B is for Better

The word of the week is "better". Every time I think I have it made, things just keep getting better. It's shocking. I'm loving this.

I have been scouring the web for a place to live in Payson. I was invited to stay in Scottsdale but since I want to experience Payson and all it has to offer I politely declined said invitation. In fact, tomorrow I am going up to Payson to check out two prospective living arrangements. The first is with a woman that comes across as rather flaky but the rent makes up for it ten fold. And she accepts dogs. You can’t beat that with a stick. Maybe you could. I’ll give it a try and tell you how it goes. Hmm… that could get me evicted… this might remain a mystery. The second is down the street and I am meeting with this guy that is about as smart as a rock. Excellent. Anyway, tomorrow high noon I further my exploration. I’m really pumped about starting everything. New home, new job, new environment, new people… new everything. Fresh starts are so rad. The reception I have had people wise has been nothing but rewarding so I’m not worried about a thing. Nothing but friendly faces and blue skies. The woman that is employing me actually scouted the place I am looking at tomorrow so I would know if it’s a good part of town. How cool is that? I’m looking forward to working for her. I might even stop in tomorrow as she said I can groom some dogs if I would like. I would. I miss all my little friends terribly.

Oh, get this… We’re going backpacking in the wilderness!! By we I mean me, Jim and our new wonderful friend in Scottsdale (who just happens to be a veteran camper so we don’t run the risk of inexperience killing us). I have been researching my ass off and the final solution is that we are bringing a tent and food rations just in case. There will also be a GPS unit in the bottom of a pack because getting lost and dying is not preferable, but we are only going to look at it if we absolutely have to. Otherwise we are going to rely on a compass and maps. As far as fire goes I am so cheating and bringing some lighters. Rubbing sticks together sounds fab and everything but I’m just not that into it. I am going to have to practice making snares and setting them because I am so into the idea of hunting our own food. We are going to hike along a body of water so fishing is also going to be an option. Sweet! Rationed foods… come on now… just added weight. Speaking of which, we almost have our packing list complete. Tonight we are going to Tempe to try some packs on and see what we think. This is madly exciting. I have even found a website that sells dog packs. Jim is carrying his own stuff after all. I told him it didn’t make sense to come along and expect other people to do your work for you. That’s not even decent behavior. Since he is nothing but well behaved, he agreed wholeheartedly. We haven’t decided where this mountain man adventure is taking place yet. Undoubtedly AZ and most likely up into the inner basin of the old volcano up by Flagstaff. It sounds lovely. I would say wish us luck but that makes it sound dangerous doesn’t it? Wish us luck! Just kidding. I’m bringing my camera to record what we see and I will be blogging the hike afterwards. It should take about three days start to finish. Not bad. Besides, the way I figure it is that you don’t die in three days hiking next to water anyway. Smart. We’re going to start slow since I am just a beginner and work our way into crazy weeklong trips. Bring it nature. Being separated from my computer will be tough but I’m just going to have to man up and be brave in the face of adversity.

Oh, more god news… I think I have found a hairdresser. I’m sure it’s no Glenn but he’s got rave reviews all around. I don’t know what I am going for this time but I’ll have to put it here since I don’t see you in person anymore. Whatever happens I’m sure it’ll be perfect. If not, hair grows back right? I have better things to fret about quite frankly. As of right now, Glenn Miller and I have a date.

Hey, where you been??

Hmm… where has Joy been? Has anyone seen her? I have! She has been a busy little bee. I guess that’s why she hasn’t been blogging. Bees don’t blog all that much. After stopping in Elko, NV and having the truck looked at I sat down and did some serious thinking. I’ll go over it again in case you don’t remember from my last massive blog entry… They went something like this: Why am I fighting these hordes of tourists? Finding a room is getting dicey and it’s not that I am against sleeping in my truck but I like showering and I like feeling relatively civilized for the most part. So. Do I have any doubts about continuing? Yes. Does it matter if I continue right now? Since CA, the Canyon and Yellowstone isn’t going anywhere, no. Can I change the current situation? Unlikely. Okay then, back to AZ because I love it. Also, from AZ I can easily make it to the Canyon in half a day easy. That is the coolest I’m bored and want to do something this weekend trip ever, is it not?? Yeah, I thought so too. Also, I can take some time and do Yellowstone when I want to as well. And CA? Anytime I would like. It’s right next to me after all. Ha. I win. I am going back to the Hoover Dam. I went through it at night and I bet it’s awesome during the day considering how rad it was in the dark.

I took 93 S to get here just like I said I would. It is the loneliest, longest road over the most unforgiving terrain I have yet to drive over. There was lots of thinking time and good music to be had so I was just fine. It also allowed me to kill Nevada in just one day. Sweet.

Toward the end of the drive the coolest thing happens… For hours and hours and hours there is nothing but dry barren and unforgiving landscape. Then there is a corner and a slight hill and BLAM! Holy abundant green Batman! Pahranagat Valley was such a friendly live place to be greeted with after the long arid ride through the desert. There were huge trees, fields everywhere, cows and horses grazing (you knew there would be cows!) and I shit you not, lakes. Two of them if I am not mistaken. Oh, and by the way, I have no interest in knowing if I am, thank you very much. It was wild. Of course I stopped. For one, all that driving had left me seeing double and I needed a coffee like I have never needed it before. Second, my gas tank needed a fill. Lucky me, they had a gas station AND coffee. I also got one of the best apple turnovers I have ever tasted. What is it with all these little places in the middle of nowhere having the best tastiest treats EVER? What is that?? Anyway, stopping was worth it. Everyone who came in knew everyone else. Not me. I liked it that way. I wanted to ask the young girl behind the counter if she had ever been anywhere but that valley but I wasn’t sure how she would take it. At least she knew how far Las Vegas was from there. Knowledge makes up for a lot in my book. Especially when I am in need of that knowledge. She also knew the apple turnovers were scrumptious. She was dead on with that one man. Wow.

That’s right, I drove through Las Vegas. I was planning on staying the night and taking some pictures while walking through the lights and people. Um, I didn’t. I saw the mass of people and how large everything was, drove about, ooed and ahhed at the lightshow and promised myself I would come back with someone. I am just not into crowds that large without someone to have my back. I also had Jim with me and since I didn’t want to leave him in the truck my other option was to drag him with me through the crowds. Just yuck. I panicked and left. Ha ha.

I am back in Scottsdale. I am using here as my base camp as I set up my new life in Payson. I went and met the groomer that is hiring and she was just the nicest person ever. There is also an old cowboy that grooms for her. He knew he liked me when I said people that ranch on quads are cheaters. He has a miniature poodle and that cracks me up big time. Working with them should be a breeze. All I have to do is find somewhere to live now. I might have a chance to rent an efficiency but the woman hasn’t called me back yet. That would rule. Otherwise, the woman who owns the grooming store is renting out her home to another older woman and the house is set up in such a way that if we split it we’d both have our own bathroom and three rooms on opposite sides of the house. I can totally hang with older people; it’s the young ones I am not able to jive with. Also, the house is totally fenced with a big yard for the James! Score! Hopefully this pans out and I get in. JH cheer? Uh yeah. JH #1!

I know, I know, I said Cottonwood. I know. But Payson has hiking, fishing, horseback riding AND an off leash dog park. Yeah, that’s right I said it. Work is a big one as well and Cottonwood is not showing any results that I find favorable. Oh, also, the cost of living is CHEAP. I will be making over my rent in a week working four days a week. Holy shit huh?

So that’s it for now. There isn’t much else to tell you about as I have just been enjoying down time, calling people and scouring online and papers for a place to live. Rock on, go me, and all that nonsense you have come to expect.

You're going to want to get comfy for this one...

Due to my incredibly neurotic nature when regarding how my vehicle is running I have stopped in Elko NV. The mechanic here took it out and told me my tires are all choppy and that I should replace them once I get where I am going and have it aligned again once the new tires are on and that should do the trick. That is some seriously wonderful news as I have been sweating it out while riding on these lonely barren highways. When he took it out he felt the rumble and looked at me like I am out of it since to him it is very very slight. Once again I have worked myself into a frenzy over nothing. I kept waiting for the tire to fall off. Ha. Since I have all ready booked a room I thought I would catch up on all my blogging during the hot part of the day and later on once it cools off a bit JimmyT and I will stretch our legs in the field behind the building. Perfect.

The last time I saw you I was in Wellington about to drive across the Rocky Mountains. I chose Wellington because it was right off of 25 and right next to the route I had chosen to go across the mountain range, which was route 14. 14 turns into 40 and goes straight into Utah where I picked up 80 to go into Nevada. It wasn’t half as slow or as pretty as the Apache Mountain route but it was still very pretty. I started out later than planned as not only did my phone die in the middle of the night but the place I was staying at lost power during the evening as well. Jokes on me huh? But it was fine as it didn’t take me half as long as I thought it would.

