en route: central city, NE; yankton, SD; de smet, SD-- Saying "I feel sleepy" to each other pretty much sums up the day's conversational content. Unending fields of corn (and soybeans, too-- the story of our nation) have a soporific effect after so many days.
That being the case, we'll get right to the point.
Our main activities on 7/30/07:
-- Trying to stay awake
-- Stopping to view the Lone Tree historic marker outside Central City, NE as sleep prevention strategy. Yes. This memorializes the one tree that once existed here.
-- Wondering why the fuse controlling the dome light blew (continued from yesterday and day before)
-- Realizing--in South Dakota-- that we left the camera at the Lone Tree historic marker
Highlights:
-- Waffles for breakfast at the hotel
-- Wireless access for the computer
-- Anticipation of reaching De Smet!!!
-- Crossing the Missouri River
Observation:
-- Karen has had enough of Nebraska
7/30/07
en route-- Our friends at DWC did so much to ensure that we would never have a moment of boredom during our journey. Among the many treasures found within the magical red Igloo cooler of travel essentials was a deck of cards with thumbnail of each of the 50 states. We studied these with vigor, but also decided that some all of the states we passed through could use some help spiffing up their mottos...
New State Slogans from K & A Communications Consultants
NEVADA: "Please send water"
UTAH: "We hate you"
alt: "Don't bother stopping for the Salt Lake"
alt: "Got kids?"
WYOMING: "Is anyone home?"
alt: "No NPR"
alt: "Cows, Clouds, and Chemicals"
"Are We Still In" NEBRASKA
SOUTH DAKOTA: "We're not Nebraska"
IOWA: "Please visit. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease."
INDIANA: "Haha, you're in Indiana!"
OHIO: "Oh no, Ohio."
lyman, WY and en route - Today was an on the road day, in Wyoming then Nebraska. A wide open, wild West day. We saw both the hard beauty of the place, and also the wounds from Cheney, Inc., tearing open the mountains for always more. 
We wondered at the number of trailers we saw along the roads, then a conversation with the Gypsy clerk at the Sinclair gas station enlightened us. Wyoming needs cheap labor, but doesn't give those workers anywhere to live. New residences in certain counties must have 40 acres to build a home, hard to reach on a miner's or gas wrangler's paycheck. Lots of folks working hard and living in their cars, or hotel rooms.
But - we thrilled to the gargantuan clouds, the roller coaster dips in the road, the red rock carvings through the hills. Crossed over to Nebraska in the late afternoon light falling on endless fields of prairie grass and red clay, with Willa Cather always around the next bend. 
Highlights:
-- First antelope of the trip, in a gentle rain just outside Laramie
-- Cold pizza for breakfast
-- Cheyenne is a hidden gem - we loved the City Newsstand and Pipe Shop. Enjoyed chatting with the man at the register, who also shepherded the local interest book section into being. The state house is a beautiful public space.
--Passenger reading aloud "By The Shores Of Silver lake" to driver - heartwrenching! We thought a road trip in a Jetta with a hotel every night was hard.
en route-- Just as we had applied temporary tattoos to ourselves for the trip, Etta Jr., too, needed some gussying up to really get in the mood. 
Hence, a "Reading is Sexy" bumper sticker and an Oxy window decal (the latter from former DWC intern, Becca). Etta Jr. clearly felt spunkier for it, and we hit the road at the crack of 9:00 am.
We followed the beautiful Truckee River east from Reno. 
Nevada is a state to behold from the open road; you feel "the West" around each bend-- trains with colorful boxcars chugging every which way, sage and sky, puff-daddy clouds.
The prospect of a Basque meal in Elko, NV, inspired us onward, yet we found the Nevada Hotel closed mid-afternoon, as were the other recommended ones, according to the Euskaldun we met. By the time we rolled into West Wendover, NV on the border of UT, we were ready for some eats. Having dined at Tacos Poblano and brainstormed some alternate names for the place ("Tacos Ayudame", "Tacos Peligrosos") we can now advise you that when faced with the decision to pull over or push on at this exit-- push on.
Next, the Bonneville Salt Flats and Salt Lake City. What's the big woop? The Salt Lake doesn't smell good, and the roadside view spot is disappointing.
Things starting looking up as we proceeded north to WY, the Cowboy State. How appropriate, for we learned in Wendover that TODAY is National Cowboy Day.
Road sightings:
-- A FUN HOME license plate on a motor home, surely an allusion to Alison Bechdel's fabulous graphic novel of the same name
-- 1st tumbleweed of the trip
-- CLOUDS!!!
-- Cool town name: Beowawe (Beowulf's little bro?)
-- Billboard on I-80 at Delle, UT: Eastbound (toward UT): MissionaryMall.org, westbound (toward NV): VaVaVoom, Wendover's Adult Novelty store
Highlights:
-- Free beer from Travis, proprietor of Suds Brothers microbrewery in Evanston, WY
-- We didn't get killed in either UT or WY
7/28/07
south lake tahoe, ca-- Aaaah, the High Sierra. Blue skies, chance of afternoon thunderstorms, and a light breeze to go with the whispering pines, quaking Aspen, and the call of the Steller's jay. What better way to get acclimated to our future life in the country?
