A Good Day To Travel Alone

Since I've been awake since 4:00am, I am not fit company for anyone. After yesterday's mess I couldn't wait to get to bed. Getting online and staying online were extremely difficult and I had refused to pay extra for cable TV. It was Z-City pretty fast--until this dog began barking, howling and yelping. How can one dog make such a racket?? Wait--cancel that one! We have Talus the Poodle who who sounds like a tortured soul if anyone looks at him with a raised eyebrow. A better question--how can the owners sleep through that ruckus?? After an hour of non-stop dog tantrum I got up to see if perhaps it could be a neighbor. The dog was barking from a house behind the KOA!! Nothing to do but try to sleep with the radio on pretty loud. But by this time the highway noise was really picking up and it was one big truck after another. The night was shot. Did someone say 12 gauge? Just show me the target!!! So--for all the RVers reading this blog just keep on keepin' on past the DinoLand KOA. And for all the tree huggers--take solace in knowing that the dinosaurs would have died out from noise exposure had they lasted long enough.

Oh yes--while I'm airing my gripes I should mention the English(?) Australian(?) girl behind the counter. When I asked about internet service she said there was no problem. Well--there was a problem. There wasn't any! A trek to the office to inquire. "Well, you'll be needin' a password, wouldn't ya?" Fine. Back to rig, password in hand--no service. Schlep back to office--no screen comes up to ask me for this password. "Well, hon, if I knows anythin' about computers I wouldn't be workin' at this job now, would I?" I wonder if she's ever considered how qualified she'd be to work for AOL Customer Assistance???

Fortunately I've learned a few "back door" tricks along the years so I was eventually able to grab some bandwidth and type like mad until I would get detected and TOSed. (For non-chat room buddies, that means thrown out on yer bum)

So, off we head maybe to go through the Dinasaur National Park and maybe just head for Flaming Gorge. I'm looking forward to the scenery today but have reservations about my campground reservation. I keep remembering that this is the place where the person taking my information on the phone didn't know how to spell P-O-N-Y!

Mr. Toccata is very fortunate not to be here as the target for a very bad mood.

Sin and Retribution or not Come, Come Ye Saints

Friday, August 24, 2007
Vernal, Utah






Today was not so lovely. As I suspected, getting out of Provo proved to be a greater problem than either Miss Julia of the NavSys or myself was prepared to handle. Miss Julia insisted I go one way--over a 10,000+foot pass or my way which was to head south and go out through Deschenes. I drove the Minnie through Provo and past BYU so many times I was nearly ready to enroll! Even when I lost my temper for the 2nd time that morning and called her the Hillery word Miss Julia kept that same voice she must have cultivated during her time at Hostage Negotiation School.
The drivers in Provo are simply reckless--indeed, one might say mad. They cut in front of you, turn in front of you at break-neck speeds and generally exhibit behaviors seldom seen north of the border. My first temper melt-down was almost as soon as I left the beautiful Lakeside campground. I needed gas and was pleased to see a Chevron station on the right side of the highway with easy in-easy get back on access. It wasn’t busy so I carefully negotiated the Minnie into a completely empty two-pump bay. Just as I was easing up to the most forward pump(the Minnie takes up the entire room that normally two cars could be using) this little blond tart in a small car rips into the station from the other direction and goes face to face with me! I was startled and then appalled! She saw me and just pushed her little puissant car in front of my pump! At that point I was prepared to be charitable and let her pump her gas in spite of regretful bad manners. After all, I was going to need about 55 gallons and I would be awhile.
Imagine my shock when the trollop jumped out of her car, tank top, bra straps showing and tight sweat pants with LETTERING across her buttocks, and disappeared into the mini-mart! I waited--and waited--and WAITED. Now I’m beginning to seethe a bit. After about 10 minutes out she pops with a large soda pop. Carefully ignoring me she plops down in the driver’s seat and turns and gives the soft drink TO A BABY IN THE REAR SEAT!!!. Unbelievable! She never did pump any gas--she could have easily pulled into the parking slots for store use only!
“Well,” I thought. “What nerve that little skank has! And the poor child--left by the “mom” or sitter and then handed a good-sized cola before 10:00am. But at least she’ll see the inconvenience she’s caused and finally move her car.” NO WAY! She pulls out comb and lipstick and flips down the visor to apply make-up. Here is where I lost it and here is where God noticed and marked it down for divine retribution later on in the day.
I laid on my horn and it was quite a blast at the airhead. I finally had her attention! Since my Minnie had been blocking the space between the pumps and the store she had difficulty figuring out what her next maneuver would have to be. Her poor little strained brain finally figured out she would have to back up--and this is where God really took notes. As she backed up I inched forward--rather like pushing a pile of sand up against a wall. At last I was even with the gas pump and she was on the sidewalk. I even pulled out my camera and pretended to take pictures of her and her license plate.

