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"The Oasis of my Soul"... a Lifelong Journey...

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Friends. TX

Life on the road is so faceted, so governed by the weather it seems like. To the point to unfortunately upsetting Northerners, mental ÔÇ£ParadiseÔÇØ type setting has returned these past days. Friends also have reappeared, distant neighbors only remote physically as the smiles when seeing each other again are always from ear to ear. It was the case a couple evenings ago when a few of us rejoined for a meal, one always so gratifying as everyone contributes toward the distinct courses. I definitely left a bit heavier with not too far to go and Spirit, well, that is another story in itself. What can I say, the Dog has no manner or maybe is it because he had never earlier in his Life met a Donkey up close and personal. Needless to say it was pure entertainment as Biscuit was the chaser and Spirit the recipient trying to stay ahead, mostly trying to not be surprised by a sudden attack! Such is Life, in the slow lane as we like to think. Good food, conversations, ÔÇ£good peopleÔÇØ as I like that expression a lot. More Friends have shown these past couple days, they have now already left, I have not even looked at the photos, but again I think a couple more pounds have mysteriously reappeared somewhere around the belt.
I see snow and sleet in Tuesday's forecast, hard to believe, maybe a bad joke from the Weather Services, will find out soon.
In the meantime enjoy our past get together of Friends.Be well, Ara & Spirit
 
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Next, the Big Screen? TX

It has been a big weight off my chest to announce today in our Journal about a Movie in the making which all started May 5th 2008. As everything else on everyone's path such a disclosure is a double edge sword. I look forward to the day, if it happens, when I can see credits reading ÔÇ£Dedicated to Lance GureghianÔÇØ, and at the same time I like to stay in the background of this Life we have chosen. We have good support, we have very talented people in this circle that is now spinning and such a disclosure was a must considering we are close to a final script before going on the Market. I keep looking at Spirit and wondering if he knows... He is after all ÔÇ£The StarÔÇØ and I am so happy that he is a Pit Bull to show the character of his breed. I am happy that I ride a hack, maybe it will increase it's popularity, I am happy we mainly tour this beautiful County of ours and will show the sights we have been and with more to come. But above it all, to me it is sharing the simplicity and the awareness of this Life we have chosen, the fact that one can survive a personal tragedy and yet take in the gifts long the way. We are an excellent crew on this project, we are keeping it real as the Journal has been, we have much faith that it will become reality soon. We hope that Spirit will still be young enough to play his own part... mine? Well, we are all seeking for Robin Williams as the perfect candidate... More details are in the Journal, we will now put all this ÔÇ£announcementÔÇØ behind us and go on as we always have been.
Be well... always, Life is full of surprises.
Ara & Spirit
 
Wishin' you all the success possible!

I'll probably watch it.

It's the Dog...

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A Crystal web... TX

Maybe this weather is getting to me, or was, as now writing this we are in full summer mode. Feels like it anyhow while going through the Park yesterday down to one T shirt and all the vents open through the riding jacket, much more water consumed also. Water is the biggest necessity I always keep an eye on. We can carry at the most six gallons which in the heat of the summer is barely enough for three days for the both of us. Plenty of fuel, eleven gallons I can leave with, but through our rides if ever near a small town the faucets of potable water are my friends. Of course I also have a water purifier that comes along, never had to use it much. In a couple days I will be going through my gear again, feels like a pass time often but I think this time I will make a list of it all, I just have too many compartments to remember where everything is at. Lucky Spirit, he does not have to remember anything but eat, drink and run! It's alright though, he does his share and more, 24/7.
Couple days ago 3 to 5 inches of snow while going to the Dentist. All that gray, all the ÔÇ£being extremely cautiousÔÇØ and another afternoon of poking and dremmel grinding just did not suit me well. I need to learn to stay within my element even in some of my urban dealings, a hard task sometimes for me. My thoughts are always in the Journal...Be well...
Ara & Spirit
 
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A Day in Life and Big Bend Park. TX

