Coming home

I guess the String Cheese concert at Red Rocks was kind of the Grand Finale for the trip. It's been downhill - literally and figuratively, since. I went to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. That was a very nice park to walk around. While I was in the area driving east on Colorado 24, I saw a car that had been crushed by a boulder. According to the news that night, no one was hurt, as the boulder landed on the trunk. I had been driving in that lane going the other way about a half hour earlier. The southern part of Colorado along I25 was a very pretty drive - there were grasslands on the left and the Spanish Peaks (purple montain majesty, above the fruited plain?) on the right. I chose the I25 south route because it was fast and went right through Santa Fe - one of my favorite cities. I spent another two days there, and had two more meals at Santa Luna off of Don Gaspar. That is a fantastic restaurant. Highly recommend Chile en Nogada - chile pepper in cheese stuffed with meet and pomegranite seeds. It's hot, spicy, sweet, and creamy. The owner of the restaurant remembered me from when I ate there in June. By this time Santa Fe had started up their every night concert series in the plaza. I enjoyed a reggae band there, and I had coffee a couple more times at Counter Culture. One lady asked me why I decided to stop in Santa Fe. Why wouldn't you? It's got three cultures, art, music, pueblo architecture, awesome food, the oldest house in the country, mountains, desert, reasonable prices, and pretty cool people. I'm going back. the drive home actually seems to have gone faster than driving out. I spent the night in Asheville on the way home and mealed at The Laughing Seed a couple of times. The worst traffic on this entire trip was either in San Francisco or western North Carolina. If anyone with any power is reading this, it is time to make I40 from Morganton to Winston Salem into a three lane highway. My camera is done, so I have no new pictures. People have asked me what I liked best on this trip. Can I narrow it down to five or six things? I really felt at home in Santa Fe. Sedona made me feel really peaceful. Zion and Taos were truly beautiful. The Pacific coast had beautiful weather and was filled with nice people. Las Vegas was a lot of fun. Yellowstone was unbelievable with all of the animals. I am pretty sure that there is more country to explore, so I am probably going to do this again next year. I'm probably going to hit up a lot of my favorites - particularly in California. For the record, I estimated ten thousand miles, and the total came to 11542 miles, from June 11 until August 1, 2010.

Red Rocks Ampitheatre

This is an amazing place to see a concert. If you go to http://www.redrocksonline.com you will see that just about every major touring band is on their schedule. I highly recommend you pick a band that you like and go see them play at Red Rocks. I don't think there is a bad seat in the house. Either you get a great view of the band, or you get a great view of the Denver skyline all lit up at night. Everyone gets to walk up the four story ramp to get into the venue. One guy I was talking to said, "This is the best place to see a concert in the country, but you gotta work for it." The picture above is not mine. I found it at Google Images.

Boulder, Colorado

The above picture is not mine. I also took this same shot, but my camera is not working. I got this one at Google Images.
I checked in to my conveniently located motel in Boulder and wandered down the street to the little park. I was actually looking for Pearl Street, where they have a little plaza with lots of bars, restaurants, and street musicians, but I got sidetracked. They had a pretty big farmers market in the park, and there were probably a hundred people hanging out, eating, talking, and playing music on the lawn. I ended up hanging out there until dark. Then I made it downtown later and hung out outside this bar where there was a reggae band playing. Lots of people walked by and petted Macy. I ended up having a conversation with this old guy who is an artist, and he made a few suggestions for things I should check out. The next day I took his advice, and I drove up this dirt road that goes through Sunshine Canyon to a cool little 1860s mining town called Gold Hill. It is the first place where gold was discovered in Colorado. Most all of the homes there are very small, rustic, built out of logs or wood, and all of the roads in the little village are dirt roads. The dogs just wander around. It really was like stepping back in time. And getting there was a fun drive. I also went to another little mining town in the Roosevelt National Forest called Nederland. Very interesting, slow-paced little town. Back in Boulder I ate at a great vietnamese place called Chey Thuy, had coffee at a good little spot called the Laughing Goat on Pearl Street (constant parade of interesting folks going by), and enjoyed some street entertainers. There was one guy who had a great comedic / acrobatic / juggling act, but probably Dave the Zip Code guy wss most impressive. He quickly asked fifteen people what there zip code was and then, after going through all of them (he didn't even seem to be paying attention), he went back and told everyone what town each of them was from. He got everyone from Maine to California, and even identified Sudberry, Ontario, and some town in Sweden! He got mine correct too. Also, I would like to thank Tanya at Ome Banjos for taking the time to give me a tour of their workshop.

