An ode to an old car: 93 Volvo 940

Recently, I had to retire my beloved old car, Svetlana or Svetty for short. She was a 1993 Volvo 940, so while not one of the sexier, i.e. turbo-charged, of the bunch she got me around for over 14 years. People love their Turbos, and for good reason- my gal was equipped with a 4-cylinder engine to carry her 4,000-ish pound body, which translated to an underwhelming acceleration up long inclines, but smooth and comfortable coasting on freeways, once she got up to speed.  I could get her going quite fast, considering- close to 100 MPH, and she easily handled the long stretches of 70-mph roads spanning much of the desert and rural areas. To be honest, I'm a bit of a cautious driver and have been for a long time, though the accident that caused me to lose Svetty has only increased that trepidation I've felt since. 

Given that the average age of the cars on American roads is about 11 years, and most people only keep their cars for an average of about 6 years, I'd gone well above and beyond that with my old gal. She kept driving, even past 200,000 miles, and she was comfortable. I drove her throughout college, and when I traveled to Japan my family kept the car running so that I could drive her upon returning- a nice familiarity after some reverse-culture shock and the challenges of readjusting to life in the US of A. She'd driven from Vegas to Seattle, then back up North, along with many other shorter road trips throughout the nearby regions.  I'd gotten a lot of work done on her to keep her going, too: replaced the transmission, had an after-market stereo system with Bluetooth and new speakers installed, replaced the fuel pump, her starter, multiple batteries, radiators, countless hoses, wires, lights, and more. These things happen, and general maintenance is always going to be required to keep an older vehicle moving, but she sure did, up until she didn't. 

And really, even after the accident, she would start and drive- but the battery had been cracked and was leaking battery acid all over, so I was worried about the potential for electrical fires or other issues arising. She probably could have been saved, had I the knowledge or skills needed to do the bodywork, or the money available to pay someone else for it. Alas, I lack the skills and the funds, and as much as I love the old girl (and still do), the accident was really traumatic for me and I wasn't sure I'd ever feel quite the same driving her, even if I did sink in the cost of the extensive repairs and had her thoroughly rebuilt. I opted to let her go, with much grief and extensive mourning. Not only was I losing a reliable companion of over a decade, but it had been just as long since I'd entered the intimidating and frustrating world of car-buying. Maybe it's less frustrating for people with excellent credit and cushy bank accounts, but in my initial search I spent over $500 on getting different cars inspected only to learn the mechanic would advise against committing to any of them. I found a 1981 Volvo 242 or so that was absolutely adorable, but it had its own cast of challenges given its age and condition. It took a couple of months of searching and looking into different financing options before we finally landed on my new ride, who is similar to Svetty in being of European make, blocky, and white, so the familiarity helps ease the transition pains. As much as I adored my Svetty, there are things to be said for the advancements of technology over the last 26 or so years, like additional airbags, inbuilt Bluetooth, anti-lock brakes, and other safety features. 

Even so, I'm going to miss the old gal. She got me where I needed to go, more often than not, for many, many years. Despite all the changes life throws at us in the course of 14 years, she remained a stalwart and steadfast friend. Even in her final moments, she kept me safe and shielded from the force of a Toyota Sienna trying to coexist in the same space as me, allowing me to walk away unharmed, and for that I will be forever grateful.

You're a good girl, Svetty. 

Thanks for everything. 

💖

XOXO,

NAU

Vegas: Firefighters

What do you do when your engine catches fire?!

Well, ideally, you find a safe place to pull over and call the emergency services... In this case, that's what the unfortunate driver of this flaming vehicle had to do. While, thankfully, I've never personally experienced my engine bursting into flames, I have had to deal with it overheating on the regular thanks to Las Vegas's supremely unforgiving summer temperatures. While it's not as hot as the surface of the sun, or Death Valley (doesn't the name say it all, though?), it's hot enough to do some real damage when it's peak summer temperatures out. Given that most vehicles on the road these days are combustion engines, there's a lot of flammable liquids under high pressure and a lot of room for things to go wrong. The car involved here was probably not going to be salvageable to drive due to the extent of the damages, but at least it didn't escalate into a larger fire. Never underestimate the threat of a well-fed fire, or the danger of any fire, really. Las Vegas is a desert and the environment extremely dry, so it doesn't take much of a spark to ignite an inferno.

