El Loco.

I have been nicknamed El Loco. In large part due to the picture of me in kneeling in front of a Bison to take it's picture. Apparently that's not something that most people do ... maybe because they read the brochure which says to not, under any circumstances, even if your toddler is waddling towards one, or there is a pile of money sitting right beside one, never ever go up to a Bison. Apparently, they will kill you. An animal that averages just under a full English ton in mass, has horns, and the shoulders of the (insert football team here) lineup, just walking into you by accident might hurt. Granted. But he wasn't walking - just to clarify - he was scratching his nether regions on that post, in a very self satisfying sort of way. So, I figured, he'll ether keep at it, or charge me - but the judging from the look of contentment on his face, I thought the choice was pretty clear. It was when he moved away from the post, started scratching in the dirt, and eyeing me sideways, that I quietly excused myself and went back to the suv.

But really. El Loco. That is only two keys away from El Lobo. The Wolf! And I could be being praised for my stalking and hunting techniques, as well as fierce loyalty and shiny coat. Much preferable the the one keystroke difference of El Poco ... the small. no. I'll take Loco. because if you anagram loco, you get Cool. El Cool. or in a french anagram, Le Cool. yep. I've unraveled the nickname for what it really is. Clearly, from an admirer, and not someone commenting on my sanity.

Crazy Copenhagens.

I'd live here.

But then again, I've always had a fascination with the idea of housing that mimics nature and the environment. Why not have grass and plants on every rooftop? a flowing multi-level home built into the side of a hill? sweet! greenhouses and gardens as necessary attachments to every home, rather than a 2 car garage? well - that may be a little too granola - but it's a great concept!

in other news - repacking everything that I own ... somewhere in the neighborhood of 640 cubic feet of crap ... if you don't count furniture and glass equipment - so that I can head back up to Burlington and start training for Bike and Build and get settled in for grad school .... and so that I can put it in storage, and not sort through it again for another year! yay!

do I need the industrial milkshake machine to travel with me? of course! the 12 pairs of shoes? maybe just 7. how about the 6000 piece puzzle of a fantasized Egyptian blimp? yeahno -that can stay put.

Toshiba.

check this out.

.... crazy .... no more harddrives?

Primes.

So - when I thought about the idea of 'secondary primes'' and wondered if they really were real (yes, but not usually called that), and delved into about 46 pages of info on primes - including every link off of the Wikepedia primes page. And after touching on the Reimann Hypothesis again ... an old friend of mine, that I've worked off and on towards for the past 8 years, I found this:

http://www.mersenne.org/

you are looking at a program that searches for the next biggest prime number.

click on the 'download' link on the left navigation bar.

follow the step 1 instructions.

the program runs in the background, and only uses extra memory when you aren't running another program - in terms of the base priority, it runs at the lowest setting possible. Every other program that you could possibly run supersedes it. and it's only 1M ... smaller than one photo file.

and here's why to do it - you could win $50,000.00 !!!! ... for doing nothing. for letting the computer do it's own thing in the background. doesn't even open a window to bother you. but - DO turn on the optional SOUND option. it repeats a tone if you find the next 10 million + digit prime number (so that you can start looking forward to the check). that's right - someone out there (EFF) will actually pay you money for just finding this number, using a program that someone else made, without you doing anything but downloading it.

chances of finding one are about 1 in 250,000 on average. so ... don't expect to find one right away ... but it's still much better than the lottery, and you don't have to spend any money on it. anytime your computer is on anyway, it runs, without slowing you down. try it. it's kind of cool. I think. nerd much?

........okay.......... one new side note - if you set it to run with over 400 Megs of your free space, it will slow down the speed that photo files load at. .... but the recommended free space limit is 8 Megs .... maybe I got carried away.