Like a giant coin thrown up in the air the weather keeps landing with a surprising fashion. I lifted my head yesterday as all day allowed us to be outside, going through some camping gear, details to patch up on ÔÇ£Old FaithfulÔÇØ, as suddenly I see this gray wall incoming and the smell of dust in the air with already bursts of winds preceding it all. Scrambling and throwing everything in ÔÇ£Big GreenÔÇØ, shut the doors, just in time for what felt like 50+ mph winds which were clocked as such in Panther Junction. A bit north of Ft Davis ÔÇ£92 Mph winds recorded at the Observatory this afternoonÔÇØ.
A day earlier was a totally different story. Mild temperatures, great ride into the Park to meet some riders from the MotoCamper.com Forum and a ride back under the lit skies from an almost full Moon. It was one of those more than perfect day, the kind we never want it to end including great conversations and an unexpected dinner. Spirit had a blast with two new buddies who also ride, they each have their own sidecar. The ride back under an almost full Moon was one of those rare experiences, a bit as being in Space, a Spaceman and a Space-dog with helmets on cutting through the night, a pleasure hard to describe. This should be the last day of the heavy winds, they wear me out. This too shall pas as they say. More in the Journal...Be well... always.
Ara & Spirit
 
Be well and keep posting! When all dogs with riding "owners" have their own side car it will be a good day! Your weather is up and down but it's that time of year. I may be doing my first ride tomorrow. Take care.
JD
 
Be well and keep posting! When all dogs with riding "owners" have their own side car it will be a good day! Your weather is up and down but it's that time of year. I may be doing my first ride tomorrow. Take care.
JD

Thanks JD, need to come down and visit! The you can ride more often...

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The Chinati Hot Springs and more! TX

And more... Only because as the days are getting longer, so are the rides and so are the destinations without Internet. Ah! The Internet... it comes down to sometimes only posting a Journal entry as it's writing and photos are laid out off line and it takes only a couple minutes to, if lucky borrowing a connection, publish it. Such as now, a couple entries later we are back at ÔÇ£The OasisÔÇØ. I wanted to document our gear before leaving, which I somehow did realizing it would take hundreds of photos to accomplish it all.
I wanted to mention our presence in Amado, Arizona, on April 16th attending ÔÇ£Overland ExpoÔÇØ where a VIP tag is awaiting Spirit and myself will be part of a panel on questions on how to travel alone. Then on our destination was ÔÇ£The Chinati Hot SpringsÔÇØ through ÔÇ£Pinto Canyon RdÔÇØ which could have been a mistake for us due to it's roughness at the present time. It says something when even the locals avoid such a road. We are on the verge of Spring break and all was still very quiet, we had the place to ourselves actually including the communal kitchen, the giant tub, one of them. A bit of excitement also as a forced fire on the Mexican side jumped the river, the winds kept the smoke away from us up to the day we left which was yesterday. I hope this will entice for others to go and spend a few days just being. Truly a great getaway within this present getaway...
Be well...
Ara & Spirit
 
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At ÔÇ£warÔÇØ with myself. TX

When immersed within such isolated areas, pretty much spending much time by ourselves, the personal thoughts never stop grinding the gears, daily, hourly and often constantly. That is just how it is for me and in words they transfer on the pages of my Journal. Their volume become intense as being more or less in familiar surroundings, they lessen as we go on to then unfamiliar spaces as we will very soon. Early April becomes as another ÔÇ£startingÔÇØ line and as harsh as winter has been for us, comparatively speaking with the previous ones, time has flown away as a vanished calendar.
With the days getting longer I am finding myself with much less sleep and yet at the same time energized by much sunshine forcing myself eventually to get some shut eyes. Soon the time will again change, it is amazing how temperament can switch in accordance to the amount of daylight and weather.
We have to stay local this week, more Dentist calls coming up this Friday and more likely Monday again, it is getting old, I can't wait to be done and feel with no ties to be anywhere at any time.
The past winds and fire even so hundred or more miles away provided an incredible Sunset. The colors different from any time before. Enjoy the photos on the Journal.
Be well...
Ara & Spirit
 
