August 26, 2005

Going West: Where Am I?

I'm in Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport and in about one hour I'll be boarding my flight to Minneapolis. I still have a lot of updating to do so I'll be catching up in the next few days and adding entries about Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Manzanar, Death Valley and Vegas. There will be a bunch of photos as well so, as always, stay tuned.

Remaining Mileage (approx): 925 Total Mileage: 5910

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August 20, 2005

Going West: Third Leg Complete

Click here to view the photo gallery.

My time in what I consider southern California comes to end tomorrow and I head back up north to see a bunch of national parks: Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Manzanar National Historic Site, and Death Valley. Then Tuesday I'll be hanging out in Vegas and having a good 'ole time with some friends from New York who will be meeting me there. Stay tuned! There's much more to come.

Total Mileage: 4985

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August 18, 2005

Going West: Angels in Anaheim

I reached Angel Stadium in Anaheim around 7:30, a few minutes late because of, you guessed it, traffic. So I finally got to my seat in the bottom of the second inning. In less than one minute, the guy next to me, John, introduced himself. He was the guy who owned the season tickets, one of which I had purchased yesterday night via the internet. He owned four seats in fact, which meant that he knew everyone within several rows of us. So they sort of brought me into the fold once they realized that I wasn't a Boston fan and kept up a nice running commentary throughout the game once they realized that I was from out of town.

All this made the game very enjoyable, and it also helped that the game was completely sold out and that the Angels ended up destroying the Red Sox. I didn't get a chance to explore the stadium because I arrived late but I did find out from the nice folks in my row that it was built in 1966 and completely renovated in time for the 1998 season. Some of the interesting features include fireworks when an Angel hits a home run, a water feature (fountain) in center field, terraced bullpens in left, and a nice, large scoreboard that updates averages and ERAs during the game. The scoreboard allowed us to literally watch Steve Finley's batting average go from a despicable .222 down to .216 with each passing at bat.

There were a lot of Red Sox fans at the game who were making a lot of noise. At one point, the Boston fans in the crowd spontaneously began chanting, "Let's go Red Sox" followed by "Let's go Angels" from the rest of the fans. This went on for several minutes before everyone in the stadium found something to agree on: "Yankees suck!" I happily participated in that one.

The final score of the game was 13-4 and because the Angels scored double digits, everyone at the game gets free wings at Hooters for the next 24 hours. Everyone seemed very excited about that. Overall, I have nothing but nice things to say about Anaheim, the stadium, and the team's fans. It was a great time and I'm glad I got to sit next to some cool people.

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Going West: Art Day in LA

Happy Birthday Mom!

Although I was a bit late (traffic is insane here!), they still let me into the King Tut exhibit at LACMA this morning. The exhibit is actually worth the steep admission price of $22 and I was pleased with the presentation and quality of the artifacts. Calling the exhibit "Tut" is a bit misleading because it basically covers the entire 18th dynasty of Egyptian history, more commonly referred to as the New Kingdom. This perdiod saw Amenhotep IV, who may have been Tut's father, revolutionize the religious system of Egypt by making it monotheistic. He changed his name to Akhenaten and declared Aken, the disc of the sun, to be the only god. The move was controversial and unpopular and was basically reversed by Tutankhamun, the boy king.

Tut, of course, died around the age of 19 and the exhibit made some use of recent research and findings. The much publicized forensic reconstruction was shown in photographs at the end of the exhibit. Other portions of the exhibit show artifacts that were found in Tut's tomb. Although there is no one premier artifact that overshadows the rest, the numerous smaller pieces give a nice overview of Egyptian life and culture. Symbolism and the gods are especially well represented and I left with a better understanding of the Egyptian's beliefs about the afterlife.

The only drawbacks to the exhibit were that recent discoveries were not shown as much as I would have liked. Surely this is difficult due to the ongoing nature of the research but I hope material will be added throughout the life of the traveling exhibit (on display in major cities until 2007). It would have been nice to have a reproduction of the forensic reconstruction to look at or even touch.

