Roswell and Texas

Following a fun filled day in Santa Fe, Linds and I drove down to Roswell and promptly called eveyone we knew to tell them of the this town like we had never seen before. At first glance it appears quite normal. On the way in, the highway is filled with Holiday Inns, Wendys, and a variety of gas stations to suit your taste. Then as you immerse yourself further down mainstreet, you begin to notice that the street lamps have alien eyes painted on them. Interstellar cafes start to crop up until finally you reach the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Alien beings hang from street signs and replace manquins in the windows. Yes, we even saw an alien in a wedding dress. Although we stayed only long enough to take some choice photos, it was a great afternoon.

From Roswell we proceeded on to Fort Stockton, Texas where we decided to stop over on our way to Austin. In the morning as we prepared to leave we listened to the weather report and discovered that Highway 10, the very same highway we were about to get on, was experiencing severe flash flooding due to the monsoon like rains hitting that part of Texas. After listening to the detailed report, Linds and I made the executive decision to forego our trip to San Antonio and Austin. This was a bit of a buzzkill since those two cities where going to be the high point of our Texas experience. We know our parents appreciate our very responsible decision, but I must say that it made me miss those days in high school when responsibility was not our strongest personality trait.

NB: I think we failed to mention that while in Durango, CO I picked up the last Harry Potter book. While Linds drives, I read aloud chapter after chapter. It's amazing how quickly this passes the time and it's all we've been doing since. We're now 20 chapters deep and actually awaiting tomorrow's long drive just to find out what happens next.

With the flash flood warnings in our head we decided to head north to Dallas to spend the night. Unfortunately neither Linds nor I had done much research on Dallas so we were flying a little blind this evening with social activities. We stayed in a nice Quality Inn that provided a free shuttle into the heart of town. We had some fantastic Tex Mex flautas and then proceed to look for a bar that according to its website was a great "cowboy" bar. Another NB: Linds and I were only looking for two things in Texas--TexMex and BBQ. I can add that I was also looking for a handsome cowboy to flirt with. This was our mission for the evening.

When I was in college, my professors warned me about the misleading nature of the internet. I always believed them, perferring to seek out sources in the stacks at the library. When it comes to other things on the internet, like bar recommendations, Linds and I both took the cowboy bar's website at face value. Upon our arrival at bar (and after giving the bouncer our usual tale as to why two girls from NY are so far from home) I jetted off to the bathroom leaving Linds to wait outside. When I emerged, Linds had a concerned look on her face. She said we were leaving, and trusting her great judgemen, I left quietly. Once outside I asked what was going on. Linds replied that this particular cowboy bar was a Brokeback Mountain kind of cowboy bar. I glanced in the window and it all clicked. No wonder there were so many well groomed men there!

I just couldn't believe that the very first bar we stepped in to in Dallas was a gay bar. Of all the gin joints in all the world. Determined not to let this little mistep derail our evening, we went across the street to JR's of Dallas, another bar that looked pretty darn cute. Within thirty seconds of walking in the door, however, we saw that we made the same mistake. Attractive men were everywhere, conoodling with other men. We decided to sit down, have a cold beer, and decide what to do next. Some very nice guys from Houston chatted with us for a bit and apart from the two men (sitting in our direct line of sight) making out as though they were trying to produce babies, it wasn't such a bad place. Then the strip drag queen show started. I sat there in disbelief. All I wanted was a cowboy and instead I got a bunch of queens.

We finished our beer and left yet another bar in search of a new place. When Linds and I are on a mission it is very difficult to get us to quit. We headed over the the GhostBar at the new W hotel. This was my idea as I had heard some people say that it was a great new "hot spot" in Dallas. Turns out, "hot spot" means dim lighting, expensive drinks, and horribly loud techno music. We didn't even go in. Linds asked the guy at the door for some suggestions on where we could go next and we then headed directly back to the same street that our TexMex place had been. We walked in and were relieved to see a bunch of young people sitting around with pints, some playing pool, others watching the rugby game playing on the TV.

