Monday, April 07, 2008

Snagged by Phoenix

When I hit the road last April I looked forward to the adventure of living in my Airstream and trying to make it with my new business. I had no idea what I was in for. I also didn't know where or when I would stop. I figured I would when the time was right.

What a year it's been--epic beyond my imaginings. Business has been good. I've actually supported myself for a year. That's no small feat, especially given the fact that I had no money to launch this little venture, just credit and grit.

En route to Sedona sixteen days ago I got an unexpected phone call. I'd applied for a job six years ago. I was offered a chance to come in and discuss the job. I went in two days later and accepted a new position. It's in Phoenix. More on the job later--I'll just state now that I am very excited and honored to get this opportunity.

Of all the places I've been this past year, Phoenix is the last place I would have imagined as the one that would get me.

I am writing from Quartzsite, where I am for the night after driving over 700 miles today. In the past two weeks I've done an out and back route. I left Phoenix, stopped in Quartzsite, headed to Salt Lake, then Boise, then Salt Lake, and now I am back in Quartzsite. Including driving in Boise and Salt Lake City, I added over 2,500 miles to my truck. That's almost 10% of the total mileage I've driven the Dodge! Included in that mileage is the final leg back to Phoenix tomorrow.

Even Jake's tired from that amount of travel. It's been a busy two weeks that included liquidating parts of my inventory. Utahredrock will continue in the future, most likely as a part-time business. The business is on hold for the short term starting tomorrow.

I plan to continue to live in my Airstream for the foreseeable future. Where in Phoenix I do so remains to be seen. After a year on the road, I am ready to park for a while. Even with summer quickly approaching the Valley of the Sun, the idea of being in one place is appealing--though I may look to land-based housing to better escape the heat.