The Nomadic Life

[bigbill]

Jay, you're living a coffee table book. I hope you have some photos to assemble into a narrative of your journey. Maybe even a series of haiku.

I'm in Wyoming in our new house making the home improvement magic happen. My lovely wife is living in the travel trailer for another three weeks in Arizona while she finishes the semester teaching ceramics at the CC. I'll drive down on 5/11 so we can depart on 5/15. The trailer has been at the barn since March and it has power and the ability to fill the fresh water tank. She has been emptying the black and grey into a wheeled tote and dumping it into a septic connection about 100' away. When we head up, I plan on making sure the black tank is full by adding fresh water and then using the dump at Maverik east of St George, UT. I'm going to flush until the water is clear. We're stopping for the night in Spanish Fork south of SLC. We'll flush one more time in Shoshoni, WY, which has a dump that has a slight uphill slope that angles slightly downward on the connection side of the trailer. Our property has full hookups, but the water pressure isn't that great for a flush. We'll be living indoors this summer but want to take the trailer on some trips, starting with clean tanks.

[twowheels]

I found out about a bucket list item I didn't know existed until today. This Saturday, the road between West Yellowstone and Mammoth Springs opens up to cyclists for about two weeks. The only vehicles will be official park and contractors. I'll likely drive the six hours to West Yellowstone on Wednesday and stay Wed-Thurs night and hopefully get a good experience on Thursday and Friday on my bike. I'll take the open because it has 32mm Specialized Roubaix tubeless. They handle the occasional patch of gravel. I'll keep the bike in hotel room so the Orange Seal won't freeze at night. It looks like upper 40s and low 50s with teens at night. Time to zip tie the bear spray to the camelbak.

This sounds fantastic, enjoy. I know that road but wasn't aware there existed a narrow window of cyclist-only (aside from official vehicle) access.

We used to annually ride McKenzie Pass when it was only open to cyclists but haven't done the ride for a couple years--since a friend sold his nearby house.

[ides1056]

I closed the circle a few days ago, arriving back at Temple 1 and having my stamp book signed and dated there. To fully complete the journey I will go to Koya-san, where Kukai, whose footsteps the route follows more or less, is interred.
I had hoped that this walk would draw a bright line across my life: before/ after. Everyone I walked with was changed. It was apparent in their demeanor. How and what will take time to process. I lit candles and In every for people I knew and loved who have died- it was a long list and I ran out somewhere around 80, though many were remembered repeatedly. Dogs and a cat were remembered as well.
I did not take a remotely direct course, walking into every Shinto shrine I passed and a good number of other Buddhist temples- they abound. In the end this amounted to more than 1000 miles on foot, with a pack of varying weight. I have pilgrims’ feet now, and weigh less than anytime since I was 17. My doctor will take note when I return.
I love Shikoku. The people are kind and generous, the place redolent of California when I was a child. The birdlife is superabundant, the sealife equally so. Every day I have walked out the door and felt grateful to be able to do this. It is a huge privilege, as is finishing.
I ran out of superlatives long ago.
I am staying in Himi for ten days or so at a simple guest house whose owner invited me. Yesterday I rented a bicycle in Imabari and rode partway across the Shimanami no Kaedo- a series of bridges over the Seto sea to Hiroshima. Jaw-dropping spectacular. I have the bike for as long as I’d like, which permits roaming more widely and gets me off my feet. They are toast. I felt comfortable despite not having ridden since November. The padded underwear and knickers I found at Mont Bell performed well. Drivers are careful enough I did not feel uncomfortable on the road.
I’d post photos but can’t off my phone. Will do so after I return home May 21.

[bigbill]

I'm prepping the upper meadow where we park the travel trailer. I have to make a brief stop at the courthouse next Friday for a LEO to do a VIN check of the trailer to register it in Wyoming. Since we won't be living in the trailer all summer, just using it as an RV for park visits, I need to figure out whether to leave the slides in or out for the summer, and if they're in, I'll need tire covers since they are in the shade of the slides when extended. We have trips planned for this summer including Gillette, Sturgis (not during Sturgis), northern Colorado, and several trips to Casper. Next year, we'll make reservations for the Fishing Bridge RV park in Yellowstone the week the park opens.

