The Melancholy of Another Leaving

Cora and CJ were loaded and hauled away yesterday...

*** Cora and CJ... loaded and leaving :( ***

I got all loaded and hitched up this afternoon... and I'll roll away with the coming dawn.

***an empty corral is a lonesome thing***

With my round pen standng melancholy and empty I need to be gone from here.

Maybe I'll come back in the winter... we shall see.

No plans really past the next few weeks.

***The rig is loaded and hitched***

 Felt very off balance and strange last night. I saw the time and jumped up and was outside... heading over to feed before it registered that I didn't have that any more...

Just a few short weeks ago it was all so different... Just two days before I busted my shoulder up... The light after the latest storm was so bright and hopeful on the Chiricahuas... The horses were coming along so good... I was going to climb on Cora in the next couple of days... then WHAM!

***Just a month ago***

Here it is a month past that now... and past the transmission blow up... My Horses are gone and I'm hitched up again and rolling off into whatever comes...

Last nights sunset was so soft and quiet... the tears were running... I need to be away from here right now but I'll miss it... and all the hopes I had for this place.

I'm going up to a camp I use on the Tonto, and cool out a few days... then roll on way far north to Cheyenne. A bad place to be in February. There's a weather window I may just slide through... The VA is pulling me in for another Thing...

Last summer when I let them run their test... I knew... I KNEW it was a bad idea. It's messing with things that are better left alone. If it ain't broke don't fix it...  It's like I jumped out onto a slippery slope. Now I can't seem to get rid of doctors and mechanics... meh...

 I don't hear no fat lady singin'... so I guess it ain't over.

- Brian

We're Leaving... Again

The "plan" is tomorrow... but as always with such doin's... after a long stay anywhere the leaving often turns out to be like a boat trying to pull anchor... and the anchor is stuck.

Most of the chores we had planned have gotten done... some ain't... but I got no "Time" left to stay here! I swear... If I had to leave the road and stay on the Front Range... I'd not last a season.

Whatever I had that let me live along through here for so many years is gone! There's just too many people... to much commotion... Too Many People... noise and... did I already say "Too Many People?"

One of the big "difficulties" that has to be dealt with when leaving time comes is the phenomenon known as "PPM".  (Personal Property Migration)

The distance and diversity of the movement of possessions within and around an RV multiplies in geometric proportion to the length of the stay. In addition, the volume swells at an accelerating pace.

So... each time you stay "Too Long" in one place the stuff not only travels to the furthest point that it can from it's storage point... but it breeds. Stay in one place too long and you create packing problems when you go to leave.

"Where'd we pack this the last time?"

"No where... we didn't HAVE that the last time!"

So... Today and the first part of tomorrow will be spent trying to herd the junk that was here before... back to its "Road Home"... and... finding a "Road Home" for any new junk that has joined the caravan.

... and then... we'll be hauling for a Boondock Roost in Wyoming's Wind River Mountains... At least that's the "Plan"... We shall see where we Actually land.

Getting Ready to Get Back Where I belong
Brian

How Many Leavings?

We've been here for more than three weeks now, patiently waiting to break into our welders schedule and complete the re-repair of the fiver.

He got the pieces and parts cut and formed over the last week. Last evening he began burning the metal to restore the Eagle to road worthiness.

In the meantime... in amongst all my other lil' chores, we've been culling a few more things off the rig. Which is kinda funny considering the comment Mark/Box Canyon Blogger made yesterday. (he advised to keep the rig we have... and just lighten the load and cull down to the Necessities!) That is, maybe, the most difficult part of working to get into this lifestyle... The discarding of all those precious possessions. (that just aren't that precious!)

