Day 23: Last day at Lake Tahoe :(

Today is my last day at Tahoe.  So I figure I should make the most of it andddd do lots of skiing!  It's going to be a while before I ski again.  I wake up and head off to Northstar, just to mix things up again. I stop at another fire station on the way, looking for a patch.  Turns out they don't have any at this station either.  They tell me the admin office and main station is across from Safeway. Ok, I know where that is, that is where I bought cheese that one time.  So on my way to Northstar I look for a fire station.  I don't see one anywhere.  Maybe it's the wrong Safeway.  Or maybe I am looking across the wrong street. Oh well. I get to Northstar around 11. The parking lot close to the village is full. This is going to be a busy day on the hill. I park in a lot that is quite far away and try to figure out the shuttle.  Luckily it is really easy.  I hop on and am whisked away to the mountain. 

yayyy Skiing!!!

The full parking lots turn out to be deceiving.  The mountain isn't too horribly crowded.  Throughout the day I do have a few close calls with people who are skiing or riding slow and unpredictably.  I try to pass them right as they decide to turn my way.  Luckily, they were only close calls.  I spend the day on the groomed trails.  All of the ungroomed stuff is gross and impossible to steer on. "Sierra Cement"? I think. I like to think I am a super bad ass skiier and can ski anything. I definitely can not ski this stuff and have no desire to learn. Since I see no one else riding it all day, I don't feel too bad about avoiding it. 

:)

Nice day for skiin!

Anyway, back to the stuff I did ski.  I skiied almost all of the mountain.  I think I hit every lift except the one for the bunny hill.  Most of the runs were nice and has some light man made powder on them. Nice and fast and pretty fun.  A couple times, I found myself tearing down a run to suddenly be met with ice.  That was not fun.  Especially on some of the really steep stuff.  At one point, I decided to slow myself down and ended up skidding across a lot of ice. That ended with me falling over and smashing my thumb under my ski pole.  Ow. However, the day was lots of fun.

As I am leaving, I notice a special at a restaurant: Pizza and beer, $7.  For a ski area that is pretty damn reasonable.  They are selling bud lights at the ski lodges for $6.  So I get some pizza and a Blue Moon and sit by a fire they have set out in the village.  Pretty nice.  I am tempted to go back up on the hill and ride the bunny hill lift just so I can say I have ridden all the lifts. I finally decide that is a dumb reason to go back up and head to the Northstar souvenir shop again. I really want a hat.  I am going to be camping a lot the next week with no showers.  Personally, I can not stand my hair after a day of not washing it so into a hat it is going.  I find the right shuttle and make it back to my truck. 

Perfect timing!  The sun is starting to set and is making the lake look awesome!  I pull off in a little park area and spend some time wandering around the trails there and climbing on the rocks trying to get a perfect shot.  Unfortunately, a lot of other people also wanted to watch the sunset.  It is not quite as peaceful as I was hoping for.  And the clouds were not cooperating for my pictures.  Regardless, it was still nice to watch the sun set.

I get back to the hotel and realize I need to start getting my shit together since I have to check out tomorrow.  I have pretty much moved into the place so this is fun.  I decide to check out the room labeled "guest laundry".  Score! They are free to use and they provide detergent.  I bring my laundry down and throw it in the washer.  I realize I have forgotten half of my dirty clothes.  For some reason, I did not feel the need to keep them all in the same place. I grab the rest and throw them in to. I then head to the hot tub. It is nice. 

I shower and make some dinner.  After dinner, it is time to run the dishwasher!  It is really loud and kind of sounds like it might blow up. So far, it has not.  I pull my 5 gallon collapsible water jug out and fill it in anticipation of the camping to come. My shit is still more or less thrown all over the place.  I will probably push dealing with it until the morning.

Anyway, Lake Tahoe has been great.  I would totally not be opposed to coming again.  Maybe in a winter with more snow.  I think this winter is setting a record for least snow recoded.  Even without the snow, it was a lot of fun.  I would probably stay on the north side of the lake in the future since there are a lot more ski resorts on that side. However, the drive around the lake is beautiful and definitely worth doing. Staying on the south side this time was a good call.  I have been here 7 days and have had 6 awesome days of skiing at 3 resorts.  I wish I had the time and money to make it to all of them!  Sadly, at 80 to 90 dollars a ticket that just is not feasible. Maybe next time :) I am a little sad to be leaving Tahoe!

Also, let me talk about my Epic Pass again. It is awesome.  First, it was only $500 and is a season pass to 7 resorts.  Skiing 5 days so far, it has pretty much paid for itself already.  Also, it has logged all the skiing I have done at Northstar and Heavenly. (55,000 vertical feet at those two resorts this week! Man am I awesome or what??) There are also people on those mountains with camera who will take your picture for you.  The pictures are then uploaded to your account.  Which is sweet.  My account displays how many vertical feet I have skied, how many lifts I have ridden, how many days I have skied, and other cool things. It has an overall stat and stats broken down by day. It is made even more exciting by giving me pins for reaching certain achievements (like skiing two lifts in a certain order, skiing on the Chinese new year, skiing a certain number of feet or days, etc) and I level up once I get enough points (which are gotten from getting pins and vertical feet).  Sooo, it is pretty much like a real life video game.  I highly approve.  I wish all ski resorts would all get together and do this! Ok, enough talking about how awesome my epic pass is, until I get to Colorado and start using it again!

My stats!!

I have also spent the last couple nights thinking long and hard about where I want to go next week.  I was going to go to Mammoth Mountain, but I really need a break from skiing.  And it will be quite expensive and I need to save money.  After much thought, I have finally decided on taking possibly the most round about way possible from Tahoe to Arizona.  I will be camping in 4 different national parks and preserves along the way and staying in Vegas and in Santa Clara with a friend for a few nights. I am going to drive over 1700 miles next week.  I hope T Rex is ready for that!  Hell, I hope I am ready for that.  Anyway, with the camping, my updating will not be so regular.  When I have internet again, I can almost guarantee some awesome pictures :D

Day 22: More skiing at Heavenly

I wake up this morning and am feeling great! A day off was a good idea.  I don't feel like driving all over so I decide to go to Heavenly.  I get my ski gear on.  I notice that my beautiful new snow pants are not looking so beautiful or brand new any more.  I have managed to rip a zipper off of them, tear the bottoms (I should stop wandering around villages in them I guess.... but changing is way too much work), and cover the entire part from my knee down in mud (if only it would stay below freezing this would not be a problem....)  At least my jacket is still lookin pretty good, aside from a few dirt stains received from touching my filthy truck.  Anyway, I head to the ski hill.  The Stagecoach parking lot which I want to go to is full so I head to the Boulder lot.  It is a pretty tight parking lot and I spend a while trying to maneuver my truck into the damn parking place.  There is a guy directing traffic who is currently idle.  He has a fun time watching me try to park.  At least I don't hit anything.

The weather today is awesome!  Sunny and around 40.  Almost too warm for me but still enjoyable.  Time to work on my goggle tan!

I get my boots and skis and go to wait for the shuttle.  I am joined by a girl whose hair is perfectly curled and is not wearing any head gear of any kind, two guys who look somewhat like skiers, and a couple who are both wearing skinny jeans; the girl is wearing a giant fuzzy hat.  Yikes, have these people ever been to a ski hill before?  After eavesdropping on their conversation for a while I conclude the answer is no. Oh well, to each their own I guess. Throughout the day I see some other interesting attire.  I see a guy in a "shag fur" pink jacket and a lady in all spandex. Crazy.

