Our Journey Living In Nature – continues

Part Two

The Journey Begins at Del Valle Campground

After I got Takota and Nanook as young pups, it took four years before we began our adventure. During that time, I was working, getting prepared to leave (whenever that would be), getting equipment and clothing I thought I would need for all types of weather, and continuing to fill my mind with bush craft skills.

The original plan was to head to Alaska and I try to gauge our travels accordingly with the weather, and the seasons. We would begin in Northern California, then north into Oregon, Washington, then through Canada to Alaska. It would be roughly 954 miles from Livermore (our starting point) to Vancouver, Canada, and from Vancouver to the Alaskan border, 1,800 miles. I was thinking, what an adventure just getting up there. Although, I had no clue of what we were getting ourselves into. I don’t think the boys cared, they were ready for anything. The only condition they had was, I get them there safely, I do all the work setting up camp, and I provide them tasty meals twice a day.

I wanted to start our journey at Del Valle campground where we originally left off on April 14, 2016. I thought it would be a great place to start our journey from the stand point that, I liked the campground, and for all the beautiful surroundings it provided to us, with the oak covered foothills, the narrow valley, the abundance of wildlife, and the sounds of nature that were all around that it offered. And with the memories of Shiloh, Takota, and Nanook it left with me on our times camping here that opened up a new world for me, and being awakened to the wonders, and endless beauty in nature.

Our plan was for us to stay a month here. Then from here, I had no idea where we would go next after Del Valle, except that we would be heading north. I planned for where we would camp next from the campground we were departing from, or at least an idea where we would camp. It didn’t always work out, and at times it was helpful to have options. I did not do any long term planning, or where we would camp, or for how long. I played it by ear, and by the distance, and weather, and if we liked the area we were camping. Another words, the only planning was going north with no clue of what I was doing or going on this long term journey living in nature. But I would see what was available to us for camping on the route we were taking – but that could always change. This obviously was all new to me, and the boys trusted me. Well, I knew they were enjoying the adventure. The only thing I knew was that we were planning on camping at State Parks in California, Oregon, and Washington. I did pick up an America The Beautiful Senior Pass from the US Forest Service for 50% discounts, but was not sure what campgrounds would take the discount card, or if they would be open, or easily accessible in the winter. I felt the State Parks were a safe bet, and most of them would have showers, water, and toilets. I should have checked into the USFS campgrounds more, because I could have saved a lot of money. State Parks are expensive, but they are also usually very nice, and I had a pretty good choice to choose from giving me options if I needed them. Typically the amount of time allowed at each campground was no more than two weeks, and a few for a month.

As for not knowing what I was doing, I was not sure what to expect with this long term camping in Nature. What the challenges would be in weather, campgrounds, and just the basics in living this life style. The camping itself, I felt pretty confident, and was well equipped.

Even in the winter months, I knew it could be difficult finding a good campsite that would work for us. We didn’t have to worry about reservations in the off season, but it could be crowded on the weekends, especially. Also most of the campgrounds in the off season usually have half the campground closed which reduces our choices of campsite. And because there are more RV’s out there, more of them will camp in the winter months. At first I thought it wouldn’t be an issue finding campgrounds, and campsite in the winter, but it was a challenge at times. So my plan was to always (when we can in good travel weather, as with taking down and setting up new camps), we would leave on a Sunday, or Monday for a new camp. The reason is, most campers will leave on those days giving us better choices for a hopefully good campsite. I relied on this for our whole journey, and it worked well, even in the summer months when many more people are camping, and reservation are required. I never reserved a site and only went to “First come, first serve,” campgrounds, or with allotted sites for both. This would mean we would have to always stay a full week or stay for two weeks. It was a delicate balance with weather dictating everything. If our plans were to stay only for a week, but got delayed in leaving due to weather to far into the week, we would stay another week. I also preferred staying a full two weeks at a campsite to reduce the hassle of moving all the time, and we got to appreciate the area we were in much more. That was a nice benefit of staying in one place. I never got bored, because Nature always provided our interest in all she provided to us.

I believe most people couldn’t do this, because they would get bored. People have to keep busy, even when they go camping to relax. Nature provides us with so much to see, hear, and observe – I never get bored. But I was not always like this. My focus was having a deeper connection with Nature, and I did not need busy stuff to occupy my time. Also the boys gave me good company.

