BELLE THE CAT
I don't remember their name but they were playing in the beer tent.
Cigar box guitar!
Me and the gang - Lucy took the pic.
My friends. This is a gas powered margarita maker (2 stroke engine). It is awesome.
Brian is running it. He has also bungee'd it to a canoe and took it down the river. He is my sister's husband.
To quote my sister Lucy, "this is how the Bartash's roast marshmallows." To which I add "... and loose eyebrows."
Well, technically, we entered
I woke up around 9 or so. Donnie had feed the cats earlier (I think, barely remember). I woke up just feeling horrid. My hands were still shaking with road vibrations and I was all clenched up inside and my neck and back were sore. Eventually, I got up, freshened up a bit, and got Donnie up. We went in and his mom was making pancakes, sausages, bacon and tea. She and Donnie’s dad were watching Trey, Kaza and Aiden, Donnie’s niece and nephews, who immediately leapt on Uncle. We ate and showed off Bertha and did a load of laundry.
Dan, Donnie’s friend who drove my car back, had his girlfriend Deanna come and pick us up, and we went to see Dan’s house (he is restoring a type 4 VW in his garage). Then Donnie and I drove back to his parent’s house and took off with both vehicles towards Prairie. Donnie’s van is still sitting in his parent’s drive way (Donnie drove his van back filled with stuff to move us in, and then took the train back to drive Bertha). We’ll be back up next weekend to collect it.
One day soon I will draw a schematic of how the logistics of all this move. I believe it would be very entertaining.
We made one important stop on our way to Prairie, and that was at the Dakota Firehouse parking lot to meet with my parents (as opposed to making a 10 mile round trip out of our way). It was nice and they really liked Bertha – they wanted to rent her in August to go to a reunion.
We traveled across the
Arrived at the “back house” around
Last night we filled up at a gas station, then drove until we got to a KOA campground. Donnie figured out how to do the night check-in thing and we had a great dinner if I do say so myself. Donnie had meatloaf for lunch and had gotten a slab to go in a doggie bag. I cut that up, fried it with garlic, fennel seed, basil and oregano in some oil, then added a can of tomato paste, some water and a pkt of powdered sloppy joe mix. Cooked up some angel hair pasta and garlic toast, stirred the pasta into the sauce and topped with parm cheese. Had wax beans on the side. Yum!
Before we slept, the cats were looking out the window, “barking” at something (where their bottom jaw quivers and they make a “eh eh meh eh” noise under their breath.) I got a little worried that the pillows we have stuffed up under the dash might not be enough to keep some determined raccoons from getting in (under the dash are a few small gaps that lead to the outside). In the end we slept pretty well until the dawn chorus woke us at
It never fails, no matter where we park, we always end up with the neighbors talking behind out rig, and I get all paranoid about the 10 year rule (because our Bertha is usually without fail one of the oldest things in the park) and wonder if one of our tires are flat, or our waste tanks are leaking or something. Well, and then it turns out to be they are talking about ground squirrels.
I think it was my sister Lucy who pointed it out to me, right before Donnie and I left
This morning we made French press coffee and oatmeal with sugar, butter, nuts and cranberries in it. My friend Kathy had given me the coffee and the trail mix of nuts and cranberries and it made for a mighty fine meal.
Took a lot of 35mm pics of interesting rigs at the KOA.
Sarah’s 4th of July Essay
How can I justify driving 2000 miles in a 30 year old vehicle that gets 9 miles per gallon on the weekend with the highest gas prices on record? Why should I? The answer to both questions is easy; I am an American.
I live in the richest, most powerful country in the world, according to most people and media outlets. It is the
Today is the day this country became a country. 200 years and 4 months before I was born. So recent compared to a lot of countries, a long time for others that still may be trying to gain the freedom we did. We have done a lot of good will with our freedom, but at the same time, we have done a lot of harm with our freedom. We create magical medical advances, we extend life, we feed people, we also shoot each other, we do drugs for recreational purposes, we destroy wildlife and wild lands and we also preserve huge chunks of land and save many species.
Donnie and I bought this RV from a couple who had had much joy from it over the years. We supported a lot of local blue collar jobs by having as much work done to this thing as we have. We contributed very little to any landfills by reusing and rebuilding parts – from the radiator, to the couch, to the refrigerator. Yes, we are contributing to global warming by running something so fuel inefficient, but except for gasoline, we are using very little of anything else. We are sleeping at rest stops, using a tiny amount of propane to boil water and run our lights off the battery which is charged each time we drive down the road. Even now, the computer I am typing on is running through a power inverter that is running off the coach battery which is constantly being charged by the vehicle alternator.
Also, this is a once in a lifetime thing.
