Friends old and new

Moose Henris, Pinetop, AZ

This first stop at Horseshoe Lake near Pinetop, Arizona lived up to the purposes of this journey.  I am looking for some relaxed and special time with people important to me.  Sean drove behind me and supported this start.  We set up camp in the dark but enjoyed the next day visiting with Sean and AJ's next door neighbors and friends Russ and Charlie Coons.  We met at Moose Henris for a beer and a lovely meal, toured Russ and Charlies Pinetop home nearby, and got  back for a twilight kayak in my lightweight foldable  Oru Kayak 'Inlet' with a few desperate casts for fish that went unrequited.  Sean left early Monday morning to return to his lab for his PhD in Physics, I went for a walk and Russ and Charlie joined with their inflatable 2 person kayak.  Great Blue herons, Kildeer, Spotted Sandpipers, Mallard moms with a dozen ducklings (in a row of course), Osprey calling out and fishing, Barn and Violet Green Swallows, Canada Geese, Spotted Sandpipers, and, soaring just above our boats inspiring Russ to exclaim, "It's a f***ing American Bald Eagle!" accompanied us. 

That was Monday, now a non-work day for me.  Tuesday was a work day and I had a problem to solve: we had a beautiful campsite in the thick woods with a view of water through the trees.  I was able to stay ahead and advance the charge on my batteries (albeit without using the computers much) despite the fridge/freezer running constantly at about 7 amps.  The woods meant I had o move the ground solar panels throughout the day.  Bt the biggest problem was obstruction of my starling dish even posted high on a 15 foot telescoping flagpole.  So after Charlie and Russ (dripping wet because of a mishap upon exiting the kayak) left, I took a walk and a bike ride around the campground and came upon a starlink user with a campground adjacent to the lake.  Luke Adams and his wife are from Tucson and both work remotely staying most of the summers up here at Horseshoe lake with 3 wonderful preteen kids.  They invited me to use the campsite next to them which was vacated after father's day Sunday.  though much more exposed, it offered great Starlink reception and all day solar without constant adjustment. Hoping to see if i could work through the heat of the day without breaking out the generator (Honda 2200) to run the AC.  

Tuesday, I had a 7 am meeting and then meetings throughout the day. I had some room with my Starlink cord if I needed to move the receiver, but it was not needed as Teams calls went extremely well with perhaps 4 or 5 ten second disruptions/freezes all day and coming right back to the meeting.  This was not any worse than working from my house in Tucson.

I learned quickly to preserve the evening coolness by adjusting to the sun's position.  I closed the back hatch (which has a nice screen door and was left open all night) as the sun was pouring in at sunrise. Also ensured any sun facing window has the blackout curtains drawn, but the shadow side had them open for a breeze.  That plus a damp towel around my neck was very comfortable throughout the 89 degree afternoon heat so no need for AC or generator!  Yay!  Also my battery charged to over 80% and is today 100% with all my electric needs met.  The planning that went into this worked!

I did have a mishap--during a teams meeting it was getting uncomfortable so I went back and lifted up the hatch for air as the sun wasn't pointed into the back of the rig by then.  A sudden crash and I was showered by a million pieces of tiny tempered glass shards from the open window I had forgotten to close hitting the awning I had forgotten to retract.  Darn!  I was able to find an auto glass shop in Pinetop and have an appointment for temporary (plexiglass?) solution until I can get a glass replacement.  Apparently (always learning!) a custom tempered window glass takes weeks to deliver and so I will have to call to some towns ahead of schedule to order the replacement and install when I get there.  

Tuesday evening was spent with dear old friends Joyce and I have known for decades since we were residents together.  Marc Traeger and Laura Brown, and David and Laurie Yost accepted an invitation for dinner at my place and they drove the 15 miles (of virgin forest!) between Pinetop and Horseshoe Lake for Flatbread pizza cooked on our Blackstone flat grill. It was simple, quick, delicious and fun: I'll share the 'recipe' here.

