Posting late again...Part 1

Let's see...I was last in Elko, and then headed for Saratoga CA. LONG day, but exciting! I chose to go over the Sierras via Ebbett's Pass, and we did just fine with the grades and the twisty-turny road until just before the second, slightly lower pass when I (and a long string of others) got behind someone in a brand-new 4-wheel drive truck whose driver thought he couldn't go more than 15 mph. Then it started to rain, which became quite a serious hailstorm. The hail wasn't big enough to damage anything, but came down so fast and hard that we were driving through 4" of wet, slushy stuff for several miles. I hadn't found a gas station where I expected to be able to, so was driving on a low tank. I actually made it to Bear Valley without the "out of gas" light coming on! The cost was highway robbery, but it's not the first time I've encountered that, and am now more savvy: fill when you can where the price is right, even if it's only half a tank.

It was dusk by the time I hit Farmington, so had to drive the rest of the way on freeways in the dark, but did OK, helped by the fact that in CA cars with trailers are limited to 55 mph. So I got in the right lane and let everyone else go around me. It was certainly more comfortable in that situation not to be trying to keep up with freeway traffic. Apparently few besides me feel the need to drive at the posted speed limits, but I didn't want to get stopped.

Had a wonderful Sunday/Monday with Steve and Terry! Terry and I went to the Alameda Point Flea Market on Sunday, and I found some goodies...several for my son's use when he's making/serving liquor infusions. Could have spent more money but we ran out of energy just before the closing time. Coming home with a gorgeous multi-colored bedspread which I will probably use for something else entirely.

Due to a general lack of energy and balls, I bailed on two side trips to Berkeley I had planned, and went over to Half Moon Bay State Beach on Tuesday. Lovely site with a small ocean view; cooked rice and a steak on the Coleman for dinner and then hit the hay at dark. Woke early to the sound of gulls and when I looked out, saw they were fighting over something indistinguishable but orange which was too big for any of them to carry off. Finally one of them managed to fly off with it (I surmised later it was my cheese) at which point I looked over at my table and supplies only to discover that raccoons had completely trashed everything. They got into the food storage box and ate everything they could find (oddly, the rice and powdered chai containers were intact); got into the cooler, ditto. But the worst of it was that everything they touched was muddy and wet, and they maybe even tracked their own poop all over the whole mess. I salvaged what I could, tossed the rest into the dirty container and got out of there. Ick. And ew. And O.M.G. (Wish the ranger at the entrance station has mentioned the possibility as the ranger at the Tetons did for the bears.)

So I drove down to Fresno to stay for a few days with my old friends from the 80s and my stint as a theater costumer. It was really hot, and sleeping in the trailer was a bit of a trial, but I learned that if you just ignore the discomforts (like sweat running into your eyes) you can still get to sleep and get a good rest. I also found that when it's safe to do so, sleeping with the hatch on the trailer open and with my head at that end of the trailer is pretty good. Little Guy makes a screen that attaches there with a zipper down the middle and a canopy that extends beyond it, but it's pricey, so I'm going to make my own. Don't need a zipper as I can't climb in that way anyway, and don't need the canopy so it shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish. I might, however, invest in the tent that attaches to the side of the trailer so that I have privacy and somewhere to stand up to dress and undress...my most irritating problem at the moment.

(Later note: the side tent is only a screen tent, the rear tent doesn't fit my model, so back to the drawing board on that. I did find a tent at Camping World that wraps around the back of an SUV and I might be able to adapt that...I hope. But will keep investigating all the possibilities)

More to come, but not right now. I'm revamping my plans and will drive straight home. Bella and I are tired of camping. I might even leave today. Being old means you have to pee during the night and the hike to the bathrooms is daunting. Will get a motel somewhere once I get on the road.

Road Trip: the start

I haven't been able to get wireless access until tonite in a motel in Elko, so will do 2 days at once, assuming I don't fall asleep first.

Day 1: Denver to Moran WY (the northern entrance to Teton National Park). Drove. Drove. Missed the turnoff for the shortcut to Rawlins WY so added an hour? two hours? to my trip, and I didn't actually get out of Lakewood until almost 9, and still had to stop for gas and ice. Traffic was light, though, and the car and trailer did well. Bella is a GREAT traveler!

I forget in between trips up there just how beautiful the clouds are in Wyoming: big, fluffy poufs of the sort that angels live on and today the most astonishing "horsetails" I've ever seen. Just breathtaking. And traffic was minimal, so I made pretty good time.

