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

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: Deschutes National Forest

Onward and upward, away we went. Oregon is one of my favorite states to visit, probably because I've only ever spent a brief interim in the state on the long journey South or North. When some of my friends lived in the state, I was happy to spend a night in Portland, and another further South near Corvallis in a small farming town. The property my friends further south were occupying backed up onto a river and had expansive fields of wildflowers that would bloom during the right time of year. And once, upon a long ago time, my friend Christina and I made a trek down to Portland area from Seattle for some hiking and waterfalls, even stopping to grab some Voodoo Donuts along the way. This time, however, was more for getting to our destination rather than idle enjoyment of the scenery, unfortunately, as the Deschutes National forest is absolutely stunning! Most of the drive, whether you're going up towards Seattle or South towards California and Nevada, however, is going to be beautiful scenic routes through the forest, generally, two lane winding routes that made us clench our cheeks at times. Not only is it massive (like, huge, as in 1.8 Million acres HUGE) but the scenery evolves as you wind your way along, from mountain lakes to dense forests, burnt plains to tunnels. And did I mention it's massive?! Yes, 1.8 MILLION acres of forest are included here in the national forest, which meant there were multiple points along our drive where I'd see signs for entering the forest, again, and balk at the fact we were still driving through it hours into our journey. No wonder the mystery of Sasquatch lingers on, unsolved. With this much terrain, in mild temperate climate, there's ample room for some fuzzy hominid with exceptionally large flippers to nest and scurry undetected. 

Sometimes the drive would see us entering small towns, forcibly slowing the traffic with their traffic lights and stop-signs, before inevitably finding our way back to the forested wilderness. When we were still in Merrill, sweet young Diana had warned us not to stop too long among the mountain ranges, as there are supposedly hungry mountains lions that linger known to have an appetite for human flesh, or so she claims. We still had to stop and take in the scenery at least once or twice during the drive, if not solely for the excuse to shake our legs out and get some stretches in. We were making pretty good time, all things considered, and we thoroughly enjoyed the densely terpene-laden air streaming into our windows as we drove. Even the squeakers would poke their snoots up for a sniff from time to time, curious about the cool evergreen scented air. 

On and on, away we go!

Oregon: Night in Merrill

Hours behind the wheel, rolling down the road, and we managed to find our way to the very little (no, really, it's quite small) town of Merrill, Oregon, home to only about 800 people. The entire town could be walked pretty easily as the main road itself is only about a half mile long, so you blink and you'd miss it. We stopped to get gas, then found our way to the Polar Bear snack shack parking lot to sort out our selves and our belongings, tend to our squeaks, and inevitably end up spending the night. We initially only planned to stop briefly and then keep heading on towards Eugene, but after surveying our surroundings we realized we'd coincidentally stumbled into a parking lot where they 100% allowed overnight parking! There's no easy guarantee that we'd be able to find an inconspicuous place to pull over and sleep after driving another 3-4 hour stretch where we'd be allowed to stay, so we figured we'd take the synchronicity and roll with it. It worked out well, as Antho realized that he was already having issues with his credit cards due to the transactions being out-of-Nevada, so he was able to get that sorted while waiting for an order of what ended up being very tasty fried gizzards from the above shack.  

Once we were fed, our finances sorted out, and our rodents secured and safely locked away from the hungry birds swirling above, we decided to take a walk through town to see if we could grab a drink. 

We managed to find our way to the local cafe/bar/restaurant, which was a fun joint with a lively and friendly crowd! The bartender was awesome, and she blew Antho's mind when she offered him the option to choose the vodka used in his White Russian. We went with dealer's choice, which ended up being very good! One of the local barflies approached and asked my permission to touch Antho's dreads, which we both found amusing. Don't get me wrong here- we absolutely and 100% appreciate that she asked before getting handsy! It's just not an everyday occurrence that someone comes up to us and asks to touch Antho's hair. After our first drink, the jukebox started pumping and things started to pep up a bit. We were pretty tired and didn't want to get swept into any rowdiness, so we took an Irish exit and returned to the vehicles to conk out for the night. I definitely couldn't resist trying my luck on the archaic coin-machine in the bathroom! I got "Pandora's Box", which I'm pretty sure is really just a condom. 

