No, not the movie (although I'll take the hemi challenger, thank-you-very-much). I'm talking about the point just beyond the breaking point.. Where you've broken, and yet have to keep going, forcing you into this "fuck everything, I can't take it anymore" frame of mind.
I think I've reached it. I've worked over 100 hours in the past 5 days (yes, that counts the weekend). I keep asking myself "what the hell for?". I've asked for help from my team, but the one person that bothered to respond (which, BTW, wasn't any of the 6-7 people I've spent entire nights working with in order to help them) said "sorry, I'm taking my kid to get ice cream".
... and being salary, the more I work, the less I get paid. Granted, my job affords a fairly nice lifestyle, but I've come to the realization that I'll never have everything I want (do any of us.. ever?). Instead of chasing that dream I need to start doing the things that make me happy with the people that make me happy. - IOW: Define my new dream.
It's time to start selling some toys (Harley for sale, anyone interested?), simplify, and perhaps change jobs, maybe change careers. At this point, and for the foreseeable future, what's important to me is living life. SO many people that have known me over the long term say "look how far you've come!".. It's easy to get trapped (and I have) into living behind a keyboard and doing whatever it takes so I never have to hear the words "what happened? You had it all?!?).
Well, lepers and germs, that time has come; the time to where it just doesn't matter. The vanishing point.
Don't be surprised if sometime in the future, we are gone, our shit is gone.. Just *poof* - Vanished into thin air.
Sure, you may get a postcard from bum-fuck Egypt saying "Hi! Wish you were here!" with a picture of us (myself, wife, gf, 4 dogs) standing beside a giant ball of aluminum foil with a 30 foot rv/fifth wheel in the background. (Who knows, maybe move out to the desert and actually create two towns, side-by-side, bum-fuck Egypt and butt-fuck Egypt, just so all of those lost people can have their mail forwarded somewhere - I'll save that for another post)
My new mission/dream - get out, enjoy life, LIVE life, find/get(or change the current one's frame-of-mind) a live-in gf that's sexy (not necessarily "hot", but oozes sex appeal), is "down" for doing just about anything and living anywhere, gets along well with wifey , and helps me to convert every hottie at every campsite into swingers. Yeah baby, YEAH!
(just let me keep 1 computer, my zx-10, my cell phone/PDA, and 1 notebook/laptop to stay in touch with people - ok, ok. Sheesh! It's really to download porn)
(Damn I use a lot of parentheses)
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
The Dragon
Went to Deal's Gap this weekend for some much needed biking R & R. I haven't done any noteworthy riding since Spring Ride (April?), and man does it ever show. My best time (riding at a quick, but not hurried pace) this weekend was about 1.5 minutes (yes minutes) slower than my times when I went there this past spring (which was not Spring Ride - that's in Little Switzerland, NC).
Gotta love those twisties!
Way too many Harleys doing 20 and still running off the road, acting like the general asses they are known to be - and people wonder why I don't want to ride mine. I don't want to be associated with these brain dead fucks.
Example: *Purposely* (as in swerving to keep people from passing, and other obnoxious behavior) backing up traffic for 3 miles (over an 11 mile long road!), getting behind a truck for the last .5-.75 mile, pulling over, and spending the next 30 minutes bitching about what an asshole the truck driver is... I saw this behavior all weekend. Asswipes.
Check out this one.. yes, that IS the wrong side of the road that he almost ran off of trying to keep up with the guy in the lead(it's about a 1000-1500 foot drop 10-20 feet to the right of the white line).
You must treat the dragon like your best friend... your best mafia friend. You can count on it, you'll have stories to tell that you would never dream of if you didn't become friends, but if you don't respect it, if you fuck with it, it will kill you.
Note to self: Never go to the dragon again when there is a Harley rally within 150 miles.
I did get in about 8 passes up and down (16 total). They were mostly slow, but great for clearing out the cobwebs. It's getting late in the year, leaves are falling (wet leaves are slippery), and then the ice is going to start showing up, so this year is out, but next year, I have GOT to start getting out there once a month or so to keep my skills up.
I wish I would have got back into camping years ago.. correction: I wish I never stopped. This weekend, minus truck fuel (don't even get me started on that!) and groceries (which I would have bought anyway) cost me a total of $32. $15 for camping, $7 for lunch, $8 for fuel for the bike, $2 for various beverages.
At what point did I become the person that couldn't go anywhere unless there was a hotel, nice restaurant, etc? I dunno, but I can tell you, he's gone.
Camping is fun, relaxing, cheap, the scenery is usually spectacular (last trip I stayed on the Oregon Coast Highway, this trip I was at the base of the Fontana Dam - 500 feet tall, beautiful river, great fishing), and... lest I/we forget - I/We went someplace to be someplace else, to see something else, and to get away from it all.
Camping does a much better job of this than staying in a room/building (that if you are lucky and have paid enough has half the ammenities of home).
Here's a view of the dam. to give you some perspective as to size - see that little loop in the lower right-hand corner? That's the entire campground. The center part of the loop will hold 10 full sized (30-40 foot) 5th wheel trailers, and has picnic tables, shelters, etc. The outside of the loop is all tent sites and there's a bathouse there.. That dam is friggin huge. It's not my first time seeing it, but now I know why I wasn't too impressed with the Hoover dam.
I have GOT to get some sort of trailer. I've been tent camping, and I really like it. much more of a, well, "campy" feeling. There are limits though.. heat, cold, they take their toll. While I'm drooling over a large 5th wheel or even a travel trailer (possibly a better choice, given dog hauling needs), a part of me is thinking that a pop-up/tent camper might be more in line with the basics of what I'm looking for - some sort of temperature control and the ability to use the bathroom without getting fully dressed and and walking across a campground.
Who knows, maybe it's worth actually renting all of them out to find out what I really like... it's certainly not worth renting them out just for the sake of having them for a week (something like $350-$450 a week for a 15-20 year old pop-up worth about $2000.. you don't even want to know what the Class A motorhomes rent for!).
Anyway,...suffice it to say, I'll be gone a lot more often and having a lot more fun, no matter what I happen to be sleeping in. Feel free to join me.
Gotta love those twisties!
Way too many Harleys doing 20 and still running off the road, acting like the general asses they are known to be - and people wonder why I don't want to ride mine. I don't want to be associated with these brain dead fucks.
Example: *Purposely* (as in swerving to keep people from passing, and other obnoxious behavior) backing up traffic for 3 miles (over an 11 mile long road!), getting behind a truck for the last .5-.75 mile, pulling over, and spending the next 30 minutes bitching about what an asshole the truck driver is... I saw this behavior all weekend. Asswipes.
Check out this one.. yes, that IS the wrong side of the road that he almost ran off of trying to keep up with the guy in the lead(it's about a 1000-1500 foot drop 10-20 feet to the right of the white line).
You must treat the dragon like your best friend... your best mafia friend. You can count on it, you'll have stories to tell that you would never dream of if you didn't become friends, but if you don't respect it, if you fuck with it, it will kill you.
Note to self: Never go to the dragon again when there is a Harley rally within 150 miles.
I did get in about 8 passes up and down (16 total). They were mostly slow, but great for clearing out the cobwebs. It's getting late in the year, leaves are falling (wet leaves are slippery), and then the ice is going to start showing up, so this year is out, but next year, I have GOT to start getting out there once a month or so to keep my skills up.
I wish I would have got back into camping years ago.. correction: I wish I never stopped. This weekend, minus truck fuel (don't even get me started on that!) and groceries (which I would have bought anyway) cost me a total of $32. $15 for camping, $7 for lunch, $8 for fuel for the bike, $2 for various beverages.
At what point did I become the person that couldn't go anywhere unless there was a hotel, nice restaurant, etc? I dunno, but I can tell you, he's gone.
Camping is fun, relaxing, cheap, the scenery is usually spectacular (last trip I stayed on the Oregon Coast Highway, this trip I was at the base of the Fontana Dam - 500 feet tall, beautiful river, great fishing), and... lest I/we forget - I/We went someplace to be someplace else, to see something else, and to get away from it all.
Camping does a much better job of this than staying in a room/building (that if you are lucky and have paid enough has half the ammenities of home).
Here's a view of the dam. to give you some perspective as to size - see that little loop in the lower right-hand corner? That's the entire campground. The center part of the loop will hold 10 full sized (30-40 foot) 5th wheel trailers, and has picnic tables, shelters, etc. The outside of the loop is all tent sites and there's a bathouse there.. That dam is friggin huge. It's not my first time seeing it, but now I know why I wasn't too impressed with the Hoover dam.
I have GOT to get some sort of trailer. I've been tent camping, and I really like it. much more of a, well, "campy" feeling. There are limits though.. heat, cold, they take their toll. While I'm drooling over a large 5th wheel or even a travel trailer (possibly a better choice, given dog hauling needs), a part of me is thinking that a pop-up/tent camper might be more in line with the basics of what I'm looking for - some sort of temperature control and the ability to use the bathroom without getting fully dressed and and walking across a campground.
Who knows, maybe it's worth actually renting all of them out to find out what I really like... it's certainly not worth renting them out just for the sake of having them for a week (something like $350-$450 a week for a 15-20 year old pop-up worth about $2000.. you don't even want to know what the Class A motorhomes rent for!).
Anyway,...suffice it to say, I'll be gone a lot more often and having a lot more fun, no matter what I happen to be sleeping in. Feel free to join me.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Talk About Optimistic - Donkey Porn's Effect on One Man
I saw this on Craigslist, a classified ad/bbs system of sorts. It's very poorly put together, but seems to be a favorite hangout of many. Pasted here in it's entirety to avoid broken links in the future, I present to you... a person that can take any situation and turn it into something that makes his life better. The ultimate optimist:
----
Thank you Donkey Porn
Reply to: anon-90359106@craigslist.org
Date: Thu Aug 11 07:06:26 2005
First, if you are offended by harsh language please do not read this post. This post is rated CL-MA and so there is your warning…
I was really bored last night and decided to download some porn. So I open the P2P program I use and think of some nasty words to search for.
"Ass" hmmm no not specific enough.
"Hot ass" nah that could turn up a guy
"Hot ass brunette" okay now I am getting some results but you have to be specific when you are searching on this thing.
"Hot ass brunette doggy style" ahh there we go! Tons of results! Let’s start double clicking!
So, I let them download and go about reading some CL stuff and trying to get the least hits on Google.
Ah ha! I see the beautiful black bar that indicates a completed download! Woohoo time for some porn watchin’.
So I get all set up in my chair ready for some hot doggy style action. I click play and wait to see if I have already watched this particular clip. I haven’t, man this is sweet!
Enter screen left a beautiful, I think Brazilian, woman undoubtedly ready to get done in some nasty ways.
"Yeah this is going to be hot!" I think to myself as I watch her walking through the grass.
Then I think "oh yeah outdoor sex, grass and good lighting, awesome!"
Enter screen right white guy with donkey. Actually enter screen right white guy with donkey that has a huge hard on. At this point I realize what I have downloaded. I am now watching some Brazilian Donkey Porn.
