Northeast Tour Day 7 (State Capitols)

Inspired by our visit to the nation's capitol, Ursa and I decided that we would add a few detours to our drive from Washington D.C. to Cape Cod. We wanted to see how many state capitols we could see during the drive. It brought a fun and educational flair to our day of driving.

Maryland Statehouse, at Annapolis

Our first stop was very near Washington, in Annapolis, Maryland. This is the oldest statehouse in continuous use, and dates to 1772. The statehouse sits in the middle of State Circle, a long row of government all built of matching brick, and passed by on sidewalks made of matching brick; so much brick that Ursa commented to me, "Who knew that this much brick even existed." And she was right, that was a LOT of brick.

Delaware Legislative House

From there we drove to Legislative Hall in Dover, Delaware. Delaware is known as "The First State" as that they were proudly the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Not far from Legislative Hall we had a quick lunch at the coolest coffee shop you've ever seen, Governor's Cafe, which is located inside a historic home on Heritage Trail near the Governor's Mansion. It's not often that one rave's about a grilled cheese sandwich, but I'm doing it now.

New Jersey State Capitol in Trenton

The next stop on our state capitol road trip was New Jersey's capitol, Trenton. The capitol building was easily visible from the interstate, but up close it was hard to get an angle to photograph. All of the other buildings were too tightly packed around it, and there was the State's World War II Memorial in front of it that was hard to get a photo around. This is the type of challenge that makes photography so much fun. There is always some new problem to overcome, always some new challenge to getting your shot. I finally found an angle along the back side of the building, similar to the view from the freeway.

Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford (photo by Ursa Davis)

Getting the photo was one challenge, but getting past New York City at 5 o'clock would be something else entirely. Even skirting the edges of the Big Apple at rush hour was a nightmare, and that's when the rain began to fall. It wasn't too bad at first but by the time we reached Hartford, Connecticut night had fallen, the roads were still clogged, and the rain was coming down in buckets. We did however get a slight reprieve from the rain just long enough for us to set up Ursa's camera to get a shot of the beautiful Connecticut Statehouse. (My camera envy again rears it's ugly head, as Ursa is able to take the kind of quality night photos that my camera simply cannot)

Rhode Island State Capitol in Providence (photo by Ursa Davis)

We drove on through the rain that continued to alternate from drizzle to deluge without much of a middle range. Our intention was for Hartford to be our last stop before we reached Cape Cod, but as it would so happen, our route took us right through the heart of Providence, Rhode Island, so we decided, what the hell, we'll stop for one more night photo. And we were again fortunate enough to have the weather cooperate by having the rains relent for a few minutes while we got our photo. Afterward we finished our drive to Cape Cod, and checked into our hotel late at night and laid down for a long rest.

Northeast Tour Day 6 (Washington D.C.)

80 degrees may not seem overly hot, certainly not to a kid from the desert like me, but I'm not from the desert anymore, and living in Alaska has apparently turned me into a big wuss when it comes to dealing with the heat. Though as bad as the hot weather got to me, it got to Ursa much worse.

As we walked around the National Mall in Washington D.C. we found ourselves on the edge of heat stroke before we got to the Jefferson Memorial, and ready to go Bear Grylls for some food before we got to the Lincoln Memorial, and no source of sustenance to be found. Should you ever find yourself in Washington D.C. might I recommend a backpack with the necessities, like water and a sandwich.
The National Mall is huge, we walked for six and a half miles but by stopping at all the monuments and attractions it took us around six hours and that does not include visiting any museums, of which there are many. Ten museums of the Smithsonian Institute are there waiting to be explored, but just visiting the monuments will take a full afternoon.

The subway deposited us near the Air and Space Museum, but we decided that it would be our last stop before we returned to our hotel. We walked past and marveled at the array of museums before we finally came to the Washington Monument. Like most people, I am very familiar with what the Washington Monument looks like, but what I was impressed by is the omnipresence of the monument as you make your way around the National Mall. It is seemingly everywhere, always somewhere within your view.

