Day 9 |
December 26, 1997 | Outbound |
712 Miles Today: 14 Miles |
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Mystic
Forest RV Park Klamath CA |
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| Still dry and sunny, but beginning to get some high cloud. | I made a rule of leaving when the weather changes; otherwise I'd just stay put. It's worked out reasonably well. | ||
| Mid-point check | Depressing to think that I'm almost halfway through this journey, and still feel just as confused and stumped by the problem of constructing a worthwhile life as I was at the beginning. Though, of course (and it's so easy to say "of course"!) this is just the basic human dilemma: not the simplest of problems! At least I'm not as exhausted and washed out as I was at the start. | ||
 21 secs at 28.8 |
Spent the day at Klamath Overlook Coastal Trial. Went for a walk along the coast path; much drier and more "tame" than South Slough, or the Redwoods. Dandelions and brambles, lots of scrubby bushes; trees and ferns only in the watered gullies. Many raptors circling here: saw three or more crow-like birds, and a tan/brown falcon-like thing. Also little quail-like birds that herd and scatter in the thickets along the path. | Perhaps this land was strip-logged not too long ago; some of the hills in the distance are still forested. | |
| Picture list Klamath Overlook |
S. found out, somehow, that the median household income in Del Norte County (where we are now) is $22,000 p.a. Not surprising, given all the trailer parks. I went for a jog into one of the sub-divisions just off 101: nice little houses, lots of trucks, quite a few RVs parked in the drives and (why??) at least two trampolines. Also one stereotypical redneck front yard: a truck on blocks, two rusted cars, a cylinder head on the lawn, a decaying 60's silver Airstream hippie bus - and a DirecTV satellite dish on the roof. We couldn't really see any way of pumping money into the local economy; nobody's selling what we want to buy (books, food). | Wonder what rednecks are called here - "crackers"? Of course, as S. points out, there's no class system in America… | |
| I did buy a USA Today at the gas station, though - mostly for the weather map (is there snow between here and Vegas?) but also since it's such a good read. | Never made it to Vegas; was a nice fantasy, though. Still have to go visit Dave Hickey, though | ||
| USA Today is great. Simple vocabulary and lapidary prose that gives the gist of the news and the times. (No words high falutin' words like lapidary, darn tootin'.) It gives me a sense of America that neither the NY Times (too highbrow/urban) nor the WSJ (all dollars and cents) can. Particularly the "Life" section - this one had lots of stories about music, and I think I'll clip the list of Ten Best Albums and try out a few: need to broaden my horizons. | Edna Gunderson's list of 10 'keepers' for 1997, USA
Today 12/26/97 p 8D: Bob Dylan, Time out of mind |
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