Roads Less Travelled

Here’s the Scoop. On Monday, December 2nd, Wendy and I climbed into a 1995 Ultrastar motor home hereafter known as the landpig .We bought it with a good friend of ours for a little over $3K, sight unseen on ebay. Anyone wanna guess right now where this is gonna end up? Come on, have a little faith. On board are a bunch of cameras, computers, a whack o’tools, an octocopter, internet access that’s supposed to cover 80% of the US and our dog Lucy. Our adventure begins in Kelowna, British Columbia. The plan is to head due south until it gets warm or we see the fabled twisted oak. Then we turn left. Back roads, towns with weird names, places most people don’t go. We’ll come in low, out of the rising sun and on the radio…will be Wagner. Nothing else smells like that in the morning. West to East, with the jetstream but against the sun. Going where the road and our interest takes us. When the road ends, we’ll figure it out. In the mean time this will chronicle our travels.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Re: Day 61 - The Final Chapter

OOOOHPS hit send too early!!!! ANYWAY.........We drove and drove...determined to make it home tonight and determined to come back and film with the copter a place called "Dry Falls" Washington....Gorgeous- Eerie place...WAY too cool (and cold)...

Temps dropping and Super Bowl starting we've got the radio tuned to the "game" and we're racing for the border.

Fab Side bar: a couple hours before the "game"  we pass through Reservations where we see several groups of young Native people painting signs or garages or their CARS or their homes or the highway (anything that will take paint  with "GO SEAHAWKS GO" signs. As we drive by they high five us and tell us to honk. Joyous! ...Remember we're in Washington and the Seattle Sea Hawks are about to take the super bowl. Remember also it's BELOW FREEZING and downright GRIM outside...these young colourful people are a bit of life and JOY on the highway to home....We HONK, thumbs up and careen by their crude  beautiful, hopeful highway art!. 

The game begins we stop to buy our last cheap wine before the border and already Seattle's up 14 to O...The border is empty...Everybody in Washington is parked in a living-room with beer and chicken wings.  Except us...and the border guards. Needless to say.... We get pulled over. What do you have to declare? About 600 dollars... worth of pig parts....2 recently bought tires, a fuel pump ($130 bucks) 4 jacks (from Walmart) etc...what else....Glen and I wonder....nothing...absolutely nothing else are we bringing home except 4 bottles of wine...and a bit of food. oh and a hand-knit scarf from my mom. They are determined that we must be smuggling something and the pig is parked in a barbed wire enclosure and Glen and I are together, and then seperately INTERROGATED!!! They obviously didn't buy the "we went to Florida to visit my parents and then My mom ended up in the hospital story" AND SO WE SAT, while, not one but 5 Border patrol guards went through the pig. Not once but 4 times!!!!  (Apparently the drug dog was off watching the superbowl) ....So it was only humans to search us. TWO hours!!!  The guard said to me...we're looking for guns, narcotics, money...Do you have ANY of those on board. I said NO BUT I SURE WISHED I DID.... Our only solace...It was MINUS 20 outside and they had to pull out everything. EVERYTHING we've ever used and didn't use along the way. They had all our belongings strewn across the parking lot...A FAMILIAR SITE....They got covered in RED dirt from Sedona and White Sand from New Mexico and dust and dirt and mud from almost every state and they FROZE OUT THERE..Small victory for us.. Better yet, Lucy jumped out of the pig to greet the intruders and SQUARED not one but 3 Border guards...and then proceeded to puke on one of the most obnoxious border guard's shiny black boots!!!! HAHA.....there is a GOD! Of course they didn't find anything and 2 hours later they gave the tired travelers back our pig keys, our passports and our dignity but we had another 2 hours to drive to get home. Those two dark cold hours were probably the longest of the trip. We got home at about 10 pm and had to unload everything that might freeze in the pig. A glass of wine and we FALL into our bed. There's no place like home. We awake this morning after GREAT SLEEP and  an hour long shower each and we go out to assess the situation. We're home. The pig's dirty and scarred and MESSY but okay. Lucy is elated and has pulled all her teddy bears to out to play in he snow. And Glen's pick up truck has a flat.

HE changes ANOTHER TIRE in our back yard. ........We're home.

  xoxox Border Runners, Wendy, Glen, Lucy and the "Squeeky CLEAN" Land Pig! We're home!!!

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 60 = Final Challenges

It wouldn't be us if we didn't have some FINAL Challenges along the way.

Planning to "boogie" home and put 7 hours on each of the next 2 days... we awake just across the California border in Oregon in a frosty inch of snow in Lakeview OR...where, by the way, there is no lake. In fact we're parked in an empty Rodeo parking lot-NO water for miles and miles... Never mind it's not adventure we're after anymore, it's convenience. We travel north then North-West across Oregon-Outback Scenic Route 31 (GORGEOUS-empty highway)...and we are again swooning with vistas that change from Red-wood forests to desert pasture to Mount Hood (one of the highest Mountains in America) as a back-drop. We turn North on Hwy 97 and start to feel sad/excited. Yes, it's HWY 97 that Kelowna is on...We are definitely on our way home.