First I would like to say the people in CO are either super friendly and happy or complete assholes. It’s weird, there’s no in between. But I lucked out and dealt with a large amount of overly friendly enthusiastic people. I stopped to have the truck looked at in CO Springs and while they tinkered about James and I went to have lunch. We decided upon the French bakery LaBaguette. I had a scrumptious sandwich and all the coffee I could ever want while Jim lounged around on the sidewalk. The girls in the bakery made certain Jim had water and attention whenever they were on break. A lot of people stopped to pet him and comment on what a wonderful guy he is which he confirmed by kissing them and wagging his tail wildly. Since they had outdoor seating and endless coffee I stuck around a read The Secret for a bit while Jim scrounged for dropped crumbs. French bread is a favorite of his after all. While we were having our tasty lunch and down time we met lots of people. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is a guy named Steve. Steve just recently got out of a divorce. He also does playacting. You know, like Dungeons and Dragons? Yeah, well he’s “grown out” of that childish nonsense and has moved on to more adult like playacting. I don’t know what that means but I am practicing the smile and nod instead of bursting out laughing so we continued talking and I am so glad I held back because the next part of the conversation was best of all. We started talking about dogs (imagine that) and he started telling me about his friends Chihuahua. I guess it’s a rambunctious little guy. Well, Steve made sure to let me know they are that way because they were originally bred to hunt bear. He tells me that if you loose a group of Chihuahuas on a bear, sure, you lose a couple of them but they can take it down no problem. Clearly the smile and nod was no longer practiced. Clearly I laughed until my sides hurt. He was serious. I laughed harder. But now that I think about it, he might be onto something with the out of control bear issue in Mexico. Bah ha!! Oh man was I glad I stopped there for lunch. While walking back to the truck I noticed an antique store nearby and ended up getting more keys for my project. It wasn’t many but any little bit helps at this point since no keys equals grinding to a stand still.

I drove out of CO Springs and up toward my Rocky Mountain starting point. I was going to stop in Denver and Boulder. I really was. However, between the huge amount of construction and traffic I was totally turned off and just kept going. Boulder is a college town and Denver is a large city. I have had my fill of both and I don’t feel like I missed a thing so that’s okay… Everywhere you look in CO there are BIG MEN in their BIG TRUCKS. It’s kind of funny really. There were also a lot of Jeeps and it made me think fondly of my little yellow truck that I miss. Once I stop somewhere I am considering getting another Jeep. I enjoyed that truck so much.

I ended up leaving Wellington and taking a wrong turn, which dumped me into Fort Collins. Very cute. It reminded me of Harvard Square a little with all the shops, pedestrians and traffic lights. It also had a large yard people were hanging out in reading and napping. Seriously, it was cute.

Once I was back on track and going toward the mountains on route 14 I had a little time to think. People used to do this shit by mule team. I bet it felt way more like an adventure. I’m not saying I don’t feel like I am on an adventure, but if I do this again, it’s on horseback or by mule team for sure. I also had time to wonder what the definition of gulch is. What makes it different than a gully? And open range… what does that signify exactly?? (By the way, once you click on the link, page seven clearly states that “Open Range” as an area wherein livestock may lawfully be permitted to run at large.) I see all these signs and can’t help but question many a thing. Thank you Wikipedia. Thank you Google. Without you I would have to actually do something like go to the library and pick up those heavy encyclopedias. The horror.

Driving 14 was a lot faster than I expected. Like 40 mph faster than I expected. It also had quite a bit of traffic. There are a TON of people camping. Also, CO has people living everywhere. Even way up in the wilderness. One minute you think you’re alone, the next you’d looking in someone’s sliding porch door. It’s weird. It makes it so you can never have that tingly I’m all alone and if anything happens no one will know for days and they probably won’t be able to find me out here once they figure it out anyway feeling. I like that feeling. It’s odd. While on this little journey of mine I have wanted to feel fear. Not that deep seated hysterical fear, more along the lines of being afraid of the unknown. Sure, I felt some trepidation when the truck started it’s shimmy but that’s a normal every day annoyance. Vehicles break. C'est la vie. But instead of fear I am feeling wonder and awe. So much so that my fear is replaced and forgotten. I’m so busy wondering what I am going to see next that I forget I am in the middle of no where. I forget that I should worry. That is something I have needed from the get go. I feel small and insignificant because I am surrounded by visions that make my brain explode with emotion. Now don’t laugh, but there have been times when I have come upon something so grand, so superb that I have actually choked up. I have never had that happen before. I have never been so effected. Never in my life. It’s wild. It takes my fear and reminds it that there are other more important emotions that should be focused on. It pushes it aside and shows me not only how small I am but also how small my fear is. That it can be ignored. It rained while I was in the Rockies. At first I was a little bummed since taking pictures in the pouring rain is all but impossible. But I ended up driving right through it into better weather. It was cloudy for most of the day so I expected it even tough I was wishing it away. I’m glad my wishes were not heard. The smell was potent and fierce. Just extraordinary. It was a clean saturated mixture of pine, wood, and earth. It’s funny because at one point it reminded me of those candles we burn just to have that scent flow through our nostrils. But this was uncontaminated by chemicals without any artificial desperate try for the real thing. It was solid. Incredible. Real.

Every time I see wildlife by the side of the road there is that initial feeling of disbelief. They’re just standing there without a care in the world. For some reason I always first believe it’s trickery like those imitation deer people put on their front lawns. Like someone placed it there. Then it hits me that it’s really there and I’m trying to stop and take a picture. That deer on my flickr account is one of them. It was standing right on the side of the highway licking the dirt. Once Mr. Screamy Pants started up it was gone. But not before I snapped the picture. Ha! I’m onto Jim now and he’s expected to get in the backseat when I see wildlife. That way they cannot easily see him and become curious and look at us rather than run from the frothing chaotic beast beside me. Oh yeah, I almost forgot… When we drove into a valley there was this hard corner and half way around it there was this deer grazing. I scared the shit out of it and it did that crazed animal thing where they run about in a panic trying to decide what to do. He had two choices: Run in front of me or go up a steep hill. He started for me and we were just about to collide when his frantic brain caught up with him and he turned for the hill. I’m psyched he didn’t crash into me because that would have sucked. Although, if I hit and kill a deer you know I am tying it to the roof of my truck and finding someone that knows what to do with it. I told Jim he can have the hooves to chew and I’ll cook us up some deer if that ends up being at all possible. We shook on it. You know the skull is going on my grill for decoration. You know it is.

Side note: I took Jim for a walk behind the hotel. The dirt looks packed solid until you walk on it. It’s really just dry and cracked. Sometimes we sunk right into it. It’s soft and covers you with a fine layer. It’s more like ash than dust. I can dig it. Actually, I bet digging in it is pretty tough.

Does all of this become every day life when you move into it? When the Rocky Mountains were looming next to the highway I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. Look at the road, stare at the mountains in wonder, shut my mouth, look at the road, back to the awe inspiring view, back to the road… But there were people driving along with me that never once even glanced towards the mountain view. I mean, I lived in Boston for how long? I would take Storrow all the time for no other reason than to look at the Charles. I would drive all the way to the Cape all the time just to see the beauty of Scusset Beach one more time. Did you know there are times in the year that if you go to Scusset at night the plankton glows under your feet as you walk along the wet sand? True story. Always amazes me. Every time, no fail. How could the Rocky Mountains become a boring ho hum sight?

The highest elevation that I remember seeing was the town of Walden at 8,099 feet. It gets hard to breathe. Just walking about gets me winded which I found fascinating since I have never had this issue before. It makes me feel totally out of shape. Ha ha. The valleys I dropped into were gorgeous. All these words I use… Incredible, gorgeous, awesome… they don’t even come close. But I don’t know how else to explain it since silent wonder doesn’t really work out on a blog. The valleys were lush. Thick and rich with all kinds of green while surrounded by majestic mountains. Steamboat Springs was located in one of those valleys. It’s a very beautiful, very windy ski town stock full of oh so posh stuck up rick folk that tailgate like they want to get into your backseat. Where are they going in such a rush? There is nowhere for miles! I know, I just came from there and there’s nothing. I find it bizarre when I come out of literally nothing but wildlife and forest onto a town full of people driving their BMW’s to their loft condos up the hill. It’s kind of unsettling really. Besides, you’d think being totally surrounded by all that clean natural beauty would chill them out a bit. I stopped, caught the feeling of wealthy indignation and moved on.

While coming down the mountain side the downgrade pulls you faster and faster. There are run away truck ramps along the sides just in case a truckers brakes go. Could you imagine how much that would suck? Now think about how much more it would suck without the ramps.

Then I was in Utah. Utah sucks. It really does. It’s full of salt, dirt and people that are stupid and unhelpful. I have yet to meet one person in Utah that seems worth my time. It’s also full of Mormons. Maybe that explains it? Salt Lake City is stock full of Latter Day Saint buildings. They are everywhere! All the hotels were full at the first couple towns I came across. The ones that weren’t full didn’t accept pets. No pets, no pets. It was getting late. Like midnight late and at one of the last towns before the long haul across 40 to Salt Lake I asked the woman to help me out. She had vacancy but wouldn’t take the sour face off and wouldn’t let Jim in. I ended up driving to Salt Lake in the blackest night I have ever seen. It was wild. Deer were everywhere and the stars were extreme. I should have snapped a picture but I didn’t want to stop driving because I was tired and just wanted to sleep. I knew Salt Lake was coming when I could finally start seeing the shape of the terrain again. I ended up getting hosed for a room but I needed the sleep and the people I had met along the way made me wary about sleeping in my truck. And I am not easily thrown by rough characters. So this morning I got up, got an iced coffee and headed out of there across the salt flats towards Nevada. The salt flats go on forever. It looks just like snow sometimes. The smell is rancid and I found myself gagging occasionally. Gross. Once out of the salt flats your into the high desert and it’s just sand and scrub brush with smaller mountains on the sidelines. Boring but worth a one time look eh? In the end I welcomed the sight as it meant the salt smell was gone and Utah as well. Although there are the fires to note right after the salt flats. I got pictures as Utah buring is something I want to remember forever. Fuck Utah. As much as I got the pictures of Utah burning for the memory I also got some of Nevade burning and that bummed me out. Nevada isn't so bad. But it goes to show you that everything is buring. There are fires everywhere I look. If I don't see the actual fire I see the smoke in the distance. All across the country it is burning.

