Margaret Spends Our Gas Money.

The spoils of our Thursday Wine and Olive excursion. We may be broke, but we'll be smilin'.

So That's What They Look Like...

...when it's too late to eat 'em...
...or too soon.

Sideways.

I have lots and lots to write, but a signal barely exists up here in the hills overlooking Paso Robles.

Yesterday, we went wine and olive tasting. The above signboard is in the lot of our first (and best) stop, Vista del Rey. Trying to pick 3 or 4 wineries from the more than 200 (!) in the Paso Robles area was a challenge best handled by Margaret's cousin, Mary, who's lived here for more than 30 years.

When we get a better signal, I'll try and cover more details on our tour. Today, we're taking Sandia to run on the shore. Meanwhile, here's the view from our lodgings...

I have a couple other "mystery" images to post shortly. Stay tuned.

That's More Like It!

For all you suffering in unbearable heat and humidity back east? The "extended forecast" looks just like the current 5-day, and the previous week was identical as well. I suppose if you look back over the last 30 days, and ahead 30 days there will be little change. However, we're not bored yet. I could see how boredom could set in, though...... BAAAhaaahahaahaahah! NOT!

*****

The perfect weather notwithstanding, the Scottish Deerhound portion of the reason we drove the 2500 miles to California was pretty much a disaster. We missed two events due to breakdowns, and the one event we did shoot- the AKC trial- "we" lost the win pictures. Perhaps our luck will change now.

We've got two weeks before the next event, up in Hollister. Our schedule is starting to fall together as to how we will spend that time.

When we leave Santa Maria, we'll head up the coast to Paso Robles, where we will park for a day or three at Margaret's cousins. She thinks she remembers that her cousin's husband is a good cook. There's that "food theme" again!

Then we have some options. We've been invited by a total stranger- but one who is familiar with this blog, and knows someone who knows Dutch Salmon, and therefore we're all friends (I like that logic)- to stop and spend time in Coalinga.

Or.. we may drive from Paso Robles to Alpaugh and spend time with Dr. John Burchard, whom I haven't seen in 8 or 9 years, and his cohorts, George Bell, and Herb Wells, (another photographer whose open field coursing images many of you may be familiar with). There's a better than even chance we could go scare a few jackrabbits.

We may do both! And probably will.

That should get us near to where we have to be in Hollister, which I've been told is only about 25 miles from where we might get a chance to photograph one of these guys:

Stand by for that! For a Hollister weather image, just add 1-2 degrees to the above ;0)

Long range plans- beyond the Hollister trials- call for a return on Interstate 80, through Wyoming, where we may veer north to Medicine Bow and, you guessed it, kick up a few more jacks. White tails, in this case. Then up to I-90 so we can see the sites of our adopted state: Badlands, Rushmore, Crazy Horse. Then we need to get our driver's licenses renewed while we're there.

And finally, back to Michigan. Whew!

I've got to talk about our dinner here in Santa Maria the other night, but I'll save that for another post. I'm still processing that.. literally, as well as figuratively.

Time to feed the crew.

Oh by the Way...

Lest you think we're still stuck in Needles, rest assured that we got away before the really hot weather hit ;0)

We arrived in time for the Deerhound AKC trial, and have been hard at work all week long. We'll try and get some details up when we get a chance to rest. Good eats abound!

Meanwhile, male readers should check out this interesting archery post on Patrick the Terrierman's blog...

Another Perspective.

This is the vertical profile from the GPS track of our 113.1 mile "Saturday Joy Ride". We lost a lot of altitude in that first 25 miles, didn't we? That's the drop into the canyon, which included those incredible switchbacks in yesterday's photo. The higher portion there at the 50 mile marker is Sedona; the lowest elevation was where we picked up I-17 to return to Flagstaff. First time under 4000' in over a week!

*****

We had Fanny and Sandia with us. We can now add Afghan Hound, Wolfhound, and...... Whippet(!) to the list of things they've been called.. as in: "Is that a......?"

Sedona Road Trip

It's unusual that we have an opportunity to visit a place neither of us have evern been before. Today was that day.

