McMinville, OR

Hampton, OR - 50 miles from any other sign of civilization, and the town consists of a closed cafe and an "Artistic Taxidermy" business.

"It would be hard to hang a man out there." - desertous desolation - how's that for alliteration?

Stopped in Brothers, OR (later drove through Sisters) for lunch at the combined Stage Shop, Saloon, Cafe, Post Office and Gas Station and started talking to the most interesting man - served in the military for 30 years, a part of Phoenix and a Vietnam veteran who was very willing to share; he lives in Florida now and travels around the U.S. digging for petrified wood and other kinds of rock. He told the government to "shove it" when they ordered him to assassinate one of the Green Berets; doesn't cut his hair or beard in tribute to the men who didn't come home from Vietnam; and gave us a piece of petrified wood before he left!

Came upon Bend - 80,000 people in a town seems absurd!

Arrived at the coast around 6:30 - WE MADE IT!!!! It's been about 10 years since I've even seen the Pacific Ocean, what an accomplishment. Trip evaluations and dinner on the beach then drove the 101 then 18 east to McMinville - 2 hours of sleep and then dropped Dan off at the airport. What a mix - the bitter finality of a great adventure, and goodbyes to a good friend, and yet so much potential for the rest of the summer.

Portland for the next 2 weeks, then off to the Nez Perce National Forest, Seattle, and more of the West - stay posted!

Burns, OR

WE MADE IT!!! To Oregon, at least. Getting a picture of the state sign was a bit more treacherous this time, but I couldn't stop smiling for the life of me.

I'd like to make a shout out to Janalee Hope - we stopped in Jerome and met your mother at the Shell station! I don't remember Idaho being so desertous, I suppose I've always seen the northern portion. With two days left I think we've really started making the most of our time on the road, taking care to do all typical things a roadtrip requires - peeing on the side of the road, eating roadkill for dinner, matching tattoos on our lower backs of Tom Petty lyrics...

I suppose I'm biased - Oregon being the object of this whole trip and a goal for more than a year now - but I don't think any other state is like it; we drove about a hundred and fifteen miles after we passed vale without seeing one gas station, only a small restaurant in what we thought was Juntura (along the walheur (?) river).

We stopped early, for once, in Burns - headed for the coast and Portland today!

Island Park, ID

Took 14 and 16 all the way across Wyoming to Yellowstone - saw snow at the top of a hill and were compelled to go touch it, EVEN though it was probably trespassing and ridiculously steep.
Stopped in Bighorn National Forest and met a couple from southern New Jersey who went to Lycoming and still go to Penn State games - small world!
Yellowstone, of course, was extremely crowded with tourists, and COLD. Watched Old Faithful erupt right after the sunset, then drove on.

Gillette, WY

Saw the Badlands at sunrise then took our time driving out of the park - really grateful that I have an appreciation for geological phenomenons and no fear of heights; it's also been nice to have Dan around to identify plants and point out things like acorn knots and prepare me in the case of a rattlesnake bite [which we have yet to see, much to our disappointment].

Took some time to run a few errands in Rapid City and check into a few things before we headed to Rushmore.

By the way, we are officially "rebels" - if a girl with tattoos in the Black Hills of South Dakota says so, I think it thoroughly validates our status.

Mount Rushmore kind of disgusted me; I'm glad I visited and saw the national monument, and I'm sure it was an impressive feat to actually create it, but it gave me a creepy feeling to know that someone took the time to make that - maybe I was a bit jaded, and the monument was extremely overshadowed by the Badlands.

Saw Devil's Tower before we stopped - 3 days to make it to Portland and we found ourselves in Gillete for the night, maybe a 1000 miles more to go.

The Badlands, SD

I think that the Dakotas should replace San Francisco in that song about wearing flowers in your hair; we covered both North and South - drove through Oakes, Ashley, Pierre - and were unable to find a town over 1200. Dan grew up in a town of 500 and feels at home, but I can barely relate: we were able to walk into a closed library and highschool, no locks on the doors, and all the while I'm careful to lock my car wherever we stop.
Lunch in Ashley at Pepi's Parlor - always welcome, but always a foreigner.

Stopped by a petrified wood museum and made it to the Badlands by sunset - truly took my breath away. Also, I'm 19 and lucky to see so many places that other Americans haven't, yet I feel like we see more foreign tourists than Americans. Camped for the night in the Badlands (without making them worse) then woke up at 5:30 to see them at sunrise.

Tom Petty - Into The Great Wide Open

Furgus Falls, MN

MINNNNNNNESOTA!!!! I can't believe we've covered Minnesota and Wisconsin all in a day. I've never seen, or at least haven't in awhile, so many wildflowers along the highway - and such a desolate highway. Supposedly the badlands are worse than this, and I think Mississippi is a close second, but it felt as if there were nothing between the "unincorporated" towns of Wisconsin.

Driving on hwy 2 we passed through an old car show in Ashland this morning then ate at the Golden Glow Cafe - Grand Rapids was the largest we saw today, at about 12,000, and we made it to Bemidji by four. Walked around downtown for a bit, bought dinner and ate it on Lake Superior - we almost got tattoos downtown, thank god it was Sunday. I finally heard the Minnesota accent in the grocery store - "okeeeuy, yah" - and maybe next time we'll get some perch and hear the loons.

