“Any path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you… Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question… Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t it is of no use.”
~ Carlos Casteneda, The Teachings of Don Juan. ~ 

I do feel domesticated, and yet, we are “off the grid”. Every commodity is a chore, a welcomed one as I see it as developing a patience I feel having lost these past months. Exercise for the body and the mind all at the same time. 60 miles round trip  for drinking water in 3 gallon jugs which will go into a 5 gallon jug with a spigot for my one gallon jugs! None of this probably makes any sense except for me. Turning a solar panel on the hour to get the most out of this free energy. The same goes for my Solar Oven, a true wonder to cook with. Checking the solar shower for the water temperature. All this and more is making me feel “domesticated”. Life is much simpler on the road but this time here is much needed for the months to come. Only if winter would get here as the heat has yet to subside. There is actually a chance for rain today. Finally the temperature digits are dropping. A welcome happening. I felt it all being a little cooler yesterday or maybe I am getting use to it. Meaning the heat. We could never spend a summer here.

It was the Day to put my Mother to rest next to Lance. The ground is hard here but it’s surface softness allowed me to dig just the right depth for her Urn. One more last hug, last caresses, she is at Peace now. It was the six months Anniversary and the occasion was also marked by an incredible Sunset. A show which went on for a long time. Mother Nature was kind that evening. I sat there for a long time, a time long enough for a few tears, for a reel of Life to be replayed as it is still so hard to believe her absence.

Everything else is moving right along, whatever that means. Clean up, a bit more cooking, gathering the firewood left which is now not much of it, and the pages of the Book are slowly filling up. I am having a hard time disciplining myself to dedicate the hours needed. I am easing into it slowly. I am already throughout the months we arrived in Big Bend for the first time, a time which so totally changed the path of the Journey. There is a title I can announce as I have bought the domain name which will be parked till completion “Freedom On Both Ends Of The Leash”. I like it as I feel it says it all. The cover photo is a black and white which has been seen so many numerous times I am not even going to post it here. Or maybe I will! It is one of my favorite photos I think for the main fact Spirit looking so independent, looking away while his attention must have been on a passing rabbit! It is a draft and not the final version.

It is Monday morning. A calendar has appeared, time, that clock with the ticking hands also is now present. I feel it is a need within this normally timeless zone. I have to prioritize my nights and days. Spirit, cooking, exercise, cleaning and most of it writing while I read our Journal from day one. How to express seven years in 300 pages? A good friend is editing my blatant grammar errors. She is a huge help as writing a book turns out to be a lonely affair. I have to deal with enough power also as these cloudy days are not recharging my batteries. I feel as I am on this Island and must manage these months ahead.

Sweet potatoes, chopped dates. apricots, raisins, green onions, cilantro with a curry sauce all cooked in the solar oven.

More help has been present towards the aspect of the formatting. I understand much now, finally. Thank You for all the contacts and links send. It was like a green light turning on as such from a bright red these past days. I still take the time to enjoy my surroundings. I must, we must. Long walks with Spirit while the weather has now totally changed with even a bit more rain to fill up my water catchment. There was a bit of sun yesterday, today is none and the visibility cannot be more than half a mile. My pages are filling up faster than I thought while I am falling into a groove, an enjoyable one. One I am reliving my recent past years. Some chapters make me smile, some make me think a bit deeper but mostly I realize how much I have learned on the road, this school of life which never closes its doors. Interesting I must say 10,000 words later.

The lower back is better so is the sciatica. They are all related. The park opened up today and for the first time in a long while we took a long ride and shot a video while going up the Basin. All I can say is while everyone has been in an uproar, Mother Nature never shut down for us. I don’t make politics, I don’t write about it and even though I have been told “if you don’t do politics, politics will do you…”, I just don’t believe it. My energy can be spend in better ways such as above.

Till next time…
                       Ara and Spirit