"Glacier Point & Devils Postpile"

(Sept. 25th & 29th, 2010 )

By: Ned Opdyke

nedopdyke@gmail.com

OTHER STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR

Please Allow Me To Introduce My Selves

From Here to There and Back Again

I Love Texas

Sometimes You Find Love in the Most Unexpected Places

California is My Home (But I Still Love Texas)

The Last Adventure… of 2009

Momma's Boy

Killeen Texas Is My New Home

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend in Galveston

The Hill Country, Our 2nd Visit

A Very Strange Day

- and -

An Ongoing and Growing Selection of Misc. Musings and Melodies

About My Spiritual Evolution and Enfoldment

The Gospel According to Ned (Part I and II)

The Yucatan Peninsula vs. Hurricane Wilma

A Different Kind of Adventure Story

Spiritual Exercises… The First Steps

The Best Kind of Adventure Story

Morning Thoughts

The Sound Current

Learning From The Silence

As I Grow

A Better Life

Daily Interpretations of The Eck & Rumi

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I am still lucky. I'm not sure why God loves me as much as he does, but I am certainly forever in his debt. I survived my exodus in Texas (that sure sounds like a good title to a story, or perhaps a country western song, doesn't it?), and am now temporarily habitating at a family friend's home near Yosemite National Park, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in California. Yes, I am a very lucky man.

The following pictorial essay will update you on my physical surroundings and my thoughts about what's going on around me, and… you guessed it… inside me:

The town center is 5 miles from the home I'm staying at. This is my kind of town.

This is the Tindall cabin. My room is under the front deck. It's private, stays cool on hot days, and is very comfortable.

This almost-dead-and-now-coming-back-to-life oak tree reminded me of me. I pass it every day, on my daily walk to the little lake just ¼ mile or so from my front door.

This is Stout Lake. I built the raft about 15 years ago. It's holding up well and looks like it should last at least that much longer. I hope I do.

Ok, that gives you an idea of what's around me when I'm home. The rest of this 'story' is gonna be about what's around me when I'm not.

9/25/10 - GLACIER POINT

First stop, Rainbow Pool. It is located 17 miles from my front door, on the South Fork of The Tuolumne River on Highway 120, about 15 miles from Groveland. This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the first time I jumped off the rocks, and swam behind the falls. This is one of my favorite places in the world. It is my nirvana… my heaven on earth.

About another 12 miles up the road from Rainbow, is the north entrance into Yosemite National Park. I wish I'd counted all the times I've been here in my life. An honest estimate is 50. We'll say this was my 50th, and I'll keep track from here on out. It's impossible to see this place too often. I'm shooting for triple digits before I see it for the last time. I think Honey has been here about 15 times or so. So far.

Surprisingly, it took me driving by the turn-off 50 times, before I finally decided to drive the 16 miles out to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. One panoramic view and another one from the damn dam.

Honey just loves this view coming into the Valley from Crane Flat entrance. Me too.

Half Dome, and beyond, Clouds Rest, are the primary obstructions in this view, from Glacier Point. Words of description?… they just get in the way, don’t they? Spectacular, unbelievable, breathtaking, awe-inspiring. I just had to try a few of the first ones that come to my mind, when I take in the grandeur of Yosemite. It's only been a week since I was there, and I'm already looking forward to going back.

My heart soars and my pulse-rate drops, when I think about what it's like to be there.

I don't remember seeing this angle of Half Dome on a post card. I wonder why?

This guy was pretty funny. He said he wanted half of all the profits I got from this picture, but readily agreed with me, when I said, "Just being here is our profit."

On the following page is one of my favorite vistas of Yosemite Valley. It is on Highway 41 coming down the hill from Glacier Point from Wawona, the south entrance to the Park, out of Fresno. There are signs at the end of the mile-long tunnel, warning you to be prepared to stop for traffic and pedestrians. Do yourself a favor. Follow the warning… and  S-T-O-P.

I did something this day that I haven't done in many years… I spent about two hours, driving through the Valley floor. Honey and I went to every (paved) nook and cranny we could get to (legally). Here is what Glacier Point looked like when we were down there and looked up to where we had just come from. I wish I had a camera, other than my cell phone.

