Next installment time! And today I find myself in Kalispell, Montana.  I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since my last post.  Seems like a while back.  Lot of things happened in the past week, and I have met and continued to get to know new people from all over.  I love the anonymity that this trip has given me too.  It has been nice.

So I woke up from Coos Bay Oregon with a planned drive up the coast of Oregon and then across to the East.  Weather proved interesting for the day, as it was constantly overcasted.  I had the top down on the car a lot but occasional rain made me put it up.  The Oregon coast is as beautiful and as quaint as I had always heard.  The scenic road up the coast lends itself to many some little towns but gorgeous views.  As I was driving through a region of sand dunes, and a park for it, I figured why not stop and go for a buggy ride on some of the great sand dunes there.  What an AWESOME time that was.  This was a 4 seater buggy, and we were all over those dunes!  Things just seemed to work out, and instead of the hour long wait I was told I would be waiting for, the drivers grabbed me and through me with another group and off we went.  If you have never taken a buggy that fast across sand dunes, you are missing out.  Yeah I had sand all over but whatever, it was an awesome 30 minutes.  After that I hit the road again, and up the coast I went with the goal of getting to Cannon Beach, OR by sunset!  That I did, and I shot some beautiful shots that night as well.  I also made sure I put the camera down, and just took it all in as well.  For those who don’t know Cannon Beach is the popular beach you see with a huge rock on it!  Now a lot of the Oregon coast is like that but this was pretty cool just for the fact that it is popular.  It ended up being less crowded then I imagined so it was a peaceful evening.  After that I tried to find a hotel nearby, but the closest was up the road about 30-40 min, so off I went to Seaside, OR for the night.

The next morning I woke up with the intent of seeing Multnomah Falls, and Mount Hood, and then pressing across Oregon as far as I could to Boise.  Like everything else on this trip it hasn’t gone as planned so oh well.  I got to Multnomah Falls, and WOW was that as scenic as the pictures show.  At first I only planned for about 30 minutes there taking in the sights and going up to the bridge, until I found out you could hike all the way to the top.  So after 1.5 miles and 800 feet, I reached the top.  Awesome view but couldn’t see OVER the falls like I thought.  As some of you have seen the picture though, I will do whatever it takes to get the right shot, so attached my camera to the end of my tripod and held it as far as I could.  Got a decent shot, but Ill see more when I get the time to look through the images a bit more.  I ten hiked around up top in the many little falls that lead to the big one and had a blast looking around.  Then the hike down and more pictures, made this later then I was expecting.  Oh well, off to Mount Hood I went.  I had been told you could get to the base camp for Mount Hood so I put it into my GPS.  It led me astray and I couldn’t find a decent view of the mountain, so I pulled over and asked a couple who seemed to about to goto dinner.  They recommended the view on the other side of the mountain at the Timberline lodge.  Name sound familiar?  This is where the Shining with Jack Nicholson was filmed.  So off I went to the other side of the mountain.  What a beautiful resort and apparently a National monument too.  Shot some beautiful shots there, and since it was approaching sunset, I decided to just eat there and make my way down to a hotel somewhere.  Curiosity got me tho, and I asked the front desk how much a room would go for.  That night…. Apparently about the same as a hotel on the road, that would have taken me over an hour to get to and find, so I decided ehh why not, I’ll stay in this creepy National monument of a hotel.  Got to my room, and bunk beds it was!  Not bad, but I did hit my head a few times.  At least I had my own room and no little kids screaming Red-Rum were going around the hotel.  After dinner though I took the opportunity since I had what would be my darkest sky so far to try my hand at some Milky Way photography!  Nailed it, and coming out of the mountain too!  I’ll post those later as well.  After that off to bed for the long drive to Boise.

The next day I woke up and off to Boise I went.  This drive took me a good portion of the day so not much exciting, and not many pictures.  Just got another state in Idaho.  On the drive I did get a call from work though, telling me I need to sign something electronically ASAP.  This was the first time work had called me since I started this journey.  Unfortunate, but brought me back a little out of the dream world, ha.  I planned to make a stop at the nearest base the next day to take care of that.

