Greetings and Salutations

[Kate_McCridhe]

Well... I have been following along for a while, so not entirely new. But new here. 
Found this because I remembered HOWA might be looking for land in Arkansas? Saw a description of some land in Fulton county with access from Hwy 63 (just down the road a bit from here).
So I signed up. 
Uhm... then I wondered why the copy & paste didn't work.   Oh DUH! I switched to my tablet because I signed up under my philistine artist name, and used that email. Pft! Sooooo...  that'll be my next post. 
Anyway. Old mapping drafting technician that got caught up in that 2008 mess in 2009, got laid off (along with  36 other drafter/designers) the same week I sprung my husband out of the hospital after his stroke,  and 2 weeks before my 50th birthday. Pretty standard story after that. Went from  being an industry hotshot (for a technician) to old & feeble in the eyes of HR in engineering firms just that quickly. 
Been driver & cook for family since then.
Widowed almost 5 years ago (learned broken heart really is an accurate term, and it really can kill you). Learned the Dickensian status of being widowed under the age of 60 in this country,  and if Mom hadn't needed a driver & cook,  I would have been homeless... and most likely dead.
I have been going back to being an artist (my first college major... but the art culture in the 1970s and I were at odds... I  swapped to geology then ran out of college money... what a long strange trip), and plotting going gypsy obsessively since my husband passed away. I have had friends remind me that I have made mention of doing this since they knew me... some since I was a teenager. 
Come to think of it,  when my folks bought a camper in 1974, I'd tend to take it over in the spring and summer. Before that, I spent the summer in the tent. Dad didn't mind. All the glitches were taken care of (or known), and things were aired out for vacations. ?
Currently I have a minivan,  but I am 6' tall, and I do want a bit more head room than 43". There's also that toilet thing...

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Kate to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. highdesertranger

 

[travelaround]

Welcome to the forum. So sad, a broken heart. Well, I've been there, but for different reasons. I hope you find a van you could make into a home. I too would not want to live in a minivan unless there were no alternatives. For a homeless person sleeping on the street or in shelters, a minivan would be a great blessing.

 

[maki2]

Welcome and yes you should get out and about and enjoy your life as a solo woman traveler.

Sounds like you have some real skills there between art, geology and mapping drafting technician. You will be able to earn quite a few extra dollars with that combination. Artistic maps are huge sellers. They don't even have to be of real places, imaginary ones are also appealing. The gaming community is also all over that type of mapping graphic. Forget the engineering scene, have some real creative fun with your skill set. You are going to rock your new lifestyle.