We just crossed into California!

Cactus!

Today I had a run in with this little beauty ...

I remember the good old days when I could accidentally brush against a bit of local flora and come away unscathed. Not so in the desert! As best I can tell, this is a prickly pear. The main spines are roughly two inches long. After running into it, I learned that there are also a bunch of tiny spines that it leaves stuck in you.

I caught the thing with the shin of my left leg. One of the large spines stuck into my leg and then exited the other side after traveling about an inch!. I tried pulling it through, but it just broke off! So now I have a cactus needle in my leg!

For a few minutes, I thought about cutting it out. I even had my pocket knife out and ready.But if you know me and my pain tolerance you know how laughable this idea is. My current plan is to wait it out - see if by some miracle it works its way out. What's more likely is that Donna will probably have to cut it out when I see her over Thanksgiving ...

I also had a chance to meet with this guy. No idea what his name is - we didn't exchange names. I was wandering the campground and espied his dune buggy. I had seen it out on the road yesterday, and I came over to have a look.

He built this himself - he welded the frame together, put in a VW engine and transmission; added the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors from his Ford Aerostar (he hit an elk with it so it was useless); and bolted on some headlights from a snow plow!

This guy was quite the character. Sounded like a heavy smoker. He was wearing a shirt that had a picture of some Native Americans riding horses. It read "Homeland Security - fighting terrorism since 1492."

He's a semi-retired heavy machinery mechanic.For fourteen years, he worked for a copper mining operation near Butte, Montana. After awhile, he became the head safety officer, but he said it was too boring - he missed the hands-on work. Most recently, he's been driving the city bus in his hometown, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, during the winter - their high tourism season. He claims to have the best safety record of any of their drivers. But now he thinks he's getting too old to be battling with the cold weather. The new plan is to harvest firewood during the summer and then let a friend sell it (for a 25% commission) during the winter.

Towards the end of our conversation, he told me that he was probably going to spend some time panning for gold in the mountains north of the campground because "you never know when you might find a little color." Then he proceeded to tell me about "the Dutchman."

Here's what I learned: The Dutchman was a prospector in these parts. There are lots of myths, but he's real. He told lots of stories. He told stories for drinks - stories about the gold he found. But there are records in the Denver mint that the gold the Dutchman brought in was the purest raw gold anyone ever found. The Dutchman died in a flood and nobody knows where his gold is. Someday someone will find it - in the most unlikely place. They'll stumble, fall on their hands, and come up with a handful of nuggets.

There'a actually a wikipedia article on the Dutchman!

I've been watching Band of Brothers in the evenings (my second time). Fantastic show! Here's a bit of trivia for you - Jimmy Fallon makes an appearance in episode 5! I just saw him! Crazy ...

Tonight is our last night in Phoenix! Tomorrow we drive to Banning!

Welcome to the desert ...

Busy day today! We're all exhausted. It's one of those days when you look at your phone, expecting to see that it's 11pm, but it's only 7:30!

The landscape here is quite different from what I'm used to. We really are in the desert. There are more cacti than trees. The saguaro are especially impressive. The ground is flat and rocky as far s the eye can see until it suddenly shoots straight up at the the foot of a mountain or mesa. It's very beautiful.

And very dry ... my lips feel like I've been standing next to Lake Michigan in the middle of January!

We had a good turnout today, but unfortunately I was pretty busy and didn't have much time to visit. Chatted briefly with Virgil and Anne. Virgil is originally from North Dakota and Anne is originally from North Carolina and they met in DC! Pretty neat story.

I also got to meet Stewart and Katie. He's a hospital administrator, and she's from Gilmore City, Iowa - just a hop, skip, and a jump from Humboldt!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to chat much with our other visitors.

After things quieted down around camp, Gram and I ventured into the bustling metropolis of Apache Junction. I dropped her off to get her hair washed and did some exploring. Check out this funeral home I found! I had to take a picture!

We decided to go to Grand Buffet for dinner, because it was the only non-burger restaurant we could find in town. We were lured in by the crowded parking lot. It was rough. The chicken dishes were only distinguishable by their color and the size of the chunks. I ended up eating a lot of green beans and crab rangoons just because they had some flavor. I suppose when you're the only Chinese restaurant in town you don't have to try too hard.

Gram got a pretty crazy fortune - it said "If your cookie is in 3 pieces, the answer is no." Unfortunately, she didn't know she was supposed to ask a question or make a wish so it was all for naught.