As I walked through the exhibit I found myself wondering what made Tut so well known to us. This is more of a historiographical question outside the scope of the exhibit but I think it should have been dealt with at least a little bit. Was it the discovery of the tomb that made him popular or should he deserve to stand on historical merit alone? Do we know a lot about him because he was a great pharoah or because he died so young? What did his contemporaries think of him? I would have liked to see at least some of these questions answered.

After touring Tut and getting a bite to eat I went next door to the main LACMA building which holds the permanent collection and other special exhibitions. Keeping in mind that I still wanted to go to the Getty Center, I went through this portion relatively quickly but a few exhibits merited special attention. Many works of artist Tim Hawkinson were on display, for example. Hawkinson makes moving sculptures with machines that he builds himself. His work is hard to explain but it moves, makes noise and is generally interesting to look at. I won't go into too much detail but you can listen to an NPR story and check out a gallery of Hawkinson's work here.

The other highlight of LACMA was a look at the work of Renzo Piano, a noted architect. A large room is filled with tables that contain models, blueprints, photos and video of his works which include the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the terminal of Japan's Kansai airport.

After filling up on artwork, I went to see even more at the Getty Center which sits on top of a hill and has a commanding view of the city. The Getty Center is a work of art in itself with its gardens and terraces but the interior holds amazing pieces of art spread amongst four main buildings which are named after the points of the compass. The special exhibition displayed some of Rembrandt's religious portraits and this was the highlight for me.

By this point I had viewed more than enough artwork for one day so I hopped back in the car and began a longer then expected drive to Anaheim to see some baseball which I'll describe in a separate entry soon.

Today (and Yesterday's) Mileage: 390 Total Mileage: 4985

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August 17, 2005

Going West: Commuting to Los Angeles

After Sherri and Bruce went to work this morning I walked a few blocks to the Oxnard airport and rented a Ford Focus from Budget. After picking up some things at the house I got on highway 1 and took the scenic drive down to Los Angeles. It took me about 90 minutes and it wasn't too crowded. There are a ton of nice houses up on the hills and I soon lost track of the Porsches, BMWs and Mercedes that I saw along the road. It truly is a different world down here.

The first museum I went to on Wilshire Blvd. was the Page Museum at the La Brea tar pits. It's very strange to see pits of black tar in the middle of the city but that's basically what they are. The pits have been there for thousands of years and have provided scientists with millions of fossils to study. Basically, animals would wander near the pits, which were often obscured by dust or leaves, and they would get stuck. Then, a larger predator would come along and try to eat the smaller animal, getting stuck itself. This cycle could continue several times, leading to many animals getting stuck simultaneously. Multiply this process thousands of times over the years and you can see why the pits are an archaeological mother lode of cool stuff. One pit was being excavated while I was at the museum and visitors get to look down into it and watch the archaeologists work which is really neat.

After having my fill (not literally) of tar, I went next door to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) which is hosting a National Geographic exhibit on King Tut which I felt fortunate to stumble upon. After getting over the high admission prices ($25-30 for adults) I went to buy a ticket but they were sold out of for the day so I bought a ticket for 8-9 am tomorrow since I'm going to be back in the area.

With Tut ticket in hand I went across the street to the Petersen Automotive Museum which has a nice collection of cars. I liked that each auto was presented in historical context. There would be a car on display but then there would be a sign explaining some aspect of the city in relation to the automobile. This was a good way to show how the city has grown as a result of the car and explains why LA has spawled out so far. The highlight of the museum was the Hollywood collection which had the Batmobile and Batcycle from the original Batman TV series and the jet-powered Batmobile from the first modern Batman movies.

After the auto museum I rode the jammed streets (when are they not jammed?) down Sunset Blvd. and over to the downtown area to see El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historic part of the city. I parked the car and walked a few blocks to the historic area, only to be turned back at one of the museums because it was 3:00 which is closing time. I was a bit disappointed so I walked around for a while and then went back to the car and drove back up north to Oxnard along a busy highway 101.

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August 14, 2005

Going West: Chilling in Oxnard

After my early morning arrival, there was certainly no need to wake up at a decent time so I enjoyed sleeping in a somewhat familiar bed until around 11:00. For lunch we had my favorite California fast food: In 'N Out. Everything they use in their burgers is fresh and the end result is glorius. It's probably a good thing that they don't have them in New York.

