Sunday, July 29, 2007

Boxes and boxes of books and books

Assuming my identity hasn't been stolen in the past few months, a credit check should go through Monday or Tuesday and I'll be moving in August. Moving inspires consideration of what there is to be moved--and whether it's worth keeping.

I read a lot, and especially since finishing school and leaving the campus library behind, I've been accumulating books (I know there are public libraries, but I allow myself book purchases in lieu of spending the money on, say, heavy drinking.) This is in addition to the large number of books that I annexed from my parents' shelves as a teenager and recently brought from Canada with me as a consequence of my parents' own move. It's becoming quite the heavy pile of paper.



Now it's rare that I re-read a book, since my memory seems to keep track of enough to content me and I've yet to find a book remarkably different ten or more years later. Oddly, my gut feeling is that if I were to display my library, it would be in the hopes of someone else reading all the books--either as validation, or as a means to some sort of commonality. Regardless, I'm not likely to read them again. So why keep them?

A friend has offered space in a mostly-empty attic in which to store the many boxes (I assume I'll do most of the lifting to get them up there). Or, as a more permanent solution, there do exist a few used bookstores in the south Bay Area (though not as many as there could be) that might pay me a pittance. I was even thinking that I could try selling them at work (~800 people on-site) and donate the proceeds--they're currently collecting for back-to-school gear for needy kids. ...By even considering their possibility, I'm probably headed for one of the two latter options. Jacta alea est, the books will go.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The Rocks, Trees and Water Tour - 2007

Finally, a little bit of time to try sorting out some sort of road trip recap. Things have not been mellow since I returned as I'm looking for an apartment and I've received a 6-month ultimatum at work...so here's a little escape back into the recent past.



Statistics:
departure date: june 30, 2007
return date: july 18, 2007
miles travelled (by odometer): 3970
gallons of gas used: not yet calculated, but often got 30+ mpg
direction travelled: counter-clockwise (darn it, had to pay the toll to cross the Golden Gate)
states crossed: 7
provinces crossed: 2
relatives visited: 11
national parks visited: US 5 (+ 1 national monument), Canada 4
national forests crossed: I lost count, really
former nuclear reactor sites visited: 1
live bears spotted in Yellowstone NP: 1
live whales spotted from Redwoods NP: hard to tell, they're underwater most of the time
Old Faithful eruptions: 1
nights spent camping: 4
nights spent camping in rain: 0
nights spent at Super 8's: 2
nights spent at Motel 6's: 1
number of bug bites on me: <10
number of bugs splattered on front of car: countless (I won!)
runs: 2 (including half-marathon in Calgary)
bike rides: 4 (Grand Teton NP, Glacier NP, Silver Star Mtn, Vancouver Island)
attempts to swim: 1 (Lake Lewis, Yellowstone NP...cold, so cold...)
laundry days: 2
bagels eaten: 11
boxes of cereal eaten on the road: 2
cooler ice refills: 5
number of days requiring air-conditioning in car: all
highest recorded surface temperature in Craters of the Moon NM: 178 deg F
highest altitude attained: Continental Divide in Yellowstone is about 8900 ft
number of CDs played while driving: 59
number of CDs played twice: 3
number of CDs played more than twice: 0
reasons to stay more than one night in Wells, NV: 0

Pictorial review, the short course--Rocks, Trees and Water:

Grand Teton NP

Pictorial review, the long course--Rocks;

Yoho NP, BC, Canada

Trees;

Mt. Revelstoke NP, BC, Canada

and Water.

Takakkaw Falls, Yoho NP, BC, Canada

We can also play Spot The Critters:

l-r: Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP, Glacier NP

Hint: left to right is fish, goat, sheep. The fellow in the middle photo took a look at the mountain goat and then proclaimed, "Yup, that's a big male all right." Um, precisely what I was thinking...

It was a great trip and I'm glad I did it. My only regret is forgetting to get a keychain from each national park (my usual keepsake). Still, it'll be a while before I try something like it again...

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Time to head back

My last evening in Canada, here in beautiful Vancouver, BC, with a view of Burrard Inlet, ships passing, and cedar forests, and a fantastic salmon dinner.

But it can't last forever.

1600+ km to go by Wednesday night and two national parks on the way--time to get comfy in the driver's seat again.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

I'm in Calgary, Alberta

after driving 2000+ miles

being kindly hosted by aunt, uncle and cousins

I have many photos

but there are none for you to see

because they're stuck on the flash card

and I left the adapter in Cali

4 nights camping
3 national parks
2 national historic landmarks
1 national monument

and it felt so good to sleep in a real bed last night