A Phd in D.U.M.B.

I got out of Van Horn just before noon which was early by California time but under the wire by Texas time. I got off the I-10 as soon as I could so I could take advantage of slower speeds and more photo ops. The land was beginning to look familiar compared to my childhood memories. Finally there were some trees and hills to break the monotony of the flatlands. By the time I crossed the Pecos River--another dream image bites the dust(Pecos Trickle was more like it)--there were even scrub pinons growing. The ground is covered with wild flowers and those beautiful blooming Mojave yuccas.












Probably the funniest berg I drove through was Iraan, Texas. I bet the local teams have a hard time on Friday nights. On the back roads the simple lifestyle is more up close and personal.

I think of the hard life my dad and his dad before him had trying to make a living on rocky, prickly-pear infested land. They knew what it meant to have nothing. I had hours to think of the strange twists of life that resulted in me being where I am now compared to just two generations ago. My dad graduated early from high school in Dublin, Texas, to join the Marine Corps.

That was his only realistic way of getting off the farm--a farm that wasn't supporting the family. There must have been young men from farms all over suddenly scattered to military posts across the country--and then sent overseas for World War II. Because of that huge global upheaval, the biggest--certainly not the greatest--generation(Boomers) grew up in a degree of prosperity our grandparents could not even imagine. My Texas grandparents didn't even get indoor plumbing until the Sixties! Perhaps that is why I can drive through the land that generations of my family farmed and feel nothing. I can't relate. I don't even know if that is a good thing or not. It might as well have been centuries ago rather than 2 generations. Did my dad go to a school that looked like this one? Just ghosts are left behind that we Boomers can't even guess at.














I have been on the road for one week now. One week since I last saw a Starbucks (in Barstow). Radio stations are few and far between. I've managed to catch just bits of Rush but there is no scarcity of Bible preachers and Mexican stations. Has anyone done any studies to find out if Mexican disc jockeys have more high blood pressure and heart attacks than other groups? This one man was nearly apoplectic in his announcing. I did get to listen to a show about financial advice. The host had a great expression: (in reference to a mother) "She's just a travel agent for a guilt trip!" He was also fond of reminding his listeners that he'd gotten his Phd in D.U.M.B. It helped the time go quickly.

I tried to get an ice cream cone at the Dairy Queen in Big Lake but the water main for the town had broken. I'm still not quite sure why that meant no one could get ice cream but the entire town of 800 was closing up. No business could get done.

San Angelo is a real pretty town. I'm staying next to one of their lakes where Byrdie immediately took a dip. She loved the swimming. She's been a great traveler and it was fun to see her in her element instead of riding shotgun in the RV.















Tomorrow is the final destination of Llano. I will be so glad to see family and get some rest in one place for awhile.

Don't Mess With Texas

March 28, 2007
Van Horn, Texas

After 5 days on the trip, I finally crossed over into Texas!!! Texas also has a sign encouraging motorists to "Drive Friendly--it's the Texas Way!" Notice the lack of 'please' and the reference to Texans defining their own way of doing things--which may or may not be the way y'all were used to doing things where y'all came from but from now on, y'all will be doing things the 'Texas way' or suffer the consequences!

The welcoming center had a great welcome packet with 2 "Don't Mess With Texas" bumper stickers. All free! One of the first things I noticed is how much the landscape reminded me of creamed peas--and then I remember having had the same association when I was a child making the trips to Texas back in the days of the old Route 66.It's the combination of white/beige grass with dots of small green bushes going on forever.




There are odd road signs in New Mexico and Texas that put me into a different time/space continuum. They read:

Dust Storms May Exist
Zero Visibility Possible

The way my brain is put together means that I’m immediately reflecting on what “may exist” means. Does it mean they exist in a different parallel universe? Can they exist to some but not to others? Are the dust storms subjective? Are they referring to all possible dust storms on the planet or just to this particular stretch of I-10? AND—if and when they exist in my world, zero visibility is possible but not required? A dust storm with great visibility? What does it all mean??? Twilight Zone!!!! Going into serious Alpha wave time!!!

