May 3, 2026. This spot is exceptional. I sent the drone down the canyon yesterday and worked out how high up we are: 950 feet down to the Colorado River below. But as great as this spot is, there's a truck camper across the way parked in the ultimate spot. I spoke with the guy and he's leaving today or tomorrow. I can't not take that spot when he goes. It's too special. The trail over there is rough enough that I'll need four wheel drive, maybe air down a bit. Greg doesn't think Shannon can make it but Shannon thinks she can. I'm keeping one eye on that truck camper. The moment he starts rolling out I need to move. Realistically there's no hurry, it's a Sunday and things always clear out after the weekend. But I'm not taking any chances.
Greg says 40mph winds are coming this afternoon, possibly higher. He's seen 60 here, and says they come up fast. If it gets bad we may need to reposition the vans to take the gusts head-on rather than broadside. I'm half set up for that reason. I'll set up fully at the new spot.
The footsteps I heard at 2:55am, the ones I mentioned in yesterday's entry, have become a minor mystery. I assumed it was Greg heading out for his 3am meditation. But when I told him the story the next morning he said it wasn't him, he never stepped outside. The footsteps were unmistakable and sounded human. I don't think there's any chance it was a human. Maybe a deer. I'm sleeping with my doors closed until we figure out what it was, and I now want a game camera specifically for situations like this.
Yesterday I'd planned to spend the afternoon on video work but ended up on a side quest. A few months ago I built something called the Fractal Story Engine. I'd had the concept for a long time and it took me a while to figure out how to execute it. As soon as I finished it I realized what it needed to be: interactive, generating stories on the fly based on reader input. In my mind that was an enormous project I didn't have clarity on how to build. Somehow yesterday I built it in an afternoon. The minimum viable product is up and running. I'm still monkeying with it and not ready to feature it anywhere yet. I need to live with it a bit. The current version is the Infinite Story Machine.
This place is so quiet. Our last spot was quiet but this is a different level entirely. No overhead aircraft, no tourist helicopters, nothing. Just raw landscape. The rocks are all sharp, any one of them can cut you. No dirt, no trees, just cactus and canyon. Remarkably good OneWheel territory though.