Utah Salt Flats

This week we went on the long awaited trip to the Utah Salt Flats. Bill and a few other friends have had this trip planned for about 2 years now and it finally happened. I'm sorry to say that it was a let down of sorts. Not the entire week but a few days and specific events.

First off the drive down was good we changed time zones a few different times surprisingly. It went back and forth between states that we went through. We got there at 11:30 to the KOA at West Wendover, NV. Walking up to the door of the office we noticed that there was a black widow spider, yes a black widow, on the door. Greg instantly brought up his flip flop and killed it. Not a good start at staying at a campsite. We had our instructions taped to the door of where our campsite was and the code to get into the bathroom. (Never had that before. I felt kind of cool having a code to the bathroom.) So there we are trudging slowly along to the campsite. It is down the road and right there. We are next to a wooden fence and there is a section formed by railroad ties to say where you have to put your tents. We all looked at it hoping that all 3 tents were going to fit in the space. It was very small. Before we put up our tents (since we found 1 black widow) I took a lantern and ran it across the back fence to see if there were any other creatures there that needed to be killed. Yep, there was. We found another Black Widow spider. Greg again took off his flip flop and killed it. It was most disconcerting to find 2 black widows not knowing that they were going to be there waiting for us. There were also big bats that were flying about. Quickly we put up our tents, Bill and my tent had to go in sideways in order for all 3 to fit in the site. Soon we were off to sleep alarms ready for 6:30 am.

6:30 rolls around and we get up slowly (Bill and I a little late) and hop into the truck and hope that we can find a Starbucks from the city of Wendover. I forgot to mention. On the way there to Wendover as we were driving there was a nice glow of lights in the distance. A little later we found out it was our little town of Wendover. There were about 6 big casinos neon lights everywhere welcoming us to Wendover. The best casino name is The Red Garter. Hehe. You know thats where they have interesting people. Anyway, back to the story. We finally get into the truck and try to find a Starbucks. We know that there is one in town. It was actually in the Golden Nugget, a casino!! We get inside and there is a long line with only 1 guy working and taking orders and making the drinks. Ugh. We get our coffees and off we go to the salt flats about 10 miles down the road. It is so much different then I expected. I've seen it in the movies and never thought it was really that white but it is very, very white. Sunglasses required. We find out that the Salt is really wet and we can't race on it so they were just teching the cars and then we had to come back tomorrow for the race. So the guy comes over and techs the car and it was about noon finishing up we decided to head to Salt Lake City to do some shopping. Shopped we did. It was fabulous.

The next day we got up again at 6:30 and off we went to Starbucks again. Again the same guy was working doing all the orders. We got to the salt and got to drive to the pit area. Drivers meeting was at 9 and then pushed back to 10. So Rj and I took a walk looking at all the cars and people there. Which I'm sorry but Hollywood has lied to us!!! There were absolutely no good looking guys or the track hoes anywhere. They were all old people and there wives. So sad. Bill and Greg go get in line which is about 2.5 miles away from the pits and leave Rj and Mat and I at the pits to read and do whatever. By 3pm no one had raced yet and the people that were in charge said to go back to the pits and they would let them know when to come back. Apparently they were having printing issues. Apparently they couldn't get the names and numbers to print on the piece of paper. Personally I think that they should have just taken a pen and paper and written it down. At 3:30 they got the call to go back to the staging area so off they went and waited in line some more. They finally started to let people race and said they were keeping the salt flats open until 7 to let people do there calibration runs. At 7 Greg was up to the front of the line ready to go and they closed the salt down!!!! So Bill and Greg waited in line for 10 hours and they got to do nothing!!!! How horrendous is that. When we got back to camp I again took the lantern and went along the fence to see if there were anymore spiders. Yep I found 3 Black Widow Spiders. I got to kill them this time so it was Greg 2 and Nyssa 3. While we were sitting around there was a cockroach that came out of hiding. That was the final straw for me. I slept in the cab of the truck. I could handle Black Widows and Bats but not Cockroaches!!

