9 April 2018
Today marks the 1/4 mark of my trip. It’s hard to believe I’ve been on the road 21 days. The count so far: Guadeloupe Mountains NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, Saguaro NP, Petrified Forest NP, Meteor Crater, Death Valley NP, Channel Islands, and Pinnacles NP.
Today was a no hike day. I explored the two roads that lead away from the visitor center and then studied my topographic maps for moderate trails to try tomorrow. I then headed for Fresno to pick up my boots at REI.
The GPS tried to route me on a 4 plus hour journey. I took out a road atlas and found shortcuts through the country and the trip ended up taking a little under 3 hours through some magnificent hill country.
I seem to wax poetic about these green California hills with the oak trees standing sentinel on the hillsides. It brings back memories of the first time I saw them in 1970. Our Coast Guard bus (see previous blog) traveled along some similar hills on the way to the shooting range at the fort. It’s really hard to beat California in the spring. California poppies with their orange color dotted the landscape and stood out among the green grass on the hillsides.
I found the REI in Fresno and walked to the register and they had my boots right there. I then made a mistake and decided to walk through the store. My regular, every day shoes had started to come apart (god, I must do a lot of walking) and I spied a pair of Solomon (same brand as my boots) hiking shoes. You know what happened next.
I don’t know where I think this money is coming from. John Bell has informed me my a/c is not cooling properly so I’m sure I’ll have a big bill for that before too much longer. I’m just glad he noticed it and he and Michel can look into it for me.
You shouldn’t worry about that because we are here to discuss about the sex positions that you should avoid to keep your partner happy and sex life enjoyable. on line levitra http://appalachianmagazine.com/2019/02/03/6-tips-for-anyone-who-may-be-moving-to-appalachia/ Managers who don’t follow through and keep commitments want more accountability in their purchase viagra organizations. With Kamagra, ED is why not try these out commander viagra no more a nightmare. Kamagra Soft discount generic cialis Tab is most convenient way of achieving an erection.
I let the GPS direct me back to Pinnacles and sure enough, it routed me a different way but also an even quicker way. Why it didn’t do that this morning is a mystery. In any case, it took me around 3 hours to get back. I put Sirius on 70’s music and rocked back to the park.
I stopped at the town called Tres Piños and bought a can of Spam, bread and mustard. I saw that in the visitor center/camp store but their prices are outrageous. The only thing cheap there is the wine. A bottle of BV Merlot is $10.
Speaking of wine, I passed thousands of acres of vineyards. They were all young vines so someone is anticipating a continued growth in the wine industry. I don’t see how any one company can tend the vines. I would think that drones would be a great way to overlook the vineyards to look for patches that might be dying out. It was a sight to see.
Fresno is a busy place. It has all the superstores and most of the architecture I saw was modern. Traffic was moderate but in this area, California drivers are pretty aggressive. I always obey the speed limit because nothing says sucker like a Florida license plate.
Tonight is the second sandwich I purchased at the camp store. Tomorrow morning, I intend to break out the Spam for breakfast. It’s sad to say, I still like it from my childhood.
I’m going to try to send this out tonight with the jeep’s hot spot. I haven’t had much success with that, but we’ll see.
