A Gathering Like No Other

What is this thing called the R.T.R., you ask?

For those of you that don't know, the R.T.R. stands for Rubber Tramp Rendezvous and it's something that can be described but truly has to be experienced to get the full effect but I will try, as I always do, to bring it to life on your computer screen through my pictures and stories.

This gathering was our second Summer R.T.R. We saw some people that we had met previously at other gatherings as well as greeting new faces and making new friendships along with strengthening the bond of our true tribe! It's such an amazing time.

Upon our arrival, there were already quite a few rigs parked among the trees...everything was quiet...pretty much the norm for the middle of the day.

[caption id="attachment_4987" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Joon @ the R.T.R.[/caption]

We unpacked and set-up our awning...which I'm now going between calling the Freedom Fort or the Simple Temple...both are great names for what our amazing awning has actually become. Within about an hour of setting up, we started grilling hot dogs and within about 10 minutes of that we had a good 10-12 people bringing their chairs bringing in good food to share with the group, big smiles and good conversation. Since I was the hostess with the mostest...I have no pictures to share but take it from me, it was spectacular!

The couple of days that followed our arrival date were a little slower than usual but it was a great time to catch up with old friends and meet some new faces. We were super stoked to see one familiar face and his furry babies as well as an awesome addition to his family...Brad and the traveling fur babies! haha He has two pups and a kitty...hopefully they will be "on tour" soon and we will get to see more of them.

The group walks daily, twice a day. Bob promised Homer (his dog) that he would give him a great life and keep him healthy, so every day... twice a day (8 a.m. & 6 p.m. depending on the time of year), they go on about an hour long walk. It's nice for the group as well because there is a lot of bonding time on those walks. In between the walks, there's a lot of other things going on. In the morning, around 10 a.m., we all gather and talk about different topics ranging from how we cook and our favorite gadgets to any kind of questions about living the lifestyle as well as gathering for meals and music. If you want to come, than come on and if you need or want some alone time than that's what you get. It's all about helping one another as well as doing what you want to be doing and if you want to be alone...then go be alone. Everyone understands and is very respectful of your time.

Some of our downtime consisted of bonding over cooking sweet potatoes with Bryce, talking in the forest with Steve, taking walks with the group or by ourselves, having dinner parties at The Simple Temple which would then turn into hilariously long conversations into the darkness of the night, gazing at the Super Moon, surprises from Bob, hair cuts and colors, installing solar panels and a bed on other rigs, J' being a mechanic, watching the Ravens and Squirrels "sort" our trash, beautiful sunsets, decadent oatmeal with Randy & Laurie, rainbow time, laughing, playing music...er, trying to play music haha, getting soaking wet while eating brekkie in the rain, and among a million other things just being together as a group.

There are about a million and one pictures during this time...you know me! Here I will try to sum it up in a few photos ...ya know for the full effect!!

[gallery columns="4" ids="4992,4991,4993,5003,4990,4994,4995,5004,4996,5005,4997,5006,4998,5001,4999,5000"]

I will have to upload the majority of the photos into Shutterfly when I get the data...there are just too many great photos that I have to leave out due to storage. But at least with these you can get a little glimpse into how much awesomeness we consume in two weeks!

Who knew you could have this much fun for FREE in the forest!?

There is nothing like this experience/lifestyle. I'm just happy to be able to say that we are able to live this life and enjoy it to the fullest. There are things that cannot be put into words on 'paper' for they are experiences that had to be felt in that moment that not a lot of people would understand unless they were present. This Summer R.T.R. is a moment in time that I will cherish and remember for a very long time. The people that I have to thank for that know who they are and I cannot say thank you enough for making this one hell of a Summer and making my life that much better to wake up to every day. And Bob, I want to personally thank you once again for bringing us all together so we can make these true bonds and connections that will last longer than a lifetime...You rock Bobby and I love ya man!

Thank you all for making this Summer magical! We WILL see you down the road and can't wait to hear about...well...everything!

PEACE

Thank you for the Summer R.T.R.

Yes, yes...behind once again! Truly I have to ask myself, am I really behind? What am I behind on? I guess I'm the only one that knows that...so I take it back. I'm not behind...just enjoying this amazing life we're living! We're making memories to actually have something to write about! We have done so much in the last couple of weeks, it will be hard to go back to cover all that we have done but I will try...if not for anything else than for all of you...my awesome readers out there! Don't you love that I put you on the priority list? Believe me...there's not a lot on that list...but you're all there and that's what matters.