I think I am done with driving. The truck needs new tires to run sound and the tourists are taking all the rooms. I lucked out with this one and I am grateful, let me tell you. Since CA isn’t going anywhere and going there now would mean bumper to bumper traffic I am going to head back to AZ and see what I can do in regards to rustling up some work and a life. I have been offered another grooming job in Payson. I like the sounds of it so I am going to check it out. Payson is as inexpensive as Cottonwood and loaded with horse farms. I want to settle for a bit as the driving and sleeping in strange beds is getting tiresome. I’m saving the Canyon for once I am settled since it’s not even a day away from where I am headed. It’ll give me something excellent to do some boring weekend eh? I’m also saving Yellowstone as again, the tourists. Oy ve with the tourists all ready!!! I’ll wait until the kids are back in school and then head up. I’m so smart. Besides, this will mean more pictures and more blogging about excellent adventures even though I am living every day yawn life. Terrific.

I’m going back to AZ because I loved it there. I’m going by way of 93, which is going to be a trip. There is one… count it, one… town between here and AZ that offers services. Wild. I’m going to bring water, snacks and a whole bunch of nerve. It should be something. I’ll end up stopping in Ely (the only town that offers sleeping accommodations) for the night and then I’ll hightail it over the last stretch of barren highway and back to civilization. Wish me luck, I might need it.

Wow, this is a long read.

Snooze button not included

This is going to be a short one. I want to be up with the sun tomorrow because I am driving OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS!!! YEAH BITCHES!!! You know what this means don’t you? Incredible pictures. I’ll blog about my entire CO experience later. For now, bed and sleep. *yawn*

Sometimes distance is all that matters

Today… today was… a day to drive. And think. Thinking and driving. The first thing I thought about was Sedona. Taylor kindly looked up the stats for me and we found out it is more expensive to live in Sedona than in Boston. Since I am not easily dissuaded I had him look at the little town of Cottonwood, which is right outside of Sedona. Better numbers all around. Less people + cheaper living = Ahhh. It sounds like I am going to be one of the only single people in that teeny town if I do in fact go back for a bit. That’s okay with me. I like to shake things up and bring the norm to a different place. A better place if you will. I am clearly the woman for the job. I will either charm them or totally blow their minds. Either way, it’s a nice fresh start for me. One of the things on my mind today was how people come as is. I like that. I always have. I have never emptied my head like this so I am focusing on the things that are important to me. One of the mistakes I have made in the past is looking for a way to add options. What a struggle. I’m done. I want people as they are and in return I would like people to take me “as is”. If I make improvement to self along the way, that’s a plus for them now isn’t it? But I am no longer going to put expectations upon myself for another person. If they want something, they can ask. I’ll do the same. But if the answer is a clear no, so be it. They are who they are as I am who I am. Demands are for people that don’t belong together. Romantically or platonically. Easier said than done? I truly don’t believe so. Lots of things become clear as day when you only have your canine companion with you for long periods. I had no idea. I’ve always been wrapped up in something or other before. This is awesome. The coolest part about my travel partner is that he even takes a pee break when I do. It’s all about my schedule. Oh yeah, and he eats my crust. And people think I like dogs better than people? They should know it. Ha!

Took 40 E all the way to Albuquerque. After stopping to get snacks and water I drove around aimlessly for a while just to feel like I was in the mix. Albuquerque is okay. Big, bustling and city like, but okay nonetheless. It’s also located right at the base of a mountain. Coming up on it was very cool. I located 25 N when I was done doing the stop light thing and headed towards CO. I thought about stopping in Santa Fe again but it felt like I was moving backwards so I skipped it. Route 25 is beautiful once past Santa Fe. I stopped in Las Vegas and received my first moving violation ticket. That was exciting. It took two officers and the sheriff to get the job done. No joke. At first it was kind of funny but then it was just annoying as I needed a restroom and had no idea why I was pulled over. I guess going straight through the stop sign and cutting off the recruit was the wrong decision. I’m going to have to be more careful about not stopping and cutting people off eh? What’s done is done. But I am thrilled it has taken me this long to get a ticket. I can usually get off without an issue but these boys were serious. No prizes for my award-winning smile this time damn it. Just one more reason to hate cops I suppose.

I climbed the tallest mountain today and hit the top. I felt like I was on top of the world. The town of Onava is up there all cute and lonely with nothing but sky and incredibly green farmland all around it. I am used to seeing other mountain peaks so it was sort of surreal in a way. Just the sky and me. The sun looks closer when it’s one of the only things you have a view of. Spectacular. The only place up there that caught my eye for longer than a second was the town of Wagonmound. Again, I can see why people live there. Not enough to actually set up shop but I get it.

Again with the cows. Cows cows cows. A sprinkling of horses and antelope but mostly our slow moving bovine friends. There were signs warning of elk but we didn’t see any. I would love to see a full sized elk with a big old rack on his head. I was told they’re huge! I’m going to keep looking. If I knew how to make an
elk call (or elk bugle if you will), I would practice and lure them towards me for a photo shoot. It sounds tough so I am going to have to practice while I drive. It can’t be that hard. Elk only hang out in the most gorgeous of places. As soon as the land turns into something you cannot take your eyes off of, there are elk signs. They’re like the elitist pigs of the Cervus family. If they were people they would only live in the swankest of places and only dine in the poshest of restaurants I’m sure. They would be the Bigelows.

I continue to see old broken down farm buildings. That nice rustic empty building look. It’s strange how it’s pleasing to the eye when it’s farm oriented and in the middle of nowhere but creepy and suspect when placed amongst civilization. Regardless, if I see one that looks picture worthy and is close enough to the highway that I can get a clear shot, I’ll do so. They’re just plain neat. Even the buildings that were used to live in are cool. The old broken store fronts are the best ever. Could be me.

Once out of NM the switch to CO was immediate. Beautiful scenic driving. While driving about all these rocky cliffs I have seen many many signs about falling rocks or watch for rocks. I don’t appreciate the one that shows huge rocks falling on the top of a car. Why even put that one there? Just to freak me out? Mission accomplished. But usually I only see little rocks and wonder what all the fuss is. CO leaves not one doubt in your mind what the fuss is. There are these HUGE boulders by the side of the highway that remind me how crushable I am. Considering how much nature likes to have her way with me and how flimsy those rock holding nets they hang on the cliff look, I can’t help but wonder.

I passed by Trinidad and Pueblo. Trinidad was very cool. Resembled Boston in a way with the older architecture but up close showed a lot of the buildings as abandoned. Pueblo was substantial and lively. To big for the likes of me. Also, doesn’t it snow up here? The temperature during day (or night) is perfect. Just flawless.

Ah yes. Last but not least… well, maybe least but only because there is so incredibly little going on there. Cows. Antelope. Prairie dogs. The occasional pick up truck. That sort of thing. Wait, back up. Did you know there was a massacre in Ludlow? There was. Were you even aware up until this point there even *was* a Ludlow? Me either! I was still driving and I was starting to need a stretch the legs break when I passed a sign for the The Ludlow Massacre Monument. As there wasn’t much going on (as in nothing but massive expanse and cows) and I’m always down to learn about group killings I thought I would give it a look see. It was small. You’d think with all that land they would gussy It up a bit but I’m not a monument specialist or anything so no biggie. It was very to the point. I posted the pictures on my Flickr account just in case you wanted to get the feel of it.

I’m stopped in CO Springs. My truck has been shimmying but the last mechanic didn’t see anything so I drove on. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t want to drive on anymore and that bums me out. I am going to find a decent mechanic tomorrow and see how fast they can fix that baby up. It’s a weekday so they shouldn’t be to packed. Rock on. Speaking of rocks, I am really looking forward to the mountains here. I have been told over and over how magnificent they are. If this is a hype thing I am going to lose it. Just kidding. I know it’s not hype because it’s natural. So far the only hype has been unnatural things so I know I am in for the time of my life. I’ll get pictures. I’m going to keep the laptop handy and fully charged in my office in case I fill up the memory again. I have the feeling that is what is going to happen. I want to go hiking with James but considering my amazing ability to become hopelessly lost in the woods and the stalking creatures that easily make humans prey in these here parts I get a little nervous. A little hiking on well-marked trails sounds rather nice though doesn’t it? Hey, maybe I can find someone that knows the lay of the land. Hmm. If that doesn’t work out I am certain I can find scenic routes just like I did when I drove through the Apache Mountains. I’m cool like that.

It’s amazing how much I don’t care about the people laden streets. Nature is so astounding here that it drowns out any societal need. But then I was never one for people so… I’m going to check out the places that people haven spoken with me about just because you never know. Chances are I’ll end up back on lonely roads high up in the mountains with nothing but awe-inspiring views everywhere I look. The lonelier it is, the better I feel. In any case, haven’t heard Jim scream bloody murder over not being able to chase something in a while. We’re due.

She's got a gold tooth, you know she's hardcore...

I woke up this morning feeling spectacular. There was iced coffee in my mouth. Whenever there is iced coffee in my mouth I generally have a feel good attitude. If I can get some coffee within 40 minutes of getting out of bed I am golden. It doesn’t necessarily have to be iced but that is my preference so that’s what I diligently search for once checked out of where I am staying. I’m getting good at it.

