The Beautiful Whole

When we started our adventure, we didn't know what the outcome would be. We simply headed out to see what we would find. Discovery. As is usually the case when someone does something like this, I found myself, not physical locations. (although we did find a few of those too.) We made our lives bigger by making our house smaller.

Humbled. That's how I feel after 18 months of living on the road. I am not impressed with the "modern world" persona that I created for myself, and more conscious of my "natural world" self. I really am just a human unit and my value is one human unit. My value is not what a promo video or website says.

I have a meaning the transcends what I represent as a consumer, census figure or Google search. The fact that I am a "common" human makes me instantly immense, an equal part of a much greater whole. I am entitled to no more or less than any other. It is great to be an equal part of the beautiful whole. (That doesn't sound right when I say it out loud.) 

I lose track of the beautiful whole in the "modern world." Easy to think about just the lonely me. Easy to think one person deserves better treatment, food, respect because... is there a reason? Our modern world often rewards the aggressive, the dominant, the bully, the cheat, the vulgarizer; the cold, heartless efficient computers churning billions of calculations. I don't know how you got your money, maybe you did something bad to someone. Maybe you are a rich criminal.

How can I make the modern world reward all of us, especially those who do not press their advantage? I have an idea. What if I make a charitable donation in every transaction? What if instead of trying to scrape every last dime off of every last person, what if I try to make sure that there was a little extra for them in it every time? A little something to feed hope. Maybe it is not extra money that I leave them with, maybe it is extra dignity.

I want to find the way to thrive while being the best version of myself. I need to humble myself and pay back the universe for the greed of my arrogance.

I found the beautiful whole. I want to stay in the beautiful whole.

Trail Ridge Road RMNP

We drove through Rocky Mountain National Park to get to Boulder from Steamboat and took the Trail Ridge Road, not really knowing what we were getting into. To make a long story short we drove the longest, thinnest, highest, with the longest cliffs road I've been on, in a rainstorm, during the height of tourist season, pulling a trailer. NOT A GOOD IDEA. It took a lot of concentration to make this drive, I was exhausted when we got to Boulder.

We saw it all, everything everyone raves about. The views are spectacular when you are driving on a road at 12,000 feet in altitude. There were lots of elk roaming around, yup. And Colorado is beautiful, no two ways about it. Just wouldn't do it again with a trailer in the rain.



We've got lots of people in our world going on and on about this and that 24/7. Perhaps this blog is part of that chatter. What does it really matter what I do, where I go or what I see? The Industrial Revolution gives way to the Information Age which gives way to the Chattering Chatter Age. Blah, blah, blah about whatever blows in front of your nose; with all the analysis and in-depth consideration of "breaking news." There's no context, just action. The latest, up-to-the-minute, last thing you saw or thought. Not the best, just the absolute latest. Only now.

A billion little personal worlds; each complete, chirping like baby birds in a nest hungry for the next meal of attention to be brought to them.



Meanwhile, an archaic, superstitious labyrinth of drug laws leaves our country vulnerable and suffering. Rather than deal with drugs as a personal issue, we make it criminal and lock up our brothers and sisters while giving criminals premium dollars to produce and deliver the drugs illicitly. The drugs you get from your doctor that are legal addict and kill, putting even law abiding citizens unwittingly in their graves and prison.

Tough on crime? More like tough on the vulnerable, the easiest to catch, the user. Handing more and more money to more and more cops and prison guards means there is more and more money in illegal drugs for everyone on both sides of the fence. You want to be tough on crime, make drug use legal. Don't make it smart or appropriate, just legal. Picking your nose is legal, but I don't see everyone rushing to do it, just guys in their cars at stop lights.



You want to get high? Drive the Trail Ridge Road, it will blow your mind for $20.

Lemonade?

Artists bet their emotional capital, with the world as their voyeur and critic. 

I cannot imagine living life removed from the action. I want to taste life, smell it.  So today I live in a world of risk, a world of the first person.

If I am to live so dangerously, I cannot waste time.  

