Hello my friends. Thanks for tuning in once again. I'm in the public library in Bozeman, MT. This is a really cool little town where Montana State Uni is located. It hasn't been ravished by tourists yet but still has a slightly trendy yet outdoorsy kind of vibe. I'm staying with a friend of a friend. I rode in yesterday and called my friend Aaron Matto cuz he used to work on a ranch here in MT. I asked him if he still knew anyone here and he said ya, she lives in Bozeman. What luck. It's amazing how warm and welcoming strangers are when you get vouched for by good people. Let's get caught up.
After my flurry of activity in CO I rolled up into WY. I stayed at the KOA in Rock Springs the first night. For those who don't know, KOA is basically corporate camping. Gravel lots, showers, laundry, pool, gift shop, etc. Kind of a repulsing camping experience, especially when you consider who my neighbors were.
Rock Springs, like Vernal, is driven by oil and gas drilling. Every third car I saw was a Halliburton truck. The two guys camping next to me were fat brothers from Kentucky. When I rolled in at around 4pm they were sitting in their American flag chairs drinking Coors Original with several empties on the ground. They were bitching about how hard it is to find work. Here are some of the quotes that came from their campsite:
"We almost had jobs at this one place but they wouldn't hire us cuz my brother's got felonies. It's like, he already payed his fuckin dues so what the fuck."
"Hey, check out that chick. Shes a 3-6-9. 3 Minutus to talk to her, 6 minutes to f__k her, and 9 years in prison."
And my favorite "Well I guess I better brush my teeth and shit like that."
Leaving the next morning for Jackson Hole was refreshing. JH was the first small town I've passed through where I didn't have people to stay with or at least meet up with. I got there early and started scheming a place to stay. The hostel was full and hotel rooms were outrageous. My first thought was to head to the bar, and make friends with the bartender, then ask to camp in his back yard. The pitfall to that plan was that it didn't leave me with an alternative in case I had to ride somewhere else.
My next plan was flawless. I cruised into a river touring agency and offered the guides a case of beer to let me crash in the back of the shop or in one of their backyards. I know plenty of riverguides who would have jumped at this opportunity. In fact I don't think that any riverguide who's worth a damn would have turned down this offer. Alas it proved fruitless. Maybe they were nuns disguised as river guides.
I was kind of bummed that that method didn't pan out but it all turned out great cuz as I was riding to the nearest campground I saw my first ever bull moose grazing down by a river. Then a couple minutes later I saw two buffalo. Then I met a really cool BMW rider out at the campground. So what may have made a cool story turned out to be a cool story.
I spent the next three days hiking around in the Tetons. The peaks there are stunning. They got more snow this winter than they've had in over a decade so my backcountry trekking plans were foiled once more. So instead I just did some really long day hikes, one that landed me at a frozen alpine lake. Definitely went skinny dipping when no one was around. I'll try to upload the video of my shenanigans.
Following the Tetons I road up into Yellowstone. I stopped at the first visitor's center to get weather and trail conditions, wildlife sightings and campground availability. The place I wanted to camp that night hadn't filled yet but was about 30 miles away (it's a big park). I hauled ass over there, not stopping to fill up first. I almost shot myself in the foot on that one cuz when I got there the sign said "Campground Full". I went in anyway and the lady at the desk was able to pull some strings, had her manager do an override in the computer system, and snuck me into a small site in the way back. It was a great place to camp and the neighbors were awesome. I ended up hangin with them by their fire, talkin story and playing Egyptian Rat Screw (which I dominated). It turns out that one of the guys almost took an animation job with Don Bluth, to whom I am somehow related. Small world.
It just went from sunny to gale force winds and hail in a matter of 5 minutes in Bozeman. I hope my bike doesn't blow over. Crap. Holy shit. Bozeman is getting pounded right now. The hail hitting the tin roof of the library sounds like a freight train. People are gathering at the windows to watch this storm. The hail is huge and coming down in sheets. There's no way my bike is still upright. The entire ground outside is a blanket of white.
While in Yellowstone I saw Old Faithful Geyser, The Old Faithful Lodge (an impressive ancient structure built from logs and braun), "The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone", and countless other thermal features. One of my days there I was sort of listlessly riding (which I never do) to get to a trail head and saw some steam as I was coming around a bend. Unconciously my first thought was that it was a factory. But as I rounded the bend I saw that it was of course a vent in the ground releasing steam and not a factory at all. Kind of sad how conditioned we are. I must have really been out of it that day.
