051409

                                                                                                             Coloma, CA

Thursday May 14, 2009

     5:35am  I just woke up at my camp. I got eight hours of sleep.  View of road from camp

     6:46am  I'm all packed up and leaving.

                   Countryside

     6:58am  Passing 6700 Hwy 49.

                   "Environmental Traveling Companions"  "Accessible Outdoor Adventures"

     7:00am  Passing Bacchi Road. It looks familiar. I hope I am walking in the right direction.

     7:10am  I'm taking my first break, a breakfast break at this turnoff right here.

     7:25am  In no-time. I stopped to eat and smoke a cigarette and Jeff pulled over for me. I wasn't even thumbing it.  I was just smoking a cigarette.  I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit. He said he's only going a couple miles, but every little bit helps.

                   Jeff just invited me white-water rafting all day for free! Hell yeah! If you don't make plans you never get let down! It's great to be free.

                   He asked me if I was in shape. Ha, I walk for a living.

                   Jeff's an out-of-work river rafting guide. No one will hire him, but, he has an undying love for his river and loves to float, so he takes his friends out on the river for free. He needs a crew after all.

     7:39am  We drove to the place where our journey will end later. Chile Bar, I think. We're going to meet Jeff's friends, then drive Jeff's truck upriver where we'll pump up the raft and get in the water. We'll float 22 miles of river today. Both halves. Then we'll drive back to Jeff's truck. I'm going to walk to the top of the parking lot and take a picture of this bridge right here on the American River. It's so awesome that I'm going to have a whole day of rafting for free!

     8:28am  We are still here waiting for crew members to show up and then we'll hit the river. Look what I'm going to do today.

     9:30am  We drove back to Caloma and they're going to eat at the cafe. I filled up my bag with ice at the gas station. I ate a bagel with cream cheese and a can of ravioli. I'm set to go rafting. I've got more food anyway.

     9:34am  I am getting some history on Coloma. This was where gold was first struck in 1848. They kept it a secret for a whole year. James Marshall found gold and built a lumber mill. I'll look it up on the internet.

     10:00am  We drove to where we're going to go in the river. They're pumping up the raft right now. We're going to go rafting. I don't know what I am going to do about my tape recorder and my camera. I shouldn't take them with me because they might get wet. Inflated, me with blue splash clothes.

     11:43am  What a magical update I have to make. Guess where I am right now? I'm floating down the American River! Geez, I can't believe it. I had just stopped and unloaded to take eat and smoke at the next turnoff and then bam, I'm on the river. More pictures of river and crewmates. I had walked like less than a mile from where I crashed. We just went through the second threat, Troublemaker. I turned around after we went through it and took a picture of it. I realized I should be taking pictures. Pumping up raft on the go. I was all worried about my stuff getting wet, but Jeff has a waterproof box. I have a lifejacket and all this gear on. I took a picture of myself. River, rock, river
                     Oh yeah, most importantly. See, I didn't tell Jeff my story or nothing when he picked me up because he wasn't going that far. I was hoping he would notice my shirt. I didn't assume he smoked weed. But, while we're going through a calm he pulls out a pipe and passes it around! I'm all on the river raft stoned and happy. It's the key to my mission after all. I am the happiest man in the world.

     1:22pm  I just took pictures of Gorilla Rock. It is so aptly named.

                   I am having a lot of fun today. I am actually white-water rafting, something people pay over a hundred dollars to do and I just got picked off of the side of the road and look where I've ended up. The only downside is that I forgot to bring food. I only had a little bit of breakfast this morning.

     2:29pm  We are finalizing our journey down the river. We're waiting for a jet ski to come and tow us back. Then we're going to go drive back up to the truck and we'll be done.

     6:14pm  I just had an awesome presentation with Jake and Katie, brother and sister. These kids who work for a rafting company, but doing a desk job today. They just got off of work and are going kayaking. I had an awesome presentation with Jeff. He kind of got stuck on the money part and it seemed like he was laughing at me. Every time I asked him if I could keep going he told me yes. Not too many people do that when they tell people stories, ask them if they are willing to listen or not. Anyway, I am all stoned. What a great day I have had today. It was magical and beautiful. I couldn't ask for anything more. My prayers were answered, I swear. I remember making a prayer to LOVE not too long ago to make some more magic happen for me and it did the next day.

     6:48pm  I just got dropped off back in Coloma by Jeff. This is a cool little town. I've had fun here. Maybe I'll stick around. I'm going to go to the 7-11 and get some ice.

     7:00pm  Chelsa was nice enough to give me a cigarette at the gas station. I appreciate it, sister. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     7:17pm  I hung out at Marco's Cafe. I asked this Asian guy who works there if I could sit down at a table and eat my own food. Everybody was staring at me while I sat and ate a bagel with cream cheese. I'm going to go hang out in front of the gas station now. I'm going to crash again at the same spot I did last night.

     7:22pm  I'm talking to Thomas Bluhoff and he's going to hook me up with a little bit of hash! I appreciate it, bro. For the cause.

     8:08pm  I should make an update. I'm just chilling. I'm tired. I don't feel like telling my story to anybody. I thought I was going to hang out at Marco's, but I just hung out with Dan at the benches by the gas station. He came with us on the river today. I'm sure he was in a picture I took today on the river. I'm pretty tired so I'm going to go crash out soon. I'm going to layer up. It's a little cold.

     8:25pm  Miner Mike is going to smoke a bowl with me. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit. Mike dropped out of society. Fuck the system.

     8:42pm  I should be more descriptive. Tonight I talked to Peg a little bit before the payphone cut off. She totally misses me and I her. She wants to come up and visit me for a couple days. But, did I tell you about penis? My penis feels better today. It hurt when after I took a piss I shake my dick around and it touched the zipper. That's all I've been waiting for. Confirmation that I have the HSV virus. But, then again it only started hurting after I had rough sex with Peg. I'm thinking that might be the cause of it. I need to get tested somehow. Every time I've called Peg it has been from somebody else's cellphone, and I haven't been able to talk about my penis, but I called her from the payphone with my last fifty cents.

                   It's awesome how I got a taste of the gold country. How I ran into these prospectors and stuff. Caloma is pretty famous for its gold history.

                   I am looking through all the pictures I took on the river. What a trip.

                   I didn't get to tell Jeff my story. He wasn't going to listen to it. He told me he barely even reads. When he had first picked me up he asked me what I did about food and I told him my gasoline for the stomach script. Later on he told me he invited me rafting because he liked how I figured out how to get free stuff. He hooked it up. Welcome to Coloma.

     9:17pm  I was all loaded up and about to walk away from the picnic benches when a huge light came on behind me. It was a cop car. He got out of the car and I volunteered my ID. He ran it and let me go. I was sure to give him my website. He asked me where I was going to camp and I told him about the spot I found last night. He told me it was private property, even though it was on the other side of the barbwire fence. I told him I would take my chances and walked away. I'm lucky I was wearing my bags and he didn't see what my shirt said. I'm going to go to sleep. I am dead tired from all the rowing I did today.

     9:48am  I should make an update. I came to the same place I camped last night on the side of the road. The cop asked me where I was going to sleep tonight. I told him and he said he wouldn't crash there if he were me because it was private property. He didn't tell me where he would crash if he were me, and since he's not me, I'm going to crash here again. It's not like I am the first person to crash here. There's beer bottles and shit.

Next day..