Photos

Have just purchased a Flickr pro account. Feel free to browse my account and comment on pics. Here are the URLs:

Road trip photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelseask/sets/1069304/
Other photo sets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelseask/sets/


Also, some of you are wondering why the blog stopped in New Mexico. Honestly, after 40 days on the road, with the last few in cheap hotels, I was overwhelmed and tired. So, whenever I have some free time--HAH!--I'll try to post the last few random thoughts of my long drive home...

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Wednesday, August 10th: Wicked long drive from Peoria to Albuquerque. Another totally different landscape. A sort of dusty green spotting the dirt and red rocks around me. Massive cuts of stone in every direction. I love this kind of environment the best. You know these plants are tough, living in 100 degree+ temperatures amidst solid geography. I'm passing tons of signs for Indian reservations and Native American shops. Unfortunately, most of them are travel plazas as well. A small part of me, deep down inside, is feeling guilty. How are we supposed to learn and change when all that's left are casinos and full-service gas stations? Called Doc for advice about NM. He returned the call soon after, with more ideas than I could possibly use. I was having so much fun with Coop, that I didn't bother to check my itinerary; thus, I have less than 24 hours in Albuquerque.

I get there and park. Walk to the bookstore and meet Scott and his roommate Carson. They give me a proper tour, highlighting the useful buildings and where I'd be "living" as a grad student. Went to their house--a three bedroom, 2 bath, with a yard for $1000+/month--and chilled while they went to play their weekly soccer game. Later, we went to a local bar with two names and a slightly secret entrance. Had beers and chilis courtesy of the Prospective Student fund. Bedtime early. Have to (1) eat a breakfast burrito, says Doc, (2) go to Old Town to find my mom some turquoise and (3) sit in the square there for good luck. Folks say the outside vendors give great deals if you get there before the major infestation of tourists. I'm really hedgy about New Mexico right now. It would be the most significant change: more land than water, minority majority, small sects of liberals, and I've heard that there's no good venues and rarely any great shows. Though, some part of me immediately liked what I saw. Wonderful, more thinking to do...

Peoria, Arizona & Arizona State University

Thursday, August 4th: Woke up, repacked and headed to Denny's for breakfast all by my lonesome. Got on the road for my first real time alone since I left. My need for control fulfilled in speed of my car, the frequency of my pit stops, the exact nature of my iPod playlists. The drive was better than I had expected. Hundreds of windmills lining the landscape, California's version of desert beating down on my car. Flat, hot and rugged. Beat Coop home from work. We had some vodka drinks in his beautiful, grown up apartment. So proud of him, of both of us--to think that six years ago I was in a shitty, deadend relationship and Coop was struggling with academics. By comparison, Coop just did what I'm about to--pick up and move across the country and start over. Got some dinner, met his work friends for a drink and made it an early night.

Friday, August 5th: 90 degrees at 9:00 in the morning. Fucking-A! Coop had to work. Worked on my journal, watched some TV and did laundry. Went grocery shopping. Set the table and made rigatonis with meat sauce and salad. I sorely miss meals with Coop. Somehow found the post-pasta energy required to go rent a movie. Ended up with Season 3 of The Family Guy. Just Coop and I on the couch, just like the old days...

Saturday, August 6th: Coop's day off and we slept in a bit. Drank coffee and had a great bleary-eyed, messy hair morning talk--one of those everything and nothing conversations. Zoned out, watched cartoons and Coop made breakfast. Finally showered for the day and decided to go outside in the oppressively hot weather. Went to a real spiffy car wash. Quality! The arcade was packed, so we ended up at Dairy Queen. Went to see Wedding Crashers. Hilarious! Back at Coop's for cartoons, a phone call from Joe, and more words to exchange. Our pizza took forever to be delivered by a confused, stuttering boy. Went to bed early. Coop has the real world tomorrow.

Sunday, August 7th: More laundry. Errands--post office and Best Buy. Back at the apartment, I compiled a commemorative road trip CD; sort of a start-to-finish record of our travels. Burned copies for the kids. Hand wrote the liner notes for all four copies. When I listened to it, I got goosebumps and weepy-eyed. It was like doing the trip all over again; the sign of a good mix tape, sounds like the trip felt. The summer of singer/songwriters is coming to an end. After Coop got home from work, we went to dinner at his favorite bar/restaurant called Blue Moon. It's going to tear my heart out to leave Coop. It was hard enough when he left me. Such a beautiful soul, so far away.

Monday, August 8th: Last morning without Coop. No errands left to do. Really, really missing Dante. Decided to skip University of Arizona. Have heard nothing good about it from local folks. Spent all day coalescing the scenarios I've come up with on these lazy days:

(1) Get into an MFA program. Get a house and a dog.

(2) Find a teaching position or grant writing job. Move West.

(3) Live in Pittsburgh, maybe do some subbing--save money.

(4) Take up the New York job offer. Live in a broom closet. Go into debt.

Round and round and round I go...
...where my anal, future planning, neurosis stops, nobody knows.

