Greetings from Las Vegas, Nevada!

I still don't know whether the captions are supposed to be above or below the picture, but the picture above shows where Prudence ate in Grand Island, Nebraska. That meal, incidentally, lasted all through our visit in Lincoln until we headed to Fort Collins.

How grateful we are that we had the opportunity to visit Mary's mom, not knowing that we would be returning to her residence (this is Prudence in the parking area) upon learning of her death two weeks later.


Prudence says, "The I76 rest area in Julesburg, Colorado, rules!"

Mary agrees!

Prudence resting comfortably in the parking area at Rachel and Steve's apartment in Fort Collins, Colorado.


Prudence takes to the shade while her owners tour the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins.

Prudence joins her soul mate in Dad's garage...

...a surprise bonus from Dad's decision to downsize to one car.

What a delight to find a Starbucks in Idaho Springs, Colorad.

Prudence's master assumes the position that will supposedly scare away cougars, although none were to be found in this Vail, Colorado, parking lot.

The Doctor May Be In or Not

Today is one of those anxious days when I meet with my oncologist to learn the current state of my leukemia. For over three years now the miracle drug Gleevec has held the disease at bay. But my anxiety is compounded by an insensitive, almost arrogant health care system in which the doctors get to play god while patients are to assume the role of sickly inferiors. My schedule is secondary to the doctor’s. My concerns are dismissed if they don’t coincide with the physician’s. My insurance pays for the privilege of being seen. I’m just old enough to vaguely remember the doctor making a house call when it wasn’t in my best interest to go to the office. If one can cough up the uninsured surcharge I understand that it’s still possible to have the physician come to your home. What’s really frustrating is that in comparison to others I don’t have anything to complain about. There are many who are literally victimized by the system, and I’m not sure that universal health care is going to be the ultimate remedy unless it includes a critical component: patient advocacy. There is strength in numbers, and a person sick enough to need attention shouldn’t be left alone to deal with anonymous, uncaring insurers and health maintenance organizations. There needs to be someone knowledgeable in the ways of health care who works for and with the patient to obtain appropriate and effective treatment. I am blessed with a wife who doesn’t hesitate to advocate for me, and I am extremely grateful that it hasn’t been necessary for me to return the favor. But for all the people who, under less than ideal conditions, are battling what is tantamount to corporate medicine, we need to provide the same right to medical counsel as is afforded to criminals before the justice system. You have the right…

Lunch Hour Perspective

It is Wednesday. As Mary “officially” returns to school (those of us who know true teachers know that they are never really off the job) the summer fades into happy memories as the stark reality of fall’s presidential election looms larger. Dad and his colleagues always expressed concern over the consequences of theological illiteracy which is sadly being borne out in the current campaign. The “religious” overtones also validate a related concern over the blurring of Church and State. What does God “think” about abortion? What does God “think” about war? What does God “think” about anything? Albert Einstein once famously mused, “I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details;” but that is hardly the same thing as Rick Warren moderating a contemporary inquisition of the candidates’ orthodoxy. I know. I’ve been there. People who lack the ability to think critically are prone to accept the boilerplate answers that organized religion is all too eager to dispense. The Religious Right has built its empire upon the sands of theological ignorance which will probably stand until it is finally washed away by genuine enlightenment. Remember that guy Jesus? He fared no better with the orthodox conservatives of his own time, a genuine irony in light of the claim made by today’s Religious Right (which, as I’ve said before, is neither) to be his followers. As far as I can tell, Jesus encouraged people to think for themselves in the context of their personal relationship with God. We will do well to bear that in mind as we look to our next—and perhaps last—best hope to truly become the Whole People of God.

I Ain't No Mark Twain

I hadn't realized until I read the article about him in TIME that Mark Twain was such a world traveler and that much of his early writing was about his sojourns. I can't hope to compete, but I have placed some rather pithy (you be the judge) captions to go with the 08/09/08 photos.

Back in the Saddle Again

Completing a journey generates profound gratitude for safely traveling approximately 3500 miles (more accurate details will be forthcoming), time spent with family and friends, witnessing firsthand the magnificence of this planet upon which we dwell. Our travels also made real our appreciation of living in a country where passports are not required to cross state borders and where personal safety is more a matter of watching out for cell-phoning drivers than insurgent terrorists. I had hoped to prepare the remaining photos of Prudence the Prius but discovered there were more important things to do (like Flowbeeing) upon our arrival home. This week I’ll play around with attempting to narrate the photos that are already here. I’ll strive to put all of the pictures from our excursion on Flickr (photos link) by this weekend for your viewing pleasure.

Greetings from Fort Collins, Colorado

I’ve become far too dependent upon the Internet without being savvy enough to access it from wherever I am. Therefore, I’m updating Prudence Prius’ stats on Word so that they’ll be available the next time I’m near a “hot spot”.

