MENDOCINO CALIFORNIA

Mendocino, California
12.18.8

“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally
unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Gina’s Bodacious Prosciutto and Fig Pasta

Gina and Randy’s “off the grid” house nestled high atop the ridge overlooking California’s Anderson Valley is an amazing respite from the cold and bitter world. After two weeks on the road it was going to be nice to have dinner seated at a table with great friends and good wine. Gina was making her famous bodacious pasta with prosciutto and figs and cracking a few bottles of Pinot Noir from Goldeneye, the vineyard where Lisa and Gina worked together.


After five miles of bouncing down dark, rutted dirt roads it was great to see Randy with flashlight in hand laughing in his contagious way guiding us onto the property. Randy is the go to man for Handley Vineyards by day, and gardener, home adder-on, solar technician by night. He has one of the driest senses of humor that always keeps me in tears whenever I am near him.


Their house sits at the very top of the ridge surrounded by Persimmons, Figs, Lemon and other citrus trees. Hummingbirds and flowers abound in their paradise.

a hummingbird hums...

The three monstrous solar panels produce so much power that if they were attached to the grid they could sell back the excess. The house is heated by a large Kodiak woodstove fueled by wood Randy cuts himself. Water comes from a hillside spring. A self sufficient respite from the corporate world.

“For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have.
And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead,
the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

We spent a fantastic night reconnecting with old friends, drinking numerous vintages of Goldeneye and eating Gina’s pasta. The house was slightly quieter than normal as two of their young boys were visiting their grandma.

Gina’s Tagliatelli with Prosciutto, Figs and Caramelized Shallots

½ c. Olive Oil
10 each Shallots, peel, slice
1 # Prosciutto, sliced, chopped
12 each fresh Figs, cut into large chunks
4 slices Bread, brushed with olive oil, toasted, crushed
enough Tagliatelli, or egg noodle like pasta
1 c. grated Parmesan

Directions:

Caramelize shallots in olive oil, turning often to cook evenly till golden brown. Add prosciutto and continue cooking. Add figs and crushed bread crumbs. Cook pasta, toss in a little butter and olive oil. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and arrange in serving platter. Cover with prosciutto and shallot mixture and top with cheese. The only way to make this closer to Gina’s version would be to grow the figs and shallots yourself.

Lisa picking citrus fruits in Gina's Grove

There is an element in cooking that you can never replicate in recipes, well maybe two elements. The first being if you grow your own food than use it in cooking you have brought the level up so far that most corporate farming can never touch. Gina’s pasta taste so good because of the love she puts into it. She loves the figs she grows. She loves the shallots she grows. It’s the terroir of the dish. Gina’s pasta taste better because she used her ingredients from her homestead to create wonderful food here. That my friend’s is the secret to why food tastes better in Italy or France. You cannot replicate terroir by shipping ingredients across the universe. Live locally!

The other element that restaurateurs can never duplicate is the ambience of the moment. The mindset of restaurateurs is financial. They open a business to make money and that becomes the motivation for everything. Of course money matter when you open a business. My comment would be that it shouldn’t be everything. One needs to make to make the restaurant the place that restores our soul. The place we become refreshed after battling the world. The place we are made whole again.

12.20.08 Avenue of the Giants



Friends and other Truths of Life

"I've always divided human beings into two categories:those who resemble a courtyard and suffocate you between their walls-Then there are those who resemble a garden,
where you can walk and be silent, and breathe."
- Antoine de St. Exupery

Rita and Captain Kirk are two very special and amazing people. For the last two thousand one hundred and thirty seven moons Lisa, Lucy and I have been squatting on a small patch of Earth in their yard. Busted. You caught me. We were plugged in with our three batteries being charged on the grid. Damn. Hippies in Mendocino who have solar panels really ought to use them! Yeah.

Rita and Kirk are two amazing and special friends (special education maybe) of ours. For three or four days we have invaded their lives and squatted on their lands. For three or four days we have made them eat and drink copious quantities of wine with us.

The first night I cooked Caramelized Scallops on Forbidden Black Rice. A yummy dish I came up with when cooking for Flex Mussels in New York City.

