Monthly Archives: March 2016

Mar10

Ajo, Arizona

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Blaize Sun

This “Welcome to Ajo” tile mosaic is on Highway 85, just south of the Olsens Market Place grocery/hardware combo store. I don’t know who created this mosaic, but I like it a lot.

My friend Coyote Sue spends part of her year in Arizona, around the towns of Ajo and Why. She invited me to visit the next time I was in the area. When I left the 2016 RTR (the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous–read more about it here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/01/23/report-on-the-2016-rubber-tramp-rendezvous/), I decided to drive down to Ajo to visit Coyote Sue and do a bit of exploring.

This is “A” Mountain–official name, Camelback Mountain–in Ajo, AZ. The elevation of this mountain is 2,573 feet. I believe I was on Indian Village Road when I took this photo. I was definitely on my way to the history museum when I took it.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajo,_Arizona, Ajo

…is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona… The population was 3,705 at the 2000 census. Ajo is located on State Route 85 just 43 miles (69 km) from the Mexican border. It is the closest community to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

If you thought, as I did, that Ajo was named for the Spanish word for garlic, you would be, as I was, wrong. Although the DesertUSA website (http://www.desertusa.com/cities/az/ajo.html)–which doesn’t site any sources–says,

In Spanish, ajo means “garlic.” Wild garlic plants (the Ajo lily or desert lily – an onion-like plant) that grew in the surrounding hills were responsible for the naming of the community…

I’m more inclined to believe the explanation on the Ajo Chamber of Commerce history webpage (http://www.ajochamber.com/explore/history-of-ajo/).

Before the community of Ajo was settled, the Tohono O’odham [the local indigenous people] used water from a series of potholes in the area they called Mu’i Wawhia or Moivavi (many wells). Mexican miners later called the site Ajo, perhaps influenced by another O’odham name for the area –-au-auho—for the pigment they obtained from the ore-rich rocks.

Ajo exists because of mining. The aforementioned Chamber of Commerce history webpage details the history of Ajo and mining. I’ll cover that information when I write about my visit to the New Cornelia Open Pit Mine Lookout.

Ajo has a lovely town plaza.

According to http://www.ajochamber.com/attractions/local-attractions/, the plaza

This photo shows the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, which is west of the Ajo plaza.

This photo shows the Ajo Federated Church, which is west of the Ajo plaza.

was built in 1917 under the direction of John Greenway’s wife Isabella. The Spanish Colonial Revival style town square features a center park surrounded by retail shops, a post office and restaurants accented with two mission-style churches. The [Immaculate Conception] Catholic Church was built in 1924 and the Federated Church in 1926…The plaza was purchased by the International Sonoran Desert Alliance in 2008 and is in the midst of a multi-year process of restoration and revitalization.

This photo shows Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and mountains. I appreciate the crisp whiteness of the churches against the starkness of the mountains.

According to http://www.desertusa.com/cities/az/ajo.html, the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

was designed by George Washington Smith, a Santa Barbara, California architect…The Protestant church [the Ajo Federated Church] was built in 1927 and influenced by the same architect. He died however before it was built and does not get full credit for it.

The Curley School is another historic building in Ajo. The Ajo Chamber of Commerce (http://www.ajochamber.com/attractions/local-attractions/) has the following to say about the Curley School:

Easily visible from the town plaza, Ajo’s Curley School is an architectural masterpiece of Spanish Colonial Revival style that harmonizes seamlessly with the rest of the historic downtown. The main building on the seven acre campus was built in 1919 with additional buildings added in 1926 and 1937. The Curley School has been renovated by the International Sonoran Desert Alliance into 30 affordable live/work rentals for artists…

This is the Curley School, named, according to http://www.cunews.info/curley.html, for Michael (“Mike”) Curley, first mine manager of the New Cornelia mine in Ajo. Mike Curley died in 1945.

A good place to start a visit to Ajo is the visitor center in the Ajo train depot, on the plaza. I found information about the New Cornelia mine and the Ajo Scenic Loop, as well as a map for a self-guided walking tour, all in that one spot.

This photo shows the building housing the Ajo Historical Society Museum. The building was originally St. Catherine’s Indian Mission.

Another place to learn about Ajo’s past is the Ajo Historical Society Museum, housed in the former St. Catherine’s Indian Mission. According to http://www.ajochamber.com/attractions/local-attractions/,

the museum houses many artifacts and mementos from Ajo’s past. The displays include a complete blacksmith shop, a dentist’s office and an early print shop.

