Was it curtains for Tillie?

Who would have thought there'd be so much suspense involving a trip across country by two old folks in a VW? Especially after yesterday's "cliffhanger". Would Tillie finally go to the scrap pile? You will, I hope, be happy to learn that Tillie is just fine. The massive spewing of oil over the engine and the back of the bus was simply due to the oil filter having rattled loose (some roads really aren't in the best of shape) and literally blown off. The VW gurus in Ogden (very nice and accommodating folks like the rest have been) had her cleaned up (no mean feat I'm sure) and re-oiled and filtered by ten this morning. In fact they were on the way over to pick us up at the hotel when they noticed Tillie was leaking gas so back on the lift she went. (For those of you in the betting mode I suspect you can count that repair as a separate incident.) Finally we were on the road, in the heat of the day I might add, and headed to Boise. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, this meant we didn't take advantage of the clever scenarios we had come up with including taking Garry (from Boise) up on his offer to come after us. John also checked into having Tillie shipped the rest of the way to Seattle (the best quote was $650 and VERY tempting I must say). But, no, we're determined to do it the hard way.

Today was HOT. The air was HOT, John was HOT, I was HOT, Tillie was HOT. John has gotten a bit more "sensitive" to Tillie's needs, so every time her oil temperature gauge would begin to go up, he's pull over, open the engine compartment, and we'd twiddle our thumbs while she cooled off. As some of you may know, I'm NOT a big fan of flat, dessert countryside. So I suppose Tillie was just trying to give us something to get stressed out rather than getting sleepy gazing at scenery that pretty much looked the same as it did half an hour ago. The last couple of stops John just decided to leave the engine cover up while we drove. Finally the worse part of the day has passed. We stopped for a final fill up before driving the last 150 miles. And, wouldn't you know, Tillie won't start. Once again I found myself snagging a guy getting into his pickup to help me push start her. Poor guy. He only stopped for an ice cream but his added push made Tillie start much easier.

Passing the lava bed scenery you see in the photo, I called the VW guru Tillie has "visited" before in Boise to tell him to expect her. It seemed like a much better plan to just drive her directly there and ask Garry to pick us up. Suddenly we were within 100 miles of Boise (a cause of great celebration since we get 100 miles of free towing if needed from AAA) so our stress levels greatly improved. Finally Tillie arrived safely at the repair shop where she'll be seen to tomorrow. And we arrived safely at Garry & Yvonne's where we'll have a couple of days of non-Tillie driving!!!! And John can sleep without waking up thinking about worse case scenarios. (I, on the other hand, slept like a log last night and plan to do so tonight.)

"This is the place"

The kind folks at Meeker took Tillie in early this morning and, thanks to incredible overnight delivery from Denver of the needed parts, Tillie was back on the road by 10:00. The folks in Meeker were right about there not being a lot out there once you went west. A dinosaur, pink, in Vernal. Pink flamingos in Rangley. (What gives with this pink theme?) Finally Utah and another state added to Tillie's map. The welcome center was in Jensen (named, we're sure, for Sarah & Kenny & Bev & Orv). Lunch was at Betty's Cafe where everything is homemade and open for breakfast, lunch & dinner (a branch, we're sure, of Betty's in Norwich). And then it was back on the road heading toward Boise except...

Tillie must have heard Brigham Young saying "This is the place" and thought it meant her. That remote part of Utah (lower left in collage) has remarkable cell phone service. An hour or so later Tillie was checking out Salt Lake from an exalted height feeling fairly regal I suspect with the Mormon Temple in sight. John (as he has taken to doing) had made a list of VW shops on the way to Boise so we rode in air conditioned style (the most comfortable tow truck I've ever ridden in and you know I speak from experience) to Ogden where we are spending the night and where, hopefully we'll get a morning diagnosis. John is the nay sayer this time but my bets are with the tow truck driver who offered a more favorable outlook. The symptoms, for those of you who are interested in such things, were splatters of oil on the back windshield (the engine compartment is also covered in oil) and the oil light came on. (Okay, I admit that doesn't sound too good.) However, the engine was still running, John pulled over as soon as the light came on, and he turned the engine off with the key. The big question... What will tomorrow bring?

