Howdy, SRS!   

Maybe I need to get out of the West before Howdy and Reckon become part of my everyday speech??!!

Have been lurking here and there, and admiring the strides the declutterers make to master their households and serve their communities. I continue to 'throw things over the side', tough sometimes to throw away old wornout things, things from another life, things DH gave me. But, one goes on.   And I have dropped another 10 pounds, but, that renders me more wrinkly, which hardly seems fair!

Mostly, have been a thoroughly irresponsible flake, enjoying the amazing countryside and people. Since I RV alone, I can easily isolate, and since I choose to stay away from crowds and metro areas whenever possible, I have been lucky to avoid the ravages of Covid.    I do socialize from time to time with other solos and travelers, but it is outdoors and distanced.

I do worry as I head from the Southwest into the Midwest in the teeth of the Delta wave. My objective this week therefore is to obtain a J&J one-shot in Iowa if I can. (Many of the SW states have made shots a cumbersome process, and I'm not crazy about the effectiveness of them so far).

Then on to a little touring in rural Nebraska and a family mini-reunion in Illinois. Lord knows what the fall will hold.

Had an amazing year, after a low point in January, when I considered packing it in, it was very difficult to travel among the maskless and clueless.   But got with a few friends out on the desert and passed a great winter in the circle of a tiny 'tribe', and then got to enjoy the pools and the saguaro bloom of Arizona and explore Nevada a bit.

The summer's highlight was rafting Cataract Canyon on the Colorado. Learned from trying to squeeze a week's needs into 2 'dry bags' that I can indeed get along with less stuff than usual.   It was a difficult but glorious experience.    Also had a blast in Wyoming, a place I had never spent any time.   It is lightly populated and still very much tuned into the land and the animals, and crawling with mountains and fossils.   

And, got to join in the festivities at many Mudcat Worldwide Singarounds, something I had been needing for oh, 40 years?   What a blessing that has been.