I visited the Ajo Historical Society museum. No admission fee is charged, but donations are accepted. The first few displays, including the print shop, the dentist’s office, and blacksmith shop, are well organized and clearly labeled. However, the further back I went in the museum, the more the displays took on an elementary school social studies fair feel. Many of the displays seemed cluttered with items that were certainly old (by the standards of the Southwest) but didn’t seem necessarily significant.

Overall, I enjoyed my time in Ajo and would be pleased to visit again in the winter, when the weather in the desert is perfect.

I took all of the photos in this post.

Mar9

Husbands and Dogs

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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It was a slow day at the Bridge. Because there were few customers, vendors were walking around, visiting with each other. There wasn’t much else to do.

I was sitting at my table, working on a bracelet. I hardly ever sit idle at the Bridge.

I could hear a couple of vendors–friends of mine–talking. They were discussing gay marriage, and they were not taking a pro-gay-marriage stance.

Here’s the thing about me: I’ve experienced affection, love, attraction, lust, desire, fondness, passion, and yearning for both men and women (and for more than a couple of people who didn’t choose either of those categories to describe themselves). I’ve had sex with men and sex with women. Gender isn’t a limiting factor as far as I’m concerned.

But straight people tend to assume everyone is straight, and I just let that assumption ride at the Bridge. As a woman on my own, I didn’t want the mostly drunk male vendors hitting on me. No way was I interested in getting involved with any of them. I also did not want any of these drunk dudes harassing me for being a dyke. So while I wasn’t ashamed of my sexual proclivities, I wasn’t out and loud about them either. After a couple of summers working at the Bridge, when I got a boyfriend, well, that just reinforced what people thought they already knew about me.

So I could hear my friends talking not too far from me. I could hear them getting each other all riled up, talking about standards and traditions, saying things like, Huh! Now anybody can get married. Next thing you know, people are going to be able to marry their dog.

I try to stay out of other people’s conversations. I really do. I try not to butt in. I try not to get involved. But that day I lost control and I turned to my friends and said, Well, I know a lot of dogs who would make better husbands than most of the men I know.

My male friend who was involved in the conversation is generally a kind and loving person, and he’s been a good friend to me. He’s also told me about the womanizer he used to be. He looked at me with big, sad eyes, and he said, Ouch. That hurt.

The folks having the hateful little conversation disbanded. I don’t know if I did anything to change their minds, but at least I didn’t have to listen to their ugliness.

I’m not into marriage. I’ve never been married, and I hope I never am. Marriage is an oppressive institution. Yes, some people do have egalitarian marriages where needs are met and love is shared. But marriage is based on property and patriarchy and capitalism and inheritance. Marriage is not my cup of tea.

But how does gay marriage–or even human/dog marriage–detract from traditional man/woman marriage? How does marrying one’s dog hurt other people? (Ok, I know, a dog can’t give verbal consent to marriage or any activities commonly related to marriage–such as visiting in-laws one can’t stand–but let’s just pretend for one moment that the dog wants to get married too.) If someone is so rah-rah-rah 100% into marriage, how does a non-traditional marriage hurt the true believers or the institution as a whole?

I’m not sure most dogs I know would actually make better husbands than most of the men I know. While the dogs are loyal, loving, devoted, and don’t spend the rent money on beer or weed or gambling, none of them have a job or money of their own. Most of them just lay around all day and want to take up more than their fair share of the bed at night. Also, the dogs always expect me feed them and take them on walks. Me, me, me the dogs always seem to be saying.

Sure, I get lonely sometimes, but overall, I think I’m better off on my own.

Mar8

More Love Locks

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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These love locks hang on a heart sculpture on North Fourth Avenue in Tucson, AZ.

In a previous post (http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/03/07/love-locks/), I wrote about love locks I’ve seen in a couple of locations in California; at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos County, NM; and on North Fourth Avenue in Tucson, AZ. In this post I want to share more of the photos I took of love locks in various locations.

This lock was at South Creek Falls in California.

This love lock was at South Creek Falls in California.

Most of the locks I saw at South Creek Falls were rather plain and didn’t excited me enough to take a photo. (It was also a cloudy day, so the light was uninspiring.) The only lock that caught my eye was one with an allover coat of pink paint and bright blue the writing.

This love lock was on the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015.

When I walked across the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge–for the first time in over a year–in the fall of 2015 , I saw more love locks than I had ever seen before. I guess love locks are a thing now. I wonder if the NMDOT (New Mexico Department of Transportation, the government organization which maintains the Gorge Bridge) comes along periodically and removes the locks.

