| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
A Rainy Morning It’s raining this morning and that’s a good thing. It’ll help to wash away a bit more of the snow, sand and other ugliness that this miserable winter brought into my life. This past winter was not the best season to try to get by without a car. I made it, but it wasn’t easy, and would have been damned near impossible if not for the help of my friends; Dondi especially. She gave me rides to the Supermarket, Laundromat and pretty much everywhere I needed to be. I owe her Big Time for that. I was looking on Craigslist, the other night and saw a garage for rent for short money. After talking about it with Ernie yesterday, I decided to call. It would have been big enough to store everything I need to store, and it was on the next street over from me. I didn’t think there was any super urgency since the ad was dated January, but when I tried to find the ad again, it was gone. I looked again this morning, and it’s not there any more. Shit. Another example of “If you snooze, you lose”. I’ve been frequenting a Forum called Moto Campers. I started a thread there titled, What’s Your Favorite Campground. Among the replies was a photo of the Laird River Campground in British Columbia. There are hot springs there, and it looks like it would be a Heavenly place to stop and soak out all the road aches and pains. That got me thinking about Alaska again. I did a quick bit of figuring, and if I’m frugal, I think I can actually achieve my goal of riding to the Arctic Circle. I spent a couple of hours plotting tentative routes, last night. I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to do it this summer; there’s only so much time, and there are so many other places I want to see. It has given me something to think about, though. Another reply on that thread was of a free campsite in the middle of New Mexico. The poster stated that he could neither hear nor see any signs of humanity there. He was alone with only the sounds of the desert around him. I’m thinking that it might be a perfect place to star gaze. I still remember that night in 1973 when I was crossing Texas and shut off the lights of my bike. There were so many stars I felt overwhelmed. I’d like to see a night sky like that again; clear, dry air and no light pollution. It’ll probably scare the piss out of me, but I still want to see it. I’m making sauce for Ravioli. I figure that if I make the sauce this morning while it’s raining, then when the sun comes out this afternoon, I’ll be able to go for a ride. I want to go over to the shop and see if Little Guy found those stock mufflers. I don’t like loud pipes, and even though there’s a performance increase with the mufflers that are on the bike, it’s just too freakin’ loud for me. It’s kind of different being a Harley owner who doesn’t like loud exhausts, but I’ve always been a trapezoidal peg in a world of round holes. I just looked at a map, and if I do go to the Arctic Circle, I’ll be able to put British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon on my Resume, in addition to Alaska. The ride is definitely looking more and more attractive. It’s roughly 200 miles from Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle. Figuring the length of daylight during the summer, I could ride North, take a picture of my bike at the sign (if anybody else is there, have them take my picture), and ride back to Fairbanks before nightfall. It really sounds like fun. I just stirred the sauce. It’s smelling pretty good. One thing I’m good at is making a decent Spaghetti or Ravioli sauce. That’s not the only thing I’m good at, but I grew up in an Italian family, and I used to hang out in the kitchen on Wednesdays when my mother or grandmother would make sauce (my grandmother would let me have a meatball as she was frying them). Meatballs, in our family weren’t round. They were shaped kind of like a football that was flattened on two sides. They sure tasted good, though. I haven’t made meatballs in a very long time. I guess I’ve gotten lazy. Usually when I make Spaghetti sauce, I use sausage. I like Italian Sausage, and think it’s at its best when slowly simmered in a tomato sauce for a few hours. Ravioli sauce is different. It gets ground beef. Both taste different, and both taste pretty good. Since I live alone, when I make sauce, I make enough for five or six meals, measure out meal sized portions into plastic containers and freeze them. Today’s sauce will last me over a month. I try to not eat pasta more than once a week. After all, Wednesday IS Prince Spaghetti Day (but this week, I’m having Ravioli on Tuesday). Tomorrow, I’ll have Hot Dogs for supper; but that’s a topic for another time. That’s about it for now. I think I’ll try to locate that campground in New Mexico… |