Traveling the big highway is a breeze UNtil we hear "the Big BANG" and our big theory is that it's the passing truck  back firing---Nothing felt different to us....WRONG!!! The next thing we hear is a car beside us honking it's horn...and yelling at us..."HEY YOU'RE BACK TIRE'S LOOKING A BIT LOW"!!! A bit low's an understatement as we pull over to find it TOTALLY blown out ---and the pig barely being held up by the other back tire. (Note to non-transpo types out there like me- there are 2 back tires on either side ie: 4 back tires).

  Glen spends an hour installing the spare. Which by the way is behind everything we own, under the pig. So an hour with our belongings strewn across a parking lot and Lucy (the only happy one) playing ball like there's no tomorrow...and me googleing....Next stop-America TIRE cause we just don't trust that we'll make it home without a spare.

As luck would have it, we get "MY LIFE IS RUBBER-RON" at America Tire and he explains to Glen TIRE geology. "Our blow out was not unlike Tectonic plates crashing against each other "...(you can just see Glen's face during this explanation) and he wants to check all our tires to make sure we're safe---Glen's grimace is growing - and Rubber Ron's astounded that we have 6 (count 'em 6 DIFFERENT tires on the pig) "Where did we buy these tires"??? He asks, "Some of them don't even have dates or makes on them"! Well at last count we've replaced 4 of the 6 tires on the pig since buying it last June and every tire was bought in a different state (and every one was second hand). We tell Ron to chill...We only paid $3000 dollars for the whole pig-bought on e-bay, sight unseen, and we've done over 10,000 miles on these tires! Ron assesses the situation and says we need not ONE NEW TIRE but TWO....and he won't change the one unless we replace the one behind it....GLEN of course, freaks UNTIL Rubber Ron offers us an amazing deal of 2 new tires for 200 bucks (installed-no tax) and we both eat humble pie when the other tire in question is pulled out and there is a chunk out of it the size of Glen's fist.  Thanks Ron... We owe ya buddy... .2 NEW tires installed and two hours on the road lost as well as 200 bucks and...we're on our way. We're so far behind now we have NO IDEA of where to stop. There go those "best laid plans" again....So as night falls it's a REST STOP in the mountains a few miles north of Madras Oregon...Gonna be a hell of a long way to get home by tomorrow night.

But we're committed...we agree to get up early tomorrow & gun it...We now want HOME in a big way...and besides I've got Figure skating lessons on Monday. Yikes I can feel my bones hurting already!!!!! We gotta go!!!

This is officially (we hope) our last ON THE ROAD INSTALLMENT of the land pig diaries. www.thelandpigdiaries.tumblr.com We'll do a few postmortems over the next week or so...so stay tuned as we unload ALL THE STUFF WE NEVER USED and some useful tips on what to do next time!!!

XOXO  (tired, a bit impatient, elated and thankful as well as DIRTY) Wendy, Glen, Lucy and our trusty, faithful, fabulous LandPig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 59-Last Chances

As we head thru Nevada-land of "last chances" - the only things open are Casinos and Brothels (some of which look PRETTY SCARY-a cement barn like building in the MIDDLE of NOWHERE has written on the side NUDE GIRLS. Although I dare Glen-he won't take the bait!!!

Only country music on the radio and our conversation meanders from the abandoned towns, stores and homes, wide open spaces, ever changing weather and beautiful light, to our home...where we're fast approaching...What do you miss most? What's the first thing you're going to do when we get there? (answers: a great shower, our hot-tub, COLD milk (haha), Sunday dinners, Netflix, a real home-made meal, laundry, skating and ballet (for me) friends, phones, computers, our real movie camera, a place to work on the copter, no fear, no rush...Quiet & Normalcy.

And... Then conversation turns back around again ...to what are we gonna miss about all this? SO MUCH! We will miss being constantly amazed! The beauty. The vistas, the conversation, the comedy, the solitude, the rush, the road, the what's gonna happen next? the not knowing, the weirdness, the wildness, the freedom, the weather, the WOW's and the WHOAS, the scary times, the excitement and the BEAUTY. The astounding beauty. NOT to mention the search for ALIENS!!!!

I imagine we'll do this again. Right now we want OFF the road and HOME...but it won't be long and we'll be longing for this adventure to start again...And the cool thing? There is a GAZILLION places yet to be seen. We just gotta figure out how to pay for it!! Hahah. Time and Money - Never at the same time.

