An announcement from mutt

She's testing out the NEW phone yet again, and I am just testy. There has been a flurry of activity, mostly centered around loading the rondyvan. I smell a roadtrip, so stalk up on those biskies, cause homer here I come!

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

american nomads

photo taken labor day 2009 at the blue ridge rifles rendezvous

wayne and john discuss the future of the colonies

i've been thinking alot about the 'voo this week. hunkered down in this cold weather, i just finished "Centennial" by james michner, and am halfway through "american nomads" by richard grant.


my buddy brian recently recommended "american nomads", (click title above for amazon link) and i got it with the intention of reading it on my way west. since the trip was postponed, it didn't take long for me to cave in and read it to stave off my longing for the road. it did the complete opposite.

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from the preface of the book:

"A Tibetan dignitary, visiting America for the first time, sits by the Green River in Utah, looking over the mountains and the high windcarved plateaus. His name is T.T. Karma Chopel. He has come to America to study the workings of its democracy, but that is not in his thoughts now.

Something about the landscape and the great sweep of sky reminds him of his homeland. He thinks of yaks and yak herders, making their endless migrations across the Tibetan plateaus.

He knows there are no yak herders in america but he assumes there must be some equivalent. "who are your nomads?" he asks.........."

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this is a book to be savored. i read a little bit at a time, trying to make it last. the comforting thing while reading these stories is knowing that in a few weeks, i will be on the road again, making my own stories, and hearing yours.....

weird signs 9/4/09

i took this picture last summer in fort bragg, california :-)

i intend to go back there to live someday. well, for a good bit of the time....i love it there and know some great people. it's on the coast and near mendocino, another cool place. real active program there. it's where i first saw the ocean....

weird signs 8/22/09

i love weird signs. this one seen at a state park in york county, on a kayak trip last year..... my thanks to michael for permission to use his photo :-)

the state of the rondyvan

i dropped the rondyvan off at cathy and garry's this morning for an inspection and an oil change. everything was a-ok. i had been having this scraping noise anytime i went over any bump or dip in the road. it seemed to originate from the right front end, and only happened when i had a passenger. it has done it ever since i hit the deer last year, and the guy at the body shop who did the repairs thought i was probably hearing things. anyhow, i hadn't heard it in awhile, since it's been a couple months since i had a passenger, but i told garry to check it out. he found a piece of fender or something that was scraping the tire, and pulled it out of the way for me. just in time for me to have made a commitment to "just say no to passengers", allowing me to turn my passenger seat around backwards again.....











i bought a set of lap belts last year when i first reversed the seat, so passengers can be belted. they are easy to install during reversal. i know nm brian recently reversed his seat, and from the smile on his face i think he feels the same way i do about it :-)

i LOVE how much more space i have when the seat is reversed. with the new twin bed mattress, i gave up a little bit more floor space, and had no place for the canoe chair. (you can see it folded up on top of the storage drawers on the left in the pic). so i still don't have a place for the canoe chair, but i have a place to sit. i will have to make a decision on the canoe chair sometime before i leave.

which brings me back to the state of the rondyvan. the only things i need to have done before heading out again is to flush the radiator and to have a tune-up, which is cool because about $300 will have us roadworthy and milking every last MPG i can. which should keep me in my budget and with a projected leave date of end of september, beginning of october.

as usual, i have several directions i want to go all at the same time. i got an invite to come to wisconsin to see a long-time friend who i've never met face-to-face, and of course i gotta head south to find david h. and rile up the Wizard a bit, if i can track him down. vanmom's moving to colorado and i gotta go see her before she changes her mind, and heaven only knows where i'll find NM Brian, mar and bernie, tom, or swankie......ron, well, i know where he lives :-) and heidi and mike have a piece of driveway saved for me......i can't list all the folks i want to meet, or to see again.

so many friends to love, and so little time! have i mentioned that i love my life?

postscript: i had to laugh. when they got done with the rondyvan today, i got an email that said "your home is finished"!!!!

go play outside

i've been busy. not being able to do much on the computer, and not being able to read much has been good for me actually. i have to go out and play to keep myself out of trouble :-)

i like playing in my boat. i just visited a place i really like, and got to visit lewis and clark cove, which was overrun with fisherman the last time i was there. i don't know if it is really called that, but Ann and Lexi say it is. but i am skeptical, because they also tell me that the other end of this lake is called "deepest darkest africa", which makes me think they are full of it.

i also like to hang out with Mutt. he likes to hang out with me, too, unless i am in the mood to make him wear silly things like hats and babushkas. then he just tolerates me. if i put something on him and say "leave it!" he usually does. after i took this picture he was possesed with the urgent need to snuggle up against sarah's leg, therefore dislodging my REI river cap from his head. how would you describe the look on his face????

i went picking strawberries with cathy and marge. that is marge below, with strawberries. i think she is saying "don't you DARE" when i took her picture here. but she did give reluctant permission for me to put it on my blog. she's a good sport. especially on the night that a bunch of us were helping GJ make hay. marge and cathy and i were tossing bales on the wagon while marge's daughter drove the truck. except jenna drove pell mell down the field while Marge (her mom) was still attached to the bale she had just tossed on the wagon. GJ seemed to think it took longer to make hay with us "helping", but i think he never had as much fun making hay without us.

