You can talk about it. You can say THIS is what I must do. You can head off down that trail with a pocket full of good intentions. It's a rare individual who can actually get it done in one, ruthless run. Most of US (I'm takin' full responsibility here!) though we KNOW it's the right and proper thing to do... just can't bring ourselves to chuck that left handed widget winder... even though we KNOW... we will NEVER... EVER, use it again... at least not on the first 'sort' of property... maybe the second or third? ;)

The thing is... I'm tellin' myself here, as much as I'm telling anyone else... IF... I ever did need that left handed widget winder... I can pick up a new one at Harbor Freight... for likely HALF of what it's costing us to store that last never-to-be-used-again pile of precious Junk! :) So, if you're wondering, dump it! It can be replaced!

So anyhoo... come early next week, we'll be coming to another Leaving. Kinda strange. It's not as intense as the first one, but still, though the feeling may be a bit less, it's still a feeling of anticipation, excitement... the feeling of Going Home.

I got to wondering, how many Leavings does a man have in him? Will he come to the point when it becomes stale and tasteless? or, will there Always be that sense of stepping off into the unknown? Can he enjoy at least some flavor of excitement, always?

I'm hoping so... It is such a treasured thing for me yet. After all the Leavings in my life, over these many years... I still, know that same feeling of being able to take a "full breath"... when I've broke the chains that held me static.

It is a feeling of contentment... of.. Being where I belong.

I expect that most people in the world can't understand or comprehend that restlessness. They have some goal in mind. Something they want to achieve. They think in terms of getting somewhere. They think in terms of familiarity...

They just can't grasp the goal of fellas like me...

I don't want to GET... anywhere... I only want to GO.

Getting Ready, One More Time... to Get Up and GO
Brian

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

West Bound and Down... Loaded Up and Truckin'...

Well... OK, not quite yet... but we will be shortly :o) rolllin' the rig on into the unknown. Unknown to us anyway.

This Leaving... has got me to thinkin' 'bout things... again...

I'm pretty much a collection of walking talking contradictions... Don't want a laid out life... I Like not knowing what's around the next bend... wondering what's comin' up...  feeling like I still have choices... but I'm really uncomfortable with surprises... I like people... but too many of 'em at one time and eeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkeeesssss! I pull my hair out... and uh that dome, if ya'll ain't noticed, is shiny and hairless these days! ;o)

I don't like doing much of anything with the thought that it's For the Money... but what can I say... the things money can yield a guy... well... I'm not giving up my Motorcycle... Uh Uh... THAT... ain't happenin'!

I was asked a week or so ago, where I'd settle if I did again... "Where's your favorite place?"... I couldn't answer... "Yellowstone has always been a... but wait... Glacier country is fine... but... Lake Ponderay is right up their with the Olympic Penninsula... and... it's awful beautiful in the Tonto Basin..." ....

I'm frugal by nature... but... true to my Cowboy Roots...If I've got a dollar bill, I spend it! :o

Aw hell, I could go on for most of the day... I had a point here somehwere...uh...

Oh Yeah... I got to thinkin' 'bout what it is... that makes me hunger for wanderin', that pushes me away from things I value... I've got family in one place... very good friends in another... all of who I miss... painfully... when they're not around...

...so why the urge to roll?

I wonder if I'll ever, really, have that answer... or if I'll always be runnin' from one Itch... to the next? :o) and hopin' to find the salve that soothes 'em all at the same time.

... am I just shallow, fickle, and indecisive? ...Greedy and wanting it all? Eat my cake and have it too?

... or... maybe it's that... that constant itch... somewhere... Is the Thing that keeps all those pieces in perspective...That being away from the things I value highest... keeps them from becoming common and unappreciated... Keeps their Value to me in Sharp Focus... by their absence?

Dang... that almost sounds like that Old line... something about; "Why are you pounding on your foot with a hammer?"... answer: "because it feels so good when I stop!" :o)

... Is a Gypsy like me some sort of a Mobile Masochist? :o) geeze!... I hope not... I like to think I've got a shinier motivation than that!

The unanswerable question? well... it'll have to wait... Cuz... it's time to finish loading the rig, get hitch up and see if I can find Burro Creek!

