Pictorial randoms

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

Medical airlift, US-95, Nevada

Wreck causes jam near Artois, California

Fire-damaged building, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, MI

Kimmy's Bar, Detroit, Michigan

Fortune from Chinese restaurant, Detroit, Michigan

Penn Station, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland

Basilica, Baltimore, Maryland

Basilica, Baltimore, Maryland

Basilica basement, Baltimore, Maryland

Radio, Ames, Iowa

Alex's very Portland looking bike, New York

New York City, New York

Busker outside the Met, New York

Sign on I-75 for Oregon, Ohio

The Columbia outside Arlington, Oregon

Windfarm, Arlington, Oregon

Osburn, Idaho

Osburn, Idaho

Strangely appropriate songs

These songs showed up on my iPod, sometimes at completely appropriate moments.

Big Sur - The Thrills
Heaven or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins
Ventura Highway - America (while I was driving on it)
Spirit of St Louis - British Sea Power
Girl from NYC (Named Julia) - Of Montreal
Lovecraft in Brooklyn - The Mountain Goats
Black Sheep Boy #4 - Okkervil River (has line about Baltimore)
Summer in the City - Regina Spektor
Ode to LA - The Raveonettes

These songs, thankfully, did not play on my iPod at appropriate moments.

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Anything by Boston
Anything by Kansas
Anything by Chicago
Hotel California - The Eagles

What happened to John Irving

I have been asked that I should probably explain what happened to John Irving, or more appropriately what the hell was the point of this whole following the route of this character etcetera. I read this short story, called Almost in Iowa, when I didn't even know how to drive. I was fascinated by the idea of a road trip, of escape, alone across a vast swathe of country. So I wrote down the route and promised myself that one day I would drive it. And now probably over a decade later, I have driven that route, more or less. What I learned was that first, after repurchasing the book before my trip, that I didn't like the story that much anymore and that the trip itself was a little ho-hum. I nonetheless persisted (such is the power of dreams from one's misspent youth) on driving this route that this character took as he ran from an unfaithful wife and a probable divorce he found hard to face. I didn't particularly like this character any longer either, so ultimately I did the drive because it happened to be a decent eastern route and out of sheer stubbornness. In the end, it was a bit of a bust, and during my detours off the route the character took, I was enjoying my trip, instead of following his tedious route. I think I had some idea that it would turn out to be interesting, that I could perhaps relate to the character (I tried in an earlier post but it was a stretch) but nope, it really wasn't up to much. So there it is, one of the few failures of a very successful trip. In that perhaps is the best way that I could relate to John Irving's writing (including this particular story) which is often about personal, human failures.

Lies, damned lies, and...

Total miles driven: 10,305
Number of states visited: 38
Number of stops: 22
Number of interstates driven: 34
Bottles of caffeinated beverages consumed: 20 (approximation)
Longest single day drive (hours): 13 (Manchester, NH to Cleveland, OH)
Number of Wall Drug billboards in South Dakota: 600,000 (approximation)
Number of anti-abortion billboards seen: 13 (Kansas 7, Iowa 2, South Dakota 2, Montana 1)
Number of museums visited: 12
Number of museums with a map better than PAM's: 12 (including the Spam Museum in Austin, MN)
Number of animals killed accidentally: 0, although I was in the car when a squirrel decided to run out in front of Alex's car
Car damage: Small crack in windshield
Human damage: Cramp in leg during sleep made for a painful couple of days in Iowa adding to sniffles caught in St. Louis
Worst food: McDonald's, Wichita, KS and Waffle House, Montgomery, AL
Best food: Clancy's, New Orleans

I can't think of what other stats, although some keep coming to me. Ideas welcome. Map of route forthcoming.

End Road Work

In reference to Kate's comment on the last post that she can't believe it's been this long already, I can't believe it either. Whenever I start telling a story, I automatically time reference it to when I left Portland instead of the actual time. It doesn't feel like five weeks. I feel like I left only a couple of days ago with much adventure ahead.