As if to explain about dust storms, existential or otherwise,the wind began howling last night in Las Cruces, shaking the rig so hard I could hardly sleep. It has continued all day making driving more stressful. In Texas, the speed limit during the day for cars is 80 mph!! I just set the speed control at 64 mph and try to keep in the slow lane. The hardest part about traveling on Interstates is that there is not the opportunity to pull over and snap pictures when I see something interesting. The Mojave Yucca is all over the place and they are just beginning to bloom. The desert here seems very similar to the Mojave in California. The dirt is redder and there is a tad more green grass in the Spring but still, very similar. The Rio Grande was disappointing. It was so small--similar to crossing the Colorado at Blythe. But after driving through all this arid country it's nice to see rivers running through it.

Tonight I'm staying in the very small Texas town of Van Horn. The people at the RV park are so nice and friendly. They wanted to see Byrdie and thought she was something else--Texas speak for "only in California, I suppose." Dinner was served at 5:30pm and it was wonderful to have such familiar cooking: fried chicken, lots of mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans cooked at least 4 hours and big slices of bread. What a relief not to have to eat a salad or choose a soup. The wine was $3 a glass for the local label but I opted for good ol' iced tea. What a meal!

The wind is still blowing so hard I worry that the rig might tip over. My mind knows that isn't likely but it's noisey and I wonder how the German man traveling on a motorcycle and camping in a tent is doing.



Tomorrow, onwards through Texas all the way to San Angelo!

About the Thumb-- viewer discretion advised

To all my dear chat friends on AOL, especially Cherie!!

I don' need no stinkin' doctor!!!

Here is the photo documentation of my trip injuries. Thumb photos are in order of progression. There is only pic of the split lip since it has subsided and I can wear normal shades of lipstick instead of split-lip red.

Don't say you weren't warned!

Scroll down if you still want to.

Another Monastery in the Desert??

After I returned home I learned unfortunate things about this monastery and the types of guests it harbors. I will leave my original writings as they are but only add that I would never stay there and if I had children with me would not even visit under any circumstances.
PLO


March 27, 2007
Las Cruces, New Mexico

I think I have figured out some things about RV living. At all RV parks there is some kind of harmonic convergence that causes ordinary men to absolutely have to rise early and start their engines—early being defined as between 6am and 6:30am. I mistakenly assumed that’s what time they were getting on the road but no! When I finally give up on falling back asleep and get up, all the rigs are still packed in tighter than coats in a closet.

Indispensable things I either use all the time or wish I had more of:
Nail files
Alcohol—of both kinds
Hand sanitizers
Push pins or brads—push pins probably better
Window wipes—not just the Windex bottle
Step stool—stored upside down it holds stuff that won’t roll around and various things like leashes and caps can hang from the 4 legs
Plastic one gallon empty water bottle for that extra hot water I need to wash my hair
My ergonomic purse that can just barely hold the tripod
Better food that what I brought

Observations about desert dwellings:
De rigeur—
ugly cactus in yard, preferrably a beavertail or century plant
Old rusted out car
Banks rose (Tombstone)
Wagon wheels—extra points if they circle the property; extra points if the wheels are made of iron; deduct points if wooden wheels have been sawed in half to make them go further
At least 2 big ugly dogs of no pedigree
Pick up truck of any model
Pick up truck of any model that doesn’t run and is up on blocks
Minimum one non-working large appliance sitting near back door
Faded lace curtains, peeling paint, old flower pots—anything to show that at one time someone tried to pretty things up and ended up not giving a damn


On the way out of Tombstone I came across Holy Trinity Benedictine monastery in St. David, AZ. It advertised itself as a monastery, RV Park, mobile home park and purveyors of pecans and fine soaps. This I had to see.

There are 5 monks who live there and about 15 oblates who live year-round in the mobile home park. People come and stay in their RVs for $17.00 a night and that includes full hook-ups. I don't think they offer cable.

The grounds, chapel and bookstore were quite nice. There are also small stucco cells around the grounds and larger facilities to house greater numbers of retreatants. Ask for Thelma for RV park information. They also have weekly and monthly rates.

This is the chapel interior.




