Poem in Place

It's another rainy day in Texas, flash flood warning, too.  A good day to stay inside to read and plan my travels for the rest of the year and next year.

Alaska is a place I want to visit.  I have been planning to get there for the past 30 years, hopefully it will happen sometime in the next few years. Since I am not old enough to retire and still need to work, I have to plan carefully because it will be a costly trip.

There are workamping jobs and other seasonal jobs in Alaska and some offer housing, so I may not need to take the RV, but I like to have all of my stuff with me, so I sometimes think that I just need a camping van or a class B, instead of my current RV. My RV is not too big, but still bigger than I may need. My thoughts are to take the ferry to Alaska, and possibly to drive back down the Alaskan Highway. Or maybe just take the ferry both ways.

I have inquired about jobs with Princess Cruises, at their lodges, and jobs in Seward near Resurrection Bay, the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines or working for Aramark again, this time at their Glacier Bay location  There are seasonal jobs posted at usajobs.gov working with the forest service. Many opportunities, I just have to put a plan together and figure out the logistics.
I have even considered living in Alaska for a year, it would be cool to have an Alaskan license plate. If I stayed in the southern parks of Alaska, the weather could not be much worse that a cold, icy winter in Chicago and I have lived through many of those.

Anyway, while reading and researching today, I came across this information about the 

Poem in Place project. 

Emily Wall @ Totem Bright State Historical Park

Every week, I receive an email from a group in Alaska, 49 Writers. Not because I want to become a writer, but to see the news about new books coming out of Alaska, For many years I have been reading any and all books that I find about Alaska.

One of the weekly emails talked about the "Poem in Place" project and there are 2 poems that I want to remember, so I am posting them here on the blog.

Emily's poem was inspired by a poem written many years ago by William Stafford.

Emily, This Place and You by William Stafford

She got out of the car here one day,

and it was snowing a little.

She could see glimpses of those mountains,

and away down there by the river

the curtain of snow would shift,

and those deep secret places

look all the more mysterious.

It was quiet you know.

Her life seemed quiet, too.

There had been troubles, sure

everyone has some.

But now, looking out there.

she felt easy, at home in the world

maybe like a casual snowflake.

And some people love her.

She would remember that.

And remember this place.

As you will, wherever you go after this day,

just a stop by the road,

and a glimpse of someone's life,

and your own, too,

how you can look out any time,

just being part of things,

getting used to being a person,

taking it easy, you know.

This Forest, This Beach, You by Emily Wall

If you were a cedar

you would be waiting for rain to fall

or fall harder,

relaxing your ten thousand needles.

If you were a handful of moss

you would be waiting for the light

so you could climb further

up this rich, fallen log.

If you were a blue mussel

you would be waiting for the tide to rise

to open your lips, to sip.

What a world this is.

Close your eyes and inhale.

Eat a little of this air.

Let it fill your belly.

let the taste of this place

always rest on your tongue.

Deciding where to go next

I'm still on the Gulf Coast, moving around from park to park, trying to decide where I want to go next.  The weather has been rainy, cloudy and foggy.....but the temps are warm.

Can't decide if I want to stay around the coast or head up towards New Mexico and maybe Arizona before I head to Colorado.  I checked weather.com and the night time temps in southern New Mexico are pretty low, even though the daytime temps are in the 60's with sunshine.

I do not have to turn on the furnace or the electric heater where I am at now. If I decide to move north to New Mexico or Arizona, it will most likely be cold in the mornings when I go out for a walk.

Warm days/nights with possibility of rain/fog
        vs. 
    Sunshine and cold nights/mornings

I am still drawn to this area
 and am not in a hurry to head north.

My challenge is finding a park that feels like the country, but that is close to conveniences.  I want to be able to walk around town and check out the area. This is what I like about the Gulf Coast, many of the RV parks are close to the beaches and piers and I can spend hours walking around the area.

I am challenging myself to find places to visit where I don't need a car. I want to intentionally find places to walk and ride a bike.  When I owned my home, I would often walk to the grocery store, bank, library or post office. I am trying to fit that into my lifestyle now. Several years ago I did research on "walkable" communities. Now, I just have to find "walkable" communities that have nice RV parks.

The State Parks that have walking and biking trails are also good places to stay for more than a day or two. I can fill several hours a day trying out different trails in a state park.

