A Lifelong Journey on the road...

[Beemerchef]

What to say?

The inevitable happens as we all so well know.I heard this short story the other day. They were the thoughts of a departed one. "I was happy before I was born within that space none of us remember. My Mother then on gave me Birth and I lived daily going through the Chapters of this Life and it's endless lessons, it's peaks and valleys and all in between. I am gone now, again, having done my time, happy to have rejoined my previous space and my loved ones awaiting for me in the meantime". It is a good sensible story, no harm believing it. It helps me thinking and feeling that now my Mother has passed on back to where she came from. Most likely with Lance, my Grand Parents and a myriad of ancestors brightening up the stars at night watching down as I myself still turning the pages of these interminable lessons.
I am still in Munich for a couple more days dealing with a bureaucracy that has the script of a deepest nightmare one can imagine filled with frustration trying to obtain some legal and official documents. Will they ever let her rest in Peace?
Spirit is well taken care of in Texas. I will be moving him soon to Colorado Springs where more Friends will take care of him while I need to fly back and put an end to this chapter.
The weekdays are filled with appointments meaning a calendar and a watch. The weekends Museums to keep my mind occupied. BMW and Rolls Royce Museum, The Deutsches Museum. I did post many photos throughout these past couple Journal entries.
Thank You all for your kind thoughts and well articulated words I have been receiving.

Ara and Spirit

7ht Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

“Happy Mother's Day”. Tucson. AZ



The Journey runs it's course. The path is often a smooth trail, the colors bright, Mother Nature our guide from shore to shore, from the valleys to the peaks with the barren Deserts in between, anything and everything one could wish when filled with a luxury acquired over time called “freedom”. Yet, as the fabric of Life dictates, such “freedom” is sometimes only a pigment of our imagination when facing another path filled with obstacles we must surmount, the path of “grieving”. A not so foreign one for many, one we must adapt for the times to come if we ourselves want to survive it's consequences. It is “Mother's Day” today and ironically on the same date a month ago I was saying my good byes to my own Mother at this very time when her own path decided to end, that is physically as I know and believe strongly her “Spirit” will always continue on tucked in with us on this Journey for as long as myself will be allowed to do so. With Friends in Tucson today, on our way to Colorado Springs to fly back to Munich one more time for two weeks, this is where we are in the midst of a beautiful backyard filled with the colorful in bloom flowers one needs today. Moments are still mixed up, words are not lining up as they use to, my strength comes and goes, questions with no replies arise helplessly, the logic of it all has been set aside. It will not be till early June for the shade of the boulders I seek. In the meantime, one moment at the time with small and short tentative steps we move forward as we must.

Ara and Spirit

7ht Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

Turning Gears in and out of Munich. Again.

I suddenly feel as an International Traveler being back in Munich, I also feel as half of me has stayed behind as one more time Spirit and I are separated for what was going to be 2 weeks, now turning into 3 weeks.
It is a halt in the Journey, and yet maybe not as a Journey is the Teacher and I am learning much here from lessons thrown at me without any compassion for the departed through this ongoing Bureaucratic nightmare.
I feel more as I am buying a used car or a house or anything else for that matter. “Human Being”, “Mother”, none of those words appear throughout the daily demands.
Karma has however also placed some incredible new Friends on my path [Friends with many other Friends in common] who invited me to their Home over the last weekend, the right prescription to lighten up the mind and Soul. Today is the last day in this apartment which I will be giving up tomorrow and on invited again at my new Friends Home for the last week here till I return on the 8ht.
I have given up on the wait, on the daily hope, on the notion of bringing my Mother back with me. All hinged on “one” piece of paper. If it happens next week, it will be well, if not, I will need to come back one more time yet only when “ready”.
Such is Life, such is also After Life. Strange World sometimes I feel we live in.
Till next time...

Ara and Spirit

7ht Year, the Stars, living under them…

www.theoasisofmysoul.com The Journal

 

[Beemerchef]

“Wasatch~Cache National Forest” [Utah]

The open roads once again welcome us lining the path toward those steps, the ones of grieving I will one by one climb surely as I have before. Two months has gone by which only feels as it has been as a blink of an eye. The fog of these past weeks is slowly rising to make way of a canvas “Mother Nature” and deserted roads are generous with for the tired mind and soul. Spirit is back by my side with now his bell on, a sound so sweet as he is himself. We are headed North, from Colorado to Utah and now in Idaho towards Portland where “Crusty” will be fitted with some new shocks much needed for off road riding in a bit of a smoother fashion. The Mountains at elevations above Bear Lake are a new find for us criss crossed by miles and miles of unpaved roads and welcoming camp spaces free for the taking. Peaceful, silent, everything we missed these past weeks is now again here adapting toward such an unexpected turn of events. “Adapting” being the key word as everything else in Life seemingly is. Much sleep, riding, cooking, seems all is on the menu for these present days.
More on the Journal.


