I still feel like I'm moving. Though, it feels fantastic to be sitting stationary. Last night, I had dreams of driving on dark, windy, forrested roads. Driving for so long alone most is the most likely suspect.
I've just returned from a road trip to end all road trips. I helped my friend, Brandon, move to Seattle, which means that while he drove some of the way out, I drove back....alone. Now, according to Google maps, it's 1480 miles....one way. So, round trip, plus cruising around the city and a day trip to the Pacific totaled 3714 miles. My brain is fried and my body is still adjusting to not being in constant motion. Brandon and I left last Wednesday night, Nov 3. I left Seattle Thursday, November 11 at 9:30am. I fell onto the couch at my house at 11:30pm on Friday November 12. It was a long drive is an understatement. However, it was thouroughly enjoyanle. To reflect/process on my trip, I wrote down 37 observations, 1 for each 100 miles. Some of them are things I suppose I've known for quite some time, but hours and hours and hours of driving time coupled with being far away from home and being surrounded by such intense beauty gave way to churning them over in my mind. Here they are in no particular order:
1. There are a lot of F*#^ing stars. Central South Dakota in the middle of the night is the perfect place to appreciate them, as well as to be awed by a meteor shower.
2. Who is Clark and why does he have 11 forks? (or maybe it was 12, I lost count)
3. Anywhere from Livingston, MT to Coeur d'Alene, ID I could just stop...and stay. Forever.
This is Livingston
4. While I drove and drove miles and miles:
a. Long haul truckers need be hearty folks
b. I saw no black dogs, but got to cuddle with a golden lab in Bozeman
5. Due to things like cuddling with golden labs and meeting pleasant people, I would much rather stay in a hostel than some stingy smelling, God-knows-what's-on-the-bed, alone with cable TV, bad artwork crookedly hanging hotel.
6. Idaho? U-da-ho.
7. I heart Montana.
8. Seattle traffic is worse than I remember.
9. Aaron Sprinkle is short.
10. The Fremont Abbey Arts Center is fantastic and has really blossomed into something amazing. Good job, guys.
11. A giant bottle of Blue Moon after 12 hours of driving makes me sleeeeepppppyyyyy.
12. Kettlehouse Brewery in Missoula, MT makes a Scottish Ale that you should really try. One of the top beers I've had, I think.
13. I'm a little bummed at the yuppifying that's happening in Seattle....Honestly, it reminded me a bit of Korea. Tearing down and/or closing cool stuff and building the same condo buildings all over the city. They're just different colors, as opposed to Korea's single white building scattered across the country.
14. The best cup of coffee I had the whole time was actually not in Seattle, but at Java, in Coeur d'Alene, ID. (Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of good coffee in Seattle, too.)
15. The Top Hat in Missoula, MT is far superior to the Top Hat in Sioux Falls....though with far less nostalgia, I suppose.
16. Eat at Glo's on Capitol Hill...order the Salmon Benedict. Trust me.
17. The shellfish in Puget Sound are toxic....and not like Brittany Spears.
18. Driving through 2 times zones, only to have Daylight Savings Time end the next day really messes me up.
19. Driving sans shoes is way better than with them.
20. Sometimes I hurt people I care about.
21. I'm pretty sure I missed my calling as a Ski Bum.
22. Dead birds don't bounce.
23. It takes a really long time to feel like you're not moving after driving a thousand plus miles.
24. It's fun to say stuff like "sleeping with strangers," but in reference to staying at a hostel rather than what one may think when that phrase is mentioned.
25. Sacajawea is placed both seperate and behind Lewis and Clark on signs indicating a place they were. Interesting...
26. 17 year old poets are the most honest human beings on the planet.
27. Pumpkin gelato tastes exactly like pumpkin pie....and makes me quite happy.
28. Going to the ocean is really really good for the soul. Driving on the EDGE(not being inside) of Yellowstone is not.
29. Toms get really smelly.
30. One starts do to strange things when alone in a car for so long.
31. While Montana does in fact now have a speed limit, obeying it seems optional.
32. If you're tired enough, you can sleep anywhere.
33. Cloud Cult is amazing.
34. Sigur Ros is (obviously) the perfect music for driving through hazy mountains.
35. I still see God at the ocean.
36. Burritos the size of babies are among man's greatest innovations.
37. Sometimes, blessings are messy.
Here are the rest of the photos.
I've just returned from a road trip to end all road trips. I helped my friend, Brandon, move to Seattle, which means that while he drove some of the way out, I drove back....alone. Now, according to Google maps, it's 1480 miles....one way. So, round trip, plus cruising around the city and a day trip to the Pacific totaled 3714 miles. My brain is fried and my body is still adjusting to not being in constant motion. Brandon and I left last Wednesday night, Nov 3. I left Seattle Thursday, November 11 at 9:30am. I fell onto the couch at my house at 11:30pm on Friday November 12. It was a long drive is an understatement. However, it was thouroughly enjoyanle. To reflect/process on my trip, I wrote down 37 observations, 1 for each 100 miles. Some of them are things I suppose I've known for quite some time, but hours and hours and hours of driving time coupled with being far away from home and being surrounded by such intense beauty gave way to churning them over in my mind. Here they are in no particular order:
1. There are a lot of F*#^ing stars. Central South Dakota in the middle of the night is the perfect place to appreciate them, as well as to be awed by a meteor shower.
2. Who is Clark and why does he have 11 forks? (or maybe it was 12, I lost count)
3. Anywhere from Livingston, MT to Coeur d'Alene, ID I could just stop...and stay. Forever.
This is Livingston
a. Long haul truckers need be hearty folks
b. I saw no black dogs, but got to cuddle with a golden lab in Bozeman
5. Due to things like cuddling with golden labs and meeting pleasant people, I would much rather stay in a hostel than some stingy smelling, God-knows-what's-on-the-bed, alone with cable TV, bad artwork crookedly hanging hotel.
6. Idaho? U-da-ho.
7. I heart Montana.
8. Seattle traffic is worse than I remember.
9. Aaron Sprinkle is short.
10. The Fremont Abbey Arts Center is fantastic and has really blossomed into something amazing. Good job, guys.
11. A giant bottle of Blue Moon after 12 hours of driving makes me sleeeeepppppyyyyy.
12. Kettlehouse Brewery in Missoula, MT makes a Scottish Ale that you should really try. One of the top beers I've had, I think.
13. I'm a little bummed at the yuppifying that's happening in Seattle....Honestly, it reminded me a bit of Korea. Tearing down and/or closing cool stuff and building the same condo buildings all over the city. They're just different colors, as opposed to Korea's single white building scattered across the country.
14. The best cup of coffee I had the whole time was actually not in Seattle, but at Java, in Coeur d'Alene, ID. (Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of good coffee in Seattle, too.)
15. The Top Hat in Missoula, MT is far superior to the Top Hat in Sioux Falls....though with far less nostalgia, I suppose.
17. The shellfish in Puget Sound are toxic....and not like Brittany Spears.
18. Driving through 2 times zones, only to have Daylight Savings Time end the next day really messes me up.
19. Driving sans shoes is way better than with them.
20. Sometimes I hurt people I care about.
21. I'm pretty sure I missed my calling as a Ski Bum.
22. Dead birds don't bounce.
23. It takes a really long time to feel like you're not moving after driving a thousand plus miles.
24. It's fun to say stuff like "sleeping with strangers," but in reference to staying at a hostel rather than what one may think when that phrase is mentioned.
25. Sacajawea is placed both seperate and behind Lewis and Clark on signs indicating a place they were. Interesting...
26. 17 year old poets are the most honest human beings on the planet.
27. Pumpkin gelato tastes exactly like pumpkin pie....and makes me quite happy.
28. Going to the ocean is really really good for the soul. Driving on the EDGE(not being inside) of Yellowstone is not.
29. Toms get really smelly.
30. One starts do to strange things when alone in a car for so long.
32. If you're tired enough, you can sleep anywhere.
33. Cloud Cult is amazing.
34. Sigur Ros is (obviously) the perfect music for driving through hazy mountains.
35. I still see God at the ocean.
37. Sometimes, blessings are messy.
Here are the rest of the photos.
Reading through this, I realize there are spelling and grammatical errors which will remain as indicators of how wiped out I am. Also...sometimes I make spelling and grammatical errors and want to pretend I don't. Consider it an exercise in humility?
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