April 13, 1997
Awoke around 0800, fell out of the sleeping bag, and meandered up to the KOA office building some 300 feet away. Slick frost covered table tops, exposed water spigots at every camping site and the ground had frozen during the night. The sky hung low and gray, refusing to release it's winter-like grip over the Texas panhandle. I could see no other movement except for my own puffs of breath.
Some folks had come into the campground last night, set up a tent, and obviously slept on the ground; hardy souls. As I neared the building I could hear someone singing away in the shower. My glasses fogged instantly upon entering the warm men's head. Whoever had been singing in unabashed solitude, fell silent save for the sound of spraying water and bumping about within the shower stall.
Today would be a kick back day of rest for the Dickel crew. We really need this break from traveling like a band of nomads through the Arctic.
I peeled out of my layers of clothing and entered the shower stall under a hot, steaming stream of high pressure water. This felt soooo good. The fella in the next stall turned off his shower, called out a greeting to me and went about drying, dressing, and shaving.
I returned his greeting with closed eyes and head bent under the hot water. I could hear others beginning to come and go from inside the shower stall. The camp was waking.
I stepped out of the shower stall and began to dry off when Don H., KOA handyman opened the front door of the head. He had come in to repair some plumbing and brought in a blast of cold air with him. Jeeze! The swirl of icy air whipped around my feet and continued up my legs. I thought about jumping back into the hot shower for a fleeting moment, yet realized the ultimate futility.
Instead, I dried off as quickly as I could, anticipating hot coffee from the KOA office pot. Even so, I lost all the warmth gained in the shower; the hot water had felt so good.
I made it back to the cabin smartly. A mental picture of the two portable electric heaters in the cabin became more vivid with each step across the frozen ground. Apparently this April cold front is breaking all kinds of weather records. I didn't care about records, I just wanted to embrace those heaters as soon as I could.
When I burst into the cabin Ray opened one eye to watch me huddled up to the heaters. He sat up, popped an earplug out of his head, and flopped back down into his warm bag. He almost said something, for his mouth had opened, but his one open eye closed, melting him back into his covers.
"Aw, jeeze!" My clean socks were still out in the Chase Truck. "Hah!" A muffled reply came from Ray's wad of bedding.
I danced back outside to retrieve cold, but clean socks from the truck. The extension cord leading out to Oscar's battery charger tried to snare me as I passed over it for the passenger side door. It missed.
A little later, Ray dashed off for the head, putting out puffs of condensed breath like a determined steam engine on an express track. Bill and Higbee stirred to life and brewed up a morning pot in the Dickel Trickle Truck. A distinctive nut-like aroma of freshly brewed coffee hung in the camp, enticing others to crawl out and brave the 20 degree air.
Three tent people crawled out of their canvas cave, lowered the pole, and pulled pegs. They worked without speaking, folding canvas, stowing pegs and tying up poles. These people have it down. I don't think I ever heard them say a word.
"Health day!" Ray chirped as he pranced back from the head like a panhandle gazelle.
We all watched him pass by and disappear into the small cabin. Within a few moments he was back outside flailing his arms and breathing deeply.
"Hey!" He said as he approached. "Let's go for a walk!"
Bill and Higbee looked at one another then back at Ray. I left for the KOA office with the laptop in hand.
Chris H., the 18 year old, single, pilot son of the KOA owners, was waiting for me to bring up the Dickel web page. He had also offered the credit card line for our daily updates. This was the first time I had seen the web page as it came up on the web the day we left Vacaville, CA.
Don Henderson found me in the office. We had been discussing the small burrow holes under concrete cabin slabs yesterday. I had asked if they were mice, he told me they were a small species of ground squirrels. Sure enough, later on we had an opportunity to see one of these guys up close. Their buff color blends in so well to the background vegetation, they all but disappear when they stop moving through the short, mown grass of the campground.
After uploading a daily update, I returned to the cabin to see a man between 30 and 35 standing beside Oscar. When I approached, he pointed at the sign on Oscar's side with a bright eyed, beaming face.