Woke up in Boise bright and early for an ambitious day today.  Ran south to a base to take care of the work first, and then another few hour drive to Twin Falls, ID.  What a cool city.  This came on a friends suggestions and Im so thankful she recommended it.  I saw 2 sets of waterfalls here and the only legal bridge in the US to BASE jump off of.  Trust me I wanted to go.  The 2^nd time I drove across the bridge I saw a guy with a rig on, but before I had time to park and get the camera, he was off.  Jealous!!  From here I drove to Crater of the Moon National Park in the middle of state.  So this is a volcanic area in the middle of nowhere.  Very cool to find yourself in a volcanic field in the middle of Idaho.  No Lava for many of years, but all the remnants of flows and such.  Even got to go caving a little here in one of the flow areas.  Very cool, and met some great Europeans that were just touring around as well.  Time was tight so I pressed on to Idaho Falls.  This cute city has some amazing waterfalls in the heart of the city!  Combination of Rock and manmade structure made this very unique, and the fact that it had been raining there a lot on the past few hours, made the flow pretty great over the falls, and god for some pictures.  But I needed to get to Jackson, WY by the night so off I went again and after the mountain passes and some narrow roads, I made it to Jackson, WY at the base of the grand Teton National Park.

So the Tetons have been the sight I wanted to see the most of this entire trip!  I have always wanted to see these mountains since I marveled at it in pictures in middle school.  They just looked so powerful to me.  This morning I woke to rain and clouds with a ceiling of only a few hundred feet.  Not a good way to see majestic mountains.  On the suggestion of a local info center I decided to go north to Yellowstone instead, since most of that was ground based.  It was already a little later in the morning, but off I went anyway.  As I passed through the Tetons sure enough visibility was bad and I could only see the bases of the great mountains so I pressed through the park as the rain continued to come down.  As I was driving, I saw a hitchhiker that looked pretty young to me…  ehh why not, it’s raining! A lot of people have expressed their feelings on this, but I picked him up.  It was an 18 yr old kid, that just seemed like he was trying to find himself.  Not sure if he ran away or not, as he was pretty good at keeping that and making up a story so I let it go.  For the next 2 hours I drove north with him, and we stopped at a few sights, took them in and kept driving.  Energetic kid that after a while was just bouncy!  Haha So I told him him in a few miles was the end of the road.  I dropped him off near a restaurant, and I gave him some snacks and water I had and bid him adieu.  People are inherently good, and this was a kid.  Do I encourage everyone to pick up a hitchhiker on the side of the road, no, but most of the time you can trust your gut, and my gut was right on this one thankfully.  In the end it wasn’t really a big deal to me and I helped a guy out get just a little further down the road to his goal of Canada…. Without a passport by the way.  I educated him that he would need one, and he thought he could just pick it up somewhere.  Unfortunately not bud, so you may wantta revise your plan before you get there.  With that said I toured around Yellowstone the rest of the day and saw some amazingly beautiful sites as the rains cleared up temporarily and the sun came out.  From huge canyons, to powerfall waterfalls, to sights that would take your breadth away, and numerous animals, although not nearly as many as I expected.   One place I saw a line a MILE long of cars, and was wondering what people were looking at.  Turns out just 2 bears in a field and almost 100 yards to the closest person.  It was a circus of people for these 2 bears.  I decided not to contribute and just drive by and catch a glimpse.  Off to the rest of the sites.  Since I was in Yellostone I gotta see Old Faithful right?  The eruption is every 90 minutes approximately, and when I found Old F the next eruption was around 908pm.  So I grabbed some soup at the resort and waited till eruption time after sunset.  Glad I know how to use my camera, and I got some decent shots.  I got in my car as the rain started coming down and put my hotel in the GPS.  90 miles away!  Uh oh!  Little further then I thought!  Long drive in the rain through both parks and finally got home close to midnight.