Before heading back, I detoured about 20 miles, down to El Portal entrance to the Park. The picture didn't turn out, but the one I took on my next ride, at east entrance, and Tioga Pass did! But that's the next part of this story. This Trip… six hours and 185 miles. Turn the page for our Devils Postpile ride, somewhere neither Honey nor I had been before!

9/29/10 - DEVILS POSTPILE

This ride was on a glorious Saturday afternoon, and I chose the ride 'cuz I knew I'd be in the 'High Country,' 6~10,000 feet in elevation, for most of the day, and it would be much cooler than the 90~95 degrees that was the forecast for the Greeley area, which is at about 3,000 feet.

My first stop was at Jordon Oak, off of Smith Station Road, about 5 miles out from Greeley. Story is that this oak is as old as some of the oldest redwoods, dating back to the time of Christ. Jesus that it. I hung my size-46 leather jacket it to give you an idea of the size of this thing. Allegedly its trunk has the largest circumference of any oak tree west of the Mississippi.

I decided to take another side road I'd never been on, and Honey and I found ourselves at the Crane Flat fire lookout station. This guy was a fellow member of the biker-hood, and a helicopter pilot. What a life, huh? He gets to fly low, and high!

The elevation at Crane Flat is 6,192 feet. Porcupine Flat, about 30 miles from there is around 8,000. I sure have some good memories about this place. We used it as base camp almost every summer for about 5~6 years. Mom would guard the trailer while my Dad, and my twin brother Don and I, would take hikes all over the High Country. Hey Don… would you like to collaborate on a story about the 11-day loop hike? Yes, he and I are both very VERY lucky men.

Ten more miles brought us to Olmstead Point. Marilyn, a Road Scholar, took a picture of Honey and me, enjoying the view of Clouds Rest and Half Dome, 180 degrees from the view we had of them a few days earlier, from Glacier Point.

Here's a couple pictures from and leaving Olmstead Point. For those of you who are reading this story on your computer, you may be able to play the video! If you can, please excuse my blunder when I said it was "July 29th." I guess I was feeling tipsy from the elevation. I know it wasn't from beer. I've been sober now for 13 weeks (and tobacco free for 9)!

After getting down the east slope of the Sierra's, and running down Hwy 395 about 25 miles to Mammoth Lakes, and just before getting to my destination for the day, Honey asked if I would take her picture in front of the Minaret Mountain Range. Ain't she purdy?

Devils Postpile was actually a little disappointing. It's my parents fault. They spoiled me from before the time I was born. I was conceived while they were visiting the Grand Canyon, and I grew up with what is in my opinion, the most picturesque geography in the world as my back yard. Damn them.

This is the last picture of the four entrances to Yosemite that Honey and I had been to, in the last 5 days. Tioga Pass, elevation 9,945 feet. It is on the east side of the Park. We were still about 80 miles from Greeley, but we both felt as if we were already home.

Round trip: 10 hours and 310 miles.

Next story… the entire length of Highway 49 through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Coarsegold at the south end near Fresno, to Loyalton at the north end, near Reno.

See you then!

"9 States in 13 Days"

... this is a story that happened 5 years ago:

CA~NV~UT~WY~MO~ID~WA~OR~CA… 3,388 miles in 13 days

                                   … from the 'lost archives'

                                                                        PREFACE

My middle daughter Ashley was going to graduate from high school, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. But as important as it was to me to be there, it was equally as important for me to turn the opportunity into an adventure.

Since road trips on Honey (my motorcycle) are one of my favorite things in the world, I decided that rather than riding directly from my home in Aptos, California, to Seattle, Washington, through the State of Oregon, I would take the 'scenic route'… through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

Unfortunately, I lost my journal-log from the trip, so this story is based only on my memories from a trip that happened almost five years ago. Mostly, it's a pictorial essay about the trip.

