don't go dead from lack of an electrical plug for it on the bike! ;)

I'll see the regular readers back here... when I get back here! In the meantime I'm goin' Yamaha Motorcycle Boondocking! Which is still an RV ;)  It just has fewer wheels and a hell of a lot more personality and Whistlin' Joy built into it.

Gone on a Rideabout
Brian

Under Construction...

Trip... stumble... THUMP! ... ouuuuuuuch.

Yeah... Payin' poor attention, I backed into the hole I try to warn ever'body else about... just another futile attempt at tryin' to ward off the encroaching hoard of gimme bugs.

In spite of my counsel to others that; when confronted by a welfare/entitlement soh-sigh-uh-tee... it's best... just like when confronted by death... to just walk off from it, I picked my foot up, and stupidly stepped right square into the center of the cow pie.

Trying to communicate with the bus drivers for that crowd is like trying to ride a bronc cross country without a saddle; It rubs sores on a man's soul.

I feel like the deer that's accused of selfishness for pulling his leg away from the wolf that's chewin' on it... "If you were a good deer you'd want to contribute to soh-sigh-uh-tee... so quit kickin'... and hand me that other leg."

Like a corral full of horses, ever' once in a while you gotta scrape out all the crap that's accumulated. If a fella wants to breathe fresh air he ain't gonna get it sittin' on top of a cesspool.

Looking toward the horizon I can see a lot of torn up trails and toll roads ahead. There's always a way around such obstacles. Roadblockers just ain't bright enough to cover all the trails. That and they mostly ain't got the guts to ride the rough country. A guy just has to take a care for his tires and the fuel in the tank.

I'll be spending the next few weeks cleaning out my packs and jettisoning those thoughts and ideas that just don't help a man these days. Moldy gear has a way of spreading the contamination to good gear so I'll watch for signs of rot and cut it out. While I'm scrubbin' and cleaning I'll look for the places the rats can get in to chew on my goods and seal up those holes as best I can to protect what's left from those vermin...

Maybe I'll keep a nice sized piece of hickory close to hand. I hear the noise of a rat workin'; and WHACK! ... one less rat.

I've realized that engaging in conversation with political whores is unlikely to provide a fella with much in the way of inspirational integrity or clarity of thought... so ... like an addict goin' off Skag cold turkey, both forms of politics are on the pile outside waitin' on the trash truck.

Both forms? Think about it... If I have to explain it, you won't understand.

The future? That's what I'm settin' about reconstructing. At least my own up close and personal long lonesome road. While excluding all those philosophies and deceitful arrogance of proselytizing, political, entitlement parasites that's sitting out on the trash heap.

I believe I'll get back to hunting the ways a life that can be lived with liberty, art, literature, photography (as soon as I'm able to replace my cameras), fellowship, creativity, curiosity, and a heavy reliance on individual responsibility...

With... Motorcycle tours, cogitating on the logistics of building winter camps,  thoughts on realistic minimalism, writing and finding ways a person can produce; through a creativity that feeds the soul and not just the "wallet"; what they need as they need it... rather than the current carnivorous "approved" way of throwing your life into someone else's grinder and hoping you're allowed to have a bit of the production when it comes out the other end... along with all the other pursuits I named, there's no shortage of things to keep myself occupied in the absence of that Trash Pile.

You might say I'm putting a Copyright on my life. If it ain't yours... you can't use it without my permission. ;) Ain't it curious that you have the Right to restrict and control the use of a book... But NOT your life?

Ah... the air is clearer already.

Still tryin' to get loose for a Cool Out ride... not unexpected, but still sudden, battery issues appeared yesterday... have to diagnose 'fore I can feel steady enough to twist the throttle and ride... Hopin' for tomorrow or Saturday.

Brian
Copyright 1952-2012

With a Foot in Two Worlds...

RV and Motorcycle... Truth is... maybe even three... I'm pretty much a split personality... Much of the time I work at keeping #3...  the uh ... political critic chained up... Since the world and the greatest majority of the people in it pretty much refuse to learn from their history... spending any time stewing about it is an exercise in frustration construction... and me being pathologically stubborn ... lettin' that student of soh-sigh-uh-tal history critic get unchained is NOT a trail to peace and tranquility.

So... with his chains snugly welded... A few details gotta get locked down before I can ride out for a solo motorcycle camping circle.

Got the bike serviced up yesterday... that's always a bit of an ordeal. Modern Motorcycles are built kinda like the new cars. Wires and tubes all tangled together and stuffed into a confined space with the most frequently accessed parts... ALWAYS... on the bottom; in ways that only make sense to disgruntled MIT graduates who are bent out of shape cuz they got passed over for that nuclear submarine interior decorator position...

Likely get set back a lil' today. I've got some chores that need to be done before I ride but they all involve working and moving a lot of stuff around... outside ... which is kinda tough to do when it's raining. Boo Hoo... Wouldn't hurt me real bad... but getting electrical parts wet is not the best way to achieve a calm and serene spirit.

