On the Road

[Dark Shadows]

A big thank you to everyone who helped with the disaster relief for the flood victims. Because of you, I have a full van of clothes, blankets, food, home-made jam (a full case), hand-made afgans, cleaning supplies and sleeping bags to bring to the flood victims. From the Squaxin Island Tribe that is hosting me at their casino/hotel, to my friends who helped with the food and drink for the potluck, everyone rose to the challenge!

I am relaxing at the HOJO's in Redding, trying to wind down after several hours of reading road signs and listening to bad music on the radio.

I'm a Genie in a bottle, if you want hang we me, you gotta rub me the right way...

I wonder what Bondage Breaker Recovery does. They cleaned the litter on I-5 between Red Bluff and Cottonwood, so they must be very capable of recovering bondage breakers.

I'm b b b bad, bad to the bone...

Sure hope I don't get stopped in Red Bluff. My sister-in-law and her friend Effie May, Yuroks on their way to a protest on the Klamath got beat up in a jail cell there. Extremely bad vibes driving through this town.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the one...

Please God, let there be free breakfast with my room in Redding. Can't take any more stale donuts and watery coffee.

They found a rabid bat in downtown Redding, and they are asking everyone to contact the Health Department if they may have come in contact with it. Just what I need, rabies for Christmas.

The California Highway Patrol reports that during the holidays, congested roadways get dangerous. What a profound statement.

Triple A reports that more that 65,000 people will travel more than 50 miles to celebrate the holiday this season. Hmmmm. Well I'm driving more than 750 miles to celebrate this holiday, wonder how that figures into their statistics.

A large cone was placed on a tree in Redding by planning officials. They were hoping to detract eagles from nesting near a construction site. How do they get away with this stuff?

Okay, 550 more miles to go in the morning. I can taste the stale donut already. More in the coming days....

[Dark Shadows]

Blast!


...snow Advisory In Effect From 4 Am To 10 Am Pst Saturday...
The National Weather Service In Seattle Has Issued A Snow Advisory... Which Is In Effect From 4 Am To 10 Am Pst Saturday.
Light Snow Or Rain Will Develop Late Tonight. Snow Levels Are Low Enough That As The Precipitation Increases In Intensity... It Will Turn To All Snow For A 3 To 6 Hour Period During The Morning Hours. The Air Mass Will Warm Sufficiently To Turn The Snow To Rain By 10 Am. Expect 2 To 4 Inches Of Snow In The Hood Canal Area And 1 To 3 Inch Accumulations In The Lower Chehalis Valley Before Precipitation Turns To All Rain. A Snow Advisory Means That Periods Of Snow Will Cause Mainly Travel Difficulties. Be Prepared For Snow Covered Roads And Limited Visibilities...and Use Caution While Driving.

[Braggi]

We'll envision gentle global warming winds coming your way. A path free of snow and ice will spread out in front of you!

Blessings on your (completely safe) trip!

-Jeff

[Dark Shadows]

I can't express how wonderful it feels to be home. When I crossed the big old drawbridge over the Columbia river I almost cried. You know it's kind of hard to dance in your seat when you're trying to negotiate interstate traffic!

Suddenly the music on the radio got better and more varied and my van is even getting better gas mileage. Gas near the Oregon border was less than three dollars a gallon.

I stopped at my favorite gas station in Chehalis. I remember it because it's where my appy foal Little Cloud collapsed when I first got her. I found her soaking wet and tied to a trailer in the snow. She was only six months old. We called her Little Cloud because she only had one spot on her belly at that point. Now she's got a great blanket of spots on her rear.

I wasn't dreaming of a white Christmas, but it sure was white driving through the Rogue River Valley. When I got to Washington, it had turned to freezing rain, which can sometimes be harder than snow to drive through. But I'm here, finally. Just when I was thinking that at least people up here know how to drive in this stuff, I saw a really bad accident. A Winebago-like vehicle had flipped over and there was a car right behind it in the same position. Other than that, which was on the south-bound side of I5, there were no other accidents. Which kind of proves my theory that people are better drivers up here. If this was California, I'm sure it would be much worse. Sorry if I sound prejudiced, its just what I've experienced.

