Month: November 2019

I slept in again. How many days this week have I said that? Maybe I’m retired and did not realize it.

I have some plans for today. I am going to wash the trailer (outside), wax too and same for Marikas car. She is complaining some about it. Usual crap, has to go to work, shower, blah, blah. I dragged her out in spite of the drama. Emily also stepped in though I had not asked her to. We get all done and Marika heads off to get ready. I took the trailer down the hill and backed into the garage. Put away clean and shiny for next trip.

Emily has plans to go to Rocklin and Roseville for shopping. So I am not able to do any other chores right now.

I went back up the hill and went in to check on Marikas progress. Her progress tells us when we are leaving. Why? Not sure. She is driving Moms car to work then on to a party in West Sac and I am sure followed by a trip into Dixon to visit friends. She will be back tomorrow before work. Prob at 230. About as late as she can get ready and still make it on time.

So she left and we loaded up and headed farther down the hill to where all the heathens reside.

Now I’m not much of a shopper. Never have been. I’m not today. What am I doing today? Shopping. Emily is a shopping pro. I married her. I tag along. Sometimes it’s fun. Today was ok.

First stop, the clothing exchange. I call it that because that’s what it is. In reality, you sell your clothing to them for store credit or cash. I would take cash personally. Emily takes credit hence the exchange. More used clothing in exchange for hers. See? Crazy.

next to the junk store aka Home Goods. They sell some nice things and a lot of crap. We bought a shelf which does improve our lives. It will be a good location for most of Emily’s excess clothing. Frees up a drawer for me. Woman has too much clothing. I am not to far behind. Problem is storing what you aren’t wearing. That’s why she has a shed for shoes.

We went to the fancy mall next. We are looking for advent gifts as well as a little crap. I ended up with a new Christmas shirt and a cookie jar. Neither of which I need but wanted just the same. Emily did a few purchases as well. It’s a thing.

We made it home by 7. Too dark to finish washing cars. We instead made dinner and drinks. I also tested a cocktail recipe by making it four different ways. I don’t have a true recipe I like for it. So I have been monkeying with it. Happier now but still not completely satisfied.

We finished all up and went to bed early. For a change. Tomorrow is daylight savings or some such bull shit. Want to be rested.

Friday morning and back to the drudge. Did all the usual crap. Feed all and animals.

Got Emily out the door by 650. She had no kids today and left late for school.

Well, being gone four days means lots to do once I get back. This would explain why I did not leave the house till 11 and did not arrive at work till close to 12.

I have one appointment at 430 and that’s it. The rest of the day I just did the usual crap. Not tremendously exciting. No one missed me. And I did not miss them. We are even. One good thing, there was some cash waiting for me when I came in. Woo hoo.

I quit at 530 after my late appointment left. Finally. For the first time in quite awhile, we did not go out to dinner on a Friday night. Though it was a busmans holiday since I picked up appetizers from a local restaurant for part of our dinner.

Finally, I got home. Marika was at work so Em and I ate dinner without her.

After dinner, a little TV. Marika came home and had dinner. We watched a little more TV and went to bed. I am still whipped from the week camping. We have huge plans for tomorrow. Not.

We got up early. About 740. Got showered for first time since Sunday. Every 4 day’s whether I need it or not. I need it. Marika went to the showers right after me. She definitely needed a shower.

Turns out Dad wants to take us out to breakfast. Which is great cuz we stopped to hang out with him for awhile and this is enforced hanging out. In a way.

Breakfast was a little crazy. The cafe is packed at 10am on a Thursday. Does no one work? Place was hoppin. We had a fine breakfast and headed back to the casa. We want to get out soon enough to be home before dark. We are not sure if the power is on yet at home. It’s only been 5 days.

We left at about noon. Shld be home in five hours if all goes well. We are pulling a trailer and it takes longer. Nothing to say about the trip (yay!) except it would be better if gas stations were next to the off ramp and I don’t need to drive all over creation to find the gas once I pull off the freeway. Word.

Trip was steady and boring. We hit traffic, a bit, in Elk Grove and North Sacramento but all else was good time.

Got home by five. Parked the trailer, hugged the wife, hit the head and unloaded the trailer. Then cleaned all the stuff I made dirty while camping. Started the laundry loads. All the fun stuff that comes from being gone. Great news, the power is on.

oh yeah, Emily missed us. I can tell cuz she made a roast with all the fixings for us. Marikas friend Jut came to dinner too. I guess he missed her. We had cocktails, dinner, wine and even dessert. This is what we get when we leave her in peace for a few days.

The kids left at that point to see a movie. We cleaned up and went to bed. I fell asleep almost immediately. I’m tired here.

Quite cold this morning. Very cold with the crisp wind I am beginning to expect.