With lightened spirits we orded some drinks and sat down to relax. Yes, of course, you know this is coming....it was too good to be true. I was only one sip into my redbull and vodka when one of the guys playing pool came over to chat with us. Now, he actually started off as just a nice guy making conversation. That wasn't so bad until his pool partner came over to make conversation with us as well. This would have gone better for him if he had actually retained the ability to speak. Unfortunately, about four drinks previously, he had abandoned both his short term memory as well as the ability to form coherent words and phrases. Thus we found ourselves having to constantly remind him of our names, places of birth, and purpose in Dallas. I came to feel as though I was being interrogated by some hostile foreign nation and I could only utter the same three pieces of information over, and over, and over. Finally Linds and I abandoned the truth for far more rich stories. I became Melinda from Canada and Linds became Elisa from Boston. We met at McGill University in Montreal where we both earned our undergrad educations. The story could have gone further, but eventually the very drunk man wandered off thus leaving only the initial guy. He seemed nice enough until the conversation turned to his currently dating situation. He began to go off on how he was dating the love of his life and how he's 30 years old and been looking since he was 16 and how meeting people in bars was such a beating because women in bars are never really genuine...etc...

That was it. Linds and I threw up the white flag. We could take no more. We left the bar a full hour before closing time (and if you know us, you know how unusual that is) and headed home. Tomorrow we're going to go see book depository, get some BBQ, and then get out of dodge. Perhaps we'll run into some real cowboys along the way.

From Vegas to the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and New Mexico

Well, we've reached the last leg of our fantastic trip. From Vegas we went on to the Grand Canyon. In true Lindsay and Michele fashion, we arrived in the Canyon park too late to get a campsite and found ourselves driving around the national forest just outside. Luckily you are allowed to camp anywhere in the forest that you please, so after we could drive no more we just parked, set up the tent and got ready for bed. Of course the local wildlife decided to have a curious moment, and all of a sudden we found ourselves sharing our site with a HUGE deer. I thought deer were supposed to be skiddish, but not this one. S/he came right up to our little site and walked all around as if trying to figure out why in the world two girls from new york were sleeping out in the middle of nowhere. After getting in the tent and snuggling down for bed, my eyes shot wide open as I heard the sound of hoves right next to my head. I turned to look at Linds and saw that she was as startled as I was. Then of course our little buddy decided to have some kind of deer-kegger right outside and soon there were many, many hoves to be heard. To top it off, something must have scared the group away because I woke up quite suddenly again thinking I was in that stampede scene in the lion king. Not the best night's sleep.

The next day we set out for the Canyon but out bodies being very dehydrated and sleepy, made our stay there rather short. Plus the weather was overcast and looking to rain so we took an abreviated hike and headed out towards Mesa Verde.

I must say that our drive along northern Arizona was stunning. The pancaked clay mountains had the most beautiful gradient from red to orange to yellow. In some places it looks as though the colors had been painted on in quick but determined strokes. Plus, being at such a high elevation made the sky look as though it had dropped down upon us. Just wait until you see the pictures.

We arrived in Mesa Verde, found a campsite, and had our last campfire of the trip complete with smores and long, laughter-filled conversations. Thanks to Linds I have found a new appreciation for camping.

The next morning we went on a self-guided hike/tour of some of the cliff dwellings at the park. It was amazing to me to see these houses, built in the 13th century, still standing and almost untouched. It definitely brought out the history geek in me.

From Mesa Verde we went to Durango, Colorado and had lunch along the main street. We did some window shopping, bought the latest Harry Potter book, and set out for Santa Fe. Along the way we decided to have story time so while Lindsay drove, I ready aloud the new book. So far we finished off 136 pages.

New Mexico is a little on the scary side. It had a similar flat landscape to South Dakota, but a completely different kind of barren feeling. For miles on end there were no signs of humanity--no cars on the road, no cows in the suprisingly green countryside, no homes, no power lines, no nothing. Linds and I paused our story to take a good look around and to carefully monitor our gas gauge. I now see why they chose New Mexico to develop and test the first atomic bomb.

Of course we drove into Santa Fe at night so we have no clue what awaits us tomorrow. We're going to try to visit the Georgia O'Keefe museum and get some yummy food before traveling on to Roswell. I am SO excited for Roswell and the crazies there.

