Grateful for Help Received (3/24/2018)

March 1, I found myself pretty far away from everyone I knew.  I had budgeted just enough money for gas to reach the next location where I hoped to stay put and work on the van.  Suddenly, I realized… I was BROKE.  How can one not know that is about to happen???  Well, for me, it was stupidity.  I had failed to make note of the re-occurring Amazon Prime annual fee of about $100…. and had not cancelled it.  Now, taking into consideration the automatic Electronic Fund Transfers already set up for the rest of the month, I was left with only $40… and had no way of getting to the next destination.

Also, my shoulder pain was increasing to the point it was causing my Blood Pressure to be elevated and I needed to buy a blood pressure monitor to keep an eye on it.  In addition, I had infections in both ears which began from allergies… and I had co-pays for meds to cure that problem, I did not feel I had the money for all that, so decided to sit in that drug store parking lot and try to figure it out.  The itching was about to drive me mad.

I felt stuck, desperate.  Was I going to have to sit in this parking lot and wait three weeks for my March 21 payday???  I felt like a trapped wild animal.  I decided to ask for help, not an easy thing for me to do, as stubbornly independent as I am.  So, I sent out a plea, asking only for $5 or $10, to the contacts in my Google email, trying carefully to eliminate people I didn’t know, or who I knew were not in a position to help, or businesses, etc.  I didn’t do a perfect job of that I guess.  LOL

The response was immediate and gratifying.  Also a bit scary.  Two people whose email addresses sounded familiar, came back at me with a lot of hate, calling me names and telling me to grow up.  One said, it was the second time in seven years I had begged him for money.  I forgot what the other said, but he was also hateful.  All the others renewed my faith in humanity and gave me hope.  One wrote me yesterday, saying she finally managed to get the service dog I helped her with financially.  Friends help friends.  That’s what we do.

First my regular budget update for the month.

Budget Update

Month / Pay Period	Fast Food	Meals Out	Gasoline	Groceries
Sep 20- Oct 17	51.87	34.92	432.27	164.72
Oct 18 Nov 14	76.04	53.89	144.70	175.81
Nov 15 – Dec 19	48.25	47.04	325.47	351.26
Dec 20 – Jan 17	28.02	36.35	182.40	262.24
Jan 18 - Feb 20	35.51	36.32	260.00	153.37
Feb 21 – Mar 20	48.89	14.23	233.10	131.06

These are not by any means my only budget items. My monthly Electronic Fund Transfers for bills come to: $295.00 monthly.  I can’t change much of those right now.  I tried to cancel my gym membership, but Planet Fitness said I could not, unless I paid for the remainder of the contract.  This is not what they told me when I joined and I am planning to try and fight this as there are no gyms near where I boondock.

So, here is an accounting of my expenses since 3/1 when my plea went out.

Supplies - $100.00
Groceries/meals out – $105.00
Solar supplies – $13.75
Gasoline – $141.21
P.O. Box/postage – $43.00
Kayak Chute Supplies – $100.00

None of that would have been possible without the help I received. Thank you again.

Major changes to my rig:

Kayak Chute:  For nine years I have loaded my kayak on top of my van.  It was difficult at best.  With pending shoulder surgery and a very long recovery, I had to find a better way to manage the 53-pound bulky boat.  Building a box on the floor of my trailer in order to slide the kayak into the trailer without any overhead lifting is the only solution I could come up with.  Lifting the kayak overhead may not be possible after the surgery, so I want to prepare for that possibility so I can continue to be independent and keep kayaking.  This week I accomplished that due to financial assistance I received.

Once it was all helter-skelter in there, and whatever I needed was always under something else.  Now things are compartmentalized, and the kayak slides easily in and out with only a couple inches of lifting, which I can do with one arm.

No more of this:

Still to do – Peeling van paint:  Finish fixing peeling paint on the van.  Hard to do with shoulder situation so I bought an oscillating sander to assist.  My last major adaptation.  I like to keep the van looking neat and clean.  These Chevy vans were really bad about paint peeling off.  I keep postponing this as it hurts a lot to do it.