Breakfast was cold. On purpose. Cereal, yogurt, fruit. The essentials. And hot cocoa. Also an essential. Kids had espresso whereas I am still caffeine free.

We have another hike planned for today. Only one since everyone in hike planning is too tired for two. I just go wherever they go, don’t really care.

So, the hike. we drove a few miles to the Ryan Mountain trailhead. Hike starts on the valley floor at 4000’ and you get to the top in only a mile and a half at about 5700’. I immediately recognize the severity of the climb. That increase in elevation is extreme in such a short distance. My adult children did not seem phased by it. Prob, they did not recognize. This will be a steep climb, all upward, for an hour. At least we have clear sunny skies and a breeze. Temp in valley about 45. This means it’s gonna get colder as we climb up. I have only one jacket with me. Just gotta soldier on.

Well, sadly, I was right. Very tough climb, with stair steps in many parts of the trail. I hate steps. The real issue was the temperature. The cold wind got worse and the temp dropped as we climbed. We did make the summit in about an hour. It was so cold we just took a few pictures, looked around quickly, and left. The temp was easily below 40 with that bitter cold wind. Not so much fun.

Many people who hike for fun can tell you that the hike down is harder than the hike up. Something about which muscles are used and continual fight against gravity. This hike down was murder. My knees started screaming halfway down. Would have loved to quit but no one available to carry me. Michael got way ahead of us, he’s an ego hiker. Marika and I climbed together and muscled our way down. This 3 mile hike was more grueling than yesterday’s 6.2 mile.

Once down, we decided to call it quits for the day. No one wanted to hike more. We had planned on leaving tomorrow at the crack of dawn. I got to thinking about it, why not leave at around 5 and drive in relative comfort, without early am fatigue? What to do? We got back to camp and had dinner instead of lunch. Had a fire, burgers, couple drinks and sat around doing the camp thing. Dinner for lunch, in daylight. I’m brilliant. About 4 or so we packed up, hooked up, said goodbye and made like the head goose.

Marika and I are headed to Visalia to overnight at Dads and Michael drove his 2 hour trip to Camarillo. He is just a tad closer. We hit the gas station first for a fill up. That’s about the spot that we get a signal. So all hell broke loose and we ended up sitting on the phone for 30 mins. Mostly that was Emily. She received some strange a slightly threatening calls from a man her brother owes money to. And this creep tells Emily he had been by the house and no one was there. He wanted to know if maybe she was hiding her brother. You get the picture. So I sat and listened to Emily who is freaked out. Also, we have no power thanks to our utility PG&E so she is in the dark. And I am several hundred miles away. I did call my worthless brother in law and told him to get this cretin straightened out. I also called the deviant myself and he seems to think I need to pay him or I needed to ask my sister? to pay, amongst other things. Guy is nuts. And he is mad at me. Figure that out. Will need to involve law enforcement I think.

Back to the drive. We left Twenty Nine Palms right after the call. Our drive went from twilight to quite late in the evening. Not very exciting as drives go which I have said is always the goal. One gas stop. That’s it. Marika drove and I slept the last hour.

Got to Dads. Everyone asleep. We snuck in and went to bed.

Thought we were getting up early today. Turns out I was wrong. Michael and I got up at a reasonable hour. Early. We got all our breakfast stuff out and set up. Made coffee. Made coffee even though I can’t drink any. It’s not too cold so we had a cold camp except for the hot beverage.

After breakfast we put all the gear away. I am sure you are wondering where Marika is during all this. Still in the trailer. Why? Well, last night after the card game I went to bed. And the two of them stayed up drinking beer and the occasional glass of Wild Turkey. And, surprise, Marika was hung the hell over this morning. At about 11 we finally dragged her from bed and got her to eat and drink a little. She puked a couple times but we finally got going on today’s hike. 

We buttoned up our campsites and were off. We have to drive to the trailhead, about 10 miles from our campsite. 

We are going on a six mile hike out into the desert to an abandoned mine. Really, the mine is not the goal. The walk in the forest is our goal. And we are goal oriented people. We gonna kick this forests ass. 

So, weather. Clear, sunny and real cold with a cold wind blowing lightly. I am definitely wearing a jacket. 

The “forest” here is a desert type. The Joshua trees are way far apart and in the open spaces between is scrub plants. If you have spent time in the desert, I may call this forest. Other morons would think it dead scape. I think the desert is beautiful. Having spent large portions of my summers in the high desert of eastern California , I have taken a liking to climate and people. So I keep coming back. 

We left on our hike in early after noon, on foot, it’s a hike duh. Gonna be 6.2 miles thru the Joshua Tree forest, low to high elevation. This is a loop trail so you can get kinda screwed based on which way you go. We went the wrong way.

