Worlds most essential travel gear: Really big sunglasses and a mala made by mom.

Successfully made it to Washington state, by the way. Last long travel day!!!!! Only 3 hours to the coast. Yeehaw!

rocky mountain 'haze'

Montana means mountain! did you know that? i was impressed and overwhelmed by their size and ruggedness. i felt soft and out of place as a i drove through them. "and they are so darn hazy," I thought as i motored along. "it must be VERY hot to make them this hazy" When i stepped out of the car at my campground i realized the sad truth. It was all smoke, no haze. Smoke from giant forest fires 20 miles away. I am in no danger, i was assured.

Bozeman Montana Co-op

Ghost town South Dakota

More on corn.

South Dakota was more of the same long long stretches of NOTHING but c-o-r-n. I should try to be fair and say South Eastern South Dakota. I should not claim to have a sense of all of this state merely from the view off of interstate 90. But by the time I was almost across it, my impression was dismal and sad. What struck me most in the eastern part was the vast agriculture.

A sure fire way to burst anyone's bubble of idealism? Drive cross country. Being brought up in a small city with white collar parents i developed in my late teens and 20's a romanticized image of farming. A 'back to the land' sort of philosophy about it and even after i had run a farm crew on a high production organic farm this bubble had not burst- entirely (it still hasn't but some healthy punctures have been made in it...) Still I could see that this was a souless industry.

Maybe other states manage to hide the exploitation of natural resources. In North Craolina i never saw, with my own eyes, the strip mining or mountain top removal sites. But here eastern S.D.’s contribution to the hungry machine of American consumerism is displayed prominently along 300 miles of the state’s most well traveled road. All around, literally as far as the eye can see into the tree less, contourless landscape are farm fields.

Their sight makes me uneasy for two reasons. One, because its a clear illustration of how this land is valued. It is a means to an end; a forum for a profit. Two, (I am embarrassed to admit) I am not sure what this land would look like without the synthetic mask of industrial agriculture.

No less embarrassing is the source of my two closest guesses: Hollywood. Kevin Costner came to mind for some reason and since I just past the Laura Ingles Wilder home, I am guessing its something like the snippets of the TV series I saw as a child.

Back to spec. vs the universe

The road has been teaching me a lot. Two particular incidents illuminated the subject I was pondering in my first post, being a separate spec in the giant universe and being connected to it. These incidents being traffic and dead bugs. It is so much easier for me to grasp the idea and sense of being a lowly, lonely insignificant spec, a blip in the grand limitless universe but I think the spec is the illusion rather than the latter.

Traveling in my car at this distance is showing me that there is just no way to escape that we are dependent and interdependent. Even if you wanted, even if you tried, you could not be alone or insignificant. Everything we do has influence. Back to the bugs and the traffic jam.

Somewhere in Illinois three-tractor trailer trucks collided, for some reason, blocking the two lanes of interstate 90 west. Needless to say, the road remained hopelessly jammed and blocked for hours and miles. After I had sat in traffic for over an hour, I followed the other industrious travelers, crossed the median and headed back east to an alternate route.
As I headed back I was aghast at the length of the back up. Twenty thirty miles it was. All those people stuck. Stuck together.

And the bugs. Upon arriving in Sioux Falls SD I was inspecting the cargo carrier that had been expertly attached to my roof and was aghast again to see its front plastered, tinted from a nice clean beige to grey, with all manner of insects. I couldn’t be insignificant if I tried.

So, next time I am gazing up at a starlit sky or down from an airplane I may remark to myself in stead of “wow, I am so tiny and insignificant in this thing” to “Oooh, daddy! I sure am part of something super-duper SPEC-TACULAR.

Note: if you don’t believe dead bugs and traffic jams are important see Happenstance.

Wall Drug and friends

Besides agriculture the other thing that stands out about South Dakota are its numerous claims to world fame. Of course you know of the “world famous Wall Drug” whom starts advertising only 400 miles before its exit (I loved it by the way. If you ever stop there make sure to get one of their fresh homemade doughnuts) Then there are the lesser known, but no less notable, other world famous attractions: Corn Palace. Don’t get me started. This was actually advertised as “world’s only” corn palace. You bet your bottom I said, “thank you god for that!” Cabella’s. World’s Foremost Outfitter. I am sure there were more but its not all that safe to write while I am driving.

This is my own: South Dakota home of the worlds most informative billboards. We had: Al’s Oasis. a South Dakota Tradition; visit the Family Shine; Authentic props from Dances with Wolves movie set; and my person favorite: Dead Wood: Historic Gun fights Daily. One last one of mine: South Dakota. home of the most fantastically odd tourist traps per-capita.

lake Erie i love ya

CORNY

If you asked: 'LL so what were Illinois, Idaho, Wisconsin and Minnesota like?' I would say 'Corny!'
By the time I was on the edge of Wisconsin i was feeling alarmed by the amount of acreage devoted to corn.
At first, somewhere in Ohio when the fields began, I thought 'oh, how neat, look at all that pretty corn.' After hours and miles upon miles the corn's charm had worn off and i was muttering 'damn corn!'