The next morning up for another try at the Tetons.  Still raining and overcasted but a little higher ceiling.  I decided this may be the closest city I am in for a while, so I needed to get my oil changed.  Wouldn’t you know it, of course the battery died at the shop.  Go figure right?  I had suspected the battery had issues the previous 2 days, but I was trying to ignore it.  When they couldn’t start it, I accepted it, because I kinda saw it coming, not just a shop trying to take advantage of a traveler.  Another big expense, but oh well, very necessary.  After some lunch in town I went off to the range as the rain slowed.  Steadily improved.  I was also told I would need to go see Inspiration Point on Jenny Lake.  So off I went.  I got to the information center on the lake and asked about the weather.   The lady was looking at the radar and completely judging me that I didn’t know what I was looking at.  That’s fine, I let it go.  Im sure she gets plenty who don’t, but when I was saying it looks to be clear for the next few hours, she was a little condescending, and then when I brought up the aviation forecast for the area and gave her more information her tone kept going at the same pace.  I thanked her for her time, as I left she was probably scratching her head on why I knew more about weather then she did.  Oh well.  I’ve never had a problem people judging me.  Its human nature I do believe but I have learned not to judge anyone, even hitchhikers, because everyone has a story.  On the way to inspiration point there were some beautiful waterfalls which I got to take some more pictures at.  I swear these waterfalls were more an inspiration then the point itself.  Absolutely amazing power and grace at the same time.  Something about waterfalls and water that it does what it wants that is amazing to me.  With a climb up to the point and back down, and not a drop of rain fell.  Hmmm go figure.  After that I started sightseeing around the park more.  I went up a road to Summit Point which had a beautiful view of the valley and the clouds appeared to be lifting now slowly.  So I came down from this point and as I was driving I saw a Black Bear cross the road in front of me and go off into the woods.  He was maybe 30 feet in front of me.  That was my close encounter.  The bear didn’t even look at me though and just kept walking along like nothing.  Amazing to see a wild animal like that so close.  Another half a mile down the hil, and all the dear must be eating dinner because I saw plenty.  Driving back to the scenic views I bumped into a family that were watching a bunch of elk through a hunting scope.  Talked to them for a while, and then I chased my view and the picture s I wanted, including my 2^nd time today I went off trail to get a good view, and I’m sure I got some great shots with the lake and some of the Tetons behind it.  Found myself closer to the hotel this evening, so went out to dinner and a local pizza joint.  At a community table I met this great couple that had just come from Glacier National Park and they told me where I should stay and gave me some recommendations.  So that is how I ended up here in Kalispell, Montana. 

Today I woke up and decided instead of taking the quicker drive up here, Id go through the parks again and see a few more sites.  The rain was off and on, but the parks didn’t disappoint.  Stopped by some hot springs I had skipped and some more geysers  I also got to the north end of the park, and the leasted visited of Yellowstone it seemed.  What a mistake.  This is such a beautiful part of the park.  Im glad I took this drive and the National forest that leads into Montana north of Yellowstone.  Beautifully drive and some feature you don’t see in the rest of the park unless you come in from the north.  Now I am here in my hotel and it is late.

Thoughts:

Don’t judge people.  I know I may not have looked the role of a weatherman, but until you know someone’s story and their experience, then there is no point.  I put it into practice by picking up a hitchhiker.  Did I judge him in that he looked safe?  Sure I guess you could say that, but there is a difference in your safety, and just talking about someone’s knowledge. 

Wow, I have met so many great people on this trip.  People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  Some people I have gotten to know on this trip have been amazing in that they, like I, have just a sense of adventure and discovery, no matter the country.  I met a Russian speaking family in the Tetons, which I immediately recognized the language on.  I have also reconnected with old friends, like someone who I grew up with in elementary school!  Lifelong friends like that.  I am glad they are back into my life and have introduced me to someone else in their family that I know will be in my life for a long time as well.  These kinda connections are what life is all about.  Make these connections and enjoy them.  That being said, unfortunately you need to get rid of the negative too, so if there is that, just cut the tie and move on, and keep things simple.

Be flexible.  Other than the routing of this trip, things have not gone exactly as planned.  Oh well!  Develop the skills and knowledge that you can go with the flow and wherever life happens to take you.  This trip has been more about the journey than the destination, and that has what has made this trip so much fun.  The second I go speeding off to another destination, I take a moment and think what would I miss.  I’ll look it up, and instead of rushing off, Ill make a few stops on the way, with the hope that Ill get to where I wantta go by the end of the night.  That has been so much fun, and I have met new people and seen things I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t done that. 

That’s it for the night.  I have about another week before I need to be at home, so we will see where this week takes me.  I’m already looking at a change in plans near just so I can really get a look at Michigan, but we will see how the week shapes up.  Off to explore Glacier National Park in a few hours so good night and have a great week!  As always, thank you for reading and supporting me in this awesome adventure!  Maybe someone has gotten a little inspiration from it all to do the same someday.

So here we are and another installment of this fun trip.  I just settled into my hotel in Coos Bay, Oregon, and I’m a little awake after the Ice Bucket Challenge I just did, but we will get to that.   Quicker recap this time of where I have been the past few days, and then we will get to the questions I have been receiving.

