Thursday, July 8 was the beginning of my long awaited western trip. I wasn’t able to get the batteries charged fully—I got cell two to 1245—so I will have to attend to that when I return. Since I disconnected the refrigerator and everything else is off, the batteries should be fine but I may ask Mike to check them. I did some yoga and practicing before I left and that probably caused me to have to rush a bit right at the end in order to make my lunch with Lou Gallo. He told me the girls really enjoyed the owl house project and I’m very glad about that.
I drove to RU to watch a candidate teach a class and she was quite good. I have no doubt she will get the position, as she is very qualified and should be a nice fit with our department.
Then at two o’clock it was time for the trip to begin. I decided to leave a day early so I would have a little more flexibility before getting to Freda Creek on the Sunshine Coast on Friday, the 23rd. I need to get there in the afternoon just after the logging trucks are finished and then I can also fish Saturday and Sunday. I talked to Plutonic Power and they are considering putting in a small diversion hydro project but they have just starting the process of getting a license. The woman I spoke with said that if Plutonic decides to pursue the project it will be years before any actual construction begins.
I stopped at Brier Patch golf course and it was a very challenging layout, with lots of water and sand traps and about 400 yards longer than the Meadows, but I shot 51quite good since I set my goal at breaking 60.
Later I went for a bike ride off an I-77 exit and it wasn’t the best spot. Too much traffic and noise but at least I got a decent ride in.
I stopped for the night in Ripley, West Virginia, and I should have a little over 300 miles to my next stop, Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.