07-14-09

I was up at 7:00 and got the bus to the shop by 8:00. I drove my Jeep to IHOP. I tipped Meredith an extra dollar because she corrected my grammar. When I said, “Can I get a glass of water”, she said, “Yes you may”. I figured, “spread the wealth to the educated to help with the evolution of human kind”. Traveling alone was causing my mind to wander into uncharted territory, this time trivial, but sometimes I’d think up a gem.
I got a call from the RV shop. A bad connection near the battery was casing all nine electrical problems. They also discovered that my house batteries were not being charged while my diesel engine was running. A new solenoid would fix that. They’d get to work and call me soon.
I went and got a haircut then headed to Borders book store to kill time. While driving there I passed the corner to the shop and thought, “If they called right now it would be perfect”.
At the book store I checked out the local travel section and then found myself in the biography section.
I stood staring, wondering, “What do all of these people have in common, what makes them famous?” John Lennon, Lincoln, Malcolm X, FDR, Michael Jackson, Hitler…on and on and on.
They were all just humans. They were born, they did things and they died. Good, or bad they changed the world. We are just the same as them, just humans. We’ve been blessed with life, we’re doing things. “Let’s dream big”, I thought. “There are no limits. We too can change the world”. It was a wonderful and powerful realization. Then the shop called. Now they were done. Compounding my new wonderful take on existence I realized that if they had called before I went to the book store I never would have had that moment. What may seem like a problem, nuisance, or set back might turn into something wonderful. I was learning to let go and trust and to just let things happen.
When I walked to the bus I saw the window was up. When I opened the door the step dropped down for the first time in three states. I checked and everything indeed worked.
I hitched up my Jeep and headed for Red Lodge, Montana.
I stopped at the Travel Info. Center in Red Lodge. I was able to dump and fill my water tanks. I asked them, “where is the cheapest place I can park this thing tonight?” The people behind the counter didn’t have many good ideas. There was a big biker rally starting tomorrow and all of the campgrounds were full. A local couple knew of three places 10 to 12 miles down the road where people camped for free. They grabbed a map, flipped it upside down to orient me and drew me directions.
Excited, I headed to find a spot.
Now I was really getting into the mountains and the scenery was getting beautiful.
I found the turn off to the first site, but missed the turn into the camping area. I was now climbing up a steep narrow mountain road. I needed to turn around, but there was no where nearly large enough. I had no idea how far I would have to climb, or even if there would be a place. I decided it would be quicker to stop, unhitch the Jeep, and turn the bus around and re hitch. When I found a space big enough to do that I did. I learned that it’s difficult to unhitch on a steep grade. The hitch pins bind. I also learned, almost the hard way, to set the Jeep’s brakes before unhooking, or it would roll away and over the cliff.
Turning around the bus was tense as there was an abrupt drop of that I had to get close to to complete the maneuver. It all worked out and I was soon headed back down toward the camp site.
The campsite was treacherous to get into, but doable; narrow bridge, mud, big rocks. There were several campers there. I spotted a big motor coach way back in the woods. I stopped and hiked up to inquire. A man was working underneath an old Volks Wagen 4 wheeler. I couldn’t see his face. I shouted, “Hey buddy, is it okay if I pull into this spot?” He never looked out, but replied, “Yeah, sure, go ahead.
I unhitched the Jeep and carefully drove the bus back into the woods. I turned it around and backed it in tight between the trees and close to a small drop off in back. I had to level it based on where I parked, so I backed it just over the peak of the drop off and used big rocks to chock the wheels.
Mountains towered above me in all directions. I was surrounded by trees. A river raged down the mountain only 75 feet behind my site. It was by far the most beautiful space I had stayed at and it was free. It was what I had always been dreaming of and searching for. I had finally found it. “I’m finally here”, I thought.
I was hungry and need to eat. My mustard bottles had been squirting a bit lately when I opened them. I thought it was from the refrigerator running a bit warm. This time they exploded like I had struck oil. Then it dawned on me that it was due to the high altitude and air pressure. I grabbed another mustard bottle and cautiously opened it at the base of the cap. It slowly hissed and de-pressurized. Another problem solved.
I had no phone signal, no internet and no TV. I was finally off of the grid. I felt free.
I wanted to up-load some pictures and check in with my parents and Trinity, so I drove my Jeep into town. I started getting a hint of a phone signal just 3 miles from the campsite. Red Lodge was only a 10 minute drive. I parked by what I assumed was the same raging river and worked on my laptop and made my calls.
Trinity and I had fallen madly in love very quickly and she was driving from New Hampshire with everything she owned to join me. We were close friends in high school, but hadn’t talked for at least 15 years until facebook brought us back together. We hadn’t actually seen each other since we were kids, but had been calling, texting and sharing things on-line.
I had been dawdling, but it would still take several days for her to catch me, even if I stood still.
She and Sebastian, her dog, were now in Ohio. She rerouted herself down I-90 instead of I-80 to catch me more quickly and begged me to wait. I was going to leave in the morning and attempt to drive the Bear Tooth Pass. Taking I-90 would put her 40 miles from Red Lodge. I was in my dream location and it was free, so I decided to stop, wait and meet her there. We had wanted to meet for the first time in a special spot. This indeed would be a beautiful back drop for a beautiful moment.