I left Flagstaff this morning and headed up route 40 east towards New Mexico with thoughts of Sedona flitting about in my head. I liked Sedona. I might go back and see what it has to offer me. It’s a little ways from Flagstaff. It’s actually located in a beautiful area. If you want the lower desert it’s not that far. If you want the forest, it’s again, just an easy drive away. It’s high enough that the heat won’t literally kill you, but low enough so that when it snows it melts very quickly. There are horse stables everywhere. The town is large and bustling enough to give you that lively feeling, but not so it makes you feel drowned out and insignificant. I didn’t see a Walmart. It was very artsy. The scenery is knock your socks off beautiful. Red rock and all that. It’s a decent ways from the airport. Just saying. I looked up cost on CL and it seems okay. No big deal anyway. The only drawback I could find is that it’s dusty. Since I am not afraid to get totally filthy, I’m not even sure if that is a drawback or my compulsion to find something wrong with anything you present to me. Hey, at least I am willing to admit it. Besides, I’m sure once I am there I’ll find a way to rip it to shreds just enough to fill that need in me. I would love to get a nice little home right outside of the city, town, whatever you want to call it, so I can finally have the private life style I adore.

Anyway… I stopped at the Meteor Crater and it was a very large hole in the ground. Extremely large. As I walked up to see the crater I was breathing heavily and got all concerned with my health until I remembered I am at a higher altitude than I am used to. It’s good for me. As I was driving around in this area I saw dinosaurs. Since I am not easily impressed I blew them all off waiting for the real and better ones. Those *were* the real and better ones. Oops. Better luck next time huh? I’ll explain them to you since I have no pictures… They look like huge fake dinosaurs. There.

After the crater I went and stood on a corner in Winslow Arizona. I felt pretty solid while doing it so I don’t consider it a waste of time.

Next I drove the wrong way for a long time. I took route 77 thinking that was where the Petrified Forest was. After not seeing any signs I turned back and went the right way by following the actual signage. I like how all these routes simply go where they go. There’s no confusing it for a different route, it’s just hundreds of miles through nothing with no turns or anything like that to confuse you. There is the occasional stop sign at the end but I’m stop sign savvy now, so it’s cool.

The Petrified Forest National Park is huge. I spent most of the day there driving about and taking pictures. What an incredible place to see. Just awesome. The wood of the trees looks like rock with beautiful colors all throughout it. Fantastic. There are “forests” throughout the park with this “stone” wood lying about. It’s prettier close up. The first place we parked had a trail so I brought Jim along to enjoy the walk amongst these old natural ruins. He wasn’t as impressed as I was and just wanted to hunt but at least he didn’t pee on any of the trees. Good boy. However, I forgot he doesn’t wear shoes and by the end of the walk he was freaking out a little and looking pathetic. Oops. Since I left his boots at the pearl I am going to get him some more tomorrow. I put my bare foot down on the cement and I am surprised he made it as long as he did to be honest. Stoic little bastard. From then on he happily stayed in the car while I ran about and took pictures of everything. Flickr man, seriously!! About 3/4 of the way through I had filled my memory card and ended up turning the backseat of the truck into a little office. Out came the laptop and in went the pictures. I lounged on Jim’s bed while I waited. It was very efficient and relaxing. Anyway, The Painted Desert is also in the park and again, wow. I spent the whole time just getting over what I was seeing to again not believe what I was seeing. Totally and completely worth every second of my time. When you first pull in and pay the person at the booth ($10, not bad) you are given a little slip of paper telling you what is not allowed. It also expected that you will tattle if you see anyone else breaking said rules. Now I am not usually the type to support contraband. Um, yes I am. Just kidding, I’m not. I am. Okay, I try not to. I don’t, I love it. No, in all dead seriousness it’s not okay. Maybe sometimes. Like when you are me and want something and no one is looking. Like maybe then. But otherwise, it’s not okay. Well, until it is again. It’s about the size of a nickel but it is what it is making me the master of contraband.

While driving about I saw Jasper Forest, The Blue Mesa and Newspaper Rock. I got you the best close up of Newspaper Rock that I could get. I had to use provided binoculars to see the rest of the drawings. All of these places kicked ass. The painted desert itself was all around as I drove through offering a spectacle of color and landscape that blew me away. A couple of times I ended up at turnoffs with people and twice I traded taking someone’s picture if they took mine. I try to speak with the older couples or the single person as speaking with most families can get a little hectic. I am still horrified at what most people think is a decent family vacation. They don’t look like they’re having fun and I often wonder why they do it. You know that schlep saved up all year so they could all be tortured and miserable. Blech.

Just as I was leaving the park it started raining. Driving in the rain is boring as hell and the Beasties stepped up to plate today to rock me back to route 40 and out of the rain. The perfect ending to the perfect day. Ahhh...

So now I am back in NM. I was going to stop in Gallup for the night but I wasn’t very impressed with the place. I’m going to just figure out the pow wow stuff online some time soon since Gallup is not what I want to wake up to. It’s basically angry Navajos and hitchhikers. Lot’s of reservation area. Oh yeah, and they don’t have a PetCo? WTF is that? The sooner we find a PetCo (Petsmart, whatever, who cares) the sooner James has protection for his delicate feet. I kept going until I almost killed us and then thought that was a good sign that we should settle in somewhere. I don’t know if you can appreciate taking pictures while barreling down the highway. Sometimes I just don’t want to stop and I take a chance while hoping for the best. It’s even harder when texting at the same time. I am a multitasking genius until I get sleepy. Then I am just an erratic driver that should get a room at the next exit. We’re at Grants, NM for the night all tucked in tight. We spent a little while walking about and actually scared up a mouse. Jim gets so insane over the idea of prey that he completely loses it and runs about like a maniac with this scary crazy look in his eye. I tried keeping track of the mouse but we lost it due to Jim’s lack of focus and the tendency mice have to go underground. Bummer. I have a plan for the next time though so whatever runs out in front of us in the future is a goner.

Enjoy the pictures and I’ll see you soon.

Like a babbling brook

So after making a friend and staying in Scottsdale for a couple days I headed back on the road toward my destiny. I don't know what my destiny is so don't ask. I'll tell you when I find it. I don’t know if I could hang in the low desert area. It’s so hot during the day that you can’t really do much. I’m an outdoorsy type of person and sitting inside all day makes me want to eat my hands with frustration, you know? I don’t want arms that end in bloody stumps so maybe a little higher up would be better?

I left Scottsdale by way of 87. Leaving was tough. I forgot how much I missed just chilling out in a home setting and it made me want to find a place and settle. Not enough to actually do it but you get the picture. I’m a home type of person. Having your car as your sanctuary isn’t quite the same. The road out was desert but still super pretty. I always thought the desert would be boring as hell and I’m psyched that I was wrong about that. I went by mountains full of these massive cacti and I don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures. The cacti were huge and they grew like a cactus forest. The lack of pictures is haunting me so let’s not bring it up again eh? Anyway, 87 climbed up and into route 260. I left Scottsdale a little late and I hate driving in the mountains alone at night with no reception so I grabbed a room at Camp Verde. Next morning I was rewarded with a Starbucks and that made the stay there totally worth it. It didn’t even touch the iced coffee from Luna (unforgettable heaven in my mouth) but whatever, it’s iced coffee. I was told the town of Jerome (on 89A I think) was interesting so that’s where I headed for first. Jerome was tiny and pretty neat all around. Very artsy craftsy. I can see why I was offered the advice of going there. I’m really glad it was mentioned, as I never would have thought to go there on my own. I parked and walked about for a bit with James checking out the little shops and such. Very cool. After hopping back into the truck I headed back over to 89 and went on to Sedona. Sedone is so pretty! Wowser. Red rock everywhere. I took a right off the main drag and hit some of the scenic views for pictures. Totally worth it. We saw a “horse hotel” along the way. I bet the beds are huge huh? Since I am obviously never going to pass the emotional age of 8 all these horses are doing me good. If I stop anywhere you can bet there will be horses near by. The weather from Sedona to Flagstaff was perfect so along the way I stopped and romped about the shore of Oak Creek. It’s easy to enjoy yourself along the way here. It doesn’t matter where you pull off. Does your truck fit without blocking traffic? That’s a parking spot. Beats the hell out of what I am used to. I chose a place with no people (which is not as easy as it sounds being tourist season and all) and enjoyed a little time frolicking in the water with Jim. We had a blast. He hunted and I wandered around doing absolutely nothing trying not to fall in the water when crossing over meant jumping from rock to rock. Sometimes you just want to be on the other side. James was in full frenzy hunting mode so it was better to have him away from the street anyway. It’s also decent hunting for him as the underbrush is scarce so he really gets into it when he’s allowed to hunt.

Flagstaff is another built up town. Maybe I am just sick of seeing McDonalds and Walmart? I drive into larger town and wilt a little. People everywhere and the same shit you see everyday. Boring. But James needed a bath so I found the local self dog wash shop and lathered him to a glossy shine. I have to admit, the tea tree shampoo I purchased is wonderful. Smells great and keeps his skin feeling healthy. I am under the assumption that my travel companion should always feel his best. The women at the shop were telling me about grooming areas and how messy they get and I agreed letting them know I am a groomer. They all about fell apart and practically begged me to work there. I guess they are turning people away at an alarming rate. As much as I would love to help them out (I miss grooming terribly) I want to see CO before it snows. If I set up shop somewhere to groom you know I am not going anywhere for a while so I promised them if I came back into this area I would contact them. I would rather explore during the summer months and come back to work in the winter. I know it gets cold in the Flagstaff area but I don’t mind killing myself work wise when the temperature is low. For me there is nothing else to do then anyway. :) There are tons of jobs out here for groomers so that rules. If the opportunity is here when I get back, I’m on it. Until then, I explore. Yeah…

I keep seeing burned forest everywhere I go. Fires are an obvious problem. I have been using water bottles to put my finished cigarettes into. Imagine if I burned down half of AZ with the simple inconsiderate flick of a burning ember? Oh the horror. There are signs everywhere disallowing fires of any kind. No doubt. Fire is one of the things I have a great respect for, especially when it involves people dying and their homes being destroyed.