Day 1 - 6/10/05: Aptos, California to Austin, Nevada

The first three hours of the ride was the same route I'd taken many times in the past.
Due east, over Pacheco Pass (Hwy 156)… thru Los Banos… then Hwy 33 to Merced, then the fun part of the ride, into the foothills on Hwy 132 thru Snelling and one of my favorite pit stops at the saloon La Grange, a little blink and miss it cattle town at the edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range foothills.

One of the reasons it's my favorite, is because of the waitress that worked there for a long time… Laura serves a killer margarita, and then for special customers, put the second one in a plastic cup to go. She trusted me. I'm usually pretty good at making people feel like they can trust me. You can trust me on that.

Normally when I'm driving this route, it's when I'm on my way to "Tokosaben," the property my family owned, and I've always driven that section of road with great care, no matter how many killer margaritas I've had.

When I was 13, my family and 4 others bought 40 acres just outside of Greely Hill, and the name I came up with was voted as the unanimous winner. Here's how I came up with the name:

I took the "T" from the Tindall family; the "O" from the Opdyke (my) family; the "KO" from the Kobiashi's; the "SA" from the Sato's; and the "BEN" from the Benthin's. The really cool thing about the name was that before we voted on the name, we all voted on our choices for which of the five 2-acre parcels each family would get to build their cabin on. Based on the statistical math (5 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 5), the odds of each family getting their first choice were 3,125 to 1. And that's what happened.

Then, as if to prove what a 'special' place it was that we were creating… the parcels that each of the families chose as their first choice, was in the same order as the way I had put the letters from their names together. The odds of that happening are 9,765,635 to 1 (3,125 x 3,125).

Basically, Tokosaben had a one in ten million chance of happening the way it did. All of the families have always felt that this was how lucky we were to be together in the place we were. Two of the families have since sold their parcels, but the feeling of 'community and love' is still being carried on to this day, and I hope it continues that way forever.

I've spent parts of 39 summers up there (and counting), enjoying that part of the Sierra's, and it never gets old.

 Stout Lake

And then Rainbow Pool, one of my favorite places in the world, located on Highway 120, about half way between Groveland and the Crane Flat entrance to Yosemite National Park.

So... back to the Adventure Ride.  It was at the La Grange Saloon that my route changed on this trip. Instead of continuing east on Hwy 132, I veered slightly to the north, and went thru the town of Sonora, over the pass with the same name on Hwy 108, and down the other side to Mono Lake.

                                                                       Elevation 9,624'

Even in June the air was cold, and the snow was deep on the sides of the road, but the pavement was warm and dry, and I remember thinking to myself that I really needed to do a lot more of these road trips. Five years later, I've written stories about this one, and seven others.

Please visit my blog listed at the beginning of this story, to read about them, and see all the other pretty pictures.

As I remounted Honey, I said good-bye to the cool mountain air, and prepared myself for the hot desert variety I was gonna be in for the next couple of days.
After reaching the bottom of the east side of the Sierras, I traveled north on Hwy 395 for just a few miles, before turning east on Hwy 50, "The Loneliest Highway in America." My day ended in Austin (Nevada) after a first day of (+/-) 570 miles.

Day 2 - 6/11/05: Austin, Nevada to Heber City, Utah

                Welcome to Utah - still on Hwy 50… and still lonely… next services 83 miles.

Besides remembering how nice the road was, unfortunately, I'm at a loss to remember anything else noteworthy. Oh… there was one thing… I remember a stretch of about 100 miles coming into Salt Lake City, where I was riding thru a cool early summer rainstorm. Day 2: 317 miles.

Day 3 - 6/12/05: Heber City, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming

                        Welcome to Wyoming - drive thru cocktails… I Love Wyoming.

It was surprisingly cold, but fortunately I'd packed my warm weather gear, and it wasn't too uncomfortable for me. And no, I did not stop at any of the drive thru's.

Day 4 - 6/13/05: Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Livingston, Montana

          The Grand Tetons

That morning it was cold… really cold… and I stopped at a random person's home and was given hot tea and as much time as I had wanted. I just love (most of) the people I meet on my adventures. Most of them are really nice. It warms me to my cockles to think about all the wonderful people on this planet. That day however, I needed a little bit more to warm my cockles.

