J.P.

I just had the most delightful experience here in our overnight stop of Albert Lea, Minnesota. Earl and I went to a “Green Mill Bar and Restaurant” for dinner, where I ordered, in a very gruff voice, “a tall Bud Light”.

The server carded me. She actually asked me for my I.D. to make sure I was old enough to drink the brewski. I was a little surprised and, just like my college years, got nervous about showing a New York State driver’s license because we were in Minnesota, afraid I wasn’t going to get any beer. But she accepted it with no worries.

I feel so blessed. Here I am almost 38 years old and I’m being carded. Talk about an ego boost!

Today we left Deadwood, South Dakota (or as I like to refer to it as “So Dak” to be a complete geek) and headed eastward with plans on getting home this weekend. South Dakota and Minnesota along Interstate 90 are both, for the most part, very flat.

That’s not a bad thing. I love the wide open spaces in this part of the country. But it does make the drive a little less interesting than it could be.

Our only tourist stop was in Wall, So. Dak., at a place appropriately called “Wall Drug”. This depression era drug store literally took over half of Main Street in the tiny burg of Wall and begins announcing itself along I-90 about 200 miles away. Earl and I had a delicious lunch there and we did a little shopping in the souvenir area. There’s a ton of stuff to look at and quite a few places to take your typical tourist trap photographs. If you stop by, be sure to ask for your free glass of ice water. They’ll even fill your thermos or jug for you.

After Wall, we crossed into the Central Time Zone and continued eastward, finally calling it a night in Albert Lea, Minn. (population 18,000 or so). I have my PowerBook hanging out the window, trying to capture some wireless internet from an adjoining hotel as for some reason I can’t get onto the network here. Of course, Earl jumped on our hotel’s network without a problem, so I’m probably overgeeking something.

Tomorrow we continue our journey east.

I just love this area of the country. We are staying one more night in Deadwood, South Dakota. I’m blogging, having lost my allowance to some one-armed bandits along the main street here in Deadwood; last I knew Earl was doing well at three-card poker with a good looking dealer from Palm Springs.

He always finds the cute ones.

Anyways, today was sight-seeing day here in northwestern South Dakota, northeastern Wyoming and a little slice of Montana for good measure. We met up with our friends, Tim and Gordon, and there friends and our new friends Scott, Don and Wade and headed out to Mount Rushmore.

Let me back up a few steps first. Tim and Gordon live in Cheyenne. Tim and I met through ebay back in the late 1990s, as we both collect school clock systems. We chatted a couple of years over e-mail, got to know each other a little bit, and then Earl and I visited them back in 2001. We’ve maintained contact electronically over the years and were looking forward to meeting up with them again on this trip. They hadn’t been to Deadwood, S.D. in years, so we decided to meet here, and they brought up their friends Don, Wade and Scott. We had a great supper together last night, chatting it up like there was no tomorrow and just having a grand time. There’s pictures of everyone on my flickr page.

So this morning we started the touring at Mount Moriah, the burial site of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. Then we headed off to Mount Rushmore. I’ve wanted to go to Mount Rushmore since I was a little kid, and Earl felt the same way, so we were both looking forward to this.

It was spectacular. Mother Nature cooperated for a little bit and gave us a little bit of sunshine and a little bit of cloud cover so we could see all the different lighting possibilities of the sculpture. I was fascinated with the construction of the monument, especially once I found out that they moved Thomas Jefferson’s at the time uncompleted head to another position and various other little tidbits of trivia. A much enjoyed stop.

We then went to the Crazy Horse sculpture outside of Custer, S.D. I have to admit that I wasn’t really that impressed with Crazy Horse. I don’t know if it was the rather large admission fee or what was going on, but I didn’t really get into it there. Oh well.

Tim and Gordon and the guys left for Cheyenne from that point, so we decided we’d head west into the corner of Wyoming and visit Devil’s Tower.

I’ve wanted to see Devil’s Tower ever since I saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” as a child. To me it’s always been a mystical place, and as I’ve read on the internet, many, many, many others share the same sentiment.

Visiting Devil’s Tower cemented my “grounded” feeling I’ve had since we embarked on this vacation nearly two weeks ago. The most beautiful sound I know, the sound of the wind rushing through evergreens, was everywhere. Birds danced around the edge of the summit, nearly 900 feet in the air. Devil’s Tower literally stands in the middle of nowhere, complete with rock columns on all sides. It’s awe inspiring.

