Mace
My page might offend someone. If that someone turns out to be you; well, I'm sorry. But, I just warned you.
What the hell is up with that?
<begin rant>
Sometimes I honestly wonder what people are thinking. Or, if they're thinking at all, for that matter. I've never claimed to be one of the nicer people on this earth, I couldn't maintain that guise for more than a day if I tried. I generally don't think very much of that trait; nice-ness. Doesn't seem all that useful to me, not half so much as being considerate.
I've had the pleasure of meeting some really inconsiderate people in my life, but every now and then someone just shines out above the rest. That special superstar; who, with seemingly no effort, continues to bewilder you time and again with their complete lack of thought beyond their own person. Every time it happens, you just want to throttle them, and say "What the FUCK?!" But, of course, you don't. You wonder if they realize it, or think it must be a fluke...or they just weren't thinking. And, of course, the very next time they have the chance; they're at it again. Without so much as what seems like a thought, they do whatever seems right for them, and don't seem to have any freaking hint of a clue for the rest of us in the world around them. They might use something of yours and return it dirty; treat something important to you like a toy, and misuse it; break something of a friend of yours, and then sneak off without so much as a mention of the damage. They're usually small, seemingly 'harmless' deeds. And as isolated incidents wouldn't really mean anything. But, among us, there are people who just seem to have string after string of these incidents. And among them, are those distinguished few who show no remorse for behavior that can only be characterized as selfish. The sad thing is, some of them are nice people. Or at least, that's how they appear until start getting to know them.
It's people like that, who devalue being 'nice' in my eyes. Because it really doesn't matter how sweet you are, if you don't give a damn about anything that isn't you.
<end rant>
January 1, 2002
A new year has come upon us. You'll notice that I switched the way my entries are put in. Latest is first now. It really does make more sense that way, don't know why I haven't done that the whole time. There has been no writing inspiration for the last 10 days or so, as I'm sure you can all tell. But, much has happened!!! We've been diving with a couple, Martin and Jeannette, who run a dive operation called Second Nature Diving. I wish I could post some pictures of that, but those need to be developed, so even we must wait. I'm pretty sure Clark got a few good ones while we were down there. Anyhow, on with the Saga:
We've been in Hopkins for a week now. Sharon has been the most gracious hostess I've ever known, her generosity seems to have few bounds. She opened her house to us, and has put up with less than ideal conditions so that we might have a place to call home while here. For those of you back home who don't have the pleasure of meeting her, let me just say that she is what I call 'good people', and would be welcome in my home any day of the week. Maybe we'll all get lucky, and she'll come up to Washington for a rafting trip or two with us. It's just one of those times when you meet someone for a short bit, and it feels like you've known them for years.
Christmas was pretty cool; we sat around the bus parked
down by the beach (free camping!!!), and made our holiday meal, Orion
style. Barbeque turkey stuffed with citrus, stuffing with mussels, potatoes
and corn, and delicious Dutch oven cornbread. Before dinner we were met by
quite a few of the local young boys, who seemed to be headed by an outspoken
youth named Reggie. They were all pleasant fellows, and stayed with us
while we ate, and we happily shared what we had left with all of them.
They even treated us to a little music consisting of their chorus like vocals
while two of them kept a wonderful beat with two upturned buckets.
The next day, we moved the bus out to the house Sharon is
staying at. It's a lovely little pad right on the Sittee River, about 3
miles upstream from where it empties into the Caribbean. The house itself
if small by U.S. standards, but really nice. It only has one bedroom
(Sharon's, of course), a toilet room, a shower room (why aren't these separate
more often!!!), and a large enclosed deck with lots of room for hammocks!
Sleeping places were made, and we spent the next couple of days just bopping
around town, figuring out our plan. With Sharon's help, Clark and I set up
the group with Martin and Jeannette for a dive outing on the coming weekend; but
it turned out that only James, Ally, and Marth would be joining us. The
others decided to make their own trip out to Tobacco Caye for the weekend.