This love lock, seen on the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015, is unusual because it has no names on it.

This lock (seen at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015 ) is so sweet. I hope Nolan and Anita love each other forever.

These love locks were attached to a heart sculpture on North Fourth Avenue in Tucson, AZ. The old-school locks made me really happy.

A twenty year anniversary love lock seen in Tucson, AZ.

More love locks seen on North Fourth Avenue in Tucson, AZ.

I saw so many love locks on the heart sculptures in Tucson! I took a lot of photos of love locks there. It’s difficult to pick out just a few photos to share.

Where have you seen love locks? Please leave a comment telling about your love locks sightings. Have you and your sweetie ever left a love lock somewhere? When? Where? Why? Please share those stories too.

I think it’s a little weird to use a “Master” lock for anything other than a BDSM relationship where there really is a master involved, but I do like the sentiment of “a love that will last for always.” Heck, for all I know, this love lock represents a loving master/slave relationship which will last for always. It’s none of my business what consenting adults do behind closed doors. In any case, this love lock was seen on North Fourth Avenue in Tucson.

All photos in this post were taken by me.

Mar7

Love Locks

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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I saw this love lock on the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015.

I think I must have first become aware of love locks when walking across the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos, County, NM some time between 2012 and 2014. I saw a padlock affixed to the bridge’s railing, but I can’t remember if someone explained the lock was there to symbolize everlasting love, or if I figured it out on my own. Later, I heard all about love locks on the 81st episode of the Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase podcast (http://betty.libsyn.com/81st-show-lovelocks); that episode is called “Lovelocks.”

This love lock was also on the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015. I love the detail on this lock, which was obviously not picked up at a hardware store on a whim.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_lock,

A love lock or love padlock is a padlock which sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love.^[1] Typically the sweethearts’ names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolize unbreakable love. Since the 2000s, love locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are now mostly treated by municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is some cost to their removal. However, there are authorities who embrace them, and who use them as fundraising projects or tourism attractions.

The history of love padlocks dates back at least 100 years to a melancholic Serbian tale of World War I, with an attribution for the bridge Most Ljubavi (lit. the Bridge of Love) in spa town of Vrnjačka Banja.^[2] A local schoolmistress named Nada, who was from Vrnjačka Banja, fell in love with a Serbian officer named Relja. After they committed to each other Relja went to war in Greece where he fell in love with a local woman from Corfu. As a consequence, Relja and Nada broke off their engagement. Nada never recovered from that devastating blow, and after some time she died due to heartbreak from her unfortunate love. As young women from Vrnjačka Banja wanted to protect their own loves, they started writing down their names, with the names of their loved ones, on padlocks and affixing them to the railings of the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.^[3]^[4]

I think this is the only trio of locks I’ve ever seen. These were also on the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015.

In the rest of Europe, love padlocks started appearing in the early 2000s.^[5] The reasons love padlocks started to appear vary between locations and in many instances are unclear. However, in Rome, the ritual of affixing love padlocks to the bridge Ponte Milvio can be attributed to the 2006 book I Want You by Italian author Federico Moccia, who made a film adaptation in 2007.^[6]^[7]

The next times I saw love locks was during my adventure on the Tule River in California. (You can read about that adventure here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2015/05/22/steps-to-the-kern/.) As I walked down the steps to the river, I saw a lock left by Ash & Kate.

Many love locks were left on the barrier fence at South Creek Falls.

A few weeks after that, I saw more love locks at South Creek Falls. (Read more about South Creek Falls here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/?s=south+creek+falls.) Quite a few people had left locks on the barrier fence.

This yellow combination lock was one of the love locks I saw fastened to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall of 2015.

When I returned to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in the fall, I found many people had affixed love locks to the bridge’s railing.

During a brief visit to Tucson, AZ in late 2015, I spent an hour or so one afternoon wandering around the hip little North Fourth Avenue shopping area. I was excited to see several metal heart sculptures made for people to fasten on their love locks.

A brief announcement from February 2015 on the Arizona Daily Star’s tucson.com (http://tucson.com/put-a-lock-on-it/article_b40d5fb6-b244-11e4-9f1c-5724f278e6a8.html) says,

This is one of the heart sculptures made for love locks on Tucson’s North Fourth Avenue.

Here’s another heart sculpture made for love locks on Tucson’s North Fourth Avenue. There are four or five of these hears on North Fourth Avenue.

