Shade, cool fresh air, quiet. Well, except when a rambunctious pre-teen summer activity group swept through, but that was only a few seconds of my mellow being harshed. Then back to the wooded goodness. A fairy gateway, I believe See? All mellow and stuff
Me: Have you ever avoided laundry so long that you can’t remember wearing these clothes? Woman customer: All the time. Me: I remember yesterday’s clothes, of course. Woman customer, gesturing to herself: These are yesterday’s clothes.
880 feet of slogging each way I’m not equipped to drive on deep dry sand. I’m only slightly better equipped to walk in it. Nonetheless, that’s what I did today out at Samoa Dunes Recreation Area . From the edge of the paved parking lot to the other side of the dunes is about two and a half football fields. But multiplying by the Wheezy Old Man Factor, it’s about a hundred miles. Uphill. Both ways.…
When I spend time by the ocean, with gray weather, in a town with commercial fishing, I get a craving for good clam chowder. According to reports, the Good Harvest Cafe in Crescent City has some chowder worth going in and sitting down with silverware and such, like a normal person, instead of grabbing and going like the dude of dubious character that I am. The chowder looked perfectly delicious,…
They say we should concentrate on our driving. But when I’m rolling down the highway I see things that get my mind wandering to other topics. It’s often tangental and/or esoteric stuff, like whether deer really understand vehicles. So as I was driving one of the many wiggly sections of US101 I became aware of how the paint stripes at the middle of right-hand bends tended to be worn away. There’s a…
There was a deer crossing the highway the other day and I began wondering about what they thought or understood about vehicles. Something more than DANGER? I suppose deer see humans as other animals—unpredictable animals that can be friendly and helpful, or harmless, or destructive and dangerous. But animals nonetheless. Weird ones. Often noisy ones. Maybe smelly ones. But do they notice those…
I was headed south on 101, just outside Brookings, when traffic came to a stop. It was backed up for the quarter mile or so I could see ahead before a bend in the road. I waited. And waited. I checked Google Maps. It showed a l-o-o-o-n-g red line. In both directions. I shut off the engine. And waited. I expected my fellow stopped drivers would soon break out the lawn chairs and barbecues. No…
How many times do I need to pass point of interest before I finally stop? How often do I get so fixated on reaching my destination that it never occurs to me to stop? Well, I’ve driven north or south on US101 in Oregon at least a dozen times yet never stopped at Sea Lion Caves between Waldport and Florence. Why not? I like sea lions. I like caves. Sounds perfect, like chocolate and peanut butter.…
I’ve seen locked up paint, firearms & ammunition, cosmetics, men’s trousers and even underwear, but detergent? And it’s not like you could hide one of those jugs under your coat.
From US101 a little north of Manzanita, Oregon.
The weather right along the coast had been fog from late afternoon to late morning, with some drizzle during the night. I and the interior of the Rolling Steel Tent had become humid. I wanted to dry out for a little while. That meant going inland, over the coastal hills/mountains and into the farm land. So, where? I’m more familiar with the east side of the Cascades than the Willamette Valley. I…
I like to save space in my wastebasket so I need to find suitable places to dispose of my trash less often. I disassemble cartons and crush cans. But then there are jars — glass or plastic. My bright idea (to me) is to stuff them tight with used paper towels and other soft things. Like a little trash compactor.
When I was a Boy Scout I was taught moss grows on the north side of trees, and you could use that info for direction finding in case (though they always framed it as inevitable) one got lost in a forest. Because I lived in a temperate zone, the only moss I knew of grew on the ground, and the stuff was rather rare. Also, it being a highly suburbanized region, there weren’t many forests, just…
I went back to the grocery because I had forgotten to get an item the last time. As I came out of the store I saw a car that was foreign to me. Actually it’s foreign to the US because they’re not sold here. The license plate was from British Columbia. At first glance the slotted grill made me think it was a Jeep. But there were more than the trademarked seven. And then I saw there was a Mitsubishi…
I was in line at the employee-owned grocery in Reedsport when I reached for my wallet and learned I had left it in the Rolling Steel Tent. So I stepped out of line and stowed my three small items out of the way. A guy about my age with a pug and a quart of low fat milk asked if I had a problem. When I explained he offered to save my spot in line, seeing as how the store was busy with after-work…
A guy was already having his propane tank refilled when I approached with my mini tank. He was amused. “Wow, that’s a tiny tank,” he chuckled. “How long does that little thing last ya?” “I’ve seen ‘em smaller that,” remarked the attendant. “They fill in an instant. Gotta turn off the gas almost before I turn it on.” Another man in need of propane—this time for an RV—arrived. “Aaah-ha-ha-ha-ha!…
Some people claim far northern California might as well be southern Oregon. Well, the line on the map is arbitrary, and I crossed the 42th parallel yesterday. If it weren’t for the California agricultural inspection station, the Welcome to Oregon sign, and the lower speed limit, it does, indeed, look the same. And unlike California,there are the dozens and dozens of state parks, recreation areas,…
This was the Klamath River Overlook today. If you were to use your imagination you see the Klamath River emptying into the Pacific Ocean. This should not be confused with an inlet a few miles north named False Klamath, where I assume some early explorer got a little lost in fog like today’s. Anyway, for what it's worth, I’ve now been to both ends of the Klamath River, which is a happier river…
I had spent the day out on the peninsula that separates Humboldt Bay from the Pacific. Fog had started forming by the time I left, so I drove with the headlights on even though the sun hadn’t set. I found a good place to park in town and climbed into the back of the Rolling Steel Tent to make dinner. Then the van’s dome light blinked twice. Huh? What new electrical gremlin was that? But the…
Last night I had a dream wherein I had an important, complex problem to solve. I was successful and felt much better. Yay! It worked! I was carrying that positive feeling as I woke up, and for a few seconds I thought I had actually solved the problem. But then I realized not only had I not solved the problem, but also that the problem didn’t exist in the real world. Not actually having the problem…
The professionals versus the amateurs The tide is out
I’ve spent the past week in Crescent City, California. And I’ve parked at night in four different spots several blocks from each other. No problems—until last night. A police officer came by while I was still up. Oh crap, what now? He said someone had called about a suspicious van. His tone of voice seemed to convey he thought this was a silly thing he had to do. He was very nice about it. Almost…
I love the amount of daylight we have in summer—except for one thing. I stay up later and later. For example, last night I didn’t get to bed until 1:15. The night before it was 1:40. But no damage, because I don’t need to be up with the sun. When the rooster crows or a loud truck drives by I just return to the embrace of Morpheus until I’m good and ready to get up. Of course, the later I sleep the…
I tried a new-to-me laundromat this morning. Even though it has been around a while it was clean and quiet, all the machines worked, the dispensers were stocked and there were plenty of baskets. Unlike most laundromats, there weren’t signs everywhere declaring rules, policies, disclaimers or warnings. However, there were small cards on the soap dispenser explaining Clorox and Bounce are not…