So, I can’t, and I don’t have to justify anything. But I try, since I am a human who likes doing good. I like recognition for doing things well or doing things right or doing things that others want to do or may imagine doing, but for one reason or another can’t or won’t. What I am doing is stupid. What I am doing is important. What I am doing is letting me see the country, letting me contemplate life, letting me see the hundreds of truckers that are moving goods to and fro across this country.
At the end of this trip, I think I will be a more religious person. I think I will be a better American. I would like to think that this once in a lifetime trip is also a life changing trip. And I would like it to change my life for the better. As an American, my power is as great as my freedom. To find out how to use this for good, you have to find out what good is.
In a rest stop that has Wi Fi – finally in
At a Flying J Plaza in
Some day, mebbe, when I wake up, I will tell you the tale of mighty DMV, who took that big ol train through the avalanche. Or maybe I’ll tell you the true story of Donnie V., who wrangled big Bertha up and down old highway 30 for hours and hours in the dead of night, braving 2 lane highways, semis, giant pickup trucks, a myriad of animals running hither and thither, changing traffic patterns, road work every where, tunnels, mountains, and even a road closed sign – with a stop light and a nice guy in a escort car that appeared when the light turned green to guide Bertha and her cargo through the off road adventure. What a night.
2:18 p.m. Pacific,
We finished up
Donnie doesn’t think the guy who helped us was Buzz. He was a skinny older dude with a weather-beaten face, thinning hair, wearing overalls and chomping a lit cigar. The two looked under the trunk, played around with a few things, and found that a whole half of the fuse box wasn’t getting power. Finally determined to turn off the ignition and see if she would even start again. Well, not only did she start, the radio and everything else came back on! There apparently is some sort of plug / relay in the steering column and all of our driving off road last night might have unplugged it a little. We’ll hope it holds together enough to get us home (don’t relish the thought of taking the steering wheel off right now.)
Stopped at a Bosselman travel plaza and ate very uninspiring lunch. Donnie had meatloaf sandwich and I had salad bar. Now Donnie’s taking a shower before we take off and I’m gonna try to post my blog from inside the plaza.
I did not sleep well. I have been backwards and forwards with people on line about RV camping at rest stops. Some say it is the worst idea - noisy, not safe, “why sleep there - that’s what RV parks are for” etc. Some people say that truckers get mad at RVers who park there (we parked in a car spot just to be safe.) And some people have no problem with it.
Well, it was loud, what with trucks careening up and down the hills all night, and pulling off to rest, and the cats were restless, and my brain kept playing tricks on me. Finally, at
I actually had a wonderful morning. Made it up the Blue Mts with not a thermal problem in site. In fact, I was actually chilly, as compared to the heat the day before. Kept the temp right around 180. Of course, I was going slow as well. Down the other side was fun because I found I could coast down a grade of 6% with just the weight of the vehicle carrying me down. It was a pretty morning too.
I got us all of the way to
It heated up almost immediately. 85-90+ degrees at least by the time we reached
So anyway, we decided to wait out some of the heat, so we found a park in
Then we took off again, and soon pulled over at a rest area to dump our grey and black water tanks (to get rid of some weight), to fill up with some more fresh water (for safty and to rig up the block-of-wood-under-hood deal, since a.) it was
So anyway, fueled up at Twin Falls with gas for Bertha and tuna fish sandwiches and milk for Donnie and I, and then, it was about 8 p.m. We are now cruising down the highway, hoping to keep going through the night. It is pretty flat, very cool and dim. Well, will get downright dark soon, but that’s what headlights are for.
Hope we make it to Wy by tomorrow.
We may leave
I am glad Donnie is here. I did a lot while he was gone, but I really think he is wired to deal with and understand the auto stuff more than I. Really, it is neither of our forte. But, for instance, they just got the horn working. Woot.
Oh, and anyone who is able to deal with everything life throws at them and take the time to document it gets no respect from me. They must either shirk their duties or have scads of cash, time and stamina. Just this a.m. I was thinking that I wish I could have blogged about my experiences picking up Bertha yesterday, taking it for a test drive with Tong (we both decided that the tech at T&C was too wimpy to try to turn the engine by hand which is why he thought it siezed. I really wish I had the balls and the lawyer to sue the bastards), paying in cash for their services and taking the bus back to the auto shop with $100 bills stuffed in my bra. But I was too busy doing all that shit! And then, this a.m., when I probably could have had the time and had had a night’s rest, I didn’t have internet hookup since I had already shut it off, and the coffee shop down the street w/ wi fi wasn’t open yet.
We have made it about 60 miles! Bertha has not over heated, but she “warms up” a bit going up hills. So we have pulled over just past
