Goodbye New Mexico!

August 30, 2017

You’re not going to believe this but…

We’re on our way back to South Dakota! We spent five nights in Jemez Springs and I felt significantly better. I was able to cook, do laundry by hand and walk Ramona again. I had more energy and less pain. So why are we heading back already?

Well… boondocking in the Jemez Mountains reminded us just how hard daily life can be when you don’t have access to a power outlet and have to drive 40 minutes just to get water to do laundry and dishes. Not to mention, having to drive 4 hours every time you need groceries! Perhaps worst of all, it reminded us of how impossible it is to get work done without cell service or internet.

If this was just a two week vacation where we could bring everything we need with us and just enjoy nature it would be fantastic. We really love Jemez Springs. But this is daily life we’re talking about!

So, after weighing the pros and cons we decided that life was better on the ranch even with the wildfire smoke. Brett was getting more work done on the ranch even though he had to do all the chores because I was too ill to help.

Going to New Mexico also made us realize that spending the winter in the van will probably still be miserable in the desert. People we met kept telling us how cold it gets. So, it seems that if we want to avoid emergency hotel stays we at least need to try to find a rental that I can tolerate. And if we’re going to be indoors anyway, why not look for something in Rapid City? The air is good there (when smoke isn’t blowing in), we know where to buy things, and we were finally starting to meet new friends.

In the end, we decided that if we want to give ourselves a chance at finding a tolerable indoor living situation we’re going to need to start looking now. Erik Johnson, the mold avoidance pioneer, has said that in his experience about 1 in 12 buildings are clear enough for someone like me.

So we’re heading back with the understanding that I might feel worse for a little while but the fires won’t last forever. Pretty soon the temperatures will start dropping and the smoke will clear. And who knows? Maybe the air will feel a bit better now that the ranchers are no longer painting the house. Let’s hope it does!


By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.

Get My 5 Favorite Resources

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10 Comments

  • Laura Davison

    Ooh! That’s exciting! I hope it works out for you 😀

    August 30, 2017 at 7:36 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Thank you so much Laura!

      August 31, 2017 at 7:35 pm Reply
  • Danae Kilber

    YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! Oh this makes me so happy!! Yes, PLEASE come back!

    August 30, 2017 at 8:48 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      😊❤️

      August 31, 2017 at 7:35 pm Reply
  • Natalie Julson

    This is soooooooo exciting!!!!!!!!!! Praying for you guys constantly

    August 30, 2017 at 9:03 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Thank you so so so much Natalie! ❤️

      August 31, 2017 at 7:35 pm Reply
  • L

    I know everyone and their dog has advice for you, but is it possible you’re also suffering from seasonal allergies in addition to the smoke? I live a few hours south of Rapid, and prime allergy season hit here about the same time you started having problems there. It’s so cool to get to read about your mold avoidance story even though we’ll likely never meet until eternity.

    August 31, 2017 at 9:40 am Reply
    • Ana Harris

      “Everyone & their dog” Haha! So true! That’s interesting that you mention that because Brett’s seasonal allergies have definitely been acting up. My symptoms aren’t classic allergies though so I don’t think it’s that.

      August 31, 2017 at 7:34 pm Reply
  • Nanette Fenn

    “Please, please, please to our Abba God…will you give Ana & Brett a place to winter where they can have the necessities they need and function with their needs of daily life? If it’s one out of twelve…will you bring the one without needing to see the others? We thank you, Jesus, that you love us so greatly.”

    August 31, 2017 at 6:27 pm Reply
    • Ana Harris

      Aww… Thank you so much Nanette. This prayer really touched me. Keeping you and Petra and Marty in my prayers also.

      August 31, 2017 at 7:30 pm Reply

    Leave a Reply to L