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Only a Phone Call away. TX

We all know, should, the proposition of riding a motorcycle. It is of a dangerous one, no doubt. On two wheels the patches front and rear of two tires is infinitely of a small surface, area, than a car or other vehicles. Quite too often it happens, more or less severely, one of us loosing that grip and the results are often not of or anyone's liking. My Friend Tyler went down that path over last summer, severely, very severely, and yet a couple nights ago as the phone rang her voice was the sweetest sound I could have ever heard. A ÔÇ£miracleÔÇØ of Life no doubt, but also the tenacity of a Human Being just not ready to get off the path we are all on. The scars acquired throughout our existence come in many forms and shapes as hers and mine. We are not unique, the scars are a side of a coin so many experience, unfortunately. The support toward Tyler has been incredible and yet, as for all of us, the reality is truly that at the end of the day we are just one and it is throughout those moments acquired we have to build up the strength to go on, a strength that needs to come from within us. That is what separates the true survivors from others as we cannot give up the gift that has been loaned to us, the ÔÇ£one more chanceÔÇØ to go on. It was truly an ÔÇ£HonorÔÇØ to speak with my ÔÇ£Kindred SpiritÔÇØ and even if we did not say it all, we saved some for the next time and the next time. Human relationships... all part of this Journey.

Be well, and always enjoy and ÔÇ£liveÔÇØ the moment.

Ara & Spirit
 
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A full plate. TX

One would think we are suddenly at a Resort here. Friends dropping by with two huge RV's and the main ingredients for a couple well deserved dinners, breakfast also for that matter. Fresh Tuna, yes, freshly caught, it was a big hit, Dutch Oven Chocolate Cherry Cobbler, same with homemade bread, grilled vegetables, you name it, we had it.
Mother Nature must have known of it as for those two days it was short sleeve T shirts and comfortable presence sitting around the campfire till the eyes were heavily shutting down needing some rest. Suddenly all is so different with the longer days and much less sleep, so different that I am tired needing to re-balance it all up again. It includes some preparations to leave soon for Amado, ÔÇ£The Overland ExpoÔÇØ, which will be our first destination. We hope to meet some faces we have never seen, only have known their names. I feel a certain trepidation within me, the call of the road is making it's mark. A pull so strong, an attraction for the times to come.
In the meantime also was another Dentist visit in Valentine, one more on the 30th and that will be it... I want to use the word ÔÇ£freeÔÇØ... Free to go and savor the new Adventures awaiting for us, the new Friends not yet met and that includes new buddies for Mr Spirit!
Enjoy my Friend's visit...Be well, always.
Ara & Spirit
 
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The Dugout Wells, our Desert. TX

Ready to roll on a bit North of here to visit a few ÔÇ£roadside attractionsÔÇØ as they call it. Mostly on paved roads. The weather however is not going to cooperate for a few days, including snow 400 miles north of here! So... we are staying put for another few days till this front also passes by. With Spring Break in full sequence the Park is full, not a single campsite is available, I imagine so are the Motels everywhere, even in nearby towns. The one space I can count on however to be and stay secluded, calm and serene, is the Dugout Wells. It is after all an ÔÇ£OasisÔÇØ where the water presently trickling in from a well forced by a wind mill has designed a lush green sanctuary, not only for us but also for much wildlife as again the red tail fox did take a glance at us, curious more than anything else. No photos! I was not fast enough...
It is an odd stage, only atypical because of it's location surrounded by thousands of acres of Desert, what I call ÔÇ£our DesertÔÇØ. A couple cars came by, did not stay, I don't think they appreciated the environment present as much as we did, including some very cool temperatures under the trees, in the shade. Not much else is new, trying to put away the couple projects from my ÔÇ£to do listÔÇØ away before we head out toward Arizona, Utah and most likely California probably by June.
Enjoy the photos...Be well, Ara & Spirit
 