Tuesday, August 9th: Coop's day off. Drank a whole bunch of coffee. We were going to check out Arizona State University anyway, so I found a tattoo parlour in Tempe. Went straight there, picked an artist, discussed my sketch and made an appointment for an hour later. Went to breakfast at Chompy's. Had an avacado omelette. Trying to cram in all the fresh produce I can before I get back to Ohio. Had some time before the tattoo appointment. Drove down Mill Street. Here's an analogy: Tempe is to Phoenix as Bowling Green is to Toledo. Although, Arizona is beautiful and the Tempe/Phoenix area is ripe with good food, venues and manageable cost of living. Back to Club Tattoo where Trini finishes my tatt in less than an hour. Hell yea! Went to ASU where they had some ridiculously complicated, self-guided GPS tour that was broken anyway. Convinced one of the tour chicks to just show me a few buildings. We power-walked campus, trying to outrun an approaching rainstorm. Apparently it's monsoon season. I think I'm 100% on ASU, but the school is definitely my number three choice so far (below U of Montana and San Diego SU). Anyway, Coop and I headed back to Peoria, picked up a couple of In & Out Burgers, rented a movie and chilled out. Repacked and went to bed early. I would do anything to not have to say goodbye to Coop tomorrow...

The Town That Wasn't There, San Diego State University and The Violent Femmes

Tuesday, August 2nd: Dad called my cell at 6-freakin-45 this morning. Something about needing Chris' phone number for fireworks?! Had coffee while Ann was getting ready for work. Repacked the car again. Picked up Emily in Santa Monica. Off to southern Cali. Our first stop was University of California, Irvine. Got lost immediately in Irvine. Finally find visitor parking. I see a campus van with what looks like a sloth on it. I panic. Turns out the UC, Irvine mascot is an anteater. We see these creepy prints of Wizard of Oz characters on the Union, except they have anteater heads. Creepy! We head to the information/tour desk where we find a wicked young kid whose is less than slightly helpful. We ask him to help us do a self-guided, walking tour. He starts circling random blocks of multiple buildings ("These buildings are for the humanities...you can eat anywhere here...there are some on-campus apartments..."). Emily asks where we can go downtown for lunch. The kid's face goes totally blank. Apparently this is NO downtown in Irvine. The college IS the town. He recommends Balboa Island. We Google it and find there is only one street on Balboa Island. We check out a map and see that we are surrounded by Huntington, Newport and Laguna Beach. I refuse to live in some MTV-ish, fashion-oriented (there's actually a neighborhood called Fashion Island!) money pit. I feel like we slipped into some parallel universe. Didn't bother looking at campus. On to San Diego, where I'm in love with the area straight off. Checked in to our hotel, then tried desperately to find Mexican food, but didn't walk far enough. We find a place called Effin's Pub with a sign outside that says "Big Effin' Tacos $1.50 / Import Beers $2". Score. Back to the hotel with a 6-pack of Corona, gummy worms and munchies.

Wednesday, August 3rd: Got up early and rushed to San Diego State University. Managed to park as far away as possible from the tour starting point. Gorgeous campus! Big white buildings, tons of public transport--I'm digging it! Went to check out downtown proper. Fell in love. Easy to navigate, not too big and water along the city limits. Kind of like Pittsburgh. Made it to Anaheim quickly, where the hotel had lost my reservation and I discovered my credit card was missing (left it at Effin's and had it next-dayed to Arizona--WHEW!). Straightened out the mess, gave Topher the wrong address and waited around. Went to Downtown Disney and had some drinks at the ESPN Sports Bar and some hideous outdoor bar that was playing awful disco. Off to The House of Blues to see The Violent Femmes. It was crowded and hot, my back hurt and my feet were sore, but the Femmes took me back in the day to junior high. Good music and nostalgia will cure anything. Back to the hotel where I get to sleep in a King-sized bed all by myself!

Burbank, California

Thursday, July 28th: Got up when Sarah left. We couldn't shower because there wasn't enough water. Had to take down the tent, repack the goddamn car again, and cleaned up after ourselves. Got out of Berkeley okay. The kids all passed out and I was struggling to wake up and stay up. Driving along, I got the feeling we should have seen a sign for Big Sur. Jenna got out the atlas and figured out we had already passed it 80 miles back. We were stuck with the dusty, boring southbound drive on the 5. Stopped briefly in Santa Barbara. Walked through the sand. Got our toes wet. Back on the freeway and stuck in traffic all the way to Burbank. Almost got rear-ended by a rickety pick-up truck. Got in to Burbank and Ali and Rob were off to Pasadena. Jenna and I took showers, then went for Italian with George and Lindsey. Went home. Very sleepy. This will be a nice, homey stop for us. Been to LA twice already, so I'm not worried about touristy shit. Put our feet up, recoup and get ready for the second legs of our trips--me driving alone and Jenna's northeast holiday with her family.