Now I am a guy slowing down to look at an accident. I know you all are pissed at me looking, and say you would not, but when you get to the accident you look too.
So anyway this incredibly hot chick starts to mess around with the Donkey.
I will spare you the details but it was hardcore and made me feel a bit dirty to be honest.
The movie finishes. I am waiting for the FBI to pound on my door and arrest me. Then it hits me.
That chick just did a donkey and yet I am single. It’s not like she was ugly or anything…
Why am I single? I thought.
Well you have some bad habits. My brain replied.
Yeah I do have bad habits but I think there are some women who would overlook them. I thought.
Yeah but they are ugly. My brain replied.
Okay brain, stop it! There are obviously hot girls out there that are doing donkeys for Christ sake!!
Then I thought about what I just saw and the reason someone would do something like bang a donkey.
The only reasons I could think of are:
Money
Drugs
Some weird animal fetish that I do not even want to think about
So, I am not into animals we can knock that one right out. I also am not a big fan of drugs. Though for some reason I always have weed? I don’t know what’s the deal with that? But I digress…
So I am left with money. Makes sense, if money can make a hot girl bang a donkey then I am sure it will make one want to be with me.
This also got me thinking about hot girls in general. My approach has really been no approach. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by hot girls until last night. Now that the image of that hot girl is in my head with a big floppy Donkey dick… Hot girls watch out.
That single clip of porn has given me new confidence and drive. If I make all the money I can and have a more aggressive approach to hot girls I will land one of you soon. I am sorry ladies but that clip of Donkey porn just knocked you off of your High Horse.
Pardon the pun….
Thus I thank you Donkey Porn.
You have made me a new man….
----
Thank you Donkey Porn
Reply to: anon-90359106@craigslist.org
Date: Thu Aug 11 07:06:26 2005
First, if you are offended by harsh language please do not read this post. This post is rated CL-MA and so there is your warning…
I was really bored last night and decided to download some porn. So I open the P2P program I use and think of some nasty words to search for.
"Ass" hmmm no not specific enough.
"Hot ass" nah that could turn up a guy
"Hot ass brunette" okay now I am getting some results but you have to be specific when you are searching on this thing.
"Hot ass brunette doggy style" ahh there we go! Tons of results! Let’s start double clicking!
So, I let them download and go about reading some CL stuff and trying to get the least hits on Google.
Ah ha! I see the beautiful black bar that indicates a completed download! Woohoo time for some porn watchin’.
So I get all set up in my chair ready for some hot doggy style action. I click play and wait to see if I have already watched this particular clip. I haven’t, man this is sweet!
Enter screen left a beautiful, I think Brazilian, woman undoubtedly ready to get done in some nasty ways.
"Yeah this is going to be hot!" I think to myself as I watch her walking through the grass.
Then I think "oh yeah outdoor sex, grass and good lighting, awesome!"
Enter screen right white guy with donkey. Actually enter screen right white guy with donkey that has a huge hard on. At this point I realize what I have downloaded. I am now watching some Brazilian Donkey Porn.
Now I am a guy slowing down to look at an accident. I know you all are pissed at me looking, and say you would not, but when you get to the accident you look too.
So anyway this incredibly hot chick starts to mess around with the Donkey.
I will spare you the details but it was hardcore and made me feel a bit dirty to be honest.
The movie finishes. I am waiting for the FBI to pound on my door and arrest me. Then it hits me.
That chick just did a donkey and yet I am single. It’s not like she was ugly or anything…
Why am I single? I thought.
Well you have some bad habits. My brain replied.
Yeah I do have bad habits but I think there are some women who would overlook them. I thought.
Yeah but they are ugly. My brain replied.
Okay brain, stop it! There are obviously hot girls out there that are doing donkeys for Christ sake!!
Then I thought about what I just saw and the reason someone would do something like bang a donkey.
The only reasons I could think of are:
Money
Drugs
Some weird animal fetish that I do not even want to think about
So, I am not into animals we can knock that one right out. I also am not a big fan of drugs. Though for some reason I always have weed? I don’t know what’s the deal with that? But I digress…
So I am left with money. Makes sense, if money can make a hot girl bang a donkey then I am sure it will make one want to be with me.
This also got me thinking about hot girls in general. My approach has really been no approach. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by hot girls until last night. Now that the image of that hot girl is in my head with a big floppy Donkey dick… Hot girls watch out.
That single clip of porn has given me new confidence and drive. If I make all the money I can and have a more aggressive approach to hot girls I will land one of you soon. I am sorry ladies but that clip of Donkey porn just knocked you off of your High Horse.
Pardon the pun….
Thus I thank you Donkey Porn.
You have made me a new man….
Monday, August 29, 2005
Trip Report #14 - Final Summary
I am hesitant to post this blog entry. I like to keep each blog entry to either a summary of a day, or line of thinking... this somewhat fits into the second category, but is going to cover a lot of different areas.
I need it blogged in one place so I can reflect back on it and update as necessary. it's going to jump around as my thoughts do and will therefore be somewhat random. This posting was created throughout the day on Monday, 8/29/2005 as thoughts occurred to me.
States Visited:
---------------
NC
SC
GA
FL
TN
KY
MO
KS
NE
SD
WY
MO
ID
WA
OR
CA
NV
AZ
NM
TX
OK
AK
(one other, I forget)
--
23
Things to Buy/Get/Do:
------------------
- Autorouting GPS with removable memory card
* Follow-up with Lowrance on my airmap software functionality - if they have an upgrade where the TBT directions actually work, I will then have what I need.
- Cell phone booster/Antenna. Verify that it will work at full bandwidth with Verizon's network.
- Raincoat/suit. It sucks getting wet when you camp. You get chilled and never dry out.
- A better tent. Preferrably a 3 person tent. Being able to roll completely over AND get on my knees is a requirement. So is zippers that close without grabbing the flaps, short/easy setup and breakdown, and ingress/egress that doesn't require duck-walking and falling on my ass when the grass is wet.
- 3 season sleeping bag. Keep the sheet/blanket in the truck. Everything gets a smoky smell from the fire when camping. it gets quite unpleasant after sitting in the truck for a week or two.
- Thermarest pad.
- A travel partner or three.
- Verizon broadband card/account.
- Ventshades
- Darker window tint (privacy while sleeping in truck, cooler interior)
- Electric cooler - stays cool without ice.
- Move XM Satellite antenna from top of radar detector mount to roof, behind cab clearance lights.
Camping and General Travel Lessons Learned:
--------------------------------------------
- Bring warm and cold weather clothes, no matter what the weather. I experienced temperatures ranging from 108 degrees and 10% humidity to 36 degrees with driving rains and 50 MPH winds.
- Bring/buy a coffee mug. Most truck stops charge $1.19-$1.39 for a cup of coffee, but only 69 cents if you have your own cup. Over the course of a few weeks, this adds up to a very nice evening out.
- A raincoat is not optional.
- Excessive clothing for the same weather type of weather is just that - excessive. There is no need to bring more than 4 days clothes, no matter how long the trip. Whether at a campground, truck stop, or small town, you will find a place to do laundry. A full suitcase or two wastes a lot of space. You can do laundry while updating blog posts, taking a shower, or performing other duties that require down time.
- While Truck Stop Internet access will get the job done for posting to blogs and email checks, it really is not suitable for long distance trips like this. I missed *so* many opportunities to see things and go places because I would see a sign for something 50-75 miles away, not know anything about it.. such as whether or not it is worth the time/energy/expense to see; only to find out 200 miles down the road that I should have went. Additionally, being able to find things while on the road is a necessity. I can't carry a phone book for every city in the country. Having 24/7 access to SuperPages or similar site would have been a God-send. I will be dropping my flying J wireless Internet account and (as much as I hate to spend this much money) spending the $80/mo for a Verizon broadband PC Card.
- No matter what you prepare for, something you haven't prepared for will happen. Roll with the punches and realize that it's all part of the experience and the worst parts will become the best memories.
- Always, ALWAYS carry 10-15 gallons of extra fuel in cans. You never know when you will be low on fuel and get caught in a traffic jam or area of the country that has 100 miles between fuel stops. This cuts the anxiety level down to zero.
- No matter how good you feel, how much you want to keep going, every 4th night, stay in a motel and a real bed. If you don't, the road will catch up to you.
- In between times, Truck stop showers aren't that bad, and only cost $6. They are money well spent and make you feel human again.
- If you need to make some time (and you are equipped for this - IOW, you are a guy) forget rest stops, truck stops, etc. Every time you stop to use the bathroom, it is 10-20 minutes you lose. Pull off to the side of the road, angle the truck so people can't see the passenger side. Walk around to the passenger side, open the door, grab a book and hold it high so it appears as though you are looking at a map, and go right there on the side of the road. This took a while to get used to, but over the 4 days I used it, saved me 5-6 hours of down time... that's about 350 miles - almost an entire day!
- On a related note, lay off the caffeine or you will be stopping every hour. Water is your friend. If you are using coffee to stay awake, it's time to quit for the day.
- Coffee works WAY better than soda for keeping you awake, although the effects take about an hour whereas soda only takes about 10 minutes.
- Never let the cooler get more than about 30% water. Much more than that and it starts sloshing around. Not only does the sound get annoying, but all of the moving around flattens/decarbonates the soda.
- If not hauling something, remove the drawbar from the hitch, lest you think that the truck is falling apart/your spare fell off somewhere 100 miles back.
- When the roads get really rough, try a different lane.
- Don't put on a clean shirt until after you eat, even if you've just taken a shower. Not following this rule almost guarantees that you will spill food on your (most likely last) clean shirt at the worst possible time - note the ketchup stain on my t-shirt in the picture at the Grand Canyon with the dancer hottie.
- Keep the dirty laundry/ditty bag in the truck bed, even if it's raining. If not, just about the time the cab has reached maximum stench (which you will hardly notice, since it's *your* smell), a hottie will show up out of nowhere and want to it in the truck. *sigh*
- ALWAYHS know where your gun is at (and don't leave home without it)! I have a CCW, carried the entire time, never having it out of arms reach. The one time I put it way in the luggage (and I forgot which piece of luggage) is when some greasy, rotten toothed redneck crazy fucker with a survival knife on his belt approached my rolled-down window. There was no trouble, but it was a bit disconcerting.
- No matter how much ice you have, if you have food in the cooler, don't leave it out planning to get it later. I did this, forgot about it, and had such a mess the next day that I was gagging when I opened it. I couldn't stand to clean it and had to throw out a $35 cooler.
- Invest in a cell phone antenna, if not a booster (I don't mean those cheesy tape-on things). Wilson and possibly others make a system that has an external antenna as well as a booster that acts like a cell tower inside your vehicle. This is a must-have. Murphy dictates that any emergency will happen when you are in the middle of nowhere, 50 miles from any cell tower. Don't ask how I know these things...just know that I had several sleepless nights because of this.
