American Girl Mine

 I’ve had a great time camp the last few days at American girl mine. I made some new friends and met some old friends but my feet are getting itchy and it’s time to move on. I think tomorrow I’ll probably camp I do there’s a bola or continue on to Joshua Tree and spend a few days there. I understand the flower bloom there is beautiful. I will probably go to Anza Borrego after 2 March because a very good friend is visiting that weekend and I want to spend time with her.

Today I took a little walk out to the desert here. There are some tiny flowers blooming and the Ocatillo are ready to pop!

To YUMA!

Yesterday I decided my cabin fever was just too great to stay cooped up another day, so I loaded up the van and headed south to YUMA, Arizona. I found Caravan 3 at Winterhaven, camped at American Girl Mine.

The Caravans were an idea started by Bob Wells of Cheap RV Living after he received so many emails from people asking, "Where can I go and join friends?" and "Where will I be safe?"

As of now, there are 3 Caravans, and you can find out all you need to know at this link: https://www.cheaprvliving.com/caravans/

Caravan 3 is an all-women group, and as of yesterday, was small and intimate. My reason for joining them was to hook up with a couple of old friends from Portland, Oregon that I met as a beginning nomad, as well as to meet new nomads.  Lois Middleton, who has been a nomad for over 11 years, was my first contact in Portland, Oregon. We met at a Starbucks and she let me pick her lovely brains, giving me the courage to set out on my own after selling my home to my son.  Merle Redwing was one of a small group of women I met for dinner before the book signing and lecture given at Powell's Bookstore in Portland by Jessica Bruder, author of "Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century." https://www.amazon.com/Nomadland-Surviving-America-Twenty-First-Century/dp/039324931X  Merle and I began our nomad life about the same time. She travels with her cute little bichon-frise, "Pickle!"

I've been traveling to Quartzsite, Arizona for the winter since about 1997.  It's a well-loved place for snowbirds escaping the snow and ice of their home states.  Many of us met in Quartzsite, Arizona last month after the WRTR for a filming of the movie, based on the book, Nomadland.  The star of the movie is Frances McDormand, and the movie was recently bought by Fox Searchlight.  https://variety.com/2019/film/news/frances-mcdormand-nomadland-fox-searchlight-1203137650/

"The movie follows a woman in her sixties, who after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. Production has been completed."  

The writer/director of the movie was Chloé Zhao, a brilliant and cute gal with a fun personality. Chloé is a Chinese writer and director, also known for her two movies "The Rider (2017)" and "Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)." I really enjoyed working with her . She AND Frances made us laugh quite often during the filming. 

American Girl Mine is a strip mine that delivered over 205,000 tons of gold in its boom days. It was later purchased by Newmont Mining, reopened and worked for 10 years, then shut down again when gold prices dropped. It's a sweet place to boondock, now run by BLM, and close enough to YUMA to drive in for a Starbucks fix if you need it.

Also in Yuma is the YMCA, which offers showers for $3 during all open hours.  

Tonight the girls and I are heading to the Quechan Casino for Prime Rib and Shrimp ($12.95) and I may drop $20 in a machine just for fun.

Rain is expected for the day, so I'll be looking for things to entertain me.  It may be a good day to stay in the van and draw. The rest of the week it's expected to be sunnier and warmer, something all the nomads are looking forward to. This has been one of the coldest winters in the Southwest I remember in over 20 years.

Next week is the big bloom in the desert. Looking forward to that! 

Stay tuned!

Annie

Back to the Desert

Photo from the internet, but my drive looked a lot like this today!

I've spent the past 3 weeks helping my mother put out some fires in the Central CA valley.  I reached my limit yesterday and yesterday afternoon, I was back on the road to Desert Hot Springs. I spent the night in the Walmart parking lot in Barstow. Nice safe spot, by the way. I pulled into Joe's place this morning just in time for breakfast!

Today I've cleaned out the inside of the van and repacked. I'll stay here tonight but probably will take off for Quartzsite tomorrow morning. I need to stop somewhere and give the van a bath - I drove through washes full of dirty water and mud last night and this morning. Must have been a hell of a storm!

For some reason, I've had a brain block trying to remember the name of Barstow. I knew it was a "B" word... Boron?  No.  Boulder?  No.

Then, last night when I was SO stressed leaving my mother's house, I was wishing I could find a bar to have a gin/tonic to calm my nerves. I rarely drink, but this was a special need :::chuckling::  As I was thinking about a BAR, I though, "Oh yeah!  BARstow!"  So now I'll always remember the name.  I found it a much nicer drive to go straight over on Hwy 58 to Barstow, then down Barstow Highway to Lucerne Valley than to turn right at Kramer Junction and go through all those stop lights in Victorville and Apple Valley. The drive was not only shorter, there was a LOT less traffic and it was beautiful.

Though a hot tub and a swim will be nice tonight,
I'm anxious to get back on the road...

Annie