Caramelized Scallops
Forbidden Black Rice and Vegetable Box
Ginger and Green Onion Sauce

Ingredients for four people:

16 big fat Sea Scallops, under U10’s
enough Forbidden Black Rice, cooked and hot
2 each organic Carrots, peeled
1 each Onion, peeled
¼ # Sno Peas, picked
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
½ c. Teriyaki Sauce

Directions:

Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy gauge pan. Season the scallops very liberally with sea salt and pepper. Caramelize in hot pan. Add green onions and cook till green onions are soft. Add sauce and reserve.

Julienne carrots, onions and sno peas then sauté in olive oil. Spoon forbidden black rice onto plate in a rectangle mold, then vegetables. Top with scallops.

Chef’s Note:

Sometimes it’s real easy to just go and buy a small jar of premade sauce at a store when camping. You could also make this sauce at home before a camping trip and carry it into the woods and use on almost anything you can imagine from Tofu to broccoli to salmon to pork! It keeps forever.

Aswah’s Asian Sauce

Ingredients:

1 c. Mirin
1 c. Water
1 c. Soy Sauce
½ c. Sugar
¼ c. Rice Wine Vinegar
1 head Garlic, chopped coarsely
10 each Bird’s Eye Peppers
1 each Ginger Root, chopped

Directions:

Mix everything and bring to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes then thicken with a mixture of cornstarch and water. Cook five minutes than strain.

Chef’s Note:

When thickening something with a “slurry” be careful, do it slow. A slurry can be made from any liquid and usually cornstarch or arrowroot. Each has their own properties. I prefer arrowroot as it is a little cleaner BUT it is easy to add too much and have the finished product look like dog drool.

I would start by mixing a ¼ cup of each cornstarch and cool water together than slowly stirring in just enough to thicken the sauce. The sauce will continue to thicken a bit so be mellow in your usage.

The next two nights both of these amazing people entertained, fed and drank us silly. One night, Rita whipped out her extra special and yummy veggie and tuna rolls, cucumber salad and miso soup. She makes me think she is Japanese with the skill she twists rolls. The best sushi in Albion by far!
The following night we had a potluck where everyone cooked something. I made a Provencal Fish Soup with TONS of local Dungeness Crab, Scallops, Prawns, Red Snapper and WEST COAST Mussels.

Provencal Sunshine

Ingredients for a great and satisfying pot full:

1 each Onion, peeled, julienned
1 each Fennel Bulb, sliced thin as possible than julienned
2 each Carrots, peeled and julienned the size of matchsticks
¼ c. Olive Oil
1 pinch Saffron
1 quart Fish Stock
1 quart Orange Juice
1 quart White Wine
2 each Tomatoes, peeled dice
¼ c. mashed Garlic
28 ounce can San Marzano Tomatoes, mashed with hands
1 each Dungeness Crab cut into quarters
1 pound Red Snapper diced
1 pound Scallops
1 pound Mussels
1 pound Shrimp

Directions:

Sauté julienned vegetables in olive oil. Add saffron and stir thoroughly. Add fish stock, orange juice, white wine, tomatoes, garlic and hand mashed San Marzano tomatoes. Simmer for twenty minutes.

Add all your fish and cook till they are done. Take one ladle full of broth and stir in one cup of Rouille. Whisk together than add to the big pot.

Rouille is a spicy mayonnaise with plenty of hot peppers, garlic and saffron. If you are adventurous make you own by pureeing egg yolks, garlic, hot peppers, saffron, espelette peppers and adding vinegar, paprika and seasonings than slowly adding vegetable oil till its thick and flavorful.

Chef’s Note:

Provencal Sunshine is one of those dishes that is so satisfying yet easy to make. I have never met someone who wasn’t smitten with it’s soul satisfying warmth… I do make it with lots of love and abundance. The base is almost impossible to mess up. Even if the flavors are not exactly there it is the seafood that connects it all, makes it whole.

12.21.08 The first day of WINTER!
Avenue of the Giants! The GREAT redwoods of northern California!

“I’ve often thought of the forest as a living cathedral, but this might diminish what it truly is. If I have understood Koyukon teachings, the forest is not merely an expression or representation of sacredness, nor a place to invoke the sacred; the forest is sacredness itself. Nature is not merely created by God; nature is God. Whoever moves within the forest can partake directly of sacredness, experience sacredness with his entire body, breathe sacredness and contain it within himself, drink the sacred water as a living communion, bury his feet in sacredness, open his eyes and witness the burning beauty of sacredness.”

