Nevutwybraska

The coffee in the west is awful. Seemingly every hotel, restaurant and gas station in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming "proudly serves" Cup o' Flavor. It's more like Cup o' Brown Water, if you ask me. I love coffee, but even I have my limits. I was stuck with a 20 oz morning bottle of diet soda for my caffeine intake. This morning, in Nebraska, we had our first decent cup of coffee, but that's only because we went to the Starbucks across the street from our hotel.

Nevada was little more than a relief to us. Entering Nevada meant that the worst of the Sierras was behind us. The speed limit was 75, which meant that we were able to get through Nevada a little more quickly. We had planned to stay in Winnemucca, but because of the awfulness of the Sierras, we had to stop in a town called called Lovelock. They had a gift shop off of the lobby which contained two vending machines. One held snacks of various stripes and the other held personal effects that you might have forgotten. This was also our first experience with Cup o' Flavor.

Shortly after Lovelock, we entered Utah. Utah is a vast expanse of rocks and stuff, just like Nevada and Wyoming. Admittedly, the terrain in Nevada is slightly different than the terrain in Utah, which is slightly different than the terrain in Wyoming, but we were pretty sick of it by the time we were in Utah. The salt flats are kind of neat, but also a little creepy.

After our experience in the Sierra Nevadas, KP was acting like a stress monkey about the Rockies. He had also watched a fair amount of the weather channel in Lovelock. He made me call the various departments of transportation to find out exactly what the road conditions were. The Wyoming automated line, (888) 996-7623, was kind of funny. First, you should look at a map before you call it. Tell it you want the road conditions for I-80. Then you have to tell it whether you want the conditions for west of Cheyenne or east of Cheyenne.

Before we stopped in Rock Springs, WY, we called around to find hotels with a wireless connection. We found one, or so we thought. Before I made the reservation (from the road somewhere west of Rock Springs), I specifically asked whether they had wireless connections. The woman said they did. I think it was a Travel Lodge or something like that. After we checked in, we found that the wireless connection was broken. That was annoying. Especially since the hotel across the street also advertised "free high speed internet."

In between NPR stations, we found talk shows on AM. We received more than a healthy dose of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. I found particularly annoying Rush's attack of the "drive by media" criticism of the federal preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina. [Imagine my best impersonation of Rush Limbaugh, which probably isn't very good] Well, what about those tornadoes? You don't see the drive by media criticizing the federal response there. We knew those tornadoes were coming. The come every year. The federal government didn't evacuate the midwest, but the drive-by media doesn't criticize FEMA. That's because the midwest is full of white people. The drive by media doesn't care about white people. [end crappy impersonation]

UGH! KP just laughed at the smoke coming out of my ears, before switching the channel. First, tornadoes are notoriously unpredictable. You could evacuate to 40 miles away, and you might leave the place that was untouched. It's a crap shoot. Second, the hurricanes obliterated an entire infrastructure, killed thousands, and did it in a way that was preventable. Tornadoes strike individual buildings and such. It's not usually an entire block. And you cannot prevent the wrath of a tornado, but you can prevent the aftermath of a hurricane. And, how many people died in the tornadoes? 20? 30? Not even. Rush Limbaugh, go suck an egg. The fact that you're still on the air makes republicans look like idiots. If I can come up with a solid rebuttal in like 2 seconds, shouldn't you come up with something better to say?

So Nebraska was a relief. They had pretty cows; baby ones, too. They also had a fair number of what looked to be oil wells. On passing a smallish wind farm about 40 miles into Nebraska, KP and I had the following exchange:

Me: "Why are there only six windmills? If they had more, wouldn't they get more power?"
KP: "Maybe it's done for a very specific application. Maybe some rancher built them to power his ranch. He's a tree-hugger. Or, at lease he would be a tree hugger if there were any trees around here."

The weather was fine in Eastern Wyoming and in Nebraska, so KP seems to be more relaxed. Although, now he's worried about how we'll find a parking spot in his neighborhood when we arrive around 7pm.

Up next, Eastern Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.

Table for two, Donner Party

KP and I are driving his car back from San Francisco. Our flights to San Francisco were a bit nerve racking, but we managed to make our original and connecting flights, by the skin of our teeth. Apparently, Chicago had a wind advisory so the airlines had to bump passengers to meet weight requirements in windy conditions. We checked into our flight a full hour and a half early only to discover that we were 12th and 13th on a standby list! A few prayers to Saint Christopher later, we were the last two to make it onto the flight. Unfortunately, because of the whole seating issue, the flight left an hour late. Mid-flight, we asked the flight attendant the ETA, and she inexplicably said that we were to arrive at the scheduled time. When we were still well out of range of landing at the scheduled time, KP went to the galley to ask whether we would make our connection. Then something magical happened! First, the attendant asked us and two other passengers to raise our hands. They then told all of the other passengers that they were to remain seated until we made it off of the plane. Second, the pilot was driving on the tarmac almost 40 miles per hour. He took a turn at 28! We know it was this fast because we were watching one of those nifty flight tracker things that gives you altitude and speed. Finally, at the gate, an electric cart met us to zoom us off to the connecting flight 20 gates away. They had already closed the door to the plane, but reopened it for us when the cart pulled up.