After Devil’s Tower, Earl and I drove the last little hop in Wyoming up into Montana. Neither of us had been to Montana before and we wanted to check this one off our states “to do” list. So we cruised through a little corner of Montana, where the speed limit is 75 MPH on two lane roads and there’s nothing but big sky in every direction you look. I guess I’m one of the few that finds beauty in the more desolate areas.

Tomorrow we jump on Interstate 90 and start the journey home. Actually, I guess the adventure just continues.

Self Portrait – Big Sky Style.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

When life/work/etc gets a little too stressful for us, Earl and I either sing, speak or e-mail these lyrics to each other:

Won’t you meet me in Montana
I want to see the mountains
In your eyes
Oh! Oh! I’ve had all of this life I can handle
Meet me underneath that big Montana sky

Today we met each other in Montana. It was wonderful.

Fun In The Sun?

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

When we were planning our vacation, we knew we would pass through a wide variety of weather conditions. We were expecting rain in Pennsylvania, as it always rains when we drive through Pa. on vacation. We hoped to see some storms along “Tornado Alley”. We looked forward to hot and dry in New Mexico and Arizona.

We knew it would be cooler in Wyoming and South Dakota, but we didn’t expect nearly a foot of snow. What a surprise!

We left Scottsbluff, Nebraska this morning, drove back into Wyoming and headed north on U S 85. While the drive across the desert earlier this week was desolate, this drive was even more so, with nothing but ranches and cows for as far as the eye could see. Wide open spaces, indeed.

After stopping in Newcastle, Wyo. for some lunch, he continued north into the Black Hills and crossed through some beautiful country into South Dakota. We’re settled in Deadwood for the next couple of days, meeting up with some friends from the Cheyenne area. Tomorrow we’re going to see Mount Rushmore and some of the many area sites.

Maybe we can fit in some snow sledding.

Earl and I are staying in the Holiday Inn Express in Scottsbluff, Nebraska tonight. Since it’s only a one night stay, it’s a given that the only room available was the huge “Executive Suite”; three rooms of hotel goodness, complete with hot tub.

I think that’s the rule for those that travel: if you’re spending one night, you get the largest room in the place. Spend the week, get jammed in the broom closet or the room next to the elevator, take your pick.

Actually, I can’t complain at all as our rooms have been wonderful on this entire trip.

I had to remind Earl that he couldn’t go out on the “private” balcony in just a towel, after all, the balcony overlooks the lobby and front entrance to the building.

Coal Bank Pass, Colorado.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Earl and I trekked through the Rocky Mountains today, leaving Durango, Colorado around 9:00 a.m. MDT. The weather was pleasant in the low 50s and I wore the same clothes that I wore yesterday, so I was still in my “desert gear”.

As soon as we left Durango we started the climb up several mountain ranges along US 550, with our first summit at Coal Bank Pass. We pulled off at the tourist center (which was closed) and took a bunch of pictures. To get to the lookout point we needed to hike through about a foot of snow.

Wicked cool. Especially in “desert gear”.

After our first stop, we continued along up and down and winding all around. The scenery was breathtaking. I never expected the view to be as beautiful as it was. I will never look on the Adirondacks in the same way again, as now they are just really big hills.

We made our way to Grand Junction, Colo. and jumped onto I-70 east towards Denver. I-70 is somewhat of an engineering marvel, maintaining it’s status as an interstate freeway without intruding on the landscape as much as possible. Short tunnels, long bridges, sharp curves, steep grades and overlapping roadways make this a very fun road to drive. I highly recommend it.

Once in Denver, we headed north toward Cheyenne, stopping at a Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then jumping the state line into Nebraska, where we’ve set down roots for the night in Scottsbluff. Eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska have nothing but uninterrupted fields as far as the eye can see. And while much different than the mountains we passed through earlier today, I find the prairies to be quite beautiful as well.

Tomorrow we meet up with friends in Deadwood, South Dakota.

