Deep Thoughts during a Long Drive

I've just got to California, the car loaded up like the Joads had a little more spending money: a rain barrel, compost bin, bags of roving, knitting books and magazines. The 2-day drive gives me lots of time to think.

• Red-winged blackbirds are a wonder of nature.
• Southern Oregon is, as my uncle used to say, God's country. Uncle Jack's career in forestry took him from place to place in Oregon (the company once tried to make him relocate to Mississippi, but on his first trip he discovered that the waitress couldn't understand him and he couldn't understand her--so he quit), and he loved nothing more than striding through the forests of Oregon carrying a cast-iron pan to bake biscuits over a campfire. After he retired, he took a part-time job at the upscale camping chain REI--he was truly aghast at the spending habits of the customers, who would spend hundreds of dollars on fancy cooking gear while he made his own out of 10 tins (restaurant-sized cans). As I drive down I-5, I'm always cheered up as the mountains move in to meet the road south of Eugene. First a few isolated hills and some sheep farms, then the hills invite some friends to the party, and before I know it the road rises and curves and the evergreens fill in the empty spaces. I think about the hiking trips I've been on, and my love of backpacking (why haven't I done more of this in the last 5 years?), and how I'm a mountain person at heart. And I think of Uncle Jack, my father's only sibling, and wish he were still alive.
• I totally love my iPod! I have a built-in iPod player in the car, and it makes the long drive a blast. The music, set on shuffle, took me to my past: Donovan, Dylan, Mimi & Richard Farina, and (God help me) John Denver. Make fun, but you cannot beat Country Roads for a happy, loud, private sing-a-long. I love that I can hit "repeat" and play my favorites over and over again.
• Shadow can look so pathetic on a car trip: bedraggled, woebegone, and accusatory. I remind him that he wanted to join me, but he is not convinced.
• I came up with a new afghan design and can hardly wait to start!
• Nothing beats the view of a river glinting in the sun.
• I've got pretty bad allergies. This is probably of no interest to anyone other than myself.
• The Fair Isle Sweater from Scratch project is heating up: I ordered a small, dark Shetland fleece and a medium gray one from Schoonover Farm, which is located in the town my grandfather was born--I love this about spinning, that it can be so very local. And somehow a pound of light gray Shetland roving found its way to my house, following a circuitous route from Judith MacKenzie McCuin to The Artful Ewe to Linda K, to me. This Shetland from Montana feels local, too--my husband is from Montana, where the Flathead Salish side of his family dates waaaay back.
• I really admire the Yarn Harlot--her writing, her general good will, and her very very hard work have enriched my life.
• I've been thinking a lot about family. I don't have a large family, really, so it was a special pleasure to get a comment on this blog two weeks ago from my cousin Elisabeth in Stockholm! We've been emailing back and forth, discovering commonalities and sharing histories. This blogging thing is absolutely amazing.....
• Something else that is amazing: the Feral Knitters Knitting Group is having its 5th anniversary this month! May 2003 I gathered the first group together in my living room to play with color knitting, never truly expecting that the group would grow and grow the way it has. Some of this is planning (I think that groups thrive if they have a neutral meeting place, a regular meeting time, someone to send out reminders, and an open-door policy), some of this is luck (a guild newsletter that I could advertise in, no one could have found a greater group of people, plus Two Swans Karen was willing to take over the administrative tasks when I moved away). This group has meant a lot to me. Happy anniversary!

I've got to say that I should have had more deep thoughts than this to show for such a long drive!

Comments

[chris]

Heh, I heard that same John Denver song on the radio the other day and I cranked it up and sang along . . . total cheesy nostalgia, but you're right, it really is a great song.

Of course then I couldn't get it out of my head for days.

[Carrie K]

Your Leo vest is amazing.

John Denver rocks! Okay, cheesy nostalgia but his songs are eminently road trip singalongs.

[KnittingInMind]

Well Shoot!
I just left a comment on Yarn-a-go-go, about the first time I met you, knowing she had posted pictures of you on her blog in the past (yeah, this blogging thing IS amazing) and she replied that she would be seeing you soon... Well, I am disappointed as I was hoping to track you down at Seattle Knitter's Guild's next meeting themed "What was I thinking?" because I wanted advice on my current sweater project from you (float tension angst). Shoot!

[vanessa]

was your uncle jack's last name bunyan?

donvan and john denver, love them both.

[PJ]

Ahhhh, long drives gotta love them. Enjoyed hearing what was in your head :)

[Linda]

I love the stored music thing. I'm also discovering sattelite radio is pretty darn cool - except it stops working under the metal awning at Sonic.

[Gail]

I remember reading in an update to "Laurel's Kitchen" that those old tin cans use soldered lead, which will leach the food when used for cooking. It was a nice idea though...Southern Oregon is one of the best parts of that long, lovely drive.

Blogs have enriched my life so much. Can't begin to say.

[M-H]

We loved SOuthern Oregon on our road trip from Australia last year. We had a night in Grant's Pass, and still wish we'd be able to make it two nights and spend the day exploring the countryside.