And then there was Meeker...

5,000... 6,000... 7,000... (enjoy the view) 8,000... 9,000... (and more view) 10,000... 11,000... (if you think this was slow reading, going UP that high in Tillie gives "slow" a whole new meaning) Continental Divide and the Eisenhower Tunnel (thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful engineers who decided to go through rather than over!)

What goes up must come down, and so it was for us today. As we flew by the escapes for runaway trucks I did start to wonder if they would also work for Tillie. I also wondered if John had indeed checked those brake pads (but it was definitely NOT the time to ask). And I began to understand on some of those inclines how Sarah might have thought she'd seen a Madonna of the Mountains in her motorcycle days. (She kept thinking we'd find it in our outings with her but we never did...)

The west side of the Rockies looks very different than the other. The photo is of the Glenwood Canyon below Vale where you can go west by road, water (the Colorado) or railroad.

Finally we arrived in Rifle, filled Tillie with gas, and began our back country drive to Dinosaur, destination Salt Lake... which brings me to the next photo.

For those of you who bet Tillie was going to get off scott free in terms of repairs, you just lost. The alternator light began flickering (just before lunch of course). We decided perhaps we should make a stop in Meeker since the next mark on the map was 60 miles away. Everyone in Meeker (pop. 2,000) thinks we made the right decision. They just shake their heads when they think of breaking down in the back country of Utah. Tillie diagnosis - bad diodes (whatever they are) in the alternator. A new one has been ordered and should be there when the shop opens at 8 tomorrow. (I'm not sure how they're getting it since Meeker really is in the middle of nowhere, but I'm not going to argue.)

In the meantime Meeker has been a nice little town to visit. A wonderful museum (only closed 3 days a year so it was open for us to enjoy!), a great soda fountain, a nice place to stay just across the street from the repair shop (but then again everything is pretty close together here), very friendly folk. Meeker is home to the oldest annual rodeo in Colorado. This year is 125 so it's a really big deal when it happens over July 4th. Sheepdog trials in September that are, and I quote "the most prestigious in all sheepdogdom". (They sound like fun but hopefully we'll be on the road by then!)

The Meeker tourist info says it's 1,126 miles to Seattle. After all Tillie has been through it doesn't really seem that far away. We planned to make it to Boise tomorrow but...

Say cheese...

First came the goats. Sarah is petting Claudia who was partly responsible for the milk we picked up at the dairy this morning. (Sarah had to sign her life away to verify the milk was for her very hungry cats...)
Then the kitchen was turned into the SarahLynn cheese making operation. First mozzarella and then ricotta - both wonderful! (I have all the instructions so can't wait to try it back in NY.)

While the women were bringing home the milk, the guys were in the backyard trying out the new tools by cutting a big hole in the door. (Thank you Habitat for the $5 door from the local Restore!) As soon as some beads or cloth is found, it's dogs in and out, flies out.

Showing their versatility the men proved their worth by making the pasta, then helping stuff the ravioli using, of course, the fresh ricotta plus herbs from their garden. Top the ravioli with Sarah's homemade sauce and even Italian grandmothers would be forced to give us high marks.

And the mozzarella you ask? Thin sliced between slices of local yellow & red tomatoes, a bit of basil & oregano straight from the garden, then a drizzle of olive oil. If you aren't hungry for your own Italian dinner after this, there is really no hope!

Tillie made two short outings today and Sarah & Kenny both said she ran like a top. Let's hope so. Tomorrow it's up and over the Rockies on our way to Utah.

The final photo? Let's just say we can say "meow" with the best of them...

Loop de Loop

Saturday - a GREAT day for Farmers Markets and Boulder has one of the best. So good in fact that I got so caught up in seeing what they had to offer that I forgot to take more than two photos. Lower left was their mushroom vendor (Owen's mushrooms are much prettier!). Lower right was the knife sharpening guys who were doing a brisk business. (Bruce - you want to start a little business on the side with John?) Boulder's "push" this year is to encourage everyone to spend at least 10% of their food budget for locally grown items, to encourage restaurants to do the same, and to encourage the grocery stores to carry more local produce.

Great sales this weekend on tools, so John & Kenny happily shopped for a couple of new tools Kenny needed. (Sarah & I suffered through it...)