After lunch we went on a short hike to Rose Valley which has a waterfall which cascades from a cliff. Bruce convinced me to follow him in a climb (which was more like a scramble) up to the top. The view was incredible and I'm glad I followed him up, even though we had to literally slide back down to the bottom. As Bruce aptly put it: "Going down is going to be pretty hairy."

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. It's certainly nice to be spending a few days in a place that is not a hotel.

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August 13, 2005

Going West: Second Leg Complete

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Today I woke up very early in order to catch my train which was scheduled to leave at 6:35. Luckily for me, it was late so I got sleep in much longer than I thought. I walked to the train station and waited for another hour before the Coast Starlight finally arrived. Upon boarding, I promptly fell asleep after the conductor punched my ticket.

I woke up an hour later just in time to hear an announcement that we were passing a ghost fleet. Looking to the left, I saw over a dozen navy ships of all sizes from all wars. They are placed there for long term storage and often end up being used as target practice. Shortly after the ghost fleet we arrived in Oakland's Jack London Square Station, one of my favorites because the train literally goes right down the middle of the street.

I did a lot of sleeping on this ride so there isn't much else to report apart from the fact that the train was over seven hours late. I finally arrived in Oxnard at nearly 3:00 in the morning where Sherri and Bruce were waiting. Sherri was literally in her pajamas and I don't blame her. It's nice that I have relatives that will come and pick me up at such ridiculous hours.

My arrival in Oxnard basically completes the second leg of the trip, thus the photo gallery here which covers everything from the past week or so.

Next up is southern California and then Vegas!

Today's Mileage (train): 495 Total Mileage: 4595

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August 12, 2005

Going West: Sacramento and State History

I had to get up early today to get the rental car back to Budget by 8:00 and after I did that I walked to Old Sacramento, the historic area of the town which has several museums. Once I arrived, I realized that I was one of the only people on the street and that nothing was actually open yet. The museums that I wanted to see didn't open until 10:00 which meant that I had over an hour to wait. So I walked past towards the more commercial area of downtown and sat outside a Starbucks with some coffee and the New York Times.

Finally, around ten, I went back towards the old town and went to the Discovery Center which had a nice exhibit about California's history. After that, I went next door to the State Railroad Museum, purported to be the largest one in the hemisphere. It was fantastic and I was once again impressed by the state's excellent parks and facilities. The museum also has a great bookstore, and I couldn't resist buying a book about hoboes and a collection of primary accounts of riding on the transcontinental railroad.

The final museum that I went to in Old Sacramento was the military museum, which is basically just a jumble of artifacts in display cases. The main floor was nice, but the basement had even more displays that were organized very haphazardly. I didn't feel when I left that I knew much more about California than I did when I came in, and should've probably skipped this place.

Next I went back to the hotel and dropped off the books then went to the other end of town to see Sutter's Fort. I wasn't expecting much, but the California State Park system came through once again and I was treated to some great exhibits about John Sutter, the fascinating entrepreneur who built the fort. Sutter is most remembered because the mill where gold was first found in the state bore his name. The gold strike changed his life forever, and he got royally screwed once the miners started flooding into the area. I don't have the time to go into his whole biography here, but it is a fascinating story.

The fort also has a great living history program. I counted over half a dozen costumed interpreters and one guy (whose name I've forgotten) was especially interesting. We ended up talking history for almost a half hour and I learned that does a lot of reenacting. Some of the characters he plays are a soldier in the English Civil War, 19th Century gambler, Civil War artilleryman, trader at the fort, Lenoardo Da Vinci and he somehow finds time to do Santa Claus at shopping malls during the holidays! Needless to say, he was a very interesting guy.

Eventually I got back to the hotel after picking up a sandwich and some milk and spent the evening relaxing in the hotel and packing up so that I could get up early to catch my train down to Oxnard, CA for some quality time with my relatives Sherri and Bruce.

permalink | comments (0) | TrackBack | posted at 11:15 PM

August 11, 2005

Going West: Bodie Ghost Town

Click here and here to view the photo galleries.

