Well, the diagnosis from the mechanic out here is that I’m gonna need to invest another ~thousand into my car to bring it back to its pristine state, so I think I’m calling it at this point.

Ask me how parking to get ANOTHER Sonoran hot dog has already cost me about $400. Most expensive glizzy to date, sheesh hahaha —

Long story short, ripping off my front bottom bumper plastic means I need a new one, and I also somehow lost my wheel well so a rock(?) shot up under my wheel and destroyed the controls for my ABS system. I replaced the wheel speed sensor but the magnet on the hub assembly is cracked so I have to get all that replaced too. So I’m riding without my car being able to sense my wheel speed which means I’m without ABS or cruise control, which is livable, but means my foot is gonna have to be on the pedal for all 3,000 miles home. And, I need to avoid weather. Love this for me!

I know I can get it repaired out West but frankly I want to quit life right now and go rot in my lovely home lmao. Nature will still exist later in the year, thank goodness.

Thankfully the mechanic service in Vegas I used was 24 hour so I got all this done on a Saturday/Sunday and didn’t need to burn a workday. Awkward news was the mechanic hit on me so I asked to buy him a drink and he said no? so I left in disgrace lmao. Saying “I wish I’d met you under different circumstances” is a move, right? It’s been two years; I think I have negative game at this point.

I can’t wait to get home to my nonsexual dad-coded mechanic.

Anyways, I’m gonna share some shots of the before times just for the hell of it, because I had some great times when I still had the use of my car’s cruise control. Those were the days.

I was in Fresno and itching to go so traveled up to Yosemite for a nice, cool, misty weekend. On the way up, I stopped at Mariposa Coffee Company, which has my favorite decaf dark roast.

It’s a HOLE in the wall, in a bizarre setting that increasingly is papered in handwritten slogans every time I visit.

We had arrived just in time to see the owner roasting and preparing some coffee beans and I have to say it was an odd process! He roasted them and then spat them out to air rapidly to prevent burning before bottling them up to seal it all in.

We drove up to the valley floor through Wawona which has been wrecked with wildfires in the past few years, leaving behind a roasty wood scent and a ton of scorched toothpicks. The drive in was overcast but beautiful. I had grabbed a piece of apple pie at the Yosemite Pie Company which was just fantastic.

The first stop in is tunnel view which gives an incredible overlook of the valley.

After driving down to the floor, the first stop is Bridal Veil falls and then from across the valley you can see Yosemite Falls Upper.

After catching some views (and engaging in capitalistic joy at Curry Village), we hit the trails to hike over to Mirror Lake. There was so much to see and it was the perfect weather — the clouds clearing up a bit, pretty cool in the 50s; I wish I could bottle the SMELL of fallen pine needles and soft wood bark. We caught a felled tree on the trail and of course I sniffed it. Fantastic. We spent a long time looking at the rings and marveling at the thickness of the bark. I fucking love it here.

Here’s the trail end — self explanatory as to why it’s called Mirror Lake.

Night was setting in, so we made a quick stop at the falls before departing and making the long drive back to town.

The following day, I decided to leave town and begin the trip back east. I FINALLY made it out to drive on my beloved Bena Road, holder of Windows XP wallpaper. At least, in my heart.

For real, one of my favorite scenic drives in the country. I hope I do this every year now.

I made a stop in the setting sun at Zzyzx Spring on the advice of my friend which looked cool but turned out to be a big ol’ nothingburger.

The following day after hunkering down in Vegas and staying far from humanity, I ventured out to Willow Beach on the Colorado River to do a joint kayaking trip to the Emerald Cave. It’s been on my list and I paid a few bucks to join up as a straggler to a group and had a good time.

It was super peaceful going on a trip like this when I knew no one because I could spectate human interactions without having to participate, lol. Love being an introvert.

The cave was neat — the closer you got, the greener it appeared. Inside it was an insane green. It’s algae!

Exhausted and already anticipating my arms being dead that night, I hunkered down with a hot dog that cost my car it’s life that night. But you’ve already seen that so here’s some other random food pics —

My last stop around Vegas was at the Valley of Fire state park. It’s really and truly worth the $15 admission price (and I couldn’t cheese the entrance fee by coming in early like I did last year, drat!) — and was the perfect cool, overcast morning to do some hiking in.

Last time I’d went, I missed the petroglyphs, or don’t think I even really understood what they were at that point. Anyways, I enjoyed visiting them this time —

The drives through the park are breathtaking and incredible, with different colored sandstone as you continue through the park.

I made a stop at an overlook and was pleased to see a bighorn sheep just munching away.

The trail I was most looking forward to was the Fire wave trail which is at the end of the park —

And here’s the culmination of the trail, a striated wavy petrified sandstone dune —

The walk back was just as nice, with more creosote, some animal tracks, great views, and more sheep marching about.

All in all it’s been … a week. Ups and downs.

Mostly ups to be honest, though I want to complain and be dramatic about my stress about the car. But really I feel phenomenal. And fortunate. And am really looking forward to what this week brings.

🤞