I had made a reservation for the Coulter Bay RV park, and they asked me to call if I wasn't going to get there by 6. I wasn't. Called from DuBois (that's DUE Boysss in Wyomingese) which should only have been an hour longer, but got told there was some ugly road work in between requiring pilot cars and one-lane stretches. I was lucky enough to be 3rd in line with only a 4-minute wait at the first stretch, and the 2nd was done on our own. Both were long and on dirt, with a 35-mph limit. But it was beautiful up there, and on the down side, began to get peeks of the Tetons. I haven't been there since about 1968 and had forgotten just how spectacular they are. Made it to the park, and found that for $10 (instead of $25), I got some sort of Golden Age pass that will let me in free to all National Parks for the rest of my life. Dang!!

The RV park was OK, but not much room or privacy, and since I've discovered that it's virtually impossible to do anything inside the Teardrop (and Bella has to be confined somewhere where she can't do too much damage while I'm away), it was too dark to cook by the time I began to settle in, ablutions were minimal, and Bella and I crashed. It was cold. And I forgot to bring my lovely, warm hand-woven Indian blanket for a topper, and had to settle for a much thinner, rough cotton Mexican throw I have which has been in the back seat of the car. When I woke up sometime in the night, the whole place smelled like a doghouse. And we were still cold, so I slipped on my heavy sweatshirt, and we got some more sleep.

I discovered, much to my surprise and chagrin, that my trailer doors DO NOT lock from the inside, which means 1) anyone can get in from the outside and 2) because of the type of handle, Bella just has to hit it with her paw and she can get out. Luckily, she didn't. She just kinda shivered and burrowed closer to me all night.

Forgot to charge my phone, so sometime in the night it signaled me that it was juiceless, which meant no alarm this morning. We actually awoke around 7:30. No one else was up so I took Bella for a walk and then took her into the restroom with me (against the rules!! but not posted, so tough.) Breakfast seemed hopeless, and I wanted to get on the road, so found Cheerios and milk. Blah. MUST get better with the Coleman stove (which could not be left out overnight because of bear danger).

We drove down the length of the Tetons to Jackson, which is a charming little town with no empty parking spaces at all. On the way we stopped at a couple of overlooks and read about 1) the formation of the Tetons and 2) what the glaciation accomplished. The whole thing is just, well, awesome. I'd like to go back sometime and stay somewhere with a view of them. For several days.

Took the "back" way over to Idaho via Teton Pass, which in Colorado terms isn't particularly high, but is pretty much straight up and almost as straight down. The car was pushed to its limits on the up. We went through Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls on our way to Wells, NV. Mostly without incident, and I was blown away by the cultivation of crops in Idaho. I had no clue they grow thousands and thousands of acres of wheat in all the little valleys and up the hills. Swan Valley is gorgeous, and would be a lovely place to live. Under 9,000 population if I remember the sign correctly. Lots of horses in the fields and the lush cultivation - bucolic to the max.

We arrived in Elko to the news that it's not only Labor Day weekend, but the County Fair as well. Not only that, but main street is all torn up so you drive it in single, side-by-side lanes on gravel at best, and I can't believe the business all along it haven't demanded better "ramps" from street to business pad. Anyway, I followed the directions sent to me by the RV Park where I'd made a reservation. They were wrong, so I went looking for it, and found it by following the directions if you were heading East on I-80. They'd reversed them, thank you very much. And then I drove in only to find that the RVs were parked about 6' apart, most of them were the huge ones with generators, and the only place to walk one's dog is way down at the far end. Gravel. On everything. Not a tree in sight. Not a shrub in sight. Just row after row of big RVs. I went into the office to use a bathroom and told her I wasn't going to stay after all. Yes, I had to eat the fee, but I badly needed someplace where I could get clean and feel clean, and yes, maybe cook dinner, not to mention breakfast. I don't think there was room to do that, and I probably forgot to notice no mention of tables at each site. Ugh. Found a Super8 farther south (on the torn-up portion of the same road) and got a room. Turns out I was at the Travelodge office, but still got a room and the price wasn't ghastly. Good thing I got there when I did, because they were almost full and I probably got the last dog room.

For dinner? Across the street was a "King Buffet" which I wouldn't have chosen except that when I went to gas up the car, the traffic had become massive, the street no less nasty, and no one seemed inclined to recommend somewhere I could go for a casual meal. So that's where I went. It was edible, I'm full, and don't think I'll be sick, and that's probably the best I can say for it. (I don't mean this in any racist sense, but how come those places are always staffed by women whose only English is "buffet?" "drink?" and "thank you." Are these eateries the place where Chinese immigrants come first? Like, do they provide jobs as a "service" to people who want to come here from China?)

