Petrified Bat in Stalagmite

Typical Day on the Road

March 2008

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March 1

Spent much of the day at (surprise!) a Panera in Fort Worth. But Dennis knocked off early to take advantage of the nearby bike trail, along the Trinity River and through a large park, all the way into downtown Fort Worth just as it was getting dark. The downtown was surprisingly colorful and lively, with diners out for an evening at one of the many rather classy looking restaurants in the historic old buildings along brick streets. Quite a difference from the downtowns of many large cities on a weekend. Dennis started back "home" and about halfway there met Kimberly, who'd also decided to try out the trail, albeit a bit late, when it was already quite dark. We started back toward downtown again, but didn't make it far, as we both were getting hungry.

Read Across America Week

March 2

Spent half the day parked in front of a Home Depot while Dennis struggled to repair a leak under the kitchen sink, in a very inaccessible location. He ended up making 4 trips into the store to purchase items that, it turned out, he needed to finish what he'd started with the last things he bought. But at last the task was done, knock on wooden sink.

Tonight we drove all the way to Abilene, even though we were buffeted about by some of those gale force Texas winds (which they probably call gentle breezes in these parts), largely unchecked by hills or trees. In fact, once we got into Abilene, the winds and rain blossomed into out-and-out thunderstorms that made us wonder if a twister was on the way. So we spent a good part of the night getting the lowdown on the radio.

March 3

We didn't get swept or washed away last night, so this morning we did our laundry, then we headed to the Abilene library to get our computer work done and enjoy some books. It is Read Across America Week, after all.

In mid-afternoon, snow began to fall, and by sundown the flakes were big and thick. But it stopped by the time we left the library at closing time (9:00).

March 4

Sunny day, much warmer than yesterday and last night. Back to the Abilene Library for a (much shorter) Internet session. But first we dropped in at the building next door, the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature (NCCIL, which they pronounce nickel), a gallery which hosts exhibitions of the original artwork by children's book illustrators -- the current selection is by Gerald McDermott -- and among other things hosts tours for busloads of school children. We chatted with the director and were very impressed by what they're doing here. And we love the desk designed like a big stack of books!

March 5

Midland, TX. Found a rather appealing little coffee shop where we could get online, so we spent a couple of hours there.

Got the news that a court in California has issued a new ruling that significantly restricts homeschooling. One isolated case of child abuse apparently prompted this action -- as if parents can't also abuse their kids if they attend school. It's still rather confusing exactly what the full import is, but rumors (and they are just rumors) are flying on the Internet, and it sounds pretty bad so far. We have to wonder who's really behind it -- i.e., who profits.

Tonight we pulled into White's City, just outside Carlsbad Caverns, to which we intend to go tomorrow. We tried parking in an empty lot for the night, but were visited by two gentlemen who informed us that it was private property and they didn't allow overnight parking there, and so we moved down the road to an empty lot that belonged to an out-of-business gas station that hadn't been functional since the last ice age. We figured nobody would have any objection to our parking there, but along came one of the same fellows who told us that this is private property too (we wondered if he has anything else to do with his time but this), so it was also off limits (being, obviously, much in demand) and by the way they had an RV park that we could stay in for 20 dollars. Instead we bid him good evening and swore off any intentions we might have had of spending ANY money for ANYTHING in White's City, and drove a few miles up the road to a rest stop, which was definitely public property.

Tonight we watched the movie "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, the first time Kimberly had ever seen it and the first time for Dennis in about 25 years. A really fun, witty flick; someone appropriately dubbed it "the best Hitchcockian movie that Hitchcock never made". Amazingly, we'd picked up the DVD for only a dollar. That's because this classic film is, believe it or not, in the public domain -- for the simple reason that they neglected to put a copyright notice on the print when it was released. Strange, but true.

March 6

Not up quite as early as we wanted, thanks in part to the time zone switch. So we made it to the Caverns shortly before 10, and by the time we had secured our tickets, we were too late for one of the guided tours that we were interested in. But there was an even better one starting at 1:00. So in the meantime, we walked through the main part of the cavern on our own. The cool air inside the cave was significantly warmer than the air outside, where snow was falling.