October 29, 2017 – Sunday

It was me and the boys, my truck, and a 7’x14’ storage trailer, with all our stuff packed into it. Oh, and yes, a 16 ft. Old Town, red canoe on top of the truck. It would become our Trade Mark for our whole trip.

In my journal I wrote about my experiences with bringing the trailer, setting it up, and adjusting to hauling it, but it is not worthy of discussing in this blog.

With the trailer packed and hitched, me and the boys in the truck, we headed south from Concord to Del Valle, Livermore.

We made it safely to Del Valle, and to our campsite without a hitch. The campsite I reserved wasn’t what I really wanted, but it worked. We will be staying there for 7 days, then moving to another site next door. It is a nicer site, and we will be staying there for about 14 days, then playing musical campsites for the rest of the month.

We would be meeting our camping friend Kevin here this week. He said he will be camping for 2 or 3 days. I met Kevin for the first time at Del Valle when Shiloh and I were camping there back in April of 2009. We always enjoyed his company and he enjoyed the boys (Takota and Nanook). He thought I was a bit crazy for taking on such a Journey.

Because we arrived on a Sunday, most of the campers had left. We were camped in the central campground, and there were about 7 camping trailers, and RV’s there. We got to our site around 2:45 PM.

I have observed that most of those staying in comfort in their RV’s and travel trailers, never go out to enjoy Nature much, or at all. They just stay inside. I always thought, “What is the point of being in Nature if one does not experience Nature?”

I was excited to be back at Del Valle with the boys, and the beginning of our journey into Nature. They were excited too. I had been dreaming of this day for a long time, and it is now here.

When I was setting up camp, there were turkey and deer wandering around in the campground. And as a tradition, I would have one or two beers meditating on how I was going to set up the tent. What direction I wanted it to face, the best views form inside the tent, where the rising sun would be, and the best position for some privacy. I had a new Columbia 10’x15’ tent. Nice and cozy. I like big tents so the boys and I have some room, and also if we are stuck in the tent due to rain, or wind, or both, it gives us a place to hunker down with some comfort. Also having a place to lay wet clothing, and enough space for a chair.

The tent was a quick set up tent, and two people were recommended for the set up. I was only one person so that would have to do. It can’t be that hard, can it? The tent had a main center point support, and two end points. So I had the tent spread on the ground, then raised one end at mid height, then to the center point raised mid height, then to the other end and raising it up to the mid height. If it wasn’t perfectly balanced, and can be difficult with a long tent, the end furthest away could easily fall, and it did. After trying it a few times, thinking this could be a problem, I finally got it on the fifth or sixth try. Luckily it wasn’t windy. Then each support is risen to full height. But before raising the tent to full height, it is a good idea to put the rain fly on at the mid height point. I was curious, by using the tent everyday, how long it will last? I am hoping it will last at least 6 months.

I fixed the boys steak and kibble, and I had steak and salad for dinner. It was a beautiful afternoon, and evening. I started a small fire to bring the evening to a close, and reflected a bit on our first day, and to what our future will bring. I thought about my dreams of living in Nature that has come alive on this day, spending it with my faithful companions, Takota, and Nanook, and being in a place I have learned to love. Nature will be our home for as long as we can endure it, and doing it in a tent. Writing about our adventures, watching Nature, smelling Nature, hearing Nature, feeling Nature, and experiencing a deep awareness, and love with Nature. It took a long time to get here, but now we are here at the very beginning of our journey into Nature, a new beginning to a new life.

I opened up a book, one of many I brought with us, and read a bit next to the warmth, and calmness of a small fire, and felt we are Home.

We turned in at 8:00 PM. It was a long day, and me with very tired and sore muscles with all the lifting I had done. But it was a good day.

When it was time for bed I told the boys lets go to bed, and both of them got up from their comfortable places on the grass, and headed for the tent. When Takota found his place on one of the three beds in the tent, he was out like a light the whole night.

I slept at the front portion of the tent next to a large window/ opening that took up that whole end of the tent. It felt like I was sleeping outside, opening up to the beauty of Nature, seeing the lush green grass of the campground, the surrounding trees, and the sky above, only separated by a tent’s thin screen. And that was another reason for sleeping at that end, I didn’t want to take a chance of the boys going through the screen chasing after a critter or having a skunk getting excited strolling by the tent and spraying into the tent at the boys.