Anyway,  I get to Stagecoach and start making my way around the mountain. On the first lift I end up having a conversation with the guy next to me about Alaska. Whenever I tell people I am from Alaska they always want to know why I am down here skiing. Alaska has gotten lots of snow and the lower 48 has not been so fortunate.  I ask them if they like skiing in -20 degree (F) weather.  They understand.  I then continue to tell them how gorgeous Alaska is. I think I may have convinced a few people to visit.  The tourist industry in Alaska should really start paying me for my advertising.

The bases of the lifts are all packed.  There are people moving around every which way. I accidentally cut off a guy and make an apologetic face.  "Well excuseeee me" he says as he proceeds to give me a dirty look.  Chill the fuck out buddy.  I am sure you have done the same thing to other people.  It's fucking packed and its not like I have done any harm to you in any way.  I didn't even touch you or your skis.  And hey, you're on a ski hill.  Be happy you could be doing much more unpleasant things.  I do a run and am trying to get into the lift line when some random guy accidentally skis right over my skis. He says sorry and I tell him no worries.  See, was that really that hard?  Later in the day I accidentally end up on top of some guy's skis.  He glares at me and I apologize. He continues to glare at me until he gets on the lift.  Jeeze.  People need to chill out.  On the up side, toward the end of the day, a small airplane flew overhead accompanying a glider aircraft thing.  I am happy to report that every single person around me stopped what they were doing to look at the aircraft.  Kind of cool.  At least I was not the only one completely distracted by the airplane.

One super cool thing about Heavenly and Northstar (and the other Epic Pass mountains in Colorado) is that they have professional photographers set up around the mountain.  They will take you picture for free and you can put it on facebook and such.  They want you to buy the actual prints but I don't really need to do that.  Anyway, I ski up to one guy.  "Will you take my picture??"  "Uh, I don't have a camera."  I play along with him until he finally feels the need to tell me he was joking.  I know! I was just playing along. Both photographers asked me if I was by myself.  Yes, I am.  They then feel the need to tell me that it is ok and skiing alone can be better.  Sweet, but I really don't mind skiing alone.  I mean friends are awesome but there are a lot of good reasons to ski alone.  Anyway, I get some cool pictures :)  Too bad my brother, Zacharry, isn't here.  He would be off of "Taking cool pictures of Anna while skiing" duty.  I am sure he would appreciate that.  Every time we go skiing I demand photos. 

Yup, pretty sweet, huh?

Anyway, the skiing was pretty great.  I manage to make it around all of the open parts of the mountain.  Most of the groomers are pretty nice.  They are really fast too.  A couple of times I got a little out of control.  A few of the groomers were pretty icy but most of them were good. I also managed to find a nice run with some tracked up powder.  It was nice and soft still.  Most of the untracked powder had gotten really crusty, gross, and downright unenjoyable.  I think this is what they call "Sierra Cement".  The lift up to this area was made in 1972.  It is a little two seater and the seats are actually made of wood.  Cool!

1972 Vintage lift!

I find myself in the terrain park at one point.  I do a few jumps.  Nothing awesome or fancy but I get some good air.  I feel really cool after that.  I also find myself on some icy mougles.  Mougles with nice snow are kind of fun.  Icy ones suck.  My skis sound horrid as they scrape down the mougles.  My last run, I try to make my way back to the Boulder lodge. (The upper lift there is still not working.  There is only one lift operating out of that lodge and you can't get to the rest of the mountain from it.)  I turn down a path marked "boulder chute, blue run".  This can't be bad.  It is all Sierra Cement and completely awful.  I can not maneuver at all. I struggle down it and find myself completely alone and with no recognizable runs below me.  I see a snowmachine trail and decide to follow it. This trail is really awful too.  It is mostly bare ground and the snow that is there is ice chunks.  Poor skis.  I follow the awful trail for a while, snowplowing most of the way because it is too awful to ski normally.  I finally see a run in front of me with people on it.  Excellent!  I follow the run (which is insanely icy and not fun) down to the Boulder lodge and my truck. 

I turned on my GPS tracker on my phone.  It updated my location ever half hour.  The grey part is the mountain :)

I drive back to my hotel (thing).  The parking lot is completely full aside from a tiny spot that there is no way in hell I am fitting T Rex into.  So I make a parking spot.  I wander back to my room and get ready for the hot tub.  I wander out and proceed to watch the sunset. The sky goes from yellow to orange to pink to greenish and then finally to dusk. Really quite spectacular.  I am not sure if the sunsets are really that much more amazing here than other places or if I am just noticing them more.  Regardless, it was great. I was kind of sad that I did not have my camera. About half way through this sunset experience, I get company.  I hear the door open, smile, and panic.  Shit, there are people, what do I do?!?!  I decide to ignore them and continue watching my sunset.  They ignore me too so I guess we are all happy.  They probably think I am rude but whatever, I highly doubt I will ever see them again.  If I do, I doubt even less that they will remember me. 

Nice clear day!

Anyway, I am headed to Northstar again tomorrow.  I am going to stop at a beach on the way back and watch the sunset and take sweet pictures.  If I can sit still that long! :)

My artistic shot for the day. I was quite concerned I was going to drop my phone. I need a strap for it or something.

Day 21: Not doing much in Tahoe

I wake up late today.  Like 10 late.  Since I did not go to bed until 3 last night.  I decide I definitely do not want to go skiing today.  Way too damn sore.  I decide to take care of the T Rex today.  I need him to keep going for a long time still.

T Rex needs some love

Lake Tahoe is surrounded by mountains.  On the inside of the mountains, there are only small ski towns.  Every other business is a ski shop of some sort.  Gas prices are ridiculous.  In most places, it is over $4 a gallon. So I went to the other side of the mountains today, into Carson Valley.  I drive 10 miles down the mountain and to a Jiffy Lube.  I would like an oil, front and rear diff, transmission, and transfer case oil change please.  I sit and wait for a while.  They finally tell me they are done but they couldn't get the transmission fill screw open.  Bummer.  Oh well, it has been changed somewhat recently.  I then take the T Rex through a car wash because he is filthy.  I hear the guys working at the car wash saying something about how gross my truck is.  Hey, that is dirt all the way from Alaska buddy!  Last, I get gas before heading back up the mountain.  That was a fun adventure into the town of Gardnerville.   I spend some time admiring the view on the drive up.

Driving up the mountain

Carson Valley

I drive back to the hotel.  The parking lot is starting to fill up. People are coming to stay for the weekend.  I am not going to have the whole mountain to myself anymore.  Sad. I find a parking place. I decide to walk down the awful hill (that I have found out is a 9% grade. ew) to buy some post cards since I am trying to entertain myself while resting.  I walk down and back.  I realize I forgot my key.  Awesome.  I head to the office.  "Uh, hi, I locked myself out"  The guy looks at me and asks if I locked myself out the night I got in.  Yes, yes, that was me. He asks about Alaska and jokingly tells me they are going to start charging me for keys.  I need to stop doing that.  I get back into my my room and change into my swimsuit. I head to the hot tub for a while.  I remembered a towel this time!  I head back to my room and make some dinner. I'm now trying to plan my driving and where I want to go between here and Arizona.  And watching Game of Thrones.  It is pretty sweet!  Yay for a mellow day!

