Podcast 356

Utah and Wyoming. Stranded at a truck stop in Sinclair, Wyoming. A long day (or two?) of travel comes to a screeching halt at a truck stop, where hundreds of trucks and drivers are stranded after the State of Wyoming shut down I-80. The cause? A 70+ car pile up during a spring snow storm. Coming out of the Wasatch mountains in Nevada, into the salt flats of Utah, into Wyoming. Following the path of the Donner-Reed party in reverse. So, in this podcast, on a snowy Friday night in Wyoming, time to break out a few more facts and opinions about the tragic story of the Donner party. In 1846, a series of mistakes by a group of around 100 people heading to California for a better life, led to one of Western History’s most enduring and compelling stories, with the chief character in the tragedy, the unpredictable and fierce western weather. What was the Donner-Reed party’s gift to us? Did they find a happy life once the survivors reached their final places of settlement? Visiting the various waypoints along their trail shows what an almost impossible task it must have been for 87 people, animals, and baggage in tow, to cross to California from Missouri. (Editor’s note: I-80 finally opened, but we were advised to hang around awhile. I did this podcast, and finally decided to head up 80 East, because another storm was brewing. It was a little icy, but I made it to Laramie. There, I decided to take a nap. When I got up about 2 hours later (at about 5 AM) it was snowing like hell, and all the drivers were hightailing out of the truck stop at Laramie. I decided to make a break for it, because I did not want to get stuck at another truck stop. Mountains, steep grades, freezing pavement, blowing snow, snow and ice encrusted windshield wipers, following trucks up the mountain toward Cheyenne at 25 miles and hour. We were our own little Donner Party in reverse, but the Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8 did not falter, slip or slide. Thanks to all you truckers that let me hang close and follow. Whew!) Sponsored by X Government Cars! Don’t forget to Join the Bob Davis Podcasts and Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8 live at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on April 25th. Details here. 

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Podcast 355

Nevada and Utah. Live from Park City, Utah in Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8, the Road Trip continues, leaving California and heading into Nevada, and Utah. Thursday was a tough day for the Mobile Unit. Damage was sustained after the driver — tired and hungry — attempted to enter a mall parking lot which inexplicably featured those concrete and steel ‘height regulators’. With damage nominally repaired, the Mobile Unit soldiers on, battered but unbroken. Updates for your weekend. Are you already sick of the Presidential campaign of 2016? What about Hillary’s bags? Is Rand Paul really crazy? Is Marco Rubio’s tax plan really a good idea? It’s Iowa’s fault. Iowa, that has no other reason for anyone to pay attention to it. Iowa, drenched in wind power and ethanol subsides, forcing the whole country to watch as these politicians traverse one end of it to another, just because Iowa has to have the ‘first in the nation primary’ in 2016. As a result, the media valve cannot be turned off. The result? People may just be burned out on political news and coverage, and one wonders whether by the actual election in November of 2016, anyone will have any stomach left for any of it. Is it possible too much coverage will suppress the vote? And, if it isn’t gyrocopters landing on the Capitol steps, its DEA agents who can’t be fired for having orgies, with prostitutes supplied by the cartels. Shouldn’t people who do these sorts of things be fired? Unfortunately, as the head of the DEA testified this week, the civil service employment laws prevent them from even being disciplined. And people say the government is efficient. Tax Day has come and gone, and at the same time one wonders whether the same anti-tax fervor that existed a few years ago, still exists. Touring the country shows people adapting. In spite of a moribund economy, and poor leadership in Washington, they seem to be doing pretty good. (Editor’s Note: Except for Reno, Nevada. They don’t seem to be doing pretty good on the East Side of Reno.) Plus some tips on camping out in Unit 8, emails and one more donation thank you. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. Also join me April 25th for the SD48 Annual Freedom Dinner. Follow the links for more info. 

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Podcast 354

The Napa Valley. As our time in California comes to a close, the Napa Valley is a perfect place to say goodbye. Whether it is Napa, Sonoma, Calistoga, finally ending up in Nevada City the Golden State is a seductive place. The so called ‘warm and dry end’ of the Napa Valley was the destination for the parties of pioneers, of which the infamous Donner Party was part of. This valley is where many of them settled, and prospered after that fateful winter of 1866. Calistoga was also the adopted home of Robert Louis Stevenson, a fact they would much rather talk about than the fate of the Donner Party. Some highlights of the Donner Party story, and an interview with Al Derrick, who minds the Sharpsteen Museum in Calistoga. What does this tragic story in the history of settling California tell us about decision making and democracy? This is the only subtly political moment in this podcast. In the end, its seems tawdry to taint a Road Trip podcast with the grease of political pontification. (Editor’s Note: It must be pointed out, however, that the Hillary Clinton ‘inevitable’ presidential campaign has apparently borrowed the idea of hitting the road, going to real places and talking to real people, but not in a repurposed ambulance! Whether she is actually in the creeper van which headed for Iowa or not is another question.) Wine country is an impressive, pastoral location. It wasn’t always wine country tho. At one time this valley also produced Walnuts, prunes and other agricultural products on smaller farms. Today, vineyards are everywhere — and they are perfect. Finally, a surprise in the mountains as we come upon a Bikram Yoga studio in the middle of nowhere! Sponsored by Baklund R&D.  

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