After finishing the self-guided tour of the Big Room, we headed back out to the RV for a bit to grab a quick bite of lunch -- and it was quick, because before we knew it we had to race back to the entrance just in time for the afternoon tour of the Lower Cave. After receiving a brief orientation we were issued gloves and hardhats with lights on them (for which we supplied our own batteries) because the lower cave has no lighting of its own. It also doesn't have an elevator or ramp, so we had to gain entry by walking down a slope while hanging onto a rope, then down three metal ladders, into a cavern that few people see. Our guide, a very knowledgeable and fun fellow with a Kentucky twang, pointed out to us some historical graffiti of great significance: the name and date left by the man to first explore this cave -- Jim White, in Nov. 1906. And perhaps most interestingly, a small bat encased inside a stalagmite. The bat had died ages ago, and was well preserved by the cave air while the stalagmite formed around it -- and the formation is thin enough that the bat is visible when you shine a flashlight on it.

After leaving the 3-hour tour, we ran into a FOTR family (The Nelsens) who recognized us from the web, and we sat and chatted with them a bit. But first we had to adopt a bat, as is our tradition when vi sting Carlsbad Caverns.

Then we headed into Roswell where we watched the Oscar-nominated film "Michael Clayton". Not bad, though it bogged down in the middle.

Mar 7

Picked up our mail in Roswell (thankfully, it wasn't hijacked by aliens), then continued driving. Stopped in Ruidoso, where we spent a week three years ago. A very attractive little artsy tourist town, thanks to the nearby racetrack and skiing slopes, among other things. We decided to return to an Italian restaurant where we had dinner previously, and the food was just as good this time. This restaurant constantly plays music by Italian-American singers, and seems to have a special fondness for Frank Sinatra. There are several old photos of some of these artists on the walls, and right next to our table was a mugshot of Sinatra taken when he was arrested in New Jersey in 1938 at age 22. We asked a gentleman who appeared to be the manager (he'd personally escorted us to our table and made the decision to give us the lunch menu with lunch prices even though it was about 4:00 in the afternoon) about the reason for the arrest, and he explained that it was for trying to get cozy with a girl who was under 18. And then, right on cue the next song began: Frank himself singing "You Make Me Feel So Young". And we laughed so hard we were practically falling under the table.

By the way, we often eat lunch late, but it really didn't seem all that late to us, because we've entered our third time zone in the past couple of weeks. Our stomachs are still pretty much on the East Coast.

March 8

Spent most of the day in Socorro, NM, plugging away on our computers. Then we drove to Albuquerque, where we hit another Trader Joe's. As invariably happens, when we showed a California ID upon writing a check at TJ, we learned that the cashier is also from California. The company seems to ship out a great many employees from the West Coast to manage or work in the new stores in other parts of the country. In fact, not only was the cashier from Oakland, but another employee standing beside him was from Walnut Creek (also in the Bay Area) and another person who works there is from San Francisco.

March 9

Yikes! Daylight savings time already? When are folks going to realize that this concept is as obsolete as "a well-regulated militia"? And is it just our imagination, or did it come a month earlier this year? We were just enjoying the hour we gained by changing time zones when bam! it got snatched away from us again.

So an hour later than we otherwise would have done, we set about doing Sunday morning errands, including finding propane, getting gas, and buying some hardware to use for home improvement during the coming week while holed up at a campground.

And then we went to that campground, a few miles outside town, where we met up with yet another FOTR family (the Malkoffs) , who had us over for dinner.

March 10

Still at the campground.

March 11

Ditto. Except that Kimberly went out with our friend Maryann for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Yeah! Mom's night out!

March 12

Ditto ditto. Except that Kimberly and Zephyr went with our RVing friends to play laser tag and met up with two other local homeschooled teens. Dennis stayed at home and, among other things, rubberized the roof.

March 13

Ditto ditto ditto. Except that we drove into town (taking along friend Sarah) to have lunch with playwright/novelist Mark Dunn and his wife Mary. Dennis and Mark were classmates at Memphis State University many, many moons ago.