Then comes the drive. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, KP was glued to the weather channel. Finally, he announced, "Table for two, Donner Party. We picked some week to travel, given all of the freakish weather all over the country." As you probably now, snow in Phoenix (and in San Francisco, for that matter), a late snow storm in the Sierra Nevadas, and tornadoes across the Midwest.

Heading to church on Sunday morning was yet another exciting experience during our trip. We had forgotten all about the Saint Patrick's day parade and it took us 35 minutes to get across Market Street. We missed the first 15 minutes of mass, but managed to make it in the end.

Then came the Sierras, and the snow chains. Actually, it was quite difficult to acquire the correct-sized snow chains. We woke up extra early on Sunday to accomplish this rather important task, but found difficulty. After a tour of several auto parts stores, we finally found them. Thank you Kragen! The snow chain requirement came during the evening, which added to the difficulty. Neither of us had ever installed them before. As we were putting on the snow chains, KP on one tire, me on the other, I heard him mutter, "This is sucky."

I would just like to say that I don't see how skiing could be worth it.

The drive was harrowing, it took about 3 hours to get over the mountain, but we made it, unlike the Donner Party.

Oh, and my crash course in driving a manual car is going moderately well. I still have problems getting off the freeway at exit ramps, however.

Tales of Utah and Wyoming to come later.

Some poems I've been thinking about

I've been rather morose lately, so I find myself thinking of somewhat unhappy poems. The first I remember from 8th grade English class. We were in a war then, too. The second, I stumbled across in a poetry book I bought from a used book store in San Francisco (Acorn something or other, I think it was called).

The Tear - Lord Byron

  When Friendship or Love
  Our sympathies move;
When Truth, in a glance, should appear,
   The lips may beguile,
   With a dimple or smile,
But the test of affection's a Tear:

   Too oft is a smile
   But the hypocrite's wile,
To mask detestation, or fear;
   Give me the soft sigh,
   Whilst the soultelling eye
Is dimm'd, for a time, with a Tear:

   Mild Charity's glow,
   To us mortals below,
Shows the soul from barbarity clear;
   Compassion will melt,
   Where this virtue is felt,
And its dew is diffused in a Tear:

   The man, doom'd to sail
   With the blast of the gale,
Through billows Atlantic to steer,
   As he bends o'er the wave
   Which may soon be his grave,
The green sparkles bright with a Tear;

   The Soldier braves death
   For a fanciful wreath
In Glory's romantic career;
   But he raises the foe
   When in battle laid low,
And bathes every wound with a Tear.

   If, with high-bounding pride,
   He return to his bride!
Renouncing the gore-crimson'd spear;
   All his toils are repaid
   When, embracing the maid,
From her eyelid he kisses the Tear.

   Sweet scene of my youth!
   Seat of Friendship and Truth,
Where Love chas'd each fast-fleeting year
   Loth to leave thee, I mourn'd,
   For a last look I turn'd,
But thy spire was scarce seen through a Tear:

   Though my vows I can pour,
   To my Mary no more,
My Mary, to Love once so dear,
   In the shade of her bow'r,
   I remember the hour,
She rewarded those vows with a Tear.

   By another possest,
   May she live ever blest!
Her name still my heart must revere:
   With a sigh I resign,
   What I once thought was mine,
And forgive her deceit with a Tear.

   Ye friends of my heart,
   Ere from you I depart,
This hope to my breast is most near:
   If again we shall meet,
   In this rural retreat,
May we meet, as we part, with a Tear.

   When my soul wings her flight
   To the regions of night,
And my corse shall recline on its bier;
   As ye pass by the tomb,
   Where my ashes consume,
Oh! moisten their dust with a Tear.


A Poison Tree - William Blake

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe;
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with my smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

And finally, a poem whose first introduction I cannot remember, but have always loved.

To Sleep - John Keats

O soft embalmer of the still midnight!
   Shutting with careful fingers and benign
Our gloom-pleased eyes, embower'd from the light,
   Enshaded in forgetfulness divine;
O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close,
   In midst of this thine hymn, my willing eyes,
Or wait the amen, ere thy poppy throws
   Around my bed its lulling charities;
Then save me, or the passèd day will shine
Upon my pillow, breeding many woes;
   Save me from curious conscience, that still lords
Its strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole
   Turn the key deftly in the oilèd wards,
And seal the hushèd casket of my soul.