I don't know about you, but I'm definitely grateful for the firefighters and other emergency personnel that put their lives on the line to save ours. It's not always a glamorous job- sometimes the Las Vegas Fire Department has to roll out to extinguish a flaming shopping cart, or to help someone who's fallen at a casino after over-indulging in the free booze offered throughout the gaming areas to anyone playing. And emergencies can happen at any time of day, too- so there's no rest for the weary. They might stop to grab a quick bite to eat and before their food is ready be called out again, leaving behind their meal and their money. Like I said, I'm grateful for the work they do. I don't know that I'm cut out for it, but my maternal grandpa was an EMT later in life after being inspired by those who saved his life during a heart attack, so I guess he instilled that appreciation into me young. 

Seeing them in action is a good reminder of the service they provide our communities!

Driving: Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington

If I had to summarise the city of Portland, Oregon, with one phrase, I think it would have to be; 

"Does this city have enough freaking bridges?!"

This isn't necessarily a negative thing! I'm not saying it's a bad thing Portland has 12 different bridges over the Willamette River, it's just a very noticeable aspect of the city as you drive into it. Reno has a bunch of bridges, too, though I guess they're considered some of Nevada's worst, so take from that what you want.  Portland is a cool town, full of hipsters, good food, tasty beer, giant bookstores, mild climate, and all sorts of other aspects that make it a popular destination for my peers when visiting the Pacific Northwest. It's hip, it's happening, and supposedly it's a lot friendlier than Seattle! My experience in either place is too limited to really make a judgment call there, but people in Seattle have generally seemed quite a bit nicer than those in Vegas, so if they're even nicer in Portland I'm not sure I'd know how to handle it. Maybe I've been lucky, or maybe I'm such a hermit by nature that the lack of external invites for socialization hasn't phased me. Whatever the case, this visit through Portland didn't even see us come to a full stop. We weren't here for sightseeing, I'm afraid (and Antho was disappointed), we had places to be. 

Still, we definitely intend to make a trek back down to spend some time in Portland, proper like. After all, I've had the luxury of visiting the city before, even dipping into Powell's bookstore and sipping on some locally brewed coffee, but Antho has yet to enjoy the pleasures Portland has to offer. We will, and I'm excited for that time, but it's not today. Not this trip. Sorry!

 

Oregon: Upper Klamath Lake

Believe it or not, there's a lot of water out on this part of the country! Coming from a drought-stricken desert where the better part of my lifespan has been spent conserving water and watching our most precious resource dwindle and wither away, it's kind of mind-blowing to drive for hours and pass one body of water after the next. From one river to a boat launch at the end of a neighborhood street, to endless lakes, there's so much water in this area! This, of course, facilitates the explosion of greenery that you'll see as you drive along. Coincidentally, there's quite a lot of farmland proliferating throughout the region, perhaps due to this abundant foliage and potential grazing lands. Like I said, coming from a desert, this all seems a bit weird. Everything is so green, and there's so much life springing from every nook and cranny, any location where a fortuitous foothold might be struck and dug into. The tracts of mankind's interjections can be seen stripping the land in bland, blase streaks of nudity, but even with our tireless efforts nature, uhh...finds a way... 

