Setting up camp for a day or two.

I've been slowing down a lot these past couple of days. I pulled into the Cactus RV park on the 4th and ended up staying put an extra day. I met some really nice people and it gave me and the little one time to relax instead of being in and out of the van all day.

My neighbors to my left were a couple named James and Jean and they have been living on the road in their motor home for the last 10 years. They were very helpful with tips on how to find free camping and other resources for boon docking. Theses two lovely people planned their retirement for many years and have made the life they want. They have been all over the place. They sometimes travel with another couple, and their home, who were there that night as well. I was shown the books James makes of the blog he was maintaining on their life. Each year he prints everything out and gets it all bound. I like that idea very much. No sooner had I noticed the stories on Alaska and all the salmon they caught did I have a can of sockeye salmon in my hand. The four of them caught so much they spent a day smoking and canning it. People are so generous.

The main reason I ended up staying an extra day is because I met Peggy and her dog, Taz, as I cooked my supper outside the van.

We talked like we had known each other for years. It was so nice to have that kind of connection and ease of conversation, especially with a female. This lady is an inspiration to me. She bought her 1950s trailer in California, hauled it home to Georgia, and did all the renos herself. I can only hope to be as handy as her when I grow up. She offered me a shower and we drank coffee and told stories. The next night was wine and spaghetti. It was so nice to not only have supper made for me but to be in a home I could stand up in. I have been invited to stop over at her boyfriends home in Florida on my way to my fathers in December.

She asked about my van and turns out we are both photographers. We made plans to go photograph the neon signs after dark. Tucumcari has a lot of neon signs but as we walked it became clear most of the signs belong to closed business and the others were either broken or not being turned on for safety reasons. But the Blue Swallow Motel is still going strong.

Yesterday we drove for most of the day, stopping for photos and pees. I ended the day by visiting Tinkertown. What a wonderful, inspiring place. A husband and wife team made their hobby an attraction and what a place it is. So many hand carved and painted miniatures I was in heaven. Some of the displays even have buttons to make certain figures move. I really do love this kind of creativity.

I would write more but it is COLD and I need to get us warmed up. Till next time!