We started by hopping off Interstate 17 at US Hwy 89A... the "alternate" route. That took us down, down, down through Oak Creek Canyon. Did I say around and around and around, as well?

...Count 'em...

The canyon ends at the city limits of Sedona. We took a look, and drove right on through, having no current need for any crystals, T-shirts, cappucino, palm readings or anything else on the main drag marketplaces.

We wanted to see Red Rock Canyon. And we did.

This is Cathedral Rock. Just one of the hundreds of amazing rock formations in the Red Rock area. We took lots of pictures. Lots. We'll put up a slide show when we have a better signal. We haven't had a slide show here in quite a while.

Robert Earl Keen Said...

"...the road goes on forever, and the party never ends." We think this unique sculpture was in Gallup, NM, but we can't be sure. It's all a blur any more.

Stuck in Flagstaff, Mile 1852.

I "knocked on wood" goddammit! You all read it here. So why, some sixty miles or so after our stop at the Jackrabbit Trading Post, did the engine suddenly lose power?

We had to pull off on the shoulder, where it finally died. We waited a couple of minutes, and on the second attempt it started right up. It was flooding for some reason. Back on the highway, we made it another 10 miles before it did it again.

We called our road service and got the phone number for a service center in Flagstaff. We had two more "episodes" before we finally made it to the Flagstaff RV Service Center.

The problem: It was a Friday afternoon, they closed at 5:30, there were 3 rigs in front of us... and they're not open Saturday. About 5:30 they at least got in to check the fuel pressure- good. Problem is not yet another fuel pump. Filter was clear, no blockages. Code reader showed a couple of sensors having problems that could conceivably be sucking the power down. All that pollution equipment that wasn't in vehicles when I was a kid!

Time was up. We found "Black Bart's RV Park, Steakhouse, Music Hall with Singing Waiters". Holy Cow! We didn't eat there, as the menu was way overpriced, and the parking lot was packed to the rafters, so to speak. Instead, we found yet another great Mexican restaurant... Salsa Brava. It was a "pork night". I had the Adovada Combo, and Margaret had the Carnitas Combo. It was good, good, good! The pineapple-habanero salsa was delicious, but not nearly as hot as advertised. My only disappointment of the night.

Since we're stuck here for the weekend, and going to miss the small Scottish Deerhound LGRA (8 entries) on Monday morning, we decided to "make lemonade". Today we're going to Sedona... gonna get our auras and chi adjusted to some new age brain-mush music or something. Or maybe we'll just go see the Red Rocks. Stand by.

Here It Is

Well you just know we had to stop at the Jackrabbit Trading Post near Joseph City, AZ.

So. How much did we spend in the Jackrabbit Trading Post? You tell us!

Mile... oh, Big Whoop!

The object was to just get moving again. I we were in danger of succumbing to laziness at the Garth rancho. So, around 3PM we headed out, got through Albuquerque to the Flying J (for a fill up of what should be our last sub-$3.90/gal gas. We made it all the way to Milan- a distance of 107 miles. Total mileage now stands at 1609, with 860 miles to go to the first event site! It's all downhill from here! Uh, except for all the uphill parts.

Day 5, Mile 1502- Edgewood, NM

Sandia's back in the town of his birth whelp.

More tomorrow... we're gonna have us some fun.

Day 4, Mile 1347

Tucumcari tonight! If that sounds familiar, it may be because it's on countless billboards from Oklahoma City to Santa Monica, and from El Paso to Yellowstone. Or... you may remember that I've also used it before.

And your math skills haven't left you if you figured out we only drove 258 miles today. Needing dog food, and that all-important Route 66 bumper sticker (and a couple of T-shirts, as it turned out), we didn't leave Elk City until after Noon.

The museum looks nice, but we didn't have time to go through it. In fact there are a cluster of museums, and they can all be viewed for one price; $4 for AARP members.
The view from "The Road" (above), and proof (below) that "everything old is new again". This trailer was hand-built, using plans published in Popular Science (or a similar magazine), before WWII.

Seen one lately?