- Bring two cameras - one digital, one film. No matter how good each one is, you'll wish you had the other if you only bring one. Ideally, the digital should be a P&S for all those quick shots. It does need to have a fast lens though, especially with combat tourism - taking lots of pictures at night and from a moving vehicle. The 35mm should be a good SLR for those "oh my God, can you believe this?" shots. - I NEED to get a "faster" digital camera (if there is such a thing) before the next trip.
- Binoculars. Night vision if you can. A Sony camcorder can pull this duty and is *great* for seeing what interesting wildlife is making those sounds in the bushes.
- If you use a CB (highly recommended - along with a good radar detector - I use a Valentine One), bring as much spare money as you can stand. There are always incredible deals to be had.. and I don't mean stolen goods, but truckers selling DVDs they've watched for $2-$5, drivers that lost a haul they were counting on to get home and are selling $400 import radios (CBs) for $100, and all sorts of other goodies. Most legitimate sales will still have their original receipt. Load up and eBay the stuff when you get home!
- Bring an autorouting GPS. I have a Garmin GPS V. While it was an incredibly helpful tool, it only has 19MB of memory and (in busy metro areas) can only store maps for 1/2 day travel. the map loads from the notebook take 30-60 minutes. Either plan accordingly or get a GPS with more memory. I'll be selling this one and either getting a factory unit out of an Expedition or something aftermarket that uses flash cards.
- Pack healthy, ready-to-eat foods (sandwiches, etc).. it's just about impossible to eat healthy on the road. Those chili corn dogs taste good, but they are hell on the waistline!
- Other must-have items:
* Don't waste time with all of those auto/cig lighter power adapters. Buy a 175
watt power inverter (truck stop price - $40. eBay - probably $15). This is enough to charge your cell phone, camcorder, and run a laptop.
* Get rechargable batteries for the digital camera. I went through $40 in batteries on this trip and could have easily charged rechargables during all of the driving time. Plus, with them fully charged every time you leave the vehicle, you never have to worry about them dying at the worst possible moment and getting screwed on battery prices (Twice I had to pay $8+ for AA, hence the $40 in batteries).
* Items you can't travel without (that aren't part of most standard packing lists):
- Windex - Presoak the windshield with it before pumping gas, then clean as usual with the gas station cleaner after pumping. You will never fight stuck bugs again.
- Fill up with the good (green colored) bug cleaning windshield washer solvent. It's available at auto parts stores and is SO much better than the blue stuff, but almost impossible to find on the road.
- Towels, at least two.
- Paper towels - at least two rolls. You will use these for everything. Gas stations are often out at the pumps, rest areas usually just have those hand dryers drying your face and toothbrush on your shirt gets old REAL fast), you WILL spill fuel on your paint at some point,.. and a 100 other reasons.
- 2.5 to 5 gallons of drinking water - You'll like your brewed coffee better, you can brush your teeth, and refill your water bottles for pennies instead of spending several $ each time you stop. In an emergency, you have water for the engine (or just to clean the windshield).
- Bring a (healthy) dog; unless you are staying someplace fancy. They are great companionship.. and if you meet somebody that doesn't like them, or a motel that doesn't like them, you've just easily weeded out the evil people, right?
- Fix a flat, tire plugs, AND an air tank/compressor. If you bring a spare, you will have two flats. If you bring 4 spares, your axle will fall off. Stick with one spare and some repair tools.
Semi-Random thoughts:
---------------------
- I always wondered if I just wanted to see the things I missed, or if I had some Nomad blood. I realize that 2 weeks on the road can't cure a lifetime jonesing to travel, but I'm leaning towards Nomad. While I am glad to be home and catch up on sleep, I am already thinking about the next trip.
- I need to decide how I want to go about the traveling. There are some large decisions to be made, and a lot of serious thinking to be done here. Do I get a 5th wheel and do the campground thing - staying for a week at a time and visiting/traveling on weekends... or do I buy a big truck/semi and commit to 1-2 weeks hauls that permit me to see things and (with a big enough sleeper) take the
dogs with me?
- No matter how much you haul ass, you will *average* about 500 miles per day on an extended trip. You may do 1000 miles one day, but it will catch you to you a few days later and you hardly travel at all. On a related note, (again, on an extended trip) your average speed for the day will be about 15 MPH slower than your traveling speed. 20 MPH slower if you are trying to take on too many miles.
Plan accordingly. This trip was 2500 miles shorter than I thought it would be, and I missed a lot of sites because of this error. I only allocated 10 MPH. Over the course of 2 weeks, driving 10-14 hours a day, that extra 10 MPH adds up to nearly 2000 miles.. not an insignificant amount!
- If you are the type to travel alone, try to work out a few one day rideshares ahead of time so you can get a feeling for what the person is like. For the most part, I enjoyed the time alone, but there were a few days where I would have killed to have even a really annoying person in the truck for a few hours just to have somebody to talk to - the CB only goes so far.
- There is SO much to see in this country. This trip has left me longing to see more things than I wanted to see before the trip. If you've never done this, don't waste another day, start planning now. I am in awe. I've got one thousand places to go in the USA, and then a whole world to cover!
I need it blogged in one place so I can reflect back on it and update as necessary. it's going to jump around as my thoughts do and will therefore be somewhat random. This posting was created throughout the day on Monday, 8/29/2005 as thoughts occurred to me.
States Visited:
---------------
NC
SC
GA
FL
TN
KY
MO
KS
NE
SD
WY
MO
ID
WA
OR
CA
NV
AZ
NM
TX
OK
AK
(one other, I forget)
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23
Things to Buy/Get/Do:
------------------
- Autorouting GPS with removable memory card
* Follow-up with Lowrance on my airmap software functionality - if they have an upgrade where the TBT directions actually work, I will then have what I need.
- Cell phone booster/Antenna. Verify that it will work at full bandwidth with Verizon's network.
- Raincoat/suit. It sucks getting wet when you camp. You get chilled and never dry out.
- A better tent. Preferrably a 3 person tent. Being able to roll completely over AND get on my knees is a requirement. So is zippers that close without grabbing the flaps, short/easy setup and breakdown, and ingress/egress that doesn't require duck-walking and falling on my ass when the grass is wet.
- 3 season sleeping bag. Keep the sheet/blanket in the truck. Everything gets a smoky smell from the fire when camping. it gets quite unpleasant after sitting in the truck for a week or two.
- Thermarest pad.
- A travel partner or three.
- Verizon broadband card/account.
- Ventshades
- Darker window tint (privacy while sleeping in truck, cooler interior)
- Electric cooler - stays cool without ice.
- Move XM Satellite antenna from top of radar detector mount to roof, behind cab clearance lights.
Camping and General Travel Lessons Learned:
--------------------------------------------
- Bring warm and cold weather clothes, no matter what the weather. I experienced temperatures ranging from 108 degrees and 10% humidity to 36 degrees with driving rains and 50 MPH winds.
- Bring/buy a coffee mug. Most truck stops charge $1.19-$1.39 for a cup of coffee, but only 69 cents if you have your own cup. Over the course of a few weeks, this adds up to a very nice evening out.
- A raincoat is not optional.
- Excessive clothing for the same weather type of weather is just that - excessive. There is no need to bring more than 4 days clothes, no matter how long the trip. Whether at a campground, truck stop, or small town, you will find a place to do laundry. A full suitcase or two wastes a lot of space. You can do laundry while updating blog posts, taking a shower, or performing other duties that require down time.
- While Truck Stop Internet access will get the job done for posting to blogs and email checks, it really is not suitable for long distance trips like this. I missed *so* many opportunities to see things and go places because I would see a sign for something 50-75 miles away, not know anything about it.. such as whether or not it is worth the time/energy/expense to see; only to find out 200 miles down the road that I should have went. Additionally, being able to find things while on the road is a necessity. I can't carry a phone book for every city in the country. Having 24/7 access to SuperPages or similar site would have been a God-send. I will be dropping my flying J wireless Internet account and (as much as I hate to spend this much money) spending the $80/mo for a Verizon broadband PC Card.
- No matter what you prepare for, something you haven't prepared for will happen. Roll with the punches and realize that it's all part of the experience and the worst parts will become the best memories.
- Always, ALWAYS carry 10-15 gallons of extra fuel in cans. You never know when you will be low on fuel and get caught in a traffic jam or area of the country that has 100 miles between fuel stops. This cuts the anxiety level down to zero.
- No matter how good you feel, how much you want to keep going, every 4th night, stay in a motel and a real bed. If you don't, the road will catch up to you.
- In between times, Truck stop showers aren't that bad, and only cost $6. They are money well spent and make you feel human again.
- If you need to make some time (and you are equipped for this - IOW, you are a guy) forget rest stops, truck stops, etc. Every time you stop to use the bathroom, it is 10-20 minutes you lose. Pull off to the side of the road, angle the truck so people can't see the passenger side. Walk around to the passenger side, open the door, grab a book and hold it high so it appears as though you are looking at a map, and go right there on the side of the road. This took a while to get used to, but over the 4 days I used it, saved me 5-6 hours of down time... that's about 350 miles - almost an entire day!
- On a related note, lay off the caffeine or you will be stopping every hour. Water is your friend. If you are using coffee to stay awake, it's time to quit for the day.
- Coffee works WAY better than soda for keeping you awake, although the effects take about an hour whereas soda only takes about 10 minutes.
- Never let the cooler get more than about 30% water. Much more than that and it starts sloshing around. Not only does the sound get annoying, but all of the moving around flattens/decarbonates the soda.
- If not hauling something, remove the drawbar from the hitch, lest you think that the truck is falling apart/your spare fell off somewhere 100 miles back.
- When the roads get really rough, try a different lane.
- Don't put on a clean shirt until after you eat, even if you've just taken a shower. Not following this rule almost guarantees that you will spill food on your (most likely last) clean shirt at the worst possible time - note the ketchup stain on my t-shirt in the picture at the Grand Canyon with the dancer hottie.
- Keep the dirty laundry/ditty bag in the truck bed, even if it's raining. If not, just about the time the cab has reached maximum stench (which you will hardly notice, since it's *your* smell), a hottie will show up out of nowhere and want to it in the truck. *sigh*
- ALWAYHS know where your gun is at (and don't leave home without it)! I have a CCW, carried the entire time, never having it out of arms reach. The one time I put it way in the luggage (and I forgot which piece of luggage) is when some greasy, rotten toothed redneck crazy fucker with a survival knife on his belt approached my rolled-down window. There was no trouble, but it was a bit disconcerting.
- No matter how much ice you have, if you have food in the cooler, don't leave it out planning to get it later. I did this, forgot about it, and had such a mess the next day that I was gagging when I opened it. I couldn't stand to clean it and had to throw out a $35 cooler.
- Invest in a cell phone antenna, if not a booster (I don't mean those cheesy tape-on things). Wilson and possibly others make a system that has an external antenna as well as a booster that acts like a cell tower inside your vehicle. This is a must-have. Murphy dictates that any emergency will happen when you are in the middle of nowhere, 50 miles from any cell tower. Don't ask how I know these things...just know that I had several sleepless nights because of this.
