If the first year or so of my vagabond life was all about hitting the road and seeing the sights, this year was all about connecting with friends and meeting new ones. I stepped out of my comfort zone twice in a big way, for a writers conference in March and an RV women-only gathering in May, and both gave me friends and laughter and connections that continued long after the weekends were over. I camped with friends more this year, from South Carolina and North Carolina to Tennesee and Indiana, and to Colorado, British Columbia, and Washington. In Pennsylvania…
Category: Journal
Closing the Loop
I made it back to Kalaloch this fall, the campground where I started my full-timing vagabonding three years ago on September 1, 2016. So much has happened in that three years that trying to write about it has kind of stopped me in my tracks. I can use my campsites then and now as a metaphor. The first campsite was tiny and dark, with my shiny new Alto 1743 tucked under a tree, in a site barely long enough to fit trailer and Subaru Outback 3.6R without jutting into the narrow road. I spent a lot of time worrying about…
Followup: Finding My Voice Again
I’ve appreciated all the support I’ve gotten since I published “Finding My Voice Again” earlier this month. I want to answer a few questions and make a few clarifications, continuing the dialog about mental health since the whole of October is designated Mental Health Awareness Month. The depression I wrote about happened in 2012. For me, depression is not a “one and done” thing. It is something that I deal at irregular intervals as things go out of balance, for whatever reasons. I’ve spent the last few months dealing with another round of depression and am just coming out the…
Finding My Voice Again
On this, both my birthday and World Mental Health Day, I’d like to talk a bit about how I found my voice again in 2012.
Taking a Wider View
I haven’t bought a new camera lens in more than three years, but heading to the big open vistas of the West, I couldn’t resist. I stopped into a little camera store in Casper, Wyoming, that turned out to be a great little camera store. The manager worked with me to find a quality wide-angle lens and adapter for my Sony A7 that was in my price range (and well below what a straight Sony wide-angle would cost). I left the store excited to try it out. Here’s one of the first things I shot: Oxbow Bend in the Grand…