I get news that Jim and Gayle are passing down I-10 on their way from getting Jim’s Frequent Visitor Card stamped at the Mayo Clinic, so we decide to rendezvous at Saddle Mountain near Tonopah, AZ. I am excited to see them, as it was early December when we said our goodbyes, and I am in bad need of some laughs and philosophical discussions on the hiking trail. 
There is concern about the condition of the roads after the heavy rains, so we decide to drive down the paved road to check out the mud situation off road to the BLM spots. I wasn’t worried until Jim said “You go first.” But in spite of what seemed like a monsoon in Tonopah, which had pelted me all morning during my open air soak at the El Dorado Hot Springs (how do you dry off from a soak in the pouring rain??) the road surface was firm and rocky.
Philosophy 101
Philosophy 201
Philosophy 301
After having stopped a few yards off the road, we go for a long walk and realize we can actually get much closer to the mountain and still have full sun most of the day, due to one of the many “saddles” that dips down in the mountain allowing the sun to shine through. So we move in closer for a phenomenal view. And just two other rigs as far as we can see. (Hey, Al…are you really a blog follower, or were you just humoring me?) 😉
So, we are settled in, we have had a good morning hike. Now what? There is no “town” nearby to run errands, go to a movie. No National Park nearby with attractions and exhibits. No place to be at no particular time. I sit at the dinette, look around me, and say out loud, “What are you doing the rest of your life?”
Our camp…
Gayle and I do a nice full moon hike.
There is always an end in sight when in a campground. Reservations, time limits, how many nights are you willing to pay? But the only limits in boondocking can easily be reset. Yes, there was boondocking in Utah, but it had “finality”…an end date on the calendar. The holidays were coming, my friends were leaving soon, and time was limited. So there was self-imposed pressure to make very minute count. But what about now? I am over the holiday hump, the forecast is nothing but blue skies and shorts weather. The future looks like one long road out in front of me with no end in sight…and no road map.
This picture in no way shows how crazy-steep this climb is on loose rock!
I sit at the dinette and look out the window to see what Jim and Gayle are doing. She is busy polishing the Lazy Daze windows. I am not that ambitious just yet. Now well into my fourth month of retirement, I still seem to be in “vacation mode.” I get out my new exercise equipment from the Walmart, and try a few reps. That takes all of 30 minutes. I am still on a blogging hiatus, so no writing or photo editing gaps to fill there. So what now?
I just stocked up at Trader Joe’s, so I can cook! When I was working, I ate out nearly every meal. Not only does this not fit into my new “austerity plan,” but it also doesn’t fit when I am parked thirty miles from the nearest brew pub. So I fire up the stove and make some homemade Portuguese Kale soup (thanks, Jane!) and a salad. Not being used to cooking in such close quarters, it takes me the better part of a day, chopping, simmering, sampling, and clean-up afterwards.
Finally, it is day three, and I am starting to settle in here at Saddle Mountain. I enjoy the deafening quiet of the desert. Being present for the rhythm of the sunsets and sunrises every day, the full moon tracking across the sky, and the beautiful changing light each of these casts on the mountains right outside my window is soothing to me. After the warm sunny days, I look forward to the cool nights when the low-angled sun drops down behind the mountain, requiring another layer around my shoulders. And I am enjoying exploring on the many unmarked, unofficial, and in some cases, nonexistent trails here with Jim and Gayle. The rest of my life is looking pretty good from where I sit.
When Gayle says “Just a short hike today,” those turn out to be the best adventures!
J. Peterman, scouting out possible routes down the mountain
I start to unwind to the point where I feel like I could stay here forever. Jim and Gayle are pulling out, but I have decided to stay a while. I put on some music, turn it up, and start to enjoy the 360 degree solitude.
But all too soon, I learn what my true limiting factor is for boondocking. My iphone charger goes kaput! Literally falls apart. And since I am using it for a hotspot, the battery is draining faster than the Wicked Witch’s hourglass. (My Verizon is still in “hibernation” from Mexico, waiting out the last two days of my billing cycle.) Jim and Gayle are long gone, halfway to Yuma by now. It’s just me and the coyotes. So what if it’s an addiction poorly disguised as a safety concern, I’m not staying out here overnight with no signal! I pack up and pull out faster than my iphone can say “Siri Not Available…Connect to the Internet.” I am only willing to take this solitude thing so far… 😉
With all the trappings that many of us have / use for everyday living complete self sufficiency is a utopian dream. For me loving and enjoying the countryside is one thing but not to the extent of being completely cutoff from civilisation. I dont blame you for moving on, I would have done the same. A few olives would go nicely with the salad!
Great post and I love the last photo–rock art! We too love the solitude up to a point, my dear husband tells me he could live without internet but I would like to see him try–maybe not, that would mean I had to live without it too!! 😉
What to do, now? That’s always a question in my mind when we first arrive someplace. Seems I don’t want to think that I’m wasting time, doing nothing. I must go hiking, find something to repair, or tear up; something to do. After a couple days, a routine develops that is much more like when we’re home. Read a little, nap a little, hike, cook, whatever. That’s when we really begin to enjoy a location. As for being connected, I think that is a very high priority for everyone, nowadays.
Totally have had every feeling in this post…and sometimes still do! When you finally manage to let go and get into the flow of life it’s a beautiful thing. But no internet!! Yeah, I would’ve left too LOL!
Nina
Hey, Nina, I am just testing the “nesting comments” tip that you showed me…
I so enjoy reading your posts! I can’t wait to one day meet up and do some hiking. I know it will be great fun and full of laughs. Isn’t it so much fun to be able to hike and explore without a trail full of people:) Glad you decided to get back to civilization without any cell phone service:)
No internet? No Way!