We're needful of gettin' back on the road... Itchy ya know...

Back out there, followin' my Nose... Huntin' for the Answers to Questions I've not Asked Myself Yet!
Brian

Do You Still Have Weekends When You're RV Full Timing?

So yesterday was Saturday, right? End of the week... or Somewhere near to it... but does "Weekend" even mean anything... When you've changed ever'thing up and gone Full Time RV Boondocking?

I mean... it's pretty much a situation where, pushed way deep down, in the back of your mind is this tiny lil' dread that it Will End. That all good things must come to and end... and there's a tiny lil' part of you that sits waiting for the other shoe to drop... a tiny lil' part I keep well battered and beat down... Shut Your Pie Hole Murphy! :o)

... So, at least from where I sit... a fella doesn't really want to bring up Endings too much! :o)

How-some-ever... some endings aren't too awful hard to take...

Yesterday Morning Heidi and the dogs went for a long hike... something better than 6 miles on the GPS program on her Droid Smart Phone... While I tried to be a good button puncher and get some work done. Figures it would be when I didn't go along...

Along the way they saw a pair of Desert Bighorns on the back side of the mountain to our south... 'course the thing she forgot to drop in her pack, was a camera.

So, in the late afternoon, we strolled up to see if maybe they were still in the neighborhood... If they're still there, they kept themselves well hidden...

We went where she'd seen 'em in the morning... hoping, with little confidence, they'd still be there, and maybe just getting up for supper...

... but nope... No Bighorns... I suppose, dry as this country is, they have to keep moving pretty steady to not overgraze their territory.

I don't know where they water around here, though I guess they only need to get to water every three days or so... maybe longer...

We'll try again... the Sheep are of the sort that moves around pretty much all the time... sleep a while... graze a while... then take another nap... Hmmm... kinda like a lot of RVers I've seen! :o)

Turned back toward camp, without finding the Bighorns, as we were losing daylight... and I really didn't want to try to find my way across the Desert in the dark... Trailblazer that I am! :o)

Nice quiet evening for a stroll...

... Then, getting back to camp just before dark, and sitting in camp under the awning... sippin' an ice cold LandShark... the ending of a day in the Desert isn't something to complain about...

The ending of our time here near Quartzsite is coming near though. We're not really wanting to leave... but... even RV Boondocking, there are commitments you sometimes have to make...

... and our Commitment has been pushed up a couple of days too.

Got a call from the NASCAR people... some hours have been added to my schedule, Heidi has to work Monday morning the 21st... and I have a few hours of training on Saturday the 19th... so we have to leave this boondock camp on this coming Friday... to move to PIR in preparation for our week of employment...

So... though we'd like to stay here near Bouse for a while longer... the quiet and calm here on the Desert is food for a mans soul... the food for a mans diesel tank takes greenbacks... and our upcoming week at PIR is gonna produce enough of those to supply our diesel tank with enough food for something like 20% of this summers ALASKA II Journey! So... we go! :o)

I'm curious... if you've kept a camp for nigh on to a month, and we came to this Desert Country around Quartzsite and Bouse back on the 19th of January, is that long enough to qualify as another Leaving?

We're looking forward to what's coming up, both PIR and Alaska II... but we're kind of melancholy 'bout leaving this camp... It's been quiet and good... rewarded by the pace that has us finding the beauty in soft Desert Sunsets, the gravel under our feet... like the Turquoise in yesterdays post, and knowing, at least for now... the chains to the treadmill are cut... (You'll hear me squealin' like a pig, should they try to clamp 'em back on!)

Coming Close to Another Leaving...
Brian

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

A Cowboy Has to Ride... We'll be Back On The Road Around Mid Day...

Doin' one last morning of baby sitting Miss Jillian... or at least Heidi will be. I'll be gettin' the truck ready to roll for Sante Fe.

