Many of us dream of retiring so we can travel, but we don’t always think of what else that entails. It’s harder on the body, and you can’t move as fast, but if you keep your sense of adventure, it can be wonderful!
I recently had the pleasure of traveling with my friend Nancy. She is in her golden years but is incredibly adventurous. I propose things and she always says yes, even though it pushes the boundaries of what she’s used to. When we met, she was traveling in a Pleasureway RV, but she downsized to her Nissan Rogue, and for her first voyage, she joined me on a trip to New Mexico.
It took a bit to get her organized. She bought a car fridge and an EcoFlow power station to run it, as well as some mini electric appliances for cooking. We left many things at home that normally went in the RV. In the end, the only thing that didn’t fit in her vehicle was a portable loo, so I put that on my cargo rack.
We left Nancy’s home in Las Vegas late, delayed by all the reorganization of her SUV. Nancy told me about her father taking the family on road trips on Route 66 when she was a child, and how they visited the Grand Canyon. Her mother refused to get out at some stops, being afraid of heights, but Nancy remembered going to see a tower. So we stopped in Seligman, which is a famous Route 66 stop, to sleep for the night. In the morning, after some shopping in Williams, I made sure our first stop was the Desert View tower, where Nancy had fond memories of her father.
Traveling with folks in their golden years is slower. Normally I might drive 8hrs in a day between stops, but with Nancy, a 5hr drive took all day, and even 4hrs seemed a bit much sometimes. It didn’t bother me because I’d been to Grand Canyon before, and I can always go back to New Mexico on another occasion if I want to see something again.
Our excursion to New Mexico didn’t go as planned. The road to the Vanlife event was too muddy to drive on the first day we got there. We spent the night at the gate and it was raining. The next morning we had a break in the weather though, so we went to see a nearby monument. El Morro is the site of a natural pool where Native Americans used to get water during the dry season, and Spanish explorers found their way there in the 1600s, leaving their mark on the rocks. In spite of problems with her knees, Nancy took the short trail with me, and with some encouragement to take it slow, she reached the pool.
The road to the Vanlife event was still being worked on, so we spent the night with some folks camping in the national forest, and Nancy set up her privacy tent with the luggable loo inside. It was the only time during the entire trip that we used it! The next morning we stopped to see some nearby cliff dwellings and then made our way to the event.
The road to the event was dry due to much gravel poured on it, but still tricky for me due to my car’s low clearance. And the weather was rainy on and off so we couldn’t spend much time outside, but we made the best of it. I made cocktails in the afternoons, and put a tent on my hatch so I could sit in the back while Nancy and I played cards. I cooked waffles inside my car, and we enjoyed the evening entertainment at camp.
After two days in the rain we needed a break, so we left the event and went to the Bisti Badlands. This beautiful area has unique rock formations that were on my bucket list of places to see. It was further than expected so we could only explore a couple hours, and we couldn’t do any crazy rock climbing. Sometimes I’d climb a boulder to check a view or find a path, and Nancy managed to scramble up and down the rocks that weren’t too steep. We found a few rocks that looked like alien eggs, and the golden sunset was wonderful.
I find it best to keep night time driving short when traveling with older people, so we decided to spend the night in Gallup. We had an awesome dinner at Applebee’s right next to the Walmart where we slept. In the morning we bought pastry for breakfast and made coffee in our cars. We checked out the famous El Rancho Hotel where movie stars of the 30s and 40s stayed while shooting westerns, then headed off to the Grand Canyon again.
As a photographer, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing the Grand Canyon. The light changes constantly and colors vary with the season and time of day. Sometimes I don’t even see something with my eyes until I focus on it with my camera, then it hits me that the light is purple and not brown as I thought! The sunset at Mojave Point was magical, and since all the campsites in the park were full, we spent the night in the national forest by ourselves. The road was a little rough, but I’d been to that spot before, and with Nancy’s trust we made it there safely. In the morning we were greeted by a wild cow, and Nancy climbed halfway up a nearby observation deck. I took a video of her waving so she could share it with her family.
The last part of our adventure passed quickly. We left the park before sunset so we could make it to Williams before dark. We had dinner at a cheesy Route 66 diner, and bought some lovely jewelry next door. We slept at the truck stop and stopped at another tourist point in Kingman, on our way to Las Vegas. The next day we made a platform for the Rogue so Nancy can travel more comfortably next time. I’m so grateful for the moments I shared with her, and I hope there will be many more while she’s still able to travel!