Upper Klamath Lake is one of these bodies of water you may find yourself driving by, should you follow a similar path to ours. There's something poetic in the blue sky touching the tippy-tops of purple mountains before a horizon of pallid water stretches out below. It's majestic, one could say. Inspiring. It can be difficult at times to quantify just how large these United States actually are...in the span of three days we'd driven over 1,000 miles (1,609 Km)! And we still had some miles yet to traverse before reaching our destination, too. We drove more than the entire length of the country of Italy (1,185Km or 736 miles)! We'd safely traversed the Extra-terrestrial highway in South-Central Nevada, visited Reno without getting divorced, spent the night and troubleshot some vehicular difficulties in the town of Merrill, in Southern Oregon...and now? Now we'd made it here, to Upper Klamath Lake, a beautiful expanse of blue where the earth and the sky blow kisses at each other. I recommend pulling over to take a moment and appreciate all the beauty surrounding you because if there's one thing you can say about nature it's that she's an absolutely inimitable genius. I mean, humans do some cool stuff- like the Cavendish banana is tasty enough, though it's potentially going to go extinct in our lifetime due it's simplistic genetics. Again, leave it to nature, she'll, uh, find a way.

Oregon: Jefferson

Hours spent rolling down the road and we found ourselves pulling over to stop at a small grocery store in the town of Jefferson, Oregon. We'd gotten stuck in a bit of traffic a bit further back and upon finding a safe and amicable place to pull over for a minute, I opted to so we could rest our cars and grab some refreshments. We'd made pretty good distance and were nearing the Northern edge of Oregon, though there was still some miles left yet. Even so, when I found myself at the edge of a street that ran directly into a riverway while searching for a public bathroom, I knew we had to at least check it out!

Of course, no idyllic river scene is complete without a noose? Oh my! Initially I wanted to take this as a bad omen, a spooky sign that the beauty of the Pacific Northwest was really a thin, oily veneer obscuring or obfuscating a nasty propensity towards Shanghai'ing the unfortunate and spiriting them away, whether in a Missing 411 type scenario or simply into old-fashioned human trafficking... but Antho was quick to note that it looked more like a climbing point used by the local graffiti artists to get to higher ground. I'm going to hope it's the second and try to roll with that, because life is full of creepy awfulness and I'd rather cling to the ideal....or I just don't want to let superstition cast a shadow over my otherwise upbeat adventure. Onward and up! Let's go!

And after a long drive, it really is nice to stretch your legs next to the water. The gentle trickle of the flow as it winds its meandering way on to whatever destination this particular branch of hydration hopes to reach. It always kind of boggles my mind that people grow up next to these, casually dipping down to the water's edge to be alone or get up to the standard teenaged mischief. Sure, desert kids can traipse off into the wasteland to build a scrubby fire and dance around a dry lakebed, but the environment is so austere, so unwelcoming. Thick belches of bushes covered in thorns aren't exactly welcoming, not to humans, per se, but they do foster life in other forms by giving rabbits and raccoons a place to hide and forage. 

And while I was enjoying our stroll alongside the stream, Antho was quick to remind me that the grocery store we'd been parked at had ample signs warning against loitering or parking in their lot for extended periods. Better to play it safe than sorry, especially when it comes to the possibility of having your vehicle towed during a multi-state road trip...besides, we had places to be and miles to go, so as much as I'd have liked to linger we packed it in and headed back to the vehicles.

Oregon: Driving North into Eugene

After the initial hiccups and mechanical mischief that delayed our morning a bit, we made good time heading north. As I'd mentioned already, there was a fair bit of forest to make our way through before we fully escaped the clutches of the Deschutes National Forest, but the drive was beautiful so we weren't exactly upset at this predicament. It was a bit difficult to make time to pull over for every stop, so we weren't able to make that happen, but we did try to stop and make time to enjoy the scenery every few hundred miles or so. You might think that over time, the forest would simply become more forest, stretching off into the distant horizon, but in reality, it's more nuanced than that. Shades of green and blue blend together, offset by puffs of white or sharp interjections of yellow or brown. 

The timing for our road trip worked out extremely well, too. Initially, I had wanted to leave earlier and get out of Vegas before the fall settled in, but timing simply didn't pan out with various vehicular issues popping up, work arrangements and gigs that cropped up. We only had to delay by a month or so, though, so it wasn't the worst of situations despite my melodramatically losing faith sporadically along the way. There's a lot of talking and planning involved before actually taking the leap, and with each new hurdle, there were more possibilities for cold feet to settle in and squander our chances. Leaving when we did, at the very beginning of October, however, meant we caught verdant green expanses of forest with some bright shocks of color thrown in as the leaves just began to take on their changing for the season. Pops of yellow and little flashes of orange cut through the foliage to make the drive all the more exciting. I'm glad that we were able to make the majority of the drive under the sunlight, as the days grow shorter going into the cooler months. 

