MacMillan Ladies

Hello! Thanks for checking in on the traveling ladies! This is our second month on the road, and we are going strong. I’m so glad I get a chance to take this time to reflect on where we’ve been, what we’ve learned. Let’s dive in!

Places we’ve seen

I’ll pick this up where we left off last time. I was on the side of a road South of Van Horn, Texas. We were hipcamping in a spot that the owner showed pictures of having Rio Grande, actual water, access. We found the river to be dried up at this spot, and Sophie was still bruised and sore from her broken ankle. Later in this letter, I’ll talk about an important lesson I learned while at this spot. But for now, I’ll take you along the journey from here.

3 hours on the dirt road back to pavement and then on to Van Horn for a quick top up on diesel before heading towards El Paso on I-10. We had a gusty headwind but pulled into Licon Dairy for a Harvest Host stay. We treated ourselves to Ice Cream and were happy to be back in civilization.

I booked us 4 nights at a full hook-up RV park in El Paso, the Road Runner. Sophie had an appointment to see a Pediatric Orthopedist in El Paso, so we rode out a wind storm while waiting for our appointment. I got a few things fixed on the RV and took time to relax and rest.

After the ankle check-up, we set off again for New Mexico and found ourselves at Saddle Hawk Ranch in Deming. We were a little in a limbo state at this point because we were planning to meet Danny heading north to collect our bikes and other belongings returning from Mexico. We left Deming and drove to Phoenix in one push.

Since we traveled through New Mexico in one day and did not see any of the sights, we planned to keep pushing through for now, and we would circle back around to New Mexico to explore when we have time (2026?). Looking westward still, but having 3 weeks to get to the coast, we decided to head to Sedona for a side trip. I knew there was BLM land available south of town, and I did minimal research and went for it. We explored the town of Sedona, the beautiful sights, the trails, and dipped our toes into Geocaching too!

From Sedona, we took a mountain pass to Jerome, practicing my narrow road, towing abilities. I only got finger-wagged at once. We were heading into the Prescott Forest Areas, and once again, I did minimal planning and hoped for the best. The driving was intense for me with narrow roads, no shoulders, and a lack of a solid destination. We finally got to a really cool spot, on a dirt road, under pine trees, and next to a creek. After the day of driving, which pushed my limits, I confidently parked the RV in a tiny spot and felt proud.

We enjoyed dipping our toes in the frigid creek and biking through the trees. We spent two nights there before heading back down in altitude and finding a new spot in Quartzite, AZ. This is a major destination for snowbirds, but we timed it well with most of them heading north and plenty of spots available to howl and roam.

We spent a while in Quartzite and enjoyed learning about the local history. We also took a day trip to Parker and Lake Havasu and drove over the Parker Dam. Seeing the Colorado River gave us a longing to be out of the desert! I found a spec of BLM land along the Colorado River and decided we should check it out, so we took a dirt road, only 8 miles this time, to a cozy spot along the river. The Army Corps of Engineers had dredged out a back bay and created a wetland habitat, which provided us with endless bird watching.

We loved this spot and felt like we had our own private retreat with everything we needed. Sophie worked hard in the sand to build a pool that would fill up when the water level rose. I did learn that the power company can release more water based on grid needs so we usually saw the level rise at night and fill Sophie’s pond.

We actually stayed another day here and used the wind as an excuse not to leave. We have become very resourceful with our water and feel like we can make our groceries and water last about the same time.

We left our little paradise, topped up the water, and found some groceries before jumping back on I-10 on our way to Joshua Tree. We learned about dispersed BLM land camping at the south entrance of the National Park. We dropped off the RV there and went to check out the park and get the lay of the land.

A Range Talk about nocturnal animals was happening later that night, so we returned to camp, and treated ourselves to a scrumptious dinner before trekking back into the park around sunset. We also chatted with neighboring campers and learned that Indio has a beautiful zoo. We took the opportunity to check that out, and then we spent a day learning about General Patton at his Museum in Chirico Summit. We went into the park for two days to scamper and rock hop and Sophie finally declared her ankle is healed!

We loved learning about Joshua Tree and how special and unique this desert is.

From JTNP, we parked the RV in Orange, California. This is near Anaheim. The RV Resort is the nicest place I’ve paid money for! The pool is clean and the hot tub works, the laundry is nice, they have 5 different varieties of citrus trees, and they allow their guests to pick fruit. Sophie has a date with her dad to stay with him for 4 nights in Newport Beach, and I am taking time to dust off the southern leg of this trip and set our sights in a new direction. I washed the truck and RV and removed much of the red dirt and road grime. We’ve been through two dust storms, so it was time!

Looking back at the ground we’ve covered since Texas, I am proud of us.

The Kitchen is Open!

I decided to make a little section of everything Sophie’s made this month. I love looking back through the photos and seeing our failures (learning experiences) and successes.

This dessert we made in Sedona and shared with Terri and Darren. The recipe was big enough for two 9-inch round pans, so we really had too much of this. Each layer was a process in itself. The crust had to be cooked, then the cream layer was beaten quite a bit, and the lemon custard was cooked to perfection on the stovetop. We tried to take one of these with us to a dance party on the mountain top, and it’s not easy to share. Recommended for a sit-down event with forks, not for dancing hippies.

