Roswell to Ozona

Hello my friends! I am sure you've been on pins and needles wondering about how the ant situation played out. Well, the cab of the truck was littered with little teeny, tiny ant corpses this morning. There were two incredible specimens that managed to survive the "blast" and I blew them out the window into the Texas desert. They will most likely begin breeding a new super race of ants...sorry....
So we departed from Roswell at around 10:00 after stopping at Starbucks for beverages and oatmeal ( and the new Robert plant C.D...who knows when I'll get new music?!). The drive was pretty much the same as it's been for the last five days. The scenery is interchangeable other then some is a bit greener but it's all a lot of nothing. We missed our turn at one point and were headed west to El Paso instead of south so we had to take a "ranch road"to get back on track. It's a nice two lane paved road with a 65 mph speed limit and it was really cool. We got out at one point to stretch our legs and it was absolutely silent . I took a minute to take it all in..the smell; grasses,sage and dust, the sounds; crickets, rustling of the brush and the stirring of the wind. How long must it have been like this? How many others have experienced theses same sensations? I marveled at the paradox of a wide open space filling me up. Rather then a sense of desolation, I felt overwhelmingly connected and a part of something huge. Time and space,past, present, hopefully future all connected. Then I thought about how all of this must have been exactly the same in 1890 and that in 2090 my grandson could end up standing here at 86 years old wondering the same thing. We will all have long sinced moved on yet so much would , and does, remained unchanged. I took a couple of pictures, one using the timer so we could both be in it and we set off again. For the next several miles I listened to Tom Waits while John captained us through the vastness. I couldn't shake the feeling of being filled, touched, that I fit, albeit fleetingly, on this plane.
Eventually we came to a crossroad that had once been a community. All that remained were empty buildings, a small cafe and a post office. We had some postcards to mail, so we turned around. As we pulled up next to the mail truck, John asked the driver if the post office was open. "No, it closes at 2:00. I'm just waiting to pick up some mail." He told us about his route. Lots of driving long distances and usually dealing with very little mail. I was surprised that there was a post office here at all.
Eventually we pulled into Pecos. We went to the Pecos museum which had 50 rooms. Back in the day,it had been a salloon and boarding house. Next door was Judge Beans office. There was an animated salloon keeper who told the story of two people getting shot in there. Upstairs there were lots of great photos, saddles, some of the rooms were set up just like they had been then. It was fun and we were really glad we stopped even though it ate up part of our day. After that we found the post office among streets of closed up store fronts and an empty movie theatre. We sent off our postcards and found a Dairy Queen. Once we finished, I took over the driving and about 3 hrs later as the sun was setting in the rear view mirror, we pulled into a small town called Ozona. Our hotel is lovely. We went to a nearby store and bought Michaelina's frozen dinners and a gallon of water. Back at the hotel, as I "cooked" dinner, John got a load of laundry going. Once I'm done with this, I'll call the kids, shower and go to sleep. Another full day...

once again the pictures are being difficult so...more will be revealed...

Day 5 Grants to Roswell

I am sitting on the gaily decorated Motel 6 bedspread in Roswell but friends, even the bright splashes of Americana fail to cheer me. I am saddened and disheartened by what I have found here or should I say what I haven't found here; virtually no UFO kitsch. In fact, the only alien/UFO refernces I've seen have been a plastic little green man at the KFC and a billboard advertising the UFO museum. I asked the desk clerk about this. She informed me that "they" voted to do away with it opting instead to promote Roswell as a retirement community. Retiree's don't like aliens or what? What about Coccoon??Is nothing sacred?

On the way here we passed the Trinity Site. In 1945 the first atomic bomb was tested there. John and I got into a discussion about how many people know what white sands or the trinity site are. How many people know about the Bonneville Salt flats? These are pretty important American events. Is it just that I'm over 50 or what?What do people know about? Celebrity gossip? This weeks episode of Glee (don't get me wrong I'm a huge fan) or Survivor? Who's leading the NFL? I'm not saying these things are bad or wrong but I think there needs to be a balance of the information we take in. Wow....sorry...didn't mean to get on a soapbox here...

