Monday was a semi day off as it was the first solo flight for my assistant at the office. This coupled with a tsunami of problems and unexpected business resulted in a number of phone calls and at least four hours at work.

A few months ago an odd trend where customers called to inquire about renting a truck for later that afternoon or first thing in the morning began to surface. This has now become situation normal.

What prompts someone to call at 8:00 in the morning to inquire about a renting a truck at noon for a move to Duluth? Why would anyone move to Duluth at the end of September? This scenario is now so common it constitutes a large percentage of business. It also makes logistics and planning an absolute nightmare.Last winter we had two very nice snows that gave rise to hope we were breaking out of this drought cycle. After a very anemic monsoon season it is quite apparent that this is not the case and things are very dry.

How dry is it? Well, there are some areas where the cactus are dying. If it gets much dryer we will be hunting jerky instead of deer.

Surprisingly the huge aquifers under the Hualapai and Sacramento valleys do not seem to be suffering. This as well as the planned extensive usage of recycled wast water, the need for jobs, the increasing need for electricity and countless other reasons has me really baffled about the outcry against a proposed solar powered generating plant north of Kingman. http://kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=33644&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&S=1

The next book is becoming a very exciting project. I have enlisted the aid of legendary Route 66 artist and historian Jerry McClanahan to ensure accuracy in Ghost Towns of Route 66. Kerrick James is on the road as we speak to capture some of these ghosts framed by fall foliage and, if all goes according to plan, we will add to this illustrative material with a trip east in late October.

If the trip is again postponed then we will most likely have to wait for next spring. I am quite familiar with surprise snow storms on the plains and am not eager to experience another even with a vehicle as sturdy and capable as the Jeep.

Fall is in the air, at least in the early morning and evenings, which has encouraged me to make a few home repairs in anticipation of a cold winter and higher utility bills. Weatherstripping, insulation, and furnace preparation are job one. Job two will be to winterize the vehicles.

As a final note the latest installment in my monthly feature for the Kingman Daily Miner that provides insight into the auto industry is now available. http://kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=33804&SectionID=74&SubSectionID=114&S=1