Smaller, by orders of magnitude, than what you see on clifftops throughout the West and Southwest, this "wind farm" was at the Farm Museum, which is also part of the Route 66 complex.

*******

Dinner tonight was at Del's in Tucumcari. Been in town at least 4 times and have never eaten anywhere else, and they don't even have liquor! So that should tell you something.

Day 3, Mile 1089

Those who read the comments on these posts, will already be aware that this bridge was built by reader Pam's father. Those who don't read the comments, well, here's a bit of what you miss:

"Wow! Y'all are in my hometown! Forest Manor has been there since before I was born. Head just a little ways down Millcreek Rd and you'll see a house with a pretty little covered bridge in front. That's where I grew up. My dad was a big fan of covered bridges and built that little jewel, using all local materials and old-timey building techniques."

We've known Pam (and Glen) for a number of years, and I don't think I ever, in a million years, would have pegged her as Lebanese ;-)

So, whose hometown are we in tonight? Elk City, Oklahoma, some 450 or so miles down the road from Lebanon. I know one thing: Somewhere right near this exit is the National Route 66 Museum, and you'd best believe we'll stop in for a little visit before we leave in the morning. Funny... it's not like we haven't gone this route a dozen times before; it's just that we're treating this trip as kind of a vacation, because no matter how much business we do at the events in California- it ain't gonna cover the gas!

We'll probably have one more long day's run like we did yesterday and today. There's a method to our madness.. we get the long ones out of the way early so when the going gets more, uh, interesting in New Mexico, Arizona, and California, we'll still have plenty of time left to shorten up the daily trip legs. We also want to spend more than a day visiting with friends in New Mexico.

Meanwhile, my discipline with my right foot's paid off, as we logged an impressive 8.6 MPG on the last fill-up! This machine's never run so good; Knock wood.

Day 2, Mile 637

That's more like it. 387 miles today. Over 1/5th of the way to Lompoc. 637 miles in the books. Got our second fill-up at the Flying J in Sullivan, MO, and we're getting 8MPG. You laugh, but that's good mileage. Dropping to 58MPH seems to do the trick.

After "sleeping" without power last night, in the humidity and sound of droning big rig diesel engines, we decided tonight would be a campground night. Smart campers that we are, we belong to Passport America, so Margaret perused the campground guide for cheap places on our route, and here we are at the Forest Manor Motel & RV Park in Lebanon, MO. It's on "The Mother Road", and it looks like it's been here since Route 66 was the only way to "motor West". We'll spend some more of this trip on this historic highway, so stay tuned. I realized that among the bumper sticker collection we have on the rear of the Express for places we really, really like, we're missing one for Route 66. We'll have to rectify that, maybe once we get into New Mexico.

The rain and humidity have begun to abate, and with it our "Service Engine Soon" light has gone off. I wish I knew which sensor where was causing it. High humidity and/or heavy rain light it up. The induction system's been cleaned, and I recharged the K&N air filter, (and I'm really embarrassed about how filthy it was). The beast really ran well when I left Rob's shop... but that was a low humidity day. We'll get it figured out eventually.

Tonight, it's a shower and a viewing of "There Will be Blood", and tomorrow we'll sleep in! Next stop should be somewhere near the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle border. Stay tuned.

Day 1, Mile 250.

Yeah. I know. We didn't get very far today. That's us... the blue line, parked for the night at a rest area just West of Indy. Sign says no overnight parking or camping, but we've stayed here before, and so have most of the trucks that surround us and keep us safe.

The green line is Microsoft Street & Trips recommended route. Reality check, and experience led me away from it immediately. Only a fool would take 80 south of Chicago... on a Friday night... or any night... or day.

We'll be on the road much earlier tomorrow.. especially if the state cops boot us out. Unlikely.

UPDATE: 8:30 am, day 2, still sitting at the rest area as the rain is falling at a rate of an inch an hour. Did I mention our initial fill-up yesterday was $260? What a fun trip this is going to be!