So, not to forget, I'm making notes on what to improve or change for my next trip: the nice 5-6" mattress that was retrofitted in the trailer by her previous owner has to go. It blocks the screens in the doors (which are stupidly on the bottom half); Makes it harder to get inside; even I can't sit up comfortably inside; and it's heavy and VERY awkward to make up. Also the vinyl-covered wire shelf they installed across the rear of the trailer was not only useless, but didn't fit correctly into the (partly broken) fittings, so was more than useless. I will replace said "storage" area with cloth shoe-bags, handmade and specially compartmented and sized for the things I need in there: place for purse; place for keys; place for various pieces of clothing, flashlight, books, the laptop, etc. Ditto window curtain fittings: half-assed and don't really work. I will devise Velcro on door itself and backside of curtains. Or shades, which could be raised above the screens for ventilation. Which is important. I forgot to open the top ventilation hood in Teton. But since it meant climbing up and un-taping a makeshift cover, I probably couldn't have done it in the dark anyway.

So now we're both fed, and I desperately need to go take a shower, so will close for today. It wasn't all bad...just a definite learning experience.

Road Trip!

Leaving tomorrow early on a 3 week road trip!! Just me and my dog, Bella. The impetus is my 50th high school reunion, but I'll be visiting other friends from the past up and down Northern California and spending some time just relaxing with the doggie in nice places.

Watch for additional posts as I "document" my adventures.

Road Trips for this Senior

I've been considering my desire to travel more, my financial resources, and my dog for awhile now, and started looking for small trailers (I drive a Subura Outback Sport) a month or so ago since I plan a trip to CA (from CO) in September. Then I quite suddenly decided to take a June trip to TX to visit relatives and relieve my cabin fever, and the search suddenly became a real one. I don't really need a trailer for this trip as it will only require 1 night in a motel each way and my family has room and loves to have guests, but there's this great flea market once-a-month in the Dallas area that I've been wanting to go to, and the dates all gelled for that. So I have the opportunity for a "shakedown cruise" over relatively flat ground before I pull a trailer over the Rockies, and if I find lots of wonderful things at Canton Trade Days, I can stow them in the trailer instead of having to UPS them home!!

Yesterday I went to look at a Teardrop "Little Guy" trailer which, from the photos, looked like it might be too "bare bones" for me, but although it doesn't have a "kitchen" in the rear hatch area as many do, I found that otherwise, it's in great shape, has an added-on storage locker attached to the tongue right in front of the trailer itself, and the price would allow me to add some amenities as desired. Additionally, it's plain white (except for a few remnants of "cow patch" decals the owner's daughter had applied all over it) so I can cover it with whatever decals, if any, I want. Unlike some teardrops, and much to my surprise from the photos, it has a screened door on each side so ventilation won't be a problem. I gave the owner a deposit on the spot, and will pick it up Saturday!

Since the hitch and wiring arrangement is going to cost me more than anticipated, I've decided that the only other thing I MUST do before the June trip is find either a new top vent cover or the complete assembly. I'll also figure out bedding (it comes with a really clean, good mattress) since we might try to sleep in it, and might then go a little further with gathering up cookstove, lantern, cooking and eating utensils, etc. so that I can see just how to store them.

Of course, I have to register and retitle it (and in CO the VIN has to be verified by State Patrol before going to the DMV) and it appears not to have a license plate at this point, so I'll be ferrying it around the area with a bill of sale and a pat response to any law enforcement personnel who might stop me: " I just bought it and can't get a license until Monday! Here's the bill of sale."

Additionally I need to figure out where to park it as my condo association has no areas in which I can do that. My mom (who is 96, by the way) has a garage I can use, but right now it's full of a bunch of stuff I need to sell, so I might have to rent storage space for a month until I can get it cleaned out. I might have to park it attached to my car on the street for a few days, so I'll be purchasing padlocks and such because it would otherwise be just too easy for someone to snatch...but I would make those purchases anyway since on any lengthy trips I'll be leaving it in a campground anyway.

In the meantime, I'm dreaming of my upcoming trips, and the wonderful places I can go and see and take my dog along without the worries of finding decent and affordable pet-friendly accomodations. While I prefer something else, there's always a KOA nearby!

