1. so far...

i have visited eleven states [ 12 if you count hawaii in may ].

i have mailed 32 post cards.

i have chipped or broken at least one nail everyday.

i have slept in my car twice.

i have seen more single shoes by the side of the road than highway patrol.

i have broken down two days, and gotten a chip in my windsheild.  :(

i have been on the road for 21 days.

i have taken approximately 2,583 pictures.

i have made eleven posts.

and so far, i have not made a wrong turn.  which is both true and false.  false because i may have turned, leading me from my intentions.  but true because in a wrong turn, i just may not of known where it was i was actually trying to get to.

the re-visit

idaho:  boise itself is not that small of a population, but the city momentum would lead you to believe otherwise.  at around 2800 feet above sea level, they do not get the mountians of snow that the surrounding mountains get.  the capital building is set amougst the downtown area.  nestling yet out of place.  idaho state lays just a couple blocks away where an adorable petite white chapel resides within the grassy noll of the parking lot.  home to a goody's candy and ice cream shop satelite store [ pink lemonade is very tasty ] and a book store where you can buy book genres by the pound in hyde park.  there is also a hill for hiking during the summer, but snow sledding in the winter that looks hard to get up...and a blast to tumble down.  there is also a wonderful little town to my likeness named letha, id.  wonderful is an overstatement though because it only consists of a grocery/post office/nick-nacky/all inclusive store next door to a auto garage.  the rest of the town i'm pretty sure where the five house that where on the same street as these buildings.  nothing else but cows and fences in that area.

utah:  i really was only able to stop into ogden, ut on my drive through due to troubles, but the town is know for its historic 25th street.  complete with three bars, a comedy club, two art framing shops, a barber that is happy to cut a fade, and a lot of antiques.  this main street is lined with painted horses of various murals and brass cast sculptures of children playing, as well as, a stereo piping hip tunes to the pathways below.  it is also home to the farr's better ice cream company where i helped myself to some pralins and cream [ that's for you dad  :)  ].  i had planned on looking at some of the moab area and the arches national park, but i guess that all gets saved for another adventure.

colorado:  welcome to colorful colorado!  from the first time driving it, I 70 west from the border into denver has been one of my favorite stretches of highway.  rambling next to a low flow white water river, up and up mountain sides until finally cascading over and down [ lucky for car troubles and gravity ] into the denver area proper.  the highway at this time of the year had just as many evergreens as it did oaks turning golden. 

     georgetown, colorado: at about 40 miles west of denver, is a small one main street town that offers a saturday morning farmers market, a christmas time tree lighting, and winter wonderland of festivities.  a couple miles west of here is the st. mary's glacier hike.  at 10,000 feet and a mile long, it's refreshing to be greeted by a placid lake fueled by the babbling melting of falling water from the glacier.  you can hike all the way up to actually touch the glacier, but if you want to hike further, there is snow year round appreciated by snowboarders and skiiers alike [ as i saw many people hiking in the 80 degree weather in shorts and tank tops with snow fun accesories on their backs ]. 

     boulder:  though i can't report much about the city from this trip.  i can say the wedding was beautiful and fully encompassing of the two personalities that were blended.  some may call it hippie, some excentric, but it's really just what any wedding should be...a celebration.  great to have zoe [ the bride ] and all of her friends and family that i've know for 14+ years around again, as well as, to meet tasi [ the groom ] and all of his extended, plus the more current friends of both.  always interesting and enlightening to re-meet some of your oldies through the eyes and hearts of the newies.

    7lb food challenge:  this momentious event occured at jack n' grills in downtown denver.  on the day that the bronco's manning would be playing his colt's brother manning.  the restaurant, the streets, the city, and it seemed like the sky was full of orange and blue, but me?  i was just full of breakfast burrito.  tasty though it was, our best guess was that i got about two and half pounds of that puppy in me.  and i can't really say that i felt all THAT full.  there were two outside deciding factors. 