So the next day I woke up and went out to Goblin Valley State Park.  Pretty cool the dirt formations that have formed there.  You could spend hours playing Hide and Go seek there in these huge formations.  When I drove up the gate, there was a family who had ran out of gas there.  They said their daughter distracted them.  The thing is at that place, we are almost 100 miles from the nearest station it seems.  The rangers couldn’t help either.  I offered if they could find a hose to siphon some out of my tank but no hose, and not sure it would have been enough.  They eventually got AAA which was going to take a few hrs.  This is when it started raining too!  So I took off, and hide and seek is boring by myself and Batman anyway, and onto the Capital Reef National Park.

When I got to CRNP it had been raining there since the night before and many of the roads and scenic places were washed out.  I got to see a little, and what I saw were towering majestic peaks, half covered with clouds.  Absolutely beautiful in its own way though.  Easy enough tho so I headed out since I couldn’t see much.  I had lunch at the great little hole in the wall café on the way out to Salt Lake City.

So arrived in Salt Lake City and my Shark diving friend’s place.  This couple is amazing.  I meant them while diving with Great White Sharks last year, and I knew they would be lifelong friends.   I flew out to SLC earlier this year to hang out with them and go BOBSLEDDING!  Who does that??  This guy does!  Had a blast, but then and this day I see how big of a heart these guys have.  This is a couple who has everything they could possibly need, but continues to give and give and give.  I’m not sure I have ever seen anyone give as much as they do.  It is so inspiring!  I’m already making a list of things I want to do or change when I get back.  The Tiger Sanctuary I visited is one of those causes, but there are others.  This inspiration and heart that comes from this couple is more than admirable. 

The next day I took off, for my longest day of driving I think!  Almost 12 hrs on the road.  Stopped a few times though.  Bonneville Salt Flats where they break the Land Speed Records was very cool.  It was waterlogged from the day before but you could see some tire tracks from the highway.  I could have but on a recommendation decided not too.  Instead I got away from the tourists trap and found an open straight road of a few miles long that goes to another landmark, but not a lot of people goto.  Speedlimit 45.  HA Yeah right…..  I cannot publicly acknowledge the speed I took Lexi up to but that’s ok.  So I kept driving to the Base town of Crater Lake.  This is the 2^nd time, I have thought I was going to hafta sleep in my car.  The life of not knowing where exactly you will end up in the evening tends to be like that.  I should have bought a tent by now for that security, but the challenge is fun too.

Crater Lake the next day.  This day started off as very ambitious.  Crater Lake and then a 3 hr drive to Redwoods and seeing all the trees.  That didn’t happen.  A part of the rim road was closed, so to see the lake, you had to go all the way around, and then back.  That took a while, and midway through I felt like I was rushing, so I had another moment of pause.  Then as I was driving back and I thought to myself, how can I say I have been here if I don’t go for a swim….  So down the 800 ft in a mile trail to the bottom.  Not bad.  Water was freezing, did some cliff diving.  Met some cool people.  2 that had just graduated from O and were on a post graduation vacation of sorts.  Great people.  Came back up and I knew before I went down the day was shot... so rolled with the punches.  So I took off for the redwoods to at least get the drive done.

Pulled into Crescent City in the northern corner of Cali.  Sketchy town, haha  took me a while to find a hotel there too that was safe.  Finally found one and down for the night.  When I woke up this morning I took off for the forest.  As soon as I pulled out of the parking lot I saw a car cut off a motorcycle, both were doing the speedlimit (30 MPH)and no phones were involved.  The motorcyclist almost saved it but he went down.  Crazy to see, and this is why I got rid of my bike.  HE WAS WEARING BRIGHT YELLOW.  Well I was the first over there, and then we had someone run across the street to help as well.  I think the biker was mad, but we kept him calm and he kept his cool.  Good thing too, but he had so much adrenaline going.  We calmed him down, and he let us check him, sure enough a few scrapes he hadn’t felt with the adrenaline.  The other guy was actually pretty shaken too.  I was a witness so stayed till the police came and then off I went. 

Redwoods were very cool.  Another place you can hike all day but I saw the main things.  The clouds over most of the mountains kept visibility low, but still got to see the power of these trees.  AMAZING!  Then drove up to Coos Bay for the night, with a sunset stop on the beach on the way!

So thoughts first..  I lose Cell reception a lot on this trip.  Heck half the drive the past few days I haven’t even had satellite radio.  Sorry everyone who may be reaching me, but its kinda nice.  I need to disconnect some more I think.