Mile "0"

It's been a while, hasn't it. I could lie and say I was waiting for more guesses on the previously posted "quiz". Guess three is all I'm going to get, and all three were correct. The answer was, of course, "Twin Peaks". "But what about the Harry S. Truman clue, Dan?", you ask. He was the sheriff. Margaret's son, Tony posted the most creative answer. Check 'em all out.

Meanwhile, in just a couple of hours, we'll embark on our longest trip in 2 years- (thus, the "Mile 0" title... ). We're going to the Scottish Deerhound Club of America's national specialty in Lompoc, California. We've got 10 days to get there. I really wanted to leave earlier this week, but before we tackled the heat and long climbs of the trip, the Express had to get a new radiator. So for the past two days we sat at Margaret's brother Rob's shop, getting the job done.

That's Rob under the Express. (Note to Sherita: be glad... be very, very glad... there was a lot of profanity under there.) Rob's happier working on E-type Jaguars, so this was a bit of a challenge. But it's done, and we're running around 50 degrees cooler. Mission accomplished.

We'll try to chronicle the trip on a regular basis. Our route will take us through IN, IL, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ (I-40 mostly). If we're going past your house, get out on the overpass and wave! Better yet, invite us to dinner.

We'll leave you with a nature image of a very cool moth:

UPDATE: Since inquiring minds wanted to know, I did some googling and can now tell one and all that this is a Great Leopard Moth, (Hypercompe scribonia), as if that shouldn't have been immediately obvious. ;-)

Preparing to Travel.

We've been sitting still- and therefore not burning expensive fuel (at least in the Express... the Escape's another matter altogether)- for over two weeks now. Got another week to sit (although not necessarily to relax), and then it's off to Metamora, MI for 3 days of lure coursing trials.

Then we'll be off on a "leisurely" 2+ week trip to Lompoc, CA, where we'll be shooting a whole lot more lure coursing, plus LGRA racing. Specifically, we'll be there for the Scottish Deerhound Club of America's National Specialty, but there will be other Regional specialties going on, including greyhounds, and a couple of other breeds.

We've been told Lompoc is a "must experience" at least once. Beautiful surroundings. Cool nights, warm days, and near the ocean. As it turns out, the coursing and racing will be taking place in Santa Maria, about 30 miles away, so I'm not sure how much Lompoc we'll get to "experience".

In our "Year of Meeting Bloggers", we'll add Christie Keith of Dogged Blog, Pet Connection, and other blogs, to the list we started back in February with Steve B. As we're both Deerhound owners, I guess this meeting would be inevitable... eventually.

Once the Lompoc event is done, and we haven't yet experienced an earthquake, wildfire, mudslide, traffic jam, inversion layer, or any of the other events that make California.. special, we plan on hanging around to do the lure coursing trials up in Hollister, California. The folks there have tried to get us to come out for a while now, and this is the best opportunity we'll have. Hollister is best known for the 1947 "takeover" by motorcycle gangs that was the inspiration for the movie, The Wild One. Cool- I hope there's a museum!

After that? We're workin' on it, but I'm sure we'll be tired of the People's Republic of California by that time and will be working our way back East.

Stay tuned, and watch the schedule.

Video Evidence.

Why didn't I mind being towed? We had two big climbs in front of us, including Sidling Hill, seen here. We figured we saved $30-$50 in gas! This thing looks much more foreboding when approaching from the East.

Speaking of hills... here's the driveway at Bill's Truck & Auto-

Somehow, we didn't get a shot from the bottom looking up. But you can see me in the only place I could get a cellular signal!

Home Again, Jiggety-Jog...

When we last posted, (not counting the fabulous Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup win), we were leaving Cabela's in Wheeling. We stopped that night at a campground just off I-68 in Maryland. That allowed us to fill in another state on the Express-side map, (conveniently ignoring the fact that we crossed the PA border about a mile and a half... their mailing address is Flintstone, Maryland!).

