Sunrise in the Desert – Joshua Tree, CA

I woke up to the sound of my boyfriend saying, “Oh my God!” As he sat up quickly and I labored awake I wondered what the problem was. Had some animal gotten into our packs? Was a person entering our camp site? Then I realized he was looking at the sunrise. As I sat up to join him I saw that the sun had not yet peeked over the rim of the earth but it was casting a brilliant orange glow on the clouds that hung just over the horizon. The rest of the sky was a crystal clear blue! Good Morning Joshua Tree!!!!

We had been up late the night before watching the stars. It’s one of the main reasons we came here. When you are out in the Mohave Desert there is very little light to interfere with the amazing display that is put on every night by the Milky Way and all of her compatriots. We spent several hours lying on our backs oohing and ahhhing in amazement, naming the constellations we knew and making up names for any we didn’t. We even saw a few shooting stars!

I have always wanted to hike out to camp, carrying all that I needed on my back. Truth be told, it made me a little nervous to camp in the wild but I knew with my boyfriend I’d be in good hands. Little did I know that my first trip would be to the Twin Tanks area of Joshua Tree National Park.  We each carried a sleeping bag, pad, water, a few clothes, our tent and just enough food for an overnight trip. As we headed out from our truck I started to think, “What have I gotten myself into now? It’s HOT and I have to hike? I can do that right?” Don’t I look excited?  LOL

The hiking was gentle and my guide was patient as we made our way out. Our camp site was a shallow depression on the east side of a large cluster of rocks. We quickly set up our tent and began to explore our home for the night. We climbed around the granite boulders, made our way through the sandy areas and up over some of the stones to make a circumnavigation of the area near our tent.

Home for the night!

Shallow sandy bottom.

To the southwest we notice a huge white stone capping a nearby ridge and wandered over to check it out. It turned out to be a huge seam of Milky Quartz rising up from the earth! It looked like a man-made monument from afar but it’s placement is totally natural! Several large pieces had fallen down from the pinnacle looking like huge white ice cubes that would never melt. We left our own cairn of rocks to celebrate the natural beauty of this place!

The Devils Tooth?

Amazed by what we see!

We saw very few animals over the weekend and I’m sure that’s due to the lack of any water in the area.  I was mostly worried about snakes or scorpions climbing into our tent at night but luckily that didn’t happen! We did see one brilliant blue bird and a  hawk screaming as he flew overhead looking for lunch. A few rabbits scurried away as we explored and a small grey wren hopped around our camp site looking for food .

The real stars of the landscape are the resident cactus and their cousins! There was no need to remind me to steer clear of their sharp spines and needles! But when you get the chance to look closely at these beauties you can’t help but be mesmerized by their color and shape and form! These lovelies have thorns to protect themselves from being eaten! There is so little water here that they protect their juicy flesh by growing long spikes to make themselves unpalatable!

Blood red needles remind you to NOT TOUCH!

Cholla needles glow white in the sunshine.

HUGE Porcupine like needles!

After we spent a few moments enjoying the sunrise and holding hands, we began to strike our camp site. Barry made coffee and I took a few minutes to stretch, breathe, feel the wind against my skin and listen to the silence that is this place. It was a quick trip but I left feeling grateful for my life. I am so blessed that I have the opportunity to visit these places, explore new parts of the country and enjoy the beauty that this world offers.

Life is such a gift. I hope that you can take a moment today to be grateful for your time here.  Go see the places you want to see. Put your toes in the sand or climb a hill and see the view. Drive out into the desert if that’s your thing. Beauty is all around if you’ll just take a moment to see it! – Namaste.

Utthita Hasta Padangustasana – Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose

 

 

Boats in the Desert and Exploding Heads!

You should see the looks we get driving down the road! Double and triple takes are the norm. People can not figure out what we are towing behind our truck and there are also two paddle boards on top of the truck and bicycles on front! We are carrying our adventure with us and now we are definitely part of the Travel Tribe!

