Corbett Writes Living History

 The life lesson of this week is “Hurry Up - uh no - Wait.” I really want to move into the tent but I need some adaptations. Specifically I need some grab rails around the bed. But one essential part got lost by UPS which meant Kym, the retired master carpenter who agreed to do this project for me, had to find a new day to finish the bed project. The nights are sometimes cold here. So having a working heater is essential. After getting all the parts and testing them out, we discovered holes in the hose and a cracked gasket handle - all were purchased new. So I thought instead of a build update, I would give you some of the joys of my nomad life. I am in the middle (east/west) of the La Paz Valley near Quartzsite, Arizona. The sun rises over the Plomosa Mountains and sets over the Dome Rock Mountains. The valley goes beyond my horizons north and south.  The sun travels across the 20 mile desert valley and often creates spectacular sunsets. These are how the sky changed during l...

 One of my friends says I am like a shark, always making small adjustments to face the constantly changing challenges of life on the road. Before I began nomad life I thought I could figure out all the variables with a good design plan.  I was wrong. My original nomad rig*, a 23’ school bus, worked great for my wheelchair but not great for me. I made the classic mistake of investing heavily in what I thought I would need. When I got my second rig, a Ford 350 Econoline van, I built as little as possible. When I got to Arizona, my first independent trip, a few L Camp women offered to build some basics for me. Together we designed and built a bed, an electrical system with solar power, and a fridge/counter.  A year later in Indiana I added lots of storage space and created a really usable toilet set up. This set up served me well for the past 2 years. But along the way I discovered a few big problems.  There was no place to sit comfortably. The driver’s seat, an expensi...