T Rex is all shiny and taken care of!

Day 20: Northstar at Tahoe

I decide to check out my "Epic Mix" account this morning.  It keeps track of all skiing that I do at any of the resorts that my (super awesome) Epic Pass works at.  It logs vertical feet, which lifts I have been on and when, and other fun (and almost creeperish) stats about my skiing.  After checking tonight, I am proud to say that I have skied more than 5 miles at Heavenly and Northstar at Tahoe during my stay here.  I plan to do some more soon!  It also gives me awards for achievements such as skiing in two states in one day, skiing a lift a certain number of times, skiing a certain distance, skiing on certain days (like Aussie day that is apparently today and the Chinese new year that was the 23rd apparently) and other things.  It has kind of made skiing into a real life video game.  Sick!!!

Anyway, I decide to ski a half day at Northstar today.  I am feelin pretty tired and sore when I wake up and am not too psyched about beating myself up more.  The problem I have with skiing is no matter how tired I am, if I am faced with two ways down the hill, one being easy and one being hard, no matter what I feel the need to take the most difficult way possible.  Even if I am really too tired or sore to be doing it.  Therefore, a half day is sufficient and Northstar is perfect since if I stay on one side of the mountain, I will be forced to do reasonably easy runs.

I show up about 12:30 and get out of my truck. I am hot in my gear. I decide that my windbreaker over my T shirt is ample to keep me warm.  I get on a gondola that will take me to the main ski area. I end up on a super easy route to get to the lodge. This is an improvement over yesterday. I spend some time wandering around looking for a trail map.  I look through the entire lodge and locker area.  I then spot a sign in the lift line: "trail maps available here".  Clever, keep them in the lift line.  I have never seen this before but I like it.  I grab a map and hop on the lift.  I get to the top and am freezing.  I ski back to the parking lot and get my coat.  This coldness will not do at all. I get back on the gondola.  These people working at the gondola lift probably think I am weird. The gondola is for people who have just arrived and want to get to the rest of the mountain.  It isn't exactly a lift you ride multiple times in a day this close together just for fun.  Oh well, they might see me one more time in their life.  Whateves!

I have never seen slow zone signs like this and thought they were cool :)

I have a few nice runs but am feeling the last 4 days of skiing.  My knees and shins have had it.  I end up falling on a powdery black diamond route.  The fall slams my shin into my boot.  Ow.  I have only been here a few hours but decide to call it quits. The weather is not great anyway.  It is kind of raining.  Maybe I will take tomorrow off. I head back to the parking lot and take off my gear. I decide to check out the village at Northstar.  I like their logo so I decide if I buy anything from Tahoe it will be from here.  I find their gift shop and spend a while wandering around.  I finally decide to buy a shirt. I put it down on the checkout counter and the lady tells me it is buy one get one half off.  I only want one shirt so I stare at her somewhat blankly. I only want one shirt. She looks at me and I go and grab another shirt.  Excellent marketing strategy. I wander around the village some more and get some hot chocolate before heading back toward the hotel.

Pretty! :)

Northstar Village

I stop at a few fire stations along the way.  The first one does not have patches on hand. I find out that the fire stations in North Tahoe on the Cali side all have the same patch.  I already have one of their patches!  The fire fighters are really nice and show me around their station and tell me to go to another station up the road.  I realize I have already been to that station and have gotten a patch there.  I head on down the road and stop at a Lake Tahoe station on the Nevada side.  I had stopped at a nearby station the night before that did not have any.  The battalion chief had given me his email and had asked me to contact him about patches.  He had responded to my e mail and sent me to this address. I walk into the fire station.  I ask for a patch. The firefighter says they don't have any.  WTF?!?! I told him a chief had sent me here.  He points to the fire admin building next door.  Oh.  I head over and ask them for a patch.  "Oh, you must be Anna".  Ok, this is the right place!  I get a patch finally.

I head back to the hotel.  I call my friend Diana on the way.  She is going to com visit me later in my trip so we catch up some and start talking about the trip.  I lose reception.  I wait to call her back until I am done driving.  We finally make contact again and talk for about 20 minutes.  Then my stupid phone cuts out and she can not hear a thing I am saying but I can hear her.  Great.  I thought I had fixed that.  Piece of shit phone.  It does everything.  Except function as a phone.  I text her and tell her there is nothing I can do.  Luckily, she had to get going anyway and we had talked about all the important stuff already.

I then get ready to go out.  I had heard there is a bar giving out free lift tickets to Kirkwood Mountain on Thursdays so I figure it is worth checking out.  I walk in and sit at the bar. The people next to me are asking about Northstar.  I decide to interject into the conversation since I had been there today and no one else around had.  "Yes, it was great!"  I end up hanging out with a couple of Doctors from Pennsylvania and an Australian guy.  We talk about skiing and Alaska.  And then talk about skiing some more.  The doctors head off around 11 and I stay and talk to the Australian guy for a while. We analyze the beams in the building and then I ask him about his opinion on the the world economy (since he had studied economics).  We have some interesting conversations.  His last day of skiing is tomorrow so I give him my number and tell him to let me know where he is at tomorrow. A skiing buddy would be nice.  Even if I was planning to take tomorrow off.  Seize the moment, eh?  About 1:30, I head back up the mountain to my hotel. I failed to win any lift tickets, but I did get a sticker and had a good time. The road up the mountain has no lights and is really quite dark.  Fun!  I use my bright lights and my sweet after market driving lights to light the way and make it back.

Anyway, I have no idea what I will be doing tomorrow. Maybe skiing.  I was planning to get T Rex an oil change and submit some job application stuff. (I got an email from a job I applied to asking for supporting documents...) but that can wait another day!

Day 19: Squaw Valley

I decided to mix things up today and check out a ski area on the North side of Lake Tahoe.  I am a little on the sore side and decided at half day would be quite sufficient, especially since My ski area of choice is Squaw Valley and my super awesome Epic Pass is not valid there.  I.e., I have to buy a lift ticket. 

Around 11, I set off on the road.  It takes about an hour to get to the other side of the lake.  I put the info in my GPS.  It tells me to take the route that someone had told me usually closes in the winter.  It is a lot faster than going the other way around the lake and my GPS has been pretty good about knowing when roads are closed and not telling me to go that way.  (never mind the "county roads" it wanted me to go on a few days ago) So I decide to trust it.  Luckily, it does not fail me. I arrive at Squaw Valley about 15 minutes before the half day starts.

I head to the ticket office.  Awesome, they have a "young adult" ticket option for ages 13 to 22.  It is about $20 cheaper than a normal ticket. I am glad I have not had my birthday yet.  I ask for it and they demand ID. So bars think I look too young to be 21 but you think I am too old to be 22...   I get a trail map and assess the mountain.  It is the second biggest mountain I have been to, behind Whistler/Blackcomb. I find a lift that goes to some blue runs. I put on my gear and end up on a different lift that is for "experts only".  I get to the top.  Oh shit, there is no easy way down. This is not the lift I meant to take.  I go for it, what else can I do?  I am not ready for this at all.  My form is awful, the hill is insanely steep, and the snow is really really wet.  It is probably about 45 degrees out.  My usual approach to steep hills proves to be ineffective in the heavy snow.  I fall over.  A lot.  I go 10 feet down the hill, get a ski caught in the snow, fall over, dig myself out, get back up, and repeat over a dozen times.  I did not think I would need to use my powder skirt on my jacket today.  It would have kept the majority of the the snow out of my clothing.  Note the key phrase "would have".  I finally make it to the bottom, completely drenched in a combination of sweat and melted snow.  Note to self: No crazy shit on the first run.  This means DO NOT hop on the lift marked with a black diamond and "Expert only" as soon as I get to the hill.  I feel like I have made this note to myself before.  Maybe one day I will learn. 

