Spring St. John Trip (Mar 2006)

Our Spring Trip - unedited photos

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Wedding Pictures - Taken by Andrew Ullmann

Here are pictures from our wedding! Professional ones will follow....

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Days 34 & 35 – Darien Center, NY -> Boston

- re-entry haircuts on Mass Ave

Thursday we spent the night at the campground we stayed at on our very first night of the trip, in Darien Center, NY. We woke up and drove to the Adirondacks, a favorite spot of Jono’s, where we found a sweet spot at a backwoods campsite right on Forked Lake. We had our own little dock on which we cooked tortellini primavera with fresh veggies – delish! We watched the sunset, made a fire, had some drinks and went to sleep in our tent surrounded by the faint sounds of the woods and the water, fresh air and a great sense of peace. We could have stayed there forever.

In line with our mid-trip reflection entry, we thought we’d sum up the trip with some final stats. Here is the five-week tally:

-Total miles traveled: 10,059
-Number of dollars spent on gas: 1,123.12
-Number of dollars spent on food: 937
-Number of dollars spent on “stuff” (campsites, activities, etc): 1,542
-Number of dollars spent on tolls: 46.90 (none west of Chicago!)
-Total dollars spent on trip: 3,597 (approx $360 per week, each)
-US license plates we’ve seen along the way: all but North and South Carolina
-Number of oil changes for JJ: 2 (and currently due for a third)
-Number of bags of ice purchased for cooler: 17
-Number of animals killed by JJ: 1 bird in South Dakota (so sad!) and countless bugs
-Percent of time Jono drove: 80
-States whose drivers elicited car horn usage: Illinois and Massachusetts
-Number of times Jono shaved: 2
-Number of times we’ve showered: Anna = 23, Jono = less
-Number of times we’ve tent camped: 2
-Number of nights we’ve spent in JJ: 25
-Number of motels/hotels we’ve stayed in: 4
-Number of nights we stayed with friends: 4
-Number of times we snuck out of a campground without paying: 1 (we’ve felt the guilt every day since)
-Number of days of rain: 5 (all but 1 in the last week)
-Number of hitchhikers we picked up: 2 (Mac and Zac)
-Minutes spent apart: approx 2.2 hours (this includes bathroom time)
-Number of days we wished we were doing something other than what we were doing: 0

Signing off now, thanks for tuning in.




The End.

Days 32 & 33: Madison, WI -> Darien Center, NY (again!)

- Anna and Jono sleeping in JJ's poptop

We wound up seeing fire works after all! It just so happened Madison, Wisconsin held their fireworks on July 5th, over lake Mendota, and we got there just in time to see the music-choreographed display. We stayed the night at the Token Creek Park campground so that we could wake up and go back into the city for breakfast at Monte’s Blue Plate Diner (with Cristina in mind). Then we drove the 7 hours to Ann Arbor, Michigan, through the anxiety-inducing, truck-filled highways of Chicago. Man do we miss driving the back roads of Iowa. We wound up at a primitive campsite on Green Lake in the Waterloo Recreation Area just outside of Ann Arbor after an evening of severe thunderstorms. We were curled up in JJ’s poptop listening to the threatening sounds of thunder for what seemed like eternity. At one point a bolt a lightening struck what must have been 100 yards away and scared the CRAP out of both of us. Thankfully, we survived to tell the story. We spend a few hours in Ann Arbor this morning, paying tribute to Stephy’s alma matter, and now we’re heading back to NY through Canada, as to spice things up a bit.