The FEMA inspector called me on my cell when I was still in Oregon. He's coming out to my place tomorrow morning, on a Sunday, can you believe it? So no staying up late blogging tonight. I make my rounds delivering relief supplies after the inspection. And I'm so glad I don't have to lug the hams up to my room because its cold enough to keep them in the van tonight.

I'm staying in a wonderful room at the Little Creek Casino/Hotel, sipping my complimentary Teepee Dreams tea, it has Peppermint, Chomomile, Catnip(!), Valerian Root, Passsion Flower, Strawberry Leaf and Scullcap - Meow! I hope it gives me some nice dreams tonight. I was afraid the Warrior's Brew would keep me up.

Thanks again everyone for helping with the relief effort. The Skookumchuck River was almost at freeway level when I was passing through, so what I've seen so far looks menacing.

[decterlove]

Glad you're having a safe and successful trip, Dark Shadows. Tough journey food wise, I guess. Given the choice of between a donut or a donut hole, I always recommend picking the donut hole. Donuts are best used only to clean up the counter if you spill any coffee because you have the shakes from drinking too much coffee.

The Rabbits are doing great but they are growing by leaps and bounds! Starting to look like small Kangaroos already! Am I feeding them too much? They've already gone thru that small sack of green pellets that you left me. Funny creatures! Eat small green light colored pellets and shoot out small green dark colored pellets. Very economical. And very ecological too! Green, very green!

I also gave them some Human Growth hormone just because I had some left over from playing on the volleyball team in Petaluma last year and I wanted to use it up so I don't get called to no Federal Hearings. Maybe that accounts for it, but I figured it would just make them more muscular.

They been chewing the H*ll outa everything too. Rocking chair? Splinters! Dining Room table? Gone, sawdust, already vacuumed it up! Baseball bat? Looks like half a toothpick now. Oh, wait a minute, I didn't even know I had a baseball bat. Maybe that's why I was taking the HGH.

So anyway, they are way Too Big for that tiny little cage your brought 'em over in. I got a couple of dog collars for 'em and I have em tied up to that Walnut tree out front. Actually they weren't dog collars...I couldn't find a single one left before Christmas. So I got em a couple of the black leather people collars with the chrome spikes in a gift shop over in Petaluma called Vandal's and Spikey's. They look great on Fireball and Heather! Er, actually I changed their names too. I hope you don't mind! I'm calling them Komodo and Godzilla now.

See ya when you get back! Keep on Truckin' Girl! Further! Get it while you can! (gas that is....) They'll be waiting for ya when ya get back! Better bring your horse trailer this time and a couple of saddles! Oh and Merry Yada Yada Yada!

Bullshit? What bullshit? All I see is Rabbit shit!

[Dark Shadows]

I was going to warn you about them, they are quite a pair. Just don't let them get loose outside or they will multiply!

I had Christmas breakfast at the community center near the Skookum Trading Center and Gas Station and it started snowing, I kinda figured it would when the droplets started freezing on my windshield. It was getting quite heavy. Sooooo, I delayed my return for another day.

I watched a documentary about Big Foot on the History Channel last night and it was set in the Skookum area. Apparently they found an impression where Big Foot may have fallen as he reached for apples overhead. I know I've heard Big Foot before, but never so far north. We were at a makeshift campground near Lake Almanor in the tent at about 2 am and heard something outside. Whatever it was walked on two feet and was significantly bigger than a human. Couldn't see much in the darkness though and we were not going to risk scaring him with the flashlight. The fear I felt was similar to when I heard a bear in my campsite and threw the teething biscuits outside the tent so he/she wouldn't eat my baby. This was in Yosemite in the late 70's.

So, I will be back tomorrow, quite late I'm afriad. I'll be leaving soon for Redding and the long haul over the pass. Thank you so much for taking such good care of the bunnies.

[decterlove]

Dat wasn't Bigfoot. Dem was Rabbit feet!!

Apparently they found an impression where Big Foot may have fallen as he reached for apples overhead.

[Dark Shadows]

Just stopped for lunch at Burgerville in Cougar near the Lewis River. Very good turkey burger and salad, but I was starving, so not a good judge. More snow is expected so I need to get back on the road. Lots and lots of holiday travelers. It's a lunch rush. Chehalis was just as bad as when I left it. Lots of standing water, except now everything is dusted with snow and it is fridgid out there. The casino parking lot was still completely full of local people. Looking forward to those stale donuts at Hojo's.