The salad looks delish. Could you post the recipe for the Portuguese Kale soup? It sounds soooo good.
I love this post. I love the open spaces, the open ended, the don’t have to be anywhere, do anything, be anyone. I was sorry to read you hit the road. Your iphone charger literally broke in pieces so you have to go get another one? That’s a bummer. Hope you’ll come back. Any place with a heart and a spiral on the ground is a place I’d love to be. With enough rocks, I’d build a labyrinth. Any chance for that great sounding soup recipe? Or the link to the originator? Sure would love to be part of the philosophy club. That’s my kind of hiking group.
Welcome to retirement…..
Great, fabulous, wonderful, outstanding and much needed to read post, Suzanne… 😉 I’m so far behind in blogging and reading my favorite bloggers’ blogs… HI Sherry! so much needed inspiration from you
And, no way can I do long periods of isolation ~ can’t do it. Being without a signal? scary stuff
Amazing to realize that when I used to travel all over the place years before cell phones ~ I had to WALK to a pay phone and have correct change to call for help for a battery restart or flat tire or …. a whatever.
nope … love my iPhone … sure do
The most important issue with this post is your photos of me. Surely, you could have used photoshop to make me taller. I realize younger would be too much to ask.
I loved you see you in the…..out there. You were melding into the place until what…. technology failed you!!! I have gone days without the familiar touch points of phone or internet. Feeling alone in the universe takes a bit of getting used to. After a few days my sense of rhythm was reset to a new rhythm of daily activities….and I discovered a new peace. I do need to know that I am within a walkout of help if necessary to relax and explore my feelings of self-sufficiency. I do like to challenge my boundaries and have found for me, the boundaries in the past have always involved being close to others for safety. I do bump into the boundaries a bit!!!
lol. I Love it! Aren’t we all so brave and adventurous…..until the Iphone battery dies. Would have felt the same.
Thank you for ending your blogging hiatus. Great post. Love the photos. One of our frst boondock experiences was in a no cell service zone – we only stayed one night and then found different locale with cell/internet. Wonderful to have fun hiking buds!
Got to have the technology, especially when one is alone. You’ve been really getting around since you retired, and that’s not a bad thing. Go when the mood or the need strikes, that’s the best thing about retirement.
I really enjoyed this post Suzanne. Some say that learning to do nothing takes real effort and I suspect when we get on the road fulltime in June it will take us some time as well. How fun to spend most of the day making a wonderful, healthy meal for yourself – what a treat! Nothing more important than being and feeling safe, so moving on with no connection is very smart. Safe travels. Enjoy the open end……
Suzanne, your posts have a beautiful flow to them, philosophical, whimsical, funny, pulling at feelings sometimes that I didn’t know lay below the surface. I really enjoyed this post and your lovely images. I too would have fired up the rig when I learned that my cell service took a detour.
Retirement, I think is a feeling you need to get used to. Being I’m only retired for half the year it always takes me a few weeks to get into it’s mode. And then I absolutely love being in the quiet of the middle of nowhere. But no internet is just not good. Glad you got to hook up with Jim and Gayle again for some hiking and philosophy. The soup recipe does sound good.
I’ve been lurking on your site for a while but decided to come out of the woodwork. Keep on having fun.
Thank you all for your very kind comments about this post. I do have to laugh at myself running like a scared rabbit at the first “flat line” of my cell phone. I would claim it was the need to stay connected due to my Dad’s health, but then I would only be denying my own addiction. 😉 “Hi, I’m Suzanne….and I’m a webaholic!”
For those who wanted a copy of Jane’s Portuguese Kale Soup, please see below:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium or 5 small potatoes, (I use the small red skin ones, sliced thin with skin on)
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 carrots cut up
2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 bay leaves, fresh or dried
1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans or northern beans
1 pound diced spicy sausage (I use chicken sausage, sometimes the kind with apple in it for a different taste)
1 quart chicken broth
Heat oil in a deep pot over medium high heat. Sautee onions and garlic. Add potatoes, carrots- cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth, bay leaves, and sausage and kale and beans. Cook until potatoes & carrots are tender to your taste. Salt & pepper to taste.
Oh- I am so glad you are still enjoying the soup recipe and are sharing it!! It makes me feel like I am part of your boondocking experiences now!! 🙂 Some day I will be out there cooking it myself. In fact when I cook it now I think what portion size I would make to store left overs in a Roadtrek. Need to make it smaller! Unless I had a lot of friends over at the campsite!
And it is interesting how “following the Signal” has trumped “following the stars” some times!! 🙂 I love your posts. OOOOOs
Al here, I still follow your blog. Jim and Gayle also. And we finally got the engine installed and runs great.
Hey, Al! Glad to see you here! I thought you were humoring us. 😉 Such great news about the Tracker! It was great meeting someone else who could “feel my engine-replacement pain” and I am delighted to hear you got it back to running. It is Tracker Territory here in Yuma…they are everywhere. So are you back on the road, or still in the Saddle?
We left the saddle and are back in Quartzite. Headed for San Diego to visit some friends then move to higher elevations. Its is getting a bit warm for us.
This post has really resonated with me. Hubby and I retired/sold our business in Sept. of last year and have headed out. Currently in Apache Junction, AZ and loving it. We/I are struggling with finding our ‘rhythm’ in retirement…but slowly are getting the hang of it. Loving learning to hike most of all and so love, love your posts. Maybe someday we’ll meet down the road! Happy retirement to you!