Arizona Meanderings 2026

March 17, 2026 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Two weeks ago I arrived back in Tucson, staying a couple more weeks at a different Arizona Land Trust campground that was way off the highway. No highway noise, very few people and no barking dogs unlike the "Pads" where I spent most of the winter. So incredibly quiet. Love it. Hiked everyday and it was so private I did a little van dancing. But it was dirty! By the time I left Big Blue was covered in orange dust inside and out! I am definitely not a dirt camper!

Tucson was heating up. It's only March and by the end of the week the temperatures were predicted to be around 105 degrees! Too hot for me! So I did what most van/RV/car-living snowbirds are doing and headed north. Again!

The morning of the day I left, I had my water pump replaced as it was leaking coolant, and the Ford dealership, as usual, screwed up.  They never cease to disappoint. Every hill Big Blue climbed, she would start overheating with a dashboard warning that flashed, "REDUCING ENGINE POWER TO AVOID OVERHEATING"!! WTH??? This never happened all last year as I climbed miles of mountain highways!! I've never not been able to overtake a semi-truck on a hill. Not happy. 

I called Ford and they said there might be an air bubble from not being "burped". For some odd reason the service agent thought I could just take it anywhere and someone could burp it for me quick and easy. Ah no, not without a hefty "diagnostic fee" and a week-long wait for an appointment. I was so furious! I continued driving checking various mechanics along the way.

The Tonto National Forest around and above Payson was a nice, cool 75 degrees so I stayed there for one night. The mud is dry leaving deep ruts in the dirt roads. This creates a worrisome risk of getting stuck, but I ventured onward. Problem is at night the temperature drops to around 31 degrees. Way too cold!  

I attempted to head west of Flagstaff, but the daytime temperature was around 85 degrees. Too hot. However when I was there a few weeks ago the forest service road campgrounds were empty...now they are filled with RVs and vans that came up from the south also to beat the heat! And dead cows! I pulled into one campground wondering why it was empty...

So I headed east. Thankfully van life is very flexible. I went back to Tonto for one more night and nearly got stuck in deep gravel freshly poured at the ditch edge to make the mud less problematic. I didn't trust the wet road ahead with snow on the side so I attempted a backup on a single lane dirt road. Reversed too far into the fresh gravel on the edge of the ditch. I spent about a half an hour trying to dig one of my tires out that spin down about a foot. The one tire was dug so deep the front tire was off the ground! How stressful! I really need to be more careful. I'm out of practice, I think. The next morning I continued east.

I found a mechanic in Show Low with an appointment wait of only two days. Show Low was around 89 degrees. Too hot! 

Where to camp for coolness for two days? Several people have told me to go to Alpine where the temperatures are nice and the trees are lovely. It's in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest with free dispersed camping. I stopped at the forest ranger station to ask about camping. The ranger was not helpful and rather rude. I asked him if these sites have trees and he sarcastially said, "Of course, it's a national forest!" To which I replied, "There are no trees driving in to Alpine so it really doesn't look like a guarantee." Never mind all the fire damage around leaving toothpicks of black wood in place of what used to be trees! What an idiot! (On the way to Show Low around Linden, the forest was blackened and the ground was still smoking! Fire risk signs say HIGH all over.)

The snarky ranger was no help finding a dispersed campsite so I just drove until I found a dirt road with a "LEAVING IS YOUR CAMPFIRE COLD?"  sign. Very quiet and peaceful. There was another van near the entrance so I continued. Not many dedicated campsites along the road so I ended way in the back, but it's quiet and beautiful.

Morning View with the Sun Rise

I went hiking with my new hiking boots carrying my phone, keys, and bear spray. Post-ankle break hiking is filled with paranoia. Will I fall again? What if I fall and there is no one around? Are the bears and mountain lions watching me? Are they hungry? Or four-wheeling party men on a Friday night drinking? Hmmm...Oh well. I can't live my life in fear so just do it, camp it, and try not to worry. this should be a fun adventure not a worrisome nightmare. Maybe I need to buy a gun? It's only two days until my appointment. Hopefully I'll live to see it!

