Goodbye, Guppie!...A Month at the Artesian Bath-House.

Yesterday I took the Guppy, my 1982 Toyota Dolphin, to a local used car lot.  I was glad to find someone else to sell it for me, because I have a lot of emotional attachment to my old rig, and it would be difficult for me to deal with strangers who'd give me lowball offers.  I've had so many adventures with the Guppy!  I'm sad to say goodbye, but also glad to be moving on to a larger rig that suits my needs better today. 

Steve and I have been living in the Beluga, my 1991Holiday Rambler Class A motorhome, since he brought it over to Truth or Consequences from his winter camp in Arizona around April 20th.  We're parked at the Artesian Bath-House & Trailer Park in downtown TorC.  I've stayed here four times in the past couple of years--it's my go-to place whenever I'm in transition.  It's inexpensive ($130 per month plus electricity), very close to everything, and RV guests get half-price soaking in the mineral waters.  

The Artesian is crowded, however, and I'm looking forward to getting out of town in a little over a week.  We're going to take the Beluga out to Elephant Butte for a little shake-down trip before we hit the road for the summer.  We'll spend a few days along the Rio Grande with no electrical or water hookups, seeing what life is like in this rig when we're using battery power and water from the holding tank.  We have a generator and a small solar panel. The rig is set up for solar and apparently used to have a bank of solar panels on top which were removed at some point.  We'll probably replace those and get several more "house batteries" in a year or so, when I have the rig paid off.   

In the meantime, we've been figuring out a lot about the rig while staying here in town.  Everything seems to be working well--stove, oven, fridge, freezer, shower, furnace, air conditioning, etc.  It truly is like having a small one-bedroom apartment on wheels.  I've been able to function very well in this space, having room to do artwork, sell on eBay, and even entertain a little bit. 

Of course, when we're not hooked up to electricity, we'll have to "rough it" a little--no a/c, for instance, unless we use the generator.  But that's why we'll be heading further north and to higher elevations for the summer, so we can stay places that are naturally cool. 

I've also been figuring out where to stow everything.  Even with lots of "basement storage" under the living space, I've had to make some hard choices.  I gave away all of my mosaic supplies and tools.  I decided that, much as I enjoy it, mosaic isn't going to fit into my life anymore.  Now I'm doing other art media that use some of the same processes of taking apart and putting back together again--collage, mixed media, fabric art, etc.  

 An unstretched canvas by Ruth

Speaking of art, I was pleased to find wall space in the new rig for the work of local artists that I've collected.  I've hung paintings and posters by Stacy Jo Harms, Ed Moss, James Gasowski, Roy Lohr, Ruth, and Delmas Howe.   

Also speaking of art, tonight is the last TorC Second Saturday Art Hop that I'll be around for, at least for a few months.  I have paintings at Grapes Gallery and later today I'll be bringing some new drawings up to January's Gallery.  

So, we're doing well in our new space. Sonja seems to be enjoying the Beluga very much.  Boy, is she going to be surprised when we start up the engine and she realizes she's once again on an RV adventure!!!

 P.S.  Steve says hi: