San Antonio Hot Springs or Bust!

   Being out on the road has been rejuvenating, fresh scenery around every corner just waiting to be explored. We finally left the comfort of Aunt Terry's home, almost reluctantly, only our anxiousness to break new ground motivated us to load Dharma back up and roll down the road. On the way out of Oklahoma we stopped and stayed the night in Cordell with some old friends of Ty's. Ricky and Chambrey had taken Ty in 2001, after he had gotten stranded in Oklahoma on a cross country road trip. Ricky and his girlfriend April invited us into their homes again no questions asked. They welcomed us with shots of Crown Royal and we all became quick friends while Ty and Ricky reminisced. The next day Chambrey invited us over to her home for a cookout and we had grand time grubbing on hamburgers and hot dogs and drinking beer. Chambrey was very generous and not only purchased several bars of soap from me, but also sent us on our way with bags of canned and dry foods for the road.
  
  Our spirits were fresh with curiosity, and our bodies well rested and ready for a challenge. The first night we ventured onto BLM land to find a free campsite, since we are on a budget we plan to take advantage of our right to camp on public lands so we figured we'd start outside of Albuquerque on our way west. A large portion of the land outside of Albuquerque is tribal land, but we checked with the BLM office for a map and were able to find the patches of BLM where we could camp. It was not easy to find, but after turning around in the middle of the highway several times we located a gate that appeared to lead to BLM cattle land, so we ventured off into the desert towards a stunning mesa. The road was a little rough and after trudging through a few sand beds it just ended. We decided to throw on our backpacks and hike to the base of the towering mesa to set up camp for the night. There were timid herds of cattle everywhere that responded to us like foreign invaders, staring us down with their wild bovine eyes. We set up our tents as the sun was setting, and settled into our camp feeling like cowboys sleeping under the stars of the wild west, a priceless experience far richer than paying to sleep in a cookie cutter state park campground.

  We ventured back into the Jemez Mountains after camping in the desert, determined to find the San Antonio hot springs now that we had warm weather on our side. This time our efforts were a success! There were several undeveloped free campsites about a 5 mile hike from the hot springs where we set up camp for a few days. We finally got to relax in our hammocks as the sun shined through the forest and the wind rocked us to sleep. And the hot springs, well they were well worth the renewed effort, some of the most amazing we've been to yet. The length of the hike was a bit tiring because we are all still out of shape, but it was easy walking and the reward of the springs made it more than worth the tired legs and blistered feet.

   San Antonio hot springs consists of four descending pools of various temperatures nestled in rock outcroppings on the side of the mountain face, with the most spectacular view I've had the pleasure of enjoying in a hot spring thus far.  While soaking we met Alex, Rachel, and Erica, three very interesting individuals. We really enjoyed their lively personalities and since they were camping in the area that night as well, we invited them to share our campfire with us. We polished off a cheap bottle of Brandy as we played drums around the fire and told stories of past adventures. It was really a joy to run into like minded peers that we could share some of our excitement with. In the morning they went on their way after buying several bars of soap. Alone once again at our campsite, we had a lazy day in our hammocks. The wind was relentless though, and we decided to move on the next morning.

   Now here we are at a Denny's in Camp Verde, Arizona, about thirty miles from our next destination, Verde Hot Springs. Apparently Verde Hot Springs is an abandoned hot springs resort near the Verde river that you can still soak in. Their is supposed to be an unofficial campground about a mile from the springs which is where we are headed tonight, wish us luck. Sadly, Denny's only offers a single hour of free internet, which is why this post is a week late, sorry for those who have patiently waited.  Love to you all.

