Hello Again Light!

Wishing you Tranquility, Magic, and Inspiration 

on this Winter Solstice!

Hipahipa!!

Break out the Hula Skirts and Coconut Shells folks!  

We're havin' a heat wave!

We finally got out of the low / mid 30's for overnight temps!!  The next couple of days will bring us slightly warmer weather of 40's and 60's.  It will be short lived, but every degree in the upward direction helps!  

Water Conservation MacGyver Style!

Thirty years ago I participated in a semester long field study program in the desert southwest.  That was the first time I had ever been to a desert or even this part of the country.  Coming from the lush, green, moist mid-west I thought I would hate the desert, but I fell in love with it instead.  That experience changed my life in so many positive ways.  One big way was sparking a deeper passion for the environment and a career as an Environmental Educator.

One of the topics we studied during that semester was water issues.  Growing up on the shores of Lake Erie, this was such an alien concept for me.  I basically thought, 'If you don't have water someplace then don't live there!'.  Simple.  But I was stunned by how many people lived in the desert and even more so by the amount of water that was wasted - huge fountains and lush, green lawns to name a few ways.  Today, I feel that even as a nomadic full-timer, I have to be conscientious of my water consumption.  I may think that since I have limited water storage that alone makes me a good water steward, and to some extent that is true, but I can still be wasteful if I'm not careful.

So, in the spirit of my first desert experience 30 years ago, I bring you my simple, cheap, and "MacGyvered" approach to water conservation.

Water Storage:  I don't have tanks on my trailer and have limited storage space in general.  I use & refill five, 1 gallon jugs for my drinking water.  I also have a big blue 5 gallon jug & two 1 gallon jugs for "other use" water, like dish-washing or hand-washing.  I have those two jugs marked so I don't mix them up with my drinking water jugs.  I also refill these two jugs with the ice water from my cooler.  That alone keeps these jugs full most of the time, so score one for the annoying cooler!

My 2 "Other-use" Water Jugs

Hand-washing:  I have gone through a couple of trial tests with this one while living on my friends' farm.  First I bought wet-wipes, but they are too wasteful, too expensive and the chemicals are really bad for your skin (though I do use baby wipes for my hands if I use the pee jug at night).  Then I had an idea - use an empty soap pump dispenser filled with water as a "faucet".  It worked, but took a long time to rinse all the soap off my hands with the little squirts of water that came out.  The concept was good, but I needed something that would squirt out a little more water.  I found it at an antique shop.  This little drink dispenser works great.  It is glass, but that weights it down and helps warm up the water in the sun.  It puts out enough water to rinse easily and fits perfectly on my wheel fender with a foaming dispenser of very diluted Dr. Bronner's soap.  Those plus a towel hung to my trailer MacGyver-style and I have a great little hand-washing station.  

My Hand-washing Station

Hair Washing:  This one took me a little longer to come up with a simple set-up that didn't waste so much water.  I had made a garden sprayer shower to use, but it was too big for my hair washing needs and took too much time setting up, drying out, and storage space, so I returned everything.  I only wash my hair 2x a week (weather permitting!) and didn't want to be bothered with the contraption.  Since my budget it so tight, I felt that the money could be better utilized right now.  I may change my mind down the road and make another one, but for now, what I have works great and only cost me $1.00 - my kind of set-up!  It consists of a reused a 2 liter plastic bottle, colored black with a permanent marker, set out in the sun to warm up the water; along with another reused plastic water bottle with a squirt top to wet and rinse my hair that I refill with warm water from the bigger bottle.  I basically hang upside-down over the blue dish pan and wash away.  Since I don't use shampoo or conditioner, it doesn't take much water to rinse my hair (I use a baking soda / soap solution and apple cider vinegar - which is an amazing long hair detangler by the way!).  I use about 1 liter of water to wash and condition my long hair.  Of course, sun & wind dry when done!  The hardest part is the bending over the dishpan - OUCH on the lower back!

Hair Washing Station

Dish Washing:  Since I haven't been able to do much cooking, I haven't had many dishes to wash.  Typically I try to use only about 2 cups of water or less to wash, unless I have a lot of dishes.  I use a small amount of environmentally safe dish soap for washing and a spray bottle of water with a little vinegar to rinse with.  I also strain out any food particles from cooking or the dirty dishwater with a coffee filter in a funnel before the water goes into my gray water jug.