None to soon either. The cooperative weather is gonna quit tomorrow with another bit of snow. Missing that won't hurt my feelings at all. I'm ready to get back down where bad weather is measured in; "Oh Darn, I got to put a jacket on this morning."

Been a busy last week here. Especially considerin' I was supposed to already be sufferrin' through the soft winter back in Arizona again! :o)

Along with doing a rework on the Daughters Old sewing/craft room; that had got itself unintentionally mutated into a catch all junk room after the baby came along, I did some more of that Website Housekeeping I talked about a few days ago.

Part of that housekeeping was actually setting up a third site/blog... Yeah... I know... a glutton for punishment... but I'm trying to follow the guidance of fellers that are supposed to be smarter than me...

Yeah... OK... I know that ain't much of a challenge... when you're done with the horse laughin' and can catch your breath let me know... and I'll continue...........

......... Ok... Settled down now? :o)

Well, ever'body I talk to 'bout publishing and such says the same thing as one of the first things they say... No matter who you are, or how you're published; an indie publisher of ebooks or a guy that's got an agent and a traditional publisher, unless you're in the top couple of %, most of the promoting and marketing of your stories is gonna fall right square on you.

So... the first thing they say you have got to have is an Author Platform. So... I built one...

I got to feeling like I was confusing things 'round here, what with all the ebook stuff I was yakkin' on. THIS is supposed to be an RV Boondocking place... not a publishers platform... and that's what it'll be into the future... as I wander 'round on 12 wheels, gypsy living and spinnin' my yarns.

So... though there'll be links here... to my BK Gore author platform that linking is gonna be kept kinda low key... and I'll keep things RV 'round here...

If you wanted to take a look at my new writing/ebook blog that'd be sweet and much appreciated. It's not anywhere near done or complete, but you can let me know what you think... and if you have a yearning to keep up with what's goin' on in my writing journey that should be 'bout the best place to find out the up to date events... that's hopin' that there'll be any events to write about! :o)

Another one of those melancholy Leavings  comin' on today. We'll be pullin' south around noon. Have you ever heard that Ol' song; "Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys."? ... Much of what it says is the gospel...

Nobody... and few if any women understand 'em. We've got a gypsy itch that dwarfs that of most RVers. I mean... if we set in one place too long we don't just start itchin'... we get the wiggly quivers, we get morose... we get darn right testy! We get in a way that's just unpleasant to be around...

... and it's like the weather. It's comin'... you know it... we know it... and there ain't one dang thing either of us can do about it... You can control a Cowboy's personality like you can control the wind in Wyoming.

I see an Eagle soaring and I'm jealous. If I'm horseback in far country or rolling on the road somewhere, on the Raider... or the seat of the truck... or even standing in a boondock camp somewhere, I look up and smile; "Right there with ya buddy!"

... but... have me standing in the aisle of  a hardware store... sellin' plumbing parts to some individual who don't know PVC from "Oh say can you see"... and that dull, nauseous churning gets to wiggling, deep inside.

So... though part of me is Melancholy to be Leaving... I have to be honest... right beside that is a deep rooted Joy for a Cowboy Biker... that I truly don't have the words to do justice to. There are those of you, I think, who understand my affliction. To the rest I can only say what's often said in the motorcycle world...

If I have to explain it... you won't understand.

On the Road Again
Brian

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

Finally... THE .... LEAVING!

Finally... only 4 1/2 years in the making. After being whupped on with real estate catastrophe, financial termites and personal bungles... wrecked trucks, broken parts and tee total trying times...

 ... we have done it! The Eagle is on the Road. She has taken flight and is runnin' for her life... we have, finally, executed what we have long awaited... 

THE LEAVING! 

Broke, lame and needful of quiet times and far country... we loaded up long about noon yesterday and hauled Cowboy Butt for the mountains... Lookin' kinda like 21st Century Okies... what with stuff and motorcycles hangin' all over the rig! :o)

Apparently, the thumpin' I was handing out got the message across to the blockers and obstructors... They got out of my way... well, for the most part. :o)

Only... We didn't go far... just down to my Daughters place in Northglenn on the top side of Denver. Today we'll start working south/southwest... toward Mesa Verde I'm thinking... 