I pull out my trail map again and try to pick a better lift.  I then notice that the trail labeling system is weird.  Usually there are green, blue, black, and double black runs.  Instead, they label their trails as green, blue, double blue, and black.  I would assume that black here translates into double black in the normal labeling convention. Great idea, do a double black run as a warm up run.  Anyway, I finally figure out the mountain more or less and make my way from one side to the other.  I had some pretty sweet runs.  I eventually worked my way up to (successfully) doing some black runs.

Squaw Valley

Around 4, I head to the truck.  I put my gear away and decide to check out the Village area.  It is mostly food places and snow sport gear shops.  I wander for a bit, get some gelato, eat it by a cute little fire thing they have set up, and decide to head back to my hotel. 

Relaxin!

I decide to go the other way back to my hotel, thus making a complete loop around the lake. I drive by a fire station on the way and decide to stop.  My uncle has asked me to collect patches from fire stations along the way for the kids of a firefighter he knew that died in December.  I head inside and find myself completely tongue tied and at a loss for words.  "uhhh um, hi, um, patches, uncle, Boston area, firefighter, Peabody, please? Ok, it was not that bad but that is how it felt.  They happily gave me a patch.  I get back on the road.  The sun has started to set and it is phenominal. And incredibly distracting.  I probably make 4 stops in random turn outs to take pictures. (in addition to the pictures I attempt to take without looking while driving).  I am driving on a narrow road with no guardrails and some substantial drop offs that lead down to the lake.  Will the sun please just get on with it and set and stop being so beautiful and distracting?  I cross from California to Nevada (please look at my map for reference :)  ) The road widens to 4 lanes and there is now guardrail. It is fascinating to see how two different states treat roads in the same area.  California has pretty constantly been narrow and lacking guardrail where I have been. However, as soon as I cross into Nevada, the road widens and guardrail magically appears.

I drive by another fire department and decide to stop there too.  I am much more eloquent this time.  However, they have no patches on hand.  The battalion chief ends up giving me his business card and asks me to e mail him. He thinks he can get one for me.  Sweet!  I drive a little further down the road and see a Safeway with a Wells Fargo. Sweet, I can buy cheese and transfer money to my friend to pay him for where I am currently staying.  (I am staying in his time share)  I am successful in both endeavors. I get back on the road again.  Good, the sun has finally set and it is dark.  Nothing to distract me now! 

I have to make a left turn soon so I drive in the left lane.  No one is in front of me or next to me and I am speeding a little. (not much because I can't tell if it is icy or not)  Some truck gets right on my ass.  I am not a fan of such behavior so I switch lanes.  He stays right where he was in relation to me.  He has absolutely no desire to pass me.  He just wants to drive on my ass for fun.  Ok buddy.  A few miles down the road, I end up switching lanes again (still in front of him) to make my turn.  People annoy me sometimes.

I make it back to my unit. I go to park.  One side of the parking lot is clear with the exception of one car that just started.  I decide to wait for them to leave so I will have more room to maneuver.  I wait.  And wait.  Ok, they don't want to leave.  So I spend a while going forwards and backwards trying to get my truck parked. In the process I block the other car in.  I kill the engine and the other car starts moving.  I tried to let you go first!  I get out and hear a voice "They made this parking lot for little VW bugs, huh?"  Awesome, I have had an audience for my park job.  "Yeah," I respond, "they made the parking lot for little cars but the road to it for big 4wd things."  We both laugh and he disappears. I head to my room.

It is time for dinner.  Chili with cheese this time.  The cheese makes it about a million times better.  I decide to head to the hot tub.  I change out of my snow gear and into my swimsuit. I grab my key and start walking.  I look up, the stars are amazing. It is so clear that I can actually see parts of the Milky Way and the dimmer stars. I get to the hot tub, put my stuff down and hop in.  I then realize I forgot a towel. Well, nothing I can do about it now.  Unfortunately, I can't enjoy the stars much since there is an extremely bright light on the area and steam all over.  I can see the brighter stars and find Orion and Taurus.  After about 20 minutes I have had all the hot water I can take and get out to deal with my lack of a towel issue.  I just put my clothes back on wet.  I don't bother with my shoes or coat and walk back to my room over icy patches.  It is a lot more slippery without shoes since my feet are warm enough to melt the ice a little. Well this has been a fun walk. I make it back and shower.  Which brings me to now! 

Day 18: Heavenly again

I wake up and am warm.  I find this quite exciting after a lot of cold mornings.  I then realize that I am congested and achy.  Great.  I am not getting sick.  I refuse.  I go back to sleep for a little longer.  I wake up again around 8:30 and decide I should get up. 

I am in no hurry to get to the ski hill since I am sore from yesterday.  I have found bruises all over myself; hand, arms, legs, and somehow one on the bottom of my foot.  I go to make some breakfast; fried eggs on toast.  I would usually add cheese but as mentioned before, they did not have any.  Frying the eggs proved to be a problem since I had no butter, pam, cooking oil, or anything else to fry them in.  I have a Costco package of cashews and remember that they are very oily.  So I take a couple of cashews and rub them all over the pan.  Hopefully this will work.  I fry my eggs. The cashew oil seems to work OK.  The eggs don't stick to the pan.  Excellent. 

I eat my breakfast and turn on the TV.  The travel channel is on.  I watch a program about exotic beach houses.  I want to go to the beach!  I turn on my computer and do some research on my next destinations. I am thinking about skiing and remember my favorite Olympic skier (who also happens to share my birthday!! Awesomeness!), Picabo Street.  I thought her name was awesome when I was 6.  Well, I guess I still think that. I remember that there is a run named after her at some ski resort somewhere.  I decide to do some research on the matter.  It is at Sun Valley in Idaho. Guess where I have to go now? At this point, the travel channel starts playing a show about Alaska.  Hmmm, I will add that to my list of places to go! Ha! Around noon, I figure it is time to head to the ski hill.  I get my gear on and head outside.  I decide to drive to the ski lift to avoid walking up the hill again.  In order to do this, I must clear 2 feet of very wet snow off my truck.  It is about 40 degrees out so everything is melting.  It takes about 15 minutes to get all the snow off.  I head to the hill.
I pull out my Scott Skis.  I love the skis. They do everything other than extreme powder.  They are super light and maneuverable.  I can do park (though I rarely do I am too scared I am going to hurt myself), groomers, mougles, light/medium powder, and ice if needed with them. The weather is clear today and the view is beautiful. I can see both Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe from the mountain.  Unfortunately, the upper part of the mountain (elevation 10,000+ feet) is foggy.  The snow is not as quite awesome as yesterday. It is pretty tracked up and wet.  I still find a few untracked areas to enjoy throughout the day.  Despite the snow not being perfect, it is still a good time.

Awesome skis!!!

