During the marathon driving episode through Canada, Tango endured being curled up in his bed for days while taking only brief breaks. it seemed only fair to give Tango some attention, so we walked around the area, exploring and stretching out our limbs and muscles. We discovered that Sumas is a dairy farm community with a sometimes gagging aroma in the air, not that Tango minds that smell. In fact, he often raised his nose into the air towards the dairy and sniffed longingly.

I like how life balances itself. After mostly living without fresh fruit in Alaska, which was either not available or too expensive, I dropped right into rural Washington at the beginning of fruit season. I drove around the countryside yesterday and found fruit stands with Bing cherries and white peaches. Fresh. Back at the campsite, I pushed the remaining cans of mandarin oranges – I bought a case in Alaska – to the back of the trunk. Bye for now.

I decided to spend the weekend at the little RV park in Sumas. This seemed like the right place to clean up from the last adventure and prepare for the next. I straightened out the trunk, pulled out the laundry and dug around in the crevices of the car for dirty clothes. I also gathered up my two sleeping bags, pillowcases, and Tangos’ blankets. In all, I had 4 loads of laundry that I washed at the RV park laundromat. This was the right time to wash everything.

I realized as I worked that my travel pod – Alice – is a finely organised and tuned operation. When I started, things were a bit awkward but, after nearly 3 months,  life operates efficiently out of the car. The food, kitchen, and cooking stuff are arranged on the top of tent gear in the trunk, away from bears and other critters. I simply pop the trunk lid, pull out my tray table, set up the stove, pull out my tea kettle and boil water. Just like that. First, of course, I reach into the bag on the far left and grab a handful of Tango’s food. After our morning walk each day, I open the trunk again, grab a bagel and cream cheese or cook oatmeal. Smooth, simple. Then, I plug the inverter/converter into the car and charge up the computer and my phone. Then I open the rear door (passenger side) and pull out clothes for the day. I am not in any way tired of this lifestyle and I look forward to continuing as I roam through Washington and Oregon. Perhaps when I return to NM in October I will feel differently, but for now, I am quite content to live so simply on the road. I love my RV too, but Alice is a different beast. Nimble, sleek, economical.

Next up: I found a campground in the National Forest that suits my needs. It has some hiking trails nearby and access to a small town.  I learned that for my writing class I need to submit a writing assignment every weekday! That means I need to have access to cell towers or a library, which means being near a small town so I don’t burn up a tank of gas each day finding Internet. I found what seems to be the perfect spot, and I called the Ranger office to check on a few things (water, potty?). We move up there today after a nice break in civilization. I bought enough fresh veggies and cheese for a few days and filled up water jugs. Looking forward to setting up the tent and screen house and settling in for a week or so.