For now ...I just see these last days as a last chance to see things, take great photos (as you can tell by all the art-shots I sent tonight) and EXPERIENCE every minute! I will miss writing to all of you too... I hope you'll miss us and the LAND PIG DIARIES-quickly approaching a freezing, snowy end. xoxo Wendy, Glen, Lulu and NEEDING A BATH-PIG.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 58- Sand Storms to Snow Storms

Parked on our DRY LAKE Paradise last night we went to sleep hoping it wouldn't rain and woke to 70 degrees (YEAH ) but the pig rocking and rolling in a SAND STORM!!!!! I mean-wicked wind-Hildalgo type SAND STORM...Visually stunning...Down right SCARY....There definitely will be no flying the octo-copter this morning - in fact it was hard to EVEN stand out there....

So pack it up and off we went North through Death Valley on 127, passing by TALC mines and .... TALC storms---ZERO visibility for the second time today!!!! ---We didn't know Talcom Powder (baby powder) was mined....But never-MIND...it was beautiful if not dangerous!!!!

Next we headed back into Nevada from California where the temps dropped and so did our spirits as sooooooon, the dust & talc storms and 78 degree weather turned into first rain, and then SNOW storms.

The pig was blowing around like a frog in a blender... as we passed through deserts, rainbows and then high mountain snow covered passes to get to Walker lake near (what else is in Nevada?) a military installment. Parked & boondocking just below the snow-line tonight on a pretty lake...but FREEZING COLD...we will now be...PEDAL TO the MEDAL to get home...

All good things come to an end...we just didn't expect it to be this fast...Snow and Wind our nemesis - we're headed home to Hot-tub, laundry and MUCH needed SHOWERS! Look out here we come. xo Wendy, Glen, Lulu and the Storm-pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 57-Changing Landscapes

Probably the biggest changing landscape on this trip is me. I've had to become positively ZEN with patience, un-planned stuff, mess & dirt, no space, no schedule, no direction, no home...or at least a VERY small home with two other entities that have their own UN-schedules, equipment and toys, several balls and dirt strewn everywhere! I'm trying to get Zen...but it's not easy.

Everyone writes to us about how jealous they are of us, how they wish they were us. Indeed it's been an extraordinary journey and we are SOOOO SOOOO lucky that our lifestyles and our jobs allowed us to do this trip...but believe me it's sometimes fraught with difficulty... And we are still, don't forget, trying to work  and somehow make money from the road...another real difficult situation (parabolic antenna or not). Day 57 and I'm finally getting used to it all!!! And now it's time to turn north and go home. For one..because I'm starting to loose my marbles with all this damned FREEDOM (not to mention mess and DIRT) hahah. And 2ndly - cause my computer crashed and burned last night from the combo of working out the parabolic antenna so we could communicate coupled with  repairing the ocotcopter over the living space so we could shoot and last but not least, Lucy trying to get us to play ball inside. Finally...a full bottle of RED wine got spilled onto my lap and my laptop...and now...And now, I'M officially LOST. Not to mention the sadness of the loss of a bottle of the precious stuff. A full roll of toilet paper could not save it...so tonight I'm working from Glen's & now mine SHARED laptop. I HATE LEARNING NEW COMPUTERS Don't you???? !!!!!! Argh... I woke up screaming IT'S Time to go home...Course that didn't last long when the temps rose into the high 70's as we turned back onto route 66 and then decided at the last minute not to go north to Vegas but to head West through the bottom of Nevada into California and towards Death Valley...where we find ourselves on the edge of tonight.

We passed through desert ranches, rocky hills, miles of Joshua trees (cactus like trees), mountains, valleys, rocky outcroppings, open plains and dry lakes where we camp tonight...Yup you got it. For FREE. And it's wild and beautiful...UNDERSTATEMENT. Okay...so it's true...BE JEALOUS. We are wildly, crazily, unbountifully blessed. AND I learned how to drive the pig tonight on the bottom of a cracked dry desert lake at sunset. Be assured ...the video is coming and I had the time of my life flying around spewing up dust and GIVIN' IT!!!!!

Decision now is to squeeze the weirdest, wildest, craziest, most beautiful times out of our last moments on this journey (even without a computer). How hard can it be??? Ever changing landscapes AND DIRT are all a part of it. Wendy, Glen, Dusty Lucy and Dirty pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 56 - Trust Luck

Hey All...First let me say...there may or may not be photos with this...In fact, not sure I'll even get the letter out...but let's give it a shot.

Second note of the day...Many thanks to TRINA-You Rock and We are sending special thoughts to Mom and Dad. Third note:HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM...sorry I couldn't call you...We had NO telephone signal at the grand Canyon...but you were blowing around out there with me...trust me. Which brings me to tonight...where we have NO phone again and the only reason we have a bit of internet signal is cause Glen placed our Verizon Box in the salad bowl, lined with tinfoil!!! (his reasoning? PARABOLIC reception) and the salad bowl is currently sitting on the roof of the pig!) Hahahah...I personally think it's the Ceaser salad dressing still in the bottom of the bowl from dinner communicating with the gods But never mind...for now it's working. Anyway the lack of phone and internet are the only cracks in the armour of the place we're in today. Our favourite places are where we don’t have to shut the curtains.

