Sunday, June 22, 2008

Valley Days and Mountains, 1982


In the Summer of 1982, my sister Linda and I drove cross country from North Carolina to the West Coast and back again, visiting many now gone relatives along the way. That was coincidentally the 25th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. This year will be the 50th anniversary of The Dharma Bums.

Here's a running chronicle dashed off by Linda on August 25, 1982, while I drove:

Wed., Lone Pine, California. Leaving Frontier Hotel (really snazzy). We wake up and look into thine hills and behold craggy faced giants of peppered light tan. Near the Alabama Hills where Clint Eastwood just recently filmed, heading for a good vantage of Mt. Whitney (elevation 14,000 feet or so).

Alabama Hills. Saw Whitney (wow!), ran around the desert a little on the sandy pebbled road. Then a BIG breakfast at the Sportsman's Café (mm). $10.00

Could see rockets fired out of a test range. A thick fuzzy line straight out of the mountains with smaller fighter line above. This "desert" is pure tan micaceous sand with small gulches. Every half foot there seems to be a short tuft of brown brush-tipped sage bushes. Little shaggy bandit pines reach outward.

Erik noticed little Buddhas on top of the hill -- ridge runners. Saw a long, thin chipmunk with bushy rabbit-like tail.

Now into land of vast gulches, caverns, canyons, hills, desert dunes, arroyos, maroon, black, terra cotta, blueish grey, brownish black, mauve, yellow green, white, rusty, cream . . . sparkling whitish green sage, jumbled rocks, mud, dry rivers and streams. Donkey crossing.




Death Valley. Incredible clouds, mirages, sand dunes, color, Borax. Sparser and sparser shrubs. It's raining (average 1 1/2 inches per year). White dust devils. Badwater (lowest point). No signs! Curve. Lake mirage. . . . . (to be continued).

This summer, Linda and Roy are heading for Ireland. Still got the Wanderlust, regardless of higher costs. That's the spirit!

Today's Rune: Partnership.

6 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

This is beautifully written. much more descriptive than kerouac. ;)

Sidney said...

Man, what a great trip that must have been. I am jealous. :-) I always wanted to do something like that back then. My old man was kind of over protective. I got to knock around the South a little but no cross country.

the walking man said...

Maybe I should have kept a journal...naw more interesting to read others thoughts. Go ahead with your ol' traveling self Linda, say g'mornin' to the Casey and Stewart clans too if ya git to Scotland.

So now this begs the question Erik, you've done a fair amount of traversing the continent...are you saying you found home in Detroit?

Anonymous said...

HEY WALKING MAN. FRANCE IS FROM THE HOUSE OF STWART ALSO. NOW MORIARITY AND WHELAN ARE IRISH FOR SURE. ERIK IS A NICE MIX OF CELTIC, GERMAN AND FRENCH AND SWEDISH AND BELGIUM WALOON. THUS SPEAKETH HIS GOOD GENES.

Erik Donald France said...

Thanks y'all for the comments!

Charles, I'll pass this on. She'll be pleased.

Sidney, kicking around is always interesting. I'm sure glad we did this, because I've not been back to most of these places since, and many of the people we visited and stayed with have passed on.

WM, that's why I did most of the driving, and Linda most of the writing ;->

Thanks, Mom. Sweet ;->

the walking man said...

Brother! Ha ha ha ha Durfee is a an Americanization of the French Dupre...now if I could find some GermanSwedeWaloon in my background.