Travelogue
well i tried todo some description, but words don't really do it justice. so, i've just decided to let the images speak for themselves, more or less. it's kinda big, and may take a bit of time to load.
June 1
Left SB at 1AM, to drive across the desert at night and avoid the oppressive heat. oso_hormiguero and K_____ came by to see me off while i was in the packing stage; they brought me beer and gatorade to help it go faster. got Vice all packed up, pretty laden actually considering the long trip and the attempt to keep camping space. i eventually opted to pack it all in, and take up the company on their offer of hotels all across the U.S. since they'd offered to pay that as well as gas. the fools. i get 15 miles to the gallon on a good day.
i was so exhausted from the insanity of finishing everything in SB that i only made it 3 hours before i had to pull over and rest a bit. cigarrettes and loud music got me across the blank wasteland of two-lane highways, truckers barreling down on me as i kicked around among the cactus and scrub, doing my best to wake up my body. near the nevada border i stretched out for about 45 minutes of glorious napping, and woke to gray daylight and the beginning of the promised heat.
made it into Vegas just before the AM rush, straight to the home of some friends who were out working for the day. i slept about 5 hours, had late lunch with R__ and then got back on the road just after the evening rush hour.
June 2
camped out in a cheap but lovely little motel in Richfield, Utah, about 100 miles north of Zion. woke the next day to some real open country, what i'd been wanting ever since moving out west, a chance to drive through miles and miles of big rock and endless sky.
I made Colorado mid-afternoon, and cruised up across the Rockies. this was the only part of the trip that Vice had a problem with; she was so heavy and didn't like going over the mountains in the thin air (Vail pass is over 10,000 feet). i put it over in the right lane with the big rigs and we crossed the rockies in third gear, averaging about 40 MPH.
I needed a break in Denver, and since the Rockies weren't in town, i passed 2 hrs at the movies in a suburb, watching the white kids play tough at the mall. "Bowling for Columbine" in my head. i then drove another 5 hours into deep Nebraska, and found a motel 6 in a no-name town to rest a bit.
June 3
Nebraska was all fields and sky, pretty nondescript in my state of motivation: make Chicago before it got too late to go out on the town. Iowa was the same.
Illinois, ditto. although i did manage to get pulled over for speeding. I'd gotten a bit hot and in my boredom stripped down to my skivvies, which is the state the officer found me in. i thought it might turn ugly, but i was only doing 72 in a 65, and was real nice. he let me off with a warning.
June 4
after a fantastic night in Old Chicago with H_____ (including lots of midwestern beer and rounds of pool) i woke late to good brunch and got back on the road. 3:30 PM. man, was it hard to leave. I love Chicago.
passed in a state of unbroken bliss through the factories, the cornfields, the woods. this was the home stretch: Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania. i'd done all this before, many times over. i just wanted to get home.
June 5
nonstop through the night, finally got sleepy around Wilkes-Barre and had to pump the musi, chain smoke, and jump about the cab to keep myself up until i hit the NY border. then, the lightening sky which i'd missed just broke out into all sorts of madness.
i was high, i was supercharged with light and adrenaline and glory. rolled into Newburgh, on the banks of the Hudson. 6AM. 3121 miles, and a full day of sleep, at long last, rest for the weary. Salud.
p.s. Vice is kickin it strong, back on the east coast. i changed the oil and fuel filter, took off the camper, and she's been hauling loads of lumber and props and people for weeks. what a companion.
COMING SOON: New York Stories, including the demon child, and the battle with the skunk...
June 1
Left SB at 1AM, to drive across the desert at night and avoid the oppressive heat. oso_hormiguero and K_____ came by to see me off while i was in the packing stage; they brought me beer and gatorade to help it go faster. got Vice all packed up, pretty laden actually considering the long trip and the attempt to keep camping space. i eventually opted to pack it all in, and take up the company on their offer of hotels all across the U.S. since they'd offered to pay that as well as gas. the fools. i get 15 miles to the gallon on a good day.
i was so exhausted from the insanity of finishing everything in SB that i only made it 3 hours before i had to pull over and rest a bit. cigarrettes and loud music got me across the blank wasteland of two-lane highways, truckers barreling down on me as i kicked around among the cactus and scrub, doing my best to wake up my body. near the nevada border i stretched out for about 45 minutes of glorious napping, and woke to gray daylight and the beginning of the promised heat.
made it into Vegas just before the AM rush, straight to the home of some friends who were out working for the day. i slept about 5 hours, had late lunch with R__ and then got back on the road just after the evening rush hour.
June 2
camped out in a cheap but lovely little motel in Richfield, Utah, about 100 miles north of Zion. woke the next day to some real open country, what i'd been wanting ever since moving out west, a chance to drive through miles and miles of big rock and endless sky.
I made Colorado mid-afternoon, and cruised up across the Rockies. this was the only part of the trip that Vice had a problem with; she was so heavy and didn't like going over the mountains in the thin air (Vail pass is over 10,000 feet). i put it over in the right lane with the big rigs and we crossed the rockies in third gear, averaging about 40 MPH.
I needed a break in Denver, and since the Rockies weren't in town, i passed 2 hrs at the movies in a suburb, watching the white kids play tough at the mall. "Bowling for Columbine" in my head. i then drove another 5 hours into deep Nebraska, and found a motel 6 in a no-name town to rest a bit.
June 3
Nebraska was all fields and sky, pretty nondescript in my state of motivation: make Chicago before it got too late to go out on the town. Iowa was the same.
Illinois, ditto. although i did manage to get pulled over for speeding. I'd gotten a bit hot and in my boredom stripped down to my skivvies, which is the state the officer found me in. i thought it might turn ugly, but i was only doing 72 in a 65, and was real nice. he let me off with a warning.
June 4
after a fantastic night in Old Chicago with H_____ (including lots of midwestern beer and rounds of pool) i woke late to good brunch and got back on the road. 3:30 PM. man, was it hard to leave. I love Chicago.
passed in a state of unbroken bliss through the factories, the cornfields, the woods. this was the home stretch: Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania. i'd done all this before, many times over. i just wanted to get home.
June 5
nonstop through the night, finally got sleepy around Wilkes-Barre and had to pump the musi, chain smoke, and jump about the cab to keep myself up until i hit the NY border. then, the lightening sky which i'd missed just broke out into all sorts of madness.
i was high, i was supercharged with light and adrenaline and glory. rolled into Newburgh, on the banks of the Hudson. 6AM. 3121 miles, and a full day of sleep, at long last, rest for the weary. Salud.
p.s. Vice is kickin it strong, back on the east coast. i changed the oil and fuel filter, took off the camper, and she's been hauling loads of lumber and props and people for weeks. what a companion.
COMING SOON: New York Stories, including the demon child, and the battle with the skunk...