The Road Trip, The Job Search, The Hiking, The Live Music, and The Girl

I have lots to say! I have lots to say!

THE ROAD TRIP
The trip was great. After 007 and I left Las Vegas we went to Denver where we met up with my old friend, Fish. I had had my resurvations about taking him on such a long trip in a car that was already packed. But to my relief, he already had the topper ready for the roof of my car. 007 helped put it on and I played damage control with his girlishfriend who was being left behind in our dust. We lit out of town and headed straight for Logan, Utah. We met up with Chrisser, a member of the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) and had dinner. Later at the house, I met 6 or 7 of his roommates, his wonderful girlfriend, Carrie, and Pele the avolanche dog. All parties made for a pretty crammed house, but it was great. We played Euchre and Monopoly. The next morning, after a delicious breakfast of soy hashbrowns, apples, and eggs, Chrisser, Fish, Double O, and I went out to a mountain and climbed to the first saddle. From the top, we had a wonderful view of the valley and of the great Salt Lake. After showers and lunch, the three of us got back on the road and made the trip up to Chalis, Idaho. We camped at the hot springs and payed and ungodly price of $25 for a camp site. We vowed never to do that again. The next morning we ate at a REAL Village Inn. Chalis was a village at best, and the restruant was a legitmate inn. It was called The Village Inn and the food was wonderful. We crossed the Canadian boarder at Eereka, MT. That night we camped under a mountain that Fish and I named Mt Camel Glow. Long story. I played my guitar and we drank Kokanne beer. It should have been spelled "Cocaine." We got pretty tipsy off of 4 each. The next day was a beautifully scenic drive up Highway 93 (the same road that took us through Chalis). We camped that night at a mining outpost. There were cattle with cow bells tinking all night long. There was a curious cat that jumped up against my tent in the night. That day had been our longest day on the road, and held that title the entire trip. We drove something like 13-- miles that day. The next morning we ate sticky cinnimin rolls. We drove through the Toad River area the next day and I got a badass picture of a caribou swimming across a river. I was up on a cliff looking down on him with my 600 zoom lens. It should be sweet. After that we got stopped in the road by a few herds of buffalo. That was cool. Then we swam in the Liard Hot Springs for about an hour. That was also very cool. If you guys ever take the trip again... STOP IN LIARD! IT'S FREE. That night we got some snow and rain but nothing too serious. Doubles took it easy behind the wheel and we still made it to our destination with time to spare. We camped outside of Whitehorse that night and the temps got down to about 20 F. That's not too bad until you try to pack up your tent poles with bare hands. Yikes! We ate at Alice's Restraunt the next morning and our server asked us if we were going to the Ween show in Girdwood. We didn't know about it, but Fish and I got very excited. (Look them up guys. Songs like Tried and True, the HIV Song, Baby Bitch, and FLONASE are truely excellent songs.) We bombed all the way to Anchorage from there. We stopped in Kluane for some pictures and we ate in Tok. Between Tok and Wasilla we had a ton of slush and ice and it was just nasty. We got stopped in construction and had time to get out of the car. Double O built a snowman, we filled up the gas tank with our 5 gallon spare can, and smoked cigarettes with gasious fingers. We stopped in at Mug Shots in Wasilla to drink beer, play pool, and find girl friends. There was a girl that I flirted with, and flirted back, but then I found out she's 19 year old divorcee mother of two. Yikes. I don't think I could handle something like that. So we made it back to Anchorage alive and able to speak. It was a wonderful trip. I would do that every year if I could.

THE JOB SEARCH
The day afte we got to town I took Fish around and got him into the Anchor Arms Hostel. It's a crack house. Literally. When the cleaning lady came in to clean up his room, she found a crack pipe and a filter screen. All his neighbors are insane...and they stink. Meanwhile, I'm sleeping in a house with Double O, JULIE, Lissy, and Tony. Nobody needed to tell Fish and I twice that jobs and apartments were an immediate must. We actually drove over to Panoramic View to see if 727 D was still open. And guess what, ST, it is. Or was as of last week anyway. Cindy (remember her? She remembers you) gave us the key and we went in. We were going to take it that day, but seeing as neither one of us had jobs... ya. No dice. So, maybe later it will still be open. At least I got to stand in it again. That was strange. My old boss at Kits Camera is back in Anchorage and he's working at the Dimond Mall Kits. Double said he had seen him in there so I investigated and found it to be true. I picked up an "ap" and chatted with good ol Steve. The manager there was Bill. Bill is a stern man, a hard man to like immediately. I filled out the application and turned it in. They only have part time work available right now so I decided to start looking around other places. I have dropped applications at Kaladi Brothers, Sportsmen's Warehouse, Carrs, Circut City, Borders, NAC, Fred Meyer, and Barnes and Noble. After 10 days of being here, X amount of applications, and two interviews, I got a call this afternoon from Kits Camera and Bill hired me. I start of Friday. I'm hoping part time really means 30-50 hours a week. I'll still be looking though, I promise you that. But things are shaping up.

THE HIKING
Fish and I went to Powerline Pass and hiked that last week sometime. It was good weather for it, about 40 and sprinkling. We saw several moose and I think I got a few good ones of a male with a big rack. I fell in the creek there. It was my fault, I tried to lay down in it without getting wet. Go figure, they don't call me Mungo for nothing. Okay so, I was supposed to go hiking with a girl, a girl I'll call G for now. We were supposed to go to Winter Creek behind Alyska, but that fell though. So I did it by myself. It was dirty, sloppy, cold, wet, and JUST PERFECT! I wore myself out on the hand tram pulling the trolly across the river 7 times! The work was made harder because the rope was wet AND! AND! Holy crap! The rope was coming off it's track! The rope was fraying as I was pulling myself across! Talk about exciting!

THE LIVE MUSIC
Fish and I got the tickets to see Ween. $35 for general admission, or "GA" for the hipters and their fresh concert lingo. Ween was playing at the Aleyska Day Lodge (where you rent equipment. You know, the building behind the wooden sign at the T intersection.) That's where it was. The show sold out and tons of rebel pot heads, hipsters, and curious squares showed up. The show as a knock out. I had no idea what to expect from Ween. With such great songs as "Spinal Meningitis," "Chocolate and Cheese," and "Quebec" who knew what to expect? Only those who had seen them before. I was very very pleased with the 3 hour set. They played straight, no breaks. Fish and I had started right up front by the stage, but that proved to take up too much of my patience, tolerance and restraint. So I stood back by the exit and sat on the window sill. There was a smokers deck arranged outside for all of us smokers. I went out there and smoked my first cigarette of the night. Then I just sort of stayed out there for a while. It was cold, but the fresh air was fantastic. And then it happened. I met eyes with....

THE GIRL
Her name is Gabriella. She moved up here from Ohio with her sister, a dog and a cat in a Ford F-150 in August. She's working at the Tesoro in Girdwood and she's living with her sister, her dog, and her cat in her Ford F-150. She's perfectly cute, brave, and industrious. She was going to go hiking with me the other day but her and her sister just got paid and they had to set up a checking account and move into an apartment in Girdwood. She has my number and knows my real name is Erik now. We're gonna TALK. She's dangeous though. She looks at me in a way that makes me feel all... gooey.

Okay, that's about all the important stuff. Lissy is sitting next to me putting a Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear into her halloween Pooh costume. She cracks me up. I have to get off the computer now and walk over to Pat's Bikes and pick my bicycle up from the shop. I'm midnight riddin' the city tonight baby!

-----no time for spell check!

Peace and Love,
Mungo

Song of the day: Ween - "FLONASE"