I haven’t showered in something like 3 days. My record is 28 days – desert training in the army.
I left Garden City in a hail of gunfire! Actually, it was tumbleweeds. Those things are everywhere, and they really do tumble.
I tried to catch one so I could snap a pic. Not an easy task. It was like Rocky trying to catch that chicken.
But eventually I got one so I could show my girl. (vid related)
[Tumbling tumbleweed](http://youtu.be/XsR7oVSPwbw)
It was kind of anti-climactic.
I slept in Liberal,KS. I had a big surprise to spring on Trixie. They have built Dorothy’s home from “The Wizard of Oz”. She was gonna plotz!
But, I can’t keep a secret and I told her about it. Her response was, “Oh yeah. I’ve been there. I went during the festival about 20 years ago.
Ok. Nevermind that. I pressed on.
I was a couple of hundred miles from the nearest PF, so I made for Amarillo,TX, so I could shower.
It was hot and windy. Keeping the EM-50 Phantom Rambler on the road meant wrestling the steering wheel like it was a crazed beast.
When I finally made it to the city limits, I saw some fellow wayfarers, holding up a hand-written sign that read, “Living on Love”. They were seeking a ride.
Ian, Ashley and their three dogs (pic related)
…we’re as close to that couple from, “Me & Bobby McGee” that I was likely to meet.
I drove them and their packs and guitar to the New Mexico border.
Ian has been on the road for 10 years, Ashley for 3 years.
They hitchhike, ride trains and arrange for “Rainbow Rides” (no homo).
Rainbow Rides are ride-sharing things that leather tramps get from fellow attendees to make it to “Rainbow Parties”.
Rainbow Parties are hippie gatherings. They meet in undisclosed (until the last possible minute) locations in National Forests. The location is spread by word of mouth only until the day of the event (which can last up to 3 weeks). It is kept secret so that locals don’t have time to organize a way to interupt the festivity.
There are several regional Rainbow Parties each year and one national gathering.
Ian and Ashley were en route to Albuquerque to meet up with former road dogs (travelling partners).
Naturally, I asked Ian how he makes money on the road. I mean, now that all potential applicants for all jobs are regarded as terrorists and must undergo an extensive and invasive 6 week long background and credit check One cannot simply wash dishes at a diner for a week and then move on.
He says he plays guitar on the street but that only pays about one quarter of straight up panhandling.
He sells jokes for 25 cents a piece at bars. He can make a couple hundred bucks a night on a good night. He sells the first couple. Then after he has made some folks laugh, they call him over and give him a twenty.
He told me about the 100 and 200 kicks – they are more common than you would believe…according to him.
As the name implies, this is when a citizen kicks him 100 or 200 dollars.
Sometimes while hitchhiking, folks will pull over and apologize for not being able to give him a ride and give him a handful of cash. Good work if you can get it.
I left them at a truck stop off of I-40 in New Mexico. I gave them a shot of whiskey and a rawhides for the dogs.
Freedom is still there to be had, I suppose. But we all have our own definition.
And, remember, nothing, don’t mean nothing, honey, if it ain’t free.