Nilknarf Journal

Karen got a crummy nights' sleep, she said that I snored and gurgled and twitched all night long. I remember her getting up and asking me if the couch in the room made out into a bed... it didn't. I feel a lot more rested, of course... Yesterday was my third 28-hour day in the last week.

We got up relatively early, got coffee and got packed up. We still have eight or ten hours of driving to get done...

We stopped to eat west of Tucumcari; we went in to the restaurant and sat down, and I asked the waitress if this was a non-smoking establishment, since there wasn't an ashtray on the table or any signs anywhere indicating smoking or non-smoking sections. She said, "Do you want to smoke?" I replied in the affirmative and she brought me an ashtray. I lit up a cigarette while I was contemplating the menu, and the couple in the booth about 30 feet away got up, with the man saying loudly that they wanted a table where they couldn't smell the smoke.

He could've asked for a seat in a non-smoking section to start with, but, seeing no ashtrays, assumed that the whole restaurant was non-smoking. At least I asked, and if the answer didn't suit me, I could've either gone somewhere else or just not smoked.

I want to make it clear that I do not smoke in places that are non-smoking. I try not to patronize such places on general principles, but when it is necessary or just convenient, I do comply with the rules. People who are easily offended and who are loutish about it offend me. If I would've been able to loudly fart after he made that statement, I would've. Alas, no gas.

There is a mountain in Tucumcari, of sorts. But the real mountains start further to the west. The eastern slope of Sandia is beautiful... very pretty country.

Karen and I were out here about seven years ago... we jointly own about two acres of land with my brother and mother, somewhere in the Monzano range east and south of Albuquerque. We never found the exact place, but we came close... it's nothing special, but is beautiful country. The land west of Albuquerque to the Arizona border is also very pretty, but rocky and rugged.

13:36... 20 miles east of Flagstaff, AZ... rain, then heavy snow. Flagstaff will get 10-12 inches before it's over, according to a local radio station. I'm wearing sandals... fucking Arizona is not supposed to be this way!

The snow continues, and the drivers are getting crazier. Karen pulled into a gas station and she called Chuck to let him know that we were going to be later than we planned. The pay phone was outside, and I was standing there next to Karen in my sandals and a short-sleeved shirt, feeling very foolish but not really cold.

So I took over the driving, and it was a killer for the next thirty miles, cars sliding off the road, etc, and only going 5 MPH. Every little once-in-a-while, someone going 6 MPH would decide to block the inside lane and pass those going 5 MPH. My vulgar vocabulary got a workout with these people!

We finally lost some altitude south of Flagstaff and the snow turned back into heavy rain. And it rained clear to Phoenix. We missed seeing some beautiful country, but we'll be back this way next week.

Chucks' directions to get to his house were clear and accurate, and we got there at about the same time as Kim and Bob, who had flown in from Reno the day before. They had been in Reno for a bowling tournament, and Bob's brother and sister both live in Phoenix.

We got to bed about 23:00, and I slept like a log again, but again, I kept waking Karen up with nocturnal noises.