Friday, July 29th: Jenna and I both slept in today. Hung by the pool. LA heat is awful. Berkeley was cold at night and the rest of our West Coast trip had at least some breeze. Ordered a delicious artichoke pizza from right around the corner. Started talking about the idea of "home". We both got weepy: Jenna, with parents in the military and boarding school; me, with no real sense of BG as my home and no idea at all where I'll end up. We're both a little homesick for a home that doesn't exist--a home that's waiting in limbo for each of us to discover. We regrouped, did some swimming and I eventually drove Jenna to Pasadena. Driving in LA is both easy and difficult. Merging from freeway to freeway is easier than getting lost in the one way streets of a traditional city, but more difficult because California doesn't seem to care about warning you when the next freeway is near. In Burbank, waited for George and Lindsey to finish packing. Went out for Mexican food. Have all day tomorrow to myself...

Saturday, July 30th: George and Lindsey left wicked early and I woke up to a quiet house. Watched some insidious morning TV. Lounged by the pool. Like I need more time to think about my future! Too many question marks already. I'm so used to college life, parcelled off in perfect little semesters, depending on each loan check to survive, just me and Dante, the wunder-kitty. It's time for a change and that's what this trip is about--finding a piece of mind and taking hold of the possibilities with both hands.

Sunday, July 31st: Another day to sleep in. Another day by the pool. Topher called and I got ahold of Emily to make dinner plans. Jenna got in from Pasadena only 15 minutes before I had to leave for Santa Monica. Gave Rob and Ali one last hug. Helped Jenna unload everything from my car and said goodbye. She's a right proper road tripper. She's off to Boston and Ann is flying in from London. 5 freeways later and a near collision with the Weinermobile and I was in Santa Monica. Emily took me to the only smoking bar in Cali! Met Topher at a Japanese restaurant where Emily had reserved a private room. Drank two pitchers of Sapphoro. Ate lobster rolls, scallop dumplings, green bean salad with peanut sauce, Asian fried chicken, and a beef and asparagus dish. Coffee and a small sit down at Toph and Emily's helped me get back to Burbank safely.

Monday, August 1st: Lazy and hungover. Booked a hotel for San Diego and got info together. Sat by the pool until Ann got home from work. Showered up and put on decent clothes. Went to dinner at PF Changs. Both had a couple vodka drinks. Ann grilled me about the past, present and future. Went home and got to bed early.

Berkeley, California

Tuesday, July 26th: Sarah was up early. Back to reality; the sounds of alarm clocks, cereal falling into a bowl, coffee beans spinning. Small bit of sleeping it and a long morning of laziness ahead of me. Spent a few hours catching up on my journal and importing a couple dozen of Sarah's CDs. Watched Regis & Kelly, except it was Regis & Whoopi Goldberg. Really fucking weird to be watching morning TV. Not something I usually do. Had errands to do. Bought some groceries for Sarah, filled my Allegra prescription and headed back to the apartment. Sarah got home from work and we took forever to decide on dinner. Ended up at Berkeley's best Thai place. Awesome dinner, great waiter, free tea. Went next door for a beer (Arrogant Bastard Ale). Followed with dessert and coffee at Crepes-A-Go-Go. A crepe the size of my head with Nutella, bananas and hand-whipped cream. I would move to Cali just to eat it again!

Wednesday, July 27th: Another day with Sarah at work. Coffeed, did laundry, did some blogging, and repacked my bag. The kids called mid-day. Turns out they had been in Berkeley all afternoon, shopping Telegraph. Bummer they never called me. They eventually showed up with a shady looking hippy who works at the hostile they stayed at in San Fran. We all headed to Slurp!, an Asian noodle shop. Had the best bowl of soup and wontons ever! I can never get enough of my ginger and garlic. Went for crepes again. Couldn't resist! Went to the same bar as well for some more ale. I'm finally ready to drink and the kids are all tuckered out from their escapades. Headed home and had a hoot trying to pitch the tent on Sarah's deck. Early wake-up tomorrow. Dreading the trek to LA...

Napa Valley

Sunday, July 24th: Woke up wicked early. Packed a day bag and mini-truckin’ supplies. Called Sarah’s wine aficionado friend Shaun, who recommended a few places to check out. First stop was the Miner Family Vineyard. No one there. Good chance to get my feet wet with wine tasting. Bought a Miner Family Vineyards 2001 Syrah. Second stop was Turnbull Wine Cellars. Baby steps toward white wines. Bought a Turnbull Wine Cellars 2004 Viognier. Third stop at Benessere. I’m so used to cheap wine, I never knew a real Zinfandel is red, NOT pink! Bought a Benessere 2003 BK Collins-Old Vines Zinfandel. Stopped at a fairly trendy spot for some good cheese. Picked up Aged Gouda and French Brie. At in the car. Re-hydrated.

Next stop was Reverie. This is where Shaun works. Tasted and took the 10 cent tour. Started in an underground cask storage vault. Chilly with a beautifully set dining table. Shaun waxed eloquent about wine and we were drinking pretty quickly. Went outside to a glen-ish area. Tasted some more. Checked out immature grapes still on the vine. Shaun showed us the “Cadillac” of wine presses. Bought the Reverie Diamond Mountain District 2000 A.S. Kiken Red Table Wine and the Reverie Daydream 2004 Sauvignon Blanc (both unfiltered). Last stop of the day at Grgich Hills. Sarah and I decided to buy a bottle that could sit for a while; drink it together ten years from now. Bought a Grgich Hills 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. Done for the day. Checked in to the hotel. Got cleaned up, called a cab and went to dinner. Stuffed and exhausted. Nervous about spending so heavily, but this is the perfect place to start a decent wine collection.