So… this many days on the road and we still learn!!! Our world on the road is about ebb and flow…and we STILL fight this. Fools that we are. Let’s go here and stay there…NEVER EVER works. Today we did our laundry at the Grand Canyon ( something not EVERYONE does there)...but we know our priorities...and finally around noon got on the road...with NO real direction...except West and North and low and behold we ended up on Historic Route 66...COOL...Weird and wonderful....a few pics once again cannot tell the whole story...but lemme just say...We saw some great old cool cars-and many old hippies OLDER than the cars!!!  And we had NO IDEA where we would stop tonight, our usual internet sites had NO Free or even PAID stopping points... Lucy started to get antsy around 4 so I said to Glen...look for an easy place to pull over so we can give Lulu a pee break...We pull over at a gated ranch and Glen sees a sign...Inviting travellers to use the ranch...just shut the gate behind you!!!! So tonight we're parked in an empty ranch..EMPTY-no buildings, no people just a few wild donkeys...OH...and NO INTERNET!!! - the only downfall. We managed to get a bar or two due to Glen's ingenuity...so let's see if this'll send ... Lesson of today:Make less plans, always travel with Glen and a salad bowl. xoxox Wendy, Glen, Rancher Lu & the wild Pig too. PS: Obviously the parabolic antenae didn't work..so a day later... here's last night report....Stand by for tonight's blog. LATER!!!

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 55 - Grand Installment 2

....after driving for what seemed like forever...through Canadian like landscapes (i"m missing the desert already) We finally arrive at the GRand Canyon!!!! What can I say? I've seen a million pics of this place, and you're about to witness a few more...and YOU CAN NOT FEEL how BIG and DEEP and BEAUTIFUL it is. We luck out cause a scenic road that runs LITERALLY along it's edge is only open Jan and Feb to public or pigs...The PIG (and Glen) make heroic...horrific deeks and turns RIGHT beside 5000 foot drop offs and we are treated to views of the pink and orange canyon TO DIE FOR.

I by the way am DYING...Afraid of heights is an understatement and MY ARMS ARE STILL ACHING from holding on to the seat of the pig. My stomach aches from seat belt pulled too tight (as if that would help) and I have a head ache from down right FEAR!!!! This road goes within 2 feet of the canyon wall...NO fence, no guard-rail...no sense!!!! I'm paralized when Glen forces me to get out of the pig and go for a walk out onto a cliff edge...Clinging to him and to the railing ...I eventually decide the only way to do this is to crawl!!!! Don't forget there's a wicked wind out here...I personally think crawling should be the only legal way to get out here... Despite many attempts at trying to ZEN myself into calmness...most of the photos I'm on my hands and knees OR far enough from the edge that I can let go of Glen or a railing.

NEVER MIND ...MIND BLOWING!!!! Wish you could all see this ...unless of course you get vertigo like me!!!!...

Tonight we're parked about 100 feet from the Canyon in a little RV forest (we can't see the canyon (thank God) but tomorrow (if the wind Gods stay away) the octocopter will. And Just so you know...It takes about 3 BIG glasses of wine to get over Vertigo, Elevation Sickness and Awe-struckness...

I'm not sure if this blog makes any sense....and that's MY excuse!!! xooxo Vertigo Vendy, Brave Glen, Cool Lu and Canyon Pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 55- GRAND=1

Sending tonight's blog in two posts. Why? because we went to the grand Canyon this aft...and the pictures are Wowzer!!!! So sending two batches of photos...

We awoke outside Sedona again in our free boondooking hill..Lucy and I hiked up the mountain at dawn and took a photo of the pig far below...We really are all alone...HEAVEN!!!

We toured around Sedona this morning making a stop at the GLASS Church of the holy cross...Holy Macaral ...Beautiful Architecture in beautiful setting. We couldn't copter it cause too many tourists and too much glass to take a chance!!! Hahah. But ...GOD lives here....or at least helped design it!!! My plan to swim in the natural water slides north of Sedona was quickly put to rest when we visited and took pics and dipped toe in FREEEEEEEZING cold pools...NOT A CHANCE OF SWIMMING!!!! Not a chance!!!

ONWARDS towards higher elevations and we decide at the last minute...we've got to see the Grand Canyon ...we're this close and CAN NOT miss it. We head thru harrowing hair-pin turn mountain cliff  SCARY roads North on 89 to Flagstaff...there we are planning to jump on the interstate 40 to California and catch the Grand Canyon on the way...but in a quaint tourist info place in Flagstaff...the woman convinces us...NO you must now go 3 hours out of your way to see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon..."or well...You'll never forgive yourself"...Okay I give in...3 hours drive later..... See...next installment.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 54-Red Rock City

Sedona Sedona....The question of the day???? How Can we afford to live here every winter????

WOW!!!! Absolutely the most beautiful place I've ever seen!!! You can not imagine a more stunning natural environment! The red (ah) CRIMSON mountains. towers, castles and spires carved by wind out of red stone totally surround this tiny city Everywhere you look, every corner you turn ...well, let me just say, what I said a million times today, "OHHHHH!!!! Wow!!!!!! Unreal!!!!! Look at THAT!!!!" After all this time looking for aliens - we feel like we've landed on another planet!  Vortex, Schmortex ---the whole place is MAGICAL!

