Pushing Silver

The last thing I expected

I've been in the Tucson area for a little over a week now.  The skies are clear during the day, it's warm enough during the day to wear short sleeves most of the time, and I have yet to use my jacket at night.  So the last thing I expected was snow!  Last night it came down in big chunks (mostly mixed with rain) and this morning it's still flurrying.  Everyone in town went nuts last night because the snow (which is rare in these parts anyway) actually started sticking to cars and yards.  The streets are way to warm for it to get icy, but when I went out last night I did have to use my ice scraper.  The 10pm news even had a bit on how to scrape a windshield with a credit card since most folks out here don't carry ice scrapers.

I've got the day off today for a washing machine delivery that's already ocurred, so I think I'll head out on my bike and learn some of the neighborhood trails...and watch the natives make funny expressions as they see me riding by in the continuing flurries!

I made it to Tucson

i arrived in town last night after spending all day on the road.  I did take time out to see the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, but I skipped my trip to Taliesin West since it's only 2 hours away and I was running out of daylight as it was.

Today I'm off to Green Valley to meet the people I'll be working with, and then it's back to the housing search.

Check out the Arizona photo album for pictures from yesterday.  The scenery out here is great!!

Sorry about the dirty windshield

Today's drive was absolutely gorgeous!  I love how the New Mexico scenery sneaks up on me.  From afar, I'll see low lying hills.  Up close, I realize it's just a rock formation.  As quickly as I get a glipse of the rock edge, I'm through it and looking at something completely different.  Could be a hill or a valley, curve or straight away, or even nothing for 18 miles.

I spent a lot of time taking pictures through the windshield.  That'll be one for my generation to tell the grandkids... "I remember when we took pictures with film!  Before the advent of LCD screens, we couldn't take pictures while driving 70 miles an hour..."

Pictures today are just from random shots taken on the road, the Very Large Array, The Enchanted Mesa region, and a few other rock formations I failed to record names for.

I should be in Tucson tomorrow night.

I'll keep it short

Check the New Mexico photo album.  Today I went to the International UFO Museum in Roswell, and White Sands National Monument.  Both were cool, and I found the alien eyes on all the streetlights in Roswell very amusing.  The van is still running, but it's very sluggish and I wonder if it doesn't like the altitude.  I think tomorrow morning I'm going to get brave and tinker with the oxygen sensor - but nothing major, I don't need to spend another night in Alomogordo.

I have a lot of gripes!

I was really excited about today.  I had some good stops planned, and a timezone jump that gave me an extra hour, so I had enough time to really see some things without cutting down my mileage.  So I got up and hit the road early (well, early for me).

When I got to Clinton, OK I found the Route 66 Museum closed.  It was mentioned as one of the better stops on Route 66 by a guide book a friend loaned me.  Nowhere on their website did they mention that they were shut down for the first week of January for renovations.  Thanks, guys...

Next, I set out for the Devil's Rope (barb wire) Museum in McLean, TX but on the way was distracted by the National Route 66 Museum.  If you're passing through, don't waste your time (or five bucks) - they didn't have what I'd consider Route 66 related antiques (and virtually nothing in authentic memorabilia), and the spaces were poorly lit (hence all the dark pictures).  They did have some recordings that would play locally when you walked by a display, but if you wander around too much, you'll set off 2 and 3 at a time.  If you don't heed my advice and visit anyway, make sure you have a lot of time to kill while you're there.  The staff are all very nice, but are starved for conversation and will talk about anything...for a long, long time!!

When I finally got to the barb wire museum, I found them to be "shut" as well.  The website said something about winter hours varying due to inclement weather, but the sign in the window said "see you next spring."  Once again, thanks guys!

From there I went a little west of Amarillo, TX to see Cadillac Ranch, and it was almost as tacky as I hoped it would be.  I prefer the older pictures when the cars still had their original paint.  Even when they were all repainted the same color, it was still neat.  But today, it sits in a new location, and has been declared "public art."  The creators invite visitors to bring their own spray paint in the h

Leo Kottke

I can't quite quote a song that's purely instrumental, but LK has a song entitled "Can't Quite Put it Into Words" and that's how I feel about this post.  The tune would make a perfect sound track to it as well...