Trying to pick up where we left off....we were headed to the R.T.R.

The Summer R.T.R. of 2013 was two weeks of greatness, amazing connections, more laughter and love than I could have ever imagined, strengthening of friendships, keeping busy with jobs here and there and memories that will last a thousand years. Bob has taken gatherings of vandwellers and those alike to a whole new level and I just want to express my appreciation for him and for those that have gathered around him, making our vandwelling life a much more memorable one. The people we have met on the road and at gatherings, such as the R.T.R., are a pack like no other. We are like minded people, that love to listen to stories, laugh at each other, help one another and we all just get "it". Some of our best friends are now people we have met on the road of travel. We all come together and just ride on the vibe of life...there's nothing like it and as I have thrown out the invitation before...I throw it out again to all of you that want, wish or thrive on a lifestyle like this and invite you to come experience "this", at least for a week. I have never experienced comradeship like this in my life, nor do I think I would ever experience this in the world of the "Matrix". It's amazing and we thoroughly enjoy it...so here I am tempting you again to come join us in this spectacular world that we live in...even if for a couple of days. I promise it's so intriguing you'll wonder why you didn't make it happen sooner.

In the next post I will try to captivate you further with moments caught on film and short stories about our time at the R.T.R.

Until then (and I promise I won't keep you waiting long)...

PEACE

Illegal~ to be...or not to be?

Since we went 'to the big city' to get our new bed, which has taken some getting used to but overall seems to be working out just fine, we have moved. When we got back to the R.T.R., Bob told us that a Ranger stopped by the night before and told them everyone had to move. The place where we had been camping was 'illegal' due only to the fact they are now enforcing the rule that you are only able to camp one car length off of a legal road. The meadow we were all in is not considered a legal road, phlbt. They (Bob, SoulRaven, Cherry & V.J) were packing up their rigs to move over to the legal spot and others just moved on altogether. We picked a nice spot over by the rocks and kind of just sat.

[caption id="attachment_755" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A little messy but look of the bed![/caption]

SoulRaven was just going to move on to our next spot, so he left and Bob was going to go scope out other spots for himself later in the day and show us where the next spot was so we would have some options. Everyone ate lunch and did some last minute catching up and then we; J', Cherry, Bob & I headed over to the knoll. On the way, Bob pointed out some pretty spots that are usually taken, but they don't have internet, so we kept on goin'. Going up to the knoll was a little scary for me, because well one, I was turned around backwards (my chair never got turned back around to the front from the night before) and two the roads have very narrow passage ways, granite rock, and bushes scraping up against Joon Van...and super bumpy. We get up to the top of this rock though and it opens up into this amazing 'field' of granite rock, everywhere you look. It is beautiful up here. Cherry & Bob said that all the grass (now turned brown) used to just be so beautiful and green, but I guess they don't have much rain up here so it's dead. Bob & J walked around looking for a spot that would be good for us. We could park right near SoulRaven but, One~ Everyone wants a little privacy & Two~ J' didn't want to be right where it opened up in case of traffic; other campers on foot or vehicle, dirt bikes and ORV's/4 wheelers (there were tracks everywhere and it's been said they do come through). Plus, everyone thinks the way they found us at the R.T.R. spot was by helicopter and then had a Ranger come out, so we wanted to be pushed back pretty far. J' & I scoped out some places together with Joon Van after Bob & Cherry left. There were some places that we stopped and liked and others we didn't like at all and then others one of us liked but the other didn't! Imagine that... haha We decided on a spot pretty far away from SoulRaven, but short enough to still walk over. Everyone says they're impressed that we are this far back, either that are they think we're just plain idiots! haha Joking. I think it's the fact that we have this Astro van that does some pretty amazing stuff for how it looks. We love her, our good ole Joon Van. We parked in a spot we both agreed on, in the shade but we still get some sun...after all we are only going to sleep in her.