[ the following is not for the light in stomach ] 

a previous patron had attempted said burrito, only to come to the last bite and have it all appear on his plate again.  so from that story i think that my gag reflexs got a little more liberal and it kind of freaked me out to do the same.  secondly and more influentially,  they wouldn't let you go to the bathroom during the challenge.  and three bites in, i had to pee like a motha.  after an hour and half, i decided that my bladder was not in the challenge, and so, should not have to suffer like the rest of my digesting body parts.

recommendations:

     i'm looking for some in these three states, since though my time was plentiful, my exposure felt dim.  each of these areas i can definitely see myself returning to, so again, anything more would be appreciated.

potatos salty lake stop rockies stop...again

i sure wish that i could say the title was some kind of code, or at least morse code...but soon the story will unfold...

up until driving to boise, i was sure that my favorite stretch of highway was ca 20 along clear lake.  but it is not until you see the evergreens change to scrub and the mountains to desert that driving a distance can be said to be bliss.  oregon highway 97, as it swerves and curls, is desolite and pristine.  untouched, yet ravaged by a transportation by-way.  i got to race an eighteen wheeler around 45 mile an hour turns and drive off into the sunset.  golden colors, ambers, and ochres.  boise itself i will revisit later, but here now comes the juice of the tail.  or the wag of the fruit.  [ get it?  juice of the fruit, wag of the tail switch...? anywho. ]

car trouble story:

     i just so happened to post a facebook status about visiting denver, when a colorado springs friend said i could have a place to stay if needed.  we set up the plan and i left boise, idaho friday morning with destination colorado in mind.  at just about the idaho/utah border, i was running pretty low on gas, so i pull of to an advertized station.  come to find unleaded $3.70 a gallon, which has to be prepaid for, but he cashier [ most likely owner ] just left and wouldn't be back for 10 minutes.  with a quarter tank, i decide to head down the road for the next gas in 22 miles.  however with strong headwinds and traveling at 75mph...tank dial turns south fast.  i start to draft [ ironically ] a pilot car not in use from iowa.  at station, fill up, and head towards colorado through salt lake.  make a couple of stops, notice a small amount of shaking, but just say ' must of been really low on gas.  but it's full now. '  it's at 4pm when turning off of I-15 onto ut 97 to see some stalagtites and mites...sputtering is out of control.  pull over and use the phone a friend for this contest.  phone diagnosis is a fuel filter problem.  they dial up an auto shop and i head over...stalling in the middle of a very busy intersection in the process.

    get to shop with the good ol' neutral jump start action and they say that they don't have the proper tools to fix it but set me up with a mechanic in the morning just down the street, it being five o'clock closing time and all.  now it's an eight hour drive from salt lake to boulder and my saturday wedding is at 4.30.  leaving me not enough time.  luckily in letting colorado springs know that i won't make it for the night, they also phone a friend [ in salt lake ], to come change my filter.  just a mile down the street is a parts store, so i'm off for the part...only to again stall.  after getting pushed into a bank parking lot, i walk across the street to get the part and wait for the friend.  he shows up, lickity split, presto-chango, gets the parts swapped.  it starts up like a dream, but we still head over the parts store because the ' check engine ' light is on.  it then proceeds to die in the part store's lot, again.

     we grab the code reader and it shoots out  'P0130 ', or in english ' cam shaft position sensor ' [ not that is any more like english to me ].   now let me reiterate, that it is about 7.30 on a friday night and all things are getting near closing, but then also throw in the fact that it's salt lake.  ya.  so we dial a nissan dealership, they have the part in stock, but close at 8.  we'll be there at 8.05.  they take payment over the phone and we bolt over, pick up the part, think that it's kinda cheap in price, but like the idea that we are almost done.  utah friend calls a more knowledgable nissan mechanic and learns that the cam sensor is built into the distributor...foiled with the wrong part and the dealership is closer.  we had back to the parts store to see if they have the part and can save the night.

    as luck would have it, they do, and it seems to be an easy fix [ minus the fading daylight ].  filter changed, distributor change, other part [ crank shaft position sensor ] in the glove box...9.30pm and it's time to finally leave for colorado.  with an all nighter ahead of me, i grab a subway foot long, bag of chips, and a rootbeer to get me through.  do some moonlight, experimental shutter timing, photography to keep me awake and i make it to the colorado border in no time.  take the required ' welcome to ' pic, throw myself back in the car and drive on.  pushing three, maybe four in the moring and having only two hours left to drive, i decide it's time to take some naps.  get up when its daylight out and see some of the things on my list before the wedding.