We, of course fell in love. The town is...well, a heavy dose of New Age with a dollop of Old hippies and WAY too many tourists...but apart from that we could totally see ourselves living outside the little tourist strip and shooting films till we die. We spent the day driving down country roads and shooting. Stills, Film and Octocopter. And more so...just in Awe. We've decided to stay put for a day or two more...I still have the "red natural waterfalls-slide to conquer"...Who, I ask you, could RESIST?? And soooo many more corners to turn to be vortexed. As usual the pictures never do the place justice. Let me just say if you've never been here. Come. Spend as long as you can getting off the beaten track and being awe-struck.

Okay, Okay I'll shut up now (before lightning strikes me and I wake up) Too many pictures...still can't tell the story. Love to you all...Wendy, Glen, Red Dog and the clairvoyant Pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 53-Delta Dawn

We woke up in heaven and flew the copter around the giant cacti surrounding the pig just after dawn. Gorgeous! 12 hours later the 1961 movie, Guns of Navarone is on TV and Glen's happy....

In between...an amazing scenic day.

I had my heart set on visiting the Casa Grande ruins about an hour away from our cactus parking spot. The Casa Grande was built in the 1300's by ancestral natives, it is 4 stories tall  and built to face the four points of the compass with windows that are designed to let light in on the solstices...It was, in some way, a giant clock....but sadly it was overwhelmingly underwhelming...A high priced, over developed tourist trap...which by the way now overlooks a WALMART (oh so depressing) but never-mind some historical stuff learned..and we were on the trail again. And guess what??? It was 80 degrees outside....BONUS!!!! I put on my pink Mexican Desert skirt and looking like hippies we were on the road. We made it around Pheonix fairly unscathed....A HUGE city but (for a change) we trusted our GPS instead of my poor map reading skills and it steered us around traffic and the city and we headed north on # 17 for Sedona AZ...land of RED rocks and spiritual Vortexes! (Goes with the skirt). Haha.

We stopped in Black Canyon City to fill up with EVERYTHING. We had no gas, no propane, no water, no groceries and NO WINE. Since we've been boondocking for several days our black and grey water tanks were full so we also had to empty those and the GARBAGE...It takes about an hour to fill the water and empty the tanks and I headed off to Gerties Food Mart. I was (at first) pleased to be in a small town grocer with no one parked in the lot (Not Walmart or Safeway hell) ....BUT upon entering I realize WHY it's empty. The whole store smelled of rotting fruit! And Gertie, who's over 60 years, 200lbs and wearing a black Mini-skirt, bleach blond hair, more make-up than a drug store, who also smelled of rotting fruit was at the check out counter singing..."Delta Dawn, What's that Flower you have on"...well let me just say it gets weirder from there...ANYway....I digress...so did Gertie. The mountain roads north from here were to say the least STUNNING and I was lamenting the filthy windshield that I couldn't take pictures from. The PIG (and us) seriously need a bath. Now that we have water and power...we'll try to take care of both of those tomorrow. We've, of late, been counting the days by when I last washed my hair!! We are parked tonight between Valley Verde and Sedona...overlooking the red hills of Sedona in the distance and READY for adventure and some spiritual vortexes (?) tomorrow. Free again..but this time with water in the pig and 3 loads of the last days dishes done and SOME of the desert dust cleaned off. Looking forward to "slime sliding" on Red rocks river....If ...I say, IF there is any water in that river since even the Rio Grande was dust-dry. Tune in for that and video of the giant OLD cactus from last night.

Cheers, Wendy, Glen, Cactus Toe Lucy (we thought burrs were bad) and the Dust Pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 52, Rocks and Cactus

Last night in the middle of the desert night a SAND STORM had us rocking and rolling and sandblasting the paint off the pig. The storm kept us awake for way too long was...exciting...interesting...and to be honest a bit scary. Lucy got tucked in between us cause it sounded like we were going to blow over and go to Valhalla (where we probably belong)....It was WILD! But today started out on a high note, literally as we finally got to FLY...A bit cold (38 degrees) and a bit of wind and a bit of techno-trouble ...but never-mind we were flying!!! It was funny actually as first one, then another of the camp regulars showed up in their four wheelers to see what was up. And more followed...It never ceases to amaze us ...how intrigued people are about the copter. Of course it is weird and wonderful...but at one point I had 3 people looking over my shoulder at the screen as I tried to "drive" the camera. The most hilarious was when one MUCH older couple showed up fresh out of the hot tub in their housecoats to see if we would fly over them in the hot-tub??? I said, "it depended on whether they were wearing suits or not"! ...They hung around for over an hour as we flew out the batteries and they shivered....Too funny.