Monday, July 25th: We’re on our own today for picking spots. Started with an opulent estate called Dariousch. Forgettable wines and delicious pistachios. Pretty place but pricey bottles. Came across an out of the way joint called Signorello Vineyards. All alone with John who spewed out some more wine knowledge for us (Syrah = Shiraz). Was bummed to see that an interesting looking white had sold out. In walks Pierre, with wine stains on his T-shirt. The grand winemaker and partial owner walks right outside and pours us fresh glasses of the next batch. De-fucking-licious! Ordered the Signorello Vineyards 2003 Seta White (TBA: Bottling in August 2005; TBA: Release in Oct./Nov. 2005). Bought the Signorello Vineyards 2002 Syrah-Estate and the Signorello Vineyards 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon-Estate. Continued on, looking for a good view of someone’s land. Maybe a photo op. Found ourselves at Silverado Vineyards, owned by Walt Disney’s daughter. Gorgeous view! Surprised myself by purchasing a merlot. Bought a Silverado Vineyards 2002 Merlot.

Feeling a bit saturated, so we headed to lunch at Brix. Had a tomato and basil salad; pan-seared halibut with alfalfa sprouts, carrots, asparagus, gnocchi and au jus; mocha tort with java gelato in a caramelized sugar bowl. Oh my God! Had the stamina for one last stop. Went to Napa Cellars. Sarah’s been here before. Bought a Napa Cellars 2004 Chardonnay (Chardonnay! Whoda thunkit?) and the Napa Cellars 2003 Fié Doux, a Semillon late harvest dessert wine. I’ve spent my money like it’s going out of fashion; picked up ten incredible bottles of wine; learned the smell-swirl-smell; identified my own palette and particular tastes. Back to Berkeley. Ate a big greasy burger. Went to bed early. Have lots of stupid little errands to do tomorrow.

Driving Daze

Friday, July 22nd: Goin’ to California! Made a stop at the University of Oregon. Campus itself is absolutely gorgeous, but the downtown area is a bit too much like Bowling Green. Fast food, hotels and a pretty simple “city.” Starting to get nervous about only liking U. of Montana so far. Who knows where I’ll end up? Driving again. Found an obscenely large replication of Paul Bunyan and his ox (complete with authentic concrete balls—how would you explain that to your kids?!). Arrived in Eureka. Shady hotel. Spooky fog rolling in. Grabbed dinner at a family restaurant. Found the boardwalk. Took a stroll. Back to the hotel for a glass of wine and some sleep.

Saturday, July 23rd: Jumped on the 101. The trip became immediately tiring. Severe twisting and turning on the road. Stopped at the Avenue of the Giants, a touristy side road featuring the coastal redwoods. Once through Fort Bragg, picked up Highway 1. Physically and mentally difficult road to drive. Breathtaking views of the ocean. Blind curves everywhere. Felt sick like on a carnival ride you can’t get off. We all agreed we would take another road ASAP. Getting anxious to see Pinkelman and the kids were freaking out seeing just the far away view of San Fran. Floating along, thinking we’re close and we miss a turn. Stuck on the wrong bridge. Arrggghhhh!!!!! Turn around on Treasure Island. Find Berkeley, go up a huge hill and arrive at Sarah’s. Go to a viewpoint of the city. Find a Rasta playing his drum, praising the Lord. Perfect! Drop the kids of at BART and they’re off to the city. Sarah and I grab dinner, visit with Jones, talk about the road trip for the umteenth time. Go to a bar, do shots, lose all energy. Napa tomorrow!

Portland, Oregon

Wednesday, July 20th: Woke up one-eyed and slightly wilted. Said goodbye to Lesley and were off to buy some glass. Immediately enjoyed the prospect of a short drive—less than 300 miles to Portland. Relatively easy and traffic-less until the city center. Bumper-to-bumper. Checked in to the Jupiter Hotel. Swank, unassuming spot. Chalkboard doors. Backlit walkways. Doug Fir Restaurant and Lounge attached. Jenna was out of her mind to pick up her mates. Picked up Ali and Rob from the airport. Back to the hotel and then a short walk across the Burnside Bridge to Portland proper. Found a little deep dish pizza/microbrewery. Sat, stuffed ourselves, and drank two happy hour pitchers. Headed back to the hotel where we realized a band was playing later. The Volumes (unnecessarily loud and performance antic-ie) opened for Weird War (good tunes but an awful, short front man who resembled a cross between Jim Morrison and Elvis with a bad toupee). Fell into bed fast. No awkward silence of adjusting to new people before sleep. Comfy mattress with down pillows☺