~ Richard Nelson

Lisa, Lucy and I departed in Kaya and headed northbound for the continuation of our trip northwards. We stopped at Harvest to buy local and organic products for the next few meals. IF you are ever in Fort Bragg, stop on by – they are a full service grocery store and more.

We stopped at a few small beaches on the way up the coast. At mile point 90.91 is Usal Road – gateway to the Lost Coast and our favorite beach and camp area. We didn’t go there this time as we were pushing for the Avenue of the Giants and Burlington Campground.

“I have come to terms with the future. From this day onward I will walk easy on the earth. Plant trees. Kill no living things. Live in harmony with all creatures. I will restore the earth where I am. Use no more of its resources than I need.
And listen, listen to what it is telling me.”

~ M.J. Slim Hooey

If you have never been to the Avenue of the Giants which parallels highway 101 for twenty or so miles, it’s an avenue of giant redwoods lining the roadside. There are many, many short walks and picnic spots to be had throughout the drive. Redwoods are the largest living organism on Earth. They are simply amazing to just watch! I love looking straight up from the base. It reminds me of how small we are as humans. Typical trees span several generations of human existence. By the visitor center they have a cross section of a fallen redwood with arrows pointing to rings. They mark the great moments of not only American History but also European man’s history. The rocks and crags have seen more.

“Earth knows no desolation. She smells regeneration in the moist breath of decay.”

~ George Meredith

We camped in the loving embrace of the dank forest. Life grows out of decay. Every fallen redwoods is the basis for hundreds and thousands of other life forms. Even where man has cut a tree down does the redwoods regenerate with multiple shoots each desperately reaching for the blue sky way above.

Kaya at Greenwood Ridge

Tonight we opened two bottles of Greenwood Ridge 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. One was corked and the other still lingering on it’s last legs. Allan Green planted cabernet grapes high above the Anderson Valley in a small wine designation called “Mendocino Ridge”. It is the only AVA (appellation) that has an elevation requirement – grapes grown over 1600 feet. The cabernet is very different than others. I won’t say better, just different. Greenwood Ridge was Lisa’s first wine job so Allan’s wines always warm our hearts and thoughts.

I cooked a hangar steak cut from a naturally raised free ranging cow with cute little Russian fingerling potatoes and caramelized carrots. The steak was seasoned with Espelette peppers, Olive flor de sal and truffle salt. This may sound crazy but I like my steaks a little on the salty side. Carnivores wet dream. Crispy rare little bites of juicy, meaty goodness. We finished the evening with a salad of local greens mixed with pea shoots and cucumbers. Long ago my mom taught me the absolutely best dressing for a salad.

Maman’s Kick ASS Salad Dressing

ingredients:

1 clove Garlic, peeled
2 t. Red Wine Vinegar
2 t. Dijon Mustard
2 T. Olive Oil

Directions:

Pound the garlic clove in a wooden bowl and rub all over the interior. If you don’t have wood then feel free to use whatever you do have. The wood helps absorb the oil in the garlic. Nonetheless, remove the crushed garlic, season with sea salt (which helps draw out the oil), add vinegar and mustard then slowly add olive oil.

Chef’s Note:

Our dear friends Jude and Glenn Lutge gave us a great bottle of olive oil. Be flexible. Make a salad from whatever is your Westy. I usually carry about three or four different oils.

“Everything passes away—suffering, pain, blood, hunger, pestilence. The sword will pass away too, but the stars will still remain when the shadows of our presence and our deeds have vanished from the earth. There is no man who does not know that. Why, then, will we not turn our eyes toward the stars? Why?”

~ Mikhail Bulgakov

Hello Fellow BUSKATEERS!

Safe travels from Zion National Park!

More of a real communication coming shortly...

have to upload photos from the Granddaddy of Canyons...

and drink some beer/wine

ASWAH

Monument Valley – Navajo Lands…

Put on Bob Marley’s Time will Tell and drive into the park. Somehow it really fit the mood as we drove through some the most amazing scenery on planet earth. Since it’s Navajo lands our Eagle Park Pass didn’t work, but the five dollar per person charge was fair. In this day and age we pay eight or ten dollars to see some [BLEEP!] Hollywood dramatization of a story they somehow messed up anyways. Five dollars to see what Heaven surely looks like.

Honestly at first I thought we had been given a wooden nickel. The road sucks. The first views are slightly better than what you see driving past anyways.