Yellowstone was cool but almost too crowded to enjoy. I sat in a line of about 60 cars so every single asshole in the park could stop traffic to take a picture of a buffalo by the side of the road. I stopped and took a picture of the buffalo. But at least I park and hike unlike 90% of park visitors. It's kind of disgusting.
After Yellowstone I headed here. Did a pretty cool hike to a mountain lake yesterday. The only advantage to the switchbacks being covered in snow is that you don't have to feel bad about degrading the mountain side when you cut the trail and just bomb straight up the hill. A couple of times my leg sunk all the way through the snow up to my waist. So I'm here for one more night then off to Glacier, which sources say is the prettiest park in the USA. Can't wait. Love you all and talk to you soon.
Dane
p.s. It's once again sunny in Bozeman.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
CO in 10 days
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I've been in CO since the first day of July and it has been non-stop adventure. I camped the first couple of nights outside of Steamboat Springs then Granby, making my way into Denver on the 3rd. In Denver I reunited with some study abroad friends, one of whom was getting married on the 5th (the reason for the reunion). Denver was great; basically hung by the pool and got reacquainted with my good friends. The wedding was very nice and Dana looked gorgeous.
After Denver I came to Estes Park, where I am right now. My friend Josh, Maui roommate and homeboy I just stayed with in Utah, was in town seeing some friends so I met up with him and he introduced me. So much cool stuff has happened in Estes that I'm just going to bullet point it:
-Went to a Rockies baseball game
-Night climbed a place called Old Man Mountain and went through a gnarly technical cave in almost pitch black darkness (once again an advantage to hanging out with locals)
-Toured the Stanley Hotel, inspiration for Steven King's "The Shining" and the place where Dumb and Dumber was filmed. I sat at the bar where Jim Carrey sat and said "We landed on the moon!!"
-Summited a 12,800 ft peak, Mt. Chapin, in the Rockies
-Went to Fort Collins and did a free tasting at the New Belgium Brewery (the guys that brew Fat Tire).
-Went on the zip line at the YMCA, operated by this guy John Pickett, local legend.
-Hiked into Thunder Lake in the park then scrambled up to a place called Boulder-Grand Pass (12,250 ft) and crossed the continental divide.
-Went inner tubing down the Big Thompson with Pickett. Basically backcountry tubing with a six pack teathered to my tube and a long stick to push off the sides. Awesome.
-Went to a rodeo. Ya, calf roping and bull riding.
-Went climbing with a friend Quinn, total stunner local climber. After our repel back down the rope got snagged and she had to solo climb back up (no rope) to retrieve it. No problem.
So thats my story. Too much cool stuff is happening right now for me to even detail it all. I have a ton of cool pics but no time to post them right now. Stay tuned for that. I'm about to leave for Wyoming and check out the Tetons and Yellowstone. Love you all and I'll talk to you soon. Peace.
Dane
After Denver I came to Estes Park, where I am right now. My friend Josh, Maui roommate and homeboy I just stayed with in Utah, was in town seeing some friends so I met up with him and he introduced me. So much cool stuff has happened in Estes that I'm just going to bullet point it:
-Went to a Rockies baseball game
-Night climbed a place called Old Man Mountain and went through a gnarly technical cave in almost pitch black darkness (once again an advantage to hanging out with locals)
-Toured the Stanley Hotel, inspiration for Steven King's "The Shining" and the place where Dumb and Dumber was filmed. I sat at the bar where Jim Carrey sat and said "We landed on the moon!!"
-Summited a 12,800 ft peak, Mt. Chapin, in the Rockies
-Went to Fort Collins and did a free tasting at the New Belgium Brewery (the guys that brew Fat Tire).
-Went on the zip line at the YMCA, operated by this guy John Pickett, local legend.
-Hiked into Thunder Lake in the park then scrambled up to a place called Boulder-Grand Pass (12,250 ft) and crossed the continental divide.
-Went inner tubing down the Big Thompson with Pickett. Basically backcountry tubing with a six pack teathered to my tube and a long stick to push off the sides. Awesome.
