Dirt Road Journey's: January 2006

THE DONNER PASS

This is the Donner Pass. I would never have imagined that I would live so close to this place that I first learned about on the History Channel. I have now driven through there several times and couldn't imagine the difficulty of getting through there with wagons, cattle and women and children. It's amazing to think that they made it there all the way from Independence, Missouri only to die from starvation in the mountains and then be canibalized by other hungry members of the party.

Below is an exerpt from James Reed's Diary from March 4, 1847

"4 Fri this morning after Breakfast I had 2 Scanty meals left for all hands, which would do to the night following I sent ahead 3 men J Jandrou M Dofar & Turner whoe ware of my best men for the occasion, to push to our first Cach and if not disturbed to bring it up while the other Two proceed on to bring up our Second and if they should meet our Supplies which we all expected clace at hand to hurrey them on, (but to our misfortune there was none nigher than 65 miles and at this Juncture no prospect of Starting which I learned afterwards) to be the fact from Comd Woodworth himself I mouved camp and after a fatiguing day arrived at the praire now Starved Camp at the head of Juba it was made by the other Compy who had passed in but a few days previous. here the men began to fail being for several days on half allowance, or 1 1/2 pints of gruel or sizing per day. the Sky look like snow and everthing indicates a storm god for bid. wood being got for the night & Bows for the beds of all, and night closing fast, the Clouds still thicking terror terror I feel a terrible foreboding but dare not Communicate my mind to any, death to all if our provisions do not Come, in a day or two and storm should fall on us. Very cold, a great lamentation about the Cold." [Reed's reference to Starved Camp indicates that this entry was written after the events, and that rather than amazing prescience about the storm, Reed was possessed of normal hindsight.]

If I was a turtle, I'd pull my head in.
If I was a prarie dog, I'd dig a hole.
If I was a opossum, I'd play dead.
If I was a coyote, I'd howl at the moon.

Reflections from November

Driving down a lonely section of I-80 near Akron, Ohio, I absent-mindedly stare at a copper colored Suburban driving just ahead in the next lane. The lone vehicle had two occupants, a man and a boy.

The sight of the vehicle brought back images of my Grandpa John driving in his early 1980's hunter orange suburban. I can still smell his cherry pipe tobacco and imagine the compass whirling around on the dash. I visualize the brown vinyl interior and the remnants of the last straw bales carried in there fluttering around in the air from the open window. His love for big band music always apparent through his choice of AM radio stations.

I look back at the memory jogging vehicle still just ahead in the next lane. The kid in the front seat is wrinkling his nose out the window at me, but I don't think that it's actually directed to me - it's just directed out.

At the wheel is a rather rat faced looking man, maybe in his early 20's, sporting a leather jacket and a mullet.

As I look closer, I can see a 1970's snowmobile jammed in the back of the Suburban. I can see it's round headlight peering out at me indifferently. Through the dirt streaked glass, I can tell that it is pale blue with a white stripe.

What I know...a letter to a friend

People will judge you and your decisions by their standards, not considering what you have been through emotionally, physically, etc. I have been called a tramp and had many friends shun me because I dared to get out of an unhappy marriage. I've learned who my true friends are, that you can't judge a person's motives for moving on until you've walked in their shoes and that even though it was all so hard, I have a man that I truly love and I wouldn't have it any other way.

We all have our innate nature that we may shove into the shadows, but it cannot be concealed. We are who we are and most of us will never change.

I've learned that I couldn't handle that life that I tried to mold myself into. I'm not that girl. It took all of the individuality and excitement out of life to be with someone that I never intimately connected with.

If I wouldn't have dared to take a chance, I would have regretted it for all my life and I am a much better person for doing so.

Judge me or not, I'm thankful for my real friends, and for the courage that I found from within to change my own life instead of waiting for something or someone else to change it for me.

Westward Ho!!

Pit stop for an overnight stay in Salt Lake City on the way. Jacuzzi Room!! :)

Friggin' Reno!

Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would end up in Reno, Nevada! Wow, how did this happen? We ask ourselves this question almost daily.

We live about 15 minutes from the California border. We're dangerously close to Lake Tahoe and all of it's pretentiousness and ski bums and hitch hiking snowboarders. Don't we all wish that we had a trust fund so that we could avoid real work and finely tune our skiing abilities? Nah, we're better people for not having had that, I say reluctantly. lol.

So...we don't ski or snow board, but there is awesome hiking opportunities - across breath taking landscapes. The allure of this area is so obvious. But, it doesn't take long to realize that you need lots of money to thrive here. Housing, taxes, gas, food - it's all more expensive here. It makes one wonder how regular people make it out west. You definitly have to be creative!

Reno...what a weird city. It's just packed with casino's and old people. Their state flag should have leopard print on it!! If you're someone from my age group, there is not much going on here. There are a couple of jazz clubs and ice skating down town. Other than that, this is a town that bad country songs are written about. I've heard that it's getting better than it used to be. It's going to have to! Old people don't live forever!

The good thing about living here is that it's close to California, without California expenses. And we are about 2.5 hours from San Francisco where there are almost unlimited cool concerts to go to in the most intimate of venues. An opportunity that the average Michigander doesn't get very often. It's worth living here just for that alone!!

We snail through the week, so that we can explore on the weekends. Last weekend, the weather prohibited us from going into California, because the Donner Summit (7,200 feet above sea level) got a bunch of formidable weather.

So, we were stuck in Reno! We busied ourselves with food from Micheal's deli and visits to the local antique shops and Sierra Trading post. That's really all Reno has to offer.

When does the train leave for Oregon? I'm ready for more adventure... We'll see. First I have to find out why my dirt road journey led me to Reno.

Cheers!