I had no idea the U.S.'s obsession with corn on the cob was so rampant. Or that there was an obsession at all. An outsider might gaze upon the multi-state crops and surmise that the diet of American's was based on the stuff.

The corn started to make me uncomfortable in western Illinois and i was relieved when the blinding flatness and unnerving uniformity dissipated for a while. I breathed a sigh of relief when the terrain once again dipped and rolled and a variety of trees lined the highway (briefly, though it was, for a few miles somewhere in MINN)

No real reports of 'accidental no-wheresville magic' to report. I may have a bit of road sickness. I am uncomfortable any time I am not moving over 70-mph and limiting the stops because of this. I really have no choice. Although I know I should stop to stretch or to eat somewhere besides the driver seat (i did make myself stop to look at the Mississippi), i am reluctant because stopping only reminds me of my physical aches and my mentally slushiness. So I will push on to South Dakota. Where i can rest and renew myself.

Four states today! I am excited, very exited to get back into the Black HIlls and away from corn.

Eddy's Grill at Geneva on the Lake Ohio

Another accidental discovery of hidden magic in 'no-wheresville' u.s.a. Had to stop to stretch my back and ended up at lake Erie. Who knew it was so breathtakingly beautiful ?(i was only slightly delirious from the 6 hours on the road already) I found Eddy's. It was founded in 1950 and has managed to not change a bit. It's truly an institution. I ate: the best beef frank ever, fries and their special root beer served from an enormous wooden cask. All this while sitting at a 'bar' just off the side walk. Sorta' just to the left of the guy in the orange shirt. I felt like Michael J. Fox in back to the future. Turned out I sat down next to Jim. Lived his whole life in Geneva on the Lake besides two years carrying TNT in Germany during the war. Oh, yeh, of course he knew Eddy, of 'Eddy's Grill,' he went to school with him. Dug and poured most of the foundations of houses that lay scattered around Eddy's. he told me.. Magic. Magic that only reveals itself when you get off the throughway. A realization that threatens goals of 8 hour driving days across the country.

Did 17 hours today! Jenny, my host for the evening (along with Lucy,Andy Molly and JIm) says that I have passed into road warrior-dom. I am sleeping in another Holman home and find artifacts of Maine scattered throughout the house, along with Jenny (mom's cousin) and Molly's(Jenny's daughter) paintings all over the walls. I am overwhelmed by how overflowing with talent and beauty this branch of the family is.

Even so, it's wonderful to feel immediately at home in these places i have never been. Tomorrow Andy (jenny's son), AKA bow boy, is cooking a gourmet breakfast, i am told. Why don't we have any more relatives in between here and the Pacific? I shall be going through Holman withdrawal tomorrow.

Thoughts from Friday

Rain accompanied me through the beginning of the day and held on until I hit New york. The scenery reminded me of North Carolina. I was thinking this as i passed under the Appalachian trail (!) and honked excitedly. Are the same mountains up here? But NY state seems more expansive than western NC like a spreading out of arms and a long exhale.

The two highlights were the accidental discovery of the Canal Day celebration (I still don't know what Canal Day was all about...) and the feast with my three beautiful cousins, aunt, uncle, two dogs and i don't know how many cats. Dinner was: fresh (and organic) local corn roasted on the grill, enough delicious Tallapia to feed an army (i had three helpings) also done on the grill; New York's own salt potatoes and Salad. Yum! Thank you Uncle Jay and Melody.

some important things i learned today:
*The Erie canal is really cool(my cousin Melissa told me a bit and i would love to know more)
*The first automatic transmission was designed for FDR (amazing tidbit from dad)
*NY is famous for salt potatoes and they are delish'. They are so good my Aunt Melody gave them out as Christmas gifts the first year she tried them
*They can make their own salt in NY state. Know how they do it?
*they now have WI-FI at all the travel plaza on the NY state through way

Happy Canal Day! didn't you know?
I happened upon Little Falls New York to get some cheep gas and found streets closed and people everywhere. I was just in time to have a piece of pizza and wait around with the town for the parade to begin.

The Vehicle

ready,set,go!

Here we go... here i go rather. no, you all are coming with me.

This is what was on my mind today. (On my mind when i was not totally absorbed in packing and running errands.) By the way it all fit! Amazing. So, like i was saying: dualities. Being a spec, and the universe at the same time. You follow me?
You are with me as I drive away from the coast, all of NH is with me; the smiles and tears of this year are with me and I am still just me. I stare at the night sky from Orr's and remember or fly, as Liz says, or listen to the news and I remember; I am a spec. A spec that hold the universe! oooooh. That's just like my car!

The Grand Plan:
New York State to Chicago to Crazy Horse and Custer in South Dakota to Bozeman Montana to Somewhere in Washington, to Portland!

Welcome

Darlings: I just thought this would be fun. Fear not I will not disclose any specifics about the trip. Look for my itinerary coming to an inbox near you very soon! When i get out there tune into the page for a virtual postcard, pictures and please feel free to leave comments! What fun. Love you, LL