In the summer of 2003, Charlotte and I decided to take a trip across the country by rental car (why a rental? Don't ask--it's complicated, dull, and annoying.), stopping at various friends along the way, seeing the sights, and culminating in our annual visit to the Burningman festival in Nevada. This is the diary we kept along the way.
| Rough Itinerary | |
|---|---|
| July | |
| 14-20 | Jamestown NY |
| 20-21 | Cleveland OH |
| 21-24 | Louisville KY |
| 24-25 | Memphis TN |
| 25-26 | Hot Springs AR |
| ? | Oklahoma City OK |
| ? | Albuquerque NM |
| 30 | Taos NM |
| 31 | Mesa Verde CO |
| August | |
| ? | Grand Canyon AZ |
| 6-8 | Tucson |
| 8-10 | Phoenix AZ |
| 10-11 | Indio CA |
| 11-13 | Los Angeles CA |
| 13-16 | Yosemite CA |
| 16-24 | San Francisco CA |
| 24 | Tahoe CA |
| Reno NV | |
| 24-Sept 1 | Black Rock City NV |
| September | |
| 2 | Salt Lake City UT |
| 3-11 | ????? |
| 12 | Louisville KY |
Charlotte writes:
were cool things to see and do. Tucson made our list, because we wanted
to visit Andre, however now I have other reasons to visit Tucson, too.
It was great being able to speak a bit of German with Andre--an
opportunity I don't often get.
Andre took Sebastian and me on a sunset/moonlit walk through the Sonoran Desert last night. The suguaros stood black against the orange and rosy colors of the setting sun. The cactus wrens made their last calls. Bats started appearing as the moon peeked out from the light cloud cover. A moonlight walk in the desert is a beautiful thing. During the outing we saw a jackrabbit, a cottontail rabbit and some small lizards. In the time just past twilight every root, and twisted twig looked like a snake. After the walk we ended up in a great restaurant, called Feast. The delicious food (beignet with chocolate, Coq au Vin, chicken with plum sauce) was a perfect finish to a beautiful evening. We can now identify a handful of desert plants. And after several days of delicious local cuisine, we are pulling harder on our clothing.
We went through the The Desert Museum today and learned really cool things, and saw a great animals (javalinas, coyotes, prarie dogs, and coatis). We also saw black bears-- they are huge. The birds from the desert were awesome- I am reincarnated from a inca dove, whose call is 'whirlpool, whirlpool.' We saw Gambel quails. There are woodpeckers, who live in the suguaro cacti. And we saw more lizards than you can shake a stick at. The variety in the desert ecosystem is astounding. Suguaro cactus grow about 100 years before they can start to grow their first arm. Some of the cactus we saw were 500 years old.
Tuscon's thriftstores are nifty. Sebastian got four shirts and a smoking jacket in blacket and orange swirls (what else do you buy for Burning man?). I got a carry bag and a cotton shirt for four dollars.
Andre has a magic futon. If you plop down on it, it will give you enough time to read about two pages of text and then you are out solid. A wonderful thing that futon.
It has been over one hundred degrees, Stay cool boys and girls! Hugs Charlotta