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On the road to healing. TX

Amazing how one can get sick in one day, bronchitis in this case of mine, and yet takes forever to even start feeling half human. Spirit however is back up and running, incredible healing power. We are a week away from departure to first Northern Arizona, where we will be joining an off road Expedition called ÔÇ£The Carbon Neutral ExpeditionÔÇØ, it will be then on to Overland Expo in Amado. It will be time to turn on the SPOT soon which I have intentionally lately turned off due to, I would not say unpleasant surprises but... how would you like to be 100% public about your whereabouts 24/7/365? That share web page brought in some unforeseen phenomenons to say the least. In the meantime it is a couple leisurelyy rides to Terlingua, bumping into the owners of ÔÇ£MotoQuestÔÇØ, a Motorcycle Tour Company, some search for healthy food and here a visit from some of the riders from San Antonio. The energy just has not been there, but down or not, there is never a dull moment, dull is not something I care for these days as I am internally really excited about new horizons, roads and scenery laid out ahead of us. We are only a tire and oil change away from it all, another final visit to the the Dentist, and that will be it when we can say our good byes to our Dear Friends surrounding us.
Till next time...
Be well, Ara & Spirit
 
I am sure by the time you depart for Arizona you'll be up to speed! One morning you'll awaken and feel your old self. Have a great trip!
JD
 
I am sure by the time you depart for Arizona you'll be up to speed! One morning you'll awaken and feel your old self. Have a great trip!
JD

My old self? That's scary... :scratch
Thanks... it is betting better by the day...

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From my ÔÇ£hideawayÔÇØ on River Rd, Big Bend. TX

I keep watching this video we made (yes... we!) riding some back roads around here and I cannot help thinking how crazy this Dog named Spirit is! I sure would never sit in that car as it goes. He loves it and actually it is interesting to see what he really is doing while I am chauffeuring him around. So it hit 100 today and now I am wondering what to do! I forgot what heat was. If it goes up to 104 it will be a ÔÇ£100 degreeÔÇØ difference from just a few weeks ago. Shade and water are again our main ingredients throughout these times. Such was the case yesterday as taking our last ride to River Road while still here. Many ride it, I personally like to find my little hideaways, hike to the bank and with a bit of shade, some water with us, just be listening to the Rio Grande travel by on his own Journey. It is and has been quiet, one could at times hear a car go by, but mainly all is undisturbed, the flowers are up, I thought I was going to miss them, just a beautiful setting when one takes that time to be within. Besides it all just getting ready to take off, taking care of the little ÔÇ£fixingsÔÇØ, better to do it here than there!
Some thoughts about my Friend Bill, some Photos and a video of Spirit riding...Be well, always.
Ara & Spirit
 
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Departure. Reminiscing on photos and words. Tx [video]

I think we are leaving at the proper time with the temperature up scaling all the way up to 107 a couple days ago and turning into a normal 100 every afternoon. The time has come, I don't know if Spirit is excited or not, I know I am, even if still in the midst of packing up, making sure we will not be stranded from any inattention only a few miles from here. Strange winter? Short... long... Who knows at this point, what I know is that we made it here another season and the road calls as strong as ever as if we had not gone anywhere lately. Big Bend sure has become a destination, we have met more Friends here than ever on the road, we think it is at the ÔÇ£end of the worldÔÇØ but it is not stopping many from incoming and having a good time within this space. There are still more to come that have e mailed me, we will not be here, I hope they can find some good shade.
Strange enough I know where we are going! Bisbee first through El Paso. Then on to the north shore of Lake Powell to meet the ÔÇ£Carbon Neutral ExpeditionÔÇØ and drop back down to Amado for a few days of ÔÇ£Overland ExpoÔÇØ. As usual the last days of April in Valley of the Gods where the balloons fly the last weekend, Muley Point, push on north for more destinations. New ones, old one, seen and unseen.
Till next time, you be well...
Maybe we will see you on the road.
Ara & Spirit
 