Thursday, July 21st: Got a couple excellent Café Americanos from the Doug Fir. We’ve got all day to burn before the show tonight. Walked across the Burnside Bridge. Had breakfast. Wandered around downtown. Came across a beautiful park; people jogging or eating their neatly bagged lunches. Ran into two crunchies with a petition against John Roberts. They pointed us toward Hawthorne and 30th. Checked out a free trade shop, some novelty crap and got thirsty for a mid-day pint. As I’m moving the car, I see Powell’s Books and my heart starts pitter-pattering. I’m such a nerd! We split up. The kids went in search of a cheap pawn shop guitar. I went to Powell’s. Felt overwhelmed, but hung in. Found a copy of The Thurber Carnival. On a whim, remembered the EMP Dylan exhibit and had a lady look up all Dylan listings. Ten minutes later, found a mint copy of Tarantula, the only work of fiction that Dylan ever wrote and grudgingly agreed to have published after his motorcycle accident. That made my year. Moved the car again. Ate a burrito the size of my head at the Bagdad Cafe. Strange mumbling man ended up eating the leftover half as well. That evening, off to our show: Liz James opening for Sufjan Stevens. Both are religious—not imposingly and ignorantly so, but wholesome, beautiful, well-done music. Surprisingly enjoyed myself. Had my first patriotic moment when Sufjan covered The Star Spangled Banner. I guess now that I’ve seen most of my country, the song can mean more to me. “Love your country. Fear your government.

Bellingham & Seattle (Washington)

Sunday, July 17th: Left Spokane this morning. Not too fond of Eastern Washington. Didn’t expect it to be this flat. Mid-way in the driving, we found ourselves on North Cascades Highway. More trees than we’ve seen in a while. Uphill, uphill; downhill, downhill and fairly heavy traffic: Good practice for Highway 1 driving, I guess. I’m learning how to calm my anxious energy down (How long have I been driving? What’s my average speed? When will we get there?) and do a bit of safe sightseeing while I’m also focusing on the road. We’ve been taking the “scenic”—slower and longer—roads because, otherwise, we’d miss a lot of the country in the process of traveling. Got to Lesley’s. Met her roommates and checked out her house. Went to Phoof’s for dinner. First floor of the house is an antiques showroom. Upstairs, there are extra bedrooms and an “apartment.” Ate shrimp the size of my head. Met Phoof’s sister Judy (who lives in Phoenix). Might hook up with her in Arizona; she likes to party. Back to Lesley’s to sleep in Aaron’s room. Someone’s given him an old therapeutic/hospital bed. Better than sleeping on the floor. Moving up on the sleeping situation. Nice to be with family.

Monday, July 18th: Got up and showered quick. Phoof, Judy, Lesley, Aaron, Jenna and I went to a hippy breakfast café. Great California omelet. I can never get enough avocado when I’m on the West Coast. On our way to Seattle, we decide that the 80-mile drive is similar to the Bowling Green/Detroit trip we frequently make for concerts. Decided we’ll probably drive back to Bellingham instead of staying in the city. Parked in a garage and took the bus to the Experience the Music Project. Guitar sculpture in the entryway. 700 custom-made guitars, wired to play independent of human hands. Thought of Ron. Felt some sad that I needed to feel. Freaked out when we got to the 2nd floor. A Bob-freakin-Dylan retrospective. Of all the musicians in the world, the EMP has my fave! As if that wasn’t enough, there was a Jimi Hendrix timeline as well. Took some illegal photos. The EMP building itself is a work of art.

Moved the car closer to the venue. Grabbed some dinner at the Honey Pot. Pesto sandwich…mmm…though not as good as Dad’s pesto. Shopped at the biggest friggin’ thrift store I’ve ever seen called Value Village. Headed to the venue—p Neumo’s. Sort of an inconspicuously trendy spot. Kind of tired of standing already and the club is WAY HOT. The first “group” was a super-lame ‘80s dance troupe. They played lots of Heart. I fucking despise performance artists. Second group was a highly forgettable rap duo. Third group was an Asian brother/sister set-up—good tunes, bad lyrics. Highly irritated at this point. Finally, The Go! Team took the stage. High energy, dancing and sweating, incredible performance! Glad I’m taking chances with new music on this trip (Thanks Jenna!). Walked on aching feet to the car. Made an uneventful exit from Seattle. Got back to Lesley’s, put on PJs and fell into the big, noisy, uncomfortable bed. Yea Seattle!

Tuesday, July 19th: Lazy start to the morning. Went to a local co-op and bought some really expensive hippy, organic produce. After lunch, went to Lesley’s friend’s house—complete with a small aircraft landing strip, front lawn to the water, dock with boat, fire pit, and two dogs (Blue a.k.a. Bl and Snow Pants a.k.a. Pants). Jenna and Aaron went kayaking. Back to Lesley’s to bum around for a bit. Jenna, Aaron and I headed to a brewery for dinner. Had fish tacos and a pint of Bellingham Blonde. Went to a bar where High Life is $1 and the jukebox rocks. Lesley met us after her soccer game and we went to another bar to see Feed and Seed, a way young but totally decent bluegrass band. Went to one last bar where Lesley and Aaron’s friend was playing in a C/W Ween cover band. Headed home. Ordered a brilliantly good chicken, pesto, artichoke pizza. Just what we all needed to pass out and wake up without a hangover. It was a good day…

Spokane, Washington & EWU

Friday, July 15th: Spent a long morning at the campsite. Had free coffee and overpriced muffins. Didn't sleep tremendously well due to a chronically cold nose and aching hips, symptoms of too much sleeping on the ground I suppose. Wrote some postcards, took down the tent and checked out around noon. Had to navigate Friday-in-Missoula traffic to go to the mall for a new cell phone battery. What a contrast to our past week of campiness.

