AridzonaShooter: Ramblings

More correctly, a year and a half in the life of two old, retired, homeless and unemployed folks living a vagabond existence in a house on wheels, aka an RV.

Or, how we've managed to live in a house of less than 400 square feet, and still have no extra holes in either of our bodies.  Amazingly, the Quilter has refrained from sticking me with pointy objects or using me for target practice.  How can this be, one might ask?  Perhaps I've not been trying hard enough, although she says I've been very trying, at times.

Since we're rapidly approaching the end of a year, my thoughts turned toward what the new one may bring, and what I'd like to do, see, accomplish and visit.  What have I enjoyed, and what would I like to change?

To recap.  Just about two years ago we found what we thought would be our perfect, or at least best choice, RV.  We'd made the decision a few years previous that we'd like to try living full-time in a recreational vehicle and travel to places that we'd either not yet visited or wanted to spend more time seeing.  We spent about six months getting the house ready to sell, loading up the trailer, and generally preparing to drive away from Phoenix, off to a new adventure.  The 27th of May, 2005 was the last day of school, and the Quilter's last day of work as a teacher.  We'd left keys to the house with the buyer previously, hooked the trailer to the pick-up and headed out. 

We made 45 miles that first afternoon, all the way across Phoenix.  After a brief stop in Apache Junction for a couple of days of decompression we headed for Texas.  Went to Abilene, looked at some property, did a few touristy kinda things, headed back to Phoenix.  The Quilter had a date in California, so she picked up her car and headed to that...place, while I headed up through Utah and Idaho to Oregon for a stop at the manufacturer's plant to have a couple of issues tended to.  Then on to Washington, where we met up again and had a visit with one of her friends from the Phoenix area who'd previously moved there after retiring.

We then drifted across Washington, Idaho, Montana, bought some (small piece of) property and established domicile in SD.  We then drifted down through CO and into NM, hanging around in Chama for a month, then into AZ.  New Year's found us in Tucson. 

We then traveled via the Escapees RV park, Dream Catcher in Deming, NM and into the lower Rio Grande valley, where we stayed for a month.  Thence to Livingston, TX, to the Escapees mecca, Rainbow's End.  After a brief stay, it was off to Auburn, AL, to enjoy an evening of torrential rain and threatening tornadoes, then on to stops in TN, VA and into PA.  After a visit there we headed westward, through WV and a visit there, then on to the property in SD, where we sat for about 4 months of summer.

Summer came to a close and we were once more headed down the highway.  Pretty much direct to Chama, NM for a stay of about a month, then back down to the Phoenix metro area.  Had some work done on the truck, the Quilter's teeth, and bought a tripod satellite internet system.  The Quilter spent the last week of the year in Lake Havasu City with Fran, her California buddy.  We're at North Ranch, the Escapees rv park in Congress, AZ.  Got here late November, and we'll be heading out towards TX within the next few days.  After shop, trip to the storage room, fingernail sharpening (the Quilter's, not mine) and some other odds and ends.

Which brings us to...