Day 25: Back on the Greyhound

Day 25 - 6/9/08
Zero day in Tulsa, OK
We have left the land of family and calories at last. I only say at last because the trail is quietly whispering my name and begging me to return to its enchanted forests. But the time in Tulsa has been a godsend- an opportunity to refuel and heal. I now have no pain in my knee or achilles tendon, and I was even appropriately full a few times (aka 4 times per day) throughout the trip. There were many activities performed during the sabbatical from the sojourn. About 20 people or more showed up for my grandparent's anniversary and the partying was excellent. Great cerveza, comida, and laughter had by all. And of course a trip to Grandma's house isn't complete without some yard work thrown in for good measure. Therefore the daily morning chore was put on your best Paul Bunion clothes and start hacking away at the downed logs in my grandma's ridiculously unmanageable yard. An ice storm during the winter reeked havoc on the yard, necessitating this work crew's visit. My bro, Mark, dad, sis, boyfriend of sis, Carol, and cousins Suz & Sarah all pitched in to man the golf cart to haul stuff to the burn piles. I assumed the role of chainsaw master (a ridiculous overstatement). I managed to destroy 2 chains and spend about half of my time unproductively fixing the damn thing. But some sawing did occur- and I became intimately in touch with the proverbial "flannel" side of my soul. The burn piles accumulated such a mass of carbon in the form of wood that I'm going to be looking for the bright lights of it from the mountains of Colorado once my grandma lights it up. I still get a kick out of seeing my grandma with a container of gasoline, match, and a 30 foot high burn pile. Adolescent pyromaniac tendencies are all I guess. The days normally progressed on with a little lunch and then a mass migration into Tulsa to see other family members. You see, my grandparents live in Skiatook, OK- a "don't blink or you'll miss it" kind of town where the highlight is a stuffed rattle snake at the local gas station. Makes you go hmmmm. Skiatook is ~30 minutes away from Tulsa and afternoons are spent visiting and doing the family thing. Couldn't ask for much more during this week- great food, beer, relaxation, movies, fam- everything I needed. Today we started on the dreaded Greyhound trip back to the trail. In light of the last adventure with Greyhound, I can't say that I'm looking forward to it, but it would be pretty hard for it too much worse- although I don't put much past the almighty Greyhound. But it's off to a good start and we got onto our first bus in Tulsa and are now settling in for the night. Well kinda- we've got a bud change at 2am and a few stops, but at least driver is able to operate the vehicles.Tomorrow we get into Pueblo around 8 am and then have about 4-5 hours to hitch hike into Del Norte, CO to return to the bikes. We'll probably stay the night again with Gary and Patti and then hit the road early on Wednesday. I can't wait to be back on the trail. It's such an addictively simple lifestyle. Bring it on. Eat well, ride hard, live long!-Stewie out.