Standard group dynamics for this trip, really.
Saturday was our first dive trip; and it was well worth the trouble of getting certified. James, Ally and Marth did a 'discover scuba' course with Martin leading them while Sharon, Clark and I did a dive along Curlew Bank led by Jeannette. Swimming in this water was essentially the same as being in a pool. Even when it was some 50+ feet to the bottom, you could see it clearly from the surface! The visibility truly was amazing, and the reef life even more so. Our first dive, we saw a spotted eagle ray, a lobster, and too many fish, plants and coral to name. I don't even know what 80% of them were! While I'm enthused by seeing all these new life forms up close and personal; I have to admit that most of the joy comes from the suspension in the water, and the freedom associated with it. At least for it, it does. Many times I found myself swimming on my back, watching bubbles from all of us float tranquilly up to the surface. A surface that looked much closer than it was. Floating through the water as easily as a fish, taking in all the new sites to see, the blissful peace of being enveloped by water, that 3 foot barracuda swimming a mere 5-6 feet from you, the angelic grace with which a ray moves through the sea...all small reasons I intend to dive for the rest of however long I am physically able to do so.
We dove again on Sunday, and I hope to dive with Second Nature again before we leave Belize. They're nice people, and you don't ever feel rushed, or like just another dollar for them. You feel like your diving with someone who really cares; about you, and about the world they're sharing with you.
I itch.
Dec 21: Three weeks gone, six to come.
Much can happen in two days! For our last night at our camp spot (that would be the 19th), Clark and I broke out a little booze and decided to drink it up. We started the night at a little restaurant/bar near our camp, had two drinks, but then they were closed. At 5 PM!!! Not to be easily stymied, our group moved on up the beach, and found ourselves at a quaint little cafe that was still open. James and Ally were already there, and before too long all nine of us had descended upon the Cafe del Mar. The gentleman running the cafe, Leon, was very nice and full of helpful information. His drinks were great, and the food wonderful; and soon we had all enjoyed our fill of fresh food and strong margaritas. Everything was so great, that many of us were sad when Leon was closing, and we decided to return in the morning for breakfast.
Clark and I were far from done, however...
As a tribute to my long time drinking buddy Shanon, I decided Clark and I should polish a bottle of JD, and with a little help from Coca-Cola, we were on our way. Earlier in the evening, Erica had taken her Chloroquin (that's a drug to help you from getting Malaria...), and said medicine has an interesting affect on her. I've often mused at some of the listed possible side affects from medications; as they often seem worse than the ailment you're trying to cure/prevent. Well, this particular medicine makes Erica rather nauseous. So, our entertainment while downing Jack and Coke came to be her antics as she was working up to her finale. Apparently, she was concerned with how long it actually took the drug to get absorbed into her system, and was holding out on puking until she felt she would be getting some kind of pay out for her illness...
Later, Clark and I decided to go for a walk around the grounds of our neighboring resort; the Coco cabaña.
And now, at 2 PM; it is time to cross into Belize, or Belice as our Mexican neighbors call it. Time to turn down the computer and pay heed to the border crossing.
Dec 19: South of Cancún
Dark clouds gather off the coast; building energy as they move to make landfall. Winds whip up in an instant, scattering anything not tied/strapped/staked down. And then the drops begin. Large soft droplets of water fall to us, but then the rest come. With the force of the winds pushing them down, the rain drops change from soft droplets, to hard, pelting agents of wetness. This is what seems to happen three to four times a day here. The rain is nice, for keeping it from getting too hot, but it has become a chore to try to keep things dry in any way at all. I sometimes find it a wonder that this computer still works, with all the sand and dampness running amok.
Tomorrow we do laundry, and head further south. It has become the consensus that the only way we're going to get anything dry will be too wash and dry it in a machine. And then hope for the best.
