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 month in Tucson camping at my favorite free campsite, finding out the rattlesnakes are out, finishing (lining) my secret path through the desert:
...finishing all van maintenance ($$$), finishing physical therapy to get this ankle working, after dental and medical appointments, 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!)
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, books, art, clothes I never wear because they haven't fit me for twenty years!!
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, but he wasn't in the laundromat. I started to unpack my dirty sheets and supplies and on the second trip 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 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 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! I finished my load of sheets, sitting in the van, and then left, went back to the campsite, collapsed my tent and pack up. I was outta there and did not look back!
I headed northwest to look at 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 and not a place I want to live.
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 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.
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| 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. Nevada here I come!
