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Day 12

It was difficult to get up, but I did.
It was difficult to leave the warm bed on a cold morning.
I got in the shower.
It was difficult to leave the nice hot water for the cold floor, but I did.

Once I was dressed I moseyed up the stairs toward the kitchen, and found a note from Lori with her work phone number. Realizing that I didn't know Lori or Herb's last name, and that I didn't know the phone number here, or how I got here for that matter, I decided to give her a call and ask for the home phone number. In the end it wouldn't matter, because I lost the little card that I wrote it on anyway.

I had brought in my groceries from the truck the night before, and I mixed a couple of cereals in bowl. I like to do that-making my own custom cereal, sort of. I mixed some Corn Chex and Mueslix and tried to read the boxes because I bought them in Canada, and those crazy Canadians write everything in English AND French. In fact, most of the products in the grocery store were reversible-same cover on both sides of the box, can, or whatever type of package-just different languages.

Afterwards, I hopped in the truck and headed off for a day of running errands around town. Before I ventured too far, I cruised around the neighborhood noticing the names of the streets so that maybe I could find my way back. All of the street names had something to do with outer space, like Galactica St., Aero St., Cosmos Circle, Ursa St., etc. I learned later that the name of the little subdivision is Satellite Park. A little corny perhaps, but you are not going to hear any complaints out of an Aerospace Engineering major.

I proceeded towards what I perceived to be downtown to take care of the following things: While working on the truck in the parking of Eagle Hardware, a couple of parking spaces over was another guy in grubby clothes and a funny looking cap (not a cut off sweat-pants leg, though) working on his truck. It was a large white bread truck with "Tim's Shop on Wheels" painted on the side, and was apparently the way he made a living. He had a tarp laid out on the pavement and was sawing on a short piece of PVC pipe. Eventually I came to find out that he was about to travel the Alaska Highway as well, and he was installing extra fuel tanks to avoid having to buy expensive Canadian gas. I have to admit, he's about the only person I've seen on this trip who probably has more tools on board than I do.

After a little frustration with a sales clerk who basically just stared blankly at my watch battery until I went away, I went to WalMart, where I found several other items that I didn't realize I needed, along with the stuff I really came to get. I am at the last of the clean clothes that I packed for the trip, but a new pack of boxer shorts and t-shirts have extended my laundry for a few more days.
I also picked up some automatic transmission fluid for the air filter, since traveling on some portions of the road has been really dusty. The air filter is not the paper kind you may be used to. Instead, it bubbles the air through an oil bath, and it also contains a piece of steel wool coated with oil to absorb dust particles. Hans, a mechanic in Palo Alto who has worked on the truck for the previous owner, and who told me not to go to Alaska in the truck, recommended using automatic transmission fluid rather than motor oil.

Also, a new tarp jumped into my cart, and I saw the radiator hose fix-it kit that I should have had yesterday for the heater hoses (smaller size), so I threw it in as well.

Afterwards I went to a nearby lube shop and asked about changing the rear axle oil. I had not been able to change it at home because of a level-check bolt with a rounded edge that made my wrench slip off. The supervisor there was very helpful, and identified my rear axle as a later model rear axle-apparently one of the previous owners had replaced the rear axle at some point. That might also explain why the tires rub on the inside of the wheelwells when I turn too sharply -the axle could be a little narrower than the original. In any case, it would cost $18 to have to real axle oil changed, and it turned out that it may be the best $18 I've spent on this truck so far. The rear axle oil was very low-only a couple of inches in the bottom. I'm surprised that I haven't had troubles on the way up here, but perhaps my slower speed is less taxing on the gears. The rounded bolt head was probably the reason the previous owner hadn't checked the rear axle oil. Hopefully there are no leaks. I'll find out as I watch the rear axle oil seals for leaks over the next few days.

I also asked about packing the front wheel bearings, since one of them had gone without a dust cover for a while before I replaced it. In fact, I thought about replacing the bearings, but the cost is prohibitive-about $50 each, and there are inner and outer bearings for both front wheels. There was apparently some question as to whether they could get the grease seals for the bearings, which they needed to complete their repacking service. He said something about bringing it in at 9AM and leaving it for the day, but I couldn't afford that type of immobilization - I need to fix some of the other stuff. Later I went and picked up the grease seals myself at NAPA Auto Parts, and before I leave I'll probably have the bearings repacked.

As I travel through Alaska I continually ask myself what I'm looking for. That is, what I want before I can go back and feel that-yes, I was in Alaska. I've seen most of what I expected - glaciers, whales, snowy mountaintops, moose. But until today, I still hadn't eaten salmon. I really wanted to taste salmon from the source, fresh from the river, or sea, or wherever they go-I think their life cycle is all messed up that way. Anyway, I wanted to know what good salmon should taste like. I asked the lady at the parts counter at NAPA to recommend a good place for salmon, and she said the Sea Galley restaurant, so I went there for dinner. The salmon was very good. I have been to Alaska now. Once I get the truck prepared for the return journey, I'll be ready to go home.

That evening I headed back to Herb and Lori's where Herb was preparing to go play Ultimate Frisbee with some friends. Since I've been couped up in a vehicle for the last 10 days or so, I was eager to tag along. We went to a local college campus and played for several hours. By the time we were finished, it was 9:30 PM, and still light enough to play. Strange for me - I'm not used to sports after dinner. Lots and lots of running involved in playing Ultimate. The group was quite good, and in fact, they recently broke the world record for longest session of playing Ultimate Frisbee-43 hours, some odd minutes and seconds.

They were very patient with me and didn't mind explaining the rules. I enjoyed the game, though the mosquitoes were numerous and nasty. Come to find out that at one time Herb and Lori had spent 6 months traveling the western United States staying and playing with Ultimate Frisbee friends, spending only 4 days at a motel during the entire time. Apparently the network amongst Ultimate players is strong and extensive.

It's 3:40 AM now, and plenty dark, but I still don't see any northern lights. It's all a bunch of baloney, there's no such thing.

Tomorrow I investigate the charging circuit problem.

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Copyright © 1995 by Patrick Malone