March 14

Said our goodbyes and started heading west -- but first we went into Albuquerque to take care of a couple of errands. But as soon as we got into town, we noticed that the engine was overheating, so we pulled over into a vacant parking lot. After the engine had cooled a bit, we checked the coolant level and saw that it was quite low; but we didn't see any sign of leakage, and feared the worst -- an internal leak, which probably would mean a new engine, which would mean major bucks. Not to mention a delay of several days that not only would cause Zephyr to miss the event he wants to attend in Las Vegas, but also just might cause us to miss the full-day residency we have scheduled there -- a big paycheck, and our only one this month.

We called Good Sam Roadside Assistance, in which we have a membership, and within an hour, along came a mobile mechanic. (One of the most wonderful concepts ever developed.) Upon closer inspection, he found that there was indeed a leak -- not in the radiator, but in a heater hose, up against the engine. Perhaps there was no dripping underneath because the coolant leaking on the engine evaporated? In any case, he replaced the hose and we were on our way with only 170 dollars in damage as opposed to perhaps 4 grand for a new engine.

But the drama was not yet over for the day. Tonight as we were driving along Interstate 40 (which they ought to rename for us, as many times as we've driven back and forth on it), several drivers passing us flashed their lights, waved, or otherwise tried to get our attention. Thinking perhaps we had some lights out, we pulled over to the shoulder and did an inspection, but found nothing wrong. So we resumed driving, and again the same thing started happening. Shortly thereafter, we pulled into a gas station, and two young men in a pickup were at the pump next to us. One of them said, "Hey, we tried to get your attention back there on the freeway because that thing hanging down in the back was making sparks on the road."

Thing? What thing??

Upon checking it out, we saw that the "thing" was a stabilizer jack on the trailer that had jarred loose and was indeed touching the pavement. We hadn't noticed it when we stopped before because it's underneath the trailer and we were in a dark location. Now we might explain that we never use our stabilizer jacks, and so had pretty much forgotten about them. One reason that we never use them is we rendered them unusable shortly after purchasing the trailer by accidentally leaving them down when we hitched up and started driving off. Consequently, they were warped essentially beyond repair (and we didn't think them worth replacing), but at least they stayed folded up into place until now.

By banging on the bracket with a hammer, Dennis was able to torque it back into such condition that it would hold the jack up securely again. And then it was back on the road.

March 15

We spent the night just outside Holbrook, AZ, which we always pass through with bated breath. In 1993, we were stranded an entire week here when, on the way back to San Francisco after our first East Coast tour, our axle seized up. We couldn't help recalling this incident this morning when we were on our way out of town and suddenly we seemed to be losing power. Pulling over on the shoulder, we noticed that smoke was coming from the right front wheel, and it was clear from the smell that the brakes were seizing up. Fifteen years ago, Holbrook grabbed us by the rear wheels, and this time it was going for the front.

So for the second time in as many days, we called Roadside Assistance. (We are certainly no strangers to roadside assistance and tow trucks, but yesterday was our first time to be in this situation in the nearly two years since we bought the current vehicle.) The mobile mechanic who came out (all the way from Flagstaff, about 85 miles each way!) was, like the one yesterday, thorough, friendly and helpful. But he just couldn't find anything wrong. In fact, he said that whatever happened before wasn't happening now. So we paid him 85 dollars for his efforts, and again we were off...

For about 2 miles, and then it started again. Exiting at Love's Truck Stop, we called Good Sam back and told them we'd be needing a tow truck. Then we had lunch while we waited. In about an hour, the truck came and hauled us back into Holbrook. Drat! We almost escaped this time. The tow truck was able to tow the RV and our trailer at the same time, which was a relief, because there was some question that the trailer would even be covered at all.

At the service station, they removed our wheels and saw that, as we expected, everything was in excellent shape. (We had the front brakes completely redone in Massachusetts back in October.) They bled the brakes and found no bubbles or debris, though the fluid was unusually dirty. So they put us back together, collected another 69 bucks of our money, and told us they'd be glad to take another look if we had more problems.