Ok, I must sign off for now. We're getting very sleepy and we have a long day. I promise we'll try to put up more over the next two weeks. There's only 13 days left!!!

The rest of California, Las Vegas, and a little debauchery

Wow. I know. It's been quite some time since we left you any signs of our continued survival on this trip. There are a few reasons for this and they mostly revolve around alcohol and shopping. Not really...ok...maybe a little...

From San Francisco we traveled south along the coast and stayed a few days in Monterrey. Driving along Big Sur was both frightening and breathtaking. It was some of the most beautiful coastline we had seen. From there we went to Carmel-by-the-sea where we mingled with the the well-to-do vacationers who had not spent five days in Wyoming without a shower.

We had a blast in LA shopping in Beverly Hills and strolling around Hollywood. By far the coolest things we did were tour the Paramount Pictures Studio and see the new Harry Potter movie at Grauman's Chinese Theater. I think we were looking for more of an old-Hollywood style trip rather than the rough and tumble pace of todays starlets. Oh, and you had better believe we stopped at both Pinks (the famous hot dog stand with the best chili cheese dogs around) AND In-N-Out Burger (a California staple). LA kept up on our toes and we quikly learned to adapt our driving skills to survive on the freeways. Another highlight was Venice Beach--something that I could not wait to see. After a wonderful lunch on the boardwalk we planted ourselves on a grassy knoll to watch the outrageous roller skaters, tattooed oddities, and various other sun worshipers. We also got to stop and stay with one of Lindsay's good friends from college which was great since they hadn't seen each other in a painfully long time. The night that we all went out we ended up getting a cab ride home from a movie star hopeful who gave us a detailed description of her interesting "acting" opportunities. I could not even describe to you how amusing this ride home was. In case you're interested, her website is: www.joematters.com.

From LA we traveled on to Vegas. We drove at night through the Mojave desert and it was still 112 degrees. I can't say I was quite ready for that. Las Vegas is a one-of-a-kind town. Although this was my 6th visit there, it was Lindsay's first. The day after we arrived we spent the day by our luxurious pool just enjoying the sunlight (and I was enjoying the eye candy). We were only supposed to stay in Vegas for two days but two quickly turned to five as we found ourselves wrapped up in the 24 hour city. We also got to hang out with some friends who came in for the last two days we were there. It was awesome to see them again, although I'm not sure they were ready for the "Lindsay and Michele do Vegas" version of us. I can't imagine we got more than 30 hours of sleep the entire time we were there. I would tell you more stories, but the code goes, what happens in vegas, stays in vegas.

San Fran

We heart San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge is SO MUCH FUN to drive over!!!! Last night we walked around the downtown shopping area a little and found dinner at a cute Italian place. Linds and I both said we were looking for a little taste of home.

This morning we got up early and headed out to Sonoma Valley. It was one of the best days that we’ve had so far. We started our wine experience with a tasting at the oldest vineyard in Sonoma. There we sat down and were walked through five of their best wines AND we learned about how to pair different wines with different foods. They gave us a small plate of food and we got to try out different combinations. It was awesome.

From there we moved on to Napa Valley, which we found rather disappointing. Napa is geared for tourists whereas Sonoma is for those who want some peace, quite, and damn good wine.

After driving back from Napa we stopped off in Sonoma at one more vineyard that was a winery and Italian market place all in one. We had a yummy lunch including pesto pasta and then rounded off the afternoon with a five wine tasting. After having an absolute blast, we bought a few more bottles of wine and headed back to the hotel.

Between the two of us, Linds and I purchased 15 bottles of wine. This is why we’re best friends.

Going South

One way to revive the excitement of a road trip is to do something new. So with a little Bob Dylan playing on the radio, we decided to get back to the national parks we love and visit Crate Lake National Park on the way south to California. Crater Lake is one of the cleanest bodies of water in the world and the site of it is absolutely breathtaking. Linds and I didn’t really know much about it so our expectations weren’t high. I think that’s why we were shocked at the beauty and quiet we found there.

That night we decided to keep on driving and crossed the border into sunny California. In the middle of the night we found ourselves driving through thick fog in the middle of the Redwood National Forest. Linds and I were practically sitting on the dashboard to see where we were going. It was actually kind of fun but I will admit that we pick the worst times to drive at night.