Am I feeling good? ... to tell the truth... No... It's too early. The last few years have been such a difficulty, and we've run against the wind so hard, for so long, and had so many expectations turned into manure... that... I can't say I'm very trustful of this 'situation' just yet! :o) I'll have to give it some time... and let the dust settle. :o)

Had one interesting incident on I-25 rollin' to Denver. A big, white, Ford F-450 pulled up alongside in the heavy, bumper to bumper traffic... For a minute I figured they were just checkin' out the bozo with all the motorcycles adorning his rig :o) ... and then he started tootin' his horn!

First thought in my head was; "Aw hell... what have I broke now that I can't see?" When I looked over the driver started hollerin' out his passenger window, but over the road noise of those diesels... my artillery ears couldn't make sense of what he was shoutin'... 

... so he tried a couple more times... and between reading his lips... and straining my ears... it finally got through... "I Read Your Blog!" :o) 

He sent me a message later via the facebook do hickey... that they were on a trip from South Carolina to Yellowstone... and were on their way home... He'd spotted the old flatbed dodge pullin' a "White" trailer... with TWO bikes... and "Had to speed up to see the Driver"... :o)

Now, think about this... they go all that way... thousands of miles... and our paths manage to cross in that little piece of highway we share for just a very little while... and he recognizes my old rig and manages to shout a "How Do" across the highway... What are the odds?

THAT, was pretty cool! :o) and a really nice way to soften a genuinely stressful day...

We are...

Wandering and Hunting Shining Times... 

Somewhere in the West

Brian

Whack! Whack! Pow! Crunch! .... THWACK!!!

"I Tol' you... You ugly, carnivorous,  pin eared Monkey!... I'm Goin!"... Thump! Bang! Ka-POW!

That is the sound of the Beast gettin' thoroughly battered and clubbed around the head an' shoulders... The sucker won't let me go! ... But we're Goin' anyway!

Sheesh! 4 and nearly a half years later! and they're still tryin' to trip me up... Hope they're good at dealin' with frustration... 'cause... take me off the fire... I'm DONE!

Those accountants dinkin' 'round with stuff don't look like they're gonna have it buttoned up 'till next week! Well guess what?... Next Week... Don't work for this agitated, exasperated, itchy and completely provoked, Cowboy Philosophizin', RVin' Biker!

So... using a hammer, a K-bar... an' a short length of Iron Pipe... I started in to educatin' and whackin' on that malicious Ol' Beast last night... there'll be a few more hours of thumpin' an' Bumpin' this morning... and then, as I've said before...

... We're gonna just take what we got, and Go on and Go if we're Goin'!

'Course... This final lil' brawl seems to be leaving a few fresh marks and scrapes on my hide... but, it's kinda like a battered Ol' Ranch truck... hard to tell the new ones... from what's already been there for some lil' while! :o)

So... while the Official LEAVING... won't be 'till sometime early? this afternoon... ya'll can just go ahead an' color me GONE if'n you want to!


The next post you get will be from somewhere, not too far off... but somewhere that ain't here... and the people where we've been shall be seein' nuthin' but Taillights!

Just Shortly Before THE LEAVING!
On The Road Again!
Brian

As The Leaving Approaches...

It's the eve... of our Leaving... or close to it... as always with me, loose ends that need tyin' up, have a way of poppin' up and draggin' things out..

Was hopin' for Wednessday... lookin' more like Thursday...

Remember that camera we busted some time back? Well, Nikon managed to repair it, supposedly, good as new... for a lot less than replacing it with new... and it's supposed to show up UPS, Wed. afternoon... and we're expecting the acct. fellas to have the tax junk done on Thurday... so... we drag our feet a bit...

