Once again It's been almost two weeks and I have traveled and experienced a lot, so here's the skinny (pun on a below bullet point).
- California kind of sucks. It's nice on some levels, but really sucks on other levels. Let me explain:
Too many people. Too many people that don't know how to drive. I've never driven down a 6 lane road with people going the same speed in all 6 lanes.
Hippies. Normally I like hippies and even gave $10 to one that did not have enough gas to get back to camp, but since they have overran all public parks in Cali, there are no places to camp or explore that doesn't cost a fee (to keep the hippies out). Therefore, everything is all touristy and you really loose what makes being in the outdoors great, getting away from other people and signs of civilization.

- San Diego. First day I went to a park/beach called "Border Park" which is obviously/litterally right on the U.S.A./Mexico border. The US side is a desert/swamp land with a nice beach and on the mexico side is wall to wall people, hotels... As you walk down the beach torwards the border, you notice that the US fence stops about 50 feet from the ocean whereas the mexican fence continues into the water, expect their are only a couple of telephone type poles which people can walk through with ease. There is border patrol all over the place and this is what keeps the mexicans on their side, but after sitting about 20 yards from the border for 20 minutes, I saw two mexicans running up the beach into America. I knew they saw me with my camera and thought they were going to mug me, but they simply ran by saying "hello", to which I replied "Hola" and they continued running up the US beach. A couple minutes later two other mexicans came running by me, within about 20 feet and once again were very nice and simply said "hello". I turned around and noticed that the border patrol SUV had left and therefore allowed for the mexicans to cross the border without notice. Fearing a free-for-all, i began to walk back up the beach and then saw about 10 border patrol agents (helicopters, SUV's, ATV's...) all emerging on the mexicans and saw them arrested up the beach about 1/2 mile.

One of the nights I got drunk by 9 oclock and passed out sleeping in my car until 2 am and didn't want to wake the person I was crashing with so I went to camp on the La Jolla beach. The surf was out about 50-100 feet when I set up my tent at 2 am, but by 4 am waves were hitting my tent and my car was surrounded by water. I was able to get out in time without loosing my car to the pacific ocean. I went back that beach later that day and that spot that I camped was under about 6 feet of water.

- Sequoia Nat Park: Their was one mountain river that flowed down a vally where the rocks were huge and erroded smoothly. The river carved out many jacuzzi sized swimming pools through which this stream/river snaked down them mountain. Given the rock was so smooth and slippery it made for a great slip n slide effect. I could slide about 10 feet at a time in three or four different sections. If you recall back to a previous post and the beginning of this post, you may sense where this story turns to: I decide to then slide down these rocks in the nude. One caution about doing this is the result of going about 4 times faster and 10 times farther when you don't have the friction of your swimming trunks. You could imagine my instant fear when I first started my decent and fact that there were many pools which had drop offs of over 10 feet into them to which I would shurly break my leg if I slid into one of these. It is also good to note at this time of the warning signing at the pull-off from the road warning that people have died in this river. So that was what I was thinking about as I started to pick up speed and head for a couple of these pools. After doing all that I could to pull myself away from these death traps, I did make it safely to the big bottom pool which I had been swimming in. After swimming out and in a panic state for some time, I decided to do this again. It was fun.

- San Francisco: Friend of mine bailed in letting me crash at her place so I had to find someone to stay with last minute. Through Couchsurfing.com, the only person that could take me in was obviously a gay couple in a one bedroom apt. Really cool though, didn't have any problems with them trying to make out with me, but given I have a long beard now, I don't think I'm anyone's type.

- Redwood forest: tried camping one night illegally by a river and in the matter of getting stuck on the shore, backed up my car into a rock when driving in reverse. Don't have an estimate yet, but expect thousands of dollars of damage or may have to replace the car door.

- Grants Pass, Oregon: Stayed with an old friend of the family who is a dairy farmer. Came back to the farm at 10 that night to about 50 cows walking in the street/highway to which the police had been called and required me giving them my information saying I am not family of the farm I was staying at but was the only person their and had no idea to do with 50 cows out in the road.

Ok, this is too long, and more stories will require buying me a drink, or just waiting till I get drunk and then you won't be able to get me to stop telling these stories.

Las, Las, La La La...

I've never been a fan on going on and on about stories so since it's been a while since my last blog and have traveled half way across the country in the last week here's some bullet points:

- Camped illegally on the Colorado river in Utah just outside the Arches National Park.
- Camped illegally on a Indian reservation just outside of the Grand Canyon.
*** With these two camping experiences, I would like to make a sub note in the favor of nude camping. It is only when you are truly in the middle of the desert, naked, and all alone to you truly feel comfortable that you could be attacked by a wild boar and would be sure that there would be no remains. What you must first contemplate is the cost/benefit ratio of fighting this wild boar and having what would be one of the best pulled pork meals you would have ever consumed vs. the potential to walking out of the desert without your native name "walks with third leg" no longer applicable.

.... pause for contemplation ....


- Spent two nights walking the Las Vegas strip with a forty in hand, amungst many other beverages, and meeting people from all around the world. Oddest point was when I met two Irish chicks getting hit on by a Canadian guy and then turning to talk to some Californian's (pulls of Jack and Tequilla were shared) and they over heard me saying "yeah I'm just hanging out in front of the Bellagio for the next show (scence from Oceans 11, 12 or ? movie) with these two irish chicks and this douche bag from Canada"
- Vegas wasn't to bad, I was there on a Sun/Mon stint and therefore was pretty mellow, most of what did happen will be obviously labeled with the disclaimer "What happens ...."

- The water is really not that bad in the salt bed in Death Valley.

I'm currently just out side of Las Angeles and had a really cool moment when my family member asked if I wanted a lemon to go in my Corona, he simple walked to his back yard and pulled a fresh lemon right off of his tree. Also ate a lemon whole, all you need is a lot of salt.

I should be done with the 100+ degree heat, most is camping along the California, Oregon and Washington Coast, oh shit no, I need to camp one night in the dunes in Oregon, Fuck.

For Ethel

Currently in a place where even the most detailed Atlas would not have any information about: 10 miles South East of Seneca, S.D. I've been here for almost a week after driving up from New Orleans a week ago. New Orleans was awesome, everything I hoped it to be. You know when you have good friends when they give you their last $20 on them to contribute to a fund to pay for a lap dance :) Took a "hitchhiker" up to St. Louis for a stop over on my way up to Minneapolis. Hung out with some hippies, had fried chicken and waffles for breakfast, went up the Arch and went to a museum where adults can play on a playground in an old abandoned warehouse.
I was driving up to Minneapolis to pick-up my parents flying into town and then heading out to South Dakota for a family reunion and the 4th. My Grandma has been in a nursing home for a couple years and about 2 hours before we got into town she passed. Therefore, the remainder of this road trip will be dedicated to my g-ma Ethel and will make note of this by noting this on a gator head I bought in the florida swamps and will fashion it to the hood of my car for the remaing leg of the trip. The reunion went well, first night ended up with me wrestling in a grain elevator at 3 o'clock in the morning. I believe the youngest kid I was drinking with that night was 16, also shared a couple of beers with the Sheriff. Another highlight was meeting a uncle I had never met before. We had lost contact with him for years and was unfortante that the passing of his mother was the only way to make contact with him.
Shot a pheasant today with a 22. not only is shooting a good size bird with a 22 hard, but also illegal when its 4 months out of season. I only note this give they have nice tail feathers and the recently bought large cowboy/old person hat for which I needed some type of bird feathers to accomodate.