With my travel plans a bit more solid, I was feeling good today as I dropped my keys in the motel's drop box and got in the car. Then I remembered that I had to get gas and that the only two gas stations in the town (owned by the same person) were both charging $3.39 per gallon. Outrageous, yes, but I had no choice. I bought about ten dollars worth, with the intention of filling up later at a more reasonably priced station.

My disgust with the gas purchase faded relatively fast though, because I was heading to what I knew was going to be one of the highlights of the trip, Bodie State Historical Park, a ghost town in the middle of nowhere. Because this one was an actual park, it was on the map and I knew for sure that I'd be able to find it.

After going south for about a dozen miles on the main road, I turned onto a smaller secondary road which soon turned to gravel just as the signs warned. Eventually, after kicking up a ton of dust I arrived at the front gate of the park, which was still closed for another 15 minutes. The abandoned buildings stood about a quarter mile away, beckoning to me and my camera. There were employees moving around some of the buildings but I was the first and only person in line at the gate. I was going to have the park to myself, at least for a little while. So I got out of the car and had a few triumphant granola bars while I waited for the park to open.

Eventually a few other cars pulled up and then a park ranger appeared and opened her entrance station. I paid my four bucks and drove to the parking lot. At this point a few other people had arrived, so I moved fast to try and get some photos before it got too crowded. The light was still a bit low as I started walking through the town, which made it good for photos (as my dad had said).

Bodie is a pretty amazing place. The buildings are mostly falling down but several are in better condition than expected. The place was abandoned for good in the 1930s and many of the homes have furniture still in them, as if the people suddenly got up and left en masse. The first half of my two hour visit was actually eerie at times. At one point I was on the extreme northern end of town walking around in the tall grass amongst the industrial junk that was strewn on the ground and the lack of noise suddenly hit me. It felt like I was living in a vacuum where I could literally hear nothing but my breathing and footsteps. I turned back and looked towards the town and could see no living thing or hear any noise. It was startling and very peaceful at the same time.

I won't go into details about all the buildings that I saw because it would take forever but I liked the houses the most, followed by their outhouses which I seem to have a strange fascination with. One outhouse had a rear window facing Main Street and I could just imagine some guy sitting there and looking out towards the saloon and the bank while he was relieving himself.

After spending two hours at the town remnants, I turned west for the drive back to Sacramento where I'd be returning the car and spending the night. Getting there required driving through Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park which I worried might be crowded but it turned out not to be so bad. I purchased a sandwich and some chips and found a nice picnic area on a lake in the park and had my lunch.

The only other place I stopped at on the way to the state capital was Jamestown, which had a very disappointing railroad museum.

In Sacramento I checked into the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Today (and Yesterday's) Mileage: 420 Total Mileage: 4100

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August 10, 2005

Going West: Searching for Ghosts

I woke up in Reno and started west for a short ride to Lake Tahoe and the Donner Memorial. The famous Donner party left Independence, MO to emigrate to California in 1846. Nearly half of the 86 pioneers died and the survivors may have resorted to cannibalism in order to stay alive.

After going through the small museum and dozing through a very old filmstrip about the Donner party, I got back in the car and went east, back through Reno and south to Virginia City. Virginia City is one of the oldest towns west of the Mississippi and developed as a result of the discovery of the Comstock Lode, a rich silver vein that ran through the region. Virginia City is also where Samuel Clemens first used his pen name Mark Twain.

It was in the Mark Twain bookstore, in fact, that I found two books by the same author which had maps and descriptions of ghost towns in Nevada and California. I bought both, and decided to go looking for some of the abandoned towns in the books.

After a nice BBQ Tri-Tip sandwich at a saloon in the town, I drove further south in search of ghost towns. Unfortunately, the maps in the book were hand drawn, inaccurate, and published in the 1980s. Oops. In the end I didn't find any of the half dozen ghost towns I went in search of but it was fun anyway.

I drove a few miles south to Carson City, the state capitol and visited the state museum. In the bookstore I found a book about a prominent ghost town called Aurora. At the very end of the book, directions were given on how to get to the town, so I copied them down and decided to try and find it since I was going that direction anyway.

