LOOK WHAT YOU CAN BUY FOR $180.

HAD TO GO TO  PHOENIX FOR MY ANNUAL EXAM.  ---A  2 day process this time.
For $ 110.00 shuttle cost and $60 motel cost and $40 food cost I could do it the easy way.
But wait!  The cost to drive down and back would be about $30 (not pulling my trailer) If I could find a place to sleep for free, I would be $180.00 ahead.  I love this sort of challenge:  Watch the master FRUGALIST at work.  I'll show you how to adapt and a better way to spend that $180.00.

Asked and received permission to park behind the American Legion. (I'm a vet)  Shuffled my stuff to one side, made a flat space in the back of my truck, got out a piece of memory foam and sleeping bag that I carry---

and voila--made a servicable bed--loved the adventure of it all--slept soundly-- saved $60.

Back with my friends parking free of charge near Cottonwood, Az--enjoying this grand view of the famous Mogollion rim. (pronounced MO' GHEE ON).

I get to spend time with my friend Joyce who visited for a few days.  Here's her wonder dog Thorn when given the order to clean up the area, picking up trash and amazingly, depositing it in the trash can.

One day we walked a lovely trail from Old town. (the Jail trail)

One day old friends Chris and Melissa stopped in to chat.  This amazing couple has chosen early to live a life of adventure.

One day my friends Laurie and Lisa took me on a mystery food "crawl".  They insisted that I be blindfolded.

Some miles away they lead me into a restaurant famous for its....

FRENCH FRIES!!-- They were delicious.

We had a chicken entree somewhere, then topped off the mystery food crawl at an ice cream place.

One day, I found myself parked beside my ex--Diana-the world adventurer, master photographer and famous blogger of a million hits:  Check her out here. She invited me on a hike...

 called the teapot trail.

One day a balloon carrying 14 people...

landed right outside my window.

We all watched them pack it up. (iin less than 15 minutes)

Parked nearby, these four ladies in four different rigs, typlify a new breed of women: Indipendent, bold and fascinating. What they are looking at ....

Is this Drone--an incredible piece of machinery operated by a lady named Ausia, a world famous you tuber called RV pandamonium. Check her out here (It cost about $700--weighs about 2 pounds--will fly for 20 minutes with a range of a mile--sends to the operator a picture of what it sees and at the mere push of a button will return to the feet of its master,)

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  THE EVENTS PICTURED ABOVE TOOK PLACE OVER  A MONTH OR SO.  The money I saved during that ONE NIGHT of frugality in Phoenix sustained me for this whole month's adventures.  I HOPE MY POINT IS OBVIOUS:  MONEY WELL SPENT CAN BUY A HEAP OF ADVENTURES.  I ALSO HOPE I HAVE ILLUSTRATED HOW IMPORTANT ARE FRIENDS FOR THE GOOD LIFE.

(down below the comments is a featured post from the past that might interest you--click on its title line to see the full post)

DRIFT WITH ME

AFTER 2 WEEKS WITH MY NEW-FOUND DAUGHTER IN EL PASO--I MOVED WEST TO A SMALL NEW MEXICO TOWN---Where I kissed a lady that needed to be kissed

crossed this dry alkali dry lake bed--noting the warning sign: (USE EXTREME CAUTION)

remembering the dust storm of my first crossing.

Growing sleepy I pulled into the desert and whiled the afternoon away

remembering the closing words of a poem by a minor poet:

A FULL SET OF STUFF

.................

........Down back roads by lazy brooks

I take a nap or read my books;

Chase the wind, drift and roam,

Let night overtake me everywhere home.

Live my life in a thousand places;

share myself with a thousand faces;

Drink in life till I've had enough;

Thanks to my rig and a full set of stuff.

Briefly visited the ghost town of Shakespeare,

Picked up a cross country bicyclist--Kuba,,  

Took him with me to Tucson, introduced him to CB, who recorded him. He makes money playing on the street.

Then CB and I went to the Tucson Book Festival, always a wonderous experience.

Each of these little tents represents a cause of some sort--staffed by a group or individual willing to pay $500 to have their say to the people passing by.

Like this for example:  A fresh new Messiah named Maitreya--who (allegedly) is about to declare himself to the world---who mysteriously "appears" in the midst of crowds all over the world, speaking telepathically to all in their native language.

His coming has been heralded by  appearances in the sky of new mysterious stars--photographed and here displayed- by his followers for our wonderment.  Aren't you convinced?  Read all about him here.  

In larger tents--serious presentations by respected experts.  That guy in the middle is the real life model for the character "Heyduke" in Edward Abby's famous book: THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG, a book that gave rise to the super assertive earth defenders movement known as EARTH FIRST.

This is their audience.  I got to ask the first question: How can we reduce the population of earth to a sustainable level?  They had no good ideas--just said that we would peak at 9 billion.  Heyduke had no hope--said in effect that we were too stupid to do the sensible thing.

Then I went to Yuma and had a root canal in Algodones.  If you want to save a damaged tooth, this is the guy you want to see: Dr. Fernando Dominguez D.D.S. (phone 928-362-0530).  He is a specialist with the Rubio team and will give you a very expert root canal for about $300.  

In Yuma, I crossed paths again with this pretty lady who gave me a computer lesson and invited me to travel with her for a few days.  

So off we went--traveling 10 miles the first day.  In the early morning she amuses herself juggling.

I showed her the nearby paintball war zone.

Then we went to Quartzsite, Az and I showed her the most visited grave in Az---that of the famous camel wrangler from Syria,  Hi Jolley, who came to America as part of a 19th century experiment in desert transport.  Read about it  here.

That's Jesus entombed after his crucification---part of the full passion story you can see in Yarnell, Az. The Lady and I stayed the night at the American Legion.

Then we moved on to one of my favorite boondocking spots: Thousand trails rd just east of Cottonwood, Az.  Two my favorite people Laurie and Lisa live a short mile away and came to visit us.

In a few days the lady moved on and I had business in Phoenix, where I visited for a happy two days with my good friend Joyce.  She is the spirited aviatrix who took me on one of my life's great adventures.  Check it out here and here.

She introduced me to TV's greatest bargain: A one time payment of $300 dollars for about everything thats on TV--movies, TED talks--everything---and without Annoying ads,

We watched 2 days worth of TED talks, Absolutely terrific.  Tjhis system is called Digi X Stream and If you are interested in knowing more about it, call 210-907-7097 and tell them you were refered by 6dod8e1e. (it will give you and her a 20% discount)

 Then I persuaded her to come with me to Cottonwood to escape the heat.  And she did for a week of good hiking and comraderie.

I

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:   So there you have a peek into my drifty lifestyle and some of my friends.  As much as I love my lifestyle, I love my friends more.  My friend Laura Skutch from Vermont tells of a study showing that friends are the MOST IMPORTANT  component of good heart health.  America's healthiest heart community is located in Pennsylvania. Surprisingly they have about the same diet and health habits  as the rest of us.  What makes the difference is that they have a particularly tight and supportive friendship network.  Read about it here.