Since I live solo on the road in my RV, people ask me if it gets lonely out ‘there’.
The short answer is no. I rarely feel lonely in my travels. First and foremost I have God with me guiding me and I go to Him often for guidance, comfort, and companionship. I start the morning with prayer and usually a morning devotional with my friends from Your Jesus Journey, more about YJJ in another blog entry. You can check them out at www.yourjesusjourney.com
I also have my ‘co-pilots’, I travel with Marley’s ashes, she was our 15 year old black lab, that was and is always looking out for me. I also know my buddy Bill is always looking out for me too. Whenever I see a sunbeam show up in one of my pictures I know that is Bill watching over me. RIP Bill, I love you pal
I do a great deal of reading in the evenings that helps me stay occupied. It seems like I always have 3-4 books I’m reading at the same time. I have my Bible and my Big Book that are always close by on my Kindle. I also have a couple of other books in progress at the same time, some novels and some ‘learning’ books.
I do a lot of hiking/walking in the late mornings/early afternoons on trails I find in the area. I seem to always find someone to chat with on the trail or after my hikes.
My RV seems to attract a lot of attention when I pull over to check out an overlook, park in the grocery store parking lot or just in random spots. I have a Pleasure Way XLTS RV and there are not too many models like mine on the road so people ask about it all the time.
I rarely stay in campgrounds but on the occasion that I do pull into a campground, I always make a loop around the campground to say hello to people and that usually strikes up a good conversation or two.
For the last 2 winters I have stayed in the desert near Quartzsite, Arizona on Bureau of Land Management land. This area is huge and many thousands of RVers call this home for the winter months. I have a great group of friends I’ve met there and we stay in touch during the ‘off season’. They have become part of my family in many ways, I learn from them, grow with them and just enjoy hanging out with them when our paths cross as we travel around the country.
Because of my posts on social media, I have reconnected with old high school friends, college friends and former work friends/colleagues. While all these visits have been wonderful, one in particular stands out. I was in the desert south of Tucson, AZ and got a message from one of my high school friends, Diane, asking me what my plans were for Thanksgiving. I said I didn’t really have any plans so she insisted that I spend Thanksgiving with her and her husband and family. What an unexpected joy. We had a wonderful time catching up and had an amazing Thanksgiving celebration. Thanks Diane and Joe!
The first new friend I met on the road is my buddy Greg. We met in Joshua Tree NP in California in November 2022. We ended up meeting again in Quartzsite in December and really had a great time getting to know each other. We talked about everything from religion to politics, the Vietnam War (he is a veteran of Vietnam), to living life on life’s terms. Nothing was out of bounds. One morning in particular stands out, we made our coffee and grabbed our chairs and Greg’s first words were ‘What do you think about Cannibalism’? Wow, what a question first thing in the morning! Should I be worried? Haha. I think we spent about an hour on that topic.
He and I stayed in touch after leaving Quartzsite and made plans to meet there for the 23/24 Winter Season.
After returning to Quartzsite for the 23/24 season, Greg and I found a nice spot to post up. Across the wash from us was a lone nomad, Karen, in her trailer with her dog Boo Boo. We dog sat for her a couple of times which was nice. A friend of her’s, Deanna, showed up about 2 weeks later and we decided to move over near them and formed a compound of sorts. Shortly after that, Mary and Ed and their friend Tim joined us and to compound grew. A few others joined us and we had about 11-14 rigs at one point. We had a community tent where we met for coffee, conversation and card games, and lots of laughs. The core group of 7 have stayed in touch and have become great friends!
Last spring after leaving Quartzsite, I traveled along the southern border of the US into Texas. There I met up with one of my new friends I met in Quartzsite, Tim and his dog Keegan. We traveled together from Del Rio, Texas to Tampa, Florida. We had some awesome conversations and adventures. Hanging out for 3 nights on the bayous in Louisiana watching some of the most amazing sunsets I’ve seen on my journey, almost getting stuck on the beach in Padre Island, ‘ducking’ gunshots outside of New Orleans, and almost stepping on a huge alligator in Florida. The only disappointing part of that leg of the drive was missing out on the Worm Grunting Festival in Sopchoppy FL. I’m still not sure what Worm Grunting is but it sure sounded interesting.
I’ve met many other people on the road that have had an impact on my life and journey. Some I stay in touch with via calls and social media and others that are just a fond memory.
My life is fuller because of the people I’ve met on my journey. Thanks for being a part of my journey!
Love it Chuck - Alone but not lonely =) Wise words and great stories! So many amazing people and experiences out there to be found! - Thad
ReplyDeleteAlone but not alone. A lot of folks don't understand that. Great post. Looking forward to seeing you again in Maine next year.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a BLESSING to be “a part of your journey”! More to come!! YAY!👆
ReplyDeleteI’ll get the hang of this. Please don’t give up on me. 🤣
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