     saturday morning, up and adam, looking around, and i'm headed up a steep grade to st. mary's glacier about 31 miles west of denver when corey, the gosh dang car, stalls again.  9.30 in the morning and i fall back into melt down mode, call dave, call colorado springs friends, think ' what the heck?! '.  have a lovely couple help me jump start and follow me a bit down the hill to a garage in idaho springs, colorado.  with the contacts of c.s. [ colorado springs friends ], they tell me that if i can get it to a friends garage in parker, co...they'll come over and do a complete once over on it.  that's about 60 miles.  i'll see what i can do.  start it up and get coasting down I 70e.  however, upon greeting any amount of uphill, engine revving trial, i'll stall again.  i've now become a master at throwing it into neutral, hazards on, with standing the vibrating bumping of the ' do not fall asleep ' safety shoulder stripes, to start it up again just before it stops.  i'm able to move for about 35 of the treturous 60 miles, till there is just no hope.

     parker friend [ p.f. ] meets me at the death site where we wait for a tow truck.  i'd probably guess that we are pushing about 1pm...1.30pm by the time we get ready to tow, thus 2p by the time we're to parker.  get it off the truck and wait for the c.s. to swing by.  p.f. lets me clean up, grab some aqua, and but a little food in the ol' belly.  now there's the matter of getting to the wedding, corey is just out of my hands at this point.  c.s. says i can borrow a car, but with them cleaning up a yard sale and not headed to parker until 3, i won't even start to drive until 5.  :(

     then the clouds part [ though it was actually a really sunny, warm day in colorado.  sitting in a non-air conditioned car on the side of the road, plus with the adrenaline running and the skin temp a little flush ] and ah-ha!  my old roommate from college just happens to be in colorado for an externship and we are supposed to meet up the following day [ sunday ]!  she says, ' oh ya, you can borrow my rental for the night.  you just have to get a ride to it because i'm out on call for the afternoon. '  so p.f. drops me off at the car around 3.30p, i get to boulder at 4.27p with three minutes to spare...

the rest of the weekend will follow in another post, but lets just take a moment to think about the fact that if i hadn't of made that post; that if my friend hadn't of read it or offered a place; if we hadn't of made plans; if in salt lake, i'd gotten stranded on a saturday, or if c.s. hadn't of know someone there; if the parts stores would of all been closed; or when i was driving all night long; stopping and starting; or if i hadn't of come across the kind couple; or if p.f. wasn't on the west side of denver; or my roommate just happening to be there... [ and i'm sure that there are more ifs to put in there ], but what if?

i am forever thankful to each and everyone involved.  and want to strive to forever be helpful to anyone in need.  to be where i am, where ever that may be, and let that be the exact time that i'm needed.  and to corey...i don't like losing trust in you, but thank you for getting sick in major cities, during the day.  and for driving all night long to keep me safe when you really needed some attention of your own.  it's been been six days with out a hitch and he seems to be all buttoned up.

land, port

we'll here's to leaving the familiar again, in so much as three days can feel like home [ thanks meghan and eugene, oregon ], and heading out to the far and unknown...well, not actually.  i've been to portland before, LOVED IT!, and was very much looking forward to my return visit up until actually starting the drive.  i journaled, and i quote, ' perhaps i am not in a rush to get there because i have no one to go to..and most assuredly, with fond memories of portland past, i do not want to encounter dishearten and dissappointment '

i retract all above.  i found someone [ a friend, of a friend's cousin, lovely person ] and came to find myself fall even more for the city.  in took some number of hours to drive west of eugene, then back up the coast, and enter into portland from the east, but i'm glad that i took that time.  didn't have any cheese, but i saw tillamook.  photoed an interesting school bus stop, got ripped off for gas in a tourist trap of a town, and had lunch under the tall trees just as it was starting to rain.  all of this a precursor to meeting up with christa [ the cousin ].  though she was worried about the lack of sleep support due to a recent floor refinishing, i found her and her home to be very welcome, comfortable, and just my style.