(The Truck, with Paddle boards and Bikes, Pulling the Boat)

We left Anacortes early in the morning and travelled south through Seattle. A final rain shower baptized us as we headed south reminding us why we made this choice to go south. We made a short stop in Oregon to visit family and then out east on HWY 22 looking for a place to stop for the night. As it was getting dark earlier than we thought, we stopped at Suttle Lake just before Sisters, Oregon.

(SERIOUSLY – the boat ramp to nowhere at Washoe Lake State Campground)

The question is, how do you use a camp ground when you are towing a 27 foot long Corsair Trimaran behind your vehicle? There aren’t any camp sites long enough for the whole shebang so do you separate the boat and truck and use two sites? Will the tree limbs be trimmed high enough for the boat to pass underneath? And who the hell brings a boat this far inland? Where are they going? Luckily, we were able to park in the boat trailer area next to the boat ramp. It was the perfect camp site!

(The sunset view looking aft over the mast that has been dropped)

The Captain was amazed that I was willing and even happy to sleep inside the boat. I didn’t really want to attempt unloading the truck to find the tent, set it up in the dark, etc. The boat has everything we need! It has water in the tank, nice cushy bedding, lights and even a head so I don’t have to wander around outside at night worrying about bears!

Speaking of the head……We removed the original toilet and installed a porta potty. It’s lighter and simpler. Did you know that if you take a container which is filled with air from Sea level up over a 6000 foot pass that container builds pressure inside? LOL……..I used the potty, added a little water to make sure the paper would descend properly and leaned over the bowl to watch. As I pulled the lever to flush EVERYTHING exploded up into my face, hair and all over the head compartment! Luckily there were only liquids. All I have to say is that I survived. I was shocked to say the least but I had soap and water and towels so I was able to wash thoroughly before bed. What a learning experience!

Our boat, Maravilla is certainly getting to see things that her sisters on the water do not. Long windy roads, dark green forests, mountain passes, wildfire ravaged land and rivers and lakes that are a fraction of their former size. This trip is different from any we’ve been on before. We are still trying to absorb what this trip means to us and our lives. It’s not just a road trip – It’s a trip to a new life. We are making big changes this time. We want things to be different. More nomadic, more enjoyable, more adventurous – More US

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(Camping in our boat in Nevada)

So join us on our journey to take Maravilla across the country. We started in Anacortes, WA on September 13, 2015 and Plan to be in Brunswick, GA by October 27^th. Check back often to see exactly where Maravilla will be meandering and in the meantime take some time to find a little adventure of your own!

What Does Freedom Mean to You?

It’s that time of year again! Everyone is getting ready for the big party on the 4th! Stocking up on ice and beer, planning a BBQ and time with friends and don’t forget the fireworks! Celebrating freedom is big in America!

Freedom comes in many shapes and sizes. Teenagers relish the freedom that driving a car brings. For stay-at-home moms freedom is 15 minutes alone in the bathroom without a small child banging on the door! For people who sail, it’s pulling up anchor and heading wherever the wind takes you!

For me freedom means travel. In only 8 weeks my guy and I head off on a journey across the United States! We will be free to drive, camp and sail wherever we choose! I visualize us waving our hands out the windows cheering, “We’re FREE!!!!” as we drive down the interstate with Bruce Springsteen blaring on the speakers, and huge grins glued to our faces!

In addition to the freedom that our truck, tent and trimaran will provide over the course of the next few months, there is another level of freedom that I strive for.  Freedom that can only come from within. As a yogi I practice Aparigraha (freedom from attachments).

Freedom from attachment means freedom from things. I like having fewer possessions because that means less work for me! It also makes it easier for me to travel! No plants to water! No house/pet sitter. The Yoga Sutras explain that “Excessive attachment is based on the assumption that it (the possession) will contribute to everlasting happiness.” ( YS 2.7) So instead of buying stuff I prefer to have experiences.  It’s experience that makes life rich.