Marc, Laura, and Dave, in addition to being fellow family medicine residents at UA back in the day, also worked in Whiteriver Indian Health Service Hospital for nearly their entire career.  I worked there 5 years as my first job from 189 to 1994 when Joyce and I left for Pakistan to help start a family medicine residency (the first in the nation) at Aga Khan University in Karachi.  But the bonds of friendship never loosed through the distance and we have stayed close with each other, godfathering/godmothering each others' kids, staying at each others' houses when visiting, supporting each other through kids, grandkids, cancer, kidney transplant, retirement, adulting children, different church and faith situations as we all journeed through life.  I am so blessed to have such kind, compassionate, humans and doctors and friends in my life over these many many years.

 

Escape

June 14, 2025

It was touch and go if the planned start date would happen!  I had my first week of part time work after returning from wedding/family in UK.  Early start due to jet lag had the rig at my house Sunday, early Monday I gave Humsafar a wash, and a wax on Thursday.  Shopped and loaded the fridge watching the battery power to gauge how much power it takes per day.  Battery got a little low and I plugged into "shore" power from my house (15 Amps) expecting the batteries to be charge to full by morning.  However it didn't work!

What could be the problem?  I thought maybe one of the switches might have been turned off.  I called Scott Deigal--a neighbor and fellow traveler but he was out of town and then called Scott Harmon, who did my electric and solar upgrade (now have four 100 Amp Hour batteries, and two 200 watt portable solar panels in addition to the 180 Watts of solar on the roof).  He worked with me for over an hour and 20 minutes while I opened the breaker panel to look at the converter (which changes home AC to DC to charge the batteries).  He suspected the converter was the issue but we flicked various switches on and off while checking the voltage, (thank goodness for Scott as I have no skill set in electric).  It was, indeed, the failed converter that prevented charging the batteries from shore power.  The solar worked and so I set up the portables in addition to the roof, but had to empty the newly stocked freezer and fridge because I had gotten too far behind and there wasn't enough to keep the fridge going at night while the sun wasn't' out.  How to fix?

Enter Sean who tuned up my bike for my birthday present and became interested in the problem. He repeated the voltage testing (I recommend everyone get one of these sons who studies/works in a physics lab for his PhD and has acquired some electrical skills).  He found a replacement for the converter and was able to confidently pull out the broken one (and even tore it apart and found the ceramic resistor that failed in it!) and installed the replacement that he found at Camping World and off we went at a much later than planned 2:30 PM.

Did I mention we were working in an un air conditioned trailer in 109 degree Tucson heat wave heat!  The shore power wasn't strong enough (20 Amps) to keep the AC working without tripping the breaker at the house and I didn't want to drag out the generator.  I blame myself--I had hoped it would be 'hot as a fire cracker' in Tucson the day I leave so I could enjoy the cool mountain air.  Joyce returned on schedule from UK on June 13 and was very concerned about us leaving in the heat of the day.  She wasn't ready to join in a few days which would allow Sean to use the car to return to Tucson, so Sean offered to drive his vehicle separately and follow me so he could still accompany his dad on the first leg.  

AJ found a bottle of champaign left over from Kateri's wedding which we used to celebrate the occasion!  We drove out of town and briefly and inadvertently joined the energetic "No Kings" rally processing up country club road. 

The 2017 Ford F 150 truck handled the rig, bikes attached and fully loaded, and handled the heat and especially the Salt River Canyon.  Honestly I was worried about that section in this heat.  We stopped for a quick photo over the Salt, then for a bite and gas in Globe, and arrived at Horseshoe Cienega lake 13 miles east of Hon Dah at 8 PM in the twilight.  Long-time friend Marc Traeger had secured a camping pass for us knowing we would arrive after the outdoor shop closed.  We found a gorgeous spot and leveled and set up the camp and celebrated with a wee dram of Oban Scotch, a birthday gift from my Scottish brother in law, Charlie.  I definitely felt the support of AJ and Sean and Sean and I had a really fine time together just chilling and being in each others' company.  We read and played music, and by nightfall the weather was perfect for sleep. 

Departure

 Many things to get ready!  I chose my 65th birthday to launch but my niece's wedding in Leeds on May 31 pushed that back a bit so I now depart a week later on June 14.  I will be ably accompanied to our first campsite on Horseshoe lake in Whiteriver, AZ by my youngest son, Sean.  Joyce, who stayed in UK a little longer, will bring Sean's car and her bike up several days later and we'll swap her in for Sean.  This will be the first of several travel warrior swaps along the journey.