Next day, Friday!!! The last day at the salt flats that we had. We had to get Bill and Greg through the line to get in at least 2 or 3 runs in. Almost impossible. Since they cut off Greg at the very front of the line they let him go first so one down. He waited in line again for 2 hours because the timing place was so exceptionally slow they couldn't or wouldn't send more cars through faster. They apparently haven't heard the words walkie-talkies before. It took 5 - 10 minutes for each car to get through from start to finish!! So long in between cars. So much waiting around time. Finally Greg got up to the line and did his second pass. He hit the speed limiter at around 120mph!!! We didn't know that it was on there. He was supposed to go 130mph. Argh!! They brought the car back to the pits and were able to disconnect the speed limiter. Bill got it teched again and was off back to the line. Bill finally got up to the line at around 3:30 and was able to do his first pass. He got 133mph and then it stalled out and as he crossed the line it read him as going 127mph. Ugh. He was out of gas. So he went and got 2 gallons of race gasoline which I'm so sad that it cost $10/gallon. It was frightening to think about. Bill got back to the front of the line at around 5:30ish and off he went hoping that was the only problem about why the car stalled out. Apparently it was not. He got up to 140mph and it died again making him cross the line at 117mph. Double Arghhhh!! We decided to leave then and go out to a cheap buffet and play the penny slots.

Well we went to the first casino to find out how much the buffet was $25!!!!! That is atrocious. So we moved on and on everything was $25 dollars. We finally ended up at the Golden Nugget and went to there steakhouse and had the best meal of that day!! We took our $1 and played the penny slots for about an hourish. It was the best night that we had had all week long.

Saturday was the day that we were coming home. It went well until our trailer blew a tire. Luckily we were close to Hermiston so we found a Les Schwab and had the tires replaced on the one side and off we went down the road to home! We finally got in at 10:30. It was nice to be home.

I think that thing that bothered me most was the fact that we didn't have any nights out besides the two. Otherwise it was come home from the salt, quickly shove down dinner, and then immediately sleep. The other thing that bothered me was the fact that the organization was atrocious! It was the poorest put together event I have ever been to in my life!!! I won't be going back there for another few years. I need some space between the two events to get me to go back there. Anyway, I think that I'm done ranting now.

Friendships

Do you ever get the feeling that you are the only one trying in a relationship? I'm to that point right now. Not with my marriage but with a certain friend. Obviously I know that as time goes by people change and I'm not sure if it's me that has changed or my best friend that has changed. I'm sure it's a lot of both but you know how much to I have to pester her to get a date to get together. I have been commenting on her facebook wondering when we can get together for the past few weeks. Waiting for an answer still.

The last time that I saw her was a little of 3 months now which isn't the longest that I haven't seen her so I guess I should be glad about that but it's getting rather annoying to have her come to some decision about when to get together. I'm to the point that I just want to stop bugging her. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm the one that always has to go out to Vancouver to visit her that it's almost to big of an inconvience for her to travel to the coast. Maybe it's her work schedule maybe she only gets a month schedule so maybe I'm just being paranoid who knows. But argh!!!! I want to see her and I want to see what she is up to lately since I barely ever get to see her. So I'm sure that this doesn't make sense my head is a little jumbled together right now. Argh!!!

Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.

Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.
In a sea that is to open for me.
Can't see the way out, Can't see the land anymore.
Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.
Only one way out, Just have to speak.
The mind enters the dazed look.
Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.
Letting the words out are the only problem.
Facing the guilt and hurt is the next step.
Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.
Just looking for the land ahead.
Waiting for the gold light to step back into.
Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.
Soon, Soon, it will be done.
Soon, Soon, all will be better.
Drowning, Drowning, Drowning.
Just pray, Just pray, Just Pray.