Got the repair of the 7 way RV trailer connector done... Geeze... And I gotta admit it... I made it a LOT more difficult than it needed to be. I hadn't gone to the dealer to look for parts... 'cause Dealers are badly overpriced... Right?...

Well... Not so much! Having trouble sorting out the wiring layout of that plug, and failing to find a reliable "After Market" RV Connector... I finally gave in and went to a Dodge dealer, figuring I'd have to take it on the chin... and just buy the whole dang $115 harness... only... I didn't need the whole harness... just the broken Trailer Connector receptacle... and guess what?... They had just THAT , and it was only $27!

... and it just plugs right on... no fiddling with the wiring diagram required...

So all's good right? ... Not So Fast!... it's me we're talkin' about ya know... Yup... screwed that up too! Bein' in an all fired hurry over the weekend... I'd cut the male end of the harness off, that plugs into the back of the RV 7-way... to wire on an after market receptacle, only to run into "issues" trying to figure out how to put the 8 wires... into a 7 wire plug! AAAARRRRGH!

... and to keep things interesting... I'd cut those wires off Short... uh oh... now I gotta splice that plug back on... so I can install the New... Replacement Receptacle... which is all I needed in the first place, and would have been a five minute deal... had I pulled the reins on that "All Fired Hurry!"

Well, end of the story is... I... juuuuuust barely... had enough wire left to splice that plug back on... and it all works... so the moral is... stop and have a cup of coffee... and think about things some more... before you cut!... and if Cut you must... leave yourself enough wire so you can back up and repair the damage you did if necessary! :o) Whew! All's well that ends well...

And now... a word from our Sponsor... Namely... ME! :o) This is the hard part for me... the "Commercial" side of writing and makin' a living... but... since the store's round here won't take a picture of my purty self as payment for groceries... or Diesel... a fella has to swallow hard an' just do it... Right?

That fancy book I told you about? A Matter of Honor ? Well, I got the editing done... I got it loaded into my distributors system... and that story of a Genuine Western Hero is Published! HooYa! Just follow that link, if you're interested. It'll take you to my main Smashwords page where you can see it, as well as the other three ebooks I currently have floatin' around out there...

You can download a pretty fair sample of the story... and see if you'd like to spend the $ to find out... the Rest of the Story!

Well... the V Star is sittin' ready to be loaded up onto the Cowboy II Motorcycle Carrier... as soon as my help arrives, to twist the winch switch! so I better go make sure everything else is ready... 'cause I'm makin' another video... of actually loading a bike on my Cowboy Engineered Motorcycle Carrier! :o)

... starring... Yup... Me! uh... and the V Star of course. :o)

On the Eve of the Leaving...
Brian

Help keep goin' RV Boondocking...goin' RV Boondocking!
Have you enjoyed your visits to my camp? I sure hope so. If you'd like to see what else I've written, you can follow this Trail to my "Bookshelf". Just know that any purchases of my lil' books and tales, helps keep me following the Trails of my beloved American West, collecting stories and yarns to entertain you with... and are Much Appreciated.
Many Thanks!

Return to the Home  page of goin' RV Boondocking
Visit my "Ribbon of Highway"  Blog on the Lil' sister to this site, Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

Days of Stunning, Soul Searing Beauty... and the Birth of Friendships.

 About a week ago I said; "Maybe, we'll be lucky enough to not want to leave there either..." well, Damn!... Got my wish.

The road calls, I've got more of those infernal "Plans", pulling me onward, but this visit has been too short! To much more to see, so much more to say and share...

A man might be greedy enough to want more... but he'll never find finer Hosts than Mark and Bobbie... There's a pair that's welcome at my fire... any time... along with ever'body else who shared our "fire" this past week. Walden Steve, John Q, Margarethe, and Fisherman Sebastian!

Yesterday, as the visit was winding down, Mark and I likely found the source of the overheating on our Ol' Dodge , while Bobbie was up in the "Mine Shack"... showing Heidi that she Could Indeed Paint Watercolor!