Onward and upward, away we go. Off to the forests of the Northwest!

Reno: Surreal suburbia

Come along and join me for a bite of my favorite muffin, won't you?

All jokes aside, there's a surreal sort of nature to Reno that we discovered during our stay. There's the familiarity, of a city being somewhat akin-to-but-not-quite like our hometown, yet there's the weird throwbacks to the 80's and 90's that linger, giving an age to the city not unlike the crow's feet cracking through the thickly caked on makeup of your diner waitress clinging to decades past. We weren't finished with the city, not yet, as we still had a couple of errands to run while we were still surrounded by some vestige of civilization. On top of the usual things, like getting some snacks, vehicular fluids and checks, there was the shuffling of finances and additional fluids to purchase. Rather than try to keep driving through the dense forest of traffic cones that seemed to crop up once we left the downtown touristy area, we opted to walk to our next destinations. This allowed us the opportunity to appraise an area outside of the main drag, which is always a good idea for getting the true feel of a city beyond its neon-spackled traps.  I suppose I can see why many of my peers opted to go north and settle in Reno, but it's still a little too-close to Vegas for me to feel like I've truly escaped the vortex-like nature of the city...but for those who find this affinity appealing for nostalgic purposes, it's quite the nice touch, I suppose. 

Reno, like many cities favored by millennials, is growing. There are more little artsy-fartsy coffee shops popping up, along with multi-megaplex apartments that offer everything you could ever want or need in a residence, from gyms to pet parks. It's still a little city trying very much to feel like a bigger one, so for people who want that, it's got it in bounds. Reno isn't a bad place, not at all, and there's a lot of things to be said for consistent sunshine and cheap food and booze. Once we'd stretched our legs and tended to our various errands, however, we returned to our vehicles to strive outward and onward. While Reno certainly made for a nice pitstop, we weren't planning to settle here any time soon. 

Reno: Strolling the Truckee River

If you happen to find yourself in the glamorous little city of Reno, Nevada, and only have a limited window within which to try to take it all in, may I recommend taking a stroll along the Truckee River. It's famous! It's wet! Water runs through it! There's even some pretty psychedelic space whale art floating around, for your photographic enjoyment and posing potential. The Truckee river itself is the heart of Reno, the literal life-spring from whence the city sprung up and around, and now it's a scenic city center with ample entertainment and dining options to choose from. During our visit there were hardly any people out and about, though the weather was a bit grey and dreary so maybe it picks up more in more appealing conditions. We quite enjoyed our explorations, and it was pretty peaceful with the absence of any large crowds. Most of the restaurants and bars lining the waterfront were still just beginning to open for the day, shuffling chairs and signs about at a leisurely pace. I can't blame them! Reno is, for better or worse, still something of a small town and smaller towns generally just move a little bit more languidly than their bigger brethren.  

There was a time when Reno was renowned as the world divorce capital, perhaps given its close-ish proximity to the city where many people haphazardly committed to marriage, plus the long drive-time from Las Vegas proper gave people the time to sober up and caused them to reconsider their vows? Whatever the reasons behind the end of the marriage, the Truckee River has long been a popular destination for the recent divorcees to visit, flinging their cursed rings into the river as a symbolic ritual of closure. While Antho and I have had a commitment ceremony (with Batman, in Vegas) we don't have any plans to get divorced, so there was no ring tossing from us. Did you know that millennials are getting divorced at much lower rates than our parents? Of all the things millennials have been blamed for killing/ruining/destroying, that's probably one of the best, right? I'm certainly not going to be sitting around pining over the loss of Applebees, but I digress. 