The wild dogs followed our van like they knew that we had some serious good food inside. Cute little dogs though. I should probably preface this entry into our journey with “damn am I buzzed… a few bottles of wine with fellow buskateers and oh yeah, it’s four frigging twenty”. Forgive me, shoot me.

Then Monument Valley opens up like a flower in full bloom. Damn, she just smacks you in the face and asks you questions to which there really are no good or valid answers. Eyes dripping with tears, happiness. Nature replenishes my soul and makes my heart just smile with love. I wanna scream. JOY! HAPPINESS! LOVE! think the rocks and cliffs understand me even if you don’t.

Ending up driving down to the Grand Daddy of ALL Canyons in Arizona… got there after dark and somehow only paid a pittance of the nocturnal camping charge… Nice, small camping area.I made a great Pork and Broccoli stir fry over Orzo…

ASWAH

Zion National Park

12.13.8

Woke up to sun shining on a distant rock face. Slowly sipping coffee with Lucy laying next to me. She is so super sweet. Seems like a paradox to be online and in nature.Two days ago I awoke in the Grand Canyon. The mixed aromas of frying bacon and coffee is very intoxicating. I found a jar of unpasteurized honey from a beekeeper friend in Prince Edward Island deep down in the cupboards of Kaya. Lisa wanted buttermilk biscuits to eat the honey with. I rigged an oven out of a sauté pan and a pot and started slowly cooking the biscuits. As soon as the biscuits were done I fried some bacon then a few eggs in the resulting fat. Even Lucy rejoiced in breakfast as an egg and some bacon found its way into her bowl.

We drove around the Canyon stopping here and there for short walks and great views. Somewhere real close to Grand View is a sign for the Arizona Trail. If you head down that road far enough you come to a fire tower and many a stealth spot to camp. Lisa and I made a mental note to return later in the evening and avoid a charge in the pay-per-view spot. I always sleep better in nature rather than the asphalt pull offs.Dinner was a stir fry of Pork Loin, Broccoli and some green onions I had been squirreling away for a while. We had a bottle of Golden Eye Pinot Noir from 2003 that went well with it.

The next morning we had the same breakfast as we still had four uncooked biscuits and half a jar of honey. We returned to the camper service area with it’s two dollar hot showers and laundry and cleaned up, loaded up on water, dumped our grey water and headed out of the park listening to New Minglewood Blues.

Met two folks on almost the same journey as us except their bus was air cooled. Saw two Park Rangers ripping apart some older women’s car searching for god knows what. Thank God it wasn’t us.We decided to head towards Zion and eventually Reno. The drive between parks is simply amazing. You drive through the Painted Desert, Vermillion Cliffs, Marble Canyon and then into Utah.

We stopped in Kanab at a great Bookstore, Espresso Bar and Outfitter store called Willow Canyon. Made it to Zion just as an amazing sunset brightened the sky in a blaze of orange, then red, then deep purples…

For dinner we ate some pork chops that I seasoned with olive flor de sal (a sea salt hand harvested on the coast of Spain and mixed with black olives), Espelette peppers (a paprika like pepper from the small town of Espelette in France) and pancake batter powder. I slow, slow cooked them so they retained their juicy selves. We complimented the pork chops with a mixture of new potatoes, red onions, whole garlic cloves and baby carrots.

The buskateers we met at the Grand Canyon joined us for some cheese and wine and merriment… cool folks… sleepy time…

Chaco Canyon 12.8.8

On our way out of Durango, we stopped at an espresso kiosk near the Alpine Inn Motel then the local grocery store. We were surprised by the diverse selection of organics. We drove south along 550 into New Mexico to visit Chaco Canyon. Chaco is one of those special places on planet earth that has very strong spiritual vibes. The 13 miles of water board dirt roads shook Kaya as we travelled back into another time. Once in the canyon, there were many buildings, kivas, lunar/solar daggers and other remnants of a great civilization to visit. One of the most interesting facts is that Chaco was built not only along solar lines but lunar as well. According to a PBS special we downloaded called The Mystery of Chaco Canyon and narrated by Robert Redford, Chaco is the first known to align along lunar lines.

A scientist stumbled upon this as she climbed a nearby Butte and found a spiral illuminated by a solar dagger across the center at precisely noon on the solstice. We toured Tse biyah nii’a’ah, Pueblo Bonito and were awestruck by the impressive ruins. Unlike other cultural sites this one allowed you to travel into some of the rooms on the site. The size and magnitude of the structure made it all the more impressive.