-Went to a rodeo. Ya, calf roping and bull riding.
-Went climbing with a friend Quinn, total stunner local climber. After our repel back down the rope got snagged and she had to solo climb back up (no rope) to retrieve it. No problem.
So thats my story. Too much cool stuff is happening right now for me to even detail it all. I have a ton of cool pics but no time to post them right now. Stay tuned for that. I'm about to leave for Wyoming and check out the Tetons and Yellowstone. Love you all and I'll talk to you soon. Peace.
Dane
Friday, July 4, 2008
HAHAHA
"I smell and I am constantly sweating and I havent looked in a mirror since I left the states but its fun and everyone is dirty and everyone smells."
-Cousin Mattie, on her exchange program in the Belize rainforest
-Cousin Mattie, on her exchange program in the Belize rainforest
HEY!!!
New pics are finally up!! Check'em out!! Start with the one of a "Gas" signpost in the middle of the desert, then do a slide show from there. Holla.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Damn it's hot here...
Hey everybody, hope you're reading this latest update in good health and high spirits. Happy almost 4th and Meg and Matilda, happy almost birthdays. I'm in a town called Vernal in the northeast corner of UT, about 1/2 hour from the CO border. If my good friend Josh, Maui roommate, didn't live here then there's not a chance that I would have stayed longer than it takes to fill gas. We're near one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur fossils in the world so pretty much all of Vernal's 10,000 residents work in the fossil fuel industry drilling for oil. Lot's of big pickup trucks and bad teeth. My kind of folks.
Since my last post a lot has happened. I stayed in San Fran for 4 nights and saw a lot of good friends. The weather was great which I guess is pretty uncommon in the bay area. There was actually a heat advisory, so we went to the beach. The water was still cold enough that it gave me a headache. I did a pretty solid walking tour of the city and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. It's pretty cool because even though I'm just a visitor in all these places I've been going to, I'm staying with locals when I get there so I'm definitely getting the local experience.
After San Fran I rode through the smoke from all the wild fires to get to Davis, where I stayed with my aunt and uncle and cousins. We had a solid tri-tip dinner and I got a lot of good recommendations on places to visit from my uncle Jeff. From Davis I started to make my way across Nevada on HWY 50, a.k.a. "The Loneliest Road in America." The moniker is apt because I rode for an hour one day and the only living thing I saw was a coyote that loped across the road in front of me. I stayed in a town called Austin that night where I didn't get cell phone service and there was only one diner.
The next day I made it to the Ruby Mountains Recreational Area and camped there for the night per uncle Jeff's recommendation. You were right man, that place is stunning. 11,000+ foot peaks on all sides of you as you hike up this lush and still snow covered glacial valley. I fished at a mostly frozen lake at about 10,000 feet that sits at the base of a huge bowl. I was surprised to see such captivating scenery in the state of Nevada.
Following my stay in the Ruby Mountains I made my way to Salt Lake City. To reach SLC I had to come through a town on the Nevada/Utah border called Wendover. Full of topless bars, casinos and liquor stores, this is where all those devout Mormons jump over to get their thrills. I couldn't wait to get out of Bendover, but the seemingly endless expanse of the salt flats with nothing but two huge strips of black tar cutting through the middle (HWY 80) was just as uninviting as the town itself. I made it about 40 miles before my bike started to overheat in the 105 degree weather. So I stopped at a rest area and let the bike cool down then went about 60 mph for the remainder of the ride.
Salt Lake City was great. The people there were really nice and the town itself is beautiful, set right at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. I stayed with some friends there who took me around and showed me a good time. We had breakfast at Park Cafe which, if you've been to SLC, I guess is kind of a big deal. Thanks again Alexandra and Kaelan!
After changing my oil to a higher viscosity (thanks for the help, Caleb), I was ready for some more warm weather riding so I saddled up and came here, Vernal. On Saturday Josh and I got to check out some petroglyphs in Dinosaur Nat'l Monument and then raft a section of the Green River. Yesterday I rode 40 miles out to a place called Flaming Gorge to go fishing. I bought a one day fishing license, spooled some new line onto my reel, baited up and was about to cast when the thunder and lightning started. I didn't want to ride back in the rain cuz i was without my jacket and gloves so I got the hell outta there and still got soaking wet on the ride home. The one time I don't wear my jacket and it rains. C'est la vie.