[Too Tall]

We are at Elm Hill RV in Nashville, TN. Absolutely a must do if you are camping and visiting Nashville. The park is only 15 min. from downtown you can almost hear the music.

Jefferson's Hermitage is very walkable, we were greeted by elementary school kiddos who volunteer to recite history about various elements of the property.

Grand Old Opry is what it is a place where Nashville music is show-cased. We saw: the greate Connie Smith, Vince Gill, Old Crow Medicine Show and others. Curiously, we were profiled by security for looking out of place no doubt ;)

Why go to greece when a replica of the Parthenon is right there eh? What they got right at the time of conception were very much what State Comissions desired at the time. Bring revenue, create jobs and tourism. The place loses relevance once the luster has worn off. Meeebbee they could bring in new art, create a relatable story and hire TT to direct the creative flow ;)

Skull's Rainbow room knocked my socks off. With rare exception I've had few resturant experiences that equalled their charm, live music and insanely well prepared dinner. Five Stars and a bag of chips. PS Holy cow the tequilla and burbon selection is excellent.

Headed to Sinatra's tonight, I'm a fan of mafia-esque piano bars, don't judge me.

[jmgorman]

We are at Elm Hill RV in Nashville, TN.....

Well, shoot, who need's the Times' what's doing when you have this excellent run down. Keep driving, I want more of these city guides!

[Too Tall]

Sinatra's follow up:
Fantastic food and service, what you might expect were you to time travel to Manhattan and the year was 1970. Waiters in white who were attentive and did not rush plates. Dang, I have not had a waiter crumb the table since dining at the Lawyers Club when I was not Too Tall.
The piano player was a mountain of a man who nailed many era positive songs. We tipped him generously upon arrival of our cocktails. After his set he spent a few mins. shooting the poop with us.
If you want this sort of thing call ahead and see if you can get table #14 situated next to and one flight of stairs below the piano and in a corner.
PS Don't be crude and ask him to play New York New York ;)

[bigbill]

We commenced our migration to Wyoming on Wednesday in Kingman, AZ. I unplugged the power when the only thing remaining was to use the jack to lower the tongue onto the hitch. No joy. No voltage from the battery so I opened up the box and the battery jar was cracked, caps were blown off, and through the cracks I could see the lead plates pushed together. There was no electrolyte left. I was a submarine electrician, I know batteries, but this is a head scratcher. I disconnected the leads and plugged in power to finish getting the trailer on the ball. We drove to Grand Junction and once I got there, I plugged in the trailer and headed to an auto parts store with the blown up battery as my core. I installed the new battery in about five minutes and it was good to go. Things I was slow to realize, the fridge runs on propane on the road, but still needs some voltage. Because I had disconnected the leads, the two positives were not bolted together. So even a blown up battery is still a terminal board.

The drive to Grand Junction was through Vegas to get to I-15 then I-70 east (it only goes east from I-15). There were some wicked winds, snow, sleet, and rain. Mesa County Fairgrounds has full hookups and stalls for the horses. This morning, we headed east to Rifle, CO, then north to Craig, Baggs, and I-80. Both trucks said we had enough miles to empty for Rawlins, but we hit big headwinds and were both on the fuel lights when we got to Rawlins. I had 40 to empty, my wife had 5. Kind of stressful. North out of Rawlins on Hwy 287 was very windy with cross winds at 30-40 mph. I-80 east of Rawlins was closed to high profile trailers. Once I turned at Muddy Gap, It was a straight headwind and I watched my mileage nosedive. I rolled into Riverton on the fuel light. I got the trailer out to the property and set up before we decided everything else would wait until tomorrow and drove to the house. We are completely moved to Wyoming.