November 28

Two days and counting…  If you are just joining in, I challenged myself to post once a day, everyday in the month of November.  Why? Well I wanted to get back into the habit of posting to my blog, and also wanted to make carving out time for writing a habit.  I haven’t been as intentional about my posts as I would have liked, but I am learning from the process and it has helped me process a great deal of thoughts and feelings.  I didn’t know when I started this challenge that Covid-19 would blow up again and pretty much dominate the narrative of my life for the past 28 days, I should have known; but I didn’t really think things through when I jumped into this self imposed challenge.  I think that is something I am learning this year, to stop waiting for conditions to be perfect before jumping into something. If I had actually thought through this challenge I probably would have pulled the plug and not gone through with it.  But I had the idea and just jumped in and 28 days I am still going. 

Next week I am jumping headlong into another challenge, solo camping with a teardrop trailer.  Yes, I am going camping all by myself and yes I know it’s December, but again if I wait for the conditions to be just right I will keep waiting for someday instead of giving this a try.  For several years I’ve harborded this dream of going camping and of owning a teardrop trailer that I could take out anytime I felt like; and for years I’ve thought of all the things that could go wrong and just put it off, saying maybe someday.  Well, this year I’ve decided that some day is going to be today.  I had a lovely new tow bar hitch installed on my Volvo and I found a T@G Max that fits within my tow capacity available for rent on Outdoorsy.com.  I’ve hemmed and hawed on this for weeks, but finally pulled the trigger on the reservations for the teardrop this past week. I am super nervous, I’ve never pulled a trailer before, I’ve never set one up on my own before, I’ve never camped solo before; I know enough to know that I have no clue what I am doing and that it’s going to be cold; but I am tired of waiting for someday.  I want to give this a try and if it goes well I am going to consider investing in my own little trailer and I am already starting to plan a birthday trip to South Texas.  

So now I have something to write about in December, instead of a race report I am going to post a camping trip recap; what worked and what didn’t.  What I wish I knew and what I learned.  I’m not going too far from home and I promise I am taking my pepper spray, my Garmin InReach Mini and I’ll keep my cell phone charged. But this is something I’ve longed to do and I am tired of sitting on the sidelines watching other people out doing the things I want to do. So now it’s out there, and now I have to make this happen; because I’ve committed not only to myself but all of you.  That’s kind of scary too.  Well, stay tuned for more on my first solo camping trip.  I am not going to post specifics until I am home safe and sound, but watch this space for more  to come!