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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The road to Durango...

Alma is ready to leave the mar and ocean, but I’ve promised the boys some soup and want to say good bye and thanks to them. They have made another fish dish for us – me really, as I’m eating Alma’s share! So we eat one more time together and then head out.

We have to head back towards Mazatlan to pick up the highway to Durango. Somewhere along the way, Alma says she wants to go back to Mazatlan, use the internet, take a shower. I ask her if it’s the same Mazatlan she hated the other day and couldn’t wait to leave?

I suggest we see if we can get internet and a shower somewhere along the way to the highway to Durango. It is already late. I explain to Alma I do not want to start on the highway to Durango tonite because 1) it’s dark and I want to see the terrain, and 2) it’s dark & I’ve heard the road is pretty windy and treacherous, and 3) it’s dark and the road is pretty desolate.

At the cross roads to Durango is a booming little town with a couple of hotels, a Pemex gas station and 24 hour bathrooms. Alma checks out the hotel, which has internet, but then decides she’s happy staying in the truck.

We park around back of the gas station in a huge lot, and then cross the highway to take a walk around this cute little town. We pass up and down 4 or 5 main dirt roads, greeting people who are still hanging out and shops that are still open after 9pm!

Many people have extravagant xmas decorations with bright flashing lights and music playing. We see the school, the hospital and clinics, the huge agriculture silos, a soccer field, mostly boys riding bicycles and motorbikes.

Alma stops at a taco stand and eats while I return to the truck and get ready for bed. It is a great place to park and tomorrow we’ll be ready to get an early start into the mountains.  

Have you heard the sound of 10 little birds flying over your head?

I have. That’s how quiet it is here on the mar.

And if I listen REALLY closely, I can hear what each individual wing sounds like: a gentle, long repeating sigh.

Filtering oil and heading out!


We witness the sunrise – and the full moon still sitting on the opposite horizon – before I get to work taking the containers of oil out of the truck and placing them in the sun to warm up.

Our two fish friends are fascinated with the whole process. They stand watching, ready to help if I ask, but do not interfere, even if they might be thinking I need help.  Alma agrees to operate the plug for the pump, which is a big help as the pump doesn’t have an on/off switch.

It goes pretty quickly but still takes a couple of hours by the time I’ve sorted each container, filtered the oil first through the strainer and cloth, and then through the water filter (that is really now an oil filter).

After the best looking oil is filtered, I attempt to filter the oil that doesn’t look so great – the oil that seems thicker, hydrogenated. I’m hoping that I have enough good oil to balance out this thicker oil. We’ll see tomorrow when we hit the mountains.

I also change the little fuel filter under the cab by the engine. The old filter is pretty dirty and I want it to be in tip top shape before hitting the mountains.

Finally, all the work is done, the veggie tank filled with all the right oil, the empty containers are gifts for our friends (and a blessing for me that they want them) – the two buckets of questionable oil are back on the truck, and all the tools and hoses are put away.

Eclipse and Solstice


Alma has found out there is going to be an eclipse tonite – we are very excited and somehow just wake up at the right time to see the moon grow dark and the sky brilliant with stars. It’s quite an experience to see a lunar eclipse on the solstice!