Just some final notes from my 2 week trip back to Ann Arbor:
States Visited (15) in Order:
Washington
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Idaho (again)
Utah
Nevada
California
Arizona
New Mexico
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Total Miles: 5,425
Total Cost: $1,128
Lodging Cost: $108
Gas Costs: $805
Food Etc: $232
Campsites ranked best to worst:
1) Joshua Tree National Park, CA
2) Yellowstone Natioal Park, WY
3) Hayburn State Park, ID
4) Lewis and Clark National Forrest, MT
5) Shitty state park near Las Vegas, NM
College Football Stadiums visited in order:
Martin Stadium - Washington State
Kibbie Dome - Idaho
Mackey Stadium - Nevada
California Memorial Stadium - Cal
Rose Bowl - UCLA
University Stadium - New Mexico
Bill Synder Family Football Stadium - Kansas St.
Memorial Stadium - Kansas
Greetings fans. A special shout-out to my international readers.
It's been 4 days since my last post and I've gone a long way since Phoenix. I've visited Manhattan and Las Vegas. Sadly the Manhattan was in Kansas, and the Las Vegas was in New Mexico.
After staying with my buddy Jon, I started making the 2 day drive to Kansas. The first day I drove north from Phoenix and turned East at Flagstaff. After turning onto I-40. I started seeing cops every 5-10 miles. Since getting a ticket would hurt my budget for the trip, I played it safe and put the cruise control at 77, which seemed reasonable on a 75MPH highway. About 30 miles and 6 cops later, I got pulled over for speeding. I was pulled over and issued a warning for going 2 over the limit because as the officer told me "In northern Arizona, 75 means 75". He was also pretty convinced that I was hauling large amounts of methamphetamine back to Michigan in the large containers that had my camping gear. Unfortunately for him, I didn't have time for him to get a chance to find out.
University Stadium - New Mexico
After getting a little behind, I made it to Albuquerque where I grabbed a snack with my cousin Meg. After that I went north to Santa Fe and eventually to Las Vegas, NM. I had picked out a state park that on the map looked like a really cool lake surrounded by the forests of the southern Rockies. It actually was a large dirty and rocky field with a dried out lake. To make matters worse there was a burn ban in effect so I couldn't even have a fire. It wasn't my favorite night camping.
Camping in New Mexico
On Wednesday I woke up and hit the road for Kansas. It was another long 11 hour drive plus I lost another hour to time changes. After an uninspiring drive through Kansas, I made it to my buddy Jones's place around 7:30. We grilled some burgers and drank some beers and watched 3 episodes of Jeopardy. It was an overall terrific evening, and since we hadn't seen each other in about 3 years it was great to catch up and a quintessential element of my current life goals of keeping in touch with people.
Bill Snyder Family Fun Football Facility - Kansas State
Thursday I left to drive to Chicago which was another 11 hour haul including a brutal stretch across Missouri. In Chicago I stayed with my old roommate and went to the bar to watch the blackhawks game. We ended getting back to his place around 11 and then stayed up until 2am half watching the Larry Sanders show and mostly bullshitting. I always enjoy Chicago and this morning we slept in and got a late breakfast before I left for Michigan.
Memorial Stadium - University of Kansas
I got into A2 around 4:30 and met the two guys who are living in the house that I'm subletting a room in. It's right next door to the house I lived in in college and I've had 3 sets of friends live in this house when I was a student, which was part of the reason I picked it. Within 10 minutes of getting to Ann Arbor we left to go to the Heidelberg for free wings and $2 beers. That's why college towns are awesome.
I've provided some pictures of the house as I came across them moving in. This is exactly the same condition the house was in when I was a student. It's going to take some getting used to living in filth again, but I think I'm up for the challenge. For your sake I'm not picturing the bathroom. It's good to be back in Ann Arbor though. Sorry if the pictures are upside down.
Not pictured - Laptop on the kitchen floor
Nativity Scene
Casual Carlos Rossi Jug chilling in the hot corner
It's been a few days since my last post. It's much easier to find the time to write when I'm camping and without distractions. Since I left Yellowstone 5 days ago I've gotten all the way to Phoenix, by way of San Francisco. Let's catch up on the last few days.
After leaving Yellowstone Wednesday and driving by the Grand Tetons I drove west from Jackson, WY and across southern Idaho where my Grandfather was born. I then turned south towards Salt Lake City. As I neared SLC I realized that I would not make it to my goal of Elko, Nevada that night. Unfortunately there isn't really any camping between SLC and Elko so I had to get a hotel just over the border of Nevada in Wendover. I got a room in a casino where I watched the Wings get eliminated from the playoffs.
Thursday I woke up and kept heading west on I-80 through Nevada. It was a long drive and the rugged arid mountains were not as entertaining as the lush green mountains from the day before. Eventually I made it to the California border where the landscape again turned into more appealing forms.