From the experiences we’ve had throughout our travels, here are some suggestions:

-Madison, Wisconsin: get some street signs
-Canadians: be less helpful (let us be lost for 5 minutes, please!)
-Americans: be more helpful (don’t be so self-absorbed, strangers sometimes need help!
-Michigan, Nebraska and South Dakota: lower your campsite costs, who in their right mind is going to buy an annual pass to park their motor vehicle in a state they’ll never come back to?
-Utah: put more gas stations in your desert, or post more than one sign in the whole state about where they’re located
-States that have time zone changes: put up some frickin signs!
-George W Bush: quit now so that others can experience the land we just did
-The West: get some new scenery, cattle and rolling fields get old
-California: get over yourself, you’re big but you’re not all beautiful (some of the worst smells we’ve smelt were on highway 5 in southern Cali, thanks to the beef industry)
-Midwest: need we say more
-Houghton Mifflen and The John Merck Fund: grant Jonathan Baker and Anna Linakis at least 8 weeks of vacation for next summer
-Niagara falls: all you are is just another leaky faucet
-Rural America: get some quality produce (organic?)
-McDonals's: get a veggie burger
-Dave Ambrose: get a job
-New England: you’re nearly perfect, all you need is some drive-in movies, a couple snow-capped 10,000 footers, a few more farms, some cowboys, a coastal rainforest, some more good surf, and a chill-pill

Days 30 & 31: Badlands National Park -> Madison, WI

- Powwow at Rosebud Indian Reservation, SD

Sunday morning we went on a hike in the Northern Unit of the Badlands, where Anna’s fear shifted from bears to poisoness prairie rattlesnakes, joy! We hiked along the dry mountainous ring on the periphery of our campsite, passing many a’ Buffalo patty and prickly pear cactus. Afterwards we drove on route 240 through the park, and kept driving through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and east where we didn’t pass a single car in nearly a half hour. The sun was shining as we drove past one remote farm after another, and we were in great spirits. We wound up at the Rose Bud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, on the border of Nebraska, where, as two of only a handful of non-Indians, we experienced our first Native American Indian powwow behind the Rosebud casino. We also ate our first Indian taco and funnel cake! As we arrived early in the day and dark was still hours away, we decided to hit the road and catch fireworks in what we expected to be some small town as we progressed eastward. We’d passed through some pretty serious weather as we had begun our drive and, although we noticed it was getting darker, we figured this was due to the heavy cloud cover, as the clock only read 8:30pm and we’d heard most displays weren’t until about 10. After witnessing several fireworks shows in the horizon, it dawned on us that we had probably crossed over another time zone. Doh! Who knew there was a difference between Central and Mountain time?? Needless to say we missed celebrating in the usual 4th of July way. We wound up at a campsite in the Newton Hills State Park in eastern South Dakota.

Now on the road in Iowa, we spent the past couple hours finishing a book we started before we left Boston, entitled Mountains Beyond Mountains, which we read aloud. The book is primarily a biography about a doctor named Paul Farmer, who travels the world offering modern medicine and his personal expertise to diseased people who need them most. Although the book raises some difficult questions about world equity and human rights that are, justifiably, a bit unsettling for two healthy westerners vacationing across America, it is a great read and Paul Farmer is a special person who deserves to be read about. Providentially, it was just the fuel Anna needed to jump right back into Summer school the week we get back…

We’re planning to make it to Madison, WI tonight.

Days 28-29: Cody, Wyoming -> The Badlands, South Dakota

-Tatonka near our campsite in the Badlands National Park

Friday we woke at our leisure and went downtown to Cody to experience the Fourth of July festivities “western-style.” No running water at the campsite means no showering so there’s not much to do besides eat breakfast and go. We had our rice krispies, closed the pop-top, and headed downtown. We spent the day doing Cody things – listening to live country music in the local park, touring the Buffalo Bill museum, eating dinner at the Proud Cut restaurant (apparently the best in town although we likened it to a fancy burger joint), and watching a shoot-out at the long-running, history-rich Irma hotel, whose namesake is Buffalo Bill’s daughter. The town owes its roots to Buffalo Bill but tourists like us, interested in western history and culture, perpetuate its existence. We ended the day with a ride on the scrambler at the local carnival where we were the oldest by about 20 years. Jono nearly had a tantrum after finding out there was no fried dough and left the grounds grumbling “How can you call yourselves a carnival without fried dough?!” We got back to our campsite on the reservoir in Buffalo Bill State Park in time to witness the destruction of our neighbors’ tent by the wind. Those poor guys were sleeping in their car when we left this morning.