So, as mystified as ever, we headed out once more. And this time, it appears the gremlins were gone.

March 16

By some miracle, we made it to Las Vegas, or at least to Henderson, last night as originally planned. And the brakes didn't give us any trouble at all. This morning, however, when we started driving toward the Sands Convention Center (where Zephyr was hoping to catch the first day of a haunted attraction convention) the same thing happened AGAIN within a couple of miles. In fact, it was even worse -- by the time we pulled onto the shoulder of I-515, the brakes were completely locked and we couldn't budge an inch.

So, for the third consecutive day, we put in a call to Good Sam's Roadside Assistance. After a couple of hours of waiting while they called us back several times, they finally informed us that they couldn't locate a repair facility open on Sunday (in all of Las Vegas???????) so they'd have to have us towed to one of their affiliated campgrounds, and would cover the cost of putting us up there for the night, and then tow us to a shop tomorrow morning. Sounded like a good deal, so we waited another hour or so (at such times, we're very grateful that we always have our house with us) until a tow truck came.

Then came the next hurdle. The truck driver had not been aware that there were three of us -- he'd been told there were only two, although nobody ever even asked us. And he flatly refused either to cram a third passenger into his cab or to let one of us ride in the RV -- he said he could be hit with a stiff fine if caught. (The tow truck driver yesterday expressed a similar concern, but made an exception and allowed Dennis to ride in the vehicle. But not this guy.) He called Roadside Assistance for us and asked if they could send another tow truck with more passenger room. But they told him basically that their responsibility was just getting the vehicle transported, and the occupants would have to fend for themselves. They did say they'd call a cab for us, but would not pay the tab. Since the campground was in North Las Vegas, a distance of about 20 miles, a cab ride would have cost a fortune; so Dennis opted instead to ride his bike to the campground. It really was not a bad ride, despite the strong wind that was constantly in his face (this wind has been following us ever since Albuquerque, and has almost been fierce enough to move boulders at times), and it took about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, Kimberly and Zephyr arrived at the Hitchin' Post RV Park and learned that, contrary to what Good Sam had told us, we did not have a space confirmed -- the manager said Good Sam had never even contacted him, and that in fact he was all booked up. But under the circumstances, he managed to make room by calling one of the TWO campers who had not yet shown up to claim their spot, and learned that they'd had a change of plans, so we were in.

But oh, by the way, also contrary to what less-than-Good Sam had told us, we would have to pay for the night out of our own pocket. But the manager let K & Z check in and wait for D to arrive with the credit card.

March 17

On this St. Paddy's Day, the leprechaun found us spending the entire day at the Chevrolet dealership, waiting to have them look at our brakes. At least we were able to drive in rather than getting towed for the third straight day.

Well actually, we didn't exactly spend the whole day there. Zephyr caught a bus from the campground down to The Strip so he could attend TransWorld, a convention for people in the haunted attraction/ costume industries at the Sands Convention Center. (Admission was free, but he had to have some credentials and paperwork which he hastily assembled and printed out last night.) But Mom and Dad sat in the Chevrolet customer lounge until about 2:00 working on laptops. Then we caught a shuttle down to The Strip, hoping to get lunch (or more accurately breakfast) and get online at Aladdin, which was supposed to have wi-fi access. But we arrived to find that Aladdin is now Planet Hollywood (a very recent conversion, apparently), and the lunch buffet is now a whopping $17.99. In fact, all the cafes on the property were outrageously overpriced -- we found one menu that offered, we kid you not, macaroni and cheese for 17 bucks. So we walked on down to Bally's, where there's a Sbarro that has a pretty good (and pretty big) slice of vegetarian pizza for $4.39.

Then we met up with Zephyr at the Sands, and he was having a great time and eager to return tomorrow. Meanwhile, Chevrolet finally called (when we left, they hadn't even pulled our vehicle into the shop yet, even though we'd been there since about 8:00) and told us that the brake line was contaminated, and as per their policy they'd need to replace the ENTIRE BRAKE SYSTEM at an estimated cost of...drum roll... $4,600. (No, there are no decimal points there anywhere.) And our experience with estimates and actual cost told us that in fact this would mean a minimum of $6000. We'd never heard of any repair of any vehicle costing that much, so we opted to get a second opinion tomorrow -- although there's no doubt that no matter who does what, it's going to be painful.