It’s not always easy though. I like to buy books, new clothes and shoes – oh how I like shoes. But I’m trying to have less so I go to the library or borrow books from a friend so I can return them. I try to be happy with the clothes I have. I’ve even been downsizing to prepare for our trip! It’s amazing how few clothes I actually wear during the course of a week! And when I’m tempted to buy shoes I try to remind myself what I already have. Although I did still buy those Doc Martins last year. I said I was practicing after all!

So as we celebrate on the 4th of July,  in addition to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness I wish for you freedom to look around you and see how much stuff you have collected. Freedom to decide if all that stuff makes you happy or not? And the ability to look within and ask yourself, “What does freedom really mean to me?”

I also invite you to connect with us on here on this blog or also on Facebook  at the Trimaran Journal or Yoga Gypsies as we make our journey across the US. It’s going to be an awesome adventure and we’d love to share it with you!

I wish you all a happy and safe holiday and I hope that you will always Live Simply, Breathe Deeply and Travel Lightly!

Home Sweet Bus?????

I really don’t know what the hell I was thinking….. Well, that’s not exactly true. Back in October my boyfriend and I bought a 38 foot long Dolphin motor home to live in for a while. I thought it would be fun, we would downsize, live more adventurously, be outside all the time and that we would have that warm glowing feeling that comes from time spent together. I know a lot of our friends and family thought we were crazy and they were probably right. it’s not always great.

We are three months into our “Let’s move into an RV” experiment and I have to admit it has some challenges:

“It’ll be fun!” Yeah, if your idea of fun is cleaning constantly! I don’t know how such a small space gets so dirty! Most of it is the carpet. Our bus is covered in a light blue carpet that always seems to be full of pine needles, sand and grit. If you every get an RV with carpet – rip that shit out immediately and replace it with vinyl or wood – anything that is easily swept. It’s also fun if you like everything being smaller than in a normal house. We are only 5’8″ and we are too long for the couch, the windows all fog up every time we take a shower and the “office” is your lap. Yoga space appears when you push out the slide out, move the garbage can and fold down the extra counter space!

“We’ll downsize” That we did for sure! We didn’t need to bring any furniture. We brought our clothes, a few books, kitchen stuff and  just a few pictures and pretty things we loved AND the size of our bus keeps us from buying more crap that we really don’t need! And that’s a really good thing! Luckily we also have huge storage space under the bus. We don’t even have half of it full so if we did go on a shopping spree we’d have room for it all!

“We’ll live more adventurously!” How do you define adventurous? Is it adventurous to have to clean out and repair a frozen potty drain after a winter storm? is it adventurous to have to take apart and clean out the toilet when all your “stuff” gets clogged in it? Is it adventurous when your jacks start to sink into the ground because of all of the rain we’ve been having?

“We’ll spend more time outdoors.” Sure, we could spend a lot of time outdoors if only it didn’t rain so freaking much here in the Pacific Northwest! We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country but it’s really hard to get motivated to go out an enjoy it when it is raining every day! Actually, we have spent a lot of time out away from the bus because we avoid going back! When we make a run into town, we find every excuse to stay in town as long as possible so that our return will be delayed just a little longer. (I’m giggling to myself here because we just did this today after being on a two-week road trip!)

“We’ll feel all glowy from being together” This one is actually true – on my part anyway. I am surprised that after 3 months of living in such a little space that we haven’t had more disagreements or run-ins. We live happily together in our small space and we are forging a great bond. I still like him!!!! I’m really lucky 🙂

So our plan for now is to live in this bus for the next 8 months. I’m sure it will get easier as the weather starts to dry up a bit. I have visions of moving the bus to a beach somewhere. Somewhere where we can see blue sky and maybe even the sun! Where we can sit outside and have a camp fire at night, maybe enjoy an  adult beverage and have people come by to visit….ahhhh yeah….there’s another list of things I’m imagining…..I wonder how THEY will turn out?

Cheers from the rainy Pacific North West!