The next morning we drove down the Avenue of the Giants around 9am when no other cars were on the road. We must have pulled over three dozen times to take pictures. It was like being in a real life Fern Gully. I have never felt so small in my life. My favorite part was when we were listening to “Free Bird” while driving down a small, curvey part of the road with the sun in front of us and the beautiful trees all around. This is what road trips are made of.

The Pacific Northwest (Michele)

Well hello there ladies and gentlemen. I have been a little absent lately so I thought I would drop you a line to say hello and given you a bit of an update.

So the Pacific Northwest has not been my favorite place. I enjoyed Seattle including the original starbucks, Pike Place Market, and dinner with good friends, but other than that I wouldn’t come back. We did go to one of the old port towns, Port Townsend, which was quaint and cute. We also picked fresh lavender on the way home—which was by far the most fun we had.

I do think that part of our disappointment was the realization that we had gone as far west as we possibly could. There is something so tantalizing about “going West.” It’s an inspiration ingrained in us from a young age through stories of manifest destiny. Jack Kerouac further enraptured the feeling in On The Road, but I don’t think you can fully appreciate the feeling until you actually get on the highway. Arriving in Seattle meant an end to that part of our journey and I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye.

City men vs. cowboys 7/5/07

So michele and I have decided that men in cities like NYC, Chicago, and Seattle can be compared to fine china or silver that you take out at chrismas time. Once a year. And that the men in the west like Wyoming and South Dakota are like that fabulous leather bag you bought 6 years ago; still beautiful, still sturdy, and still rugged.

Teton National Park & Jackson, WY (1)

So we finally reached the Grand Tetons around 11:30 at night Mountain time (1:30 am eastern time) and realized this was probably not the smartest idea in the world since there are so many wile animals around here that come out at night. We will call this “Lindsay and Michele on Safari in the Tetons” Drive at a snails speed through the mountains we saw a ton of deer and antelope. It was very cool, but seemed like forever. Michele was getting a little nervous thinking we were lost in the Teton Mountains and decided we should seek out a ranger. We pulled over on the side of the road for shel to use the facilities and low and behold a ranger drove right past us. She jumped back in the truck, pants still unbuttoned and said Follow that Ranger! Hunting down this ranger we flashed out brights at him about a thousand times. He finally pulled over and came to our car. He was like what’s the problem ladies. We quickly told him that we thought we were lost and that we were looking for a site. He pointed us in the right direction and went of with the rangerly duties of the night. We Shel and I went the way he said, and because it was so dark and so late we couldn’t find the damn site! While in search of the site we can across a group of animals the size of a clidsdale horse! It was herd of elk! Very cool. Allowing these lovely but huge animals to cross the road we drove on only to be stopped once more by deer crossing the street. Now deer are pretty docile creatures, but once we stopped and watched for a while we noticed there were some other animals in the grasses as well. We waited and watched. There were two grey wolves stalking and hunting these deer. We actually got to see these wolves lunge at the deer, but unfortunately for the wolves we spooked the deer and scared them away, so I guess we saved a few dear and made the wolves work a little harder for dinner. Michele and I finally got so tired that we just pulled off the road into a turnout and stayed the night there. We woke up at 6:00 am to find our campsite. We were lucky we went to the Jenny Lake campgrounds first, this is the most popular site at the Tetons because it is right on the lake. We just happened to pull in when a family was leaving! Go Us! So we are staying in the Tetons for a few days, thank god we were getting a little tired of the “go go go” thing we had going on.
Exciting sightings:
Grey Wolf: 3
Elk: close to 30
Deer: A dozen or so
Magpie: 2
Bison: 6
Moose: 1
Bald Eagle: 3
Grizzly Bear: 1
Cowboys: Hundreds (Complete with Belt buckle, Hat, boots, and colorful printed shirt!)
Ground Hog: 1 (This thing was the size of a cocker spaniel)

