Photographer's Paradise

Yellowstone is a great place for visitors who want to capture all of
the park's natural flora and fauna through the lens. All along the
trails you see the photographers with their super sure shot cameras
and fancy focus lenses. Their big bundled backpacks and tremendously
tall tripods make them easy to spot.

Here we see a youthful and vivacious pictureman. Honing the art and
learning the craft. Relatively new to the hobby he strives to bring
energy and life to the objects he "paints." Displaying a cunning sense
for what is and isn't there, he should develop into a celebrated
historical documentarian.

Owen Wilson

He's pictured here disguised as a knowledgeable park ranger. No
kidding, the guy looked, talked, and sounded exactly like the actor.
The park ranger character could definitely be the focus of a hilarious
comedy. The possibilities are endless.

See, all of these rangers end each of their informational talks with
closing remarks of their personal outlook on life. Sometimes
appreciated, always unsolicited, these idealists offer their kindly
advice about spending time in the park and conservation in general.
Listen carefully, it could be a famous quote or even a philosophical
proverb. But no matter what you hear you can always count on these
words to be wise indeed.

The geyser in the background is the tallest in the world...when it
goes off. Not today.

A Day At The Geysers

We took a few hikes around Mammoth Hot Springs and the Norris Geyser
Basin today. The photo here is of the Artists Paintpots, which
displayed a particularly unique creamy looking bubbling feature. They
were my favorite.

Wanted

A haircut. Looks like he hasn't taken a shower in two weeks.

The story behind his disheveled state stems from his 3 AM wake up call. Assuradly contributing to his demise was Wake's rough defeat to the Midshipmen AT HOME. Additionally, at around 4 AM on his way from Winston Salem to Asheville he was pulled over by a state trooper for driving with his brights on.

The officer even called for back up once he realized the potential danger this rascally miscreant presented at first glimpse.

However, he was able to prove to the officer that he wasn't drunk (the assumed reason for being stopped). If the officer had seen him in his current state he probably would not be in Yellowstone today.

Yellowstone River

Following it into the northern entrance of the park. We'll be staying
at Mammoth Hot Springs tonight.

Custard

This morning I woke up right under Devils Tower and after doing a short hike there I did the long drive up to the Little Bighorn Battlefield Site. I have to admit while I spent a good amount of time at the site, my head wasn't totally in it. Preoccupying my mind were all the various baseball games on XM that had playoff implications. Congrats Phillies. For the record I am rooting for Minnesota, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, and the Dodgers.

It was about 5 PM when I left and decided it didn't make much sense to drive back through the Bighorn Canyon and the Bighorn Mountains. Although the drive is supposedly one of the best out here I had to say enough is enough for now and decided to get to Billings a little early. I'll have to come back.

Western Towns

While I was in the Badlands I stopped in Wall to take care of some
essentials. The side trip also gave me the opportunity to check out
what the Wall Drug hype was all about. You start seeing these crazy billboards (by the hundreds) in Minnesota and they intensify as you get closer to this bustling metropolis. It's a lot like South of the Border, another "must see". Obviously Wall Drug is terribly overated
and just another place to shop... for junk. In fact I was so turned off that I refused to accept the free ice water.

One thing I did like were the signs on the highway, especially the one
Kevin Millar clearly stole the saying "cowboy up" from. But the signs
aren't quite as clever as I'd like them to be such as the old Burma Shave signs our parents remember. I did read that people have hanged signs "to Wall Drug" all over the world, which is pretty cool.

My other point about these Western towns is that they don't feel all that authentically Western. Some places seem to overdo the Western theme and in doing so cheapen the appeal. Deadwood was a tourist destination done up with modern chain hotels and casinos, Sheridan was more upscale shopping and empty promises. And then I
can't tell you how many gunslinging shootout reenactments there are. What ever happened to the real thing?

I want an actual corral, at least two watering holes with the small wooden swinging doors, precisely one Sheriff in town, a train OR bank robbery taking place, and tons of fresh horse manure out on a DIRT road.

Rushmore

Caught up with the "Senior Circuit" at Mt. Rushmore on Friday
afternoon. Tourists pack the place even in the offseason.

I spent a good six hours here. While I plan on seeing and doing a lot of different things on this trip I figure I'm not going to get to everything I want to. So the plan so far has been to invest serious time into each park/monument/tour/city/ball game/hike/dining experience/etc. and to enjoy its full experience. Otherwise I could spend my time doing a checklist, see it all, and not take anything with me.

Custer State Park

Clearly the bison are not endangered anymore. Several were on the roads on Friday morning on my way down to Wind Cave NP. It's ridiculous how much wildlife you see out
here. Then again there's also little human activity.

