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Some more random thoughts that may or may not contain another story about Latin American restrooms. Or lack thereof. You have been warned.

I’ve taken some good pics lately. If I may toot my own horn. But sometimes the camera slides down your backpack and you don’t make it across the rocky stream in the 10 allotted seconds.

A gas fill up in San Pedro de Atacama cost $168.00.

The tomato, basil, goat cheese empanada I had in San Pedro may have been my favorite meal of the trip.

I need to correct an error. Not Just Knee Deep Funk is Funkadelic NOT Parliament. My IPOD pointed out that mistake to me the day after the Lazy Descent post. But cut me some slack. That was in my kindergarten years. To me it’s all George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars anyway.

Although it might be unwise it is indeed possible to get a fully laden expedition weight 80 series Land Cruiser in the air. Yep all 4 tires. Smooth as silk landing too. Gotta love the ARB comp springs. Done by choice, not accident. Had to do it once although I’m not sure that the middle of Patagonia hours from the nearest town was the right choice.

Me and my IPOD. I’ve really learned to enjoy Led Zepplin, Morphine and Mike Doughty. Artists I enjoyed but never went out of my way to listen to. That has changed. Artists I’m not sure will make the rotation ever again. Van Morrison and Pink Floyd. Yep had enough of both for now. And for a long time to come.

I’m almost out of Sprees. I picked up a movie theatre size box at the Pilot Truck Stop in Mountain Home, Idaho while chatting with my boy Eric V and they have lasted this long. Granted I didn’t open them until Bolivia but I’m saving 2 for the road into Ushuaia.

Karma sucks. I’ve been mocking Stewart Scott’s listing (did I spell that right?) eye for years on Sportcenter. Well that and that he thinks every athlete is his best friend and guess what I realized tonight while making sure I have two eyebrows instead of one. Yep even in Patagonia I tweeze. I realized my eyes are sucking back into my head and you can’t even see my upper eyelids anymore. Damn Stewart Scott.

Everytime I see a kid with down syndrome the whole world seems smaller to me. At the tiny Chile/Arg border crossing a car showed up right behind me. The couple had a son with down syndrome. As weird as this sounds it is a reminder that despite ethnicity, policitical or religious differences people are still faced with the same challenges everywhere in the world. People I know at home struggle with the same issues at the couple I met at Paso Roballo, Arg.

It’s 2am I shouldn’t be writing right now.

Calafate is the Sun Valley of Argentina. Just about as much English spoken here too. Except they’re all Canadians.

My goal by summers end (I have a lot of time to think) is to be a sub 5 handicap. With no money to play golf I’ll have to resort to practice since it’s free. It will be a challenge but might just be doable.

Speaking of Calafate. The gas station had to fill their tank. Shut down for 30 mins. I then sat in line for 40mins to get gas.

Speaking of Calafate again. I showed up here stinking and dirty. All I wanted was a shower. 6 days of camping and one long sweaty hike. Sometimes I should look at a calendar. Easter weekend. Like Moab during Jeep Safari or Daytona during spring break. Not a room to be had anywhere. All the campgrounds full. No public land open to camp on. Found a spot in town to camp. Went to bed at 4 because of the many drunken Argentines on vacation.

Argentines on vacation means very attractive women everywhere. The rumors are true.

Other true rumors. Arg beef is excellent. Had a Poor Man’s Steak (eggs, grilled onions, French fries) the size of baseball bat barrel. Accompanied by pepsi though. Great steak. Cheap.

I no longer yearn for Breyer’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. They LOVE their ice cream here on the east side of the Patagonian Andes and take delight in the presentation. All that weight I lost in Bolivia and Chile is back.

***WARNING THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CONTAINS CONTENT UNSUITABLE FOR PEOPLE WITH CLASS AND DIGNITY, YES IT’S SIMILAR TO MY COSTA RICA POST***