The next stop on our walk was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. One of the great American statesmen and one of the founding fathers of the country; writer of the Declaration of Independence, Secretary of State under George Washington, Vice President under John Adams and the Third President of the United States. One of the quotes that adorned his memorial seemed especially poignant, "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must also keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain even under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

The next memorial was the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which, to be quite honest, was one of the two monuments that moved me to tears. This was the man who led us through not only one of the great calamities of the country's history (The Great Depression) but also guided us through the Second World War. I couldn't help but tear up when I read his quote: "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded... I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed... I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war."

One of the monuments that I was most looking forward to seeing was the newest, the Martin Luther King Memorial. The quote on the side of the sculpture reads, "Out of a mountain of despair; a stone of hope". What a profound statement of one of the great humanitarians not only of our country, but of the world. A man who sought to change the face of the nation through peace; a man who succeeded in the face of impossible odds. A man who believed that "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Probably the most iconic of all the monuments along the National Mall is the Lincoln Memorial. The stoic visage of Abraham Lincoln gazing out at the nation that he helped to hold together is a moving reminder of one of the greatest of American Presidents.

Next to the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Memorial. The simple black wall engraved with the names of fallen soldiers is a stark display of the true cost of war, the human cost of war. The power of this monument is in it's simplicity; no images, no sculptures just the sheer weight of row after row of names. This is the other memorial that moved me to tears, and I don't know of many people that it wouldn't.

Finally, what trip to Washington would be complete without a visit to the nations front lawn at the White House. As I looked at the White House I could only think of the great honor, and the great responsibility that goes along with the Presidency of the United States of America. And what a marvelous system of governance that we have that allows all of us, regardless of what our political beliefs may be, to speak our mind in regards to who occupies this house, and the importance of the civic duty that we all owe in speaking our minds at the voting booth. November will soon be upon us my friends, remember to vote.

Northeast Tour Day 4 (Grand Valley, Pennsylvania)

After the wedding in Brookville was done, the whole wedding party, all 29 of us, jumped in our cars and drove an hour and a half north to Grand Valley, where we checked into Woodland Lodge. The lodge was a humongous 14 bedroom, 9 bath house, divided into 2 wings. It was a gorgeous venue, ideal for this type of party.

The lodge was lost in the forest, and had miles and miles of hiking trails; those of you who are regular readers will know that one of my hobbies is birding, and I was delighted to get a chance to wander through the woods and see some lovely birds. There were lots of chickadees, as well as warblers, and there was some form of small hawk that I got two very short glances at but couldn't identify, and some type of jay that I could hear but never got a look at. My favorite though was an adorable downy woodpecker who was flitting around me for quite a while.

One of the other amenities of the lodge was it's "barn" which gave us a great space for everyone to gather together. We had a wonderful evening there of eating slow cooked brisket that was to die for and dancing to the live musicians that took the stage. It was a wonderful reception, and a fun two nights, and an absolute pleasure to meet everyone. And I would again like to thank, congratulate, and wish all of our best to Liz and Joe.
We are sad to leave this fantastic place, but we must head south today to Washington DC. See you all in a couple of days. Bye!

Northeast Tour Day 3 (Brookville Pennsylvania)

Our day today was not really OUR day, it was actually Liz and Joe's day. The wedding of our friends, Liz and Joe, was the whole purpose of this trip. I would like to thank them, congratulate them, honor them, and support them in their journey through life together. Congratulations to you both.

The wedding was held in an absolutely lovely, stone church along the banks of a lazily flowing river. We showed up a little early so that Ursa could help Liz with her makeup. While she was doing that, I mostly just marveled at all the people who made a point to take over some form of duties. This was very much the traditional wedding, with every brother, sister, aunt, uncle and distant cousin finding some way to chip in and find a role to play, be it in the kitchen, or organizing the reception area, shuffling decorations, herding children, building flower arrangements, and on and on; everyone had something. It was a trundling dance of chaotic efficiency. Perhaps others may not marvel at the inner workings of a large family in the same way that I do, but it's not something that I'm all that experienced with. It was fascinating.
The wedding itself was lovely, the church clad in fall colors and harvest decor such as pumpkins and gourds, indian corn and wheat stalks lain liberally about. The ceremony, performed by Liz's father, Tim, was light and heart felt.

