I ended Christmas “Vacation” with the Flu, and was sick the second week of January–wild waves and storms, so just as well. Truck and Rent issues are resolved by the end of February, and my health slowly settles into mild despair and distress.  Steve is drinking quite a lot, and takes a Friday Night header, one of several, perhaps off the porch steps.

Saturday April 7 we left early and headed for Red Rock Canyon, our traditional first stop on the way to the DESERT! Sunday, Lone Pine, Hunter Mountain, Saline Valley Road, Panamint, full moon in Snow Canyon

4/9 Monday, storm, and hail–Death Valley, west side drive, Tecopa,  baths and camp

Tuesday night, Sunflower Springs, Old Woman Mountains

Wednesday night Painted Rock

Thursday, shopping in Blythe, Anza Borrego south entrance

Friday, Agua Caliente, Borrego Springs, Clark Dry Lake

Palmdale April 14, 4:30 PM, Easter, Church with Elsie  .  .  .  dinner with Craig and Marth

Return home to –Biopsy, and my 50th birthday.

By this time, Steve’s sister was fully embroiled in the giant fishnet in Southern California, and we began to spend more time traveling to the High Desert and taking trips Down Below to the County seat.  Things were sketchy, but didn’t seem a total disaster, until  .  .  .

S E P T E M B E R E L E V E N

From there, things went swiftly downhill.  Also, I had had a bad scare, the biopsy that was a clown show followed by a debacle, and a diagnosis of, “I dunno”.   In fact, I had a follow-up doctor’s appointment for that very morning (9/11), which I had cancelled in frustration with the lack of information or care I was getting in return for a summer of fear and dread.

Icy cold and windy, 2000 is a terribly painful year, everything has become strained.  The Landlord pulls a weird left turn in our illegal rental agreement, precipitating a fight and a hearing with the Rent Board. Steve’s drinking and smoking overwhelm me with despair and back pain.  I am confused and feeling unsupported, incapacitated with vomiting migraines.  I take classes in Tai Chi, and “Manifesting”, struggling to save money to buy a house.  The Ravines/Hoddymandodd play the Stork Club, and Voulez-Vous.  It rains and rains and rains all February.

2/28 Steve and I take a drive to hike the Marin Headlands.

March 11-13, we travel to Stillwater Cove, via Monte Rio, and dinner at Jerry’s  (vw mileage 91884)

At the March Party at John Giuliani’s, I played three songs, my usual–then played along as everyone jammed.  John Havard complimented me on my intuitive playing, how I hear subtleties and sing so beautifully!  The old guy from across the street asked where’d you learn to play like that?  I am playing so beautifully I get a compliment from Philip Rosheger!  He and Steve are deep in conversation for “a couple of hours” discussing missing time and ufos.

April, Sara comes for a book signing at the Starry Plough, and speaks at the Women’s Center.  Dick and Vicki visit for my birthday, and we take them to Bolinas, and dinner and brews at the Olema Farmhouse.

May, a new painting–Diaz Lake!  Acrylic on canvas panel.

May 28  Meadow Muffin of the Excellent INCHES/Cavepainters Recording.  2 rolls of film, one of mine, one of Steve’s.  Sketch journal of travel photos.  Then, rolls of film, camping, somewhere, knobs, and lakes  .  .  .  Little Hot Creek, in The big white truck. So many photos missing  .  .  actual film prints  .  .  . could be several pages of travels  .  .  ?

June 1, into Nevada: Spencer’s, Diana’s Punch Bowl, Pott’s Ranch, Warm Springs Pool, Crystal Springs, Goblin Knobs, Lake Pahranagat- so sketchy.

I am struggling with back pain and migraine, I go to several practitioners and practice chi gong and yoga through the fall, but it’s all about having the rug pulled out from under me again, just as I was feeling like I had a solid footing.

For Steve’s birthday we take a trip to camp in Mendocino National Forest and Lake “Pilby” (Pillsbury), on the Eel River.

For Labor Day, we drive to Tomales Bay.  September 23-25 we meet Jean and Jerry at Usal Creek (site #11)

Another band, Long Term Effects, comes and thankfully, goes.

A couple of weekends are spent driving to Santa Rosa and Sacramento shopping for a new work truck, and October 23 I buy a 1995 Tacoma with a camper shell, $7215.45.   On November 16, I am a making a left turn off Shattuck and am T-boned by a white pizza delivery truck–technically totaling my new ride, except the structural damage isn’t discovered until halfway through the repair.   Mazda is deemed unrepairable, and sent off to charity.

Thanksgiving in Bolinas, house-sitting, Christmas in Palmdale, and on December 30, the Cavepainters play the Starry Plough.

In June we take a trip to Bodega Bay and Gualala, stopping on the way back to visit Connie and Bill in Fairfax. July 10-17 we drive back to Palmdale to visit and assess the building crisis.  Mike is interviewed on Geraldo Live! –I can’t tell if we did any traveling or just hung around the house.   shortly thereafter (7/29) we go to check out a Martin Bass Grif has found at the Fifth String where he spends Thursday nights.  We love it, Steve gives me $600 to cover half.  In August I take an acrylic painting class.  Grif and I are playing with Zenarchy, with Annalisa and Barry.  We rebuild the front door of the VW with all new gaskets, and in September drive to Island Mountain, where we can’t get any closer than a chain link fence.  I take a framing class, start my painting of Mt. Diablo.  In October, Fred comes to visit  .  .  . November 8, a Sunday trip to the beach, 11/27, hike to dump beach Finally, at the end of 1999, we wend our way down to Foxholm to the family estate for Christmas. There was a lot of chatter about the potential crash of computer systems worldwide, so, on a lark, we decided to go Analog, driving the 1957 VW van, taking a crank radio to the desert. After our traditional Last-Minute shopping trip for gifts, Steve and I took a drive out to Barrel Springs Road to get some fresh air where we blew a cylinder in the van and had to have it towed to a shop for a rebuild. Now carless, we rented a 2000 Chevy pickup truck for $500 and after Christmas dinner at Mar’s family home, took off for Death Valley while the VW was being rebuilt.

Sphinx Rock, Nevada