CarolCarnicom – Page 4 – Quiet Walk Photography

August 1, 2021May 1, 2022

Last Days at Monticello – August 2021

It is August now and western United States is hot and dry with many wildfires, but it has not been too bad here in Monticello, Utah. Even though Monticello and nearby Abajo Mountain have thus far escaped the ravages of wildfires, there are a couple of days when smoke lies heavily in the valley, obscuring Abajo from view.

Clifford and I discuss whether we should stay in Monticello longer or begin the trip to Montana and hope it cools off by time we get there.

The sale of the house is underway, but there are many things yet to take care of such as moving the last items out of the house and getting Cougar (our RV) ready to be our full-time home, including a major readjustment of living space functionality.

Downsizing from this place, once a small church, to a 24-foot RV has been a real challenge. We have given away hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of stuff – furniture, lab equipment, clothing, dishes, books, and so on. There is no turning back at this point, so it looks like we will aim for the small break in the temperature that we see shaping up in Montana in about a week.

My source of greatest peace during these last days is the time I spend in the backyard either on the deck watching the birds, sipping coffee and journaling, or sitting under the pine and spruce trees at the back, grateful for shade and their ambiance.

As I journal, I think about the difference between being motivated and being inspired. Being motivated comes from need – the need to eat, the need to have clean clothes, and so on, while being inspired comes from some deeper richer place. I seem to be doing most things based on motivation (need) rather than inner source (inspiration). In sitting quietly with the question of how to move from motivation to inspiration, I find the answer is that feeling satisfaction is the only gauge I need at this time. If the activity is satisfying, do it if I want to (cook, wash dishes, play the fiddle); if not satisfying, let it go for the time being. That makes sense given the current circumstances.

Some days I walk early while it is still cool, one day going as far as the cemetery, a peaceful place where I’ve never been before. Maybe I’ll come here again before we leave.

We make the final trip to Clifford’s storage unit in the nearby town of Blanding and stop at Recapture Reservoir on our way back to Monticello – one last chance for me to take photos there.

On August 10, we do the final walkabout of the house and yard with our checklist, repack the Suburban, and get Cougar ready for travel. I say good-bye to the backyard, the trees, and all that is being left behind.

Saying Good-bye to All That Is Being Left Behind

Tomorrow begins a new stage of the life journey.

July 31, 2021March 29, 2022

Surviving July – July 2021

As many folks know, a major move challenges the hardiest of souls. In retrospect, I can only say that that I am grateful for having survived July 2021. Consolidating all my belongings into what will fit into a 5 x10 storage unit is challenging to the max. A ba-jillion decisions have to be made, and since much of what I am sorting requires my personal attention, many nights I am still working at midnight. Clifford has hired people to help him with packing up the items from the non-profit lab that are to be kept, but even with help, it is a big job.

While it appears that chaos reigns, slowly but surely everything is sorted and packed for storage or put out on the FREE tables. Clifford’s stuff is hauled to his storage unit in a nearby town. The conundrum of how and where to move my stuff is resolved when my daughter Ang and her friend Rama drive all the way from western Montana to southeast Utah to get the U-haul cargo trailer, which is all packed and ready to go, and drive all the way back in two days. I so enjoy seeing them and wish they could have had a relaxed visit, but they have obligations back in Montana.

It is hot hot hot at both ends and all along the way for them, making the journey and the unloading a real challenge of endurance and fortitude. Thank you, Ang and Rama!

Through all of this, the saving grace is my quiet early morning time sitting on the deck in back with a good cup of coffee, some inspirational reading, and my journal.

Coffee on the deck with journals and inspirational reading

Although there aren’t many flowers in the yard and no trips up the mountain, I watch for the photo opportunities that bring me joy, namely colorful blossoms, from milkweed and dandelions to the beautiful Rose of Sharon shrub in the front yard.

Most days we manage to fit in a bit of music, playing with the UK folk group on zoom as I learn to read music on The Fiddle with Clifford playing dulcimer. In his spare moments, Clifford begins recording songs he has been singing, a new passion in his life. Or maybe a secret passion opening up. I’m not sure.