One of the neat things about this area is that you see younger kids doing things. Actual things, like work. They’re working behind the counter or out doing landscaping. It’s nice to see younger people being reliable and able to trust. In fact, the person that helped me get set up at the self-bathing place was a kid no older than 13. He was all professional and did the job well. What a champ.

I have been doing some serious thinking along the way and I’m liking how this whole trip is helping my head out. I feel calmer and far more confident than I ever have. I am totally unstoppable. One of the things that keeps me going is the music. I’m just going to keep saying it. Sometimes when I am driving long periods I start getting crazy woozy and the next thing you know I am driving off the road into the trees. Just kidding. But I do get woozy. The other night Jamiroquai totally stepped up to plate and helped me rock out until I was back to my alert self. Singing songs on the top of my lungs really helps the time fly by. Al Green is also a huge supporter of this trip and I really appreciate him for that. I don’t know where I would be without decent music. Finding a station I like is laborious. I tried doing the whole gospel station and even threw in some amens and halleluiahs but I couldn’t hang for more than 15 minutes at a whack. Country music is cool for a long time if you want to commit suicide at the end and rock music just gets me all amped and angry. That equals speeding and I don’t speed. Anymore. Having my own personal music collection kicks so much ass I can’t even explain it. SHOUT OUT TO MIKE AND MARCIA!!! I know you’re reading this so tell the dogs I miss them even though they don’t speak English would you? Thanks.

I was going to head up to the canyon but I just got wind that there have been lots of rapes up that area. I stopped in Flagstaff to change up the route. Plan B. I’m heading straight for CO. Maybe I’ll stop in Gallup, NM to find out when the whole Indian rendezvous (pow wow for all you simple folk out there) is taking place in August. I totally want to see that so I am going to book a room nice and early. As much as I am not totally against sleeping in my truck, I don’t want to sleep in my truck. Although once I go to the canyon I will be spending the night on the rim to see the sunrise. I hear it’s spectacular. Before that I am going to see all those dinosaurs on the side of the road along with the lava rocks, crater and Petrified Forest. I guess that means you will too.

Good night faithful readers, it's jump rope time.

Woopsie

I totally flaked on loading my Roswell pictures onto Flickr! If you want to see aliens and the likes, it is now possible. Lucky you...

Mountain men really do exist.

After missing 246 yesterday I wanted to make sure I saw natural wonders. Boy did I see them! I saw them for the entire day. What I thought was going to take 3 – 4 hours ended up being a long winding road over the entire mountain range. It was everything I had hoped for and more. I decided the best way to do this was to leave Deming by taking route 10 onto 180. Route 180 takes you towards route 191 which goes through the Apache Mountains (my target). First I went into Silver City. I love this town. It had dogs and alternative health care for them. It was just up past the base of the mountain so where it was super hot down in the desert, it was only about 70 – 80 degrees in town. It was also surrounded by horse farms. About 15 minutes up the road you started getting into the Apache Mountains and there were loads of marked trails. Does that place sound made for me, or what? Did I mention the hot men everywhere? No? Well I should have. It was shocking in a very pleasant way. I raced two of them into town but we were swayed by the stoplight and oncoming traffic. I would have won for sure.

After the town of my dreams passed I entered into the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. And I thought the mountains of NH and VT were pretty. Not that they aren’t pretty, but damn, the The Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests are something to behold. I climbed up, up, up. There were signs warning of elk and sure enough I saw some grazing by the road. I took a U turn and went back for pictures. They saw me but didn’t run until Jim had a mental break down and began squealing like a stuck pig so I would be moved to open the door and let him give chase. That’s when they booked it out of there. It was long enough for me to get some pictures though. They have funny butts.

The further we went the nicer it got. The temperature (obviously) went down and it became a wonderful mix of sun and cool breeze. Not to cool. Just right. The words I use and the pictures I have taken do not do this ride justice. It was overwhelming and took my breath away many times. At one point I cleared the mountain I was climbing to take a sharp turn and once around the turn I could see everything. It was such a fast turn and it opened up so wide at such a height that my head actually swam and I had to turn my eyes to the road. But the view from that turn made my breath catch. I can’t remember the last time my breath caught from seeing something beautiful (looking in the mirror doesn’t count as that is obvious). The road was at times incredibly tight. It also just dropped off the side. At points, when I looked over the side, you couldn’t see the bottom. It was super scary but so intensely pretty that I just went slow and enjoyed every horrifying second of it. Once you got up into the mountains you had to go about 25 mph anyway due to the sharp turns. It slowed to about 10 mph in some places and believe me, they meant it. The drop off the side of the road was mind blowing. At one point I stopped the truck and got out to see if standing was any better. It was still such a sheer drop and still such a long way down that it was hard to stand on the edge without getting that weird I’m about to fall and should back up feeling even though I knew I was fine. Ah survival, you gotta love it.

The people out here are so polite. I have yet to meet one snooty person or have anyone drive like a jerk. They wait to pass and thank you as they go by. Very rarely have I been tailgated and the couple times I was it was totally warranted as I was driving about 30 mph with my mouth hanging open while I gazed about in wonder. Of course they don’t know that, they just know I’m slow and it’s a no passing zone or something. Woops. Cruise control rules. When I stop and get out of the car for any reason people are always super accommodating (albeit a little standoffish when I get out in a town that is in the middle of no mans land, but that’s expected) and will usually offer a smile and some conversation. I talk way to fast for some of them, and I need to slow it down to about a 100 at times but overall but they even put up with that. That says something.

I stopped in Luna to pee and get an iced coffee at this cute little coffee/latte shop. It was the best iced coffee I have ever had in my life. I’m not kidding. To die for. Starbucks had nothing on this place. Nothing. Mmmm… The people in Luna were a little wary (I doubt they see many people passing through) until I won them over with my award winning smile and enthusiastic nature. It was a cute little town and I can see why people live there. Although, it’s out in the middle of nowhere.

They have been having issues with fires and you could smell the burning along the way. In fact, for about 20 miles or so before I hit the valley, all the trees were charred and in some areas I could still see smoke coming up.

I stopped on one of the places where they actually made a place to stop so Jim and I could stretch our legs. I also wanted to take pictures out of the truck. Most of the pictures on my Flickr account are from inside the truck. The road was so narrow that I couldn’t pull over so I would just stop, lean out and take a picture. Pulling over meant either falling off the cliff or smashing into it. So I was happy just stopping in the road. Besides, I think I saw about 12 people out there (towns not included) so it was basically me, Jim and nature at it’s best. That was a little unsettling but also nice considering I wanted pictures and didn’t have to worry about anyone rear ending me when I slammed on my brakes. Ha ha. Anyway, when I stopped and got out I met this nice couple who gave me their card and said to call them if I wanted to see “real horse ranching” when I came back to AZ. Sweet. While talking to them I got cactus stuck in my foot (I was walking around barefoot as I normally do) and the pain was incredible. As I was without Dr. Campbell or a pair of pliers I had to pull the little nasties out by hand. Do you know how hard it is to pull cactus out of your foot? Yeah, I didn’t either. I am used to the ones I grow on my windowsill. These ones embedded themselves into my foot and wouldn’t let go without a serious struggle. You’d think I’d just put on a pair of shoes wouldn’t you? I don’t like my feet feeling restricted if they don’t have to be. My feet like to breathe. The pain continues until I cause some serious enough damage.

Once through the mountain range I came upon some cows! Finally!!! One of the moms was feeding her calf right in the middle of the road. When we came upon them she started for the side but the little one thought it was all fun and games and started bucking and playing out in front of me until she whacked him onto the side of the road with her head. Then he got the picture and ran along beside her for a bit. There were two moms and two babies. The babies were so cute. The black mother wasn’t all that thrilled about seeing us so getting a picture wasn’t easy. The brown and white mom was feeling put out about the whole thing and when James had another melt down and started yelling at them she rushed the rushed the truck and stomped her feet at us. This got me smacking Jim as I don’t want a huge dent in my truck all because of his big mouth. Once he settled for just vibrating uncontrollably I took some pictures of brown and white mom with her little one next to her. Now again comes the question of how they round up these cows when it’s time to make burgers? They were sprinkled all throughout the mountains.

After the cows I came across where some mining was taking place. As much as cutting into the mountain makes it smelly and really takes away from the whole nature aspect of it all, the mine was very cool looking so I snapped some pictures. I met a family at the scenic view pull off area and there was a little girl who was fascinated with the fact that I could stand on the bench and see over the fence to take pictures. She was a nice little one and I lifted her up so she could also see an uninterrupted view as well. It made her whole day. I took off from there and while driving around a bend came upon a tarantula moseying across the street. He was huge and I was in full picture mode. I tried to stop him by poking him with a stick but he couldn’t care less about me. He had places to be apparently. Following that I was met with signs of crossing longhorn sheep. Just as I was thinking how cool it would be to see one, there was a little billy right on the side of the road. I would have gotten a better picture of him had the screaming mess next to me been able to hold it together. Apparently James is convinced we should take on all the animals larger than us. His racket made the long horn (with short horns) a little unsettled because he also charged at us. I revved my engine and that stopped him for a second but he was not kidding. I was impressed. I’m satisfied with the picture I got and I am also thrilled I saw it before getting onto the main roads where stopping would have been impossible.

