Home on the Road

Gunnison to Howard

Today I realized that I’m homeless, living out of a van, and have been for the past three weeks.  After we got up and packed up the Sprinter, we drove back down to Gunnison, so Dave and Austin could start biking from there.  We filled up the water jugs at a gas station.  I got hot water for my oatmeal at the gas station.  I washed the blueberries on a faucet outside of the gas station.  I ate my oatmeal in the backseat of the Sprinter.  I brushed my teeth in a public restroom.  I washed my oatmeal bowl in a public park.  I haven’t showered since Friday (it is now Tuesday).  

While reading Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild on this trip, there have been several parallels I’ve noticed between his trek and ours.  I thought I’d share this passage:

“McCandles had tried to disguise the fact that he was a drifter living out of a backpack.  [...]  he explained in a letter to Jan Burres:  One morning I was shaving in a restroom when an old man came in, and, observing me, asked me if I was “sleeping out.”  I told him yes," (41).

I guess being homeless is just part of the adventure, but it would be nice to get a shower soon.

Before leaving Gunnison, I went to the tire shop to get the flat tire fixed.  Doug, the mechanic on duty, did a great job finding the hole, patching it, and inflating it.  Some of the machines he used to get the tire off of the wheel were incredible; I had no idea they existed!  It made tire repair seem so fun—or at least more fun than changing tubes on my bike.  Doug did a splendid job, and we chatted while he was working.  I told him about the bike ride and Face Aids.  After he finished, he told me that the tire repair was his donation to the cause.  I love people; I love Colorado.  I gave him a pin to spread the Face Aids message, and thanked him profusely.  

The tire shop in Gunnison

Then we crossed the continental divide and Monarch Pass.  From here on out, the rivers will be flowing towards the east.  Weird.

We then went through Salida, where Rumors (the coffee shop in Crested Butte) sends its compost.  The woman I spoke with in Chamber of Commerce told me that while Salida was a pretty green town (it recycles!), she hadn’t heard of a compost program or facility in town.  Although she had heard of some discussion of implementing a program.  I did some further questioning at City Hall, and discovered that Salida does not have any sort of composting program.  It’s unclear where Rumors actually sends its compost; the closest facility to Salida is in Saguache, approximately 55 miles south of Salida...further digging is clearly required.

We traveled on through Salida to Howard, a tiny town, where we're camping.  For dinner, master chef Dave cooked some beefaroni, the flavor of which was not excellent accentuated by a nice bottle of Chianti.  Red wine and pasta—how positively Italian!  We eat well in the wilderness.

Master Chef Dave with his Italian masterpiece