I signed my new contract and felt the first pangs of the partial loss of role, status and income that is a necessary part of taking this step.  The new schedule is in the HR system in the nick of time.  

I'm in Walbridge, OH with my parents.  Dad celebrated his 92nd birthday yesterday and my mother her 88th the day before.  Sean his 28th.  My flight from MAN via DUB and CLT arrived to late to celebrate with my uncles, and aunts, cousins, siblings, nieces and nephews who gathered at David's but there are videos.  

Mom is sleeping on the couch since her hip fracture.  Her weight at 163, and leg swelling are both down with higher doses of Lasix and the home PT came for the last time.  Mom did well with her exercises and is walking without a cane but not without a limp--she'll need to practice heel toe walking!

It's raining outside--a welcome change from sunny Tucson.  There are forest fires in Canada and I wonder whether and how that might impact this journey. I am hoping that my parent's home situation is stable at least until I return in September for My nephew's wedding.  By then I will be in San Francisco area and my good friend Omar from Abu Dhabi let me know I can park the rig at his home in Tracy for the week.  He and his daughters are slotted to camp with us the weekends before and after.  That is the only planned break from the road.  

So my plans for next week in Tucson: Get the rig to my house.  Wash. Fill with my clothes, computers, and all the stuff. Guitar, propane fire pit, starlink, antenna pole, solar panels, extra blankets and linens for guests, towels, soap, buckets, puzzles, books, hammock, daypack with rain gear, cafe tierra, silverware, cookware---all the stuff you need for at home but compact.  Get truck detailed for a clean start. Grocery shop. Last minute calls to friends.  Fill Truck bed (generator, gas, oil, water containers, camp chairs, stepladder, cooler, foldable kayak with PFD, beach tarp, extra tent, blackstone grill, towing mirrors, folding table.  Attach bike rack and 2 bikes.  I already tested that the AC can be used with the Honda 2200 generator for off-grid need since I had the soft start added. Hoping that the temperatures due to elevation will make that mostly unnecessary.  The goal is to live off solar and propane as much as possible.

Little things to get: ice cube trays that don't spill.  Propane hose so fire pit can connect to external propane outlet, phone mount, mount for rear view camera monitor.

Then pack clothes--how many pair of pants, shirts...?  Hiking boots, shoes, will we want to go to a fancy restaurant?  Need a sport coat for the wedding...  We'll plan laundry stop every week or so. Or a bucket wash.  

Along the route we will need to fill fresh water (40 g plus 2 6 gallon plastic jugs) and dump grey and black water (up to 40 G each).  Most campsites will have a dump station.  Shop for groceries, get gas. Hitch and unhitch the trailer and level it at each stop. Each take time--efficiency is needed if we want to hike, kayak, fish, explore, recline in the hammock, etc.  Joyce says that is a lot of work!  She's right, but in a way it is calming good work to wash you own dishes and cook your own food.  Another goal is to be unhurried.  The "rule of twos": drive no more than 200 miles a day, stay 2 nights minimum each stop, get there before 2 PM, is designed to keep it enjoyable and low stress.  Inshallah!

Campgrounds and Calendars

Overall Map of our Journey

Chat GPT, "Make me a one year itinerary of an RV trip around the US starting and ending in Tucson, AZ, June 14, 2025 using the following rules:  Travel no more than 200 miles per day; Stay at each campsite at least 2 nights*; No travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays;  Hit the following waypoints en route; Suggest boondocking sites but stay at a high rated RV Campsite every 2 weeks or so."  

Later: "Add National Parks and Points of interest along the route, put calendar dates and days in a grid format."

And again: "Map this route with waypoints."

That start was informative giving a bird's eye view of timelines, distances, RV parks, National parks.  Allowed me to ponder and imagine the overall trip.  

Attended the Arizona Airstream Club rally in Wilcox, AZ and learned a ton from those who venture.  Downloaded RV Life Trip Wizard and Steve, who happened to be be going earlier and in the opposite direction, kindly shared his itinerary along the Pacific coast which I used more or less in reverse.