Afterwards, at the reception, we all got to see the results of everyone's hard work, especially that of our friends Katie and Autumn who did a lion's share of work over several days to help pull the whole event together, including making her famous pumpkin rolls which are so unbelievably addictive that I'm going to have to ween myself slowly off of them in order to avoid going through withdrawals.
All in all it was a fantastic wedding, and a lovely gathering of friends and family, and we wish Liz and Joe nothing but love, happiness, and our warmest of regards.

Northeast Tour Day 2 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

After 8 hours of flying through the night, Ursa and I finally landed in Pittsburgh. We had a little time to do some exploring, so we picked up our rental car and drove up to Mount Washington where we got a gorgeous view of the city. After which we drove around a little to get a feel for some of the neighborhoods of the city. Pittsburgh has a lot of character, a lot of dirt under it's nails. A broke in, lived in look, like a comfortable pair of old shoes.

After our short drive we made our way over to Phipps Conservatory, which is maybe the most amazing botanical garden that I've ever been to, and it was a great way to stretch out our legs that had grown so stiff over the flight.

The first, striking thing about the Conservatory is the structure itself; long greenhouses, glass domes and a huge special event area. We spent around 3 hours walking around the inside and were awe struck throughout at the variety of indoor and outdoor gardens each with it's own individual theme, but I have to say that the highlight for me was the orchid room. Every flower was a fragrant work of art unto itself.

Speaking of art, throughout the Conservatory were works by one of my favorite artists, Dale Chihuly, a remarkable glass artist. To tell the truth, my favorite medium of art is sculpture, especially when displayed outdoors. When it's trapped in a museum sculpture loses it's ability to effect, and be effected by the world around it; the time of day, the weather, the seasons all change the look of a sculpture, and how it effects the viewer. Chihuly's glass is very much the same. Seeing it in a museum just doesn't do it justice, it has to be viewed in context with the world around it. That's why the Phipps Conservatory was such an ideal venue to display his works.

After our trip to Phipps Conservatory we made the hour or so drive out to Brookville, to attend the wedding of our friends Liz and Joe in the morning.

Northeast Tour Day 1 (Anchorage, Alaska)

Last night I returned to Anchorage after a short hitch at work in Prudhoe Bay, and this morning I took a rare opportunity to relax and recharge. I also had to marvel at the gusting wind and rain in Anchorage. The weather has apparently been awful ever since we got back from Canada and the evidence of flooding was jaw dropping from the air while I was flying in from Prudhoe. This morning I got to see first hand the gusting winds that I had heard so much about.

After a slow morning, I had to run a couple of errands, specifically getting a much needed haircut. The first place that I went turned out to be a really shady looking barber shop that didn't appear to have a pair of scissors in the whole place, everyone on the overcrowded waiting bench was getting their hair buzzed. I pretended to get a phone call and walked out. The next place was a Master Cuts in the Diamond Center Mall, where this little Asian lady with the worst dye job ever and an accent that sounded just like Miss Swan from Mad TV, took me over to a chair and put the cape over me and walked away. Part of me was thinking, "don't let her cut your hair. . . don't let her cut your hair. . . don't let her cut your hair. . ." while there was secretly another part of me that wanted her to come back so that I could try to get her to use the phrase "You lookalike a man". In the end she did come back and gave me a thoroughly mediocre haircut then asked if I used gel in my hair. I said, "no", and she promptly filled her hand with gel and said, "here, you just do thees", so I said "no, thank you," and she proceeded to put the gel in my hair anyway. "Here, you just do it thees way".  Thanks.
Back at home it was time to pack. We'll be attending a wedding, so I'll be needing a suit, and at least a weeks worth of clothes. Don't forget the electronics, we wouldn't want to be caught anywhere in the modern world without those; camera, laptop, phone, ipod, and all the applicable charging devices. I downloaded some new podcasts to listen to on the airplane, and updated my reading list on my Kindle. I know that I'll need some reading for the plane, but one can never know how much time they'll have for reading while on a trip. My book list looks like this: "Nonsense: A Handbook of Logical Fallacies" by Robert J. Gula, "The Nasty Bits" by Anthony Bourdain, "Year Zero" by Rob Reid, and "Essays in Humanism" by Albert Einstein. Maybe I'll get to them, maybe not.
Well, it's time for me to take care of a few last details before we head to the airport. Next time I see you, we'll be on Pittsburgh time! Bye!