Bathroom:  My family and friends are quite familiar with my "morning constitutional" routine and beautiful sunrise pictures when I lived on the farm; but for the rest of you, I will share.  (Com'on, you were dying to know! Fidgeting on the edge of your seats aren't you?).  I have re-purposed wide mouth jugs for my "pee jug" which I keep inside the trailer.  I wanted to build a urine diverting composting toilet, but the urine diverters were too expensive and came with a bunch of stuff I didn't want; plus adding one to my bucket made it too big to move in and out of the trailer daily.  So, after 2 years of designs and redesigns, I finally came up with a "composting" toilet that works for me and cost less than $20.00.  Using my pee jug, I keep at least 95% of my urine out of the bucket, and it has been working well so far with no smell from the bucket.  As for the bucket, I double line it with tall kitchen garbage bags and at the moment, use peat moss for the covering medium - I know, GASP!!  So horrible for the environment!, but all I could get at the time.  I want to try coconut coir since it is environmentally sustainable and comes in small, light weight, dried bricks.  When the inner bag is mostly full, I take it out, tie it up tight so nothing can fall out and put it in a plastic shopping bag which I tie up tightly and toss into the garbage.  I hate using the plastic bags, but I don't have anywhere to compost it.  Digging catholes in the desert is NOT easy with the hard, rocky ground and dumping that much waste in a couple of catholes is too much and not a good idea for established dispersed camping sites.  Packing it out has the least impact.  

My "Composting" Bucket Toilet
(Kitty litter bucket holds the medium to put on top of the waste)

Gray Water:  I collect all the gray water that I can't reuse in an old kitty litter jug (1 1/2 - 2 gallons), then find a place where I can dump it safely.  Everything I use (with the exception of toothpaste) is not harmful to the environment, especially with how diluted it gets, so I don't feel too bad about the waste water I produce.  I have only just filled my gray water bottle once in a month.  I could have used some of what I put in there for another purpose, but wasn't able to utilize it at the time.  I may re-purpose another bottle to hold that water for a time when I can reuse it.

My Gray Water Jug

"Wait, you forgot bathing!  Don't you bathe?"  Hey, I have to live with me, so heck yea I bathe!  Though I wish I could say it consisted of soaking in a hot spring this time of year, but sadly it doesn't.

Bathing:  I use 2 cups of water for bathing which lasts me about a month!  Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, I do bathe daily.  I make homemade "bath wipes".  I prefer to make my own so I know what is going into them.  The store bought wipes have so many chemicals in them and I don't want to use them all over my body, plus they are much more expensive than mine.  I make mine with paper towels and only use 1/2 - 3/4 of a paper towel to bathe with.  They work great and are good for my skin as well.  The only downside is the storage area in my trailer gets really cold, so I try to warm them in the sun a little first before using them - otherwise they are better than a whole pot of espresso for getting one WIDE awake!

So there you have it, my water usage and conservation methods.  I still have areas where I can make some improvements, but for the most part, I am pleased with what I have in place.  It may seem rather primitive to most of you (maybe even horrific), but that's what I like about it.  Conservation doesn't stop at water but is about all resources.  I have so much fun trying to come up with "MacGyvered" solutions to the challenges that leap out at me.  Simple, inexpensive and re-purposed are my parameters and that combination is what makes it fun for me.  Living deliberately does take extra time and creates more "chores", but living that way also makes a difference.  For me, that is important.  Less impact on the earth lets me enjoy its beauty more.

Shores of Lake Erie

Simple Life, Simple Wisdom, Simply Lived

I was talking to a friend last Thursday when I realized it was December 3 – one month since I left Ohio and started on this adventure!  So, in hopes of maybe helping others who are considering embarking on a simple life on wheels (or providing entertainment to those of you all cozy in your warm, stand-up homes), I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned during this first month on the road in my tiny abode. 

