Spending time with the work-free.

There is something to be said for camping next to a reservoir of snow melt. When the days are 96, and the generators aren’t doing their job, there’s still a place to go. 

My goal is to do this on ONE, WORKING generator. We will see if we meet that goal soon. ;-)

The weekend and the locals show up. Friendly bunch, of course they all know each other. Funny enough and giving too; the one with the job and his employment-won spoils of blue juice and airline carpet.
The jobless one “will work for food”, as he’s out of food stamps and says it’s nearly impossible to find work with a past felony. At least it wasn’t the playboy bunny on his chest, filled in with the confederate flag that he will proudly offer to show you within minutes of meeting you. That would just be prejudice.
We donated hamburgers, salad, camper baked cookies, water and let them try the absinthe.
Hey, somebody’s gotta drink it. ;-) Fortunately it wasn’t the 12 year old daughter. She had cigarettes to smoke and a boyfriend to molest. Yes, I said 12.

Her mom told me she “had to quit breastfeeding because she wasn’t getting enough nutrition.” All I could do is stare blankly at her as I nurse Ember. What do you SAY to that? I don’t feel it’s a very good opportunity to do any educating. I figure that by nursing Ember so openly and casually around them, and her obvious health and happiness in doing so; that’s about the best support of breastfeeding I can offer this situation right here. I imagine that within a year or two, that 12 year old daughter might need to remember back to “that lady that breastfed in the campground”. *Shrug* who knows.
I know that they made use of the local free faire, (fish & crawfish) which is a good thing. One might say they ate well, as the price of trout and crawfish is high. I can’t wait to catch some of our own.
They admitted that their gas had been shut off, and without warm showers, there’s not a single reason they should be sitting at home. I agree.
One of them said that he “comes up here to get away from it all”. I guess that’s why any of us come up here really.

Just because they drink their absinthe mixed with Mountain Dew and we choose to not drink it at all and they take donations from the Food Co-op when we BUY from them. I can see how it's easy to have giant chasms in the social classes. It's a very different world when you are a "have-not". Mark has never known people like this. I was raised around them in Tennessee. Hell, I have relatives that live this way, only they are usually in and out of jail. It is a different world, yet we aren't so different in many of the basic ways though. We all want a little peace of mind. They are all very nice. I wish them all the best.
Living in a camper and meeting different people each day is going to really open up some commentary with Sagan (and Ember when she’s older) on social issues. I can see that. It is a good thing.

It’s still lovely to look out onto the water. Swim when we want. Fish when we want. The water is really clear and wonderfully cold.

Don't Grill Here!

Scout made himself at home today. I mean REALLY at home.



If you didn't catch what he was doing, let me give you a close up:


Now if that wasn't funny enough. I mean, he thinks it was put there for that very purpose. I give you:

Boy Scout Brunch Beware!!! Tails of a Camp Cat:


Not only is my cat taking a dump in the fire pit next to us, he's irritated the swallows to the point of dive bombing him.
I think that this summer is going to prove to be HIGHLY entertaining.

Day One: Grantsville Reservoir

We arrived at 10pm.

So we got a late start. Sue us. Fortunately, as we expected, Grantsville Reservoir was mostly empty.

Mid week may very well be a good time to move the camper. Only two other camps and some late-night party kids to be found. We saw some night fishing as well.

Morning brought us high winds, just as Tooele County has shown us a lot of in the last year. The parking lot here at the campground makes for some nasty dust storms. 

Such a shame that we won’t even venture out on our first day! No exploring, no fishing. Perhaps the wind will mellow as the day progresses. It IS fun to watch the wind surfer out on the reservoir though. It looks like a lot of fun. I always thought it would be a sport I might like. That is just what I need, one more hobby.

Scout is right at home, however a little disturbed that Script isn’t with us. He’s not venturing far from the camper. He has watched the birds from the front door, but he’s only spent a little time outside so far. Script is missing out. She escaped the camper twice last night as we were loading up. Mark was sick of chasing her, so she got to stay at Seabase. We will go over there today and round her up. Silly cat. I think once we get a cat carrier and put her in it for the rides, she will get over that initial dart reflex. We hope anyway.

I’ve already started to see different birds than live at Seabase. We have only moved about 15 miles, but in just that distance, we have more vegetation, and therefore more birds. Out comes the bird book. It may very well find a home on our coffee table made out of a cooler.

I have to admit that I’m really nervous about this summer adventure. More than “camping all summer” I guess I worry about our “stuff””. We LIVE in the camper now, so all the day-to-day things that we are so close to are now MOBILE. I worry about wrecks, (thanks mom) I worry about fires, I worry about theft. I worry about these things WAY more than I did living in a house, even though many of those things are more likely to happen when you stay put. I dunno. Fear is natural, I suppose, when you embark upon new journeys.  

Especially when the BRAND NEW generator won't run the air conditioning. Now we STILL have 2 worthless generators. Sigh...

Would I trade it for the security of a stick house and the same view every day? Nope. At least not just yet.

Diving

We've lived at Bonneville Seabase for a year now. 

Seabase is an inland ocean, a warm salt spring dive facility in the middle of the desert.

It is complete with large tropical fish,

a couple of 8 ft. nurse sharks, 

and a school of 3-4 ft. Skip Jacks.

A very unusual and unique place.

We have loved it here. Seems a shame to be "moving", however we may not be gone forever. Seabase is one place we love dearly, and may even end up as one of our "regular" spots to park the RV. We all love the water and the fish. George and Linda (the owners) aren't so bad either. ;-) Tell them we sent ya. 

Sagan did her Dive Experience today.

 It was her birthday present (Dec. 22) but funny enough, it took us a half a year to make it happen. Such is the way. It certainly didn't take away from the excitement.

She went with Dakota, Linda's granddaughter.
Dakota has become her close friend in the year we have been here. Two wild girls running amok. Sounds like fun to me!

Mark got his dive certification last October.

 I was pregnant at the time and scuba is a no-no for pregnant women, so... I'm SOL until we get the $$ together again for it.  

Sagan and I would like to certify together, now that she's old enough. I am lucky enough to have experienced diving at least. Maybe someday we will be able to dive together. 

We should be moving the rest of our stuff out of our house today. We really don't have THAT much stuff left to move. We will be gone soon enough. In fact, we will be officially "homeless" in two days time. Besides, diving seemed more fun. ;-)

Solstice

Exactly Six months ago today I was big, miserable, irritable, sad & depressed. I really wasn't sure where were were going or what we were doing. I knew I had a baby on the way. I knew that Seabase wouldn't ALWAYS be our home, as lovely as it is. I knew it was a time that would pass.

During the Winter Solstice we take the time to turn inward. 

A time of rest and repose. 

I know how important Solstice time is. Hell, I named a daughter after it. (Sagan Solstice Grace)

I know that the time of year, "when the sun stands still", is powerful. It is a standing time, but also a time of change. It is a time to stop and ponder, and then to move on to the next phase. It is full of energy, a time to not take lightly, lest the darkness will take us.

Here on the Summer Solstice I am exploding with anticipation. Unrest and energy flows.

It's an irritability of another kind, I wait AND hurry. I wonder now what the future holds and am not so sad. I'm not big OR depressed. I have that baby with me here on this earth and can't wait to show it to her. I'm exploding to turn outward. I want to do it all, see it all and experience it all.  I am hard pressed to do too much RIGHT NOW. It will exhaust me. 

Solstice is funny like that. It makes the nights long and the days longer. It is a power unto itself. 

Happy Summer... 

I find some weird shit out here in the desert.