Monday - Day 1
Up early and lots of driving.
Tuesday - Thursday - Days 2 - whatever
Shopping and Chuck-A-Rama
Too fast? Ok fine, I'll through in some details...
The start of the trip followed our normal path with an up at 0500 to be ready when "The Father" came to get me at 0600. Dressed, last minute items gathered, coffee and a light breakfast onboard...wholly crap it's 0615 and there's no sign of "The Father!" This is highly irregular and am caught totally off guard when I hear the soft knock at the front door that clearly says "I'm here, but don't want to wake anyone still sleeping." Thank heavens it's "The Father" and we can finally be on our way...well, at least to the grocery store. You see, in the pre-trip planning we decided that we each needed a shinny new Yeti cooler just in case we actual managed to "harvest" (that's Fish and Game speak for kill) an elk this season. Now mind you that I've seen exactly ZERO elk or any other wildlife on our past trips and typically see more deer in town before we leave than I've ever seen in the field. I am assured this is the trip that all changes...I sure hope so because the hours of watching elk quartering and skinning videos has got to count for something. Not that I think there's any way I can successfully do anything other than turn a perfectly good elk into fajita meat sized pieces laden with bits of unwanted fur, dirt, and anything else nearby that might get caught up in the frenzy that is sue to follow any actual "harvesting." Oh, yeah, back to the grocery store. "The Father" has decided we need more dry ice to get the food we are hauling to Utah there without risking food poisoning because the only thing worse than being wet and cold in elk camp is being wet and cold and trying not to die from a gastrointestinal suicide attack brought on by spoiled beef stew.
So here I am hanging out in the parking lot, which is being refinished as I watch, when an older gentleman yells at me from across the parking lot..."Is everything ok in the store?" This might be strange to some but given my previous profession in municipal legal garbage collection, it is actually a routine question, except I'm no longer doing that job and I'm certainly not working at this current moment. I look around trying to figure out who could this man possibly be talking to when the man yells again asking, "is the store open?" Now it about 0630, the lights in the store are on and there's a number of cars in the parking lot. I'm thinking this is pretty obvious but who knows, maybe I've just found the one guy on the planet that likes to walk less than I do and ,before committing to the 200 foot stroll across the barren landscape that is a FoodMaxx parking lot, need a little positive reassurance that his physical exertion will not be in vain...I mean come on, it's not like that 12 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon is going to walk itself out of the store. I give the man the universal sign that he is good to go, 👍 In case you didn't know, to which he replies..."so it's open?" I quickly decide that the trip doesn't need to start with slapping someone silly and simply reply with a quick but loud "yep" just in case this poor wayward soul's hearing is as bad as his perception.
"The Father" returns and we are off on our journey to the promised land of mule adventures. Traffic, road construction, and the requisite lack of potty stops pretty much round out the trip. I did learn that "The Father" is perfectly happy to stop for potty stops and roadside rest stop vending machine snacks if you ask...I know, right?...who knew? We made it into Salt Lake just in time to plan our traditional dinner stop at the Lehi Chuck-A-Rama. It's a trip ritual that I imagine the founding pioneers would have likely observed had there been Chuck-A-Rama at the end of there trek across the heartland of America in search of greener pastures and a fresh start. Nonetheless, it is a pretty welcome sight after the bleak I-80 corridor threough Nevada. I'd also like to say that we here at The Mule Chronicles have become somewhat known for our support of the Chuck-A-Rama brand and we consider the Lehi location to be a flagship example of the fine buffet dining available in the great state of Utah. It's been described as the finest example of a Mormon potluck dinner to be had in a public dining establishment. I suppose you could pretty much insert any religion's traditional group dinning in that explanation but it does have a certain homey, just like grandma used to make flare that one would expect. I could go on and on about Chuck-A-Rama and most of you would think I'm nuts or gluttonous or maybe both...yeah, probably both...but I was thinking about what the draw was for me and I think it comes back to my Grandma Tic Tock. You see, when we were little Gram would take us to the most fabulous dining experience in all of Contra Costa County if we behaved in church. What is this glorious oasis of food of which I speak you ask? Piper's Smorgasbord! It's a real thing, well WAS a real thing. I swear, look here's a picture even.
So for me, a good buffet brings back found memories of my ever lov'in Gram and those happy days when you could have anything your heart desired for dinner. For a kid, that's heaven, at least for me it was, and Chuck-A-Rama reminds me of those times. So if you're ever in the area and need some good stick to your ribs eats give Chuck-A-Rama a try. I'd tell you to tell them The Mule Chronicles sent you but they don't seem to have accepted our official endorsement yet.
There's certainly more to fill you in on but it's all the usual pre-adventure stuff of shopping and eating and shopping and sleeping and shopping and shooting and shopping and mule test drives..Oh! Yeah! I almost forgot! I made a new friend. Yes and actual person, that's just not nice. His name is...wait for it....wait....for....it....GUS! Seriously! I met and was befriended by a not so little old man named Gus...but that's a story for another time.
Happy trails and smooth sails my friends. Stay tuned for more updates to follow.