The Black Hills and Needles Highway

Leaving the Badlands we once again set out on the road headed towards the Black Hills, Custer State Park and Needles Highway, the Crazy Horse monument and Mount Rushmore. Making it to Custer State Park first we realized about halfway through the drive on Needles highway which was really cool, that we were almost out of gas. Trying not to step on the gas pedal in order to preserve our reserves we finally made it to the bottom of the mountain. From there we had to find a gas station. You see out here there is no grantee of gas it was could be 1 mile it could be 50 who knows. But we did find one about 5 miles down the road thanks goodness to because we were running on fumes. We ate dinner in this great town called Hill City. Shel and I finally got to try some Buffalo meat. We both had a buffalo steak wrapped in bacon with veggies and a potato for on $8.00 each. Awesome! We could totally do our own $40.00 a day! Look out Rachel Ray. After dinner we went on out quest for a campsite. It was little difficult seeing as though we had no idea where we were going, and got a little detoured in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but hey it all ended up working out in the end. We stayed at a campsite in the Nation Forest called Horse Thief (awesome name). And go figure we ended up staying at the same campsite that George Bush stayed at while he was in office. They called it their presidential site. Haha we thought that was funny. Waking up early, we ate a fabulous all you could eat breakfast in Hill City at this local dive and we on our way to Wyoming.

The Badlands National Park

Where do we start? After driving through absolutely the flattest terrain ever, we began to see a change in the landscape the closer we got to the park. From totally flat, to rolling plains, to hilly, to HOLY SHIT! These gigantic mountains made entirely of rock were am absolutely amazing sight. Michele and I pulled over once we entered the park (FREE! Because we were smart and bought a Park Pass for the National Park Service for all of the national parks). We starred up at these amazing monsters before us and were speechless. Yes for once I had not words. Any sentence, group of disruptive words strung together can’t describe this place. The best word that comes to mind is hypnotic. We were drawn to the pinks, oranges, reds, tans, and browns’ moving in what seems like a dance from one mountain to the other. They were swirls of colors moving from very muted and pale to extremely bright and loud. What made it even better was the sunlight. The way the sun gently meandered over the smooth, crumbly, sharp wall and illuminated huge crags in the side of these walls was inspirational. I swear it can almost be described as a religious experience; it was out of this world. Leaving the Badlands National Park we headed to the infamous Wall Drug in Wall, SD. It was very difficult
Bison: 2
Prairie Dogs: 17
Cows: It seems like millions
Jackalope: 1 (it was stuffed in Wall)

1880 Town: SD

Driving along I-90 west there is little to look at besides the countless signs for Wall Drug in Wall, SD and for 1880 Town. We happen to have a brochure for 1880 Town and decided that it was worth a pit stop. The town a comprised of building from the 1800’s all put together to create this neat little tourist trap. It was worth the $8.00 entrance. It was a very neat place there was a hotel from the late 1800’s that still had the scratch marks from when cowboys bumped them with their spurs. It had a real saloon with the staff dressed in period garb. The town was home of Cisco, the horse that played Kevin Costner’s horse in dances with wolves, as well as a whole exhibit of Dances’ with Wolves movie paraphernalia. It was really cool; I didn’t know that the movie was filmed out there. Leaving 1880 Town we headed to the Badlands National Park.

South Dakota to Wyoming: June 27 and 28

Pierre, SD, Pronounced, “peer” as the locals would call it turned out to be quite a cute town. The Lewis and Clark trail runs through the town and its biggest claim to fame is that it’s the capital of the state! Rock on Pierre! After driving around for a while from the central time zone to the Mountain Time zone a few times we finally found the farm island recreation area campsites. Once Shel and I registered and set of the site we looked at each other, reading the others mind said BEER and went on a quest to fine some before everything closed. Success! Not only did me manage to get some brew, in the West they sell Bud Light 16 oz. cans in packs of 8! Score! We returned thirsty little travelers, combating the mosquito’s with bug spray, our Off! Candle and our iron fists we planned out our next day of traveling. The conversation turned from our trip to several other colorful topics like boyfriends, relationships, cozy’s (You know those insulation sleeves shaped like a beer bottle) and headlamps! Don’t ask, ok. We woke up condensed, more commonly known as covered in condensation, and got ready to leave Pierre, SD and head to the Badlands. Looking at our campsite I thought to myself I’ve never seen campsites like these, the grass was perfectly manicured and it was beautiful, although the bathrooms were disgusting ultimately resulting in another day of Michele and I not taking a shower. Days without bathing: 2. With the time saved from not showering we were on the road by 7:45 am central time, shortly there after we crossed the Missouri river into the Mountain Time zone gaining another hour of playtime.