The snorkeling here has been nice. I don't have any tropical snorkeling to compare it to, but I have no complaints thus far. I've gotten to see many colorful little fish, bits of coral, and the prettiest water in the world. And to think, it should just get better from here. I considered going diving today, but we'd have to hire a boat to go out somewhere, and I didn't sense a lot of interest from anyone else in the group. Maybe next stop.
Dec 15: Vamos a la playa.
Barring unforeseen problems, we will at long last reach the beach today. Our planned destination will land us about an hour and a half south along the coast from Campeche. I've enjoyed seeing so much of Mexico thus far, but I must say that I'm ready to get in the water. I haven't had much impetus to write in the last three days, there always seems to be something else to do. But, here we are on the road again; and it's time to write about what's gone on...
We spent the night of the 12th camped outside of Villa Hermosa, in a restaurant parking lot. There was no shortage of insects, and their all-you-can-eat buffet of Mace began. I'm using what chemicals I have to battle them, but I fear they may win this battle. I will just have to live with the itches to enjoy the rest. It is well beyond worth it. The next day, we woke relatively early and continued our push toward Palenque.
After Hermosa, the roads changed considerably. No more were there four lanes of divided freeway with frequent rest stops. Our path became one of narrow winding roads, barely wide enough for us to drive along with opposing truckers. We passed our first real military run inspection going into Chiapas, most of the little inspector people seem too discouraged to really look around our bus very thoroughly. They ask a question, have to repeat it a few times before we can figure it out, and they lose interest. We must be quite the sight, especially with a half wolf on board. Scout looks like a horse compared to all of the dogs I've seen in Mexico thus far.
One wrong turn as we were passing through the villa of
Palenque to the ruins, and I was back upstairs negotiating head way for Greg
with the low hanging wires. This was the most excitement I'd had up there
so far, as there was quite a bit of foliage across the street as well. I
think they thought I fell off when assisting a banner from the front of the bus
to the rear (I had to hold it up and run along the bus as James inched
forward!!!), because Clark was soon up to assist me. The rest of the way
was pretty clear, and we just hung out up there until we got to our camp spot; a
mere 2 km from the entrance to the ruins!!! Clark took some pretty cool
photos of our ride, but our timing was poor as the thought to record a movie
didn't occur until the ride was basically over.
We arrived at the 'Trayler Park" where Greg saddled
into the premier parking spot and everyone scrambled into 'do something'
mode. People scattered to do things; some were off immediately to the
ruins, I chose to take a moment and settle into our new surroundings. I
began talking to an interesting fellow named Miguel, and he was full of
information on the surrounding area. Of most import, to me, was his
mention of an eclipse on the following day. Ally was talking about going
swimming, and Kristin looking to take Scout for a walk. Miguel had
mentioned a swimming hole that was a bit of a hike in from the road, and that
sounded like a winner for all parties. So James, Ally, Clark, Marth,
Benjamin, Kristin, Scout and myself all headed off with the directions we'd
heard from Miguel.
Finding and following the path into the jungle was simple enough, and we pressed onward into the thick of it. Strange plants and sounds formed walls surrounding us, and herding us deeper into the thicket following nothing but the stream itself after 5 minutes of trekking. And then we came to the dry waterfall Miguel had given us as a place marker. 'Once you come to the dry waterfall, you'll follow a path around to the right and the pools are just up above'. Well, the only 'path' to the right was what looked like a 4 day old machete made trail. No one seemed to keen on that climb, and Ally had spotted another way up to the left. After a bit of pondering, and Ally/Kristin scouting the path to the left, we all opted to see if that would get us up there.
The climb started as simple, but quickly became less and less so. The hill was mostly wet mud/dirt, handholds were far between and often risked ants/thorns/who-knows-what, and mother nature runs quite the sauna down near the Yucatan. We did, however, make it up that little climb with no incident beyond a single splinter to deter us. Yet, atop our little hill, we found no pools, and really very little water. Poking around a bit found us nothing and no really good trail to follow, so we decided to err on the side of caution and head back down. We arrived back at the bottom, wondering what our next move should be when who do you figure wandered into our area...Miguel!