with the rain setting the sun, she took me on a quick drive of portland, explaining some of the layout [ ne, nw, se, and sw quads ].  the mountains to hike, don't go there at night places, and the newly popularized food cart pods.  for the night, we settled on a dinner and movie idea at a refurbished theater.  they show second string line ups, but you get to enjoy no previews, drinks, food, and a movie all at the same time!

after said plan, we impromptued to the powell's book city.  an entire city block with multi-story book wonderland of wonders.  anything and everything, locally owned and open late.  i got myself a sade book and some trinkets for others...then we headed to the pods, food pods that is.  a street corner full of your curb side cart desires.  from pizza to poutines, whiffies pies to crepes.  all cheap and all delicious [ not that i ate from everyone, but i'm just saying ].  the next morning before heading to boise, idaho, i hiked up mt. tabor [ tay-bur ] where on a clear day you can see all the way to mt. hood a hundred miles away...i, of course, hiked in the rain per portland standard.

recommendations:
     just go visit the dang place.  your sure to find something you love, just don't carry an umbrella if it's raining.  you'll be spotted as a visitor, just as if you were six foot man in the midget circus.

notable oregon:
1.  that there is often no word 'limit' on the speed limit signs.  it just makes the font look weird and
     trips me out.
2.  the amazing flashing yellow turn lights.  genius quite frankly, because if there is no on coming traffic,
     you shouldn't have to wait through the entire cycle of the light.
3.  whatever the unusal yellow diamond pattern with swooshing side yellow lines was.  only ever saw
     it on one street with three sets of patterns in one city [ ? ]
4.  there are a TON of drive through coffee stops, typically 10' x 20' or smaller in size
5.  most of the highways are max speed limits of 55...and everybody follows that
6.  there are a ton of out of state license plates.  i know there are borders involved and that eugene
     is a college town, but there are still a lot...

to see, or not to see...

this is definitately a 'to see'!  near the oregon/california border are a couple of clustered small towns.  medford [ perhaps the most city feeling one ] is a low profile, sprawling hub of activity.  i didn't make many stops here, but instead did much more of a drive thru tour.  just slightly south, is ashland [ the shakespeare mecca of the west ] where they have multiple stages that show a variety of 10 or so plays from february through october.  many of them are shakespearian, some from more contemporay playrights, and some are debuts.  jacksonville, laying somewhere between the two previous [ is charming and honest ] with a single main street and home to the summer long britts music festival.

as for my time, i was fortunate to see in ashland their rendition of hamlet.  set in a modern era with the players are hip hop stars and presented as somewhat of a comedy!?  though it was an almost four hour performance in a freezing theatre with seats not overly plush, i was fortunate not only to enjoy just a wonderful performance...i was also blessed to sit next to mary francis s. [ though she did give me her full name, i will leave out the last for privacy ].  a woman, to guess in her sixties, enjoying her first show as well with three of her cousins.  mary from arizona, cousin 1 from mass, cousin 2 from washington state, and cousin 3 from colorado, who all get together every couple of years for a week or so.  this year was oregon and five shakespeare festival shows.  though i'm sure that every event will be just as amazing, i feel a bit sad for mary purely due to her awkward and [ to me ] hilarious admission:
     scene:  mary must leave a couple of moments before the intermission begins,
                not being able to sit any longer.   upon returning just before the second act,
                she turns right and says,
       mary:  'when you get old, your sphincter is not what it once was.'  um...thank you mary. 

recommendations:
     visit the jacksonville merchantile where you can taste some of their olive oils and jams.  much of it is local and has small productions or are hard to come by foreign imports.  perhaps a little lavish for 1000 people but certainly friendly and good for a walk around.

     'to see!'  just find something at the festival in ashland.  my ticket was around $50, but they also have free outdoor musicians and are slower in feb and march...not sure what prices would be around that time.