Yesterday I headed into Tennessee.  Right across the border, I saw a billboard for Sad Sam's Fireworks "Beer sold on sundays!"  Talk about one stop shopping!  I looked for a hospital sign at that exit, but was let down.  When I got into Memphis, I rode past BB King's Blues Club, the Gibson guitar factory, and made my way to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.  Unfortunately, it was an all day drive to get there and I didn't have enough daylight left to take the time for the tour.  My patch job on my headlights (soda can and duct tape) fell victim to the elements.  Against the highway wind, the heavy rain, and having to run with the headlights on (heats and therefore weakens the adhesive), duct tape was no match.  I settled down for the night in Forrest City, AR which is named after Nathan Bedford Forrest.  The motel literature credited him with being a Confederate General, and brining the railroad from Memphis to Little Rock in the 1860s.  There was no mention of him dressing up "like a spook." (watch Forrest Gump if you're confused)

Today I just drove most of the day to get to the Oklahoma City Memorial, but again I was too short on daylight to go into the museum.  I've also noticed that the van likes to quit on me after these long days.  After about 6 hours, it starts to cut out.  It hasn't left me stranded yet, but I'm always nervous at stoplights.  It's always happy in the morning after a night of rest, so I'm confident it'll start right up tomorrow and take me further west.

For tonight, I'm in Yukon, OK whose only claim to fame as far as I can tell is that it's the home of Garth Brooks.

Tomorrow I'll head out towards Clinton, OK and pick up some of old Route 66.  I promise I'll be creative and come up with my own stops soon instead of emulating the route of the movie Elizabethtown.

Sheer Curiosity

I recognize that I am completely out of touch with popular culture.  I don't get out to the movies much, I don't listen to the radio, don't watch TV and don't follow the news.  As I make my way across the country, I spend a lot of nights in motels, and I can't help but be glued to the TV.  It's as if I have a hidden hunger for TV since I typically deprive myself from it.  But that doesn't mean that there's anything on that really attracts my attention.  That is why my mind wanders and I come up with dumb questions to ask.  Feel free to answer by submitting a comment - I'm interested in opinions and actual facts (if anyone feels like doing the research)...

Do the networks depend on the income from food advertising more than the food companies rely on the advertising medium?  I mean, sitting on your ass and watching TV while stuffing your face is the official American hobby, isn't it?  So which half of the equation is holding the cards?  Fast food?  Pizza?  Chips, candy soda?  Would the networks survive if each of the accused didn't pay such stupid money for Super Bowl advertising time?

Dirty Road Trip

There's nothing like driving a Westy in the mountains!  Today I left the annual New Year's celebration in Deep Creek Lake and headed south west.  I'm in West Virginia, almost at the Kentucky border.  The van ran pretty well all day, and I drove it really hard.  Route 50 between 219 and I-79 is now one of my all-time favorite roads!  If you're in to hills and hairpin turns, that's the place to go!

For those of you that don't know, I'm heading out to Arizona to start a bicycle mechanic job.  The shop is in Green Valley, but I'll most likely live in Tucson (more available rentals/roommates).  I'm working on a place to stay, but that part hasn't solidified yet.

What has solidified is my dependence on duct tape.  Just before i pulled away from home, one of my headlights collapsed into the grille.  Apparently, the plastic threads in the headlight adjuster blocks tend to dry rot in 20 years.  I was able to find a replacement part my first day on the road, but when I got around to trying to install it, I found I'd bought the wrong thing.  Instead, I've gotten creative with more duct tape and a soda can.

I have a few touristy stops to make on my way west, so I'll probably post again en route.  Until then, it's time to get some rest in preparation for an early morning (I need to squeeze in an oil change tomorrow).