The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #13 in ID,OR,CA,NV,UT,CO,KS & MO 4/18/98
From Petaluma, CA, Hi Everyone! After Meg & Erin flew down to Reno, NV on April 9th to be with Meg's family for the Easter weekend. I went with Dave to the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts where he works as an audio engineer. The Boise University Art class was rehearsing to put on a play about the "Grapes of Wrath". I had read the book a long time ago and thought it would be interesting to see the play . They didn't impress me that night but the next day they were to have a full dress rehearsal for some school kids. Dave talked me into staying for that. This time I was really impressed, they transported me back in time to when I read the book. Their interpretation of the book was excellent and the acting was outstanding. After my heart attack I find I am very emotional (this is normal for anyone having had a heart attack) and this play was a real tear jerker. I was sure glad that I stayed to see it.
When I drove the motorhome down to the Morrison Center I found gas for $1.02 and filled up. The going price was $1.06 to $1.08 so I thought I really did good till the next day when I see it for $1.01 at the Flying J truck stop on the interstate, I have a Flying J card that gets me one cent a gallon discount. I could have saved $.68 cents. The price in Oregon & California is a little higher than ID but I'm not complaining.
When I headed west the first stop was in Caldwell, ID to visit Debbie (a 2nd cousin) I had seen her a few years ago, we are both into genealogy. Since then she had remarried and moved so I was lucky to locate her again. Had a nice visit with her and her new husband, ate (too much) dinner with them and will keep them on the map for the next time I'm in the area and try to stir up some more genealogy information for her.
I headed west again after dark and planed to make it to Bend, OR before stopping. It was a beautiful night, a full moon and I could see a lot of stars. When I got to Burns, OR I looked at the map and read "Bend" so I pulled into a parking lot and shut down thinking I was in Bend and wondered why I had only used half as much gas as I expected to. The next morning I see my mistake, I had only gone half way to Bend. Headed west again and saw a lot of ice on the water in the ditches, it was c-o-l-d, When I did get to Bend I decided to check into an RV Park, turn the computer on and get started on this letter. Just to make conversation I asked the manager if the darkening sky meant we would be getting some more rain. He replied "no the forecast was for snow" when I asked him if the road going south went down hill, he replied "no if it snowed I wouldn't be going south till Monday morning". I bid him farewell and Me & My shadow headed south at a high rate of speed. Not too far out of Bend it started snowing, I picked up a hitch hiker needing a ride. He was well dressed with long hair and 2 ear rings in his left ear. Had a nice visit with him, found out he was from Virginia and was seeing the country by working as a cook to make a few bucks and then moving on to another place. He had been in Boise then Bend and was headed to Klamath Falls to hunt for his next job.
Gus had planned the trip for the shortest route and this took us around the north side of Crater Lake and then south to Petaluma. When we got to the road that went west, I wished Merlin (the hitch hiker) well, dropped him off and headed west and up. It wasn't long before I started to see those long poles fastened to the posts on the shoulder so the snow plows could tell were the edge of the road was. I found out later that the snow around Crater Lake gets to about 12 feet deep. It started to snow again and the road ahead was snow covered. By seesawing back and forth Me & My Shadow got turned around and I told Gus to take us the long way around.
Caught up with Merlin again, he had walked quite a way after I let him off and was glad to see me. This time I dropped him off in the center of Klamath Falls and continued south to state route 66 for our second attempt to get over the mountains. We were further south now, the mountains were not as high but the road was narrow, crooked, not many guard rails and was stuck several hundred feet up on the side of the mountain. I would have preferred to travel this road in good weather, however, good weather is out of my reach as long as Gertrude is unhappy. It is raining as I write this letter, I'm glad I'm here... could be snowing on the roads I used to get here. I must be 500 miles too far north, or I'm here two months too soon, it has to get better.
4/14/98 My defibrillator fired today. About 8:15 AM I was having a cup of coffee and a roll at the time. I felt a little light headed and had time to put my cup down before the Bang!, it feels like a stick of dynamite going off in my chest, if I hadn't sat my cup down I suppose I would have thrown coffee everywhere. I checked my blood pressure and heart rhythm later and found it normal. My friend Gene Fisher was sitting beside me, I had told him about the defibrillator before so he knew what had happened. It was the first time it has fired outside the Dr. office, now I know how it works. It was all over in a split second and I felt real good afterwards. I don't foresee a problem if it fires while I am driving, If I feel light headed I might even have time to pull off the road and stop before it fires. It records every thing my heart does and what it does so I'll have to fill in the details for the Dr. I see in Sioux Falls on the 4th of next month.
4/16/98 Went into town today & filled up with $1.17 gas, the lowest price to be found. I think I got ripped off, I put in 4 gal more than my computer said I burned. This happened once before in Alabama where I put in 5 gals. more than I burned. Got some bananas & milk so I'm all set to hit the road on the 18th.
4/18/98 The rally went well, had some interesting & informative seminars. I never fail to learn more about the GMC Motorhome so I now have some more ideas to try. As always, the pot luck dinner on the first night was outstanding. The first two catered dinners could have been better, the third one was very good.
I Will soon be heading east. Gus is turned on and ready to go, The coffee pot will be on at 7:00 AM and I can say my good-byes and fill my coffee cup before heading out. I wanted to see an old buddy of mine from the islands in the South Pacific back in 1943/44. About forty years ago I stopped in to see him when he lived in San Francisco. About five years ago I talked to him on the phone. Now he lives in Petaluma about five miles from where I am now, I have called every day and drove by his house but never found him home. I hope he is enjoying his trip and hope to see him the next time around.
I plan to stop in CO and visit Lester Bickel 1100 miles and the Curtis family an other 150 miles east. Then my next planed stop will be in Gladstone, MO to visit my brother Gerald & Evon. I hope to get on the net there to send this letter to you all. Then it's north on I29 to visit Gordon & Heather near Omaha then on to Sioux City. IA With several places to visit before
getting to my old home town Coleridge, NE for a few days.
I have an appointment 5/4/98 in Sioux Falls, SD with a cardiologist to see if I can find out why my Defibrillator Zapped me while I was drinking coffee a few day ago, it sure got my attention.
I understand that Donner Pass on I80 was blocked with snow awhile back and was a little nasty when some of the coaches came over it to get here about a week ago. If it snows again before I get there I could be delayed. I suppose there could be snow on the mountain west of Denver also. I'll sure be glad when the 80 degree temps. return.
4/21/98 Made it to KC, MO. I'll give you the details about the interesting trip in the next letter. Have to get this in the mail and on the net.
Till next time, Dallas, or Dad if it fits

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