Entries this day: Helpful Leaving_Newport_Beach arizona canyon_question dennys stars tired

Helpful

9:52am PST Friday 27 December 2002

I'm thankful for the opportunity to be helpful around the house for Sally. I'll put on her new bicycle seat, set up her new answering machine, return Amores Perros to Blockbuster.

12:06pm

At Kinko's now. My challenge will be to not get caught up online surfing all over the place, or goofing around a whole lot with my site.

Leaving Newport Beach

1:06pm PST Friday 27 December 2002

Aight. I'm leaving Newport Beach again. I have plans to go north to 40 and then east east east. I have located Kinko's near the freeway in Flagstaff Arizona, and Albuquerque New Mexico.

1:19pm

Okay. Map shows I can go north on 55, east on 19, north on 15 and get to 40 up in the mountains at 2170 feet in Barstow. Oh cool; I'll be just east of Edwards Air Force Base!

4848.7 miles since Dallas.

2:34pm

Crazy mad trash traffic getting out of Hell A. Even wayout on the east side on 15 it's packed (and then patches of not packed) . (ISally calls it bipolar traffic._)

3:10pm

4910 miles. Argh traffic. bluh

3:11pm

4914 miles. Finally out of traffic. Hopefully.

Weird thing is that the speedy parts of trtaffic were and are uphill. The slow parts were downhill. I don't really have a model to explain that.

3:28pm

Just crested a summit at 4190 feet. 4927 miles traveled. Stopped to exchange fluids.

4:44pm

I made it to I-40 and it's quite sparsely populated compared to the traffic on 15. In the back of a truck in front of me, I saw a woman who I think was signiing to others in the truck. I never confirmed this and she never looked back at me for me to ask in sign if she signs. Ah well. They turned off before 40.

In other news, I'm getting better at "Rabbit Run," which I've been practicing pretty consistently. There are still some lyrics I can't figure out, much less memorize, much less rap as fast as him, but it's coming along.

I recently figured out that "new pad / drink a lid up / throw the shit out" has got to be "new pad / crinkle it up / throw the shit out."

I was like, "a lid? what is he talking about?"

5:01pm

5000 miles traveled on this adventure since Dallas. I just watched the zeroes turn over after consciously choosing not to stop at Newberry Springs, a hot springs camp, clothing optional around the camp, clothing prohibited in the pools.

5:13pm

Driving into dusk, with the sun setting more to my right than behind me, I seem to be in a large valley with a few hills in it, and 75%surrounded by mountains, none of which seem to have snow on top, so I'll just call them big sharp rocky hills. Vegetation has been lots of grasses in clumps and very few trees, almost no cacti. Some yucca. Trees are about 15 feet tall, and more like bushes than trees. Some rocks sit patiently by the freeway, possibly waiting for a ride, or just counting vehicles. ("Let's play cont The Cars!" "Okay!" "There's a car. There's a car! There's a car!")

A single set of lines on telephone poles transmit energy or information along the freeway. No towers of any variety in sight. Oh, there are two way out in front of me, with lights blinking.

5020 miles traveled.

5:19pm

I'm a bit tired, and "next services 55 miles" sign got me to stop here, wherever I am.

5026 miles.

arizona

7:16pm PST Friday 27 December 2002

I'm in Arizona now. 5137 miles traveled. Speed limit is now 75 instead of 70. Oh the difference a state can make. Scott and i still prefer to go not much past 70 for long periods of time, unless we happen to enjoy a gravity assist up to 80, as we did some miles ago. Good stuff.

I bet myself a dollar that the state line was coming up soon, for on the other side of the freeway (west bound traffic) there was something that looked a lot like a toll plaza, except people were just being waved through, just like I experienced while coming into California on Interstate 8.

few minutes later when we crossed the Colorado River, I started singing myself a song:

You owe me a dollar!
You owe me a dollar,
You owe me a dollar!
Pay it up now!