Leading up to my hike to the Piedras Blancas glacier I had been surviving on granola bars, pineapple juice and coke. Like 4 days worth of that. Some bread thrown in every now and then. After my hike I rolled into Chalten. A town of 25 hotels, 30 restaurant and bars and not one ATM and they only accept cash. There I found Patagonicus Pizza where I partook of some bottled water, a damn tasty lamb, oregano and mozzarella pizza followed up with a piece of lemon pie. I liked it so much I bought a tshirt and planned to eat there the next day as well. I hit the road out of town to take pics of the sun setting behind Cerro Fitzroy. I was playing with my camera and writing in my journal when the gurgle happened. I looked around, nothing but steppe and scrub for miles. Trouble. I was too far from town to make it. I grabbed my roll and baby wipes (no time for the shovel) and made a sprint toward the only bush taller than 10 inches that I could see. All 24 inches of it. Did I mention the wind was blowing 40mph hour. No lie. Luckily the bush sat on the edge of a tiny ravine. Split second decision on which side to face into the wind. And as Neil Young so poetically penned, ‘there ain’t nothing like a friend, who will tell you when you’re just pissing in the wind.’ So I took an angled approached and let fly. It was bad. 4 days of gunk forced out of my at a very rapid pace. Wind almost knocked me over. THAT would have been bad. A very traumatic experience. A cold windy disaster beneath what is possibly the most sublime tableau I have ever seen. Then wave two hit. After it was over I actually utter out loud to the beauty around me ‘I’m sorry Argentina.’

***THOSE WITH INTEGRITY CAN START READING AGAIN NOW***

Again I need to learn to proof read before I hit send.

Isn’t there some basketball thing going on in the states right now? I forgot all about it.

J made me a peanut butter sandwich on the fly while rolling through the altiplano of Bolivia that was 3lbs of peanut butter and one tiny piece of stale bread. It took him 30 mins to clean the peanut butter off my knife. Don’t let him make your kids lunch.

Have I talked about my ant infestation? In Panama I picked ants while parked at the Hotel Montreal. I mean ANTS. All over my car. Ants marching across my dashboard from vent to vent. Dozens at a time. Crawling all over my legs and arms. When I opened my tool bag in Colon to take my tent off, 1000s of ants came pouring out. Disgusting. I actually ended up shaving my legs in Cartagena because all day long it felt like ants were crawling up them while the ac was blowing. Somewhere in Ecuador they disappeared. Figured it was the cold or elevation. Then in Lima they showed up again. Away they went in Cuzco and I thought they were gone for good after a week in the Altiplano. I was wrong. They began their march again in the Gran Chaco. Yep 2 month of tiny black ants everywhere in my car. However now I think they are finally all gone. Haven’t seen any since my second sojourn in the Salar de Uyuni.

It’s now almost 3am. I am SLOW tonight.

I bought my mandatory insurance for Argentina while in Chile. Computer wouldn’t accept my US address so the agent used his office address. Guess where I’m going to fwd all my junk mail?

I crossed 25,000 miles on my trip somewhere between Cochrane, Chile and Tres Lagos, Argentina.

After hundreds of stops, thousands of miles and a 100 bucks spent at the AAA office in SLC someone finally asked for my international drivers license. Glad I had it. Could have meant losing another tshirt.

I went shopping for shoes yesterday. Apparently 6 pair isn’t enough. What is wrong with me.

My REI Dividend was $110.48. yep do the math. You sure you want to go on a trip like this. Too bad I don’t get points from Menlove Toyota Scion. Oh wait they gave me cash. Thanks Wes.

I’m going to the Perdito Moreno glacier tomorrow. Named after a dude who rerouted a river from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans. Yep that is right. Played mother nature on a river’s ass to claim the land for Argentina over Chile. Funny story in my eyes.

I could be to Ushuaia by Tuesday if I wanted to.

I’m spoiled. J and I spent a few hours kicking it at the base of Volcan Osorno. His first time ever seeing the glacier. Me and my lack of tact pointed out how mediocre the glaciers actually were. I’ve spent my whole life with intimate access to amazing landscapes and natural wonders. I forget sometimes how lucky I have been to have lived less than 2 miles from an enormous and beautiful glacier in Juneau, AK or that my parents were taking me to awe inspiring canyons of southern Utah since I was a wee lad. It was good to see J’s awe at the glaciers. Reminding me of how I should be.

I saw Cerro Fitzroy and I was in awe.

Enough for now? Yeah I think so. Off camping for another week or so. Part two (or would it be 4 of 5) of random thoughts isn’t too far out. Amazing Chilean hospitality and the lady in the junk store with the haunting blue eyes.

Speaking of haunting. I can’t get the Atacama desert out of my head. Awake or asleep it is there. Even after all I’ve seen since it haunts me. I loved that place. Not sure I’ll ever experience something like it again.