$90.00 later with the tank full I left the station only to butt heads with










Miss Julia over the best way to proceed to Vernal, Utah. Without going into all the stops to program and re-program and also to check real maps--not my forte--I was on my way. Alas, so were the construction crews. Nothing like driving between narrow lanes of orange cones for an hour or so to relax one behind the wheel. Finally we reached the top of the pass--7400’--and it was spectacular.
I pulled off to let Byrdie chase the ball while I took some photographs. Here I noticed how much my reduced lung capacity affected me. I could only walk a few steps and began to feel quite ill. Before putting Byrdie back in the rig, I had to comb out at least a dozen round stickery balls that had glommed onto the soft hair of each leg! Still, putting a happy face on the relatively deserted road and wonderful scenery we soldiered on. I had the windows down for the cool, mountain air and Byrdie was head-out, sniffing in as much as she could. Then it happened--she must have inhaled something or been bitten by a bee but all of a sudden she began coughing and gagging. And she couldn’t stop. I began to worry about her pacing and hacking so pulled over again. She had thrown up all over the quilt covering the couch! Gross. But--I was thankful I’d had the forethought to at least cover the couch. I cleaned up what I could and replaced the quilt with a much thinner beach towel. I also shoved half an Actifed down her throat and bathed her head with a cool cloth. Back in the Minnie, back on the road, some coughing and choking, but it seemed better. Uh-oh--too quiet. Stop again--no mean feat on these narrow roads with precipitously narrow shoulders. This time there was an even bigger mess! She had thrown up all over even more! Only this time she managed to miss the towel and get a throw pillow, a rug, the couch and parts of the towel. God indeed had my number for the mornings temper tantrums over Provo drivers!
I finally pulled into the Vernal KOA and headed straight to the Laundromat to do unpleasant washing and flop on the bed with a much-deserved G&T. I will provide photos only of the pleasant parts of today’s trip--Eight hours to go 117 miles!

Into Provo without massacre or poser Indian warriors!

Utah is spectacular!!! I'm staying at Lakeside RV Park which is just about the nicest place I've ever stayed. Beautiful mountains, cattle, imposing mountain and a great river on 3 sides where Byrdie can swim. Shady trees, quiet and a fantastic pool--warm and squeeky clean! The trip is taking a bit of a toll so I think I will just post some pics and get some sleep.

St. George Utah

Heading out across the desert I was hit for the first time by the ugliness of that particular part of the Mojave. Before, the vastness, barrenness would have resonated with a sense of adventure and no boundaries. Today, with the colorless dirt made even more wan by the overhanging sky of smoke and smog, I felt I was at the edge of the end. I hated it and could only see ugly. This was an entirely new way for me to see the desert. Of course I can’t discount the effects of all the meds but the combination of heat and ugliness was not edifying.
(I howled over this cartoon which I found in the latest issue of Readers' Digest. I hope it's ok to use it.)