North Fourth Avenue is going all out for Valentine’s Day — big sales, live music, and all sorts of hustle and bustle. And get this: there will a number of heart sculptures along the avenue. Bring a padlock inscribed with your names, attach it to a sculpture, and lock in your love by throwing away the key…When a sculpture becomes full it will become a display in Haggerty Plaza.

Tomorrow I will share more photos of love locks that I took in California, New Mexico, and Arizona.

I took all photos in this post.

Mar6

Book Review: Honeymoon in Purdah

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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[amazon template=image&asin=0312263449]Last month when I was putting together the post about books and articles by and about traveling women, I came across the review I’d written for Honeymoon in Purdah: an Iranian Journey by Alison Wearing. The review was a bit long to go into an already long post, so I decided to save it for another day. That day has come!

Honeymoon in Purdah is the true story of a young Canadian woman traveling in Iran in the 1990’s. (I don’t believe the exact year of her travels is mentioned, but I vaguely remember a reference to Clinton as the US President, and the book’s copyright is 2000.)

The back of my copy of the book includes the huge spoiler of how this woman is able to travel extensively in Iran. (I HATE it when the back of a book tells me something I would rather not know before I start reading.)

I appreciate how Wearing manages to be funny without making fun of the folks she encounters. I was able to smile along with her because her writing shows a great love for most of the people she met. The majority of Iranians (and expats who stayed after the country’s Islamic Revolution) are portrayed as warm, affectionate, generous, caring, curious, concerned human beings. Wearing shows Iranians as a people who will go above and beyond, who will inconvenience themselves and their families, to make Canadian tourists comfortable .

I also appreciate that Wearing lets the Iranian people speak for themselves. Some folks she meets think life was better before the Islamic Revolution, when the Shah was in power. Others (of course) think life is better since the Shah was overthrown. Wearing allows both sides to have their say in her book.

However, I wish the author had woven historical facts in with her travel stories and character sketches. More facts about both the Shah’s reign and the Islamic Revolution would have put the people she met and the adventures she had in a historical context. Of course, maybe she expects me to do my own research. In that case, a bibliography would be nice, as I’m assuming she had some ideas about helpful references when she started writing.

Very interesting to me was Wearing’s experience of proper dress for traveling in Iran. Even as a Western tourist, she was expected to dress modestly, which really meant staying covered up, even in the desert heat. In many situations, she was dressed appropriately when wearing long pants; a long coat that came nearly to her ankles; and a scarf covering every bit of her hair, but in some situations (such as visiting Islamic holy sites), she was expected to further cover up by wearing a chaador on top of the whole outfit. While she writes extensively about feeling hot and confined by all of the black polyester fabric, about the sweat constantly rolling over her skin during the day and having to wash the salt deposits from the fabric at night, after months of dressing this way, she is uncomfortable in Iran when any stray bit of hair or skin shows.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will probably never travel in Iran, so I was glad to live vicariously through Wearing. This is a book that I want to loan to friends, then read again when it finally makes its way back to me.

Mar5

Saddle Mountain

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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I first heard about the Saddle Mountain BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land at the 2015 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. I ran into a guy I’d previously met in New Mexico, and he told me about the BLM land surrounding Saddle Mountain, but I didn’t make it out there before I set out for my summer job. In early winter 2016, my friend Coyote Sue took a trip to the area, and I decided I REALLY wanted to go there.

One reason I hadn’t gone sooner was because I didn’t have very good directions. The guy who first told me about the place pointed to it on an old Arizona map, but he wasn’t able to tell me what roads to take. I was a little worried about going out there and getting myself lost. Before I set out on my trip, I did some research by searching “saddle mountain free camping Arizona” on Google. I got a hit on the Free Campsites website.

On Free Campsties I found the GPS coordinates (33.458626, -113.055023) and plugged those right into Google maps. (Thanks Google!)

I’ll just go ahead and give directions so nobody has to do all that work him/her self.

From Interstate 10 in Arizona, take exit 94 toward Tonapah. Turn left onto 411th Avenue. Keep going south for almost three miles, passing Osborn Road and the Saddle Mountain RV Park. You’ll get to a T in the road. Turn right onto West Salome Highway. (If you go left, you will end up in Buckeye, AZ.) Drive for 5.2 miles, then turn left onto Courthouse Road. Both West Salome Highway and West Courthouse Road are paved and both have official street signs. After 1.8 miles on West Courthouse Road, turn left onto the Saddle Mountain BLM land.