It's funny, a lot of things about this trip remind me of when I used to drive from LA to Bloomington in the Jeep: the long hours of sitting watching the scenery as it goes by, gassing up at questionable truck stops in the middle of nowhere, checking into a motel and sundown and buying a tall boy from the place next door (don't worry Gramma, a "tall boy" is just a 16 oz. beer). The difference is that this time I don't have climate control or heated seats, I don't have a 10 disc CD changer, and my sunroof is open all the time. The main difference, though, is that this time I don't have an itinerary or a deadline. I can make my way as I please. That's a nice feeling. Thanks for checking in again. Miss and love you all. Until next time.
Dane
Since my last post a lot has happened. I stayed in San Fran for 4 nights and saw a lot of good friends. The weather was great which I guess is pretty uncommon in the bay area. There was actually a heat advisory, so we went to the beach. The water was still cold enough that it gave me a headache. I did a pretty solid walking tour of the city and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. It's pretty cool because even though I'm just a visitor in all these places I've been going to, I'm staying with locals when I get there so I'm definitely getting the local experience.
After San Fran I rode through the smoke from all the wild fires to get to Davis, where I stayed with my aunt and uncle and cousins. We had a solid tri-tip dinner and I got a lot of good recommendations on places to visit from my uncle Jeff. From Davis I started to make my way across Nevada on HWY 50, a.k.a. "The Loneliest Road in America." The moniker is apt because I rode for an hour one day and the only living thing I saw was a coyote that loped across the road in front of me. I stayed in a town called Austin that night where I didn't get cell phone service and there was only one diner.
The next day I made it to the Ruby Mountains Recreational Area and camped there for the night per uncle Jeff's recommendation. You were right man, that place is stunning. 11,000+ foot peaks on all sides of you as you hike up this lush and still snow covered glacial valley. I fished at a mostly frozen lake at about 10,000 feet that sits at the base of a huge bowl. I was surprised to see such captivating scenery in the state of Nevada.
Following my stay in the Ruby Mountains I made my way to Salt Lake City. To reach SLC I had to come through a town on the Nevada/Utah border called Wendover. Full of topless bars, casinos and liquor stores, this is where all those devout Mormons jump over to get their thrills. I couldn't wait to get out of Bendover, but the seemingly endless expanse of the salt flats with nothing but two huge strips of black tar cutting through the middle (HWY 80) was just as uninviting as the town itself. I made it about 40 miles before my bike started to overheat in the 105 degree weather. So I stopped at a rest area and let the bike cool down then went about 60 mph for the remainder of the ride.
Salt Lake City was great. The people there were really nice and the town itself is beautiful, set right at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. I stayed with some friends there who took me around and showed me a good time. We had breakfast at Park Cafe which, if you've been to SLC, I guess is kind of a big deal. Thanks again Alexandra and Kaelan!
After changing my oil to a higher viscosity (thanks for the help, Caleb), I was ready for some more warm weather riding so I saddled up and came here, Vernal. On Saturday Josh and I got to check out some petroglyphs in Dinosaur Nat'l Monument and then raft a section of the Green River. Yesterday I rode 40 miles out to a place called Flaming Gorge to go fishing. I bought a one day fishing license, spooled some new line onto my reel, baited up and was about to cast when the thunder and lightning started. I didn't want to ride back in the rain cuz i was without my jacket and gloves so I got the hell outta there and still got soaking wet on the ride home. The one time I don't wear my jacket and it rains. C'est la vie.
It's funny, a lot of things about this trip remind me of when I used to drive from LA to Bloomington in the Jeep: the long hours of sitting watching the scenery as it goes by, gassing up at questionable truck stops in the middle of nowhere, checking into a motel and sundown and buying a tall boy from the place next door (don't worry Gramma, a "tall boy" is just a 16 oz. beer). The difference is that this time I don't have climate control or heated seats, I don't have a 10 disc CD changer, and my sunroof is open all the time. The main difference, though, is that this time I don't have an itinerary or a deadline. I can make my way as I please. That's a nice feeling. Thanks for checking in again. Miss and love you all. Until next time.
Dane
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