Well, much to our dismay, it seemed Miguel wasn't quite as familiar with where we had decided to go as we'd thought. Turns out he hadn't quite been there yet, and had already failed to find it 2 or 3 times previously... So, armed with his machete, he began the trek up the right side of the dry falls, to see if he could find the swimming hole a Dutchman had told him about. After much traipsing, he reappeared atop the dry falls, only to report that he was unable to find anything, and that our group wouldn't want to go back in there dressed as we were. This sort of thing called for long pants, gloves and boots. So we returned to our Trayler Park, and made use of the pond fed swimming pool they had there.
I waited to see the ruins until the next day; I felt no need to rush my visit, and didn't want to pay twice. A short taxi ride had us up to the entrance (yes, I know, 2km isn't a far walk, but it was up quite the steep 'hill', and I wanted to save my climbing energy for the ruins themselves...), and 35 pesos later I was on my way. Lara Croft, look out! The entire site is believed to be much larger than that which is exposed for people to wander around without a guide. We opted not to hire a guide, and part of me is sorry. There could be a lot more out in the jungle, but I don't think I was dressed properly for that sort of a trek. Shorts, sandals and a T-shirt would not have made good jungle stomping fare.
I must say though; two thumbs up to my first expedition into the ruins of ancient civilizations. I'm anxious for more, hoping we get to Chichen Itza, but that might be one we have to miss. There have been reports of road bandits out there, as it is a lot less regulated. Only tomorrow will tell, when the leader for the day is elected... Heh.
We're at the 'beach' now. It's cool in its own right, but not quite a beach. The water here is warm, if murky, and there are rocks where one would want sand. But, we have many palapas, little thatch roofed open huts for hanging a hammock in. Yes, tonight is the maiden voyage of hammock sleeping for me. Should be interesting, but I've slept in them before. As long as my chemicals hold up, we'll be fine... I updated the website today (you should have noticed!!!), so I have some other things to take care of now for the rest of the pages. Mine must wait. Until tomorrow, readers...
Dec 12, and damn is it HOT.
Snow, cold and some rain has chased us the entire trip. Until today. We passed out of the high plateau that houses Mexico's largest cities (Puebla, Mexico City, etc.) and down into Vera Cruz. The change in scenery and climate was profound and abrupt. No gradual change for us, no sir. Cool dry desert plateau to hot, humid swamp in less than a day. Clark's thermometer reads 30 Celsius; which is about 86 F and easily as humid as Florida.
I must confess, coming down the mountain into this 'lush' area, I experienced some of the most breath taking vistas I've ever had. The highway wound down the side of mountains, who's sides were coated in blanket of green. Far below us, small towns nestled against the sides of the ravines between the steep peaks, slowly waking to their day of festival. Yes, el doce de deciembre is the day they celebrate the Virgin Guadalupe or some such. Most places are closed, and everyone seems to be at church. So we amble onward toward the Yucatan, and Mayan ruins. I'm chief for today, and my objective is to get us as far along our journey as possible. I'm hoping to get us close to Villa Hermosa before we camp, then we'll be able to reach Palenque early tomorrow. That's the site of some Mayan temples, it and Tikal are supposed to be without equal.
After a day exploring there, we're going to head up to what are supposed to be some of the best isolated beaches on the gulf coast...between Ciudad de Carmen and Campeche. I can feel my body's eagerness building up in the form of restless energy that I have no outlet for. Perhaps I'll give jogging a shot this evening. Couldn't hurt.
James is wearing sparkle cream on his face. It's really rather amusing to see, I hope Clark gets a picture that shows it well. Las Locas brought that out today, and I guess James wanted some of that action. I might try to get some on my head after my next shave. It is most certainly too hot to have hair here. I have four days of shagginess on my noggin, and I'm over it.
Dec 10, woose-thousand and one.
