Wisconsin & Michigan

Monday June 29, 2009.

Drove thru Wisconsin & Michigan. Slept in rest stop. Got new tires.

One might think this title tells all one needs to know, but reader, reconsider. There are things to say even about the most mundane of human activities. Take for example purchasing tires. Finding oneself on the road in a different state and in need of a very essential item can be nerve wracking. Breaking camp on that Monday morning I checked over the rig and noticed both front tires were balding on the outer edges and the steel belts were starting to show. Not good, thinks I, and so we start looking for a tire store. Nothing in Spring Green or anywhere near it. Finally, in desperation, I head for Oshkosh, the closest Wal-Mart some 75 miles distant. All the while I'm thinking, if one of these suckers blows, I'm going to be really steamed. Why did I wait so long, trying to squeeze out the last bit of tread? Why didn't I just replace them in Sierra Vista before leaving on such a long trip? Frugality I suppose. Carol would say cheapness. Someday this trait might lead to my ruin but today was not going to be that day. We rolled into the Oshkosh Wal-mart and had the place to ourselves. In and out in 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, this little diversion and detour cost us more road time than one might expect and thus we did not make it into Canada as we had hoped. Instead, we settled for a Michigan rest stop that prominently featured a sign stating that overnight parking was not allowed. Since we were on the Upper Peninsula, away from any metropolitan area with numerous road signs warning us that we were more than likely to encounter deer on the road, we decided to take our chances with the rest stop and pulled over.
Climbing into the Casita bed we both reached for our current books. Carol is reading a metaphysical treatise called “Ask and it is Given”. This is a channeled book by Ester and Jerry Hicks. Carol claims it is one of the best books she has ever read. She isn't so much concerned where the information comes from, as long as it is sound and intelligent in its essence. According to Dr. Wayne Dyer of PBS fame, it is “. . . one of the most important books ever published”. Impressive, to say the least. Since by nature and training I'm somewhat skeptical of channeled books, I will nevertheless add this one to my queue. I, on the other hand, am reading literary chocolate. Fictional fantasy that is so good but essentially worthless that it is similar to a guilty pleasure. I'm referring to George R. R. Martin's epic saga, “ A Song of Ice and Fire”. I'm on the third volume, “A Storm of Swords”. For these books I have to thank Julian Gross, a fine upstanding individual, married to my favorite niece, Jill. It all started back in March when Carol and I visited them in their San Francisco home. We were laughing and discussing favorite novels and I happened to mention that I absolutely adored Patrick O'Brian's “Master and Commander” series and lamented that there were only 19 books, and that I'd read every one and was now lost at sea. Julian, who had also read the O'Brian books, reached back to his bookshelf and handed me “A Game of Thrones”, the first in the Martin series. He did caution me that I needed to set aside a substantial block of free time before beginning the book. I wisely held his counsel, not starting the first volume until a week before the trip. Now I am so engrossed in these novels that I lay awake at night after I can read no more and further ponder the trials and tribulations facing the Stark family.