The other photos are of the Georgetown Loop Railroad where we took the steam engine train from Silver Plume to Georgetown & back. Beautiful weather again and lots of fun. The guy with John in the upper left photo is their hired "schmoozer" (he also takes the tickets). Nice guy and perfect for his job. John & he "bonded" right away - he used to have a 1968 VW camper. Drove it around Silver Plume until one day, while he was driving, a chinook wind came down the canyon and took the top right off. (A convertible is not exactly the type of vehicle you want in the mountains in winter.) His other claim to fame = he once arrested Joan Baez during a protest in another part of the state. She was laying over the tracks singing "I will not be moved". She was... and apparently looked the same as the other protesters in handcuffs.

Rocky Mountain High

I know several of you have been fretting that we seem to be neglecting Tillie. Not true. John got dressed this morning and, before he'd even had his first cup of coffee, he was crawling under Tillie. On the way to Boulder she had developed a very noisy "rattle" around the gear shift especially in low gear. And, seeing the mountains that lay ahead of us, we doubt she'll being doing much 4th gear cruising. The problem appears to be a disintegrating gasket. John is optimistic that having now turned the gasket around it will last until Boise. (John refers to me on matters such as this as Ms. Negativity so you can probably guess what I think of this "fix"... ) Tillie already has an appointment to visit her favorite Boise VW guru she met when she was there 4 years ago so that gives me some comfort. Also Sarah has been out talking to Tillie to reassure her that she will do just fine.

Today Sarah & Kenny took us to our Rocky Mountain National Park on the route John had originally planned to take Tillie. Hard to believe you can go from flat Boulder at 5,000+ ft. to a park elevation of 12,000+ ft. in less than two hours. The old Stanley Hotel, upper left, was built by Freeland Stanley (you remember him - he built the Stanley steamer...) The scenery in the park is beautiful, rugged and a bit colder than Boulder down below, much of it above the treeline. At the bottom right is a "bachelor pack" of elk (take note George). Lower left is an elk/moose of a different breed (take note George?). We stopped because there were a bunch of young folks pointing up the bank. They were having a great time suckering folks into pulling over to see more wildlife. The young woman with the headgear was having a great time too. Having now seen the route through the park, I think Tillie was very lucky a less dramatic route is now planned.

Coming out of the park we took a back dirt road to go through the small mountain town of Gold Hill. When Kenny worked the "mountains" for the phone company he often stopped here for lunch where the food is "terrific". If you can see the sign in the window they also offer wireless. Worst luck - the store was closed by the time we got there. The second photo is thanks to Kenny who turned around (in spite of John's protests) and went back for me to take the shot... my first one with both a clothesline (have you put up yours yet?) and an outhouse (this little town is remote). If the air looks a bit hazy that's from the dust in the air from the dirt road. I'm not sure how much cleaner those pants will be at the end of the day.

UP!

It was UP into the mountains headed to the small mining town of Central City. It continues to amaze me the stamina those miners must have had. Just to even get UP there on foot or mule with supplies must have been a feat. Many of the settlers were Welsh & Cornish, great lovers of opera, who built the opera house (lower left) in 1892. The theater has perfect acoustics and continues to offer a full summer opera season with performers from all over the world. We were fortunate to hear the orchestra rehearsing during our tour. The Opera House is original meaning no running water or heat. However, they own the old hotel next door which does have amenities. And a restaurant. And the famous "Face on the Bar Room Floor". (The face is spooky - rather dim in person but clear in photos.) The Opera House also owns 20 of the quaint little Victorian houses in town so performers stay in those. Not a bad gig if you can get it!

And, oh yes, Central City is also a gambling town with lots of casinos. John & Sarah "made me" put some quarters in the slots but I managed to come out ahead by $1.75 (but if you count what they put in...) After a short burro ride for Sarah it was on to the graves of Buffalo Bill Cody and his wife overlooking Denver in the distance. (Some "thoughtful" city planners allowed a huge communications tower to be built just down from the grave site effectively marring the view - go figure.)