- Bring two cameras - one digital, one film. No matter how good each one is, you'll wish you had the other if you only bring one. Ideally, the digital should be a P&S for all those quick shots. It does need to have a fast lens though, especially with combat tourism - taking lots of pictures at night and from a moving vehicle. The 35mm should be a good SLR for those "oh my God, can you believe this?" shots. - I NEED to get a "faster" digital camera (if there is such a thing) before the next trip.
- Binoculars. Night vision if you can. A Sony camcorder can pull this duty and is *great* for seeing what interesting wildlife is making those sounds in the bushes.
- If you use a CB (highly recommended - along with a good radar detector - I use a Valentine One), bring as much spare money as you can stand. There are always incredible deals to be had.. and I don't mean stolen goods, but truckers selling DVDs they've watched for $2-$5, drivers that lost a haul they were counting on to get home and are selling $400 import radios (CBs) for $100, and all sorts of other goodies. Most legitimate sales will still have their original receipt. Load up and eBay the stuff when you get home!
- Bring an autorouting GPS. I have a Garmin GPS V. While it was an incredibly helpful tool, it only has 19MB of memory and (in busy metro areas) can only store maps for 1/2 day travel. the map loads from the notebook take 30-60 minutes. Either plan accordingly or get a GPS with more memory. I'll be selling this one and either getting a factory unit out of an Expedition or something aftermarket that uses flash cards.
- Pack healthy, ready-to-eat foods (sandwiches, etc).. it's just about impossible to eat healthy on the road. Those chili corn dogs taste good, but they are hell on the waistline!
- Other must-have items:
* Don't waste time with all of those auto/cig lighter power adapters. Buy a 175
watt power inverter (truck stop price - $40. eBay - probably $15). This is enough to charge your cell phone, camcorder, and run a laptop.
* Get rechargable batteries for the digital camera. I went through $40 in batteries on this trip and could have easily charged rechargables during all of the driving time. Plus, with them fully charged every time you leave the vehicle, you never have to worry about them dying at the worst possible moment and getting screwed on battery prices (Twice I had to pay $8+ for AA, hence the $40 in batteries).
* Items you can't travel without (that aren't part of most standard packing lists):
- Windex - Presoak the windshield with it before pumping gas, then clean as usual with the gas station cleaner after pumping. You will never fight stuck bugs again.
- Fill up with the good (green colored) bug cleaning windshield washer solvent. It's available at auto parts stores and is SO much better than the blue stuff, but almost impossible to find on the road.
- Towels, at least two.
- Paper towels - at least two rolls. You will use these for everything. Gas stations are often out at the pumps, rest areas usually just have those hand dryers drying your face and toothbrush on your shirt gets old REAL fast), you WILL spill fuel on your paint at some point,.. and a 100 other reasons.
- 2.5 to 5 gallons of drinking water - You'll like your brewed coffee better, you can brush your teeth, and refill your water bottles for pennies instead of spending several $ each time you stop. In an emergency, you have water for the engine (or just to clean the windshield).
- Bring a (healthy) dog; unless you are staying someplace fancy. They are great companionship.. and if you meet somebody that doesn't like them, or a motel that doesn't like them, you've just easily weeded out the evil people, right?
- Fix a flat, tire plugs, AND an air tank/compressor. If you bring a spare, you will have two flats. If you bring 4 spares, your axle will fall off. Stick with one spare and some repair tools.
Semi-Random thoughts:
---------------------
- I always wondered if I just wanted to see the things I missed, or if I had some Nomad blood. I realize that 2 weeks on the road can't cure a lifetime jonesing to travel, but I'm leaning towards Nomad. While I am glad to be home and catch up on sleep, I am already thinking about the next trip.
- I need to decide how I want to go about the traveling. There are some large decisions to be made, and a lot of serious thinking to be done here. Do I get a 5th wheel and do the campground thing - staying for a week at a time and visiting/traveling on weekends... or do I buy a big truck/semi and commit to 1-2 weeks hauls that permit me to see things and (with a big enough sleeper) take the
dogs with me?
- No matter how much you haul ass, you will *average* about 500 miles per day on an extended trip. You may do 1000 miles one day, but it will catch you to you a few days later and you hardly travel at all. On a related note, (again, on an extended trip) your average speed for the day will be about 15 MPH slower than your traveling speed. 20 MPH slower if you are trying to take on too many miles.
Plan accordingly. This trip was 2500 miles shorter than I thought it would be, and I missed a lot of sites because of this error. I only allocated 10 MPH. Over the course of 2 weeks, driving 10-14 hours a day, that extra 10 MPH adds up to nearly 2000 miles.. not an insignificant amount!
- If you are the type to travel alone, try to work out a few one day rideshares ahead of time so you can get a feeling for what the person is like. For the most part, I enjoyed the time alone, but there were a few days where I would have killed to have even a really annoying person in the truck for a few hours just to have somebody to talk to - the CB only goes so far.
- There is SO much to see in this country. This trip has left me longing to see more things than I wanted to see before the trip. If you've never done this, don't waste another day, start planning now. I am in awe. I've got one thousand places to go in the USA, and then a whole world to cover!
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Trip report #13
Sunday, 8/28
Had a *horrible* nightmare about the dogs about 2 hours after falling asleep. I couldn't go back to sleep, so started driving again at about 5am.
A stop for breakfast/coffee, one for fuel, and one for a little bit of clean-up and I was home.
I have so many thoughts... but I am completely wiped out. I'll post them all in a day or three.
Trip report #12
Saturday, 8/28.
Drove all day again today to get home. It really sucks that every place I pass worth seeing, I am passing at night..and that I have no haul back to pay for fuel, but I'm out of time and have to get back home on Sunday so I can work on Monday.
Stopped driving at about 2am around Knoxville, TN. Not much to say since all I have done is drive, drive, and drive some more.
Postlogue:
Turns out the Escort claiming to be a porn star really is one. I couldn't find any of her movies in the very unorganized adult video store, but upon arriving home, researched it... I didn't have to look very far. Her name is Luci Thai. Here is a picture of her
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Trip Report #11
Today is Friday (8/26).
Hammer down, hammer down. Woke up at about 8:30 am and drove my *ass* off today. My first 1000 mile day ever. Driving through NM, TX, OK, it's easy to put on a lot of miles. I kept the cruise control at 84 and stayed in the slow lane. I found out that this truck is either RPM or speed limited and can only do about 98.3 MPH (per the GPS).
Arkansas.. what can be said other than nothing? Even my "1000 Places to See Before You Die" book has nothing to say. I believe it's the only state that doesn't have an entry in the book. There are *SO* many bugs here.
Stopped at a rest area and met a driver I had been talking to since NM, and even way back in CA. He let me check out his truck (man, it is *cool* sitting behind the wheel of those big Peterbilts!) and spent about an hour discussing the business and machines with me.
I got on "South 69". I had to stop, hold up traffic, and get a picture of that sign. Had it not been in front of a truck stop with a cop sitting there, I would have seriously considered stealing that sign!
I stopped at a rest area in Arkansas around 2am, and after 20 minutes and about 50 mosquito bites, I decided I'd had enough suffering. I hit the road again, filled up, added some (an entire gallon!) windshield washer fluid after running out due to the bug 'rain'-storm, and made it all the way to Palestine.. Arkansas, that is. What a name!
Only 20 miles from a XXX store (I need to stop by one - one of the escorts I was talking to swore to me she was a porn star by the name of Luci Thia - I gotta check it out), and about 70 miles from the "flying hook" (flying J - where I have Internet Access).
Sleep comes around 5:30 am.
Trip Report #10 - Pearl Harbor
Today is Thursday (8/25), I don't know when this will actually be posted.
Stayed up way too late last night (3:30 am), hung out in the casino, made $20 last for a couple of hours. For lack of anything better to do, sat around BS'ing with all the hottie escorts while they were waiting for clients.
Left my room at Caesars around 10am. Apparently the proverbial dinner bell went off signalling all of us to sign out at the same time. Over an hour in line. This meant that I got to have a Whopper for breakfast, yeah.
Saw the Grand Canyon today. OH.. MY.. GOD! I only stayed about 1.5 hours because of the need to make some time. I WILL be back here to stay for a week or so. Saw some mountain goats while there.
I had the strangest thing happen (and hence the Pearl Harbor reference in the title) - You know how people pass you, your eyes meet, and you give a half-smile to say "yes, I see you, I acknowledge your existance"? All week, those acknowledgements have been met with looks of disgust and an expression that says "die pig die".
What a change today has been (and hence the Pearl Harbor reference in the title). Asians, and in particular Japanese, are (in)famous for touring. Go to any major landmark, and there are hundreds of them. They seemed to be bombing me today. Just diving at me, crashing into me, without reason.
In my 1.5 hours at the Grand Canyon, no less than 3 Japanese hotties found it in their kind hearts to not only NOT look disgusted, but to start conversations and me and seem genuinely happy for some conversation.
One of them (the hottest by far - Shes a professional dancer and an aerobics instructor) followed me around for about 30 minutes and we took turns taking pictures of each other so we would actually have pictures of ourselves at the Canyon (me getting pictures with myself in them has been a problem for most of the trip. Pictures of her are in my photo gallery.. mentioned in previous posts.
We exchanged emails, said our goodbyes, and I was back on the road. I was followed on the only road out of the Canyon by a cop for about 40 miles of construction. That was relaxing... NOT.
Drove Route 66 for about 30 miles.
Before the night was through, I found myself "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona". Got some pictures of the landmark, including the famous flatbed Ford. It was already dark and this camera sucks, so I'm going to have to do some major editing in order for them to be seen.
Slept in the truck in a rest stop somewhere around Albuquerque.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Trip report #9
Today was a much better day than yesterday; though not without it's share of problems.
I decided to stay in Vegas a second night so I could actually see some things and get some sleep... well, the sleep thing isn't happening. Gabby was sick again. Off to the regular vet she went. Turns out she had a reaction to the heartworm medicine and/or it caused the remaining heartworms to break loose. She's under close supervision
The hotel has made it a major headache to extend my stay. I've had to check out and check in again. Then the card didn't work, so it was back to the registration desk.
For those of you who have never been here, Caesars Palace is not only HUGE, but it is designed to take you in circles around everything, confusing you into staying and spending your money in their casino. So while it may seem a little whiny about the whole check-in/out and card reprogramming (not to mention yet another time to deal with cash deposits instead of credit cards) it's about 2 miles round trip I'm walking and an hour out of the 24 or so hours I have here.. it's a big deal.
Even after I told the front desk I did not need the room cleaned, told housekeeping I didn't need the room cleaned, and hung the do not disturb sign on the door, various departments still found it necessary to call me 3 times between 10am and 1pm to ask if/when I would like the room cleaned.
Now, having read the above, and possibly yesterday's post, it should be fairly obvious that I'm running on about 5 hours sleep total for the past several days.
Enough bitching.. on to the good stuff.
I took quick tours of about 3/4s of the hotels/casinos on the strip, ate in two different buffets, saw so many hot ass women that... I'm just at a loss for words. That super-thin and yet really curvy type I like so much and hardly ever see (so I get a little TOO pushy when i do find one).. they aren't rare after all, they are just all HERE.
