Feb. 21, 2003 Vacation
Fun with Jim and Ray

February 21, 2003, the start of a great trip.

I bought a Snowmobile about nine months ago. It did not run so I asked Jim if he would fix it for me. He said yes; so this was in the plans to have him fix it. I know nothing about them but know a lot more now.

The IAAI auction - I love having fun with it. There was this day that I bid on two Chevy S-10 pickups. They were low bids; I should have lost, but this day was my day to get two pick-ups. The one was an easy fix and was done in a week. Now the other one was not so easy and took a lot longer. It is the one I took on this trip.

The skies came off the snowmobile and it only hung over the tailgate a little. I filled the cab with light bulbs and clothes for cold weather and I was off. I stopped one night on the way.

The morning went like this: got up at 4:00 a.m., got in the truck and left. You want the truth? Did I tell you I had my Helmets and my shoes and every thing a guy could want? Ok it was 7:50 a.m.

The wind was blowing hard and the tumbleweeds were doing their thing. I tried to miss them but I killed a few of them. The rain and sun played tag.

There is something I must share. When you don’t read the map you get misplaced, and I did this very thing.

Day two: It is sunny and clear and now it is hailing hard. I am still in Ogden where I stayed last night. I finally made it to Jim and Joanne’s. Jim is plowing the parking lot for the guest and me. There is lots of snow for Snowmobiling. They invite me to a potluck for the people who plow the roads. It is ham, my favorite. This was good. I had eaten only three Big Macks since I left home.

It is snowing hard; I was able to stay in front of the storms all the way. About 18 inches of new.

The Snowmobile I brought was a total, the Chevy S10 was a total and some people say the driver was a wreck. The three wrecks did fine. Myran put in a CD player and I went through the 10 CD’s two and half times. Jim was able to get the Snowmobile running by about 11:00 p.m. I didn’t think it would be good to ride through town at that hour.

Day three: It was somewhere around 0 and snowing lightly. I am going to work on the snowmobile as soon as the fire gets the garage warmer than out side. Back to my book. There are only about two hundred pages to go out of 1200 pages. I have been reading this book for over two years.

Jim was able to get the snowmobile to run far but not good. I looked on. I took it for a ride and it really went fast. Too rich - it fouled the plugs at the top of the hill miles from the house. Joanne and Jim went on this ride. Jim fixes it with plugs out of his. We tried the other side and there was this drift over the road that was not good. Both Jim and I got stuck a lot trying to ride the ridge of snow. At over 10 thousand feet, I was hurting from not having enough air. There is something to be said about standing in three feet of snow and trying to lift a 500 Lb. Snowmobile. The new snow is so soft. Oh yes, there was one other little problem. The big belt thing would not go around; it was bound up. When it cooled of it worked again. The good part was we could see the lodge and it looked about the size of the top of a pin. When you stepped off your snowmobile, you went up to your belly button. Walking back would not be good. It started to work again with new plugs and I only got stuck three more times. The thought raced through my mind, “Maybe Jim in trying to kill me.” Ha.

I went in the hot tub at 104 degrees. It is 5 degrees out side. My cabin is a 100 yards. I made it. Dah, if I didn’t, you would not be reading this.

Day Four: A clear day. The ski has a problem. The carbs - the jets are too big to get it to go. It goes like this - turn off the gas, start it, then push it to get it moving, and reach under the hood and turn on the gas. It runs great if you act like you have a bear on your tail. You have to go fast and I like this.

Went to town to the ski shop. They were closed Sunday and Monday. I now have the right jets, new plugs, throttle lever and a drive belt and with the new parts it runs great. No more problems with the ski, just the driver getting stuck all the time.

Wednesday It snowed a little all day and I road about 50 miles. It was working great. Jim could go places I could not. I now have a nickname for my Snowmobile. Yes, The Rock.

It was a good day. I was stuck only seven times. I am learned a lot about how to ride one. Jim was leading and wanted to turn around. To do this he went off the trail. Yes, you are right. All I could see was the top of his helmet. He did find dirt. It was belly button deep and he did find the ground.

My ski was heavier and used more gas -- about ten miles to the gallon. It was so empty this morning the gas gage was not working. I was thinking I might have to walk but it made it.

Thursday: The “Rock” did start right up and run, but then it died. Jim and I pulled and pulled and pulled, but it would not start. I was thinking it was trying to kill me - not much air at 9,000 feet. We changed plugs, but it would only run on quick start. We took a lot more things apart but to make this short some ice froze around the pipe that goes to the carbs, so no gas to the carbs. Jim broke it off and it ran like a charm again.

I took it for about a ten-mile ride and on the way back I slid off the trail. It was time to go and take a rest. Jim and I then road about 30 miles or so. I was following him and got stuck a lot of times. He is a good rider.