• The total cost in gas to get here was shocking, and not in a good way.  I didn’t have a clue how much it would cost and honestly, I didn’t even try to calculate a ball park amount, but the total was (maybe unrealistically) more than I had . . . hoped?  But when I sat down and figured out how much it was per mile, towing a trailer into the wind, I guess it really wasn’t all that bad.  However, when you are living on a tiny budget and you see almost 3/4 of that month’s budget gone so quickly, it’s a little scary.  But therein lies the benefit of this lifestyle, I can cut back on expenses this month to try and even things out – so that is good!

• Things you thought would be simple tasks can actually be a little intimidating at first; like finding boondocks, water, and trash disposal places.  You can read what other full-timers do and think “Oh that will be easy”, but until you have to do it yourself in an unfamiliar town the first time or two, it isn’t always easy.  The best advice I can give on this is ASK!  Ask other boondockers, staff in stores, or people at the local BLM office or Visitor’s Center (if the town has them).  These people can be a great source of information for handling these tasks.

• Keep your bags of trash small.  It’s much easier and less conspicuous to drop a shopping bag size bundle of trash into the small opening of a bin than trying to stuff a giant bag into it. 

• Water.  I don't have holding tanks.  I refill my empty gallon jugs instead of buying new, so I’ve had to learn how and where to find places to do this.  Look out front of grocery stores, gas stations and other stores for water dispenser machines, they don't cost much per gallon.  This is also a good thing to ASK others about, there may be a public water source you can use for free. 

• You never know what surprises will come your way – like having a small herd of Desert Bighorn Sheep walk past your campsite.

What a THRILL!!

• Save your change.  Quarters, dimes and nickels.  You will need it for laundry and water dispenser machines.  You may not always be able to get change.

• You will run into inconsiderate, “entitled” people no matter where you go (some heinously so).  Unfortunately fresh air, natural beauty and the possibility of seeing unique wildlife doesn’t change them.  I don’t have any advice for dealing with them (at least none that are appropriate to print!).  Just be prepared.

• You will also meet wonderful people!  Lots more of them around – thank goodness!

• Heat.  Heat would be nice!  I have discovered that, yes, a space CAN be too tiny to heat safely without electricity.  Go figure.  Just me livin’ in my tiny blue igloo.

• No matter how many times you go through your stuff, you will inevitably bring too many things you don’t need and not enough things you do need.  (Chalk up another win for Murphy!).

• Flannel sheets probably would have been a good investment.

• All electronics need to be able to be charged via your car’s 12 volt outlet – including the charger for your camera’s batteries.  Oops!    (Thus my not so great photos)

• Dog.  Probably should have been on my “To Get” list.  A big, warm, cuddly dog.  (Preferably one that doesn’t drool)

Teddy Bear Cholla - NOT warm or cuddly!  But at least it doesn't drool.

• Even a cooler that you think is too big, and IS too big, still won’t be big enough to puzzle fit all the ice and odd shaped and sized grocery items you buy.

• When choosing your full-timing home on wheels, insulation is a good thing – but don’t forget the floor!!  Cold feet are unhappy feet, and you don't want to deal with unhappy feet!

• There is a lot to be said for an indoor bathroom when it’s 37 degrees outside; but the view usually isn’t one of them!  My rear may freeze to the seat, but my view is magnificent!

• Electricity, though extremely wonderful, can make us complacent.  When you don’t have it, you really have to exercise your brain cells to think up creative solutions to problems.

• When your bathroom is of the primitive outdoor variety, ALWAYS take full advantage of nice indoor ones when out and about, especially running hot water!

• A comfortable place to sit is very important to both your rump and back.  Not having such a place makes one an unhappy camper.

• A good pair of warm socks is crucial for a good night’s sleep when it’s cold.  (Come to think of it, thermal underwear probably should have gone on that “To Get” list too!).

• If you plan to boondock in the desert, the best superfluous item to bring is a hummingbird feeder and something to hang it from.  Endless, nearly free entertainment will be yours.  (Just be prepared for Hummer Wars!)

• When you can’t cook inside your home, a good thermos is a comforting friend on cold nights.

• You can read about other full-timers experiences and suggestions, but your experience will be different not only from theirs, but even from what you imagined.  Not better or worse, just different.  Don’t be disappointed if it’s not like you imagined, just go with it and let it unfold into something wonderful.

