Vagabender

We spent the weekend in Berkeley, doing our best to be good house-guests in spite of the fact that we were three men and a dog with a truckload of stuff (with no truck to store it in) stinking up a household of four relatively classy ladies in berkeley. In the end, we pulled it off with aplomb. We made sure to do our dishes and we bought our own food and we made Sake Margaritas for all and sundry, and to top it off Sixto was a pure gentleman, really sold the whole thing.

Friday night was Lanesplitters and the Acme, and Saturday we watched Bound For Glory, an Oscar-winning 1970's biopic of Woody Guthrie with none other than David Carradine playing the legendary American folk hero. The film's style seems very slow -- as a lot of 30-year-old movies do to 21st Century Eyes -- but it was full of good stuff. We also hit up a sociology BBQ, complete with fancy food and real live grown ups and kids and adult conversation. We were relatively gritty for that scene, bringing a half-rack of Pabst and our coarse attitudes, but we were welcome all the same. Everyone coveted the same Brazilian girl and when it got dark and slow we got Brian the prodigal son and soon to be police officer -- he's joining the Richmond PD to do his PhD research; the cops have no clew -- to drive us home.

We made life work. I borrowed Luke's bike and did Grizzly Peak like back when I first came to California, a few more new housing lots and a few less shady eucalyptus trees on the way up, but the same amazing view and killer endorphin rush for the trip down. We did a little costume/used-clothing shopping. There was time for amateur jam band on the front porch in the afternoon, scouring the neighborhood for garage sales, fatherless fathers day breakfast at the delicious Jewish deli. In spite of our held-up status it wasn't a terrible weekend

Monday afternoon we learned that the mechanic had not in fact fixed the transmission problem but rather something else, so $300 lighter and with the prospect of a languishing open-ended stay in the Bay, we decided to take our chances with "Old Shifty" and get out on the road regardless. We got out just before sunset, taking a small detour back up the 80 to see about a second rocket box Luke lined up off Craigslist. It went down well. The box was fortuitously designed to open from the opposite side as the one we already had, and the mounting hardware was a close enough fit with our home-made roof rack that we decided to take it after talking the folks down to $150. They weren't using it and apparently hadn't had many takers. With three of the four brackets holding it down we made for the CIty and Highway 1.

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The meat of the day was taking up on the windy distance of Hwy 1, all those 25-mph turns down through Carmel and Big Sur until you can rejoin the 101 at San Louis Obispo. It's 80 miles that takes three hours, but if you've got the time the sights are well worth it. We wound around and let the ocean air work on us for a few hours, and that was good.

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I'm posting this from some open wifi at a sleepy strip mall in Palm Springs. It's not going to be much of an update. We're headed into the Desert.

It's been a good run down the coast, feeling more and more like a real Road Trip the further we get from familiar territory and the more we work out our routine. Visits with Mike & Emily in Santa Cruz, Mark's Grandfather, Aunt and Uncle in Lompoc, Molly & Greg & and my Sis down in LA, all good and enjoyable. More on all that and the settling of group dynamics later.

Right now we're going to camp at Joshua Tree for a day or two. The heat is already intense, but we've got plenty of water for a couple days in the desert. The truck is running strong... the LA freeway traffic triggered our old tranny problem, but we handled it ok. Getting to be a little rountine now.

Anyway, we're off. I'm taking a snapshot of the website to carry with us off the grid so we can work on it by starlight and inverter. Next stop in civilization is Las Vegas. See you all then.

This is from notes taken at the time; minimal editing has been applied.

"I'm on the same trip as you are, man!" He talks by shouting and then shout-mumbling. It's a weird thing, and kind of unnerving but the big meth-head seems to be a gentle giant of sorts, just scratching his legs in an absentmindedly bugged-out fashion as we gassed up in 29 Palms, California. He had beautiful red-nosed pitbulls in the back of his El Camino, a blacked-out swastika tattoo, and a gut that spoke of prodigious beer consumption along with whatever else kept him running. "It's 150 miles to the river, man! Just head out east and don't turn left, or else you'll end up in Vegas!"

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We met four German's on holiday at Joshua Tree. We all arrived at the vista point to watch the sunset at the same time, and we invited them back to our camp for a beer and some international chat. Cheers to you, Stefan, Florian, Dominik and Kerstin!

I really have to apologize for another non-meaty post. I'm working on writing up the log of what's been going on: heading down the coast and into the desert, and then Vegas, baby, Vegas. The atmosphere and energy is continuing to gain momentum now that we're in undiscovered country and we've had some time to break eachother in, loosen up a bit.

We're all getting tan, and the truck is getting systematized to the point where it's pretty friggin' sweet. A rhythm is developing. Right this moment I'm sitting on a curb outside a Quality Inn in St. George, Utah, sipping up the free wi-fi. The sun is beginning to set and the air smells of smoke from an enormous brushfire just over the ridge. We're headed to Zion tonight, and should be in the desert for the next week or so.

It's been hard to find time to write, and in truth there's nothing earth-shattering to tell. Of course, there's everything to say and many photos to upload. My plan is to finish up some travelogue and get the guys to write a few things tonight and tomorrow. We have our deep cycle marine battery and inverter setup so we can keep the machines alive sans civilization, at least for a couple days.

I'll do an email when all that's together. For real this time.

An artist's representation our trip to the modern day Babylon, made by Mark as we ate dinner before going out. Several things almost happened.

We're taking a two-day stay on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We got in on a cancelled reservation yesterday and decided to try and extend it if we could, which we could. A day of cleaning, planning, getting orderly and relaxation are in order and they have showers and laundry and a little general store and it's a 5 minute walk to an unmarked point with a pretty good view of the canyon. Nice place to stay if you can swing it.

We just got done planning out the rest of the trip. There's a fair amount of flex built in because who knows, but the general itinerary is set, which is a good feeling. It's a lazy afternoon now. I'm writing up the travelogue, Luke is noodling with the guitar, Mark's hanging out in his tent. I've just drafted 20 emails to go out checking up with friends and looking for places to stay down the line.

It's beautiful here. The early morning clouds have blown over and the sky is clear. I just had to make a break for some sunscreen. In an hour or so I'll go take a shower. It's a good place to drop down for two nights.

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Joshua Tree National Park was more or less deserted when we got there. No need for a reservation and most of a campground to ourselves. The site was next to one of the big rockpiles that are scattered all over the park. I climbed up and took a bunch of photos hoping to make a panorama.

Well, stitching them together with photoshop turned out to be problematic because I didn't do a real good job of making them on the same plain. However, I was able to make a quickie movie out of it. It captures a little of the atmosphere. Click here to peep it.

You can click on the photo too. It'll do the same thing.

The Road To Goblin Valley -- Notes For Travelogue

Jacob's Lake Inn, that's where all the cooped up and attractive service industry girls are at, just so you know. We'd thought for a minute that they might be at the North Rim Lodge, the Rough Rider Saloon. No dice there, but on our way out we stopped off for breakfast in Jacob's Lake, a tiny junction town just outside the Kaibob National Forest. Shazam. Good coffee and a staff of bright young faces spending their summer getting rustic. The prettiest one was from Alaska and since Mark was talking about working up there on the slope (the pipeline) we had a little exchange that was human rather than commercial in nature.

I know this can all sound a bit skeevy, but we're perfect gentlemen in these situations. We may have a crass conversation about the situation later, but for three guys on the road, these are some of the moments we live for; a little talk and attention from a pretty girl. Quite a treat.

After that it's a day of hard driving.

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