So I'll try and lock up the jobs today that can be done without rain interfering... and hope for sun tomorrow to button up the rest of my preps.

Once I roll I'll be posting on Ribbon of Highway... That's likely to happen Friday or Saturday.

Just another day in paradise...

I'm off to my chores
Brian

Gearing Up for a Raider Ride-About...

Our summer of spiraling around Colorado  has swung us back, one more time, to Fort Collins. (for yet another of those difficult and often risky "Town" trips... yuck). After another week in the rapidly approaching fall up in the high country over labor day with some friends we had to came back here...

...To attend a three year old's birthday party ;) ... and I'm trying hard to gear up for an end of summer Raider Ride-about...

I'd planned a couple of long rides this summer... but events kinda took control and derailed that wish. How-some-ever... me being the obstinate, grumpy, puss gut that I am... Cryin' "Uncle! just ain't my way."

... less it be a psy ops trick as a I call out "Uncle" to Ol' Murph' ;)  while I wait in ambush behind a tree...

... with a four foot chunk of Hickory in my hands!

So... we've returned to the scene of the crime... for to make all those things happen. Security here has been "modified" so I'm not too concerned about that... I've got a couple of days of scrambling to do some maintenance on the scooter...

... and then as is typical with this drifter... Plan is to throw a leg over, twist the throttle and ride... for a few thousand miles of Knees in the Wind, Motorcycle Heaven, giggling JOY! :)

... with, of course... alllllmost enough dinero to make the trip! :)

Yup... leaving one more time with only part of the necessary green to complete the journey. LOL! How's that for faith, huh? :) I've always found a way in the past and I don't expect to go changin' much at this late date.

Rough outline is I'd like to head North a bit... Maybe even as far as Lolo pass then turn hard west and shake rattle and split the wind to the coast! Turn south for a bit and hook back through Arizona and Utah to link up with herself and the rig in Fort Collins...

I'll have to take a look-see at the coin in my pocket and expectations and choose an appropriate road once I get rollin'... assuming more trees don't fall on me 'fore I get astraddle...

As soon as Heidi does her last dog trial of the season in Denver at the end of the month, we'll start our slow October migration south back to the Arizona Desert... and with a lil' bit of luck begin our search for a good RV Winter Camp location to start working that project...

Once I climb on the bike I'll be posting on my "Ribbon of Highway" Motorcycle blog... that's one of the links over on the side bar...

Soon to be Splittin the Wind
Brian

Take the RVing Past... Mix in a Pinch of Financial Reality...

... Temper in the political windstorm that surrounds us all... and slog out of the dust cloud on our new and adventurous RV Boondocking road.

Cindy asked in a comment the other day; "What Century Would I have chosen to be born in?" ... I'd have to say, all things considered, I'd have found being a grown man somewhere around 1815 to be my best chance of finding the "Best" fit... How-some-ever, the time is not the only part of my Vision. The particular place on earth is as big a part of the fantasy... I'd have chosen to be Just a Man, Free on the Earth... in the Shining Rocky Mountains...

Yup... I'd be riding with Colter and Bridger! :)

Why? Because it was a time where the spreading blight of human population had not yet consumed all the Free and Open lands. The space still existed for a man to be able to live in a world where he could exercise the laws of Nature and Conscience... and NOT be bludgeoned by the hypocrisy of political civilization. The open spaces still existed where Civilized Mankind could not yet impose its arrogant claim of ownership of every damn grain of sand on earth... and every soul living on that sand

But... that's a Castle in the Sky, for which to my knowledge, there ain't a way to build any foundations under. So, I've got to deal with the real and present dangers... While still keeping some part of that Castle alive in the reality of my road... Hell, maybe that is the foundation under the castle...

Maybe the foundation I seek is, finding a way to shield my life from the brutal hungers of the megalomania that contaminates soh-sigh-uh-tee.

I said it way back in the beginning when we were stepping off; After a couple of years we'll look at where we are and where our ambition leads us and rough out our new road then.

The philisophical, political and financial realities that I've been sorting through for months... um ... years? ;) has finally broke out of the dark of the black timber to where I can see how our RV Boondocking trail lays through the miles ahead.

The way we (I) like to go yondering, filtered through the financial realities and keeping the flexibility to deal with "worldly" realities in the mix; we'll be working on the pieces and parts of our continuing Wandering Journey over the coming year... and barring a total crash and burn event this winter, we'll make some significant progress along our road in the coming months...

The way were gonna go is not some sort of radical new cowboy fabrication... just... our own variation of an old way. 

I'm gonna divide the year into two seasons... There'll be the yondering, rideabout RV travel season and the slow down of winter camp.

The current prospect area to find a place to erect our RV winter camp is some secluded piece of dirt between Bouse... north of Quartzsite and Ash Fork... west of Flagstaff.