One of many beautiful purple irises blooming in Meditation Garden

RV park

Individual Cell

Entrance to chapel and huge Cross that greets visitors




Hermitage

Tombstone in the Sideview Mirrors

Monday, March 26, 2007
Tombstone, AZ

There’s a large rig pulling a trailer parked behind me. The car in the trailer is the GENERAL LEE from the Dukes of Hazzard. I missed getting a pic of the actual car but it has caused much excitement in Tombstone.



(There is no Starbucks in Tombstone. How did they miss a place????)


I’ve now had my first bad neighbors. They’re driving one of those huge diesel pushers and they have the biggest, baddest Doberman I’ve ever seen. And that dog barks constantly .I’m about to take my soundless zapper over to their rig and start laying some nasty sound on the dog. My other neighbors—the ones with the woman driving the huge truck and pulling the travel trailer and the man on the big motorcycle left. Between the two of them they wore so much leather I expect they had to file an environmental impact statement to kill that many cows. They were nice though and it encouraged me to see another woman driving such a huge rig.

I got a rose cutting off the largest rosebush in the world. And it is huge!!!!!! Well worth the modest price of admission which was 3 bucks. It is half way in full bloom and smells wonderful. Apparently someone sent a cutting from back east to this Mrs. Banks here in Tombstone back in the 19th century. There are blooming rose plants taken from it all over the town.





Mercifully, the gun battles are over. I was walking downtown and passed 3 Germans all dressed up in black Stetsons, boots, white tee shirts and jeans sitting on the bench in front of the saloon. They looked so authentic that it gave me a raised eyebrow to hear them speaking German!


I had to include a pic of my favorite home landscaping job. It is typical of the creativity and great sense of humor desert dwellers have!


The place has pretty much cleared out after the week-end. I heard some locals complaining that the place was growing too fast—it has gone from 1500 to 3000 in the last few years. Where are all the people coming from? California? I’m amazed at how many people there are like me—just a tad older—who are checking out places to retire. Maybe it’s a distinctly American solution to problems—move somewhere else. The RV parks seem full of senior citizens driving these HUGE expensive rigs and towing late model vehicles behind them. What are they looking for? Shouldn’t they have found it by now? But they seem to be having a good time even if it’s
lights out by 8:30pm.



Tomorrow I finally leave the Wells Fargo RV Park in downtown Tombstone. It's been a great place to stay. I'm going to try and get an early start which is turning out to be easier than I thought. There's nothing quite like the simultaneous starting up of about 7 huge diesel-pushers and the junior varsity of macho V-10 turbo pick-em trucks!!!

.

The Town Too Tough To Die

March 24th
Tombstone, AZ

Long drive today. I saw the most beautiful desert. Got off the I-10—way too much traffic. Dropped down to Hwy 85 and saw Border Patrol pick-ups going up and down the highway. They use the same sort of vehicles that dog catchers use. It gave me the shivers. It also strikes me as ludicrous—all that time spent on the road looking for runners when if they just shut down any random Wal-Mart for 1 hour they’d round up 10 times the numbers of illegals. All the same, it has made me more sympathetic to the risks the illegal aliens take when crossing the border.

I spotted a recently crossed over young family in MacDonald’s at Quartzsite. They looked pure Indian, not Hispanic. I could feel the terror coming from the young mother. The daddy held the baby—lots of black hair and wearing very new pajamas. They spoke no English and couldn’t even understand about cream or sugar for the coffee. I thought about how the baby would be so much better off here than wherever he was before his parents brought him here. For all I know he was a border baby. Very conflicting thoughts. Obviously someone had helped them out somewhere along the line with clothes for the baby and very used clothes for them. I hope I am never that afraid in my life.

I stopped so often to take pictures that I was running very late. Also, my thumb was hurting so much. I couldn't even start up the ignition with it and starting an engine using one’s left hand is awkward at best. In spite of Roxie’s nasal directions, I got lost in Tucson when I ran into unexpected road work. The drivers were badly in need of “drive friendly” advice! Tucson is a beautiful area—the mountains and elevation and vegetation were prettier than our own desert but oy vey! the people are pouring in there. (By the way, does anyone know why it is pronounced 'TWO-sahn'??) Once again I was in stop and go traffic and it was on a Saturday!!!! I finally got off the I-10 once again and dropped down into Tombstone. The RV Park is right in the middle of town so I am getting used to all the staged gunfights, stagecoaches and 19th century folks wandering about—and those are just the tourists!