Speaking of stopping being impossible… I guess out here it’s okay to not give a decent warning that the highway is ending and it’s also okay to simply put up a stop sign. It was getting dark and I am bombing down the road doing about 70. Next thing you know there are signs for my turn. I expect it to be gradual just like every other time I have ever been on a roadway going 70. This was not gradual. It was immediate. I missed my turn and before I had time to lament about missing the turn I noticed the stop sign. Uh yeah, that’s right, I am going 70 mph and there is a stop sign in front of me. My choices are turn left or right or I was also given the option of shooting off the side of the road into the desert. I opted for a hard right while doing a brake stand. All I know is for once I was grateful it was almost dark as there was no one else on the road. Both the embarrassing factor and the killing everyone in my path factor come into play here. I ended up doing a massive arc back end going first with my tires squealing and throwing up smoke. It must have been a spectacle. At one point I was really hoping I wouldn’t tip the truck. It’s just not made for corners like that. Luckily everything worked out and as much as I ended up pointing in the wrong direction I thought I did rather well with the whole thing truth be told. I was shaken, Jim was wondering what the hell was going on and then it was time to U turn and go in the right direction. I don’t know why putting a stop sign at the end of a fast moving roadway is okay, but at least I will expect crazy going ons like that. I am so glad I do well under pressure because that could have gone horribly wrong. Can I get a JH#1?

Once back in civilization things picked back up big time. I was in mining country. It was gross, getting dark and full of people who just wanted to take a shower. I was going to stay in Safford as I didn’t want to be on the road at night but I had been warned not to stay there by the nice couple in the mountains. In his words, “A pretty girl like you is going to stand out in Safford and you’re not going to have a good time because of it.” Excuse me while my hair stands on end. They were right. I had to stop for gas, a bathroom and something to eat, as I was famished and sick of the nuts and dried fruit route. I did not like stopping. And coming from little miss I hang out in the ghetto because that’s where I always end up by mistake, that says something. It was full of rough looking characters, worn out families and young teen girls dressed like they were fresh off the pole. I got gas, got food, peed and split by way of 191. Who knows, maybe it’s nicer during the day. It was dark on 191 man! Wow. Black all around. No streetlights, nothing. Of course it had rained so there were clouds and those star pictures are going to have to wait. I saw a trucker pull onto the same route so I tailed him all the way to 10. I stopped in Wilcox, AZ and got a room there for the night. I needed a breather.

In the a.m., I headed back on 10 towards Phoenix. There was border patrol everywhere! I have been told anywhere there is border patrol is not usually the best place to be. Illegal everything from people to drugs. Had I known it was a drug trafficking place I would have scored some much needed crack. I suppose there’s always next time.

I passed by Tucson on my way out. It’s very industrial. Power plants throwing out smoke and trains rumbling by. That sort of thing. I love industrial areas so it was a welcome sight. The only part I don’t like about industrial areas is how it’s always surrounded by very poor neighborhoods. Although I suppose the rich and famous don’t want to live near that kind of mess and racket eh? And they shouldn’t have to. They’re better than that.

So here I am in Scottsdale, AZ. It’s right outside of Phoenix. It’s hot as hell and kind of cute if you are in a cute part. I am. I passed by an Indian reservation and that was not so cute. I always wanted them to look nicer and be super colorful with teepees and old men telling stories around the campfire. Um, yeah, it’s not like that. It’s flat out depressing. Made me feel reserved. Ha ha! They don’t take care of their land and just have these run down mobile homes on it. It’s sort of like a spread out ghetto. Dirty, poor and run down. What a bummer. I wanted to feel bad for them but after talking to some people I don’t anymore. They have land but they don’t take care of it at all. They’re paid just for being here but they drink it away. They have more opportunity than most of us will ever dream of having but they don’t do anything about it. Maybe when we massacred their families and loved ones, took their land and gave them the smallest shittiest amount to settle on it took their hope and drive away? Even so, it’s over and they should do something, anything. Mostly because I want them to. I want them to be proud people, not drunken vagrants. If I ruled the world…

Right before Phoenix I drove through all this land with cacti. You don’t realize how large these things are! I’ll try to get James next to one so you can see what I mean. They’re HUGE. There are also jackrabbits everywhere. I’ll try to get a picture but they’re fast little buggers with big old ears. I guess there are also roadrunners. Meep meep! I hear they are aggressive little guys so I am going to take one on and make it part of a photo shoot. I don’t want to run into a rattler as I’m told they can be huge but you’ll hear them before you see them anyway. Did you know they can strike the distance of their body? Comforting. The weather here is something. The heat is a dry heat. It’s awesome. Less sweat. So nice. Also without the humidity you can actually step into the shade and cool off. If there is a breeze in that shade it’s bliss. I like this kind of heat way better than NE heat. It’s less oppressive. I mean, it’s incredibly hot, but not the kind of hot that makes you want to entirely stop. You can keep going provided you hydrate and use your head.

It’s strange because they have palm trees out here. They’re looking kind of sickly but I guess they had a “deep freeze” this last winter and it hurt a lot of the plants in this area. All the people in every area have the same thing to say about the weather/climate and it goes like this, “It’s odd because that doesn’t usually happen around here”. You know what that translates to in my mind? Yup, that’s right. We’re all going to die.

Waiting for the weather ball... er... mother ship

So Roswell was a fake alien infested wind hole. It was pretty cool to look at and spend the day driving around but I’ll never go back. The first excellent thing that happened was meeting Mr. Smith the old cowboy who was staying in the room next to mine. As I was packing up the truck we started talking. He told me about route 246 and the fact that it’s mighty purty up that way if you have the time. Oh do I have the time. Since I totally missed it and went 380 I only caught the ass end, but he was totally right. I’m going to start talking to the old cowboys from now on. They so know where it’s at. (I’m going to have to get past the fact that they support rodeos if I am going to get good information out of them, so each to their own from here on out.) I’ll get back to my driving route later. First Roswell. We went and visited The UFO Museum and Research, which was very informative, and dog friendly to boot. So basically a weather balloon crashed in Roswell and they hyped it up as a UFO to help bring money in. At least that’s what I got out of it. Jimmy however got a stuffed alien from the woman stocking shelves in the gift shop. She thought he was just the cutest thing and had the nicest face. Uh, yeah, maybe that’s why he’s a model? Hello?

Just in case aliens do frequent the area, I wrapped my note in a bright blue baggie (for visibility, is it my fault dog poop bags are the most visible plastic bag I could find?) and left it just outside of town. Cross your fingers. We’ll be doing it again in area 51 in Nevada for sure. We were going to visit the Bottomless Lakes but they are not bottomless and don’t sound very exciting. I stopped asking the lady at the front desk any questions about what to do when she replied, “Honey, even if you lived here without a dog there’s nothing to do”. And we’re done. Killjoy. Wait wait! Don’t! I take it back! The people in Roswell aren’t the cheeriest of folk and that’s too bad but hey, I’m not staying, so whatever.

I headed out of Roswell on route 285 north as it connects with route 246 west. I missed route 246 and went 380 west instead. That was a very long, very boring route through cows. The only one close to the fence was this huge bull beating furiously at the ground with his front hooves so I kept going. I’m not messing with bulls no matter how much I want a picture. Once I hit the town of Captain I knew I was lost. It was a cute little town but there wasn’t much to it. After conferring with my trusty road map (thank you Rand McNally!!) I decided 40 south was my most scenic option. Boy was I right. Awesome mountain views. Just breathtaking and all that. I ended up going through the town of Ruidoso and it was a super neat hopping town. There were these huge houses built right into the side of the mountain. They had stilts holding up the backs of them. Wild. And the town itself was packed full of people milling about. It had a Starbucks so you know it’s a good place to be. It also had a tiny water park. The cows were replaced with horses and once you got out of rich I live right next to the ski resort it turned into you stole my land but that’s cool because I still live here and have more horses than you do. Indian folk everywhere. I could see living there except it clearly snows. And we all know how I feel about snow. Tularosa had a sick view of the mountains but it was just another town. Alamogordo was a trash heap. I have never in my life seen so many pissed off people or junk yards in one place. I got out to get a coffee and wished I hadn’t by the time I got to the register. Run down people in a run down town. It’s a shame really considering everywhere you looked you saw natural beauty. How can people be so pissed off looking at that everyday?? How do you let a town with so much charm turn into such a vile disaster? Thirteen miles out of Alamogordo was the White Sands. It looks totally out of place, like someone put it all there. I have to look into this. It was a great contrast with the mountains though.

The drive (after 380 that should have been 246 damn it!) went up into the mountains, dipped into valleys and then climbing back up again so the temperature fluctuated like mad. One minute the windows are down and it’s comfortable, the next they’re up and the AC is on while you drive through the heat waves that roll over the land and make the blacktop look all wet until you are right up on it. Since it’s monsoon season the mountains are thick with wet. They smell marvelous and today it created a colossal rainbow. After cutting through Las Cruces (ho hum) I went 10 west and over to Deming. Once on 10 I hit another storm (not nearly as large as the last one but still impressive) right before seeing signs warning me to take EXTREME caution due to the dust storms that leave you with ZERO VISIBILITY. How bummed was I that it had just rained?? Maybe next time. I booked a room for the night in Deming. I cannot wait to take a shower in the morning as I hear their water is the best ever. The internet here is shit so I am going to have to wait to post this but that’s okay as I am tired and going to bed early sounds fabulous.

Where the deer and the antelope play!!