Simplicity in all things, to include relationships.  Enjoying sunsets, simple drives, meeting people knowing you may never cross paths again is pretty cool.  I am meeting some many warm people from all over.  Just tourists mostly.  Some have convinced me to stay and relax another few hours, and given me insider tips into other trails.  That’s why this trip has been so freeing.  Just kinda go wherever.  I do have a general plan though, and am starting to feel like I am pressing on a timeline, but ill handle that in the coming weeks.  I just had a recent change to the plan, that helps me get back on track a little, so that’s good.  At the end, simplicity.  Whatever I don’t get done this time, I will later in life, and maybe with someone.  I am afterall doing some pretty superficial looks at some of these parks.  Enough to be competent later I guess.  I would definitely spend more time at any of these, but maybe more fun with someone next time too.

Question time:

How do you have this much time off:  As some of you know I am not a photographer full time.  It is something I love doing, and when you love what you do, you don’t hafta work a day in your life.  My career path is changing, so before I left my current career I had to burn all my vacation time.  75 days of it!  So that is how I have the time off, while I am waiting for my next chapter.   Don’t worry, I will continue to bring you photography aligned with Imaginistic Photography’s mission statement that you can read on my page

How do you pay for it all?  Good question.  Since it’s just me, all I need is a bed at the end of the night and food.  I don’t need to eat at the fanciest places, just the cheap ones, while trying to keep it healthy.  Some days I have tried to stay vegetarian even, but this is a difficult trip to try large diet changes on.  I could have camped, but being by myself for so long, I still need watch my safety and security.  Also as some of you know, I recently started a travel business.  It is going very well, and I am out using the business on the trips.  It gives me an opportunity to give my clients a personal experience and where they will need help or not later on.  The free National Park Pass I have isn’t too shabby either.  So yes a lot of this trip then becomes a business expense.  This brings me to a great point that I have been asked over the years… 

How can you travel so much?  Well its easy its because I have prioritized travel very high in my life.  I would rather experience the world then go drink and party the nights away.  That is just me.  I have been doing that for a very long time.  Everything is to set up or create the next adventure.  That is one reason for the career shift too.  I want to experience the world and get out.  What better way for your kids to learn about Normandy, not from a book, but on the beaches bc you could take them to visit it.  Or seeing the 7 Wonders of the world and experiencing them.  Those who have seen the northern lights, know that there is an electric sound to them as well.  This is what experiences are all about, and to me, feeling those experiences is what lets me know I’m alive.  The things I do are not adrenaline junky things, but an opportunity to feel alive.  So much more here, but ill jump off the soapbox.  And don’t get me wrong things have been sacrificed for it, but that’s what life is all about sometimes right.  Sacrifices now for the life you want later. 

How did you pack for this trip? (LAUNDRY specific) Very simply.  Backwards, inside out, then backwards inside out is 4 days right there.  I am kidding of course.  When you travel you see there are laundry places in most hotels.  Makes that simple.  My awesome friends in Utah, invited me to do laundry there.  Easy enough.  I brought laundry/ dryer sheets so it makes it simple.  And in plus, a dive into Crater lake and the ice bucket challenge cleans that pair as well. 

How do you plan where you are going to go?  So I have been thinking about this trip for a while.  There is a web page and App called Roadtripper.com.  This is amazing.  I put in the general route, and then it brings up points of interest in a 20-50 radius of my intended path.  This gives me all my side trips and off the beaten path ones, that you may have seen already.  Great program and highly recommend, although it has its quirks still overall useful. 

Navigating around?  Come on, who doesn’t have GPS in some form these days.  Google Maps on my iphone, to my car both have GPS.  Funny thing is I have lost reception on both the past couple of days.  Paper map to the rescue!  I never thought you could lose satellite reception but I guess so.

