It’s that time of year when my summer Ranger job is over, the big 5th-wheel goes into storage, and Sierra and I will be moving into my tiny house. The truck camper is adequate for living on the road as a solo woman.
Thankfully I didn’t unpack a lot of decorative chachkies this spring. Under the current circumstances with two broken wrists I’ve needed help packing everything. Saturday morning a packing party occurred with four helpers and a lot got done in the 5th-wheel. I mostly directed what goes where. After a couple hours I was exhausted and ready for a nap. Hard to move food until the last minute.
Surprisingly, other than the food and clothes, there isn’t that much else. Computer, phone, and camera stuff is about all. Sure tells me I have way too much stuff in the 5th-wheel that I really don’t need. One of these years I’ll need to have a yard sale. Guess all I need is a yard. I do make thrift store donations every time I move locations.
Monday and Tuesday out of town friends will help with a few more things to move. Plus go check out the park.
Wednesday morning I have a doctor appointment with my surgeon in Cedar City. Guess that will include x-rays to see how the healing is going. Hopefully I’ll be referred for Physical Therapy, a walk across the hall, and set up appointments. In the afternoon I have an appointment to get my chipped denture tooth repaired. Then back up to Bryce for a bloody cold night.
The 5th-wheel will be moved and put in nearby storage Thursday afternoon. And that night Sierra and I will start our tiny house adventure parked in a friends driveway in Tropic.
Friday we’ll move to the KOA in Cedar City.
Then I’ll get the calendar formatted, printed, and shipped. I’m still open for orders.
To pay for your calendar open https://www.paypal.com/ and sign into your account. (If you don’t have a PayPal account sign up for free.) Click on the “Send Payment” tab and type in geogypsy2 @ gmail.com (without the spaces). If necessary, add a funding source like a credit or debit card, or other PayPal account. To finish sending, simply click the “Send Payments Now” button. I will be notified of your $24 payment followed by an email to you upon its receipt. Please reply to me with your full name and physical mailing address. I will send an email when your calendar has bee shipped. Thank you in advance.
Dreaming of returning to Bryce Canyon in the Spring
Because the next night I operated a Celestron 11-inch telescope for the first time, with a lot of help from other Rangers. Five scopes were set up and staffed by Rangers, each showing a different object in the sky. Our “Astro field” is the employee parking lot behind the office/visitor center building. This show normally happens Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights from 10-11:30pm if the sky is clear. And that night was our open window. Because I’m really not an astronomer (yet) I chose to focus on the double stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, Alcor and Mizar, a constellation almost everyone in the northern hemisphere can find, including me. After aligning the scope to Arcturus and Vega, with the push of buttons it automatically moved to my chosen Alcor star. I only had to make a few adjustments for drifting over the night. I outlined the constellation with a laser light, pointed out the second stars to the left of the last handle star, and asked if anyone could see two stars there with the naked eye instead of just one. In days of old, this was considered an eye test to become an Arabian soldier. Some guests flunked, including me. But then I’m due for new eye glasses. In the scope the two dim stars could clearly be seen about 1/4 inch apart. Guests seemed to love it and they then moved on to another telescope line to view clusters, the whirlpool, Spica in Virgo, and eventually Jupiter and four moons.