[caption id="attachment_758" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Bug in the woods[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_759" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Getting settled in our new spot[/caption]

Then the unloading began; the chairs, the table, the kitchen ware, the bags, the toilet, you name it, it came out. We set everything up the way I wanted (hee hee) outside and then...oh my gosh, guess what we did....we got online! I know. We get a solid 2-3 bars here, not bad for the mountains. We also get T.V. reception out here, not much only 2 whole channels but it's something when you have nothing and one of the channels is Fox so at least we have that. For those of you who are worried about our missing The Bachelorette, no worries, we're just going to stream it and see how much it actually affects our data plan...but thank you for thinking of us! The weather up here is much warmer than down in the Valley (that's what I'm going to call it). We were all ready to bundle up, well I was already bundled up. I had on long johns, my awesome lollipop socks and two shirts, a tank and a t-shirt. Before I even fell asleep I was down to the tank, the long johns & my 'special' red blanket (it has a tootsie roll...foot pocket). Savannah even came out from under the blankets to get on top to get some cooler air...that rarely happens. So now, we have a whole bunch of blankets that are folded at the foot of the pedals and will probably stay there for quite some time. We have heard that it gets pretty hot up here during the Summer and August is just scorchin' so it looks like Miss Cherry will have her momma's quilt back before she knows it! And thank you Cherry it was awesome while we needed it, you rock!!

PEACE

It's Official

[caption id="attachment_932" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I've never seen this before![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_934" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Vegas Baby![/caption]

"The Party" has officially begun! All of our driving has finally paid off, we have reached a big goal... California!

[caption id="attachment_936" align="aligncenter" width="300"] We made it![/caption]

We drove through some country where there is vineyards, farms and more cows galore. I saw my first almond tree farm! We stopped about an hour in to the state to take showers at the Flying J. Gotta love a good shower, plus they let us share one so it's only $10 for the both of us.

After showers and gassing up, our next stop for the night was Fresno...or so we had planned. We exited off the Interstate into Downtown Fresno. It was strange, it was Saturday night and not a single soul in sight. Every store, apartment and/or building had bars on the windows or barbed wire fences.

[caption id="attachment_937" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I did like the art on the trains though![/caption]

We drove around just a bit and after seeing the police were the only ones out and an overwhelming anxiety attack from yours truly, we drove up to the next big town. The next town, Clovis, was like night and day from Downtown Fresno. I don't really know what was going on with me but every 10 minutes or so I was having major anxiety/panic attacks (& Downtown Fresno did not help my situation). I think my brain finally caught up with what we are doing and it sent a little shock to my system. This is the farthest I've been from everything I've ever known, so I think I really needed to get out some tears, anxiety, emotional stress and give some relief to myself. J' is so great though and gave me full reassurance that no matter what, I have him and he will take care of me. I think us girls need to hear that from time to time, and I'm lucky that I get to hear and feel this ALL the time. Alright, enough with the mush-mush. We parked at a Wal-mart in Clovis, they had these great 'umbrella' trees, great for parking under. We would meet up with Bob (that guy) in the morning. It was nice and cool so we had a pretty good nights rest. We ran some errands for ice, food, sunglasses (J's broke and mine were on the verge) and propane~ oh and we bought two chairs and a table, all around good camping items! We were on our way up to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to meet up with Bob, it was about 50 miles from where we left Clovis. As we drove, we drove into a few small towns in the middle of the mountains then rounded a corner to a beautiful lake...I mean gorgeous.

I think everything in California is more beautiful than anything else I've ever seen...okay minus D.T. Fresno! The mountains are bigger, the water is bluer, the air is fresher...it's amazing. We pulled over to take some pictures and we were also going to start organizing the van. *When we switched out the propane everything had to go in the middle of the van for us to be able to get the tank out of the cabinet, so it was a sea of clutter.*

Before we started organizing and making something to eat, J' got on his computer to see if Bob had given us coordinates to the site...nothing...uh-oh! haha As J' was doing some footwork to find us a spot (until we heard from Bob), an instant message came through. Alas, it was Bob!!!  He told us where he was so we drove to meet him...the long way. We (well J') thought we could just go around the lake (I wanted to go back the way we came), but his way took us miles away from the lake, circled a huge forest and put us right back where we started! Oh well, we went down the mountain into the downtown area and found him at the local market. What a super nice guy. We talked for a bit while one of the other 'members' finished up on the internet. *See, where they are camping for the next week or so doesn't have signal for phones, internet or T.V. so they just happened to be in town for an hour checking all of their stuff while we were trying to connect with them. Talk about perfect timing. They said that was the first time they had been in town in 3-4 days!* After they were done, we followed them to the camp. He is holding the R.T.R. ~ Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, that we didn't even know about, so when we got to camp there was a whole group of people sitting on chairs talking and laughing. As soon as we got out of Joon Van they were yelling to us, "Bring your chairs" and doting over Savannah. We went over and met everyone, about 10 people and then I just had to go organize everything, it's the "C.D.O." in me (OCD...only certain people will get that). What seemed like an afternoon later we were at a stopping point with the van so we rejoined our new group. The group consisted of 4 'single' men, 4 single women and another married couple.