Overall, we quite enjoyed our visit to the Truckee River. Stretching our legs felt great, especially after sleeping in the vehicles the night prior. If we had more time we might have grabbed something to eat, but we had a long drive ahead yet and I was eager to get back to it, so once we were satisfied with our laps around the neighborhood we popped back into our vehicles and prepared for the next stretch of our adventure. 

On a surprising note, we found a bag of weed while we were walking around, relatively fresh from the dispensary! Huh. Thanks, universe!

Reno: Downtown Reno on a grey day

Reno! It's, uh, kind of like going to Las Vegas except the weather's (arguably) better and it's a lot smaller? We didn't spend an obscene amount of time in Reno, unfortunately, so we can't attest to much of the city's greatness beyond it's uncanny similarities to our hometown, down to some of the same casinos (hey, Harrah's and Circus Circus, I'm looking at you),  though the proximity to Northern California and Southern Oregon are also perks and likely attract their own set of regular visitors. Some of the food specials advertised were markedly cheaper than I recall seeing the same basic meal-deals advertised for in Vegas proper ($5.99 prime rib, baby), and that's including Fremont street and the downtown area which are generally viewed as being the more budget-friendly option as far as Vegas goes. Reno, for me, is largely uncharted territory, so I've really only just dusted the surface of what the city and it's essence is. I know that it is, or at least was, a popular college choice for my peers who wanted to get away from home without going so far as to need to a flight or risking having to pay out-of-state tuition or confront that alien and alarming concept of closing-time at a bar. It's north enough of Vegas that it was noticeably cooler outside of our vehicles during the daytime, and we definitely had to add some additional layers to our comfy driving ensembles to confront the weather during our stroll.  

After paying for parking, we just started to kind of wander around the downtown area, though we did have an eventual aim in mind. Antho is a bit familiar with Reno, as he'd lived not-too-far-away in the town of Elko, once upon a time and would visit sporadically. It's not exactly next door to Reno, but it's a shorter drive than it is coming from Vegas, that's for sure! And let's be real here, most of Nevada is wide open desert and there's a lot of driving to be done to get from most cities in the state to the next, or even the nearest big cities. Whether that's a pro or a con is up to you and your preferences on the matter. The area was pretty quiet without much activity during our visit, but it was an overcast weekday so that's probably not something that should elicit alarm. It was nice being able to amble around and take in the sights without feeling imminently hurried. I'd set an alarm on my phone to warn us prior to our parking's expiry, so away we went to explore downtown Reno!  

Reno: Driving in towards the city

Once we were properly stretched, situated, and caffeinated (given I'm a hopeless coffee fiend, while Antho has only started to dabble in the beany-brew quite recently) we returned to the road. We were grateful for the daylight, as our drive in the wee hours of the night had taken us down some back-country roads where we were anxious about stopping despite being bleary-eyed with exhaustion, lest we awaken to find an angry farmer banging on our window. The scenery directly outside of Vegas is quite familiar to us, too, so we weren't especially heartbroken about missing out on the scenic views further south, but as we were rapidly stretching into new territory and it's far more interesting to be able to watch the scenery evolve as you travel! Antho took the camera for this stretch of the road, so he caught some shots of my old Volvo rolling along, as well as his own co-pilot's nest. I had Ollie riding along with me, while Antho kept our sweet girl Buttercup with him for the duration.  Her cage was only a temporary solution, as she was previously living in the big mansion of a cage that had housed all of our ladies and was impractical and illogical to cram into either vehicle. Normally we travel together and only take one vehicle when we go out and about on day to day adventures, so having our fuzzy company helped take some of the edges off of going it alone. The walkie-talkies helped quite a bit, too, as we could communicate immediately with one another about road conditions, a guy riding our butts, a strange burnt out abandoned structure off to the side of the road, what-have-you. If you ever find yourself traveling an extensive way as part of a caravan, I absolutely and emphatically recommend getting walkie-talkies to stay in touch with your fellow drivers! Not only will you be able to communicate with everyone in your party (crucial), you might get to pick up on some random conspiracy chatter as you hurtle across the landscape. We caught some serious government conspiracy rants breaking through our channel somewhere around here, which added some unexpected intrigue to the proceedings.