From Bemidji we headed south to MOORHEAD, and went off track for officially the first time, simply farther south than we intended, then ended up in Furgus for the night, checked into the hotel barefoot (just to see if they would take offense in Minnesota) and was told I have a very, very strong southern accent.

Ironwood, MI

July 4th: More of the UP today; UP, of course for Upper Peninsula - yoopers for those above the bridge and trolls for those below, and of course, plenty of Michigan lefts. We left the campground around 10:30 and headed up to Pictured Rocks, stopping at White Tail Resort for pasties and 25 cent tattoos - both portions of the trip were successful. We saw Miner's Falls and Miner's Castle, walked around the cliffs on top of Pictured Rocks; supposedly they're better by boat, but time didn't allow this trip.

We caught the Fourth of July Parade in Manistique, Michigan while we were passing through to head north, then caught another one in Norway, MI later on in the evening - I feel like I've mooched off of small town America for my Fourth of July this year. To top it off, we drove until we saw fireworks, 20 miles outside of Ironwood - we pulled off into the parking lot with the rest of the audience and sat on the roof (it was freezing) for the twenty minute show - a classic 4th, if I do say so myself.

Of course, then we had our first gasoline scare, followed by our closest sleep-in-the-car-because-we-can't-find-a-hotel; we had .7 gallons left in the tank and ended up staying at the Ironwood Motel for 30$, when it was worth about 15$, because it was the only one still taking guests at 12:30. Of course, it was only for 10 hours, and all part of the adventure...

St. Ignace, MI [Day 6]

Started driving up to the UP around 8 and arrived in Mackinac City around 2 PM; we made a detour along the way, truly a highlight of the trip, through Cheboygan, MI. What a colorful, interesting, exciting town! Everything had character – the mailboxes, people, Christmas trees, marina…
We had a few moments to spare before the ferry left for Mackinac Island so we found the closest beach, which was Lake Huron, and skipped rocks (or threw them) for a half hour. Did you know that the black matter that washes up in mass on the beach is tree bark?

Took the ferry across and explored the island a bit; there are no cars or motor vehicles allowed, only bikes and horses for transportation, so it makes the island particularly old-timey and especially quiet. LONG lunch at Yankee Rebel Tavern and then walked up and down the boardwalk and beach, took pictures, and bought the famous Mackinac fudge. Also, for anyone who has seen it, the tree in “Somewhere in Time” where the two find each other – who knew Michigan could be so savvy? Camped for the night at St. Ignace.

Detroit, MI

Corbin, Kentucky: Colonel Sanders birthplace. There was a museum and restaurant at the original location, but I guess 9:30 am is too early for fried chicken?
Jean's Restaurant for breakfast in Mt. Vernon, along with other travelers, and the rest of Kentucky throughout the morning.

We got to Cincinnati around one and were verbally abused (emotionally scarred) by the service attendant in IGA Grocery Store - however, I'd never been in the basement of a grocery store to use a bathroom, one more off the bucket list! We were definitely not in Kentucky anymore. A lovely afternoon catching up with Liz! Lunch at Sitwell Cafe and naturally a discussion on the apocalypse and meaning of life. :)

A stop at "touchdown jesus", as recommended by the Ohio rockbrookers', definitely worth the time, and the rest of the drive - as predicted- was incredibly uneventful and rainy, but not boring; I have a more positive outlook on turning twenty and a better awareness of my traveling partner - far from boring.

We got to Detroit around 11, and went to Dan's mom's house for the night - I was an outsider on the reunion, but could still feel the love. This morning I met up with Grandma Betty - pecan pancakes at the whistle stop, profound access to a washer and dryer, and of course a trip to costco and borders! Then I got to spend the evening with Betty and the Feinbergs, hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner really made it feel like summer in Michigan (even though it was cold). What a relief, to have a homebase-family-connection on a trip like this. Great visit. Also acquired a camping guide to the western US, a necessary resource for the next few days (thanks Uncle Henry!), and have adamantly decided to stop at all welcome centers - you learn something new everyday!

Jellico, TN [Day 3]

One more stop in Brevard for medicines and then lunch at Looking Glass Falls - then a drive through Pisgah Forest, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Smokies - almost missing our first stateline in the Smokies, if we hadn't stopped for one more overlook at Newfound Gap; I felt like I was on top of the world.

As we came down 441 through Gatlinburg, we came across Pigeon Forge - the home of Dollywood and a million other creepy tourist attractions crowded into a mile stretch of road. Dan called it a "Las Vegas for 12-year-olds"; so much commercialism and so many tourist traps that it was spooky.

A stop in Knoxville for dinner and a reacquaintance with the downtown area; we asked the waitress what the must-see place in Knoxville was before we left, and she responded, "well, it's very anticlimactic - we're in the bible belt, you know..." and then she suggested the old city. I tried not to take it personally.

The epitome of our last day and night in the south: Jellico Motel.
$41.71 for a friendly canine welcome, an absence of noisy neighbors [or any neighbors at all], an escape from magnetic keys, and a fortune in the morning [stuck to the inside of my comforter when I woke up] : "a handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains."
Talk about some wisdom for the road...