Roxy Whalley, the "Nomad for Nature", is a freedom loving photographer and nomad who I befriended on my journey in the winter of 2016-2017 and have kept in touch with with since. She has dedicated her life to living mobily*, sorting through those challenges and staying "free" to live as she chooses. Her amazing photos are a testament to her success.
When I tell people about my three month trip, many say "you are so BRAVE"! for going alone and sleeping in my car. And that's from telling them I boondocked overnight at Walmart. Well maybe in this day and age that could be true, considering how many guns are out there. I wonder if there will be a shootout someday in a Walmart parking lot between RV gunslingers.
However, what people don't realize, is that if you're around other people, especially other RV folks, you're almost 100% assured that nothing bad is going to happen to you unless you invite someone crazy into your space. Most folks are really lovely, helpful and friendly. And most of us just say hi and keep to ourselves for these short overnights at Walmart or wherever we are.
But Roxy's neighbors in Colorado and Wyoming are bears. All kinds of bears. Grizzlies and black bears. Bears with cubs.
The photos are hers.
The photos are hers.
You want to talk about a brave woman............she writes about it with such a relaxed tone, like, "they come and poke their noses up into your windeows and scratch at the door". WHAT????
So....... she's installed motion detectors on her car doors that create light and sound to scare them off (these are described in her blog entry about bears.)
One of the things she's recently added to her arsenal as a solo traveler is a location rescue device in case she's in trouble. She's tested several and you can hear more at here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtQAqymEUk0
Remember, most of the time she's ALONE in the woods......... with the bears. And to be honest, the bears are not the scariest thing about being alone. Being ALONE is the scariest thing about being alone. That's when HUMANS can do horrible things. So me in my little Walmart parking lot somewhere in Louisiana is a pretty safe wimpy option for us vehicle dwellers
One of the things she's recently added to her arsenal as a solo traveler is a location rescue device in case she's in trouble. She's tested several and you can hear more at here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtQAqymEUk0
I've always thought women should invest in a nice little canister of pepper spray attached to their key chain and just put it in their hand armed and ready to go when they are alone in a parking lot or other places that human predators lurk. I actually invested in pepper spray for my trip, one that has a half glove that I put on when I'm asleep (in the locked position) so that it's already in my hand if I'm woken up by an intruder. I used it for a bit on my trip, but I eventually just locked my doors and felt safe. But that was always on option.
Here's the pepper spray glove bought on Amazon. Roxy has bear spray, but I don't think she's ever used it.
But Roxy takes the bears in stride with a calm that comes from her years of being around them. I really admire her fortitude and "I'm not letting anything stop me" attitude in living exactly the way she wants.
From Roxy's Blog "Nomad for Nature"
From Roxy's Blog "Nomad for Nature"
I have often been asked by people, especially women (but men too), if I’m scared to travel on my own. The fear they feel of traveling outside their comfort zone, such as their town, county or State, into the unknown on their own, seems to be the biggest thing holding them back.
I have always given them the same answer; to just take it one step at a time.
If you can drive just one mile (on your own) into unknown territory, then you can drive one more mile, then another.
If you can drive 10-separate miles, then you can drive ten more.
If you get scared, you already know that there is nothing to fear on the road behind you, and it’s now familiar ground, so you can always turn around and return to your safe place if you wish to.
However, if you can go 50-miles, you can…
If you'd like to read her bear entry (highly recommended) please do so here!
https://nomadfornature.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/living-in-a-vehicle-or-r-v-in-bear-country/
* Oddly, with all these "mobile" devices, they still haven't accepted the word "mobily" as a word in Merriam Webster but it's in the "Urban Dictionary."
* Oddly, with all these "mobile" devices, they still haven't accepted the word "mobily" as a word in Merriam Webster but it's in the "Urban Dictionary."
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