The surreal desert landscape coincided with the ultimate in unreality in Las Vegas. But to get there you go through Primm--complete with gigantic neon Indian head and roller coaster. A bit further down the I-15 there’s a casino built like a huge river steamboat! Did anyone even think how conflicted a brightly-painted steamboat looks settled into the desert sand? I don’t think reality is a strong suite for Nevada!
Hopefully, Las Vegas is the first and last big city I will need to drive through. I’ve tried to avoid cities and freeways as much as possible the rest of the trip. It was over 100 when I went thru Vegas at 11:30am. By the time I got to Mesquite it was 109o. The Virgin River runs through a beautiful gorge. Once again I got to see what a beautiful state Arizona is. Once again I gritted my teeth and cursed the highway designers for failing to include even one turnout where a motorist can take pictures of the spectacular scenery! The colors, the water, the fault lines, the dramatic rock formations--it was hard to keep my mind on my driving.











Just as the navigation system, aka Miss Julia, predicted, I pulled into St. George at 1:30pm. The flags in Utah are at half-mast--I assume in memory of the miners killed in the cave-in over a week ago.





The inside temperature of the coach was 90o. This RV park, Temple View, is very nice. The people are so friendly and helpful. I have the first spot so my wifi reception is pretty good. The blog is up and running although I have very few pictures to show for the day’s drive.


My first “best missed photo” was right after leaving the monastery: a little gray desert fox! I’d never seen one before. Wrong lens, I lose.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I suppose all first trip days are bound to be hectic. I'm sure not as stressful as waiting your turn in the guillotine line during the French Revolution and not as bad as last time with smashing my thumb in the door and dropping the boom box on my face but enough stress to make me wonder why I thought a long trip was ever a good idea. The smoke over our house from the Santa Barbara fire was one of the good reasons to get out of town. Breathing is already difficult enough!

Big mix-up with my hair appointment--I wasn’t down until Thursday--no good. One simply does not embark on such a journey as this with a faded weave and roots showing. A scramble to get squeezed in at noon. Ok--just a one hour delay so far. But wait! The doctor changed one of my nasty microbe meds so I needed to pick up a prescription today as well. Paint me gray and call me a jackass--I thought that just because I needed a 2 month supply instead of the usual 30 day supply doled out by the insurance company when I use a REAL DRUGSTORE it would not be a problem!!! So wrong! First, it’s a chance for the prescription part of the plan to soak you for 2 co-pays; Second, it’s a double-chance for the REAL DRUGSTORE to mess up the prescription. Both happened--but the action--or lack of action--in the prescription line is worth a few words. In the half hour I waited in line I saw one woman faint and have to be helped to a chair. Another couple held up the entire process because of some error. The young boy in front of me waited through all of this to get his prescription and was truly mystified that he was expected to pay some money to get his medicine--he had to leave without it. The elderly man behind me just leaned on his cane and said he was quite used to this. There was one person working the desk!!! All of this mini-drama took place in a small aisle between condoms, pregnancy test kits and creams of some kind on one side and douches, yeast infection treatments and tests to let a woman know if she’s hit menopause!!! Egads--I’d love to meet the woman who needs a test to know if she just might have hit those years!!! Here's a real cheap test: ask her husband!!!! I think there was so much conversation amongst strangers just to avoid having to look at these products. My take on it was that no one in line would be buying any of the merchandise on either side.

The trip to the monastery was hot and uneventful. Upon arrival I hooked up to the electrical power, turned on the AC(the temperature inside the coach was 95o) then proceeded to heat up a Hot Pocket in the microwave. Wham!!! Blew something because the power went out to the coach and half the monastery. There was also no water coming through the faucets. Fr Basil to the rescue! He thought it was a “city” black out since the same thing had happened last night. The water problem was because a new water regulator installed by Hubby was not allowing any water from monastery well to reach the RV. Soon all was well--gin and tonic in hand, Hot Pocket consumed and some time to chat with monk friends. They’d had a busy day with 3 visitors that evening--not counting me--and a group of 5 nuns earlier in the day.

The puppy is growing very fast. Ozzie wanted so much to play with Byrdie but she simply won’t acknowledge other dogs in her world. At least she had sense to leave the cats alone and just stand on an old pew outside the common room window and stare at me.

Thus ends another first night. A good clean shower, a rig that is at least less than 80o inside and hopefully a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow the goal is to make St. George, Utah. No stopping in Las Vegas--sorry chat buddies--and finally hook-up to the internet again. Put here are pics of what I could snap from I-15 and my RV park for the night here in Utah.