To make a long story short, I ended up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I thought that the road was the correct one but after driving several miles and not seeing any landmarks mentioned in the directions, I gave up and drove into the nearby town of Bridgeport to find a place to stay for the night. I wasn't too disappointed. After all, I'd be seeing the greatest ghost town of them all the following day.

permalink | comments (0) | TrackBack | posted at 11:50 PM

August 9, 2005

Going West: Climbing a Volcano

Today I drove East from Redding with the intention of seeing Lassen Volcanic National Park and spending the night somewhere near Reno.

I arrived at Lassen relatively early, flashing my NPS annual pass (buy one, they're great!) at the entrance station and getting a map. There is basically only one road that winds through the park, so I stopped at the visitor center to peruse the map and decide what to do. I also checked out the exhibits in the small museum which gave a nice geological history of the area. Lassen volcano last erupted between 1914 and 1921 and it was actually captured in photos by B.F. Loomis who played a large role in making the area a national park in 1916. His photos are reproduced in the small museum at the visitor center: exploding mountain in the background and Model T Ford in the foreground.

After checking out the exhibits and being completely ignored by the two park rangers on duty despite the fact that I was the only visitor in the building, I read a description of the trails available in the park and made note of the two that seemed most interesting: Lassen Peak, and Bumpass Hell.

The first trailhead that I encountered along the route was Lassen Peak, the most strenuous in the park. It's a 2.5 mile climb up to the top of the volcano with an elevation change of 2000 feet which means it's a relatively steep 15% grade. This may not seem that bad to hardcore hikers but I'm not a hardcore hiker. After reading all the warnings about high winds, cold temperatures, etc. I decided to give it a shot. I dumped the gadgets (laptop, iPod, cords, chargers, etc) out of my smaller backpack and loaded it up with nearly two liters of water, half a dozen granola bars, beef jerky and my camera. Then I put on my sunglasses, Twins hat and jacket and hit the trail.

A few minutes into the hike I realized that yes, it was quite strenuous. The first half mile of trail was steep but then it really started to go up the side of the mountain and soon it was switchback after switchback on rough, loose rocks and gravel. The air was getting thinner and I started stopping more frequently but the view was getting better and it felt good to be pumping my legs up the trail. An hour and a half later I was at the top, or the end of the trail at least. Looking to my right, I saw that the very peak (elevation 10,457) was actually another quarter mile, across a snow filled depression and up a jumble of rocks. I knew I had to be up at the very peak so I picked my way across the snow and then up the boulders to the absolute highest point. There, embedded in a rock, was a shiny metal Geodetic Survey marker which meant that I was at the top.

The view was incredible. At this height I wasn't even able to distinguish my bright red rental car from the other vehicles in the parking lot much less individual people. It was bright and clear and I could see for miles, all the way to Mount Shasta to the northwest. Around me, hundreds of migratory butterflies were fluttering past. I was standing, balanced on rocks, just inches away from a drop which would certainly kill me if I stumbled. It was exhilarating and stunning and awesome all at the same time.

I stood at the top of the mountain for nearly an hour, enjoying the view and finally catching my breath. I took some photos, consumed some celebratory (because I was feeling quite proud of myself) granola bars and jerky, and then started back down to the parking lot, 2000 vertical feet and 2.5 miles of trail below.

Being the glutton for punishment that I am, and feeling uplifted by such natural beauty, I decided to do a second trail after climbing the volcano. This one was called Bumpass Hell and was a moderate hike into an area which is literally still sputtering and spitting, much like parts of Yellowstone. There is no Old Faithful at Lassen but there are mudpots and boiling ponds and steam rising up from the ground. It was impressive and I'm glad I had the energy to do this second hike.

Bumpass Hell pretty much wiped me out for the remainder of the day, which was fine by me. Recognizing that I would be sore tomorrow, and already starting to feel the sunburn on my calves and neck, I drove through the remainder of the park and continued east.

I ended up in Reno as planned, and stayed at a typical Super 8 hotel. I did my laundry, phoned home, perused my map, came up with a basic plan for the next day, and went to bed.

Today's Mileage: 305 Total Mileage: 3680

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August 8, 2005

Going West: Moving Inland

Today was relatively unexciting. I resumed my drive up the coast around 8:00 and discovered that the weather was exactly the way it was when I went to bed: foggy and cold. At least I was fully rested and had a few things on the agenda for the day.