Birthday!

yep. it happened. the skies opened - quite literally, if you consider the clouds moving aside to be opening - and all was well.

now - sky opening is usually considered to be raining. but if you think about it, that means there actually is something in the sky - and albeit that stuff is falling, it is certainly not opening anything. sunny skies are really open skies.

and it was sunny.

so I took a nap on the picnic table, in the sun.

:)

Sunday.

I know - you're thinking ... does he know that it's really Friday? yes. even though I am technically still on vaca - I did take down my vacation reply email setting, and have recently figured out what day it is.

Sunday is the next anniversary of my date of birth. Even though I was actually born on a Friday ... so it's not really my birth day ... more of my birth date. However, I have celebrated the birth date on a Sunday in '84, '90, '01 and now in '07. I guess it's all right.

But. since I'm getting on in years. I was trying to figure out what to do in 'celebration'. It is basically like any other day ... except that perhaps the amount of whole number divisors of my age changes (it does), or that it changes from even to odd (and some years vice-vers!), and occasionally is an ever popular multiple of 5 (it is not). A long time ago, I decided that 11 is the best age to be, and since then have postulated that primes in general may outweigh normal integers.

21 and 22 are of course honorary 'secondary' primes because they are the product of only two distinct primes, and different primes in each set at that.

... of course that means that 29 is likely to be my next best year ... not the most comforting thought. however there is a perfect cube along the way, and since I don't really recall my last cube all that well - it could conceivably excel. ... although the next cube after that would be 64 ... so I'm kind of hoping that it's not the pattern ...

anywho. getting older. looking for patterns. not male pattern ... that's not something I'm really keen on. and if you're not a kid, and don't have kids, and are in the middle of nowhere VT, on a Sunday, do you do something special ... just for societal expectations?

like bake a cake? and if so - what cake do you bake? recommendations? The only thing I don't really like about cakes is too much thick, heavy, frosting - other than that - I'm game!

Puppies.

ummmm.

they're cute.

a little too cute.

okay .... the goldens aren't as cute, in my opinion ... kind of like small weasels, but the chocolates are like little balls of tenderness. maybe I'm partial.

Jamaican born - Vermont raised - these puppies have a loving set of parents, and include papers on both parents. That's right - purebreads. gather round folks - because I'm prepared to offer you, that's right YOU, this opportunity to bring one (or two) home with you in the coming weeks! Now, they're just born a week ago - but people are jumping at the chance! put down a $100 deposit today, and secure your chance to be a part of this living legend in the making - first come, first secured people! now, as I was saying - low - low price for a family raised, purebred on both sides, socialized, male pup is $400, and female is $500. they come in an option of colors as well! 5 Goldens, 5 Chocolate! take your pick!

recall that a chocolate is still considered purebread if one of the parents was a purebread golden, and it comes out brown. Hence, Mocha (the father) had some golden bullets in the mix, and those 5 are purebred goldies, not chocolates. the color probably gave that away ... no?

feel free to tell friends and associates that they are $450 and $550 - take a little fat off the top for yourself! and then send 'em our way for the pickins.

oh yeah - check out the pics to your right.

Home.

Made it back in time for Pops' birthday! yay! made three different soups, Erin made a cake, and dinner was festive!

soups:

classic beef stew ala Eli. which means 8 gallons. your basic stew, in case anyone is suddenly struck with the desire to warm up to a hot bowl on a brisk fall day, consists of the following:
(feel free to pare down to meet your smaller needs)

