“I’m sick of picking up after people and their dog shit!” Ron told me. “I’ve had it! If they want to trash this place they can have it!”

He ripped out the Library’s famed InterNut connection, which consisted of a manual typewriter and stuffed mouse. The lounge chairs placed underneath the canopy of a shade tree and the peaceful bottle fountain were gone.

To scare away any visitors, Ron had taken down the road sign too.

That was a sad day for anyone who had experienced what a special place the library was in its heyday.

Last year the library was obviously still in use, but rapidly becoming dilapidated. This year I feared what it would look like, so I avoided returning to the devastating scene . . . until last week.

I walked up to see that sadly, it’s still slowly deteriorating. Without someone to look after things, the ceiling is caving in and the dust is deep on the cobwebbed shelves.

The Slab City Lizard Tree Library is a sad ghost of what it used to be. While it does appear that some folks are using care to keep things as neat as possible, and a few like me are still donating books, the library is no longer a place you want to hang out. It’s actually a little creepy now.

Meawhile, Ron continues living next door in his RV-without-wheels, holding his permanent yard sale.

According to a long-time Slabber, he has no plans to leave and hand over the librarian duties to someone who cares.

It’s a sad time for literacy in Slab City USA.

More often than that, however, I wonder if readers ever see all the photos we upload to our Gallery page – especially when I dump our camera after visiting places like East Jesus.

Sometimes we just have way more than six pictures to share in one or more of our various galleries, requiring viewers to click through the paginated photos. The NextGen Gallery plugin we use makes this easy and all Ajaxy without reloading the page, but do people do it?

Take for instance, our Funky Art Scenes gallery now with more than 95 pictures of creative stuff we’ve stumbled upon since hitting the road. (Click the small arrows or page numbers to view older pics.)

Funky Art Scenes

Artistic creations of our own and from around the Country.

[Show as slideshow]

1234...141516►

New Recent Photos Page

For those of you who would rather just see all our most recent photos at a glance, I just created this new 100 Recent Photos page. You can now find a link in the sidebar at right. Check back often to see what we’ve seen lately and leave a comment to let us know what you think!

Rather mix it up a bit? Check out the 100 Random Photos page!

How To Show Recent NextGen Gallery Photos

Thanks to the built-in functionality of NextGen, I use this simple script to display our most recent images by hard-coding it into a new page template.

<?php
if (function_exists(nggDisplayRecentImages))
{ nggDisplayRecentImages($number = '100', $width = '100', $height = '75', $exclude = 'all', $list = '', $show = 'thumbnail'); }
?>

Simply replace the $number attribute with the number of photo thumbnails you want to show. To display random instead of recent images, just change both references of the function to (nggDisplayRandomImages).  Of course, the NextGen Gallery plugin must be activated for this to work.

What do you use for managing photos on your blog?

Our short answer is: “Oh, we run a few websites.” But if someone wants to hear the long answer, we have finished writing an e-book that explains everything.

“Income Anywhere!” is our brand new ebook about how we make money on the road. This full-timer’s toolkit is filled with tips and resources for earning a living from anywhere. In it, we share practical income generating ideas we have learned since becoming self-employed in 1998. We’ll show you how we’ve stayed debt-free while working from the road since 2007, and you’ll learn:

• How to get (and stay) out of debt
• Information about making money from blogs
• How to find remote work jobs online
• Revenue-generating advice for creatives and crafters
• Warning signs of MLM scams and pyramid schemes
• Workamping and caretaking job tips and resources
• And much more!

“Income Anywhere!” will be out soon. Until then, you can review a free sample chapter if you “like” the Agreda Home Business Coaching Facebook page. If you have already liked it, you’ll find the link to download your free sample on the Income Anywhere! Tab.

Not on Facebook? Not a problem!
Use coupon code IAEBFREE to download the free chapter here!

Free Sample Chapter Synopsis

You’ve undoubtedly seen business opportunities in newspapers’ classified ads, but how do you know which ones are legitimate and which ones will rob you blind? Like our Facebook page to download your free 12-page sample that addresses how to distinguish between legitimate revenue sharing businesses and questionable MLM schemes and pyramid scams.

Like the Team Agreda page to download your free ebook sample.

Stay tuned for the full release, coming soon!

Time Magazine’s half-assed reporting about the Slabs gave us a good laugh today, just in time for happy hour.

Need a good chuckle? Here it is:

Slab City, Here We Come: Living Life Off the Grid in California’s Badlands

One would think that Time could afford to hire a reporter capable of uncovering a different angle, or talking to people who haven’t been interviewed several times over by NPR or CBS.