O.K..new topic...how about ants. Yes, ants- you heard me right. We acquired a canopy before we left and I'm glad we did, but it seems as though this particular canopy was infested with ants. Now, we had ants at our house too and they really didn't bother me so when John told me about the situation I didn't really care. We've seen 2 or 3 so far on the trip- no big deal. Today, right after we drive by the Trinity Site, I swear to God, they started appearing. I'm not talking one or two, I'm saying for the next hour I was constantly swatting ants. On my legs, arms, hands, shoulders...you get the picture. Usually the ants and I have a truce. I don't kill things. Not spiders, worms, slugs...it's just part of my belief system but today the gloves came off. I must have killed at least a hundred ants and they just kept coming. Now, does anyone else find it odd that this started right after we passed the site of the testing of an atomic bomb? Our theory is that residue from the uranium is still there and the ants picked up on it and it drove them nuts. So after we checked into our hotel we went to Home Depot and bought bug bombs. There was an I Hop next door so we ate dinner and as soon as we got back to the hotel we set them off. One in the cab, one in the canopy. I'll probably have to come back a thousand more times to make up for the karma involved with this deed but I don't want to roll with the ants anymore.

One more bit of news. We went into Albuquerque to the consulate and got our vehicle importation permit!! It was pretty simple but could have been a mess if I hadn't checked the dates as we were leaving. She typed in that we were entering Mexico on March 3rd of next year!

We started out the day on historic Route 66, we got our permit, got dosed with radiation, attacked by ants and I took a really cool picture at a rest stop of a sign warning about rattlesnakes but I somehow must have erased it. Ah, the yin and yang of the road....so there you have it. Tomorrow we'll be in Texas. They say everything is bigger there. Let's hope the combination of radiation and insecticide doesn't create some crazy, giant mutant ants......

a few more..

just thought I'd throw in a few more pics. By the way, the old truck photo came from ....a secret location......where there are hundreds of old cars sitting out in a field.

Onward!

We started our morning off with a free breakfast, well, considering we spent $108.00 on the room I wouldn't really call it free ( too bad I'm not bulemic , I could have totally taken advantage of it). We've been staying at Motel 6's but we were tired and there was no wi-fi at the 6 so we said the hell with it and splurged. Holiday Inn is where we ended up in a "pet room" ...long story...( there was a cocker spaniel across the hall that looked like a curly haired walrus)

Did I mention Green River is some sort of melon hot spot? They are for sale in stands all over the place.We even saw a parade float made to look like a slice of watermelon. It had a hinged door built into the side to allow people to get into it. What if it wasn't really a float? Maybe it's some sort of diabolical Trojan fruit? Other then great melons I don't really know why someone would come here-wait-we did..

Finally, we are on the road. I was in Utah 19 years ago ( I was a mere child) and one of the things I did not get to see was Newspaper Rock. I also did not get to see Arches but I needed to choose one. We are not in a hurry but we do have limited funds ( and remember we splurged on the Holiday Inn) so I opted for the petroglyphs since they were free-no park admission. A lot of the drive was really pretty. Incredible, enormous rock formations jutted up from grassy plains and rolling hills. Some of it was really ugly (these ugly, uninhabitable portions are what was so kindly given to Native Americans to live on...great deal there). We wound our way down a narrow road for a few miles and came to this large boulder with a sheer face under an outcropping, sort of a natural awning. Plastered across the front of this are 1500 year old drawings, petroglyphs-ancient graffitti! It was really a peaceful, spiritual place. We left there and headed back to the main road. There is open range along here and there were 3 or 4 cows walking in a line along the left hand side. We slowed way down because one of them was acting a little skittish. Thank god we did because it ran in front of the car and smashed face first right into a bush. It reminded me of Starla (our dog we left at home with our daughter). A little further up the same road a small flock of birds was flitting by the car. Just as I was thinking how pretty they were and how we don't have them at home, one of them hit the truck. John claimed it was a natural culling of the herd. I told myself maybe it went under the truck but...

We stopped at a store in Moab then headed on to Monticello where we stopped for gas. John got out to wash the windows. "Jill" I looked up as he pulled the bird off the grill. So much for denial.

After eating lunch we were off again and we didn't stop until we got to Grants, New Mexico. It's about an hour and a half west of Albuquerque. We found a Motel 6-$44.00 at this one( we actually got charged $3.00 for the wi-fi) and ordered in a pizza. About 45 min later it still wasn't there. Were they delivering from Albuquerque? John called and they claimed they had attempted to deliver it but had the wrong room....so, at last the food came, several phone calls were made and now the blog is done. Shower, into bed and get up and head into Alb. where we will attempt to go to the mexican consulate to get our vehicle importation papers. If all goes well, we will make it at least to Roswell.You know-spaceships, cover ups, x-files stuff. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, be scared....be very scared.....