Interesting couple of days. Yesterday was spent in Guanajuato (my thoughts of that can be found on the main page) and today at a 'hot springs' out side of the town of San Miguel Allente. Hot springs are always nice. Today I started what I hope to be a return to some form of fitness this day. I went for two short walks today, with enough hill that they drew perspiration out of me as I did them. Hope to keep things going as we progress through our journey, and be back in 'some kind of shape' upon my return. Rafting while out of shape can be painful.
I've enjoyed the emails I've received, thank you all for writing. I don't have as much time as I'd like to write the emails, I hope that what I write here can fill in a little bit of the 'what's going on' questions you might have.
Dec 8, 2001
Tecate wets my throat as the bus hurtles southward into the heart of Mexico. The strangely hypnotic melodies of Dave Matthews keep my mind from becoming focused, yet give direction at the same time. I think it's the pleasant memories from this music, of my life with Kristen. She certainly adored Mr. Matthews. We're supposed to be stopping in some town called Guanajuato today. Going to take a day off there, and take some time away from Greg. See the sites, meet some locals, speak some Spanish.
It's Saturday, so I'm not certain I'll be able to get into an internet cafe. But don't worry, faithful readers; this little man isn't easily deterred from a goal. But you all knew that already. On to my companions in this joyous voyage.
Clark Moore. I've known Clark for about eight years now. Just over that. I can safely say that he is my best friend aside from family members. He's just one of those people that I would trust implicitly with my life, because he has what is the most important thing in a friend to me. Integrity. Clark is a pretty smart guy too, and appreciates the Truth in logical thinking as I do. We have pretty similar senses of humor, although mine just might be a little more deranged. He is basically responsible for getting me into white water rafting, as well as SCUBA diving now. He has yet to succeed at dragging me up to the snow for skiing and/or snowboarding.
James Moore. The Grand Pooh Bah. Chief amongst the Tribe of the Tired and Stupid. Reluctant leader of so many wandering souls. James is basically what most would consider a very good role model. He lives an honest, and conscientious lifestyle; remaining active yet still making sure he doesn't let the world pass him by. He reads a LOT, and always seems to have enough knowledge about everything to at least get by. If I were playing Trivial Pursuit, I can't think of any other person I'd rather have on my team. And even though he's quite the Democrat, I respect his views and wouldn't ever mind having his opinion on a decision I had to make. Because James thinks about things before he acts, and that is a wonderful thing. He who breaks something to see how it works has strayed from the path of wisdom. So says Gandalf.
Ally Kauffman. Ally is a funny character. She has a very in charge attitude, and I suppose you could say she was 'all business'. But that's just the Ally that you see if you're not watching. She's got a decent sense of humor, and definitely knows how to unwind and have fun. She was my instructor for guide training, so I guess she's responsible for 75% of what I learned in that week on the Deschutes. Even though I harass her about having been a cheerleader, I respect her as a person. Even though she seems a little scatter brained at times, I've yet to see her do something purely out of malice. That, and the fact that she's always willing to go the extra mile if it means success, and Ally's two best defining traits.
Kyle Hadersberger. Kyle is
still mostly a new acquaintance for me. I met him at guide training last
year, where he was sporting his 'hip amster' beard. He always seems like a
fun guy, and is full of antics. His humor is sly, but can be quite
direct. He's intelligent, educated, and free thinking. His timing
with witticisms is almost beyond reproach. He's going to be a valuable
asset to have along on this trip. His can-do attitude will certainly help
lighten any tensions that may arise.
Marth Thomson. I met Marth this year in guide training. She is a fellow member of 'the wuss class of 2001', and a pretty handy gal. Her and Benjamin were a bit of a last minute addition to our trip, and both are welcome. Marth is fairly easy going, likes to just hang with the flow of things, and doesn't get too upset over most anything. She sometimes takes my humor wrong, but that happens a lot with me. :)
Y las tres locas.
I don't know Erica, Jessica and Kristin that well, but here's the quick 411 on these three gals.