I feel more comfortable walking along the shore (a more open, spacious feeling). When I am walking the trails in the wooded parks, it feels more closed in and secluded and I'm not comfortable walking alone.

*     *     *     *     *

From December 30th to February 14th, I stayed at Pioneer Beach Resort in Port Aransas, TX on Mustang Island.  I really liked the corner site that I had near the pond. If I had been in another site, I may not have stayed as long and probably would not have been as happy with the park.  Many of the sites are close together, but there are a few areas around the ponds in the park that have larger sites.

Pioneer Beach Resort          Right outside the RV door

Pioneer Beach Resort is almost 5 miles from the "downtown" area of Port Aransas and this is why I chose this park. It's on the quieter side of the island, closer to the state parks, and is the end of the line for the bus. The bus comes to the park once an hour from 10am to 5pm, 7 days a week. I used this bus to go to the grocery, post office, or to get to other areas of town to walk around and check out different areas.

The park has a nice boardwalk, wide enough to ride a golf cart on, that takes you over the dunes and to the beach. The beach on this end of Mustang Island is not very crowded.

Pioneer Beach Resort has all of the usual events for a "snowbird" park. Pot luck dinners, bingo, craft classes, seminars, entertainment, dances, etc.  I did not join in on any of these events. Some of the women I talked to have been coming back to this park, every winter, for over 12 years.

*     *     *     *     *

I had an appointment for an eye exam this week and wanted to find a park close to the doctors office.  The exam would include dilating my eyes and I did not want to drive the RV around after that. I ended up at Portobelo Village, an RV & Mobile Home Community in Aransas Pass. It was less than a mile walk to the eye doctors office, so it was a good place to stay for 2 days. The park was nice and clean, and less than 2 blocks to walk to stores and Subway for dinner. Everyone is friendly, but its not where I want to stay for a long time, so I am moving on.

*     *     *

Friday morning, I drove around 20 miles, I'm staying in another coastal town. I paid for a week, and then maybe I'll finally make a decision about which way I'm heading.

map from TexasCoastalBend,org

10,000 Steps

We've all heard that we need to walk at least

 10,000 steps a day to be considered active.

I do not want to be considered "sedentary". I sat behind a desk for too many years. I try to walk or ride my bike instead of driving. Sometimes I walk up to 7 miles in one day, and then other days I only go a few blocks. Some days I don't go anywhere. I need to be more consistent, I want to be more active everyday.

Do you keep track of your activity? Is it necessary?

I've looked at some "Body Bug" things that you wear on your arm and sync to a computer to track your activity. I'm thinking that this is totally unnecessary - I do not need another electronic thing. With these devices, you keep track of everything you eat and enter it in the program.  I have tried keeping track of activity and food on a free online program and never kept up with it. I would start out good and then forget a meal or a day or an activity, then the charts would be off because something was missing, and I eventually gave up on the process.

My iPhone has several apps that I can use to track my walking. The free apps will tell me how far I have gone on one outing. I would have to pay for an upgrade if I want to see a comparison from one outing to the next. Again, I think this upgrade is unnecessary.

I just need the motivation to get out more and walk or bike everyday. Even if its not 5 or more miles a day. How many miles are in 10,000 steps? I don't know for sure. The free pedometer that I received at the health fair calculates the distance different than the "GPS based app" on the iPhone. If I average the information from both it seems like 10,000 steps = 5 miles.

Does any of this tracking really matter?

 Can't I tell that I am doing the right thing, by how I feel?

And walking on the sand uses different muscles that walking on the sidewalk.

So, how do you calculate the benefits of that?

The weather definitely plays a part in all of this. I don't feel like going out if its gloomy or rainy.  Sometimes I look outside and I think its colder than it is. When I get outside and start walking and realize that its not so bad, I wonder why I waited to go outside. I used to be a morning person. Now on cool mornings, it seems to take me longer to get ready to go out for a walk or to go to town.  I'm hoping to get out to take some sunrise pictures on the beach before I leave this area.

How do I get myself motivated to get outside no matter what the weather is?

I have to remind myself that I may miss seeing the spoonbills,

or a sailboat in the sunset,

or any of the other amazing things around me.