• The sun, moon and stars will become your dearest friends that you look forward to seeing every day.

Desert Sunset

• Just because someone told you they took their 35ft. RV on that dirt road boondock and so you should be just fine, doesn’t mean you will.  One person’s insanity is another person’s “OH SHIT!!”

• Your mind can go on and on believing you’re still 20 yrs. old, but your body will always prove it wrong!  (I knew this one before I left, but I’ve been reminded of it again recently)

Well, that is all the wisdom I have to impart for today.  Simple isn’t always easy, but it is fun in that it challenges one’s brain cells to think in new ways.  Plus you live life more intentionally, something we often don’t do.  Have there been nights when I’ve wished for that big 40 foot McMansion on wheels that I can stand up in with heat and electricity, comfy chairs and bed, indoor bathroom, and  indoor kitchen with all the appliances for cooking gourmet meals?  Sure!  I’m not going to lie.  But in the end, I think I would still choose my little tearbaby Zelda and Grania and a simple life full of purpose, creative problem solving, and adventure.  Maybe somewhere just a little warmer!  

  

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.  But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

- Steve Jobs

Post Holiday Wishes, Moon Rises & Daily Challenges

Sorry for the quiet this last week.  With traveling to find a new boondock and getting set up just before the holiday, I didn't get a chance to scope out the library in town to recharge my computer.  No  electric, no computer, no posts.  That's how it is folks, living the life of luxury in a teardrop on the road.

As a late well wishing to everyone, I hope you had a wonderfully fun & belly-filled

Save the Turkeys Day! 

And that you all did your part on behalf of turkeys everywhere and ate Tofu (They were very close to being our country's national symbol you know!) .

I did move north last week to Lake Havasu City, where there are a few more stores available to get some things I needed.  It is a nice city and beautiful area and has lots of places to explore.  Though I'm not a "city" gal, I do like to see new places and check out what cool things there are to see and do, and LHC is small enough to not overwhelm me.  It has been a nice place to plop down for a bit, while I work on some projects and work out kinks in my set-up.

Cactus windows - very cool idea!

Upon finding a spot with an amazing view, I was welcomed by a flying, tiny, sparkly green neighbor who liked to show off his brilliant neckpiece.  He has a couple of lady friends, but isn't very gentlemanly when it comes to sharing the feeder I put out for them.  I have chided him about this on several occasions, but he seems to be ignoring me.  I told him he would be sorry come mating season!  Maybe he is this way because he has been disgracefully named like the ladybug. . . he is an "Anna's" Hummingbird.

On the second day at my boondock, I met a fellow full-timer who has been on the road for a couple of years and is very well-versed in many aspects of the simple, full-time lifestyle.  She has been a great source of information and ideas and has been helping me come up with a plan to hopefully get my solar system set up sooner and less expensively than I originally thought; and has already become a good friend too.  It's nice to meet someone who shares similar perspectives on life and who is well-versed with this full-timing lifestyle to bounce ideas off of.  I have appreciated all her help & friendship more than I can say.

Morning Moon Set

One thing I like about what I'm doing with my life is that it challenges me almost every day.  Sometimes those challenges are small, like trying to drain the water out of my cooler without soaking the car or myself while trying to get it to flow into my water jugs; and sometimes the challenges are a bit larger and harder to find a solution to - like trying to stay warm in the tearbaby during the cold weather we have had here.  For most full-timers, they have bigger rigs with built in propane heaters or generators to power electric heaters, but for my little tearbaby, I don't have many options.  I don't want a generator.  Too loud; too costly; too big to store; have to haul and store fuel; not my thing.  I thought about a small propane heater, and my friend lent me her Mr. Heater "Little Buddy" to try out (I had been considering one of these), but it turns out it is too big to sit on the counter in my teardrop and I don't have enough clearance on the floor to run it safely.  So that leaves just me. (Yep, always have to do everything myself.).  One nice thing about a small teardrop is that your body heat does eventually heat up the interior space - EVENTUALLY!  Yes, it is a bit nippy on these cold nights at first, but by morning I am pretty much snug as a bug in a rug under all my blankets; that is until I have to take my morning constitutional - which is outside.  Brrrr! isn't quite explicit enough to describe the brisk experience some mornings.  To help keep warm in the evenings, I have been boiling water in the afternoon and storing it in my thermos for hot tea and I even got out my gloves to keep my hands warm - which are always cold.  So far I have managed to survive these cold nights, but am very much looking forward to nights warmer than the 30's.  Cold evenings and mornings make me a slug.

