Moominmama On the Road Again

 

In which Moominmama returns to the road, visits desert badlands and finds happiness at the end of a rainbow...

Moominmama had her fill of cross-country skiing in New Hampshire by mid-March and undertook the long drive to New Mexico to reclaim her little Moominhouse on wheels. This involves several nights of sleeping in the back of my car at highway rest stops or, further west, on free public land.

Crossing the Mississippi River always elicits a loud hoorah! By the time I pulled into Durango, Colorado, my first destination was the lovely public pool, where I could exercise and stretch my stiff muscles. Refreshed, I then did the final hour of driving to get to my trailer in nearby Aztec, New Mexico.

Loaded into the car were my trailer battery and travel possessions. There's always a certain amount of anxiety --- will the battery work, will my heater, water pump and fridge all return to life? I celebrate when everything powers up as expected!

There's very little room for clutter in a 17-foot trailer so everything has its place. Still, there's a surprising number of bags and boxes to tuck away. I got the trailer set up enough to sleep inside that night, and come morning, I pulled into the storage area's "dump station" to release the winter antifreeze and start the process of filling and flushing my tanks with fresh water.

At 10 a.m., I had an appointment to meet the owner of a small campground who would guide me into one of five RV spots located behind a house in nearby Farmington. When I look at the trouble NH has around affordable housing, this part of New Mexico offers abundant affordable housing. And yes, it's not always pretty. The primary building material around here appears to be sheet metal. 

I may not be in picturesque New Hampshire anymore. But by the same token, I have not seen a single homeless person since I got here.

In Farmington, I took time to recover from the multi-day drive. I did laundry, bought groceries, visited the public pool and the library. 

I also went for a hike in the northern hills of the city, where views of the snowy San Juan mountains caught the sun above a landscape of juniper bush and pinon pine.

The winds were honking though! Apparently, the winds are a mark of spring in the desert -- hang onto your hat!

Convinced all was in order, Moominmama set out a few days later for Arizona towing her little home behind her.

Enroute to the Superstition Mountains, I still had to cross the high desert. On the way, I stopped at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness for a hike into the badlands. With the high winds, Moominmama took some of that desert sand back with her, in shoes, hair and eyeballs. 

But the unusual hoodoos were still worth the effort, each of them a sculpture enjoyed more deeply by hiking into and around them. 

That night I camped in the desert, and caught the sunset pictured at the top of this post. Come morning, I had mountains to clear before I could drop down to the plateau where Phoenix promised warmer temperatures. The atmospheric river that hit California also sent rain and wet snow into Arizona, which made for rough driving conditions. 

It was a huge relief to come downhill through parts of the Tonto National Forest and finally arrive at my destination at the foot of the Superstition Mountains. 

This is a place I visited last year, but had only a single day to hike the area -- and what a hike it was! I pledged to return, and return I have. 

My first evening, after I'd settled into my campsite, the rain briefly lifted and this rainbow told me I'd reached my pot of gold. For the next two weeks I will explore both the Tonto National Forest and the Superstition wilderness.

I have some great hikes planned. With spring so much further along here and refreshed by the recent rains, the birds and flowers sound, smell and feel like paradise. See if you can spot my trailer in all the greenery below!