Week 30: Our first Christmas in the van!

Darby Wells BLM Area, near Ajo, Arizona

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Our first Christmas in the van was the best present ever. The only thing that would have made it more magical was a little dusting of snow! (I wasn’t expecting any snow since we’re camping in the desert and it’s been in the 60-70s F — but you just never know!)

In the Shadow of North Ajo Peak

We’re currently camped in Darby Wells BLM Area near Ajo, Arizona (about 2 hours west of Tucson) and enjoying every minute!

North Ajo Peak on the right, and our camp spot on the left.

We chose this campsite for the view of North Ajo peak, and this amazing organ pipe cactus. When I sit at my table in the van I see the Organ Pipe right outside my window!

I took the panoramic photo from this little knob across from camp.

I did some research on them, and according to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument website:

The organ pipe cactus can live to over 150 years in age, and produces their first flower near the age of 35. These cacti are slow-growing, only growing about 2.5 inches a year, with the greatest growth occurring during the summer monsoons. For the first 10 years, it will be no bigger than a few inches and is prone to being trampled by animals or being washed out by heavy monsoon storms. Very few organ pipe cacti will survive until they grow their first stem at around 30 years old. Once the first stem is grown, the plant is large enough that it can withstand colder temperatures, drought, and disturbance with greater ease. At this point, threats are limited to disease, infection, or lightning strikes.

Looking closely at “our” Organ Pipe, it’s loaded with buds:

I’d love to be here to see it bloom — but I’m guessing it will be pretty hot by then!

I wonder how old this guy is?

Our Organ Pipe silhouetted against the sunset. Photo taken from the passenger seat in the van!

Just so cool! Nature is truly amazing.

Spectacular Sunrise

We’ve been treated to some truly spectacular skies this week! Here’s a sunrise with photos taken from the window by our bed. (We were glad to watch this while staying cozy under the covers since it got down in the low 40’s).

First there was a glimmer of color on the horizon:

Then we got more pink:

Photo by J, taken out the window.

And then an orange glow!

Photo by J!

Whoa!

Christmas Eve Sunset

Not to be outdone by the sunrises, the sunsets have been pretty spectacular too! Here’s one from Christmas Eve:

I had to take a video to catch all the nuances — can’t believe this is real:

la.spangler

A post shared by @la.spangler

And “our” Organ Pipe cactus was the star of the show!

Christmas Day

I’ve been keeping a 5-year journal since June of 2020 and have been dreaming of our first Christmas in the van! I wanted to make it special but also not too much work, ha!

I found some hominy at a small grocery store in New Mexico and just HAD to get it. I saved it for a special occasion, and since it was chilly on Christmas Day it seemed the perfect time to use it and make some black bean soup, using up some leftover homemade black beans! So good, y’all!

I also used our festive place cards that I made with collab palette I did with Letter Sparrow — they added a little something extra special. Check out a how-to video tutorial HERE on Instagram if you’d like to make some for New Year’s.

Later we turned on our Starlink (satellite internet dish) and did a FaceTime with the Spangler side of the family in Ohio. It still amazes me that we can do this from out in the middle of nowhere! It was so good to see everyone and catch up.

Spangler family FaceTime: Jason’s sister Jamie, our niece Madi, J’s Mom and Dad, and our nephew Colin.

I got to talk to my side of the family too but for some reason I couldn’t do a FaceTime with my Dad — gotta get that figured out, stat!

Attempting North Ajo Peak!

The day after Christmas was cloudy and cooler, so we decided to go hiking to try and warm up! North Ajo Peak beckoned to us to try to climb it, so we set off from camp.

North Ajo Peak beckoning to us.

As we climbed higher the skies got more dramatic. If this wasn’t Arizona I would swear it was going to rain — but there was only had a 4% chance in the forecast.

Eventually we got to a point where we didn’t feel comfortable trying to go any higher. The rocks were crumbling underfoot and we didn’t want to risk injury since we were out in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to head back down the mountain, but not before taking a zillion photos.

Here’s J after looking at satellite images for a route.

I think that peak over on the right looks like a capitol dome. J used the PeakFinder app on it, and we think it’s in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

From this high up we could see what looks like terrace lines in the desert — we’re guessing they’re caused by water/erosion over time. Can’t wait to try and paint this!

We ended up hiking all around the base of North Ajo Peak, for 5.5 miles on the day. What a great hike!

Maybe next time we’re here we’ll find a way up.

When we took a break for lunch I did some nature journaling of a barrel cactus spine that we found — it reminded me of the caltrops that the Romans used to use.

Making Paint from Soil

One of my ongoing projects since we started traveling full time is to make paint from soil (where soil collection is allowed, of course).

This was my third time making paint from soil and I think I’m getting the hang of it! Note: check out Roseann Hanson’s “Feral Watercolor” project for tons of great info and inspiration. She’s one of my art heroes!

I collected some soil on our North Ajo Peak hike, and used a stainless steel mortar and pestle to grind it into a fine powder — this was the smallest one I could find for using in the van and I’m pretty happy with it so far!

Then I added a few drops of Schmicke watercolor medium to it plus a bit of water and mulled it together.

Here are my test swatches — I’m using a Hahnemuhle 100% Cotton sketchbook for this project and I can’t wait until it’s filled up!

I was super surprised to see that light pinkish tan soil turn into a rich chocolatey brown!

Paint made from soil next to a beautiful barrel cactus in camp!

What a record of our travels this will be!

Happy New Year!

Welp, that’s it for this week — and it’s the last post of 2024, too — time really flies, amiright?

Wishing you a very happy new year filled with peace, love, and joy — and time in nature.

See you next year! — Lisa & Jason

A magical sunset from camp on December 28, 2024, with North Ajo Peak silhouetted against the sky.