"Achtu!" He said. "George Dickel! Sourmash!"
That was all he said that I could understand. He's from Germany and touring the United States with his wife and infant son.
I can't believe this... Dickel in Antarctica and now Germany, but not in California! And folks ask us why we're making this trip?
Ray led Bill and Higbee off on a "Health Day" walk. I lit off Oscar and drove him to the front of the KOA to await media. I walked into the office to check for messages and to keep warm. While in the office I sipped hot coffee and played with at least a dozen metal puzzles. You know, those twisted nails or chain and ring things that come apart if you can figure them out.
Chris told me Ray had purchased several of them. I told him we all knew he had for Ray had strutted about last night deftly disassembling and reassembling them and impressing the rest of us in the cabin.
"Oh, yeah." Chris said. "He has the instructions too."
"Ah, hah!" I returned. Ray's secret is out.
A white van pulled up just as the Dickel Brothers returned from their walk boasting proudly of a five mile trek. Yeah, sure...
Bryan K., KVII-TV (7) of Amarillo, TX unpacked his car and approached Oscar with amused curiosity. He spent quite a while with us, filming, taping audio, and taking a ride in Oscar. When asked if he'd like to join us on the trip, he answered to the affirmative, but with a twist.
"I'd like to come along, guys but the wife would leave and take the dog." He said with a stone face. And I really like that dog."
Bryan left and we fell back into our kick back mode; the idle time felt good to all of us.
In mid-afternoon, another TV van pulled in. Two people hopped out, David D. and Lily J., KFDA-TV (10) of Amarillo, TX. They had received a call from their station regarding a "vintage car" at the campground. At the time, they were filming a Laotian New Year water ceremony across town. They both thought the car stop would be a five minute stop to pick up a VOT (voice over tape).
Once Lily saw Oscar and heard our story, she called the station telling them they had a story here and wanted to do a PAK (package).
See, we're learning broadcast lingo.
David only had low batteries, so he left for the station taking Higbee with him. Lily came into the recreation room and wrote down all kinds of notes from interviews with Bill, Ray and me.
David returned with fresh batteries and began still shots of Oscar, buggy windshield and all. Actually, that's our Across the Nation Bug Collection. The only clear area on the windshield is where the wiper has swept it clean.
Lily came out, reluctant due to the cold, but got into the swing of things. She belted herself into the passenger seat and putted about with me behind the Chase Truck with David strapped into Oscar's harnesses. Ray, our Loadmaster, had trussed David into nylon safety straps right at the rear of the bed.
Lily grew less and less animated as we sailed along with icy wind whirling through the open "C" cab of Oscar. At the end of the shoot, David looked like a large Smurf; all exposed skin had turned a distinct blue.
Then, of course, the ritual of special shot glasses, key fobs and brochures.
Tim and Bobbi H. taped the early news broadcast from Channel 7 and showed us in their home. These are great folks; warm and friendly.
Chris invited us to come to the Rec Room later, after the office closed, to watch the late news. Of course we accepted.
Higbee and I left in the Chase Truck for a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Bill and Ray prepared to receive the meal by setting up in the cabin. Higbee and I returned with a bag full of Long John Silver goodies instead. We stopped at the KFC but saw the fish place in back. We both had looked at one another and agreed to the fish without a word. Interesting.
Bill grumbled all through dinner, scarfing down the fried fish and hushpuppies and complaining he had no chicken livers. However, he ate what we brought with gusto. Even the deep fat fried balls of dough.
Off to the Rec Room for the news broadcast. Bill and Higbee played pool while Ray set up his camcorder to tape the segment. When the "Oscar" segment came on, we all fell silent. Except Bill. He grumbled to himself all through the filming criticizing the angle of shots, his mussed hair in the segment, etc. Bill's our worry wart, or as Higbee says, "Our old woman."
After the broadcast aired, we said our last farewell to Chris and headed off for the sack. We were anticipating an early rise and bug out.
