It is becoming impossible to write a post while boondocking as the computer never has battery power to allow me to do so. When we run the generator at night (my usual writing time) I’m either reading to the girls or the computer battery has been exhausted. Yesterday, while doing errands in town (that only took FOUR hours) we picked up a handy dandy charger that will run off the car’s power port (like a cig lighter but specifically made for things to plug into cig lighters). We have one in the back by the seats and one on the dash. It is so incredibly cool that I had to take a picture. So now, while we’re running the car, we can charge the computer. This makes boondocking much more enjoyable. (boondocking is generally considered no electricity, water, hookups of any kind. We have water available and can run the generator to boost the batteries (no solar packs on the trailer) but really only run the gen an hour or so.
We had a LOVELY visit with Tara and Nirinjin from Motherspirit at the Farmer’s Market on Sunday. I had purchased a bit of Talavera for them and was able to unload it. We also had 7 months of 
mail delivered to Niri’s house and some trailer supplies. She generously brought it with her and it was Christmas in August. Not only did she bring our deliveries but a large sack of dresses SHE SEWED for the girls. You can see Pike’s joy at the receipt of Birthday money from Grandma Elinor and the girls going gaga over the dresses. Ellen changed three times while we sat and gabbed and the kids played. We had so much fun that we’ll have dinner at Niri’s this evening.
My ankle and heel pain will not go away. I’d hope that the new shoes Jamie got me at Costco would do the trick, but they seem to make the problem worse. I’m really beginning to miss my daily walks. The campground is beautiful and other than evening fishermen, we’re absolutely alone.
We are all wishing Uncle Jon a very happy 50th birthday (should I have left the number out?) but were unable to get ahold of him yesterday by phone. Jamie and the kids all left a message on their answering machine while I emailed. Hopefully he’ll somehow get the greetings. 
I’m typing this at the library and I’ve found that I’ve lost all my brain matter so I’ll just end it here. I’ll head to Auto Zone to get online and post and forget more. Love to all. We finally got ahold of Kaisa and Linda and will be here til Wednesday at the earliest. Probably Thursday or Friday we’ll be gone. Jamie thought it would be really funny to take a picture of me while I was showering (Jesse is providing the tiniest bit of privacy) but you really can’t make anything out.
Hey guys, glad you made it to New Mexico. Say hello to Kaisa and the gang for me. It’s been ages since I’ve heard from them.
I recently came across your blog (sorry, I don’t remember where I saw the link to it) and I just wanted to say that I love hearing about your travels. What a wonderful adventure to share with your children. Thanks for keeping a journal for others to read!
My married daughter and son-in-law live in Albuquerque. Love your travelogue!
Hey there! Sorry to hear about the heel and ankle pain. I used to suffer from facitis as well after an ankle fracture, but can’t remember how it finally resolved itself, other than I began wearing Birkenstocks and LL Bean knockoffs of Merrills.
Despite all of my planning, we too are running into electrical issues when boondocking. I thought that 4 6v batteries and a group 31 on the tongue would do the trick, but I messed up by compromising on a smaller (1K) generator. I think we’re going to bite the bullet and put some solar (120W) up on the roof before we head south. It seems foolish to have the tripod satellite and not be able to use it due to low batteries. (We did however learn about the cigarette lighter inverter a few years ago, so laptop power hasn’t been a big issue.)
You know, at the rate you all are going, you’ll make it to the Bay Area just in time to turn around and head south again
. Warmest wishes to Jamie and the children.