Grand Tetons

When you go around the bend on Wyoming Hwy. 191, all of a sudden these massive, blue, snow-capped mountains pop up. They are the Grand Tetons. Seth says it looks as if someone cut them out of a magazine and plopped them down. We decided to go to the Heart 6 Ranch and take a raft trip down the Snake River. Our raft guide, Eric, looked exactly like actor Owen Wilson. Interesting guy. He went to college at Purdue and then decided that he needed to spend his time fishing and working on a scenic river in Wyoming in the summers and working in a fishing store in Tucson in the winters. There is something to be said for following your passion, especially when it can be found in such a beautiful place. He said Wyoming never gets old, and he nearly jumped out of his seat when he spotted a moose off of the road while we were driving to the river. The guy worked really hard, paddling the boat for almost three hours. It was just Eric, Seth, and me in the boat, so we just relaxed, watched the scenery, and talked all afternoon. I didn't take any pictures on the boat, but there was a beautiful view around every bend in the river. After rafting, we ate at the Heart 6 Ranch and then went looking for moose along the Gros Ventre River. We saw eight moose in about 45 minutes.

Yellowstone

One of my old roomates, Seth, flew out to meet me for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I am very grateful to have had his company, and it was awesome to be able to experience these places with another person. While I am comfortable being by myself and travelling by myself, this place was almost too much to experience alone. Seth and I both wish that we had seen this earlier in life, and we wish that we had been exposed to a greater variety of experiences when we were younger - for example seeing a national park. We both kind of envied the college kids who were working in the park for the summer. I never had a fun summer job. II am amazed at how much wildlife there is in Yellowstone. I have to thank my mom for the binoculars. I suggest that all of my friends go see Yellowstone at some point, and bring the best binoculars you can afford. You will feel like you can reach out and touch these massive, wild animals. I will never forget watching a grizzlie bear and her three cubs foraging and coming up the hill toward us. I almost feel like I wasn't supposed to see that. The next morning we went out looking for a bald eagle, and in the process we found a red hawk and another grizzlie. We eventually found the eagle as well. Later in the day we got to sit at the top of a hill and watch a herd of over 100 buffalo.

Craters of the Moon National Monument

Lava came bursting out of the ground several times in eastern Idaho. Not from a volcano, but more from cracks in the ground. Scientists say the first incident was fifteen thousand years ago, and the most recent was 2000 years ago - the year 10AD. This is an interesting place.

Boise, Idaho

There were a couple of things in Boise which I wanted to see. First, for some reason a lot of shepherds from the Basque Country ended up settling in and around Boise. A lot of their descendents now live in Boise, so I had my pick of Basque restaurants. I ate a lamb sandwich and croquetas - which are kind of like hushpuppies except they are filled with cheese and meat instead of cornbread. Equally bad for you, I'm sure. I also wanted to visit the Birds Of Prey Wildlife Refuge. I saw falcons, owls, condors, but the most captivating bird they had was a bald eagle. I got about four feet away from him and he screeched at me. I had coffee at a pretty cool coffee shop downtown and sat outside and talked with some Boise State students. The night was so pretty, I decided to go camping.I ended up about tenty miles outside of town at a free campground called Macks Creek in the Boise National Forest. I stayed up until about midnight looking at the stars and watching out for this little skunk that kept running through my campsite. I told Macy that if she provoked the skunk and got sprayed, that we would no longer be friends.