New thought: I now carry 3 six gallon jugs of water… when I make camp.  That is 48 pounds per jug.  Most the places I buy water sell five gallons for $1.00, so I began just getting the five gallons instead of six. But even the 40 pounds is getting too hard to lift.  I need to find a way to have a water supply on hand that does not involve me lifting those jugs.  I just might not be able to do it after surgery.  I am looking for affordable solutions now.  A friend is going to share plans for her system.

Van work needed:  I still need to replace the power steering fluid pump on the van and have the name of a trusted mechanic I will check with this week.  I have the pump donated by a supporter.  Big O tires also said I need a lot of front end work to keep my van from eating my front tires.  I had to buy two cheap new ones a couple months ago to feel safe and get by.  The estimate from Big O tires was over $2,000, for things like Pitman arm, etc. Same Big O gave a friend of mine the same estimate on his van… he said his van was not even worth that.  I am going to see what this local mechanic thinks, as I think my van is worth that to me… it is my home, the only one I really ever want to have.  If you wish to help with van work, you can use the donation button on the right.

I have thoughts of setting up a Patreon account to raise funds for the van work needed.  In the nine years I have had the van (and 100,000 + miles), I have only replaced the water pump, and tires.  I have driven places and gotten into situations I should probably not have gotten into… but I need to keep this machine working… and make it last me the rest of my life???  I would be selling notecards, reprints of my art work, maybe some original art and possibly some vandwelling mentoring sessions… where newbies could come camp with me for a week.  Any thoughts?

Another new thought?  Most likely the first few months after shoulder surgery, I will have to sleep in a recliner.  I really don’t want to spend that time inside a nursing home or someone’s sticks and bricks house any longer than necessary, so I have begun thinking about getting a recliner inside my van.  My bed is easily removed… and if a recliner will fit (it will have to be a power recliner or one with a left handed leaver)… I will find/get one… some way.

I CAN and I WILL do this.  (And I have not given up my Arizona Trail hike dream… but all the rest of this has kind of put it on the back burner.)

Thanks go out to all the generous supporters and I pray the trolls get a life and find some happiness out there.  (Don’t worry, Trolls, you have been removed from my Google Contacts.)  I am humbled by the support I have received and will pay it forward.

Maybe I should buy land here… southeast Arizona????
(and call it home)
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Valley Repair, Inc.–Meeker, Colorado

Worst of Times & Best of Times.

If you are ever in the Meeker, Colorado area and need help, I can not say enough good things about Valley Repair, Inc.  24 hr. towing and mechanic service.  431 East Market St., PO Box 292, Meeker, CO 81641.  Phone (970) 878-3316, email: vrepairmeeker@yahoo.com.

August 2016 found me working as a Camp Host at Nortfork Campground 35 miles east of Meeker CO.  I spent most of that month coughing uncontrollable, each day off I was back to doctor, E.R. or Urgent Care.  None of my normal cures for COPD were working.  Later I learned it was most likely an allergy to blooming sagebrush, but that is beside the subject of this post. I knew my job would be coming to an end early in September and I was concerned about the way my van was running. It seemed to have no power and I seldom was able drive over 40 mph.  I got to Meeker pulling a heavy cargo trailer and going mostly uphill (or I should say up-mountain), generally unable to go over 25 mph and having to stop often to let the engine cool down.  I knew I could not hit to road again, pulling that same load without fixing my van.  But what was wrong and what would it cost? (I was working to save money for my AZ Trail hike… but would it take my last penny just to fix the van???)

In the Spring 2016, before leaving my desert winter home, I took it to a Chevy dealer to have “Check Engine” light diagnosed.  They found Bank 2  O2 Sensor 1 had failed causing van to run very rich on right side. This was creating a rough running and engine and mis-firing.  Recommended replacing Bank 2, 02 sensor to correct.  They noted Truck Operates Normally.  This knowledge cost me $300.54.  And that was only for diagnostics and replacing the 02 sensor, not the catalytic converter.

At that time I decided to go ahead with a tune up in hopes that would help improve how the van was running.  Spark plugs, spark plug wires so they checked compression, replaced spark plugs, and adjusted ignition timing and idle speed. That cost another $650.00 (get this $118.72 for spark plugs, $121.48 for plug wires and $307 for labor, plus other shop supplies and hazardous materials fees.)  Geez, this van is getting expensive.

