Hazards of Indoor Living

Nothing, of course, equals the blueberries to be had from the Farmers' Markets in Oregon. They're to blame for honing my package-opening skills...to enable sampling-before-buying.

Stopping in Wells to resupply, I was pleasantly surprised by the Ocean Spray blueberries at Roy's Market; they actually had a hint of Oregon quality. But what sent me sprawling into commitment (to Roy's) was the discovery of a six-pack of Anchor Steam Porter. At $13.00 it took some seconds to resurrect "It's only money." But once I realized it's our DUTY to encourage merchants to carry items of quality, I slid down the slippery slope of blueberry sugar to beer with no trouble.

By the time I got to Contact the beer was hot. After a reminding swig, I put it in the freezer to cool and settled in to wait with a martini.

Next morning...

My New Ride

1996 Geo Tracker with 4-wheel-drive. Everything works including the cassette player and cruise control. Manual windows and locks (HURRAAYYY!!), it's responding well to premium; the occasional hiccup at idle has disappeared and the lifters are quieting down. A four-cylinder, it's geared low enough it doesn't strain to get the trailer moving. I found an empty dumpster for the seats, but hurrying to get The Schvoog (2008 Honda FIT) home hasn't left a lot of time for artful packing. 

My preplanning included calling a few people to see if they'd be interested in taking a road trip from Albuq to Weiser, Idaho. They all said NO! Plan B was multi-modal with Amtrak, Trailways and Uber. But She had it all worked out...it came with a hitch. And the folks who were selling it knew all about towing (they were gonna use it behind their motorhome) so it was a snap! I slept on the lawn of their back forty, woke with the dawn and was off.

We (the royal we, dontchya know) made it to Elko last night. Roy's Market, downtown, is the only place I've found pork tongues. They're far better than beef tongue. Just chop 'em up and sautee 'em. Good eatin', Maynard!!

25.87 mpg pulling the trailer.


Why an older vehicle? Excerpts from Wiki:

Powered by Suzuki's G16B 16-valve 1.6L producing 96 hp, the Tracker was different from other SUVs. Based on a rugged light-truck chassis, it was bolstered by a sturdy off-road 4-wheel-drive system coupled to a hi-lo, 2-4 transfer case. The Tracker had a strong front suspension with a rugged recirculating ball steering box rather than the post '98 models' wimpy, expensive-to-repair rack & pinion, and 'lectric geegaws such as pwr windows. The conventional front differential was rigidly mounted ahead of the engine, with CV axles connecting the coil-spring front hubs to the differential case. The rear axle was a conventional light truck unit on coil springs. As a result of the truck-like underpinnings the pre-'98 Trackers are notable for their durability.