Canada Road Trip Finale

Tuesday, September 4

We left Muncho Lake and continued wending our way through the Yukon. And while, yes, it was still outstanding scenery, this was the first day that I can say that all the driving was really starting to get the better of me and I just zoned in and got focused on the road. Point A meet Point B.

I got myself locked into podcast mode and chewed up some tarmac. Which actually brings up the interesting point of what Ursa and I listened to in order to remain entertained for this trip. For most of the drive time, when the road doesn't require a lot of attention, I like something mentally stimulating, like podcasts. A few of my favorites are The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe which is a fantastic, science based podcast hosted by Dr Steven Novella, who, along with his panel of fellow skeptics, dispel and debunk everything from myths to pseudoscience by using facts, data, and good, old fashioned logic; another favorite is Answer Me This!, a light-hearted show where the hosts, Helen and Olly, answer viewer's questions about nearly anything. Really it's just good chat. The Smartest Man in the World featuring comedian Greg Proops (from the TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway") was another staple of our road trip. Fantastic, hilarious, and enlightening; I love Greg Proops' worldview. Chris Hardwick's podcast The Nerdist is another good listen. 

There was, of course, a few exceptions to my driving hypnosis where I got snapped back into consciousness from my podcast induced haze. Mostly those moments came from the wildlife; a herd of buffalo, some wild horses, and a surprisingly fat grizzly bear who jogged across the road too fast for me to get a decent picture, but Ursa got a couple of nice shots.
We finished our day by checking into a hotel in Haines Junction, and had dinner at Restaurant Mozart which featured some very good European cuisine. The food was great, but, as luck would have it, the internet service at the restaurant went down so we couldn't pay with our card, which was unfortunate as that we had already made a point to spend the last of our Canadian currency, so we had to drive down the street to find an ATM and get cash then go back to the restaurant and pay for our meal, which was inconvenient but it was obvious that the owners were far more embarrassed about it than we were. I figure that if a petty hassle like that is the worst thing that happens to us on a road trip, then we did pretty good.

Wednesday, September 5

The terrain surrounding Haines Junction is fascinating because to the east you can see the soft, tree and grass covered mountain tops of Canada, then turn and face west to see the sharp rocky crags of the Alaskan mountains jutting up from the forest like teeth. It's a beautiful, visual juxtaposition that is impossible to capture on film. Seeing the mountains of Alaska was also a stark reminder that this would be our final day of driving, and tonight we would be sleeping in our own, comfortable bed.
As far as the driving went, we were both engrossed in the notion that our two week road trip would be coming to an end, and we just wanted to knuckle down and be done. Yes, there was some wonderful scenery, and yes, there were a few photo stops, but mostly our day consisted of monotonous wheel time, and trying to avoid tearing up the car's suspension going over the uneven pavement between Haines Junction and the American border. Once back in the USA the roads cleared right up and we were able to make good time again, which is funny because when we made this same drive a couple of years ago the exact opposite was true, the roads in Canada were good but turned to shit once you crossed the border.
We made it back to Anchorage at around 7 pm and got the car unpacked, and wanted to order pizza but found that we couldn't because large sections of town were without power, it wasn't until the next morning that we found out why.

Thursday, September 6

After spending two weeks on the road all I really wanted to do at home were a few little things to establish that feeling of normalcy. The biggest one was to take a walk. There are a couple of very nice little walking trails right around the corner from our condo, where I can go stretch my legs and let my mind go blank. Just a little while where I can rejuvenate and get my mind right before going back to work tomorrow. As I stepped out the door I, for the first time, started noticing the signs of property damage around our neighborhood. A few doors down from us, the neighbor's fence, which they just finished rebuilding about three months ago, had been knocked back down and was laying in the lawn; on the next block a tree had been blown over, branches in the road, another tree snapped at the trunk; and another, this one a BIG tree! What the hell had happened here? Thank's be to the google gods and the power of the smartphone, because I was able to find an article in the Anchorage Daily News about an unseasonable windstorm with gusts over 100 miles per hour and unconfirmed reports of 131 miles per hour, that had ripped through the Anchorage bowl. Throughout the remainder of my walk, I found more and more downed trees, some twisted and broken, some torn out by the roots entirely!
I spent the remainder of the day running errands and getting ready to travel to work in the morning.