Till next time...

Ara and Spirit

7ht Year, the Stars, living under them…

www.theoasisofmysoul.com The Journal
www.beemerchef.smugmug.com The Photos

 

[Beemerchef]

Bruneau Dunes, Idaho.

The Journey is taking on some certain steps of continuity since I have been back, all at the same time dealing with an emptiness Mother Nature is offering to fill. Some days it works, some days not. The time spend at Bruneau Dunes I must say have been favorable to the senses with their vastness both on land and in the skies while being treated to storms and wind and rains. My favorite components. There was no choice but camping in the State Park, it was a quiet one and showers are always welcome as were the friendly faces of the locals. It is all around a vast network of unpaved roads as I call them “to nowhere”. The more “nowheres”, the better. It feels good to be out, breath the fresh air and just contemplate this World of ours go by forever now slowly without too much of a spin. A quick detour then on to “Priest River” camping and fishing with some good Friends and soon on back Eastward, most likely going for the “Stanley” area, trying to find an out of the way space for the Fourth of July, a time of the year always very populated.
More on the Journal...


Till next time...

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7ht Year, the Stars, living under them…

www.theoasisofmysoul.com The Journal
www.beemerchef.smugmug.com The Photos

 

[Beemerchef]

From the “Sawtooth Mountains”, Idaho

Two weeks we have not been here! “Sawtooth Mountains” and Internet do not mix very well even if I managed to paste a couple entries in our Journal. [can't help it, writing is my sound board]. There is “magic” here, no, “MAGIC”. A healing space comprising of probably millions of acres. I have not checked. Roads to the right and roads to the left, streams, rivers, ponds and I have started again fishing meaning catching my dinner. How long will we be here? Who knows as I cannot think that far ahead as these peaks and these valley luscious and green mixed with yet standing strong snow caps, all keeps me in this present so needed after these couple of months within the “Urban Jungle”. Spirit is also recuperating from our separation, our bonding is at new heights and his a bit nervousness of me leaving one more time is slowly vanishing. Poor guy! The weather is splendid, the night are literally cold, all is a big welcome from the past times spend in the South.
Enjoy the Photos...


Till next time.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7ht Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[zukijames]

You are my hero

 

[Beemerchef]

You are my hero

I Thank You, yet, trust me I don't feel like a Hero. Just another Lifestyle embracing the moments and Mother Nature. Stay well.

“You can't fix stupid”... [Bozeman, Montana]

So I guess the thoughts as such a title for an entry have been brewing for a while. Camping in much deserted spaces to only then on mix in with the flow of others while moving on to point X brings on the details of a flow encountered with much concerns sometimes!

It is the balance of Life. Same with the “healthy and unhealthy”, “rich and poor” and on and on.
So we made it to the Bozeman area where we are running errands for a few days, taking a break as it was with much regret we left Idaho where we will stop again when on our way south. The smoke was a little too dense for us and so was the temperatures.

The next leg will be toward the "Glacier” area, I am curious about finding this little town north of it which runs on a generator and has this great Bakery.
All else is well, August is our hardest month on the road due to heat and the critters visiting us at alarming rates sometimes. I can however feel already the fall at night time. It won't be long.

Enjoy the past couple entries and finally a video, some photos also.


Till next time.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

Network Connection unavailable.... Glacier, MT.

We are slowly falling into what I use to call “into the groove”. Of course looking at Spirit I realize he is always “into the groove”. He is my mentor as bizarre and odd it might sound to many, except I hope the many with a Dog as their Buddy. Feel closely. He is always the perfect definition of “living into the moment”. Not an easy task sometimes as complex and difficult the Human Mind can be, is.


The Glacier is always welcoming. A bit crowded for our taste as it is a task to always find those out of the way “forest service roads” where the true beauty of this “Giant” lays.
A couple days of rain. Some welcomed cool nights and early morning and unfortunately some mechanical excitement in the form of a wheel splitting as smiling back at me while saying “hey, at least I did not let you crash on those twisties!”

Yes, there are a few photos of it in the Journal, I bet no one has ever seen anything like it.


No time wasted, it happened on Friday and by Monday noon, 180 miles or so away I picked up a new wheel with tire and tube mounted courtesy of Ural and quickly taken care off by Tom at “Poet Motorcycles”, a good “Old Fashion” Motorcycle shop, a rarity these days.