                      The road crisscrossed the divide three times, before taking me to…

                                                                          Old Faithful

But not willing to wait another 54 minutes… I continued on, and stopped in Livingston, Montana. It was a spectacular 213 mile day.

Day 5 - 6/14/05 - Livingston, Montana to Spokane, Washington

I remember enjoying the ride and the terrain, but cannot remember anything specific about this 426 mile day.

Day 6 - 6/15/05 - Spokane, WA to Seattle, WA

Same as above about this 293 mile day.

Day 7 - 6/16/05 - Seattle and surrounding areas

I spent most of the day with Kellie, my oldest daughter. It was a gorgeous day in the Emerald City…

... but I also made time to take a ride up to a place I found just before moving back to Santa Cruz way back in 1989:

                                                                           Denny Creek

THE DENNY CREEK DOCTRINE

You need to know where to go To meet the people you want to know
Life in the city is full of illusions
People in the city are full of... Shit in the water?! Don’t you care?
What are you thinking of?
You’re a fool to live in the city

You need to know where to go
To find the people you want to know
Life in the country is simple
People in the country understand
Shit in the water, and you get
Sick of the people in the city

I want to sit on the rocks
And watch the crystalline water
Tumble across my feet... no shit In the Denny Creek water

Day 8 - 6/17/05 - Party on the patio…

 Ashley's pre-graduation party took place at her mom Mimi's house and was attended by a small handful of her friends. Including, but not limited to: (3) friends - one seated in ponytail, one dressed in yellow, and one in aqua… aunt Tracy (Mimi's sister) - standing/ eating… sister Kellie - standing next to… her (then) boyfriend (now ex-husband) Jon… and (Mimi's mother) Blah - sitting, with last name the same as the color as her hair (Grey).

Day 9 - 6/18/05 - Father's Day…

                                                             … with Daughters #1 & 2

Day 10 - 6/19/05 - Ashley's Graduation from High School

When this picture was taken, it was only the 2nd time I'd worn this shirt. The first time was for Kellie's graduation from high school, two years previously. Since then, the shirt has (only) been worn for… in order… Kellie's graduation from college, Eron's (my youngest Daughter) graduation from high school (when she was only 16!), Kellie's graduation from college, and Ashley's graduation from college. One more (at least) graduation to go, before I can 'retire' the shirt, and put it in my cedar chest along with my high school and college graduation gowns and a few other priceless heirlooms.

Some pictures of the happy occasion:

The proud parents

The loving sisters

Art & Pat, the grandparents

… Look out World!

Day 11 - 6/20/05 - Seattle, Washington to Newport Beach, Oregon

Now I was headed south, back to Santa Cruz, but I had a passenger with me. My oldest daughter (Kellie) was sitting behind me! She'd already done a fair amount of riding with me, but this was our first 'inter-state' ride.

Instead of heading due south, we went west. Luckily, Kellie is like her Dad… she doesn't like straight lines either. At one of our stops on the north coast of Oregon, we found a photo op… several years earlier, I'd picked my 'road name,' and now… I have a picture of me standing next to my namesake…

             "I am Thor, master of the universe."

Of course there's always time to stop and kiss the girls

When we got to Newport Beach (Oregon), we were greeted and welcomed by two very loving relatives. They are technically 'ex' relatives… the brother and sister in law of my second ex wife, but to me they will always be my brother and sister… the same as Tracy and David, my first ex wife's sister and brother in law.
  

                                                                   Brad and Wren
Day 11: 334 miles.

Day 12 - 6/21/05 - Newport Beach, Oregon to Arcata, CA

It's interesting to me, how different people are when they get on the back of a motorcycle. Kellie had a really hard time. She was so relaxed and comfortable, that she kept falling asleep.

Kellie and Dad:

                                             Leaving Newport Beach

Kellie and I really enjoyed the Oregon coast, even though I had to wake her up when we stopped! =)

Day 12: 308 miles.

Day 13 - 6/22/05 - Arcata, CA to Aptos, CA; the last leg!