In the evening, the five of us, John Q, Mark and Bobbie and Heidi and I,  enjoyed a fine, supper in town... followed by a sight seeing stroll around the big lil' city of Ouray.

A finer way to close out this celebration than That, I don't know. A pleasant stroll, talking, Joking, and laughing with the Old Friends we Just met! With the Water Fall that hangs above Ouray topping the scene.

These past days have proven, that though folks might come from different parts of the country, different parts of the World!... with each carrying views of things, nigh on to opposite, if their minds, and hearts are open and reaching... if they acknowledge and nurture the passion for Freedom, and the Right of a person to be the person they are, without judgment... the opportunity for great things still lives.

Mark and Bobbie... Thank You so Very Much... for Creating the Opportunity of this week, For showing us places we'd have never seen on our own... and for opening our eyes, and hearts... a lil' bit more!

 ... and now with the hope for Sunny Slopes ahead, and Shining Times behind... and the sorrow of another "Leaving"... Heidi and I have to roll...

Wandering the Great and Glorious West
Brian

Help keep goin' RV Boondocking...goin' RV Boondocking!
Have you enjoyed your visits to my camp? I sure hope so. If you'd like to see what else I've written, you can follow this Trail to my "Bookshelf". Just know that any purchases of my lil' books and tales, helps keep me following the Trails of my beloved American West, collecting stories and yarns to entertain you with... and are Much Appreciated.
Many Thanks!

Return to the Home page of goin' RV Boondocking
Visit my "Ribbon of Highway" Blog on the Lil' sister to this site, Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

FREEEEEEDOMMM! ...and... The Leaving!

Finally!... after three years plus of ups and downs on an emotional buckin' horse that has kicked my liver... We are Hitchin' up an' Leaving!

Buuuuut.... like they say; Freedom... isn't Free! and sometimes... it's just a plain Ol' Piece of Work!

Yesterday... which was supposed to be the day of final preparations... for today's Leaving... turned out to be a day of aaarrrrghhhh!... and more aaaarrrrrrgghhhhh!

First thing was that I'd made an appointment to get the wheel bearings packed... 'cause I'm too lazy to do that greasy crap my self! :o) ... so... Heidi was leavin' to go do some errands... and it takes both of us to get the slide started, cuz the motor is coming to the end of its' life I think...

So... I gave it a push while she hit the button... so I could have it "over the hump" and I could slide it in the rest of the way by my lonesome when I was ready... only... when I got to that point, and hit the  button...

Nuthin'! ... not a buzz, not a burp, a squeak or a groan... just... nuthin! aw, hell!

Well, I hit the button a couple times... bap bap bap... and the slide came rollin' in... but... thinkin' that the switch shoudn't be doin' that intermittent baloney... I went to pull IT out of the wall... and the sucker came apart in my hand!... Now I know That shouldn't happen!

Tracked down a switch while my 'guy' was maintaining the bearings... and put it in, once we hauled back here... hit the button to "test"... and of course it worked...

NOT!... Nope! Nuthin'! and here was some more... aaarrrrrrrggggghhh!

So... I go scramblin' 'round trying to diagnose what's wrong and where... only... I Ain't no ee-lek-trishun! ... in the process... I hot wired the slide motor to make certain sure it wasn't just tee total dead... and the slide slid... Ok... now what?

Well... scratchin' my head... I crawled out from under the rig and stood up... well... almost...

Ya see... I was still "Under" the rig... the corner of that partially slid slide nailed me in the middle of the back... and put me face down in the dirt... with 'bout a 2" hole in the hide on my back...

Can I say that there was a stream of Bad Words an' Dirty Names emanating from under the rig? and they were loud enough for Heidi to hear... might even have been a lil' blue smoke... so, hearin' what shouldn't be heard in gentle company... she come runnin' out to see what was the "issue"...

