See below for the account of the trip and pics
Lovely faering indeed
Halv
-----Original Message-----
From: Norsa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Norsa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Sam Shoults
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 11:09 PM
To: Norsa@yahoogroups.com
Hey guys! I am back from a long trip and have got to share it with you.
I left home heading west by way of I-70 from Kansas City, to Denver, CO,
Utah, Las Vegas NV, and Barstow, CA. I left approx 11:30 last Wednesday and
arrived at Baker, CA not far from Barstow, CA on Thursday late afternoon to
spend the night in a motel. The weather was fantastic, the view was
terrific, and we had a great trip. Amazingly, and you can believe it or
not, everywhere we went, the ravens/crows followed us. If we stopped to
eat, the ravens were right outside the window. When we crossed the
mountains or desert, ravens were perched and watching us. I told John that
they were Odins messengers watching our journey.
I called Kerry Eikenskold and told him that I would be to his house the next
morning and arranged our meeting to his schedule. My destination was to see
the Yrsa, see http://ravenkraft.com/ . Let me tell you, Kerry is a
craftman when it comes to woodworking and boatmaking. His website explains
the background. We had a great day as he showed me how to fix the rigging
to use her as a sail boat, how to assemble and disassemble the mast and
sails, rudder, etc. What a great day! We threw knives and axes with him.
He also is a viking reenactor and enthusiest. John and I really enjoyed the
day. I showed Kerry all the things that our AO would point out. The sails
have metal grommets, the planking is put together with bronze lag screws to
the planking, the rudder is attached/hinged with a plastic covered steel
cable instead of a beaten willow root, the sail itself is a light weight
manmade material made to simulate canvas. But let me tell you, she is
beautiful. The detail he put into the fittings and totem is amazing! The
picture at the web site does not do her justice.
Then we made a bad mistake. We went with Kerry and his girlfriend to a
Chinese/Thai restuarant for lunch. It had a Budhist temple in the corner of
the room where we were eating. My foretune cookie said, "beware when life
is going smoothly of dangers in your future"! AAaaaaGGGGhhhhh!!!!!!! I
threw it away and said I didn't want to read it, but it was too late. When
we came outside we saw no more ravens.
Well, I went to the bank with Kerry, then went and hooked up the Yrsa to the
back of the van and headed east. No ravens. We barely made it out of
California into Arizona in the middle of the night when the van died on the
side of the road. It was dark and in the mountains, trucks flying by at 70
mph, and the patrolman that came stayed off in the grass about 20 yards and
shouted to us that they would send a tow truck. I think maybe he had been
shot at before or something. He wouldn't come near and headed back to his
car.
Eventually, hours later, we were being towed to a dealership that would be
open on Saturday, that's right the weekend (beware when life is going
smoothly of dangers in your future). I slept on the concrete slab of the
dealership lot and waited for morning. A long night. Not much better news
the next day, the transmission was totally fried. Parts would take until
Wednesday and the cost would be more than the value of the van.
Sssoooooo.... time to trade in and get another vehicle. We traded for an
Isuzu Rodeo. Left the van for the vultures. Packed up everything from the
van into the Rodeo, (with a great towing package), hooked back up to the
Yrsa and were on our way east again. The ravens were back! We saw them
everywhere!
The trip back was terrific, we had great weather, and everywhere we stopped
to eat or fuel we drew a crowd of onlookers. Many claimed Scandinavian
ancestry and knew exactly what they were looking at. Others just wanted to
enjoy the craftsmanship of a handmade longship. Great response from
everyone everywhere we went. People would slow down beside us and give a
thumbs up to us as they passed. What an attraction this boat has on people!
John had a great time just watching people's reaction as they passed us.
The rodeo pulls the Yrsa like she is nothing, the trailer she is on pulls
like a dream. Fantastic.
We did stop in the petrified forest and painted desert on the way back and
spent the morning enjoying the national park. The Yrsa actually detracted
peoples attention from the natural wonders of the park and they would stop
photographing the desert in favor of the boat! We left the park about noon
on Sunday, er yesterday, and pretty much drove straight through to home. We
arrived about 3:30 today and I took a nap, thus this late posting!
Halv, we need to talk.
Sam (Senach)
