room without a view, back to Bisbee VI, Scorpion II,license @ 66, mulled wine, and music and the ostrich

I went back to Bisbee for a week and this was my room without a view—the mark of man on the land. Kinda makes me embarrassed to be human.
There is a scenic overlook less than a mile down the road for this. Definitely different strokes.

While in Bisbee, I thought to check the expiration date for my AZ driver license. It had expired over a year ago, when I turned 65. Guano. Thankfully, I was not pulled over while towing the Nash in another state. The Dodge would have been impounded and I would have had to hire a tow for the Nash to a place where it could be set up. Then I would have had to get to a DMV in Arizona to see about getting a new license (without doing any driving). Unreal.

So there I was, sitting in a DMV affiliate office in Sierra Vista, reading the driver manual, then taking the written and driving test. I lost my CDL and motorcycle endorsement. Guano. What a day. Then I had to stay in Bisbee another two weeks until the license arrived. Oh well, at least with all the stairs in Bisbee and hiking in the Mule Mtns., I had no trouble getting in my 1800 minutes (as I sometimes do in February).

I messed up with some things while in Bisbee. Guano. I forgot to go visit with Siscily. She was volunteering at Patagonia Lake State Park. And I forgot to see if Larry and Judy were up for a visit to Bisbee.
And this one is really dumb. I was in Bisbee for three weeks. There are plenty of artists in Bisbee. It wasn’t until my last week that I realized I could have had all seven of the panels I want painted in the Nash taken care of. What an idiot. It’s not as if I’ll be staying here for three weeks again. Wonder where the paintings will be done.
And it sure wasn’t the same, going back to visit Bisbee and not having Lynn around.

The owner chopped this 1936 Ford coupe. He wanted enough power to tow a small vintage trailer. That’s probably redundant—they were all small. Anyway, he installed a fuel injected 6 in it. Way cool.

And, of course, I had breakfast a few times and a lunch at Anna’s Seasonal Kitchen. Each time it was warm enough to sit outside. I also stopped in at Jewelry Designs by Owen on Main Street half the days to visit with David.

Getting a driver license at sixty-six reminded me of when I had to be given all my childhood immunization shots again, after my bone marrow transplant. I wonder if I’m going to have anymore of these re-takes of my younger years.

Spending three weeks in an RV park was tough.

Many mornings I hiked up to the saddle above Brewery Gulch (the other side looks down into Sulfur Springs valley) as part of one loop or another. Look down the notch in this photo and you can see the walls of the Sacramento pit (used to be Sacramento Mtn. [my room without a view]) and the Copper Queen RV park. The houses in the foreground are the top two houses in Brewery Gulch.

An acquaintance served me a glass of hot mulled wine last winter (I'd be real surprised if she is still trying to full-time in a homemade camper on the back of a pickup). I enjoyed the conversation that came with it and later reminisced about other winters when I was sharing hot mulled wine with a friend. I looked up a recipe on the web and purchased the ingredients. Had the most trouble finding a bottle of burgundy. It came out well and plan to mix up a batch in future winters. Hopefully, there’ll be a friend to share it with.

I dug out my Honda 1000 for someone to use. I started it up and it seemed to have transformed into a Harbor Freight generator. LOUD!! It is stored in the generator locker at the back of the Nash. I have it padded in place but apparently it gets a bit rough back there at times, washboards and rocky roads. The air filter had disconnected; an easy fix.

I purchased an eton Scorpion II to replace my original Scorpion. I use it primarily for the NOAA weather band. The II has a WAY brighter flashlight. The II also added a port so the radio can now be charged through a USB port (in addition to its solar panel and hand crank). Should be good.

Stopped at my 5’ x 8’ cargo trailer to pick up replacement clothes and got rid of more possessions, including a milk crate and a half of CDs. I had digitized them over the years so they are all on my MacBook. Always feels good to reduce possessions. I dug out my old Life Link avalanche shovel. The Boy Scout thing again; hopefully not for an avalanche, however, but just for snow around the Nash. Sure could have used it a few times since November.

When some hear that my last trailer was a Casita, they comment with now I can pack along more stuff. Clueless.

I downloaded a number of old podcasts from Zulu Rose Radio and World Passport, as well as subscribe to PRI’s The World’s Global Hits and Radio Africa Online Mixes. I also listen to various genre stations on SiriusXM radio and when I have web access at my site, Pandora. I hear some music that I don’t care for, some I like but wouldn’t want to purchase, and some I’ve just got to have. I hear people comment that there is no good music anymore. Generally this comes from an old fogey with a mind as closed as a trap, but not always. I know it’s a myth about the ostrich with his head in the sand, but this is what I think of when hearing something like this. Maybe these people base their thinking on what they hear on American commercial radio, forgetting that there is a whole world out there.
I enjoy listening to music so I keep an ear open for what’s out there. I spent over five hundred dollars in the last two years on music, so I, most assuredly, believe there is plenty of good music around.

I've always liked the music of Tracy Chapman. youtube has some good videos of her performing.
Talkin' Bout A Revolution - Live and Acoustic 1988 (I’m not sure if this is her performance at one of the Nelson Mandela: An International tribute to free South Africa concerts or not).

Tracy Chapman, Live and Acoustic 1988


Baby Can I Hold You Tonight - Pavarotti and Tracy Chapman Live (Pavarotti!!)

Tracy Chapman and Luciano Pavorotti


I’ve always purchased my sleeping bags from REI, quality bags. I no longer backpack so my last couple of mummy bags have been synthetic. I get zero degree rated bags. Over time, bags lose a good deal of their insulating ability. My last mummy bag, a Kelty, rated to zero degrees, was probably only good down to 40 degrees towards the end of its life. A couple years ago, I stayed outside of Boise for a couple days and bought a backup bag, which I just started using. My favorite backpacking tent was a Marmot, and when I saw a Marmot bag (Marmot Trestles 0), I decided to try it. It’s great, and surprisingly, it’s probably the least expensive mummy bag I’ve had. My bags would probably last a lot longer if two cats didn’t sleep on them during the colder nights.

Life seems so much more interesting to me, and fuller, when I’m out off-the-grid. It’s simpler, quieter, and offers more of what I want—and probably need. Doesn’t seem it should work that way—and it would not, for most.

January sixty minutes sixty years—2090 minutes
January Triple 18—pecs/delts: 1835; core: 1950; legs: 5280

Life is 10% what happens to us
and 90% how we react to it.
Dennis P. Kimbro

RVwest article ‘Following a Free Spirit’

RVwest article ‘The Spaces Between the Places’