2 huge yellow onions (diced)
6 pounds of beef (1" cubes) ... a london broil or top round is great
8-10 cloves garlic (minced)
6 leaves bay (whole)
2 Tblsp dried rosemary (assuming that no one has it fresh right now)
2 Tblsp dried thyme (see above) ... fresh is so much better though
2 tsp basil
1 Tblsp parsley
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 Tblsp salt (kosher or large grain preferred)
1 Tblsp black pepper (ground medium)
2 liters red wine (merlot is fine)
1/2 gallon beef broth (mode from bouillon if necessary)
2 pounds carrots (chopped)
4 pounds potatoes (1.5" cubes) ... red tend to break down less in the mix, if that's a concern
1.5 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound button mushrooms (sliced) ... portobello/crimini are nice if you want to spring for them
also!!... on a side note, something that I have always suspected !!! :
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/portobellosportabellas.htm
4 oz shitake mushrooms (sliced) ... you can find them dried for less than fresh mushrooms)
additional water
additional salt and pepper to taste
1 enormous lobster pot
1 saute pan
1 heat stone
1 ladle
1 wooden spoon
1 chef knife
1 spice ball, or cheese cloth
6 hard dinner rolls
1 dose flexibility ... this is just a start. you might add savory, or some sage (I did), or cut back on the potatoes a bit ... because, hey, I have enough starch in my diet ... a few more cloves of garlic so that your friends won't speak to you, or toss out an onion and sub in some shallots! you crazy bugger!

-prep everything.
-put the bay leaves and any fresh spices into the pot.
-put the bouillon into the pot.
-turn the pot on medium/low heat ... it's got plenty of time. (... or maybe thyme as well!)
-place all of the dry spices into the spice ball. toss it in too.
-1/3 stick butter goes in the pan, high heat, saute up half of the onions! toss 'em in the pot when lightly golden.
-1/3 stick butter in the pan - do up the other half! if you do them all at once, they tend to go translucent, rather than nice golden. halfway through sauteeing, add the garlic, and half of the salt and pepper. pot.
-1/3 stick butter, high heat, brown those mushrooms ... unless they're already brown ... then browner them? pot 'em.
-1/4 stick butter, high heat, we're searing half the beef. add in half of the remaining seasonings now. and to the pot.
-do it again. 1/4 stick, half beef, rest of the seasonings, sear it up! pot.
-deglase the pan with a cup of red wine - add that to the pot.
-add the rest of the liter to the pot, just for fun!
-add the potatoes and carrots. cover with extra water, if you can't stir the mix, or if potatoes are popping up over the liquid.
-leave it for an hour.
-stir.
-if it needs more liquid, add the water still (I know, I know, you have an extra liter of wine still left ... have a glass, chill out)
-leave for an hour.
-stir.
-add whatever is left of the liter of wine that you had an hour ago. ... you can also add beer to beef stew for liquid, and as long as you give it time to cook off, it's just as good! (but use wine)
-keep it on low heat, simmering, for another few hours, stirring intermittently. you're looking for the point where the beef starts to break down ... is still solid, but if you squish it between your fingers, it falls apart. also - the critical potato mass. when the potatoes are perfectly cooked, it's not ready ... you want them to be just on the verge of self-mashing. where you still have chunks, but a few rogue potatoes have broken down and started to thicken up the broth into real stew consistency. Some people avoid this more patience testing stage, by making a small batch of mashed potatoes, and adding it near the end ... it's stew people. no one makes stew in a hurry. it'd be like making chili in a hurry. what, you're going to throw the beans and meat and seasonings in a pot, and that'll be it? no freaking way. if you eat that chili on the same day it was made, shame on you.

I'd give you the recipe for the Butternut Squash Pear Autumn Spice soup that I made next ... but then you wouldn't be able to scroll down to my other posts ...

happy October!

Days Inn.

We slept in and had a free breakfast - you figure it out.

Kentucky.

More driving.

Stay with family in Ohio tonight? We'll see how excited we are about a second day of 800+ miles on a highway in a row.

I am pretty sure that the tent will not be taken out, no matter what.

which may mean ... another all nighter ... with only two people. one of which is night blind. this could get interesting.

2000 Miles Left ...

Wake up at 7 a.m.

Get all packed.

TomTom says 2000 miles to go ...

Head out.

Drive all day.

Dinner in Nashville.

Red Lobster. Surprisingly good, considering the degree of land-locked-ness.

Drove until food coma hit.

