It's been awhile since I posted here. No excuse, I just got busy and out of the habit. I'm still living the van life. A lot has happened since I last wrote here.
I worked as a camphost for the last three summers and plan to again this year. The job is up high in the Sierras, over an hour away from the nearest city. There is good and bad in every job, but I'm still enjoying doing this. I especially like the location, by a rushing river, with lots of mountain trails to hike. Plenty of wildlife and I've had more than a few close encounters with bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and mosquitos. There is little to spend money on up there, so I generally save over half of my income and live off the savings in the winter.
I went to a few of the RTRs but missed the last two and will likely be absent this year, too. Probably for the best. I'm not really much for big crowds. One-on-one interaction is more my cup of tea. Or one-on-none works for me also.
I did have good reason to miss the last couple times. Two winters ago, I ended up in a relationship with my best friend, in Oregon. She was 24 years younger than me, with two young boys. I helped her move from one end of the state to the other, get settled in her new apartment, and got her a good paying job. We lived together for six months, before I headed to California, to do camphosting again. Her ex-husband murdered her, after I left. That was a difficult time for me, wondering if I had stayed, would she still be alive.
After that summer of work, I returned to Oregon and started to have physical issues. Over the next year, I had 8 surgeries for elbow nerve impingement, detached retina, and cancer. I'm cancer-free now, but the elbow surgery was a failure. And after three botched eye surgeries, my vision is not very good in that eye anymore. I'm losing faith in doctors, at least some of them. Sorry about the sad stories.
I'm 58, so still have a few years before retirement. Hopefully, this camphosting gig continues each year. If not, I'll figure out something for income. I still enjoy life in my van and traveling in the Western states. It looks like single life is my destiny. 3 girlfriends have died in the last 6-7 years; the one who got murdered, one from breast cancer, and one from a drug overdose. For the safety of the female gender, I think the solitary life is best.
I remodeled the van a couple times, but want to do it again when I can afford to. There are so many ideas online that sounds good, and I have a pretty good handle on what works in a small space and what doesn't. The van seems to be working well, mechanically. I have replaced a lot of parts, over the years, and feel confident it can go at least five more, fingers crossed.
I'm still in Oregon at present, but plan to start heading south to warmer weather, in a week or two. I'll hit up my favorite locations and discover some new ones. Maybe the same with vandwelling friends.
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