The rest of today was incredible (all the pictures are on Flickr due to my incredible laziness). James ran about the dog park in Santa Fe again this morning. I remembered my camera! YES! Some serious lizard hunting took place until his body told him how hot it was out and then we just wandered about the trails sharing a bottle of water. If I loosen the cap enough it becomes a dripping dog bottle. He’s getting great at sucking on the cap for liquid, let me tell you. Everyone in Santa Fe seemed nice enough. It’s strange how no one in Santa Fe is from NM. Everyone I met has the same story: I got sick of where I was and moved to Santa Fe. As much as it seems like a great little town I don’t think I would want to live there because it’s almost as expensive as Boston. What is the point of that? I am *in love* with the little town of Elderado. It’s not on the map but I love it anyway. It’s about 15-20 minutes out of Santa Fe and it looks peaceful. Also, the adobes were super nice.

I took route 25 south to route 285 south to get to Roswell. I passed by The NM Girls Ranch and thought about stopping in to say hi but their driveway looked about 50 miles long and who knows if they’re all bitches? Onward!! I also passed by Encino NM. Can you believe that is a place I have heard of? Yeah, me either but it’s all true. I’m glad I passed through it because they were advertising breakfast for $.99. Can you stand it??? I didn’t stop as it was well past breakfast hour but it’s good to know there is still breakfast out there that costs less than a buck. Vaughn, NM was way cute. There was a store advertising “I buy rocks and stuff”. Do you have any idea how rich I could be there considering how many rocks I can fit in the back of my truck? Cha ching!! I can see living there when I don’t need to do anything but see beautiful scenery and the highway out my living room window. Yup, the highway cuts right through all these tiny places. Maybe I’ll retire at one of those places and just sell rocks to the locals? Who knows. For now I am going to keep looking this country over. Oh yeah, we’re alien land bound!!! Good old Roswell. Can I get abducted? That's the real question. I’m going to give it a go tonight once it gets dark. The way I see it is, if cows can, I bet I have a chance. Speaking of which, I never got that picture! None of the cows were next to the highway today oddly enough. There was this one group but it was mooving right along and I didn’t have a rope on me so… OH! I did however get a picture of ANTELOPES!!! Yup, that’s right me and my super camera skills. I saw some grazing at the top of a steep hill. I pulled over and got all National Geographic on their asses. I snuck up the hill and got their picture right before they all made a run for it. Check out the one staring at me. That is a look of total disbelief. Ha! I was asking one of the locals how I could get a better shot of one and he told me about antelope fishing. Lucky for me I have my rods with me so I stopped at the bait and tackle shop and got the best antelope bait they had. I was clued in that finding the right spot is key because you don’t want them to see you or they won’t take the bait. I set up shop at the base of a hill and after securing James in a shady spot nearby let my bait fly. It took a while but the waiting paid off because no kidding I suddenly felt a little pull at my line. Being a master fisherman I know that you never budge for a nibble, you want to set that hook deep. I was tense but stone still. Then there was that true yank l was waiting for and I heaved back with all my might. Sure enough I had hooked one! The fight was on! He was a big one! We battled for about an hour straight. I would let the line loose to wear him out and then pull him back in once he seemed weary enough to do so. Man, I’ll tell you, it was the fight of my life! I was getting tired but he wasn’t giving an inch so we raged on without respite. The whole time James was struggling and yelling to get off his cable to try and help! How I wish I had simply leashed him next to me! I bet he could have helped me bring that bad boy down!! Sadly, I only have a 15# line and it gave out near the end. He ran off to freedom and I was left to repair my broken line and mourn the loss of my hook. Bastard. I’ll try again when I find another good setting to do so. They're smart so you can't go to the same place twice. I have a bunch of bait left and my line is repaired so we’re good to go. (In case anyone actually believes this bullshit I just want to say HA HA!! Hey! I have an idea! Lets go antelope fishing!! Ah hahahahahaha!!!)

I also got some excellent storm clouds. Let me know if you tire of the storm clouds because it’s pretty clear I’m not going to eh? For once I like nature!! I drove through THE MOST INSANE STORM TODAY!!! I saw it coming, believe me. I saw it coming from like 30 miles away. That is no exaggeration. It was massive. There are two parts of my brain. One of them says things like, Joy, that’s a huge storm, we shouldn’t drive into it. The other part says things like, don’t be a pussy Higgins there is no going back anyway!! The latter was correct as there are only two ways to go. The next 70 miles to Roswell or back the other 70 to Vaughn. Well, I guess there is a third option which would be the ranch driveways but they are all dirt roads going *nowhere*. This leaves me no option but to drive into the storm right? And I’m no pussy right? RIGHT!! The best part of seeing these storms has to be the lightening. I am used to seeing a flash, but when the land is this wide open and flat you see it when it starts and when it ends. I was watching it snake out of the sky and blast into the earth over and over. The lightening that stayed in the sky was awesome. It cut through the clouds like huge hands. Wild. When we hit the rain it got flat out scary. It was pounding on the truck like hammers. And the wind was so strong it was trying to push me right off the highway. It was also making this neat whistle sound as it went under the truck, kind of like when you blow across the top of a half full bottle. The windshield wipers were having a tough time coming back down. It was incredible. I was reminded to keep my eye on the road for flash floods and they really come in a flash. You want to notice where the water flows through the land so you don’t get caught if it comes across the highway. Basically, they’re so fast that by the time you see them coming you have just enough time to say OH SHIT! and then you’re all done. It happens in a… well… flash. Heh. All the waterways were running along beside me so I felt okay. It was when I couldn’t see that I was a little worried. One of the parts was yelling PULL OVER!!! PULL OVER!!! Wait it out! while the other was yelling NO WAY HIGGINS! PULLING OVER IS FOR PUSSIES!!! and since I am not a pussy and since I could see the general shape of the highway and since I am in fact a fearless explorer, I stayed the course. Once we got right under it the thunder was so loud it was shaking the ground and the lightening was hitting the ground all around us. I got in front of a big rig assuming he has more metal and it would hit him first. Sucker. It was blinding and when the rain was at its fiercest the lightening would make vision all but impossible. Blinding. I was driving blind. When I drove out the other side I was on FIRE! I was celebrating by yelling about not being a pussy and making it out alive and patting myself on the back for a job well done. This woke Jim up and got me a scathing look reminding me that the world does not revolve around me and some of us are taking a nap thank you very much. He wasn’t even impressed with the storm. Neither were the cows damn it. They were all just sitting there (next to the highway on MY SIDE mind you!) languidly chewing their cud out in the open next to the metal fence without a care in the world. It makes me wonder how many cows get struck by lightening per year. Especially during monsoon season. And how would they know? Do they get carried away by flash floods? I need to find a ranch hand big time. Maybe if I show interest he’ll let me ride a horse or something?

Tomorrow I am going to The International UFO Museum & Research Center. Jimmy is allowed in and I want to see this alien stuff first hand with my dog in tow. Like it isn’t weird enough all ready eh? Then I might go to the Bottomless Lakes State Park just cause. For now I am going to see if the stars are out and available. Maybe I can take some nasty pictures for you guys. I love stars. I'm also going to drop off my element protected note for the aliens. I’ll tell you all about Roswell tomorrow even though the woman at the front desk isn’t impressed with the place at all. I asked her what I could do with my dog in Roswell and her reply was, “Honey, even if you *lived* here and didn’t own a dog there’s still nothing to do”. All righty then.

Finally, the good stuff!

The last chunk-o highway was a lot like Mississippi. Less hills. More cows. I feel like we are being taken over by cows. On one hand it seems like a lot of cows. On the other hand, cows mean land for grazing and when you need land for grazing there is no developing taking place. That means silence and loneliness. Two things I cherish. Now I know what you are thinking: “What is she talking about? She never stops talking.” And it’s true. I don’t. When I am driving I am either singing at the tops of my lungs, chit chatting with James, texting, talking on the phone or on those rare moments where my lips aren’t making ruckus noise, I am chewing out the insides of my mouth. I’m high strung, what can I say? However, I love silence and large expanses of grass and bovine create calm solitude like nothing else. It's really helping me get to know me. The emotions I am feeling are stronger and better than the ones I was plagued with back in town. Maybe tomorrow I will focus on taking a close up of a cow for moo.

Other than cows and grass, what have I noticed? Good question. Not much. But the little I did see, I’ll share with you. The first thing I would like to mention are the billboards. Some of them are outright hysterical. I think they are anyway. One of them is a red flag for someone like me (with my big mouth that never shuts up and has a slight problem with mocking and the likes). It has a picture of a coffin with flowers on the top of it. It reads: He beat her 150 times. She only got flowers once. I couldn’t believe it. That was in AL. Figures. Those people were angry x 100. Another one talked about Reversal Vasectomy Surgery. That was in OK. Figures. I swear they have more cows than people. And then there are the religious ones. Everywhere. I am once again brushing up on the fact that Jesus not only loves me but he also saves. Oh yeah, and he wants me on his team today. Because I am a good leader. Maybe I should start taking pictures of billboards since they not only break up the cows but they keep me laughing and thinking. Oh yeah, speaking of Jesus… there are churches everywhere you look. The only time you don’t see churches is when you are stuck in the middle of cow land. Although even then they crop up here and there. But once you are in town (or what they call a town) there are at least three churches near by. What I want to know is who is going to the other two or three churches? I mean, I’ve seen about two houses and yet here are three or four churches. I don’t get it but I am glad they are available to save the souls of heathens. That’s for sure.

While driving along I saw two interesting things. The first was a sign letting me know there was an overlook coming. You know how up in NH they’ll put a place where you can pull your onto so you can view the beautiful mountains without getting killed or committing suicide? I thought it was going to be one of them. No such luck. It overlooked nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. It looked onto the highway and if you looked in the other directions you saw where the trees met the lawn. Yup. Then I came across a sign talking about the Boston Scenic Loop. Since I know where Boston is, I didn’t believe this one for a second. I skipped it. Since doing further research I wonder if maybe I should have gone that way as it was the Boston Mountains and it sounds beautiful… Nah, then I wouldn’t have made it this far today. And that was most important to me as the good stuff starts soon soon soon.

Indian country is a little disturbing. Mostly due to the fact that there is mockery when concerning Indians no matter where you look. I wonder how the Navajo people feel about that. At least they mark the Indian territory so you know when you are there? I wonder if that bothers them too? We take their land by massacre and then hang billboards about Navajo trinkets at the next exit. Ha ha.

Everything flattened out last night right before it got dark. It’s incredible how far you can see around here. I saw Amarillo from about 10 miles away. Yeah, it was dark and it was basically the only thing lit up but still.

I drove into Santa Fe, NM today (Sunday). I ended up getting here by a different route than was planned and it was totally worth it. It went through nothing. Absolutely nothing but cows. No reception, very little traffic and the big huge sky. I was going to get a close up of a cow for moo. When I hopped out of the truck I realized the cows looked close to the highway as there was no gate holding them in. I know cows are supposedly docile creatures and I have never heard of anyone being savaged by one (rodeos and bullfighting don’t count, as they are bulls being provoked big time), but I was in no mans land and cows are big. And they were just staring at me. I bailed. I’m going to find some with a fence between us today. Here’s a question. When you have 43,000 acres of land with a bunch of cows roaming all over the place, how do you find the cows when it’s killing time? Are those tags on their ears little GPS units? Oh right, directly after seeing the cows I passed a herd of Antelops. They were just sort of chilling out chewing their cud. Very cool.

Once in Santa Fe (the unmarked route worked out) I checked into a hotel and got started on what I wanted to see. I like history. I like old. The visitors guide helped me with that. First things first I took James to the the Frank Ortiz off leash dog park. He had a good time and we met some dogs to play with. It was a good sized place with trails to walk and benches to rest on. Then we drove into town and parked the truck and walked about the Plaza area first. We saw Burro Alley which was once a “rowdy saloon and gambling area”. It was named for the burrows that carried the firewood to be sold there. We also saw the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi and it was as beautiful as they said it would be. Then we went to see the The Cross of the Martyrs. That was very cool. It was a staircase leading up to a large cross at the top. Along the stairs there were plaques with information about the history of NM. All of these things are on my Flickr account. If you look at the sets you’ll see they are grouped by places I have visited. I thought it might make the whole thing easier. I also like to organize things. I also need things to do.

Sometimes this trip is tough. I am not used to being with myself like this. I was always running about before and had things to do for others. Now I am alone and trying to figure out what I want with no distraction is not as easy as I thought it would be. I’m sure it’s going to get easier. For now, I have a dog park to go to.

Memory

I haven't forgotten you! I have been recording my blog on word as I go. I think the time difference is catching up to me or something because every night my head pounds and I am wiped out. Kind of like tonight. I have been keeping up with my Flickr page so that should keep you until I can pull it together enough to stay up and type without my head exploding. I'm heading to Roswell tomorrow. I'm going to write a nice little note to the aliens, ziplock it up (to protect it from rain) and throw it out my window where ever the most abductions have happened. Then I am just going to sit back and hope for the best. So if they find my truck empty somewhere with no sign of me, Jim or the fish... well, you know what happened. :)

Stuck in the middle with you...

I don't know what happened but I am wicked loving making slide shows over posting on flickr. Maybe I'll get back into the entire flickr thing? Maybe I just don't think some pictures belong on Flickr? Maybe they're just not good enough in my mind! They just don't make the cut due to their representation of life. Or shall we say LACK of representation? It's becoming clear that I could be a picture biggot. I bet deep down inside we all are. Bunch of judgmental jerks ready to reject any helpless out of focus picture that comes along. Need I remind you that we are the ones keeping them down in the first place? I personally don’t mind. Oppressor of images, that’s me.

You know how there are those times when you are reading an excellent book when you hit the middle and the whole thing slows to a crawl? It’s always due to information gathering and everything connecting somehow. It’s needed for the story to take shape in a way to be fully understood but it’s boring. That is where I am in my journey. I am in the middle and getting to the good parts. But first I have to read the middle.

I left Mississippi and went to Tennessee today. While I am driving between towns (and I use the word town loosely as some of these “towns” are really just a run down gas station with possibly a store or post office) there is farmland everywhere you look. It could be me but farmland looks so lazy. The ground sprawls. Even the steepest of hills are gradual and covered with long grasses that tip a slight bit because of the wind. The birds drift about without a care in the world and the cows are on a permanent vacation. Um, until they are butchered. But let’s not talk about that. I doubt that even happens on the farm. Besides, isn’t that a permanent vacation all in itself? I even passed a massive farm with bunches of goats. Goats are feisty. Not these goats, they were all lazing about eating grass. So when I look at farms I get a sense of ease. I don’t know who I am kidding here. Farms are freakishly hard work. The work starts when it’s dark and it ends when it’s dark. When you own a farm there are always fences to fix, socks to knit, eggs to collect, animals to care for and wood to cut or a tractor to drive somewhere. Usually down the paved roads in front of someone like me going 5 miles an hour for the next 50 miles in a place where there is just enough traffic that passing them is totally and completely out of the question. WHERE are these people going? Do they take their tractor to the corner store for something and it just so happens the “local” corner store is 50 effing miles away from their house??? You know they don’t need milk! Just saying. Woops… so the point is that farm work is super super hard. Take it from this blog I found along the way. So anyway, there’s farm land. Lots of it. I have never in my life seen so many farms. Row after tidy row of verdure. Mile after mile of things growing to help us along in life. Ever wonder why horses get nice white wooden fences while cows get cheap run down wire fences? Me too.

Up I went on route 55. All excited about Memphis. After all, that’s where the King lived! Graceland bound! 24 hours of Elvis Presley!! YAY!! And then I got there. Now I am not certain if I am simply blowing things up in my mind so when I see the actual place it’s a total let down? After all, before getting to Memphis I did drive into Graceland on top of red carpets and rose petals. Men dressed as Elvis greeted me at my hotel. Everything sparkled and shimmered seductively and they served free peanut butter and fried banana sandwiches wherever you went. Even the library. Just kidding. They didn’t serve them at the library… That’s just silly. But when I actually got to Memphis it was just another town that was run down and weary. After feeling totally stumped about not wanting to enjoy Memphis and “all it had to offer”, (which is essentially Graceland, and I wasn’t leaving Jim in the car as I didn’t like how hot it was and I didn’t like the looks of most of the people there) I made some calls and figured out the reason. It’s because Memphis is a hole. The only reason people go there is because of Graceland. Seriously. Otherwise it would be Mississippi without a river to claim because Mississippi beat them to it. I am not playing a part in this madness. I drove by though, does that count?? I went and filled up the tank, got some snacks and water for Jim and I to share along the way (he likes the banana chips in the mixed nuts and I don’t), and some coffee for me. Oh yeah, I then went and found Beale Street which was mixed between industry and yet more ghetto. I had just about had it when I found it. I got excited, went to park, took a right going up the wrong way on a one way of three lanes of traffic, almost caused some serious bent metal, slammed a U turn and headed for the highway. I got a really good look though and it was something to behold. It was about one block of very fun and colorful bars and stores full of things I can’t comprehend buying.

You know what is amazing? How I am drawn to ghetto areas like a moth to a flame. Most exits I take to get gas amount to me never even getting out of the car. I drive in, look around, turn around without stopping and get back on the highway. Every time I am lost I end up in the ghetto. Since my mind cannot grasp the fact that half the freaking US is ghetto, I am going to say it’s me. Honestly, it’s creepy. I celebrate when I pull off and less than half the houses are boarded up.

I am now in Russellville. It’s a super nice place. The people are nice and it’s got a relaxed feeling to it even though there is bustle. Since my head was killing me, I stopped driving and checked into a hotel nice and early. After getting settled I took Jim for a walk we both sorely needed. Since 99.9% of this place is fields I just headed off down the street and not a quarter of a mile from the hotel we found a large grassy area. It was so full of grasshoppers the ground jumped about in front of me while I walked. Since Jim couldn’t quite catch them (they're green, the grass is green, he's color blind or whatever), I caught them and brought them onto the parking lot next to the field so he could have an easier chance. He ate them. Every last one. It was gross but I couldn’t stop getting them for him he was enjoying himself so much. Tomorrow we might just do a lot of that while the truck is being serviced. Either that or we are going to read under a tree. Yeah. After I am headed back down route 10 west for New Mexico. :) This is where it's going to get good.

I have been thinking about this whole dog thing and I must find one of those vests that service dogs wear. It’s not like people can ask you what your dog does for you right? When they say no dogs you say he’s a service dog, point to the vest and they let you in. Right? Maybe I can tell them I have a phobia of dogs and he keeps them away if anyone pushes for an explanation. People down here would have to think on that one for a while, giving me enough time to do what needed doing. The people here are a tad slower than up north. I had a woman drawl at me (after asking me what over and over until I realized I was talking to fast), “It’s like you talk one big word!!” I do declare.

Ah yes, and the promised pictures. Here are some of Mobile:

And here are more super graphic foot pictures!!!

I thought you might want to see the progross it’s making? Since people are a little bothered by it, I jazzed it up a bit for you.

Oh! How could I forget??? I finished two of the screens for the house! Here are the rest of the photos!

And then there is James. He’s the best travel companion I could ask for (outside of present company of course!). He’s calm, patient, keeps scary people at bay with looks alone (we differ in that aspect), only has to pee when I do and enjoys the same music. He rules.




I still haven't done my teeth! Can you stand it???