Hank Ketchum died. I knew he lived in the Monterey area. We'd enjoyed the Dennis the Menace playground when the children were young (that same trip that took us to Frontier Village, in fact) but lately it hasn't been open. I thought it was due to overstrict safety worries (today's children aren't allowed to scrape their knees!), but I keep seeing things that say it still exists, so I dunno. Anyway, we have a 5 year old boy next door and he's fascinated by Rich. N____ is much quieter than Dennis, Rich likes children, unlike Mr. Wilson, and I don't bake cookies, but otherwise, we're just the same!

I'm mostly sorry the real Dennis and his dad never reconciled.

Another major difference is that the Wilsons' house is clean and not falling down. Rich let our neighbor in today to look at the Solartubes. Monica is planning to get something like this from a company she claims was the first... I think Solartubes are. Anyway, the neighbor got a gander at all the paper, all the mess, and all the things that are wrong. The ceiling has been half taken down in the den, for instance, for 5 years or more. In the summer Rich is out in the garden, and in the winter he's sleeping. Then there's the shower. It leaks, and the carpet in the dining room next to it is gone. Now the carpet pad is gone in the hall and the carpet itself is getting wobbly. However, Rich did finally do something about the pocket door between the living room and the ship room. It's been screaming and sticking for lo these many years, and now it works a lot better.

Out in the back, where his heart is, a maple bough broke, broke another, and the second one took out a Frankenbough. This would be a branch of the "Frankentree", the "fruit cocktail tree", which is a maze of splices of stone fruit onto a volunteer wild plum. The broken bough had a lot of ripening prune plums.

Ah, yes, the power. We're putting electricity production into the hands of the State? Ha. The DMV's phone message was to set thermostats at 68 degrees, 55 at night, to save power. Gives one pause.

Pagan suggests we make "Yarnot tour 2001" shirts with all the venues: Sacramento, Junction City, Davis, Reno, San Jose, Novato... Boron, Barstow, etc. Yes, I've made our trip plans. However, mislaying Nick was not a bright thing to do.

We say we're going to San Diego, but it's really only an excuse to see the Dinosaurs at Cabazon.

First off, we'll be going through Bakersfield. According to Roadside America, without which a Yarnot trip wouldn't be worth taking (shut up, you there in the back!):

Bakersfield CA's building shaped like a shoe is a smaller though better fit. It's easily spotted, along the town's main thorofare. It has been there since 1947. Though it is no longer in operation as a shoe repair shop, you can still see piles of unclaimed shoes through the windows. When the owner died in 1992,the business closed. The shoe's instep was damaged when a car collided with it in 1997, but the damage has since been repaired. The Deschwanden family put the shoe and an adjacent house on the market in early 2000, and was still available in May 2000. Though only a one-story shoe, it offers as its main virtue a quick photo opportunity, a surgical "park, hop out, CLICK, hop in, move on" for those on the go.

In Boron, the guy who used to paint toilet seats has died, and the seats ended up in the dump, so we can skip that.

Then, the first night, we stop in the Garden Spot of California, Barstow. Now, I've BEEN to Barstow, and I was not impressed. But that was before the Calico Archeological Site was opened. According to this:

Calico Early Man Archaeological Site: The Calico Early Man Site is one of the most important archaeological sites in North America, providing a unique “in place” museum of Pleistocene archaeology and geology. This complex is one of the truly unique research and recreation facilities to be found anywhere. It consists of two master pits, where most of the findings have been made, one training trench and four test pits. The discoveries have pushed knowledge of man’s existence on this continent back by at least 50,000 years. The site, 15 miles from Barstow and 6 miles east of Calico Ghost Town, is also known as “The Calico Dig.” To visit, take I-15 north to Minneola Road exit, follow signs north 2 1/2 miles along graded dirt roads to the site. Managed cooperatively by the Bureau of Land Management and the Friends of Calico Inc., the Early Man Site is open for public tours Wednesday through Sunday year-round. Tours are scheduled at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. For group tours, contact: Friends of Calico Early Man Site, P.O. Box 535, Yermo, CA 92398.

And, should we arrive early enough, there's the Rainbow Basin:

Rainbow Basin: The basin, which lies about 15 minutes north of Barstow, existed between 10 and 30 million years ago as lake beds now vanished. Erosion of the richly colored sedimentary layers by wind and water has, over the years, turned the basin into a rainbow of scenic beauty. Animals of the larger Miocene mammal group — including camels, mastodons and horse-like creatures — once roamed this land and excellent specimens of their remains have been found. In recognition of the uniqueness of the area, it has been designated a national natural landmark by the Bureau of Land Management and fossil collecting is prohibited. From Old Highway 58 in Barstow, go six miles north on Irwin Road and three miles west on Fossil Bed Road. The basin's four-mile loop road is narrow but passable for small vehicles. There are two parking areas in the canyon from which hikers can explore the basin. The BLM’s Owl Canyon Campground is located one mile east of Rainbow Basin with tables and other facilities. A recreation guide is available from the California Desert Information Center.

Well, >if it's June, it must be the desert. I'll share more of my plans later.

Finally, Rich's May totals:

	MILES	CANS	BOTTLES	LEAD	GOLFBALLS	SOFTBALLS	MONEY
May	128.7	130	110	55	96	85	$3.13
Year to Date	482.8	513	381	706	140	206	$11.48

Plus 2bolts, 5 nuts (this apart from the one doing the collecting, that is!), 6 lugnuts, tire stem cup, stem extender, whiffle baseball, whiffle softball, 18" bungie tiedown, 3 sockets, playpen, and gas cap.