I take the lifts up as high as I can on the Nevada side and then head over to explore the California side of the mountain.  I had a blast skiing yesterday but I have not found the mountain too challenging.  There are only a handful of black diamonds open and I am unable to find any open double blacks. I check my map and find multiple double black runs at the foot of the mountain.  I decide to do a run from the very top to the very bottom of the mountain.  This run is several miles long.  I make it all the way down to the top of the double black runs.  "Closed due to avalanche danger"  Damn.  I head back up the hill.  I reach the top and am met with high winds and intense fog.  It is about 3 and lifts start closing sometime between 4 and 5. I have to use the lifts to get back to the Nevada side and I do not want to have another shuttle bus adventure today.  So, I make my way back to Nevada.  It is just as foggy and windy over there so I head back to the Stagecoach lift.  It is right by my truck so I won't get stranded and there are some fun runs over there.  I make the last lift and have an awesome run through some mostly untracked snow.  (it's too wet to really call powder)

Nice View!

Still some untracked areas

The Cali side!

Kinda hard to ski in this...

I head to my truck and pack up.  I turn out of the parking lot and end up in a maze of condos.  This is not Tramway drive.  I finally loop around and make it back to the road.  I make it back to my place and have a lot of fun parking in the tight parking lot.  I really want a cheeseburger.  I shower put on normal clothes.  I walk outside and see a beautiful sunset over lake Tahoe. I get back in my truck and drive a quarter mile to a restaurant.  (the hill is that bad. Besides, it is almost dark and I don't want to get run over)  I walk in and there are no available seats at the bar and no booths.  I end up sitting at a high table in the middle of the place.  Since I am by myself I feel very weird about this.  They have a cheeseburger eating challenge and I consider taking it. I look at it in detail and it seems to require eating a pizza, cheeseburger/teriaki burger/philly all combined into one, chicken wings, and something else.  Ok, I am hungry but that is a little extreme.  I look at their burger menu. I can't find a normal burger.  I see a peanutbutter, egg, and pickles cheeseburger.  Well I like all of those things, let's try it.  It isn't bad but I think the peanutbutter overpowered all of the other tastes a little too much.  Oh well, it is good to try new things and it certainly was not bad. 

Sunset over Tahoe!

I drive back to my condo thing and again have a blast trying to park my truck.  I am really happy I have not hit anything. Yet.  So I am now blogging and watching Game of Thrones. 

Tomorrow I think I am going to head to Squaw valley for some afternoon skiing.  Since it was the place of the 1960 Olympics, I feel I should pay it a visit.  I want to go sooner rather than later in hopes that the snow won't be too tracked up! 

I felt super cool taking pictures of myself but oh well.

Day 17: Heavenly

It snowed all last night. 

Snow?

I wake up at 8, freezing.  I don't know what it is, but almost every place I have stayed I have woken up cold.  I check the thermostat. It is set at 70 but is reading in the 50s.  Something is not right.... So I turn on the gas fireplace to try to warm the place up some.  I check Heavenly's hours.  They open at 9.  I make some coffee and put on my ski gear.  I have nothing in my unit for breakfast so I hope that they have something at the lodge. 

I go to the office to inquire about my heat.  "Um, is there a secret to keeping my room warm?  I turned up the T stat and it is still freezing"  The front desk lady tells me to keep my T stat around 70 and turn on my fireplace.  Done.  I tell her so and she tells me they will send maintenance over.  I hope something is actually wrong and the problem is not operator error. I then tell her that I am skiing at Heavenly and since I am alone, I was hoping that I could leave my phone number and anticipated time I would be back with them just in case something happened.  I figure having someone local know something was awry would be good.  She makes a note of it on her computer somewhere and I head to my truck to pull out my gear.  I decide to use my all mountain skis today since there will be a lot of powder today.  They are great skis, I just prefer my lighter park skies in all conditions except for extreme powder.  I get tired too fast with my heavy all mountain skis. 

Heavenly has several base lodges in both California and Nevada. There is one (Boulder) that is very close to my hotel. (It's technically a time share, I am not sure what to call it)  I decide to walk.  I put my skis on my shoulder and set off down the hill.  It is further away than I thought.  Somewhere between a quarter and half mile.  It is also slippery from all the snow.  I should have taken the shuttle.  I am almost there (I had no idea how close I was at the time) when a younger guy wearing ski gear stops and asks if I want a ride.  Yes, yes I do. I throw my stuff in the bed of his truck and hop in.  He skis here a lot and told me that the lift that takes you from the Boulder lodge to the rest of the mountain is closed due to ice.  He suggests getting on a shuttle that will take me to the Stagecoach Lodge.  (the parking lot at Stagecoach is full, hence him parking at Boulder)  I get on the shuttle which is packed.  I end up standing.  The shuttle winds around the switchback mountain road and I try not to fall on anyone. 

We arrive at the foot of the lift at Stagecoach.  I have a season pass (my super awesome Epic Pass that gets me into two resorts at Tahoe and 5 in Colorado) so I don't have to go to the ticket window.  I hop on the lift.  My first run is beautiful.  I find a sparsely tracked run and head down it.  There is powder everywhere!  I am happy I brought my all mountain skis out today.  With the exception of the few rocks and tree stumps I have to dodge, the run is amazing.  (the rocks and stumps prove to be a problem everywhere I go today.  My skis have a few new gouges in them :(  From what I hear, until last week, there were actual dirt patches all over, hence the problem)  I decide to head to the lodge and try to find breakfast. 

First run!

It is now about 10:30. The lodge starts serving lunch at 11.  They don't have any breakfast stuff.  Oh well.  Clif bar it is then, for $4.  Ugh.  That will teach me to be more prepared.  I grab a trail map and eat my breakfast and try to get the lay of the mountain.  From what I hear, getting from the California side of the resort to the Nevada side is ok.  However, going the other way is impossible due to closures from the weather.  I decide to save the California side for another day. 

Yes, that is untouched powder you see in front of my skis there!

I make my way around the Nevada side.  Some of the runs are pretty tracked up, others are groomed, a few are really bumpy.  I find a few really nice powder areas. I mean powder up to my waist deep.  It was awesome.  Most of the black trails were closed sadly.  However, with the powder, this was probably a good thing.  I would have exhausted myself in an hour trying to do black diamond powder runs.   I spend the day wandering all over the mountain trying out different runs.  Around 2:30 my form starts getting sloppy.  I cross my skis while I am skiing (somehow manage not to fall) and catch really weird edges that cause me to almost lose my balance.  That is when it is time to quit. 

I have always wanted to store my skis like that!

I head back to the stagecoach lodge and inquire about the shuttles.  The information guy is talkative and we talk about every kind of "extreme sport" we have done.  I learn about surfing behind a boat.  Looks fun.  Anyway the shuttle shows up.  I tell the guy "Worldmark"  He asks which one.  Uhhh, the one by Boulder.  He asks for more clarification. I fail to clarify despite my best efforts.  I have no more description to give.  He finally seems to get it so I go sit down.  I ride the bus all the way around the loop.  We end up back at Stagecoach.  I again talk to the driver.  Uhhh, will you just let me off at the turn for Boulder?  I I really don't want to walk up the hill at all but at least this would cut my hill walk in half from if I got off at Boulder.  He says he knows where I am staying now but can't take the bus up there in the weather.  The shuttle departs again. After 45 minutes of riding the shuttle, I finally get off at the base of the hill.  I hoist my skis on my shoulder and start up the hill.  It is just over a quarter of a mile at probably a 6 to 7% grade the whole way.  I can't breathe by the time I get to the top. 