Friday, September 7

Well, all of my fun time is over, and it's time to catch another early morning charter flight back to the oil patch. It's always easy to try and bemoan going back to work but the truth is that I'm frankly ready to go back, to feel useful and productive again. Besides that, it's still not a bad time to be in Prudhoe Bay; it's fall up here, the tundra grass has gone brown and there are occasional snow flurries that melt immediately away, it's a little muddy but at the end of the day that's all pretty good by North Slope standards. Also, I'm only going to have a short hitch this time; in two weeks I'll be off again and Ursa and I will be travelling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to our friend's wedding. Congratulations Liz and Joe, we are so excited for you both.
After the wedding we will have a whole new adventure in store, so stay tuned! See you all in a couple of weeks, Bye!

Canada Road Trip Day 12 (Canadian Rockies)

Today's drive was mapped out perfect, (I thank Ursa for that) the morning was long, mindless, and dull which meant that we were able to just set the cruise control at a high rate of speed and dispose of a lot of miles before we began to wend our way through the one lane roads of the Canadian Rockies.

And once we got into the mountains we were glad to be so far ahead of schedule because we had frequent stops for scenery and animal sightings. And when we weren't stopping for photos I had a another twisting, swerving drive that carried us from the plains and rolling foothills of Alberta to the thick forests of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, then we watched the trees shrink in size and become more sparse as we reached the top of the mountain range then grow dense again as we descended. All told, a fantastic drive.

Our destination was Muncho Lake, and an outstanding log cabin lodge called Northern Rockies Lodge, which had an amazing view of the lake and was an ideal place to end our day of driving. The owners of the lodge will even take you out for a sightseeing tour in their airplane for $300, we elected to skip that trip, but having seen this countryside I think that it would be worth every penny.

Canada Road Trip Day 11 (Leaving Edmonton)

When planning our trip, we intentionally left today as a short drive so that we had most of the day to mill around Edmonton before hitting the road for our hotel in Grande Prairie. Our first must-see stop was at the Royal Alberta Museum where they were having an exhibit titled "From Wolf to Woof", an exposition regarding the history, biology, domestication and evolution of dogs. This was a must see because anyone who knows Ursa knows what a sucker for puppies she is! We had a great time at an adorable exhibit.

After the museum we headed over to my must-see Edmonton site. . . the Wayne Gretzky statue at Rexall Place. "The Great One" holds 61 National Hockey League records, and the records that he holds are not by a small margin. To put it into perspective, the closest player in total points (assists and goals combined) is Gretzky's former teammate, Mark Messier who has 1,887; Wayne Gretzky has 1,963 assists alone. His actual point total is a jawdropping 3,239! Calling Wayne Gretzky the greatest hockey player is not a matter of speculation, it is a statement of fact. To be the greatest player in Canada's national game makes Mr. Gretzky more than merely an icon, around these parts he's considered a minor deity.
Our must-sees out of the way, we fueled up the car and drove off to Grande Prairie, which is our last stop before we cross over into British Columbia.

Canada Road Trip Day 10 (Edmonton, Alberta)

Upon our arrival in Edmonton it was immediately apparent what a drastic difference there was between this city and nearby Calgary. This is obviously more of a working class city, and it has more of a lived in feel than Calgary. It also had a distinct smell, like a raw sewage smell, caused from a construction of a nearby sewage line junction which has apparently been going on for the last three years. Yuck!

It seems as though we have also had the misfortune to miss out on about everything by one day, we missed X Fest in Calgary, then as it turns out we will miss out on a free concert at the 100th anniversary of the Alberta Legislature Building tomorrow. Maybe we will catch some of the mid day festivities though. I did however take a little time to walk down to the Legislature for a few pictures.