Mackay Stadium - Reno
The American West has so many climates and environments that each day of this trip brings a new type of beauty to me. I'm lucky to have this opportunity to experience it all now because the last 1/2 of my trip will be much flatter and less visually appealing.
That evening I arrived in Berkeley and checked in at the hotel where Carly's brother was getting married. It was a few blocks from the campus of Cal, so after hauling my stuff up to the room I set out on a walk around campus. I then spent the evening with Carly's family while waiting on her to fly in from Seattle.
California Memorial Stadium - Berkeley
On Friday I helped Carly's family set up for the rehearsal dinner which we had in a large park. It took most of the morning to get set up, and then most of the afternoon to go to the rehearsal and most of the evening to enjoy the pizza and beer in the park. As simple as pizza and beer in the park sounds, it was about 2 van-fulls of gear that we had to haul there and get set up and it was a really nice rehearsal dinner complete with drinking game Olympics (boccie ball, croquet, beer pong, cornhole).
The day of the wedding Carly had to leave early to be with the bride. I walked around Berkeley and then got ready. The wedding was a full catholic mass but as a reward for all the sitting and standing, the reception had a Manhattan as their signature cocktail which I enjoyed thoroughly. It was ie to meet some of Carly's friends and family including her host parents from when she studied abroad in Denmark. I spent a good deal of time with them and sat with them at the wedding. I think if I make it to Copenhagen this fall I will visit them.
Rose Bowl - Pasadena
On Sunday I had to say goodbye to Carly for the next 4 months which was really hard. Luckily as a man I have mastered my emotions, but it wasn't easy knowing we wouldn't see each other all summer.
I drove south through the California Valley towards LA and then east. I was going to stay in Seqouia national park but I made such good time that I got all the way to Joshua Tree. Which was good because it made it an easy drive today and Joshua Tree was amazing. Desert camping is way different than woodland camping and it was pretty warm all night. I got to sleep without my rain-fly on my tent and stare at the stars. Sunset and nighttime in the desert was awesome. I can totally see why people go there do their drugs.
Today I made a quick 5 hour drive to Phoenix where I spent the afternoon at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Scottsdale. They have a pool, shower, laundry facilities, wi-fi and beer. Talk about hospitality. We are going to go out to dinner and then afterwards I'm going over to my old co-workers Jon's house for the night. Jon was a big inspiration for the trip and I've only seen him once since he moved down here from Seattle last year.
Yellowstone was spectacular. I really enjoyed the park. After arriving I checked out the park headquarters in Mammoth and then headed off on a hike in the Northwest corner of the park. Since the trail was near the HQ I figured it would be a pretty popular trail, and there were a good number of people on the first 0.3 miles. But after that point it emptied out and I didn't see anyone the rest of the hike. I climbed about a 2 miles up the trail until I reached a clearing where the forest had been destroyed by a forest fire and many trees were burnt out and fallen. I spent a few hours up there exploring some ponds and hilltops. I saw deer and elk and many birds but and best of all, not another human.
Gardnier, WY
As I began my decent back down the trail I stopped to sit on a log and drink some water. I heard what I thought was another hiker coming up the trail. As I looked over, I saw it wasn't a human but it was a momma black bear and her cub. The cub scurried up a tree about 150 feet away while the momma bear just stared at me. I tried not to panic and grabbed my backpack and retreated to about 300 feet away from the bear which was still sitting there watching me.
On top of the mountain
I found a somewhat protected point and then fashoned two spears out of deadfall, in case it came to that. Since I pack light I didn't have a hatchet, machete, bear spray or a pistol. I got my phone out to make a video to document my impending death by mauling in which I'm embarrassed (em-bear-essed) to say I made more than one bear pun.
There is a bear somewhere in there.
After about 5 minutes the bear and her cub wandered off. Unfortunately they wandered off right down the trail I was also trying to descend. After giving it about 10 minutes I slowly started making my way down the trail afraid I was going to catch up with it. I made lots of noise, and was praying I'd run into another hiker. It wasn't until I got about a tenth of a mile from the trailhead that I saw someone else. It was a solid hour of an adrenaline rush.
Bison on the road!
After getting back to the HQ I treated myself to a chicken sandwich, ice cream and a cool beer to take the edge off. I then drove south to the Norris campsite where I made camp. I got into camp early which was nice and got everything set up and a nice fire going. It pretty much drizzled all night but the campfire kept me warm and I had a few blankets for the tent. It got down into the 30's during the night but didn't freeze my water bottle.
This morning I woke up packed the site up in the rain and got in my car. I stopped by old faithful to see the eruption. It was very cool but my phone crapped out so I didn't take any pictures. Then I continued driving south through the Grand Tetons which looked gorgeous but the low cloud cover made it hard to truely appreciate it.
Now I turn back west to head to San Francisco for the weekend.