I finally make it.  There is a family out playing in the snow in the parking lot. The dad sees my ski gear and asks about the conditions.  I tell him it was amazing.  I head to my room and deposit my gear. I notice that there is a flame on in the heating unit. That was definitely not there last night.  And my room is warm.  YAY!  I then go to the office again to tell them that I made it back. I decide to walk to the market (in the daylight and not in the middle of a snowstorm) and get some food for breakfast.  The market is about where I got dropped off by the shuttle.  Back down the hill I go. At least I am not wearing ski boots this time.  I pick up some eggs and bread.  They have no cheese.  That is a major bummer.  I love cheese.  Oh well.  I leave and walk back up the hill. 

I make it to the top, not quite as winded as last time.  That is the last time I am walking up that damned hill.  Even if it means digging my truck out from under two feet of snow and maneuvering through a very very tight parking lot. It is then dinner time.  I make some canned chili.  With no cheese to put on it.  :(. 

I finally change out of my snowpants and into... my swimsuit!  I head to the outdoor hot tub and relax for a while. I realize that my entire body is sore and achy.  And the hot water is not really helping that a whole lot.  I sit there and ponder why my upper body would be sore.  Oh, walking up a hill with my heavy skis on my shoulder.  Terrible idea.  And thus ends the excitement for my day.

Should be another good day for skiing tomorrow!  The weather is supposed to clear and warm up later in the week so I want to take advantage of the good ski conditions now.  Even if I'm sore.   

Day 16: Klamath Falls to Lake Tahoe

Wow, I have been gone for over two weeks now. The passage of time and how I observe it never ceases to amaze me. Last night, my inability to sleep returned.  This paragraph flows badly.  Oh well, it is my "I don't know where else these thoughts really fit" paragraph.

Despite having gotten up early the previous the morning, come 4 am, I am still awake.  I am not excited since I decided to visit the Lava Beds National Monument (I will abbreviate as LB) on my way.  It is not exactly on my way (through not out of my way either) and I am a fan of volcanoes and petroglyphs so I figure I will be a while.  I want to have enough time to see what I want to see without getting in too late.

I wake up at 7:15 and my room is freezing.  I never figured out the heater.  I get in the shower as quickly as possible.  It wouldn't hurt if someone would turn up the temperature on the hot water boiler.... By 8:30 I was checked out and on the road. My first and most important stop in the LB is petroglyph point.  I find it on my phone but am unable to locate it on my GPS.  I don't really want to have to use my phone so I manually pick a coordinate near my destination.  I go to get gas.  I am not allowed to pump it myself. I hate not being allowed to pump my own gas.  I tell the guy what I want and open my gas cover for him.  It requires a screwdriver since the key broke off in the lock years ago.  It is all iced up so I break the ice and finally get it open for him. He then tells me I am all good to go.  I ask if the gas cover is closed (the last guy that pumped my gas didn't lock it) and he says yes.  He then continues to tell me it does not need the key and said something about it being spring loaded.  I decide to argue with him that is is not. I have been pumping my own gas for years now and know this truck inside and out. It does not go well and I decide to just thank him and be on my way.  

I cross the California border and am directed to a check in gate.  I am reminded of the Canadian border.  I slightly panic about what they are checking at this gate.  If they are making sure I have chains, that is a problem since I still don't have any.  I decide to tell them I have snow tires and hope they don't know any better.  If they do realize the are technically all season tires, then I will argue with them since I have successfully used them as snow tires for 3 Alaskan winters now.  I then think about the California emissions.  I know they have something special with emissions. I hope they are not checking that because I know there is no way my exhaust is California legal. (even though ironically the shop I had it done at calls it the "California cat back") I slowly approach the stop gate.  A lady walks out and checks my plate.  She asks where I am from and I tell her that I live in Anchorage. She then asks if I have any plants, fruits, or vegetables with me. No, I do not.  She sends me on my way.  All that worrying for nothing. No mention of chains or emissions.

I see signs pointing to LB park and start following them.  My GPS then tells me to turn onto "county road *some number here*" so I turn onto this dirt road, and then another, and another.  I dead end in some farmer's tractor storage area with my GPS telling me to "drive 3.4 miles on county road whatever". Not happening.  I check my phone map and head back to the highway.  A quarter mile down the road I find a sign.  I successfully follow the signs to Petroglyph Point.

I get out and the wind is blowing at a good 30ish mph.  I bundle up and head outside.  I find a stand with a guestbook and flyers.  I open the guestbook holder.  The pages are loose leaf and one goes flying across the park.  I grab a flyer and chase after the guest book page.  I catch it and proceed to hike up the rock.  It is good sized rock.  The volcanic properties of it are beautiful.  I wish I remembered more from my Geology class to describe it better.  There are bits of all types of metamorphic rock scattered throughout the main lava of the feature. (if that makes any sense)  I get to the top and see no petroglyphs at all.  WTF? I find a few rocks that someone has recently carved their initials in.  Well that is not exciting, I can to to a bathroom stall to see that. I wander back down the formation and put the guestbook page back (after signing it of course).  I then notice a fenced off section at the foot of the rock.  I check it out.  There are the petroglyphs! (and a few random initials of people.  Seriously, go find your own damn rock to carve up and stop ruining these thousand year old drawings.... sorry, but your initials really don't have the same mystique to them)  I walk down the entire length, taking pictures of as many petroglyphs as possible. There are also a few pictographs as well.  Apparently, this is one of the few places that you can see the two together. (petroglyphs are carved, pictographs are painted)  I really like the ancientness of these glyphs.  They have been dated to between 4500 and 6000 years old. Amazing. By this time I am freezing and head back to the truck.

Frikin Awesome

Paint and Carvings!

I drive through the rest of the park, stopping at Captain Jack's Stronghold (the Modoc used the natural volcanic rock as a fortress), the Devil's Homestead, and Fleener Chimneys.  The rocks are awesome.  I decide that I am going to get my Master's Degree in geology of some sort. There are tons of caves in the park but I don't have time to check them out.  I am not properly equipped to explore them anyway. I see rain headed my way and it is almost noon so I decide to move on.  I put my destination into my GPS and set off. I want to modify the route so I start pressing things. I drive out of LB and into Modoc National Forest.

Captain Jack's Stronghold

Part of the Devil's Homestead Lavaflow.  It is huge!

Next thing I know, my GPS is trying to get me off the road I am on. No, I want to take a different route in 50 miles, not now.  And I certainly do not want to take "county road whatever" for 20 miles to the highway.  It is not even a road.  It is two tire paths with shrubbery growing in the middle.  For 20 miles, my GPS tells me to take every "road" like this that I pass.  There are probably about a dozen of them.  Finally, about a mile from the highway, I decide to take one of these paths.  I like off-roading and the path doesn't look too dangerous.  A mile can't be bad.  I turn off.  I start driving; this is fun.  I look at my GPS.  "Turn left on Highway in 31 miles".  It is the most round about dirt I don't even know what to call it possible.  There is now way in hell I am driving this for 31 miles. I will be here for hours.  If my goal for the day was to go offroading then great.  My goal is to get to Lake Tahoe before I lose mental capacity from lack of sleep. Also, there is rain coming and I am unsure of the flash flood situation in the area. There is no where to turn around. So, I find a less-shrubbed area and make my own turn around area.  I hear plants breaking as I run over them; is it illegal to destroy plants in a national forest?  I get back to the paved road and a mile later am on the highway.

