Chick-a-lope

Spotted in Amado, Arizona -- A chick-a-lope. Yes, a cross between a chicken and an antelope! No kidding! Seeing is believing. I saw it.

Coyotes and me, the cactus

It was late afternoon and I was walking in the desert near Tucson. I was checking out cactus and rocks and doing some thinking as I soaked up the afternoon sun and pondered all my friends back home in Seattle in the cold and the mist. And then, off to my right, I saw a dog. But it wasn't a dog all all but a coyote, coming right toward me on an almost for-sure collision course. A second coyote was right behind. For a second I thought they were wolves, but then I remembered the only wolves in these parts were up the road at the Sonoran Desert Museum.

I CLAPPED MY HANDS, making a high pitched "smack" sound. The coyotes stopped in their tracks, looked at me, then trotted back to where they had come from.

A few minutes later, as the sun was about to set, I passed by a short saguaro, and I saw my shadow right on the side of that cactus. So I pulled my little camera from my pocket and snapped this photo. I believe I make a good looking cactus.

Where to find good Mexican food on the RV road

Ah, Mexican food! I love it. I grew up near Los Angeles and I wouldn't lying if I said that after I was weaned off my baby bottle I was woofing down burritos. Okay, maybe it was a few years after that. But I do know that in my high school years my buddies and I would sneak off campus at lunch and beeline to a nearby burrito stand. We never got caught for our illegal escapes.

When my family moved to a small town in the Sierra foothills of northern California, I experienced severe burrito withdrawl. . . and, in fact, serious Mexican food withdrawal. Lucky for me, I now possessed a driver's license and could drive across the mountains to Reno where a Mom and Pop fast food stand cooked up the totally yummiest Mexican food and incredible burritos. Man, I can still taste 'em after all these years.

So it is with great pleasure that I notice that the members of our RVtravel.com reader forum are trading recommendations on good Mexican restaurants. If you love Mexican food, you might want to visit and maybe pick up a tip (or leave one).

A mannequin I liked

I like to take pictures of fake people, better known as mannequins. I have maybe 50 good pics of mannequins. I don't know why I have such a fascination. I took this one last year in Scotland. I liked her face. I think she looks a little like the actress Sandra Bullock. Do you see the resemblance, or is it just me?

By the way, I met a guy the other day who owns a mannequin named Sylvia. She lives in his home in Seattle. If you drive by, you see Sylvia in the front window. At night she's in a spotlight. Every so often she gets a new set of clothes. She is pretty famous in her neighborhood. I would like a mannequin, but I don't know where I would put her (I would want a woman, not a man).

Ladies with peace signs by the ferry dock

I spotted these ladies alongside the ferry dock in my hometown of Edmonds, Washington. All together about a dozen people were holding signs. Ten of the people were promoting peace, and the other two -- both men -- were all by themselves with signs that said "Support Our Troops." I guess those two ideas don't jive because you could tell that the two groups didn't want to be together. After I took this picture, the women suggested I photograph some other people. But I said I liked them best. They smiled, and I walked away and that was that.

Driving a Wienermobile is cool!

That's me in the most unusual RV I have ever driven. Yes, it's the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. When you drive this vehicle, people stare. Actually, this is an RV, well. . . sort of. You could sleep inside if you wanted, and there is lots of space (used to store a bazillion wiener whistles in the Wienermobile I drove), but there is no stove, bathroom or kitchen sink. So maybe it isn't a very good RV.

I only drove it for a few blocks. It was no big deal: it drove like a regular motorhome. But a lot more people watched me go by than when I drive my RV. If you ever get a chance to drive a Wienermobile, you should do it.

Old photos of people from the past

When I am traveling in my RV along rural roads that pass through main streets of tiny towns, I like to stop at antique shops. I seldom buy anything because I already have too much junk and, besides, there isn't much space in my pint-sized motorhome. But what I sometimes do buy are old postcards and old photographs.

I'm not sure where I purchased the photo of this man, and I know nothing about him other than he has a frightening haircut. I do know that the photo was taken in Eureka, California. I have purchased dozens of photos of people of the past. I don't know when this photo was taken -- the 1930s, maybe? What do you think? My guess is that this man is dead now. He looks distinguished. I will take a wild stab here and say he was a banker.

Every few months or so I pull out my collection of old photos just to stare at them and think. I don't know why they fascinate me so, but they do.

One day after I am gone, maybe someone will find a photo of me and will wonder who I was.