Kernut the Blond

Willcox, Arizona, resting place of Warren Earp, Rex Allen and Koko the Horse.

Kernut — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:18:53 +0000

Editorial Note: For those of you following along, this is the last out-of-sequence post on my travels to my current spot on the Texas coast. Not that my postings the last couple months would indicate, but the trip was a direct route from the southern California desert, through southern Arizona (with stops in Yuma and Willcox), followed by a speedy “peddle to the metal” drive through New Mexico (didn’t get to see anything) to the Texas Hill Country, then down to the Texas coast...

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Happy Birthday! Checkers, the RV copilot, turned 18 today.

Kernut — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:09:18 +0000

My wonderful feline copilot turned 18 years old today. I may look pissed, but I just don't like having my picture taken. I couldn’t have asked for a better companion these past 18 years. I can not adequately express how much she has meant to me, often bringing me out of those dark times when I felt hopeless about life. I owe her more than I can ever repay. Rest assured, she is spoiled and pampered. While searching for one cat, I found another. A previous cat of mine, Eggo (so...

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Ten Things: Random Observations From the Road

Kernut — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:38:34 +0000

Long-time readers of this blog may vaguely recall, and new readers might like to know, a while back I started a series called “Ten Things Tuesday” wherein I would post Ten Things lists on Tuesdays (yeah, a complex concept I thought of all by myself). In the first posting Ten Things To Do When Bored At Work, I promised not to be consistent. In that I have succeeded. For Ten Things Tuesday (on a day that’s probably not Tuesday), I present Ten Random Observations from the Road....

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Put the hooker in the box, and the bird in the closet.

Kernut — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:22:04 +0000

No, wait. I think Charlie Sheen said ‘Put the hooker in the closet‘. Ok, then the bird should go in the box. Got it. Good thing, too, since the closet is quiet full of my clothes and skeletons. There's hardly enough room for the skeletons, let alone hookers. As many of you may know, I have a penchant for rescuing wounded things. Birds. Mammals. Men. One might assume that while driving around the country I would not have as much opportunity for rescuing wounded beings. Sadly,...

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“The Thing” in Dragoon, Arizona? It’s a dead thing.

Kernut — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:34:23 +0000

First, Tombstones in Tombstone and now a Dead Thing in Dragoon. (SPOILER ALERT: If you plan to see “The Thing?”, as advertised on the many signs along Highway 10 in Arizona, don’t read any further. They make an effort to keep The Thing? a secret until you get inside the third and last building in the little gas station/museum. However, photos of it are widely published on the internet, and the employee I spoke with said it was ok to write this article and include my photos....

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Bugzilla, my new roommate.

Kernut — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:52:00 +0000

Are y’all sick of me telling you how big shit is in Texas? I hope not because just when I think I’ve covered the “biggest” thing Texans have, some other unnaturally-sized creature or event comes along to prove me every bit the naive Californian. Texans have big balls… and I don’t mean parties. You may be thinking I found this out the traditional way. Unfortunately, no. We had another really huge storm in the southcentral area of the Texas coast on...

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Tombstones in Tombstone, Arizona

Kernut — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:33:23 +0000

He-heh. I need a sign like this for my rig. On my way to Texas, I stopped in Tombstone, Arizona, home of the infamous OK Corral. No longer the dangerous, wild western town for which it’s so well known, it has become an off-the-beaten-path tourist trap stop. Downtown Tombstone, Arizona... seems a little quiet. One vendor seemed hell-bent on getting me to join the ghost tour. Even the vendors in Mexico were less aggressive – and that’s saying something. Boothill Graveyard...

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Holy Flying Vampires, Y’all! The bugs are big in Texas.

Kernut — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:34:41 +0000

Remember I posted how when they say “Everything is bigger in Texas” they mean the rain? And the hail? Well, I’ve since found out they are also referring to the bugs. And the Texas-sized mosquitoes. The blood-sucking mosquitoes are huge, and persistent. One was trapped in my car yesterday. At first I thought it was a housefly, that’s how big it was. The size of a housefly. This one is in Florida and smaller than the Texas mosquitoes. (Photo courtesy of "ajmexico"...

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From the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge to the Bridge to Nowhere, and shaking your dates in between.

Kernut — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:29:24 +0000

The Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge was the only way to go coast to coast back in the day. The Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge has spanned the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona since 1915. If you were heading from coast to coast at that time, the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge was the only place to cross the river, and it meant going miles out of your way to do so. It lights up at night. You'll have to take my word for it because this picture is as good as it gets on this blog. And that, my dear Kernutties, is...

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Severe Weather Alert: Like a cow pissin on a flat rock.

Kernut — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:21:52 +0000

Like a cow pissin’ on a flat rock, it’s raining in Texas. When they say “Everything is bigger in Texas” they mean the rain. And the wind and hail stones! Forty m.p.h. winds?? Last. Night. I was scared shitless, y’all. I’m from California – I prefer earthquakes. This morning when I woke up the weather report said there was a 50% chance of my area being hit by a tornado! A TORNADO WARNING! I was in my first ever official tornado warning. (This was NOT...

