Sanford and Son Fossil Diving

I finally made it to the river last week - three times! This post is a combination of them all.

Last Tuesday, our washing machine leaked all over the floor for the last time and we bought a new one. It served 12 years and was ready for the next part of its life's journey in the landfill. I got the awful thing hefted into the back of my truck along with an old air conditioner that looked like it used to be attached to a government trailer in the 1950s. Seriously, like 12 BTU's of cooling power in a steel case occupying 6 cubic feet and weighing in at over 150 pounds. Yes it was to be a productive trip to the dump Wednesday morning on the way to the river. Only when we arrived at the dump, it was closed.

We went to all the other legal dump sites and they were all closed. So the only thing we could do was pile our gear into the truck with the garbage and go to the river. When we arrived, no one looked shocked that we would be participating in a recreational activity with an old washer and air conditioner in tow. Perfectly normal. If only we had a few hunting dogs on chains, some lawn chairs, and a barbeque grill, they might have thought we were new neighbors squatting next door.

At the conclusion of the dive, all of our wet gear fit nicely into the washing machine for the ride home. I'm glad I didn't get pulled over, but if I had, I was prepared to say I was multi-tasking by doing a load of laundry as I drove. Wednesday night, I snapped a photo of the washer still in my truck because I know that proof is often necessary for stories such as these.

I was able to visit the landfill to get rid of the extra cargo before da f0ssZ's visit on Friday. We went to the river and he showed me what fierce determination to recover serrated objects was. He stayed in one spot and was pulling out complete teeth all day. I swam the bed (it was the first visit this year to this spot) and didn't find much in the way of teeth. I did get a point and a blank, though.

Saturday, I went one last time to the river and I went back to the area where I was finding the points on Friday. I found another point, this one really nice and the best I've found in that spot so far. At home on Saturday night, I started to feel some pain in my left ear. Sunday morning the pain was excruciating. The whole left side of my face was throbbing and I couldn't even open my mouth all the way. With Moe's Monday only a day away, I was worried about burrito futures. On Monday, the Doctor said I had a raging ear infection and he has banned me from the river for at least 3 more days still.