Bill in Alabama - Are you in touch with Bitt Rouse or Linda Gustason? I would like very much to thank them for a wonderful day as well as let them know that I arrived back in California safely? I also hope to get back to see them for something special such as the Christmas celebration at the museum.

kat - Thanks for your enthusiasm.

LTS - Congrtulations again on your passing the theory test. You'll be back on he road (shiny side up, of course!) soon.

Lonsesome EJ I had hoped to stop by to see you on my way through Colorado but on the way back when I got to the fork in the road that led to either Wyoming or Colorado I chose Wyoming because the weather was consistently bad and I was afraid to add more miles to the trip by swinging south. It turned out to be an important decision since it led to my getting caught in a rather exciting wind, then rain, then snow storm in the Laramie Mountains. The wind was so bad that a trucker I spoke to in the rest area I went for refuge from the storm told me that his onboard computer monitoring fuel consumption showed tha the wind was so bad that his fuel rate had become so high that it was not worth it for him to continue driving. He'd pulled over as a matter of economy until the wind moderated. I was amazed that these huge trucks are so affected by wind. He told me that wind is a more important factor in fuel consumption than is speed.

Catspaw = Thanks again!

An odd coincidence: Within 12 hours after my safe return from an 8000 mile trip, my 25 year old nephew broke both of his legs while taking a corner too fast on his bike. He had gotten his bike just before I left on my trip.

Sourdough