So far I've seen:

Prairie Dogs - all over the place on their little farms
Mule and Whitetail Deer - right up in my grill on several occasions
Bison aka the Buffalo
Bighorn Sheep
Porcupine - not as roadkill
Raccoon - going through a trash can at the camp site outside Devils Tower
Pronghorn antelope
Wild horses - on the Crow Reservation near Battle of Lil' Bighorn
Do cattle count?

Interesting story about some "road" cattle I encountered: I was driving down a dirt road in the Badlands along the rim where the prairie meets the cliffs and after I saw what I wanted to see I was ready to turn back and have dinner while the sun was setting. I had a hankering for some red beans and rice and wanted to get a good glimpse of the sun against the side of the cliffs and knew of a good spot. Unfortunately, on my way back about 30 of these beasts had decided to mosey out onto the road and chill for a lil. I thought they would move so I waited for a bit. Some gave me a solid stare down and some appeared motionless engrossed in what seemed to be... nothing. So I realized that there was no way all 30 were going to suddenly decide to move in the same direction, away from where I needed to pass, and so I was the bigger man and turned around and found a new spot and a new way out.

What Happened To This Cow?

I didn't do it.

I actually circled back around to get this shot. Just for you.

More Badlands

It was very windy here, but this picture doesn't show you that, does it.

Badlands

So it's Saturday night and I'm in Billings, Montana and I finally found a campground with, ahem, wireless Internet. It sure was rough going there for a while! I'll try and do a quick update of the last few days in the next few posts. Tomorrow morning I will pick up the family at the airport and we will travel over to Yellowstone National Park. Just as a disclaimer so you don't think I'm neglecting you, the fans. I may not make another post after tonight for a few days depending on what the tech situation is over there.

But first to backtrack just a bit: Thursday I made the trek to the Badlands in southwest South Dakota. The prairie begins to erode into the ground and then out pops these peaks right out of the ground. Then you know you are there because it's quite a contrast from the farmland in the last fifty million states. The park looks like you're on another planet, although I must admit I don't have personal experience to compare that to.

The Assassin

I wanted to give a shout out to my host the last couple nights up in Minnesota, Mike G. Mike and his Carleton College roommates provided me suitable accommodations while I was in the land of 10,000 lakes. Located in the small town of Northfield, MN Carleton owns land next to the campus called the Cowling Arboretum aka "the Arb". It consists of approximately 880 acres of forest, field, and floodplain, and it includes many miles of trails. There are two sections to the Arb: The Upper Arb has greater trail density, some trails designated for bike use, and generally smaller areas of natural communities and the Lower Arb, which has populations of rare plants and animals and has primary conservation and education importance. The Lower Arb has fewer trails, no bike use, and large contiguous areas of natural habitat.

The reason I bring up this fascinating reserve is one, because it is an official protected prairie land and two, a few of us went out onto the Arb late on Monday night to do some exploration in the dark. We went out for a midnight hike in what felt like a night out at the beach. Given that I am averse to poisonous native snakes I was definitely wary of the reptile as we trekked thru the tall grasses. But all in all it was a good time and I'm sure Mike and his buds will get out there as much as they can as long as the temperature stays above zero and their workload doesn't get too suicidal.

The picture is of Mike G. and his recently purchased Nerf toys, which he will find useful during a competition that happens on campus called Assassins. For explanation I have copied this text from Wikipedia:"The Assassin Guild is a student-run group on campus dedicated to the pursuit of friendly competition and team-building through senseless violence. Students attempt to "kill" one another with a variety of nonlethal, though potentially annoying, weapons. Rounds are run several times throughout the term, during which participants can be seen skulking about, hiding nerf guns under trenchcoats, and engaging in mock swordfights."

Needless to say, Carleton is a unique place.

On the Banks of the Missouri

Here I am in Chamberlain, South Dakota at the same point where Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery stopped to rest as they made their way along the Missouri River north through South Dakota on their way to the Pacific Ocean.

Just a note about driving through South Dakota today: The skies were clear, the weather was perfect, and I could see for miles all around me. The small town I'm in tonight looks ripe for overdevelopment and a Robert Trent Jones golf course. It's perfect with its small rolling hills along the banks of a beautiful river. It just seems like some uncovered gem for a great vacation spot.

Anyways this spot also represents a change in the focus of my trip as I begin to see many of the great natural wonders of the West. Tomorrow I'll continue to head west towards Rapid City, the Black Hills, the Badlands, and famous Mt. Rushmore.