First, I stopped near Eureka to see Fort Humboldt State Historical Site, which was my hero Ulysses S. Grant's home for four months in 1854. The dreariness and isolation he felt there was one of the main reasons he resigned from the army and now I know why. Although it's not isolated anymore, it is certainly dreary. Only two of the fort's buildings still exist and they each contain a museum, one which deals with forestry and the other that only mentions Grant in passing. I was a bit disappointed but I probably shouldn't have expected much more.

I hit the road again after leaving the fort and finally headed inland towards the Mount Shasta area. Along the way I stopped at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and hiked around the small Tower Creek Historic District. Along the trail sit the abandoned El Dorado gold mine and the gravesite of an early pioneer and entrepeneur named Levi Tower.

After the hike I travelled a few more miles along route 299 and went into Redding, the only decent sized town in the area, and checked into a hotel for the night.

Today's Mileage: 240 Total Mileage: 3375

permalink | comments (0) | TrackBack | posted at 11:34 PM

August 7, 2005

Going West: Baseball on the Bay

The morning after the wedding we all headed our separate ways. My friends were flying back to Minneapolis and I was going to San Francisco for a Giants game. After finding a semi-secret and free parking area a few blocks from SBC Park, I bought a ticket in the only section available, standing room only. As it turned out, standing room wasn't all that bad. There are a few areas which you're not allowed to stand in, but for the most part I was free to walk all over the stadium. I stayed on the concourse level the whole game and had a great view from several areas.

SBC is probably most famous for the bay which sits just a few dozen feet behind the right field fence. Barry Bonds has launched dozens of balls into the water and despite him being out for the season, there were several kayaks and boats in the water hoping to catch a baseball. The first area that I stood in was on the concourse over which his homeruns would fly. The view was actually very good so I stayed in that area for a few innings, then moved to center and then left field. The best spot I had during the game was in left field, just under the large Coke bottle. I was on a raised platform and had a railing to lean on, plus it was a nice place to people watch.

The game was tied at one for several innings and I was hoping for some late inning heroics by the home team but the Astros broke the game wide open in the eighth inning and the game ended up being a blowout, with the Giants losing 8-1.

Overall, I was impressed with the stadium and the people. Everyone was very friendly and the ballpark is a nice place to watch a game. Like many of the new stadiums, it doesn't have a bad seat in the house. Unfortunately, since it's new, it doesn't have much personality either.

After the game, I drove north again, and after a quick stop at the fog shrouded Golden Gate Bridge for photos, I got onto highway 1 which goes up the coast. The road has even tighter corners than the one I drove a few days ago and I almost got dizzy. It was fun for a while but eventually got to be a little too much. My average speed was probably around 35 so it was taking a long time to go a few miles. Fog started to roll in as it got darker and soon there weren't very many cars on the road. It was actually kind of spooky and it reminded me of the movie "House of Sand and Fog". Eventually I got to a fairly big town, Ft. Bragg, and checked into a hotel for the night.

Today's Mileage: 255 Total Mileage: 3135

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August 5, 2005

Going West: Into California

The train ride to Sacramento was uneventful and I ended up getting into the state capitol only a bit later than expected. I walked a few blocks to the Budget car rental place and headed out of town. My ultimate destination for the day was Windsor but my friends weren't expecting me until later in the afternoon so I went to two state parks.

Sonoma State Historical Park is notable for being the northernmost Mexican mission in a system that stretched from Guatemala to North America. The Sonoma mission was built to help stop the spread of the Russians who were starting to move their way down the Pacific coast from Alaska. Later, Sonoma was the site of the Bear Flag Revolt, when thirty Americans made an attempt to create a California Republic.

Next, a short drive on highway 12 took me to Jack London State Historical Park, home of the famous author. The park contains a number of buildings on what was once his property. Most interesting are the ruins of his home which literally burned down right before he moved in. His ashes are buried on the property as well, underneath a rock from the ruins of the home.

Eventually I headed back up to Windsor to meet up with my friends. I'm not going to go into detail about the night's festivities and name names but I will say that we went out for sushi, had some sake and then sampled a bit of local wine. We also enjoyed some Fat Tire which is a beer that's only available in the west. I highly recommend it.

