Fellow nomad and friend Christy recommended I get back in the saddle of Instagram. She said it’s a great way to keep in touch with friends you meet on the road. So, I’ve made a few posts of pretty sites, and will try to keep it up. It’s convenient to use my own music, too! Amidst the daily firehose of horror coming from our “administration” and our Grifter in Chief, maybe posting images of Nature with pensive piano music can help drop our cortisol levels a bit. You can find me at https://www.instagram.com/blakerowe1.
Barbara’s show was spectacular, of course. I went with new friends Kama and Hackey whom I met at the Xscapers gathering. They overwinter in Tucson so we had some fun dinners together, and I did a nice hike in Sabino Canyon with Hackey. But, it was finally time to say Too-da-loo to Tucson. No more daily visits to the movie theater!
My next campsite was with Harvest Hosts at Moksha Sanctuary, a horse rescue nonprofit. Ranchers resent the wild horses in various free range areas, so they’ve come up with the idea that it’s environmentally appropriate to round them up and euthanize them because there isn’t enough food for them to thrive. But actually, there isn’t enough food for the 1500 horses AND the 2500 cattle allowed to graze the same area, so the horses have to go. There is a whole industry of horses for slaughter, to buyers in Canada and Mexico. The hosts Travis and Crystal have rescued 22 horses. They struggle with the reality of other horse rescue groups that set up shop, fundraise then disappear. Not to paint too broad a picture here, but I do get the sense that there remains a little “wild” in today’s west. It's a real labor of love, so if you're moved, please consider supporting them.
I had some sunlight left, so after getting a tour and seeing the horses, I tried to drive a long dirt road to Chiricahua Peak, but came upon a large pool of muddy water on the road, next to a “Do Not Enter When Flooded” sign. Readers will remember my van is not a high carriage four wheel drive. I heeded the sign’s advice. Still daylight, I drove 15 miles to the scenic drive of Chiricahua National Monument. I got some nice pics at Massai Point. I keep mentioning the waning sun, because it meant I was driving back to the campsite in the dark. I wasn’t speeding, but suddenly there was a deer right in front of me, bolting across the road. It didn’t make it. I slammed the brakes but I hit it hard and watched it go careening in front of me from the impact. It lurched off the road and into the bushes. I got out and offered a useless apology, and it found the energy to move off into the darkness. I have no illusions that it will survive. I turned my attention to the van. Radiator steam was billowing from the engine. The plastic on the hood was broken, but otherwise no body damage save a small dent on the side. I pulled off the road and flagged down a passing car. We determined I still had plenty of coolant fluid, so I drove it slowly back to the campsite.
I’m writing as I wait for a tow. I am “way out in the sticks”, as the driver who helped me said, so I’m being towed almost 200 miles to a Dodge/Ram dealer.
My plan to drive down to Big Bend National Park will need to be scrapped. Waiting for a radiator and waiting my turn at the repair shop means it’s anyone’s guess when I’ll be back on the road. I need to be in Denver by the 22nd, so I can visit and ski with niece Care and husband Greg before flying to NY for the month of March. Will update y’all in the next post!