Like a dumbass, I had not written down the distances I was supposed to go on each road. I found Salome Highway easy enough (411th Avenue ends, go left or right, no big deal), but I’d gotten a little worried after a couple of miles that Courthouse Road wasn’t signed, and I’d missed it. I kept going, then saw the sign for Courthouse Road and breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t lost. However, because I didn’t know how far I was supposed to go on that road and my last direction was simply “turn left,” I didn’t know where to turn onto BLM land.

I drove slowly and kept an eye to the left, hoping to see a sign. I didn’t see a sign, but I did see a kiosk. Although I couldn’t read the words Saddle Mountain on the top of the kiosk, I suspected I was in the right place and turned down the road. When I got closer and read the words up there, I knew I’d made it.

The kiosk didn’t have any information on it, other than one sign saying this is a pack-in/pack out area. (There are no amenities in this area, not even a trash can or a pit toilet.)

I drove south on the road, which I later found out is Route 8211. This road is not paved, but is what I would describe as a “good” dirt road. My conversion van had no trouble getting down it.

As I drove down Route 8211, I saw one RV, an older, medium size motor home which was about to pull out of its spot. The people in it waved to me as I drove by. During the time I was there (Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning), I didn’t see any other folks camping in the area.

As I was trying to find a spot, I realized I could see bits of civilization to the north. Sure, I wasn’t looking at a metro area, but I could see vehicles (including many 18-wheelers) driving past on I-10. I could also see a couple of large industrial operations between my location and the interstate. I decided to park the van so my side doors opened to the south, which offered a view of mountains and cacti, not the trappings of humanity.

Once the sun went down, I could see a good number of ligths to the north and the northeast, which also detracted from the sense of being alone in the wilderness. Sure, Saddle Mountain is well out of the city, but I didn’t feel as if I were in the middle of nowhere.

That situation might have been remedied if I had driven farther down Route 8211. On Friday evening, I went for a walk to the south on that road and found many other places where folks had obviously boondocked before. There were plenty of flat spots to park a rig, and I saw fire rings made from rocks obviously gathered in the area. I didn’t move the van; I was much too lazy for that. However, next time I stay there, I will drive to the end of the road and try to find a place where I can’t see one bit of civilization.

Although I could see vehicles on the interstate, thankfully, I couldn’t hear them. I didn’t hear much human noise out there. The sound of a car engine passing on the road in front of the van did wake me up on Wednesday night. When I looked at my watch, I saw it was 11:30. I thought it was a weird time to go exploring, but whatever. I heard the car pass by again, headed to the main road, before too long. On Thursday morning, a couple and their dogs walked on the road in front of the van; the woman and I waved at each other. Several hours later, they walked past again, going back to their vehicle, I assume. On Friday the sound of a man and a little boy walking by caught my attention, but other than those situations, maybe two other cars driving on Route 8211, and a few aircraft flying overhead, I only heard the sounds of nature.

I absolutely enjoyed my time in the Saddle Mountain area, and hope to stay there again.

I took all of the photos in this post. They were all taken in the area around where I camped near Saddle Mountain.

Mar3

The Salt Room

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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During a stay in the Phoenix metro area, a friend invited me to make a trip to Mesa with her to check out a store that sells salt lamps. My friend was interested in buying a salt lamp for another friend and wanted to shop in person rather than through a website. I’m open to new experiences, so I said I’d tag along.

The store in question is Himalayas Salt Lamps & More, located at 240 West Main Street in Mesa, AZ.

While we were talking about taking a trip to the store, my friend told me that Himalayas Salt Lamps & More has a salt room. A what? I asked, then got on the store’s website to get more information.

According to the store’s website,

Salt Rooms have become popular in the U.S. because of the success of Speleotherapy [the respiratory therapy involving breathing of the mineral infused air of a salt mine] in Europe…Patients get lasting relief from Respiratory disorders with the benefits of Himalayan salt therapy. This Natural treatment is recommended by many doctors and relieves symptoms of Asthma, COPD, Sinus Congestion, Allergies, Migraines, Chronic Cough, Cystic Fibrosis and other Respiratory conditions. There are absolutely no side effects.

I teased my friend, telling her I was going to call Himalayas Salt Lamps & More and ask if I could lick the salt room. This joke made us laugh a lot, and after a while, all I had to say to get us both giggling was, Can I lick it?

The day of our excursion arrived. We were at the store not long after it opened. Before we walked in, we were able to read a sign with information about the history and benefits of salt lamps.

We went in. We learned more.

The store was comprised of several small rooms lit by salt lamps. The dim lighting gave the store a sense of tranquility.

