Every two to three weeks, I make a trip into Surprise (if the weather is cold) or to Prescott (if the weather is hot) for major supplies. At the very least, this includes two stops, Costco and Wal-Mart. Yes, the cost is more to drive 100 miles round trip to either big town but I always take in the “Yes! I’m escaping for the day” factor. With unleaded gasoline at $3.??/gallon either direction, I can justify it. I always come home more uplifted than supplied, and I might add, exhausted.
Even if you’re not a Costco customer, you could take advantage of their lunch offerings. While they have many selections, my favorite is the polish sausage and soda for $1.64. The sausage is at least 8 inches long so it’s no slouch and you get your own drink so it is basically unending. You can have sauerkraut on the sausage if you like. It is delicious, filling, and you certainly can’t beat the price.
The other thing is that while you eat, you can watch the people. As RVers, you know how much fun that can be. I gave my sausage sandwich a good douse of mustard and relish. I was behind a gentleman who was also preparing his sandwich with condiments when a small boy squeezed in between us. The boy couldn’t reach the handles to get what he required. The gentleman kindly helped the little boy get everything he needed. I later saw him sitting alone so I know he wasn’t the father or grandfather. He was just pretending to be that gentle father or grandfather. I lost track of the boy but I’m sure he was with his mother somewhere in the myriad of tables dealing with a passel of other kids.
Well, it was a small thing, and I know that all of you do those small, thoughtful things probably a dozen times every day, but it makes my heart feel good when I see it. There are way too many sad, bad happenings in this world of ours, but if we observe our fellow man for a few minutes once upon a shopping trip, or other places, we will see that there are still good deeds done quietly and softly and without fanfare.
A mom passed by surrounded by several walking-sized children but what caught my eye was the huge amount of groceries she had gathered for her clan and sitting on top of it all was a baby of less than a year. He was dressed only in a diaper and I surmised that the pile of clothes next to him meant that he had experienced a mishap. He wasn’t concerned and neither was anyone else. He was perched on top of an enormous bag of dog food like a king of his world…and I guess he was.
I took twisting, winding, Highway 89 to come home to North Ranch and nobody was chewing on my bumper so I could thoroughly enjoy each turn in this magnificent drive. A storm entertained me enough that I was compelled to park in one of the pull-off places and listen to its rumbling thunder and watch the clouds and lightning as this rare storm rained its way through the mountains. I have probably driven that road 300 times over the years, but its beauty never fails to fascinate me. I hope you’re taking the time to watch where you are going. God Bless until next week.
Winter in the Wilderness, the first e-book novel published by Minshall, is offered at most Internet book sites. A print edition may be obtained from Amazon, or you can order an autographed copy from the author at Box 1040, Congress, AZ for $7.95 plus $3.50 for postage and handling. The fourth edition of RVing Alaska and Canada is available through Amazon.com. 
At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”
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