Day 16- Southern comfort

Saturday April 16th 2011
Nashville, Tennessee

Well I can't even begin to explain today properly, but let me give this a shot!  And the video is just from when I pulled over in the storm.

I woke up today to the sound of a James Bond style alarm, Ben needed to be taken to the airport and his alarm is really loud and really scary.  I dropped him off at 7:15 and was on my way to Memphis to have a coffee, a much needed coffee at that early hour in the day.  Last night before I went to sleep I decided to do a quick little search into Apple stores along my route home.  Memphis happened to have one, and I figured out that I would be there just as it was about to open, which makes getting to the front of the service queue.  After 30 minutes my trusty laptop has got its legs back and is working again.  Let me just put in a quick plug for Apple, I walked in to a store over 5000km from home with no appointment and walked out 30 minutes later free of charge with a problem solved.

Nashville how I love you, it is just such a great place!! Country music, Nashville Predators, T-swift (one day I will take her to dinner mark my words!) and souther hospitality.  I started out my Nashville afternoon by wandering around Centennial Park and going to the Parthenon, which is a life size model of the original Parthenon only in Nashville and not destroyed.  After that I decided I should check in and see if anybody had replied to my postings looking for a bed to call mine tonight.  Nothing, so slightly discouraged I hit UrbanSpoon up and started figuring out the most important thing, finding a place to eat.  I was just around the corner from a place called Rotier's Restaurant, and by every single review I read I was sure I needed to go there.  As I walked up and saw the line going out the door my instinct told me this place must be good, so in I went and put my name down on the long list, I was number 18 at the time.

As I waited an older gentleman looked at me and asked where I was from, we got to talking and he asked why somebody from Vancouver was at Rotier's.  After I explained that it had amazing reviews and that I loved finding places like that he started telling everybody in his party about me and why I was there.  Conversation died and his table was ready, just as he was walking away he turned and said "well you are joining us now you know"  Long story short I had one of the most amazing dinners I have ever had, Mr. Johnson is a Dairy Farmer, and I am sorry I didn't get all the names, but there was a Principal, an architect, two former bankers, a bailiff and a woman who to my understanding sells...implants.  2 hours passed and we were walking up to the front to settle up when he leans over and says that there is no way I'm being allowed to pay.  I met the owner of the restaurant and it was the most unbelievable hospitality I have ever experience from complete strangers.   So thank you so much!

Also on the note of thanking people, Ben posted my blog on his site today.  12 hours later I have had over 1,000 hits.  I know that is nothing in the world of blogs, but cool!  So thanks Ben.

Song of the day - California Stars - Billy Bragg and Wilco.

Joshua Tree!

Day 15 A recap edition

Little Rock, with Ben Lee Ann ( Canucks game in behind)

Friday April 15th 2011.
Little Rock, Arkansas

Well, with the exception of the weather providing entertainment yesterday, these last two days have really just been about traveling and getting from point A to point B.  Which is how the road is sometimes, and don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in the journey being more important than the destination.   I am in Little Rock tonight, visiting with Ben.  For those of you who don't know Ben he is worth knowing.  So I figured today I would post more as a look back at 2 weeks on the road, the longest road trip I have done as of yet.


States Visited- 10 (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas)
National Parks -6 +1  (Redwood, Joshua Tree, Zion, Grand Canyon, Arches, Great Sand Dune) (Monument valley is a Tribal Park)
Distance Traveled - have to leave something to the imagination
Couches surfed - 6
Nights Camped - 2
Juice Boxes drank -36
Granola bars consumed daily - 3-5
Playcount on "Friday" - 6 (it is catchy after all)
And my favorite stat after 2 weeks of blogging I have cleared 1,100 views of the blog, all thanks to the daily viewing of my awesome friends, family, and followers.  Couldn't have done it without you.

The thing I wish I could find a way to get across in the blog the most?  Smell.  I wish there was a way to make smell visible in a blog.  Two days ago as I was driving north from Great Sand Dunes, the rain was just a small sprinkle on the great plains.  But there it was, with the window down just a crack the smell of summer rain filled the car.  If there were a way to have captured that and sent it to all of you I would have.  A few of the other noteworthy smells from the trip include the smell of fire, slash piles being burned as spring comes to an end fills the car with that warm smell of fire.   And because not all smells can take us to good places, yesterday I was trying to get to the highway out of Pueblo and I ended up on a dirt road next to a cattle auction.  A couple thousand cows in small spaces can really produce quite the smell.  And lets not forget, I smell like Canadian Bacon apparently, I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.

 Song of the day - Man Of Constant Sorrow - The Soggy Bottom Boys

Lastly- Can we take a moment to cheer for the Canucks?  The boys in blue gave the Blackhawk a good fight tonight taking the series to a 2-0 lead.  GO CANUCKS GO

Day 14

Thursday April 14th 2011
Kansas City,KS or MO

Well please accept the appology at this time. My trusty laptop may have bit the final bullet today which will make my blog post quite a bit shorter and less picturized.