The rooms beyond the front counter where purchases are made housed salt lamps in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. Most of the lamps looked somewhat like rocks in various shades of pink, but other lamps had been fashioned into hearts and crosses. I prefer the natural, chunky shapes.

In one of the rooms where lamps were displayed, there was a large, hand-painted sign which read, You lick it, you buy it. Apparently I was not the first person to make the connection between salt lamps and salt licks. And I had thought myself so clever!

Why would anyone want to own a salt lamp? According to the store’s salt lamp page,

Salt Lamps work like an air purifier. Removing bacteria, dust, allergens, smoke, odors and mold spores from the air we breathe and emit no noise, odors or HARMFUL OZONE…Salt Lamps never get dirty or dusty and require no maintenance (other than changing a bulb occasionally). They help you Breathe Easy and Sleep Better!

How Do They Work?

…when warmed by the low wattage bulb, the salt crystal lamp produces negative ions which bind with the excess positive ions (dust, allergens, etc.). It builds up the ion field by reacting with the humidity in the air. Best if left on 24/7 as it takes time for the lamp to warm and create the ions. Claims of the efficacy of Salt Lamps have a solid foundation in science. The positive effects of soothing light and color, air cleaning and negative ions have been studied for decades. The book, Water & Salt: The Essence of Life [by Dr. Barbara Hendel and Peter Ferreira] documents the use of Himalayan salt products for use in the home.

The combination of negative ions and their effects leads to relief in Asthma, Allergies, Migraines, Sinus congestion and more. Snoring is normally relieved by the clearing of sinuses within a few days…

After looking at all the lamps available, my friend and I decided to sit in the salt room. The floor of the salt room was made from multiple blocks of pink/orange/yellow salt There were blocks of salt in the walls of the room as well. Behind the blocks of salt were lights, ostensibly to heat the salt so it produces the negative ions needed to clean up the air. I found the soft amber light in the room peaceful and quite calming. I was happy to sit in the salt room while my friend walked around the store and made her decision about which lamp to buy.

I didn’t think the salt room was going to provide anything more than a relaxing environment. I didn’t really believe it could help me breathe easier.

I do actually have problems breathing. Both of my nostrils always feel as it they are at least halfway plugged. I don’t have to breathe through my mouth, but do feel as if I’m having to stretch a little to get each good breath.

I’ll be dammed if after sitting in the salt room for about five minutes my nostrils didn’t open up, and I could breathe, really breathe. WOW! When my friend came back into the room and I told her about my breathing and my initial disbelief, she said I was experiencing the opposite of the placebo effect. With the placebo effect, a person feels better because they think the treatment will be helpful, but I was feeling better despite having been convinced the treatment wasn’t going to do anything for me.

My friend gave me a small salt candle holder, but I haven’t yet bought tea lights to go in it. Once I get candles and try it out, I’ll post an update in the comments about whether or not it helps.

The Health Ambition website has a really good article on pink Himalayan salt lamps which includes a critical analysis of the health benefits they offer.

I took all of the photos in this post.

Mar2

The Big Tent, 2016

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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I realized I never shared my experiences of the 2016 Big Tent in Quartzsite, AZ. Today I will remedy that situation.

I wrote about the history of the Big Tent last year, so anyone who doesn’t know what it the world I’m talking about, you can read all about it here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2015/03/02/the-big-tent/. In brief, the Big Tent is shorthand for the The Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. It’s literally a big tent full of booths for businesses trying to sell their wares to RVers who’ve come to town from around the country. Imagine the hawkers pushing gadgets at a state fair alongside companies catering to the wants and needs of the RV crowd; that’s the Big Tent.

In 2016, I did not show up at the Big Tent on opening day. There was no need for that. I wasn’t looking for a summer job, and I wanted to avoid filling the van with unnecessary items, even if they were freebies. I believe I went on the Wednesday after opening day, on my last day in Quartzsite.

Again, no one was being let in before the official opening time of 9am. I milled about outside the north entrance with the other early birds. While I was waiting, I got a text from my friend Tina who was at the Big Tent to look for a job. She met me at the north entrance, and we walked in together at nine on the dot.

There weren’t very many people browsing through the tent that day, so there was plenty of elbow room.

We hadn’t gotten past very many booths when a guy working for Direct TV tried to waylay us. Who provides cable in your home? the guy asked. Oh, I said casually, I don’t have a home. Tina snickered and the guy was quietly confused just long enough for us to escape.

The next guy who tried to interrupt our rambling was in a booth with hair-salon chairs. He called out aggressively, Ladies, what appliances do you use to style your hair? I told him, I don’t style my hair. It does whatever it wants. He didn’t know what to say to that, and we walked on.

