AC for the 90 degree heat, cable tv, a good scrub in the shower, and clean jammies, I felt like a new person, and we slept well last night.
Lily is ready to stop driving any time, keeps looking out the window and at me with this “where are we going???” look on her face.
Labs today. We’re here...almost.
Maggie
Perhaps a good night sleep is all any of us need when we’re stressed.
You’ve mentioned having lab work done on the road before. Does your doctor write up a prescription or do they have to fax something to the lab you choose? I’m curious how this usually works on the road.
My Dr.’s write out orders for labs, I take them in to a LabCorps, they do the draw and my doctors get the results.
There are LabCorps all around the country, also Quest Diagnostics, which is the same thing.
We are last night and tonight at a nice private campground in Bridgeport, CA, just north of Bodie, and tomorrow we’re going out to Green Creek, where Vince camp hosts, to spend a couple of nights there.
Bodie with HistoriCorps on Sunday for two weeks, then a bit farther into California to meet up with Gail.
We are walking a bit, adjusting to the altitude, cooking, etc., and Lily is doing lots of sleeping, when she is not charming fellow campers.
I also cleaned this morning ...yikes, so much dust and dirt in here ...and had a visit from a couple across the road who were enthralled with the Interstate.
Going to empty my tanks his afternoon, and fill with fresh water, do laundry and fill with propane in the morning...
Maggie
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
We pulled out of Bodie today, having had an amazing 12 days/two project weeks with HistoriCorps.
Back at the nice little private campground in Bridgeport for the night, I have done up two weeks of laundry...even with repeat wear, there was a lot of dirty clothing, largely dusty and gross and first in need of doing...and had a mechanism in the drivers side window replaced.
The thingy that cranks the window up broke our first day of this trip, but there really was no time nor opportunity to get it fixed until today. I’ve been using duck tape the past few weeks to close the gap to cold and insects, til this enterprising young man Vince set me on to completed the repair this afternoon.
This had apparently been repaired before, with a zip tie.
Earnest, honest, and skilled, Gregorio Jiminez is working to set himself up in business here, being the only mechanic in Bridgeport, CA. He’s ordered me a new air filter, too, and is going to meet me in the NAPA parking lot tomorrow to replace that for me.
I have lots of pictures from Bodie, and will get more posted soon. I am very tired tonight, and will be to bed early, feeling like I had no sleep at all last night, but didn’t know why until talking with fellow volunteers this morning who reported we had a pack of coyotes in and around our campground in the night.
That might have done it.
Temps also dipped into the 30’s overnight. Brrrrr, tho I never turned my furnace on once, just toughed it out to be sure there was enough propane to keep my frig going while there.
I worked on the Bodie railway house my first week, in addition to kitchen and cooking chores before and after, but the second week there were lots of volunteers so I stayed in camp between breakfast and dinner, baked skillet bread and crocheted.
Four warm hats, many potholders and dishcloths shared with the staff and volunteers. A good thing,
They loved the skillet bread, and I found no problems doing this at 9,000+ feet.
I baked an entire batch at a time in a 15” or so cast iron skillet, and it came out great.
Discovered another shirttail cousin thru adoption, Bobby, whose Cherokee ancestor was adopted by Henry Clay.
Bobby received the first hat, and made me a beautiful coffee scoop in exchange.
Lily did well overall, and got to run loose for two weeks, tho was a bit challenged by 4 other dogs the second week. She is who she is, and it wasn’t always pretty, but no blood was shed.
All is well, a great experience, glad to return to electricity and basic amenities, tho.
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
Down to sleep by 7:30 PT last pm, we feel much better this morning.
A mountain lion perched on old framework on the road to the job site Thursday morning, our camping area visible in the distance from our view from the stamp mill during an after hours tour Thursday evening, view from the road as I left yesterday morning.
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
Likely it did, as mountain lions climb and like to view prey from above.
This rare sighting was quite an event in Bodie, with both park staff and county law enforcement coming to get the photo from our volunteer once they heard about it.
One of the old houses at Bodie, rather modern with two bathrooms and indoor plumbing; my biggest project the first week, measuring, marking length, and sorting these floor slats, which will be replaced by volunteers this next week; Miss Lily among the piles, staying close to her Mama.
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
Left Bridgeport Saturday morning, after finishing laundry and meeting Gregorio at the NAPA store for replacement of my air filter....I suspected it would be filthy after the dusty roads to Green Creek and Bodie, and it was.
Gregorio, an easily spotted and enterprising young man in this small town, is seemingly waylaid everywhere he lights by a customer wanting him to do this or that, including for about 15 minutes in the NAPA parking lot, where he had come to meet me.
Practicing patience, I simply waited quietly, he then replaced the air filter and we were on the road after picking up coffee and a fresh pastry from the Sierra Bakery. Yum.
Finding no spot at any campground off I80 into California, we spent Saturday night under a tree in the parking lot of a business in Colfax.. I was mentally prepared to be ousted during the night, but we were unbothered and got in to Gail’s friend Annie’s place mid morning yesterday.