Sunday, March 25, 2007
Tombstone, AZ

Despite my good intentions of going to the one mass at the Catholic Church I slept through the alarm. While it was too late to make mass, Byrdie needed her morning outing so off we went. I was in a lot of pain from the thumb. By now, it was swollen, black, sore and numb at the same time. Typing was almost impossible. On the way back to the rig, I met this very nice fellow traveler named Linda. We began talking and let our dogs play together. She saw my thumb and said I really needed to get to a doctor. Sensing my reluctance (“What???? Unhook all those cables and hoses and drive to some desert clinic 16 miles away???? Not in this lifetime!!!) she told me she was a retired traveling nurse!!! She was certainly an angel sent from God for me. She had all the supplies necessary in her rig to take care of the thumb. She let me drill the holes in the nail myself which did the yucky drain job it needed. What a relief! Then she sanitized it all and bandaged it up for me. The drop in pain was wonderful although there is still not much feeling. It is always amazing to be the beneficiary of the kindness of strangers.

I’m going to be sticking around Tombstone for an extra day to rest and watch the thumb. Of course my cyber-friends are predicting the most dire consequences—gangrene and amputation before midnight is the general consensus—but I feel that this is a wonderful place to hunker down for awhile.

Byrdie has made quite a sensation in the town. It seems no one has ever heard of a Labradoodle much less seen one. She accepts all the attention as her due. Unfortunately, Byrdie got arrested, thrown in jail, and sentenced to hang for peeing on the local sidewalk.

We had our pictures taken at Sadie Jo’s Old West Photo Studio. The owner, photographer Jo Bannister, had a great time photographing Byrdie in the local pokey and then with the noose around her neck. The Sheriff decided to let her off with just a warning and granted her a reprieve at the last minute.

Maybe I Shoulda Stood in Bed!

This trip did not have an auspicious beginning. The first morning I dropped a boombox on my face(don't ask) and split open my upper lip. Not a pretty site but if anyone asks, I'm just saying I'm beginning collagen injections! Then I slammed the side door of the Minnie totally shut on my right thumb. Yikes!!! So much for giving up swearing for Lent. But, the trip must go on so I limped away from Holy Resurrection Monastery with much trepidation.

Pictured are Fr. Nicholas and Fr. Basil seeing me off and promising prayers for a good trip. I hope they persevere in prayers because I think I'm going to need them.

I didn't get very far before I just had to snap a picture of some classic desert art. This lovely decor is in Goffs, CA. It's efforts like this that make desert living worthwhile !

There was a lot of roadwork on I-15 but only in California would the caution signs for motorists blink "Please Drive Friendly"

That first day on the road it actually rained most of the time. If you've never smelled the desert in a rainstorm you've missed one of life's great treats. There were some small washouts, cold temps and mud that discouraged one from pulling off the road.

I arrived in Quartzsite just before dark so I got to make my hook-ups while I could still see the rig. The 2nd thing I did was mix up a triple-purpose gin and tonic--hold glass and ice to swollen lip, drink, hold thumb in drink for pain. Repeat until drink is gone. Repeat as necessary

The Night-Before Jitters

The Minnie passed her trip checkup! I was informed that what I am driving is called my "rig" so I will now be adjusting my vocabulary. I have also noticed that gas has gone up nearly $.50/gallon since I first decided to do a solo trip across the Southwest. The laptop computer has come so I hope this blog can actually happen. It will definitely be a learn as you go experience for me. The amount of tech toys that "have" to go is amazing! DVD player, cell phone, camera, 'puter, CD player, boom box--and everything has its own charger and carrying case. The dog has her papers, I have my navigation system and the rig is carrying enough food and supplies that could have carried the Alamo through winter. I hope friends and family will post on the blog and let me know what's helpful and what's just plain boring. Byrdie and I hit the road tomorrow morning and will spend our first night in Newberry Springs at the monastery. 150 miles for the first day--not too much to cover!