February 7, 2022

My journey continues to search for a great ranch experience.  I know I could probably find some tourist experience of ranch life, but that’s really not what I’m looking for.  I want to see the beauty and the struggle.  I want authenticity.  My new idea was to put a note in the local paper so I wrote to the editor who agreed to include it in the letter to the editor section of this week’s paper.  I’ll see where that gets me.  

We made a new video this week that was an impromptu idea about a day in our life while we ran some errands.  Mostly we were just being silly as we were in silly moods.  Hey, people want to see what this lifestyle is like and they want authenticity too right?  That’s why everyone loves reality TV so much.  We all want to peer into other’s experiences to see what different lifestyles are like.  You may see it as voyeurism or as genuine interest in people.  I see it as benevolent interest in the live’s of others as I believe that I can always learn something from each person I meet on this journey.  If you haven’t delved into our YouTube channel yet, we have 8 videos so far and here is the latest A Day in the Life

Sometimes, when you are looking for something and put it out there, your wishes come true.  On Saturday, I left for my volunteer gig early so I could get our propane refilled on the way.  I met a fellow camper there who was working at a camel ranch in Elgin and she said that the owner would be happy to show me around and let me take photos!  There are camels in Arizona?!  I could not resist this opportunity as I just love the strange and unusual.  It’s been a bit chilly out lately so this is our time of hunkering down for the winter.  Luckily, the RV is spacious enough and we have enough indoor activities that we did not feel unhappy with this.  

At the end of this week it did warm up so we ventured out to take some photos.  I was hoping for a great shot of a cow as there are lots that roam this area.  We did not see the perfect shot of a cow on this day.  Why do they always seem to have their heads down chowing away at the tall grass?  However, there is a herd of pronghorns roaming through the Las Cinemas conservation area and they are beautiful.  It’s name in Latin is antilocapra meaning American goat-antelope though it belongs to neither family and more closely resembles a deer with stripes.  They are unique to North America and also the fastest land animal in North America running at speeds up to 60 mph.  They also migrate a long distance of 150 miles each way.  Both males and females have horns though the female horns are a small bump.  The horn faces backwards with a small notch or prong pointed forwards-hence their name.

 

 

In another glorious turn of events we stopped for lunch one day at a Freddy’s steak burger, one of the chains out here.  They also serve frozen custard which was heavenly.  I would be sick and fat if I ate this too often so I’m glad that they don’t have this in town.  If you’ve never tried a frozen custard though and you like ice-cream, give one a try and you’re welcome.  Later that afternoon a neighboring camper stopped by to ask where he can go to dump his tanks and I admired his side by side that he rode in on with his dog.  He insisted that I take it for a spin. Without the seat belt on the max speed is 15 mph so he assured me I would be fine and not damage his toy so I did just that.  His dog and I rode down the dirt road about a quarter mile to the prairie dog colony and back.  I hope one day we can figure out a way to have one, but for now it’s not in the budget and I have no idea how we would transport it when we travel.  Before he left, he shared his address and contact info so we could look him up when we visit Oregon and he invited us to camp on his land up there.  It amazes me all the time how friendly and trusting the other campers we meet are.

I also happened to connect with a lady nomad on a Facebook group in the same town and we made plans to meet up to go prospecting for gold together.  I don’t actually think we will find any gold, but I’m excited about spending time with another traveler who is nearby and learning about how to prospect.  It is a Wild West experience I had hoped to have while in the west and a great outdoor activity for a warm day.