I guess we got sucked in! Writing from our new apartment here in Joshua Tree, California. Right now I am listening to the wind howl outside, and I am very grateful for four walls and a roof! I suppose I'll try and catch you up since our last post... our rainy arrival to JTree in early december. Ahhh... feels like only yesterday we were living in our cold smelly tent!
About a week into our stay in the park, we wondered on down into town for some burgers and beer, and we stumbled upon Crossroads Cafe... the climbers' hub, I guess you could say. There we met the kind and welcoming woman behind the counter, Bernadette. She informed us she too was from Pennsylvania, and was living out of her truck with her boyfriend. They had been on the road for eight months at the time. She told us where we could find free camping (the park was $15 bucks a night!) and invited us to go climbing with her and her beau the next day. There we met Ian (Bernadette's fella), Eric who also lives out of his vehicle (
http://tradmobility.fastercat.com/ from Santa Cruz, but originally from Canada) and Paulina (from Boston, but originally from St. Petersburg, Russia). We learned Paulina and Eric would be camping in the park too for the next few weeks and decided we'd all share a site and save some cash.
One thing led to another, and we all became friends... Eric, Ian and Bernadette are all seasoned "dirtbag climbers" and took us, the "noobies"under their wings. For a more thourough discussion of this term "dirtbags" see one of Ian's posts from last year:
http://cruisethecontinent.blogspot.com/2007/08/our-tribe.htmlShortly after we met them, Ian and Bernadette decided to get an apartment and jobs at the local cafe (this has been the way they spent the last few winters... replenishing funds for their next take off). Bernadette, being the sweetest thing ever, began inviting us over for dinner and showers almost weekly. We were a bit envious of their situation. It's smart to work during the winter and take off for summer and fall... it's often cold and the days are short. We began to see we have much to learn of this nomadic lifestyle... these guys knew what they were doing.
So we climbed and communed and knitted for the rest of December, then we headed to Boise to leave our "home" at Tom and Lisa's as we flew to PA for Christmas. It was a great stay at both parents' houses. We spent some real quality time with everyone, and ate lots of food. It was a little hard to adjust to the first Christmas as a married couple. Unfortunately, I was unable to go to Aunt Lucille's for the first time in a long time, being that we spent that night with the Hardings. That gathering is one of the only times of the year I see much of that side of the family, I was truly dissapointed. Praise God that life is eternal, and we musn't squeeze all our time together into this short time on earth. I think of that concept often. That's what my Dad told me when we were dancing together at the wedding. It makes me feel better when I start to miss home. Thanks to our families for letting us freeload for a couple of weeks over the holidays. New Years Eve was the best sushi I've ever had... with our new "friends"... I think we might be on to a new tradition, but next time we'll skip the sake! : )
So upon our return to "the pit" and its simple pleasures, we began to think more of the "work now play when it's warmer and the days are longer" concept. In a matter of one week, we had both scouted out some jobs... me as a cook/server in a cafe, and Josh as a subsitute for the school district. The same week we found a little apartment a few miles from town and the park. Leslie, the woman we are subletting from is a kayak instructor and will be living out of her truck in Baja California until the end of April. God must've orchestrated all of the happenings of that week, because it went better than we could've imagined.
We have regained new motivation to climb on our precious and few days off together. We have rediscovered a longing we have for eachother when we are apart (that didn't happen very often over the last 5 months!). And we are replenishing our travel funds for the next big adventure. Our place here is beautiful, the community here has embraced us, and all in all life is good. God is good. I'll post some pictures soon. I must be off to work soon. Josh just woke up... time for breakfast.
Love you all. Miss you. Please drop us a line... love getting messages from you.
Our new address:
Josh and Maria Harding
P.O. Box 221
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
(the post office doesn't deliver directly to our home... the road quality is very poor)