7:36pm

Rest area now, about 18 miles into AZ. 5158 miles since Dallas. I'm feeling pretty awake. Yay chocolate and caffeine!

Oh, and I just now did kinda sorta well on maybe 1/2 of "Rabbit Run." I've got the first section memorized, and can usually keep up with him on it. Up through "My cup runneth over / I done filled it up"

7:49pm

On the road again. A cat had posted two handwritten copies of anote in the restroom, explaining that his car had broken down and that he needed $61 to buy parts. I was moved to give him a dollar "in the white Plymouth Acclaim," but each time i saw him, I was unmoved to do so. Maybe it was cause he sat in the passenger's seat, eating soething. I duno; it just didn't feel right when I saw him.

What did feel right, however, was climbing in the rafters of the roof over the brick structure covering th picnic tables. It was basically a plus sign of brick walls about 8 feet tall and then a roof over them, and a table in each quadrant formed by the walls. I stood on a table, no wait, I put my foot on a table to stretch, and then I saw the rafter and that I could easily reach them by standing on the table. Pulled myself up, climbed over the wall, and lowered myself onto the table on the other side.

Good stuff.f

8:50pm

five thousand feet and rising..

canyon question

9:59pm PST Friday 27 December 2002

So. I'm at an exit that claims the Grand Canyon is 60 miles north. Flagstaff (my goal for the evening is 30 miles east. I will flip a coin three times to see which way I go.

Heads equals north, tails equals east.

In either case, I will drive to the goal, and not stop short.

All this coin flipping entertainment *after* I get gas. Oh, and there's snow on the ground around this Shell station!

dennys

10:09pm PST Friday 27 December 2002

Got gas. No attendant at the station, so the restrooms were locked. However, Denny's next door restrooms were nice and clean.

Plus there is a really attractive woman here behind the counter. She said HI nicely when I came in, and didn't seem to mind that I was just using their facilities without buying anything.

So I'm back here at the counter to flirt with her and see if she can help me answer my Grand Canyon Question.

11:05pm

Hahaha. Annie, the other waitstaff person is funny. Some cat finished a dish just as she was asking for it, and she goes, "Oh I love you... my dad loves you... my mom loves you... ... even my dog loves you.." not even really talking to him, but just saying it in a funny laid back voice.

Cute waitress says the Grand Canyon at sunset is one of the most beautiful sights. She hasn't seen it at sunrise, but she theorizes it would also be quite beautiful.

Her name is Liz.

- - - -

Annie says that I should go see the Grand Canyon. That it will look great in the morning with snow sprinkled around. Hmmm.

11:43pm

So. I'm outside Denny's in Scott, who's warming up. I'm pretty sold on going to see Grand Canyon. I'm also a bit tired. It will add 1+ hours each way (there and back here to get back to 40, for the shortcut from Grand Canyon to Flagstaff is apparently quite dangerous this time of year) and I'll need to watch for ice, deer, and elk.

I've decided to not flip coins. I'm going to see the canyon. But, I won't hold myself to making it there tonight. Just gotta get there by sunrise.

5301 miles traveled since Dallas. 153802 miles on Scott.

Roll out.

Oh, the city I'm near is called Williams, elevation 6762 feet!!

stars

12:22am PST Saturday 28 December 2002

Woooahhhhhhh!!

A million jillion zillion stars!!!!!

Orion is like, completely coated in stars! The big dipper is pointing to a hundred stars, and not just the north star. Pleiades have tons of friends to play with!! The Milky Way is overflowing.

Wow.

I turned off Scott's lights, stood out in the middle of route 64, just stared skyward. So incredible. Saw two shooting stars.

Wheeeee!!!

tired

1:08am PST Saturday 28 December 2002

11 miles from Grand Canyon Village. I'm tired and going to sleep for a bit in this entrance to a closed road, right in front of the "ROAD CLOSED" sign and a pile of discarded snow.

5355.1 miles traveled since Dallas.