Today's mileage: 519 (train) Total Mileage: 2880

permalink | comments (0) | TrackBack | posted at 11:26 PM

August 4, 2005

Going West: First Leg Complete

Click here to view the photo gallery.

We left Burns, OR at 9:00 this morning and prepared for our shortest day of driving yet. It was refreshing to only have to go about 250 miles to get to our destination and it was even more exhilarating because I got to drive the most challenging and exciting roads of the entire trip: the McKenzie pass.

The scenic pass is about 50 miles of two lane, mountainous, forest-enclosed excitement, at least for me. Trucks are not allowed because the road is so narrow and there weren't many people on the road at all. I had free reign to pretty much as fast as dared and my need for speed was only tempered by Rachel, my passenger, who was obviously very nervous about the road.

It had been awhile since I had been on a road as great as this one and it was one of the highlights of this first leg of the trip. There was no shoulder to speak of and not even any white lines to denote the border of where the road met the forest. It was a joy to drive.

At the summit of the pass was a pullout area and an observation post. This area was almost pure volcanic rock and was just as impressive as Craters of the Moon yesterday. In addition, there were several snow-capped mountains on the horizon. It was a beautiful view and made the already worthwhile drive even more spectacular.

Soon after the excellent drive I turned the wheel over for the last time and Rachel drove the rest of the way into Eugene. We arrived around 2:00 pm and had lunch at the Rogue Brewery where I sampled their excellent Shakespeare Stout, a very dark beer with a slightly chocolate aftertaste.

Now (4:45 pm), I'm sitting in the Eugene train station awaiting the Coast Starlight which will take me down to Sacramento. This marks the conclusion of the first leg of the trip, and I'm now on my own. I'd like to thank Rachel for being kind enough to bring me along on her trip out to Eugene and wish her a safe trip back to Minneapolis.

Today's Mileage: 240 Total Mileage: 2360

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August 3, 2005

Going West: Across Idaho and Into Oregon

Today was a day of driving and not much else except for a short visit to Craters of the Moon National Monument. The Craters were volcanically formed thousands of years ago and the park basically consisted of several lava fields of black rock. It's a pretty harsh landscape. We walked a short trail through one of the lave fields but couldn't stay long.

The drive continued all the way across Idaho and into Oregon (we're staying in Burns tonight). The only other notable incident was a large accident on highway 20 that we had to stop for about twenty minutes for. A medical chopper flew in and landed in a field next to the road but they didn't seem to be in a terrible rush. Hopefully everyone was OK.

Tomorrow is a 5-6 hour drive across Oregon to Eugene where I'll catch an overnight to Sacramento. This might be the last chance I have to post for a while. I'm not sure what the internet situation is in Windsor where I'll be staying on Friday and Saturday night to attend the wedding. When I do post again, I hope to also post photos from this first leg of the trip.

Today's Mileage: 820 Total Mileage: 2120

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August 1, 2005

Going West: the Black Hills

Today we had a bit of shopping to do so we headed to a mall in Bismarck. We hit Target and loaded up on jerky, peanuts, trail mix and other necessities and I bought a pair of swim trunks and sandals, having forgotten mine back in New York. We then hit the road around 9:30 and headed west on Interstate 94.

After a bit of driving we stopped to see Salem Sue, the largest Holstein cow in the world. She sits on top of a hill a little ways off the highway. So we drove up the hill to get a good look at her and enjoy the view. Western North Dakota is much nicer than the eastern portion, notably because it actually has hills and isn't as flat as a table. After a few photos of the cow we got back on the Interstate, finally turning south onto highway 85 which would take us down to South Dakota.

We stopped for lunch in Bowman, ND after seeing a billboard for the "World Famous" Big J's restaurant. It was a good choice - the food was tasty - although I'm not quite sure why it's so famous. Hint: it's not.

After much more driving along 85 we crossed into South Dakota and eventually made it into Black Hills National Forest. We made a quick stop at Prairie Berry Winery for some wine tasting and then headed to Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore was pretty cool. I was there as a kid and it was as impressive as I remembered it. The granite pavilion is relatively new and it seemed a bit gaudy but the walking trail in front of the mountain makes for a nice walk.