It was Cold...so we headed west again and found some fabulous rocks in a place called "Dragoon" where apparently part of the movie 3-10 to Yuma was filmed and they claimed that John Wayne and Johnny Cash. amongst other famous cats had stayed...We couldn't afford to stay here since the old fashioned looking saloon offered beer for 10 bucks...so we skipped the beer, shot some pics and headed off on I-10 again towards and thru Tuscon...We headed north here on 77, then turned West again on 79 and tonight are parked in a cactus field hidden from the highway and are truely boondocking ...Ie: you can park anywhere for free if you don't get caught.

All is good...CEPT suddenly our generator has given up the ghost and Poor Glen is out there as we speak after 9pm in the pitch dark trying to fix it. We need our beloved genny to keep the computers running and the batteries charging so we can fly the copter amongst the 10-50 foot cactus that we are parked amidst. Look forward to that and pray for a good genny tonight and No Wind tomorrow!!! PS: Biology lesson for the day -- The Seguoro Seccoro (sp?) Cactus don't grow an arm till they are 50 years old...If you see one with 5 arms  they will be well over 150 years old...I don't get the math there...but let's just say...these cactii are OLD ...even older than DAD!!! Hahah. Love you Dad...and Mom...and all who are keeping up with our tour...xoxo

Wendy, Glen, Desert Dog and Prickly Pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 51- Sand & Water

Temps dropped below freezing last night in the Aquire Springs Mountains...but we were warm with propane heater blastin'. I've long forgotten the short sojourn in the bikini UNDER the picnic table earlier yesterday afternoon. This morning was clear and FRIGID...too cold to fly (cause of octo-electronics) and by 9:00am the wind picked up ...so we gave up and packed 'er up and pulled the pig out of our stunning mountain hide-a-way... This was the one place I was sooo sad to leave. The landscape here is to die for...I think I was a cowboy or more possibly an Indian in a past life because...this place just HAD MY HEART. But we had a plan...(thanks to the weather network) we were headed west and tho' we didn't want to leave New Mexico...the weather told us "Go west young man"...and so we headed into Arizona bound for warmer climes and a place called HOT WELL DUNES  just 20 miles north of the interstate #10 through a town called Bowie---Since David (Bowie) is our fav rock star...the decision was made. (These and other silly reasons why (WHY) we end up in places)..But it promised sand dunes and hot tubs...and HEY we're from BC...the hot-tub nailed it for us. 

We head down 20 miles of DUST and Dustier dirt roads (ahhh trails) getting further and further from civilization and cleanliness...and feeling TOTALLY LOST...then we find another oasis. Hot Well Dunes is all that it promised and more. Here camped amongst the sand dunes (and warm again) we are about 100 feet from two natural spring mineral hot-tubs... ...and the cost for tonight's 5 star accommodations??? THREE BUCKS!!!

Warm 70 degrees when we arrive, but too windy to fly, we decide to "do the hot tub thing". So in bathing suits and desert boots (very stylish) we wander over and hop in the nearest tub...thinking, "the rules say bathers required...but WHY? There is NO-One Around for miles".

...Just then a pick-up truck pulls up expelling two old hippies in bathing suits (thank goodness) Haha...with a box of wine and two extra glasses and want to join us. I, am at first, my usual anti-social self...but they turn out to be the most interesting fun and quirky couple. She was a truck driver for years, till she fell off the back of her rig and broke her back....hmmmmm...and he was a Vietnam Vet on Medical Marihuana (double hmmmm) ... both with a million stories AND a BOX of wine to share. We talked politics, culture, the state of America and life on the road until the sun was setting and we were all red hot prunes in that tub. MUCH fun, interesting and educating.. This all JUST as we were looking for our next movie idea & characters and spending hours talking about this on our way here....We find some of our answers in a hot tub in the middle of a bunch of sand-dunes in a deserted desert!!!!! My lesson of the day....There is a story everywhere...you just have to stop and listen! Tomorrow coptering ---if the Gods give us the weather...and hopefully more time to meet more characters in desert hot springs. Cheers and goodnight under the stars...Wendy, Glen, Desert-Lover-Lu and the SandPig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 50-Day of Rest

Hi All...Aguire Springs just East of Las Cruces is my (to date) favourite place to boondock. 7 miles up a one lane, twisty, turny (understatement) mountain road to camp with covered picnic tables, bbqs and firepits at the foot of majestic mountain spires and amongst cactus and knarly trees with 360 degree views-all for 7 bucks. 

There are 56 campsites and last time we were here -we were the only visitors (except for a bunch of coyotes) ...Last night and tonight we've got about 3 neighbors...distant neighbors, mind you, so privacy and quiet and incredible stars still pervade.

