Blog in The Headlights

I've just returned from a week-long trip to Utah. Bubbles the Crag-Finding Wonder van survived the trip with only one more dashboard light illuminated than when I left, bringing the total to three (check engine, airbag, and oil change). They're good for making passengers nervous, so I try to keep as many of them going as I can before actually heading in for service.

I've decided I should start calling my van Sparky instead of Bubbles. I think I'll treat "Bubbles" as the van's Porn Name from now on. I'm not sure why I want to call it Sparky...it just seems to fit. Every time I find myself coaxing it through some rough spot, I find myself patting the dash and saying "Come on sparky!". So, there it is.

You might wonder how my van got the name Bubbles in the first place. The Crag Finding part is obviously related to climbing, and the wonder part has to do with the four-wheel drive.

Bubbles was what the previous owner had named it. Had they never told me that, I would have blissfully christened it something different, but once someone tells you a factoid like that, you either guard it like the formula to Coke, or find some way to make use of it. I certainly couldn't tell the story of the van's previous name without some social protection from the obvious soul castrating tauntings due a single white science-pedigreed male driving a mini-van that used to be called Bubbles; four-wheel drive or not.

Therefore I decided that I should keep the name. People don't taunt an intentional joke.

Sparky The Crag Finding Wonder Van -- Porn name Bubbles

Anyway, you might want to hear about the trip. Well, I was originally going to Utah to see some friends, and do some adventuring in some slot canyons. I had the wet suit for dealing with the short swims in cold water, all of the gear for doing the rappels into the various abysses, USGS maps of the interesting canyons, etc.

I talked to a park ranger in Zion National Park, and he described the conditions. I relayed these to my partner Renn. Renn decided he was getting too old to freeze his butt off in a canyon, and decided he'd rather not.

So, I ended up just going and visiting friends. I essentially hung out indoors the entire week.

Still, it was a nice trip. Saw some movies, ate good food, hung out with gay actors on New Years Day (my friends are heavily involved in Theatre). You know, the normal kind of stuff.

I am now, however, so lacking in recent exercise that I get winded on a flight of stairs, so my friend Danae and I did a little night hike up Spencer's Butte, which is a nice hour-long round trip hike up a big wooded hill South of Eugene.

I wonder what snow conditions will be this weekend...