Wendover to Green River

So let's see....it was a pretty uneventful day but it all went smoothly. We left the hotel around 10:00 am and headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats. For those who don't know, this is where land speed records are set. That means anyone, anywhere in the world who wants to set a world land speed record in a car or on a bike, it has to be done here.I don't believe it applies to running so neither John nor myself bothered to make an attempt. Instead we opted to eat breakfast at a little restaurant there with really cool pictures of people who had taken a "run" at it......The place was owned by hispanics and smelled exactly like Mexico.I had scrambled eggs and beans, John had chicken fried steak and it came to $8.00. Great place....we drove the 5 miles to the salt flats...slowly, we didn't race....there was a guy there from Ireland who had ridden his bike down from Alaska. It was some type of a Honda that was made to compete in Dakkar. His bike was covered with bugs and dirt and he had a great weathered, healthy look about him. He was pleasant, friendly and at ease with himself and his world.

The salt flats are huge. They go on for miles. There is a sign there that talks about the Donner party and how it took them so long to cross and they lost so many animals in the process it contributed to their ultimate demise. If they had not been so delayed by the flats they would have made it to their destination sooner and wouldn't have gotten stuck.

All of this movement- cars, bikes, wagon trains, fast, slow, to somewhere, from somewhere. Some motivated by necessity others by adventure, still others are drawn by the curiousity of "what's over there?" I feel glad to be a part of all this flow. To be connected by a sense of wanderlust.

We went to Salt Lake City because a woman at the consulate in portland told us we could get a vehicle importation document there which will speed things up quite a bit when we cross. Unfortunately, the information was incorrect and we stopped there for nothing. After we got south of Ogden we got off the big freeway we had been on and opted for something smaller. For the rest of the day we drove through vast expanses of emptiness . John did all the driving. He says it takes his mind off his head hurting.

At about 7:00 we decided to stop for the night in a little place called Green River. It's so odd- you drive for hours and see nothing then there will be a little town then hours of nothing again. Green River is one of those little oasis. Evidently it is a real melon capitol. they are for sale everywhere. The Motel 6 had no wifi so we chose to splurge and stay at the Holiday Inn. To counter balance that expense we ate at Arby's which was actually located in a gas station...On the way there, the sun had almost completely set. In the last glow of the day we saw a crowd of 25 or so people who were gathered around in a circle outside of a church. It wasn't like a friendly church social, it was more reminiscent of...say...children of the corn. We decided we would get up early and leave Green River behind....moving on....

Day 2

So our first day on the road begins in the town of Mcdermott( population around 4200) with sun and a bright blue sky. We stroll over to the "Say When" casino/restaurant. Upon entering , the first thing I notice is a smell reminiscent of an elderly persons home who has always smoked inside. The rug was new.....25 years ago....and the restaurant is dead but the waitress is very friendly and the breakfast is great. There are wondeerful pictures on the wall from the 1800's, the 20's,30's. In one,I'd say from the late 1800's, among all the somber faces that normally glare back from old tintypes, is a couple who both wear wide playful grins.She is dressed very stylishly and he is leaning into her with his elbow on her shoulder. I was mesmerised by it. I've never seen people like this in an old picture. I want to know more about them..who were they? Where were they really from? Were they married?Friends? I'll never forget that photo....but I digress.......
After breakfast we hit the road. On to the elusive Winnemucca! The landscape could have been a movie reel being rerun on a giant screen from yesterday....more sagebrush, more naked hills,more.....nothing. Today there are not even jackrabbits or bugs but there is a large, black and white dead cow in the ditch between the two lanes of freeway. I found it hysterically funny the way it looked as if someone had simply tipped it over. It was a bit bloated but otherwise unscathed (at least from what i could see as i sailed by at 65 mph). John found it to be extremely gross and not at all funny.....
I have never seen such enormous expanses of nothing. When you look at a map of Nevada, there isn't really anything there. That's because there isn't anything there...so,arriving in Winnemucca was great. I thought it would be big and glitzy for some reason but...population 8000...really old, tired casinos, sagebrush, dust and old dusty looking people. They were really nice though.John and I spent two hours in the casino playing penny machines. We lost a whopping $8.00. So, we decided to get some snacks...to the tune of $11.00...( note to self-it doesn't save money to buy lunch "snacks"at a gas station/grocery) instead of going out to lunch. We munched and headed on to Elko...more of the same scenery...but it's been sunny and beautiful! so I don't care..anyway, we arrived in Elko and got gas. There was a guy at the gas station from Salem.( Later, while John was in Starbucks, he pulled up next to me and after telling me about how his dad died two months ago and he has had to take care of everything, he felt compelled to tell me how his siblings need to pay him for all his gambling expenses and "trips to the whorehouse" as he laughed and walked away. ) I bought some postcards in the gas station and the woman who worked in there suggested I buy one that showed a picture of the town.To me, it looked like a photo of some 1950's industrial park. She was very proud of it.
I think it took us around 4 hrs to get here-Wendover. Now, technically, we are in Utah in a Motel 6. Three blocks down the street-where we got our $14.00 Subway dinner-is Nevada. That's where the giant montego Bay casino is. Down here by the motel 6...not so glamorous. I took the liberty of taking some snap shots of the view from our room. that would be the dumpster w/ a cat in it, the dead cars and the freeway with the giant rock outcropping covered in graffitti.The good news is we are only 3 or 4 miles from the Bonneville salt flats! We are starting out our day there tomorrow. So, all in all, Nevada has been uber boring scenery wise but it's all part of a bigger package- jill and john's big adventure. I will now attempt to attach photos of the Diamond A Hotel, more of the same scenery from yesterday and our Motel 6 shots. Oh! and a shot of the SUPER COOL bedspreads here at 'the 6" and remember- we're leavin' a light on...