Hiking up the Hill

When the other van left the next morning, I took their spot since it's closer to the highway and I'll have to leave in the dark tomorrow to get to my early van appointment. I realized too late that there is no sun after 3pm since the trees shaded everything. You'd think this is wonderful, but I need that sun to keep the solars charged! I woke to 20% which is really nothing. I still had a two hour drive in the dark and then two hours of repairs. The Bluetti didn't go to zero percent and then blow up or melt all my frozen food (my greatest fear). Sunshine all day so they recharged.

After the van check, "burp" and confirmation everything is working properly, I washed the mud off my tire wells at the car wash, got water at Walmart, food at the health food store, then headed to New Mexico via highway 180 through Alpine again.

New Mexico near City of Rocks...still ugly, but now it's HOT!!!

What was I thinking? Once out of the higher elevation mountains it was 95 degrees in New Mexico! My plan is to head south to the beach where it is much cooler, but to get there I'll have to suffer the heat. Maybe this is a bad idea, but I've always wanted to see Texas!!

Californication

March 2, 2026 My first impression of California was the price of gas...$5.99 a gallon. Now this was in the middle of Death Valley National Park, but on the other side of the park in a normal town, it was still $5.09 and further away from the park, $4.79. That's $1.70 more than Tucson! Damn you, California!

I always wanted to see the sand dunes. I did not go walking. I figured I had three walks for the day and that was plenty, besides the parking lot was full.

The drive through the park was up one mountain, down a valley, up another mountain, down a valley, up another mountain. There was a sign suggesting drivers to turn off their AC so their engines don't overheat. Hmmm...it was only 70 degrees at most. I've driven around in 100 degrees with no problem, but I followed directions. I noticed on the inclines my engine temperature started climbing even with the AC off. WOW! I would not want to overheat on that highway. It was good to visit in early spring when the temperatures are cool.

Then drove to Bishop. I wanted to see the Ancient Bristlecone Forest but the road up the mountain doesn't open until April.

Bishop is a town that has always intrigued me. It was featured in that 1970s movie The Other Side of the Mountain about the Olympic skier who is paralyzed during tryouts. God, I loved that movie! I think she was from Bishop, but the town was featured extensively in the movie with the snow-covered mountains in the background. I always thought I would want to live there. It's a nice town. The area is barren desert with scrubbrush...but the Sierra Nevadas are gorgeous! It kind of reminds me of Alaska how the mountains look like they are straight up from the valleys.

I camped at the Volcanic Tabletop. It's 66 degrees, sunny, with a little wind. Here is my view:

The wind picked up during the night and I awoke to 31 degrees. BRRRRR!! I planned to drive to Bodie State Park which is the coolest ghost town! I've always wanted to see it and it was only two hours away. I knew it was cold there now, but I didn't realize until this morning the main road was closed. An alternate route was open. I kept thinking once I get out of the Sierras, it might be cold, but warmer.

I started out of Bishop and...snow on the side of the road. The temperature plummeted to 27 degrees! I plugged in the directions and Google Maps told me even roads beyond Bodie are closed due to seasonal issues. Oh, jeez! I should have known March is just too early to attempt this. I searched the country for temperatures and decided to head south to Barstow for 75 degrees! I then headed east for Arizona on that long boring I-40 drive. 

I've vowed this year I would not do any marathon driving days, but I just need out of California. I refused to get gas in California (price went up the further south I drove back to $5.29 and higher!) so I just kept going to Arizona until I was too tired to keep driving. The semi trucks on I-40 are exhausting. I spent the night at a BLM campground where it's in the low 70s and I woke up to 50 degrees. It's a full moon! The desert view the next morning:

It's so quiet here the only sound I hear are flies if they fly too close. So peaceful. Oh, but last night I could hear donkeys braying! Just to add a little excitement to the adventure.

Nevada

The temperatures in Nevada were in the 70s although dipping down into Las Vegas got into the 80s. More importantly the roads in Nevada are so much better than Arizona!

I headed to Pahrump. I liked the town. There is a little house in the desert there that looks lovely on Zillow, but the road to it was a nightmare! Large ditches and rocks in the middle of the dirt. No way. I now understand why it's been on the market for 200 days!