Annie had kindly offered me an electric plug-in in front of her house, and opened her home and heart to me to facilitate some visit time together for Gail and I. We hadn’t seen each other since I believe 2016, when I was in Oregon and Washington State.
36 degrees in Bridgeport Saturday morning, 96 here north of Sacramento.
We have talked and talked and talked, and it has been wonderful to not only see Gail again, but to meet the very delightful Annie, whom Gail has talked about so much.
I baked a pan bread today, and they loved it.
Heading to Yosemite in the morning, have a place to stay and am excited to finally be seeing it.
Maggie
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
We are at our spot just outside Yosemite, $40 for under a tree in a parking lot, plus access to water and the showers.
There is supposedly a dump station, tho I haven’t seen it.
I don’t care, we will be at the entrance early tomorrow morning.
The road into Yosemite is incredibly beautiful, but also filled with so many drop offs and tight turns that I simply couldn’t look anywhere but the road in front of me without getting tingling in my legs from the heights.
Yikes.
Had anyone told me right after Doug died that I would not only continue to travel, but go on roads and across bridges that made me dizzy from the heights, I would have said “no way in hell” to the latter.
There was a time when I couldn’t have done it, and that’s the truth.
Seriously, this road is completely paved, but otherwise as white-knuckle a drive as I have ever done.
But, we’re here, we’re going to see Yosemite, then hopefully cross Tioga Pass and go down the other side.
That’s the plan.
Maggie
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
We were thru the entrance to Yosemite just before 6am yesterday, did the loops, took a walk, and went over Tioga Pass after it opened.
Spent last night in a NF campground on the other side, were back on the road by 7 this morning, onto 395 and completing a large circle that began about 3 weeks ago.
An indescribably beautiful area, and something viscerally touched in me by seeing these vast and unspoiled areas.
I’m glad they’re there, that I got to see them, and especially that they are protected. We don’t have this in Illinois.
Met a couple from Denmark in a Yosemite parking lot yesterday, and when I shared my grandparents’ immigration from Copenhagen...and the surname...the wife said that was the same name as her father. We’re probably distant cousins.
Fueled up this morning, washed the crud and bugs off the Interstate, made a stop at Trader Joe’s and will be heading slightly north-ish and east-ish tomorrow.
We have been tired since leaving Bodie, and asleep by 8 pm or so each night. By the time my body has adjusted to the time change, we'll be back in Illinois.
Maggie
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
On the road at 6am yesterday, and put in an 11 hour day because I made reservations for the weekend where Bob & Page are camphosting...before checking the distance.
Close to 600 miles, I think, but now we are still until Monday morning. Yikes.
I am tired of high elevations, steep grades, hairpin turns. Give me the relatively flat lands of the central US, please.
Will spend next week exploring the boonies thru the holiday, hopefully, and find some nice camping spots by water...
Maggie
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
Loved seeing and spending some time with Bob & Page, headed out early yesterday morning to peruse some public campgrounds and find something appealing.
Lots of folks already set up in these little campgrounds, looking like they intend to set a spell, but we did overnight in a beautiful spot on Grey's River...two rivers converging, rushing water, successful fishing going on around us, etc.
But for the dust from steady traffic behind us both directions, we might have stayed another night or two.
Seriously, at least every 15-20 seconds a vehicle or one of the innumerable ATV’s passed by, sending up clouds of dust, not to mention the noise.
Where are people going??? Before 7am this morning, it had started up again...folks going to get coffee, to check their phones???
Such a gorgeous and otherwise peacefully unhooked area. Bah, humbug.
Se, we left before breakfast, and lucked into a walk up NF site where there is even some signal, not to mention pit toilets and water.
We shall sit out the week here, no electricity but we will be fine without that.
Free range cattle yesterday am, and the view out the sliding door where we spent the night.
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
We are going to have to camp (not at a rally) with you sometime; you find the neatest looking sites.
Al
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“You cannot reason someone out of a position they have not been reasoned into"
Al, K5TAN and Missy, N4RGO WBCCI 1322
2002 Classic 30 Slideout -S/OS #004
2013 Dodge 2500 Laramie 4x4 Megacab Cummins
The last three I’ve read, all of them good, tho the Jack Reacher novel my favorite of the three.
Jack Reacher is, of course, Jack Reacher ; The Color of Law about the battle between good and evil in the legal profession, and I’ve known both sides, sad to say; Trouble the Water a bit fluffy romance for my usual taste, but set in 1840’s Charleston, SC, mostly about struggle, grief, courage, survival, abolition, etc., and really very, very good.
There. If you don’t know what to read next, any of these should be enjoyable.
We are enjoying beautiful weather, and getting some housekeeping chores done in the Interstate during our sitting-out-the-holiday-week.
The dust out here permeates everything.
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🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
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...yikes, so much dust and dirt in here 
...and had a visit from a couple across the road who were enthralled with the Interstate. 
; The Color of Law about the battle between good and evil in the legal profession, and I’ve known both sides, sad to say; Trouble the Water a bit fluffy romance for my usual taste, but set in 1840’s Charleston, SC, mostly about struggle, grief, courage, survival, abolition, etc., and really very, very good.
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