I left Quartzsite and headed out to begin inspecting sections of the Arizona trail, but the van was still running rough.  Visiting with friends in the Tucson area, I got a recommendation to go to Exhaust Works.  They confirmed that the front Catalytic Converter on Bank 2 was bad and so it was replaced with an after market converter.  Cost $290.80 (parts and labor).  He said ALL he does anymore is exhaust systems, no other mechanical work… he just specialized in exhaust systems.  I felt good about him and his work, until a little later.  That was April 2016.

I drove on to Meeker Colorado the next month…. as stated above, having a very rough time gaining that altitude, but I didn’t have the funds to get any more work done on the van.  During the summer, I used it only when I had to and saved my money.  Check engine light kept coming on, sometimes flashing, sometimes staying on solid, sometimes staying off all together.  Finally, Aug. 29, I took it in to Northwest Auto in Meeker, a GMC dealer for diagnosis… they found Bank 2 rear catalytic converter was plugged and charged me $46.77 for that knowledge.  Throwing codes of P0101, P0300, and P0171.  I asked for an estimate.  Lee told me it would be $628.44… to replace the Bank 2 rear catalytic converter.  He insisted that my van had 3 cat converters, when the man in Tucson had taken me under the van while it was on the rack and showed my the four converters on my van.  Lee insisted that ONLY federal vehicles had four converters, and he even sketched out the 3 he insisted I had on the back of the estimate.  See below sketch by Lee at GMC, Meeker, CO.

Wow… $628.44… is a big chunk of what I had been saving all summer to buy my AZ Trail hiking gear.  I felt crushed.  I even asked Lee how accurate his estimate was and he assured me of how careful he is in pricing things out and he would be surprised it is was more than $40 off.  Well, I had to think about that and crunch some numbers.

Two days later Lee called me back saying they sent him the wrong part (which he had said would take him five days to get as it had to come from Virginia, but he had it in two days????) and that the price was actually $1,080.00.  My boss actually took this message and turned out there was a misunderstanding in the way he said things and what he meant was it was an additional $1,080.00 on top of the $628.44.  I did not learn this until I stopped by GMC to pick up a copy of the estimate… and the grand Total was $1,780.64.  WHAT????  Well, Lee, that is a bit off on his $40 guess.  Things came to a screeching haul for me.  I had coughed the entire month of August and was exhausted.  Then I fell and cracked 3 ribs that week and was in a great deal of pain.  This was just too much. I was devastated and ready to give up.  I thought I might be stranded in a wintery cold snowy Meeker.  Now GMC was insisted that my van has four catalytic converters (like I told them in the beginning), but the estimate is for more than just the rear cat converter, it is the front and rear converters and the entire manifold pipe on the passenger side.  The front converter was only five months old????

I questioned them why I needed to replace the front catalytic converter when I had just done that in April… and they gave me some line about the van being registered in CA and CA emissions requires that factory parts be used.  I explained it was no longer registered in CA but in SD which had no such requirements.  They argued with me that it didn’t matter, I still had to met CA requirements and use factory parts, not after market parts.  I said it already had an after market converter on it… so what did it matter?  They held their ground.  They were also now arguing with me that they never said it had 3 converters (who made the sketch?).  I was really sickened by all the lies and the fact the were trying to take advantage of a woman.  I walked away and didn’t even cancel the work they had schedule.  I left them hanging and I didn’t feel bad about it either.

I was in too much pain to want to deal with it all, but my job would be ending the next week, and I would have to leave the campground soon after that… and snow was in the air.  Someone had given me the business card for Valley Repair, Inc. and at the insistence of a friend, I called them for a second estimate.  I gave them none of the history, other than that the front converter had been replaced in April.  I asked them to check the check engine lite.  They charged $20 for that, which my friend paid.  They understood that my funds were limited but that I urgently needed my HOME fixed so I could leave soon. 

They thought that a tune up could fix the problem… at that time I had forgotten that I got a tune-up in the spring … so they did that Sep. 15… ($206.31… compared to the $650 I paid for the same job in AZ six months earlier).  They charged me $32 for spark plugs, and $42 for wires, compared to  $118.72 for spark plugs, $121.48 for wires charged by Bradley Chevy in Parker AZ.  Wow.  I could have skipped this work had I remembered the spring tune-up. I just didn’t remember that tune-up until later… thinking I had never had a tune-up in the seven years I had the van,  and I thought it still had original spark plugs.  I think it was the pain meds affecting my brain!  LOL  But anyway, I had a comfort level with these guys at Valley Repair in Meeker… and trusted them.