We got to the $10 a night campsite after exploring several sites along the nine mile drive through the canyon. We settled in early and enjoyed an afternoon and evening of yahtzee, wine and a new flavor combination: corn tortillas, dried Italian sausage and fresh goat cheese. A white Westy pulled into the campsite while we were napping. The evening was spent with Lisa knitting a scarf as I processed the day’s pictures.

For dinner we cracked yet another bottle of wine and had Choucroute. For those keeping score we drank a 2004 Dolcetto by Clerico and for dinner had a 2002 Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir. I made a huge pot of Choucroute in Chicago before we left… basically it’s the French version of Sauerkraut. We made ours with sauerkraut, sausages, smoked pork loin and double smoked bacon made by Paulina Butcher Shop in Chicago. You start by sautéing a chopped onion in a big spoonful of duck fat or bacon fat. Add some grated apple, crushed juniper berries, bay leaf and drained sauerkraut. Add pork rind and large pieces of double smoked bacon. Add your favorite flavorful beer or a good Alsatian white wine and simmer for hours at a very low temperature. I generally do mine for about six hours. The next day when the flavors have married and you are dying to eat some add your smoked pork loin and sausages and heat slowly. Towards the end add a few boiled peeled potatoes, crack a beer and rejoice!

Bellies full, van toasty from the Propex, we laid down and watched the movie Grand Canyon…

our campsite at Chaco Canyon

The Valley of the Gods – NO SHIT!!!
12.9.8

We woke up early with Kaya covered in ice and snow. I realize I say this often but damn is it nice to be able to flip a switch and have heat from the Propex. Everyone go call Karl Mullendore and order one today. I promise you will sing and dance! With Kaya toasty warm, I set about preparing a breakfast of scrambled eggs mixed with Hungarian smoked bacon, bulbous green onions, spinach and goat cheese. Lisa sipped her chai and I enjoyed coffee as the sun peeked out and revealed deep blue skies. We drove over to the visitor center to view artifacts saved from looters and fill Kaya’s water tank. The center was dark from a black out but the ranger inside kindly enough gave us her flashlight so we could gaze at beautiful pottery pieces, tools fashioned from animal bones and other exhibits. The whole tour was surreal as we walked through illuminating history with the flashlight.

Sometimes I wonder whether we have advanced or regressed as a society. Are we more or less advanced than earlier people?

We left the park in the late morning and headed onward to Farmington, New Mexico. In Farmington we found a great microbrewery called Three Rivers Brewery and enjoyed a few pints of IPA, root beer, a Reuben and some nachos. I highly recommend stopping here if you are in the neighborhood. The brewery offers 12 beers at a time including a double brown called, you guessed it, Leroy Brown. Start singing… I did.

I needed a cup of Joe to continue driving so we stopped at a local bookstore/café. While Lisa was in getting me a cappuccino, a guy wandered over and stood near Kaya smiling. He was friendly so I continued sitting there listening to Michael Franti. Another guy walked up and started taking pictures. He followed the Dead for a while and lived in the area. He actually worked at the mattress shop across from the bookstore, saw Kaya and came over. The smiling guy finally walked up and showed my two tattoos of dancing bears on his wrists and smiled as he walked away.

Our game plan was to hit Monument Valley on the way to the Grand Canyon. So into Arizona then Utah we travelled. A few miles after the Utah border on 191 and immediately before 163 you cross a river. Great stealth spots abound on the banks hidden by Pinion Pines. Low on fuel we decided to roll the dice and keep on going keeping an eye open for stealth spots. We stopped in Bluff then headed south towards Monument Valley. The terrain quickly got extremely picturesque as valleys appeared and disappeared in the late afternoon sunshine. Lisa saw a small road leading off to the left with a small brown sign that said Valley of the Gods. Feeling Godlike, we headed down the road seeking shelter for the night. We headed down a rough road, across a dried wash and into paradise. We popped the top with the solar panel facing the setting sun, pinched ourselves and watched the sun set.

Dinner was a spinach salad with goat cheese and pine nuts dressed in a quick vinaigrette made from some apple balsamic I forgot I had in Kaya and some extra virgin olive oil mixed with sea salt, pepper and Dijon mustard then a bowl of Rotini tossed in a sun dried tomato and San Marzano tomato sauce was crispy garlic slivers and hot peppers sprinkled with Pecorino Romano cheese. For dessert, I made an extremely rich hot chocolate with hazelnuts.