I also had one of the boy’s beds next to my bed, if one of them wanted to sleep beside me. The boys both slept in the back room of the tent. Two reasons I selected that particular tent was for the size, but also for the large windows all around the tent.

Although I was physically tired from the long day, I had a difficult time falling asleep.

October 30, 2017 – Monday

It was nice waking up to Nature, though I was feeling some aches and pains.

Today we did some shopping for food, and did some clean up at the storage unit to get it cleaned up for moving out. We also went to the Outfitter’s store to pick up a new stainless steel coffee cup to replace the one I misplaced. We were busy doing stuff all day.

October 31, 2017 – Tuesday

The past couple of mornings have been a little chilly, but beautiful out.

There is some construction going on at the campground, building new bathrooms with showers, and since our last time here, they built five cabins, and one was built on one of the campsites I enjoyed camping at. So a time I thought we could enjoy some quiet in Nature, we had construction noise going on.

The campground was pretty much clearing out from the weekend campers. Our friend Kevin will be here this Wednesday.

We are getting settled in at our campsite which typical takes two days. The boys have adjusted well to their natural environment and relaxing to the rhythms of Nature. They both are sleeping well in the tent, and for me, I am sleeping better.

I had a gas leak in my old Coleman 3 – burner stove that I discovered had a gas leak at the valve and I got that tightened up and now works much better.

After breakfast the boys just hung out watching their surroundings. What kibble they left in their bowls, the magpies welcomed themselves to it. I got Takota to chase the magpies away from their food. He learned that concept pretty quick, but of course, the magpies always returned for an easy tidbit of kibble. Usually there is a lot of bird activity in the park, but we have not seen or heard much yet, with the exception of the magpie. No acorn woodpeckers yet.

Today we have on the list of things to do is moving more stuff from storage. So much for enjoying Nature.

It is nice waking up to the boys. When it is time to get up, they let me know by both of them showing me in their own unique ways. Takota will nudge me with his noise, Nanook goes for the licking on the face. When Takota is bugging me, I tell him to lie down next to me and he will drop his front end down with his rear sticking up in the air. I will then give him some pats on his rear, and he will plop his rear down.

Our friend the acorn woodpecker dropped by and landed on a pine tree in our camp. What a nice surprise.

This morning I was talking to the Park Ranger that takes care of the landscaping of the park. We talked about trees and he remembered us from our three month stay here.

November 3, 2017 – Friday

Yesterday I closed my business after 35 years in Architecture by giving away my drafting table. My last job completed today. Now there is no turning back, and a new life begins for me and the boys. Tomorrow I load up my canoe from our last place we called home. Next week I will focus on finishing clearing up our storage unit. The storage unit happens to be close to camp, and to the dumps, so that makes it a bit easier, although I would prefer having it done much sooner so we can spend our time enjoying camping.

Today we picked up a quarter cord of good burning oak for our campfires. It should last about three weeks giving us nice morning fires and evening fires. With my campfires, I tend to like keeping them small and manageable. I see most campers feeling they need ranging fires they can’t control or manage. Some think a fire should be a bonfire. I suppose they can be appropriate in the right places and conditions.

One place Shiloh and I were camping in the Sierras in the first part of July, we met a young couple who was talking about how these guys who were camping at a site next to the river, and built a huge bonfire in a narrow valley the campground was in. The valley is heavily wooded. A perfect place for a bad forest fire. The couple was telling me they wanted to do one for 4^th of July. I thought that was a bad idea, but did not say anything. I was watching them build this tall spiral of dead wood that once lit, they could not control. The next day, they were telling me how they were freaking out, because the fire became totally uncontrollable. Fortunately, they did not start a forest fire. They were attempting to put it out as quickly as possible once they realized what they had started.

At that same campground I had a very small morning campfire, it was very calming, and pleasant, while enjoying a cup of coffee, writing in my journal, and enjoying the movements of the small flames. In learning survival and bush craft skills, it has brought me to a deeper relationship, a closer relationship, and respect for the natural world. It has given me a higher degree of respect for the element of fire. With the reality that fire can be very destructive, it allows us to use it in many ways, and always with the knowledge, it must be respected. It is unfortunate very few even think about showing respect for this powerful element of fire. Maybe it can be something you can think of while camping.