Do you get lonely?  Fascinating question.  This trip is a reset of sorts in my life.  While I have been on this trip, I have actually cut a few people out of my life that were negative, and I have even added a few that I hope stay around a while.  Simplicity in all things, right?  I have the flexibility to divert or reroute my trip if I want, but I do have a little timeline I need to keep, b/c I need to be back by labor day still, and the goal as to knock out national parks, and states I don’t have (only 8 left).  I have made some modifications to this trip as I went, but generally I kept to within a 100 miles or so.  I wanted to reroute to southern Cali and Yosemite and some other stuff, and then do the Grand Canyon as well, but I can save that for another time I guess. That would be an almost 1000 miles divert anyway, and would completely throw out the 2^nd half of this trip, but it was considered.  I still do have September off, after all.   As for the lonely part, well sometimes solitude has its perks I guess, but as the invite has been open for anyone to join me on a leg of this trip at anytime, they just need to keep up with my schedule and pace, and not divert me too much.  This trip was about a reset of sorts.  After being glued to my phone awaiting a call or something else, I can walk away from that and open the next chapter.  That’s what Epic vacations are about.  Its about closing one chapter and opening the next.  Things wont change in your life to get the life you want, unless you are willing to step into some unknowns, and sometime go through traumatic experiences or emotional ones.  A new friend also reminded me of some political aspirations today.  I love that stuff and always have, especially my time with mentoring the High schoolers last year in DC.  Maybe when things calm down in my new life, maybe that is the next chapter as well, or who knows, I could always be the rock behind someone else too.  Just be involved and make a difference in the lives of others. 

On a last note, I was challenged today for the ALS ice bucket challenge.  Its funny going to complete strangers in the night at a hotel, with a garbage bin full of water and a plastic bag full of ice, asking for help!  Thankfully the couple helped, and held the camera, so the challenge is out there for my 5, who are all people who have impacted my life recently and I will always be thankful to them.  Also 1 represents all our brothers and sisters overseas still.  If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t be here. 

In closing for this chapter, I have met a lot of different people and seen a lot of the country just recently.  I have put over 3000 miles on the car, and I’ve only driven from Arkansas to Oregon.  But it was never a straight line.  What has really caught my attention is the universal love for our country.  I have seen people thank vets, flags flying high and proud, 2 lovers sharing a kiss when they can on a hard hike, or just resting in each others arms on the beach.  This is what makes this country great, and never lose sight of that.  Be there for each other, help each other, serve each other.  Nothing is beneath you.  Although my beard is starting to make me look a little sketchy, no one knows who I am or that I have deployed 9 times in service to this country, and none of that matters.  The decency of strangers prevails a lot of times with a simple smile and hello.  That opens up doors, and allows people to communicate. 

Well that is all from here in Coos Bay, Oregon.  Up the Oregon coast tomorrow, and then starting to head East finally!  I am at the furthest distance I will be from home, in the next 24 hrs, and I have about 2 more weeks to go!  Can’t wait to see where this takes me, and I hope you stay with me on this tour.  Have a great weekend America.

WOW, so it really has been a week since I wrote.  FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY SHARK WEEK to all!!  So I haven’t written, but that should tell you how Awesome this adventure is.  So much for writing daily!  Maybe I’ll push for weekly, b/c Im falling behind on posting pictures as well. 

So a quick breakdown of where I have been and what I have done.

The night after I traveled up to Bosworth, MO to hang out with my mentor from Junior College and his wife.  One of the greatest fighter pilots I know, and flew a lot of missions in Vietnam.  Hearing some of his stories was just amazing.  We also now share more of a bond then when I was in school, b/c now I have been there and done that more so.  If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be where I am today.

So the next day I took off for Omaha Nebraska!  Good times there.  Asked a buddy for suggestions and he gave me a few considering all I was going for was the zoo.  So I rolled into town and went straight to the Strategic Air Command Museum!  Pretty cool if you like Cold war era airplanes and such.  Checked into a hotel and met up with a friend for dinner.  After dinner they left, and I started moseying around in the midtown area.  Jazz in the Park was going on.  Great music and quite a few people dancing the night away.  I was standing and watching, when a woman came up to me and asked why I wasn’t out there.  For lack of a partner, so we went out and danced for the next little bit.  Good times.  The next morning I woke up and went to the REIGNING BEST ZOO IN THE WORLD!  Well I think so still!  After that took off down the road.  With a quick stop in Lincoln, NE and a few pictures, I went on and saw the World’s Largest Time Capsule in the middle of NE.  Unimpressed, and it took me a good 30 min to find, but quirky and cool nonetheless.  I saw some amazing lightning while I was traveling down the road, so I decided to try to capture it.  Got it, although no Cloud to Ground lightning, but still cool.  Finally stopped in N. Platte, NE for the night.  I think I got the last room in town, b/c all the rooms were booked up.  Thought I would hafta sleep in my car even, which would have been fine, but not desirable.