We watched the near full moon and too nocturnal long exposure pictures of Kaya. I did one with Lisa walking through the shot. It looks like a ghost is standing and looking in the side of the van. Freaky!

Blessings! I hope this post finds everyone in the same good spaces and vibe that Lisa and I find ourselves in. Jah Blessings! ASWAH!

Grand Canyon via Monument Valley
12.10.8

It feels rather appropriate to begin and end our Utah adventure with a quote from Edward Abbey: “Wilderness begins in the human mind.” AMEN!

Lisa and I awoke to the beauty magnificent beauty of the Valley of the Gods. The sun kissed the surrounding peaks in an explosion of red pitted against the deep blue skies.

“The industrial corporation is the natural enemy of nature.” I even venture to add that the enemy of man for now we are enslaved by the beast that we designed to relieve us.

The ice melted on the back windows to reveal the jagged edges of sandstone 100 feet out back. “It is not enough to understand the natural world; the point is to defend and preserve it.”

One last quote and then I venture outside to play with Lucy in the cold Utah morning: “New Yorkers like to boast that if you can survive in New York, you can survive anywhere. But if you can survive anywhere, why live in New York?” AMEN.

Lisa and I just had English muffins for breakfast and headed further into the Valley of the Gods. Though the road had some serious ruts here and there the road was very passable and it ventured deeper into the Valley. We came to the highlight of the road: a twisty section surrounded by amazing spires of rock. We came so close to camping another night here.

If anyone is actually reading this trash please mark this down… load Vanagon, buy Propex heater from Karl, get extra water and head to the Valley of the Gods… wait, better yet, do not do any of that. The scenery sucks. Stay wherever you live.

We continued out of the park and passed the Valley of the Gods B and B and thought for those less adventurous this would be a great spot to see everything. We headed first into the town of Mexican Hat and then continued south to Monument Valley. At the entrance of the parl there is a great grocery store, motel, RV park, laundry, gas station, propane and general resupply point. A number of cool locals came up and were intrigued by Kaya’s paint job… damn hippies.

Monument Valley – Navajo Lands… put on Bob Marley’s Time will Tell and drive into the park. Since it’s Navajo lands our Eagle Park Pass didn’t work.

story will continue...

Col-oh-my-god-rah-rah-DOE!

12.7.8 somewhere in Durango, Colorado eating BBQ and drinking beer!

What an incredibly gorgeous state Colorado is! The day started early in the rest area of Georgetown, Co. The very first thing I noticed was the beautiful red-orange glare of the early morning sun rays kissing the distant mountain peaks. Lisa and I were in the mountains at last! I stepped out of Kaya trying to beat Mother Nature to the restroom and saw a two-tone brown Westy parked not too far away. Colorado was alright! An older gentleman walked up and asked if he could take a picture of Kaya. He said the world wasn’t the same since Jerry passed. I had to agree.After coffee, chai and some coconut water we were on our way. We saw about thirty bighorn sheep loitering on the ramp. We continued west on 70 towards the Leadville cut-off on 91. Kaya labored over the first mountain pass. Poor thing is over-loaded. It almost felt like the old days of having old men in walkers pass us. Tons of folks heading towards the ski areas waved as they shot past us with a few taking pictures of Ken’s mural. Magnificent views abounded! It is hard to feel anything but blessed bliss!Our first stop was Leadville, home of our crazy friend Ken though I don’t think he currently lives there.

Leadville is a cute old mining town at just over 10,000 feet. The town has a great coffee shop with kind folks called the Bean, a microbrew that we actually passed up on and a great vibe! I think it wouldn’t be too hard to call Leadville my home, the only thing lacking for was a natural foods store. On the way out of town we passed a local garage full of Vanagons called RPM. A guy standing out front waved.We continued down the mountain on 91 towards 50. We pulled off onto an old stagecoach road to test our new clearance and BF Goodrich tires. Man – LIFE IS TOO SWEET!

Kaya handled sweetly as we drove as far as we could before being stopped by erosion. Lisa, Lucy and I headed down towards a river and had a nice walk in the 50 degree sunshine!