While Phoebe mapped her vacation topography... 
...and Ruby hid under the bed, we accompanied Anisa's mom to her Soroptimist meeting. Not only was it fun seeing members of Team Tuscany, but at the meeting we learned that one of only eight platinum-level LEED certified buildings in the U.S. exists right here in the Tahoe basin. It houses the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences. If you are an fiery proponent of green buildings, as is our friend Joe Altepeter, you will click here for more! 
That called out for a day trip, so we piled into the car with the folks and headed over to Incline Village (on the other side of the lake) to check it out. Turns out it has a cool 3-D theater where you can "fly" over and under Lake Tahoe UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Center 
a model of the research vessel used to monitor the lake's water quality and more. Our docents were well-trained volunteers. Also, there is a Sri Lankan deli across the street that we liked.
Next, the winding road led us through the mountains to a neighboring (and much less visited) limnilogic zone, Silver Lake. There we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the rustic Kit Carson Lodge that's right, you LHOTP fans, On the Shores of Silver Lake! Sunset, moonrise, blueberry lemon whipped cream meringue confection on the deck overlooking the lake to the north and the campfire circle to the south... it was a dream we never even knew we should have!
Other Tahoe highlights:
-- Mom's Macaroni Salad
-- Dad's breakfast
-- Netting $69.00 at the coin counting machine
-- Raley's clerks who clearly understood the power and romance of the American road trip
-- Bumping into one of Anisa's nursery school cohorts at the vet's
Did you know the Washoe name "Tahoe" means "lake of the sky"? Learn more fun facts here: http://www.virtualtahoe.com/Community/TahoeFAQs.html
Word of the Blog: limnology
Thanks, Mom and Dad! We had a wonderful visit with you and can't wait for you to come see us here in Lodi!
Preview of next entry:
Phoebe backseat supervises packing for the next leg of the journey...
7/26-28/07
en route... not that saying goodbye to LA, our home for a combined total of 28 years was easy. "And it's just that easy" is a tagline we often employ at the culmination of some set of super-laborious or complicated maneouverings. In other words, NOT easy.
Activities of the day included bidding farewell to loved ones and shedding tears as we hit the road for Lodi, NY.
But first, a visit to Anisa's parents in Tahoe!
This, the first leg of the journey, found us enjoying the bucolic and retro-Americana Highway 99 instead of the odious 5. Phoebe popped an angry head out of her carrier around along some rural stretch, which prompted a police inquiry as we made an unplanned stop at a deserted strip mall to repair P's carrier. The cop seemed to identify with P's misery saying, "Wow. That's a long drive."
Karen received her first Woodstock of the trip, for displaying exemplary PMA (another tagline-- Positive Mental Attitude) at the Merced Starbuck's after Anisa's disappointing orange frappucino. This taught Anisa that she could dwell on the sticky orange goo, or she could enjoy the warm summer breeze and the open road.
We arrived in Tahoe about 4:00 am, PDT.
7/24/07
los angeles - Such words were uttered once or possibly twice over the merry three days known as "hell on earth" "why are we doing this" "packing the truck". Happily, the Los Angeles weather cooperated, and it was a pleasant 9 million degrees over the course of the weekend. Picture a Rubik's cube the size of a semi, except the cubes are all fragile, and your stuff. I'll stop there, except to say to our friends who helped with muscles, motivation and moral support - thank you, thank you, thank you. You know who you are: Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, Christopher, Lorna, Laura.
7/21-23/07
los angeles - Well, let's be honest. At times, DWC does seem like a circus. However, this was the first time in recent memory that there was an actual cotton candy machine, a roving clown, and ring toss set up in the Day Center. 
It's only now, a month later, that I'm wondering why exactly my co-workers chose a carnival theme as my send-off party. Was it a reflection of me... or a larger metaphor for the inner turmoil we mortals experience in the world of work? Well, whatever the reason, Karen and I loved the carnival and all the carnie trappings. Ring toss, hot dogs, hula hoop contest, 
candy, coin toss, face painting, snow cones, and yes, a REAL cotton candy machine! 
And right there in the midway, the one and only Ricardo 
and his musical stylings. Women were swooning but he kept crooning.
Many beautiful words were spoken, memories shared, and new memories created. Anisa was astounded by the creativity and the lengths that the carnival crew went to. But what was even better was that everyone, most of all the ladies, could enjoy a super fun, super fabulicious patented DWC extravaganza. Step right up!!!
los angeles - What do you get when you blend the devilish mind of Lisa Watson, Anisa's intense enthusiasm for all things Laura Ingalls Wilder, and a gang of willing and fun-loving co-workers? Why, you get 12 gals dressed up in full pioneer costume having cocktails at the Hotel Fig, of course! Lisa rented the frocks from a prop house fresh from a production of Oklahoma, and we all donned boots, dresses, aprons, and bonnets. Scandalously, some of us skipped the petticoats all together in the interest of remaining concious in the searing heat. Anisa was veeeery surprised to see us all there, as was the hipper-than-thou crowd at the hotel.
Time to catch my covered wagon!
Those people in the strange clothes?
No, we don't know them at all!