Minnesota to South Dakota

Last night we found a really great place to camp and this would be my first time camping on this trip. Linds and I set up the tent and I feel quickly asleep with a warm breeze blowing through the wheat grass surrounding us. When I woke up this morning Linds had our oatmeal breakfast ready and was reorganizing our packing situation in the back of her truck. It was 7am.

It was nice to shower, although the giant spider that decided to shower with me was less than welcome. I made Lindsay kill it.

We then headed out towards Devils Gulch in Garretson, MN where, according to legend, Jesse James jumped over the gulch while running from the law. Unfortunately it would take us a bit longer to find Devil’s Gulch because for the first time, we got lost.

We have been traveling off of the highway because I-90 just gets long and boring after a while. The alternate roads are a little slower but far more beautiful. Today we found ourselves on a road that was not paved and not leading us to our desired destination. Eventually we found our way, but we spent a good part of the morning driving around corn fields and cow pastures, and we were having a great time doing it. Getting lost was actually a lot of fun.

South Dakota is where we are starting to notice where the definition of middle America comes from. Life is different here. For starters, the size of the pickup trucks increases proportionally with the size of the insects. It seems like everything moves slower and the land just gets flatter and flatter. Driving along Route 14 West, we are surrounded on both sides by never-ending “amber waves of grain.” Pheasant count: 9.

We stopped by the Corn Palace in Mitchell briefly because although it has been a spectualr sight, this year was rather boring. Don’t worry, I’m still sending postcards that say “We Were Ear.”

Next stop: Pierre, SD.

Minnesota

After waking up in a parking lot around 5am, Linds and I went to a McDonalds to have breakfast and figure out what to do next. I must say that the McDonalds was a great introduction to Minnesota: the accent and the demeanor of the people. There must be in lithium in the water because even at the crack of dawn everyone was so kind and courteous. We had breakfast, wrote out our postcards, and drove around Austin looking for the post office to kill three hours before the Spam Museum opened. Oddly enough, by the time 10am rolled around, we were not the first people to walk through the museum doors. The ode to Spam was more than I initially expected and it gave an extensive history of the Hormel family’s involvement in the war effort during WWI and WWII. It was 30 minutes well spent. As we drove away from Austin towards the twin cities we made the mistake of keeping the windows down while we drove past the Hormel factory where Spam is created. Imagine what pureed pork shoulder would smell like on a 90 degree day and that’s what came wafting into the car. Linds almost got sick an thinking and even thinking about it now makes me a little ill.

We then headed north towards the Mall of America and arrived shortly after noon. The mall was so much more than I expected and I was thoroughly amazed to find out that in addition to having a Nordstrom, they have a water park (and a hotel, and an amusement park, and Aldo was having a clearance sale). After getting lattes at our new favorite coffee shop Carribou Coffee, we proceed to spend the day shopping without the burden of sales tax. With hunger getting the best of us, we left the mall and headed out towards Darwin, Minnesota the home of the largest ball of twine rolled by one man. We originally planned to go into Minneapolis, but the Sculpture Garden and Walker Art Center are both closed on Mondays. Much to our dismay, we decided to forgo the trip in to the cities and head straight to Darwin.

As we were about to leave the city limits, I sped right by a local police officer. Obviously speeding (68 in a 55 so I would later find out) the officer turned around and pulled us over. Lindsay pulled out the road map and I put on my most confused face. The young, male officer approached the vehicle and asked me why I thought he pulled us over. I said (in a high and anxiety-filled voice) that I was probably going too fast, but was extremely stressed because we were lost (this was a lie, we knew exactly where we were going). He asked where we were headed to and Lindsay, in a moment of brilliance, started staring at the map but said nothing. Then she puts her finger down and exclaims “Marshalll!” Then I started stammering about how I thought we were on 23 but we haven’t seen a sign in ages, etc. The nice police officer, looking and sounding exactly like the officers in Fargo, proceeded to give us the sweetest directions. At the end he did say, “I’m not going to give you a ticket, in case you hadn’t figured that out already.” He did take my license, and was going to give us a written warning, but all his stuff was in the back seat of his car and he didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting it. Hats off to that very nice officer. It just goes to show you, the damsel in distress still works.

