When I first read the quote below, I thought: That's exactly what's happening for all of us who live in our RVs. Even when we stop full-timing, we'll always know what it's like to be a traveler, on or off the grid, seeing new places, meeting new people, trying out new things. Driving our homes down the road to a new place, a new adventure, a new challenge. Solving problems and helping others solve theirs. A very simple life, at least for me, but still very full and rich. We've climbed to the summit.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. . . .
So why bother in the first place?
Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above.
One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer but one has seen.
One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer but one has seen.
There is an art to conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.
--Rene Daumal
A very short quote that says so much about why we should go after our dreams and get out of our comfort zone from time to time, learn new things, and create lots of memories.
Then I thought about my kids and grandkids. Today I am most thankful for my son, Tom, and my daughter, Kristy. They are both married, have kids and are doing well. As married couples they and their spouses spend a lot of time with their kids and allow them to experience all kinds of things. They allow all five of my grandkiddles to "climb and see." Those five kids, aged from 4 to 10, have done so many things I've never done and traveled to places I've never been. They are learning things I'll never know.
My grandchildren are all living very full, rich lives. They are happy, intelligent, interesting people. They're expected to do chores around the house, complete their homework, get good grades, and be good citizens. They all participate in sports they love, and whether they do well or have a bad day, their parents are there supporting them. They have lots of friends, and are kind, generous young people.
I'm really proud of them all. For that - I couldn't be more thankful today.
I was looking back in my blog to my two previous Thanksgivings on the road. The first one, in 2011, was my FIRST dry camping evening. I had my solar panel installation completed that day and drove to Buckeye Hills Recreation Center to try them out. I think I was the ONLY rig in the entire area. It was so black that night, not a light anywhere in sight - and a little scary. I learned some lessons that Thanksgiving.
The second Thanksgiving on the road was last year, 2012. I was in Quartzsite for the second year and had my Thanksgiving Dinner with my Quartzsite friends. We drove to the Bluewater Casino in Parker, AZ for their Thanksgiving Buffet and it was delicious. That was the post I wrote that included coyote sightings and my photos of the insect screens I installed over the vent covers outside The Palms. That was a job I was happy to complete - I was worried about having the vents open and getting insects and their nests inside them.
This is our third Thanksgiving on the road, and Katie and I are taking it easy today. We've been invited to a pot luck dinner, but I'm not really a pot luck kind of person so I'll make a frozen turkey dinner and add some trimmings of my own. It will be delicious!
I don't know why, but it seems each Thanksgiving week I've made improvements to The Palms. I have to say, it's sure nice to have my "mods" this Thanksgiving week include a butcher block stove top cover instead of a solar panel installation and insect screens. Much easier, and far less expensive this year...
From me and Katie, Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! We hope you have a wonderful day. :)
