Week 4: May 25-31
Never a Dull Moment
Sunday, May 25. Day 21
Is there anybody out there?
The Lightning Field -> Albuquerque*
Woke up before sunrise in a primitive cabin at the art installation called the Lightning Field. Got to see the golden hour light on the 400 stainless steel poles, and a great expanse of high desert.
For the whole story about the Lightning Field visit, check out the blog post here.
On our way back from the LF we stopped at the Very Large Array again. Without having to rush to be somewhere else. This was my 3rd visit in 5 days to the VLA!
From there we headed back to Albuquerque*
*I’ve spent more than a week in ABQ and had to type it dozens of times for this blog, but I still can’t spell it.
However, I’ve lived in the Philly area for 32 years and still can’t spell “Schuylkill” River without looking it up.
On the drive back, coming over the hill into the Socorro valley was breathtaking. The mountains in the distance framed the valley and a swath of rich green through the valley was a brilliant pop of color.
We stopped in Socorro for lunch, hoping to get green chile burgers at Blake’s Lottaburger. But after a 10 minute wait and the new guy behind the counter basically not understanding fast food at all, we dipped out for a “Mexican diner” half a block over.
We should have stuck it out at Blakes. The diner was not good.
But I learned that ‘smothered burger’ is a thing in NM. It’s not really a hamburger. It’s a burger patty on a plate smothered in red or green chile and whatever else they want to add. Mine was smothered in frenchfries, green chiles, and cheese. In concept it sounds better than it was.
In ABQ that evening we drove along Route 66 through town checking out the old signs and art deco buildings. Also I learned that Route 66 was made in 1926? I think of it in regards to the heyday of road trips in the 50’s and 60’s, but it’s decades older than that!
Daily Listen: Album ‘Lux Prima’ by Karen O & Danger Mouse
Good: Sunrise at the Lightning Field
Bad: Waking up for sunrise at the Lightning Field
Unexpected: Dinner at the Route 66 Diner in Albuquerque was great. The food and the atmosphere. It was a wonderful contrast of modern counterculture youth and 50’s “classic” clean aesthetic. A waitress in a clean and cheery aqua blue waitress uniform, with a septum piercing and full sleeve tattoos. The hostess that sat us had her hand in a bandage. She told us she hurt it in the mosh pit the night before. 🤘
BTW, this is the first GBU update where I’ll have some film photos already processed when the blog gets posted!
Monday, May 26. Day 22
More than meets the eye
ABQ -> Santa Fe
My Philly friend flew home today.
We had a little time before her flight so we explored a bit of old town.
On the way over we found some Transformers sculptures randomly downtown!
Then in the ‘old town’ area there was a small classic car gathering - where I got to finish one more roll of film to send home with Gina. (She develops all my film!)
Thus the film pics in the blog!
Dropped her off at the airport and bid farewell. We mutually enjoyed the visit and glad it worked out!
I commented how odd it felt to be out on this exciting new adventure, but also have a familiar friend from home with me. The dichotomy was interesting and new, and in the end I decided I kinda liked the flavor of mixing the familiar with the new. And I was especially glad to share the vanlife experience with someone.
Driving to Santa Fe through a local monsoon thunderstorm that blacks out the sky. Raindrops so big they sound like stones hitting the windshield. The air is heavy with the smell of ozone. I’m grateful for the rain to wash all of the dust and sand off my weary ride. Between the rain and the elevation change The temperature outside has plummeted from 90s in Albuquerque to 60 in Santa Fe!
Decided to take a day in Santa Fe tomorrow and found another boondocking site 10 miles outside of town so I could stay local.
Daily Listen: ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen. My music app popped this up, but has never played this before. It will play more now that I’ve ’starred’ it.
Good: I enjoyed driving through a massive thunderstorm on the way to Santa Fe! Seeing the dark clouds threatening on the horizon had an interesting ominous feel. The rain felt like a ‘reset’ button for the heat, the dust, and the dry air. And the ozone smell was oddly soothing. Plus, the van really needed a bath!
Bad: After spending time with my friend in San Antonio, and then this friend coming out to visit, I had to kind of reset to being by myself.
Unexpected: I’ve had a moratorium on buying new stuff for almost a year; If I didn’t explicitly need it for the van trip, I didn’t buy it (and even if it was something I needed, I probably still didn’t buy it.) So it was entirely unexpected that I bought a new pair of casual hiking shoes in Albuquerque today. They’re super comfy and pretty stylish, though the deciding factor may have been that they were on the discount rack.
