Treatment for itchy feet

I often have a hard time staying in one spot for more than three or four days—even if it's a nice place. I start hankering for a change. It probably has something to do with a lifetime of feeling restricted, or a need for new experiences. Something, anyway.

But I think I've discovered a way to deal with that urge, to reduce my wandering. A little. Rather than relocating fifty, a hundred, two hundred miles or more, it might be enough to move only a mile or two. A new campsite in the same general place, or even within the same park.

I stayed about two weeks in the Sedona/Cottonwood area. That's forever in Rolling Steel Tent years. But I camped in four different spots. A new place, a new view.

Then, yesterday, after a few days in one part of Buckeye Hills Regional Park, Lou, Jo and I moved to a different spot about a mile down the road. If I stand on tiptoes I can see where we were before, yet I feel like I could stay here a little longer.

A new spot a little farther down the road

So, today's hypothesis is that maybe it's just the act of relocating, not the distance traveled, that calms the urge to wander. Maybe it's like flipping the pillow and changing position in bed in order to get back to sleep.

A slightly different view from a slightly different campsite

I did something similar to this a few years ago. I was booking a vacation on Cozumel, trying to decide on a hotel. An all-inclusive resort way out toward the south end of the island? Maybe the place with the highly rated dive operator? Or what about one downtown where there's more to see and do? I decided to split my stay between all three of them. My vacation seemed longer and more interesting. (And I learned all-inclusive resorts aren't my kind of place.)

I have a feeling, though, that by the end of this week I'll want/need to take a much bigger leap on the map. I think I hear the Pacific calling me again. (Well, it's always calling. I just try to ignore it.)