But, the tune up did not help… and on the way back to camp, the check engine light came right back on.  Sept. 19, I took it back in… and they begin checking everything over and found exhaust leaks all round the front catalytic converter that Tucson put on in April.  The gasket was leaking too.  The previous converter was not welded without leaks and it did not look like Tucson had replaced the gasket.  I actually was allowed under the van and helped the mechanic by holding a flashlight.  I felt the leaks all around the old weld.  Felt like a very hot very strong hair dryer blowing on my hand.  They plugged up the tailpipe and ran the engine, and you would feel all the air coming out all around the Tucson welds. 

So they welded all that (left photo), replaced a gasket ($6.50) went in the joint (right photo). One of the nuts got cross-threaded and had to be cut off and the bolt re-threaded.  I helped with all that. Total came to $176.92.   And off I went down the road…  15 whole miles.  I was loosing pressure and power mile after mile.  By mile 17, I was stopped on the shoulder with zero power and the van would not move.  I called them to tow me back to the shop ($150.00 for the tow, 100% refundable by my auto insurance).

By this time, my motley crew at Valley Repair had adopted me and were invested in getting me back on the road at the least additional cost possible.  I slept in the van all night in their lot – my ribs killing me.  Next morning they came out and got the van, with me still in bed, and drove it into the garage and up on the lift we went… me still in bed.  They were still puzzled, but thought they would have to cut the rear catalytic converter off and replace it.  They already had the new one ($129 for after market… when GMC wanted to charge me $1,450 for parts).  I was in a great deal of pain from the ribs… so even turning over hurt.  I could not think.  The guys were right under my bed talking about what might be wrong when I suddenly I hear the buzz of a saw cutting through the pipe.  I thought, “guess we are cutting the old one out.”   I hurt too bad to move.  A few minutes later they call me to driver window and hold up the old one… full of gung that that blow out of the front converter that Tucson replaced… and had slowly been clogging up the rear converter and once the welds were fixed, it blew the rest of the gunk in the pipe into the rear converter, TOTALLY clogging it.

Within 1/2 hour, they had the new part in place and I was on my way back to camp.  Cost $222.39.  So all total, for all the work they did, I spent $605.62 at Valley Repair in Meeker, CO.  I drove from there to camp, got my trailer and hauled it back to Valley Repair dropped the trailer (where they stored it for free for 10 days), drove to Dakotas and back… picked up trailer, drove around Colorado some more, up and down mountains, and then on to Arizona.  Check engine light has not come back on once, not once… and van is running better than it has in a couple years.  I can’t be more pleased with Luke Pelloni, owner, and his mechanic Joe.  Great guys, great new family… I love these guys.  I trust them.  If you are ever in the Meeker, Colorado area and need help, I can not say enough good things about Valley Repair, Inc.  24 hr. towing and mechanic service.  431 East Market St., PO Box 292, Meeker, CO 81641.  Phone (970) 878-3316, email: vrepairmeeker@yahoo.com.

Owner Luke Pelloni on right, Joe in middle, and young Justin on left.  My new family.

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Coming soon:  Have you ever been stalked?  Do you know what to do about it? 

Beautiful Colorado–enroute to Colorado Springs

After a very rough season of Camp hosting, I am having some much deserved down time, all to myself.  Time to enjoy nature, and find my wits again.  The last month on the job, I suffered a severe case of RAD (never even heard it before – Reactive Airway Disease).  I knew I had COPD, but none of the normal cures were helping me. I could not stop coughing. The last six days on the job, I finally found a cure.  Fell and cracked 3 ribs… let me tell you, you WILL stop coughing.  And Lordy, I think it hurts worse than having a baby… sure takes longer for the pain to stop.  LOL

So, it’s off to enjoy some wide open spaces, and I am loving every mile.

I have friends and family in Colorado Springs… so I am SLOWLY heading that way.  Brother, and sister-in-law, nephew, great niece and great nephew, good friend from “vandwellers” tribe, and who else???? 

And on the way, this….

Swankie’s wits… where are you?????

Escape Into The Wild

No fitness plan summary, no weekly blog update, no goals… just nothing.