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The Center of the World, and two blondes in Mexico.

Kernut — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:35:47 +0000

For the first time in my adventures, I’m about to tell you of an “attraction” I will never again go to. Nope, it’s not Mexico. Not far from the border of Mexico, is the small town of Felicity, California, the self-proclaimed “Center of the World”. The Center of the World? After a long road trip to get there, my rig/house guest (who has long since returned to their day job) went in and asked to use the bathroom only to be told by the non-too-pleasant greeter...

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Don’t make me get my gun out. Again.

Kernut — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:03:59 +0000

Two things that need shootin’: Varmints in your RV and Stalkers It’s been a week of things that need shootin’. (Note the dropped “g” – I’m already starting to sound like a Texan. Just know it happens very fast, people, very fast.) (A note for my new readers: Last summer I bought my first RV and immediately became a full-timer. I’m single, and drive a mid-size Class A. I travel with my cat, Checkers – the copilot who can’t read maps,...

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I got down, way down, in Calipatria.

Kernut — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:01:51 +0000

Calipatria, in southern California, boldly claims to hold such distinctions as possessing the “World’s Tallest Flagpole” and being the “Lowest Down City Below Sea Level in the Western Hemisphere”. The population is around 7,700. That includes the 4,000 inmates at the Calipatria State Prison. If you’re as good at math as I am, you’ve already figured out more than half the population consists of incarcerated criminals. I only take you guys to the best...

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I was eaten by a giant dinosaur, and then I found millions of Zombie Fish.

Kernut — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 23:25:58 +0000

When I escaped (and we won't go into how, but we'll just say he let me go), I went to the Salton Sea Beach. And then I walked on the millions of dead fish that cover the shore. Lemme esplain... (and you might not want to look at the pictures or go any farther if you're eating lunch.) Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you. The Salton Sea Beach is on the eastern side of the Salton Sea in southern California. It's a wonderful park and campground full of amenities. And the birdwatching is terrific. ...

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Cement boats, giant artichokes, old jails, and two-story outhouses.

Kernut — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:25:16 +0000

Really, what more could one ask for? Monterey County is one of my favorite places in California. Santa Barbara being the other. But when it comes to the coastal views, Monterey County wins hands down. Big Sur, Carmel, and Monterey have some of the most beautiful coastline in the country. Point Lobos State Park, near Carmel Highway One on the way to Big Sur Seals at Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey Enough of the pretty stuff. Here’s the weird, wacky, and wonderful around the...

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Ten Things You Must Know Before Buying a Used RV

Kernut — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:14:16 +0000

After owning my first RV for about eight months, I have compiled a good list of things to look for when buying a used RV. (For my non-RVing readers, feel free to skip this post.) While the title says “Ten Things”, there are likely many more than ten things you should know before buying a used RV. Below, I’ve included about 15 things to check before buying a used RV or motorhome. First, it was a LOT easier to get one than I thought. The folks at See Grins RV were great...

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Train and Tumbleweed

Kernut — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:36:23 +0000

A Plethora of Tumbleweed. Train and Tumbleweed An Ode to the Southwest Never did I think I’d see, Such a plethora of tumbleweed. By north or south or west or east, Far and wide lies the hearty beast. Tumbleweeds cover the desert land, So many so, they’re out of hand. For hundreds of miles and days without end, The tumbleweed seemed my only friend. Laying low along the sandy flats, My abundant friend holds mighty fast. By blasting winds and extreme high heat, Nor...

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Giant Bunnies, Giant Monopoly Boards, and World’s Longest Garlic Braid. Welcome to Northern California.

Kernut — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:02:12 +0000

On returning to the Bay Area to visit friends and family for the holidays, the first thing that struck me was the traffic. It was around noon on a Monday and Highway 101 was packed in the southbound direction. Luckily, I was heading northbound. In the two months I had spent traveling the southwest (Southern California desert, Utah, Arizona) I never encountered any traffic. I didn’t miss it one bit. From the Saratoga foothills, looking east. The Bay Area has a little of everything:...

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28 Days Later

Kernut — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:05:48 +0000

"As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen." ~Winnie the Pooh It’s been twenty-eight days with my rig/house guest. Twenty-eight days straight. In about 200 square feet of living space. Despite the zombie movie reference, we didn’t kill each other. This is HUGE for two, long-time single people. We spent time in two states (California and Arizona), and two countries (US and Mexico). And we had a blast! I also learned a lot about myself, most of it...

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Border Patrol = Reno 911

Kernut — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:55:53 +0000

The scene: An empty two-lane highway at 8:30 pm on a Wednesday night. My car: The nice tow car previously pictured, carrying two blond-haired white people (me and the aforementioned house guest) slowly driving back to their campsite in Slab City after a day at the nearby RV park pool, hanging with sober people. (The sober part will be of significance further in the story.) Behind us: A car is tailgating. For almost 15 minutes. They could easily go around us on the empty highway. A couple...

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