In a way, that is true. This trip has been good for me mentally. There's so much now that I feel I am more motivated to do, quite a few projects that I want to get done, which include completing this blog. It has been fun to write it, and I hope it's been at least at some points an entertaining read. This is probably my last post from the road as I'm about to leave Missoula and head towards Spokane and then head south to the old I-84.

So yes, despite an addictive urge to keep exploring, I'm also looking forward to being back at home and to get started on some creative projects and start investigating what options I have regarding my long-term future. Well, maybe not long-term, I've never been good at planning for that. But at least take a look and see where I might want to be heading (you see how equivocal that last sentence was? I still need work, of course.)


Road signs have been one of the most hilarious parts of the trip, and I have to say that often times I don't even know I'm in a work zone until a random End Road Work sign appears on the side of the road. I like random endings.


View Leg 23: Portland in a larger map

Roadie

There was an echo of Detroit circa 2001 last night. Back then, I used to help a punk band load up and load out of shows, taking pictures for them too. Last night, it was Lee's band.

The Colonel

I got into Missoula after a rather annoying drive. I've been bothered by allergies since St. Louis, unusual for me, and yesterday I had to stop several times because the drainage was hurting my eyes too much. It complicated the drive a bit but I managed to make it in good time for Lee's show. I then helped his band load up the amps and drums for the show and then attended the show. There were only a few people around. The first band was really really growly metal, and then Lee's band is sleazy glam rock-ish, whatever that means. They were definitely better than the first band.

Lee's got a great collection of KISS dolls. We drove around and took pictures because I wanted to finish the roll that was in the camera before getting back to Portland. Some random results below.











Very much a college town, Missoula. I've had my fair share of those on this trip. I've decided to stick around another day. I just needed the rest really badly after two rather long drives dealing with the allergies. I think I return tomorrow to the homestead.


View Leg 22: Missoula, Montana in a larger map

24 Hour Toe Service

The level of English in South Dakota must be rather low (loe?) if spelling such as this makes it onto a giant roadside billboard. Puts a whole new spin on the term Autobody Shop. Perhaps their tagline is "Real Men Get Pedicured"? Okay, I'll stop.

I seem to have a knack for picking the most Christian coffee shop in a given city. At least their wifi works, unlike the last place I was at in Portland, Maine. There's a cute little youth group going on and they were watching a video with uplifting string music when I walked in. Yes, yes, I'm brown and wearing a hat, I wanted to yell as they stared.

Today's drive took longer than I thought, probably because I decided to go east on I-90 to visit the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. I should have visited more of those weird museums on my trip so I felt like making up a bit. Of course, their map is way better than PAM's. What a trippy place. I've made it to Rapid City, South Dakota, but in the fading light I didn't think I wanted to drive down to Mount Rushmore. The funny thing about South Dakota is that you wouldn't know the biggest attraction in the state is Mt. Rushmore. I mean, you do, there are signs, but there were probably about three signs per mile for something called Wall Drug that seemed to sell or carry everything. There were hundreds of road signs, large, small, all exhorting one to visit this place. It was so insistent that I couldn't drive past it fast enough when I finally got to the place after over 200 miles of experiencing it via billboard. I sort of wonder what it is but I was so dreading that someone would be stopping traffic on the freeway and making sure this place be visited or else.

I doubt Mt Rushmore will make it into my itinerary after all. I have to be in Missoula by the early evening as Lee (or the Colonel as he's known to most people) will be playing a show that evening with his band. I'd like to attend the show, and the 10 hour drive might turn into 11 with stops so an early start is a must.

South Dakota has been unfriendly for the most part. I was also followed by a cop for a while. I hadn't been speeding. He just showed up behind me, sat there, then pulled alongside and took a look at me, and then slowed down again and then faded into the distance. A little alarming.

The youth group is dispersing. They are staring. I'm staring back. Don't try to convert this heathen! I'm off to the local brewery.


View Leg 21: Rapid City, South Dakota in a larger map