To make matters worse, we also learned that we're going to be deprived of a good chunk of income; St. Anne School, at which we're scheduled to perform in two days -- a booking that was made and confirmed many months ago -- called us and said that they'd be unable to honor the commitment because this is Holy Week and they're too busy, and the person who contracted with us is no longer there and wasn't really authorized to make the arrangement anyway, etc. etc. etc.

March 18

So for the fourth consecutive day, we consult a mechanic. This time, we took it into a Meineke, since it was a Meineke in Massachusetts that most recently worked on our brakes. Zephyr caught a bus back down to the Sands for another day of rubbing elbows with the haunted house elite. (Las Vegas now has some double-decker city buses that look as if they're about to topple at any moment, but Z says they're fun to ride. No doubt.) Mom and Dad rode their bikes about a mile to a coffee shop and spent most of the day doing online work.

This time, the news was more encouraging: Meineke says the problem seems to be in the calipers, and so replaced those along with the damaged pads, for about $400. Which is somewhat better than $6000. (In defense of Fairway Chevrolet, however, we must note that they didn't charge us a penny for the diagnostic work they did yesterday.) We had them add a complete flush of the brake fluid and a (full synthetic) oil change, bringing the total to $543. Normally that big a bill would make us wince, but after yesterday, it feels like we won the lottery. By the way, they noticed an odd smell as they were removing the rear wheels, and then out fell a dead mouse. Hmmm...was that where the squeak was coming from?

Zephyr got lost trying to catch the bus back "home", so he called us and we picked him up. And the RV does seem to be operating fine now. We're knocking on wood about 5000 times, one for each of the dollars we may have saved. Z reports that at the convention he ran into people he's worked for at Field of Screams (Lancaster, PA) and Callson Manor (formerly San Jose, now Sacramento). And in addition to Elvira making a guest appearance, he also saw Teller (of Penn and) who was not making an appearance, but simply attending like everyone else.

March 19

Make it 5 days in a row. We started driving Zephyr back to the Sands for the last day of TransWorld, and started hearing a noise that seemed to be coming from the right front (like the most troublesome of the brakes). So we decided to get it back to Meineke pronto, and dropped Z off at the bus stop again.

By the time we got back to Meineke, the noise had pretty much stopped. And so they never did really find out what it was. (How many times, o ye gods, has a vehicle made a noise until a mechanic started listening for it!) But the brakes still seem to be fine, and so we departed with another sigh of relief.

Then it was off to the YMCA for a brief workout, and then to make use of the lounge to plug in our laptops and work a while.

Picked up Zephyr at the Sands, then it was off for a relatively quiet evening in our "living room", the local Borders bookstore.

March 20

Ah, what a luxury. We made it through an entire day with no mechanical difficulties. Our current RV has provided excellent service during the two years we've had it, especially considering how heavily we've used it. But the last few days it seems to have been making up for good behavior with a vengeance.

March 21

The first day of spring -- and spring in Las Vegas is like summer anywhere else. (Don't even ask what summer's like here. Been here, survived that.) For us it's a day of miscellaneous errands, including laundry and picking up a new phone (a free replacement) at Sprint.

March 22

Happy 78th birthday to Stephen Sondheim. And we're still in Las Vegas.

March 23

Easter Sunday, and we "celebrated" by spending much of the day doing computer work at Panera in Henderson, NV. And while taking an evening stroll, Dennis was hit by a bottle of water hurled from a car that sped past.

March 24

Doing computer work at the Whitney Library in Las Vegas, where we performed a few years ago. But where HAVEN'T we performed?