Glen spent the day working on the octo-copter and I spent the day in a bikini under a picnic table - out of the wind and trying to get a tan. We're headed back to Canada after all- haha....I had a luxurious shower (we finally gerri-rigged the shower head (with duct tape) so it doesn't soak the entire interior of the pig), got hot water figured out and ...well let me just say...heaven. Just as we were about to test the Octocopter the park ranger arrived and so we were boondoggled again. (the copter isn't legal here YET)...arrrgh....Glen scurries to hide it while I show proof that we paid the "iron ranger" (an honour system box)...SEVEN bucks.... OF COURSE I PAID it !!!  We get away un-scathed again... The temperature dropped with the sun so coptering was out but we got a campfire going (the first of the whole trip) and bbq'd TURKEY (I don't know, was feeling a bit Christmas-y) outside under the amazing stars. (did I say amazing stars already)???? No kidding we are close to heaven here. After swearing we'd never stop in a place for more than a day or two ..I take it back...Here I could spend a month. Finally did a bit of work today - tan, write, tan...and I could see the slower (camping) instead of racing lifestyle that RV-ing is supposed to be. My photos give NO idea of just how beautiful this place is...so tomorrow we'll try to fly the OCTO again (under the radar of course) to give you a sense of it. Then we've decided, we'll head West - it's supposed to be another cold front here...so West we go. Stay low and stay warm. Thanks sooo much to those of you that dropped a note last night or today...we're missing our friends and family and communication in general. But we're happy, healthy and thinking of you all!!! Here's  a link to a video we shot on Bourbon Street in New Orleans...Warning....Don't go visit the link if you can't hear a few "f" bombs...all the x-rated words/phrases in this video, by the way, are NAMES OF DRINKS...shooters specifically (which we tried YIKES) including one called "f'd on Bourbon Street" ...so don't get your "panties in a knot" just enjoy the flavour!!! After all it IS New Orleans! http://vimeo.com/84831734 xoxo Wendy, Glen, Wild-with-out-coller-Lucy and the F-bomb PIg. 

[thelandpigdiaries]

Day 49- Boondocking New Loves and Old

There is nothing like waking up in the desert! It's bloody cold at night so two king size duvets are the way to keep cozy - even Lulu snuggles in with us in our GIANT (bigger than a king sized) bed under the octocopter hung above us in the pig. Boondocking...in the middle of no-where...means no closed curtains, moonlight at night and sun to heat us in the morning... No overusing the propane or electricity via our genny and conservation in general of everything from water to internet. Batteries are our LIFE and every time the generator's on we have EVERY plug in the pig filled with chargers!!! Note: plug recepticals in the pig are for some strange reason In the ceiling...so plugs and cords hang down throughout the pig like a spider web...(more shit for us to avoid as we weave around each other and dog and camera equipment). We've gotten pretty good at it tho' and the frustration of being in a tiny space with 3 busy-bodied entities has lessened. For example if I stand up, Glen sits down, if he's crossing through the "kitchen" I back into the bathroom, If Lucy's laying on the floor...well...we just get out of her way.  Its a dance that I call the LandPig Shuffle...but it's worth it...to BOONDOCK!!! Peace, Quiet, Insanely beautiful (usually) and Free.

Today we headed back through Carlsbad NM across hwy 62 to El Paso Texas (the easiest way to get west (because we'd have to cross a snowy mountain pass in NM so the southerly Texan route was preferred.  And by the way gorgeous!!! I can't get the cowboy song out of my head "Way down south in a town called El Paso..." Ummm don't know any more words but I'm pretty sure my dad sung this ALL the TIME when I was a kid...Dad...please fill in the blanks!!!

Okay so from El Paso we head north to Las Cruces to one of our favourite spots on the way here...Aguire Springs at the foot of the Organ Mountains. Lucy I'm sure now recognizes that we are on our way home...she's got a new grin on her face that is palpable.

 We'll stay for a whole day here tomorrow...A WHOLE DAY without moving and get the octo-copter ready to fly again (She's been somewhat  wonky of late (to say the least). Then we'll head down the road 20 miles to White Sands Desert AGAIN to fly (in more ways than one) Our last video of the white sands has prompted multiple responses from people who want to hire us to do octo-copter shooting for them so we have a multi-pronged reason for getting down and doing more shooting instead of rushing. Work in our business comes in mysterious ways. More shooting and more videos will be posted soon....I'm not sure the video of Glen's desert haircut (or the haircut for that matter) will win any awards...but look out Flowbee I'm on the rise!!! Love to all of you...especially the Hoult family... AND don't forget to drop us a line now and then...I'm feeling a bit lonely out here!!!! In the words of Pink Floyd...Is anybody out there? xoxo Wendy, Glen, Duvet Lu and the Boondocking Pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

Texas to New Mexico - Just Desserts

S-L-O-W D-O-W-N and get a haircut!

We headed from Andrews Texas this morning into the south east side of New Mexico...miles of flat oil soaked landscape. The decision de jour was "Where to Go"??? We decided on "Sitting Bull Falls" N. M...where we could supposedly swim in "crystal clear ponds under the falls"...but... BUT as luck would have it ...the falls were closed "due to Flooding"...Now Picture this...we haven't seen a DROP of water since the ocean somewhere north of Corpus Christie...NOT A DROP!!!!

