On the Road Again

November 16, 2005

We’re heading to a job, using our Passport America card. Rates are half price at Passport America “resorts.” Our first stop, south of Nephi, in Levan, Utah, was nine bucks. It was so cold that when we opened the door in the morning a kitty jumped in. Riding Highway 70 to Green River we climb 3,000 ft to 8,000 feet. Great highway; Dave recalls riding part of it on his Bike Across America trip. The geologic formations start here.

November 17, 2005

Moab, Utah. Still cold. Twelve Bucks. We left Utah at 90 miles above Bluff, just south of Moab and are so grateful for the Colorado highway. The road from Moab to Monticello is so rough and swoopy it upset everything in our cupboards. We saw a semi lying on its side next to the road. I’m sure it just bounced off.

Colorado is new to us. We’re struck by the rich farmland at 7,000 feet elevation. Dove Creek and Cahones, Colorado are small towns supported by pinto beans. We’re on the Trail of the Ancients, headed to Cortez.

Today is Jason’s birthday. I remember so well his C-section delivery. “Sam, there’s nothing in here but this baby.” “Keep looking!” In Jason’s baby book, under “where baby came from,” is a Lippy’s Loop. I should have had it bronzed. Every time I thought I was driving my bus of Life, I’ve gotten a little reminder like that. I’m just along for the ride. And what a great ride!

November 18, 2005

Grants, New Mexico. Thirteen Bucks. Diesel is $2.56. Everything is cheaper down here. Tomorrow weâ€ll get to Fort Sumner, NM, where we will do a map for the Sumner Lake State Park. S.E. Publication has contracted with the state of New Mexico to map their State Parks. Sumner Lake has never had a map so we will start from scratch. Map guy will be busier than usual. Fort Sumner is a small town so I will also sell in the surrounding area, namely Roswell to the south and Clovis to the east. I can hardly wait to get to Roswell. There is a fabric store there that tops my list of fibre experiences.

We left Bend exactly one year ago today. It’s been great. And as much as we loved spending time with our family, we’re both really glad to be back on the road. We continue to learn: Today we turned on the CB for the first time. The lady trucker in the hammer lane rolled down her window and hollered at us to get in front of her to avoid a rollover accident up ahead, eastbound on I-40. Both lanes were at a standstill at the time. At any given time we could see 7 to 12 trucks on this road, but it turns out there were way many more than that. Trucker talk on the CB is better than Court TV.

So we’ll be busy for the next couple of weeks. We’re in Santa Rosa, N.M, tonight, and I’m pitching park management to do their map. If we get it, we’ll do this job after Sumner Lake.

Love to all and best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sam