Saw the fountains at Bellagio, went to Coyote Ugly and hung out long enough for two beers. Back to the room to update the blog and start packing.
Tomorrow I drive as far East as I can stand. Originally, Grand Canyon was supposed to be a multi-day (or at the very least, one day, two night) camping trip, but because of various delays I am behind nearly two days in my travels and am going to have to make the Grand Canyon a 3 hour tour.
At this point, I'm completely caught up on blog postings, but may start falling behind again as I'll (once again) have limited Internet access and have to put down some serious miles - 2200 by Sunday afternoon.
I/we will be making a trip to LA/LV something in the next 6-12 months to follow up on all the things I've missed and/or want to spend more time exploring.
G'night world. Feel better Gabby.
I decided to stay in Vegas a second night so I could actually see some things and get some sleep... well, the sleep thing isn't happening. Gabby was sick again. Off to the regular vet she went. Turns out she had a reaction to the heartworm medicine and/or it caused the remaining heartworms to break loose. She's under close supervision
The hotel has made it a major headache to extend my stay. I've had to check out and check in again. Then the card didn't work, so it was back to the registration desk.
For those of you who have never been here, Caesars Palace is not only HUGE, but it is designed to take you in circles around everything, confusing you into staying and spending your money in their casino. So while it may seem a little whiny about the whole check-in/out and card reprogramming (not to mention yet another time to deal with cash deposits instead of credit cards) it's about 2 miles round trip I'm walking and an hour out of the 24 or so hours I have here.. it's a big deal.
Even after I told the front desk I did not need the room cleaned, told housekeeping I didn't need the room cleaned, and hung the do not disturb sign on the door, various departments still found it necessary to call me 3 times between 10am and 1pm to ask if/when I would like the room cleaned.
Now, having read the above, and possibly yesterday's post, it should be fairly obvious that I'm running on about 5 hours sleep total for the past several days.
Enough bitching.. on to the good stuff.
I took quick tours of about 3/4s of the hotels/casinos on the strip, ate in two different buffets, saw so many hot ass women that... I'm just at a loss for words. That super-thin and yet really curvy type I like so much and hardly ever see (so I get a little TOO pushy when i do find one).. they aren't rare after all, they are just all HERE.
Saw the fountains at Bellagio, went to Coyote Ugly and hung out long enough for two beers. Back to the room to update the blog and start packing.
Tomorrow I drive as far East as I can stand. Originally, Grand Canyon was supposed to be a multi-day (or at the very least, one day, two night) camping trip, but because of various delays I am behind nearly two days in my travels and am going to have to make the Grand Canyon a 3 hour tour.
At this point, I'm completely caught up on blog postings, but may start falling behind again as I'll (once again) have limited Internet access and have to put down some serious miles - 2200 by Sunday afternoon.
I/we will be making a trip to LA/LV something in the next 6-12 months to follow up on all the things I've missed and/or want to spend more time exploring.
G'night world. Feel better Gabby.
Trip Report #8
Today was a really bad day. Picked up the trailer, almost ran a guy over when the truck slipped into gear. Spent 4.5 hours driving around the damn cargo ship terminal area, got the trailer stuck (as in it took nearly an hour to get backed out) due to a temporary "parking lot" that was the equivalent of 6 parking spaces with concrete barriers for entry/exit spaced 8.5 feet apart.
didn't get started on the drive to Vegas until about 1:30. Got a call ,.. one of the dogs (Gabby, our newest addition) is really sick. Seizure, they (emergency clinic) believe.
Arrived in Vegas around 11pm. Got put on the 13th floor (if that ain't some bad mojo.. being in Vegas and being put on the 13th floor - which doesn't exist in most buildings), I don't know what is.
By the time I got all my shit straightened out, it was about 2:30am and the nightlife was winding down.
Stayed up until about 5:30 am catching up on business and surfing.
Pictures from the (still in progress) trip are HERE.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Trip Report #7
Saw SF today, combat style - we would stop at a site, jump out, take a picture, and then back into the truck and on to the next site. Not my style of sight-seeing, but at least I got to see some stuff - Golden Gate bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, the curvy road, China Town, and a few other things that I don't recognize.
I had to drop off the travel trailer for some repairs this morning. I am picking it up tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, taking it to the docks, and then I hit the road again.
Next stop - Vegas! I'm staying at Caesar's Palace. It's amazing how cheap you can stay at a 4 or 5 star hotel if you do it during the week. I'm still not quite decided on whether to see certain things that are kinda-sorta on the way. I know I'll regret it if I don't, but I'll feel pressured to drive more than I should if I do.
Among those items still up in the air are LA/Hollywood, Death Valley (Dante's View is supposed to be magnificent), Montery Point, and a few other things.
Chances are, I'll hit death valley and leave the rest for another trip/time.
Gotta get some sleep. I was up until 3:30 am, have been tired for days, and have to be up at 6:30 am tomorrow. Additionally, time starts working against me while headed home (time zones - time jumps forward, not back).
g'night.
I had to drop off the travel trailer for some repairs this morning. I am picking it up tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, taking it to the docks, and then I hit the road again.
Next stop - Vegas! I'm staying at Caesar's Palace. It's amazing how cheap you can stay at a 4 or 5 star hotel if you do it during the week. I'm still not quite decided on whether to see certain things that are kinda-sorta on the way. I know I'll regret it if I don't, but I'll feel pressured to drive more than I should if I do.
Among those items still up in the air are LA/Hollywood, Death Valley (Dante's View is supposed to be magnificent), Montery Point, and a few other things.
Chances are, I'll hit death valley and leave the rest for another trip/time.
Gotta get some sleep. I was up until 3:30 am, have been tired for days, and have to be up at 6:30 am tomorrow. Additionally, time starts working against me while headed home (time zones - time jumps forward, not back).
g'night.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Trip Pictures
Pictures from the (still in progress) trip are HERE.
I have no time to sort, explain details, or add captions. I'll do that once I get off the road.
Trip Report #6
Miles covered to this point: about 5200
Tonight is Sunday (Monday morning)
I'm writing the above because it's getting hard to keep the days straight; they are all starting to run together.
Spent the entire day driving the Pacific Coast Highway from somewhere in OR (maybe 100 miles north of CA?.. it was further away than I thought).
*beautiful* scenery.. saw the giant redwoods. Awe inspiring. Awesome saw more asian and later, hispanic women then I could shake my d*** at.
Stopped to wake up, do laundry, wash the truck. The "low clearance" sign at the car wash wasn't exactly accurate and the overhead pipe took out the front vent on the trailer and did some minor damage to the roof. So much for "free" fuel to SF.. the $ I'm getting paid will now be going to fix the trailer. Hopefully this gets done in time so the customer doesn't see what happened.
I'm only planning on staying in SF on Monday and then leaving first thing on Tues. If this can't be fixed tomorrow, but can be on Tuesday, I'll be staying here an extra day, probably bypassing either Vegas or the grand canyon and hauling ass home.
If it can't be fixed on Tuesday either, then the customer will just have to see it, be pissed, and give my company a poor review. This thing has to be in the terminal area to go on a cargo ship headed for Hawaii at 7am Weds morning.
Made it to SF about 9, should have been at the inlaw's house by 9:15. Traffic is HELL here. I couldn't get to the correct lane to get on the freeway I needed to be on (try changing 7 lanes with a 50 foot vehicle in 1/4 mile at rush hour and you've got a pretty good idea of what I was up against).
The GPS re-routed me. The new route was detoured. I was fucked. 1 hour, 3 passes across the bridge and $8 in tolls later, I was in the subdivision. It took another 30 minutes to find the street, get un-stuck from the apartment parking lot I turned in and get TO the right street.. another 15 minutes to make/find a suitable parking space.
A quick hello, dinner, pet the psychotic dog, shower, update the travel logs/blog, and it's off to bed.
Pictures should be coming soon. I haven't had the time, energy, or connectivity to deal with them.
Tonight is Sunday (Monday morning)
I'm writing the above because it's getting hard to keep the days straight; they are all starting to run together.
Spent the entire day driving the Pacific Coast Highway from somewhere in OR (maybe 100 miles north of CA?.. it was further away than I thought).
*beautiful* scenery.. saw the giant redwoods. Awe inspiring. Awesome saw more asian and later, hispanic women then I could shake my d*** at.
Stopped to wake up, do laundry, wash the truck. The "low clearance" sign at the car wash wasn't exactly accurate and the overhead pipe took out the front vent on the trailer and did some minor damage to the roof. So much for "free" fuel to SF.. the $ I'm getting paid will now be going to fix the trailer. Hopefully this gets done in time so the customer doesn't see what happened.
I'm only planning on staying in SF on Monday and then leaving first thing on Tues. If this can't be fixed tomorrow, but can be on Tuesday, I'll be staying here an extra day, probably bypassing either Vegas or the grand canyon and hauling ass home.
If it can't be fixed on Tuesday either, then the customer will just have to see it, be pissed, and give my company a poor review. This thing has to be in the terminal area to go on a cargo ship headed for Hawaii at 7am Weds morning.
Made it to SF about 9, should have been at the inlaw's house by 9:15. Traffic is HELL here. I couldn't get to the correct lane to get on the freeway I needed to be on (try changing 7 lanes with a 50 foot vehicle in 1/4 mile at rush hour and you've got a pretty good idea of what I was up against).
The GPS re-routed me. The new route was detoured. I was fucked. 1 hour, 3 passes across the bridge and $8 in tolls later, I was in the subdivision. It took another 30 minutes to find the street, get un-stuck from the apartment parking lot I turned in and get TO the right street.. another 15 minutes to make/find a suitable parking space.
A quick hello, dinner, pet the psychotic dog, shower, update the travel logs/blog, and it's off to bed.
Pictures should be coming soon. I haven't had the time, energy, or connectivity to deal with them.
Trip Report #5
Woke up at 5:30 am, took the 6:15 ferry back to Anacortes, drove to Seattle. Saw the space needle, took the monorail over to the fish market. Not nearly as much fish tossing going on there as TV would leave you to believe. Lots of quaint little hippie stores. Headed across the street and visited the first-ever Starbucks, that was slightly cool. Had a frappacino with malt added. I LOVE malt. Yummy!
Drove to Newport, OR and picked up the travel trailer. Made it just about to the state (CA) line, and couldn't stay awake another minute.
Slept in the trailer on the side of the Pacific/Oregon Coast Highway, 2000 feet up overlooking the ocean and some majorly tall rocks. Beautiful. It was *so* nice to sleep in something resembling a bed!
Drove to Newport, OR and picked up the travel trailer. Made it just about to the state (CA) line, and couldn't stay awake another minute.
Slept in the trailer on the side of the Pacific/Oregon Coast Highway, 2000 feet up overlooking the ocean and some majorly tall rocks. Beautiful. It was *so* nice to sleep in something resembling a bed!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Trip Report #4
Drove to Tacoma this morning, stopping at a Flying J truck stop so I could check email. Good thing. The customer sent me email asking that I call him when I reach Ellensburg (I think that was the town)... turns out that's where the truck stop was.
