Thursday, March 24
I’m coming to realize one
of the less attractive side effects of dry heat is dry skin. Visibly dry skin. Either people who live here year round use a
lot of lotion or just get used to it.
I’m using a lot of lotion.
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On our way up to Hoover Dam
the other day, a section of 95 was called the Veteran’s Memorial Highway. And along the way, there were sections
dedicated to a particular war’s veterans.
It was chronological…first one I saw was for the WWI veterans and it
continued on up to the current Global War on Terrorism Veterans. The one that got me thinking, however, was
the sign that said ‘Cold War Veterans’.
I always thought the Cold War was a war of differing ideologies
(communism vs. capitalism/democracy) but without any direct troop involvement. I was just a child when I first heard the term
and came to think that it was about the tension between the USSR and US and involved
nuclear weapon capability and waiting to see if either would blink, which could
start a nuclear war. Curiosity piqued, I
researched it when I got back to the campground…there was so much more to it
than I ever knew. Depending on the
source of information (and there are many online), the term ‘Cold War’ can
encompass a broad range of events from the 1950’s to the 90’s. Can’t
say that I understand all that I read, but I now understand why there is a
section of highway dedicated to Cold War Veterans.
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This is not in
any way an advertisement for KOA, just some of my thoughts as we drove along
today. Years ago, I learned the value of
looking at a KOA map and planning where to stay the next night. Yet during our 5 years of riding together, Kim
and I play it more by the seat of our pants, which sometimes means staying at a
hotel when you have all your camping equipment with you. There’s not always a campground around when
we’re ready to get off the road. Finally
last year, during The Final Four trip, we bought a KOA membership. Back to planning a bit in advance. Love that I can look at the KOA map, find a
campground in the direction we’re headed, and then check availability and make
our reservations online or even on my phone. Plus we get a discount! We camped enough
that we’ve more than made up for what the membership cost. And we’ve always had a good experience with
the staff at each of KOA that we’ve stayed at…and that’s been all across the
country. Friendly, knowledgeable helpful
and they seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs. Kim usually chats with them when he goes to
the camp store to get ice, milk, etc.
Some staffers (usually couples) are what they call ‘work campers’….meaning they work
minimal hours at the camp in exchange for free camping. In Texas last year, we met a couple who were
doing an ‘exchange’….meaning they switched campgrounds with another owner for a
short time. It gave both couples a
vacation of sorts, knowing they were leaving their campground in good
hands. I imagine it takes time to
develop that kind of trust.
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| 4 layers and a neck scarf |
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Today was all
about getting from Kingman to Flagstaff, then getting our campsite set up. Nothing big happened…unless you count the
sighting of what was either 2 wild pigs or 2 fat goats. It was hard to tell what they were because
they were back among some bushes and my glimpses of them were fleeting. They were midsized (smaller than a deer or
cow) and moved, so I know they weren’t rocks.
J My initial reaction was pig, so I’m sticking
with that.
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Farther on down
the road from the pig/goat sighting, we saw a herd of maybe 20 pronghorn…and
there was no doubt about what they were. J
Didn’t see them in time to stop but we kept our eyes sighted ahead looking for
more. Alas, that was the only pronghorn
sighting today, but we’ll be riding around the area in the next couple
days.
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I’ve
thought about Cullen, Grady and Finley every time we see a train…and that’s
been plenty as the railroad system is alive and well out West. They’d be tickled to see the trains rolling
along throughout the countryside. Have
seen many trains everyday…and they’re not short either. Long trains loaded with so many types of
shipping containers. I saw COSCO on a
lot of them today…wondered if they were loaded with all sorts of baby/little
kid things because I know that Cosco makes car seats, etc. But got to thinking
about it and decided that maybe it was something else….so I googled it. The first site listed was www.cosco-use.com and I clicked on it.
Bingo!! This explains what I was seeing
on those trains: As a premier carrier of
refrigerated commodities for both import & export, COSCO has been very
successful in providing the most specialized handling and reporting to meet the
most stringent demands of the top importers and exporters in the world.
Whether you are moving chilled, frozen or
hard freeze, COSCO will service you with our international reefer committee
which includes both commercial and operational decision makers on a specialized
team. The COSCO Reefer Committee is dedicated to creating 21st century
solutions for your high volume, low volume, time sensitive or hard to service
locations anywhere in the world.
So it wasn’t
about kid things at all.
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| Ready to play Farkle in the trailer |
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Where and when
we ride tomorrow depends on how long it takes the day to warm up. It’s predicted to be in the 60s. We do have our cold weather gear but neither
of us are opposed to exploring in the truck if necessary.
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I realized today
that we haven’t had the radio on in the truck the entire time we’ve been driving. For sure, we both have music playing when
riding the bikes and Kim has music playing right now as we sit in the trailer….but
in the truck, the radio has been off. We
didn’t make a conscious decision to keep it off...it’s just kind of the way it’s
been, which is interesting since we’re both so music oriented. And, you know, we’ve been okay with the silence.
It’s a companionable silence and when we
want to talk, we do. And if one of wants
to turn the radio on, that’s okay, too.
It’s just that we haven’t.
GREAT !! Yes, silence is golden !!
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