Tuesday, May 27. Day 23
The kindness of strangers
Santa Fe
Stayed overnight on the outskirts of Santa Fe at a dispersed camp site (aka, boondocking).
My next planned destination isn’t until next week, but is also only 3 hours away! I have time to kill.
I’ve felt a bit over-scheduled lately and some days to just kill are welcome. I’m catching up on writing, photo processing, postcard mailing, and watching Andor! It felt good to have nowhere to be and no time to be there!
Was thinking of going to a local attraction called MeowWolf - an interactive live art thingy - except it’s closed Tue & Weds.
I won’t sit still for too long, though. Have some fun stuff planned for later in the week!
Daily Listen Watch: The new Mission Impossible movie. Spoiler, it wasn’t impossible.
Good: A ‘Too Good to Go’ bag of bakery goods from whole foods!
‘Too Good to Go’ is an app that lets restaurants sell unsold food from the day so it doesn’t go to waste. You buy a mystery bag of whatever is left, for a fraction of the price.
I got a loaf of bread, a baguette, a giant cookie, a big pretzel and a chocolate cake! For $6.
Bad: It got down into the 40s overnight! The van was warm enough, but I’ll have to turn on the heat tonight!
Still, much rather have 40s than 90s for sleep.
Unexpected: My seat neighbor at the movies was chatting with me before it started, and I was telling him a little about the van trip. During the trailers he shared some chocolate he and his wife brought in. (Yes, I took candy from a stranger!)
When the movie ended I thanked him, we chatted a little more, and then he shared even more generosity. I don’t know what to say, and if you’ve been reading this blog you know I rarely have a shortage of words.
So I say this; thank you.
This reminded me of my cross country bike trip. The biggest takeaway from that whole experience was; The kindness of strangers was more than I expected and greater than I knew existed.
11 years on and it’s still overwhelming.
Wednesday , May 28. Day 24
This too shall pass
Santa Fe / Abq
After picking up the bounty of baked goods plus some other groceries last night I was excited to cook breakfast for the first time in the van. I started up the generator to power the electric cooktop but the generator sounded really rough and then cut out. I tried twice more with the same results, so I got out to check if there was anything visually apparent with the generator - it was very visually apparent; the generator exhaust pipe had completely broken off at the generator.
I went to 4 different shops and generator sales places and 2 different mechanics. And by the end of the day I was somehow MUCH worse off than when I started.
For the whole story check out the blog post I Spent a Week in Albuquerque Last Wednesday.
Daily Listen: Person after person tell me in a very kind way that there’s nothing they can do to repair the generator.
Good: (On days where there’s nothing appreciably bad, I’ll say something sarcastically bad like “there was no pie today”. Because I want to be true to the spirit of this journal and really consider something for all 3 categories every single day, no matter how trivial. Today is the inverse, trying to find something good in an otherwise categorically bad day) So the good today is - the way the muffler was rusted, it was inevitably going to break. It’s good that it broke at a place where I noticed it and at circumstance where I was close to a major city and had time to spare in my schedule.
Bad: Drove through a very large homeless encampment while running around. This unfortunately helped me keep perspective on my situation, and feel appreciation for what I have.
Unexpected: Back home I have photo prints for sale at a studio in Ambler, PA. Whenever something sells she just venmo’s me the money. Last night I got an unexpected payment for a piece that sold. A very nice bright spot in an otherwise bleak day.
Thursday, May 29. Day 25
It’s bad. No, it’s worse. Sorry, it’s even worse than that
Abq
The measure of a person is not how you behave when things are joyful, but how you face the world when things look bleak.
First thing in the morning I went back to that first RV shop and pulled up to the service bay. The guy I’d talked to yesterday was perplexed to see me there again (he was clear they couldn’t fix the generator.)
I replied to the unasked question; I have a whole new problem since yesterday.
The undercarriage plumbing for the van was all cracked.
He looked at the damage and was willing to bring the van into the shop to do the work. This was something they could definitely do.
If wednesday was about trying to get things done, today was about just letting it happen.
I spent most of the day in an upscale folksy furniture shop that had a coffee bar and wifi. Think Pier One meets Crate & Barrel meets Panera Bread.
They were very accepting that I was just hanging out (though I did explain my predicament.)
The opportunity to just sit - while caused by things outside my control - was welcome. I caught up on some writing, some postcards, and processing two clients’ photos!
