Yuma, AZ. Having just finished my best winter in many a year, it's time to ask 'why'. This winter's experience supports the notion that it is beneficial to live differently in the winter, compared to summer; and not just a change of geography either, but a real change in lifestyle.
For instance, it's a solitary life when dispersed camping for 9 months of the year. More solitary than is desirable. Why people treat Solitude as a sacred mantra has always been a mystery to me. 'Independence' has positive value, but Solitude doesn't.
In contrast this winter in Yuma has been spent bicycling with a club of friendly people. Sometimes we've had as many as 50 people on a ride. It's true that the conversations at food stops are just noisy chatter. But that is all you are likely to get from human beings in the real world. To demand more will just lead to frustration, then to disappointment, and will ultimately be crowned with unpopularity when other people sense your dissatisfaction.
Dispersed camping on public lands in the West gives you an eye-full of great scenery. Maybe scenery continues to interest me even after 15 years of full time RVing because I let it rest, now and then. Yuma is one of the few places in Arizona that isn't attractive. (Ignoring the metropolitan hell-holes, of course.) But I wasn't here to extend 9 months of great scenery to 12. Pretty scenery, like anything else in life, is subject to "diminishing returns" after a certain point.
Is there a good place in the Four Corner states to do road cycling with a club in the summer? (Solitary road riding on highways is too dangerous in my opinion, unless you have residential traffic speeds or bike trails.) I don't really know of any. It seems like you need to "camp" at some boring and pricey RV park, and put up with lots of traffic and hot weather.
My first summer RVing I was a bicycle tour leader for a commercial company. Maybe it's time for Round 2; or some seasonal job like that, as long as the temperatures are cool. It would be nice to hear of other travelers' experiences with seasonal jobs.
For instance, it's a solitary life when dispersed camping for 9 months of the year. More solitary than is desirable. Why people treat Solitude as a sacred mantra has always been a mystery to me. 'Independence' has positive value, but Solitude doesn't.
In contrast this winter in Yuma has been spent bicycling with a club of friendly people. Sometimes we've had as many as 50 people on a ride. It's true that the conversations at food stops are just noisy chatter. But that is all you are likely to get from human beings in the real world. To demand more will just lead to frustration, then to disappointment, and will ultimately be crowned with unpopularity when other people sense your dissatisfaction.
Dispersed camping on public lands in the West gives you an eye-full of great scenery. Maybe scenery continues to interest me even after 15 years of full time RVing because I let it rest, now and then. Yuma is one of the few places in Arizona that isn't attractive. (Ignoring the metropolitan hell-holes, of course.) But I wasn't here to extend 9 months of great scenery to 12. Pretty scenery, like anything else in life, is subject to "diminishing returns" after a certain point.
Is there a good place in the Four Corner states to do road cycling with a club in the summer? (Solitary road riding on highways is too dangerous in my opinion, unless you have residential traffic speeds or bike trails.) I don't really know of any. It seems like you need to "camp" at some boring and pricey RV park, and put up with lots of traffic and hot weather.
My first summer RVing I was a bicycle tour leader for a commercial company. Maybe it's time for Round 2; or some seasonal job like that, as long as the temperatures are cool. It would be nice to hear of other travelers' experiences with seasonal jobs.
Comments
Good luck if you do go for a summer gig!
That's why the Yuma club is such an exception. There is an alternative to staying in a $550/month RV park: you can rent a half-lot of gravel for $300/month.
Will the colors come back when you leave Yuma?
Box Canyon Mark
Just wanted to throw out a few ideas.
On cycling, yes, lots of clubs out there, but I see your problem with logistics, so perhaps form your own short-term rides or social events using Meet Up.
http://www.meetup.com/
On conversation, there is a group called Conversation Cafe http://www.conversationcafe.org/default.htm offering hosted conversations in cafes all over the world. I just did a quick look at the established groups and there are a couple in Arizona. It’s also possible to host a new cafe if you want. The idea came about partly from Vicki Robin, one of the authors of “Your Money or Your Life.”
McBe
Leave Yuma? I will soon, but I miss the cycling club already.