Something is wrong.  Something is off.  I have lost my mo-jo.  Woke up a few days ago and realized this… and decided it needed to be fixed.  ... I didn't know how depressed I was until I got home... in the WILD.  Most of this year I have felt like my cup was empty, but the past couple of days, I have begun to find my mo-jo to put back into it. Stay true to your heart and soul.

It was the first time in a very long time where I had my trailer (and all my worldly possessions) in travel mode… and my feet got very itchy.  All the goals I had lined up for this season, seems to be vanishing before my eyes. The values I had, seemed not to exist anymore.  OK, this can not be.  Time to get lost (or is it found?).

With no pre-determined idea of where I was going, I just headed out away from Quartzsite and what had been my dream/plans for this winter season.  It is amazing how your frame of mind changes, once you have all your possessions in tow and no reason to "go back" anyplace. I just can't sit still in a camp any longer. I need to be on the go. Spend way too much time in Quartzsite, just sitting around waiting for others, waiting for classes, waiting for payday, and eating, and sitting and eating. While I was traveling and kayaking all the time... I looked and felt much better. So, I'm off in search of my mojo again. Thinking most likely I will postpone my AZ Trail hike one more year as I need to replace my house batteries (about $600 expense). I could be in areas without signals... so don't expect as much activity here or on Facebook.

I need to get out and just enjoy nature again.  People so confuse me.  The downside of living in the desert is going to bed when it gets dark, and getting all the rest you need by 1am or so. Then not being able to go back to sleep. Sure beats the depression I was feeling in urban camping though... where I just wanted to sleep all the time.  Here, I can’t wait to get up, get out, look at stuff, see wildlife, take photos, think, breath clean air (Quartzsite air is amazingly polluted especially in Jan.).

I’m not a thrill seeker.  I don’t look for “danger” for fun, but somehow this sign make me feel good.  The environment was no longer bland like Quartzsite.  I love the desert but Quartzsite has been so depleted of anything geologically interesting, and there are so many politics when you are in civilization, whether it is politicians or just citizens… someone is always being greedy or trying to get the best of someone else.

After spending the day exploring, hiking, driving, I got off into the wilderness, maybe a little too far, as I am not sure I can get back out again without help. (Help is on the way!)

But, in the meantime, I introduced myself to me.  Where have you been, I asked?  I don’t know!!! was my reply.  Guess I am loosing my mind.  I’m talking to myself, but we are very good company for each other, me, myself and I.

So, I took another hike and talked to the Joshua Tree instead.

Another hike and another tree conversation with the Palo Verde.

Took another two hour hike in the desert looking for petrified palm wood... and all I found was lots and lots of chalcedony. Suppose to be jasper and agates around here too but I think I am 12 miles off where I should be. Not going to try to make it the rest of the way in 2 wheel drive. I went until the wash dropped off 20ft vertically. What a sight.

Oh, look, there is Swankie, all the way down the 20’ drop off in the wash.  I climbed down to have a chat with her.  Went a little farther and another bigger drop off… no burro tracks to follow, so I turned back.

A couple nights in this wonderful place, and I don’t want to leave.  However, I must leave while I have some help getting out.  There was a pretty fast drop in elevation on a very sandy road.  My trailer is way to heavy for me to pull it back up that elevation with a 2 wheel drive van.  I guess I may have to settle for life on the edge of the wilderness… I’ll have to stick to harder surfaces so long as I am pulling a trailer full of rocks and genealogy.  (in my  next life, I’ll have a 4-wheel drive vehicle and will travel without a ton of genealogy in tow)

So some serious soul searching is going on.  I still want to hike the AZ trail, even more so after a couple days of wandering aimlessly in the desert. So much to see out here.  But what happened to my goals?  What happened to the Rock Club time I planned on this winter???  One: My house batteries are six years old and on their last legs.  Cost of replacing them conflicts with funds needed for the Arizona Trail Hike.  I can’t do both.  It was depressing me.  Two:  People were depressing me.  I never have mal-contempt toward others, yet people are reacting to things I say and do as if I do.  I guess they don’t get that such things can be very hurtful…. to a person with a good heart.  It’s happened too many times in the last couple of years…. and so I need to escape, re-access, etc. and so forth.

Here are my new neighbors. Free, free at last, back into the wild.

