08:29 pm: I love you Mallory....
I was standing on the Roi Grande Gorge Bridge watching the sunset and clouds rain on the mountains...(got some beautiful shots too!!)
I was standing there and I got this REALLY WEIRD feeling.....like I sort of thought about jumping. Now whenever you are on a bridge like that you ponder jumping....but for just an instant I was actually thinking something like, "DAMM it would be a great ride to the bottom.....and to die on MY own terms.....exactly when I choose." And I pictured myself standing on the rail.......
And that scared the shit out of me...that I actually thought it, if even for an instant.
***NOTE: AL is NOT suicidal.....so do not worry.
Today I did nothing adventurous....just sort of roamed around Taos, meeting the interesting people who I happened to encounter. One guy who had an open studio and could tell "by my body language and smile that I was tuned in" and he proceeded to tell me how his son was murdered in The Congo and he suspects the CIA was involved.
And the gal at the coffee shop who was way too interested in my tattoos (translate flirting)
And the New York Artist who worked with Basquiat and has retreated to Taos for a quieter life. He has great antiques and great art.....think of Basquiat with a Southwest flair.
All in all a great day.
Oh and I watched Time Cop with Van Damm......blushes.
09:21 am: Taos
I fished the Los Pinos last night, weather was shitty, but the ride there, 10 miles of dirt was nice. Caught about a dozen trout, none to brag about but it was great being in the river.
Ate at Taos Pizza Outback.....excellent pizza and salad. But the thing about Taos is, service ALWAYS sucks....always....I sat for 15 minutes before I saw a waitress...and they sat me!!
I finished my beer and never did they ask if I wanted another....I was curious to see if they would so i didn't ask for one. It is the Hippie/free spirit mentality........they just don't care.
The nice things about Taos: Great food Good views Fishing
Culture: Colonial Spanish Recent Hispanic Immgrants Territorial ranchers/cowboy types Skiiers/rafters/ Mtn Bikers/rafters...all kind of outdoor freaks Artists and writers dating back to DH Lawrence and Georgia O'Keffe Hippies, real hippies from the 60s...man and an occasional movie start (Julie Roberts....Dennis Hopper) And of course, the Taos Pueblo Tribe..
11:52 am: Taos
Made it safe to Taos last night.....
Running through Cimmaron and Taos Canyon I was behind a speeding police car from Raton (out of his jurisdiction) so I ran right on his tail....
I was thinking how it is bullshit that a cop that is not in pursuit can run as fast as he wants.........
but then something cool happend, we were going up some switchbacks and I was really getting into the curves, almost knee draggin and he pulls over and lets me pass, VERY COOL.
Then about 10 miles later I notice that he has caught up with me in the straights.......and then this truck hits its brakes to turn off, I start tapping my brakes, and hand signalling "SLOW"...but I guess he didn't notice......next thing I look in my mirror as I hear tires schreeching and he skids off the edge of the road to miss me. How ironic it would have been if he had rear ended me after letting me pass.
Got cheap room, ate Poor Man's Eggs Benedict at Micheal's kitchen this morning, eggs benecit with Green Chili instead of Hollidaise sauce.
heading up to the Los Pinos River for some fly fishing today.
10:16 pm: Broke Down, but not for long....
So friday I left Denver and heading to a road called, "Oh My God Road" from Idaho Springs to Central City. Great road....lots of abandoned mines and ghost towns. Stopped in Central City to play a little Blackjack....lost ten damm hands in a row.....unbelievable.
Headed down Peak to Peak Highway to Estes Park, planning to run over the mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was about 5 miles up the switch backs when the oil light came on....SHIT....I turned around and coasted back to town......stopped at the first Campground and got a place to sleep. Took the oil filter out and it looked bad, water in the oil, KTM are notorious for water pump failures.....shit.
i went to eat and get some drink at a nearby bar, The Rock Inn, and there I ran into one of my Employees, Shawn, from Texas!!! Random...he works for the YMCA camp in Estes during the summers.....had some fun..
Saturday my buddy Keggy borrowed a truck and rescued me. We stopped at the KTM dealer in Loveland and got parts for the repairs. Started working and realized that I was short the gaskets for the rebuild, so we had to go back to the KTM dealer. Didn't really start working until today..(sunday)
Worked most of the day, it was a fairly complicated ordeal. Had to heat the clutch cover to pop the old bearings out and froze the new ones to pop em in. Thank god for the internet and step by step instructions....and I would HATE to do this job on the side of the road...it would be nearly impossible...SUCK SUCK SUCK>...
First thing in the morning I am going take her for a shake down.....and should be on the road again!!!
Broke Down in Estes Park
I could think of worse places to break down....
