sundog

Reading a great book on a possible way to understand (in the future) how the brain actually works. Also reading a mystery - and it calls to me - good night chicklets - may you all be free, in your hearts and your minds and your bodies. Freedom of motion is sold cheaply sold and so very difficult to regain.

weblog

December 13, 2005 6:08 PM
Where's Alan?

122.3844W 40.50636N
In Win River Casino's parking lot. The RV lot is gone so I'm as far away as possible, but don't know if I'll get a knock on the door tonight or not.

Well I'm starting back with my travelogue, trying to decide how to incorporate the end of the last trip with the beginning of this new one. I think I'll intermix them as my time allows. I'm traveling and I have Barsik the cat with me, which changes my travel pattern and time somewhat. I'm a travel a little and nap a lot traveler whereas Barsik is lets get there and stop and stop starting up again!

Left Eugene after a horrible time packing and packing and packing. With the newer truck I can carry more weight so I took most of my stuff that was in TJ's garage, and I'll sort it out in Quartzsite where it is warm. The truck is wonderful, pulling the hills without any thought at all. I used to average 10 mph with the older 300 cu in 6, and the 460 V8 is doing about the same - 9.2 today over the mountains, and 10.2 on the flats yesterday. The difference is horsepower and easy of towing. It hardly seems fair, this is so easy.

Yet do to my previous trips and experiences with the blue truck breaking down, I'm gun shy and a nervous traveler. A lot like Barsik. He's slowly getting over his nervousness, and I hope to be able to say the same soon too.

It was difficult to leave everyone and work and my girlfriend Linda, and TJ's but the weather was making it harder and harder to live in the trailer. With the lows getting to 22 F one night, I had frozen water pipes to deal with. This trailer is just not made to winter over in those temperatures.

Here is Redding it is about 15 degrees warmer in the daytime and 10 degrees warmer in the early morning - according to weatherunderground.com - I let you know.

Here are some pictures from today, and I'll get deeper into the emotional state of the nation, the trailer, and the psyche of the cat, tomorrow maybe or when I reach Quartzsite and have the 12x12' canopy up, with a lounge chair in the sun at 7:30am, so bright coming over the mountain that it sears you soul and burns away all the wet corruption and mold of the previous 3 months.

Left- finally out of the fog and grey soul sucking malaise that is Willamette valley air in the winter. Above: Barski inspects the new desk - sideboard that replaced my old bed. Of course it is all new to him.

There will be a lot of the cat because he is more photogenic than I. He doesn't think much of the harness or string; or the whole trip for that matter. I'm hoping that he'll settle in in Quartzsite where I'll move only every few weeks.

First sight of Shasta always makes me pause. It's a real trip if you have a real mountain like that.
RIGHT - my favorite asphalt boondock on the California to AZ trip is Yreka. - continued -right

Unfortunately this year it is too cold to over night there - it was steaming fog coming off ice that probably is left over from a glacier. It was cold there. This is the Walmart lot in Yreka facing south.

So stay tuned I'll have more pictures from the end of the last trip and new pictures every day. Especially if I have something to say, which I don't really tonight. Delayed stress syndrome - the stress being getting ready to go. It is really much easier for me to go that to get ready to go.

Night chickies.

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