Mary Panttaja

(I’ll add links when I have better connectivity.)
Jim grew up in the desert and we both tolerate/like heat so we come as often as we can. The last time we were in Death Valley was the one trip we ever took with Jonathan and not Erin. (She stayed to work at school that summer.) He had been ill with a mono-like virus most of the summer and we were car camping around in an easy fashion—on our way to or from the Las Vegas waterslide park.

• Most interesting fact for me at Scotty’s Castle was that Bessie, the woman of the house, was in the first freshman class at Stanford University and then transfered to Cornell where she met Albert Johnson. That was pre-1900. The Howard’s were Puritans.
• In a serious wind and sandstorm the popup trailer feels a little vulnerable so we opted to protect it by shutting it down and getting a room. Baths, air conditioning, and power to charge my computer were other benefits; though the swimming pool didn’t look so glamorous in 60 mile per hour winds. Trouble is that in a big windstorm, power is an iffy thing. Off and on, and off again.
• We don’t have the power thing figured out. We can keep the camper battery charged with the solar panel, but the regulator we have never thinks it has any extra for the computers—-a problem we need to solve. But we have to figure out whether our battery is weak-hearted, or the controller is overly cautious, or what. That’s an important ingredient in our being able to be offline—power independence. The campsites that are not powered are SO much better and to our liking. And we know how to take care of all of our needs except the power for the electronics. We have been short of connectivity in some of our campsites; Death Valley is general free of cell service as best we can tell. So that is another challenge, but not as limiting to continued work as the lack of power for the computers.
• I realize how important the ever-present-keyboard has come to my flow of work. When things are coming I really need the keyboard (and, of course, its computer) to be working and its become hard for me to cope with the flow of ideas without it. So the power thing is really crucial.
• I did find some new material, locations, and experiences for John and Sarah while they were here. Their experiences here are a crucial turning point and now I can make them more real. Noted in a paper notebook though.

Cycling Notes

• Monday rode from Lone Pine Campground to Movie Flats in The Alabama Hills. 10 minutes. Rode around Movie Flats for about 30 minutes in the sand and gravel. Then road back up to camp–90 minutes. For all the world, it looks relatively moderate. I was crushed-tired and close to needing a rescue. (Last half mile included leg cramps and a spontaeous asthma attack.)
• A Swedish traveler stopped to admire our bikes and turned us on the Magura Brakes—easier to work for the extra long downhills that European mountain cycling requires. Also these desert, basin and range rides.
• Today, Wednesday, rode up a similar but not so steep grade to Zabriski Point—an hour up and 15 minutes back. Much easier—today we went from -200 feet sea level. Monday we were at 6000 feet. Aha!
• Wind is at least as much trouble as hills. Together they are a formidable foe.
• At Furnace Creek (lowest spot in the Western Hemisphere) morning low today was 80 degrees but it didn’t get to 90 until after 10, leaving a good four hours of riding time if we wanted. Evenings are either too hot or too windy.