If you want some laughter therapy, read the full story here. But if your Time is more valuable, here are the hilarious highlights:

“a squatters’ camp deep in the badlands of California’s poorest county, where the road ends”

“dropouts and fugitives of all stripes”

“recession refugees”

“a former drug addict turned born-again Christian”

“tribes have emerged”

“soul-searching Gypsy Kids who arrive by train with little more than the ragged clothes on their back”

“the rowdy bikers who pass through, or the meth-addled loners on the outer edges inclined to greet a trespasser with a gunshot”

“disappearances, mysterious drownings in the mud baths, the man who showed up in camp with his finger apparently bitten off”

“The border patrol keeps a visible presence, searching for illegal immigrants that ply the region.”

Yeah, that pretty much sums up most of us, like Jim and I, or our super friendly, squeaky clean neighbors, the Bayfield Bunch, or the Canadian politician who was here last week.

Can you say “Sensationalism”? Remember kids, The Media Lies.

Which can be a good thing, I guess.

Long live the Slabs!

With thanks to Rhodester, who shared this on my Facebook page today.

As the enterprising founder behind FtF, Kimberly Travaglino recently published “How to Hit the Road,” a terrific guide to help aspiring families learn everything about the road tripping lifestyle with kids. We can’t recommend it enough!

The Fulltime Families group is a membership-based community of like-minded non-retired parents and kids who’ve made the courageous leap to living life on the road. Fulltime Families is also a terrific resource for dreamers who want to learn all they can about the lifestyle.

Are the Slabs Kid-Friendly?

Kimberly wanted to know the lowdown on the Slabs. Her tribe is camped on the perimeter near Salvation Mountain for the night, and was scouting around to feel around for a kid-friendly vibe. While we wouldn’t exactly call the Slabs kid-friendly, there are a few living here, probably year-round.

But as far as whether or not this place is a good place to bring little humans, our NuRVer friend Sam, who has a grown family of his own, put it best:

“Would I bring kids here and stay a while? Definitely not.”

This wacky, offbeat community with its somewhat seedy-underbelly isn’t the best environment for kids.

“Would I come here for a few days to see it with kids? Definitely!” he said.

Families can skip the local watering holes like the Oasis Club, but taking a trip out to the East Jesus art installations, the mud pots and of course Salvation Mountain, are a one-of-a-kind, eye-opening, unforgettable experience found only here at the Slabs.

Are the Slabs on Your Snowbird Itinerary?

What a hoot to finally meet Kimberly in person after meeting online last year.

We are so impressed with the FtF community she and her husband Chris have built, especially because Jim and I know much time and energy it takes to manage a busy online support group.

So, who else is coming this way in February? If you’re a fellow blogger pointed in this direction, be sure to stop by our encampment and say hello!

I’m a sweaty guy.

I tend to perspire more than adequately during my morning runs (especially when we’re hanging out in the desert, like now) but apparently I do not have Hyperhidrosis – neither Axilary, nor Palmar, and I am happy to report no signs of Erythrophobia!

While Rene may disagree, I feel I also have my Bromhidrosis under control.

When you’re working out it hot weather, please remember to rehydrate, especially if you sweat excessively.

And if you do, understand the facts and get yourself on the path to stop Hyperhydrosis by learning the basics. This infographic will help. Click the image to view it at full size.

Via: Bye Bye Excessive Armpit Sweat

Saturday afternoon we packed up from our quiet little spot in Borrego Springs and headed east to our favorite free wacky camping destination, Slab City USA.

Slab City Goes Upscale

OK maybe it’s just me, but it seems that the Slabs have gone upscale. There seems to be a real sense of ownership and pride around here that we’ve never seen before.

Trash piles are getting cleaned up, “No dumping” signs have sprung up, people are putting more artwork around the community, and a new Slab City Calendar of Events sign welcomes visitors. You no longer have to be in the know to find out what’s happening every day.

This Lurker Walks Into a Camp . . .

Yesterday I walked outside our rig and a stranger on an ATV pulls up, turns off his motor and says “You must be Rene.”

Huh?

“You don’t know me but I’ve been following your blog for a long time, since you first started.”

Whoooah.

I asked him his name, but didn’t know it. And there’s no reason I should have: in the five years since Jim and I started writing about our travels, he’s never once commented or contacted us. But he’s been a loyal reader and he could recall nearly everything we’ve been through on the road.

“You’re a lurker!” I said to him. But he didn’t like that term, he said it sounded too creepy. I’m not sure what to call him, other than a really jolly, adventurous, respected Canadian politico who’s now living his own road trip dream.

Although his wife isn’t thrilled about this place, I reassured him that despite the cleaned up appearance, the Slabs is still a great, safe dry camping spot, especially when you’re surrounded by dozens of other Canadian snowbirds here off Canal Road, in what we call “Canada Camp.”