The State of Oregon

First of all, no sales tax. The other odd thing about Oregon is that it is against the law to pump your own gas. Every gas station in the state has an employee to pump gas for you. Creates a lot of jobs. Oregon has an amazing array of scenery. Green forests, Crater Lake, rock walls, high desert. The crazy thing is that at the turn of the century the settlers walked about 15 miles a day across all the mountains, forest, and desert to get to their new homes. Yeah, they had wagons, but they walked beside them because the wagons were carrying six months worth of food and supplies. I walked along a about a mile of the Oregon Trail, and I got lost on a second trail that popped up off of the trail that I was following. At least I could see a fence, off in the distance. Back then, there was no fence if you got lost.

The Oregon Country Fair

Singer Micahel Franti has a song which says, "All the freaky people make the beauty of the world." Well, not only do I agree with that, but I ran into a lot of them at the Oregon Country Fair. Day 1, I mostly wandered around and got lost, and watched hordes of colorful characters go by. Day two, I did more of the same, and actually focused a little more on the bands on the different stages. The Gourds were my favorite act. Each morning I got up and wondered what kind of fun things and craziness the day would hold. This one goes on the list for "do again next year," even though it's in Oregon. I have just about committed to the idea of spending all of next summer on the west coast.

Crater Lake - just like a post card

July 9 - still enough snow on the ground that only 3/4 of the road around the lake was open. Took a bus tour with Ranger Dave, who was very informative. Stayed in the National Park Lodge, which was pricey, but allowed me to see two things which I would have missed had I camped in the forest below the lake. First, there were rainbows in the sky over the lake at sunset. Somehow I got up at about 5:15 the next morning and watched a spectacular sunrise from my window. Could have went and watched it on the porch, but the mosquitos were rediculous. Every time I opened my car door, five or six mosquitos jumped in with me. All in all though, Crater Lake is an amazing place. I had seen a lot of pictures, so I knew what to expect. I tryed to imagine what it must have been like to be the first person to stumble out of the woods and see the lake. According to Ranger Dave, in the 1800s this propector was out looking for gold, and he fell asleep while riding on his mule. When he woke up, there was this ubelievably blue lake with a volcanic island in front of him. He must have felt as if he had died and gone to Heaven.

Redwoods

The Pacific Coast on the 4th of July

Route 1 is a beautiful road, but it only goes about 30mph at best. Also, you will recall from my last post that I had to get a new battery on July 3. Well, in the Honda Civic, when you unhook the car battery, the radio shuts down until you are able to enter the security code. No code, no radio, no cell phone service. And a highway patrol officer popped up to tell me that he was shutting down the highway for one hour for a parade. I had reservations for Prairie Creek Redwood State Park, but fell two hours short and ended up watching fireworks in Eureka, California. The Honda dealership there was still celebrating on July 5, so no radio until July 6. Next day, I went to Arcata, California - funky little town with a lot of drifters hanging out in the Plaza. I got kicked out of the plaza because dogs are absolutely not allowed.