Evening Moon Rise

One thing I have been enjoying is the night sky and the moon!  The full moon rise just before Turkey Day was amazing.  Watching it come up over the jutting rocks in the evening and then set over the opposite cliffs in the morning has been one of my greatest joys.  The other night my friend and I even witnessed the biggest shooting star either of us has ever seen.  It was so bright and glowed green as it fell though our atmosphere.  Truly spectacular.  These are the things that we so often miss in our day to day lives, but I feel they are the things that can bring such joy and wonder and we need to make them more a part of our lives to help us keep focused on what is really important.  So, take some time to stop and smell the roses - figuratively and literally.  Give yourself a little joy in your life every day.  It does make a difference.


And for those of you who have been wondering what mutant eggs look like, here you go!

Mutant Eggs

Mutant Eggs and Subatomic Particles - YUM!

The past couple of days have been relatively productive.  I have been doing more reorganizing, purging and food prep.  After being held captive in town all day Friday and a windy day on Saturday, I never got to deal with all the groceries I bought.  Not to worry, nothing went bad, I did toss the perishables in the cooler with ice, but that's all I did.

First, on Saturday I did some reorganizing in the van and tearbaby between wind gusts and buzzing ATV'ers.  I know I was in a big ATV riding area and it was the weekend, so I did expect to see and hear them constantly, but what I would have appreciated is that they didn't ride through my camp area!  Where I was camped was a HUGE open area with plenty of places for them to ride and stay away from my space.  The area is for everyone, and a little common courtesy and respect to others using it too would go a long way.  Oh well, I'll chalk it up to boondocking lessons learned.  Onward and upwards!

The beginning of many I'm afraid!

Sunday was actually eerily quiet from the constant roar of motors and the wind was pretty gentle so I decided to work on food prep, cooler set-up and kitchen reorganization.  First order of business was to hard boil my eggs (the ones I bought at the store!).  Not many cooking tasks can be simpler than this - put eggs in pot, cover with water, boil.  Two ingredients, 1 pot . . . easy peasey!  But I can't do it!  For the life of me, I just don't understand why I always fail at this obviously simple cooking task.  Out of 12 eggs, 3 peeled perfectly, 3 peeled almost perfectly, and I was left with 6 strange looking 'alienesk', roundish, white, mutilated blobs ready for the next zombie apocalypse.  Probably close to 1/4 of each of those blobs are still stuck to the shells in the garbage.  It also took me like 30 minutes to peel all 12 eggs!  I have tried various cooking times, let sit times, peeling methods, and nope, none seem to give me 12 perfectly peeled eggs.  My sister says it's the eggs' fault, not mine, and since she is younger and smarter than me, I'm going with her wisdom.   

My cooler.  If any of you looked back through my early posts you would have seen my dilemma about which cooler to buy and my addiction to plastic food storage containers.  As for my cooler, I ended up going with the Coleman Extreme 5 day 52 Qt.cooler.  I chose that size because I knew I'd need a lot of ice to keep my food cool and would still have space for the food, but I had been worried lately that it was going to be too big.  It does take up a LOT of room in my car.  I also ended up bringing a file box of plastic food storage containers as well, cuz you never know what size, shape or color you'll need for the job at hand.  Well, after buying two 10 lbs bags of ice for the cooler and some "need to keep cool" food (including my mutant eggs!), I realized yesterday as I attempted to organize it that it isn't too big (inside) for my needs at this time.  I also discovered that my plastic food containers may not be the best for use in the cooler after all, they take up space and are never quite the right size.  I found that zip-lock type baggies might be the way to go for items on top of a few plastic containers.  I also have a tray that sits along the inside top groove to hold veggies and stuff I don't want right down on the ice.  It seems to be working so far though I do foresee some challenges in my future with it however.  Time will tell as we get better acquainted.