The House That Corn Built

I wonder why it's the world's only.

Eats At the Sacred Corn Palace

No better time to have my first (and last) corn dog, honest truth.

The Sacred Corn Palace!

This photo was taken inside the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Corn is
the chosen décor for this basketball arena. I'd say the NBA missed the boat on this one.

Bugs

Lots of dead ones splattered all over the windshield.

Update: I couldn't take it any longer, had to get a car wash.

My First Time...Indoors

Followed the Chi Sox up to "the Baggy" (Minny). Twins need to take
all three to make it interesting.

Update: Saw an interesting game tonight. But not just the game itself, but the experience of watching baseball indoors made it interesting. The Twins won 9-3 and got to within a game and a half of the Sox. The fans in Minnesota are really into their ball club. They all stand up when it gets to be two strikes on the opposing hitter and they don't need those stupid fan graphics to tell them when it's ok to cheer, which is refreshing. The Twins play a fun type of baseball too relying on pitching, fundamentals, and aggressive base running. With 35,000 rowdy fans in attendance it felt like a playoff atmosphere. (Although there's no reason I should know what that feels like)

There were several quirks about the game/stadium that should be pointed out. First of all, you feel like you're at a hockey game because it's so chilly inside. It also feels like you're in a completely sterile environment, which is not fun if you like Washington, DC humidity or really dry hot air. During the game a fly ball hit the roof of the stadium and somehow it was called foul, although I thought it was almost impossible to tell that high up whether the ball would have landed inside or outside the lines. Another exciting moment came when someone ran out onto the field and got chased by 20 of Minneapolis' finest , which was very entertaining.

What else? Because they pump air into the dome when you exit the stadium you get whooshed away when you open the door. It's quite exhilarating! I missed out on the excitement the first time I left because I used the revolving doors, but when I looked back and saw what a foolish mistake I had made I turned right back around and experienced the thrill. From speaking with several fans about their new OUTDOOR ball park that is supposed to be ready for 2010 I got the feeling that everyone hates the Dome, but from looking at the faces of kids and adults alike as they exited their Dome, you can't help but think how they will miss the "whoosh".

OK, now that concludes most of the MLB stuff I'll be doing on the trip. So now seems like a good time for me to post my official biased stadium rankings of the one's I've visited so far over the years:

PNC/Pirates (great views from the upper deck)
Camden Yards/Orioles (no explanation needed)
Great American/Reds
Tiger Stadium/Tigers (classic old time stadium with character)
Wrigley/Cubs
Edison Field/Angels
Fenway/Red Sox (definitely overrated, but I was there 9 years ago and have not seen recent renovations)
Citizens Bank/Phillies
Nationals/Nationals (almost identical to Philly, except with the terrible view of the parking lots)
Jacobs Field/Indians (too many club suites and the upper deck view of the field isn't as good as Phils/Nats)
Kauffman/Royals
Memorial/old Orioles
Busch/old Cardinals
Yankee/Yankees (if not for games that have been played here this would be further down...the stadium is a dump)
Shea/Mets (dump)
Metrodome/Twins (fun once, but just once)
Veterans/Old Phillies (dump II)
RFK/Old Nationals (no explanation needed II)
Cinergy/Old Reds (couldn't get down to the lower deck during batting practice w/out a ticket)

Sunday's Meal

BBQ and Blues at BB's BBQ in Kansas City. I'd post a picture of my
meal, but I don't want to get my Aunt Jan too upset about my
cholesterol. Let's just say the music was excellent.

For those interested in the ribs email me.

The Things You Find!

Found this in a display case outside Governor Culver's office. Looks
like he's not afraid to rep his hometown.

R e d redddd h o t hottttt ... The Barons are Red Hot.

This is Iowa?

Yep. Des Moines, Iowa.

Sunday Is Still For Baseball

Yesterday I saw the final regular season home game at Kauffman Stadium home of the Kansas City Royals. They took on the Chi Sox.

Overall impression: It was a beautiful stadium, but I wasn't completely blown away by the overall experience. They are doing some renovations on the place and as you can see from the picture there are sections that are closed off, which is not a problem for the perennial last place team. The renovations should ease the heavy traffic on the concourse and add some new party decks in the outfield. I've been told that Kauffman has become one of the more under appreciated ballparks in MLB, but it definitely had a few negatives. First of all, there are ads everywhere, especially on the outfield wall an in between the fountains. Secondly, the view from the upper deck is of the interstate, which is unfortunate.