I continued to Beatty. Attempted to camp at a pond, but there were too many assholes. One pulled up in a mini-cooper right next to me, let his dog out to run wild and crap all over everything, then started up his generator! So thoughtless. So I left for Beatty BLM just northwest of the town. Very quiet, peaceful. There were some four-wheelers there at a campsite about 200 yards beyond, but since it's Sunday night, they left before dark. I had the place to myself!

Beatty BLM with Big Blue - View to South

Beatty BLM - View to East

Beatty BLM - View to North

Woke up, relaxed, peaceful. I polished the solar panels, washed windows, and then hiked up a few ATV paths. Ankle is fine with pain at about 3, but once I stop hiking the pain doesn't linger (unless I hike too long).

Visited the Goldwell Open Air Museum. It's free! I love free! Not much to see. I had hoped for more. The ugliest art was what I am calling Lady Lego. It looks like a naked sculpture of a woman made with legos only I think they are cement blocks. She's about 15 feet high. Interesting in a bad way:

The Rhyolite Ghost Town was next door. Delapidated buildings. Again free. I love free! Can't complain.

I liked the bottle house, built in 1906, then the guy had a raffle and gave it away. He didn't make enough money, but the winners lived in it for about 15 years. I'm seeing a lot of bottle houses online these days so I think they are making a comeback. It's a little run down, but it's stood the test of time and is still standing!

I then headed to Death Valley National Park. The actual valley was impressive at sea level especially with the sand dunes, but it looks like all the southwestern states: desolate desert with a bunch of scrub bushes.

I may swing back through Nevada later when it warms in the north. Until then, California, here I come!

On the Road Again! Arizona

February 28, 2026 I'm off again! After a winter of disappointing real estate searching, I decided it might be better to continue the van life journey and forget trying to be a "normal" person (whatever that might mean)! I was told by another van-life woman it takes two years to settle into van life. That gives me so much encouragement. 

So after six months in Tucson camping at my favorite free campsite, finishing my secret rock-lined path through the desert:

...finishing all van maintenance ($$$), finishing physical therapy to get this ankle working, after restructuring my virtual mailbox, and after spray painting my front license plate to match the van's roof (the old one was an Arizona flag that had faded to oblivion!) 

I WAS READY TO GO!! The temperatures in Tucson were climbing into the mid-90s and the rattlesnakes were waking up too early!

Maybe. I kept finding things I NEEDED to do, things I failed to do for the last six months! Or was I stalling? I got rid of more things from my van, stuff I did NOT need in a van: desktop computer, 30x22 monitor, computer speakers, webcam, tools, books, art, and clothes I never wear because they haven't fit me for twenty years!! Why do we do that?

But then I had an encounter that made me not hesitate to drive away. 

Early this morning in the dark at 4:00am I decided to do one more load of laundry since laundromats are not always easy to find on the road. I noticed there is a semi-truck idling in the parking lot. Weird. This made me nervous. I don't like being at laundromats in the dark with strange men. I once watched a true crime show that said it is suspected truck drivers are convenient serial killers. Jeez! But he wasn't in the laundromat so I think he was taking the opportunity to park overnight and sleep. I started to unpack my dirty sheets and supplies and on the second trip in I notice there is my pillowcase that I was missing the last time I was there two weeks ago sitting next to my pile of laundry. Hmmm...my first thought was maybe it got hidden in the sheets and yanking those sheets off my mattress revealed it?

On my next trip back to the van I noticed the pickup truck parked under the tree at the far edge of the dark parking lot. A man gets out with his supplies. I can see him out of the corner of my eye since I am always on alert in the dark, but don't acknowledge him.When he gets into the laundromat I recognize him from my last trip. His name was Jim and we spoke briefly and friendly during the last visit. 

He says, "That's your pillowcase. The last time you were here you left it in one of the washers. The next people found it, held it up, and asked if it belonged to anyone. I took it for you. You looked like you were missing something." He didn't know I always check the machines to make sure I got everything, but it must have been stuck to the top side or something. I did know I was missing it and hoped it would show up.

I replied, "Oh, thank you so much! I was wondering what happened to it!"

Then my instincts got the creepies. Has he been parking out in the parking lot every morning for the last two weeks waiting for me to reappear? I hadn't planned to do laundry until the last minute. He had no idea when I would be there again. Hmmm...my spidey senses flared.