Our last stop was Red Rocks, a spectacular theater built into the side of the mountains. Those are the seats with the stage just at the bottom. Sarah & Kenny went there Easter for sunrise service. Spectacular - the theater faces east, a beautiful clear morning, they were there before the sun came up. (No, I didn't climb UP all that way just to take the picture for the blog, I'm not that dedicated/nuts! There's parking at the top.)

A bit of NY in Boulder

For years Chautaugua (near Buffalo) has been on our "places to go" list. Who would have guessed we'd visit it's sister facility in Boulder first. It also offers a fantastic classical summer music festival (unfortunately we're here a week too early to take advantage). But we did have lunch on the porch of their dining hall. Good food, good service (the waiter did everything on our "Tips for Tips" list - rare to find anyone who does that these days...) Sarah says they have beautiful trails behind the quaint cottages where folks stay. (Can't you hear our excuses... it's too hot, 88 degrees; we're not 20 anymore; it's UPhill - see those mountains in the background?; we're not yet accustomed to the altitude; aren't you supposed to wait at least an hour after eating before strenuous exercise?; I didn't wear my walking shoes...)

Back at Sarah & Kenny's, Lynne came to "tempt" us to think about another Tillie alternative. She calls it the Vargo (meaning gypsy van in Hungarian?). Lynne is so interesting. She graduates this week receiving her international certification as a permaculture instructor, a subject that is definitely on my list to learn more about.

The unphotographed hero of the day was Kenny who worked all day while we played and, yes I admit it, napped (the altitude you know). For dinner we enjoyed both the salmon and the ribs Kenny had spent hours smoking over the weekend. Wow! Were they DE-licious! (Auntie - have you eaten any of those they brought you? They are wonderful!!!!)

PS - A couple of you wrote suggesting adjusting Tillie's carburetor but she has fuel injection (perhaps the only modern part on her...)

Clotheslines R Us

Cooler temps today and great driving weather. Texas is BIG and we still had a couple of hours of driving before coming to Oklahoma. Marilyn & Jim - you'll be happy to know that Tillie is now sporting your state on her "I've been there map". (Thank heavens Oklahoma has that little finger or we might not have made it there.)

Oklahoma also has a nice solid stone sign. New Mexico's on the other hand was a bit worse for wear - too many cowboys taking pot shots at it I guess. It was in New Mexico that we passed the Santa Fe Trail and watched the terrain change from the sorghum fields of the northern Texas panhandle (we never realized there was such a demand for sorghum) and its helium mines to having mountains in sight. I read in one of those tourist brochures that it's the biggest source of helium in the world. Excuse my ignorance but I thought helium was a gas so guess I better do some reading on how mining for it works unless one of you out there wants to enlighten us.

On to the mountains of Colorado and the first big pass - over 9,000 ft. Tillie didn't cough but did manage to do it all in at least third gear. Near the top of the pass we began to smell gas but it went away on the downhill slope so we're guessing Tillie just had a bit of indigestion at the thought of the mountains yet to come. It's a beautiful drive approaching Denver from the south and there was only one more pass that required a bit more of Tillie. As we went higher so did her temperature gauge. I'm holding my breath and John is gripping the wheel but we finally made it to top and on the downhill run she returned to normal. From there on it was an uneventful drive. Those of you who were betting on a breakdown today are just out of luck.

Sarah & Kenny welcomed us in Lafayette (just outside Boulder) with open arms, a vacant spot in their carport for Tillie, and the best sign ever hanging on their clothesline.

Cadillac Ranch

Since Tillie was running like a top and
Since a cool front had moved through Amarillo (77) and
Since it seemed like the thing to do when in Amarillo....

We took the 12 mile drive out to the Cadillac Ranch to see view the "planting" of Cadillacs in the middle of the wheat field. Tillie was NOT impressed. We all know that old VW's run longer than Cadillacs...

Looking for pioneers...

We left before sunrise this morning. For you folks who live in the northeast that's not really that early. Texas is on the western edge of the central time zone and south so the time was only 6:00 a.m. But it gave us several "cooler", if not exciting, hours of driving. This photo was taken near Lamesa (Spanish for table) and, in Tillie language, flaaaaaaat! And it is fairly representative of all the scenery today. Can you imagine crossing that by horseback or wagon? One could easily get lost. Even Ms. Garmin (our GPS) tried and failed to find us on her first search, asking us if we were still in Texas. The answer is "yes".