Even though it’s clear it’s also cold. I am wearing the jacket. And I am not staying warm despite the fact I am hiking at a brisk pace and breathing hard. Weird.  

Over hill, over dale, we are on the dusty trail. Our 6.2 walk took about two hours. We stopped at an old chimney and at the Lost Horse Mine. I could not find the horse. And I looked. Hard. 

We do like long walks in the forest. As a family. Not sure why. I have been a big fan since I was a child. Today’s hike, maybe a 4, not tough and not super interesting. But still fun. 

Btw, Marika has been hungover all day today. Yet still able to hike the 6.2 miles. Tough as nails. Just like me.

We went up to Keys View next. Prob a high point around here. Saw the Coachella valley, Palm Springs, and Indio from up on high. And we can drive to the summit. Which after 6 miles walk was a plus. Views of large areas are very popular. 

Once Keys View was done. And Marika finished puking, we drove down to twenty nine palms, local city outside park then to city of Joshua Tree to hit grocers. I needed to charge my phone so we went to Lone Tree bar and grill which had a power strip under the bar top. For powerless guys like me!  Love the place.   

After drinks and food I had a 36$ charge. That’s four cocktails and fries and rings. And a hefty tip. Cool. 

Back to the campsite and we made dinner. Grilled steaks and a Ceviche salad. And more cocktails. Are there ever enough? None for the girl, she is still hungover. 

After meal we retired to the trailer for games of Deuces till we were too tired. That’s me too tired. The kids hung out and drank outside. I went to sleep. 

I will get to Sunday later. If I feel like it.

It’s Monday morning. Port of Call: Visalia, CA. Ok, no port. No water. It’s hot, dry and cheerless. We are on our way to Joshua Tree Natl Forest. We stopped here last night to overnite. Barely saw Dad, he was in bed when we got in at 1130 and he usually rises at 830. We were leaving at 730 so we figured not. But, to surprise all he got up early to say hi. I helped him dress, he has lots of physical issues that make daily life difficult. Like not being able to dress himself easily.

We did not stay long after he got up. We are on a timeline to get to Joshua. Michael invited himself along so we are meeting him early this afternoon.

So we got on the road. Supposed to be a nine hour drive but there are ads on a like gas stops and potty breaks which do add time. Our first stop was Starbucks 5 min from the house. Hot bev and a bag of coffee I could not grind at home cuz power out.

This will be a long desolate drive through the high desert of CA. I like the southern Sierra’s. Lots lakes and rivers but looks moonscapey. There is actually a lot of hunting and fishing opportunities and camping and hiking too. Most people avoid it I think unless they are going to Mammoth Lake. When Michael was young we took several backpacking trips through here. Now it’s Marikas turn. And mine again.

We have stopped for gas twice. Once or twice for bathroom. Making ok time. Currently we are 10 miles south of Boron on 395. Looking for the eastern connection to Joshua. Trailer has behaved well, bottomed our once in a gas station. The trailer is much more agile and easy at freeway speeds. Going slow causes the hitch to jump a lot and make a racket which can be unsettling. We deal.

Sunday. Yesterday. I don’t really feel like it. Marika spent the night out, she was drunk, did not get home till ten. Has to work at noon. We did not spend too much time together.

I spent most of the day waiting for Emily, due home from Vegas Gaga thing by 3. Also, got fully packed for our trip. Stocked the trailer up and made sure I had what we will need. This took too almost 3 to accomplish. Power is out so I can’t do any cleaning without water or power. I put things away. I retired the cords they the kitchen window. Doing so helped me shut the front door. Was too cold.

Emily got in on time but there was a freeway fire on a connector and it took her two hours to get home. And she was in a foul mood. With a migraine. Great. Marika got home an hour after she left work. She stopped at the gym for a shower. They have water and power.

We finished packing while Emily unpacked. Then I decided to take Em out to dinner since her mood can’t get any worse. I am sure she will be better tomorrow.

Dinner was nice, for fast food Mexicano. But nice to sit for a bit and talk about what’s up. We moved quick so as to be home before dark. No light causes problems. We did get home, Em went in the house, we said our goodbyes, walked down the hill, hooked up the trailer and headed to Visalia.

We are back to high desert Monday. Going light by traffic light through Apple City, which appears a surprisingly nice place. I won’t be moving here anytime soon.

We are back to hiway speed, moving quickly through the desert country side. Anticipation is running high. We hope it’s well placed.

Ok. Confession time. It’s late Thursday and I’m back. I really can’t remember what I did on the balance of Monday.

We finished out our drive to Joshua Tree. Met up with Michael. We all went to Twenty Nine Palms for supplies. Then back to camp, dinner, a few hands of deuces and off to bed for me. Those two crazy kids stayed up to drink and talk. You can understand why I went to bed.