All is well. I have officially escaped into the wild. I have reactivated my SPOT device... so I can find myself. I know the way out again, but don't want to go. All I can hear at night is a couple crickets and a few high airplanes, and there are burro hoof prints on the ground outside. I didn't know how "un-free" I was feeling until I got back in the wild.  All night long, I heard burros braying and nothing else.

I saw this on Facebook this morning and think I need to play with it a bit and tweak it to fit my lifestyle:

Why did you dance today? · Denpasar, Indonesia ·

Today I celebrate 500 days of dancing everyday...

Am on the 500th day of my running, dancing, yoga, meditation, singing, drawing, drumming, and writing streak.

Today I ran wild and free for an hour in the rice fields and mountains of Bali to enjoy the feeling of aliveness I get when I run, and danced to get inspiration and ideas for choreographing the musicals I am directing in Bali.

I have found it very inspirational to keep track of the days. The longer I keep the streak going the more I benefit and more passionately I want to make sure to write, dance, run, meditate, draw, sing, drum, and practice yoga today.

I write, dance, run, meditate, draw, sing, drum, and practice yoga everyday, and I try to complete this in the morning, before I allow myself to check email or Facebook, but if I cannot complete everything I explore what I need to complete before I go to sleep.

I love to run for an hour, but if I do not have time, or my body says I should take it easy I always run at least a mile, and write, dance, meditate, draw, sing, drum, and practice yoga at least 2-10 minutes each.

Why did you dance today, and what did you do that was good for your body, mind, and spirit today?

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I have to adopt/adapt this philosophy/lifestyle to my own. I think living in the wild has to be one of my daily things. Out of the next 365 days, see how many of them I can spend with no other humans in view.  Should begin on Nov. 20... the day I escaped back into the Wild and began finding my mojo again. Two nights now. 363 to go.

Sometimes you just have to say, Whoa Back!  This was a surprise to me.  I thought I had a plan, but then once the trailer was hooked up… and I realized I did NOT have to go back if I didn’t want to… it all kind of fell apart, or fell together, or something.  I don’t know, but I can take all the time I want to sort it all out to decide what I need to do daily for the good of my body, mind and spirit.  I believe both Quartzsite and the Arizona Trail will still there when I am ready.  Today, I am smiling.

Completed: Swankie Southwest Note Cards

Advance Sales $25 (includes postage and handling)
Once again I find the need to raise funds – these funds will be used to outfit me for the Arizona Trail Hike, which will begin in the early Spring 2016.

For some time now I have been working on making a set of sketches of the Southwest, depicting the beautiful things I see in my travels.

You can reserve your set of note cards now by sending a PayPal donation of $25 to charlene.swankie@gmail.com.  Or you can use the Donation button on this page.

Note Cards will be sent out before Dec. 1, 2015, or delivered to you during the winter in Quartzsite, AZ, your choice.

The Logo to the right is a symbol of mobile dwellers.  I am including this drawing free so that you may use to to put in your window/windshield to help other mobile dwellers spot you.

Mobile Dweller Logo by Swankie

Samples of my other artwork can be seen at http://swankiewheels.blogspot.com/p/art-work.html .

It doesn’t get any better than this, until tomorrow.  (SwankieWheels)

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Thank you for doing your usual Amazon shopping using my affiliate link.

Help me a little if you can by donating to this fundraiser, or to my equipment fund for the hike.  I promise to pay it forward.  There is a PayPal donation button in the top right corner of this blog page, and for those using smart phones, I am repeating the button below.

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Contribute to Equipment for the Arizona Trail Hike:

WEEKS 13 and 14—Still Plan to Hike the Arizona Trail in Spring 2016 (Oct. 5-17, 2015)

Still My Goal: Hike The Arizona Trail.  It is an 800+ mile recreation trail from Mexico to Utah that connects mountain ranges, canyons, deserts, forests, wilderness areas, historic sites, trail systems, points of interest, communities, and people.   (From:  http://www.aztrail.org/at_about.html).

  I am both overwhelmed and excited all at the same time
about this upcoming adventure.

It is difficult to stick to a training schedule, at least for me, when I am on the go and between places.  I guess I don’t have enough discipline to get my butt out of the van and hike or something.  I end up sitting too much.  So, as a result, I don’t have a training update and will just let you know what I’ve been doing these past two weeks.  Lots of photos.