Of course the fountains are very nice and bring a nice touch to the place. And I'm also certain that this stadium originated the idea of the open concourse that you now see in all modern day ballparks. They did it back in the 70's way before it became popular. Also, I can see why so many HRs are hit here as it was very windy during the entire game. That same wind however made it quite comfortable to enjoy the game.

Some other interesting aspects were that the PA announcer asked everyone to put their hand over their heart during the National Anthem. I've probably been to over a thousand baseball games and I've never heard that before. Also the big screen is MASSIVE and directly above the batter's eye in the shape of a rectangle standing straight up. I liked both of these unique features in addition to the organ player that played throughout the game and did "Take me out to the ball game".

The fans were great and they turned out well even though there was a Chiefs game on TV. Now my favorite moment of the day was hearing Mark Teahen come out to "Informer" by Snow.

I'll have more later, but I'm in hurry to check out of this fleabag motel im staying...

Mighty Mississippi

I was wondering why I was seeing motorboats for sale out on the prairie.

As soon as I crossed into Missouri gas prices dropped 30 cents.

Land of Lincoln

You can't get away from Lincoln out here. From Kentucky to Illinois there's Lincoln sites all along the way. With the help of two energy drinks, courtesy of Full Throttle giving them away right outside the stadium, I drove from Cincy to Springfield, IL all night after the game. Then spent the day at the Lincoln Presidential Library and some other sites in town including his gravesite. That photo is Abe's original desk, which seems small for someone 6'4". I was totally beat by 5 PM and retired for the evening. Next stop KC

Lincoln Desk

Reds Game

Friday I was at the Reds game when they hit 7 homers. 2 from Bruce
and 2 from Votto. Can't beat that! There's quite a show when the home team hits a bomb. Fireworks, smoke, the works. The views are great from the upper deck overlooking the Ohio River and right in downtown Cincinnati next to where Riverfront/Cinergy used to be. The ball park is definitely one of my favorites up there with PNC and of course, Camden.

Great American Ball Park

Mouse traps?

The Hot Brown Has Died

*tear

Yes, I'll Have Another

Tonight I was introduced to this little number. Wow. Blown away.
Courtesy of the Brown Hotel in Louisville they call it a Hot Brown Sandwich.

I'm going to put it out there: This was a life changing experience.

Simply put, it's an open face turkey sandwich with a lot of other good
stuff on top. (see photo) You can see that it has bacon, which is an obvious plus, but it also has tons of melted cheese which makes it even better. Now usually the rule is anything with bacon is a can't miss. But I'm going to take it up a notch and mandate that anything with bacon AND cheese is even better. So from now on anything on a menu with cheese and bacon is a guaranteed sure thing. Take that to the bank.

Impossible to eat by hand it's acceptable to eat it with utensils. I think. I mean the only other way to eat it would be to dip your mug in a hulking mound of cheese.

Also, it's called a "hot" Brown for a reason. It's really hot, which I
learned the hard way through my impatience. As a result I have lost all feeling in my tongue.

Shout out to Jon Frank for this tremendous rec. Turkey will never be
the same.

An Obvious Stop On the Trip

The Louisville Slugger Bat Factory.

Talk about a personal quest. I've been yearning for many a year to
come visit this bat wonderland. Again, they told you not to take
photos inside the factory, but the IPhone is super stealthy and I
managed this shot of the billets used for a few of today's superstars.

Many interesting tidbits were learned upon this visit. One of them being that up until next month all Louisville metal bats were not made in China. I asked what opportunities for growth there were in the industry and Bill, the man at the front desk, answered Australia. The final frontier?

Cave Photo

Spelunking at Mammoth

Please forgive me. I'm sorry it's taken so long to post, but I didn't
have the network.

Throughout the last 18 hours I've been busy exscavating to the far
reaches of the earth. Down 250 feet below ground in a sinkhole,
braving cool temperatures, deadly cave crickets, and slippery passage ways. Making my way down into a massive cave ducking and dodging rock formations at every angle, grasping for air in tight and closely confined areas. With little light and no sense of direction I felt lost and frightened. Scared to think what could happen if one layer of limestone came tumbling down behind me. With nothing but the clothes on my back I paved my way thru thousands of years of geological masterpieces and luckily discovered a ranger led tour that cared for me and showed me the way out.

Corvette Is a Finely Tuned Automobile

How can I call myself an American if I've never seen an assembly line
in action? And so after driving for 6 hours I got out in Bowling
Green to do the Corvette Factory tour. All of the Corvettes and the Cadilac XLR are born here. They put out over 130 Corvettes and 8 Cadilac XLR/day. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to bring a camera or cell phone on the tour otherwise I'd have a money shot of the "marriage" between the top half of the car with the drive train (transmission, engine, etc.), the most exciting part! You actually get to walk around a good portion of the assembly line while every step takes place.