I called him, we met up in Port of Tacoma, talked for about 15 minutes. He's a pretty cool guy. He's one of the biggest RV and boat dealers in Washington and has a lot of stuff going on He's talking about getting another boat in 2 weeks, but hauling that one himself. He said he may have more business for me in a few months. Sounds like family vacation time!
Washington has the worst roads ever. All concrete that has shifted from the harsh winters. My kidneys hurt and I actually had a filling come slightly loose.
Drove to Anacortes, took a ferry ride over to San Juan island in hopes of seeing a whale. No such luck. I did see the Puget sound, which was cool. Checked out the night life, ate in a chinese restaurant, sleeping for a few hours in a parking lot as the campground apparently no longer exists. :/
Tomorrow I will see the fish market and space needle, then head out to Newport, OR to pick up the trailer that I need to transport to Oakland, CA.
I called him, we met up in Port of Tacoma, talked for about 15 minutes. He's a pretty cool guy. He's one of the biggest RV and boat dealers in Washington and has a lot of stuff going on He's talking about getting another boat in 2 weeks, but hauling that one himself. He said he may have more business for me in a few months. Sounds like family vacation time!
Washington has the worst roads ever. All concrete that has shifted from the harsh winters. My kidneys hurt and I actually had a filling come slightly loose.
Drove to Anacortes, took a ferry ride over to San Juan island in hopes of seeing a whale. No such luck. I did see the Puget sound, which was cool. Checked out the night life, ate in a chinese restaurant, sleeping for a few hours in a parking lot as the campground apparently no longer exists. :/
Tomorrow I will see the fish market and space needle, then head out to Newport, OR to pick up the trailer that I need to transport to Oakland, CA.
Trip Report #3
Not much to report today. I drove from Yellowstone to Spokane Washington, taking in a few small tourist trap type sites; none worth mentioning.
Slept in a rest area. Washington rest areas suck. Not only do they not have vending machines, but the restrooms don't even have mirrors.. at least this one didn't.
I will deliver the boat in the morning and start searching for another load
Slept in a rest area. Washington rest areas suck. Not only do they not have vending machines, but the restrooms don't even have mirrors.. at least this one didn't.
I will deliver the boat in the morning and start searching for another load
Trip Report #2
Today has been one of the most incredible days of my life...
I woke up, opened the tent to see the sun peeking over 10,000 ft mountain tops and shining down on Yellowstone lake. I cooked eggs, toast and coffee over an open fire and ate it 50 feet from 4 deer. I've seen wild horses, bison by the hundreds, the Old Faithful guyser, the north rim of the Grand Canyon, inspiration point, and so much more.
I've seen mud boil, more colors of rock than I thought possible, looked 500 feet down the wall of a dam, and fell asleep to an incredible thunderstorm that was unlike anything I've experienced before. The lightening was blinding, the thunder so loud that it made the truck rattle, the 3lb latern in the tent fall over, and literally shook my balls as it echoed for 30 seconds or more bouncing from mountain to mountain and through the canyon.
... and yes, the mainstreamed Sioux indian chicks are hot!
After much negotiation and 3 different facilities, I finally managed to convince a ranger to let me park in the seemingly arbitrarily labled 10 minute parking for 30 minutes and FINALLY got to take a shower!
At about 3 am, the cold winds from the storm became too much to bare. The temperature had dropped to 40 degrees (keep in mind that only 4 days before, I was in Jacksonville where it was 100+ degrees and over 95% humidity - 40 degrees might as well been absolute zero!) and the wind was blowing at over 30 MPH. I moved into my truck, started it, probably waking half the people in the campground, but I didn't care, as hypothermia was setting in. Ran the engine for about 15 minutes (it's a diesel and takes 10 minutes before the temp guage even moves), turned it off, and slept the rest of the night in peace.
I woke up, opened the tent to see the sun peeking over 10,000 ft mountain tops and shining down on Yellowstone lake. I cooked eggs, toast and coffee over an open fire and ate it 50 feet from 4 deer. I've seen wild horses, bison by the hundreds, the Old Faithful guyser, the north rim of the Grand Canyon, inspiration point, and so much more.
I've seen mud boil, more colors of rock than I thought possible, looked 500 feet down the wall of a dam, and fell asleep to an incredible thunderstorm that was unlike anything I've experienced before. The lightening was blinding, the thunder so loud that it made the truck rattle, the 3lb latern in the tent fall over, and literally shook my balls as it echoed for 30 seconds or more bouncing from mountain to mountain and through the canyon.
... and yes, the mainstreamed Sioux indian chicks are hot!
After much negotiation and 3 different facilities, I finally managed to convince a ranger to let me park in the seemingly arbitrarily labled 10 minute parking for 30 minutes and FINALLY got to take a shower!
At about 3 am, the cold winds from the storm became too much to bare. The temperature had dropped to 40 degrees (keep in mind that only 4 days before, I was in Jacksonville where it was 100+ degrees and over 95% humidity - 40 degrees might as well been absolute zero!) and the wind was blowing at over 30 MPH. I moved into my truck, started it, probably waking half the people in the campground, but I didn't care, as hypothermia was setting in. Ran the engine for about 15 minutes (it's a diesel and takes 10 minutes before the temp guage even moves), turned it off, and slept the rest of the night in peace.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Trip Report #1
This covers Thurs, 8/11 - Tues, 8/16.
This is going to be long. I'll try to make more frequent reports.
Allow me to start at the beginning..
As some of you know, I have started a transport company on the side. I have a customer that wanted a boat hauled from Jacksonville, FL to Tacoma. I had planned to ride the Harley out to the grand canyon the beginning of Sept It didn't make much sense to take this trip (having to work my other job during the day, which means constant hassles finding wireless connections, paying "late stay" charges at hotels, etc), turn around, go back home, and leave again on another 2000-3000 mile (one way) trip.
I arranged with work to take the two weeks vacation scheduled in Sept to transport the boat, with plans to see everything I can along the way. The basic plan was to haul some serious ass (and since hauling a 8000 lb boat/trailer, that meant long hours, not going fast) out west, then take time to see a few sites, and hopefully pick up another load or two for the return trip.
The completely loose, unplanned, "wouldn't it be cool to see this shit?" itinerary is/was:
- Nashville
- Mount Rushmore
- Yellowstone
- Space Needle
- San Francisco
- Possibly Hollywood
- Quick trip down the main strip of Las Vegas, maybe stay the night (cheap buffets!)
- Grand Canyon
- Anything else of major interest along the way.
So far, I am adding the redwood forest to this. I *really* want to see them big trees.
I took Friday (8/12) as a comp day, left Thursday night, stayed the night at a rest area in Jacksonville on Thursday, got the first service on the truck on Friday morning, picked up the boat, Hit Joe's Crab Shack for brunch, stood in the ocean for about 10 minutes and was on the road about noon I stayed at Crestwood Suites in Nashville (about 5 miles from Opryland) on Friday night. I didn't see Opryland as I was anxious to get on the road, plus I'll be criss-crossing Nashville on the way back home.
Saturday saw me spending the night at the Rock Point rest area in Nemaha, Missouri, about 110 miles NW of Kansas City. Only about 4 hours sleep in the truck, approximately 600 miles covered.
Sunday I covered another 600 miles, ending up in yet another rest area near Rapid City South Dakota. I was exhausted at this point. I forgot to eat all day. I woke up at 3 am with my stomach hurting, found a Dennys, and an attempt was made my a 1/2 mexican, 1/2 native american to get me to commit to "the confederate way". Creepy.
An interesting stop that night was at a so-called Discount Fuel station (most expensive fuel on the trip, but I had no choice - fuel stops open past 9pm can be over 100 miles apart in this area). This is cowboy country! I was the only one without a cowboy hat, boots, and fleece-lined denim jacket. Out of 20 or so vehicles in the lot, I was also the only one that did NOT have a horse trailer. Forget about that friendly cowboy shit. These guys were friggin' RUDE, one [i]attempted[i] to walk through me. lol
Monday was the first tourist day. Mt Rushmore. Very cool. Not surprisingly, not a long stop. Maybe 2 hours MAX. It's pretty cool, but how long can you stare at a stone rendition of a bunch of dead presidents?
I picked up some pamphlets and decided that Custer state park sounded really cool. Camping, showers, and an 18 mile wildlife loop. I exit Mt Rushmore, and there's a state sign pointing to the right that says Custer Park. Can you tell trouble is coming?
.. What they failed to mention was that this is one of the tightest, twisted roads you will ever be on, complete with 1000 ft drops off the guardrail-less shoulderless side of the road, single lane tunnels, 11'6"-12' bridges, 8' wide lanes, etc. If you know NC 226A - the road we got caught in the fog on, imagine that with no guardrails or shoulders and the lanes being a foot narrower and you've got a pretty good idea
Allow me pause here to describe what I'm driving. This is a 2005 F350 4x4 Crew Cab Dually. She's about 7'2" tall, over 22 feet long, and 7'10.5" at the "hips" (flared rear wheel wells for the dual tires). I'm hauling a 27' cabin cruiser on a trailer that, from my rear bumper measures (stepping outside in the rain to measure) 35'8". That's right, the total length of this combination is about 63 feet. 10 feet longer than the longest semi trailer. Think of a semi without a sleeper and you've got the idea (only several feet shorter in height).
Ohhh-Kaaay So I've got a 63' rig that is a whopping 1.5 INCHES narrower than the lanes, with curves so tight that some motorcycles are riding 10 MPH below the posted 35 MPH speed limit
Needless to say, I was going very slow and pissing off a lot of people. I apparently cut one right hand curve a little too tight in an effort to avoid driving the truck off a cliff The right trailer wheels (tandem axle) dropped off the inside (non cliff side) of the road - about a 1 foot drop. When it came back on the road, it bent the edge of the wheel completely over, causing the tire to deflate.
When I stop for one of the one-lane bridges, a guy pulls up to tell me about the flat and that the skeg (very bottom part of the outdrive/motor) is dragging every time I take a turn.
I have no choice but to keep driving - no turn arounds, no pull-offs - for another 3 miles I finally find a place that you could park 3 cars wide and maybe 3 cars deep if bumper-to-bumper. It's also on a steep slope. I spend 45 minutes digging suitable rocks out of the ground to act like wheel chocks so the trailer doesn't roll 1/2 mile downhill into a field Disconnect the trailer, break out the jack for the truck, remove the wheel (note to self - keep trailer on hitch next time until the wheel is off). Oh yeah, did I mention that it was raining like a mofo and *hailing*. Small gumball sized. The entire time I'm dealing with the trailer situation
I make some calls, make some more calls, find a wheel in a warehouse in the nearest city 60 miles away (back to Rapid city, ugh!). The rest of the day until about 6pm (this all started at about 11am) is spent resolving this issue. I tell the GPS to give me the quickest way back, it puts me on some short-cut dirt backroad that is actually more 4x4 trail than road. There is no way in hell I would take anything less than a 4x4 with dual limited slips and off-road tires on this trail 8 miles into this bumpy, muddy, rutty mess, I'm supposed to turn right and the highway is 200 yards away.
