Its a lesson I learned on my first trip to the Grand Canyon the summer of the Mt. St Helens eruption - the stubby mountain as it is known today in Portland. It must have been more representative of a living hell that summer I visited the Grand Canyon.
Oh yes. The immutable lesson: "Don't go on another person's trip," . . . even the pleasant is interminable.
The Snail Train goes west.
Day 8 in the books. Two thousand miles. Eight days. 250 miles per day. average around 10 miles per hour elapsed. Snail trains. turd emoji?
The Cast
Blinker, Cipiopini, and CinQo hit the road on a halfway quest for the ultimate landscape sensory experience. The ultimate is Alaska. Were it not for the presence of Cin!Qo and a lack of calming anti histamines, the Canadian border at Vancouver would not have kept us from the ferry and the elegant off shore public transportation systems connecting canada and Alaska. (Instead, we turned around and left the Olympic Peninsula. I entirely missed the fact that Bainbridge Island was right there. Crap.)
Meet the Moderator
April 1
In case you are wondering, today is April 1, 20017. The biggest question of the day is whether that jack ass in the white house is going to try and verify his presidency by waging war. It seems a dear price in flesh to pay for buying false promises.
Day 1 of the Tulsa farmer's market was magnificent in terms of weather, participation, sales and renewal of friendships. It is my 18th year to participate.
The snail train completed its loop on Tuesday. We produced a record number of mugs for a one week period. The incredible part is that we did it in three days. I have four bulk sales orders pending simultaneously. This is a first. Perhaps its time for death insurance - or another beer.
Speaking of my erstwhile muse, Candy Buddha Sweet and Salty, (aka MonkeyNuts, the human candy bar) is off to the mountain top, and not a moment too soon. Too much this. Not enough of that.
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| Alpha female |
Back to the Parade
sometime in early march
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| Busy streets of Bakersfield |
Bakersfield - fresh oranges and good mexi fast food. It may have been the prettiest day of the year there. We saw rain in the Mojave and heavy rain coming over the mountains at the Cesar Chavez center along the highway. The news of my youth come to life. I took many pictures there.
Bakersfield bright and flat. Squatting precisely in the fertile middle.
Previously
Day one. Packed. The snail train underway. Amarillo beef.
We saw a lot of birds just west of Amarillo on the way to Hereford. It is a flyway where unnumbered birds flying and grazing co exist with wind farms using the same air currents. It was the last green we would see until we reached the central valley in california.
Beef feed lots abound. I must admit to a love for steak. The process can be hard to see on an industrial scale. Stuck in a stantion and forced to consume in captivity for a lifetime? Its not my favorite vision while eating. I do manage to squelch my squeamishness a couple of times a week.
Fortunately, there are other things to amuse. Quick Trips, signs, power lines and grass dominate the landsape, with the help of some half buried Cadillacs.
Holed up in Grants, NM
Day two. Holed up in Grants, NM with snow and rain on the way overnight. Pacific moisture. Snow and wrecks on the continental divide. Visited Richardson's trading post in Gallup. Became acquainted with the spider rock women in the rug room.
Headwinds, were a prelude to Grants. Trains and winds come through here. The winds can knock you back. Highlight of Grants pictured here.
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Canyon de Chelly
Aimless wandering brings us to the place of the first mystery.
Lost my phone and FOUND my phone. IT has been reincarnated as it popped out from the seats. camera batteries have failed though.
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| Spider Rock. Canyon de Chelly The valley is inhabited in the summer. During the winter folks mostly live on the plateau, or rim as the maps call it. There are timeless views. The nature of the place changes during the day. |
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| Black Mtn view across Canyon de Chelly |
End canyon de chelly
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Zion.
God's Place on Earth
Nevada. I-15
Vegas strip was crazy crowded on a saturday. We stopped at lake Powell instead.
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| Busy Barstow trail crossing. |
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| Low water at Lake Powell. California's Central Valley the place where fantasy gives way to antiquity.
Sequoia trees on Monday. Rented tire chains to make the trip. 23 miles of ice and snow roads. No bathroom. Yellow holes in the snow. Massive orchards along the roads coming out from Visalia. Almond trees, orange and lemon trees, etc. Flat farms give way to 13000 plus foot mountains. Charmed lands.
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Sonoma. Hills and trees and vines. We brought the weather with us. Stopped at a charcuterie and picnicked in a park with rows of grape vines marching away to the hills. Visited a winery looking for the perfect chardonnay. Came away still seeking.
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| Sonoma picnic in the vineyard. |
Lost coast. Fog. Mountain slid over road on its way to the sea. No road. Detour. Change of plans.
Mon
Bodega Bay was nice. Fog cleared between one and three.
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| Shoreline, Bodega Bay, California |
Mendocino county, lake county, pizza in fort Bragg at the brewery. Worth remembering. Avalanche closed 101 both ways, so we detoured back east and missed the redwoods. Took the five past Mt Shasta. The lake presented classic Sierra beauty 25' low. Cruised Ashland to Grants pass. Jelly Donut a worthy warm-up to Voodoo Donuts in Portland.
Never made it to voodoo donuts. But Blue Star was two blocks from the hotel. Like most things in Portland it is well done and overdone, locally sourced and narrowly focused. Quality has a price.
Olympic Peninsula exceeded expectations. The high areas of the park were under seasonal closings, but we visited the Hoh rain forest and the beaches. Also visited the westernmost point of land on the contiguous 48 - the breath taking and nightmare inducing cape Flattery.
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| Cape Flattery, Olympic peninsula, Washington |
Port Angeles was pleasant and quiet when viewed from the waterfront Red Lion. Its not a fine dining place to be, but the gastro pubs do a good job.
Road Home
Bend has grown tremendously. So it has traffic like every other place including Twin Falls, Idaho where Shoshone falls has more water than it has in 20 years.
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| Shoshoni Falls on the Snake River. |
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| Hwy 84 rains coming into Utah. |
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| Treasure. |
We did see one beautiful town that time has forgot. Obviously, that's a secret.
Postscript
Blinker, Cipiopini and CinQo: an annotated tale of the 'snail train' travelling through the southwest, west and northwest parts of the US, performing a parking lot rodeo. "What is that rock over there? I thought half dome would be bigger. Durango to Pagosa Springs, entering a region of memories. Scoped out the cultural heritage sites. Doc's bar and the Sagebrush Inn at Taos, then out across the plains. Flatter than ever with clear skies. Close calls in traffic piling up. Running in front of our luck. Big Dan's for dinner in Woodward.
Dedication
For my son, who had the audacity to grow as a strong and self sufficient person.
Regrets
Oh yes.
Canyon Lands
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| Rock Face, Canyonlands, SE Utah |
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| Green River, Canyonlands, SE Utah |
The Magic Mountain
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| Taos Mountain rain storm. We stopped for a cookie and a bathroom break at Tres Piedras. Twenty miles out of Taos on the Carson Mesa. Highway 64 was open with some re-drifting of snow covering the road in places. |
Obligatory Woodward Skyscape
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