A Ghost Town....Cool
Oh My God Road
That is really the name of it!!!
The Guts
I had to split her open to get to the water pump....took all day.
07:57 am: Headin to New Mexico
Gonna take a long route....perhaps through Rocky Mountain Nat. Park............or does anyone out there have a suggestion?
08:50 am: On Rafting and the Flip
I have been rafting several times before and have never had even a close call. I had become complacent tot he point that when people talked about it I would shrug it off as a thrill for people who were easily scared. I did not have a the proper fear.
Fear of water? Sure, I have an UNHEALTHY fear of water, a symptom of a near drowning when I was 10. I am terrified of water, but rafting offered no more terror than the normal fear I have around any water.
Oh, but now, after that flip in Maytag........yes yes yes, from that point on, in every riffle and wave I found myself looking for a strap to hang onto. I kept rafting....and even Oared the gear raft through more rapids. BUT now I have THE FEAR...and it is a good thing. Why? Two reasons. One I have the respect to keep myself safe, and two I get that great adrenaline rush now!!! Got to love that RUSH.
12:58 pm: Hangin with Jack, "Sam Walton is a Son-of-a-Bitch" I just spent the morning hanging out with Jack Weil, 107 year old CEO of Rockmount Ranch Wear. This is one of my Denver Traditions. So much like being with my grandpa.......I miss Ed.
Life According To... Jack A. Weil At the age of 106, Jack A. Weil has been called the oldest CEO in America. On weekday mornings, you'll find "Papa Jack" greeting customers at Rockmount Ranch Wear in LoDo. Rockmount, which he started in 1946, produces cowboy shirts and Western wear that are now sold around the world. Here, Papa Jack shares his wisdom on the Confederacy, Model-T Fords, and Ronald Reagan. By Patrick Doyle July 2007
I WAS 27 when I came to Denver in 1928. My sales territory was from El Paso, Texas, to the Canadian border. And in all those states combined, there were less people than in Cook County, Illinois. It was a tremendous experience for a young man.
I MARRIED A DAUGHTER OF THE CONFEDERACY from Tennessee. We were married 62 years when she passed away. Till the day she died, when she got really mad at me, it was, "You Yankee!"
THERE'S NO WESTERNER like an Easterner.
NOW, RONALD REAGAN CAME FROM ILLINOIS. In his [second] speech to Congress, he said we will become a service country. Well, to me that was treason, because I was interested in [manufacturing] and the economy of this country. So I wrote him a letter and told him, "Where you come from in Illinois, and where I come from in southern Indiana, servicing meant when you took the mare to the stud." He sends me a signed picture, and it says, "Jack, things are not as simple in Washington as they were in Illinois."
IT'S FUNNY how things stick in your mind.
I ALWAYS FELT that a young man would normally be a Democrat. But after he earned a few bucks and wanted to keep it, he'd have to be a Republican.
THERE'S NO USE WORRYING about something that might have been.
I HAD A BROTHER two years younger. Between us, we bought a Model-T Ford. It had wire wheels, and those wire wheels were screwed on. If you backed up too far, the goddamn tires would come off and go rolling down the street.
I CONTRIBUTE MY AGE to an act of God.
I CAN REMEMBER driving my Chrysler from Murray to Jackson, Mississippi. I was behind a car that was moseying around, 15 to 20 miles an hour. So when the road got a little wider, I went around him. Down the road a little way was a freight train going by, so I had to stop. So this guy pulls up behind me, gets out, and says, "Young fella, the way you drive, you're going to need me someday, why don't you have my card?" He was a mortician!
WHO IN THE HELL AM I to be advising other people?
MY DOCTOR WANTS to keep my blood thin, and says that I should take a drink of whiskey every day or two so it won't clot.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL enjoy life as it is, 'cause you sure as hell can't change it.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE some fears somewhere. I don't recall any of mine.
THE LONDON TIMES had an office in New York, and sent a photographer and writer to come out here and interview me, as maybe the oldest CEO in America. They asked me what I thought of Wal-Mart, and I called Sam Walton a "son of a bitch." And they printed it in The London Times! They couldn't print it in this country.
PEOPLE THOUGHT you were crazy if you dressed like a cowboy in Providence, Rhode Island, in the '50s. They thought the only cowboys were in the movies.
I THINK I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I've got reasonably good health, I enjoy my work, and I enjoy very much the number of people who come in here to shake hands from all over the world. What the hell else is there?
I THINK if you live a moderate life, that's the secret of good health.
I GO HOME AFTER LUNCH, take a shower, and get under the covers, so I'm not pushing anything. I take a nap and sleep until dinnertime, three or four hours, and I watch Andy Griffith.
I DON'T WANT to be the richest guy in the cemetery.
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