One good-looking young East Indian man with a British accent drew me right into his booth. It was a large booth, and there were several people in it trying to sell the product, reusable heating pads. The pads were pretty cool There was a metal disc in them and when the disc was clicked, the goo inside the pad got hot. The pads could also be used cold by placing them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. The young man was trying REALLY hard to sell the product to me. I finally had to tell him I wasn’t going to buy anything, but said he was doing a great job. We sort of squeezed each other’s hand in farewell, which made me a little giddy.

I got excited when I saw a sign with my name on it. Well, it was sort of my name. When I asked the man standing behind the table if I could take a photo of the sign, he insisted on putting the product beside it. Well, ok. I tried to explain to him that my name is Blaize, and I like to take photos of signs with my name on it. He only seemed concerned with showing off the product, which I guess makes sense because it’s his job to sell the stuff. I know nothing about the quality of Micro-Blaze, so I cannot recommend it. However, readers, you now know it exists.

Just down from the Micro-Blaze booth, I saw the salesman I’d been thinking about all year, the man selling RV bedding. This is what I wrote about him last year:

…the funniest thing I saw in a booth was a man lying in a bed on a platform a couple of feet off the floor. He was selling some special RV bedding, and he was demonstrating this bedding by lying in a bed. The big come-on with this bedding is that one wouldn’t have to make the bed if one had this bedding. Basically, the bedding was a double sleeping bag placed on top of a mattress. There was no tucking of sheets and blankets because this item was a blanket pouch. Is making an RV bed so difficult that people would rather sleep in a double sleeping bag? In any case, whenever I saw this grown man lying down in bed while trying to convince people to buy his wares, it cracked me up.

This the sad sounding RV bedding salesman (identifying features removed). Sometimes when I stay in bed for days at a time, I feel depressed. Maybe this guy really needed to get out in the sunshine.

In 2015, I sadly had no camera to take a photo of the salesman and his wares, but in 2016, I was prepared. I walked up to the man and said hi. He said hi to me and started telling me about his special sheets. He sounded super sad. He sounded like a robotic recording. He sounded like a super sad robotic recording. The way he gave his speech about his special RV bedding did not make me want to buy his product. The way he gave his speech almost made me want to cry. I don’t know if he was having a bad day or if he was just generally tired, but his enthusiasm level was way low. I asked him if I could take his photo, and he said yes.

This guy, even though he seemed really down, was the high point of the Big Tent for me. I walked around after I talked to him, got a bright yellow (and cheaply made) tote bag from KOA and played a sort of slot machine game with the Flo lookalikes at the Progressive, but nothing made me happier than finally getting a photo of this guy.

I took all of the photos in this post.

Mar1

Spending Report for February 2016

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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Folks who follow my blog know that I set a goal for 2016 of recording all of my spending. (To find out how this project came about, go here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2015/12/31/spending/.) Each month I give a report on what I bought and how much I spent in the previous month. (To read January’s spending report, go here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/01/spending-report-for-january-2016/.) As follows is my spending report for February 2016.

2-1-16 Today I mailed books to folks who requested from me through BookMooch and a package to a friend. Total spent: $21.28

$19.90 to the U.S. post office to mail packages

$1.38 to Fry’s for two packages of tofu on sale for 69 cents each.

2-2-16 Today I had to pay my mailbox rental, and I bought some hemp cord . Total Spent: $27.27

$19.47 for mailbox rental

$6.39 to Wal-Mart for hemp cord

2-3-16 Today at Goodwill I bought a wooden bowl and supplies for a craft project. Total Spent: $8.80

2-4-16 Nothing spent

2-5-16 Nothing pent

2-6-15 I bought lunch, browsed in thrift stores and had the oil in my van changed today. Total Spent: $34.07

At the first thrift store, I spent $1 on a pair of pants and 50 cents on a book to give to a friend.

It was half-price day at Goodwill. I spent $5 for three books and a Scala brand raffia hat.

I spent $5.43 for a pizza from Little Caesar’s (and it was delicious!)

I gave Meineke $22.14 for an oil change. The guy doing the oil change told me transmission fluid was leaking and tried to get me to pay an additional $39 for them to figure out where the fluid was coming from. I told him I would take the van to my regular mechanic.