Pop up the tent ... sleep in the car ... or ... Days Inn?

Rockin' R Toobing.

The place: Rockin' R Toobing and Rafting. yes. with two o's.

The time: early afternoonish. sometime past noon. hey. we're on vacation ... who carries a watch on vacation?

The people: Me. John 2. John 3. Meg. Erin. The cooler.

The libations: Hurricane mix, made with the better part of a handle of rum. and as much Bud Light as cooler could carry. 18 rack?

The rental: Two regular toobs - for the womenfolk. Four toobs with a hard plastic bottom - three for the guys who didn't want strange rocks invading their hindquarters - one for cooler.

The trip: down the Guadalupe. over three sets of rapids. under two bridges. over one six foot water break. and somehow by the end we four of us had become tied to cooler, for our safety.

The food: Sonic. around 5 p.m. breakfast?

The ride: dictated by Garmin ... not TomTom ... fools that we were. after our fifth left hand turn ... we realized that something was wrong.

The dinner: steak. 6 pounds of perfectly grilled marinated teriyaki steak. mashed potatoes. 5 pounds of mashed potatoes with chives and fresh pressed garlic. 2 pounds of sauteed green beans. I think when we went to the store we were either hungry, or so strong that we thought that the food weighed nothing.

The sleep: In a bed again! much desired and needed, but unexpected again! perhaps we'll be so mellow from having slept two nights in a row in beds, that the next couple thousand miles will fly by? maybe?

The recap: toobing - awesome. toobing on a sunny day over rapids, interspersed with calm flats, and a cooler and friends - awesome-er.

Austin. Couch.

We made it.

a half dozen cans of Blue Demon Agave energy drink for the driver (john), and a playlist of the most dance-able, crazy, weird, catchy songs that I could find on my computer for the rest of us.

as the sun was just coming up, and the day was beginning. the smell of fresh AC, and a bathroom with running water greeted us - along with John's dad.

So - as John and John (2 and 3) headed off to breakfast at Sonic, I did what any good guest would do. passed out on the couch.

Then got up and planned out a lovely beer battered fresh fish dinner with beer battered hand-cut fries and butter steamed asparagus. none too shabby. have to remember that recipe. a little chipotle powder would have tipped off the flavor, but somehow we avoided buying it in Santa Fe ... possibly because there was no money left?

Their flip house looked great - if anyone is interested in purchasing a house in the Austin area, feel free to give me a shout, and I can get you their info.

and then - as if planning for his sainthood proceedings - John 2 gives us his bed, and moves out to sleep on the couch. (not john 3 mind you, let's not get crazy)

since when are people nice and sacrificing in their own homes? I mean ... the couch was fine. but the bed ... soooooo much better. if I were wearing a hat right now, to hide the fact that I haven't showered since yesterday and am covered in an imperceptible layer of gypsum sand, I would take it off to salute you sir!

Pink Sands?

White Sands.

or so they say.

drove all day - in an effort to beat TomTom's prediction of us getting to the park after the Visitor's Center close. and so we flew through the day, passing cars and trucks and the occasional unmarked police vehicle, and made it just in time to get into the park right after the center closed.

but wait!

This center stays open an extra half hour later than all of the other ones we've been to!
.... kinda weird .... but great!

So, with postcards in hand, tears in our eyes, and implements of destruction, we drove off into the sunset for another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, and found ourselves in the midst of dunage. that's dune-age. white dunes.

But then ... as the sun started to set, and me started leaping off of dune cliffs, the sands turned pink! definitely, noticeably, pink. Even though at some points the sunset was orange, then red, then pink, the sand stayed a lovely soft pink. how odd.

but when you got it back into the car to wipe it out of your eyes and ears (from tumbling down a dune cliff) it turned back white! incredible ...

speaking of back in the car.

that's right.

all nighter here we come!

Balloon Fest.