Some of these figures are redundant, but not being able to pull up my blog to review hopefully explains the following summary:

08/01/08 Beaver, Utah 8.7 gallons $36.31 44.1 mpg
08/01/08 Idaho Falls, Idaho 9.2 gallons $37.62 45.1 mpg
08/05/08 Park City, Montana 8.3 gallons $33.34 52.3 mpg
08/06/08 Wall, South Dakota 9.5 gallons $38.19 45.3 mpg
08/07/08 Grand Island, Nebraska 8.2 gallons $29.08 44.9 mpg
Total 43.9 gallons $174.54 46.3 mpg

Tomorrow (08/11/08), we head home via Fort Collins and Littleton, Colorado. Hey, Toyota! You payin’ attention?

PS We arrived in Fort Collins about 4:30 PM MDT.

Greetings from Lincoln, Nebraska

Prudence rested her wheels while her owners spent a comfortable night in the Rexburg, Idaho, AmericInn. Fortunately, Prudence thought better of making road kill out of the old man in front of her.

Prudence soaks up the beauty of the Yellowstone River shortly after entering the park from the West Yellowstone entrance.

Hopefully Prudence didn't feel too left out because the path to Yellowstone's Tower Falls was for pedestrians only.
Prudence getting high on the Beartooth Highway.
Prudence about to enter Montana...
...from Wyoming
Prudence was plesantly surprised to meet Rachel and Steve's Honda (they are perhaps too mature to have named their car) in Billings, Montana.
Prudence probably noticed that her passenger load was heavier after a fantastic breakfast at Billings' McCormick Cafe.
Prudence affords shelter from the mosquitoes to Laura (Mark's mom) at Riverfront State Park in Billings.
Prudence scoping out the Yellowstone river.
While Prudence didn't eat much, her masters had to occasionally take advantage of spots such as Salem Park in Spearfish, South Dakota to keep their tanks full.
Prudence spent another night outside while her owners rested comfortably in Valentine, Nebraska's Tradewinds motel.

Obviously, my access to high-speed Internet has been sporadic, but as Mary and I finish a light supper at Panera I'm going to attempt to upload some pictures of our trek to this point. I'll provide the specifics's regarding Prudence's performance later but suffice it to say that it's stellar!

Greetings from Billings, Montana

Unfamiliar surroundings make posting a more uncertain prospect, but thanks to Mom’s gracious neighbors I’m now able to wi-fi from her place. Last Saturday we departed Rexburg, Idaho, at 8:30 a.m. (MDT) and drove 297 miles through perhaps the most magnificent scenery on Earth. Entering from West Yellowstone we traveled through the National Park to exit from the northeast entrance to get on the Beartooth Highway which then took us to Billings via Red Lodge. Since then we’ve driven on the tank of gas we bought August 1 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. This morning, after having discovered the excellent Owl Café in Laurel, Montana, my inept navigating got us on westbound instead of eastbound I90 with the first exit being Park City where we filled with gas: 8.3 gallons for $33.34; avg. mpg 52.3 (that 45 mph through Yellowstone was optimal. We leave for Lincoln, Nebraska tomorrow morning. If able, I will post from our overnight stop in Valentine.

PS I’m having trouble uploading/downloading (?) making the pretty pictures appear :-( I’ll try again later.

Obama 08

Greetings from Rexburg, Idaho

There! Now the photos are in the correct order. This is Prudence at the McDonald's in Mesquite, Nevada, where we dined on the traditional Egg McMuffin meal that broke the fast I made prior to my lab work that started the day.

Our first fuel stop was in Beaver, Utah. Beaver is a neat little town to which we returned to on our way home.

This is representative of the price for gasoline that we paid. South Dakota and Nebraska were tricky in that a higher octane ethanol blend was actually less expensive than the lowest grade on which Prudence thrives (she actually got better mileage with 85 regular unleaded than 91 "super" unleaded.

Having negotiated heavy rush hour traffic through Salt Lake City, our attempt to find a place to eat in Ogden landed us in this truck stop in Willard, Utah. The meal was good, the restrooms were clean, and Prudence basked in the beauty of her backdrop.

It's been a long but beautiful day on the road. I had my blood drawn at the Nevada Cancer Institute at 8 a.m. and we were on the road by 8:30. We drove 678.7 miles, spent $73.93 for 17.929 gallons of gasoline (we'd driven 144 miles on the 07/20/08 fill-up at Costco) and averaged 44.6 miles per gallon. The pictures of Prudence show her at the Mesquite, Nevada, McDonald's where we ate breakfast. Then we gave Prudence her first meal of the day at Ernie's Truck Plaza in Beaver, Utah. Mary and I ate our second meal of the day at the Country Market Buffet in Willard, Utah, but they made Prudence stay in the parking lot where the last two pictures are taken. I haven't mustered up the nerve yet to take a picture of Prudence while we're moving, but maybe tomorrow. We're staying at the Rexburg AmericInn which earned five stars the moment we saw the whirlpool in our room! Tomorrow it's on to Billings, Montana, via Yellowstone and the Bear Tooth Highway. It looks to be another beautiful day, and I'll see if I can pose Prudence in more scenic locations than parking lots.

PS I just noticed that the order of the pictures is from the bottom up.