Vulture Mine Bathtub
Note: Photo captions are time and place of WiFi connectivity.

May 17th, Part 2
Totally baked, fried, boiled, cooked and sauteed! Someone hand me a fuckin’ spatula!

I spent the day at the Vulture Mine… all by myself! Way cool. Went in at 98 degrees, came out at 104! Thank Christ I remembered to pack the Noxema - I look like a cooked lobster. No pain though… not YET, anyway!

And stealin’ WiFi two night’s running - yee ha!

Had my first ‘run-in’ with the border patrol. Fuck, talk about spiffy! Nixon - sorry: Bush, is coming to Gila Bend and Yuma tomorrow (I’ll be gone, but headin’ south to the border just for fun!) and these guys are in their best pressed khaki’s and have new shiny ammunition and everything!

I was hangin’ at the local Subway (paying too much for the room tonight, so decided to cheap-out on dinner) when this Jesus-big Humscalade with blacked-out windows pulls up and regurgitates three heavily-armed dudes. Not sure if they were regular Army or Wackenhut - likely the latter. One guy jumps to the ground (I told you the fucker was big!) with his weapon… an over-under, pistol-grip shotgun - no stock! Sweeeet! Just then– I shit you not — four F18s scream past overhead. Just took off from Luke AFB no doubt - about a dozen miles away.

Weird shit! I had to go back inside and watch. The Subway was a combo Subway, convenience store and Chevron, so there was plenty of room in the store, but here’s the kicker… everyone who worked inside was Mexican! I don’t know how you say ‘cold shoulder’ in Spanish, but these guys got them by the Pinata-full! Freaky!

Another dust storm - sheesh!

Anyway, totally fried. Eating, trying to watch TV, and then passing out. It looks like I’ll hit Tucson city limits late tomorrow afternoon, and then hopefully make it to the Titan Museum and airplane graveyard for Friday, before heading south and east to the Mexican border for some ‘holiday snaps’!

More later.

Reporting tonight from former astronaut training facilities in Gila Bend, Arizona