Well, here is a start of our adventure for the summer. The plan will
be to keep this journal on my laptop, and just download it when I get
a chance. I'll also shoot photos, which will be loaded to a photo
site. We will see how well this works. This may be the last post you
get to read! Along with the adventures, which I will try to make
sound as exciting as possible, I will include the list of the CD's I
listened to along the road. We listen to mostly Texas musicians that
play country, or what is known as Americana to some. Also, known as
Alt-country to others. But is is NOT that stuff Nashville tries to
tell us is country, but is really pop music with a fiddle……so, here
we go, starting with my trip out to L.A. with the 3 horses.


Tuesday 6-8-04


Headed out about 6AM.I am a day behind leaving, as I forgot to get
health certificates on the horses. Also ended up with some last. Min.
plumbing repairs on the camper. Stopping to fuel up in town, and to
McDonald's for breakfast to go. The clouds were rolling in, and I had
sprinkles off and on for the first few hours. Leaving Decatur,
heading up 81/287 towards Amarillo. Rain was expected in Decatur,
with potential of more flooding in some areas.(little did I know it
would be another 5-6" in about the next 24 hours) The clouds kept the
heat down,and made the sky more dramadic to look at against the flat
landscapes of NW Texas. Stopped at Walmart in Vernon and got the
boys some carrots, and a 5 gallon diesel container. Decided to fill
it when diesel was cheap, and to have it along just in case. The
boys traveled well into Amarillo, where I got fuel, and unloaded them
for about and hour to let them eat, and stand outside. Gambler ate
his mash, but the other two only nibbled on theirs. (the mash is made
with pelleted feed, beet pulp and water and helps add some fluids to
their systems, and keep their tummies working well) Hitting the road
again, I am thankfull for the CD player and a great selection of
music along. I am also thankful for the radar dector, which reminded
me a few times how these small Texas towns make a lot of their
revenue…from folks speeding through town! By now, the clouds had
been left behind me to spill on our county, and the heat was rising
in Amarillo. Loaded the boys from their break, and hit the road
again. About 40 miles from the NM border, I look off to the frontage
road and see Gene Glasscock, the man riding to all 48 state capitols.
I met Gene some weeks before, as he was heading to Oklahoma City. He
is now heading to NM with his 3 horses. He has been on the road since
2002, and has another year or two to go, to finish his journey. A
wonderful man to meet and visit with. I looked for a quick exit to go
say hello, but the next exit was about 20 miles up the road, so I
could not stop. New Mexico was hot. 98 to 101 for most of the day..
Stopped at a rest area to give the boys water and a rest, then on
into Albuquerque. I have a spot near the Flying J that I park each
time I have passed through with the horses, and I can unload and tie
to the trailer, while I rest some. It is behind a truck wash, where
they let me get water, and they are open late, so it has activity,
and not completely secluded. I grabbed a salad at the truck stop, and
then take care of the horses, and try to sleep some.

Music for this stretch:

Houston Marchman – Levin' Dallas
Chris Knight- Jealous Kind
Jay Johnson – Images
Cooder Graw – Shifting Gears
Cooder Graw – Cooder Graw
Mark Gorman – All night long
Brian Burns – Angels and outlaws
Macon Greyson – Miles from here
Jack Ingram – Hey You
Tom Russell – Indians cowboys horses dogs






Wednesday- 6-9-04

Note I said I "tried" to sleep, but couldn't, so loaded the boys, and
headed down the road a little longer. They had about 3 hours rest
there. I was craving some late night breakfast, and then saw the
perfect exit ahead. It had a Denny's and Wal-Mart. Had some
breakfast, then parked at Wally's to sleep. All Wal-Mart's allow RV's
to park at night. I left boys in trailer, and slept a few hours. Hank
finally woke me up by pawing in the trailer. (bet he had to pee,
which he hates to do anyplace but home) Hit the road again, and the
sun was coming up as I got to AZ. Stopped at the border, for them to
check my horses paperwork. AZ is tough on this, and will chase after
you if you don't stop when noted to do so. Stopped at the next Flying
J on the route, in Winslow AZ. Did not see any girls in flat bed
Fords though. Let the boys unload, and eat some. Rockhe has not been
looking like he was feeling well, and looking a little funky, so he
got a bit of oral banamine. He was eating, but not drinking like I
would like to see him. Very grumpy too….

Well, the wind picked up big time, and slowed my progress, as it
bumped me all around. Thank goodness for dual rear wheels or I would
have really been sent everywhere. A 20-30mph cross wind, hitting the
sides of a camper and horse trailer gives one new meaning to "white
knuckles". My fingers were sore from grasping the wheel so hard for
hours. The weather cooled in Flagstaff to about 47. Nice change!
Took a quick 20 min nap, and hit the road again. Rockhe feeling a tad
better, but now Gambler does not want carrots unless hand fed to him.
(spoiled maybe???) I hit CA, and finally found a place to stop in
Needles. Not too close to the train tracks! (Hanks eyes got huge when
it started to move down the tracks) Only 250 miles to go. Don't let
the phrase California desert fool you. This section of road has many
long grades to go up and down. In CA they keep the speed limit for 18
wheelers and trucks and trailers to 55 mph. Hard to get a good run
for the next hill, and not go over the speed limit. Those who don't
make a bit of a run, end up crawling up the long hills at minimal
speeds. Only to go racing down the other side again! I finally get to
Victorville, a true garden spot of the state, and home to the Roy
Rogers museum, where you can see Trigger in all his (stuffed) glory!
I turn off to take the back road around the mountain, to avoid the
freeway system of So. Calif. I am feeling the anticipation of
getting the horses to Vickie's house, and out of the trailer and into
some corrals so they can finally really relax. The sun is setting as
I arrive in L.A.County. I get to Vickie's, and get the horses settled
in, and then off to shower, and get some real rest myself. With the
horses needing a little extra rest on the way out, I found that I did
not rest as much! I think I was asleep by the time my head hit the
pillow.

Hal Ketchum – Past the point of rescue
Darrell Scott – Aloha from Nashville
Max Stalling – Wide Afternoon
John Denver – Spirit
Eagles – Hotel CA
Nanci Griffith – Flyer
Pat Alger – True love and other short stories
Mark DAVID Manders – Tales from the couch circuit
Joe Pat Hennen – Brand new day
\Jesse Dayton – Tall Texas tales
Darrell Scott – Theater of the unheard

THURSDAY – 6-10-04

I woke early, and checked the horses. They were all eating breakfast,
and looked like they rested some. All had drank real well, and were
rehydrating themselves. Travel is so hard on them, especially when
they don't drink enough water!! I took them up to the arena to turn
them loose together. They all ran around, played some, and rolled in
the dirt real well. Hank has not seen any of Vickie's peacocks yet.
Poor horse will have fit when he does! As it is, I wonder what he
thinks of being stuffed in a trailer, and taken away from his quiet
pasture in Texas, to be stuck in a corral in So. CA with all it's
different noises and such.

I started to make a list of things to get, to work on Vickie's
trailer, to prep it for our trip. Home Depot will be seeing a lot of
me in the next week!

OK, let's see if I can load this to the web site, and down load the
photos from the camera, and get them on line. Hope this did not put
you to sleep! (really, it was just another test, to see if I can make
it all work)

Jonni……on the road until the beginning of Aug.