What a difference a day makes

Today, I have a lot of things I didn't have yesterday.

A farmers tan.

Two plants I didn't have for my research.

A shower.

I want to how you some of the plants I've encountered in Texas. Wildflower season is upon them.

Extra wide load

Tioga Pass, CA
Valley of the Gods, UT

Angel Peak, NM

Grand Prismatic Spring, WY

Unknown valley, UT/CO border

A taste of today

Today we went from June Lake, to Mono Lake (pronounced Moan-o, not like the teenage malady), to Tioga Pass to Yosemite to San Francisco. It was quite a day and exceedingly hard to capture in a concise blog post.

So thoroughly would I fail to do so, I will leave you with this little taste of our day.

Bridalveil Falls.

Simply spectacular.

A fond farewell to a trustworthy friend

Hikers understand the value of great boots. They are the most important piece of equipment you have. My fondness for my hiking boots is well documented. I love my boots so much that I went out and bought a spare pair for when the first one's wore out.

I bought those first ones in 2003 before my first trip to Yellowstone. They will have to be retired after this trip. This is why.










And that little bobble cost me this.


My own fault for not thoroughly checking over my equipment before beginning such a hike.


It's not as bad as it looks.

1136 miles and counting

So we were a little late leaving town. Like nearly a full day late. Ok, I chalk this up to having to put my car in the shop after having gotten rear-ended over the weekend, and the fact that the ONLY thing I asked anyone at school to do to help me prepare for this trip did not get done and I had to spend 2 hours when I was ready to leave town to do it. And I just have to mention that this anyone who said they would take care of that project was badgering me with phone calls and requests for help with her issues while I was trying to get out the door. So instead of leaving at 3 pm (my original worst-case scenario), we left home at 7 pm. We pulled out of St. Louis at 9:50 pm. That was AFTER convincing the people at REI to actually fit Lee for hiking boots when we arrived at the store only 10 minutes before they closed. While he tried shoes, I picked up hiking socks, stuff sacks, aluminum cookware, and waterproof matches. I'm kicking myself for having forgotten the water purifying pills (a worst-case backup for the filter), and long underwear. And that was also AFTER eating at St. Louis Bread Company, which we also convinced to feed us after we arrived 10 minutes before their closing. All I can say is REI is probably the best place I have ever shopped when it comes to quality service.

We only made it as far as Springfield, MO the first night. (A mere 313 miles from home.) Really disappointing. But I had been up since 5:30 am that morning. It was all I could do. In any event, we made up some time today. I drove from 9:50 am. until 1 am. We only stopped for gas, an oil change (1 hr) and dinner (1 hour). Which is how I came to be in Albuquerque tonight. I had hoped to be in Flagstaff, AZ, but that's how it goes.

Lesson #1 from the road. Never count on someone else to do what they say they will do, especially when that someone has a history of dropping the ball.

Lesson #2 from the road. Never listen when someone at the rental car agency tells you to "not worry about oil changes".

Lesson #3. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.

Lesson #4. When you are running late, in a hurry, and virtually panicked about the time you have to drive to California, THAT's when you'll forget the cord to download pictures from your camera.

So sorry folks, there will be no pictures from the road. You will all have to wait.

Baby Butt Wipes

When I was a kid, there was a fast food restaurant in our town called the BBF. Their "spokespersons" were two cartoon characters named Burger Chef and Jeff. I haven't thought of that in years. But I was reminded by the acronym BBW, which was my saving grace out in the field this time.

BBW stands for Baby Butt Wipes.

I don't know why I haven't discovered these things before. Maybe because I'm not a mom. But you guys that are have been holding out on the rest of us. These things are like gold to the field-weary traveler. They are a semblance of cleanliness in a world of dirt, dust, and body odor. They are a little travel miracle in PET.

I'll never go out in the field without them again.

5353 Miles in 12 Days

Folks, that's an average of 446 miles per day. Every day. For 12 days. That's about the distance from New York City to Cleveland.

Every trip is a learning experience. Here's some things I learned.

1. When you find a population of your study organism, sample it. Do not go 5 miles down the road. Do not eat a sandwich first. Stop the car. Get out. Sample the population. Failure to do so will ensure: A) The population down the road evaporates before you get there. B) You are unable to re-locate the population when you come back, and C) A pack of rabid coyotes, a DNR worker, or a livid land owner will be standing guard when you return.
   
2. I don't get Texas. At all. And I'm done trying.
   
3. The best Motel 6 ever is located in Oklahoma City.
4. Colorado has beautiful horses.
   
5. If someone is behaving badly on the roadway, invariably they are sporting California plates.
6. Kansas City, my behind. The best smelling BBQ is found in Moriarty, NM. Jake agrees.
   
7. Both Dennys and IHOP put milk in their pancakes.
8. The average breakfast out costs $12, a price I consider outrageous for eggs and a few slices of bacon and a pancake containing milk.
9. The cascading flight pattern of desert hares works against them in a showdown with a car.
10. Jake is a pretty damn good field assistant.
11. Road signage in the Navajo Nation leaves a lot to be desired.
12. I owe Rich Spellenberg a bottle of scotch.
13. It's always a relief when, having the evidence to resolve a long standing feud, you prove the person right who has been helping you.
14. Everyone should do the drive from Grand Junction to Durango. And the Beartooth Highway. And the ring of Kerry.
    
15. Oklahoma could use a lesson or two regarding the appropriate warning distance for upcoming road construction. Seriously. Like before more people die.
16. Coca Cola always tastes better ice-chest cold and in a glass bottle.
17. I am intoxicated by the freedom of the open road and answering to no one, which is to say, I have grown fond of traveling alone. Quite fond.
18. Truck stops are pretty safe places if you have to sleep in your car.
    