Today we drove east from Cody, through the Bull Horn National Forest on route 16, where the sky opened its chutes and released marble sized hail as we drove over the mountain pass. It seems like a beautiful place and if we didn’t need to drive 7 hours we’d have stopped to camp. Tonight we’re in the Badlands National Park camping for free!! What an oddly beautifully place.

We’ve been traveling for four weeks now and have begun to define tourism in our own way. The richest parts of our days are our drives along smaller, faintly mapped roads that bring us through the center of towns where regular life comes to pass; where there are few super highways to bring outsiders like ourselves into the picture, and we can begin to see how existence here occurs, as if we’re flies on a wall/cow. Our aim for the last week or so is to continue this trend to travel on less-traveled routes as to feel a little less like tourists wherever we wind up.

Tomorrow we’re going to go on a hike in the Badlands and then to Rosebud Indian Reservation to see a pow-wow and watch fireworks for the 4th.

One week to go...

Day 26 & 27 – Wyoming

-Anna holding the full moon in her hand, Buffalo Bill State Park

Wednesday we awoke to the sound of steady rain on our roof and had to make one of those nasty early morning decisions about whether to get up and go on our planned outdoor activity or reset the alarm, go back to sleep and stay dry. After a bit of dawdling, Jono made an executive decision that we were to get up and go on our horse-drawn-wagon ride including breakfast (why do you think Jono motivated??) and, being that we wound up the only two on the wagon, it made for a unique experience and we were glad we went. We went three miles in to the Grand Tetons Park and saw a herd of about 30 elk up-close. Then we headed down to Jackson Hole where we did a compulsory load of laundry in town and got a reasonably cheap room in a cheesy motel smack in the center of town. The location offered us a short walk to just about everything – we walked around town, had dinner and walked to the JH rodeo! Ride’em cowboy. Let’s just say that not all the people in that stadium will be voting for John Kerry. Moving on.. we slept in today (Thursday) and headed off late-morning towards Thermopolis – retracing our route partway through the Tetons – seems as if there are only about five roads in Wyoming total! At one point we were driving on a/the deserted highway through a stretch of rolling fields with nothing more than sagebrush, tumbleweed, and what looked like the giant red rocks of Utah. We got hungry and decided to pull off along the side of the road and heat up leftover Thai food for lunch on JJ’s cute little stove. We ate it along with some ice water we had chilled in our cooler, and then closed up shop and went on our way. It dawned on us that we have everything we need right here with us – our home, our food, each other. Everything except for our family, friends and jobs, that is. But a damn good feeling. We went in the free state park mineral hot springs in Thermopolis and ate dinner at a local restaurant in town. Now we’re in Cody, WY at the Buffalo Bill State Park campground for the night, and are planning to spend the entire day and night in Cody tomorrow. This is truly the heart of the West.

PS: We’re slowing this blog entry thing down to every other day

Day 24 & 25 – Glacier National Park -> The Grand Tetons, Wyoming

-Cowboy Jono in the Grand Tetons

After the most deserved showers we’ve ever taken, we left Glacier and headed south through Montana. What a beautiful state! Then again, we’ve found ourselves saying this about every state we’ve been in – all of their landscapes incorporating much more than their conventional description (that’s right, even Iowa and Nebraska!) We didn’t stop much, due to the false impression that it would take ten hours to reach Wyoming, and it took less than seven! Wahoo. Just as we were entering Big Sky, Wyoming, Jono got a call back from Pete Bedell who lives in town, offering us a place to station JJ for the night – and we gladly accepted. And so, we spent the night in front of Pete’s place, on top of a hill surrounded by green pastures, twisting rivers and (relatively) wild horses. This morning (Tuesday) we crossed the Montana/Wyoming border and entered the land of the grand, where everything is big: the mountains, the animals, and the landscape. We used Yellowstone as an interstate of sorts and drove right through it – we know we’ll get some grumbles from folks back home who assert that it is not to be missed, but with all the suggestions we’ve gotten and the limited time at hand (and miles already driven) we had to make some cuts! Alas, we wound up at Signal lake campground in the Grand Tetons where the background, yet again, is gorgeous snow-capped mountains (yawn). Signing off now because we’re waking early to take a horse-drawn-wagon ride, with breakfast, through the park. It’s a tough life but somebody’s got to live it.