After taking lots of photos of the president's faces, we drove deeper into Black Hills National Forest and found a suitable campground near Deerfield Lake (Whitetail Campground, elevation 6000). The road that we drove to get to there was deserted so it was no surprise that the campground was nearly empty except for the hosts and a few other campers. It sprinkled a bit but we stayed dry and had a blazing campfire. Now if only I hadn't woken up in the middle of the night thinking that the forest was on fire...

Today's mileage: 360 Total mileage: 780

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July 31, 2005

Going West: Minneapolis to Bismarck

Today was the day of the interstate. I met my friend Rachel at the Avis in downtown Minneapolis, signed a few papers, and got the keys to our vehicle, a Pontiac Vibe. It's sort of like a station wagon but it sits a bit higher. It's not quite an SUV but has room for cargo and still gets 30-36 mpg.

Before I start describing the day I should probably explain how all of this came about. I was originally planning to go to Alaska this summer, but when I was home in July for the Duluth wedding of a friend, I was convinced to meet them in California for yet another wedding of a high school acquaintance. Coincidentally, it just so happened that Rachel was planning to head out to Oregon at the same time to pick up some stuff she has in storage in Eugene and kindly invited me to tag along on the way there. So that's how I ended up departing Minneapolis today in a bright red station wagon thingie.

There isn't much to say about today's trip along Interstate 94 from Minneapolis to Bismarck. It's a lot of 70-75 mph highway with sporadic construction and not all that much traffic. Not incredibly exciting, although I love being on the road for what will probably be my longest road trip since I was in high school. As a result, I happily did all but about 100 miles of the driving today.

The Vibe is really starting to grow on me. It only has a four cylinder so it's not the most powerful thing in the world, but it is very comfortable and rides well. Ours seems to pull to the left a bit too much which is slightly annoying but not a big deal.

Rachel's dog, Onyx, accompanied us for the first part of the journey. She was sitting on the back of one of the folded down seats which are slick plastic. Whenever I would brake or take a corner she'd go sliding around and scrambling to find her footing. Unfortunately, it's not really feasible for the dog to come with us so she'll be staying here in Bismarck.

We arrived in Bismarck at Rachel's parents' house around 6:00 this evening and were treated to grilled kebabs and some chocolate cake. We just just got back from mini-golf a few hours ago. Rachel won, her dad took second, and I finished dead last. Thank to Rachel's parents for their hospitality, the free night's loding and the round of mini-golf!

Tomorrow we'll be hitting the road around 9:00 am and heading west on 94 until Dickinson, then turning south. We'll be seeing Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse and then camping somewhere in the vicinity. Tuesday we drive through Wyoming and spend the night in Yellowstone. Wednesday we go across Idaho and stay in Boise. Finally, on Thursday, we drive the width of Oregon to Eugene just in time for me to catch an overnight train down to Sacramento.

So that's the plan for the next few days... I hope you'll stay with me!

Today's mileage: 420

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Going West: the Plan

After being out of New York for most of the month of July in places like Minneapolis, Duluth and Springfield, I am once again embarking on a massive journey which won't bring me back to New York until early September. Last year, it was "Riding Around America", an 8000-mile rail journey around the country which took me to places like New Orleans, Tucson, Portland, Seattle and Chicago. This year, I'll be covering some of the same territory but riding the train less and purchasing expensive liquid called "unleaded gasoline". Instead of purely urban pit stops, there will be natural wonders and bits of history. There will be backroads and scenic rest areas. Picnics and cheap buffets. Cool ocean breezes and the hot heat of the desert. New travel companions. Then, of course, there will be baseball.

Here's the basic plan, subdivided into four roughly equal parts:
1. Road trip from Minneapolis to Oregon
2. Northern California by car with stops in Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, and more...
3. Southern California by car with stops in Los Angeles, San Diego and more...
4. Three day in Las Vegas and back to Minneapolis for the final week before Labor Day

I leave for the first leg of the trip (Minneapolis-Bismarck) in just a few hours! Stay tuned and check in regularly for updates and feel free to drop me a line any time by using the contact form.

Note: I'm not quite happy with "Going West" as a title for the trip. If you have a better idea, send me a message or list your suggestions in the comments of this entry.

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