I turn right, yup, I see it, sweet! This actually saved me about an hour of driving Shit! There'a a big ass steel gate across the trail, permanent - concreted in the ground, with no way around it. I decid to keep going the way I was headed It seemed like it would hit 16alt further down the hill - still a time saver.
After another 3-4 miles of this road, there's a gate, but it's home made and open. There's a no hunting sign.. no problem, I'm not hunting. As I get closer, I notice brown spray paint on a darkened and rotting board that says "This is private property, no trespassing, this means you, motherfucker" (yes, including the motherfucker). I almost cry, I laugh out of frustration, figure I go in just far enough to get turned around. I then notice the trailer halfway down the side of the hill (how the HELL did they get that thing in there???) about 200 yards away with a... no shit, 3 legged dog on the porch, sitting at the feet of his master, who is slowingly standing and holding something that may have been almost anything, but was certainly looking like a firearm
Ok, new plan. Back up for about 1/3 mile into what was at one time, somebody's driveway, go ALL the way back on the dirt road, take the same twisted route back - actually seemed *easy* with only the big truck.
I finally finish getting the trailer together, hitched, and on the road again around 6pm. I head to Custer state park, hit the wildlife loop, see a lot of buffalo, some gazelle, rabbits, I think some elk, a few wild burros (they call them the "begging burros" - apparently they will come right up to your car sniffing for food). This just about makes up for the hell from earlier in the day. I stop to get a camp site - They don't have anything big enough for what I'm towing, and if I park on the side of the road, they will tow my vehicle away. I laugh, explaining what I'm towing, and that there is no way the could tow it
The friendly (really) young lady says "they have some kind of torch thingy they can burn through metal with so they can disconnect it". SHIT!
New plan - on to Deadwood (as in the tv show - This is where Calamity Jane, Bill Hitchcock, etc layed claim to fame) I roll in to Deadwood about 11pm. Turns out not much has changed there. Outside of the (closed at 11pm) main tourist strip, it's a dumpy gambling town where everybody is drunk and looking for trouble, and if you can find a motel (I did, it was a dive, there was a party in the parking lot) they will fuck you out of every cent they can (they wanted $90, I laughed and left, too tired to say something witty)
New plan version 2 (or is this 3?): Try to shake the bad mojo of South Dakota and drive just far enough into Wyoming to find a rest area and sleep in the truck yet again. After driving for what seemed like forever (I'm sure it wasn't long, but I was seriously concerned I would fall asleep) I finally figure out that (at least this part of) Wyoming doesn't have rest stops/areas, only "parking areas", these are little pull-offs parallel to the freeway. Basically a 300 yard strip of pavement with a garbage can. I'm beat, I take it. I *think* I'm somewhere between Gillette and Buffalo. It turns out not to be so bad. The sky is clear, I'm 50 miles from anything, and I see more stars than I've ever seen before - except for on Ocracoke Island. The sky seems nearly white. Sleep at midnight(?).
Tuesday - wake up at 8:30, surprised I slept so long. Driving to Yellowstone, which is only about 380 miles, a very easy day. So I take my time, stop by a truck stop, purchase some wireless Internet time, visit the visitor's center (what else would you do with one?), make calls to the customer and wifey, find out a shower costs $11 (campsites with showers are about the same), and being a man of principals, even though I am DYING for a shower (scroll back, it's been a long time - the longest I've ever went without one), there is no way in hell I'll pay that much.
Drive on with a stop in Cody, WY. This town is famous for Buffalo Bill and it's Rodeos. I'm curious about the rodeo, but am against that kind of treatment of animals, especially for entertainment purposes. I'm not curious enough about Buffalo Bill to stop at the visitor's center/museum/tourist trap. Find a Walmart, buy some camping supplies and a few cheap fishing items.
Drive through Buckhorn National forest. Beautiful!
Make it into Yellowstone via the West entrance. They don't bother to tell me that there is serious road construction, it's half bumpy dirt, etc.. for over 30 miles. Stop at the visitor center - closed. Stop in the store for some info. FINALLY make camp. They don't have a spot. Drive another 40 miles ot the next camp (there are NO roads in the Yellowstone. Each intersection is about 30 minutes away from the next one).
After much negotiation as to where I'll sleep, how I'll park, etc, they finally let me in the non-hookup RV section with the boat, but I MUST sleep in the tent. They have strict rules against sleeping in vehicles.
I find this odd considering that bears, especially Grizzlys, are a MAJOR problem here. You can be fined, even EVICTED for leaving so much as an empty water jug in the open (yes, the bed of a pickup counts as "out in the open). Why would they rather have you sleep in a tent than an 8000 lb truck?.. but a camper/rv is ok? Odd.
I manage to park in complete darkness, only bumping a log that lines the driveway/turn-in for the camp site. I set up my tent, start a fire, put on some coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich. Crash.
More (shorter and more frequent, with any luck!) coming soon.
This is going to be long. I'll try to make more frequent reports.
Allow me to start at the beginning..
As some of you know, I have started a transport company on the side. I have a customer that wanted a boat hauled from Jacksonville, FL to Tacoma. I had planned to ride the Harley out to the grand canyon the beginning of Sept It didn't make much sense to take this trip (having to work my other job during the day, which means constant hassles finding wireless connections, paying "late stay" charges at hotels, etc), turn around, go back home, and leave again on another 2000-3000 mile (one way) trip.
I arranged with work to take the two weeks vacation scheduled in Sept to transport the boat, with plans to see everything I can along the way. The basic plan was to haul some serious ass (and since hauling a 8000 lb boat/trailer, that meant long hours, not going fast) out west, then take time to see a few sites, and hopefully pick up another load or two for the return trip.
The completely loose, unplanned, "wouldn't it be cool to see this shit?" itinerary is/was:
- Nashville
- Mount Rushmore
- Yellowstone
- Space Needle
- San Francisco
- Possibly Hollywood
- Quick trip down the main strip of Las Vegas, maybe stay the night (cheap buffets!)
- Grand Canyon
- Anything else of major interest along the way.
So far, I am adding the redwood forest to this. I *really* want to see them big trees.
I took Friday (8/12) as a comp day, left Thursday night, stayed the night at a rest area in Jacksonville on Thursday, got the first service on the truck on Friday morning, picked up the boat, Hit Joe's Crab Shack for brunch, stood in the ocean for about 10 minutes and was on the road about noon I stayed at Crestwood Suites in Nashville (about 5 miles from Opryland) on Friday night. I didn't see Opryland as I was anxious to get on the road, plus I'll be criss-crossing Nashville on the way back home.
Saturday saw me spending the night at the Rock Point rest area in Nemaha, Missouri, about 110 miles NW of Kansas City. Only about 4 hours sleep in the truck, approximately 600 miles covered.
Sunday I covered another 600 miles, ending up in yet another rest area near Rapid City South Dakota. I was exhausted at this point. I forgot to eat all day. I woke up at 3 am with my stomach hurting, found a Dennys, and an attempt was made my a 1/2 mexican, 1/2 native american to get me to commit to "the confederate way". Creepy.
An interesting stop that night was at a so-called Discount Fuel station (most expensive fuel on the trip, but I had no choice - fuel stops open past 9pm can be over 100 miles apart in this area). This is cowboy country! I was the only one without a cowboy hat, boots, and fleece-lined denim jacket. Out of 20 or so vehicles in the lot, I was also the only one that did NOT have a horse trailer. Forget about that friendly cowboy shit. These guys were friggin' RUDE, one [i]attempted[i] to walk through me. lol
Monday was the first tourist day. Mt Rushmore. Very cool. Not surprisingly, not a long stop. Maybe 2 hours MAX. It's pretty cool, but how long can you stare at a stone rendition of a bunch of dead presidents?
I picked up some pamphlets and decided that Custer state park sounded really cool. Camping, showers, and an 18 mile wildlife loop. I exit Mt Rushmore, and there's a state sign pointing to the right that says Custer Park. Can you tell trouble is coming?
.. What they failed to mention was that this is one of the tightest, twisted roads you will ever be on, complete with 1000 ft drops off the guardrail-less shoulderless side of the road, single lane tunnels, 11'6"-12' bridges, 8' wide lanes, etc. If you know NC 226A - the road we got caught in the fog on, imagine that with no guardrails or shoulders and the lanes being a foot narrower and you've got a pretty good idea
Allow me pause here to describe what I'm driving. This is a 2005 F350 4x4 Crew Cab Dually. She's about 7'2" tall, over 22 feet long, and 7'10.5" at the "hips" (flared rear wheel wells for the dual tires). I'm hauling a 27' cabin cruiser on a trailer that, from my rear bumper measures (stepping outside in the rain to measure) 35'8". That's right, the total length of this combination is about 63 feet. 10 feet longer than the longest semi trailer. Think of a semi without a sleeper and you've got the idea (only several feet shorter in height).
Ohhh-Kaaay So I've got a 63' rig that is a whopping 1.5 INCHES narrower than the lanes, with curves so tight that some motorcycles are riding 10 MPH below the posted 35 MPH speed limit
Needless to say, I was going very slow and pissing off a lot of people. I apparently cut one right hand curve a little too tight in an effort to avoid driving the truck off a cliff The right trailer wheels (tandem axle) dropped off the inside (non cliff side) of the road - about a 1 foot drop. When it came back on the road, it bent the edge of the wheel completely over, causing the tire to deflate.
When I stop for one of the one-lane bridges, a guy pulls up to tell me about the flat and that the skeg (very bottom part of the outdrive/motor) is dragging every time I take a turn.
I have no choice but to keep driving - no turn arounds, no pull-offs - for another 3 miles I finally find a place that you could park 3 cars wide and maybe 3 cars deep if bumper-to-bumper. It's also on a steep slope. I spend 45 minutes digging suitable rocks out of the ground to act like wheel chocks so the trailer doesn't roll 1/2 mile downhill into a field Disconnect the trailer, break out the jack for the truck, remove the wheel (note to self - keep trailer on hitch next time until the wheel is off). Oh yeah, did I mention that it was raining like a mofo and *hailing*. Small gumball sized. The entire time I'm dealing with the trailer situation
I make some calls, make some more calls, find a wheel in a warehouse in the nearest city 60 miles away (back to Rapid city, ugh!). The rest of the day until about 6pm (this all started at about 11am) is spent resolving this issue. I tell the GPS to give me the quickest way back, it puts me on some short-cut dirt backroad that is actually more 4x4 trail than road. There is no way in hell I would take anything less than a 4x4 with dual limited slips and off-road tires on this trail 8 miles into this bumpy, muddy, rutty mess, I'm supposed to turn right and the highway is 200 yards away.
I turn right, yup, I see it, sweet! This actually saved me about an hour of driving Shit! There'a a big ass steel gate across the trail, permanent - concreted in the ground, with no way around it. I decid to keep going the way I was headed It seemed like it would hit 16alt further down the hill - still a time saver.