March 25

After considerable effort, we found a (relatively) convenient place where we could dump RV tanks. It was the Oasis RV resort, just south of Las Vegas. We had to pay 5 dollars in the office, then show the receipt to the guard at the gate, then do the dumping (no fresh water was available to fill our tank, which is odd considering how posh this place was). Then we asked for the receipt back for our records, and the guard said that when he was an IRS agent, he wouldn't have allowed such a thing as a deduction. But then when we found out the nature of our business, he was impressed and even asked (jokingly, we think), "Do you want another one of these receipts?"

We spotted some of the typical Las Vegas billboards sporting beefy male models, and Dennis joked about looking like them, but Kimberly, seeing another billboard, said instead that he was a cross between Penn and Teller. And we both cracked up, knowing it to be a very accurate characterization.

At McCarron Airport we picked up Zephyr's friend Koree, who flew in from Phoenix to spend a few days with us. Tonight we took them to the Rio where they could watch the Masquerade Show in the sky. But instead of just watching, they were able to participate; some fellow gave them two tickets that he couldn't use (they cost $12.95 each) for the privilege of riding in one of the floats suspended from the ceiling, dressed in costumes which they described as "hippie".

Tonight after introducing Koree to the fast-paced card game Qwitch, we found a Redbox and rented a copy of "No Country For Old Men", which won the Oscar this year for best picture. Not bad, but a bit of a letdown after all the hype.

March 26

Spent the morning at The Coffee Bean, where K & D got online. Then K stayed behind while D took Zephyr and Koree downtown to the half-price ticket booth where they purchased tickets for Star Trek: The Experience. The man working at the counter was a Star Trek buff himself, and also an actor who had auditioned for the attraction.

Then it was off to the Hilton, and while the two kids were trekking, Dennis stayed in the RV and worked on our book. Kimberly caught up with us later by bicycle.

March 27

Met up with a(n) FOTR family on The Strip, and we looked for fun activities for kids, with little success. The stage has been removed from the upstairs part of Excalibur and replaced with a bar. It was the stage on which you could watch free performances suitable for the whole family: jugglers, magicians, storytellers, contortionists, musicians, you name it. we used to take Zephyr there every time we were in town, but now it's only a memory.

Likewise, the free boat ride at the Luxor is conspicuously absent, as is the La Salsa restaurant, to be replaced by another Mexican restaurant with prices, no doubt, about three times as high. Las Vegas, in our estimation, has really gone downhill in recent years, with most of the family entertainment gone, and virtually all of the reasonable prices gone.

By evening, we were on the road north to Reno. We stopped for the night in Beatty, close to an environmental monitoring stationing set up beside the post office. The major purpose of this project is to collect air samples and have them measured for residual radiation from the Nevada Test Site a few miles away.

March 28

After the long, long drive through the desert with only a few towns to break the monotony, we arrived in Reno, where Kimberly's parents live. The female half of our "Japanese family" (whom we visited in 2006), Yukari and Ayaka, are also visiting.

March 29

We all drove to the Sacramento area to meet up with Kimberly's brother Chris and hs family to celebrate nephew Joey's birthday. We were going to have cake and presents in the park, but it was rather chilly, so we went to a pizza place that also has fun indoor activities. But it was horrendously crowded, with a line of about 25 people waiting to get in. So we settled for Mountain Mike's Pizza, since some folks wanted pizza anyway, and all turned out well.

Tonight we introduced our Japanese "relatives" to the game of Qwitch, which they picked up nicely. We also played another of our favorite games, Apples to Apples, which they were already familiar with because we gave them a set when we were in Japan.

March 30

It was girls' day out, as all the females went to see the ballet "Cinderella". Music was provided by the Reno Philharmonic, and one of the musicians was Julie, a librarian with whom we've dealt many times during our years of performing at the libraries here. So Kimberly said howdy, and the gals were given a VIP backstage access.

Dennis cooked dinner for the entire group, making a casserole with broccoli and some of the rice that Yukari brought from Japan.

March 31

D & K spent a couple of hours in our storage unit, mostly looking for items to use in our photo shoot scheduled for Thursday. Then we met up with the rest of the gang for buffet lunch at The Peppermill.

Yukari made dinner for everyone tonight, with a couple of Japanese specialties.

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