First of all, I have finished a set of 10 sketches, out of which followers to this blog and my Facebook page are voting on the 8 they like best.  These 8 will be packaged in a set of notecards and sold for $25, money which will be used to help me outfit for the 820-mile hike across Arizona.  Trust me, it will take a few dollars to pull this one off.  You may use the donate button at top right of this blog, or at the bottom of this post.  See more details at the bottom of this post.  Click on image to see the sketches better.

These might not be the final 8 voted for by my followers, but here are 8 of the ten sketches.

Previous Training Update post.

Having time to kill while waiting for Quartzsite to cool down and my October pay date to arrive, I headed out to a spot south of Rye, AZ where I have camped before.  Found a few prehistoric Indian artifacts there before… and it’s a convenient location, not far off the highway.  Still at a higher altitude, so cooler than Quartzsite.

I have training as an archaeologist.  I know there are laws against disturbing archaeological sites, but in all my hiking in this area in years past and this year, I have never seen a sign identifying this as an archaeological site. 

But I do know the law:

Archeological resources, both sites and collections, are protected by law on federal and state lands. Understanding these laws is an important part of what you can do to help protect archeological resources. While federal law is consistently applied across the nation, state and local law differs from place to place. We strongly recommend that you contact your State Historic Preservation Officer and State Archeologist (sorry, you'll have to cut and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Eosa/nasa/) to find out about laws concerning archeology for your area.

From: http://www.nps.gov/archeology/public/publicLaw.htm

OK, I saw no signs that I was going onto Federal or State lands.  I found a few more artifacts, and some small pieces of chert and jasper. 

Pottery sherds, a button, some bullet shells…

… and some lithic fragments which might be waste flakes from the production of projectile points (arrowheads).

This road leads to a trailhead up in those mountains.  I decided to explore…  10/10, before heading in to town for water, to drop garbage, to swim, and to take a shower.   I decided to go to the end of the road I am boondocking on. It goes to a Trailhead.  I guess I went in about four miles. Road was very good to a point, but don't think you would want to be at the Trailhead when it rained hard... there were some deep ruts about 1/2 up.  But, there are many many places to pull off and boondock, even for Class A, and Class Cs to camp along the way. Great view looking to the north.

Old dead Century Plants with old seed pods/dried blooms from the past.  Looking northward.  I've never seen so many Century Plants all in one place. Funny, last weekend, the Forest Ranger asked if one I saw near Paulden, AZ was still standing. It was about 20' tall. I was confused by the question, as most that I have seen were still standing, but in this area I think the ground gets really saturated, and winds very strong, and it knocks them over.

On the way up I saw 3 Black Angus (one a bull), and on the way down saw a few more... he must be the Daddy of these two. The red one here is a cow, a young cow, with horns. Off to the right of the picture is another young red cow without horns. There were a few more head nearby.

This is a Pack Rat's nest.

I liked the pattern of bottom of this fallen Century Plant.

Back to the highway.

There are five sherds in this photo, in situ, can you see them all??? Could be more.

I pulled off the road short of where I was the past two days... to check out another spot. OK, what is the first think you do when you set up camp? Rake all the rocks away so you have a smooth surface for the tent or rug or for walking. We do that now and Indians did the same thing back then. Walking around I had come to circular bare spots that had no rocks, but then look out to the edge of the smooth area... rocks and bits of other things, including pottery sherds and interesting rocks. I walked around a bit hoping to find a point.

About the time my feet were getting sunburned, I spotted this... it is the broken tip of a projectile point (arrowhead). Whoopy.

The tip end of a very fine, very small bird point, about 1/2” long.

AND THEN, I found these…

I have no excuse.... I knew the law, even though this is the first time I saw these signs.  I knew it was too good to be true.  So I put all the “artifacts” back in the general area, even though they will have lost some provenience.  Darn.

Once I realized it was a recognized archaeological site, I began to notice other things.

At first there seems to be no rhyme or reason to these rocks, but after awhile, the eye of a trained archaeologist can see they were moved around by man, making them all “Artifacts.”  On left, These rocks from a circle and the center is pretty deep, with what appears to be a path gong out one side… right below my van.  It could have been a sweat lodge???? (see my van in the distance)

In the center of each of these circles or bare spots was a flat stone, probably for sitting on???  Very interesting, and strangely, gave me the willies – to think I might be standing in what was once someone’s home.