this is a picture of some boats taken at an outfitters down near john and rosie and bobby nomads' place. one of my favorite places to paddle is on secret creek here. the outfitter is called Shank's Mare, and i mention it because i stole their logo for my blogpost title. if you click on the title, it will take you to their website. their logo has become my mantra. "go play outside"


below is my screen saver. a reminder of where i oughta be if i am idle more than a few minutes :-)

slab city photos

we spent some time at slab city in niland, california. i took a bunch of pics, but can only post a few at a time. it's hard to tell from the thumbnails which ones i'm getting, so these will have to do for now.
there is a sweet little pet cemetary near where we camped. some of the headstones made me cry....


blame mutt for the spots....they are dog slobber. he was smart enough to not slobber until after the adoption papers were signed......
the sunset off in the direction of the salton sea.

there were 2 cool trucks like this. unfortunately, i downloaded 2 of the same truck....
this is salvation mountain.....probably the worst shot EVER :-) i am gonna dedicate one whole post to leonard's mountain.
this one is for michael :-)
mutt gazing affectionately at sheriff victoria.......
a group from the christian center is organizing clean-up projects.
if you click on the post title above, it will take you to a wiki article about the slabs!

Vandweller time

a recent exchange at the Slabs shows the very laid back existence of vandwelling........

FRANK (the bicycle dweller): what time is it?

(a long pause while frank and heidi and kate all look blankly at each other) then......

KATE: pacific time

Impromptu jam at the slabs!

on our first day at the slabs, people stopped by our camp to welcome us to the neighborhood. some of the first were alan and tony, who strolled into camp with guitars over their shoulders, like legends of the desert. they chatted a bit, then treated us to an impromptu jam.

alan playing tony's ovation. i need to get a picture of alan's guitar. it is a year old, but looks like it survived WWIII. he coaxes the most amazing sounds out of it though.....like he was born with it in his hands :-)

after awhile, alan lay down in the desert and played slide guitar with a stolen cigarette lighter.

only at the slabs.

http://twokniveskatie.blogspot.com/

Love is blind

I was following heidi and mike into niland today. As we approached the intersection of main st and hwy 111, a tractor trailer full of monsters passed us going north. Mike turns north and drove past the now-pulled-over tractor trailer of monsters, which I very clearly see (see photo). Mike drives a short way, pulls over, and I pull alongside him.

"we'll head back the way we came" he says.

"good! " I reply. " I want to get a better picture of the monsters"

they both look puzzled. "monsters?" mike says, with a glance at heidi.

"monsters" I reply with a laugh. "on that tractor trailer. Are you guys blind?"

heidi chuckles, after glancing knowingly at mike. I have not been feeling well, and obviously have a fever to go with my ear infection....."maybe we're not blind, but someones delirious" she laughs.

duh! methinks they should make less moo-eyes at each other, and pay more attention to those subtle oddities on the road......

http://twokniveskatie.blogspot.com/

dallas and the pilgrimage to stevie ray

i spent the night in a truckstop in dallas texas, despite moans and groans from the wizard about the stupidity of the idea. there was a heavy police presence there, though, and the night was uneventful, if you discount the fact that they had outdoor speakers that blasted hiphop all night long. things got more exciting the next day, though. don't be shocked, i am not kidding you.


this is the truckstop's resident stray. he was afraid of his own shadow, and clearly needed the stuffing loved out of him. we gave him a rib bone and some bread and biscuits. then i went to get a shower, but there were like 9 people in the line, so i went back out to sit with mutt while i waited. it was a good thing, cause when i got there

the car that had been parked by us all night long had caught fire, and i found a use for the extra gallons of water i had been tripping over since san antonio.
here is the guy putting out his carpeting. when he lifted the floor mat, you could see pavement :-( this was not a good thing, cause he had just sold the car....his only home....because he needed the money, and some guy was on his way to get it.

royce (my new friend) had had trouble starting the car, and wanted to be sure that it started when the guy got there, so he got a spray can of that stuff that helps you start it, and proceeded to use the whole can, just in case. i had had to roll the windows up on the van, such was the cloud of noxious fumes that ensued. well, it started all right. started right on fire.....

of course, in the middle of all this, vickie calls to see if i was ready to meet up, and i was afraid she would think better of the whole idea when she heard the commotion, but she believed me when i said i usually only experienced one disaster a day, or felt pity for me.....cause she met me anyhow :-)
the first thing we did was the "i'll show you mine if you show me yours" shuffle. her van is very cool. then again, every van i meet has some unique quality that makes it stand out. such is the nature of the creativity of vandwellers. but vickie had come up with solutions to problems that were very unique and may be the solution to some of my issues. first of all, were the clips. remember the clips? she had an actual box of clips, neatly labeled and tucked away in one of her totes. her totes are lined up against one side of her van, neatly wedged behind the rear captains chair. on top were cushions covered in gray vinyl that matched the interior of the van....it made the interior seem even bigger, and very soothing to be in. she could rearrange the cushions and the totes in different ways, depending on her needs. i know she had explained this on vandwellers, but it was much cooler than i had envisioned it. the very best part was the fact that each of these cushions fit into the window wells in the back of the van, making creative use of that space when she needed the cushions out of the way.