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Up to El Paso. TX

We left a bit early from the heat getting to us. I think spring is bypassing Big Bend and decided to get right into the summer 100's on a daily basis. We have by now also gone through El Paso and sitting for a couple days at the ÔÇ£Silverado RanchÔÇØ in between Douglas and Bisbee. Spend one more night in Alpine, last minute errands and on for the ride that should last months. Besides a fearful head wind which seemed to turn around with us every which way we went, the road was magnificent, specially once off highway 10, taking 80 southbound toward Douglas. Old stumping grounds... For some reason the traffic and the noise and the races on going where not a shock this time to my system. I had no vision for anything else but that. The masses are traveling east and west on this southerly a bit warmer route, Freeways are never my choice, but I think we are off of them for a long time now. Trying to find a good route to Lake Powell as I know that will also be difficult specially if we want to avoid the paved roads. Will try.
One last look at Alpine... it already seems a distant memory.
Be well...
Ara & Spirit
 
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On to Bisbee on a ÔÇ£yellowÔÇØ Highway. AZ

I cannot recommend enough to get on Highway 80 from Lordsburg to Douglas via Rodeo off of 10 in New Mexico, even with a detour to Portal. I know the ÔÇ£other sideÔÇØ of the Mountain with names such as Benson and Tombstone is a decision clincher, but... there will never be a regret on 80. Parking was a bit rough as the shoulders are very narrow and the adjacent dirt road is used by the Border Patrol, and yet we managed as we always do to stop here and there. I would have preferred to walk it honestly. A new space to hang our helmets for a couple of days, ÔÇ£Silverado RanchÔÇØ with enough animals running around for me to qualify it as a Zoo! Because of the Overland Expo commitment, for the first time I feel a bit under a schedule, also meeting the ÔÇ£Carbon Neutral ExpeditionÔÇØ in a couple of days on the North Shores of Lake Powell, we can then go on to Valley of the Gods and resume our snail speed like travels. All I can add is that it feels good, busy or not, it is a different pace then what winter was as I am just realizing that fact, the huge difference between camping at ÔÇ£The OasisÔÇØ and on ÔÇ£The RoadÔÇØ. Enjoy 80... we did.Be well, always.
Ara & Spirit
 
"On the road again." Just like Willie you're out there once more on the highways. Arizona sure enough has some purty scenery. Nice photos!

JD
 
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Overland Expo days. AZ

There has been no shortage of excitement for the past week, there has been a shortage of time. I was even stumbling when opening up my laptop last night for the first time in days, it seemed foreign to me, a concept left behind but quickly re-emerging throughout our time resting in Phoenix in, I feel, a well deserved Motel room. It was first joining the Carbon Neutral Expedition toward an incredible off road destination: the South Rim of the Grand Canyon through Navajo Reservation. The next day on to some BLM land that felt and looked as we were in the heart of the African Serengeti, and finally arriving at Overland Expo in Amado, Arizona. There, it was busy busy! Classes, off road vehicles and trailers, camping gear, gadgets and the main ingredient: people. Surprised as to many have known about our own Journey most of the time was spend chatting and Spirit posing for photos... (not me!). Sunday night ended with the icing on the cake in a form of an incredible buffet dinner where my diet totally and well worth it went out of the window. Overall, I am looking forward to the next year's event and quickly realized that the compromise of changing our traveling ways for a few days was so much worth meeting the so many incredible others present. A few photos made their way on our Journal...Be well, always.
Ara & Spirit
 
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More of Overland Expo. From Page. AZ

An overload of good memories is an understatement and yet even "good" has taken us a few days to balance out again our nights and days on the road. Sifting through the cards received, the photos taken, putting faces again behind names, one more look at all the vehicles, the vendors booths and thinking deeply about the ones met themselves never slowing down from a forward motion supporting more than worthwhile causes. Overland Expo is indeed not to be missed. It is all about the people, their knowledge shared through the many classes, it is about the vehicles, but the emphasis remains on the souls present, the ones for us that extended their hands and conversations as them being old Friends of our Journal meeting us for the first time, as ourselves for the first time going through such an experience. Some mild hiking around Lake Powell with Spirit off his leash brought us back to our partnership throughout this Journey, his tail was wagging all day loosing this look he has had these past days in consternation of a crowd surrounding him. It's all good and more. Getting ready to head out tomorrow morning for a short ride and sit for a while at Valley of the Gods. More photos on the Journal I hope you will enjoy.
Be well... always.
Ara & Spirit
 
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