                                  We rode thru a redwood tree in "The Avenue of the Giants"…

                                             … and across the Golden Gate, in San Francisco

I dropped Kellie off in Los Gatos, just short of Aptos, so she could hook up with her mom, and the rest of her Seattle family, to attend a family reunion that weekend. It was a tremendous adventure. A 306 mile day, and 3,338 for the trip. And for those math wizards out there, this total includes 300 miles while I was in Seattle.

"A Very Strange Day in Killeen, Texas"

I am so lucky.  My sister's side of the family and I are perfect for each other.  We lean on, and enjoy helping each other.  My dad was chastised by most of my family, when he decided to move to El Paso, and be near my niece Taumie and her family, because 'they' thought he had already given them too much.  Someday, I hope, 'they' will realize that there is no definition or description, or even the need to try to define what is enough.  What is enough is like beauty… to me.

Friday, June 18, 2010

6am - Up and at 'em.

7am - My obligatory visit to the gym was once again, a perfect way to start my day.  I've been starting most of my days like this, for about five or six years now, and have been grateful for my decision to do so.  A warm soak in the hot tub… a 30-minute ride on the stationary bike, and an always-random work out with the basketball and weights does something indescribable for me.  But let me try:

Not long after I turned 45 years old, I realized I was in trouble.  I had no fucking idea I was actually gonna live this long, and realized that if I didn't change my patterns, I was gonna be in a world of hurt.  My body was breaking down, and my pride took a good look at myself, and said, "Ned… if you don't loose some weight and mix in some good habits with your bad ones, you are gonna be sorry."

So I committed myself to a regiment.  A very lightweight commitment… of simply showing up at the gym each morning.  Before long, I felt something.  Then I saw it in the mirror.  Since then, I have found that if I don't start at least four or five days a week… sweating profusely, and panting for breath… I am not nearly as happy.

9am - Last night, I'd asked Kristie (my niece's neighbor and very good friend) to call me when she woke up, and let me know if she needed or wanted my help finishing up with her packing.  She's moving (from Killeen, TX) to  ?Podunk? Alabama.

When I hadn't heard from her, I called her (cell) number first.  She had it turned off.  I left a message.  Then I called my grandnephew Brice.  It was on, but… no answer.  I left a message.  My third attempt at finding out if they were alive was successful.  My grandniece Brynn, bless her heart, is almost always there to answer her phone.  Thank goodness someone in this god-forsaken family of misfits has some common courtesy.

She handed the phone to Kristie, who told me to common over… she was up and ready to get started on the final touches of the packing.

9:30am - I arrived at Kristie's to find her weeping about her sister (in-law) not being able to come out to help drive one of the caravan's vehicles back to Alabama.  Let me stop right here… Kristie was NOT weeping.  This gal is amazingly strong and capable.  Her courage and fortitude is commendable, and… yes… I want her… bad.

I even went so far as to offer to drive one of the trucks for her, and take a bus back to Killeen.  A FUCKING BUS from Hicksville, Alabama, thru Mississippi and Louisiana… back to the civilization of Killeen, Texas.  Jeesh almighty… how far have things gone in my life, when I can say that a place like Killeen is civilized.

10:30am - The vehicles were almost filled to capacity, and the garage was still full.  I left after Kristie assured me she and Brice were gonna go get a trailer.

11am - I went the four miles back to my apartment, and sat down and breathed.  I was hoping to get a phone call from a young gal I'd met on-line.  I wish I could tell you her name, but she says, "The Canadian Government owns me."  She's a 20-year old red head, who's working herself up the ranks of boxing, and says she may qualify for the Olympics in England in 2012.  Does this sound like a woman for me, or what?

Noon - I got the call from the Canadian red head and it was great.  Details deferred.

1:00pm - I called Kristie, and surprise surprise… she answered.  She said Brice was on his way over to pick up the trailer, and that Taumie (my niece) had been admitted to the hospital.  I knew she had gone to the doctor's office that morning, to try and find out what was wrong with her, but I had no idea is was so serious that she needed to be 'admitted.'