Weeee!

drive in at 5:20 a.m. to catch the balloons starting their day. Mass Ascension! ...would have been a little bit cooler, if there hadn't been 60,000 other cars on the road trying to get the same place as us! oh yeah ... and it was 34 degrees. in the sun.

balloons - sweet - when I get some pics uploaded, you can see for yourself!

headed out to the petroglyphs with a friend of John's fam. they were okay ... a bunch were obviously made by some grafitti artist who knew what he was doing, and wanted to get some laughs when people took pictures of the 'crazy alien petroglyph' and posted them online.

... so I took pictures of them too.

but at least I know which ones are totally fake, and which are possibly real.

Food:

-breakfast burritos. eggs, bacon, cheese, green chilis, salsa, hash browns, flour tortilla. can you say, amazing-mouth-watering-almost-too-much-to-eat-but-so-delicious-that-you-have-to? yeah.
-half pound burgers, fries, bottled water. ...Dasani... not that I dislike it as intensely as some of my compatriots ... but if I am going to drink tap water, why not just get it in a dixie cup for free from the spigot? Now ... Figi or Volvic ... those have to come from tropical desert islands hond extracted by naked voluptuous natives who caress the bottles with lush flowers before shipping. I'll pay for that.
-mini-donuts made in a sweet spiral deep frier! that's right. they start in the middle, an automatic flipper flips them half way through, and the flow of the oil spins them through and out to the sugar pit to be tossed and bagged! I need one.
-hot cocoa. marshmellows. whipped cream. they do it right.

balloon glow - also barely conveyable in writing, but amazing in images.

and then the best news yet: it's going to drop down below freezing tonight ... and ... SNOW! yay! snow will be so much fun! I'll just tug on my boots and snowpants and when we're done come back inside for coca and sit on the couch by the fire and watch tv and .......................... camping. no wood. no snow gear. it's dark.

the reason that it was good news is that the idea of freezing to death was so immobilizing, that the only body function still operable was the cell phone. And then the gas pedal. And then the pack-up-all-of-your-tent-and-crud-wicked-fast-because-it-is-literally-freezing-to-the-
-ground-as-we-speak function. Then the unload-all-your-stuff-into-Motel-6 function.

and so all was good. and there was much rejoicing. and light. and things of that nature.

Atomic Bar and Grill.

not quite as adventurous a morning as we will have tomorrow. woke up. changed clothes. watered the nearby trees. headed down the twisty 10 miles back into town for breakfast.

But lets talk food!

If you are looking for surprisingly great Greek Food, in the middle of New Mexico, go to the Plaza Restaurant. Conveniently located right on the main plaza! Amazing. They have everything there - Burgers, Tacos, Burritos, Spaghetti, Gyros, Milkshakes ... and it all looked delicious! Totally made up for the fact that we skipped out on our regular Fajita guy for breakfast!

A little more shopping...

we spent (quick pause, we = the women - John and I splurged and spent about $50 total between us), in two days at Santa Fe, possible as little as 6 hours shopping total, more money than we have spent on gas for the entire trip. You do the math. 7500 miles, 17-18 miles per gallon, gas at $3 per gallon.

The American dream is to live beyond your means, and end up in debt to multiple credit cards ... right?

That completed by noon - John and I went to a bar, and left the ladies to their devices - without either of our cards in easy reach. There we stayed until 4 - charging computers, using the internet, charging phones and batteries, downloading and uploading, and in general enjoying the idea of technology. Free WiFi, a runner strip of grounded outlets under the entire bar, and no-one there to complain about the cords sprawled everywhere. could we have asked for more? Dinner there - Atomic Bar and Grill - Pizza was okay (recall, we'd just had Il Vicino ...), good fries, very nice selection of beers, and a cozy overall feel. ...strangely not a lot of people there though...

Tomorrow is the long awaited Balloon Festival!! 4:30 a.m. wake time, in order to be there for the morning 'glow' ... better start getting psyched now ... it's supposed to be below zero degrees Centigrade tonight. woo hoo !!