Friday we worked on Jim’s boat. He is headed for Port Aransas, Texas Monday. Went to town to fix his boat tire. The stem broke off but better here than on the road. Joanne went to baby sit so no cook. We almost starved to death. Popcorn is all you need to live. I am living proof. I brought ten pounds with me. We bought lunch in town. When we got back, it was time for a ski ride. I told Jim a nice easy ride would be nice. I was still hurting from the day before. Yea right, off we went to look for a trail that no one knows about. It’s like this, there were not many riders up there. That makes for a lot of trails that are not broken. We went where we went the day before. Then there was Baldy and no one had gone that way. We didn’t either. Jim said the drifts were big up there. They were not going to be packed by us. Jim said there was a trail around it but he didn’t know if he could make it. I was thinking, “I am riding a Rock and he might not make it?” We could turn around by lifting the ski if we couldn’t make it. Off we went, easy at first then the drifts got deep and the snow was coming over Jim’s windshield. I slid off the packed trail three times and had to dig out at 10,500 feet. Jim helped me. The air was a problem and Jim would ride it out of the holes for me. The oil light came on - Oh joy! It blinked all the way back getting brighter blinks as we went. More fun things to think about. It was getting dark. The light worked well.

We ate and worked on the boat some more. The next day I would leave for California.

Saturday I left early and said good-bye to Jim. The road was covered with snow for about 100 miles but was not hard to drive. There were a few people fishing on the ice. I called home and Myran had asked Trina to marry him.

I was going to stay in Los Vegas and do a little gambling. I pulled into a motel that had some cheap signs up for Monday thru Friday and I asked for a single. They didn’t have one but a had double for only $140.00 a night. I don’t think so. I left and went to a gas station, bet a dollar, then I drove to Bakersfield and stayed for $37.00 a night.

Sunday I drove through hills that were just gorgeous. There was a four-lane freeway on one side that didn’t have very many cars on it. Now the intersections are something that has to be lived. After the freeway I went through on a road that had a lot of Orange trees and a few Lemon trees. I stopped and bought a box of strawberries and a half-gallon of orange juice. This is bad, now I have to pee and pee. I have a little problem finding a few places to Pee but I made it Ok.

I arrived at Carolyn and Ray’s. They thought I would spend time in Las Vegas so I got in earlier than I expected. Ray had just finished a ride. We sized the mountain and street bike to fit me. One thing for sure, Carolyn and Joanne are good cooks.

Monday: It was a great ride. Twenty-six miles and a road with only three cars on it. Lunch and off to look at some second hand stores. The old things are always fun to look at. We stopped a Shetland horse farm and saw a baby jumping around. All the hills were rolling and were so green. I was giving Carolyn a hard time on who was going to sit in the back seat.

I gave their house cleaning person a new silver dollar. In thinking about it, I hope it was not an insult.

We bought a crate of strawberries and were really full. Not true, we were stuffed. They were so sweet.

Tuesday: We rode up the road around the La Purisima Mission. It was a dirt road. Then on to Vandenberg Air Force Base. That was dirt and wet sand. It was a fun day.

Wednesday: It was a day on a Recumbent. They are fun to ride but I don’t think I want to buy one. We were on the base and there was a lot to see, lots of great country to see. I kept telling Ray he is so lucky to live where the sun shines ever day and it is warm. - shorts and a t-shirt.

Thursday: We drove to the beach, then left the house on the bikes. Ray wanted to see if I was a strong rider and took me through a plowed field. I wimped out and pushed. Then there was the Correctional Facility, and yes, there were signs “Keep out, No Trespassing.” Ray said they didn’t matter so we lifted our bikes through the fence and road on through and over to the mission and back for lunch. It was a good day to ride. The sun always shines in California. I liked it so much there that I kept telling him I wasn’t going to leave until May. I left Sunday.

There was a bike On Ebay and when I got home I bid on it and lost it by ten dollars. Oh well, they wanted it worse than I did. Ray will end up selling me two of his bikes. I looked on E-bay again and it was back two weeks later. A lot of questions come up on that bike.

Friday was the day we went riding with his club. I opened my mouth and told them how we averaged 30 miles an hour and called Ray Jerry for some reason. I get Ray and Jerry mixed up. The ride was 45 miles long and we found out that there was going to be 2,000 riders come through town.

Ray and I went to a movie, Tears of the Sun. It was not too close to the truth and a war flick. It was a fun evening. After the movie we went to dinner and then saw an old bike movie on the VHS.

Saturday: Ray and I opened an ostrich egg for breakfast. Ray cooked it and we had it with chili. It tasted just like a chicken egg only a lot bigger. It was equivalent to about 24 chicken eggs. Carolyn informed us we were going to have Egg and Chili for dinner too. The ride to the boathouse was one of the best rides on the base. Lots of military and shuttle things to look at. I took a walk to the end of the jetty in my biking shoes (the metal clips didn’t help on the rocks). I saw my first roadrunner, and yes, it was running. Whales were spouting. Yes, Yes, the sun shone for a whole week. As always it was a great day. I was having a great time with my friends.

It was Sunday and time for the drive home. I thought I would drive until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. and then get a place to stay. I was so close that I drove in the driveway at about 10:00 p.m. It had been a great two weeks with some very special friends. I had a great time!

My little brain is working on what to do next year.

Byran having fun.


Stats
Miles 3494.0
Most paid $ 2.1399/gallon
Least paid $ 1.6299