Try this for ER inspiration
- Thread starter claire
- Start date
Patrick
Full time employment: Posting here.
No, thanks!
yakers
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Friends of JG? 
Ahhhh. The California Desert. I spend at least a couple of weeks down there every year and I've backpacked for up to two weeks and a hundred miles at a time across it. These nasty pictures to the contrary, it can be pretty darned amazing.
I've seen hundred-feet-long stretches of bouldered slopes just COVERED with ancient petroglyphs. We explored a canyon which was once an ancient sea bed -- its floor had tilted to become walls and was embedded with thousands of animal prints -- lions, ancient horses and antelope, and a string of mastadon tracks. Mary Leakey traveled here to study them during her lifetime.
I've bent over to get a drink from a stream, only to notice a single, very big and very fresh cat track in the mud next to me. I've felt the hair on the back of my neck rise up as a result.
We've come around the corner to find a cluster of bighorn sheep a few hundred yards away. Spotted snakes and lizards and rodents and coyote and kit fox and... the list goes on. Skulls and bones of all of these are found as well. We've cleaned the dust off ourselves in hot springs, climbed high up to find some of the oldest trees on earth (bristlecone pine), eaten snow on cold summits and tramped through 90-degree valleys on the same day, and just generally had one hell of a time.
I could go on and on -- the sunsets, and the sunrises, the sharp smell of the sand and the creosote bush (a plant capable of going DECADES without water, then springing back to glorious bloom at the first rain). Perhaps the most beautiful thing of all is the ability to sit quietly, listen for the sounds of cars or planes or trains, and hear ... absolutely nothing at all.
...
All of that being said, I sure as HELL wouldn't want to LIVE out there!
I've seen hundred-feet-long stretches of bouldered slopes just COVERED with ancient petroglyphs. We explored a canyon which was once an ancient sea bed -- its floor had tilted to become walls and was embedded with thousands of animal prints -- lions, ancient horses and antelope, and a string of mastadon tracks. Mary Leakey traveled here to study them during her lifetime.
I've bent over to get a drink from a stream, only to notice a single, very big and very fresh cat track in the mud next to me. I've felt the hair on the back of my neck rise up as a result.
We've come around the corner to find a cluster of bighorn sheep a few hundred yards away. Spotted snakes and lizards and rodents and coyote and kit fox and... the list goes on. Skulls and bones of all of these are found as well. We've cleaned the dust off ourselves in hot springs, climbed high up to find some of the oldest trees on earth (bristlecone pine), eaten snow on cold summits and tramped through 90-degree valleys on the same day, and just generally had one hell of a time.
I could go on and on -- the sunsets, and the sunrises, the sharp smell of the sand and the creosote bush (a plant capable of going DECADES without water, then springing back to glorious bloom at the first rain). Perhaps the most beautiful thing of all is the ability to sit quietly, listen for the sounds of cars or planes or trains, and hear ... absolutely nothing at all.
...
All of that being said, I sure as HELL wouldn't want to LIVE out there!
I agree Caroline - I wouldnt want to live there either - I was just using it as an example of voluntary simplicity - it seems there are lots of people on this site who think that 50 k dollars pa is the bare minimum that one can possible live on
But having said that - there are lots of other cheap places that one can buy good quality land and live the simplistic lifestyle.
But having said that - there are lots of other cheap places that one can buy good quality land and live the simplistic lifestyle.
Very interesting write-up - I'm very familiar with Blythe - used to travel to/from Phx and LA often. Actually, I did my long cross-country for my pilot's license from Ryan Field in Tucson to Blythe. Ended up spending the night in Blythe as a very bad monsoon storm had built up (they had tornadoes in Phx that night). The next morning, I was in the air at 0600 - that has got to be one of the most beautiful days of flying I've ever had. The clear, smooth air, the visibility, the temperature was perfect and I had my throttle "to the wall" in my Cessna 152 (small plane but gets pretty good speed with one person and the right conditions, plus can do some fun tricks). I remember I had to spiral up to altitude to get over the mountains on the other side of the Colorado River in AZ. That day and flight showed me the absolute thrill and joy of flying. Now the stark terror of flying is another story....
I love the desert - grew up in it. Checking the library for this book....
Deserat
I love the desert - grew up in it. Checking the library for this book....
Deserat
Right you are, Claire! Don't let my sense of humor convince you that I'm not VERY interested in hearing about each and every alternative that's out there. Heaven knows I'm not going to last in this job long enough to guarantee a $50K income! ;-P
Dolly
http://www.f4.ca/text/possumliving.htm
meet Phil
Phil this is Dolly
They could go a life time on a couple of hundred bucks. Or at least it would seem like it....Shredder
http://www.f4.ca/text/possumliving.htm
meet Phil
Phil this is Dolly
They could go a life time on a couple of hundred bucks. Or at least it would seem like it....Shredder
Or try this couple:
www.downtheroad.org
They literally travel the world on next to nothing. The last time I checked, I think it was around $20/day for both of them.
www.downtheroad.org
They literally travel the world on next to nothing. The last time I checked, I think it was around $20/day for both of them.
Meanwhile, there is always refuge in the great Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Buy a cheap trailer you can leave behind if you needed to. Find a place. Stay out of touch. Good staging area for ER. Just carve out a month and see how long you can stand the quiet.
http://www.desertusa.com/park.html
http://www.desertusa.com/park.html
Alex
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- May 29, 2006
- Messages
- 696
I'd rather work forever than live like a dog in a wooden shack in Imperial county.
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