Petroglyphs. Movies.

Bandelier.

Caves.

Petroglyphs.

Hike up and inside a few.

Strangely less fulfilling than usual, because we finished the whole venture by early afternoon!

Lunch at Blue Corn Cafe ... might be worth it to move down here just for the food!

Try to find a mini-golf place ... turns out that the best mini-golf in the entire surrounding area is worse than anything we would never have gone to in VT in the first place ... so we saw a movie. 310 to Yuma. The end was salvaged from sure disaster by the clever use of one line and a whistle.

then ... sleep.

It's frigid outside ... what do you want from us? besides ... we'd finished the season discs already. I guess we could have done team Minesweeper ... but that would be lame ... and we're not lame. we're adventurers! hence, the need for sleep, to augment the facilitation of extreme adventures upon the next waking!

Santa Fe. 1.

Apparently, the Balloon festival in Albuquerque (an easy hour away) counts as a holiday here ... hence the extra 'holiday rate' for parking. oh well.

breakfast of fajitas! from the cool street vendor. oh yes, he's been in Gourmet magazine, Bon Apetit, Chicago Tribune, etc. and he has a drink called Jamaica - which includes VERMONT maple syrup as one of the key ingredients! - VT rocks -

A little alley shopping. A little store shopping (slightly more dangerous). Snack at the Ore House. A little more wandering about with wallets open. And then off to search out the Burger joint of Erin's carefree college years.

It either moved or is gone. which is a shame. because it was damn good, and inexpensive. ... wait ... underpriced and over quality ... maybe that's the reason. So, instead of trying to go to the chinese place being put in (since it was mostly a pile of rubble) we mosied on over to Il Vicino's Pizza. Voted #! in Santa Fe some number of years in a row. delicious. their draft style homemade authentic rootbeer was sticky and caramel and heavy on the sassafras root. don't get that. but get the pizza. any of them really. nice thin crust, but with lots of fresh toppings, not doughy, well cooked, great service, free showers, lap dances, etc.

Considered seeing a movie - as a novelty, seeing as how we are in a real town with actual theatres - but the pizza was starting to kick in the nap glands, so we went to the store.

liquor store(s).

note the parenthetical s.

not because we couldn't find the stuff that was needed, nor that we bought out one store and had to move on to the next like a roaming group of vultures fallen off the wagon, but rather that every liquor store in Santa Fe is buried in a ghetto. with barred steel windows. a heavy Mexican with a shotgun behind the register. a Honda civic in front, jacked up, gangster inside. barbed wire dental floss for sale in the side aisle. no lights on outside. and a parking lot with automatic tire spike holes on either exit.

sketchy doesn't begin to describe the places that we drove as close to as possible without catching airborn Herpes, and then drove off.

the one place that purchases were made at - John went in alone, hell, why lose more than one travel companion - all doors were locked, engine left running, and in gear, a secret knock developed in case he came out with someone tailing him too closely, and a time limit posed for how long we'd wait until driving off and looping back.

Tequila and Mix were purchased. As was a How I met Your Mother season set.

Picnic bench - one computer taken out. few episodes in ... rain. should we stop watching ... or ... take out the tarp! Few more episodes under the tarp, with the rain pouring down, thunder and lightening shooting overhead ... and all of us crouched matching TV shows.

computer battery pooped out ... so ... since it's lightening and raining ... and the battery is dead ... we could stop ... or ... my battery is still good, and it's in the SUV! another seven episodes in a nice, dry car, that occasionally was needed for bursts of 84 degree air, and light to pour mix, but otherwise a well appreciated theatre experience!

I mean ... camping experience ... we are camping, right?

Afraid of Wood?

Short Jaunt for breakfast.

Hike out to Petrified woods.