So now as I felt “unfinished” business in Glacier, where to go? Back or move on and leave the unseen and unfelt for the next time?

We are on our way to “Bighorn National Forest”, Wyoming, slowly descending back the States. We have never been there, I am intrigued.

Will be back here soon, I have no doubt there will also not be much of a connection down there, a quite nice aspect I must say, always.


Till next time.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

American Beauty: “Bighorn Canyon”, WY/MT

No mission here to cover all the gazillion States and affix that color cut out on a still white USA decal. No track of the miles for bragging rights, only a nose [as Spirit!] to encounter sometimes surprises as when planning to go up Bighorn Mountains yet instead making a left turn when the Desert sights of “Bighorn Canyon” became a distinct destination for us. It is really that simple.

And what a surprise with no crowds, no tourists [maybe a couple] and a deep canyon, the work of waters and erosion spanning millions of years.
Sunrises in all colors unimaginable, Sunsets as such and sometimes menacing, roads worthy of any kind of motorcycles and for that matter wheeled vehicles, it has been an awakening on this Journey of forever, as long as I am allowed.

As I write this after a week taking in the sights and the road, the Mountain is going to have to wait for another time. It is as an intermission for us with a long road ahead as we have to drop to “The Oasis” for a couple of days via Salt Lake City... A personal matter that needs to be taking care off.

So till next time, enjoy the “Bighorn Canyon”

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

Passing up 1001 photos... AZ/TX/NM

I feel as the wind blowing us through this Hurricane which arrived these past days totally unannounced.

Just as we were getting ready to “go up” Bighorn Mountains, while stopped in Lovell, one phone call changed the path. We must drop South as Crusty is now just a memory with a new Home and “Old Faithful”, after an oil/filter, fuel filter and battery changes is again on the road purring.

Never thought I would miss her so much. She is not just a machine, she is the third member on this Journey which is slowly trying to resume.

South through Salt Lake City, Tucson, on to “The Oasis” for 3 days and now on our way to hopefully sit in Valley of the Gods, Muley Point and surrounding areas till the snow kicks us out. I feel as I have ran a Marathon these past four months and this is the first time while visiting some Friends in New Mexico I am catching up on a physical and mental rest. “Make yourself at Home” they told me as the last time we were here.
Words worth a lot to us, more than they can imagine. True Friends are rare... These are.

Many miles these past days on the Journal.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

Are we there yet? NM

Not yet! Extended stay in New Mexico with “sciatica”, meaning leg nerve inflammation.
Good Dr, Bad Dr. That has been the game. Great first visit, disastrous second visit. A Chiropractor. One needs to listen to their body and not follow up “just because”. That has been the moral of the story. There will not be a third visit.

The third visit was riding “Old Faithful” for 240 miles yesterday [against Dr's orders...] and today “I know” we will start again heading North. Everything seems to be falling back in place even if not totally healed which in itself will take some time and yet happy to know it will not keep us off “Old Faithful”.

It was the route to “Pie Town”. A great ride... and a lousy and expensive piece of pie with a cup of watered down coffee. What else can I say? I would be more than happy if they sued me and I could get my $6's back. Sorry but I have to find the humor in all of this.

The “Very Large Array” is always worth a few photos and has an interesting Visitor Center no matter how many times one has been there. Friendly folks in the middle of nowhere listening to our distant neighbors.

Getting ready for our favorite spaces in Southern Utah. We will make it.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

Whichever way the wind blows... Utah

Amazing aspects of Life.


As soon as we reach the Valley of the Gods area the downpours won't let us in. On to Moab area then, cooler higher altitudes in beautiful Canyonland with sights of the White Rim Trail and so much more.


Settled, yet my “back” is not. Riding cured it all a bit only to make things worse as the days went on. I figured the Moab “Emergency Room” will be familiar with such, I am sure they get their share of injuries from the many outdoor activities.
Lower discs degenerating, sciatica, X rays did not lie. Riding is curtailed, not much anyone can do besides exercises and anti inflammatory meds.

This was not really how I wished the direction of the winds would blow us. What an irony.

And now almost back into Texas where I will see my own Dr, try to heal, we at least have a space to stay.


I enjoyed the couple past entries with many photos, one being an emotional roller coaster as the aspects of these past months catches up with me, the next one being the beauty and serenity of Canyonland and it's surroundings.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

Trying to settle at “The Oasis”, Texas.

The aspect of being here is a bit different this time around and will be as such for a few months ahead.

Life has deviated much since the passing away of my Mother now 6 months ago. Something, for lack of a better word, has changed. An incredible emptiness, a void, a situation unable to yet adapt as the days go on and on without much of a purpose as it was.