I made a deal with Sophie that i will wash the dishes but she’s got to sit down and read while I wash and she can’t stop reading until I am done with the dishes. She likes this plan and has significantly increased her page count because she makes lots of dishes even in our tiny kitchen!

During our time in Prescott Forest, we kneaded together a batch of Mimi’s yeast rolls. We put the dough in the warm truck to rise, and then got so excited about playing in the river, we genuinely let them double in size before punching them down. The forest ranger came to tell me that I was illegally parked, and I tried to share a roll with him, but he wouldn’t take us up on our offer. (I didn’t get a ticket, he just told me I needed to leave there by the next day.) We split the dough into three sections and made those flower rolls in the foreground, a sweet pocket, and a garlic braid.

This may be my favorite of the month. Sophie knocked this Banana Bread out of the park in Quartzite. I was glad we didn’t have any neighbors here because I enjoyed more of this loaf than I want to admit!

This has been on Sophie’s wish list for a while. We stirred this cake up while along the Colorado River. On our last day there, we were joined by Rem and Daniel, a grandfather and grandson duo looking to fish. Sophie wanted to borrow a fishing pole, and I told her to take a slice of this to Rem and see if he would be willing to trade. She didn’t get to the part of asking to borrow the pole, but the next day, when Rem brought us our container back, he presented Sophie with a Silver Dollar that his mother gave him over 40 years ago. He thanked Sophie for the cake because it reminded him of his mother, who used to make pineapple upside down cake for him when he was a little boy. He wanted to pass along a token to us to carry with us for luck. I was touched by this story. I began to see the power that food has to connect people, help recall memories, and help us feel a little more human.

Sophie was in charge of making the crust, and we had enough to make this 9-inch pie and 6 little pie bites. We precooked the crust and it turned out so good. We did not use the recipe in our family cookbook and this one turned out okay. It wasn’t popping with flavor. I introduced myself to the camper next to us and found Judith and her husband from France, traveling in the US for 6 weeks. I offered them this Southern Specialty while it was still warm out of the oven. Hard to tell if the French like it but I can tell you, campers are pretty happy to have sweets they usually don’t complain. I also offered a piece to other neighbors close by but due to their gluten allergy, another friend was made who could enjoy it!

Sophie wanted to try making an orange cake, so I found a recipe online, and we gave it a try. We had a lot of mandarins in the RV, so we used fresh fruit and juice in the cake. The flavor was really subtle. I don’t travel with a full range of extracts and flavors, but we made some buttercream icing and delivered this slice to two hungry traveling ladies from Michigan. Hopefully it made their day.

Lessons learned this month

I wrote the last post on the day of the full moon in March and had an experience that night that I wanted to share here. Princesa, my Mexican Bulldog, started barking outside the RV after sunset while camped along the Mexican border. Of course, my mind goes to the worst-case scenario, and I let her keep barking, thinking that whoever is out there will hopefully be scared of dogs and stay away. It was also the night of the Eclipse, so I was planning a slumber party in the RV for Sophie and me, and we were going to sleep on a pallet on the floor and snuggle with the dogs and be able to go in and out easily to watch the eclipse. I turned all the lights off and got everyone into the RV, and I was standing at the door with the gun, trying to see who was disturbing my peace. I want to be scared, but I know how much Sophie can feel all the emotions I am feeling, so I do my best to keep it together and settle back down into knowing that we are safe and protected. I lay down beside her and the dogs and thought about the conditioning I’ve been through to fear life on the border. I know in some places the violence is real, but nothing was happening there. The experience allowed me to consider my fears, my limiting beliefs, and the conditioning that I do or do not want to pass along to Sophie.

Lesson 2: When we intercepted Danny on his northbound trip from Mexico, I agreed to let him take the dogs back to Colorado. Sophie and I cried. We wandered around for a few days, not knowing what to do with ourselves. We found the RV too quiet without them. Every night when Sophie says her prayers, she thanks God for them. The lesson here is to love deeply. I never realized how much those guys meant to us until we let them go. We know we will get them back at the end of summer, and we know they are having a great time in Colorado, but it doesn’t make it easier to be without them. It takes extra effort, planning, and cleaning to travel with two dogs, but it’s worth every dog hair.

Lesson 3: Since we have transitioned into dispersed camping since leaving Texas, I have learned to trust my intuition when finding a camp spot. In Sedona, we met Terri and Darren, who have the same RV and an F-250 just like us, and we were pulling into the same area simultaneously. I hope we can keep in touch with them for a long time and continue to learn from them. I don’t want to break anything or rush into a spot that doesn’t feel right so I have started listening to that little voice when it tells me, “nah, don’t do that.”

What’s on the horizon

On May 12th, I will be starting my work as a volunteer camp host in Lolo National Forest at Lee Creek Campground. If you need a reason to come to Montana, here’s one! We will be there for the summer and taking advantage of being in a place we haven’t explored yet. I am looking forward to being within striking distance of some of the most beautiful and wild places in North America. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them!

We will be traveling through the Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and Idaho. I can’t wait to share more about this adventure with you next month!