I picked up the van in time to get dinner and find a place to squat for the night. Btw, the sunset from the cracker barrel parking lot was a thing to behold. I say that only marginally sarcastically.
Good: The shop was able to fix it in a day. They replaced most of the undercarriage plumbing.
Bad: They replaced most of the undercarriage plumbing.
Unexpected: My rather accepting and nonchalant attitude towards the whole thing. I kept reminding myself that this is a single bad day nestled among 23 other amazing ones. More amazing days lie ahead.
Friday, May 30. Day 26
“Albuquerque is… different”
ABQ - > Santa Fe (again)
“Albuquerque is… different”, said to me by the pharmacist at Target when I asked if she could recommend anything going on around town tonight. I feel that.
On the way out of the parking lot in the morning an Amazon delivery driver in the same van as mine let me in in traffic. I think there was a sense of camaraderie.
The muffler shop from a couple days ago took the van back and was able to (FINALLY!) fix the exhaust pipe! I fired up the generator right there just to confirm everything was working again! Such a sense of relief!
From there I made a swift departure from ABQ. Sorry ABQ, it’s not me, it’s you.
That evening in Santa Fe I found a bar with live music, had a drink and chilled for a couple hours. (heavy sigh)
Note from that evening: There’s a woman sitting at the bar with her husband who keeps turning around to look at me. Every time she does I smile at her.
Finished out the day at the same boondocking spot my saga started at 3 days ago.
Daily Listen: A local country music trio
Good: the van repair saga is over!
Bad: At the muffler shop a boomer comes in asking to get an pipe extension put on his truck’s muffler. He’s upset that all the filthy black diesel exhaust is getting all over his pretty white truck. He wants the exhaust pointed down and away so the soot doesn’t dirty his truck.
There’s not an ounce of recognition that the filthy exhaust he didn’t want on his truck is still going into the environment.
Unexpected: The best part of the day was the scenic drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. I avoided the highway and was treated to a magnificent drive through winding mountain roads. I even stopped in an old mining town turned tourist stop that was wonderfully charming.
Saturday, May 31, Day 27
Spa-der Man
Santa Fe -> Taos, NM
Stayed the night at the same boondock site I was at before the whole repair saga. I had planned to make the breakfast I didn’t get to make 4 days prior, but when I woke up I wasn’t in the mood to cook. Instead I did a few maintenance things to the van and then headed north to a natural hot spring resort a friend back home recommended it. Got a day pass and spent the whole day soaking in natural hot spring tubs and just relaxing. (I’m a giant prune now)
It was a nice way to wind down from an unexpectedly heavy week.
In typical Aaron fashion I struck up a conversation with strangers at the hot springs. They happened to be artists from Taos - which is where I was headed next! They gave me recommendations for places to see, eat, photograph, and listen to live music.
In Taos I went to a bar that has live music every night. The band was playing Rockabilly Swing and lots of people were dancing! There were a few couples that were flat-out amazing dancers!
And I reflect on how my days are so FULL of wonder and joy.
Daily Listen: the amazing Rockabilly trio ‘Chicken Sedan’ at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos.
Good: (This started off in the ‘bad’ heading) My new Taos friends recommended a place I might be able to park for the night, but I got chased off almost immediately. Opted next for the old reliable Walmart parking lot! But as I was sitting there I decided I’d like to try night skies photos at the River Gorge Bridge. Well, the skies didn’t accommodate but the welcome center is open for boondocking. Spent the night there instead. Win!
Bad: At the nice rest stop an RV was idling its engine all night long. It was loud and noxious. In the middle of the night I had to move my van to the other end of the parking area.
Unexpected: Driving into Taos, NM is very unassuming. There are great mountains in the distance while the rest of the land is mostly flat and arid. Just outside Taos I came upon a visitor’s center, rest area, and a lot of signs for something I wasn’t getting. I drive over an unremarkable flat bridge when I look over the side and see a tremendous gorge! Just carved right into this plain plateau! I parked at the other side and got out for a better look and some pics!
That wraps up the month of May and my first month on the road!
Someone asked if after a month I was getting tired of living in the van, sleeping in parking lots, and all the driving?
Reflecting back on this first month there’s already so much I’ve seen and done. It’s four weeks in and I feel like I’m just getting started! I’m tremendously excited for all the experiences that lay ahead. Every day is a new adventure.
Thanks for joining me for the ride!