This is a good time to go back to the beginning (of this story).  My sister Jackie, and almost every single one of her offspring, has always required lots of help.  That's why some people in my family (all of them except me) have discontinued their emotional and financial offerings.  I have never been able to offer them any financial help, but my heart has never stopped me from feeling like it was a good thing for me to help them in any other way that I could.

Now that I'm here with them, and a passenger on their boat-ride from Hell… I finally feel at peace… I have found my home.  My dad 'needed to be needed,' and I am the same way.  If I am not able to help people (especially family) in some way… I feel alone and empty.  Taumie and her family and friends are gifts to me.

1:15pm - I pulled into the visitors' center at Ft. Hood, to get my pass to get on base, to visit Taumie.  I had my cribbage board, a brand new deck of cards, and a six-pack.

2:15pm - After 55 minutes waiting in line, I received my pass.  That's the good news.  That bad news was that I could not get thru the gate on my motorcycle without the 'appropriate attire.'  I was in shorts and sandals, not even close to military requirements.  I didn't want to join the Army… I just wanted to visit my niece in their hospital.

2:45pm - After leaving the visitors' center, it took me 20 minutes to get out.  I hadn't even been allowed to get ON the base, and I had to go through a gate to get OUT.  They wanted to check my paperwork, to make sure it was in order.  What the fuck?  First you won't let me in, and now you won't let me get out?!!!

I am so lucky they stopped the draft just before my number came up.  I would've been a whole lot of trouble for the commanders of 'This Man's Army.'  Remember Steve McQueen, in "The Great Escape"?  That would've been me.  And I woulda been on their side… for god's sakes.

3:00pm - Instead of going home for my 'proper attire,' I decided to take a short detour, and go by Kristie's to see if she and Brice could use any help loading the trailer.  When I got there, no one was home.  I was snickering at myself as I punched the numbers to call them, but I went thru the process anyway.  First Taumie… I didn't even bother leaving a message for her… she doesn't listen to them.  

Kristie…  no answer… left a message.  Brice… left a message.  Brynn… once again, my heroine, tells me the rental place didn't have any trailers, so Kristie and Brice were unloading the 12' truck, and moving everything into a 16' one.

I wandered next door, and rocked Brynn's youngest daughter (Geralynn… my great grand niece) for while, waiting for Cheri (Brynn's sister) to call back with directions for me to get to the truck rental place, so I could help these poor bastards who were too lame to answer their phones.

3:15pm - I gave up and called Cheri.  She gave me very clear and understandable directions and I was on the road.

3:20pm - Stopped off at my house for more beer and appropriate attire.  Don't worry, you'll get a full description of what that means, in a minute.

3:30pm - Dropped of one of my resumes at a potential employers business.

3:45pm - Arrived at Penske's U-Haul just as Brice and Kristie were leaving.  They'd gotten help and were already done with the switch over.  PHONES people?  Have you ever heard of communicating with people who are trying to help you?  Jeesh… my work here is only just beginning.  These people have so much to learn.

Etiquette and decorum… yeah… that's gonna work out just peachy.  They're gonna latch onto those concepts and run… like hell away from me.

4:00pm - Got pulled over by a City Cop, for sharing a lane with another car.  I'd been told that it was 'frowned on,' but NOT illegal.  This cop told me something different than the other cop I'd asked.  Yes, it's legal to share a lane… with another bike… not another car.  I think he pulled me over cuz I split/ shared the lane just as the light at the intersection turned green, and hit it just right, and he was bored.  

I'll get back to ya'all about this one.  Now I am really curious… I love Texas…

… Maybe BECAUSE… it's so totally different from Santa Cruz (California).  Oh… the cop told me he gave me, "The break of all breaks," and gave me a warning.  I politely thanked him, and told him I'd never share a lane with a car again, while to myself I was thinking… I need to confirm what the fucking law is, or isn't, in Texas.  This is a challenge for me now.  It's the principal of the thing.  Can you share a lane, or can't you?  Or is it up to the individual cop to decide.  I may have to stop wearing sandals and swimming trunks around town, if that's gonna be a red flag to these rednecks.  Get it… red flag… red necks…

4:15pm - Arrived again at the front gate of Ft. Hood.  I pulled over just outside the gate, and started putting on my appropriate attire.  First I slipped out of my sandals and pulled my jean up over my swimming trunks.  Then I took off my tank top and put on my long sleeved shirt.  Then my boots (no socks), then my helmet and gloves.

