Wandering Wheels - 26 January 1991

[a song was included here in the journal, written by some of the riders on the trip. And as you'll see, i was fairly prophetic...]

Hope you enjoyed that little musical interlude, though I'm sure in a few years I won't even remember the tune to sing it to. But I'll remember the memories.

Well, we're finally off, on our way back to Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The day started insanely early for me, as I wanted to get a long, warm shower (make that HOT) before we made the long rip home sans showers. Of course it helped me get my breakfast first, a tasty pancake/hard-boiled egg smorgasbord. Then I tried to get everything together. Somehow on this trip I misplace one Wheels shirt and (more importantly) a roll of film. And of course it was the best roll I had. Oh well. I hope it shows up in someone else's stuff.

We left Wenden Elementary and began our trek toward Tucson, but not before Shawn, Jim, Jack and the cooks left us behind. Already we were saying goodbye. Also Gary and Dale, our tandem riders, left as well. Unfortunately, most of the day was spent riding the bus. The night before we had decided that everyone (myself excluded) wanted to get home early, so now we are driving all night to Amarillo to go to church and then we're off and running to Ohio, with a short stop at Taylor.

Anyway, after dropping Rob off in Phoenix, we were on our way to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Amusingly, Tim Pressler neglected to use the facilities before we left, so by the time we arrived, a good three hours later, his eyeballs were seriously floating and had an almost chronic case of FBS (Full Bladder Syndrome). It was when we finally reached the museum that I realized going home on $12 was an impossibility for me. The lunch prices were outrageous. I ended up eating french fries, frozen yogurt and a Snickers Bar and it cost me $2.50.

After lunch I went on a quest: a quest to find the perfect saguaro for a picture. I really wasn't looking forward to this stop but it turned out to be a wonderful time. I walked around for a while. I've now decided that aviaries are one of my favorite things. I love being able to walk though the "woods" and see birds not two feet from me. It's so calming and brings me closer to nature. It makes me realize that you can't walk through this earth without taking the time to look up and around you. If you don't, you end up missing so much. Anyway, I got to see so much of the wildlife that I was looking for in the desert but didn't get a chance to see, like hummingbirds and hawks and road runners and golden eagles and river otters and bighorn sheep. I also got to see a jaguar, which was somewhat depressing since we (as Americans) hunted them to extinction here in the US. The last part I spent with Chip and Keri (who I found looking at all the snakes).

After the museum we made our trip back toward Phoenix. However, we didn't get very far, as we ran out of gas (even the auxiliary tank). So we spent some time getting that taken care of and finally made it to Phoenix. There we picked up Rob, but had to say goodbye to Reanne, Jenny and Brian (the last two live in California. Lucky dogs) as they took off. The left us with "It's a Happy Day (Happy Happy)."

Then we went to dinner. I ate at Fuddrucker's and blew all the money I had left, no joke. I have exactly $1.00 to my name now after an incredible meal. We had a great time eating and playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We had about 12 people gathered around with a little girl who kept trying to get in. Now we're off and running again, I'm feeling stuffed and I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow after church. And Super Bowl Sunday. Æ

Tunes: monty python - sit on my face