Driving was pretty intense this leg. Continual twisting and turning roads, constantly breaking and coasting. It seems the whole trip was a downhill progression of losing elevation. I miss Montana already, as Idaho was fairly forgettable. Arrived in Spokane to meet Gordon and Jillian--very nice indeed. Did some laundry. Shopped for beer at Huckleberry's, an incredible smelling natural foods store. Unknowingly bought Washington beer (Red Hook Blonde...mmm). Had Papa Murphy's pizza, where you get it raw and bake it at home. They were off to a B&N Harry Potter release party, so Jenna and I headed to the cinema to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. YEA! I give it two thumbs up and a couple gold stars. This is turning out to be a nice, mellow pit stop. Just what we needed.

Saturday, July 16th: Had to wake up at 6:45 this morning. By a stroke of fate, I checked my email yesterday to find that Nine Inch Nails tickets for a show in October in Detroit were on sale at 10:00 EDT (3 hour time difference, hence the waking up early early). Got on the floor. Checked later and the show had already sold into the third tier. Glad I woke up. Bummed around. Had coffee and bagel. Drove to check out Eastern Washington University. I think it might be off my list. First, a lot of people live in Spokane (rather than Cheney) and commute; second, campus is bereft of a standout landscape--simple bricks and mortar type; and it just seems scarily close to BG. I still have six schools to check out. I'm only nervous that I'm already shortening the list. A smaller list of schools I adore will inevitably lead to unreasonable expectations. To digress, we're accompanying Gordon and Jillian to a work party tonight. Will leave early tomorrow in order to properly enjoy the drive to Bellingham. I can't believe we've only been gone for one week and are 2,000+ miles away from home...AND, we're only one-third through the trip. Onward!

University of Montana & Missoula

Thursday, July 14th: Woke up just in time for coffee--a sixth sense of mine. Pissed around with the atlas and called Pinkelman. Have decided to make the Portland to Berkeley drive a two-day affair; spend a night in Eureka so we can take our time with the Redwoods. Anyhow, drove to downtown Missoula, found the University of Montana and miraculously happened to park directly in front of the building we were seeking. Went on the hokey 11:00 tour with some high school football players. Tour guide was fond of the word awesome. I think I'm in love with Montana!

On campus, we saw a giant bronze grizzly bear statue; a mountain with the letter "M" on it and a switchback trail to the top; a fairly indescript liberal arts building; an incredible rec center with a 100 foot climbing wall and a huge catalogue of rentable items, including but not limited to backpacks, sleeping bags, tents, and an 8-man raft. Food on campus rocks--lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Great public transportation, buses and bike paths everywhere. Impressive library and cheap but adequate health center. Only one shortcoming...there is not one Apple computer on campus. I feel like I've landed on some strange planet.

Drove downtown and walked around. Checked out junk shops and second-hand stores. Found a ClaZel-ish theater, featuring both a night of Chippendales and the brutal documentary Born Into Brothels. Wandered into a patisserie and ate some gorgeous chocolate. A few hours in 100 degree weather and we were about done--not done, through...turkeys are done, people are through--with Missoula. Saw a sign for an old carousel and found ourselves in a park. Continued exploring and found "Downtown Tonight." Sponsored by the Missoula Downtown Association, every Thursday in the summer, people get out of work and come down to this little tented, concrete amphitheater. Live music, local food and a beer garden. Had a gyro and beer (Montana Blonde--really starting to like "blonde" brews) for cheap.

After ice cream, back to the campsite for a night swim. Perfect after a long, hot day and a cloudless, windless blue sky. Drank Daniel's wine; opened with my Swiss Army knife from Girl Scouts and poured into the gullet straight from the bottle. Leaving for Spokane in the a.m. I think I would really dig living and writing in Montana: ethnic food, hippies with babies and new families, elevation...options. This feels like somewhere I wouldn't mind staying after I'm finished with the next round of school. Anyway, first I have to apply; then, they have to let me in. Oh well, live and learn.

Close to a Coronary

Wednesday, July 13th: Woke up bright and early to meet Lily for breakfast at the EDR (Employee Dining Room). Went in our PJs and had atrocious eggs and semi-decent gravy biscuits. Did a whole slew of errands, showered at the dorms and said goodbye. It was so nice to spend time with Lily, seeing as though I assumed I'd never see her again. The only way to 90W is to drive through Yellowstone (a.k.a. slow speed limits, treacherous curves, migrating wildlife, and dim-witted tourists driving excessively large RVs). The road warrior inside of me almost had a coronary!