 

taking the oregon trail

upon exactly entring the state line [ destignated by a sign ] of oregon, i encountered something to be rather strange.  a 'plink, plink' coming from the windshield.  ah rain, something that had been talked about to come.  but as i looked up to the literally sky blue crayon colored lid above me without a cloud in site, i knew it twas not true.  then of course it had to be the forward driver, using the washer fluid to clean their shield with some residual arching over the top.  but to much of my dismay, as i passed them the 'plink' did not disappear, but yet came more rapidily.  bugs!  hundreds of them.  little gnats, and flys, and mosquitos...death smashing into me.  and at only 55 mph [ as it seems that all but perhaps I-5  and I-84 are limited to ], there was still time to see them coming; yet not to dodge.  and so goes a greeting that i believe to be hard pressed to find anywhere else...

it was three nights, one day with, and day without dear friend [ and twin like ] meghan for a visit to eugene and the locally surrounding oregon.  and though she is a fresh faced, two month old, veteran...an exceptional host and tour guide she has been.  from a comfy couch to a wine tasting, delicious food to the ever necessary woody companion the swimming hole [ complete with 15ish foot naturally made, humanly demolished rock ledge to jump from ], and answers for 'why eugene?' [ of eugene skinner, founder ] to 'what should i do tomorrow?'.

i have found 'bodacious corn' and cycled the river row bicycle trail from cottage grove to harms park [ though it does go further, i decided that my 17 miles was enough when i had seen no one else in six miles. ]  plus, at harms park was the 'stand by me' bridge!  though the tracks have now been paved over for non-motorized pedestrian use, the wood structure still stands and takes on a whole new memory. 

perhaps desires for it i had felt, but when there was actually and honestly no one around, it's almost scarier than when you think you see a creeper.  it was only the sound of my breath, the swoosh of the air, and the graveling of my tire in contact to the ground.  the clink of my gears and the jingle of my zipper...i was all alone.  a couple miles of that and i'll call myself lucky to of experienced it, but damned to be missing a face [ friendly or foe ].

generally i do't like to complain because i believe it is substitutio for a willingness to adapt and create, but from the fore-mentioned to the here mentioned, i feel as though i could have some companion complainers [ including said meghan ]...here's is the tail of 'the bathroom'.  so i was admittedly warned, though i did not believe the extent of the truth of it.  meghan's shower, though plentiful with warm water, will burst onto you as if a dam is breaking.  however, after only few moments, the pressure will continually decrease, leaving a dribbling water trail.  not such an excellent and refreshing feeling let me assure you.  and then to top off the room, the toilet [ gloriously colored seafoam green to match the shower/tub and sink ] does not have the force to completely flush a bowl and takes around, say...an hour to fill back up.  leaving us to discuss who had to do what [ #1 or #2 ].  who should go first and whether we should flush or leave to mellow after...

recommendations:
     river row bicycle trail.  trail head from cottage grove, main street off of I-5.  woodsy canopy, remote excercise by a lake, and still little feelings of the rail way that had been.  and when done, visit cottage grove proper.  and old lumber and railroad town known for its covered bridges and murals.

     eat, eat, eat; at the oregon electric station in eugene.  either at the cushy lounge chairs or in one of the refurbished railcar dining seating.  crab and artichoke dip is amazing.  portions are good sized.  dimily lit, moody, and lots of after work cocktail drinkers chatting and relaxing.

   

ode to small towns

some of my most thankful thoughts on this road trip so far have been for not only the many highways that i have driven, but that most of them were windy and unspoiled.  two lanes...un-conjested and not under-construction.  they have been scenic and mysterious, picturesque and leading.  and some of my greatest finds have been the small town.

perphaps too small to deticate much time too, but all the same exactly what i'm looking for.  i've encounter, that though they may not be consistent, there are a few things that each of them will share:
1.  a restaurant.  [ most likely breakfast, counter style...but could stray ]
2.  a separate but equally necessary, tavern or bar. [ also open as early as possible ]
3.  some sort of food procuring space [ most notably a grocery, but could be a farmers' market ]
4.  and a well marked u.s. post office [ definitely my favorite consistancy ]

nothing like a hotel, hospital, movie theater, or school can be guaranteed.  or a gas station for that matter.  it can be seen as a bland way of life, but i believe that they just have it down to the things that actually need worry about.  a belly full, side of libations, and contacts to the ones you love not around you.  and as an outsider, you can get spotted fairly quickly...some to open arms that want to tell you everything about everything, and to some with tight lips and moving eyes.  none of it harmfull, just looking to size you up.   