Day 22 & 23 – Glacier National Park

- Us in Glacier National Park

Sorry we’ve been out of touch
There’s no connection at hand
In Glacier National Park
This, we know you’ll understand.

The first night here we found a spot
At the “Many Glacier” campground
Where a sign read, “bears here have killed people”
But we saw none roam around.

Of course we saw a grizzly on our way into the park
Eating vegetation, in the daylight, not the dark.
But we carried on according to the rules and regulations
Cooked a teriyaki dinner, but washed dishes at their station.

Sunday we woke early and secured ourselves a pass
To camp in the backcountry and not turn around so fast.
So we got to “Cracker Lake”
After hiking some six miles,
Where the water shimmered turquoise
And we couldn’t hide our smiles.

Though the bear threat was quite real
And we stepped over some fresh scat
We sang and clapped our way along
And avoided an attack.

We set up camp aside the lake
Within the mountain amphitheatre
Where the threat was not from bears
But from marmots – even weirder!

Into camp wandered a friendly goat
We decided to name Billy
Whose coat was white and thick
Which was good ‘cause the night was chilly!

After a fitful sleep (with bears on the brain)
We awoke to a bright sunny day
Cooked ourselves some breakfast
And got on our merry way.

Five days without a shower
We sure did not smell sweet
We found ourselves a place to bathe
And had ourselves a treat.

So now we’re headed South
Toward the mountains of Wyoming
We’d love to stay for longer
But we’ve got to keep on roaming.

Day 21 - Northern Cascades -> ? (writing this on the road)

- A view from one of the overlooks in the Northern Cascades

Today we continued along route 20 (highly recommended to anyone travelling in the state of Washington!), passing a series of amazing waterfalls, snow-capped mountains and green valleys on our way out of the Northern Cascades. We stopped at a cool little town named Winthrop which has been preserved as a western frontier town complete with a blacksmiths shop, and a saloon. Then, per Jono's wishes, we stopped at teh Grand Coulee Dam and got a tour of the behind-the-scenes workings. We're now in Spokane, WA hoping to get somewhere close to Glacier National Park by the time we finish driving tonight. This is a perfunctory log just to keep you posted but we must be quick as we've got to keep rolling. Good night to y'all..

Day 20 – Vancouver Island -> Northern Cascades National Park, Washington

- jono talking to a duck & anna swimming in diablo lake (glacial - 40 degrees!)

After a 6am wake-up (6:20 actually, with an alarm reset) we headed down island to have JJ’s exhaust system revamped. Following the successful surgery, we took a ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver and drove through the city on our way back to the states. With a VW van and our driver being shaggy, unkempt, and somewhat dirt-ball looking we had a nice sigh of relief after crossing the border without having been searched. Although once again we did have some unreported contraband: fruit! Ha, take that. From there we headed east on Route 20 into the Northern Cascades National Park in Washington. What a magnificent route to take. We arrived at dusk but drove through some amazing sections of waterfalls, raging glacial rivers and scary over-looks. These are the reasons they call this area the American Alps. We were both taken aback at how little mention this incredibly beautiful area gets, as it is some of the most striking landscapes we’ve seen yet. We picked a campsite at random out of the 4-star Steph Linakis camping book, again with much luck. The campsite is ideal and for only $12 thanks to the City Light Hydro-Electric facilities up and down the Skagit River which subsidizes the maintenance here. We went to sleep under a moonlit sky surrounded by snowcapped peaks! The next morning (Day 21) we woke up and jumped into the Glacial Lake for our morning shower – the water was frickin cold (look at Anna’s face in the picture). We’re headed to the town of Winthrop this morning and then to the Grand Coulee Dam before we continue east toward Glacier.