This picture is going to take a little bit of explaining. I found this drawn on the back of a bathroom door in a gas station in New Mexico. Did I feel a bit skeevy whipping out my camera in a bathroom? A touch, but it was a one-holer with a locking door, so it wasn't too bad. I have no idea what this is supposed to be or mean. So my idea is that I thought I'd have a little contest!

Tell me what you think this little bit of art is. I'll pick the best answer (read: my favorite) and the winner will get a fabulous prize - a hat just like the one Gram is sporting in the picture above!

We'll be here all day tomorrow, so come see us!

Gram's 2 Cents

[This time, Gram decided to write out what she wanted to say on the front and back of an envelope and then read it to me, because writing things down helps her organize her thoughts.]

Brandon is learning what his Norwegian Gram is like.

First, I repeat a lot.

Second, I ask lots of questions.

I'm sure after this trip, he will avoid dating a Norwegian girl. Pop and I are so grateful to have our grandson Brandon with us. He is so helpful, patient and kind to two old _______. [laughs] And they can fill in the blank!

Besides, he always gets us to our destination when we are on the road. Thank you, Bran.

I had a very close call when we stopped at a service station somewhere in New Mexico. Bran was on the left, Pop in the middle [pauses and asks me "and they understand that we were at the station getting gas, right?"] and I was on the right. So when Bran came over to fill my unit, I said "Brandon, I don't think I can make it to the store!"

He said he would open the side door to our unit (where we live) so I could get in fast. I quickly jumped out of the unit I was driving and made it to our unit in time. [instructs, "and underline 'in time'"] Thank you, Bran.

It is Friday the 19th and finally we are in warm weather. Brandon has been frying the pork burgers every time, plus helping to make whatever goes wrong, right - electronically or otherwise.

[Here, Gram goes off script briefly to relate something she forgot to write down.]

We went to the bed bug theater, which it wasn't, but they all know what I said about the bugs! Was it in Caddo Mills? Anyway it was somewhere in Texas. We saw Secretariat. It wasn't Brandon's choice of movies, but he said he did enjoy it. And of course Pop and I enjoyed it. [laughs] Pop cried - he said it was too emotional.

So that's been our only entertainment [laughs] except for driving, eating, sleeping. [chuckles]

My goal on this trip is to run the race ... for the triple crown! [Laughs]

That's it!

Love, Gram!

Into Arizona

Another day on the road!

Around 9am we began the trip to Phoenix, and the trip went off without a hitch! There is a surprising amount of traffic in Phoenix, though! It must be bigger than I thought ... Anyone? No? Ok, moving on.

Maybe it was the traffic or maybe it was KOA staff taking their sweet time and then hassling me about what direction I had to park, but by the time we got settled in, or maybe it was these things in conjunction with being tired and having a headache - regardless of the reasons, I was in a bad mood. On the scale of irritability, I was at "punch a lady in the face." This is clearly more irritated than "punch a guy in the face," but far better than "punch a kitten in the face." Even after getting some dinner at about 8:30, I was still out of sorts. But I found a cure!

The KOA we're staying at has a hot tub! But get this - the hot tub closes at 8pm!! What?! Come on!!



Seriously ... who uses a hot tub before 8pm? Even if you get in around 7:30 or 7:45, you're gonna want to stay in past 8. Not to be deterred by ridiculous rules or having forgotten my trunks, I popped on a pair of boxers and headed over to the hot tub around 10pm. The gate was locked.

I love hot tubs ... a lot ... In fact, I have never been more relaxed than after spending an evening in the geothermal hot tubs in Reykjavik ... they were amazing! All this to say that there is a very short list of things that will keep me out of a hot tub on a clear, cool night, and a five foot chain link fence is not on that list. Water Moccasins would be on that list ... also razor wire, more than one armed guard, drunk frat idiots, possibly John Travolta, and definitely the entire cast of The View (What? You would want to share a hot tub with them?).

So, after doing a semi-thorough perimeter sweep for security cameras, I hopped the fence and slid into the hot tub! The stress of the day, and my headache, melted away!

Chances are good that I'll be a repeat offender tomorrow night!

When I travel, not only do I enjoy trying new foods, I also like to sample regional candies. At a gas station in a small town in New Mexico, I found these - Chase's Cherry Mash and Annabelle's Big Hunk! And no, the latter is not named after me - I don't even know anyone named Annabelle ;)

The Cherry Mash was good. It consists of a cherry flavored coconut center covered in chocolate and nuts. But, it was just too much. It would be a lot better if it were about half that size - really just too rich.

Annabelle's Big Hunk, on the other hand was fantastic! It's chewy nougat with peanuts. It tastes very similar to the inside of a Snickers bar. Typically when I try new and exotic candies I'm not too impressed, but I liked this one enough that I would definitely have one if they're available back home! Worst case scenario, I can always get some on Amazon!