Once my stuff is gone, the focus shifts to preparing the house for the realtor. Scrubbing, mopping, vacuuming throughout the house and spiffing up the backyard take precedence, along with preparing Cougar, our RV, to be our full-time home.

Major reorganization in Cougar. From this…

Toward the end of July, monsoons finally make an appearance and great thunderheads, rain, and rainbows are a welcome relief to the hot dry days of most of July.

June 30, 2021March 20, 2022

Abajo to Santa Fe – June 2021

In mid-June as the temperatures reach the upper 90’s, we make several trips up Abajo Mountain for picnics and music, a respite from the heat.

I am delighted to spend time on the mountain, finding the wild iris still in bloom despite the warm temperatures. Yarrow, balsamroot, and other wildflowers are flourishing.

In the evenings, when the valley below cools off, we return home and continue with the work of packing and clearing.

The trip to Santa Fe that we have been considering in order to pick up a violin that has been donated to me by a former music colleague has been put off due to her circumstances and the heat the Southwest is suffering from. However, toward the end of June, I find out that I can still retrieve the violin and there is a break in the weather. So, we make plans on rather short notice and a quick trip to Santa Fe is underway.

As we travel, I am quite intrigued by the clouds, some of questionable origin, but over the mesas of New Mexico there are some that look like clouds used to look.

We have a good drive to Santa Fe, but the motel we chose because of its affordable price, is very sketchy. However, it will have to do. The next day, I pick up the violin and seeing that it is not playable as is, the Violin Shop does a much appreciated rush job of new strings, bridge, and bow. Mission accomplished, I have the violin, now to be known as “The Fiddle.” This instrument will be much more suitable for all the fiddle music that Clifford and I have been playing with our zoom group for the last year.

I would have enjoyed having more time to visit friends while in Santa Fe, but Clifford is anxious to get back to Monticello. As it is, we have time for dinner with a couple of long-time friends, and I look forward to a more relaxed trip in the future.

The return to Monticello to resume the moving process brings June to a close.

June 14, 2021March 14, 2022

Moving Forward – June 2021

June starts with an outing up Abajo Mountain for a picnic and music, a welcome respite from all the sorting, packing, and cleaning that we have been doing since we returned to Monticello home base in early May. With this impromptu decision, I make a picnic lunch, we pack up our instruments and off we go. We are pleased to find that the spot where we camped last summer is available. I am happy to walk about the familiar favorite trails and to find a few flowers blooming.

I begin my days sitting on the deck in the first sunlight or under the trees on the warmer days, reading or journaling. Clifford begins his day with his ham radio connections, and then we both proceed to whatever areas are next to attend to. Every day more items go to the FREE table – dishes, clothes, extra bedding, furniture, books, lamps, and on and on.

For a few days in early June, dramatic cumulus clouds make an appearance and there does appear to be rain to the east, but nothing right here.

When I am not sorting, packing, and cleaning, I edit for a couple of authors, and most days Clifford and I play fiddle tunes from the UK zoom group that we have joined. Clifford is also singing and recording songs and when I have the energy, I play cello in the evenings.

Although there are not many flowers blooming in our yard, I am always open to the possibilities.

As we pack, the scientific instruments that Clifford is keeping are moved to a small storage unit in a nearby town, while the stuff I’m keeping is consolidated, imagining it fitting into a small storage unit.

Along with all the sorting and packing going on in the house, I am also cleaning and repacking Cougar, our RV, as it will be our full-time home once we leave Monticello. This itself is a daunting task.

May 31, 2021March 7, 2022

Big Changes – May 2021

The change that is afoot for Clifford and me is that due to a change in funding for Carnicom Institute, we will be selling the home-base/lab in Monticello, Utah. This is a big decision and we begin packing, sorting, discarding, and cleaning soon after returning from the winter journey. We put out a couple of tables with a FREE sign and begin giving things away – almost everything we own.

