I received an abject lesson in mortality a year ago today when I lost my best friend, Ray, to cancer. Later that same day my wife’s Uncle Roy, who I also cared for, passed as well. It was a shit day. It was also a first domino for me.
Ray had unfinished business when he left for the distant lands. Places he had wanted to go and had not been able to. People to visit one last time that he could not because his health declined too quickly. Adventures that did not happen. Most importantly, he was not able to attend the wedding of his only daughter in Florida, which took place about a month after he passed. Seeing him lose out on these things caused me to ask what things I would be losing out on if my problem heart decided it was time to become more of a problem than usual.
My list was longer than I thought. What I mostly learned over this past year is that I am someone who loves being outdoors, but didn’t realize it until I am late enough in life that I am running out of time, or at least healthy years, in which I can indulge this passion. So, with Ray in mind, I made some plans and I have been slowly working to make them happen since last April.
One of the big ones was wiping out credit card debt. I would have had entirely paid down everything by the end of this February if the bright orange, retarded felon who somehow commandeered the country to the south of us had not started some bullshit with tariffs. I was doing well with my evil scheme up until this point. I had two out of three cards zeroed out and was close to vanquishing the third when I hurriedly had to bump up my plans to purchase a truck before a pending trade war inflated the price on me by 20%. So, I suddenly had a a new whip (the credit card will now take an additional month to clear out). The reason for the truck is seen below as I also procured a travel trailer for an amazing cash deal back in November of 2024. At a GVWR of 3620 kg (7,980 lbs) it’s not exactly something Vlad the Impala could have pulled.
Enter Gilgamesh, my new 2024 RAM 3500 Big Horn, Crew Cab, Long Box with the towing prep kit. It has a 6.7L Cummins HO Turbo Diesel and it will pull 16,803 kg (37,050 lbs) if it has to. If you’re not familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh, look it up. There’s no link from me on this one because I’m making you earn the knowledge. It It is one of humanity’s oldest tales and also one of its best ones. It’s a hero’s journey of self-discovery and confronting one’s mortality. The latter being something I have had occasion to dwell on this past year with the number of friends I have been losing.
I fell in love with paddle boarding in 2024 and keenly regret that this is something I was not able to do with Ray. I am sure he would have loved it, especially being able to get photos off of the water late in the day in the sweet light.
I managed to buzz around in my beloved Vlad the Impala for a fair amount of paddling this last year, but the amount of travel required to get a bit of time on the water was ridiculous as I don’t live close to the places where I need to be to do the things that quiet my soul.
I made the decision to find and purchase a used travel trailer because adventures are more fun when my wife is with me and she sensibly has minimum standards in regards to camping. I admit that she’s not wrong about having a full kitchen, running water, and a queen bed to sleep in at night.
It’s a 1999 Frontier W243 22.5 ft fifth wheel that, while used, is in darn good shape. It does have some cosmetic hail damage on the front, but it’s clean with no leaks and very little wear for it’s age. The fact that it doesn’t have a slide-out makes it undesirable to today’s camping crowd and therefore cheap like borscht. I’m not a fan of slide-outs anyhow as I view them as just another thing to break and leak.
In any case, Vlad is gone and Gilgamesh is here. My finances are mostly in order, I’ve now got the portable lodging, I’ve got the means to pull it, and, most importantly, I have the will to do it. I can now go to The Places and Do The Things. And I can stay there for as long as I need to so I can keep doing them thanks to my remote employment that lets me work from anywhere I have a Net connection. Like next to a lake.
My plans for the past year didn’t exactly work out the way I thought they would. I knew I would lose a good friend but I didn’t realize the wound it would leave behind. I didn’t expect to change jobs, but I did, and I ended up with more money and more freedom to do all that I have just talked about. I am grateful for this. My plans to get a photo and post every day fell apart on me at the end of the year for this blog, but it is not the end of the blog. It was me deciding to stop wasting my energy flailing at bad photos and to take what energy was left to quietly get my ducks in a row for the coming photography season, which I have done. The blog will spring back into life soon enough and it will be glorious. I hope that Ray, wherever he is, will enjoy what’s coming.
I’ve got the gear. I’ve got the truck. I’ve got the trailer. I’ve got the means. I’ve got the will. I’ve got this.
Mostly Samsung phone camera images. I’ll dig real cameras out again soon. Promise.