Lunch in Lubbock, the birthplace of Buddy Holly, one of the pioneers of Rock & Roll in case you're too young to remember that. Lubbock has put up a statue of him but it obviously didn't create much interest with the locals as we had to ask several folks before we finally found it. Our young waiter at lunch said he didn't much care for Buddy Holly's music but, if we were interested, he was friends with Peggy Sue's grandson. Would you have left him a bigger tip for that creative attempt to impress the tourists?

Tonight we're in Amarillo (still Texas). Tillie ran like a dream all day, started when asked, and didn't overheat. Perhaps she just needed a little warm weather to loosen up her joints (and of course those prayers and the threat of a spanking from Aunt Doris didn't hurt either...)

Auctions & homes...

Yesterday was the day of the big school auction with folks trying to out bid each other to become the new owners of assorted junk. Unfortunately the guy who owns the vehicle on the lower left, arrived too late to buy the stack of old tires (one of which HAD to have been better than the spare he was carrying - these Texas back roads are bad news...) We enjoyed a hour's entertainment before heading out. We even endured the auctioneer's comment to mind your purchases because very occasionally they have a Yankee from NY show up and you never know what they might run off with. It's a good thing we didn't drive Tillie over.

With the day heating up we headed to Mason for lunch with friends and to visit the new owners, Jimie & India, of the Habitat house we worked on in March. Their new home turned out beautiful and they love it as did we. (I'm VERY envious of their $45 month utility bill - super insulation and solar hot water really pays off.)

Then it was back to "the auction" (you just never know...) Becky & I bought sergers and Becky bought 3 sewing machines (and I thought I was bad!) but the price was right. I think I'll have to ship mine home.

Back with Tillie, John has now replaced the driving lights, one of which she "lost" on the drive down. Does that count as a breakdown or just ordinary maintenance? John says she's ready to roll so we'll be up early tomorrow heading north. Boulder here we come!

Almost forgot... the big bus?, it sold for $1,000 to some "lucky" person (not us or ours).

Notice of auction...

Brady has a brand new school and brand new furnishings. If rumors are correct the old school is going to be renovated into a long term care facility (talk about supporting alumni!). Today was the preview for the auction of all the old furnishings and since the school is right behind my mother's we, of course, had to go take a peek (how much CAN I fit into that carryon bag at the airport?). My brother-in-law is interested in the BlueBird bus (bet this is news to my sister who is just now reading this..., right Becky?) I thought he was just joking until I sat down to write the blog. Then I got to thinking that JA is probably a whole lot smarter than any of us give him credit for. Look at that bus. Can't you just see taking all the seats out, pulling Tillie inside, and driving the whole thing to Seattle? Settles three things at once. Getting us out of Texas, giving us reliable transportation, and giving us a new rig once we pass Tillie over to Bridge. On the other hand I don't know if the credit limit on our card is big enough to buy the gas between here and there.

The other photo is for our art teacher friend Leigh. Art students have it rough down here!

A Matter of Degrees...

First there was HOT (that's for a 7 a.m. walk, about the time the sun comes up here). Then there was HOTTER (grocery shopping at midday - no wonder the person after me asked for her groceries to be double bagged in paper; she was probably driving to the outskirts of town). And then there was HOTTEST (afternoon, not safe to go out).

On our list of things to do around Brady/Mason has been a visit to the James River Bat Caves where large populations of Mexican free-tail bats have their bat "nursery". Think hot, think bugs, think bats. I thought perhaps today was too hot but my sister pointed out that one day was as good as another until November. So I called the bat hotline (is there a reason it's called a HOT line?) to get the best viewing time (8:30 p.m.); John printed directions - something about turning onto various ranch roads (1 lane), crossing cattleguards, dirt road (8 miles of it - John does keep some things to himself...), stream crossings. First there was the little stream crossing, then there was the bigger stream crossing, then there was the biggest stream, a.k.a. river crossing (or not-crossing...)