Writing a Book, one containing our path throughout these past 7 years has always been on the back burner. Every year it has been... next winter, next summer. That time has come for more reasons than one, it has become the purpose of my “now”. Learning the logistics of formatting in itself has been an education as it will be published as an eBook at first.

I feel as I was born a bit too early to even remotely understand the jargon of the “how to”. Yet, it is now finally understood, under control as they say. I will keep writing my Journal as always, my sounding board for the months ahead while here, writing, cooking, playing with my Buddy Spirit, some rides here and there as the back and sciatica are getting better with the help of daily exercises. Have to keep this body, this vehicle in shape.


My Love for this space keeps increasing always. Silence, isolation, a World detached from it all where we feel having the ability to come through with such project.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[Beemerchef]

A couple weeks later at “The Oasis”, TX

Writing a book.

“The Book” which had been on my mind for the past couple years.

A lonely affair I find out, with the help of a good Friend, a retired English Teacher, correcting not my language but my blatant grammar errors of many.

The perfect space for such a venture where the isolation, silence, beauty of Mother Nature, all is conductive to retrace our past steps of these previous seven years.

Sometimes amazing, sometimes funny, at others surprising myself reading my own words of the lessons learned, the ones learning on how to live on the road, how to cope with grief and emerging from past dark tunnels, how to live with Spirit 24/7, being off the grid , so much which culminates towards these present days for winter times.

Just a personal challenge I always wanted to accomplish, and this time around, as already about a quarter into it and 25,000 words later, it will get done.

Mixing it all up with chores around here, as usual watching the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, taking a weekly ride towards a chosen destination. This is Big Bend after all, these millions of acres will never lack of such destinations.

This is our lives for now, a Journal for these times and the few months to come.

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

 

[sixstringsteve]

that's great news, best of luck on your book!

 

[Beemerchef]

that's great news, best of luck on your book!

Thank You!

A much needed change on our Journal, TX

The unexpected is always around the corner in Life, and especially while on the road. As mentioned in our last entry “I am here but truly there”. I am realizing I am so totally in the past while writing this book spanning our seven years on the road. After a quick round trip to San Antonio and Del Rio for errands and eye doctor, we are back here at The Oasis for the duration to complete this book which I am one third into it. For my mental health sake, logistics, time, I have to refrain writing our Journal, yet, continue posting it even most likely more often with photos, videos and some quotes I stumble on. They say “a picture is worth a thousand words”. This will be the case as this space is the perfect one to write while going down memory lane.

Being in San Antonio for just one day made me realize how good we have it here. I thought people had gone mad while driving as Kamikazes. The freeways were as spaghetti dropped in a bowl and if it was not for our GPS, I think we would still be there.
The weather has finally turned to cold on us, gray days these past couple ones and while sheltered and pounding on the keyboard, will take it.

Anything but hot.

So, we hope you enjoy the photos, they are were we are!

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

7th Year, the Stars, living under them…

www.theoasisofmysoul.com The Journal

 

[Beemerchef]

Half way through writing our book, [yes, Spirit writes also...], this winter has become one of discipline with a calendar and clock. Odd for us to not be moving around, not even into events in Terlingua. Pretty much holed up here and writing and more writing.

While reading our own Journal, the amazement of having visited so many spaces does not stop. If nothing else, I have already decided on many we will return to, most likely seeing it all with a different feel.

A few photos of what is happening here in the skies, a ride cut short to Presidio while instead rescuing a couple who could not find each other for a few hours! It was an amazing experience. Probably as much for them as for ourselves. In and around the Closed Canyon, no water, no hat, he was wearing cowboy boots with leather soles... I still to this day cannot understand how they could loose each other while even calling his name carried by such a strong echo through the canyon.

It might be I have read too many mystery books in the past, the experience was the perfect plot for?... Anyone can take it from there. This would include a wife much younger than him, a 10lb dog which has to be carried because he is a house dog [???] and missing keys for their vehicles.

A bit of snow as usual for one night, some cold front lingering, the usual winter scenario here at "The Oasis".

So, we hope you enjoy the photos, they are were we are!

Stay well.

Ara and Spirit

8th Year, the Stars, living under them…

www.theoasisofmysoul.com The Journal

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Keep up the good work Ara (and Spirit), looking forward to your book!

 

[Beemerchef]

Keep up the good work Ara (and Spirit), looking forward to your book!

Think of you often Kurt. I even went by that ex-deli not long ago. The person that bought the Ural I was sponsored with does not live too far from you. Next time I will stop by again! [it is a good backyard vehicle and that is about it!!!]

Thanks... Ara and Spirit