Monday, July 18

Sitting out in a somewhat chilly evening here in a postage stamp town named after a windmill (I think) -- Coomawheel. About 2OO people and the last outback town before heading into the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory is a vast area that has yet to become a state of Australia -- they vote and pay taxes but they voted down a chance to be the last state just 2O or so years ago.

We had a fine brekky this morning before heading to a town called Mt. Isa. Told it was a town of 3OOOO I was expecting something a bit more than a town of 15OO but it wasn't much more. It's basically a copper mining town and not much more. However, ABBA was in town tonight and against my protestations we departed after lunch. We lunched at the Buffalo Club which was our first "club" experience here. For some liquor law reason, you becomea member for the day (or moment) just to get in for a burger. A bonus is that you can get some casino gambling in.

So we headed out of Mt. Isa and quickly learned we were not done with the fun of doing 1OO kilometers per hour (klicks)on a 1 lane "highway" and driving into a ditch before getting run over by a Road Train.

But we made it to this windmill town, parked our camper vans in the camper park behind the gas station and set ourselves up for the night.

And tonight was the night we'd see what our Aussie friend Sammy could do. In the kitchen. Tonight would be pasta night and Sammy, with very limited resources, threw together a spaghetti dinner to die for. Sammy (did I tell you he was Sicilian?) owns a restaurant in Alice Springs called Cosa Nostra (?) So we knew it would be good.

OK I'm starting to get very cold out here and I need to finish my wine and get to bed. Tomorrow I'll try to remember to take a picture of the big kangaroo with bull horns outside the Shell station. We have a couple more days of driving before getting to Alice Springs. Amazingly we're all still getting along and Sammy doesn't think we're too crazy.

OK that's it my fingers are cold typing on this Blackberry.

G'day from the Outback.
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