In order to ensure campsites at the most popular places, we have to reserve up to 6 months in advance.  This varies by Nation (Canada, US), State and Province, from 6 months, 4 months, 12 weeks, etc.  and many have releases at different times (e.g. 6 months, and some sites held until 4 days prior to allow more spontaneous travel).  

The most dauting experience: Banff National Park in Alberta.  The website reservations for the entire summer season opened on one day.  I happened to be in an in person leadership meeting and was (trying to be) discretely logged in on my personal laptop.  I excused myself from the meeting at 2 minutes before 8 and the website stated we would be randomly queued up, those that joined after 8 would be added at the end.  At 8 o'clock on the button, the website churned and told me I was queued up at number 15,358!!!  And that it would take approximately 30 minutes to get to me.  Thirty minutes to go through 15k people!  Wow.  I had perhaps 60 tabs open on my tiny laptop and needed to reference the dates on Trip Wizard--I started to sweat with panic when I couldn't initially find my way back to the reservation tab to input the dates. I finally got there completing the reservation, Alhamdulillah!

One other illustration: I needed a double slot for friends to join us outside of Vancouver.  There were few doubles, and on a whim, as this time I was at home, I had both my work laptop and my personal laptop teed up, this time at 07:00. I tested 2 minutes before and no go. So I waited for the 0:700 alarm I set to go off and immediately clicked "reserve" on both campsites exactly simultaneously.  Was beat on one but won a site on the work laptop. The competition is fierce sometimes!

On Trip Wizard, then, I put together the itinerary (and can download to my google calendar) but I kept a separate listing on my phone/google calendar for reservation days and review before I go to bed to be ready.  I used the total trip cost for each location to identify the date.  For example, If the site can be reserved on April 21, it will appear to cost $421.  It would enhance trip wizard to add a field for reservation day. Once I have the reservation, I lock the date, and the app knows not to move it and alerts if we do something inconsistent.

When fully retired, I would be inclined to go where the wind blows, but for this inaugural trip, I need to know where I will be to get set up to work, thus the diligent plan. 

Joyce will be my Saathi for most of the trip, but she'll need her breaks, so have arranged to swap her out with a son, or brother for parts of the trip.  For example, Sean will join from Boulder CO to Jackson Hole WY.  A family friend is in Boulder and will pick up Sean, camp with us, and take Joyce with her.  My brother Paul joins from Jackson Hole to Glacier National Park and can also work remote! 

Our waypoints include dear friends we have met over the years in different locations and situations.  First stop is Whiteriver, AZ, my first Family Practice job where dear friends I trained and practiced with reside.  Then a dear friend in Colorado.  Our overall itinerary is here for those interested.

By the skin of my neck

My parathyroids won't slow down so we had to take (almost) all of them out. 3 1/2 of 4 small glands in the neck, near the thyroid gland, like 1 cm polka dots on the four corners of a bow tie.  They overproduced when I had progressive kidney failure and were supposed to cut down activity after my transplant nearly 6 years ago.  I had already planned most of my trip when my Nephrologist referred my to an Endocrine surgeon, the highly recommended Dr. Saha.  A last minute cancellation allowed me to proceed today, so after testing, imaging and a plan I took a shower last night, slept in newly washed sheets and pajamas, brushed my teeth and gargled and Joyce and I drove 10 minutes to the University hospital. There I brushed my teeth and gargled again, bathed again with sani-wipes.  Folks, I am now at the pinnacle of cleanliness as I begin my journey into the wilderness!

The same day surgery department runs like a clock.  I saw at least 10 personnel checking on everything.  Dr. Saha closely inspected my neck to pick out the perfect wrinkle from the among the many she could choose to hide my scar. 

It took a tiny bit longer because over the years my polka dots drifted like drops of melted ice cream lower off the bow tie by a centimeter or so, but she found and removed all but 1/2 of one and the blood test showed the expected decrease in parathyroid hormone (PTH) that was causing my osteoporosis.  I'll take extra calcium for the next two weeks to protect against a too rapid drop in calcium, and then start on an osteoporosis medication in 3 months.  Or did she say weeks?--even doctors struggle to retain all the information on our conditions!

My throat is moderately sore but I can eat, and my next is a bit swollen and sore but I can move it around as predicted by my doctor.  I took my clinic day tomorrow off because I didn't want to see patients if I didn't feel well. Thus, my last in person visits were last Thursday at least until Late October.  