The next morning I decided to change routes a little and go to CARHENGE.  Similar to Stonehenge, UK, but with cars (don’t worry there are pictures of course).  After that I took off to Chimney Rock and then to Scotts Bluff, NE!  Wasn’t planning on the Scotts Bluff part until I saw it from a distance.  So cool, so I had to drive/hike up and take in the view.  Absolutely beautiful.  All this area is where the Oregon trail came through, so it was cool to see the land, and what they had to go through.  If you grew up in NC, part of the early curriculum was playing the game Oregon Trail in school, and to see it all was so cool!  After that I just took off.  Drove through Cheyenne, WY, and started looking for rooms in Steamboat Springs, a few more hour drive.  Rooms weren’t working out for me, so I decided to drive just a little bit more to Laramie and stay there.  Got some great local Mexican food and called it a night.

Next day I woke up and drove to the Dinosaur Nation Monument in Dinosaur, CO, and Jensen, UT.  So cool, especially if you like Dinosaurs and who doesn’t.  I was pressed for time, b/c I needed to get to my next stop, but I flew through that place.  Saw a lot of Dinosaur bones still in the rock, and got to touch some bones.  Haha!  Very cool to see what you read about in books.  After that, hea to MOAB as quick as I could go!  I was trying to get up to the Arches park for a Supermoon rise tour.  Just missed it, but met a few of the park rangers that were setting up the telescopes for after the tour, and I set up my camera shop near them.  A few others shooting the moon rise there too.  After that, the area cleared out very quickly and I found myself alone with my gear in the National Park that doesn’t close.  I was getting great shots, but I hafta admit, since I had never been to the park, and I was trying to find the trail half the time, it was not the most comforting of feelings.  Bumped into 2 guys later on, and I made sure neither of us snuck up on the other, bc I was pretty stationary shooting the Arches and stars, which I got great shots of.  After that, back to the room for the next day.

This day took me to Canyonlands National Park.  I have seen very few if any places like this.  So majestic looking over the canyons.  Amazing again!  Lot of driving and hiking and I tried to do the 4 hr version.  I did hit all the highlights but didn’t hike too much.  A Mile on what steep climb, and then a bunch of ¼ milers for the scenery!  Overall awesome though.  After that I ran over to Dead Hose Point State Park, which is the majestic view of the Colorado river when it horseshoes, that everyone sees in pictures and movies!  I’ll try to recreate it with my picture to be posted soon for you, but it is hard to do it justice.  On my way around both these parks, I look up at the clouds and they had a very red tint to them.  It seemed like the earth is so red it just reflects that onto the clouds.  So beautiful!  I got back to the room just in time to be picked up for the only thing I actually booked in MOAB.  A sunset Off-Road Hummer tour.  Thanks to the guys at MOAB Adventure Center, this was a very cool experience.  Filled with cool views a beautiful sunset and some wild and crazy ride.  Climbed a 45 degree incline rock, barley the width of the Hummer, a 100 or so feet, and I was riding shotgun!  Of course we had to come back down too.  Great driving by the guys, and I had a blast.  Great story by Bryan our guide too.  6 kids and does this for fun, since his retirement covers most the other stuff…. Plus he has that entrepreneurial spirit and has a few other companies, like me.  Its cool to se how people like that think!  I often consider myself like that, b/c of the other business I run, so we got along very well. 

On a friend’s recommendation, and since I got in a sunset, I needed to do a sunrise, so this morning I woke up at 5 to get to the Arches to capture the sunrise off the Arches.  SCORE!  I hope my pictures can do it justice.  It reflects off the Arches so well and colors so vivid.  Met some new friends up there that were photographers as well.  We had a good time shooting.  Then I decided since I was awake, lets knock out the park.  LOTS OF HIKING TODAY!  At least 6 miles of it, with Temperatures above 95.  Went through over a gallon of water and still needed more.  I learned my lesson from Canyonlands that I needed more water, so I bought a Camelbak, and a case of water that night.  Also used my monopod as a walking stick.  It did pretty well, and the camelback was great for carrying my camera gear as well, consider the hike needed both hands!  After that came down from the mountains, went to a local brewery, and had a drink and dinner and now in my room, catching up on this, and getting pixs organized.

I will post some soon I promise!  At least I have been keeping up with organizing for the most part.  There are some pictures I want to take some time with it, and since I have been taking so many, I have decided to delete a lot as well, otherwise I will run out of room.  When I say I have been taking a lot, I mean I’m approaching 2000 shots in under 8 days!  Yes it has been crazy, but its given me focus and a drive to disconnect a little from other stuff.  Well I’m going to sign off for the night now.  On to 2 more parks and then the night in Salt Lake City tomorrow with some lifelong friends I met on my shark dive last year.  Happy Shark Week again, and remember Sharks are friends, not food!