Clifford will be saving only the most important scientific lab instruments and books, and these will be put into storage. I will be likewise save only the most important items in my life – journals, photo albums, artwork, and so on. The sorting and processing seems both overwhelming and endless.

In mid-May, a trip to Salt Lake City to see a cardiologist is postpone when the Suburban won’t start the morning that we are to leave. The cardiologist appointment and the motel reservation are rescheduled and the sorting/packing/cleaning continues.

Handmade Candle – Gift from a Cello Student – Letting It Glow – Letting Go

My source of peace during this stressful time is the early morning hour spent on the deck in the backyard where I read or write in my journal, sipping tea, enjoying the backyard trees and blossoms before the busy-ness of the day.

In the process of packing books and journals, I run across a couple that are added to the daily reading stack. It must be that the timing is right for them now.

We make the rescheduled trip to Salt Lake City, a long drive for us, with a stop at Soldier’s Summit for a picnic at a very sketchy picnic table alongside the store. It is a welcome stop from the long drive.

When we arrive at our motel, we find the hotel under construction, but the room is serviceable and convenient with a kitchenette.

Going to the hospital for the cardiologist appointment, a long wait wearing masks in a crowded overly warm waiting room has my blood pressure up and my heart in a-fib by time I see Dr. Day. A procedure is recommended and scheduled, and then we are on our way. Driving back to Monticello the next day, we take time to explore the Price Canyon Recreation Area. The road is much too steep for us to consider camping there, but it was a good diversion to check it out.

View from Price Canyon BLM Recreation Area

May 15, 2021March 2, 2022

Returning to Home-Base

Our time camped south of Ash Fork, Arizona, goes by quickly. The last days there are not very comfortable for me due to the wind and the stress of being on the move again and my heart feels a bit uneasy, but I am happy to be alive! We have enjoyed this peaceful location situated among the junipers, but it is soon time for us to take the next leg of the journey back to home-base in Utah.

Our first destination is a forest road north of Flagstaff. We are up early and ready to go, planning on getting out ahead of the wind, but by time we are on I-40 heading east, the wind, the semis, and the uneven terrain make for very difficult driving conditions. Had we known how much the wind was going to pick up, we would probably have stayed at camp longer, but after a stressful drive, we are relieved to arrive at the forest road north of Flagstaff where we spend a comfortable night.

The next morning we leave for Monticello.

Elephant Feet Alongside US Highway 160, Arizona

With the wind and traffic, it is a long drive, but by mid-afternoon we are back in Monticello.

There are big changes ahead in the next weeks, but for a few days I just enjoy having the space of the home-base, especially my writing table at the east-facing sliding glass doors….

and time in the enclosed backyard.

April 30, 2021February 6, 2022

On to Ash Fork – April 2021

Right when our two-week time limit at Powell Springs is up, Clifford is sick and the wind is blowing up a big storm, so consequently we end up staying longer. The ranger who stops to check on us is very nice about it.

Where to go next has been the question, and even with our exploratory drives and studying the maps, we have not come up with a good next destination until we hear from Tony, who invites us to join him on a forest road south of Ash Fork, Arizona. He left Powell Springs a couple days ago. Before he left we tried to figure out where we might both go, but things didn’t seem to be working out, wind and weather being an issue. However, his suggestion works for us, and we head north on highway 89 to the forest road turnoff. It is a nerve-wracking drive on highway 89 with way too much fast traffic for this highway. It is a relief to arrive at the forest road and find Tony, and we soon get ourselves set up nearby in a stand of pinon pine and juniper.

We are grateful for our spot here, despite the trash left by others. I pick up around our campsite, but disposing of trash is problematic, so I have to let much of the rest of it go.

I go walking most days, just because it is part of the regimen established for stabilizing the heart. I’m always on the lookout for flowers on my walkabouts, happy to find a few here and there.

Daily activities include music and editing and visits with Tony while we are camped in this peaceful location.

Carol Editing and Studying Energy Medicine

We drive to Prescott Valley, about 30 miles to the south from where we are now camped, and more work is done on the Suburban . Several days and many $$$ later, we have important repairs done that, while expensive, are very important for the safety factor involved in towing an RV.

