First thing, I would like to Thank all of those that have helped me in getting this adventure underway. It is largely because of those that have supported me during my preparations for this trip, that I am now able to be coaxing this old van Southward, toward a sunnier climate and an attempt to reinvigorate the waning yet still hopeful endeavor of Poco A Poco, patiently awaiting intentions for the next step.
With growing gratitude, I have driven these last 1500 miles, frequently in quiet reflection of my good fortune, to where I now pause, to prepare for the next leg of the journey. In the days that it has taking me to get here, I have often thought of those warmly offered contributions by friends and family that have made it so possible for me to get this far, mile by mile, realizing a dream. Thank You Everyone!
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It seems that I left just in time. The low-pressure that was riding my tail from my home in Neskowin, Oregon to here in Tubac, Arizona was daily reminding me of it's presence.
In Southern Oregon, where my awesome Aunt George and family wonderfully hosted me for an evening (Thanks again!), the first effects were felt. The morning brought a dusting of powder and threats of worsening conditions.
...but, the threats proved fruitless and my day became a beautiful, wintry drive all the way through Reno and to a sleeping break at a truck stop/casino shortly beyond.
The next day however brought a relentless headwind that would resist me all the way to Tubac. A wind that often amazed and tried me with its ferocity. Choco's steering mechanism was under constant strain as I forcefully kept the wheel trimmed a number of degrees into the angling headwind, until suddenly, the wind would abate and nearly allow us to careen off the road until catching us again with another blast, racing North to fill the appetite of the late Winter storm I thought we had left behind. Needless to say, progress South was cautious and sluggish, Choco's meek motor barely able to keep us going 50 mile per hour, but that did not come without it's benefits.
In the blustery, buffeted hours that passed by with the scenery, I saw more beauty in what many would consider a bleak landscape, the blessing of being kept at a slower pace.
Occasionally, we would stop to inspect the sparseness, take in the sounds of rapidly tumbling weeds, and the smells of desert lands.
Once South of the disturbing sprawl of Las Vegas and Phoenix and through more reasonably sized Tucson, I found my way to the home of my friends the Beemer's. It is here that I have been so graciously hosted and pampered that, headwind or no, I may find it difficult to leave. Again, my good fortune is felt as Matt and Paula, Trini and Sami, have very warmly offered their home as my home... and good thing too, that warmth has come in handy offsetting the chill brought on by the snows that fell this morning and invited us out for a look from a nearby hilltop.
From here, Choco and I will drive over the most frequently crossed border in the world and continue our way South, bound to the Sun that resides there and to a little, two masted dream that needs attention.
YEHAA!