Here's briefly how it works: The line is constant and runs at 1.5 mph while workers and their robot colleagues work on each car as it passes
thru their station. The whole thing comes to fruition when the tires
go on, the car is lowered down to the ground, and the engine is
started for the first time. After a ton of computer diagnostic checks,
wheel realignment, paint inspections, etc. someone gets in, revs the
engine and pulls the car into a rain room where they check for leaks.
Only then after passing a million other spot checks does it go out
onto the track for a test drive and then to the dealership.

It was cool to see an actual car assembly line, especially the Corvette.

I think it says a lot that the general look of the car has stayed the same for such a long time.

Get Me Off The Interstate

Way too many trucks this morning dampened the views of the gorgeous mountains and valleys driving up thru Tennessee towards the entrance into Kentucky. Although it's always cool to be driving above the clouds. Especially at only a few thousand feet up.

I've given yesterday's burrito experience a bit more thought and I've come to the conclusion that the ground beef was too dry and finely chopped. Not enough to sink your teeth into.

Next stop is Bowling Green, KY and the Corvette factory.

Campus Eats

When I reported about wanting to try out the local cuisine I was
obviously referring to the local mom and pop burrito shack.
Naturally, this was an easy choice given my "history".

My review of Rolling Stone Burrito follows:

Apparently this was a relatively new establishment and you could tell
the owners got the idea from Chipotle. I even saw a Chipotle sticker
at the ordering counter. I had the "Cool Buzz" - ground beef, rice,
black beans, cheese, lettuce/spinach with a creamy cool chipotle
sauce. It was pretty good, but not any better than something you
would get at Cal Tor/Chipotle/etc. Usually i never order ground beef,
but on this day i decided to take the plunge. And while i wasn't
disappointed, I'm fairly certain I'll stick to steak and chicken when I have these rice-based burritos. The way I see it ground beef works better with the old fashioned refried bean burritos and your typical enchilada.

The cheese tasted a bit like blue cheese which made for an interesting  combo with the Chipotle sauce. And one plus was that they served Cheerwine and RC Cola out of the fountain. Bravo!

One distinct negative was that the salsa served with my side of chips was not very good. Too tomato based. That is all.

Cullasaja Falls

Pictured here is AI posing in front of the long cascading waterfall
totaling 200' feet in height located in the Cullasaja River Gorge.
Not pictured to the left is a huge cliff along the side of the gorge
where rockclimbers scale the walls to get down to the crick. The only
way down.

Accomodations with contingencies

Saw this gem in the backwoods near Highlands, NC. An incredibly ritzy
retirement/tourist community.

Wal Mart Trip

That's right, 23 isles! The parking lot is huge and the store looks
out of place in the middle of this area's natural splendor. And it was
busy as ever at 3 PM on a Monday afternoon. Families loading up for
the week ahead. One lady had two shopping carts full! And I'm
almost certain I saw a first date taking place.

While AI was was busy having "stop and chats" with the whole town, I
was able to take care of a huge chunk of shopping for the road trip.
To be honest, the grocery section is just like Safeway, but unlike
Safeway they still sell my favorite Lipton product: red beans and
rice. Wal Mart, 1... Everyone else, 0

My arrival in the "Whee"

That would be chex mix traditional. One of my favorite snacks.

AI has a tremendous view from his living room window. What
you can't see from the photo is the overhead shot of the Western
Carolina baseball field. Sort of like the view from the centerfield
hotel suites in the Skydome. On the docket for the evening: a visit
to the local Wal Mart, aka "Jackson County Mall".

I'm not going to Houston...

...but they are!

Eve

Tomorrow around 5 AM I'll depart Chevy Chase, MD to go to Cullowhee, NC to go check out AI's crib for a few days.  Cullowhee is the home of the Western Carolina Catamounts and is one hour west of Asheville, NC.  It is also home to a recent gas scare.  

Everything is packed and  good to go for the first few days of the trip. First drive is expected to be about 9 hours.  I don't expect to do too many of these long 8+ hour rides, but I've been down to this area a million times and I'm not looking to make too many stops. Once I get down there I'll check out some of the local attractions and get a taste of the local fare.  I expect to see 7 Bojangles on the way down.  If I'm lucky maybe a Biscuitville! Another focus of my visit to this area will be to see if I can get a handle on an interesting bee study being conducted by the University. (watch the first video)

Maps!

Still working on the old itinerary.

JB

Will it make it into the rotation? 

I'm a blogger...

...Oh boy.