If there is just one message I must spread, then it must be the message of the RV lifestyle. The RV lifestyle is simply this: Slow down and enjoy the ride. Every minute of your life is exactly one minute, nothing you can do to change it, might as well enjoy it. Live in the moment.

I realize the RV lifestyle is in direct opposition to the mandate of modern business genius. Or is it?

Business demands ever-higher productivity from the same resources. A corporation’s responsibility is to return value to the investor. Yeah, well, how about lifestyle? What’s that return worth? What’s working for a great company worth? What's having a great company in your town worth? What's quality worth to the investor? In order to make less into more, you have to make more out of less. How do you do it? Simple, you slow down.

Things get better when you slow down. Don’t believe me? Ask my wife.

I would argue America should be enormously happy with the astounding wealth and freedom we have, yet I see a country where people are nervous, contentious and bickering.  I "driveway camp" with friends in different neighborhoods, and there are always vacant foreclosed homes. I can find them in every town from the dead lawn and the paper notice on the door.  Too bad we have to crash to slow down. Too bad we are going so fast we can’t enjoy what we have.

Our economy is based on a full-steam-ahead model, rather than a best speed model. Unfortunately that means that if our economy varies, or goes slower for a while, people can suddenly find themselves in ruin, (while still incredibly rich by the world’s standards).  They can be taken down to the depths, and some even take their own lives from the oppressive weight.

Beware my gentle friends. 

Let them race ahead, let them grab it all and try to keep it. Be prepared for the outrage of people who can’t *insert whatever* anymore. People will be genuinely upset.  It will only get crazier.  Don’t be so surprised.

Stay, find some shade, and sit a while. Let it go. Your problems will all be there for you tomorrow.  Take a minute to look around and see how good you really do have it.  You can’t make friends until you stop to talk to somebody.

Lemonade?

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Last year we came through Steamboat after picking up the trusty Suburban in Utah and heading back to Boulder. We joined my trusted companion's brother as he finished running the Wild West Relay with his team. (200 mile relay race, wow.) It was a quick trip, with no Casita, but we liked what we saw. This year we came and stayed a few days.

We stayed at the Rabbit Ears Pass National Forest Campground named Meadows, (elevation 9300 feet). It has rained just before we arrived. A blanket of flowers burst across the mountain meadows, in rich, sharp colors. The flowers were everywhere, so beautiful. Thank goodness nature isn't tied to the economy. No downtown in beauty up here.



Let me ask you something, am I poorer because I wasn't working and making money, or am I richer for experiencing this? If your answer is I am richer, why is the campground half-full and the freeway congested? I think many people do love beauty and richness of experience and will say so, but they serve commerce. Commerce is what they answer to, commerce is the master. I can have more richness of experience if I need less stuff.



We decided to track down the trail to Fish Creek Falls and hike it. I'm not much of a hiker, I view hiking as something you endure to get to where you want to go. Luckily this was a short hike of about 2 miles round-trip. It was a beautiful hike to the even more beautiful falls. Something odd happened on the hike though.

As we were getting started I was nervously asking questions about how long and steep the hike was and a retired lady in the parking lot essentially told me stop my whining because there was an "old" man that was hiking the trail just fine. Off we went and close to the top of the trail we met a wonderful "old" couple. Sure enough, this gentleman was making his way slowly up and down the trail using ski poles to steady himself. He was very thin and moved slowly and deliberately while his wife patiently walked by his side. We stopped and chatted for a minute about how beautiful it all was.



After reaching the top over-look, we hiked down to the bottom. About mid-way was the parking lot, and we passed the older couple again. We told them we were headed all the way to the bottom of the falls. "Oh, to be your age again!" the beautiful older woman exclaimed.

To be my age again? Stopped me in my tracks.

After our hiking day we slipped on over to the Strawberry Hot Springs for a nice, long, soak in the clear mountain water hot springs. I forgot how beautiful Colorado is. Shame on me. I love it here, and I love the people here.

