Selected Pictures From The Road Trip

I'm not too tired. Just pissed. I came on a Saturday before they closed the street parking lot for repairs and don't have a space for my truck so i left it at the hospital across the street. Wondering if i'm gonna see that piece of junk again there tomorrow or i'll have to pay towing to retrieve it, more than its value.

Like i was when i took this picture. It was one hour north of Susanville, on route 395 i guess. Tomorrow i'm gonna add a map and maybe timestamps on the pictures. Mostly no cars on the road. After i've been passed by a State Police car, that was following me for about ten miles and i almost missed a left curve on the street with no marking line on the side of the cliff while staring at the rear mirror. Then he passed me though i did not change speed (60).

The pilot car came and the flagger asked me to follow. At least one mile of dust. Didn't see any work. When i looked back the 3 guys i saw looked like they were finishing the job for the day or going to lunch or something. Angela turned the fan too early after that and some dust came inside despite the cabin filter.

Sierras at Susanville.

Top of the armoire at Atlantis hotel in Reno. Had much trouble finding a hotel, in a parking lot with the laptop hooked to high speed internet. First i tried Paper Mill and the receptionist could not guarantee the room will not be a duplex (with a door in the wall to another room). Though hotels where at less than half the capacities.

And  the towell i kept washing until i got most of that dust.

Peppermill seen at night from Atlantis. The escalators smelled like sewage gas from basement.

I was not suppose to go this street. My phone with google maps could not connect to car's bluetooth and i missed a turn while searching for Lowes where i went to buy an UV lamp. Almost got into this.

Can you feel it coming in the air tonight? They were dust buns inside AC vent. Sewage gas from a leak was coming with conditioned air. No windows on those high raise hotels, obviously. Had to let the door open for hours, then i bought a portable UV lamp from Lowers. That give me about 5 hours of sleep the second night.

Sierras seen from near Atlantis in Reno.

A guy looking and acting like a drunk Mexican. First i honked till he stopped inches from my car. Then he backed up while i was taking the picture. Then he followed me on foot and asked me to go inside the Casino. Could he had a gun in his left hand? I called 911, operator asked me if i was on a private property like it was the biggest problem, while  he was leaving. About an hour later i figured  he might have been Tom Cruise.

Back to Eureka, the night before. Filter from the AC/heater in the room at Super 8 Motel in Eureka. After it took it off to wash it i saw the thermostat looked like it might have been damaged. Out of 5 nights spent on the road, i could sleep all night only in 2 rooms, the other where not acceptable.

Vending machine in the same motel in Eureka.

The lumberjack and the blue bull on the side of 101 where i came back because of a landslide that delayed us about 3 hours. Later i saw next to it a Russian speaking family next to wooden life size bear. The man was simulating military step in the parking lot. BTW everywhere in Northern California i saw tucks with logs that looked harvested from burnt areas. Probably no need for permits or fight activists or anything.

Road block due to a landslide, a few miles north of that place.

Got in line, next to a empty school bus that was putting much diesel exhaust. I turned around and got in line one more time.

Area with the landslide. They were already working and had one lane closed on that road for at least one week, judging by the number of utility vehicles.

From there all the way to Lincoln city i saw many places with warning sign for "grooved pavement" which means bad worned out road. That highway needs urgent repair.

KGB, everywhere (i go). Here in the parking lot at the Mill casino in Coos Bay. Earlier i saw two Japanese guys disguised as Americans, on Harleys. Everywhere i've been in this trip all people i saw and spoke with, all cars with their brands and LPN, all logos, everything seemed part of a planned show.

After the episode with the "Mexican Guy" at Blue Lake Casino, i could not upload anything except one or two pictures until i got home.

Parking Lot Sweeping

It is/was only in this area of the complex. Either they swept or there was more traffic and got turned into dust and washed away. Here is a picture of the gravel i took on 03/10/2021 at 04:39:10 PM, maybe one-two months after they put it in that snow day (after snow was mostly melted).

In the meantime, much of it has turned into rock dust, some went down the drain, some got blown by the lot blowers with the power didgeridoos on Wednesdays.

But it was what i saw yesterday what decided to go out and try to sweep it.

(Look at the dust coming out of that van). It was working nice with the dustpan only because it had a rubber tip. I went inside to search for a stick to attach to it and went back outside and it was broken. Typical ninja. Then i had to bend down even more to push the dust mixed with gravel. Sweeping and pushing, for one hour and a half. Though i had a mask, i assume i've been breathing a lot, because i saw dust in the headlights of the passing cars. But it didn't affect me as much as it did some invisible dust that came inside this morning.

First, Brian Asawa. The guy who from time to time shows next entrance. He has a car, a van (seen in the video above) and a rice business. He came at once not much after i started, opened the back doors of the van and the trunk of the car and started to move sacks of rice from car to van. I once saw him with the van going to the hospital. He probably supplies the hospital with rice? Had to stop because of the dust, he wouldn't leave.