2-7-16 I ordered blue hemp cord for a custom necklace. Total Spent: $7.80

2-8-16 I spent the day with a friend who’d invited me to see The Lady in the Van (starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings) with him. Since he said he’d treat me to the movie, I treated him to lunch. Total Spent: $19.92

2-9-16 I handed a dollar to someone flying a sign. Total Spent: $1

2-10-16 Today I went to the post office, then used a coupon for free pancakes at IHOP. Total Spent: $24.39

I gave the U.S. post office $19.36 to mail more books.

I spent $3.03 on a glass of orange juice at IHOP and left a $2 tip.

2-11-16 Today I used birthday coupons. Total Spent: $24.06

I got a free pastry (big enough for two servings) at Panera and spent $1.94 for a coffee to go with it. (Purchase of the coffee was not required to get the free pastry.)

I did have to buy something at Arby’s in order to use my coupon for a free milkshake. I spent $2.12 on curly fries.

I also spent $20 on gas for the van.

2-12-16 Nothing spent

2-13-16 Nothing spent

2-14-15 A friend and I spent the day in Jerome, AZ. Total Spent: $20.51

I spent $7 on admission to Douglas Mansion Museum.

I spent 51 cents on a souvenir penny to send to a friend.

I spent $13 on lunch, including tip.

2-15-16 I brought the van to a transmission specialist today to have the leak(s) repaired. There goes any thought I had of spending less money this month. Total Spent: $538.75

The transmission work cost $531.99.

While the work on the van was being done, I hung out at Denny’s and spent $4.27.

Later I used an about-to-expire buy-one-get-one-free coupon for shrimp tacos at Del Taco. I spent $2.49 for dinner.

2-16-16 Today the Lady of the House and I went to the Goodwill Clearance Center. I shopped with a $10 gift card that had been given to me. Later I washed and dried a comforter at the laundromat. Total Spent: $7.41

I went a little over my $10 gift card budget at the clearance center and spent $1.41 cash money.

I spent $6 at the laundromat washing and drying the German down comforter I bought with the gift card.

2-17-16 I went off to BLM land to spend a few quiet days. I had to mail a package and get supplies before I left civilization. Total Spent: $40.98

I spent $20 on gas at the Circle K.

I paid the U.S. Post Office $13.80 to mail a package to a friend.

Ice and supplies cost $7.18.

2-18-19 I was in the middle of nowhere today. Nothing spent.

2-19-16 Another day in the middle of nowhere. Nothing spent.

2-20-16 I went to Goodwill to find a cover for my comforter. Later, I unexpectedly ate dinner at a restaurant with my host family and their extended family. Total Spent: $18.50

At the first Goodwill, I caved in to consumerism and spent $6 on four bowls I like a lot but don’t need (I may return them) and two books.

At the second Goodwill, I found a 100% cotton, Company Store brand cover for my comforter for only $2.50. (It was half-price day again.)

Dinner was at the Spaghetti Factory, and I managed to keep my dinner and tip to $10 by ordering an appetizer for my meal. The folks I was eating with didn’t want the ice cream that came with their meals, so I scored a free dessert.

2-21-16 Nothing spent

2-22-16 I had a birthday coupon for pancakes at IHOP. I had coffee to go with the flapjacks, and I left a $2 tip. Total spent: $4.59

2-23-19 Nothing spent

2-24-16 Nothing spent

2-25-16 Today I was out and about. Total spent: $5.52

I gave $1 to a lady flying a sign.

I spent $4.52 at Safeway on food for my lunch.

2-26-16 Nothing spent

2-27-16 I was out and about again today, and bought food for lunch at Trader Joe’s. Total spent: $4.05

2-28-16 I went to a potluck today. I cooked potatoes. A ten pound bag of potatoes only cost $1 more than a five pound bag, so I got the bigger bag. I only used half of the potatoes, so I know what I’ll be eating for the rest of the week. Total spent: $26.19

I spent $20 on gas for the van.

I spent $6 on ingredients for my potluck dish at Safeway.

2-29-16 I gave $1 and change to a panhandler in a grocery store parking lot. He caught me off guard while I was on the phone, so I didn’t count the change before I gave it to him. Let’s call it 50 cents. Total spent: $1.50

Also, I know at some point in February I spent $2.37 on three more packages of tofu that were on sale for 79 cents each. I forgot to write down that purchase, so I don’t know when I made it.

Total spent in February: $838.06

On the last day of February, I found out the van needs a new fuel pump. The expense will go on March’s tally. It’s always something.

Rubber Tramp Artist

One woman's stories, rants, and observations

Monthly Archives: March 2016

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Husbands and Dogs

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The Salt Room

I took all of the photos in this post.

The Big Tent, 2016

Spending Report for February 2016