Klinger the Jeep and I are off on an adventure... pointed east, across
the Sierras... to the east side of Nevada, Ely, for a conference...
50 minutes into the trip, only 35 miles covered... A slow start... It's am rush hour, for those
headed to work... I am not... And am headed away from the great mass of
employment centers... But there is traffic...
Klinger has a timer, multiple odometers, and fuel mileage read out... So, I can test my progress against my plan...
Just outside Stockton, I turn off the freeway, not to return until late
Sunday night... Just beyond Waterloo I encounter an over size load with a
police escort... Half a house, with pilot cars, one ahead one behind,
and no less than three CHP SUV's two ahead, one following... They are
stopping on coming traffic, holding the cross traffic at
intersections... The house and entourage are running red lights... with CHP protection... All
at 45 miles an hour for some miles, through Lockford, through
Clements... Luckily, they were not headed for Jackson...
Once free of the flying house, I encountered a construction project (really several)...
With one way traffic and flag men... Again progress slowed...
By the time I reached Jackson Klinger's timer and odometer and readouts suggested that I was about 30 minutes behind...
Up the mountain.... Over the Sierras... Climbing... Through digger pine
and oak, as I climb through sugar pine and fir, still higher into lodge
pole pine... I don't reach timberline.. This trip...
Over the top at Meyers Pass... Then down, Aspen now... Starting to
turn... They should be good in a couple of weeks when I need to cross
over again....
I reach Carson at 12:30... The Stanford car is out... Waiting for me... I
pull out my paint cards and go to work... I have been here twice,
exposing paint windows, taking notes... Notes that don't make sense once
home... This is the way of a paint study... You keep looking...
Sampling... And suddenly the fog clears and sample 1 and sample 4 start
to mesh... Others follow.
By 5:00 I am done... Down the street to the next Best Western... Check
in (Free... I have stayed in Best Westerns frequently recently...). I
check email... I walk across the street to the Old 395 Grill... Beer and
pork tonight.... I am on vacation, the ladies are at the Giants game...
(Go Giants!). I am writing this as I eat...
Back to the room to work on the presentation... Giants on TV... The Giants win... All is good...
Tomorrow... Up early... Stop for breakfast at the Cracker box, then east on Hy 50...
"Every car is full of stories. Who rode in 'em, where they went, how they ended up, how they got here..." Neil Young
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