After I'd had 'nuff time to take the pressure off my spleen... and after I decided that the damage was a long way from my heart...and... that I was just too tough an ol' rooster for the silliness of First Aid... :o)

...We ended up with an emergency haul down to DM RV Repair in Loveland... where they found, in pretty short order, bad splices in the wall that had finally come apart... bad splices that Jayco had put in the wiring to the switch when they built the rig.

...and it only cost the price of hauling 60 miles an' an hours labor! :o) so, like they said; "Freedom isn't Free!" :o)

Today... as soon as I hit the Post button... we'll load up the lil' bit of stuff we were gonna get done yesterday, clean up our site here, and get on down the road... very, very... slowly!

Do ya think I'll flinch... when we hit the slide button today? :o)

Tonight... We'll be RV Boondocking... in the Colorado Rockies! Hoo! Ya!

Take Good Care
Brian

Return to the Home page of goin' RV Boondocking
Visit my "Ribbon of Highway" Blog on the Lil' sister to this site, Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

Share your experiences, Boondocking on Freedom Road with us!
... Your RV Destinations
...  Your Custom RV
...  Reader's RVing Tips
...  Reader's RV Recreation Activities

We're Comin' down to the wire... and The Leaving.

Thursday or Friday we pull out. I'm not planning on goin' very far, day one... or even day two!

I AM planning on getting the chains and tentacles of a cancerous system expelled from my Cowboy Brainpan in a rushin' hurry!

The biggest anchor, draggin' us back... draggin' me back... is worryin'...

Reading Box Canyon Blogger the other day, lit up a bell in my head... uh ... rang a light... uh ... Aw hell, ya'll
know what I mean...

Mark told of seein' a raggedy ass Ol' motorhome, smokin' and swayin' and waddling down the road... The kind of a rig most of us are CONDITIONED to be embarrassed to own or drive...

... and the "Light" came on, 'cause I've had thoughts like that... 'bout our current truck... and the wear and tear on our Ol' Jayco... and the punishment of the last few years...

When Mark told of passing 'em... and seein' the Old Couple inside, laughin' an' LIVIN' on the seat of that Old Rig... Bong! went the thought!

It ain't about the "STUFF"... I've said it often enough.  Maybe I don't pay enough attention to my own words... hmmm... seems I've said That too! :o)

It Ain't about the "STUFF".

It's About LIVING!

So... Worryin' is the tool this soul crushing system uses as its' biggest weapon to prevent Freedom Lovin' Folks from escaping from its grasping, decieving ways.

Worry 'bout the bills, worryin' 'bout our possessions... worry about what "Other" people think... Worry 'bout "Being useful"... yadda yadda yadda... makes me sick... literally.

They got us all worryin' so much... that they even found a way to sell us pills to make all the damn "Worrying"... Hurt less!

'course... all that worryin' and all the things it leads us into... is how that nasty Ol' beast makes its nickle from
us... The 'Beast' creates the problem... and then sells us the remedy!...

When all that is really required... is to develope our "Vision"... If we can learn to see the "Problems" the Beast creates, for the sole purpose of its own profit... we can simply... Not Participate in the Scheme! and walk away from the "problem"... in the first place. :o)

So... THAT... is gettin' left behind... as quick as I can find all its bits and pieces... and carve 'em out of my hide and my thinkin'.

... These first few weeks of wandering... broke and wondering... we'll be cutting loose even more "Used to be Necessities"...

... and holding on to ONLY what are TRULY... requirements for Our life...

... like pants... NOBODY wants to see my Lily white 'appendages'... out in broad daylight... that's just more Freedom than even the toughest of you are likely to be needful of!

Take Good Care
Brian

Return to the Home page of goin' RV Boondocking
Visit my "Ribbon of Highway" Blog on the Lil' sister to this site, Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

Share your experiences, Boondocking on Freedom Road with us!
... Your RV Destinations
...  Your Custom RV
...  Reader's RVing Tips 
...  Reader's RV Recreation Activities