After another 3-4 miles of this road, there's a gate, but it's home made and open. There's a no hunting sign.. no problem, I'm not hunting. As I get closer, I notice brown spray paint on a darkened and rotting board that says "This is private property, no trespassing, this means you, motherfucker" (yes, including the motherfucker). I almost cry, I laugh out of frustration, figure I go in just far enough to get turned around. I then notice the trailer halfway down the side of the hill (how the HELL did they get that thing in there???) about 200 yards away with a... no shit, 3 legged dog on the porch, sitting at the feet of his master, who is slowingly standing and holding something that may have been almost anything, but was certainly looking like a firearm
Ok, new plan. Back up for about 1/3 mile into what was at one time, somebody's driveway, go ALL the way back on the dirt road, take the same twisted route back - actually seemed *easy* with only the big truck.
I finally finish getting the trailer together, hitched, and on the road again around 6pm. I head to Custer state park, hit the wildlife loop, see a lot of buffalo, some gazelle, rabbits, I think some elk, a few wild burros (they call them the "begging burros" - apparently they will come right up to your car sniffing for food). This just about makes up for the hell from earlier in the day. I stop to get a camp site - They don't have anything big enough for what I'm towing, and if I park on the side of the road, they will tow my vehicle away. I laugh, explaining what I'm towing, and that there is no way the could tow it
The friendly (really) young lady says "they have some kind of torch thingy they can burn through metal with so they can disconnect it". SHIT!
New plan - on to Deadwood (as in the tv show - This is where Calamity Jane, Bill Hitchcock, etc layed claim to fame) I roll in to Deadwood about 11pm. Turns out not much has changed there. Outside of the (closed at 11pm) main tourist strip, it's a dumpy gambling town where everybody is drunk and looking for trouble, and if you can find a motel (I did, it was a dive, there was a party in the parking lot) they will fuck you out of every cent they can (they wanted $90, I laughed and left, too tired to say something witty)
New plan version 2 (or is this 3?): Try to shake the bad mojo of South Dakota and drive just far enough into Wyoming to find a rest area and sleep in the truck yet again. After driving for what seemed like forever (I'm sure it wasn't long, but I was seriously concerned I would fall asleep) I finally figure out that (at least this part of) Wyoming doesn't have rest stops/areas, only "parking areas", these are little pull-offs parallel to the freeway. Basically a 300 yard strip of pavement with a garbage can. I'm beat, I take it. I *think* I'm somewhere between Gillette and Buffalo. It turns out not to be so bad. The sky is clear, I'm 50 miles from anything, and I see more stars than I've ever seen before - except for on Ocracoke Island. The sky seems nearly white. Sleep at midnight(?).
Tuesday - wake up at 8:30, surprised I slept so long. Driving to Yellowstone, which is only about 380 miles, a very easy day. So I take my time, stop by a truck stop, purchase some wireless Internet time, visit the visitor's center (what else would you do with one?), make calls to the customer and wifey, find out a shower costs $11 (campsites with showers are about the same), and being a man of principals, even though I am DYING for a shower (scroll back, it's been a long time - the longest I've ever went without one), there is no way in hell I'll pay that much.
Drive on with a stop in Cody, WY. This town is famous for Buffalo Bill and it's Rodeos. I'm curious about the rodeo, but am against that kind of treatment of animals, especially for entertainment purposes. I'm not curious enough about Buffalo Bill to stop at the visitor's center/museum/tourist trap. Find a Walmart, buy some camping supplies and a few cheap fishing items.
Drive through Buckhorn National forest. Beautiful!
Make it into Yellowstone via the West entrance. They don't bother to tell me that there is serious road construction, it's half bumpy dirt, etc.. for over 30 miles. Stop at the visitor center - closed. Stop in the store for some info. FINALLY make camp. They don't have a spot. Drive another 40 miles ot the next camp (there are NO roads in the Yellowstone. Each intersection is about 30 minutes away from the next one).
After much negotiation as to where I'll sleep, how I'll park, etc, they finally let me in the non-hookup RV section with the boat, but I MUST sleep in the tent. They have strict rules against sleeping in vehicles.
I find this odd considering that bears, especially Grizzlys, are a MAJOR problem here. You can be fined, even EVICTED for leaving so much as an empty water jug in the open (yes, the bed of a pickup counts as "out in the open). Why would they rather have you sleep in a tent than an 8000 lb truck?.. but a camper/rv is ok? Odd.
I manage to park in complete darkness, only bumping a log that lines the driveway/turn-in for the camp site. I set up my tent, start a fire, put on some coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich. Crash.
More (shorter and more frequent, with any luck!) coming soon.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Here's Some Irony for Ya!
Getting ready for my trip to Oshkosh, WI (Biggest airshow in the country). I'm planning on buying materials or a kit to build my own plane. I've been doing a lot of research and have it narrowed down to about 5-6 companys for a 4 seat plane (finances and wanting to get it in the air quickly - but with safety being the number one priority - may dictate a 2 seat plane).
I've started gathering tools. Being that purchasing all the required tools would cost $3k-$4k, and really wanting to spend the money where it counts (on materials), I decided to check out Harbor Freight to see what could be purchased there.
I'm generally of the mindset of "buy the right tool, buy the best, buy it once, and take care of it"... I've been burned way too many times by cheap tools. Now, if y'all know anything at all about Harbor Freight, you know that their stuff is dirt cheap.. in no small part due to the Chinese slave labor used to make the tools.
Here's the irony. every single customer in there except for me, as well as 2 of the four employees were african-american.
Now you would think that since they are still throwing the whole damn slavery thing in our face 100-200 years later like it's MY fault... they would be the last ones to support something like this.
I guess slavery and forced labor is only bad if affects your own people?.. or all they all just full of shit about the importance of their rights, and buying a hammer for $3 instead of $8 is a higher priority.
Either way, whatever the reason, it's fucked up.
I've started gathering tools. Being that purchasing all the required tools would cost $3k-$4k, and really wanting to spend the money where it counts (on materials), I decided to check out Harbor Freight to see what could be purchased there.
I'm generally of the mindset of "buy the right tool, buy the best, buy it once, and take care of it"... I've been burned way too many times by cheap tools. Now, if y'all know anything at all about Harbor Freight, you know that their stuff is dirt cheap.. in no small part due to the Chinese slave labor used to make the tools.
Here's the irony. every single customer in there except for me, as well as 2 of the four employees were african-american.
Now you would think that since they are still throwing the whole damn slavery thing in our face 100-200 years later like it's MY fault... they would be the last ones to support something like this.
I guess slavery and forced labor is only bad if affects your own people?.. or all they all just full of shit about the importance of their rights, and buying a hammer for $3 instead of $8 is a higher priority.
Either way, whatever the reason, it's fucked up.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Morse Code and personality types
With the new truck comes the desire to get back into CB, which ain't what it used to be. I've already installed the old radio into the minivan.
I've got a couple of 102" whips for the pickup, and have ordered a peaked, tuned, aligned Galaxy DX959 (Possibly the best non-export (that is, 10 meter converted) radio you can buy).
I could pass the no-code Technician license off the top of my head (I went to school for 1.5 years for electronics. I know enough about electronics to get the General class license with a night or two of studying... I wouldn't even attempt the extra class. It's just too damn geeky to begin with, and all the freqs I want to work are available to general class anyway.
There is no way I'd get the no-code Technician, I'll get the Technician + code instead, and if I'm going to do that, since the code test is the same, I might as well get the General class (General class requires code - there is not a "no-code General Class" license).
All that is required is 5 wpm (words per minute).
Now, here's the problem - I don't know morse code (and I've already found links to dozens of study methods and software programs) Being the Type A(+) personality I am, there is NO way I'm going to satisfied with 5 wpm. That's just lame. Most people that have been around for a few years are doing 10-15 wpm and I don't want to look like no newbie. I want to talk with the big boys. That means I need to know 15-20 wpm. Not just copy, but transmit. To do this accurately, I need to study at about 25 wpm. According to most of the info I've read, it is much better to start off at this speed than to try to gain speed later - if you learn to slow, you create a sort of "look-up table" in your head.. you translate everything. By learning it at higher speeds, "..." and "S" become the same in your head, no need to translate.
So, now I've spent three nights trying to get clean copy on 4 letters: E,I,S, and H. That's ".", "..", "...", and "....". Sounds easy, doesn't it?
Here, give it a try http://www.aa9pw.com/morse/sound/13173.au
If that link doesn't work, go here, , set it to generate 1 group of code sent at 25 wpm using character speed of 25 wpm farnsworth, select letters (a-z) and select the "eish" letter group, then click "create morse code" and download the uncompresssed AU file".
Keep in mind, you need 90% or better the *first time* you listen to it. You can get the answers (no cheating!) by clicking the link in step 2.
Not so easy, eh?
I *SO* need to come back in the next life as a Type B personality. It's maddening having someone tell you that you can't start a fire with water and trying to engineer a new type of water just because they told you it can't be done. Argh!
I've got a couple of 102" whips for the pickup, and have ordered a peaked, tuned, aligned Galaxy DX959 (Possibly the best non-export (that is, 10 meter converted) radio you can buy).
I could pass the no-code Technician license off the top of my head (I went to school for 1.5 years for electronics. I know enough about electronics to get the General class license with a night or two of studying... I wouldn't even attempt the extra class. It's just too damn geeky to begin with, and all the freqs I want to work are available to general class anyway.
There is no way I'd get the no-code Technician, I'll get the Technician + code instead, and if I'm going to do that, since the code test is the same, I might as well get the General class (General class requires code - there is not a "no-code General Class" license).
All that is required is 5 wpm (words per minute).
Now, here's the problem - I don't know morse code (and I've already found links to dozens of study methods and software programs) Being the Type A(+) personality I am, there is NO way I'm going to satisfied with 5 wpm. That's just lame. Most people that have been around for a few years are doing 10-15 wpm and I don't want to look like no newbie. I want to talk with the big boys. That means I need to know 15-20 wpm. Not just copy, but transmit. To do this accurately, I need to study at about 25 wpm. According to most of the info I've read, it is much better to start off at this speed than to try to gain speed later - if you learn to slow, you create a sort of "look-up table" in your head.. you translate everything. By learning it at higher speeds, "..." and "S" become the same in your head, no need to translate.
So, now I've spent three nights trying to get clean copy on 4 letters: E,I,S, and H. That's ".", "..", "...", and "....". Sounds easy, doesn't it?
Here, give it a try http://www.aa9pw.com/morse/sound/13173.au
If that link doesn't work, go here, , set it to generate 1 group of code sent at 25 wpm using character speed of 25 wpm farnsworth, select letters (a-z) and select the "eish" letter group, then click "create morse code" and download the uncompresssed AU file".
Keep in mind, you need 90% or better the *first time* you listen to it. You can get the answers (no cheating!) by clicking the link in step 2.
Not so easy, eh?
I *SO* need to come back in the next life as a Type B personality. It's maddening having someone tell you that you can't start a fire with water and trying to engineer a new type of water just because they told you it can't be done. Argh!
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