The setup will be carved out in an off grid/autonomous sort of layout. Over the years I've collected designs for water systems, composter systems, solar/wind power, wood heat, RV chalet modifications, and even some zero power input cooling technology!

Using our old Fiver as the core of the camp we'll add in a lodge room using parts of the RV Chalet ideas, and then add a lighter Travel Rig for the Yondering Season.

The division of time I'm guessing will run from something around November through March for winter camp and April through October for the Summer circles and Raider Rideabouts.

Having a light travel rig will allow plenty of short winter circles as well... leastways if I can pull herself out of the stone grinding shop in Quartzsite!

Just Scheming Along
Brian

Out Where the Views Are Far...

Back to the wild country where I belong...

Aw there's wilder... but for a camp, this'll do. Long views out my window and the clear pure air of the high up and free. Just a few steps from the door of my rig... is unadulterated High Lonesome.

... and the other way should I choose... is a ribbon of asphalt that my bike rolls me along... against the wind.

Seems like half my lil' quips lately are the titles of great songs. LOL. I s'pose good music and good pictures/videos are the crutches that, along with my bike, are the treasures that keep me "runnin' against the wind" :)

Some folks go to a fancy building where some black robed interpreter can sell 'em his version of the future to boost their spirits. Me? I go up here where I can speak with the Boss directly without the distorted language of the middleman... out here the "words" are plain. They don't get lost in the "noise" of civilization and there's no confusion of my understanding...

*The Rabbit Ears... which used to be the "Bears Ears"*

The air is crisp... the rain is ... uh... often! ;) and what you look out and see and hear is real. There's no deceit in this land. It is what it is. It's life and death and beauty between germination and ashes...

... and almost every direction are the mysterious, glorious blue mists of the distant future to keep you rolling on.

Though some lil' guys around here who don't have the prospects of far travels to escape the cold of the coming season of hunger, seem to be sulking a lil' bit at their immediate future...

The only camera we've got left is a lil' wounded. Has a faulty battery box and some misbehaving programs in it... but... if I hold my ears right and hum the right frequency it seems to function... if it'll just hold on a mite more... till I collect the beans to replace those lost to the lesser elements of society...

It's a clear and cloudless sky this morning... we'd better get out in it 'fore the afternoon storms roll in...

Raising Spirits in the High Country
Brian

Hey! The Sun is Rising... Hurry up! There's Not A Moment to Lose...

Each moment is so precious... Don't waste one...

Life is so short... and with so many working so hard to deceive and divert your passion and energy into service to their ambitions it's easy to lose your way... It's easy to get herded away from your own journey.

It often seems you're lost in a world of terrorism, economic decay, political deceit... like your feet are caught in the mud and you're trapped... can't get loose.

That feeling comes from the mind games they use to do their herding... Don't let 'em do it! Turn on your selective hearing. Turn off their twisted noise...

...Step outside... climb on your motorcycle and Laugh at the rain!

It takes a making a conscious Internal inventory on a regular basis to catch yourself getting diverted onto one of those misdirected trails. Switch on your PBS Detector... Catch 'em at their game and be a bunch quitter! Separate yourself from those slogging along the trail in an obedient herd. (*PBS Detector - Personal Bull Shit Detector)

Laughter and the sort of Joy that sends the tears streaming down your face under a blue clear sky; walking the beach on a bright morning as sudden four foot surf sends you laughing up onto a drift wood log scrambling to escape... THAT is what life is about. Joy, Unrestrained by guilt trips imposed by soh-sigh-uh-tee is the only justifiable reward for courage, honor, integrity and dignity.

But such joys are expensive. They will cost you effort. They take risk. They take turning against the tide and putting aside convention... It takes courage to win...

But oh Lordy... when they are achieved... When you fall a half dozen times before you finally break out on the crest... They are worth every soul quivering moment of doubt that you fought your way through.

The brightness in your eyes, the sheer joy that fills your lungs is beyond description... It renders you uncontrollable by their BS... and is why they struggle so hard to obstruct.

Security... safety... conformity... Those are synonyms to me... ugly synonyms that stand for Prison, Chains and the flaccid submission of an obedient serf.

I despise the thought of a person living in that world... It rips my heart and soul.

For me, I've found good visuals help an awful lot to catch my balance after all that dreary crap knocks me flat... When I feel lost and adrift... The right vision can blow away the fog of fear the masters trip a guy up with...

Seek out those who grip fear by the throat and laugh...

"Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose to live with no regret."
     ~ Alexander Polli




I've found one of the best ways to reinvigorate my ambition and energy is find some of these young fellas... They can't help but give a wanderer a renewed appreciation for Living Life!

Seek out your inspiration... grab on tight... and hang on for the ride! HooYa!

Then walk to the edge (where ever your edge is)... take a deep, quivering breath... stick your foot out into nothing... and step off! :)

...and then fine... You can blame it on me if people think you're a giggling idiot! :)

Ready for the Next Page...
Brian