Another really cool building that we saw was the Art Gallery of Alberta, which I at first mistook for a design by my favorite architect, Frank Gehry (designer of the EMP in Seattle and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao) but it wasn't. It was actually designed by a former Frank O. Gehry & Associates designer Randall Stout, which explains the strong Gehry influence. The museum has a prominent place next to Sir Winston Churchill Square. We are looking forward to making a visit to a different museum tomorrow, The Royal Alberta Museum a cultural history museum which looks fascinating.
But all of this talk of museums and capitol buildings has got me distracted from the most important topic. . . this town gots a serious stank! Time to Febreze this whole town!

Canada Road Trip Day 9 (Calgary, Alberta)

The drive from from Whitefish to Calgary was frankly a boring one. It was amazing what a stark contrast there was between the towering mountains and thick forest in Montana and the treeless, rolling hills of the Canadian farmlands. The change in terrain came almost right at the Canadian border, and continued all the way to Calgary, with the mountains just jagged purple teeth on the horizon.

Our hotel is awesome, we got a suite on the 28th floor of the International Hotel (though it's technically the 27th floor as that there is no 13th floor because even in the year 2012 people still believe in magic). The nicest feature of the International is it's close proximity to Calgary's Chinatown. There's nothing like high quality ethnic foods right out your back door.
We ate at Harbour City Restaurant where I had the best Palace Chicken ever. Lots of sorano peppers that brought lots of heat but didn't overwhelm the flavor of the dish, paired against a not-overly-sweet sweet and sour sauce which is hard to find. Simply delicious. Ursa ordered the shrimp and mixed vegetables which was excellent as well.

This morning we got a chance to explore around Calgary on foot, and made our way down toward historic Fort Calgary. As we were walking down there we began to notice how few restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops were available on the streets, but what we learned was that it's not that they were not there, it was that their storefronts were all inside the various high rises not out on street level. When we got there, we found that the park around Fort Calgary was preparing for X Fest which will be taking place tomorrow. After we got past all of that mess, we finally made it to Fort Calgary, which is a museum to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police built from what was formerly the RCMP's barracks. It was a wonderful tribute to Canada's famous Mounties, but it was also a reminder of just how young of a city Calgary really is. Fort Calgary was founded in 1875, a scant 137 years ago. 

We did manage to do some more city exploring downtown before heading back to the room to relax. We were considering going out to see a play, Evil Dead the Musical, yes you heard me right, Evil friggin Dead! But unfortunately we were both pretty tired and to be completely frank, there was a Boise State game on that I just couldn't draw myself away from; what can I say, my thirst for culture and experience does know some bounds. (By the way, Boise State lost the game 13-17, so in retrospect I guess that we should have gone to the play). 

Canada Road Trip Day 7 (Glacier National Park)

The best thing about having a late night of driving is waking up the next morning to find yourself in a place so very different from where you were when the sun went down. In this case, the sun went down on over a smoke filled Idaho forest and when it rose again we found ourselves at the edge of Glacier National Park, on a spectacular, clear day.

We had a quick breakfast and set off into the park. The first attraction that we came to, just past the West Glacier Entrance was Lake McDonald. About half way down the mile long lake, we walked down to a little beach that was made up of the most curious looking pastel colored gravel, like walking through the base of a giant fish tank. From the beach, the view across the lake at the surrounding mountains were of course beautiful, but one striking feature was the vast swath of bug killed trees on the far side of the lake just waiting for a purging fire.

From the banks of Lake McDonald we made our way to the beginning of the Going-To-The-Sun Road. The road was named after nearby Going-To-The-Sun Mountain, where legend tells that a deity, named Sour Spirit, came down from the Sun to teach the Blackfeet braves the basics of hunting. On his way back to the Sun, Sour Spirit left his image on the top of the mountain to inspire the Blackfeet people. As the 50 mile drive along Going-To-The-Sun Road winds it's way up to Logan Pass, it reveals one jaw-dropping vista after another. Amazing ravines that show the awesome geologic power of glaciation.