From the beginning the boys felt comfortable in the tents. As soon as they got into the tent they would go to their beds in the back of the tent. I would give them some scratches, and rubbing, then they were out like a light. At some point one of them, usually Takata would take the bed next to me. They were quiet during the night, with the exception of being awakened by a sound, or critter near by. In the morning Takota was usually sleeping next to me and at around 6:00 am he would want attention with scratches and rubs from me, gently pawing me if I stopped. He would give a low whine, while I talked to me. Then Nanook would come to me for attention, and of course Takota would have no part of it, and gave Nanook a growl of disapproval. Nanook would just ignore Takota, or giving him some licks on his face. As long as Takota was getting attention. Both their big heads crowding into my face, Takota whining, and Nanook licking me. What a warm greeting I get every morning. If Nanook went back to his bet and we were ready to get up, I would tell Takota to get Nanook up, and Takota would go harass Nanook to get up. All I would have to say is, “Lets go for a walk, or lets get up,” and they would be ready.

The week after next I can focus on getting thing done in camp that I wanted to get done in organizing.

On Sunday we move to a better campsite next door.

This morning early we were getting light showers coming from the south. Luckily during the day, each time it looked like rain, it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Yesterday I defined myself as a writer, and naturalist. It gives me focus, and purpose, and direction. I see myself, maybe one day, as one of those great nature writers.

This evening I was watching this huge motorhome coming into the campground and attempting to jostle into a campsite. It was such an ordeal putting this mighty beast into a spot it really does not belong. And in the dark yet. Then it has to be leveled, the water, electrical, and sewer hooked up. It would have been far easier to do it in the daylight. This of course applies to these over sized travel trailers that come in. And they call this camping. I am seeing more and more of them coming into the campground of all sizes, taking away from the beauty of Nature. I remember seeing a large travel trailer come in, in the afternoon. The wife got out to direct her husband into the spot. I sat and enjoyed the show. The husbands first attempt was waved off by his wife. He tried to waggle his way in with no luck, so he went around the campground loop for another go at it. Hope! So he went around again, and again, and again. His wife was getting pretty steamed at her husbands bad attempts. And he was blaming his wife for not guiding him in correctly. I was almost ready to offer to do it for them. It took about eight tries before he got it in. I can’t remember, I lost count. He never had to do complete loops. All he had to do was move forward a bit, make slight adjustments then back in. Maybe it was his wife’s directions? Or he didn’t like backing up?

Across from me, there were two older women somewhere around in their seventies, camping, each with their own RV. I heard them laughing, having a great time. Even chopping would they would have a good laugh. Once the fire was lit, they both sat around the fire, telling stories, and enjoying the experience. In talking with them, they said they were too old to camp in tents nowadays.

I remember camping at Del Valle alone and met a group of older campers, again in their seventies. Some came in with campers, some small RV’s, some in tents. They were part of a camping club that met up every year for many years. The couple I was most interested in talking with was the ones camping in a lean-to. They told me that camping with only one side that also acted as a roof for protection, and three sides open made them feel closer to Nature. I liked them immediately.

November 5, 2017 – Sunday

We woke to a chilly morning getting up at 7:30 AM. It is a moving day today to a campsite right next to us. The weather is suitable for a move, with no rain, no wind, and not very cold temperatures. All is good, especially only having to move camp about 30 yards from this one.

A few notes about our camping thus far:

1. Our gas stove is working well since I tightened the valve nut, preventing any gas leaks.
2. Last night I was burning our newly acquired oak firewood and burns very well. I stacked it criss-cross and it seemed to burn longer. I still prefer burning almond best. It burns longer than oak and has a very nice smell to it.
3. As for my coffee, I was using my 7 cup coffee pot, and using 9 heaping teaspoon scoops.

Although the mornings have been chilly, the weather has been nice. Not a cloud in the sky this morning and Del Valle’s micro-system missed most of the rain that the rest of Livermore was getting. We only received a few drops of rain yesterday. For me, I find the fall season a perfect time to camp.