We got to Gunnison around lunchtime and decided to get a sandwich at Provin’ Grounds coffee shop. The entire staff was really nice to us as they made our vegetable wrap and veggie bagel. The dreadie girl who took care of us loved Kaya’s paint job. Ken was right. People just constantly wave, take pictures and comment on the paint job. We got to Montrose in the late afternoon and decided to keep on keeping on towards Ouray and the San Juan Mountains. Ouray is probably one of my favorite towns ever. The drive to town is just incredible with amazing views, houses and porches barely clinging to the mountainside. Ouray has it host of coffee shops and even a microbrew. But having no chains and a storm approaching we shot through town and into the mountains. I adore the climb out of town… twisty mountain road with big drops if you miss a turn. I can only imagine how beautiful it would be in the summer months.

We took a short walk at Molas Pass, 10,900 feet up, where a guy returning from skiing said this about owning Kaya “cool. that would be bomber!”. Lisa and I laughed. We seriously thought about camping at the trailhead at Molas Pass. We had the van pulled up to the edge with a view that promised an amazing sunrise. Do propex’s work this high? We ended up heading into Durango, staying at a motel to wash up, and eating Texas BBQ and downing a bottle of Rogue Yellow Snow IPA. PEACE.

take these broken wings and learn to fly...

Dateline 12/6/8. Georgetown, Col-OH-RAH-RAH-Do

“I’m sure I can see too much pollution… I would like to see a brown shady tree so I can rest my head, my head underneath… oh gosh…”

sorry listening to a little too much Burning Spear and other music…

Man, is life magnificent or what! Lisa and I just finished an absolutely fantastic day of travel! So many seek without seeing the beauty that surrounds each and every one of us on a constant basis. We are a part of everything. Open up your eyes. Look around. So, Friday we pulled away from the loving cocoon of my mother’s embrace. I never realized how much I am my mother’s son. In this case, the apple fell directly straight beneath the freaking apple tree. I finally feel as though I found some higher enlightenment about my family and family relations in general. My mother’s short term memory is not as good as it used to be in her 78th year. But with amazing clarity she can teach Lisa how to knit which she hasn’t done since she was a little girl in wartime France. That was an amazing revelation! I really saw my mother with new eyes. I gained another plateau and understood humanity just one inch better.

We climbed in Kaya and pointed WEST towards our future. We had three car loads of folks pull alongside and take pictures. We crossed the Mississippi River at exactly 4:20. Strange how that number comes up often. We saw absolutely zero VDUBS in Illinois and Iowa. We kept pushing with the goal of sleeping somewhere past Lincoln, Nebraska. Ended the night in transit at a rest area on the western side of Lincoln.

We ate a wonderful Winter Vegetable and Cabbage Soup with a 2004 Esterlina Pinot Noir. The following morning we washed up in the rest areas bathroom and headed towards COL-OH-RAH-RAH-DOE! The day was largely uneventful except we finally saw our first VDUB Vanagon since the East Coast parked in a farmer’s field. We got a few sneers and puzzled looks from our highly camouflaged bus from hunter’s and various other folks we passed or got passed by.

We stopped in the early evening in Keeneville, Colorado at a gas station and saw a sign for Espressos and antiques… intrigued we followed the gas station attendants directions passed a bonfire and a small country band playing in the snow and ice to the fabled java lands. Spoke with two cops for a while about dogs (i.e. Lucy and their snarling German shepherds) and escaped back into hippie life and vdubs and headed to Georgetown, Colorado where we are holed up for the night downing a bottle of Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve 2003 Pinot Noir fortified with Rib Eye steaks, carrots and potatoes… Saw absolutely no buses, had no pictures taken but had numerous smiles, peace signs flashed and waves. Glad to be here! Tomorrow we pass through some of our favorite spots ever!One sad note… we did not get to meet Todd from the Samba… he had to work late and we had to push onward… someday… someday… mister sandman has filled my eyes… peace and love from the road to uncertainty and bliss. Aswah