Erica Spohn. This little gal
stands about 5' 5" and seems an endless fountain of energy. She can
kind of be thought of like a puppy. She seems to go through a cycle of
high energy (running around, doing various exercises, and just generally
bouncing off the walls), followed by periods of inactivity and/or sleep.
Then, she gets back up, eats and plays. Rinse, repeat and you have Erica
in a nutshell. There's more to her, of course, but I've known her for just
a week. Erica has a cold right now, and as shown has an interesting way of
ingesting her vitamin C. I think you're suppose to dissolve that powder in
water, and drink it; but she seems to find fun ways to do even the most mundane.
Jessica Lipscomb. Jessica is a bit of an mystery for me so far. She's got a pretty cheerful attitude in general, and can be quite a lot of fun just to hang out with. I find that a valuable asset in a person, so I'll list that as her best. She seems a little paranoid at times, and worries about things more than I'm accustomed to. She's not sure if she's going to try SCUBA, because in her words 'it seems a little sketchy' or some such. Hopefully she'll let loose more as we go along, she has so far.
Kristin Snyder. Definitely the quietest in the bunch. She keeps to herself most of the time, and reads quite a bit of the time when we're on the road. You can tell that there's a storm beneath that outer calmness; I'm thinking it will come out more as we get to more places where we're just 'hanging out' and not trapped on a bus.
All in all, the three of them are good people, and I'm happy they're along for the ride. It has certainly made it more fun for me having new people along with the old.
Dec 7, 2001
Mexico is a fun place. People loiter everywhere you look. I am beginning to think that standing at the corner is a viable profession in Mexico. Maybe I'll move here and look for work.
I've decided it best to eat at all the local little food stands. I wondered about it at first, but I've settled on running with scissors; my stomach can take it if anyone's can. Clark and I descended upon a food stand promoting 'road tacos'; four tacos for diez y ocho pesos. That's two dollars American for all you gringos out there. So far it's been pretty cheap to eat and the food isn't worse than what you find in U.S. fast food joints. More flavor, no weird preservatives added for your enjoyment. Just good Mexican food! Viva la comida de Mexico!
Clark has some more photos for me, hopefully I'll have a
whole new batch for you all to look through when we next
update. From what I'm seeing, I would look for updates every
3-5 days. No guarantees on that one though. I'll do everything I can
to make sure we update at reasonable intervals. Shouldn't be a problem at
all, really.
Spent a little while putting pictures into a lot of the pages today. This site should be a lot more visually pleasing now. You'll be able to catch glimpses of the experiences we're going on and on about. Clark is doing an amazing job of getting more than ample photos to put up on this site. We're actually spending a good bit of time just trying to decide which ones to include for everyone! It's 1:30 here now. I suppose I should get some rest for tomorrow. Going to try to have the website updated along the way. I think some of the girls want pictures on their pages as well, so I'll have to take some time to help them figure that little feat out. Starting with tomorrow, I'm going to try to write my own little bio's on the people I'm traveling with. Hopefully that will help some of you who don't know all/any of these folks. Until then. Ciao!!!
Dec 6, 2001
Meeefie.
You wouldn't imagine the words you come up with playing scrabble. After a while, they just come to you. Meefie. Whatever that could mean. Jessica and I lost this evening, but I think we were on the brink of stardom. We had some creative words, and all four teams were within 15 pts of one another when all was said and done. Next time.
Jessica just makes me laugh. Her mannerisms are funny, and her antics subtle enough that I can find some pleasure in their creativity. She is going to put on some of 'her music' now. She seemed excited that someone took an interest in 'her music', as she put it. I wish she would play Abba, but she is putting on Weezer. OH! ABBA!!!
I was wrong. She thinks I'm gay because I like Abba. But no. She just doesn't know about Froggy Style. Dancing Queen reigns supreme. Burrito Supreme.
We take turns singing lines to the song. But, I must admit, she's better with the lines than I am. Damn it.