4:30pm - Now I was parked (again) by the side of the gate, waiting for them to check my paperwork.  The gatekeeper had already told me that my tie-dye shirt was not bright enough, so I was pulling out my tank top, to put on over the top of it, when he asked me about my glasses.  I said, "What about my (didn't say fucking) glasses?", and he said, "They're not appropriate."

If I'd been as tipsy then as I am now, I'm sure I wouldn't be typing this story right now.  The other 'gate-keeper' had specifically told me the first time I'd been asked to step to the side of the road and wait for further directions, that the glasses I'd been wearing WERE 'appropriate.'  So… I chuckled out loud, and instead of giving him a reason to check my breath for alcohol… I said, "OK... fine"

As I started to take my jeans off, I heard a loud whistle and a voice… "Sir, you cannot take your clothes off here."  What?  All I was doing was doing the exact opposite of what I'd done 15 minutes earlier on the other side of the gate.  This REALLY cracked me up, and I heard at least one of the gatekeepers laugh when I laughed.

This Mans Army… clearly, they do not want my kind.

Oh… the proper attire:  " Shoes over the ankles; full length pants; long sleeved shirt (either 'brightly colored by someone's definition or); a reflective vest; a helmet; full fingered gloves; and… this is the one that kept me out… WRAP AROUND eye protection."

I think they just didn't like my tie-dye.

5:00pm - Back at Kristie's to share my saga and beer.

6:00pm - Back at home to write this story.

7pm - Story complete.   8pm - Edit complete.   THE END.    NO REVISIONS ALLOWED.

"The Hill Country" - West of Austin, TX

6/13/10 - Sunday

6am - I woke up later than usual, but not by too much.  This is 'sleeping in' for me!  When I'd gone to sleep the night before, I hadn't decided if I was gonna take a day ride or not, but as soon as my feet hit the floor (@ about 6:02am) I knew.

7am - Sipped my coffee, did some random emailing and some not so random 'journaling.'  I have a new cyber friend I met on a website called "Live Journal."  I've been goofing around on it for about a year and a half now, and have made several 'good' friends, but "purr4you" (her user name) is the first friend that I've developed a real, real-life connection with.  At least it seems like a real connection.  No one can really know for sure… cyber-connections… an interesting concept.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this relationship develops.  We've been talking about meeting in person, but the distance, our schedules, and my finances are all quite limiting at this time in our lives.  One thing I know… we are sure enjoying getting to know each other.  I think we've 'chatted' every day now for about a week or more.  But this story is not about her.  It's about another relationship with another girl.

8am - Honey was as excited as I was, as she was getting packed for the trip.  She remembered her first snippet of "The Hill Country," last year when we were out here, and liked the terrain and roads as much as I did.  The closest thing I can compare this area to, is a more fertile and lush version of the base of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's in Central California.  The main difference is that there, the rolling hills are only about 20 miles 'wide,' before you get into the actual mountainous terrain.  Here, they go on and on… for hundreds of miles in every direction.  This area, which is just west of Austin, is really, quite beautiful.  Either that or it just seems like it, because all the freaking flat flat flat, terrain, almost everywhere else I've seen so far in this monstrously large State.

8:30am - Off and away… it was a glorious morning!

9am - Lampasas.  About 30 miles down the road.  I stopped for gas, and checked inside, to see if Chelsie was working, but found out she was no longer employed at the gas station - mini mart.  Too bad, she was a real breath of fresh air, I will miss her smiling face, and quirky sense of humor.

I did meet some new friends outside though.  Ray and Tim were fellow biker brothers, on their way back home to Grand Junction, Colorado.  They said they were planning two long days, to end their 10-day ride.  We didn't take the time to chat too much, but they did give me a very good piece of advice when I mentioned I was gonna be in Fredericksburg later that day.  They told me to be sure to visit Luckenbach.