A black cloud is above me right now but all will be better slowly, slowly. Just waiting for my time. To stop running away and dealing with the pain. No books or movies to slow me down just me and God. We have a lot to deal with that I have been avoiding for quite sometime. I'm not fine but I'll be getting better just see. I'm hoping that I will become myself again and be happy again like I'm not right now. Just pray!!!

Cough, Cough, Coughing

I've been coughing for a week now which is really throwing my groove off at night controling the sleep that I'm not getting at all. Last night was the worst I actually had to get out my reading pillow and lay propped up against it all night which has preceded to hurt my back as well. I'm currently a mess right now. Eventually I hope that I won't be coughing on my cruise because that's not going to make it any fun at all.

Big Black Bug

The big black bug wandered through the fog of the morning air. He was surrounded by his family in the midst of the grass of his home. Every few days his home turns into a tornado when a huge contraption is over head and cuts down the grass of his home. In the winter time it is much better the evil contraption doesn't run as often. The big black bug wandered from his home to his friends home of few steps away to see if the big yellow bug wanted to go on an adventure with him. The big black bug and the big yellow bug set out together going on the long and hard journey towards the massively huge mountain where there was supposedly a mountain full of food. Legend has it that anyone who can climb the entire mountain to the top without dropping dead would get what the most desired. To be able to eat forever. There had only been two other bugs that had actually made it up the gigantic mountain and lived to tell about it later. They had come back so ingorged with food that they almost died from overstuffing themselves. They two bugs had told them that it was worth. So there they were at the bottom of the mountain looking up at the top thinking well it won't be so bad. The started off at a faster pace then they usually would have. They decided that they would run up the mountain at first until they got past all the easy parts and then once they hit the tricking spots they would slow down. Soon enough they had reached the tricky parts slowly making the crawl over the big rocks that at any moment could decided to move and crash down on them killing them instantly. Sure enough as the big yellow bug was climbing on the last big rock it started to rock. It teetered for a moment and crashed down just as the big yellow bug jumped of it. By mid morning they were halfway up the mountain. They had heard that once you past the big rocks you then had to watch out for the other animals. Both bugs started up at a faster pace again. Suddenly a huge snake slithered in front of them. They stood so still that they looked like they were statues at a musuem of bugs. The snake slithered by and disappeared as fast as it showed up. They breathed a sigh of relief. They kept going up and up. The whole colony looked so far away from up there. There eyes could barely see there homes anymore. Four more steps and the big black bug and the big yellow bug were standing on the top of the mountain. Splat!! A hand came down and killed them instantly. Throwing them in cemetery of bugs that didn't make it.

City Girl the movie

Do you ever feel like your life is a movie? I do sometimes and really it would be such a boring movie. I've always thought that any movie where there is a girl that can do amazing things like karate or is really brave I've wanted to be like them. Not that I have changed to do any of the things that they have done.

My life has been pretty boring I haven't ever done anything really exciting and crazy. My list of things that I have participated in and done isn't very long. However, I have flown a plane, gone down a zipline, gone across a rope bridge, and been to 24 states. I guess you could say that I've expierenced a lot but still that doesn't mean very much when you think in movie terms and plots. I've never been crazy so I don't know which plot take to a movie. Have y0u ever done anything crazy? What would your movie be like?

Lost in Austin

For those of you who have watched the movie I'm sorry but it is the best title for this blog. RJ posed the question. Which character do you think you are most like for the book/m0vie Pride and Prejudice?

I think that I am most like Jane. Her quietness, her thinking the best of everyone that she comes into contact with, and doesn't show her feelings very often. I'm the same way as her. I tend to think the best of everyone until they personally do something to me. I'm pretty quiet in most respects unless I'm around people that I know really well then I branch out and become a little crazier but still reserved. I also try to not show my feeling to just anyone. However people that are close to me can usually tell when something is askew. I have really enjoyed the movies that I have watched lately and eventually I will try to read the book again to become completely lost in austin.