The rest of the ride along Route 12 was an education in the meaning of “small town.” We only stopped once and that was when we arrived at Darwin (population:226). We drove down the main street to the Ball of Twine Museum only to discover a HUGE ball of twine and most of the inhabitants of Darwin congregating around it. As the town’s only claim to fame, it seems to be a pretty big deal. We were invited inside the “museum” (which was actually someone’s home) for some lemonade and to chat with the locals. We declined the lemonade but did stay to chat a bit. As nice as they were, we had no intention of staying in Darwin more than 20 minutes, so we made a polite but quick getaway before we became “one of them.” It was a very, very different experience.

June 24, 2007 - Wisconsin & Minnesota

…So we got some cheese. WI was a success! After a morning of screwing around on the road (we turned around several times just because we missed the “welcome to…” signs, just to have a picture, we finally made it to Minnesota where we encounter our first hitch hiker at a rest stop along I-90W. Don’t worry we did not pick him up, when asked if “ya’al goin’ west” I quickly responded with “no.” No worries.

The drive through Wisconsin on 14W was a lesson in agricultural sciences. This is where the cow competition really heated up. By the time we reached the state line it was 107 Lindsay to 73 Michele, with some local cemeteries along the way claiming both our herds.

Another interesting sighting along route 14W was a horse drawn buggy carrying an Amish family wearing homemade cloths with no buttons or zippers (because we all know the Amish do not believe in using such modern devices). We had no idea that the Amish community extended so far north as we were.

Michele and I were amazed and proven wrong in our initial expectations of Wisconsin. Watching the sunset over the rolling plains, green pastures and countryside spotted with Red Barns was breathtaking. Wisconsin is Beautiful!

Arriving in Austin, MN at 9:45pm Central time we found ourselves following signs to the SPAM Museum, while looking for the perfect parking lot to spend the night. Reorganizing the FJ allowed for a cozy B & B for Michele and I, Only to wake up every Hour on the hour because there was a knot in a part of my body didn’t know could be knotty. We woke at sunrise to a factory whistle at 5:00am. It was a very My Cousin Vinny Moment. By the time we were ready for our morning coffee we found we were no longer alone in the parking lot, we were sandwiched between the cars of locals on their way to work on this early Monday morning.

Next stop Minneapolis…

June 24, 2007 - Wisconsin & Minnesota

June 24, 2007
…So we got some cheese. WI was a success! After a morning of screwing around on the road (we turned around several times just because we missed the “welcome to…” signs, just to have a picture, we finally made it to Minnesota where we encounter our first hitch hiker at a rest stop along I-90W. Don’t worry we did not pick him up, when asked if “ya’al goin’ west” I quickly responded with “no.” No worries.

The drive through Wisconsin on 14W was a lesson in agricultural sciences. This is where the cow competition really heated up. By the time we reached the state line it was 107 Lindsay to 73 Michele, with some local cemeteries along the way claiming both our herds.

Another interesting sighting along route 14W was a horse drawn buggy carrying an Amish family wearing homemade cloths with no buttons or zippers (because we all know the Amish do not believe in using such modern devices). We had no idea that the Amish community extended so far north as we were.

Michele and I were amazed and proven wrong in our initial expectations of Wisconsin. Watching the sunset over the rolling plains, green pastures and countryside spotted with Red Barns was breathtaking. Wisconsin is Beautiful!

Arriving in Austin, MN at 9:45pm Central time we found ourselves following signs to the SPAM Museum, while looking for the perfect parking lot to spend the night. Reorganizing the FJ allowed for a cozy B & B for Michele and I, Only to wake up every Hour on the hour because there was a knot in a part of my body didn’t know could be knotty. We woke at sunrise to a factory whistle at 5:00am. It was a very My Cousin Vinny Moment. By the time we were ready for our morning coffee we found we were no longer alone in the parking lot, we were sandwiched between the cars of locals on their way to work on this early Monday morning.

