Yeah Tucson!!

Rolled into Tucson today after spending the morning going to the colossal cave near town. Was awesome to be underground looking at limestone formations after being in the truck for so long. Three hard days of driving in hot conditions does tucker out a man. In Balmorhea, Texas where we camped in a nice campground, the man said it was 108 that day. Real hot... in the shade. But we made it through Texas!! We have spent approximately $80 on diesel to go about 1500 miles, the rest was veggie oil. Probably about 150 gallons of veg so far. We ran out of the stuff I had packed in the truck, and got a bit from a taco place in El Paso and from a truck stop in Wilcox AZ. At the restaurant they could not believe my truck, they said WHAT?

So, we have about 35 gallons of unfiltered oil, hope to get some more in Tucson, and filter it, hang out a bit, and head for LA this weekend. Picking up two riders who need to get to Portland. It would be impossible to travel with all of the oil you would need, and that's part of the fun is scrapping it from anywhere you can. Johnny coined the term, "That's the price you pay when you don't pay anything" when discussing the time it took to get greasy and get some oil.

It's nice to have a rest day or two, it was hard times rolling through Texas. Ex. Second day there were lots of little hills that slowed us down, and the truck would start to heat up, so we would turn off the A/C and (wait for it) crank the heat up to cool the engine, open all the windows and struggle for a while. Nutty stuff and good times. We rollin'.

The Ride Continues

We've made it almost a thousand miles so far, all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico! It's hot as hell out here, but we're surviving. The cats are surviving too. And the trucks's holding up. So, all in all, we're in pretty good shape. Rock on...

Day One

Day one was good, real good. We made 525 miles to get within striking distance of San Antone. Johnny drove the trailer and did just fine. It's nice to have someone to split the driving with. When I rolled down to NOLA in the fall the most I did in a day was 300 miles, so we are looking good. Need to change out some tires on the truck, and she was runnin hot yesterday, but not alarmingly so. The cats were hating life, but they will survive. We gettin er done!!

The Empress Rides Again

Check out video of the trailer in New Orleans, shortly before hitting the road for the west coast. There's also quite a bit about running the truck on veggie oil. Enjoy!

Ready to rock and roll

Getting ready to bounce out of new orleans for the summer. Getting hot here, might say too hot. I remember back to last fall, feeling nervous and scared to leave Portland. A bit nervous now, but also excited to see friends and family in P-town. I want this blog to be a vehicle to promote my business, HEADWATERS CAFE and also to advocate for the use of alternative energy.

Veggie oil is used in restaurants, food carts, and cafeterias. There is no reason all of the school buses and garbage trucks in America could not use veggie oil instead of diesel. I hope to drive across the country pulling the Empress (2,900 miles) primarily on used vegetable oil. I have 125 gallons stored and ready for transport. That should get me to Los Angeles. Then, I hope to find some filtered, used veggie oil for sale at a reasonable price (usually sold for half the price of diesel) on craigslist or from some new friends. Filtering on the road can be messy, but is possible if I have the spare time.

My goal is to drive across the country for $100 in diesel. We will see. Stay tuned and please pass this along to friends, family and associates.

40 years old??

Wow, you don't look 40. I get that a lot. Don't know why, but I look young enough to not by alcohol in many places. Anyways, 40 seems pretty cool, don't feel any different, but watching my girl grow up sure marks time.

I am happy to have some prospects in New Orleans for work though. That makes me feel much better about 40. Have had two gigs this spring and hopefully another in the pipeline. Then it's the big migration westward for the summer. Not sure if I will take the trailer but it is looking like it because I want to get onto Portlandia and could not do it without the rig. So I may be looking for riders in another month to help drive the beast through Texas and Nevada to Oregon. Leaving the middle of June if anyone has their ears on out there in the blogosphere. Send a shout out.

Springtime in New Orleans

It is pretty nice here. Will get hot in a couple of months, but right now it is super nice, no humidity, highs around 80 and lows in the 60's. Been selling food around town out of my truck and am doing okay with it. It's a stopgap measure until the film world discovers me, but I am making some money for now, so it's better than a kick in the head. Moved into my tiny apartment and am settling in here. A little sad not to see Sophie every day, but I see her most days and it is a little nice to have some more free time. I will never be back with Valerie, so might as well make the best of it. We are getting along very well and that is good enough for me right now. Getting tired of making chicken wraps, but am actually getting a little bit of a rep around town, people are starting to recognize me from Frenchmen or the Kingpin, etc. It's a fun freaky thing to do, and there are lots of folks who are digging the food, so it's a worthwhile venture. I want to get the trailer out and about, but need to get it licensed and have a bodyguard on duty in the Marigny. In due time. I miss Portland, sometimes terribly, but the weather here is nice.