Back on Solid Rolling Ground

Off we go on down the road for our final full-time adventure. It's been 18 months! We have been having a great summer driveway camping in Utah with our new friends Nick and Dixie. We found them through Craigslist. They were super sweet and a great family to visit. Craigslist driveway camping! The new economy presents new opportunities.



We left Utah and decided to head to Boulder via Steamboat Springs. We took this route last summer too, but I forgot how beautiful Colorado is in the summer. The first part of the drive takes you through Utah's dinosaur country. You drive through Roosevelt, Duchesne (pronounced doo-SHAY-n) and finally Vernal.

We pushed past Vernal and found a dirt road to camp on a few miles outside of town. I love being able to pull off the road when I get tired and find a spot and settle down for the night. RV's allow you to be home wherever you are and travel at your own pace.



I've said it a million times, slowing down makes everything a lot better. Even speeding takes more from the quality of your life than you realize.

We camped out in the desert and in the morning got up and drove to Steamboat Springs, Co. Ever been there? We drove through Craig, CO.

Big Summer

It's been a grand, busy week. It has been one of those weeks where memories of any one of the days would have been enough to make the summer great, and yet somehow these amazing days all showed up together in one week, with one super-duper-duper day.

So much of my life has been wasted on things that don't mean anything. Obviously family is never a waste, so that time is covered. After that, career? I provided for my family, I made people laugh for a while and helped entertain them and helped them forget their problems; those things are real. But I feel like I missed an opportunity to be involved in something that meant something more. I haven't been in touch with the raw powers of life, I haven't done a good job of being brave. Never took on the man very much.



We just spent a couple of nights free camping on National Forest Service land for free. Took the trailer out and let it breath the fresh mountain air. The Casita is an awesome way to go, camping isn't hard at all when you have everything! We had a family camp-out with tents and a tent-trailer. We enjoyed the luxury of the Casita and a generator. Saw this awesome DIY trailer on the road.

We sat around the campfire and talked. The big July moon lit up the landscape like a galactic street light. I understand that many people only get a couple of days here and there to get away from the human-created landscape. Nature is something many people read about while they sit in a climate-controlled box. Food comes from a package, water from a bottle, a tan from make-up. I'm afraid when nature is unnatural, something is amiss.

So much has changed in the short 18 months our house has been on wheels. One more stop and then we head back into living in a building for the winter. Life is not static, it is constantly moving and re-ordering. Just like the water in a river, the changing patterns reflected on its surface are unending and familiar. Change is the constant. Movement is magic.

My American 4th

My America.

Spent July 4th right here in good 'ole Utah.  As the 4th landed on Sunday, that meant we had an odd Saturday, Sunday, Monday kinda of holiday. Family came into town and we had Grandma's BBQ with the gang. We hiked Timp, checked out the balloon launch -- though what we say was actually balloons lying on the ground because of the wind. We had great times with our family. Even sat in the hot spring hot tub and looked out over Utah Lake as the sun set.

People go absolutely bananas out here for the 4th in a way that seems odd to me. Almost like a "who loves America most" contest, apparently determined by the size of your fireworks display and what you are willing to do to get a good spot for the parade. People sleep out for parade spots here. 4th of July is to many Utahns as the iPhone is to Mac Geeks. They are very motivated about the subject.

We sat on the far side of the lake, away from all the hoopla and watched our fellow Americans light Chinese fireworks to celebrate our country.

I love America much more after leaving the country, especially after visiting war-torn and impoverished parts of the world. We are so blessed, and it seems we are rather apathetic about that fact, instead spending our time complaining about the many social injustices we incur, such as waiting too long for our food in a restaurant, rain after we just washed the car, and $100 million movies that didn't meet our expectations.

Gad.

Now is the time to work for the future, but us folks today are spending and consuming far more than we make. Our plan for our future? Borrow more today! Making it worse, seems to me we are wastefully spending magic credit-card money on the wrong things. We seem to be convincing ourselves we are in desperate times requiring drastic measures while at the same time saying that nothing is wrong and we need more of the same of what got us here to get back to normal. What?

Everyone agrees things are crazy, and we all agree on the reason. Other people.