Susan Hare: The Awareness Muscle
I HAVE WONDERED about the heightened energy and awareness that I experience when adventuring over land and sea. It feels like a muscle that I don't use until I'm exposed. And the muscle grows stronger, the longer I'm out there, no matter the challenges of terrain or...
Weekend Photo 57
This way out — 17 May 2021 — Wire Pass, Utah
How Do You Judge the Quality of Your Life?
A Bold Woman Won’t Let a Stroke, Brain Tumor and Mobility Issues Keep Her from the Nomad Life
ANITA CLEMONS SWANAGAN is a remarkably independent and resilient woman. Despite a series of medical setbacks and chronic conditions that hinder her mobility, she is determined not to live the rest of her life in an easy chair. I talked with her via a Zoom call. ANITA:...
It Has To Be In the Van Somewhere!
MY FATHER was a fairly high level federal employee. Whenever anyone in our family had trouble finding something, Dad would tell us (again) about one of his staff members. I don’t remember his name. Let’s say it’s Hank. Hank had an unusual filing system. There were...
Bob Rebooted: What’s Your Vision for Your Life?
Originally published July 22, 2012TODAY I GOT AN EMAIL from a person I met at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in Quartzsite. She desperately wants to break out of her old life and start a new life as a vandweller. But she keeps having these complications. Like so many of...
Steve McQueen: Nowhere
Weekend Photo 56
To climb or not — 10 September 2013 — City of Rocks, Idaho
Moments On the Road: Crossing the Border with a 5-Gallon Bucket
I’D HAD A GREAT TIME IN BAJA CALIFORNIA but it was time to return to the US. I decided to use the port of entry at San Luis Rio Colorado to see if it was quicker than my usual crossing at Los Algodones. It wasn’t. The line was longer, and it was slower even though...
What’s the Deal with Minivan Transmission Problems?
MINIVANS ARE A POPULAR NOMAD VEHICLE. They’re plentiful and relatively inexpensive, and get better fuel mileage than full-sized vans. Over the years, I’ve come across various people saying not to buy some brand or another because the transmissions are total junk. A...
What’s Your Next Move?
Life on the Road Is Full of Miracles
IT APPEARED OUT OF THE DARK on a lonely Arizona road — a large, black Angus steer, standing in the swath of my headlights, turning to gaze curiously at me as my foot moved so, so slowly from the gas pedal to the brake. Then, with a swift, sudden FWOOMP! — everything...