each of these small towns, a blip on the map, lead me to reno, nevada.  which can not admit to being small, but instead home to tasty chili rellenos and hot air balloon races [ which i mistakingly thought was a balloon arch to a running race, not an actually hot air balloon race.  i totally would of gotten up at 3.30am if i would of know what was going on! ]  home to an off road race stampede and gentlemen's club with city famous prime rib.  and though not vegas, still similarly ' what happens in reno, stays in reno. ' 

so thus i will leave you now.

recommendations:
     'i just drove through a friggin' tree!'  and you should too.  it's five bucks, but the phrase is priceless.  leggett, ca off of pacific coast highway 1...pretty northily up there.
    
     ca 299 takes you directly through eureka, ca. [ pop. 28,000 ]  and though i didn't stop, the number being to large, i would advise the admiration that they are still small enough to have lettered streets ranging from A to V...leaving a little room to grow i might wager.
   
     and as far as reno, just do something that you never thought you'd do...or that you don't think you can do anywhere else.

i am a lake

though i grew up around, and have in the past found myself to be very fond of, lakes...i didn't really get it until i finished driving up the pacific coast highway.  from san luis obispo to santa cruz and again from mendocino to ferndale, taking hours of travel time along this winding road was all left to dust the moment i set my eyes upon clear lake off california highway 20 near glendale and lucerne.  i know that 'i am a lake'.  there is just something about the serenity of it.  it's calm and quiet, and generally appears to want you to participate with it.  unlike an ocean that as you start to enter, pushes you down, sideways.  pulls you under, out.  fooling with your egerness to play.

no, no, a lake would never dream of being so mean.  i am a lake because i like to be surrounded by that which i can help sustain, and that which enhances my living as well.  to reflect beauty.  something that is complimentary but not the same, leaving the lake an anomaly amoungst the encircling.  and i'm not taking this to the deep depths of flourishing aquatic life and expanses and the like, just the initial appearence of it.  the contrast of objects.

and thus, i find myself compairing places that i am seeing for the first time with places that i can recall visiting before.  and though that might be a nice way to categorize places to explore again, i am learning that i want to try to let each things be itself.  hard, hard to do.

travel resolutions:
7.  try to search for one thing at each stop, different from all other places

recommendations:
     if you ever get to ferndale, ca [ a 1800's established victorian town.  population 1300 ] explore the cemetary as the morning light is starting and the fog is still present...it's very humbling.  and also go to the cafe main street.  they look fairly swank and upscale, but for some pancakes and tea the bill was under $4.oo.  that's denny's prices with white linen and two forks.
    
     and if you are ever driving on CA 299 between willits and fort bragg, be sure you have convertible or sun/moon roof.  in my xterra [ top included ] the height of the trees were sometimes missed and the entire scale just felt a little too enclosing.  it's truly a sky high experience.

time to go...

i am exactly and approximately 17 miles and 22 minutes into my road trip.  visiting cayucos and my brown butter cookie company co-workers.  needing a break from the little water droplets i feel welling up every couple of minutes.

up until actually leaving today, i came to realize how if must feel knowing that you are going to die so far in advance.  preparing all of your things, making sure to leave behind what can be managed, and taking with you everything personal and identity important.  seeing all of the sad faces of missing while trying to wish you the best.  looking at every experience as if it might be the last time...well i'm here to answer that old question:  if i could know the time and way that i was going to die [not that you're asking], i wouldn't want to know.

this will be the first time since i was 14 that i will not have a job and school, or two, or three jobs and school, or more than forty hours a week of commitment.  so here's to all of the exciting texts and emails wishing me 'safe travels' and 'see you soons'...that's what i'll be doing!  you keep me exploring and loving every minute.

travel resolutions:
1.  to send at least one post card each day
2.  that a place will not be considered visited unless i step foot into or on it
3.  that i will run 2mi or cycle 10mi each day [because i must keep my body fit while my mind is
     searching it's curiosity and soul it's adventure]
4.  to floss twice a day, but i'm saying nothing about showering or brushing...those require water
5.  to take at least 10 pictures, though i imagine it will be more on the count of hundreds daily
6.  and to stop thinking about weeks from now, let alone tomorrow.  i'm living for today!