but it wasn't just van stuff i learned from vickie. she took mutt and i to a nearby park, where we walked and talked and got to know each other. i learned some things about myself in our conversation; validation about some decisions i had made in my life some time ago that i needed to hear. the universe just gives me gifts like this when i least expect it, and usually through the most delightful people. thank-you, vickie.

we went to a have something to eat at the white rock coffee shop. dogs are welcome on the outdoor patio, and mutt was given a huge biscuit and a warm welcome by the staff. one very cool person was devin, who ended up chatting like magpies with me, and conversation managed to turn to the fact that he is a songwriter who wants to live in his truck. i told him about vandwellers, and i hope he joins soon, if he hasn't already........i do hope i didn't frighten him off.....
this next series of pictures shows how sneaky mutt is trying to get a little licking action in....not on purpose, but on accident, like if his tongue falls out of his mouth right about the time his snoot is near your face.....ron can tell you about this.....
anyhow, if you look close in these pictures you can see his tongue being affected by centrifugal force, because it's surely not gravity that sends it accidentally upwards towards devin's mouth
who obviously knows where mutt's tongue has been last and reacts accordingly.
mutt sees vickie open her chicken salad sandwich, and looks longingly in her direction.....
but when she is not forthcoming, goes back to devin, full of remorse. it was alot of fun, and vickie ran into a couple people she knew, and all too soon, it was time to go.

one other special memory for me will be when vickie's daughter sang me one of the songs she wrote. i began crying before i even heard the words, her voice was that beautiful. thank-you melanie. i look forward to the cd.

i spent the night in the same truckstop, because i had hoped to doctor the burns on royce's hands again, and check the extent of the blistering on the palm. he didn't have medical insurance, but vickie told me where he could get care. but royce and the car were both gone. i hope he is safe and warm, wherever he is.
the next day i finally found the grave of stevie ray vaughan. i am not one big on monuments or memorials other than the ones in our hearts, but i was strangely moved by the first sight of the grave. he was not only my favorite guitarist, but a brother in recovery.
i was asked once if i could go back in time and meet one person, who would it be and why? the first thing that popped out of my mouth was "stevie ray vaughan, to tell him not to take the chopper". i miss his music.....
the grave was recently visited by los lonely boys, or a big fan of theirs.
i hadn't planned on leaving anything, but was moved to leave a bead (see inside the "o"). at the eastern primitive rendezvous, we used to have AA meetings at gator's tent ( or any of the many tents with the sign of the triangle) and we used to get a trade bead, kinda like the 18th century's answer to the chip. i had a small medicine bag of them, and decided to leave one for stevie. i think he mighta liked it.

then we got the hell outta dallas.

san antonio

i made it to san antonio on the 24th of january, and spent a week visiting my friend ron. it was during this week that mutt had his petsmart adventure, which would make for a lousy association with the city. fortunately, mutt adores ron, so it will not bother him to go back at all. ron has the trailer you see above in a really nice trailer park outside of san antonio. lots of driveway space for the rondyvan, as you can see from the picture above. i was plugged into electric, and had use of his wifi. the shower house/ laundry was right across the street, so it was a really nice break from the road and the truckstops. not to mention all the time ron and i spent yakking and staring at our respective computer screens.....
we did get out on some adventures. i got to see the alamo.......if not the movie, this time :-)
ron took me to see the yarn shops of san antonio, and i was dizzy to see all the yarn and fiber....
and issue #1 of the first ever knitting comic book, Handknit heroes! what a hoot! sweet mike will love it! he can now have his comics, and knit it, too!

one significant little adventure we had on this sightseeing roadtrip was that as we were tootling down the interstate at about 65 mph, the doors to ron's wheelchair lift in his sportsmobile flew open! ron was able to get to the side of the road safely, where we determined that mutt had jumped up on the sofa bed in the back of the van, smack dab on the remote that activates the lift! poor mutt, we had just gotten him to the point of not being afraid of the lift, and actually riding on it. how do you explain remotes to a dog? he remains suspicious to this day....
finally, on friday, my first texas barbeque. we caravanned to lanno, texas where ron spoiled me with the best barbeque in texas. i could believe it.
all sorts of brisket and ribs and super chops and sausage. they were out of goat when we were there. oh, darn, we'll have to go back :-)
the pits are amazing, and the smell is heavenly.
i got to watch the guys carrying hot coals with the shovels. i had a pile of ribs, and ron shared his hunk of beef with me. we didn't bother with sides or salads. that is a waste of gastronomic space. we took the leftovers with us. mutt was pleased. i don't think i ate again until 24 hrs. later.....

from lanno, ron returned to san antonio, while i continued on to dallas, in search of stevie ray.....