No pontoon, no bat viewing. We DID wonder why that little bit of information wasn't mentioned on the hot line. However, we did see 2 jack rabbits (BIG ears and BIG back legs), lots of deer, a lonesome steer or two, a snake, a BIG bird (unidentified) with baby birds in tow, and a big snapping turtle. Not exactly what we thought we'd see, but an adventure nevertheless...

Tillie runs again!

In spite of getting up yesterday in the predawn, John was so distressed by Tillie's refusal to start that he spent half the night reading "the manual" and searching the Internet for solutions, and the other half night dreaming about it. At dawn this morning he was back under Tillie fooling around. Result = Tillie started (on her own) before breakfast. The problem turned out to be nothing more than a loose connection. John promptly drove her over to my sister's and back again just to make sure. It was suggested later in the day that perhaps this had been an unwise trip. That was a mile wasted that would have taken us one mile closer to Seattle...

My feeling is that Tillie is feeling just a wee bit threatened with the many suggestions regarding her fate including... sell her; junk her; ship her by truck; ship her by train; buy a pickup and tow her; and, my favorite so far which just came in from friends from Missouri, take her apart and ship her in pieces. John's taken her apart and put her back together so many times this should be a piece of cake. However, we're slow learners so I guess we'll keep her awhile longer. To let her know how much we appreciated her cooperation today, John gave her a bath to make her looked a bit more cared for.

I, on the other hand, procrastinated about my morning walk and didn't leave the house until a bit after 9 forgetting two rules of thumb. 1. It's cooler inside than it is outside. 2. Texas in June is hot, even in the morning. You're no longer in NY, Patty. So instead of the brisk walk I'd planned, there were many breaks to take photos of all those wildflowers in bloom. Just those blooming next to the road (I did NOT forget the third rule - snakes like the heat and tall grass so stay on the road) numbered 23 different kinds.

PS - Curtis, the VW guru who worked on Tillie for a week when we were here in March, has retired. Perhaps Tillie pushed him over the top...

Place your bets...

It's June 8th. We're back in Texas and the saga of Tillie, the VW, has begun once again. But first, a tribute to Auntie Kathleen (from Brooklyn) & Sarah (from Boulder), two of Tillie's most faithful blog followers. I thought today might be rather uneventful for Tillie but...

John & I were up at 3:30, that's a.m., (and it wasn't to pee either) for a very early flight to Austin where our nephew & his wife, Scott & Jessica, awaited to chauffeur us to Brady. For a minute we thought we'd landed in the wrong state when we saw those flamingos, but no, someone in Texas has just cornered the market on the pink plastic kind with a few old pickups thrown in for good measure. And in spite of all the things I've thought and said about Texas being dry, brown, dull and flat, they've actually had rain this spring. So the drive through Texas hill country was green and filled with beautiful wild flowers. And, best of all, the 100+ weather had passed so it was a cool 88.

Now for Tillie... I understand some of you are taking bets at the office for how many times she'll break down between Texas and Seattle. We'll leave it up to you to decide if breaking down in Mother's garage (while we were still in NY) and being repaired while she sat there (a ruptured gas line) counts as one breakdown. That brings us up to today. John, always the optimist, expected to start her right up. You're right. That didn't happen. That's JA & John with the battery charger with Mother looking on. Now, really, would you expect the battery (a new one) to remain charged after two months of abandonment? The answer is "Yes". The battery was not the problem. Tillie only started when Jessica & Scott, a.k.a. "The Pushers", lent their muscle to Tillie's behind. She finally started and ran long enough to get her gas tank filled. However, back in the carport, she's back to her old ways. You'll have to decide. Is the repair lined up for tomorrow considered part of today's problem or will it count as something new? Perhaps tomorrow I'll have to deliver the message 96 year old Aunt Doris from Syracuse sent to Tillie - "Behave yourself or I'll come down there and spank you!" Trust me, no one messes with Aunt Doris.

Clear as mud...

Apparently I left things in a state of confusion with my last post. You have my apologies.

The master plan (as you know by now this is always subject to change) is to fly back to Texas in June. In the meantime Tillie is cooling her systems in my mother's carport and we're catching up on things in NY. However, mark your calendars. You can start looking for new updates to this blog on June 9. The game plan is to take Tillie on a straight? meandering? path to Seattle from whence she came. Bridge (her rightful owner - she's just been on loan to us) is ready to have her back for adventures of his own. And, although nothing, of course, can replace the one and only Tillie, we do have some alternatives in mind... Your suggestions, as usual, are always welcome...