Driving through Yellowstone was surprisingly disappointing. First of all, compared to the Tetons, Yellowstone is utter crap. The overabundance of sulphur leads to an awful smell, as well as too many man-made roads and walkways. The years and years of forest fires has left Yellowstone's landscape looking like a pale, unshaven face--sickly or already dead trees everywhere. Between the overdone attraction of Old Faithful and the disgusting Disneyland-esque village in the park, hotels and amenities surrounding you, I guess this is where stupid people go to vacation. I just wasn't impressed at all. It took us 3 hours to go 100 miles and we finally exited Yellowstone.

I don't know where it came from, but I've had this building anticipation for Montana...it didn't disappoint me. Mountains in all directions, undisturbed, rugged and green. I'm already in love. Got tired driving, after the intense focus needed for Yellowstone and the gawking at Montana's geography. Jenna took over for about a 1/2 hour. I guess after 2,000 miles, I needed a break. Arrived west of Missoula and immediately got lost looking for the Outpost Campground. Upon finding it, we should have trusted our gut. Walked in and a Kathy Bates look-alike, in an office smelling of animal piss, took our money as she gave us a no-neck smile and told us to "camp anywhere." If you've ever seen the movie Deliverance, I shouldn't have to describe this place. Broken down trailers, dirt driveways, plastic lawn chairs, camoflouged trucks made us seek refuge at the Jellystone Camp down the road. These nice folks have a pool, hot showers, and mini golf. They said we should go get our money back from the scary lady and camp with them. Went back with a sham cover story and got our money back. Used it to buy our safety, piece of mind and a steak dinner.

P.S. It's extremely difficult to pitch a tent in Montana wind. Proceed with caution, heavy stones and extra tent pegs. And remember, a lop-sided tent askew is better than no tent at all!

Grand Tetons National Park

Monday, July 11th: After body wrenching sleep and waking early to the sounds of campground commotion, I wasn't feeling too spry. We met up with Lily, ate some fruit and Breakfast Crunch (I want to give a shout out to Sharp's Bulk Foods in up-state NY and the 15 pounds of Amish granola we are transporting) and decided to go for a hike. We drove to the trailhead of Two Oceans Lake, about 10 miles away. The name refers to the fact that the Lake straddles the Continental Divide. Part of the trail was closed to "preserve wildlife" (an eagle's nest and grizzly bears), meaning we would have to double back instead of circling the whole lake.

At first, the landscape was beautiful and overwhelming, trekking on a tiny foot path through tough brush, flowers, downed trees, and other assorted Sound of Music-esque features. As the elevation went up, my stamina went down. The first three miles were relatively easygoing; the last mile was entirely uphill. My feet hurt, my knees were aching, my thighs were burning, and I couldn't catch my breath. A dozen switchbacks later and the view point was totally worth it. At over 7,000 feet, we could see almost every peak the Tetons had to offer. We sat for a while, munching on apples and trail mix, chugged some water and snapped a few photos; though, I seriously doubt these words or my pictures could ever capture what I saw.

The hike down was better, but my legs turned to lead as I planted each foot, resisting a tumble down the trail. We were on a mission to get out of the heat and back to my car. We were all looking at our feet, weary and sun-soaked. I grabbed the pack of Lily's rucksack...I saw a young black bear. We backed away slowly and quietly until he saw us and galloped away. For the next few minutes, we clapped and sang and made as much noise as possible. After 9 miles, 4+ hours and a bear sighting, I've NEVER been so happy to see my car!

Went with Lily and Cody down to Jackson for dinner. Passed an Elk Refuge with no elk and a picture of a bird on the sign?! Ate at the Merry Piglet, a Mexican restaurant. Had shrimp tacos. The drive back--at just before sunset--was gorgeous. Sun leaking through the mountains, fingers of gold leading us home. With the addition of slightly over-priced, foam sleeping mats and a relocation of the tent to the gravel pit (perfect for weight distribution), we tucked ourselves in and had a good sleep.

Tuesday, July 12th: Slept hard and in various rotisserie positions. Lily loaned us an extra blanket and sleeping bag. Lily had to work and Cody drove to Bozeman to buy climbing shoes. I was close to murder due to lack of coffe, but Jenna and I discovered a General Store. Took a spit bath and headed back down to the picnic area by Jackson Lake for the day. Jenna kept herself busy building a rock tower on the rock beach, swimming and exploring. I planted myself on a picnic bench and read two of the three Montana books (SIDENOTE: I've brought with me poetry chap-books written by profs who teach at the schools I'm checking out.). Was surrounded by different family units.

Lily got off at 4 and we showered up and went to dinner at a lodge she'd never been to. Lily and Cody worked on replenishing our firewood and ice while Jenna and I cleaned and repacked the car. Had a smallish campfire at our site, just the four of us. Hotboxed the tent, burned our paper trash and went to bed early.

On the Road Again

Sunday, July 10th: Left Aurora at 9:00 this morning--Joe and Cindy were off to church and we to Grand Tetons National Park (GTNP) in Wyoming. Though 80W seems to melt into the horizon, Wyoming is covered with hills and ridges, hundreds of miles of livestock fence, wind barricades, and a slightly pink-tinted type of asphalt. I can't even begin to comprehend what pioneers thought when they saw the landscape begin to rise and roughen--and what courage it must have taken to keep going. The odometer kept spinning and time kept ticking away. We estimated 500 miles/7 hours. The reason we aren't sure about mileage/time between destinations is that Jenna and I chose to not calculate them so we wouldn't be always checking the atlas and the clock...but now, we are always checking because we have no idea at all.

