Notes from the Road: Northwestern California

Ok....so this one will be more like a list instead of notes....
I have probably forgotten about 1/2 the things I had in mind......there's still a substantial amount of info for your reading pleasure....


-Wyoming has great rock outcrops.
-The Sierra Trading Post in Chyenne, Wyoming was thouroughly dissappointing.
-Idaho has basalt flows with nice columnar jointing.
-Somewhere in Idaho, we drove through a really bizarre fog like thing, my driving buddy speculated it was smoke, I thought it was dust....I think it ended up being really fine clay particles....very wierd.
-Pocatello, idaho has the super Wal-Mart of Ace Hardwares! They had tools AND camping equipment! It was 80 billion times better then the Sierra Tradin Post in Chyenne, Wyoming
- Somewhere in Idaho, our light connector for the trailer came loose (which is not good when your driving a trailer on a highway), and we dragged it for probably 200 miles. Luckily, my driving buddy is an electrical genius. It took us nearly 3 hours to repair. I say 'us' meaning he fixed the connection, and I ran for more parts and bought him coffee. We were about 15 miles from the Oregon border.
- Oregon isn't a good state to pass through. The default speed limit is 55. If you don't see a speed limit sign, the speed limit is 55. We were informed of this on our way OUT of Oregon.
- There are free range cows in Oregon.....we were drving a long, lonesome highway at dusk through free range territory. We came over a rise and suddenly there were 3 cows in the road. We swerved and dragged the trailer enough to slow us down for one of the lazy bastards to mosey it's fat ass off the road. All I remember is seeing the cows and reaching for the OH SHIT! handles. My drving buddy had enough adrenaline for the rest of the night after that.
- There is a lake in Oregon somewhere that smells like rotten eggs- this means Hydrogen Sulfide gas. I started to wonder if there was enough around to displace the oxygen in the air so that we might suffocate. I was tired and delerious by that point.
- We slept at the first hotel we could find about 2 hours from our final destination. After 3 hours of sleep, we continued to Cali.
-The actual work part of the trip was a blur- It was apparently it was one of the most difficult jobs Aestus has done EVER. Probably 'cause I was there...I'm known for inducing Xtreme field work.
- We had to get the trailer tires replaced before leaving Cali.
- As we were driving through the red woods, we lost our satellite radio, so I played my backpacker guitar in the truck...it was cool. My driving buddy liked it.
-There is a wormhole in western Oregon...one that makes time go reallllllly sllloooooowww. All I know is we drove all day but barely got anywhere. Finding a camp site was difficult that night. We drove 30 miles out of the way to a camp site in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE...imagine our suprise when said camp site was packed...WTF!?!?
- I drank a bottle of wine that night.....oh my
-There is a road that goes from Oregon to Nevada where you don't see a town for 5 hours. Seriously.
- I don't recall much of Nevada, except for the hotel room with the jacuzzi...much needed
- The salt flats in Utah look like water...It's really cool, especially in the morning.
-Utah has some of the most inconsiderate drivers ever.
- For at least 50 0r 60 miles in Utah/Wyoming there was road construction. During the constructioin miles, we may have been going 10 MPH. It was fabulous.
-Wyoming has wicked thunderstorms! The lightning was absolutley amazing! I'm glad I didn't have to drive through all that, which I cheerily relayed to my driving buddy.
-Towards the end of the trip, I began to realize how important your driving buddy is. Luckily, we got along really well. The trip could have been truly horrible if we didn't get along.



That pretty much sums it up...I may go back and add more later if I recall anything else!

~~~BB~~~
~~~m~~~~