My cooler in it's Alien Suit

Today is moving day.  I hitched up and left my first boondock this morning.  Sad to say good-bye but exciting to be off to explore new places.  First stop however was the library and their free electricity and wi-fi!  I am still sitting here, writing this and waiting for my slow computer to finish it's meal of delectable subatomic particles.  The wi-fi is nice too - saves my data - but it also allows me to try to figure out the Kindle Fire my dear friend gave me as a going away gift.  I have never used one before and I thought it would be pretty simple and self-explanatory, but I'm just not getting it.  I did manage to download some free ebooks today, but I thought I could download free movies to watch as well, but from what I can tell it will only allow me to stream those, unless I actually purchase the movie.  Can anyone out there shed some light on that for me?  

Ooo!  We are at 100%!!  FINALLY!  And it only took 4 hours.  We certainly give those lightning chargers a run for their money!  

Time to head out to find a new boondock!  

And the Game is Called on Account of . . . A Bomb Threat!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I just can't make this kind of stuff up!  I was considering moving from my campsite due to the increased ATV traffic, but how can I possibly leave now?  Things are just starting to get exciting!

Saguaro at the Parker Public Library

Let me back up.  

Yesterday I headed into town to take care of some chores; laundry, post office, grocery shopping and find a place to recharge my computer.  Well, I started at the post office and got set up for receiving mail while I'm in the area, then headed over to do my laundry.  Here's something I don't get, I'm in the desert where water is supposed to be scarce and it only cost $1.50 to do a load of wash.  I was paying $2.50 for the same size load in Ohio, and I was basically on Lake Erie!  What gives?  Not that I'm complaining - I'll gladly pay the $1.50.  After laundry I found the local library and they kindly allowed me to hang out there and use their wi-fi and electric to charge up my computer so I could continue to bring you these exciting posts.  AND they have covered parking made out of solar panels too!  Parker Public Library, you ROCK!!  Unfortunately it takes a long time to recharge my old computer and I only got it to 80% before I needed to book it back to my campsite before dark.  I didn't want to get lost trying to get back to my spot.  So, grocery shopping had to wait.

Prickly Pear

This morning I decided I might look for a spot farther down the road in an area less desirable to the ATV'ers after I returned from my trip to Wally World.  I figured I'd be back by early afternoon at the latest so that would give me plenty of time to scout out a new boondock and move.  Little did I know that my game plan was going to go kablooey!  As I headed for home loaded with groceries, there was a fire personnel truck blocking the road.  The nice young man got out and told me the road was closed due to a hazard up ahead.  He wouldn't tell me what kind of hazard, but that it would be 2, 3, maybe more hours before the road would be open.  You gotta be joking!  So I went back into town, got something to eat, and tried to kill a couple of hours (thus the cactus pictures here that I took around town for my little nephew who loves cacti right now).  I would have hung at the library again & got some work done, but sadly they are closed Fri - Sun.  

After a couple of hours, I headed back, hoping I could get through.  Nope!  This time a police officer was blocking the road and told me the road would be closed for 2, 3, maybe more hours due to a bomb threat!  I know I've only been in this area for a couple of days, but for the life of me I can't figure out what anyone would want to blow up out here!  Maybe an old mine in hopes of finding gold or the big white P on the mountain side (though a bit audacious, it doesn't seem to be hurting anyone).  Don't get me wrong, with all the craziness happening in the world right now, I greatly appreciate the time and effort the police, fire department and bomb squad went through to make sure it was safe for us here.  I am humbled by their courage and willingness to put their lives on the line daily.  Thank you!

Momma cactus and baby

Anyway, after a little over 5 hours of waiting, the road was reopened.  It was dark.  I did find my way home and to Zelda (she is hard to find in the dark desert).  I think she thought Grania and I abandoned her; she seemed relieved when we returned.  Not much of what I had planned was accomplished today, though I did see a roadrunner run across the actual road this morning!  Oh well, gotta roll with the punches.  So this evening, as I type this, I am sitting outside under the stars and moonlit sky, the wind is kicking up, but has a warmth to it.  A lovely end to a bizarre day.

Sunset from parking lot waiting for the road to open

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!  WOO HOO!  What a ride!