The whole drive was as fun as it was photogenic, and we had a great day. After our outing in Glacier we went to dinner back in Whitefish. On our way to the restaurant I saw a sign advertising that Nelo would be playing at the Great Northern that night. Nelo is a band that I first heard of in 2009 when I went with a group of coworkers to Austin City Limits Music Festival. They were the first band that we listened to that weekend, and were one of the bands that really stood out to me, as well as set the tone for an epic weekend. When I saw the show poster advertising their gig at the Great Northern, the first thing I thought was, "there's no way that could be the same band," the second thought was, "Hey dummy, how many bands named 'Nelo' do you think there are?" So I had to go.
Nelo's sound is happy. Not meaning that all of their songs are happy, some of them sting, some hurt, but there is an inherent joy to every one of them. That joy is found in the distinct vocals of Reid Umstattd, whose voice has an underlying sound of hope that I can't really quantify. This is the kind of band that is superbly put together, to the point that they beg the question, "why has nobody else got wind of these guys?" though in a purely selfish way I am glad that they haven't because then I can act all music snobby when the rest of world finally gets on the Nelo bus.

Canada Road Trip Day 6 (The Driving Begins)

And we're off! Ursa and I spent the last couple of days getting my car out of storage, cleaned out, and opperational. New tires, A/C charged, oil change, and lots, and lots of cleaning has us ready to get on the road today. We also found some time to visit friends Mark and Brendi Akins, as well as a good visit with my parents, who we got to tell that we are officially engaged to be married!
So we say goodbye to Twin Falls, as we drive off to Whitefish, Montana. We will be stopping off in Challlis, Idaho to see my coworker, Keegan Meyer. I will send you some updates from the road, bye.

UPDATE:  En route to Challis, Ursa and I stopped off to admire the surreal landscape of Craters of the Moon National Park. Fields of volcanic rock, the remnants lava flows over the last 15,000 years have created this rugged terrain that is beautiful in it's own mysterious way. It reminded me of some of the lava fields that we saw in Hawaii. As an interesting, historical side note: In 1969 astronauts Alan Shepherd, Edgar Mitchell, Eugene Cernan, and Joe Engle visited this area during there preparations for their journey to the moon.

After seeing Keegan we headed north out of Challis. Many of my Harley riding coworkers have raved about the ride, and now I know why. The road wound and twisted through the Sawtooth Mountains, and was one of those "be one with the road" kind of drives. We cranked up some Skrillex and put the car through it's paces, and got to really get a chance to truly enjoy driving again.

My mind got locked into the act of flowing through the curves, and when I finally snapped out of my hypnosis the sky around me had grown dark. Not because it was night, but because the smoke from a nearby wildfire had very nearly blotted out the sun. At 6 o'clock the sun appeared dark red, similar to the color of a sunset, a crazy byproduct of the smoke caused from Idaho burning.
We were running a little behind in our drive and finished the last several hours under the cloak of darkness, and arrived in our hotel in Whitefish around 11 o'clock.

Canada Road Trip Day 3 (Twin Falls, Idaho)

Boise's Capitol Boulevard on Friday (above) versus Saturday (below)

We woke up in Boise to the whole Treasure Valley filled to choking with smoke from the Trinity Ridge Fire which is currently devouring the Boise National Forest to the north of the city, near Featherville. The blaze has grown to 119,000 acres. Ursa and I rushed back to the Boise Depot where I had gotten a nice shot of Capitol Boulevard the day before, so that we could put together the comparative picture seen above. To give all credit where credit is due, Ursa, was the one who cut the two images together.

After our little photography side trek, we went with my friend Eric McIndoo to go play some putt-putt golf. It's a little tradition for Ursa and I to challenge each other at mini golf, and always made especially fun by having a good friend along for the experience. Unfortunately both Eric and Ursa tied for first, which means that they both beat me. . . I'm pretty sure they cheated.
After that, it was off to Twin Falls to get my car ready for our road trip. My car has been in storage for the last two years, and it's going to take a little bit of work to get it operational again. Lets face it, it's going to take a little work to get it clean enough to spend the next week driving every day. So I've got my work cut out for me.

BASE jumper

After we got to town and got settled in; we had dinner with another friend, Dusty Blackburn; I took a walk over to the Perrine Bridge just in time to watch a group of BASE jumpers parachute the 3,600 foot drop, down to the base of the Snake River Canyon. The bridge is one of the few man made structures in the United States that allows BASE jumping all year round.
My timing was also good, because I was at the Snake River Canyon at the right time to catch a spectacular sunset. A spectacular finish to the day.

Sunset over the Snake River Canyon