Thoughts so far:  We as Americans, all say we want to travel, but how many have discovered our own backyard?  There were hours today where no one I met spoke English!  I have met some fascinating Europeans and some rude….  Well point is, a lot of them come over here for 3 weeks at a time, rent a Harley or a RV and travel the country.  With and without kids.  Go see the country!  You don’t have to hit every state, but try to do a National Park every year!  We live in the GREATEST nation, so now go out and see it.

-Traveling solo is interesting.  It always has been for me, as I have even traveled the world by myself.  This trip is different though!  I’m still figuring out how to describe it.  I have never done anything like this, and its pretty cool.  A lot of alone time, lends itself to self reflection, and there have been times, I just got away from the crowds, put the camera down, and sat.  I need to do that more often which I will in the coming days, especially when I get out to the coast.  Yesterday in Canyonlands, there was a moment of pure silence.  I’m not sure if I have ever heard pure silence before.  Not even the wind.  It was fitting that the sound of a plane broke that silence, but it was a moment I will remember. 

- Safety and security when traveling alone is different.  Its still hard to let my guard down, b/c of the life I have come from, but I’m liking being in MOAB, and my phone not having reception when I was in the parks.  I will continue to disconnect more, and I think its really good and beneficial!  As for safety, I mean personal safety from others, but also my confidence level to take care of myself should something happen continues to build.  Now of course I have been trained in all of that in the past, but there are some points where I have put that training to work already.  Already gone off the beaten path a few times, and the ability to get lost so quickly out here is amazing, but I always will find my way home, and this is just showing me that a bit more.  Some other thoughts going through my mind but less and less as this trip proceeds.  Hope you enjoyed reading, and stay tuned for the next installment, hopefully within a week.

I finally drove up and reached Turpentine Tiger Refuge, outside of Eureka Springs, AR!  This place has eluded me for my entire time I have been in Arkansas.  It was an accomplishment just to get here.  It was well worth it!  This place takes amazing care of these amazing creatures that have been neglected, for the most part.  Some have funny, exciting, and some have very sad stories.  After seeing this place, I know they are doing good work, and I will be donating to them in the future.  I met a great couple there, and I asked them to take a picture with my sign for me.  They asked about it, and we developed a good friendship this afternoon.  I’m looking forward to talking to them in the future.  I met up close some amazing creatures today and I am so thankful for the opportunity.  I ended up taking way more pictures then I expected at 400+!  But oh well.  I will post some here shortly.  I also friended some of the interns and employees there.  Great group of people, who definitely have conservation on their mind. 

I used my business to book a hotel, and went to check in.  Got an upgrade for no reason, which was nice, and when I asked them where to goto dinner in town, they suggested the hotel.  It was VERY good for hotel food.  The best part though, was after I checked in a beautiful Red Corvette drove up.  I was admiring the car and the couple that got out of it was very nice.  When I sat down to eat, they walked by to seat themselves.  They asked if I was alone, and I said yes, but then immediately invited them over.  You never who will meet.  Fascinating people.  We were engaged the whole time.  They are born again, after an early like of coke and stuff.  Amazing stories and interesting perspectives on religion.  As a thank you for the conversation I guess and for my service, they bought me dinner.  They also told me where to go to see the sunset, so off I went!

Got to Beaver Dam State Park just a few minutes after the sunset.  So I set up camp and started shooting a few.  I learned that to take shots through a ND filter you HAFTA be out of Servo mode!  Took me a while to figure that one out.  But I didn’t miss much.  While I was there I met ANOTHER couple who were road tripping their Harley’s through the middle of the country.  I was helping with their camera phone, and helped them capture the moment.  After that came home and loading pictures, writing the journal, and figuring out where to go tomorrow on my way to Bosworth, MO to meet up with my mentor from Junior College.  Can’t wait.

Well I have never blogged before so I will figure this out.  I doubt they will all be this long in the future, but this will be a good record of my travels for me too.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Imaginistic Photography by Shiraz

So the next step is to start loading more pictures and then a test trial of the web page with a few friends.  We will see how that goes.  Unfortunately most of my images are on my hard drive at home, and I am obviously away from that for a little longer.  Well that's it for now.  Expect another post in the near future.