California: Eagle Lake

Once we finally wrapped up all of our errands in Reno, we headed North and a wee bit west which found us striking out into Northern California in our pursuit onwards and up. Naturally, upon entering California, we hit some of the worst traffic throughout the entire duration of our trip thus far, leading to the necessary "California traffic" jokes we more or less feel obligated to make after being their neighbors for way too long. There's nothing inherently wrong with California- it's a beautiful state with a lot of coastlines and a lot of people. Like, a lot of people. In 2016 there were an estimated 252 residents per square mile, whereas Nevada has an average of about 26 people per square mile...quite a contrast there, right? This is going to change in time, however, especially now that the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas and bringing the state their first professional football team, ever. For now, the cost of living in Las Vegas is a fair bit below anything you're likely going to find in any part of California, but as people begin to relocate this may change. 

All that population density, though, seems to fall away when you're in a natural park like this. Most of our drive through northern Nevada into Northern California and Southern Oregon lead us through winding national park trails, past many lakes and water bodies, and most of it felt quite secluded. Sure, we'd get the occasional long-haul trucker pulling out from a rest stop  in some small town and trailing us for a while, or the impatient SUV driver who takes the first opportunity to swerve around us at break-neck speeds, but for the vast majority of the drive it felt like just the two of us making our way through these lost lands. When we found our way to Eagle lake and saw all the cows milling around by the water, we couldn't help but to stop and take a moment to absorb it all. There may or may not have been some shouts of love and "aren't you a pretty moo-cow", too. 

After catching our breathes and sufficiently satisfying ourselves with our adoration of the distant cows, we resumed our trek. You've got to stop and smell the flowers, or in this case admire the bovine, every once in a while, right?

Reno: Further explorations downtown

To be honest, Reno really does have a lot going for it. Most of the same entertainments and vices anyone could want from Vegas, like fancy dining, gambling, card games, cheap questionable meal deals, booze and slots, along with the natural beauty and outdoors entertainment of the natural splendors surrounding in both the high desert and northern california. Lake Tahoe is pretty close, I guess. Given that you're quite a ways farther north than Vegas, there are more options for skiing and snow play available, though that's not to say that Vegas is entirely lacking in those things. 

In Reno, there are vices you can fulfill and tantalize that aren't as readily accessible in it's bigger brother down South.  

These days, Reno is the closest approximation to my hometown I have available unless I wish to jump on a plane to Vegas (which would end up costing me less in the end). It's still quite a trek, however, to step foot on Nevadan soil. Maybe this should sadden me, but it doesn't, not yet. Maybe in time some aspect of the irradiated desert and it's desiccated expanses will call to me, but for now, this is more than enough pleasant nostalgia.  Suffice to say, Reno has most of the things Vegas has to offer, without the excessive crowds and much more enjoyable weather. There's still the spun-out homeless lingering in alleys, a profusion of booze flowing throughout the city and illicit substances in the veins of it's downtrodden. You can also get a $5 steak! And a hooker! You can even rock-climb the hotel you're staying in! And there's plenty of snazzy street art and beer gardens and other hip, happening things to pass the time and add to the sense of surrealness. 

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: Wild horses and gliders in the city limits

Since most of our drive through Southern and Central Nevada happened at night, we didn't see much of the landscape until we awoke the next morning in a small town just a short drive from the city limits proper for Reno. We'd made a fair bit of distance for leaving so late in the day, but we still had quite some distance left yet to cover so we didn't want to dawdle in our campsite for too long. Upon waking, however, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we had some four-legged company grazing not far from our vehicles. We were able to get some photos of the crew, what seemed to be a small family unit with a youngling in toe. There's a lot of wild horses throughout Nevada, but they're not something you encounter much when you're in Las Vegas, you've got to get a bit further out. We weren't in the total boonies here, either, which made our guests all the more of a wonderfully unexpected delight to see! 

Antho, in his typical fashion, was up around sunrise and exploring the area a bit. I was so wiped out from driving late into the night prior that I slept closer to 8am, landing me about 4-5 hours total sleep. It's not easy hauling across the country on a set time frame (places to be, job interviews to attend, that sort of business), and we were only in the first stage of a thousand-plus mile journey! Given that circumstance, we did a quick stretch and vehicle check to make sure we were ready to go before preparing to embark out for the day. For the drive, we had walkie-talkies in each of our vehicles, allowing us to stay in immediate communication without having to manhandle our phones while on the move. Don't text/navigate/call and drive, guys! For real! It's dangerous out there! My car has an updated stereo to sync with Bluetooth, allowing me to drive and listen to the map directions without having to hold my phone...most modern cars are going to come with that sort of thing standard, but my car is over 25 years old so she came with a cassette tape deck and AM/FM radio. Old school, baby. 

So after admiring our four-legged friends in the desert, and looking up to catch someone gliding in a strange fan-powered chair set up. Quite the exciting start to the day, and we'd barely just gotten started!