My GPS thinks driving on this for 31 miles is a good idea how??

I drive for 50 miles and then deviate from my GPS route. The bartender last night had told me to take Route 395 instead of 139 and to go through Alturas.  I was on 139 so I took 299 to 395 (look at my map) and went through Alturas like he said.  My GPS wantes me to take 139 all the way which will take me over more mountain passes.  I am tired of passes.  It then spends a few miles telling me to make a U turn when convent.  It eventually figures out that I am not listening and adjusts the route to what I want. Excellent!

On my 20 mile trip along 299, I see a sign: "Tune to 97.7 for a traffic update when flashing".  Well the lights are flashing so I turn off my  iPod (I finally fixed the playlist once and for all back in Vancouver; no more mix tapes!) and tune to 97.7.  It is a recording about chains being required on all vehicles, but not on some (sic) on 299 East in some spot.  Good, I am not going that way.  It then reminds drivers that everyone must carry chains and to please not block traffic while putting them on. Also, apparently, there are checkpoints where someone will make sure you have chains on when needed.  I really should buy chains.

I make it to 395 and the road is still great.  The whole way the road has been mostly flat and straight with minimal snow.  I don't even need 4wd most of the time since the roads are dry!  I drive through several towns with populations ranging from 10 to 70 people. Cute.  I drive through farm lands and I drive by some beautiful landforms.  Around 1, I start to get distracted by the landforms.  I remember I have an energy drink in my back seat.  I start grouping around for it. I can't find it. I get irritated with myself.  Why would I put those in the bed?!?! I am only going to drink them while driving and they do me no good in my bed.  I pull off at the next rest station and look for them.  I find them in the back seat, cleverly hidden in a bag.  I decide to use the restroom while I am there.  No running water, which is fine but I would really like to wash my hands.  I then remember that I keep hand sanitizer in my truck and am thrilled with my forethought in the matter. I head on down the road, drinking my energy drink.

I hit a really long flat straight spot with great visibility.  I decide this is a great place to see what my truck's top speed is. Alaska roads are too narrow and bumpy to be any good for this kind of thing.  I floor it. I get to 90 just fine.  It keeps creeping up and tops out at just over 100 on my spedo.  My GPS reports 100 exactly.  Not bad for an old truck.  And the wind is still blowing pretty hard.  I am pretty sure it is a headwind too. I slow back to a normal speed.  A few miles later, I pass a cop going to opposite direction. Good timing. While the roads in California are slightly inferior in quality to those in Oregon (in my experience), I have seen more Cops on the road today in California than in Alaska, Canada, Washington, and Oregon combined.  I guess I feel safe.

I continue on, at a reasonable speed, and more or less alert.  Right before I hit Nevada, the two lane highway becomes a divided highway and gains two more lanes.  The landscape is also striking.  There is a desert-esque foreground that immediately gives way to huge snowy mountains that are practically right next to me.  The contrast is striking.  I continue through Nevada and it seems that Nevada likes wide roads.  At one point I am driving on an 8 lane road. (3 lanes each direction, suicide lane, and turn lane) I stop for gas in Carson City and see a Wells Fargo.  I owe someone money with a Wells Fargo account (the awesome person that set me up in this awesome Tahoe place for cheap!!!) so I decide to stop.  WTF, they are closed at 4 on a Monday?  Oh well, I am sure I will see another Wells Fargo.  A friend later reminds me that is is Sunday.  Oops.  That explains why the bank was closed.

See what I mean? 

I head on to Tahoe, happy that my drive today was easy compared to yesterday and almost completely snow free. The last 11 miles of my destination are up the side of a snowy mountain. Snow here is good.  It means skiing!  I finally reach my destination, at elevation 7,400.  I try to drive to the office and there is a car stuck on the hill.  I sit there and watch for a while.  They finally roll to the bottom to put on chains.  I make it up the hill OK. Biggg yay for 4wd.  I go to check in, sign paperwork, am told things to do and good places to eat and such.  The office tells me we have a snow storm blowing in tonight. Apparently, the resorts have been pretty lame up until last week due to lack of snow.  Not surprising.  However, they are predicting 18 to 30 inches in upper elevations tonight. Awesome!  This place I am staying is at the foot of Heavenly.  I happen to have a season pass to Heavenly.  Perfect!!! 

I find my room and put some of my stuff in it. I go to move my truck, put my parking permit in my truck, and get the rest of my bags.  I close the door and realize both keys are in my room. Shit. I go to the front desk "Ummmmm..... I need a new key, already.  I locked the other two in my room."  The lady looks amused and gives me another.  I go to move my truck.  It turns over, chokes, and dies.  It does this a few more times.  I panic. It was fine. What happened? It sounds like my dirtbike when I first try to start it and forget the choke. My truck is electronic and doesn't have a choke.  Then I remember the elevation.  The air is thinner and the computer needs to adjust.  I try one more time and T Rex finally starts up just fine.

This is right outside my door

Where I am staying.  Such a cute little ski lodge area thing!

I pull the rest of my stuff out of my truck and stumble up the stairs with my giant suitcase.  I throw my stuff down and immediately start making dinner.  (The place has a kitchen and I have brought some canned stuff with me) I haven't really eaten since breakfast and I am not a happy camper.  After dinner, I decide that since I have a kitchen, I may as well save money and buy some food.  I look up grocery stores.  There is one a tenth of a mile away.  I decide a walk would be nice.  I go outside (with my room key on me this time) and start walking down the hill (the tenth of a mile did not take the hill into account) and realize it is dark, windy, and snowing like crazy.  Walking around in this is stupid.  I don't even seen any lights at the bottom of the hill.  I turn around and go back.  On my way back I spot the spa.  I want to check it out so I try my key and nothing.  Damn.  I will have to ask about that.  However, the office has seen enough of me for today.  From my 3 minutes outside, I am covered in snow and my hair is drenched.  I am freezing and the spa sounds great.  Not that I can get into the spa.  So shower it is.  At least this shower gets hot.  It is sad that I am now using the shower as a means of staying warm moreso than a means of staying clean.

Tomorrow, I plan to do some skiing.  Depending on snow conditions of course. If the weather cooperates, it should be amazing.

Day 15: Portland to Klamath Falls

I will begin this post where I left off last night.

After blogging, I wander to the theater.  I walk in and find a nice couch and watch the very very end of Happy Feet 2.  It's cute and inspirational and has cool music.  I then wander downstairs to the basement area where the band is playing.  I watch and listen to them play an interesting mix of songs that are their own and remixes ranging from the Beatles, to Lady Gaga, to songs with  roots in Brazilian Capoeira. They are pretty entertaining.  As I watch, I sip on another Rubenator.  I see a few random people wander by in bathrobes  (The band is right outside of a bar in an open area of the hallway where people's rooms are) and listen to a few kids throw a fit over not wanting to go to bed.  I listen to the band play for a while and then wander back to my room.  I am kinda tired and I have to drive through unknown treacherous roads tomorrow.

