Re-Entry

Amarillo, TX

Halfway through with our final journey to Denver, and the weather is turning cold. This should not be nearly as much of a surprise to me as it is, but we've spent the last two months in the Gulf. Today was basically the first cold weather I've experienced since the first week or two in New Orleans. Good thing I brought a sweatshirt. Irrelevant, I know. Sod it.

I caught the first episode of Whale Wars on Animal Planet tonight. The show follows the crew of the Sea Shepherd, an environmental organization that takes Greenpeace's opposition to Japanese whaling to the next level. The crew uses aggressive and controversial methods, such as tear gas and flash-bangs, to interfere with the whaling ships and save the endangered whales. Now, don't get me wrong...I am not a rabid environmentalist. I don't like the concept of whaling, but I could never spend months at a time eating vegan meals aboard a small ship in some of the coldest and roughest weather on earth. However, some of the things these guys do are pretty damned cool. Playing chicken with ten-thousand ton ships? Strafing processing ships with stink bombs from a chopper? Fuckin' A. (I can just imagine how your resume would look. Job Description: Bow gunner.)

One more travel day. Our belongings are currently in the back of a Ford F-150 pickup with a cap over the bed, and let me tell you in no uncertain terms that this is the World's Worst Truck. Despite being a 2006 model, it does not have a CD player or auxiliary input. The cup holders are cheap foldout things that can hold literally nothing in place, and the entire interior is absolutely filthy. The engine, though, really ties it all together. There is some sort of transmission problem with the fucker; it refuses to shift up with any kind of promptness when the gas pedal is leaned on. This results in a very loud revving noise, but little in the way of actual acceleration. This poses a problem on the endless two-lane roads that we traveled on today. Several times, while attempting to cross into the opposing lane to pass, our drivers have had to back down and duck behind the vehicle they were attempting to overtake in order to avoid oncoming traffic...which at first glance seemed far enough way to attempt the maneuver. The truck simply did not accelerate quickly enough to get clear. Very frustrating.

I am not a fan of Texas, but we encountered some picturesque scenery today. Hours were spent driving through utter desolation, many times with 40 to 50 miles of road between towns. The only signs of life for dozens of miles at a time were the occasional small oil tanks and cattle ranches. Should've brought my camera.