Peace, Love & Road Dust
Shawna

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained"



Dharma

       We are officially homeless. No more cozy bed, or movie nights on the couch. We have stripped ourselves of common luxuries, and material comforts. We now live out of a Jeep, we are nomads. These were words I wrote right after we took off. The reality of it all really started to sink in and hit deep as we watched the last of our extraneous belongings leave with strangers for pennies on the dollar at our second yard sale while meanwhile mounds of camping gear piled up around my dad's house seeming to exceed our Jeep's cargo capacity ten fold. This dream we had been nurturing for the last year was finally coming to fruition right before our eyes. I thought I would be more afraid, leaving the security of our home, but it was all happening so fast and there was so much work to do we all kind of just went through the motions in a bit of a shocked stupor. The fear and sadness came not from leaving belongings behind, but from leaving my dad in a house void of family and companionship, from abandoning my cats with strangers in an unfamiliar place. That was the painful part, scared by my own selfish desire for freedom, I became engulfed in guilt and despair. Honestly I hadn't experienced emotion like that in several years. However, the decision to travel did not come without logic evaluation of loss and gain, and even my father, though lonely without us, would not want us to sacrifice this opportunity.

     
       Our first overnight stop was up in the Jemez mountains, just north of Albuquerque. We wanted to hike to San Antonio hot springs the next day. It seemed like a long drive up there, although it is really only 6 hrs or so. Our Jeep did great, even weighed down like she was. We finally gave her a name,  it seemed called for considering her crucial role in this epic journey, that she had a profound name; so we decided on Dharma. I think it's perfect. Right at dark Dharma pulled us into a campsite we found off a short dirt road. There was a fire ring and tons of dead wood gathered already with a perfect flat spot for the tent. We set up camp and started a good fire for warmth and to cook dinner. We busted out the grill and cast iron dutch oven and cooked our first meal over the fire. We fried up potatoes, sausage and jalapenos and melted cheese over the top it was perfect. We felt we succeeded at the first night and that was encouraging. After dinner we cracked open a bottle of Kraken black spiced rum that had been gifted to us before our trip by my friend Skyler. Thanks man! It was idealic actually, small snowflakes fell around the fire for a short time and the whole experience was almost surreal. We talked about how excited we were to wake up with the sun shining through the forest canopy and planned to hike to the hot springs first thing and then come back and relax in our hammocks. After some time we finally retired to the tent, perfectly content. When we woke up the whole scene had changed, the tent walls were about two inches from our faces and it took me a moment to even comprehend what was going on, I felt claustrophobic and disorientated. Then I realized our tent was covered in snow and had collapsed on us in the night. We shook off all the snow and the tent popped right back up. Ty and Denton literally went right back to sleep and I ventured out into the whitewashed landscape. It was freezing! and there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground. I wanted to laugh, we failed to check the weather before coming up into the high elevations of New Mexico in early spring and we had been coldly reminded that we are now at the whim of mother nature. It was still snowing like crazy so we just hunkered down for the day. Everything was a chore in the cold and snow, but overall it was pretty fun. We finally decided we would have to visit the hot springs a different time when the trail didn't require snow shoes, so we packed up and left the next day since there had been no break in the weather. Dharma went in 4 wheel drive for the first time and she climbed right out of there like a champ. On the way back down the mountain we stopped at Spence Hot Springs, there was snow everywhere, but not nearly as much as our campsite and the trail was easily followed. After 2 days in the snow the hot springs were a welcome respite. We were barely able to pull ourselves out of there, but since there was no camping allowed in the area we didn't have much of a choice. Eventually we hiked back down and drove out of the beautiful Jemez mountains.

      We are in Stigler Oklahoma now, we drove straight here only stopping for a few uncomfortable hours of sleep in the Jeep at a Love's truck stop. We are staying with Ty's Aunt Terry who has just been spoiling us like crazy. We have just been awestruck by the beauty of Oklahoma, I always thought of it as a giant midwest dust bowl and was quite surprised to find quite the opposite. There are rolling fields of green and lakes and rivers and forest, it's incredibly lush. We've gone fishing and hiking, and had an epic bonfire at Ty's cousin Tammy's house. But, best of all we have spent peaceful nights and sunny days with Aunt Terry talking and singing and painting and eating together. It has been so nice getting to know her and just being surrounded by her good energy.

      We will be leaving here in a couple of days and heading west towards SoCal. It will be hard to leave here, but we're all excited for the adventures to come. Well, dinner is ready so I must end this post. Good night and farewell for now.

Peace Love & Road Dust
-Shawna

"May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Traditional Gaelic Blessing