So far…
This post is from the 27th of February, 8 days since we left our town of Woodland Park. Already we’ve experienced so much! Our first night we found a site in the Whittington Center in Northern New Mexico, a 33k acre hunting reserve, there were only a couple other campers and we took advantage of the privacy to organize our space. The stars seemed like you could reach up and grab a handful.
Day 2 we arrived at the Black Mesa Winery in Valerde NM, part of the Harvest Hosts membership, a beautiful little place where we met Alec who took very good care of us as well as Renee and Casey all of whom showed interest in our project. We found a flat spot on their land to park, and slept deep. In the morning I ran into Jerry Burd, the owner. He told me that he and his wife were in ministry for about a dozen years and were chastised by their community when they attempted to serve homeless people in their church building. They’ve owned the vineyard now for 23 years. Seemed poetic that this would be our first real stop.
Day 3 we stayed at Black’s Smuggler Winery where we met Tony, Mark and some travelers, we felt at home immediately as we sat at the beautiful little bar and talked about life.
Day 4 we headed South to stay with our dear friends the Disques. On our way we ran out of gas. The headwinds and the long distance between gas stations had us drift into a rest stop where a kind couple from Wisconsin sold us 4 gallons which got us about 20 miles, 9 miles short of the next station. We rolled off an exit to meet Bill and Cathy from Minnesota. They took the time to unhitch their camper so Bill and I could drive to the station and fill my gas can. Instantly deep conversation and a friend for life. We decided not to go more than a half tank from now on, though gifts present themselves when we’re vulnerable. We arrived at our friends and enjoyed their hospitality!
Day 5 after a wonderful breakfast and tons of information about living in a camper we were sent off with huge blessings and parts for our home on wheels. The wind continued to pick up and we were pinned down in Deming NM in the Walmart parking lot buffeted til late. We were happy to have shelter.
Day 6 we found this beautiful winery called Birds and Barrels in Wilcox where we met the owner Monica. We talked about life, upbringing, their place and ended the night snug in our beds.
Day 7 we went to a local coffee shop in Wilcox where walked in on a conversation 3 guys were having about starting a homeless shelter in town… what!? We introduced ourselves and talked with them for the next couple hours. One of the guys, Jacob has been living in his car and house sitting, while working remotely for 5 years. He gave us great information about websites to find dispersed camping sites etc. this led us to our current place in Ironwood Monument Park surrounded by untouched beauty and quiet beyond belief. Sorry for the data dump. Future posts will have more stories, philosophy around serving folks experiencing poverty and homelessness and more. Life is good and generosity abounds.
