Adventures with Conestoga Lite

We've named our trailer Conestoga Lite because it gives us the taste of pioneer life with less life endangerment. 

At the start of the five day journey to our first destination, we were excited and confident. Before long, however, we learned that RV trailer living is, well, different. It was challenging traveling 7-8 hours/day, setting everything up for the night, only to break it down the next morning.

We've decided the trailer is in charge. As soon as it seems we have all the nuances down, a problem pops up - sometimes due to our inexperience and sometimes we swear the trailer plays tricks on us. For example, we spent a half hour trying to figure out why the center lights weren't working, only to find the master switch was accidentally turned off. One night we ran out of propane and, therefore heat. The heater came back on eventually, but only when it was good and ready. Another day, we had no TV reception because the antenna cable decided to randomly disconnect from the trailer. As we said - the trailer is in charge. At various times, we've looked at each other and said, "What have we gotten ourselves into?".

It may seem kind of crazy to leave a spacious,  comfortable home and spend 3 1/2 months on the road in a trailer, but there is a wonderful feeling of freedom. While on the road, we listened to the audio book "Wild", about a woman who traveled over 1,000 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. Her adventures and dangerous mishaps made us appreciate our luxuries. We figured if she could do THAT and survive, we had no cause to complain about our circumstances. Her strong spirit and driving incentive became infused in us. 

We arrived in Mesa Verde on Thursday, May 21st and settled in for a three day stay. Once we took in the amazing vistas and saw the ancient ruins, we turned to each other and said, "This is so worth it!"
                

  

  

Mesa Verde is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States and is best known for a large number of well-preserved cliff dwellings such as those pictured above. The people who inhabited Mesa Verde were ancestors of the Pueblo tribe called Anastazi and lived there from 400 to 1300 AD. Seeing these ruins in person and imagining the people who lived there was both humbling and inspiring. Sue was able to hike down to the site for close up shots while Doug painted the scene from above. 

DOUG'S PAINTINGS

 

I've included three paintings I did at Mesa Verde. The first is of the Anastazi ruins. The second is an amazing tree that Sue found near the ruins. i call it  "Anastazi Witness". The third is a rock butte I painted across the road from our campsite. Thunderstorms were coming through,so I was dodging raindrops. 

Our next journey will take us to Zion National Park in Utah for two weeks.