Let’s Get the Hell Out of Kansas
Having just abruptly ended a very cheap game of pool at a place called Jeremiah Bullfrog’s in Topeka, we are now back on I-70 headed West. Although we still had two full games left on our dollar, (4 games for $1, WHAT???) we felt the overall skeeziness of the establishment in addition to some general and perhaps unwarranted uneasiness about the welfare of the pets, was reason enough to walk out and head to what we hope will be a much more enjoyable experience further West.
Thus far the trip has been quite smooth. The weather is apparently significantly cooler traveling this more northern route than it was on the East-bound leg of the odyssey. The pets are awesome. Lump is a natural camping dog- she hasn’t made a peep the whole time and absolutely loves exploring the camp sites. The cats seem relatively content. They’ve found a little cubby just behind the front seats and have been nestled there for the majority of the trip. Plus people keep stopping us to pet Lump, which I’m afraid is only making her ego grow. But whatever, she might just be awesome enough to deserve a big ego.
The only truly bad experience so far happened a full 20 minutes into the trip, when Dmitri decided to make a point and shit heroically in Lump’s bed. But I guess he felt sufficiently satisfied after that because he’s been mostly out of sight the rest of the ride.
St. Louis was nice as far as the weather goes, but it’s much hotter here in Kansas. Honestly, I’m not really sure why people would live here, but I suppose I’m simply unaware of the state’s bounteous assets. It doesn’t really matter though, because I think all five of us have unanimously agreed we don’t ever want to live here, so there.
All the gear is staying really well on top of the car. As Mel’s mama pointed out, we’re but one rocking chair shy of having the complete Beverly Hillbillies look. Ah, but don’t think that that’s in any way spared us from our share of gawking and laughing. It took us until somewhere near Chattanooga to realize our cheap tarp had been completely shredded by the wind and had begun sailing above the car while casting an ominous shark shadow across the road. Once we ditched that, though, we not only suffered less humiliation but we also made much better time on the drive.
And so, we are now hoping to spend a couple of relaxing days in Colorado just roaming about and potentially camping in much more interesting places. One can only hope.
But I would be remiss to neglect reporting that some really awesome accidents have already taken place. First, we found a great shuffleboard table at Hair of the Dog Pub in St. Louis. I won’t bother with who won or by how much, but I will happily report that Mel’s ass was thoroughly kicked. Last night we stumbled upon a rather lovely campsite just West of St. Louis. We happened to park (in the dark) at a campsite with 136 steps leading down to a lake. Lump had to be carried down the steps, but happily galloped up the entire way back. Mel and I were definitely proud. At any rate we tried out our new camping hammock and have officially been converted. God, it was the best sleep ever. We both highly recommend trying this out if you get a chance.
– Apryl
