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Here’s a book review that is long overdue. We originally requested a review copy of American Nomads by Richard Grant, but to make a long story short, we got to review God’s Middle Finger instead. And I’m glad we did.

René read it first. She’s a much faster reader than I am, and suggested I write the review – hence the delay. Perhaps she knows a bit too much about my sordid high school daze. Or that I would just love any book filled with drug references that starts off with a thrilling scene straight out of Scarface. Nevertheless, I did. Love the book that is.

But even more than learning the meaning of perico, I enjoyed discovering the truth about just how safe it is to travel through the Sierra Madre, not. The books subtitle gives it a way – “Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre.” But it doesn’t quite begin to describe the crazy deadly adventure Grant dragged himself on, deeper and deeper into Mexico’s mountainous region known mostly for marijuana plantations and cocaine production.

Any history buff interested in Pancho Villa will enjoy reading God’s Middle Finger; because in it, Grant follows the trail of the legendary bandido. At points, a bit too far.

This book is also a must-read for any RVer considering one of those caravans through Copper Canyon. Yes, it is definitely better to travel in numbers. And yes, the dangers have been much worse in the past. But if Grant’s tale about the Copper canyon train being held up by narcos pissed off at regional authorities is any indication, I won’t be going anytime soon. I’d much rather just read about it.

From the People’s Guide to Mexico Copper Canyon Tourism Page …

“In the unlikely event of a train robbery, be calm, quiet and cooperative. In other words, don’t argue; just hand over the loot.”

The book does serve as a good guide for anyone who dares to travel off the beaten path south of the border. It offers much advice similar to the above that just might save your life. Like … be sure to speak Spanish, don’t look anyone in the eye, and never turn them down if they offer you a drink. And if they do, prepare to get muy intoxicado before saying goodnight.

I also like any book that talks about places we’ve been. And after reading this one, I’m glad we didn’t walk much further than we did away from the Plaza in Agua Prieta on our five dollar Mexican vacation last year. Or places I would love to see, and this one does a wonderful job vividly illustrating the beautiful terrain of the Sierra Madre and the drunken religious rituals of the Tarahumara Indians.

Once discovering how the opening scene winds up at the end of Grant’s book, one can’t help but wonder why he traveled so compulsively on such an uncertain path. He answers this question quite succinctly early in chapter three …

“I felt a rush of excitement, a sensation of being fully alive and immersed in the present moment.”

This too, is is the driving force behind my wanderlust.

Grant’s adventures might make a great movie. But without being the first hand documentary that this book is, it would most certainly end up being one of those “You should’ve read the book first” flicks. I’ll gladly settle for this Amazon video which sheds some light on the reasoning behind Grant’s chosen title for God’s Middle Finger:

PS: For anyone who might be wondering how I embedded this video from Amazon.com, when Amazon’s media Share link does not include object embed code, never underestimate the power of your browser’s “View Page Source” function!

Bonus! Two video posts in a row… At least this one is ours.

But since René mentioned the weather here at Jerry’s Acres and our impending need to head south for the winter – not just once, but twice – I figured I would let everyone see for themselves how beautiful it is here, how much fun we’re having, and just how cold it really is getting…

Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of living in a Georgia O’Keefe painting as much as any good ol’ country boy. And it is nice and comfy in our new home. But did I mention it is only October!

We do love it here, but the road beckons. It would mean one thing if we were settling down here for good. That time will come. But we’ve got our winter home sitting out front, with a lot of miles yet to put under its new tires. And that means we need to get those tires rolling before they are totally covered in snow.

Now that we’re getting a new iPod, maybe I can convince René we need an iPhone! Just check out this amazing new iPhone app that lets you easily find any satellite…

This next generation satellite finder is straight out of Star Trek! What will they think of next? Simply point your iPhone anywhere towards the sky and all the satellites will appear on the live video screen. Kinda surreal and freaky, if you ask me.

The best part? Again, if you ask me … Now you can easily tell which trees will block which satellite. That’s a good enough reason for me to buy a new iPhone! Sure, like that’s gonna happen.

This new DishPointer Augmented Reality application uses the accelerometer and the compass of the new iPhone 3GS. The compass apparently has a bit of a lag, so when spinning the phone right or left the satellite belt is shifted with a slight delay but up and down works in real time.

Of course, I would have first hand experience with this if I had an iPhone. I only know because Alan let us know about this and other cool satellite iPhone apps he’s been working on over at dishpointer.com. My first post about his DishPointer satellite alignment widget has been one of our most popular posts here, so I just had to share this new cool tool!

Aside from our episode with the drunkards, the Missile Site park felt like the safest place to be during our stay in Greeley. The same cannot be said for the sole tornado fatality from the one that touched down there last year. We were parked in the same spot as that poor soul.

