CURRENT MISSION

inexpensive yet extensive travel

ABOUT ME

organized; flexible; humor; intelligent; budget traveler; long-time married; rural; two healthy, grown kids beginning their own adventures; welcoming; caretaker (up to a point :-)!); varied interests; simple pleasures; books and chocolate; climate aware; energy efficient; philosophy of national defense -- take $$ from just one year of Iraq/Afghanistan war costs and put in a national trust fund so that ALL highschool or college youth have one paid year to live, study, and/or work outside of their "comfort zone"

PHILOSOPHY

See "all about you" above...also, I believe in the Church of Good-Peoplehood

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For the foreseeable future, we will occasionally be able to host. We returned home from our 13-month "Vagabond", and then needed to deal with the Covid pandemic. Only now are we re-opening our home to CSer , and as we are now both retired, this will only be "de vez en cuando." We apologize for the long period of time without hosting! Also, be aware, depending on circumstances, we may ask that you wear a mask when in the house with us. RSV, flu, continuing Covid, and run-of-the-mill colds have been rampant this winter (2022-2023.)

We have spare couches, a spare futon, and actually two spare beds! Plus plenty of parking and floor space.

We live in the SW mountains of New Mexico, on the edge of the SW-most portion of the Gila National Forest (Burro Mts.) and on 10-acres of land. We are 20 miles outside town, and since the Covid high-point there is no longer any public bus transit to/fro town. A car is advisable.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

40 years ago it wasn't titled "couchsurfing", nor was it on the internet, but I participated! Even while living in S. America myself, I hosted travelers from Europe. Currently, my family offers couches and beds to cyclists in town for an annual 5 day bike race (except 2020 when we were still vagabonding, but also the event was cancelled due to the pandemic!) ... and have done so for years. Aside from hosting many CSers, we enjoyed our first official CS experience as "surfers" Spring 2010 while in Europe visiting our daughter. And onward ....

Interests

With my husband, friends, family and alone!

• books
• chocolate
• working out
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• history
• budget travel
• wwoof
• rafting
• cultural sites

Music, Movies, and Books

Would take too much space to write out favorites. Books are my true addiction, and it is very rare for me to go anywhere without a book or three. Always handy for travel waiting times!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Only one? The year my husband and I packed up our kids and our backpacks for Mexico and NZ (1998.) The Farm Stay experiences (WWOOF -- ? World Wide Organization of Organic Farms?) were amazing and impact our lives still. Update: OK, gotta add 2012 hiking on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain, especially the coastal route, and now, looking back to 2019-2020, the 13-month camping "vagabond trip" around the USA, southern Canada, and Oaxaca, MX.

Teach, Learn, Share

My husband is a retired builder and quite happy to participate in building projects, and/or to teach a few skills. We have extensive travel and living experience in and out of the USA and, due to our ages if nothing else, lots of education and wisdom ... WE think ... :-) ... !

What I Can Share with Hosts

Inside info on our SW region of the United States and our SW mountains region of New Mexico. Through my husband, building experience.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, England, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Scotland, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, United States

• 

•