A Lilliputlian Universe

What a thrill to know our blog actually has a reader! We never know if anyone’s paying attention to what we’re writing (even our family members usually don’t know what we’re up to because most of them don’t follow us!).

To meet a total stranger who’s been loyally reading our blog for years, really made our day.

Mr. “I”m-Not-a-Lurker” doesn’t have his own blog, otherwise I’d reveal his identity. I guess we’ll have to convince him to start his own RV Blog.

The Interwebs have shrunk our world so much. Now, only three degrees separates each and every one of us. And in the full-time traveler’s universe, it’s turned our world into that of Lilliputlian proportions.

Feeling upset? You may be surprised at just how good a smile will make you feel.

You might even be more surprised how contagious it is. In fact clinical studies have proven that smiling improves relaxation.

But smile at the wrong people, and they’ll wonder what you’re up to. I feel for these folks.

Going for an early morning run through industrial areas of Los Angeles, I would make it a point to smile and greet everyone I encountered. The majority of these people would just look at me funny. Some would scowl, others would grunt, and oftentimes someone would literally be quite startled. But every time, the eyes would quickly be divereted, if any eye contact was made at all. And while I did get a few responses en español, it wasn’t a language barrier thing. Take for instance the one older Asian gentleman walking briskly who replied with a big grin and resounding, albeit thickly accented, Good Morning!

More recently, as I was running along Mission Bay in San Diego, many people out for their morning stroll would reply with a smile or at least a nod. But still, the majority would still appear a bit taken aback.

Is it big city shitty life that makes one so jaded? I believe it has more to do with lifestyle. Take the old Asian guy. He was healthy, happy, and he knew it. The hungover lookin’ gangsta type at a bus stop appeared to be none of the above.

I realized something after comparing these runs over the past few weeks. Those who were up early and walking or riding bikes because they needed to be were not very happy campers. Those out enjoying the morning air because they wanted to be seemed much happier.

Where in this wonderful world of ours have you been where you noticed people to be exceptionally happy? Or rude for that matter?

I would have to say everyone we’ve ever met at Vickers Ranch has always worn a smile. And Luckenbach must be one of the happiest places in the universe. It is the center after all, according to Hondo.

But after four days without shampooing, I couldn’t take the oily, gritty feel of my locks and surrendered to the ‘poo.

Using about a gallon of water to wash and rinse, I couldn’t help but think there has to be a better way to keep my hair clean.

My question to you, long-haired RV boondocking gals, is: when you dry camp, how do you keep your locks looking (and smelling) good?

When I had a cute pixie ‘do like my RVing friend Tracy (in the pic below) washing my hair wasn’t such an ordeal. But now that I’ve reached my goal of big Texas hair, washing hair when boondocking requires serious water usage.

No ‘Poo Alternatives?

Now before you say “What about joining the “no ‘poo’ movement?” I’ll just say it: the thought of not shampooing my hair regularly seriously grosses me out.

I realize that way back, people used to only wash their hair once a year or so, but I’ll bet if you caught a whiff of their mane you’d be hightailing it back to the future for a long hot shower.

While I would never consider ditching my shampoo, I thought I heard something about how dry shampoos work great in-between washings. Thinking that maybe I could use less water this way, I  searched the web for “dry shampoo recipes” and was surprised to see that something as cheap and simple as a dusting of cornstarch is supposed to suck up the grease and make your hair look nice again. Later this week I’ll test this idea.

Have you tried homemade dry shampoo? If so, what did you think?

Boondocking has a few drawbacks like this, but overall it’s our favorite way to camp. We’re loving it here in the Southern California desert as we buckle down on work, listen to the coyotes yip and yowl and soak in the sun. Free RV camping doesn’t get any better than this!

Once again our $44 yearly Passport America membership has paid for itself. Last Tuesday after a sad goodbye to my family in Los Angeles, we headed south to San Diego to see Tripawds friends.

Our destination was Mission Bay RV Resort, which offers 50 percent savings to Passport members during winter. This coastal campground is normally $50 a night for a bare bones back-in RV site, but with our Passport America membership we got our sweet spot for half off!

Many of Passport’s affiliated RV parks are located in smaller towns that want to attract more tourists, but oftentimes you’ll find gems like these in major destinations.

We’re always super frugal about paying for campgrounds, but since joining Passport in 2008, we’ve never once regretted spending the money on this membership. It always seems to come in handy whenever we need full hookups.

If you’re on the road and haven’t joined this club, do it today. I guarantee you a Passport America membership will pay for itself the very first time you use it!