Then he says, "I know where you are camped. It's very crowded there."

I said, "Yes, it is crowded. More so than last year."

OH GOD. Has been watching me? Did he go looking for me? Did he find me? I can't tell you how much that creeped me out! Am I just paranoid at 4 in the morning in the dark? I decided to trust my instincts. I sat in the van with the doors locked while I finished my load of sheets, and then left! I went back to the campsite,. I did not want to be there all of a sudden! I collapsed my tent and pack up. I was outta there and did not look back!

I headed northwest to look at Ash Fork. 

On the way I stopped in at Spooky Swirls, the gluten-free Halloween bakery in Chandler! It was quite by accident going through Chandler and I always wanted to see this year-round spooky-themed bakery. What a unique concept! I bought a slice of cheesecake!! It was gluten-freely delicious!

I drove north through Prescott and into Ash Fork. There are some tiny houses on land up there that have been listed for a long time. They are in my budget. I understand now. The town is ugly and run down. The landscape is desolate. Not sure this would be the place for me, but I might come back through and look again.

I continued through Kingman to a BLM site outside Chloride. So peaceful and quiet out in the middle of the desert! Very different from camping in Tucson with the constant noise of the highway. The weather is lower to mid 80s (Tucson is in the 90s now), cool at night. No one around.

Nearest van neighbor...can you even see him?

Just as I was sitting down to dinner, I had some visitors! COW CAMPING!

I feel a lot less stressed this time. This is a good thing! I did kill my phone and almost ran out of gas. I'm out of practice. 

The next morning was leisurely and relaxed. I drove to Dolan Springs - a town I heard has a lot of chemically sensitive people. It was UGLY! What is the attraction? Blah!

Then on to Nevada!!

Physical Therapy of the Best Kind!

My orthopedic doctor suggested on the first visit to find a heated pool and swim everyday. I was so happy since I was already doing that! Unable to walk or speed walk, it was a lifesaver keeping my back toned so it wouldn't become painful. Swimming in the sunshine, breathing fresh air (if no one is trying to poison me), gazing up at the mountains, and sometimes seeing red tail hawks flying above. I love it!

I hadn't swam in a pool for about twenty-five years due to chemical sensitivity. In colder states, indoor pools are more common, but asphyxiating due to all the chlorine in the water and air with no way to escape. This outdoor pool is sensational. Yes, there is a tiny smell of chlorine, but after each swim I head into the shower to wash it all off with a long and very hot shower.

Another issue with this pool or any pool are the stinky people. They aren't allowed to spray sunscreen on themselves in the changing rooms, but some do it outside at the edge of the pool. Whew!! Why can't they do this in the privacy of their own home? Others use sunscreen lotions or just smell of perfume. It makes me sick to think they are getting into the pool and it's washing off in the water we all share. People are so thoughtless and self-centered.

The showers are dangerous. The women's shower is often populated with stinky women spraying themselves with deodorant, slathering their bodies with smelly lotions, lathering up with putrid shampoos, and throwing baby powder all over themselves and the floor which makes it slicker than snot. Why can't they do all this priming at home?

I discovered the family changing rooms and showers. First, the stalls are huge - a whole room to one's self that not only has a shower, but a sink, toilet, bench, garbage recepticle, and blower. There are only two of them in this larger room so sometimes they are filled, and not with families. I swim during the week so children are in school. Still, sometimes I'll walk in and there is stink in the air and baby powder all over the floor! It's so frustrating!

Other negatives not associated with chemicals: men picking their noses and wiping it on their swim trunks (eeewww!), men washing out their mouths in the pool and spitting it back in, and used bandaids that I'm convinced are also left all over by men. So gross to think all this human excrement is in the water I'm soaking in, BUT it makes me thankful it is chlorinated! Then there are the men who swim  so violently and slap the water so agressively, they splash all the way across the pool. Women are so much more graceful and considerate.

Other than the dangers associated with chemical exposures, I love swimming. It's so relaxing, well, if the water is warm and the air isn't cold. I started slowly, building my stamina, but now I'm a powerhouse! My ankle loves it, but my back loves it more! And due to living in a van with no bathroom, the shower is a bonus!