Greetings from the Road

You know love is better than a song
Love is where all of us belong
So don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there

Cat Stevens

Some observations from my 30+ hour journey from Wisconsin to Utah, or I guess I should say two hours south of Utah in some non descript Nevada town where I plan to relax and get my mind ready for Sunday. Nothing major planned except watching some scholar athletes bounce an orange orb, some four legged animals run in circles, and holding onto some small paper rectangles with numbers and some members of the family on them.

First off want to give a big thanks to the red Nissan that went the whole way with nary a hiccup. And of course all the great music and some excellent games that shared the airwaves in my car. Congrats to Indy and the Saints on reaching the super bowl. Will be my first jello shot free super bowl in nearly a decade. No quiz this year either :( But still looking forward to an excellent game and rooting for the boys from the crescent city.

Amarillo: This place is the steak eating capital of the world as far as I can tell. There must be a steak restaurant every two blocks and the king of them is a place called The Big Texan. This place serves a free 72 oz steak the catch being that you have to eat in one hour. They happily advertise this deal starting about four hundred miles in either direction on billboards that show up every two miles or so the whole way into town. It must be working because at 1:30 the parking lot was packed with easily 150 cars buses, semis, rv's, and since it is Texas about another 100 pick ups. Didn't make it in having consumed 8 oz. of filet a few nights earlier and the thought of knocking back 9 of those plates was unappealing.

Flagstaff, AZ Want to give a tip of the hat to the good people of the Flagstaff road crews. This place was ass-deep in snow when I drove through it. Almost made me homesick for Wisconsin because it looked just like Madison. The roads were perfect, clear as could be, the roofs that hadn't collapsed were buried under the biggest snow they had seen in 4 decades.

Billboards: They don't bother me, in fact I would say they make the drive a little more interesting. Some of my favorites were the one that said Bookends this exit. If bookends are you're top draw you may want to think about saving those advertising dollars. Scripture seems to be a big favorite with the Southern people. I hope God is getting a percentage of the ad revenue his words are generating. Apparently Feral Pigs are a problem in Texas as the scary picture said I should report any I see. Didn't see any, my guess is they were all at the Big Texan chowing free steak.

Gas Stations Gas prices ranged from a low of $2.35 in Missouri to a high of $3.05 just past the Hoover Dam. The new fad of jamming as much as possible to into your mini-mart gas plaza continues to grow. My favorite being the full service Indian restaurant and Gun shop attached to one. Let's see I'll take tin of Skoll, some Chicken Tandori, a copy of Juggs, a six pack of Old Milwaukee and that shiny .357 magnum.

Next time you hear from me I should have made my first attack at the mountain in Snow Canyon park. My nemesis awaits and I have no doubt it intends to kick my ass as it has done so many time before. The bike awaits me as well, along with 65 or so new campers all with swelled expectations from watching The Biggest Loser on TV. With 50 or so new campers each week I should only have to learn 400 or so new names. Can't wait to get back in the Ridge hot tub, those newbie are advised that the corner spot by the jet is reserved for me. I hope everyone has a great week, no snow for me for a good long time and not much makes me happier than that. Peace, Jim