Today was a very challenging day, let me just start off by saying that I am safe and sound in Kansas City. I feel that is important to state because of the weather I encountered today. Leaving pueblo was fine for about an hour, then it started to snow which really didnt bother me at all. But then it started to accumulate and the road started to get a little ugly. Speed dropped anD it was just a case of leaving lots of distance and driving carefully. An hour of that went by in no time and I was out of the worst of it.

As I was standing in Burlington, Colorado filling the car there was a little but if snow on the ground but not much. I noticed the interstate to my left was a little empty but just blamed the weather. With the tank full I was just about to go when all of the sudden there it was... Aside from the abandon ship warning I have heard before this was the second most horrifying thing I have heard. The whine of a siren, not just a regular police siren that we hear day to day, the type of siren used to alert the whole town of something bad. When you are on the great plains, there is really only one thing it could be...a tornado siren. I froze, I have not been trained to deal with this is all I could think, so I went inside. The woman working told me not to worry as it was just a test scheduled for today... Wow thanks for the heart attack.

After setting out onto the road again the sky cleared up and it got warm just long enough to forget the events from earlier. And then it changed again, the sky got dark, like the kind of dark usually reserved for nightfall. The wind picked up and the rain started, followed by the lightning. None of that was that bad, but then without warning it got bad. Cars pulled over left and right, the lightning was right above us, the hail was the size of quarters. I pulled over but was still being rocked by the weather, so I pulled forward and hid in the wind shadow of a semi. ( thank you truckers). As the night continued I had the radio going and it seemed where I was, was where the storm was worst. Tornado warnings, severe thunderstorms and hail for 3 hours is tiring. Kenny Rodgers sang " you got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em". I was pretty close to folding them and finding a place to wait out the storm.

But I didn't, and thank goodness I didn't or I never would have made it to "Oklahoma Joes BBQ" I'm KC. Most amazing meal I have ever eaten and I will leave it at that.

Okay, so longer than I expected but it needed to be told the right way.

Song of the day. Either the entire Pink Floyd Collection or Colder Weather by Zac Brown Band.

Cheers.

Day 13

Jon and Braden do Pikes Peak.

Wednesday April 13th 2011
Pueblo, Colorado

Today I got high, very very high.  14,110 feet above sea level!  I was at Pikes Peak just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado.  For those of you who aren't part of the in crowd (Until today, I wasn't) Pikes Peak Highway is a 19 mile highway with some paved and some unpaved, you gain 7,400feet of vertical in that time. It is the furthest east of the states 51 peaks over 14,000 feet.   At the base today the man at the kiosk said that it was only open until the 18th mile.   A little bummed out that I wouldn't get to summit, I pushed on and got to mile 18 in what seemed like no time.  Stopped in front of me were two GM test cars covered in sensors and antena, I started talking and found out that Pikes Peak is where most of the American car companies test the braking ability of their new cars there.  15 minutes later the peak was open and I completed my drive.  Amazing.  The air was cold, and dry and at 14,000ft it was much thinner.   Great drive down, Jon had fun.

After a quick drive south I found myself at the gates to Great Sand Dune National Park, middle of nowhere Colorado.  I bet you are thinking "what happens at Great Sand Dunes?"  well ready for a mind trip?  There are giant sand dunes!! 55 sq miles of dunes, the tallest one being 700 feet tall.  Well you know what I had to do, I had to climb that.   Sand is not easy to walk on, picture the worst beach you have ever walked on, then make it 700 feet tall, then make the wind blow so hard that particles of sand sting any exposed skin.   At the top I was really impressed with the fact I survived, I then reached into my pocket to check the time, realizing I didn't bring a watch/ phone was actually good because as I reached into that pocket I felt nothing but sand.   After being sand blasted for an hour I was just covered in sand, you couldn't open your eyes at the summit, breathing through your mouth was out of the question.

Well now I am in Pueblo, and I worry that all of the amazing things that I wanted to do on my trip have been done.  As far as amazing scenery goes in the States, I hope to find some more people to surf with because  the last to nights in hotels have been boring.  So if you read this and know of anybody in Kansas City or Nashville who wants to host me, well let me know!

Cheers
Song of the day - Little Wing - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

I was on the lookout, but no dice.

Day 12 - A very Suess Day

Pinhole Joshua Tree

Tuesday April 12th 2011
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Please excuse the rest of this post.  I made a promise to post in Dr. Suess format at least once... so here it goes.

Fantastic fantastic, today I took flight,
I slamwoozled my car to a great new height,
Over hills and great tunnels,
past Mamoozlers great funnels,
By ski hills and small towns,
by tall trees and sad clowns.

