Monday, March 13th

When there’s ground to be turned, you gotta get behind the mule.  You gotta get behind the mule boy, up on the row(d).                                                  Tom Waits

I left this morning long before sunrise.  Not because I was in a hurry but because I was awake and knew I wouldn’t be falling back to sleep.  That said, I do have a lot of ground to cover in the next couple of days.  I’ve been enjoying the comforts and cooking of visits with family and friends and there aren’t adequate words of appreciation for that time.  But it was time to get behind the mule.

The moon was one day past full and a welcome companion.  I drove a couple of blocks before deciding I should probably turn on my lights, and I was able to unlock and hook up my camper in a storage lot without the aid of artificial light.  On my trips I have limited the time I’ve spent driving in the dark ’cause I don’t want to bring a sudden end to one of God’s critters, and selfishly, don’t want to break a headlight or punch a hole in my radiator.

I’m always aware of how my other senses are working when vision is limited.  I felt the truck feel an incline.  I smelled water but could not identify the source.  Shortly I could see by the moonlight that I had big farms on both my right and left, raising crops out of the desert floor.  I could smell the distinctly odiferous wafting of a feed lot but never drove past one.  The moon was hung in front of me and slightly to my left and for awhile it was joined by the orange light of dawn filling my rearview mirror.  When daylight came the roadsides were rich with yellow, purple, and occasional white.

I saw the purple mountain’s majesty today.  The late morning sun on the east side of the Sierra’s gives them a subtle but distinct purplish glow.  America, God shed his Grace on thee.

A great morning led to a long, hot afternoon.  I don’t generally drive faster than 66 or 67 when I’m pulling the camper, but if you are towing anything in California the speed limit is 55.  So I’ve been breaking the law ever since I crossed the line, but still, the difference between 60 and 66 feels huge.  Lots of construction of course, and at one point, I spent 45 minutes in a stop and go line of traffic in the middle of nowhere.

I know it’s been awhile again, but motion has resumed and I’m heading to Yosemite.  I don’t know what net access adventures await there but I hope you’ll stay tuned.

I am well and hope you all are too.