Archive for May 22nd, 2008
Travels with Schatzie: To Bend and Beyond
Today started by using my toilet shovel for the first time ever. It served its purpose well and covered the morning’s ablutions with a requisite six inches of sand.
The 45 miles into Bend has been somewhat of a struggle, as I think I overworked myself a bit yesterday, but I’m hoping to get another 40 miles in before bed tonight. The goal is Brothers, Oregon, which reminds me that I should probably call my brother sometime soon. Also, everyone should check out his band at ktkrock.com
Right now I am resting in a Starbucks and catching up on entries before hopping back on the bike. By the way Abby, I don’t think I will make it down to Sunriver, since I am a little behind schedule as is, and I need to get on eastward. Thank them for me please.
Thanks again to Ms. Hall’s class for some more great advice and good questions about my trip. I will answer some of them now:
I have seen several big bridges along the trip so far, and each has proven somewhat terrifying in its own way, whether that be from speeding traffic, a debris strewn roadway, or from a catastrophic first step if the bike should decide to send me plummeting over the ragged edge on a whim. Or to put it more succinctly: They were neat.
I have seen many animals, some of them not smeared across the roadway. Today I saw a bald eagle lofting over the high dessert of central Oregon, searching for tiny mice and squirrels (one of which ate a hole in the side of my bag of trail mix the other day). I have also seen dozens of crows, several deer, herds of cows, armies of rodents, and a multitude of other flora and fauna.
Lastly, yes, I do have a few bruises and scrapes. Check out the Photos in the sidebar for some upclose and personal pictures of these.
Talk to you guys in a few days.
Whale meat theft – Greenpeace swings The Big Stick
FRESH off the BBC news feed comes a whale of a story. Greenpeace, who in this instance has removed their “wacko eco-terrorism” hat and donned their “holier than thou whistle blower” hat revealed that indeed Japanese whale meat had been stolen and sold prior to government release. Early reports allege that at least a tonne of whale has been affected.
This quantity sounds large, but when taken into context only accounts for roughly 1.5% of a single full grown whale. Just the same, TSJ advises readers against buying your whale meat under the table at reduced prices as it could likely be tied to this incident.