19. I have people who care about me enough to check on me every single day. And who those people are surprised me.
    
20. I can sleep in a car for two weeks without wanting to take someone's head off.
    

Just a quick hello

The problem with trying to do field research alone on a study system that demands you search for it during the day and work on it until well after dark is...that often doesn't leave time for the realities of living: where are you going to sleep? After finding A. nana (finally!!!) about 8:00 p.m. last night, collecting my DNA, running my scent samples then processing them, it was about 10:30. I was 50 mi from town one way at 30 miles from town another. The BLM land didn't seem to have any roads to pull down to camp for free. It was dark. I was tired. Jake had been in the car ALL DAY. I went the 30 mi direction.

The hotel in this town the size of Dowell didn't have any rooms. I went 20 miles on to the next town. No hotels. I went another 20 miles on to Beaver. Beaver had a lot of No Vacancy signs. But finally, I found one. The fellow at the Butch Cassidy Inn (Best Western) in Beaver, UT, wanted to dicker on a price when I told him I couldn't afford $75.00 plus tax for a room. He asked what I could afford, and I said I was looking for something under $50. He started talking to a woman standing next to him (not to me, mind you) about the attributes of his hotel, the time of year, the free continental breakfast (God, I know I can't sleep at night thinking about those free, cheap, sticky pastries that come out of a box), and said that if I was willing to give him $55 he could get me a room.

It was 12:55 am and I've been driving for hours and this jackass wants to start fucking with me over $5?

I don't think so.

He was lucky I only said, "Thank you, no."

So I went down the road at paid $60 at the Country Inn. Whereupon I got locked inside my room for almost a half hour before I could get out. Don't ask me. Usually, I'm pretty good with things like door locks.

Since I spent all my blogging time trying to release myself from my room, this morning, this is all you get.
Happy Tuesday. I think. Oh, and my computer is making terrible whirring noises. I'm not sure how many more blog posts from the road you can count on.

This time last year

Liv's wonderful past reflections reminded me (albeit, I'm a day late posting this) that last year this time, I was making a drive from Grosvenor Arch to Beaver Dam, with a stop along the way at a veterinarian, who supplied us with this....Jake was a champ about the splint, but it was his own fault, after all. He was the one who decided to roundhouse Jack. Silly rabbit.

California: Meh

Top to bottom: 1) The Kerr River after it leaves Lake Isabella; 2) a kopje we climbed overlooking Lake Isabella; 3) Bates Canyon Road; 4) Pismo Beach dunes 5) Overlook of Morro Rock from Montana de Oro State Park.

I'd love to say that California captured my imagination the way that Utah did, but I'd be lying outright. California is fabulousy better than Texas, only marginally better than Florida, and pales in comparison to either Utah or Nevada. Liv would beg to differ: California has surfer boys. Alas, we all have our biases.

A New Favorite Place: southern Utah/northern Arizona

These are from top to bottom: 1) Valley of the Gods near Mexican Hat, Utah, in extreme southeastern Utah near the Arizona border; 2) A canyon within Canyon de Chelly in northeastern Arizona; 3) I believe this is the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Lake Powell; 4) An overview of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon NRA; 5) An overlook of Capital Reef National Park near Torrey, Utah; 6) Long Canyon, which I think it part of the Burr Trail inside Capital Reef; 7) A fantastic rock formation near Henryville, Utah.

And for all of this majesty and beauty, I must thank Liv, who I will forever be indebted to for being such a patient and entertaining tour guide to the American West.

Tips for the weary traveler....

Ok, so 33 days later, she arrives at home. And now an accounting. Some important lessons:

Things I took but didn't need.
1) A dog.
2) Condoms.
3) A rain jacket.
4) A pillow.
5) A towel.

Things I didn't take but wish I had.
1) ok, don't laugh. But in several hotels lacking a hair dryer, I was kinda maybe just a little bit wishing I had a travel one in my stash.
2) Body spray. It would have helped cover the stinkage longer. It would have made me feel fresher. Whichever. Or both. In any event, I missed it.

Things I will keep in mind for future trips.
1) Handles on coffee cups, measuring cups, coffee pots, lanterns, and pot lids take up more room than they are worth.
2) No matter how well you have packed, someone else can do it better.
3) Sand will ruin a camera.
4) Good coffee is so worth it.
5) It's not a small world, after all.
6) After 4 days, your own stench will begin to offend you.
7) Never underestimate the value of high quality camping equipment.
8) Shorts can stretch over more days than underwear.
9) This stuff you brought "just in case" will begin to piss you off if "just in case" never happens.
10) When traveling, you must take care of your feet.

Things I learned along the way:
1) I am not that hard to get along with.
2) You can let go of the stuff that doesn't really matter relatively easily.
3) Patience is cultured.
4) If you want a different result, you have to try a different approach.
5) You can learn things from younger people.
6) Sometimes your gut sends you in the wrong direction.
7) Sometimes it doesn't.
8) Never underestimate the value of luck.
9) Vomit, crap, and dog fights can be overcome.
10) Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

Traveling the Intergalactic Highway

So today we visited the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport. I kid you not. I have photo evidence and here it is. Only in America, I say.

I must add that Mr. Roswell particularly enjoyed this attraction. Especially after he completed his probe of the local wildlife. Note he gives us a great big THUMBS UP on this side trip. Ah well, more later.

Your guide. E