We traded business cards, and Tim told me to be sure to contact him if I was anywhere near their home.  I'd mentioned I spent a few days at a "Dude Ranch" in Rifle, and loved the area.  I'm not sure if that had anything to do with his invitation, but I'm gonna keep his card, and take him up on his offer.  I'd be really surprised if I don't end up there on one of my road trips someday.

10am - Colorado Bend State Park.  Yes, that is correct.  I'd just met two guys from the State of Colorado, and an hour later, I found myself (quite unexpectedly) in the State Park of the same name.  A coincidence?  I choose to think of it as synchronicity.  Things happen to me on my road trips… outwardly 'strange-unusual' things…  ALL THE TIME.  I do not try to understand them, when they do, I simply acknowledge them, appreciate them, and remember… this is a big world, but there is an energy of some sort that 'controls' things around us, and… I just love it.  It makes me feel connected… to the entire world.

Here are a few pictures of the area… first, a small tributary of the Colorado River.  Not THE Colorado River, but A Colorado River, non-the-less.

Next, a sign that didn't make exact sense to me.  I understood the intent… just not the word at the end, "seining".  My best guess is that they meant to say, "swimming."

(authors note:  I have since found out what "seining" is... it's a form of 'net fishing')

And this one, of a girl who actually chose NOT to run away from me.

Then, on my out of the 'Park', I stopped at "Bad Bobs," a little market out in the middle of nowhere, where there was a group of nine 'old-timers' sitting out on the patio shootin' the shit.  It was a Sunday, so I kinda thought to myself it was an impromptu, or at least very casual 'church service.'  I stopped.  It never hurts to share a little gospel now and then.

After finding out it wasn't really a church gathering, but a weekly congregation of the local yokel informal men’s club… I relaxed, shared one of my brews as a cowboy communion, and sat with them for a spell.

Really fun group of guys.  I'm gonna go back!  RJ was the joke-teller.  The one (of about five or six that he rattled off during my 30-minute or so time with them) that stuck with me was this one:

"Did you hear Obama was putting a 50% tax on aspirin?  Yep… it's because they're white, and they work."  This was his response to my mentioning I was half Mexican, and very proud of it.

11:30am - Honey saw the shade at one of the historical markers, and asked me if we could take a short break.  No worries… no real schedule today, and not too many miles planned.  It's like the attitude I have when I go golfing… "Nothing to do, and all day to do it."

12:15pm - We strolled right through the town of Fredericksburg without stopping.  Tourists… everywhere.  My stomach was starting to growl, but I sure didn't want to stop of some 'trap' called, "The Best Burger in Town."  I was hoping to find something a bit more rural and authentic at the 'old west town' that my buddies from Colorado had told me about, just down the road.

12:30pm - Good thing they'd told me about it… it wasn't even marked on the highway, I had my road map, so I knew the number of the 'farm road' that would take me the six miles, but if I hadn't of been looking for it, I would've never known it was there.

Well worth the sidetrack.  Although it is a tourist trap… at least it has some character.  I'm sorry I didn't get some better pictures, but I'll be going back, and I'll show you one reason why, on the next page.

The motto of the town is, "Luckenbach, an adult day care."  They have live music everyday of every week in the year.  Every single day except Christmas is what Linda told me.

This is Linda.  She is MUCH cuter than this picture indicates.  I was very polite, and will be again, the next time(s) I see her, but you can probably imagine what type of "adult day care" activities I'm thinking about…

I took the main highways on my way back home, and the ride was pretty uneventful.  The only stop I made was…

2:30pm - Marble Falls.  To whet my whistle at the "R-Bar," a place I'd stopped at the only other time I'd been thru the area, over a year ago.  I'll need to find another local cantina… this one has been remodeled and upgraded, and no longer has the feel of an old west saloon.  I do ok in 'hoidy-toidy' type places, but I much prefer the well-used, seldom-cleaned type of places.  I'm not a slob, but I'm not a prissy either.

4pm - Home… safe and sane.  Well, at least safe.  It was a very comfortable and leisurely day-ride of 298 miles and an elapsed time of 7 ½ hours.

                                                                   THE END