Goodbye Hippie Dude

All good things must come to an end, and so it is with this latest adventure with Tillie. Today we packed up, John did some last minute repairs on Tillie (the rattle in the dashboard was actually a loose/disconnected heat duct which may explain why it was so hot in the glove compartment & nowhere else...), enjoyed a nice lunch at a new tea room in town, visited an old Brady home family friends beautifully restored, and tried cooking prickly pear for dinner. Except for one person who said he remembers roasting cactus over the fire as a kid, no one I've met has ever tasted it. Now, as an experienced prickly pear taster, I can offer several words of advice. Unless you're looking for a new source of dental floss, look for pads that are no bigger than 5 inches. I used 10 inch ones - hard to peel, hard to cut, loaded with coarse threads, &, unless you swallow your food whole, impossible to chew. Second piece of advice, grill them. I sauteed it and, while it cooked the cactus, it soaked up all the oil. And wear gloves. Before Gene picked me the pads, he put on thick leather gloves and warned me about the little fine cactus needles that are a bear to get out of your hands. (For once, I listened.) How did it taste? Not bad but am reserving judgement until I can cook some up right. Maybe next trip.

While Hippie Dude monkey does look a bit panicked to be left on his own until we return in June (sitting so close to an Obama sticker in Republican Texas can be a bit nerve wracking, I admit), I'm sure he'll survive. Look for the blog to continue in June when we return to pick up Tillie and continue our adventures as we head toward Seattle.

Fountain of Youth...

My mother is very excited to have received her first ever "Official Jury Summons". She lived in Arkansas for 60 years and was never called and now, after just over 4 years in Texas, her name finally comes up. (She may even go out and get a souped up hearing aid just to make sure she doesn't miss anything.) According to the Texas summons you may be excused from jury service if you are over 70 years of age. However, you are not required to claim the exemption and she doesn't intend to (even though reporting for duty does fall on a quilt club day but she'll make the sacrifice). The form also says (and I'm typing this as it appears including the bold and caps) "IF CLAIMING AN EXEMPTION FOR PERSON OVER 70 YEARS OF AGE PLEASE CHECK IF THIS EXEMPTION IS: __ TEMPORARY EXEMPTION __ PERMANENT EXEMPTION"

Do we conclude that once you're over 70 it's possible to get younger than 70? How does this work?! During my afternoon walk I may have discovered that tightly held Texas secret. Mesquite trees are everywhere and are usually host to one or more bunches of mistletoe (it's the green bunches growing in the tree). Lots of mesquite should equal lots of opportunities for smooching (except for those pesky rattlesnakes...) and lots of smooching should equal renewed youth if all those TV ads are to be believed. So do any of you guys out there have any clever new marketing/tourism slogans for Texas?

Spring is where?

Let's see. We left NY in the snow and arrived in Texas in the snow. Today in Texas it was 25 degrees colder than NY and there was snow in the air while it was a beautiful spring day in NY. As my true blood Texas brother-in-law described the weather, "It's colder than a well driller's rear end in the Klondike." (He assures me this is a phrase all Texans know and use. You don't really think I could make that up, do you?)

My family from Brady & cousins from Austin braved the cold and Texas winds to see the Habitat house project, said "That's nice. Can we go back home now where it's warm?" Not only does it get cold here in Texas but the winds blow... HARD! It was quite an exciting ride back to Brady from Mason today. Tillie was blown all over the road (and it wasn't due to drinking either although I did feel that might have been in order to calm my nerves and warm my body. You do remember the lack of heat in Tillie when temperatures drop?) However, I did feel lucky. When we left the campground this morning there were still tent campers. How they managed to still be there is a miracle. When the front came through around 4 a.m. there was thunder & lightning & driving rain & high winds. Tillie was rockin' & rollin' and it wasn't because of anything happening inside the van.

But there are still many signs of spring including these wildflowers my mother picked in her yard. I think she picked them just so we could wish you a Happy Birthday, Sarah!