Vagobond in a Tent

Well, the house-sitting came to an end about five days ago. It was odd that it ended just as I started to the Ramadan fast, I suppose it’s better not to be alone while fasting. So I am back at my brother’s place where I have set up a tent in the backyard and sleep like a baby at night. One of the best decisions I made when I decided to leave Hawaii was to give my brother all my camping gear. I got here and he has a sleeping bag, thermarest, tent, and more that I feel comfortable with. Of course, if I wanted to, I could be sleeping on the couch inside, but I prefer the tent.

It’s set up out next to the horses and so aside from looking up at the starry skies I hear the gentle woofing of the horses as they sleep. I’ve been really enjoying riding these past couple of days. Not only does it take my mind off my rumbling belly and dry mouth, but it is also a joy in itself. Learning how to control and work with these huge animals. The horse I ride is called Peaches and is a fairly gentle three year old horse. That’s good because my skills are pretty green. I actually bought a pair of cowboy boots at a garage sale yesterday for $3 and at the same time my vagobond hat arrived back in my hands from Canada where that awesome chick Dawn kept it safe for me until I had a place she could send it to me. So life is pretty good. Not everyone likes to have their lives on the internet though, so if I’m not going into details or taking a lot of pictures, I hope you’ll understand that.

My cousin Lance (pictured above on our road trip to the Mexican border) is the author of a book about a guy who gets tired of women getting beat up by assholes so he starts making them disappear. Here is the cover, a link, and a blurb about it.

One mans answer to domestic violence and the abuse of women. A hero to those who feel helpless at the hands of their abusers. Follow the story of someone who grew up in an abusive household and finally could stand no more. If you or someone you know has suffered at the hands of another this is one book you should read. There can be life and love after an abusive start.

There was a short road trip the week before I started house sitting where I had to go recover my important paperwork, old journals, and old photos from the old guy that gave me the boot back at the end of June. I never should have trusted him in the first place, but I did manage to get everything. I’d had a box of books and some old coins that I sold that managed to pay for most of the expense of getting there.

Expenses weren’t too extreme anyway since my cousin Lance agreed to let me use his car. So expenses were fast food on the way down, gas for his Prius, and one night in a hotel room. Plus, we stopped in a weeded out old casino in Arizona and managed to lose a few bucks each.

The pictures in this posting are from that little trip. We drove from Northern Utah all the way through Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon area, across Arizona, and right to the Mexican border. It wasn’t a sight seeing trip since Lance needed to be back quickly, but still, we did see some amazing places. I can tell you for certain that Sedona is a tourist trap though the areas around it are incredibly beautiful. Personally, I really liked Flagstaff and the surrounding area. I can almost imagine living there. Arizona though seems to be full of police and that’s a pretty huge turn off.

Still waiting to hear from the school in Indonesia, still fasting (it’s day 5 now), in possession of all my mojo, all my dignity, and all my willingness to enjoy the hell out of this life.

We woke up and saw this moose the other day, a good reminder that I’m in the Rocky Mountains.