Prompting our stop was I-68 itself. Mountains. If this trip taught us anything, it's that the Express needs a new radiator. We boiled the coolant once between Wheeling and the campground (which was just past Cumberland). We figured to let it rest overnight for the remaining climbs before the descent into Virginia.
We were only about 125 miles from the site of the ASFA II now, and we got an early start to take advantage of the cool morning. We were halfway up our second climb of the morning, the transmission had dropped to 2nd, and our speed to 30mph when there was a loud "BANG!!", followed by a rhythmic "bang-bang-bang-bang...." etc. Margaret, believing I am all-knowing said "What was that?". Proving I knew a little something, I replied, "Uh, nothing good". We kept climbing, the temp didn't rise, and other than the noise we kept rolling until we could get to an exit.

Being prescient, we had decided to finally renew our RV road service plan about 5 days earlier, (it had expired last November). Fortunately, there was cellular service at this particular remote exit, so I called them up and told them what had transpired: After getting out I went around to the driver's side where the noise was the loudest, got down, and was hit square in the face with pulsing hot air mixed with oil. It was coming from the back cylinder, where the spark plug used to reside. Half of it was hanging uselessly from the wire, while the rest was still in the cylinder head. It just decided to blow up. Inspecting the remaining pieces, it appeared it had worked itself loose over the months since we'd had the plugs replaced last August.
Had we been in a normal part of the country, where roads are flat, we could have driven it, but the road service determined this..

...was the wisest option. We'll try to post some video in the future to show why I couldn't disagree. And they were paying anyway.

But the fun was only beginning! The tow truck company was located up in Pennsylvania, about 45 miles away. The road service folks, in their infinite wisdom, tucked away from the realities of the world somewhere out in Phoenix,
decided "Bill's Auto & Truck" in Hedgesville, West Virginia was the place to go. "They're only 17 miles from where you are now", the road service tech told me. Not even as the crow flies was it that close! 60-some miles later, we were parked on a rural two-lane, at the foot of the steepest driveway I've ever seen. It was 20 degrees if it was 1. I drove the car up to the garage, where a hand-written sign on the window proclaimed, "Closed today for doctor visit. Sorry for the inconvenience".

This was more than a little confusing, as the road service people had talked to "Bill", and so had I. He was expecting us. I wanted to call him and find out WTF? what was going on. But there was no cell service. Big surprise.. look up Hedgesville, WV on a map sometime... the garage is up in the hills, 5 miles west of the town. I returned to the wrecker driver who stated the obvious: he couldn't pull the RV up that driveway.. and he couldn't turn around with the Express attached.

I kept trying my phone, and finally found that if I stood up on a stone block next to the driveway, and held my head perfectly still, facing in a northwesterly direction, I could manage 2 bars! First I called the road service folks and told them, as civilly as I could manage, that this was bullshit. If the truck had towed us up to PA to his garage, we'd be back on the road already. Next I actually got hold of "Bill", who told us about an alternative driveway, (not unlike an alternate universe) right next to the steep one. It's actually a "road" which showed up on my map program. We explored it, and I wasn't crazy about its possibilities either.

At this point, the tow driver said he had to go. So there the Express was left, on the side of the road, in the hopes that Mr. Bill would arrive soon.

Margaret drove off towards Hedgesville to do business at the post office, get gas in the car, which was nearly empty, and to try and get a better signal with which to speak to Bill, the mystery mechanic.

About a half hour after the tow truck left, Bill arrived in his vintage Ford Escort.. (popular item.. his neighbor was driving one as well!). Here is where things speed up; finally! Bill decided he could do the work right on the roadside as long as I turned the rig around so his legs wouldn't hang out on the road. He didn't have the right plug, or wire, and couldn't find one locally, but he had acceptable substitutes, which he magically modified. We fired that sucker up, as Charlie Daniels would say, and I swear it sounded better than it did before the explosion. The bill was $40. The tow was covered. We were on the road by 3:30, and got to Morven Park in Leesburg, VA way before dark!

It's now more than ten days later, we're back at the Holiday RV Park in Michigan, with the II and the Saluki National Specialty under our belts, and nowhere to go for over three weeks, and frankly, we can use the rest.

We'll post some pictures from the II and such in subsequent posts.. Meanwhile, I'll be searching the internet for a suitable radiator... it's got to be installed before we make the brutal drive to Lompoc, CA in July!