I awake at the bright and early time of 7:45 am and head to the shower.  Since the place is an old Masonic Lodge, there are no bathrooms in the rooms.  The restrooms are very well maintained though.  And no one ever seems to use them.  On my way out, I notice that I have a newspaper.  For $45 and having no in room bathroom (there is a sink in the room) this place sure is fancy.  Newspaper, bathrobes in the rooms, fancy artwork all over.... Anyway, I shower and pack my stuff up.  I head to breakfast and get some coffee. It appears in an adorable cup with matching saucer complete with brown and white sugar cubes.  Did I mention that I feel fancy?  I order the breakfast taco special and read my paper.  The front page is about a round about that there is some sort of hubbub about.  Apparently no one likes roundabouts except for transportation engineers. I get my tacos and they are missing the fresh fruit.  All I have eaten in the last 2 days is beef and french fries/something made of fried potatoes, so I politely request that my fruit be brought to me. A plate of pineapple and assorted melons is quickly brought to my table.

Fancy Coffee!!

I check out and head on my way.  My first stop is across the street to get an emergency truck key made.  I pay the $2 and place the key in  my truck.  I then head to the highway.  I have taken I-5 from the Northern part of Washington to almost the Southern part of Oregon and I must say, Washington needs to step up its maintenance game. The WA part of the road has kind of sucked.  ALL of the Oregon roads I have driven on have been a nice ride, even in the parts that have signs warning of "rough roads".  Anyway, I am driving down I-5 yelling at the assholes that are cruising in the left lane.  The left lane is the PASSING lane, not the "I am going to drive the same speed as the car right next to me" lane.  Come on, I am from Alaska and I even know that.  I do a little bit of tailgating and most people get the idea.  I talk to my mom for a bit along the way.  I drive through some urban areas and then into farm lands.  I see sheep.  A lot of sheep, even a few black sheep.  Some of the farm areas are flooded from all the rain. Anyway, I stop for gas in Eugene before I turn off onto State route 58.

State route 58 is a beautiful two lane road that takes me through several National Forests.  The first part of the trip leads me along a creek with vibrant vegetation. Most of this is part of Willamette National Forest I am overwhelmed by all the shades of green.  About 50 miles into the road, I decide I should stop and get some coffee just to help me stay awake.  I stop at a Chevron.   The cashier is friendly and sees I am staring at a notice "route 58 mileposts 56 to 69 winter conditions, chains or traction tires required."  He says something and I apologize and explain that I am looking at the weather advisory.  He asks if I have chains.  No, no I do not.  But I have 4wd.  He warns me that there is snow ahead. Great, more snow.

Nice scenery before the snow hit.

 About 5 miles down the road I start seeing snow on the side of the road. I switch into 4wd.  After my incident with the snow bank on the Seward Highway last year, if I see snow anywhere or it is below freezing, the 4wd goes on unless I know that there has been no precipitation recently. I would rather waste the gas and tear up my 4wd then die any day. The snow begins to build until eventually I am in a full out snow storm.  It is like this until about mile 68.  By mile 69, the snow has let up again.  However, the 4wd stays on since I still see snow around.  Apparently I am over the pass and now in Deschutes National Forest. The trees are now mostly evergreens.  Still pretty, but not as novel since I see this kind of stuff at home.  The road stays pretty clear but the terrain is still snowy as I approach state route 97. Actually, the sun makes an appearance for a short while.  For the second time on my whole trip, I pull out my sunglasses. (With the exception of when I arrived in Bellingham, it has been raining and snowing somewhat constantly since I have gotten to the lower 48!) Their use is short lived.

Ewwww snow. But its pretty

I turn onto SR 97 and about 10 miles down I see warning signs: "Wreak ahead watch for flagger".  I find the flagger and stop.  For about 15 minutes. A semi has hit some ice and jack knifed into a snow bank.  No way in hell am I taking off my 4wd now.  I am finally permitted to pass. I head into another national forest: Winema. Shortly after, I hit a passing lane.  I hate it when people pass me.  However, I know the speed at which I am comfortable driving and will not exceed it.  I see a black SUV coming up through the line of cars.  They are about to pass me when they change their mind.  The road had started to get slushy again.  I don't know if they saw the slush and decided to cool it or if they saw my license plate and thought "hey that's a fuckin' T Rex from Alaska, maybe we should follow it since it must know about snow."  I like to the the latter personally.  Regardless, they follow for the next 15 miles as it gets progressively more snowy again.  About 20 miles out of Klamath Falls, the snow again dissipates and Mr. Black SUV blows by me. Ok buddy, that's fine with me.

I am out of the forest at this point and the geography of the area is fascinating and beautiful.  There are many different rock formations all over and a lake on one side of the road. I wish I remembered more from Geology.  I arrive in Klamath Falls, a cute little town of 20,000.  I cruise through downtown and take the scenic route to my motel. I find the place, and for $35, it doesn't look too sketchy.  It is actually surprisingly nice.  I check in and ask the clerk about places to eat.  He suggest the brewpub next door. I grab my stuff and head to my room.

Out of the forest and into the....? It's pretty!

 I decide to take a walk down main street before it gets dark.  Ya know, to "experience" Klamath Falls.  It's nice.  Nothing out of the ordinary for a small town.  I see lots of places to eat and decide to eat at half of them.  I walk to the door, and then walk out.  Eventually, I decide to eat at the brewpub by my motel.  I figure I should take the opportunity to try local brews even though after walking by a Mexican place I really want a margarita.

T Rex needs a bath... no use in washing it until I am out of this snow/slushy shit

Klamath Falls Main Street

I walk in and take the only available seat at the bar.  No need to take up a whole table with just me and I might meet a local at the bar or something.  I order the local Heff, my go-to beer when I can't make up my mind. It's not bad but I think I like Moose's Tooth Heff better. And after the Rubenator, nothing will be good anyway.  I order the salad and breadbowl/soup combo.  Like I said, I have not been eating enough veggies and I know it.  It all comes out at once; my food takes up three spots at the bar.  The middle aged guy next to me comments "they could have spaced it better"  I agree and spread my plates out even further. He laughs, apparently he meant they could have spaced them out better time-wise but is amused by my interpretation.  We then talk about traveling.  He has done a lot of traveling in his day and has plenty of recommendations for me. He has lived in the area for a few years now and knows the bartender, who is into the outdoors and has been to Tahoe a few times so he asks him for some advice for my trip.  He tells me to take the route I was not planning to take.  It is longer, but the terrain and weather will be better. Good thing I talked to him.  Half way through the conversation, I order the special, which is a dark beer.  The guy (whose name I never got) is again amused that I would order a light beer and then a dark beer.  Eh, I am not picky they are all good, so long as they aren't too hoppy.  (even then, hoppy can be ok)   Around 7:30, I excuse myself and head back to the motel.

My room is freezing.  So I decide to take a hot shower and leave the bathroom door open to warm the place up.  The actual heater is only minimally effective.  I then decide to write my blog post.  Damn, the internet needs a pass word.  I put my clothes back on and open the door to ask the office for the pass code since I can't find the phone in the room.  I let all the warm air out.  I get the internet log in. Log In: Jesus, Password: Christ.  Cute.   I get back to the room and deadbolt and chain myself in for the night.

And here I am, now under the covers so I am warm, writing my blog.  If I get up early enough I plan to make a short detour (on the way just a different way than I am ultimately planning to go; I will have to cut over) to Lava Beds National Monument.  I like volcanoes.  And they are supposed to have some cool petroglyphs too.