So, once I resolved the only things I could take away with me, were photos, I took a lot of photos.  Some kind of scat on left.  On the right, a shallow dip.   The only animal I know that digs a dish to capture rain water is the Desert Tortoise. There were two dips here.  There know when it is going to rain, and they will sit and wait for the water.  It might be the only water they get in a whole year.  I just learned the Sonoran Desert Tortoise is no longer going to be listed as an Endangered Species (that decision being made the year I donated my tortoise shells to Indians to be used for ceremonial purposes.  Darn, again.

This was nearby and could be a Desert Tortoise burrow.

I thought it was glass, but it was a crystal. I am keeping it AND the photos.

I returned to Payson for a couple nights and then back up higher, farther north to the Coconino Forest to work on my southwest sketches. 

On the way to Coconino National Forest, I made a side trip to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  I hiked the Gowan Trail down from the south end, went through the tunnel and back out the north end, maybe about 1.5 miles, and a very big rock scrambling challenge.  I didn’t get photos of the hardest parts inside the tunnel, my hands were too busy.  See the rest of the story.

Heading down the Gowan Trail and into the tunnel.

After seeing the Tonto Natural Bridge, I stayed in the forest a few days until weather turned and it got overcast then left as I was not getting any solar charge. Arriving back into Pine, AZ very early,  I notice rain falling off in the east. I don't need a bunch of trees overhead right now. I need sun which was just coming up and trying to shine on me.

The sunrise was very nice though, thru the rain.

The sun and clouds just kept dancing about and I almost wrecked the van taking these photos on the fly as I drove down the highway.

Stopped at East Verde Picnic Area... warning signs of bear... and no overnight parking.

Very nice fishing spot.

Lots of rocks down here... did I say I like rocks?

This giant towered over the creek bed.  Pillars of rock have been placed along the edge of the parking lot to keep people from driving down to the water’s edge.

On the other side of the road was a parking area/trailhead.

I found a woman with this rig. She said she was not kayaking there but up at the Rim Lakes and that I should go there.  I will kayak the Rim Lakes another time, since I will be spending a lot of time here in the future.

Got back to Wal-Mart in Payson before this storm hit. We got a fair amount of rain yesterday, and a little last night.

Near the Casino in Payson, last week, I had driven through a neighborhood, and looked up to see this trampoline completely off the ground and swirling in a dust devil, and coming straight toward my van.  The “devil” finally let it go and it dropped upside down, and then tilted over on the edge you see bent down in the last photo.  So, I drove back past where that flying trampoline was and took these shots. It had landed on this side of the white truck.  They moved it back out of the way. 

I thought about stopping to tell them what happened but didn't see anyone around. I sure would have enjoyed seeing their reaction. I see they still don't have it anchored down.

This week, I will be back in Quartzsite and can establish a new training program, using the local Q-Mountain and the exercise classes at the QIA and Community Center, plus any and all dances that are happening.  And also field trips and hiking with the Rock Club and Metal Detecting Club.  No more sitting around polishing rocks.  Must be very active this winter.

Never a dull day in SwankieVille. 

Again, here are 8 of the 10 sketches I just finished.  The final notecard set may include these 8, or 2 of the others – see below, in place of two of these.   You can vote on your favorite 8 by listing their  numbers in the comments below.  Click on photo to enlarge so you can see the numbers better.

The other two:

Included free will be this card, which you can place in your vehicle window if you want other mobile dwellers to be able to spot you.

I will have them packaged and ready to mail out by Thanksgiving.  You can reserve your set of note cards now by sending a PayPal donation of $25 to charlene.swankie@gmail.com.  Note Cards will be sent out before Dec. 1, 2015, or delivered to you in Quartzsite AZ if you will be there this winter.  Only these advance sale cards will have my original signature.  Card sets will be available online afterward this advance sale but will have a printed signature.

Swankie Southwest Arts – Notecard Set

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Help me a little if you can by donating to my equipment fund for the hike.  I promise to pay it forward.  There is a PayPal donation button in the top right corner, but I realize people using phone may not see that so I am repeating the button below.

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Contribute to Equipment for the Trail Hike or for the Note Cards: