Road Trip--Day Four

I rousted Skye up early, early, early, to get a jump on the day, and let her sleep in. After a few minutes on the road in the wee hours of the day Skye is out like a light.



Our friends El Paso home the morning we left.


I figured to get a few hours in before daybreak and to try to find and secure a camp site well within the confines of sunlight. That was the goal....



We pulled off the highway for breakfast at Ozona, cause we were both starving and were desperate for a bathroom break. I drove past Pepe's because it looked too campy, but we ended up there cause of lack of options.
Thank goodness. We finally got some good local food. My juevos Rancheros were perfect and Skye thoroughly enjoyed here pancakes. Ok not Tex Mex but still prepared well.

We charged on towards San Antonio and the Alamo.

One of the tough things about dyslexia and Skye are museums with so much information in the written medium. She often makes up her own stories to what she is seeing because the reading is so laborious. That is not the best way to learn history. So it has been a God send, the auido tours that are available at many attractions. Otherwise I end up reading aloud to her for as long as either one of us can endure.



Yeah, hearing, viewing and living history.



How is it that even in a super macho state like Texas, our memorials to heros is so homoerotic? Hmmm? Just saying...



A very cool rendering of the grounds of the Alamo. What we know as the "Alamo" was the church which was deep within the original fort and of relatively little consequense at the time, but has become the symbol of the battle by mere virtue that it is still standing.



There it is the Alamo, although the rounded rooftop that makes it identifiable wasn't there when the epic battle was fought. It was added many, many years latter to protect the "landmark" It was a good lesson for Skye about the "truth" of history and how sometimes it is exageratted or ignored.

There was much more to be scene but we were trying to find a campsite, set up camp and make it to Austin for dinner.



En route to the camping ground on a smaller byway, we came upon this farm that bred and raised miniture horses. It was a little surreal.



We did make it in time to set up our tent. We then raced into Austin and had an ok meal, I mean it was better than good, but I know how good food is in Austin, I just didn't have time to do proper research. Particularly because I had somehow forgotten the ground cloth so would have to find it somewhere to buy before they closed the gates on us at 10 pm.

Mission accomplished, we got there around 9:45 and put the ground cloth under the tent. Initially we had the rain fly off as it was ridiculously hot and humid. Around 1:30 am as I awoke to a drizzle I smartly put on the rain fly. Around 3 am as half of it blew off and I was able to reach from within the tent to resecure it, the rain really began to fall.

In the end we kept relatively dry although a bag of mine that had much paper work and mail lay in the path of some of the seepage and became a soggy mess.

Road Trip--Day Three

Musings on the Road

One thing I love about road trips is the opportunity to think. Even with the mobile phones, a plethora of books on tape(now CD's or downloads) and my traveling companion who I am attempting to "Car-school" at 70 mph, there are plenty of times when all of that gets turned off, (Skye naps) or in the case of the books and music it triggers my thought process.

On thinking of the hows and whys of this trip, I nearly convinced myself to turn around. One of my rationals on the trips economic viability was based on our either camping or spending the night at friends houses along the way. And yet the last two nights have found us in hotels.

Another one of my reasons for driving as opposed to flying was to provide an educational experience for Skye and yet she is ending up mostly couped up in a car for endless hours. Granted this provides a lot of one on one "class time" together, we've just listened to "Little Women", we've discussed several of the topics from "The Intellectual Devotional" and had many other "academic" conversations. But given the time frame of our trip, we haven't been able to fully absorb anywhere we've been. The Ostrich farm and Biosphere are hardly landmarks or points of interest to the American Southwest, and by the time we did get to the Saguaro National Park, but for a brief 15 minutes it was too dark to see anything.

That both Skye and I are foodies who love to cook and yet we have found our selves snaking on whatever the mega-gas station/truck stops have to offer while missing out on some amazing regional cuisine is paramount to sin.

Add to all of this that I will be running 3 marathons and a 50 mile Ultramarathon within the next 6 months and I that I really haven't been running or training at all and that this is really when I should be getting in the most miles, on foot, that is, not behind the wheel 8-12 hours a day and you can begin to see why I am questioning my decision.

But Cindy, the voice of reason helped calm me and helped me reassess my goals and help re-align them with reality.

Back on the Road

Skye and I watched Anthony Bourdain the other day as he traveled through the Southwest and took note of his visit to Hatch, New Mexico, Chili pepper capital of the world. And that is exactly where we headed off to. We rolled into town before sunrise, and even though it was a Sunday, people were already setting up the chilli pepper souvenier stands. We were there exactly a week after their huge annual chili festival, and it showed. The flyers still litered the ground and banners that a week ago proudly fought one another for attention were beginning to fall down. We realized that unless you were there for the festival or you actually worked or dealt proffessionally with chili peppers, Hatch was little more than a wide patch in the road, a tourist trap for chili afficianados and that we simply couldn't wait for the place to wake up.



We realized some of the limits of the GPS when our journey to Hatch had our little arrow marker off into the whiteness of nowhere land. This was to happen over and over again during the course of the trip. Skye soon realized the value of being able to read an actual map and has since then become quite adept at that fading skill.



The fields of chili were kept hidden from us.



Just outside Hatch

With next to no itinerary, but with a few dates we were trying to hold to where we went became a daily sometimes hourly discussion. We figured we had enough time today to explore White Sands New Mexico on the way to visit our friends who had just recently moved to El Paso, as in like a week ago.



Unbeknownst to us, there was a hot airballon gathering the morning we hit the otherwise quiet National Monument.

What I am beginning to realize about American points of interest, is that if you have to walk for 5 minutes or endure any level of discomfort the crowds drop from the thousands to less than a handful. There were hundreds of people on lawn chairs with plastic snow saucers to sled down the sand slopes and yet when Skye and I took to the trail we had the place to ourselves.



Like Buzz Aldrin said of the moon, "Magnificent Desolation".



The trail was laid out by the markers, like the one in the foreground. Skye treks on....



Check out the camouflaging of this little guy.


One of the dilemas I have faced with home schooling is deciding what not to study, because there is an enourmous amount of amazing materials to study, with the internet there is no limit to what one can become an "expert" in. If one were to calmly and logically look at the realities and needs of society it could cause a revolution. I think that is what we need.

Anyway, we left White Sands with geology, botony, biology and history lessons. The fact that the region is an active missile test site left Skye more than a little unnerved and led to further socio-political discussions.

We met our El Paso hosts in a small historic town just outside of Las Cruces, Mesilla. We had decent Mexican food,(I can be a bit of a snob, both because Los Angeles has some great Mexican food and I spent the better part of a year in Mexico and I tend to snobery in a working man kind of way , anyhow.) but great to see friends and see their new pad. Unfortunately , one of them became deathly ill within hours of our visit and had to retire to his bed. But the energy we got from hanging with friends and getting back to one of the trips original tenets was beyond measure.

Road Trip--Day Two

We got a good night sleep in Phoenix, in a hotel not a tent much to Skye's dismay. And the Iphone was fully charged and functioning as if nothing had ever happened but still I thought it best to keep the appointment at the Apple store in Tuscon at 10 just to be safe. Well after a couple hours of driving, we pulled into what seemed to be a pretty busy little local cafe with the hopes of getting a tasty breakfast. The parking lot was full as was the cafe, but the food was a bit disappointing. I know there is good food to be had in Tuscon, but unfortunately not for us that morning. More disappointment ensued when at the Apple store. A perfectly love tech helped us but she could find absolutely nothing wrong. She ran a diagnosis that showed all of the history of the phone(a little scary with its detail as far as any kind of Big Brother phobias may go), but like that little noise that goes away when you take the car to the mechanic, my Iphone was in perfect condition.

OK, now we are near noon and only to Tuscon and a full iteniery to boot.

We head off to the Biosphere. Now I have been fascinated with the project for many years, 8 people being sealed off for two years time with everything to exist needing to be generated within the confines of the Airtight structure they were in. That is more than fascinating, but what we toured (It is now open to the public, no one is living there any longer) the actual stucture was at this point a bit run down, in obvious need of more funding which was obvious with the prices for the tour and in the gift shop.




This room served as the "Lung" for the Biosphere, dealing with the enormous shifts in daily airpressure to keep the structure from literally exploding. That entire discs rises and falls according to the air pressure in the main unit. It is incredibly science fiction looking but very science fact.






The pipe works were fascinating and made me really excited to get my aquaponics system going.

Oh well off and running to the Ostrich farm before it closed.

The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich farm experience was pretty much polar opposite to that of the Biosphere. Instead of having to trek way off in the middle of nowhere(which was quite a lovely trip), the farm was a tourist friendly 30 second hop off the Interstate. It was the opposite of pretensious and relatively cheap. But it was a heck of a lot of fun.





We started out slow by feeding the apparently very hungry deer. They were beautiful and of course more than tame. I feed them by hand but Skye was a little more cautious.




Nothing like truth in advertising. I didn't attempt to feed these guys by hand or even get that close to them but it was fun watching those who did.





Again can't say they didn't warn you. These signs were everywhere and for good reason.






Feeding the Ostrich was freaky, exhilarating and kind of yucky in that exploitative kind of way.




The donkeys were quite cute and ranged incredibly in there levels of pushiness. Skye found a little one to pet.





And finally a trip to an Ostrich farm wouldn't be truly complete without a visit to the Lorakeet
enclosure to hand feed the colorful birds.






After feeding them I figured it was only fair that they feed us. But really I had been hoping for something a bit more adventuresome, maybe Ostrich steak or burger or at least Ostrich eggs. In fact this Jerky wasn't even local, check out the bottom Berren Springs Missouri.

Wow!!! Ok the Ostrich farm was a bit tawdry and politically incorrect but cheap and fun.

Now off in search of a camp ground.

We drove through the Saguaro National Park. The north part of it. I didn't realize it was divided up in the way it was. We finally found the southern portion of the park where the camping was just as the sun was going down. It was beautiful to say the least and it was dark within 15 minutes of us being there. We drove through the now very dark desert only to find out that the camping was hike-to camping a few miles from the parking lot.

We then headed towards another camp ground only to find that they close the gates at dusk.



On the way to said camp we came along this lovely tarantula making his way across the road. With that we decided to ditch camping again and to get as close to El Paso as possible. We ended up in a roadside hotel that ended up charging a lot more than there sign said, but it was late and it was still relatively cheap and we were exhausted so Motel 8 it was.

Road Trip--Day One

After having just laid my head down to rest a little after 1:30 am, the alarm rose me at 4:45.

Shower, finish packing, load car, feed pets, final house tweekings, wake Skye and get her up and moving and by 6:30 we were out the door.



WOW!!!



One final look at the house before life on the road.



Shortly out of LA.

To add to the confusion as well as serve as a motivator, we had planned to go on a home school field trip to Riley's Farm. I had heard fantastic reviews and really regretted missing it. But now since it was practically on the way out of town I wouldn't have to.

Hurray!!!

One thing I hadn't been able to get done before leaving was to make keys for the several wonderful people who had volunteer to help oversee the Milagro estate. So on top of it all we had to find a hardware shop before the tour, so that I could hand off the keys to one of the home school mom's who was also to be at the farm.



Key mission accomplished.





Riley's farm is actually several different farms at this point and has many tours, U-pick operations, stores, etc.

We were going to be seeing what life on the farm was like in the "pioneer" days circa the 1800's. Historical accuracy and details would be included in follow-up lessons. There gift shop provided me with much materials.



Skye learning to play the wash tub base.




Skye playing in the "school" band.

After some pretty cool music and lesson learning the rest of the day consisted of archery, tomahawk throwing, making dolls from cornhusks, sawing logs with a two-man bow saw(I ended up getting volunteered to man that stationed), pumping water from a well,grinding and pressing apples for cider (I again got volunteered to grind and press) and many more examples of daily chores and activites on the homestead.



Skye and friends picking corn. I would end up again being volunteered to grind up the stalks in the contraption in the bottom corner of the picture. They must of sensed that I was considering "country life".




Skye and pal playing a typical "homestead" game. We've played a version of this at park days with 5 gallon buckets. I originally ran across it as a teen at the Rennaissance Faire.





Skye got to collect eggs from the chicken coup. They were still nice and warm. I see a few hens in our future.

We had a wonderful lunch of home made apple sausage, washed it down with apple cider we had just pressed ourselves, picked some apples for latter on the road. And by a little after 2pm we were back on the road.

Back on the road and my Iphone died.

It is amazing how much I have started to rely on this little devise. Enough that it rerouted us to Phoneix so I could take it to the Apple store and have it looked at.

After inconclusive results we scheduled for further diagnostics in Tuscon for the following morning. Oh the miracles and miseries of modern technology. Very interesting experiencing the pluses and minuses of both to such extents in one day.

Instead of camping(we would have been setting up in the dark regardless), we bedded down in a hotel, which will allow me to post, catch up on e-mails and sleep(a tent and sleeping bag as lovely as they are never give quite the rest as a mattress and blankets) and a warm shower.

And today starts a new adventure.

Rat Palace

Ok, this goes back to last weekend which is forever and a day ago now miles and hours away, so my recollection and retelling will be stunted and perhaps odd, but it would have been as well had I told story day of.

I had just unloaded my recent bounty of magazines and books and was so excited to just immerse myself when I went into Skye's bedroom and had a completely different sort of immersion experience.

First her room stunk of rats. Gross!!! I was going to fix this problem once and for all.

As I started in on the project I began to realize the extent of the rat's problematic cage and all it carried with it.



They had chewed through the original plastic bedding tray and had made good work on the furniture below as well as escaping in the process. I had dealt with this in the past by hammering out a custom sheet metal tray myself, slicing open my finger in the process. I had since found and purchased a cage designed for chinchillas that had a tray of the right size. I would have loved to simply use that chinchilla starter cage but the width of the wires were just wide enough for the rats to slip the heads through and probably end up choking to death. While this would certainly resolve several problems, in this particular case the end would not justify the means.



I ended up shop vacuuming Skye's room, cleaning the carpet, Lysoling the walls and furniture inside and out, throwing everything from the dresser into the washing machine, basically hours of work on just gettting one corner of her room, the rat's corner up to first world standards. I suppose because for the second and third world's rats are pests not pets.

Then I addressed the cage itself.




This is almost the final version. The subtle but very important difference is the plexi front panel. This one allowed for easy access to food trays and the front cage opening but they still ended up throwing bedding and food all over the place through said easy access openings.



It is difficult to see the front panel because it is so clear but you can make out the small bungee cords holding it in place in the upper corners.

I ended up taking the pan and one section of flooring from the chinchilla cage, as well of several of their recreational diversions, cutting and painting a plywood base that I would attach and secure the whole unit, drilling and bolting together the plexi pieces I had previously cut, replacing the old plexi cut out, with a larger clear panel and finally making a new hammock for them to sleep in.




They seemed to like the new hammock.



This and the cleaning took the better part of my weekend. But the results were well worth it.

The room smelled fresh and clean. The rats were completely contained and happy with their new home.




The rats are smart but I can't imagine training them to use a litter box, although I have heard of it being done. They will be clean when given the option.


And a few short/long days latter the whole kit and kaboodle got shipped over to a friend's house while we embarked on our road trip.

I like books, too !!!

When in San Francisco, we went to City Lights Bookstore. What a wonderful treasure. I really, really resisted as best as I could and limited myself to just three books, but nice little nuggets that I am already thoroughly enjoying. Catching Fire, How Cooking Made Us Human, Sharing the Harvest, A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture, and finally, but certainly not least, Everyday Drinking.

But more importantly, being in that store surrounded by so much history and works of poetry and fiction, (I know I tend to only buy and read non-fiction these days, but in a past life I consumed made up worlds voraciously) it made me long to write, to come up with stories true and not.

There just aren't enough hours in the day.

My Magazine Fetish

I dropped Skye off for a weekend adventure to Catalina Island with her Girlscout troop.

After the marathon weekend through, Mammoth, Yosemite and San Francisco and then the build up and relative success of the SDSA Emmy party, one might imagine that I might try to chill and relax.

And I had planed to; sort of; and then I walked into the bookstore and my love of magazines came over me.

It had actually started in the morning when I somehow walked out of 7-11 with Back Stage, Maxim, and Juxtapose.

I'd picked up a couple of mags in San Francisco, Broken Pencil and Anarchy


At the book store, I insisted on carrying the magazines around, the weight sort of reminding me to not go overboard, sort of....

I was definitely inspired by the mags and was dying to dig into them. But things have since gone a bit awry, more on that to follow.

I still can't wait to get to them but right now I am a bit over my head with more pressing issues.

Maybe tonight......

Saying yes to rehab....Again

I had a lovely time at last nights SDSA Emmy party. Am very glad it is finally over. I have working on it for what seems like forever and now it is done and over and it is time for me to get back to training for the marathons and ultra marathon and just fitness in general.

So inspired I will be kicking the booze for a while and yes the caffeine as well.

With that said here's a humorous little clip of Amy Winehouse prerehab days.

A Very Packed, Inconvienant, Laborous Labor Day Full of Wonderment

We crawled out of Los Angeles, in nightmarish traffic, but at least I was on a conference call with the SDSA Executive Board, so it was not a complete waste of time, or rather of virtual time.

I was left to my own devises by 9:30 ishness, flying up 395 on the way to Mammoth en route to a weekend rendevous with Cindy in San Francisco.

We pulled into Mammoth coming close to midnight, but we'd pitched our tent many a time and in no time we were settling in to catch a few zzz's before Friday's leg to Yosemite.



Just before breaking camp.



Our friend Shane introduced us to Good Life and it has been a Mammoth tradition for years now.



Another Mammoth tradition. We have been taking pictures of Skye in this spot since before the building was there.

A couple of hours and we would be in Yosemite, unless......a fire shutdown the Tioga Pass entrance.

A few hours later, actually more than a few hours and we were finally to Yosemite.

We ended up looking for a campground well after dark to no avail. We ended up in a sweet and comfortable hotel.

Yosemite

We only got a taste of the beauty of the valley on Friday, so I made sure we at least got in an early morning hike amoung the giant sequoias of the Mariposa Grove.



Skye walking up to the grizzly.






Go for it Skye



These are cones from the Sugar Pine, the sequois cones are actually ridiculously small.



We happened on 4 young bucks on our hike.



WOW



We headed towards San Francisco only to find that the Bay Bridge was shutdown.

Another detour.

We got to the hotel a few minutes after Cindy.

Sweet reunion.

We had a lovely Indian feast the night before our friend's wedding and then a fill day of walking and trekking in San Francisco.

I am still sore.

We were fortunate enough to see a turf war break out between to of the silver pantomimes that perform near the tourist wharf, that was surreal, thought provoking and probably never to be repeated.



This was the backdrop to the wedding, which was absolutely perfect. One could not have planned or imagined it better.

In the course of our day we saw things as marvelous as Sour Dough turtles and the people who made them.








After a long day's journey and probably five miles or so hoofin' it an amazing and beautiful and healthy meal.
















Yummy, yum, yum.