We will be here at our new camp for twelve days, then moving to another site for two days, then back to this one.

A boy scout troop were camping near by and I thought they would be very noisy, but they surprised me. They were actually very quiet.

Once I set up our camp, we will run to the store for a few items.

I have been sleeping better here in Nature, even being awakened by strange, hair raising noises. I also seem to wake up if the boys move around, making sure they are okay. As for having strange dreams, they still seem to follow me where ever I go.

While I was writing this, I saw three red-shouldered hawks flying together near by. We also saw them two afternoons ago.

It was a lazy morning this morning, just enjoying being in Nature with no rush in moving camp. It is the end of Day light savings time, so we had an extra hour.

Takota has learned quickly in chasing the magpies from their food, and now Nanook wanted to start playing this game. Ever since they were young I noticed Nanook would always copy-cat Takota’ s behavior.

Once in a while, while being out here, thoughts of doubt would creep into my consciousness, thinking, “Is this really a smart thing to be doing, and will we be able to do it?” I closed a big part of my past life to do this, and at the age of 65, soon to be 66, to start a new life in a different world living in Nature. But once I move away from these thoughts, and take a deep breath of Nature, seeing Nature with new eyes, listening to the sounds of Nature with new ears, experiencing Nature with a still mind, I know I should be here, and being here with Tokota, and Nanook. As for the boys, the love every moment of it.

When I observe the boys they too enjoy all that Nature provides in the sights, sounds, and smells. They enjoy napping on the soft grass, or watching Nature that is all around them, and experiencing all their senses. And I too savor watching them.

We hope to spend most of our twelve days in camp, and not moving stuff. Just enjoying being in Nature.

The site we are in is much nicer than our last site just next door to us. It has more trees, a bit more privacy, a great view, and a pretty natural setting. I have two trees in camp I set up a high-line for the boys giving them more area to run around, and they are attached to a 30 ft. lead line that is attached to the high-line. I was thinking, ‘‘What a perfect arrangement!” That is, until they get tangled up with each other or tangled around one of the trees. I will soon learn, this will be an ongoing issue I will face with the two boys. Especially with Takota. The boys seem much happier being in a natural environment.

Instead of taking the tent down in moving our camp, I determined where I wanted the tent which was only about 10 feet away, so I tried sliding the 10’x15’ tent to the new site. With a bit of gentle finesse the tent moved with no problem. But when I got the tent situated where I wanted it, but not staked yet, then a gust of wind came through and almost caused it to collapse. Luckily I was able to keep it upright and it was only a short wind gust.

There are just a few campers left in our camping area. I forgot to mention, two of the campgrounds are closed due to the construction of the bathrooms.

The evening is peaceful, and quiet with most of the campers gone. The campfire glowing against the dark night sky.

We as a culture, have become soft when it comes to being in Nature, It seems from what I have seen, few camp in tents nowadays. The so-called campers are now staying in RV’s, and motorhomes. And very few campers camp to fully enjoy what Nature provides. They want all the comforts of home with them that pulls them further from Nature. The adults bring their toys, the children bring their toys, and they bring their games so as not to get bored in Nature. I could not image the thought of them being immersed in the wonders and beauty in the abundant Nature that is all around them, or just experiencing the sounds of Nature, or the silence Nature brings. We have forgotten the very thing that brings us to Nature, and that is our deep connection to the natural world.

You may ask, why would I choose to take on such a journey into Nature?

It began many years ago in my late teens. Two friends and I went on a backpacking trip in southern California for three or four days. One friend had experience in backpacking, my other friend and I had none. We went in the month of July. The whole experience was terrible. My feet hurt from the new hiking boots I bought, my backpack was murderous pain to my shoulders, and the mosquitoes were just plain torture the whole time we were out in the wilderness. Thick clouds of mosquitoes attacked us relentlessly, unforgivably, viciously, and without any mercy, for a little bit of my blood. When the trip was over, I counted over 50 bites on me, and I came to the conclusion, “Maybe there is a better way?”