But while we could see the wild storms coming and going all around Weld County, and we had our NOAA weather radio tuned in and handy, it was Pete who gave us the most confidence come time for the daily tornado warning. With his house blown away by the twister last year, Mr. Ambrose wasn’t about to let anyone else be taken by another storm on his watch.

We knew one warning was particularly dangerous when we saw Pete rounding up campers. And we can’t thank him enough for letting us all drive into the old decommissioned Atlas-E Missile Silo he knows so well.

What better place to sit out a tornado warning?

See for yourself in this personal tour Park Manager Pete Ambrose gave us of the Weld County Atlas-E Missile Site:

I really don’t think it was the fact that we were hung way over from SXSW partying the night before, but I swear, the breakfast we had at Dan’s Hamburgers in Austin’s East Side ranked up there among the best best biscuits and gravy we’ve ever had in the United States.

Founded in 1973, this local chain used to be called “Dan and Fran’s,” until the couple split up. They each went their own way, and started their own separate restaurants. We only tried Dan’s, but next time we’re back in Austin, we’ll be sure to sample Fran’s fare too.

Go to Dan’s for breakfast, and if your eyes are bleary like ours were, make it easy on yourself and just order the #19 Special. For just $3.69, you get a heaping of eggs, toast, biscuits and gravy, and sausage too.

And believe me, if you’ve been hanging out with crazy Austinites like our friend Skinny Chef, you’re gonna need it!

I called that first NüRVers Rally Review “part one” because nearly everyone who attended moved on to Landa RV Park in New Braunfels and they talked us to joining them. We ended up staying a month.

Needless to say, there were quite few more get-togethers with the Nü Crew. But thankfully, not nearly as debaucherous.

Landa was the first RV Park where we ever stayed a full month. And when the month was over, we were definitely ready to go. Don’t get me wrong, the company of fellow NüRVers was great, and the price was right. But you get what you pay for at Landa.

A month paid for in advance at Landa RV Park only cost you $225. I’ll do the math for you. That’s $7.50 per night, for full hookups. Utilities are not included, but we only paid another $50 and were comfortable running our heater and air conditioner plenty. More math averages out to about $9.17 per night for our full month in New Braunfels.

That’s cheap! Especially considering we could float down the Comal river from our doorstep and walk to nearby bars, restaurants and stores in old town, including the oldest bakery in Texas.

But stay longer than an hour or two at Landa and you find out why its so cheap. The train. Or trains, rather. Loud ones, that rumble right through the park. Many times a day.

We left nearly a month ago and I still hear them in my sleep. I fear our stay may have killed the romance of a distant train whistle for me, for good. But I am digressing.

If you’re hanging out with NüRVers, it’s a good thing you’re staying somewhere cheap. Because you’ll end up spending money on other things, like good food and alchohol. Once again, a good time was had by all, and we look forward to another fun gathering some time down the road. Just not at Landa.

During the first “official” NüRVers get-together at the Lazy L & L, we had the chance to interview a handful of young fulltime RVers and share how they make a living on the road.

We ended up only making one movie.

Basically, because we were headed back to Landa where most of the Nü Crew was saying for a while. Or, it might have been the Mai Tais.

We’ll try to catch some of them with videos to come, but I digress.

Meet Emmy (aka; emmymau):

Emmy and the lexmachine travel fulltime while writing and photographing, respectively. And while enjoying the cross country club scene, together .

No, that sweet ride is not their toad. It’s a test car he will write about for his automotive review column at their elepent blog. Then he has to give it back.

Bummer, but I’m sure he’ll have some another classy chassis lined up to test drive, somewhere down the road. Sweet ride. Sweet gig. Sweet people.

So, what’s an elepent? If you ask me it’s great name with a cute history. Stay tuned for more insight on how others live life on the road. How do you do it?

Our friend Dave Berman recently called us “Advocacy Journalists” when describing what we’re doing to raise awareness about canine cancer with our three legged dog movies.

I consider this an honor since Dave taught me the term and was the first advocacy journalist I ever met … until that is, we caught up with Flux Rostrum and Skinny Chef in the Mobile Broadcast News bus.

It was a treat to see these two real videographers in action at Slab City. Partying with them and golfing at Gopher Flats was pretty fun too!

But for those of you who don’t necessarily tune into our video channel on a regular basis, here’s our take on the Slabs.

I wouldn’t necessarily call it journalism, but the playlist below does include five videos documenting slab City culture – from a drive by and a fly over to the Niland Tomato Festival parade, art cars and Salvation Mountain. Enjoy!

Paying it forward …

Our generous friends CoffeeSister and RhodesTer will be happy to know the Verizon wireless PC card they insisted we take has found a good home. We donated it to the Mobile Broadcast News crew to support their efforts of raising awareness and hell online through indie media. We were unable, however, to get a receipt from them for the tax deduction. I guess the good karma will have to suffice.