Day 19 – Tofino, Vancouver Island

-Anna kayaking on her way out to Meares island, with a bald eagle in the background!

Wow, we spent the whole day in one place. And a great day it was. We started the day off changing campsites to get a cheaper one in the Pacific Rim National Park, as opposed to the posh private one that set us back a good dime last night. After figuring out our housing logistics, we went on a hike at Radar Point – followed a rooty, muddy, bear/cougar track laden path through Pacific Rainforest. Anna nearly peed her pants after seeing so many fresh-looking large animal tracks. But thankfully, Jono clapped his hands and whistled just about the entire trail time to ward them off. Next we went into town and soaked up the feel of a laid back, open-minded surfer community. There was so much we wanted to do here – surfing, kayaking, hot springs – and only so much time, but we ended up paddling our way into a very satisfying experience. We took a guided kayaking trip out to Meares Island, spotting a harbor seal and nearly approaching a bald eagle along the way. The water and land are beautiful out here – the landscape reminds us of both Maine and Alaska in its rocky shorelines, dark deep waters and wooded green land. We walked along a boardwalk on Meares Island, and merely uninhabited island the size of Bermuda whose fate was saved by Canadian environmental activists who protected it from loggers some years back. We crawled into a 2000-year-old red cedar, which, in its natural life, rots from the inside out before it eventually falls and becomes fertilizer for the next generation. Tonight we’re hitting the hay early to head down island in the morning, get some exhaust work done on JJ (our boy), and catch a ferry back to the mainland. We’re missing you all.

Day 18 – Victoria -> Tofino, British Columbia

-us, in the van playing cards before bed

We arose to a continental breakfast of fresh strawberry muffins, fruit, yogurt, and cheery chatter. Our housemates included a nice mix of ages and cultures: two Scottish blokes in their mid seventies visiting an old grade school chum in BC and a young couple on holiday. After breakfast was over we had to extricate ourselves from conversation with the overly helpful hostess who would not stop suggesting sites to see in Victoria. She meant well but didn’t understand that we could only do so many things in one day, as the drive to Tofino is 5 hours. This overly helpful way seems to come easily to Canadians – if we so much as stop on a street corner and look at a sign within seconds someone is asking us if we need help. Being from the northeast we find it a bit stifling. We stopped for a 3.5 hour oil change (technical difficulties with a bad oil filter!! – who knew that was possible) and then made it to our campsite by the sea in time to stop in town for some fried fish at the local seafood shack. It’s foggy here tonight but as far as we can tell the town and area have a feel we’ll really like. Can’t wait to explore the water (surfing? kayaking? hot springs?) tomorrow.

Day 17 – Olympic Peninsula -> Vancouver Island, BC

-Jono in front of the Shakespeare House B&B on Vancouver Island

After parting with our favorite campsite on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula, we caught a ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. We declared our goods on the customs sheet but panicked when we realized we had some contraband still with us: half a package of cream cheese and a stick of butter (dairy’s not allowed). Our knees were shaking when faced the customs agent, but we managed to slip through without a problem. Phew! We decided to treat ourselves to an evening in a local B&B – and found a quaint place run but a British woman, it’s quiet lovely actually! We walked into Victoria and had an early dinner at a great Greek restaurant called Millos (with Yanni in mind). We continued onward in vacation mode by eating ice cream and then stopping by the local brewpub for a beer/margarita. Although we can’t complain a bit about the weather on our trip thus far, the climate here is particularly spectacular – not too hot, not too muggy, and the sun is shining. C’est la vie! Tomorrow we’re taking the 5-hour trek out to Tofino, a rainforest on the island’s western coast – hoping to kayak or surf; we’ll see what the day brings…

Day 16 - Olympic Peninsula, Washington

-Anna cooking one of the backpackers meals ("Lasagna") that John/Lynn got Jono for his birthday, on Dunguness spit. Very tasty!