The Fine Art of Eating Pasta

If you don't like cute little boy stories skip this posting!

We were recently out to dinner with our newest grandson and his parents. I was priviledged to photo-doc a 14 month old size up, solve, and enjoy the problem of eating spaghetti!

Ok, a drink lid--big deal! I want what Daddy's drinking!

Hmmmm. One string to start with. Slow and steady wins the race.

This is good food but a bad way to eat it. Not at all efficient.

Think hard now--two hands and lose the dainty approach.

Yes! Several strands stuffed in. This is getting better.

I'll be here all night if I'm going to pick up strands. Let's try fistfuls of 'ghetti!

Ah yes! Success!! Why is Daddy frowning at me? Why is Mommy carrying on about a little pasta down the shirt?

Oh--I don't think I feel so good. Amazing how much of that stuff can fit in one small baby mouth.

Well, guess I'm done. Let's see: fine food, Two-Buck Baby Cup--but what's missing to finish off this fine meal?

Ahhh yes! Just the thing. Sure, it's not PC but the perfect way to end a fine evening out!

Are We Almost There Yet?

Who couldn't love a town named Spearfish? And now I'm hearing from all quarters that there is a famous drugstore to check out. And news from a friend that he has just moved to a small town outside of Spearfish! Does this mean that Spearfish is the Urb and it has suburbs?? And, to top it all off, the wonderful lady at the KOA in Mitchell, SD, has a sister who lives in Spearfish and she had such wonderful things to say about staying there. I hope the build-up in my mind doesn't lead to disappointment.


At the last minute I decided to go see Mt. Rushmore. As tempting as it was to stay in an RV park called "Rush No More", I opted for a very quiet, small park that will allow Byrdie to swim in the lakes on the property. There will be no TV and no internet for those days and I expect I will be glad for the solitude. I explained to a nice park ranger person that the only thing I knew about Mt. Rushmore was what I had seen in "North By Northwest" and it took him awhile to get his laughing under control. Apparently one can drive right up to it and look or sign up for any number of tours that drive around. I will look for a luxury tour if I have any strength left. Otherwise, I will just watch the movie again.

Here is the almost-completed trip iteinerary. C'mon, Wing! You promised constructive help here!


August 29th-30th--Custer, Wyoming--or is it South Dakota?

Why is there more than one Custer anywhere??? Thanks, Wing, for pointing this out. Since I have already confused Green River, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming, I must double-check. Same river, two different states.



Sigh...this is really not easy for someone whose idea of the known world ends at the California state line.







August 31st--Mitchell, South Dakota

HOME OF THE CORN PALACE
I am anticipating doing a live blogcast from this famous national icon.











All that is left now is to get across the state of Minnesota without crossing any bridges. Hungerford has come up with the superb suggestion of traveling up the North Coast to the small town of Two Harbors.

Somehow one imagines a town large enough for two harbors would be an Urb but lake people do things differently. The promise of pies at the World Famous Betty's Pie Place has me hungry already. There apparently are no RV places after leaving a place called Duluth. I think they must be hearty folk so far north since camping to them--according to the websites I've visited so far--means a site where one can build a fire and have access to water. No site has even mentioned RV access. There is not a KOA or a Wal-Mart to be found for RVers!




My travel source for this part of the country suggests that I could take in Pipestone in Minnesota, Laura Ingalls Wilder country around Walnut Grove, eat fine German low-fat, no transcontinental fatty foods in a place called New Ulm.



http://www.walnutgrove.org/wghistory.htm

Lodging is still a big problem in this part of the country. And the next day will be a Sunday--it would be nice to get to mass at least once on this trip. RV camping has been the most frustrating in this part of Minnesota!



There is a place called Kandiyohi County that seems to have a good system of parks where they have places for RVs. SEEMS seems to be the operative word! It's a first-come, first-dibs basis. The few private RV parks want a commitment for all 3 days of the Labor Day week-end. I sure hope these little towns have Wal-Marts that allow poor, stranded RVers!

Thank you, WingQuest for your invaluable help!