The Master Plan

Tomorrow morning, Kaya will cast off her landlines and motor towards the Western Shores... The game plan is to leave Plainfield and head the 986 miles down interstate 80 and then 76 towards Denver. We will probably break the trip up into two days as I hate pushing Kaya too hard. From Denver, we are shootly down 70 into Utah where we will spend a little time either at Bryce Canyon and/or Monument Valley before heading down to the Grand Canyon. From the Grand Canyon we are heading over to Death Valley and up to Sacremento. From Sacremento we will head towards Napa where I hopefully may have an interview for corporate Chef of a winery Lisa used to work for. From Napa we will head over to the Anderson Valley, Mendocino then the Lost Coast. Then up thru Arcata where hopefully Eli can fit us in for oil changes, an alignment and hopefully installing the pop top shocks then up to Gold Beach, Oregon... Newport, Oregon to see a friend, shop at Lisa's favorite hippie shop and a few pints at Rogue. Then up to PTOWN with possible side trips up to Sisters where we used to live then up to the Seattle area where I may also have interviews. That's the crazy ass schedule! We are hoping to meet other VDUBBERS along the route. You all know your areas better than us! If we are in your neck of the woods and you see a brightly colored bus shooting past - HONK! Remember we love microbrews and good times and good friends... CIAO fer NOW! aswah

Across America in Kaya, a 1989 VDUB Westfalia

This story really begins last Tuesday, November 25th 2008 at 1:14 p.m. Lisa and I had returned from Vermont to New York City after our first days off in five weeks. We had helped a New York couple open a fish shack themed restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In Vermont, we realized that we were absolutely miserable and couldn't take the filth, grime and crime of the Big Apple. That sort of desperate living in the cement beehive wasn't for us. We needed to remedy the situation and get ourselves as far away as possible.

We parked our trusty Subaru on 83rd and walked solemnly to the restaurant trying to figure out exactly what to say to be released from our prison sentence. The owners were sitting in the front room of the restaurant sensing the impending conversation. We all concluded that this wasn't a good fit for any of us and said our goodbyes in a typical New York fashion. Gleefully, Lisa and I danced back to the Subaru and raced towards adventure.

Within one hour, our Subaru was loaded and we headed down to Maryland to pick up our beloved Volkswagen Westfalia named Kaya from master Volkswagen whisperer Karl Mullendore. The drive was great and freeing except for the massive traffic jams that clogged New York’s asphalt arteries. By the time we reached New Jersey the previous week’s negativity and despair washed away in the glow of the setting sun’s vibrant colors.

We arrived at Karl’s shop early in the afternoon after an overnight stop at Stoudt’s Microbrew in Adamsville, Pennsylvania. Kaya simply glowed in the sunshine and greenery of western Maryland’s hills brightly colored with her hippie era mural by artist extraordinaire Ken Mitchell. Maybe part of it was due to a mild hangover and the fact that we had left the drabby, grey world of the rotted Apple behind.

Karl had added the third stage of four major upgrades we were planning for this year. The fourth has been put on hold as finances once again tightened. Karl outfitted her with bigger brakes, springs, big truck tires, solar panels, secret locking compartments and a host of other much appreciated improvements. The stage was set, the characters dressed and the show begins.

First stop was in Hopewell Junction, New York, just north of the city to visit Peter and Christina Zitz and their two adorable kids. Peter is a salesman for Michael Skurnik Wines and has a deep, deep cellar that would keep a 100 people dead drunk for weeks on end before ever dwindling the flow. What started as a bowl of Duck Ragout over pasta with a vintage bottle of kick ass burgundy quickly escalated into more wine and a promise to hang out one more day for Thanksgiving with his family. I think Peter needed the hippie component at his Thanksgiving table to join the Germans, neighbors and family he had already invited.

Thanksgiving was amazing! The table Peter and Christina set was festooned with a wonderful roast turkey, cranberries, dressing, sweet potatoes, pureed butternut squash and all the other holiday classics that dot most tables this time of year. The party started with 1996 Pierre Gimonnet Gastronome Champagne, fantastic cheeses and Framani salamis. Peter opened two fantastic 1996 Burgundies to accompany the turkey. The night ended with sleepy eyes, unbuckled pants and an apple pie cook-off. One of the German guests had recently learned how to make an apple pie from an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. Christina has been making a “healthful” version of the seminal American dessert out of spelt flour and organic sugars for a while. Both were delicious in their own right and most felt no need to crown one the king.

After a few days in Vermont we hit the road westward and onto our dreams. The drive was largely uneventful despite strong winds and blowing snow thru Indiana. I will make one observation though, it simply amazes me to see people drive insanely fast on black ice in a white out. I took morbid pleasure in seeing a gentleman cursing safely after his spinout which landed him in a ditch shortly after he went flying past me in his luxury sports car. We arrived safely at my mother’s house in Plainfield, Illinois.