I have a friend who likes to travel, and we've tried it out and we travel well together and will probably take some camping trips in CO this summer, but I've never been afraid of traveling alone anyway. I make every effort I can to be safe; I have a dog who'll protect me with her life and is good-size; and I seem to do a lot of soul-searching and healing when I'm driving. I also like the feeling that I'm self-sufficient and know what I'm doing out there on the road.

I'll soon be 68, but don't feel "old" except when my knees start to ache or I can't find my glasses or something. I know there are some older women (and men, I suppose) out there who would never think of doing such a thing alone, but when I was 30 and moved across the country all alone in a Pinto with a covered U-Haul in tow, my friends were wary. Again when I was 37 and decided to take a month-long roadtrip between California and Minnesota with my young kids, they were hesitant to enthuse. At 64 I picked up stakes and moved lock, stock and barrel to Oregon and then back to Colorado 18 months later and my friends were astounded. I feel competent, and I feel safe, and while I no longer like to sleep on the ground in a tent, I hope my "travels with Roxie" encourage some of you to try it yourselves.

Between the rack atop my car as well as the "trunk" room, and the entire interior of the Teardrop in which to store any treasures I find along the way, I think this is almost a perfect (no bathroom, no standing-up space in the trailer, and no indoor cooking facilities) set-up for me, and will encourage me to get out and go some places I've been wanting to go. I'd been thinking of looking for some sort of small motorhome, but the cost is beyond me, and with the price of gasoline...

I still have to name her...she's a "her" in spite of being labeled a "Little Guy" trailer...and decide on her motto. I like, and have used as tags in emails several possibilities: "Wherever you go there you are," "All who wander are not lost," and "A knowledge of the path cannot be substituted for putting one foot in front of the other" are among my faves. Final choices (and the decal letters to put them on the trailer) will come to me when they come to me, and I'm certain they'll be perfect when they do.

So, signing off for now - at least on this topic - but as I just bought myself a laptop computer, and the trailer has been wired for 110 inside, I can blog about my trips AS THINGS HAPPEN! Will keep my many readers posted with my adventures, my difficulties, and my solutions to any problems I encounter. Maybe I'll see you on the road!

Be prepared; be safe; have fun!!

Lordie,

I sure hope I don't outlive my ability to tweeze my face!

The Academy Awards from a former costumer's point of view

AND....the Oscar for most beautiful/elegant woman at the 83rd Academy Awards goes to Helen Mirren! She was stunningly dressed in dark silver grey, in a gown which complemented her in oh, so many, almost countless ways. She carried herself like a queen without the need for excessive glitter or more skin showing than is wise. Very much the Grande Dame of the evening. Bravo, Helen!!

Now, on to lesser beings. Nicole Kidman: what were you thinking when you chose to wear RED shoes with your beautiful white and silver dress? Even if you mislaid the shoes that were supposed to go with the dress, you MUST have had another choice that didn't look as if you'd worn your most comfortable high heels in the limo and forgot to change them!

Sandra Bullock: You were beautiful as was your dress. But who failed to tell you that an embossed croc leather handbag, though small, is NOT an evening bag.

Jennifer Hudson: Honey, I know you've lost a ton of weight, and everyone loves you, but all I could look at was your perky breasts sticking - nay, popping - out the front of your pretty red dress.

Oprah, I love you and I know about your weight struggles as well as your frequent messages to us about loving ourselves just the way we are, and finding better ways to be healthy first, and fit later, but whoever advised you on your dress did you a major disservice. It was NOT flattering, and I know you can be dressed flatteringly, no matter what you weigh at any given moment. It just was not. Neither was your hair.

Loved most of the dresses (and tuxedo) they dressed Anne Hathaway in, except for the odd blue one, which reminded me of the upholstery in low-riders all gussied up for Cinco de Mayo. I swear it was pleather.

I don't know the name of the woman receiving an Oscar, nor what she got it for, but she was wearing red, with cutouts at the shoulders...and the whole thing made her look like a linebacker. Sorry, she's a big woman and didn't seem to have a bad figure, but the dress made her look twice as big as she probably is.

Then there was the woman in black/ grey (or silver) stripes with a gap at the front of her dress she covered by clutching her Oscar in front of it while at the microphone . I swear that dress was meant to have the straps go straight up over the shoulders, and she chose to criss-cross them instead. NO ONE makes a dress with a poochy gap in the center on purpose. Or do they?

