Taking Roxy (my red Versa) into Sedona/Cottonwood

[Mystic]

Hello everyone!

Not a huge Captain's log here, but I thought I should commemorate my first step towards intentional nomad-hood. This is a baby-step practice run.

So, my niece and I are off to Sedona/Cottonwood right now and are planning to camp for the week. We stayed last night at my Dad's who lives in New River, AZ so we are not far off. We drove from SoCal yesterday and had a wonderful drive, laughing a lot and listening to awesome music. We talked a lot about the Nomad life as my niece is thinking of doing it too. We fantasied about what kind of rigs we would like to get/convert.

We stopped at Shield's in Indio to have Date Shakes and sample some of the most delicious dates on the planet. Yum!

So now from New River, I think we only have a couple of hours drive. I checked out freecampsites.net and there seems to be a lot to choose from.

So, so excited!!!

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

If its to hot there, try Winslow, flagstaff which is were I am or Williams.

Congratulations on taking the first steps.

 

[Mystic]

so, yesterday, we barely made it to a site before it started getting dark. All the equipment I have is borrowed, like the tent. My niece wanted to stay in the tent and not be alone, so I gave up on the plan to try out sleeping in the car.
However, the winds collapsed our tent. Probably had it up wrong. So at 3am we went into the car. It was quite comfy!
It is so gorgeous over here. The overcast sky is giving some awesome UV light making everything extra beautiful.
Also, we met 2 wonderful ladies with their dogs, both with Lazy Daze RVs. Nice rigs!

 

[Yogidog]

That wind is crazy! I had a whole thread on it, u probably had tent right great u are enjoying it!

 

[Mystic]

Yogidog, I didn't see that thread, where is it?

I know, crazy winds. Found out it was the tail end of a hurricane or something?......lol! I did say I wanted an adventure!

My niece and I had a great time.....until she started to be a pain. She is very often very rude and doesn't see it. But when you call her attention to it she acts like you just slapped her in the face or something. She pulls this stuff often to my sister (her mom) and has the family emotionally hostage. She acts as the victim even when she is the perpetrator. (This is worrisome because she is an adult now, 22, and the emotional equivalent of 15.)

But she never pulled that stuff on me. Until yesterday.

So, I gave her the respect that I would give any other adult, which is to tell her to back off and that she was being condescending and it hurt my feelings. I used this language specifically because it is language that she uses a lot to complain about others. She immediately gave me the "how dare you" look and retorted that I hurt her feelings too (which was the first I was hearing about it). Then she ran off for an hour, with no cell phone.

I waited that hour and wondered if I needed to worry about her getting lost. When she came back, after a few words, I told her we were leaving.

She gets to experience that when you are nasty to people, they don't want to be around you. I am not playing that game.

We drove back to New River in silence, and I dropped her off at her grandfather's. I'm off on my own adventure, which was the original idea. I offered to swing back and take her home after I was done (I wasn't going to leave her stranded), but her mom is buying her a plane ticket home.

I feel that my dealings with my niece were of the best service to her at that moment. Kind of a "tough love" that she needs to experience. I told her she was one of 5 people on this planet that could do anything to me and I would still love her, BUT that doesn't mean she gets to treat me that way.

Whew! Not how I envisioned my trip but I am determined to enjoy my time off.

Sorry for the downer post. Actually, I am feeling really excited right now....I still have a ton of gorgeous camping spots to choose from!

 

[Yogidog]

It is .under driving in high winds, discussions that dont fit in other areas. I now know this is normal!

End of hurricane makes sense, I am above u in winslow

Your niece behavior reminded me of some of my daughter's stuff, under thirty seems to bring that

Not a downer at all just reality!

Sounds beautiful down there, maybe god made nature to counteract dealing with relatives, have fun

 

[Mystic]

Yogidog, thank you for your supportive words. Yes under thirty........smh...

I am back now from my dispersed camping trip into Sedona. Despite the fiasco with my niece, I would say it was a huge success. I had intended to post in this Captain's log more but I ended up choosing to be frugal with my energy and data plan use. But, it was probably for the best for this particular trip. I really needed to "unplug" and I only allowed myself occasional texting with my honey (for safety, he knew exactly where I was, etc.)

I plan on posting some pics but I'm having a bit of trouble doing that right now. I will get it figured out though.

So, during this trip, I learned some things:

• My Nissan is quite comfy to sleep in once I get all the padding situated. I have a bed and nightstand, a lounge area, two storage areas, places to hang up essentials for easy access....it was quite nice!
• The toilet situation is annoying but I finally figured out a working system!
• Time is different when out in nature and unplugged. It feels longer but in a good way. Richer, I suppose.
• I can actually get myself to go to sleep earlier and wake up right before sunrise. I thought I was an incurable night owl.
• Solitude, ....as much as I love interacting with people...regular doses of solitude is imperative. And in a city, in today's day and age, it takes a lot of intentionality to create it.
• My soul was starved for this trip and now is happy!

This became kind of a spiritual retreat it seems. I came back home with new resolve and new directions for creating my life.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Sounds like you had a wonderfully productive trip. (Even including the interaction with your niece---may she actually absorb it, to her benefit.)