7AM Central
It’s day two an we’re on our way to our first national park, Theodore Roosevelt. With about 7 hours of driving left we’ve settled into what will essentially be an uninterrupted stream of roadside crops with just a splash of civilization, mostly centered around either the trucking or the agricultural industry. Riveting I know, but well worth it for the exceptionally beautiful western third of North Dakota. Continue reading Day two road updates
We’re back! To any and all out there who may still be tuned in, stay that way! More updates coming soon as Myself and my best friend Marco embark on our most ambitious journey yet. Two months of cross country travel, a week on a houseboat, a smattering of concerts and festivals, and all the adventure that entails are right around the corner. So stay with us! It’s gonna be a good year.
We’re about halfway through the final leg of the journey, only a few hundred miles of road left on this incredible adventure. Though we’ve hit many snags and set backs in writing and updating this year, we sincerely hope what little content we did manage to get out was at the very least entertaining, maybe even a little informative. Thank you all for taking a few minutes of your day to follow along, no matter if it was once, twice, or every day. We hope you’ve enjoyed our offerings of travel and photo, but above all, we hope you feel a little inspired. Go explore, you’re losing daylight.
1PM Mountain:
Cutting through Southern Colorado on the second to last leg of the journey, we head for Kansas and it’s western border. Like the rest of the central plains states, the land is terrifically flat, and foliage limited to about six inches off the ground. A gentle swoop in the earth passes back and forth across the countryside, a constant uninterrupted line of telephone poles hug the road on either side. The grass transitions from a dry yellow to a mild green as farms appear on the horizon, patches of cattle splattered across the prairie. The sky is streaked with with massive hazy clouds, just enough to make it look as though someone had tried to smudge out the blue, but wasn’t very accomplished in the task. Only eight more hours to Kansas City. More updates to come.
12PM Pacific:
The journey back east is in full swing as we barrel down interstate 40 on our way to Santa Fe. After stopping back at the ancient pueblo of Tuzigoot, we struck out towards the Meteor Crater just east of Flagstaff. Over a mile around and 50,000 years old, the crater of impact shocked sandstone is hidden from view by the massive uplifted ring around it, only revealing itself once you’re right on top of the ledge. The impact threw over one hundred and seventy five million tons of material into the air, annihilating everything around it for miles, and peppering the area with spheroids, small sand sized orbs of asteroid and precious metal. Anyhow, continuing east the red rock has been replaced by immense flat plains of orange-ish sand and dusty tan shrubs. Strips of green break up the horizon, evidence of what little water remains underground in these barren craggy lands. The roads are flat and straight, the sky is clear and blue, and the only thing that could make this leg of the journey more American is some manner of muscle car, and maybe a bald eagle in the back seat.
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 30: 5PM Mountain
12PM Pacific:
On our way into Sedona, the day ahead is to be spent entirely out in Red Rock country. Though I’ve been told Sedona is the center of the universe and cosmic healing, so I’m sure at some point we’ll go explore a cult as well. The temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees, to a nice cool ninety, and saguaro cacti grow in forests thousands strong. The area is beginning to turn lush again as we head north in the direction of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, forests of real trees line the roads from time to time, a truly welcome sight. However, beneath these trees lies no dirt, but rather a sand of deep reddish orange. The sidewalks are paved almost pink, making the most of the red rock surroundings, and the horizon is lined with gargantuan formations of the same reddish hue. Much like the red canyons of Utah, except much more spread out, and covered in forests.
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 29: 3PM Pacific
12PM Pacific:
On our way into Sedona, the day ahead is to be spent entirely out in Red Rock country. Though I’ve been told Sedona is the center of the universe and cosmic healing, so I’m sure at some point we’ll go explore a cult as well. The temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees, to a nice cool ninety, and saguaro cacti grow in forests thousands strong. The area is beginning to turn lush again as we head north in the direction of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, forests of real trees line the roads from time to time, a truly welcome sight. However, beneath these trees lies no dirt, but rather a sand of deep reddish orange. The sidewalks are paved almost pink, making the most of the red rock surroundings, and the horizon is lined with gargantuan formations of the same reddish hue. Much like the red canyons of Utah, except much more spread out, and covered in forests.
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 29: 12PM Pacific
A section of the Southern California desert larger than Rhode Island, Joshua Tree is home to some of the most mind blowing and bewildering terrain anywhere in the country. Created as a National Monument in 1936, Joshua tree didn’t actually become a National Park until ’94, when the Desert Protection Act laid down the laws conserving this eight hundred thousand acre patch of California. Since then Joshua Tree has grown immensely in popularity, attracting almost one and a half million viewers a year, the park has gone from an anonymous clump of desert to some of America’s most beloved wilderness. The meeting place between the Mojave and Colorado deserts, Joshua tree houses a special blend of wildlife from both, most of which is found nowhere else on Earth.
8AM Pacific:
After a night beneath the stars in Joshua Tree, we’re finally headed back east on the final leg of the journey. The haze is still here, and as bad as ever, incase you were wondering. We can’t see more than a mile in any direction, which is really pretty annoying, especially when you’re surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery in the country, but no matter. Our morning hike through the cactus gardens was rudely interrupted by literally a couple hundred bees, swarming the car in an attempt to drink our condensation from the AC. Our trip to the Cottonwood Oasis was likewise shared with a mountain of bees, which seem to be basically everywhere in the desert. They may be struggling everywhere else, but I assure you, they’re doing just fine here. Never in my life have I been berated by so many bees, literally landing all over you in a thirsty frenzy. We should hit Phoenix in about three hours time, hopefully they don’t have bees in Phoenix. We’ve had our fair share.
1 PM Central:
With half the day spent on the beaches of Santa Monica, we now find ourselves stuck in traffic as we fight our way towards Joshua Tree. The pier was absolutely blowing up with trainers, Pokemon Go was everywhere you looked. Last year when we visited it was a completely different vibe, the long wooden boardwalk filled with ska bands and well dressed beach goers, all touting a perfect California tan. This year however, crowds and crowds of trainers flooded the area. People standing everywhere with phone in hand, forgetting their surroundings and blocking pathways, all happily conversing about the various Pokemon inhabiting the beach. Young and old they came, not in the spirit of competition, but rather working towards a common goal, complete strangers coming together, sharing a connection so universal, and so powerful as to help shape an entire generation. It’s really an amazing thing to see, the power this game has to bring people together. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve run into other players, asking me if I was fighting the nearby gym, what team I played for, always as cheerful as a kid on Christmas. Or really anyone on Christmas let’s be real.
In another note, spotted a sea lion off the end of the pier and managed to track him down. He was relaxing in the water below a line of fisherman who had set up for the afternoon and we’re just getting underway. I imagine he appreciated the help in attracting his lunch to a single shady area.
The World As We Know It 