9 and 1/2 hours and 600 miles later, we arrived in GTNP. By some dumb stroke of luck, we actually found Lily's dorm, hidden behind one of the service stations. Big hugs and some waiting around, then off to the Colter Bay campsite. Lily's friend Stephani let us camp for FREE for three days. Never hurts to ask--for all those times I was embarassed because you asked for something free, Thanks, Dad! Set the tent up in 15 minutes--another thanks to my Dad who set the tent up in our living room in case I had forgotten how to do it. Headed to Leeks, a pizza and beer joint right on Jackson Lake (Pesto pizza with tomato and artichoke...mmmm). Tried another local brew (Snake River Lager), got free firewood from Lily's work (Tent Village), iced down our Molson, and went to a picnic area near the lake. Campsite quiet hours start at 10 and the picnic area is fairly secluded.

Once the fire was going, people started trickling out of the woods on foot, on bikes with headlamps, carrying coolers and campfire essentials: acoustic guitar, smore supplies, bug spray, flashlights, and various debatable substances. In less than an hour, most of the (fun) employees who stay at the Colter Bay dorms were hanging out. A final thanks to my Dad, who gave me a million-candle power spotlight. The park kids were laughing at me, calling the spotlight "hippie mace," but the laughter stopped when they needed to get home in the enveloping darkness of the Tetons. Sleep that night was futile, as we had pitched the tent on an uneven patch of grass, with our heads downhill and we didn't have enough warm stuff. I forgetting that camping when you're a kid is WAY different than camping as an adult, during a tight road trip. I guess I should have taken the foam pads my Dad offered...

Aurora, Colorado

Saturday, July 9th: It felt so good to sleep in! After dealing with Poppy's rollercoaster of health problems, the emotional taxation of Ron's memorial, and getting ready for the trip, I only had to drive 19+ hours to deserve a quiet morning. Got up and had coffee. Cindy was getting ready for a baby shower at the house and Joe was geting antsy about the "heat." Shit, at less than 90 degrees with no humidity whatsoever, these folks ought to try a summer in Bowling Green. Anyhow, Joe took us for lunch, we grabbed some local beer (a copper ale from Boulder), and we headed to the reservoir. In Colorado, you pay for a Parks pass and, for $60, can do pretty much anything. The reservoir has a real sand beach, picnic and grilling areas, a bathroom and first aid facility, a boat lauch and marina, and a taste of the local color (Latino, Asian, Russian, Philippino, and, as Cindy said, the "normal" brand of white folks).

Clouds were rolling in and Joe had a tee-time, so we went back to the house. Cindy fed us again with leftover baby shower munchies. About an hour later, she ordered two of the biggest pizzas ("Monster Mouths") I've ever seen. We watched some Nicholas Cage movie--predictable, formulaic and easy to zone out. I'm counting my blessings though. We've got a long road ahead of us and this has been a nice rest stop after the enormity of crossing the ass end of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, and part of Colorado. Here we go...

Are We There Yet?

Friday, July 8th: We left Bowling Green at 7:00 a.m., with a neatly packed car, Daniel (until Chicago), and only a vague idea of how long it would take us to get to Colorado. After visiting the opulently designed Indiana Tourism Center, we found the South Shore train station and dropped off Daniel. I could have done without Indiana and Illinois altogether, but Iowa was surprisingly beautiful. Rolling hills, bright green grasses--a good representative of the Heartland.

Nebraska quickly became my favorite state, as it is the first with a 75 m.p.h. speed limit; though, it's flatter than Ohio and wider than we thought. At this point, we'd been on 80W for most of the trip, cruise control set on 85, and Jenna offering to drive ever so often. Little old neurotic me refused, and continued the drive no matter the physical cost. I didn't know what to expect from such a lengthy road trip, but I soon felt stabbing stiffness in my knees, tense muscles in my neck, a tired from focusing in my eyes, and the overwhelming panicky feeling from too much air conditioning and enclosed music.

In the end, I can now say that I drove all the way to Colorado on my own, without relief. It took us 19+ hours to travel 1,200+ miles. The last leg of the drive was fairly brutal, as we underestimated both the time and distance to Aurora and got lost in the last 15 minutes of navigation. Cindy had to guide us by cell phone. She greeted us with a glass of ice cold water (to combat the elevation change), two guest beds and an offer to sleep as late as we wanted. And so it begins...

Blogging Update

NOTE: My cell phone-->lap top-->Internet connection does not work as I had hoped it would. So, I am only able to post entries when I am visiting the planned campuses on the trip. Keep checking the site every few days; I promise to make up for the lag in time. Thanks to everyone who has commented on the blog so far! Check for a post later today...

P.S. I've noticed that the web site doesn't always automatically refresh when I post a new entry. I recommend hitting the "Refresh" button each time you visit the site.