The places i journeyed proved great wonder
but my lack of good bedding was a blunder
I sat and pondered got down to brass tacks
So i gave up and saw a great IMAX
the museum was empty without a soul in sight,
I got in the car and drove off into the night,

I sat on the patio watching the bustle,
people were moving with such a hustle.
there were men of all heights,
and women with black tights.
I sat with a man from town,
he made sure i didn't frown.

Some towns had wingwuzzlers,
others had clingfuzlers,
But no town had the worst of all
things either big, or small
not things that could fly,
no not things you can buy,
the things i couldnt seem to find,
the friends i had stuck in mind.

So what ever road you travel today,
what ever you see along the way
there is one thing you can't miss out,
one thing traveling needs no doubt,
the people of the road are the great,
as are the friends at home in wait.

Okay, so that was awful.  I am not Dr. Suess, but to be fair he isn't really a Doctor.   Recap of the day incase my poem didnt make it clear.

I didn't do anything today really awesome.  I went to a bar that has the most beer on tap anywhere in the world. I went to an IMAX narrated by Morgan Freeman, which was awesome.  I spent most of the day just enjoying being around where I was.  But at the end of the day, I started to miss family and friends, and then I realized i had nowhere to stay tonight.  So I am staying at a less than awesome hotel, but really it isn't bad.

Song of the day - Pump It Up - Elvis Costello

Zion pinhole

Zion Pinhole from above.  That turn is where the other photos is from.

Day 11

Monument Valley, Utah

Monday April 11th, 2011
Grand Junction, Colorado

HOLYSMOKES!!!! This morning was one of the most amazing mornings of my life.  But sometimes to get the good we have to pay the price, and last night was the price.  It was a combination of terrible factors; wild dogs roaming around my tent, I was close to the road so people kept driving by, wild horses were making the most haunting noise ever, and it was cold again last night.

But it was all for the best, waking up at 6am and driving for 20 minutes allowed me to see one of the best views I have ever seen.  I stood completely alone on this cliff point watching the sun rise behind massive buttes.  As the sun got higher and higher the scale of these humungous formations of rock just got more and more intimidating.  After spending the better part of an hour being amazed by nature I headed back, packed up my tent and set out.

The drive from Monument Valley to Grand Junctions is actually pretty dull, with the exception of Arches National Park, just outside of Moab.  It is this huge national park made up of a combination of buttes, and natural arches that are formed from erosion of different types of sandstone.  It is pretty amazing, standing under a bridge of rock that is 30 meters across ( I have decided that because Canada is Metric, I will try giving up Imperial measures for a while) and just hoping that it doesn't decide to collapse today.

After a drive that tested the limits of my gas tank I pulled into Grand Junction and am just about to grab a good night sleep I hope.

Song of the day ?   Toadies - Possum Kingdom

Mr. Lambshead I hope you are happy.

Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

Monument Valley, Utah

Jon does Arches Nat'l park, notice hula hooper sign.

Day 10nt

Sunday April 10th 2011

Monument Valley, Utah.

Well me just start today off by saying that last night was an awesome time with my hosts, I ended up being employed as a door man at the local bar collection cover for the show!  It was an absolute blast and they were quite the talented musicians.  As far as hosts go I have lucked out huge.

After a very late start and lots of bacon, today was awesome day of adventure.  Lots of sites to see, and lots of breathtaking views.  I started out in Zion (be careful to pronounce it like lion, not ion)  it is an amazing national park just outside of Hurricane, Utah ( be careful to pronounce it like Hurri-can).  The big wonder of the park is this valley that is just amazing, it has so much beauty words cant explain, great day to be hiking to.  After a little Mormon girl walked by me and said "Dad that man has girls hair" I figured it was time for me to head out!

Horseshoe Bend, wow!! I can't believe that I have been to the Grand Canyon before and managed to bypass this site.  It is where the river takes a big ben (guess what??  its shaped like a horseshoe!) and it is just at the north east end of the Canyon.   There are no guard rails, no steps, no safety at all.  Just about 1500 feet to the river below.  As I lay sprawled out across this one point of rock, I started to think of what if the wind picked up? What if there were an earthquake?  What if that guy over there is having a terrible day and just comes up and pulls a "This is SPARTA!!!!" and kicks me to the river below.  I left after that.

The day started to wind down after a quick Walmart stop, and a 2 hour drive to my resting place for tonight.  I am just about 2 miles away from Monument Valley Tribal Park.   Driving in was the kind of drive I just wish everybody could do.  You do one final turn and BANG there are these buttes that tower over head with nothing around them.  It was too dark to really capture with any success so tomorrow is a sunrise photo-op.  

Thats it for today, battery is dead and so am I. Photos will come tomorrow.

Song of the day--- January Wedding - The Avett Brothers.