photos

trying to post somephotos....hopefully this works...

Day One..

Well my friends, here I am at last!! I made a valiant effort last night to tell you all about our first daybut alas...it was not to be. Our hotels wi-fi did not cooperate with me.
Since I stopped working on Aug. 30, you may think "oh that lucky Jill. She is now a woman of leisure"-HA! I worked and worked up until the last week and thought I had it all down but on Sat. when it came time to go it became a last minute frenzy. The kids were over and Lynda came to help too. Ron and Bob were next to come assisst John in securing the rack to the top of the truck. In the end, I was throwing things in bags. I later realized the clothes out of the dryer I through in a bag somehow never made it...my favorite little white sweater was in there too!
Finally at 11:00 after lots of tears and hugs we waved goodbye and got on the freeway. That's when it really hit me- I won't see my kids for 9 months...Aisha's baby will be 9 months old before I meet her...Tyson will have finished first grade....a wave of sadness to my core swept over me. I reminded myself-e-mail, phone, visits.....right. I focused on what an exciting adventure we were embarking on and got out the atlas. John really was shooting for Winnemucca(?)Nevada as our first stop. We made it to The Dalles and turned off toward Maupin and Redmond. Winding around the back side of Mt. hood, I was again struck by what I was leaving behind. "I'm on the other side " I reminded myself. " I'm changing my focus, getting a different view. " So funny how much we resist change even if it's a move toward something extraordinary.
We rambled through Redmond, onto Bend and consulted the atlas on the likelihood of making it to Winnemucca. It was obvious we would not and decided to re-evaluate when we got to Burns. The road was straight and the scenery a bit hypnotic in it's dullness. The sun was beginning to set and my eyes were burning ( John was doing most of the driving). We gassed up in Burns and I was really ready to stop but John wanted to make it to the Nevada border so we headed off into the desert......and that's ALL that was out there besides jack rabbits and an incredible number of bugs. They were sort of small moth like creatures-swarms of them. Soon we noticed a light coming from behind the hill to our left "what is that? fire?" John asked. " I don't know....it's the moon!" we both realized at the same time. it was amazing- yellow, big and very bright. By now we were both really, really tired and realized we should have stopped but we had no other option at this point then to continue on. We turned on the radio to try to find some crazy talk shows and we did. Unfortunately we would lose them as they got juicy. The first was a call in show for lawyers to help advise people. The case was a gynocologist who had branded a womans name (Ingrid)into her uterus with a laser after he had removed it. He claimed it was a way of "tagging" it for the lab. The letters were an inch high....then the show faded out....we picked up another and came in as a man was discussing how there was an intruder in the bedroom where he and his wife were sleeping and he realized it was a six foot alian.....fade again......These stories kept us entertained for a while until there was nothing but static to be found. After gliding ahead like a ship on a blackened sea we began to see eyes glowing on the side of the road...then jack rabbits started shooting across the highway in front of us ( always left to right interestingly enough...). Talk about needing to keep your wits about you..and John was driving!!Just when you thought it couldn't get any scarier a cow appeared and shortly thereafter the flashing lights of police officers attempting to corral a marauding herd. A few minutes later there were finally the lights of a town of some sort.... Mcdermott!! Thank you jesus....we were there..Nevada. we checked into the lovely and fabulous Diamond A. The desk clerk appeared to be under the influence of....something.. and looked like Steve Buscemi playing the part of a Cuban gangster. At that point, I wouldn't have cared if Norman Bates was the desk clerk...just give me a bed (note: if you don't know who Norman Bates is, rent "Psycho"). So much for our first day.......all is well.

I will try to attach some photos to serve as visual aids but can't guarantee that will happen..