Smell That? Could Get Complicated...

Well, adventure just keeps finding this often-lost gypsy, no matter how far he runs, randomly he roams, or widely he ranges. It all started when I found this nice little one-bedroom basement apartment on Airbnb in Butte, MT. It turned out to be quite comfy and an entirely suitable shelter-place for my ponderment and regrouping needs… it also has some great views from the porch! Because of the weather forecast (rain!) I arrived two days early and got a motel room… So far so good…

While at the motel waiting out the damp period until my apartment would be ready, I ordered delivery pizza. Now, I normally and faithfully ask for the onions to be left off, because raw onions do a serious number on my innards… but, I simply neglected to fully express my preferences this time. I did attempt to remove all I could find, of course, but… apparently I did not do nearly a good enough job.

Alas, what followed was the worst case of indigestion I can recall ever having! I really suffered with that, but eventually the two packs of antacids I’d eaten like M&Ms grudgingly did their magical work, and I miraculously managed to survive… even though that happy outcome had been very much in doubt for a couple of hours. And no, I did not finish eating the pizza…

Things were really looking up when we rode the short distance to our new ‘home’ for eight days… It would have been an even shorter ride, of course, but, naturally, our ‘navigator’ missed a turn or two, and… a second attempt became necessary… Oh well, it wasn’t more than a few miles out of the way anyhow… Things like that don’t upset me; in fact, they are a normal part of traveling for us, and we just naturally expect some of that. We got settled in, then we rode to pick up some groceries, etc., for the planned visit.

Among the first things I’d noticed, as my hostess had conducted the look-around, was that the gas BBQ grill in the photos and announced in the ad was not there. Not a biggie, actually, as that is not a significant issue… I didn’t even bother to mention it. I do use them when available, and Lord knows I can sure use the practice, but for this ungifted griller they’re just not worth fooling with if not already present. At least I had noticed before I’d bought any steaks! I did grab a few other essentials at the grocery store, though, then we made our way back… more or less straight there… for the most part…

The first morning wake-up went quite well. I managed to operate the Keurig Coffee Maker pretty much as designed, and the coffee itself was good. A couple of hours after arising, though, I became unable to stall myself any longer… It was time for some bacon and eggs! Please bear in mind, dear friends, that I do not now nor have I ever claimed to be a cook… proficient or otherwise! If you’d have been there at the time, you’d have observed and smelled conclusive proof of that statement!

During the multi-tasking operation of frying bacon, scrambling eggs, and preparing toast, I managed to burn the bacon. I’m talking way beyond merely ‘extra crispy’ here, that stuff was more like ‘blackened’ and hard as a brick. Oh well, even burnt I have no reservations about still consuming it… and so I did.

That, in turn, led to the next phase of this adventure… The bacon had been so ‘crispy’ that I’d broken-off one of the crowns on my two front teeth while hurrying that ‘hard rock’ pork product along its intended journey through my digestive system and on towards the porcelain portal...

Being two-thousand miles from ones dentist in time of need poses obvious logistical issues like lots of extra steps plus other inconveniences towards seeking any sort of remedy. Not wanting to return to the southeast just yet, but also not wanting to go wandering around indefinitely in a snaggled-tooth condition… I naturally pondered on this latest development for a spell… then another spell.

I finally concluded it would be best to see if a local tooth-grinder might be willing to help a traveler out and work him in. Well, factoring in the next round of expected rain, the need to vacate this apartment on a certain unchangeable date, and the relatively inflexible schedule of the doctor himself, the best I was able to come up with was the day after I’d need to leave this place. OK, I’ll just go get another motel room for a couple of nights, I figured. I had already about decided to do that anyway because of the forecast, so… just another unexpected but entirely manageable step in the ever-lengthening process really…

I don’t know about your experience, but mine has been that the rain forecast is notoriously unreliable out here… unless, of course, you are counting on it to be wrong. While it often can be wrong, it almost always is spot-on when you really, really don’t want it to be… a variation of Murphy’s Law, I believe. I didn’t feel like gambling on having to visit a dentist on a motorcycle in the rain!

Just another magnificent road trip so far… When riders and their rides both take on some age, though, parts begin to wear out and/or fail… then the need arises for professional assistance. Oh well, it ain’t like we’re in a hurry or anything anyway… just a minor delay in heading off in our next as yet unknown direction on the way to who knows where…? We will, however, make it a point to be long gone by the time the first snow flies up here!

DDT