I hate to break your hearts, but Gram has again postponed contributing her 2 Cents. I'm going to hassle her tomorrow to make sure she finally does it!

I can, however, relate a story that may provide some additional insight into the mind of Gram!

Before dinner, we stopped at Walmart, and she purchased a cd by Jackie Evancho, a ten year old who sings opera like a 40 year old! She's nuts ... check out this video. Anyway, we decided to listen to the cd on the way home. Once the music started playing, something sounded off to me, and after flipping through the car stereo's menu found that the balance had been shifted all the way to the right - the driver's side speakers were essentially shut off!

I had noticed this once before in Gram's RV, so I asked if she had done it on purpose. She said, "yeah, I do it so I can turn it up louder." I hit the play button, but a few moments later, I couldn't take it anymore and I paused the song again.

"What do you mean you do that so you can turn it up louder?"

"Well, if I don't adjust it like that it's too loud. If I turn it all the way to the right, I can turn it up louder."

" ... Can't you just leave the balance in the middle and turn it down so it's not too loud?"

"No."

"Oh ..."

And at a loss for words, I pushed play.

We're in Apache Junction all day tomorrow, so come and see us if you're in the Phoenix area!

We just crossed into Arizona!

Albuquerque

We had a good turn out in Albuquerque today! There were about ten people who came out to see us. Some from literally hundreds of miles away (but this isn't unique to this stop).

The people who came to see us, however were unique.

The first person who showed up was a Mr. Barnhill. Great name, right? Sounds like a hobbit name. He's an ear, nose, throat and shoulder surgeon. He drove up in his 1994 Built for Two, and it was immaculate! After admiring Born Frees for 25 years, he finally purchased this one used and is loving it.

I also had the chance to visit with Darrel and Marilyn Weybright. Darrel is a biologist, and works for the New Mexico conservation department where he oversees their deer and elk program. He told me stories about chasing down desert mountain goats in Mexico and capturing them with net guns ... from a helicopter! They then transplant the goats to New Mexico to bolster the population here. The stories got even better.

In his tagging and tracking of the deer and elk, he also used a helicopter. He rode in a helicopter and shot deer with tranquilizer darts and net guns - just can't get over that! Anyway, he said that sometimes a deer will hide near some brush or a tree to hide from the helicopter. When this happens, they bring the helicopter down real low, he steps out onto skid, and jumps down onto the deer! I was incredulous and said as much, but he swears it's true!

Darrel is the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation.

Over lunch, I got to know Bill and Linda Scott and their son Will. Very nice family!

Bill started and owns Dion's, a chain of pizza restaurants! After college, Bill and a buddy of his came to New Mexico from Detroit and started a pizza place called New York Pizza. One day, Bill related, a gentleman came in, ordered a slice and sat watching them work for awhile. He did this a few more times until one day, he approached the counter and informed them that they were doing it wrong! Even at 23, Bill had enough sense and humility to recognize take sound advice when given. And so for a little while, Tony taught them about pizza. Tony was from Florida and had just sold his own pizza restaurant so that he could travel the country.

Bill said he'd like to do the same for someone else someday.

Now Bill's pizza place has grown into seventeen Dion's restaurants across New Mexico and Texas! He generously gave us some gift certificates and we headed over to their location on Central (old Route 66) for dinner.

The food was great! We started off with a family size Greek Salad, which Pop declared one of the best salads he'd ever had. It was fresh, tasty, and well seasoned. Dion's even makes their own salad dressings!

The pizza was fantastic! Their pizza menu is a nice blend of classic and more unique offerings. We ordered a fourteen inch pizza - half Napoli and half Duke City. The Napoli was a classic combination of Italian sausage, kalamata olives, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, provolone, and parmesan. It was very good - but what really excited me was the Duke City. The Duke City is turkey, green chile, cheddar, and parmesan. So good! The green chiles give it a nice, spicy flair, and though I don't think I've ever had turkey on a pizza before, it really worked!

Pop was a fan of Dion's the instant he walked through the door. They have an area where you can stand and watch the pizza being prepared - he was sold! (In fact, I'm convinced that the reason he loves the WaHo so much is that you get to watch the chef!)

Thanks, Scott for the pizza! We all loved it! Unfortunately, there aren't enough leftover slices for all of us ... this could get ugly.

Tonight is our last night in Albuquerque. We're headed to Apache Junction tomorrow, so if you're in the Phoenix area, come and see us!

Oh, and I know this will be disappointing, but Gram's 2 Cents won't be ready until tomorrow.