I crossed the Continental Divide for the first time
I'm sitting in a McDonalds in Livingston, MT writing this. In the 15 minutes I've been here I've had 2 sets of Michigan Grads walk in and talk to me. Which is great because yesterday I was feeling a little lonely.
I woke up in Idaho and hit the road early. After some mega-blogging in Coeur D'Alene, I got to drive through Northern Idaho which I remember from my drive out west 4 years ago as spectacular. It did not disappoint.
I then turned onto the country roads in Montana to drive up to Kalispell. Even the two lane country roads in Montana have a speed limit of 70MPH, so the Camaro really got to hug the roads. I drove up next to Flathead lake which was georgous before stopping in Kalispell fol lunch. From there it was on to Glacier National Park. The going to the sun road was still closed with snow, but I went as far as I could from the west side of the park. It was spectacular but driving through Highway 2 to the east side I think I would have really enjoyed that portion of the park even more.
From there it was more country roads all the way to Great Falls and onto my campsite at the Lewis and Clark Nat'l Forest. I made camp at a roadside campsite which was very unlike the campground I had stayed in the previous nights. Instead of having 30+ campsites packed with people and crying babies, I was the only person at this 6-site campground situated between the road and a mountainside. I also didn't have a cell signal which made me acutely aware of just how alone I was. I ended up retreating to me tent early.
This morning I woke up around 5:30 and packed up camp and after a few rainy hours on the road ended up at this here McDouglass's. Today I explore Yellowstone! Upwards and Onwards!
I'm writing this from a bagel shop in Coeur D'Alene, ID that is open on memorial day for some reason. It's been a good journey thus far, but it has only begun.
On Saturday I got all packed up and said goodbye to my roommate of 3 years. It was anticlimactic except for him standing in the driveway watching me drive off into the sunset. I then hopped on the ferry one last time and went into Seattle to stay with my girlfriend. We went out to my favorite sushi place and then meet up with friends for buckets of High Life.
The state park I stayed at last night
Yesterday morning I slept in and then hit the road. I drove over the lush cascades and down into the dryer Yakima valley. As I was driving I began to think about cool things I could do on the trip. I really thought it would be nifty if I had a dashboard camera and could make a video of my drive condensed down to a couple of minutes. But I don't have a dashboard cam. But I did start taking pictures as I drive that I may compile at the end into a video.
Martin Stadium
I also decided to visit as many college football stadiums as possible, which luckily I decided in time to veer off route and head to Pullman, WA (Washington State) and Moscow, ID (U of Idaho). It took me a bit out of my way and I didn't make it to the Coeur D'Alene National Forrest like I planned, so instead I camped at a state park south of Coeur D'Alene.
THE KIBBIE DOME!!!!
Today I'm off to Glacier National Park and hopefully will be making camp beneath the giant ponderosas of the Lewis and Clark National Forrest.
Today was the second time in the past two years that I've helped clean out a house of someone who has died. The first was a hoarder whose house was unhygienic to say the least, and today's subject was a ex-coworker's fathers house who had lived in the house since 1971. Both were big shockers about just how much stuff people accrue throughout their lives. I'm afraid that I've been on the same path, and when I moved from my townhouse into the house I'm now living in I realized just how much crap I owned.
Now I'm tasked with packing for the next 4 months bringing only what I can fit in my Camaro. This is a familiar process as 4 years ago I also packed everything I needed into my Camaro to drive out here. But surprisingly I've not had a very hard time so far. I think it's because I'm going to leave most of my belongings here, so I don't need to get rid of stuff, I just need to figure out what I need the next few months. There are only a few things I think I'm going to miss not having this summer, mostly my inner-tube so I can float the Huron. I've also to become a minimalist beyond just my possessions. I've had to look at the things I spend money on and minimize them too. My Netflix account and Xbox Live account also were cluttering up my life and costing me money for services that I wasn't getting fulfillment out of. So I removed them as well. I've reduced my bills down to just phone, insurance and rent.
The one thing that has helped me is my growing interest in minimalism. After helping clear other people's houses it really dawned on me just how much crap people tend to own - especially in this country. If you get a chance check out this photo documentary. I think the concept of minimalism isn't 'not having things', it's 'only having what you really need'. I've always felt much better after removing clutter from my life, and I think that's what I should strive to do. It's a conflicting view to my long held desire to make lots of money and buy a big house and fill it with cool and interesting stuff. Maybe there is a happy medium with just buying a house that fits all the things in it that makes me happy and not much more.
I think most of the stuff I have I use, which helps justify having it. I have a few college textbooks that are hanging around that I probably could get rid of. I'm proud to say that I find it easy to dump things if I don't see a real use for it. I think as I age I'll want more things because I feel I'm at the point in my life where I should really own my own wok, or tuxedo, or shoe buffer. I'm going to try and fit the materialistic urge and live my life focused on things other than my possessions.
Also being poor should help limit the amount of crap I own.
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