Sleeping: Last night was my first night sleeping in the “Loft.” In case you are worried that I have given up my dreams of an Alaskan adventure and opted for a loft in downtown Denver. . . you are wrong. In my world, a loft means that I have gear stored underneath some 2x2 structures in my truck bed, and I sleep on a piece of plywood that is resting on top of them. When my dad first saw the loft he chuckled and said “chip off of the old block” because he’s known for making items out of plywood. The purpose of the loft is simple: in a pinch, you can crawl in the back of the truck (that now has a topper) and sleep in a quick shelter without having to pitch a tent (and yet you can still store stuff in the truck bed). I am sure that this will be the first of many versions of this loft. I am also sure that the fact that I am now sleeping in the back of my truck means that I will eventually own some sort of mobile home and travel the world panning for gold. I met a guy who did that once, but, that’s another story for another time. I will say this for the loft. It was cozy and level. Tess found her way in from the front cab via the window between the cab and the topper and made herself quite at home. One other note on the loft: after my dad inspected the loft, he expressed concern that there wasn’t much headroom between the plywood and the top of the camper shell. He was concerned that I was going to hit my head if I sat up too quickly. I will neither confirm nor deny whether I hit my head on the top of the camper last night. I will merely say that if it *did* happen, it won’t happen again.
Operation Fitness for Fear: We had a delightful run by the river in Red Deer this morning. We ran straight out of the Lion’s RV campground and headed down a street for a while and then onto a bike path that ran parallel to the river. Tess was initially frightened by the cardboard dog on the street advertising doggie day car, but after some investigation and encouragement she tried to eat it. We quickly fled the scene of her attempted destruction. Soon after our escape, as we headed towards the river, Tess found another thing that she is not afraid of. She LOVES the water. Tess would pull me straight into the water if she weighed another 50lbs. Note to self: do not let Tess gain 50lbs. Running along that bike path and watching that slow moving, wide, river reminded me of rowing races and spring break training in Waco. There’s something about morning air mixed with water that just brings all the crew memories back.
Packing up the Truck: Yes. I repacked the truck again in an attempt to get the weight just right in the back of the truck. Yes. I am sure I will think about doing it again tomorrow. Also, I pinched my finger quite hard in between the tailgate and the plywood decking on the loft. Note to self: write a letter to the loft manufacturer about this design flaw.
Operation Mosquito Avoidance: As I was packing for this trip, I had “mosquito repellent” on my list of things to pack/buy. Of course, I had this list with me when I went to buy the Chinese herbs for Tess at PC’s Pantry. While I was in there buying dog supplies the owner of the store told me I should try this magnetic tag that is supposed to keep the mosquitoes at bay. It’s for humans, and it’s called “Shoo.” It looks like a credit card. The theory is that you are supposed to put it in your pocket, with the magnetic strip facing your body, and after about 24 hours it kicks in and keeps the mosquitoes away for about 3 months. I thought I’d give it a shot since she guaranteed my money back if it didn’t work. The only kicker is, you have to have it on all the time and my running shorts and my PJ’s don’t have pockets, so I opted to wear it on a chain around my neck during the times when I am not wearing clothing with pockets. So far so good. Mosquito Bites from Day 1-Day 3 = 0. The only negative is, I think I need to get a different chain because wearing a piece of plastic shaped like a credit card around my neck looks plain silly. When it is looped onto the nicest piece of jewelry that I own, it looks even sillier. If you combine all that with the fact that it says “Shoo” on it, I just think its going to send the ladies the wrong signal altogether. I like to *think* of myself as an even-keeled, low maintenance kind of girl. This thing sends the opposite message to potential suitors (otherwise known as the Future Mrs. Kate Brandon candidates). This tag, quite clearly says: “I’m expensive, but I don’t have credit cards. I’m into alternative medicine and I have no fashion sense. Oh, and DON’T GO NEAR MY NECK OR MY BREASTS!!!”
Not the message I want to be sending to the FMKB.
Notes from the Drive:
For the past 4 years I had a CD player that skipped every time that I hit a bump. I adapted to this quirk and would stop singing prior to every bump that I hit. As soon as the CD player started again I would pick right back up with the lyrics. It used to drive my girlfriends crazy because as I was singing along I would suddenly sound like I was a DJ/mixmaster, skipping and pausing to the beat. Now, as I said before, I got a new radio for this trip. It’s great. And it doesn’t skip . . . but it has thrown off my rhythm. Now every time I hit a bump I still pause instinctively but the music keeps on playing. It’s going to be a hard habit to break.
Albertans seem to love Mustangs. Not the horses (although there a lot of those too), but the cars. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many mustangs in one day.
The XM stations appear to have limited channel selection in Canada, but the signal is still strong! A solid investment so far.
Yesterday, despite the fact that a friend of mine packed me a care package with sunscreen in it, I forgot to apply it. Since I am heading mostly NW this entire trip, this has resulted in a sun-burn on half of my body. I am attempting to help my left ear recover from the burn by wearing my baseball hat sideways. Tess does not approve of this look.
Today we saw more trees and fields of hay. There were also more beautiful skies. Alberta is lovely, however I’m beginning to realize that part of the beauty is due to the polarized lenses in my sunglasses. They make everything look even greener. Unfortunately the sunglasses did not improve the view much in Wyoming, since everything in Wyoming appears to be brown.
Tess tends to be fine during the drive as long as we are moving at a steady pace. She gets a little more wound up when we are driving through towns and making turns or stopped at construction sites. When she gets wound up she hops back and forth from the front seat to the back and starts whining. Obviously this is not ideal. Somewhere along the way I discovered that she’s calmer if I turn the AC on at full blast when we are driving through town. Instead of hopping back and forth, she just sits right in front of the cool air and jams her nose into the vent. As a consequence, I have to wear a knit cap when we are stuck in construction zones or stopping for gas (even if it is 70 degrees out), but I’d do just about anything for Tess.
Random thoughts:
I am bruising a lot. I need to take my vitamins. And quit climbing in and out of this loft. Note to self: quit repacking the back of the truck once a day.
Ladies. I’m going to say something that you may not want to hear. Boxer briefs are the best investment you can make when you go on a car camping trip. I swear I’m not that butch girl who wears them all the time, but when it comes to trips like this, they are a must. They are comfy, they give you a little room to relax, and they provide adequate coverage in emergencies. For example: if your dog is whining inside the loft at 5am in the morning and you can’t tell if she needs to pee or puke. . . you can either hop out of the truck bed and find yourself face to face with the camper next door in your either your thong or your boxer briefs. In the thong, you look like a crazy girl with a thing for dogs. In the boxer briefs, you look like the cool girl in “spandex” who is about to go for a run with her dog. You decide which look you are going for. As for me, I say boxer briefs rock!
White Horses Update: Kate 367, Tess 3. Killer Kate reclaims the lead!
Kate, your commentary is awesome! Once the Travel Channel gets hold of this, the possibilities are endless.
ReplyDelete--Erin Malone