[caption id="attachment_943" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Our camping family[/caption]

For the rest of the afternoon into the evening, we sat around and talked, getting to know everyone and listened intently for tons of learning. These people have been doing this (mostly) full-time for years so it's awesome to sit and hear every kind of story and adventure they have had thus far. I was pretty surprised at the big dogs also along for the travel. One guy even drives a motorcycle with a sidecar for his pup to sit (and sleep) in! Totally rad man!

I think in total there are 6 dogs here, so hopefully after all of this Savannah will learn how to be a good camping dog. So far, she's been trying to bully everyone around, but I'm sure one of these pups is bound to put her in her place! In the evening we took a walk with Bob and his dog Homer~ a gorgeous black and tan coon hound. At first, I was very leery to let 'the bug' off her leash but J' reassured me this is where she is going to learn and that it will be okay. I am a mama, so I worry...she's just so small, ya know! I guess I'm going to have to let go of some stresses with that so I gave in. She was so so excited, she went a million miles a minute the whole time, running, jumping on and over things~ she was crazy.

[caption id="attachment_945" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Lil bug in a big forest[/caption]

We came up on a bunch of huge boulders and as we came over them I saw ripples in the water that lay down below. My heart started beating so hard (I thought I was going to throw up). I knew Nana had run over this boulder, not knowing it dropped off into water on the other side. I saw J' running to the other side and as I peeked over the edge, there she was swimming, trying to find a place to climb out. Luckily, Daddy wedged in between the two boulders, reached down and was able to fish her out of the water. As soon as he put her down she took off running like a crazy woman and barking barking barking like a crackhead~ I swear nothing phases her but I'm sure she learned a big lesson today or at least I hope so...for my sake! I thought I was going to fall apart when I saw her looking up at me trying to find a spot to get out.

[caption id="attachment_946" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Homer is very concerned[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_949" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hooray for Daddy's long arms[/caption]

Good thing she can swim, phew. It took me longer to recover than her! Crazy girl. We finished our walk through the beautiful forest and Bob said this isn't even the pretty part of this area~ well I think it's amazing. When we got back the circle was starting to move over to the campfire, when the temperature drops out here, it's no joke!

We learned the hard way that night, it gets f*in' cold~ like 25 degrees cold...in the heat of the summer. Crazy, man. Bob had even offered us a nice cozy blanket that we turned down because we thought we would be warm enough...haha silly kids. Fortunately, I asked J' if he would get our Big Buddy heater out and hooked up...just in case~ we used that thing (off & on) all night. *Our blankets are not made for extreme cold temperatures* After a not so restful night, we woke up to beautiful weather, the bluest of skies and the songs of birds. One of the ladies, Miss Cherry, (I nicknamed her this because she makes everything seem so wonderful, like a cherry on top) offered us a nice big, clean quilt for the next few nights sleep (we would be together for a few days and she wasn't using it).

Bob also gave us a beautiful wool blanket he said he only paid $3.00 for and never uses. Needless to say we will be going into town to buy our own very soon, but it's so nice to have people around that care...and have extra stuff they are willing to lend...haha. The day was full of cooking, eating, talking, sharing, learning, walking, reading and even a birthday celebration with a cake made from solar~ Sunoven and we had ice cream! Who says there aren't ice cream "socials" in the woods? Not this group. We know how to par-tay, baby!

 Savannah is doing much better with the dogs today and all of the people. I think this IS exactly what she needed. She has not been on a leash for 48 hours now, she is such a good girl. Bob says, "A tired dog is a good dog." And I believe him!

Some people are leaving and going separate ways today, but we are sure to meet up again soon one day...probably at the R.T.R. in Quarzite. I never knew hanging out with complete strangers could be so fun...and comforting!

PEACE