Melissa Leo may have dropped the "f-bomb" but her dress was absolutely gorgeous and she looked wonderful in it.

The little girl from "True Grit" was PERFECTLY dressed for her age and the occasion! Bravo to whoever dressed and coiffed her.

Annette, sweetheart, I think you're an amazing actress, and I WILL now go see "The Kids are All Right" but your dress...well, let's just say that while I didn't whistle in delight or gasp in horror, it just didn't do you justice.

As to hairdos, I have to say that most looked like they'd done it themselves... at the last minute.

But in one of the most amazing coups by a stylist or jeweler or whoever, someone convinced a majority of these movie stars that 1) all you need is earrings and maybe a matching ring; 2) large stones for said pieces are "in" and go with anything; and 3) THE JEWELRY NEED NOT MATCH ANYTHING ABOUT THE DRESS YOU'RE WEARING! It wasn't GHASTLY ghastly, if you know what I mean, but I'm astounded by the wool being pulled over so many eyes.

There were more outfits I either thought were beautiful and perfect for the wearer, as well as small and large mistakes, but it was the first time I watched the whole thing, and I don't have a copy of it to review for this review. One last comment for the ladies, however: no one will EVER top Halle Berry's stunning, almost-nude dress from several years ago. Don't even try.

As for the men, well, I know you want to put a personal twist on the "black tie" tuxedo ensemble, but you don't have to. ALL men look absolutely gorgeous in the real deal. Even with hair. Too many black shirts with a black traditional tie, or no tux at all for my (admittedly) personal taste for this venue, especially when you're a nominee.

As an aside, do you know the secret to looking svelte in these gowns? Not one, but TWO pair of Spanx, sewed to the bra.

I don't give a hurtling hoot about reality! I want what I want, and I'm going to be forever sad that I can't have it.

I want my children to live with or near me. I want my mother to live with me. I want us all together in a big ole house where everyone pitches in with the chores, and we hold hands at the dinner table, and Grampa says funny non-sequitors and the women sit around the kitchen table drinking tea and talking about whatever's on their minds! I want GRANDCHILDREN around my knees as I teach them how to make the best piecrust in the world or make them great, creative Halloween costumes. I want people in my house who squeal with delight at the "Santa footprints" they find on the floor between the chimbley and the tree on Christmas Day. I might even want real candles on the tree!! I want it ALL, even the negatives. And I don't have it.

Here I sit in my little (though colorful and comfortable) condo with my dog, trying to feel some Christmas Spirit (ah, speaking of Spirit, maybe some of THAT would help) when, honestly, this is the hardest time of the year for me. My older son appears to simply ignore any messages I send him...I realize he usually skiis at Christmas and that's fine, but would it KILL him to answer my invitation to at least get together so I can give him (and his wife) their gifts??? I accept that he doesn't feel and warm and fuzzy about me, and has an apparently fullfilling life on his own, but I gave him life and I love him, dammit, and I think he owes me the respect of returning a phone call or responding to an invitation/question! And there will be no grandchildren from that quarter, either.

The younger son is better, but is still a busy man. I appreciate the effort he goes to to make Christmas (and other times) special for me, but I'm not probably getting any grandchildren there, either. On the other hand, he got all excited about the Paella I'm making for Christmas Dinner, and decided it will need a Christmas tree on the top made of parsley. For him, I'm making doughnut upside-down cake for dessert. His presence does lift me up.

But, frankly, I could die here and the dog eat my body before anyone would notice or think to call and check on me. I'm SERIOUS! I talk on the phone, or by email or make comments on Facebook, but if I died, it would be WEEKS before any of them noticed I was maybe out of touch for some reason and checked on me. I guess I should take it as a compliment that they all think I'll live forever and am fully capable of taking care of myself in the meantime.

But damn, it feels lonely.

I should have had the 5 or 6 kids I always wanted. I should have had at least one daughter. I should now have more than my share of grandkids I could spoil and pamper and babysit. I should have 14 kids all tumble into my house any time of day and shout, "Grandma! What've we got to EAT?" Or, "Grandma! Let's fingerpaint on the kitchen table!" or better yet, "Grandma! Can we stay over?????"

But I'm not Ma Walton, and although for part of their youth my boys and I all slept in one bedroom and did the "Goodnight John-Boy" routine routinely, I guess my job now is to fill my life in other ways and with other people. Sure feels sad today, though.

With that, I think I'll make a cup of tea and turn on some music, and have a good cry before I wrap Christmas presents to put under my tree...