There is an astounding amount of preparation for my planned trip.  In some ways the planning and anticipation are part of the excitement.  In addition to my own body, I brought the airstream into the LazyDays RV service department for inspection last week and found a recall on the hubs.  Hopefully they can get the parts in and I can start packing (and cleaning) it as planned!  I wanted to start off strong.  The truck is going in tomorrow.  

We are going to my British niece's wedding in Leeds and will be in UK for 2 weeks, so hopefully all the essentials will be done by Launch day June 14! Will the clock run out?

AIrstream Dream

HUMSAFAR

My AIrstream Dream is approaching.  I capitalize the 'I' because AI helped draft my first itinerary and made it easier to visualize what I was trying to do. I've been blessed with a career that matches my passion with my strengths and with dear and talented colleagues who share my values and care for me and one another.  My bosses have been some of the kindest and smartest people I know.  My current boss was very supportive of this dream when I approached him and helped me work through the details with the CEO to allow me to work remotely and part time and to continue what I love, albeit devoting fewer hours 24 from previous 40, 50,+ per week.

I am very active.  I cycle 4 miles to work most days, walk with my wife, Joyce, every day, hike on weekends, and do a bit of yoga.  But I do not take my health for granted.  Due to an autoimmune condition, my kidneys slowly deteriorated to the point where I was living on a 10th of a kidney (eGFR of 9) after 30 years following diagnosis. Coming from  big and loving family, I had offers of living donors from my siblings and when it was time, I received a beautiful gift of life from my oldest sister, Sue in 2019. My "Donate Life" vanity plates on my Ford F-150 show "GOTSUZ" in gratitude.  The transplant surgeon told me to not expect to feel better, just to feel the same after surgery so as not to be disappointed, but wow, I felt so much better once the surgical recovery period was over.  Much more energy and folks said my color was so much better. Over time, other health concerns happened--reminders of my mortality and frailty.

I'd worked full time my entire career as a Family Physician and, later, Physician Executive in Medical Informatics.  I have three adult children: a teacher/artist daughter, an arborist/artist/musician son, and a physics grad student/musician son.  I've always wanted them to love the outdoors and they do.  Sometimes I think I went to far when I hear of their Mountain biking down Death Road in Bolivia, climbing El Capitan, Ice climbing and paragliding in the Andes.  Hearing about it after the event is easier on my heart! I wanted to spend more 'down time" with them, and with members of my and Joyce's family.

During Covid, Joyce and I rented Travel Trailers and went camping in our beautiful state of Arizona or sometimes in adjoining Utah and Colorado.  For a friend's wedding in Oregon, we rented a Camper Van to take our time and drive across the state.  We loved it!  Our pop up tent trailer we had for decades since our youngest son's birth, was stolen (twice actually--a story for another time). 

I read a NYT article about the Airstream Office--a travel trailer built for remote workers.  That got me thinking!...  I hadn't much thought of an Airstream.  My daughter once said, "Dad you should buy an airstream!" I responded, "who wants to camp in a Bud Light can?"  We stayed at a close friend's house in Show Low.  They were out of town but we were headed there to visit old friends we used to work with. They had a small Airstream in the barn and we took a peek--wow! The sheer engineering captured my physics major heart! Could I arrange to spend an extended time in nature and still do the work I love?

I researched rigs and rented a few more.  Joyce wanted a camper van that she could drive, but I wanted a trailer that would allow me to work and allow her to explore on my workdays.  RV Trader had a mechanism to alert me to when something I was looking for was available.  In my case, a late model 25 ft twin bed Airstream with a back hatch for capturing mountain and ocean breezes.  I watched the market for over a year.  Some were available far away.  One day, a near perfect match showed up in my Southern Arizona back yard (and my truck broke down thwarting a planned trip) and the deal was done. Many of the rigs were being sold after seldom being used.  A not uncommon story was buying them late in life and one party getting ill prior to takeoff.  We haven't taken off yet, so that could still happen to us!  But this further resolved my plan to get outdoors while I still had strength (and balance, flexibility, eyesight, endurance, and reflexes)! Wish me luck!