No Beauty Left Behind.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Earl and I left Phoenix around 9:00 a.m. MST and started the journey northward to our next planned destination, which is Deadwood, S.D. We originally planned on sticking to the interstates, going up to Flagstaff, over to Albuquerque and then up to Denver. However, about half way to Flagstaff we took a look at the map and decided it would be fun to go through Four Corners, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah come together. There’s a monument there and everything and it would make a nifty picture to have me straddling two states holding Earl’s hands while he’s straddling the other two states. One of our legs would be an hour behind the rest. More on that in a moment.

We had a nice little lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Flagstaff (the name escapes me unfortunately) and then jumped on I-40 for a bit until we reached US 191 North. From there we drove across the wide open desert, drinking in the beauty and reveling in the desolation. Earl took a bunch of beautiful pictures, including the one pictured above.

After several hours, 5:08 p.m. Arizona Time to be precise, we arrived at “Four Corners National Monument.” I was ready to take this wonderful picture I’d been thinking about all afternoon.

The friggin’ place closed at 5:00 p.m. I don’t know if it closed at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (NM, CO, UT at that point) or Mountain Standard Time (AZ).

It’s so nice when we mess around with time, isn’t it? For example, I had a hamburger at 4:00 p.m. and belched it out at 3:05 p.m.

But I digress.

Anyways, the Four Corners National Monument is apparently on a Native American Reservation and they aren’t going to let you see this little manmade wonder unless you pay first. And they weren’t having any at 5:08 p.m. MST or MDT, we’re still not sure. There were several other tourists there, all equally disappointed that we couldn’t get into this unique piece of American geography enclosed in a “fee area”. Some ignored the fences and climbed passed the “No Trespassing” signs and hiked in, but Earl and I decided to skip that opportunity. We weren’t in the mood to spend the night in jail or pay an Indian fine that didn’t have the promise of a jackpot on it.

Not to be deterred, I took the first left once we were in Colorado and made a quick side trip to Utah. Once we snapped the obligatory photos, we headed back to Colorado and continued on to Durango, where we have installed ourselves in the Hampton Inn for the night. It’s decidely cooler here, but nowhere near uncomfortable in our “desert clothes”. Tomorrow we drive through the Rockies as we continue on to South Dakota. I’m looking forward to the experience.

The Shadow Over Phoenix.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Earl and I are packing up and getting ready to hit the road again. We were originally going to stay until this afternoon, but we’ve decided that while we’ve had an absolutely wonderful time with the other bears here in the desert, we are ready to move on to our next adventure. We met some wonderful people at our little stop in Phoenix and we look forward to following new found blogs and chatting/exchanging e-mail with our new friends.

Earl took this picture yesterday on South Phoenix Mountain. I love the creative look to it, especially the natural framing from the lookout tower. It has such a Frank Lloyd Wright feel to it. If you click on the picture and look on the biggest version, you’ll notice that you can see the Phoenix skyline in the background. Very cool.

Traveling through the desert has put me back in touch with my spiritual beliefs; the dancing of the desert wind, the sound of silence in a canyon, the natural beauty of it all, all of this has made me love the Universe, and myself, again. I am looking forward to taking a little piece of that grounded feeling home with me.

Today we head toward Flagstaff and then over to Albuquerque before starting north toward Deadwood, South Dakota. It looks like we’ll have a lot of desert scenery ahead of us today before moving up into the Rockies tomorrow.

South Phoenix Mountain.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Earl and I took a trek south of Phoenix today to the appropriately named South Phoenix Mountains. Or perhaps it’s just “mountain”. I’m not sure. Nevertheless, there’s a wonderful park that encompasses the area and there are countless outlooks with breathtaking views.

We had visited this park during our trip in 2003, in fact, somewhere on my hard drive is pictures of me doing yoga poses on one of the lookouts during a beautiful desert sunset. I’ll have to find those and post them someday.

Today has been another day of relaxation. The bear events included a pool party, which was good fun and tonight there’s a banquet and the usual bar hopping fun. We’re getting to know people and trading e-mail addresses and blog web addresses and whatnot. I don’t think this hotel has had so many computers in use at once before, the internet connection keeps crapping out. Hopefully this blog entry will make it to the site!

We haven’t decided if we’re heading to South Dakota tomorrow or early Monday morning; I guess it depends on how we feel when we get up.

I keep telling Earl how this is truly the trip of a lifetime for me; I am having the time of my life.