New friends, new life, new frame of mind

So much has happened since I got to Quartzsite a week and a half ago that I can’t fit it all into a blog post or two. And every day I try to remember what happened way back last week, another day is passing with more stuff going on. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is impossible to catch up on a day-by-day basis — and frankly, it’s probably only fascinating to me. So, in the spirit of summarization:

• I got here, met some very nice people, and tried to get oriented.
• It was cold at night, and that was a problem.
• I didn’t have a way to recharge my laptop, and that was a problem too.
• My first morning, I broke out my new camp stove and set it up on La Vanne’s tailgate. Then I wondered how to use it. Tried to read the instructions, but my ADD kicked in. No comprende. A woman walking her dog stopped to introduce herself: Terry. I asked if she knew anything about stoves, and she did. When the student is ready, the teacher will come.
• Breakfast was good.
• I met Lesa, who took me on a tour of Quartzsite, pointing out all the different places to get what I need.
• I bought a second hand battery from Jeff, but I didn’t have the necessary equipment to use it to charge up the laptop, or any way to charge the battery itself.
• I worried about money to pay for said equipment.
• I tried various solutions to the cold night problem without much luck. I usually slept sitting up, bundled in my comforter with several sweaters and a jacket on, gloves and a wimple. I was warm enough but my feet felt like icycles. Unbundling for late night bathroom breaks? COLD.
• People gave me advice — and stuff.
• Lesa invited me to her van for dinner. I marveled at her roomy, well-organized van while she cooked on an ingenious DIY kitchen setup.
• Dinner was delicious.
• It started raining.
• I got food poisoning — not from Lesa’s dinner but some yogurt I’d left in my uncooled cooler too long. Diarrhea and throwing up in a van = an exercise in creativity and quick thinking.
• The rain and cold continued for two days while I recovered.
• The first sunny day, I headed to town for supplies (and to dispose of the evidence) and got a flat tire on the way. Good thing I upgraded my AAA membership back in San Diego!
• One by one, vans drove up and stopped as I waited for the tow truck to come. They were my new vandwelling friends, concerned about me but relieved to know AAA was coming to the rescue.
• I worried about how I would pay for the new tire.
• Then my sweet cousin transferred $200 into my bank account. (Thank you, Patti!)
• With spare tire on the van, I ran my errands and returned to the campground, where I learned my situation was under discussion. It had been decided that someone would take me to the nearest town with a tire store, 27 miles away, to avoid my having to drive that far on the dicey spare.
• All of which transpired the next day, which was spent in lovely conversation with Del as he drove me to get the tire and back.
• Then Al changed the tire.
• When I finally got in La Vanne for the night, I discovered an envelope duct-taped to the steering wheel. With a hundred-dollar bill inside. No sign of who put it there.
• Then I cried.
• Someone in Quartzsite, who I’d met on a vandwelling forum, loaned me a solar panel, sight unseen. I drove to pick it up from my new friends, Jay and Margie. Jay gave me a quick, clear lesson on how to set up and use the panel, and after an enjoyable visit, off I went.
• Finally, I was able to charge up the laptop without depending on someone else or hanging out at Burger King for an hour or more.
• We had a lovely, outdoor Thanksgiving feast in the desert with numerous visitors driving in from all points.
• I made more new friends.
• Al took beautiful portrait photos of all of us.
• Donna offered to help me insulate and fix up La Vanne to be more efficient and pretty, like a real home.
• The cold at night became a bigger concern when the long-range forecast showed temps dropping into the 30s and even to freezing, starting next Tuesday. I knew I needed a solution, fast.
• Bob brought over a nearly new sleeping bag.
• I tried it for a night and was warm at last! I had my first good night’s sleep since I got here. In the morning when I told him the good news, Bob insisted on giving the sleeping bag to me. (Btw, he denied leaving the envelope on the steering wheel. Mystery still unsolved.)

And on and on it goes… nothing but kindness and generosity from people I met only a few days ago. I am the newbie in camp, and have been taken under the tribe’s wing. These vandwellers, they are a different breed.

To recap: Cold problem solved. Power problem solved. Friends made. New life begun.

So much to be thankful for!