After that experience, I was at the Library and picked up a book on Survival. It was written for airmen in the military on how to survive in remote areas after a plane crash. The book planted a seed in me on wanting to learn more about those skills. At that time no books, or none that I knew of existed. But this knowledge did exist with what we back then, called primitive indigenous people all around the world. The term Bush craft skills would be more appropriate in their situation. It were skills that these indigenous cultures had perfected in their natural environment for tens of thousands of years. And for the modern day man, had forgotten. But there was much more to these indigenous cultures, they had a special relationship, a deep connection with the natural world. They understood there was a oneness in all life, and an unseen relationship with the spirit world, that I would learn about much later. They understood Nature gave them life, and provided everything they needed to survive. Again, the modern day man had forgotten this.

One thing I did learn from that experience backpacking was, that there was a way to avoid mosquitoes, and that was to camp in the Spring, late Summer or Fall seasons. And of course in the Winter if one was so bold to do so. I would be able to experience this much later with a good friend of mine when we talked about planning a backpacking trip. We ended up doing two backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and both were in the Spring time on different years. On our last packing trip the mosquitoes were coming out in force on our last day returning back into civilization, so we had just a brief encounter with the blood sucking critters.

Back in the mid 90’s I had this great idea on doing a 5 year horse packing trip and slowly began to plan and preparing for it. Part of this preparation was to learn survival and bush craft skills. To make a long story very short, this adventure never happened.

Then in 2009, my dog Shiloh and I found ourselves homeless during the economic collapse of 2008. You can read the adventures about Shiloh and I in the blog, “Our Journey Into The Wilderness.”

I have planned, and dreamed about these experiences I am shearing with you in this blog. I wanted to accomplish many things on this journey, things that would take a lifetime to do. I felt healthy, but really did not look at my age much at age 65 when we begun this journey. My goal was to do this for as long as we could do it, and try to spend this time in the present moment – in Nature.

Below I have listed what I would hope to accomplish on our journey.

Originally I wanted to have this experience with Shiloh, but with his loss, and wanting to continue on with this dream, Takota, and Nanook came into my life, to share with me these adventures in Nature.

In a life changing path that I chose for us it took much longer to take that first step.

• During our time in the wilderness alone, Shiloh and I experienced a deep connection, relationship, and bond with each other – and with Nature. I have been studying survival, and bush craft skills in practice, in videos, television shows, and in books for more than a few years. What I have found using these skills is, it actually enhanced my experiences in Nature, from plant identification, and observation to animals, to the experiences in using only natural materials only found in Nature. I developed a greater appreciation, and respect with the four elements, in air, water, earth, and fire. Observing and listening to Nature in silence brought a higher awareness, and connection in me, to all life, and a feeling of a deep sense of oneness with all of creation – I felt a Oneness with the Creator.

Over looking the small alpine valley, the surrounding mountains that framed our picturesque experience, the meandering river that flowed through the valley, and the small alpine lake that nestled against the mountains, Shiloh and I sat in gratitude for this wondrous beauty. And in a low whispering voice, I proclaimed, “We are Home.” So one of my goals was to continue learning and practicing bush craft skills.

• And as I follow on this path that I expressed above, I will go deeper onto my spiritual path with Nature. Immersing myself with the plants, trees, and animal life.
• I want to create a deep relationship and experiences together with Takota, and Nanook.
• I will write, photograph, and film our journey.
• I want to explore the lakes, and river in my canoe.
• I want to do this for as long as my body and my allows me to, or if climate change prevents me from doing it.
• On this journey I wanted to spend most of our time in the backcountry, away from people and human noise. I wanted to spend a winter in one area, and the short summer months in another. The reason I wanted to do this was to get to know the areas I would be living in. Getting to know the terrain, the weather patterns, the plants, trees and animals – the whole Eco-system.
• I wanted to experience being in the beauty in Nature before we can’t because of climate change.
• And lastly, I was hoping to visit Indian tribes along the way in our travels.

November 6, 2017 – Monday

This morning was as cool as the rest here at Del Valle. The seasons paints a beauty to this area that is indescribable. During this time of year, the Sun rises above the foothills at 7:45 am, and begins to warm the day.

The boys and I had bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Today, we will get camp organized, then over to our storage for cleaning.

I am finding I am sliding down the air mattress indicating I am on uneven ground.

We are getting big black ants crawling on the outside of our tent. Just as long as they stay outside I don’t mind.

The boys are resting after breakfast in the shade of an oak tree while the magpies come to finish off any tidbits of food in their bowls.