... really really scared wood. what kind of sick society are we that we enjoy looking at a plant based substance in such immobilizing suffering? Those parks should be closed down, gated, and all eligible wood transplanted to happy appreciative homes across America. The petrified wood demoralization ends here!

and if we hadn't already bought several pounds of it in Utah ... along with Septarian and Picasso Stone .... and other nick nacks ... yeah .... there's no more room anywhere in the SUV.

I'm sitting with my camera, computer, maps, food, and miscellaneous bits in side pockets, Thule is crammed full, and we can't see out the rear window at all.

full.

"Santa Fe, are you there? I'm alone but I'm not lonely." 5 pts for the reference anyone?

Campground is 8 miles outside of the city, but quiet and only $10 a night! as per our usual, close to the bathroom, nice and flat, and in a recurring recent pattern - on gravel. yay. at least the mattress only deflates once a night ...

Cactus. Zombies.

Answer - drive to Sodona!

as if we needed a reason to get up and immediately start off on a mission!

... we hit Sodona by 7:15 ... turns out it was a little closer than we thought. Also turns out that nothing is open in Sodona until 8 or 9 or 10 ... even the visitor's center ... although, we harassed an employee who got there early (7:38) and got thew to let Meg in.

Breakfast of eggs Benedict was delicious, at the only joint open in town that looked decent. decent = not super overpriced for a cookie. $2.00 a cookie ... wtf? you can get a whole pack of cookies for that price. and it's a small cookie! not even a huge jumbo cookie. what's in it? gold dust? and if there is gold dust in it, that can slice up your esophagus and lead to heavy metal deposits in your system ... so there should be a warning on the label - just having the price set unreasonably high is not warning enough.

So - after deciding that there was nothing really to do, except wait to spend money, and after having realized that there wasn't much else to do as an option, and being too sluggy still to facilitate taking a hike in the surrounding hills, we drove.

towards a huge cactus reserve.

in the middle of southern AZ. a good four hours there, off the current route, to see some cacti.

okay - it was pretty sweet.

nice cacti.

look at the pics.

then another 6 hours to get back to the route.

... but through near death experiences.

Cliffton.

Cliffton.

Cliffton.

We saw people eating each other at mass gatherings. and hunters tracking tourists. and death traps to get passing vehicles. zombies. shotguns. no guardrails on a switchback mountain road. no signage. Tunnels with no lights on. mining roads with motorcycles coming on your side of the road. drive of death. we would have been next, but they'd obviously just caught someone. but really. we locked the doors. and kept the hammers at the ready. and drove as fast as possible out of there. even with the unmarked switchbacks, gaping holes in the road, and motorcycle cannibal hunters.

almost died later on. campground had huge bears, and wild cows, and people hiding in the woods with hatchets.

finally slept at Lyndon Lake.

no zombie crazies.

over two hours past where we had planned on stopping ... because no one felt safe enough sleeping anywhere we saw. empty campgrounds in the middle of nowhere with no camp hosts and trees rustling with no breeze ...

Drive.

Said a last farewell to Cambria.

Goodbye Pacific Ocean.

Adios Wine country.

Peace out campsite of free showers and surf sounds.

Toodles wet sand and sunsets.

yup.

made a trip into town one last time to grab some b-fast. like we do. Lynns Cafe - sandwich.

and then several hundred miles of driving.

all day.

all night.

parked at some random campground outside of Sonoma and slept in the car. I called driver's seat. you're thinking ... why sleep in the car at a campground? well. I was tired. and didn't want to set up the tent, for a five hour nap, just to take it down before sunrise to avoid paying an average of $3.50 per hour of sleep.

since it was still dark when we left - I will consider that part of this day.

wake up in a sleeping bag, in a car, twisted into the most comfortable uncomfortable position. It feels kind of like being an enormous worm trapped in a gravel pit - no matter where you squirm, there's a hard corner hitting somewhere.

campground success. found a back way out to the main road. what are we going to do at 5:30 a.m. in the middle of nowhere, south of Sonoma?