I call their bluff and we head there anyway...NOPE MORE CLOSED signs!!!! And the final one says...ABSOLUTELY no turn-a-round for trucks or trailers...OKAY we're scared off...but the sign was posted on October 3rd!!! OCTOBER 3rd!!! It's freaking January 20th and the place is still closed!!! Welcome to New Mexico...Manania.... Doesn't matter..we ain't going 20 miles down a one way road to have to BACK OUT! We give up...

We did however find a great free camping boondocking spot about 15 miles away in Dark Canyon (Not Dark, Not a canyon) ...Near. you will recall the magical "Carlsberg Caverns". We park early and explore the DEAD DRY riverbed and (just deserts for getting us here early) I give Glen a MUCH needed HAIRCUT!!!! It ain't a flowbee..but with a couple glasses of wine ...I think I did pretty good! Luckily all the close up shots of the new doo were out of focus!!

You'll have to wait for the video on that one. Happy in New Mexico. AND bonus...My mom's on the mend!

xoox Wendy, Shorn Glen, Silly Lucy and Rattler-Pig.

[thelandpigdiaries]

46 and 47 - Texas goes on Forever

We haven't been blogging much as my Mom's been back in the hospital and our sense of humour's gone the way of the dead armadillos on the side of the road... Also not much to photograph across the BIG WIDE OPEN ranges of Texas. We did spot a great bumper sticker that said "Avoid the Rush-Hate Texas early!" hahah

Granted....we did have a FAB Texas Gulf Beach stay a couple nights ago and some Historical towns (torn right out of the movies) that we've passed through so Texas hasn't been all bad. Many "Come as you are Cowboy Churches" and since it's Sunday their parking lots were full of muddy pickup trucks... which, as you can imagine has kept the cultural conversation flowing...

We committed last night to SLOW DOWN and have some fun...We realize we've been on a RACE back to New Mexico where the last fun was had...Seems like years ago. Life always seems to just get in the way doesn't it?

Today, trying to hold to that "SLOW DOWN" philosophy we turned North/West on 87 where we stopped to Photograph, Film and Octocopter a HUGE wind farm that went on for literally hundreds of miles between Sterling & Big Spring TX. I was hoping for something other than wind farms in "Sterling"...but never mind. Trying to find a great spot to Octocopter the windmills, we sneak (not very stealth-i-ly in a 32 foot LANDPIG) onto a dusty private Oil company road -past big NO TRESPASSING signs, over hill and dale, across cow gates and cow patties and stirring up more dust than the Tasmanian devil, we park the pig in about 6 inches of quick-sand. We spend an hour baking in the sun to ready the copter. Just when we're about to fly....along comes an 18 wheeler roaring and farting dust storms towards us. I run with the radios inside the pig. Glen says "you gotta act like you own the place" and tries to act normal protecting his ILLEGAL copter and... Lucy runs with her ball in her mouth right towards the truck to jump on the truck driver's door. We've been painted!!!!! The driver scowls at Lucy, us and the copter. Goes by - covering us with another layer of dust and we see him slow at the gates -no doubt reporting the weirdos with a weird machine down the road. Our flight has to be fast!!!!! We fly our flight (not time for two takes), pack up and run for the hills, constantly checking the rear view mirrors...No black SUVs on our trail...We make a clean get away. We're stopped tonight in a town called Andrews about 40 miles from NM...parked in a free Chamber of Commerce cement parking lot (could be worse) it's FREEEEEE and has full hookups so we can charge all our camera, computer, phone, internet, octo, etc batteries .....and besides, we had nowhere else to park for the last 200 miles as all the parks were full with oil field workers!!!! Red dirt. Oil derricks and Wind Turbines (weird juxtaposition) under the BIG SKY sunset for as far as the eye could see. Stunning. Strange. Red and BIG!!!! After days in Texas we head back into our beloved New Mexico tomorrow.

The big state and the big problems are dissipating...time to slow down and enjoy. Am I starting to sound like an (almost) senior in an RV???? Looking forward to that senior discount at Walmart!!!! Jeeeeeeepers ---it's happening I'm getting OLD!!!! Onwards, Wendy, Glen, Lucy and the Golden Years Pig. 

[thelandpigdiaries]

44 and 45- New Orleans then Texas

Took off from Grassy Point and headed to New Orleans-Got into an RV park right down-town in the French Quarter (some fancy driving by Glen)

Showered and headed out to famous Bourbon Street (should have saved the shower till afterwords) Haha...Ate shrimp, alligator and other unknown cajun delicacies ....hmmmmmm....Drank copious amounts and had a fun night doing the music scene and filming everything.

We were off towards Texas yesterday..2 days driving and ended up S. W. of Houston near Port Lavaca at Magnollia Beach. Free Parking on the beach. Sunshine and sand. We're happy...especially Lucy who loves chasing balls on beaches.

xoxox Wendy, Glen, Lucy and the french pig Cochon