We don’t have a lot of shade at our camp in the morning, and with the rain I was thinking about putting up the canopy. But then it would block the nice view we have. There are definitely advantages with having a canopy. In rainy weather, I can cook, or just sit comfortably outside under the canopy while it rains vs gong into the tent, or provides good shade in the heat of the day. And there are times it feels better just having that openness without it.

The breeze comes through the valley with no predictability. Sometime it is good, sometimes it is bad. While I am writing in the journal in the Sun, a nice breeze can be nice, and cooling, or during reading a book. We can get some pretty good winds going through the valley. I remember when Shiloh and I were camping here, while laying in bed I would listen to the wind coming, roaring through the valley and waiting for it to hit us. Then I could hear the wind shift directions completely missing us. That was pretty cool to hear that. I always enjoyed listening to the wind. That is one reason I wanted to do this journey in a tent, is to listen to Nature’s sounds during the night.

The turkeys are in the meadow feeding on what turkeys feed on in the grass, the magpies are waiting for second helpings of kibble, eggs, and bacon. Once they knew that was it for the food they go for a drink in the boy’s water bowl. There are a lot of turkey here, about 50 or so that would come by our camp pecking in the grass. Amazingly the boys would just ignore them.

There are only three RV’s left in our campground. We have blue skies with a few clouds floating by. Sitting in the Sun with no breeze it feels like it is 70 deg. F out.

Evening Entry

Today I got the firewood sorted from the bed of my truck. Took some book cases to the dumps, today and getting close in closing 35 years of my life in Architecture. But it is time in closing this chapter of my life to an end.

This evening is pretty quiet, and peaceful. The evening light changes to darkness. The boys are playing in the night. They spot a creature feeding on the grassy meadow. Nanook draws his focus to this creature, he is more interested in creatures, while Takota still wants to play. They enjoy just laying on the grass enjoying all the sights and sounds of Nature in the darkness of night when the animals come out to feed. While observing the boys, Takota seems to play the role of Camp Protector, where Nanook, is the Hunter.

With the nights getting shorter from the time change, and the Sun setting earlier, instead of going to bed around 8:00 pm, it is now 7:00 pm. It is nice with the morning light appearing early. This evening sitting next to the fire for the light and warmth is quite soothing. The smoke from the fire can be irritating at times.

November 7, 2017 – Tuesday

Awaking to another day in Nature, awakening to a new life. This morning stepping out of the tent to a beautiful and cool sunny autumn day. I am not minding the cool weather, and soon we will be getting some warmer temperatures according the weather forecast. It is T-shirt weather once it starts warming up.

I had my best sleep so far with the exceptions of a dream I had of a giant spider ready to consume me for breakfast.

Nanook was intently captivated by something in the grassy area last night. I called Nanook for bed time and he chose to ignore me. I shined my flashlight in the direction Nanook was looking and saw five pairs of eyes belonging to rabbits glowing from the beam of the flashlight. It seemed Nanook was focused on fury critters, like rabbits, deer, skunks, raccoon’s, and such. Both Takota and Nanook ignored the bird species unless they were trying to steal their food.

Evening Entry

The things I wanted to get done partially got side tracked, but got most of the things I wanted to get done, got done. I was distracted by talking with some with a couple camping neighbors across the way, and our new friends Kevin, and Joy, who manages the concessions at Del Valle. Kevin and Joy were slewing gold from their claim (a hobby for them) in the Sierra’s, and processing it next to their trailer that was along side the campground store. They were showing me the process that I found very interesting. I was hoping to do some panning for gold on our journey.

While writing in the journal, I heard coyotes yelping in the distance, and the turkeys up the hill making a commotion.

It is 5:00 pm and the darkness of night was falling upon us quickly. Time to get cooking for dinner started for me and the boys.

With all the stuff we have, I tend to forget all that I have stashed away. I found a sage bundle that I had that was given to me by a Native American friend, so I decided to burn it tonight, with a prayer of gratitude, and for all that Nature brings to us. With all my struggles due to the economic crises, I have gained many Native American, and First Nations friends on my Facebook page. A true gift for me and with a deep gratitude for their acceptance of me. I am deeply honored that I have been able to gain their trust.