Then i went inside and posted on fb. Then i went back and continued sweeping. I was thinking to myself. God or nature made a very very big mistake when they created ninja. A tall athletic Spanish guy came silently walking and didn't see him. Planes flying very low. Sirens at midnight when the streets are empty. Lots of air horns on the freeway. But in the end. I was almost done, i made two last piles (out of about 10-15 in total) in front of the recycle bins, had about two more to sweep when they came. A couple, she, a very sexy bodied Latina, he, most likely Japanese and started so sort empty cans in the trunk of their car. I think it was light blue but don't know the brand. Then he came to throw something in the bins. This picture is from today showing the unfinished pile next to the bottle.

I was waiting like that for about 10 minutes between the garbage bin and recycle and and they wouldn't go. The bin was smelling, but like garbage, not like sulfur stuff in the air. Then he bent inside the car for about 5 minutes and came out with a baby which they took inside. Then they came back and i decided to pick those two piles no matter what and leave. Then she came and threw an empty 2 gallons bottle on a recycle bin that was full and the bottle fell on my last pile that i didn't sweep so well. In this picture in the midle is shown an amount of gravel that has settled in a lower area of the road. This is how it's all been on the whole 150 ft area that i swept.

Anyways, i couldn't finish. Then i came back inside, took a shower and went to take pictures of the amount i threw in the bin. A tall Latino guy with a hat like a security guy speaking on the phone on the speaker phone like on a walkie talkie. Then i got mad and went and grabbed the car to see where he was going. He went in a huge dark newer truck with LPN DEU with no marks and left. A gray german shepherd was following the truck. Then they stopped at the office trying to catch the dog. Apparently they lost the dog. Or simulating chasing me. The amount of gravel i swept and threw in the garbage which i estimate to at least 150 pounds. It was only today during daytime that the amount of gravel in the bin was obvious, but i'm really relutctant to go and take one more picture. This one's from last night. And BTW google messed up this blogger platform i'm just giving up on trying to fix the resolution on slideshow.

Biden - Iohannis Meeting

Mount Attila, Artilla or Conner and Nut

I bet it is called Rainbow Serpent just because of the color of the rock contrasting with the collor of the image. Could it be it represents Mt. Attila.

How about this

Or this

Minimalistic Healthy Cooking: Cabbage

Hands on time: Half hour or more, depending on skills.

We call it simply cabbage. Angela and i. It has the same ingredients and largely taste of a dish that cannot miss during any holiday in Romania. The local version of cabbage rolls minus the wonderful flavour of pickled cabbage. Much easier to cook though.

Not complicated, not sophisticated, this recipe is good for those who never cook and want to try. Driven by the principle: Anything cooked at home in a reasonably decent manner, is better than anything fast food. Cabbage even better because it is low calories though loaded with vitamin C, minerals and fiber. It is a recipe developed by the two of us derived from family recipes in Romania, many Romanians would be surprised how it evolved. It can be used as side for meat.

Need one healthy fresh ripe cabbage (not exactly like this one, bought two days ago), a few carrots, half onion, parsley (optional), half bell pepper (optional), (either) tomatoes, tomato juice or paste or V8 (You probably figured by now. There are a number of ingredients that repeat in most of my recipes, for practical reasons, can only have so many ingredients in the fridge). Even canned pasta or pizza sauce leftovers will do it (though it will surely ruin the taste because of the number of ingredients they use).

One large cup of rice.

Spices.

(Please ignore what you see in some pictures on the counter on left upper corner. It is crystalized borax and sugar, for ants. For humans borax has the toxicity of table salt. In fact, it is used to preserve caviar. If i remove it, ants will come.)

Wash, peel the bad parts and cut thin aiming pasta like appearance.

Separately start some rice. Know how to cook rice? One big cup (300 ml) of rice, two same size cups of water. Boil the water, add the rice and set it to lowest setting, preferably with a clear lid to see if it's boiling. Simmering that is. For ten minutes. Never mix. By that time water will be absorbed by rice. Then stop the burner and let it sit for five more minutes. At the end can add some olive oil, parsley. Do not salt if you want to use it with soy sauce.

Put the cabbage in a big pot with half inch of water at the bottom. Grate some carrots, dice a tomato or two, add some tomato juice (optional), chopped parsley (optional), half onion, half bell pepper (optional), spices, salt. Put the lid on, set it to medium low, listen for the boiling sound. Because of the small amount of water at the bottom it will be mostly steamed, not boiled. Half hour to 40 minutes total steaming time for first ingredient, cabbage. Mix any time you want. I do it after i'm done adding all ingredients, this way i do not work twice. At this time, can add some olive oil.

There is something about combining the taste of rice and cabbage. It happens in the original Romanian recipe, i saw it at the Best Teriyaki restaurant in Beaverton where i ate of course best teriyaki ever. Many times, many years; there was a decent amount of lightly steamed cabbage with a bit of pepper on top next to the rice that made it special. Always wondered how they cooked that perfect rice (and finally figured it and i'm passing it to you). And of course the perfectly cooked meat.  (This recipe is strictly vegetarian though).