After we spend two weeks here, we make plans to begin the journey back to Monticello homebase. It has been a good and peaceful spot on the route northward and we look forward to perhaps coming this way another time.

April 15, 2021January 29, 2022

Hiking With Clifford – April 2021

When I am not out sauntering about the forest near our campsite at Powell Springs, I have a favorite spot under the alligator juniper near our front door. It is a great place to read, write, and enjoy a morning cup of coffee or afternoon tea. There are days when I play the cello outside. Along with these activities, domestic chores, editing and blog-writing fill my days.

Clifford works with his ham radio and he also has a favorite outdoor spot where he spends as much time as possible playing the dulcimer and singing, the secret side of his life after 20+ years as the scientist devoting hour upon hour to his research.

Over the two weeks that we camp near Powell Springs Campground, along with the usual camp activities, Clifford and I go hiking a couple times, not with any particular destination in mind, except for one hike looking for and finding Powell Spring.

We also go for a couple drives to explore the general region to have ideas of future camping spots. On one of these outings, the Suburban starts making a rather unpleasant sound, but we make it back to camp and then to Big O in Prescott Valley. The immediate problem is taken care of, but other issues will have to be taken care of as soon as possible. But in the meantime, we will enjoy our last days camped at Powell Springs, grateful for having found this beautiful camping area.

April 10, 2021January 25, 2022

Powell Spring Days – April 2021

Camping in one of the dispersed sites near the Powell Springs Campground in northern Arizona is a big switch from wintering at Quartzsite in southwest Arizona. Although this area is considered desert, the road from highway 169 up to Powell Springs is a transition from desert to a pocket of pines and other forest vegetation. It is so refreshing to be among tall trees and lush green shrubs.

Sunrise – First Morning at Powell Springs

On our first full day here, Clifford and I hike all the way around a large mound to the east of our campsite, getting a feel for the lay of the land.

Most mornings I climb the nearest rock mound at sunrise. As I become familiar with the area, I go further away from camp, accompanied by my little thermos of tea.

One morning I encounter our neighbor and his dog as they are returning from their early morning hike. Camping as we do, we seldom get to know other people, but I invite Tony to come over when he hears music, as Clifford plays his dulcimer outside almost every day. Tony and Kimber do come over, and we strike up a friendship, including learning of the beautiful leather work that Tony does. I even commission him to make a sheath specifically for the knife that my son Tye made for me.

Of all the places that we have camped in our years of travel, this is one of my most favorite.

April 2, 2021January 18, 2022

Good-bye Quartzsite – Hello Powell Springs – April 2021

As April approaches, the handwriting is on the wall, so to speak, that it will soon be too warm here at La Posa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I have been boondocking since November. We make plans to head north.

Sometimes I am sad to leave a campsite where we have been set up for awhile, but not this time. Although I will miss the comradre that Rollie, Tata, and I share, between the dust and noise from the ATV’s going by and the almost constant wind, I feel no particular attachment to this spot.

The morning of April 1, we say our good-byes and get an early (for us) start. The landscape is barren as we head toward our destination for the night, but more saguaros as we reach I-17 north of Phoenix.

We arrive at Badger Springs Trail parking lot in the Agua Fria National Monument by late afternoon and get set up a little off to the side of the main lot. There is still highway noise, but other than the trash left by slobs, it is an okay spot for an overnight setup.

In the morning I go for a short walk to take a photo at sunrise.

After a quick breakfast we head on north, still on I-17, until we reach the exit for highway 169 that takes us toward Powell Springs Campground, our next destination. We have never been here, but it sounds good from what we read about it. The road up the mountain to the campground is very steep, really a bit too much for Suburban to tow Cougar. When we get to the campground, it is small and very crowded. There is hardly room to turn around to get out. Heading back down the road, we find a dispersed site that is available and very appealing with a large space for parking surrounded with a variety of trees and shrubs.

We are soon set up, inside and out, happy to have found such a nice spot.