Next stop Minneapolis…

And the Adventure Begins...June 22, 2007

Friday morning Lindsay and I woke up at 4am, long before the sun was even thinking of rising, and left my house by 5:45am. The drive through the southern tier of New York was long but beautiful. Route 81 takes you through softly rolling hills dotted with cows, horses, and sheep. Lindsay’s boyfriend Jeff gave us the following fun car ride game to play:

The Cow Game

As you pass cows in pasture on your side of the car, you count them. The person with the most cows by the end of the trip wins. The only caveat is when you pass a graveyard your cows die and you must start counting all over.

I was up 197 cows to Lindsay’s 48 when we passed an unfortunately place graveyard around Olean. I came back in the end though and by the time we hit Chicago I was leading with 67 cows. Stay tuned for further score updates.

After leaving the seemingly never-ending state of New York, we passed quickly through a sliver of Pennsylvania and entered Ohio. Not only was the highway construction onerous but also driving through Cleveland on I-90 is much like the seventh circle of hell. Directionals are optional, as are speed limits and common courtesy. I didn’t know people could drive 90 miles an hour while making obscene hand gesture with both hands. Lindsay and I sought refuge in horribly loud sing-a-longs to classics produced by The Backstreet Boys and Sir Mix-a-lot.

The only good thing Ohio produced was lower gas prices, down to $2.85/gallon.

From Ohio we followed I-90 through the entire northern length of Indiana. It was nice to see the change in our country’s landscape from the curvaceous hills of New York to the flat, corn-filled fields of Indiana. We also began to notice more and more houses of worship cropping up as we went along.

Despite my mother’s doubts about making the 13-hour drive in one day, we pulled in to Chi-town and located our hotel in Lincoln Park around 7:30 Friday evening. The area reminds me of the South End in Boston, complete with brownstones and attractive twentysomethings. We met up with Lindsay’s good friend from college for dinner and then went out afterwards to a lively bar in the neighborhood. After making lots of friends at the bar (for anyone who knows me and Linds you know that we make friends everywhere) we got in around 3am. It was a great 23-hour day.

The next morning we woke up at 7 to move the car (the on-street parking rules here are a bit of a hassle) and then got ready to explore the city. We took the “L” red line to the “Chicago” stop, which puts you at the top of Michigan Avenue, or the Magnificent Mile. We spent a lot of time strolling down that street (stopping along the way to see the Water Tower and the Hancock building) until the weather decided not to cooperate. The rain made it a perfect time to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. Their two installations, one featuring different types of photography the other a feature of South American artists, were great. Luckily for us we finished our tour of the museum just as the rain let up so we walked over to Lake Shore drive and meandered down to Grant Park and Navy Pier. Along the way we had to stop by one of the beaches and put our toes in the water just to say we were in Lake Michigan. That water was coooooooold.

We had lunch at Navy Pier and then continued our walk down to the Loop (passing by 200 South Wacker Drive!!). Lindsay and I were both struck by Chicago’s stunning architecture. From the Tribune Building to the bascule bridges, Chi-town mixes it up to create a truly breathtaking city.

Finally, to end the day, we took the L out to Oak Park to visit the home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. Unfortunately we got there too late and the last tour of the grounds had already begun so we walked around as much as we could (and looked in every window we could see in to). We enjoyed a latte along the quaint, boutique-lined main street before taking the L back to Lincoln Park. It has been quite a day and I don’t think I have ever walked so much in my life so we’re calling it quits.

Tomorrow morning we’re getting up to see Wrigley Field before putting Chicago in our rear view mirror on our way to Wisconsin. It’s been a long and wonderful two days, but now it’s time for some cheese…

Words of wisdom

As I prepare for this trip and I tell people of my upcoming adventures, some words of wisdom have been handed down to me. For example:

Gabe: "Good luck with everything and have a great time on your trip. Be crazy, but be safe."

Me: "Well...you know...I lived in Africa for almost a year, I think we'll be OK."

Gabe: "Africa is not the South."