Making Tracks.

Last week when I wrote about motivation, I referenced a book, Blue Highways, that I read in the mid-1980’s.  Does that mean that I’ve had this burning desire to walk away and live in a van down by the river since then? Nope. Not even remotely. This whole thing has evolved.

As a young adult, I camped here and there over the years, and enjoyed it. Then Charly and I purchased a small Toyota-based camper to use for vacations from our home base in Phoenix.

We loved, loved, loved it. We loved the mobility it gave us to see interesting places, and we liked being able to move on down the road if a place wasn’t to our liking. Also, as Charly used to say when comparing it to hotel stays, “We know who slept in our bed last night”.

When he died, I was left with a big 30 foot motor home that we had planned to use for some cross country travel. It sat in the storage lot for more than a year. I gave away all my camping/RV’ing “stuff”, figuring those days were behind me. They were pretty sad times.

 

One day, I was motivated to go over to the storage lot and get the big RV cleaned up so it could be sold. I went through it all on the inside — shampooed the carpets and upholstery and polished the wood cabinets.  I hired an RV guy to come over and get it ready to run — drain out the stale gas and refill with fresh, put in a new starting battery, and fill the tires with air. A detailer made the exterior shine.  And you know what? As I did all that, I got the bug. I had adopted Trax by then, and I said to Trax, “Trax, Charly is not here, but you are. And you and I can do this”.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CONTEXT: for those who have not been paying close enough attention to the blog — Charly is my late husband. Trax is my dog.

The big RV was too big for me and Trax (the dog), so I placed an ad for it in the RV Trader, and sold it on a Saturday. On Sunday I bought my current camper van. It’s a 2004 PleasureWay Class B RV, built on a Ford E-350 Van Chassis. Sturdy and reliable. I was described that way once (seriously, by a colleague). I chose to take it as a compliment.

When I would take the camper out, I felt in charge and in control for the first time in a very long time. It was a huge step in working through the grieving process and discovering how to live again.

I’ve enjoyed the same camper van for vacations and long weekends for the last 8 years. It feels empowering every time I get behind the wheel. Even after 8 years.

NOTE FOR CLARITY: Photo below is of Trax — the dog. The photo of the smiling man in the first photo in this post is of Charly — the late husband.

Even before this big trip, the camper van has taken us safely on vacations through Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah’s Five National Parks, and countless trips throughout New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona.

And for now, by choice, it’s our full-time home. And no, the camper van does not have a name. But the blog does. Representing moving forward. Making tracks. Makin’Trax.

NOTE: The photo above is of Sally. The second dog. There are no additional husbands.

Thanks for following our travels, and for your comments.