Hi Shanon!!! Love you. I wish I could have seen you before I left. It would have been nice to have seen you and John before I went south. I'll come down to see you guys when I get back. I promise. I wish there were a way for you to come down for the new year. Is there? I would think not. But, if there is, let me know. I'd love nothing more than to see you again.
Thank you all for writing. I'll make sure to return all the emails I received in the next stop. This last one was filled with interesting roadblocks. Hasta luego.
Mace
Dec 5, 2001
Smells like smoke.
Three weeks, with no cigarettes. "Love is on the Way" chimes over Clark's radio and I just had a menthol. A little bit of home keeps me company from Jason's "Rock your buttocks" CD. Oh, for the comforts of home. In some ways I miss them, but really I don't think I do. More so, I miss what is to come. The new adventure that awaits me in Mexico and Belize.
Sleep is a sweet respite from the time of travel, and I wait, anxiously, to update this to the web site. Will those reading this feel what we feel traveling? No, but the updates are made in hopes none the less. Tomorrow is a new day, no? Butt Rock will live forever. And now, sleep.
Dec 4, 2001
There's just something about Jack and whatever. Coke, Dr. Pepper....you name it. JD has my vote for booze of the year. It's been a long one, and this get away is long over due. A lot of penned up emotions have been let out over the last few months, and it's time to relearn how to have fun for the sake of fun. It's what Dad would want.
Even as he's gone, he's with me. I don't remember the last day the thought of him didn't enter into a day's decisions. Today was extra hard, having just passed through Phoenix; thought of him were inescapable there. I often wonder how Shane, Jo and Grandpa deal with this. It's never easy for me. I think, sometimes, the only thing that makes me keep going, is knowing that's what RSB would want. No, not want, Expect.
On a happier note, I expect us to pass the border early tomorrow. This should all be updated to the site before we cross over, so you can all catch up with us bus dwellers. I don't think I'll ever say "there's no way it could rain tonight" again. Bah.
Dec 3, 2001
I woke to a fluffy white tail brushing my face this morning. Sleep came easy last night; Kristin didn’t have it so simple though. While having dinner in Weed last night, Scout found his way to the fudge Kyle had brought along with us. As a result he spent much of the night going in and out of the bus; Kristen with him.
Breakfast in Lodi and Kyle has us rumbling down the five toward warmer weather. I’ve been unable to contact my Shanon so far. Two phone messages to her machine, and a short talk with Texas Ranger yet no call from Shane. If you’re reading this Sissy, I love you and wish I could have seen you as we passed southward.
Clark has been taking many photos with his new camera. I’m going to do my best to keep them updated on the website. Hoping that others will warm to updating their personal pages as we venture further. Kristin has asked that we make a page for Scout; to be filled with pictures of the lovable mutt on tour.
Interlude.
Kettleman City, CA. We now number 11 all told as Marth and Benjamin have joined to bus. We have decided to drive to El Paso without stopping. At the very least it will get us out of the US earlier; and it should help with the limited sleeping space in the bus. Once we're to warmer weather, we'll have plenty of space with the roof rack. I'm off to play some backgammon with Marth in a bit, and make certain Kyle takes the right highways. I have been designated as the trip's Navi-guesser.
Dec 2, 2001
Day two has begun. We arrived in Bend, Oregon last night; just in time to see the Beavers lose the civil war game. Met up with our Bend travelers, Kyle, Jessica, Kristin and Erica. The girls seem like they’ll blend right in with us, and Scout is a quiet but lovable dog. He has made one half of the love seat his home, and seems quite content with that space.
I never thought I’d see this much snow on my trip to Belize. Snow covered fields and pines follow us as we wind Greg down
treacherous 97 toward Weed. Stopped
at a rest area for a bathroom break, and snowball fighting ensued.
Kyle attempted a snow angel, but it didn’t turn out.
Stopping to put chains on now. Hopefully
that will help our traction out, and get us the hell out of here.
I think we have about 3 hours of daylight left.