Going to San Francisco

I drove into San Francisco on I280 and I didn't know what hit me. I ended up right downtown, only blocks from my hotel - but it took me a good half hour to get there. Traffic was at a standstill, until there was an opening, and then two cars would shoot through the same hole. The lanes confused me too. The right lane was reserved for buses and taxis. But what if you want to turn right? Do you turn across that restricted lane, or do you actually get in it just to make your turn? And the second right lane - where I'm supposed to drive, has tracks for street cars and trolleys. I eventually got the hang of it, but boy did I get some culture shock. My friend Leigh flew out to San Francisco and put up with me for three days. Leigh is pictured above. If you look closely at that picture, you will notice that the man who I accidentally caught in the background looks A LOT like that one character from the movie Office Space - the guy with the red stapler. Leigh and I stayed at The Palace Hotel - an opulent hotel by my standards. Prior to the Palace, the last hotel I stayed in left the light on for me, but they forgot to clean out the tub. San Francisco quickly grew on me. First, the food was awesome. Every meal we had was fantastic. Probably my favorite was tacos in the Mission District at Taqueria Vallarta. This little open air taco shop with pigeons wandering in and out gave you a lot of flavor for $5.00. Maybe the best value in San Francisco. The Mission District was my favorite part of San Francisco. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to San Francisco was to see the murals in this neighborhood. They did not disappoint. Taking in the sights and the sounds of the neighborhood (most of the sounds were in Spanish), it occurred to me that while some of the barrio's residents are probably not American citizens, many of them are probably more American than I am. It also occurred to me that their America and my America have sort of a different feel. I have no doubt that if I lived in San Francisco, I would live in this section of town. Another area that had a lot going on and really impressed me was Chinatown. We had a great lunch at The Pearl, and then found this little park with Pagodas. In the park were probably a hundred elderly Chinese people, hanging out, playing cards and checkers, and shooting the breeze. Every town in America should have a little neighborhood park where all of the older people can feel safe to come and hang out with their friends for the afternoon. Later that night we saw a very impressive eight piece band made up of older Chinese street musicians playing on the corner between North Beach and Chinatown. They were great. I always enjoy watching someone perform on the street. The best was Jordan Peck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4zwyjOFLr4 I could not get the link to work, but he's worth seeing. There was another guy who held some cuttings from bushes in his hands and he sat hidden behind them, and would occasionally pop out and scare people. If they laughed, he asked them for money. It was clever and it was fun watching him get people. Later that night, I decided to go out and try to earn some coffee money with my banjo. I didn't do so well. Maybe it was too late, or I was in the wrong part of town, or something. We took a bus tour of the city and learned that they have a Big Wheel Race going down Lombard Street on Easter Sunday. Leigh wants to get a team together for that. Talk to her if you're interested. I would love to go back to San Francisco. There is soooo much that I did not have time to do. I almost stayed longer, but I chose to move on. Then, I almost had to stay longer because when I went to pay my $60 parking garage fee (3 days), I discovered that my battery was dead. AAA to the rescue. When he arrived, the AAA guy asked where I was from. "Raleigh, North Carolina." He replied, "Oh, I almost moved there." When I asked him why, he said, "They have the best schools in the nation." I got my battery in and made it to the kennel in Pacifica one minute before closing time. If I didn't make it to pick up my dog, I would have stayed longer in San Francisco. But I got her and then headed up the coast to check out some houseboats.

Santa Cruz

As soon as I got to Santa Cruz, I happened by a skate park where a bunch of guys my age were doing crazy tricks in what was basically an empty swimming pool. They were getting air and turning upside down. I was very impressed. Then I went to Steamer Lane near the lighthouse and watched guys surf. Again very impressed because the waves were powerful and they generated a lot of speed and got long rides. I had a look at the seals, or maybe they were sea lions that were relaxing on the rock off in the distance. Macy took a pooh and, being the good guy that I am, I bagged it up. Being the unlucky guy that I am, the bag broke and the contents landed on my ankle. Oh, I was so mad. But then I got to my campsite at Henry Cowell State Park (treeline seen in the pictures there). It sat on a ridge overlooking a redwood forest. Most beautiful campsite I have ever had. This significantly changed my mood. I have to thank my friend Gretchen who found the site for me months earlier when she drove through and scouted it out for me. Gretchen and her boyfriend Jason were awesome hosts, and I cannot thank them enough for their hospitality.
They came out to my campsite and we cooked out. The following day, Gretchen took me to the Monterrey aquarium - I liked the Seahorses best of all. She and Jason took me to the old roller coaster at the boardwalk, and then they took me out to see the best and worst Karaoke show I have ever seen. There was this one guy who did a rendition of AC/DCs Dirty Deeds which I will never, ever forget. He shouted and bounced around the room with so much energy and invaded everyone's personal space. Incredible. I spent the night at their house and really enjoyed my stay. I hated leaving Santa Cruz. I'm considering spending next summer there. Redwood trees, water, low humidity, temperature seventy to eighty degrees in the summer,a fun social scene, and very nice folks living there. Why not?