Day 7

Wednesday, 11-2-2011:  It was cold, so I was a little slow getting on the road, and I'm still having trouble with my tires.  I got a short ride from two rock climbers from the bay area.  They took me to Crane Flat, CA, which put me in a good place to get to other side of the mountains.  After about an hour, Scott gave me a ride.  It is a over fifty miles to get to hwy 395 which would take me into Bishop.  He is a very interesting guy and we hit it off right away.  I was very interested in what he does for a living and he was interested in my journey.  He works the summers for Yosemite as a search and rescue guy.  He said that they had 22 fatalities this year alone, so you can imagine the amount of rescue work they do.  Scott was headed for Ellensberg, Wash. to work on inspecting wind towers.  OSHA requires a certified rope rescue person on site when they inspect them and he's their guy.  He wanted to go see a friend in Moab, Utah, but was apprehensive about driving there and then up to WA, without some help.  After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go with him to Moab.  We shared the driving, and 700+ miles later we were in Moab.  I like that part of Utah and it gives me the opportunity to see the rest of eastern Utah and eastern Arizona, which I had never seen before.  Hwy 191 runs from Moab all the way down into southern AZ, which is one of my destination points; that's how I ended up in Moab.  We were a couple guys, just helping each other out and it turned out real well.  Today completes my first week on the road.  I am learning a lot, meeting some real fascinating people, and always looking forward to the next day.  I really want to thank all of you who have been following me, and for the messages of encouragement.  I think I might stay at a hostel near Moab tomorrow.  I need a shower and all of my clothes are dirty.  I, also, need to charge some batteries, including mine!  769 miles  1,467 total