On the Road (Again)

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I said good-bye to the saguaros and hit the road again.

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I stopped at the Circle K on the way out of town, and in addition to gasoline for the van, I got one of those huge styrofoam cups (sorry Mother Nature) and filled it with icy cold slushy frozen red sugar water. I never suffer from ice cream headaches/brain freezes (even though they run in my family), but I repeatedly suffered from esophageal freezes as I drove through the desert evening.

I’m getting pretty good at this driving thing. I only had to make one pit stop (as my dad always called potty breaks during family trips) in the 157 miles between my starting point and the city where I spent the night.

I’ve also improved in the changing lane department. I no longer shriek in terror when I pass another vehicle. Everything I know about passing, I learned from observing Mr. Carolina.

I was going to sleep in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but was happy to see a Flying J sign on my way into town. I’ll take a truck stop over a Wal-Mart any day. I did go to Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies. After shopping, I sat in the parking lot for a long while with the side doors open, trying to cool off the inside of the van before bedtime.

I was surprised when I got to the Flying J and discovered it was a tiny little truck stop. It was more like a convenience store with a gas station for cars, a gas station for big rigs, and a little bit of parking for both. There were maybe ten parking spots for regular vehicles. I was too tire to go back to Wal-Mart, so I parked, hung my side curtain, and crawled into bed. The night passed uneventfully, but I hardly slept.

I was out of bed before 5:30 and driving by six o’clock.

I’m proud of the fact that I made the trip without GPS and without getting directions online before I started. I used maps, road signs, and my previous experience to get where I was going. I did ok.

I’m tired. I am going to plan my route for tomorrow because I have several errands to run in the city I will arrive in. After my errands, I am going to head halfway up the mountain to stay with my friend before training on Tuesday.

I’ll soon be saying hello again to the sequoias.

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About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

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