Yesterday, before I left for a walk, I sat in the RV and watched people walking by and riding their bikes. Sure they were wearing hats and coats - but they were out doing something. And, all in all, it is not that cold here, and it will only be like this for a day or two before the temps increase.  I walked 5.75 miles and had to start shedding layers, the sun finally came out as I was walking back to the RV park. Seems like it gets warmer here later in the day as the sun begins to set.

I guess, I'm just frustrated with myself for not being more active right now. I keep thinking, don't be so hard on yourself - you have made a lot of changes recently and its time to just relax and enjoy the slower pace.

There are so many things I want to see and do.  I would like to do some hiking and kayaking. I feel like I need to be in better shape to do these things, and need to push myself to get out and walk and bike more to get ready for some different adventures.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

Maybe I've just stayed too long in one place. I needed to stay put to receive mail and to get some paperwork done. I procrastinated on some things, so I stayed here and gave myself a deadline to get it done. I have accomplished most of it and hope to finish things up this week.  I guess this is another reason why I have not been outside as much as I would like to be.

I'm trying to find the balance between staying in one location for more than a day or two to explore the area, or just driving through town and not really getting to know the area. Many of the parks offer a reduced price if I stay in one place for a week or a month, and I figure I am also saving on fuel by staying put in one place for a week or month. I'm thinking - what's the rush - you don't have to see everything this year. 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *  

We had a lot of rain over the weekend, and I was surprised to see that the rain actually increased the size of the pond next to my RV site. All of the cement pads and streets near this corner are gently sloped towards the pond. During the heavy rain, I was watching all of the water going into the pond. Seems like there are more birds attracted to the pond now, I am seeing different birds this week.

Relaxing........Rainy day

Camp Lakewood Campground : Effingham, IL

Although I had a lot of phone calls to make today, I did not feel stressed or rushed.

This RV park has super fast wi-fi and the stereo in the coach is a really good quality with good speakers. I have listened to a few TV programs on the computer, also.  I am glad that I decided not to mount a TV screen in here, and decided to go with a good laptop, instead.  I can listen to the news or other programs on the computer.

After the mad rush to make sure the house was empty and trying to get out of Chicago before the RV freezes, it is soooo nice to be able to take my time with things.  It would have been smarter to make this move in the spring, but actually the timing of everything has worked out.

I still have to organize the cabinets and drawers and empty a few boxes of stuff that I put in the coach.
I don't want to keep these boxes in the space behind the drivers seat, this is just a temporary thing until I figure out what I need and what I can get rid of.

Many bloggers talk of selling their houses and going full-time.

I am so glad that I made this decision.
But, it is not an easy thing to do.

Emotionally and physically, it is exhausting. (I'm not trying to discourage anyone.)
And then there is the guilt for doing what I want and not staying around to help others.

If you are planning to do this, you will probably question yourself about why you accumulated all of this "stuff" in the first place. In 1988, we moved out of our first home into the house I just left. Back then, 23 years ago, I remember saying that this house would be sold with all of the contents included, that I did not want to go through the process of moving stuff again.

I think of my Grandma Mary's house, it never seemed to be cluttered and her basement was empty except for the washer and dryer. It seemed like maybe things were simpler then.

I didn't learn my lesson, and the difference now is that I didn't just pack it all into boxes and move it into the basement of the next house.  I could have put things into storage, it would have been less stressful and easier - just pack up the boxes and drive over to the storage area.

Storage is costly and I probably won't ever use the items again.

I had to deal with it now, I didn't want to think about it anymore.

My family and friends have most of the larger items from my home, I am glad that someone could use them.

I am not living a spartan life in the coach.  I have kept some things that I like to have around me. I have some quilts that I have made or purchased. I have decorated the walls and have photos. I have enough, but not too much.

It's been raining on and off all day, I am all warm and cozy in my little house.
There is more rain in the forecast. I am waiting for some phone calls tomorrow, so I will stay here Tuesday night, also.

large site with deck, table and firepit

The rain stopped around 3pm, I went for a walk around the campground, this is a very nice place, well maintained and clean and it's probably very busy in the summer. They have a boat ramp and its looks like they rent canoes and rowboats.

Update: Ended up staying here for 4 days, didn't want to drive in the rain and it was very peaceful here, parked by the lake.