We spent last night at Kalaloch Lodge on the western coast of the Olympic Peninsula, a relaxing, beautiful and pristine spot with few people around (thanks for the suggestion, Ruth!) We went for a long walk on the beach and Jonathan even swam, the water was no where near as cold as expected (although Anna still passed.) Duxbury boy got his needed salt water fix after so much time in the middle of the country. We cooked ourselves a well-rounded meal and drank some wine, and slept like babies in a big cushy bed. Today we drove a couple hours north and found a sweet campsite – the best so far – in Dungeness Park near the ferry to Vancouver Island, tomorrow’s destination. Since this weekend marks two weeks since we’ve been on the road, we think it’s time to take a moment and reflect on some measurements of our trip (good thing we’re keeping a log!).
Number of:
- times we’ve filled the gas tank: 27
- dollars spent on gas: $602.19
- miles traveled: 5,144
- arguments had: 4
- productive arguments had: 0
- times Anna’s been right: 4
- times Jonathan’s been right: zero (guess who’s typing)
- meals cooked in the van: approximately 9
- bugs killed by JJ: 819,315,315,942,235,456,436
- friends’ homes we’ve stayed in: 4
- times we’ve showered: Anna = 10, Jono = less
- times JJ has broken 70 MPH: 1
- hours spent crafting blog entries: approx 16
- times we’ve wanted to smash the “internet card” to pieces: 16
- times we’ve been lost: zero!
- times we’ve been nauseated by the smell of cow shit: countless
- times our parents have checked this website: thousands
- times we’re going to get made fun of by our friends for having written this online journal: too many just by Dave alone

Goodnight.

Day 14 & 15 - Cottage Grove, OR -> Portland -> Seattle

-An and Jono buying veggies in Pike Place Market, Seattle

We drove to Portland and explored the Northwest section, a funky area filled with coffee shops, "boutiquie" stores and pubs. Portland is a cool city for two rurally inclined people like us. We strolled the streets, sat in a park, and witnessed a runaway felon being chased onto the roof of a building by at least twenty of Portland's finest. For two tame law-abiding tourists we sure do seem to attract a lot of action. The cops closed off a block and by the time we left, after being glued to the action for an hour, they still hadn't caught the guy. We continued north to Seattle, cooked dinner in a quiet parking lot, and received a call back from Ron and Catherine who let us park in their driveway in West Seattle (Alki Point). They gave us a tour of West Seattle and we had a great view of the port and the skyline -- along which we saw the Amazon and Starbucks headquarters with binoculars. We also picked up our first package from Uncle Peter which we're looking forwarding to listening to. Saturday we woke up and went into Seattle to check out Pike Street Market - bought some wild caught salmon, veggies, a baguette and cheese to cook at the Kalaloch Lodge tonight, the last "scheduled" stop on our trip. The rest is wide open...

Warning: We're headed to the remote coast of the Olympic Peninsula, and then to Vancouver Island, and we may not have reception for a while.

Day 13 - Northern California -> Cottage Grove, OR

-We finally did it!

After a leisurely wake-up among the giant redwoods, we drove the remainder of the California coast which spilled us into lush coastal Oregon. What beauty! We drove past dramatic rocky beaches, herds of Elk, and spotted many soaring vulchers overhead. We came upon several deserted coastal towns along route 1, stopping for dinner at Kum-Yon's Chinese/Japanese restaurant in Coos Bay, which our Lonely Planet Guide recommended. Not bad for the middle of nowhere. From there we headed inland and nestled into our cozy campsite in a Walmart parking lot - not the most spectacular site we've had, but the cheapest! We were initially a bit worried about the fight going on outside our window, but Anna managed to peer through the slits of the shades to keep tabs on the situation, which resolved itself after a short time. It's entertaining/embarrassing to wake up in a lot full of shoppers, but it's a kitsch experience we wanted to have. We're proud to say we did not buy any stuff at Walmart, but we did use their facilities. Ha! Off to Portland for a bit, and then headed North to Seattle.

Day 12 - San Francisco -> Northern Cali

-JJ parked in 2400 year old giant redwood to keep the Bush administration from hacking it down

We started off the morning with a tasty breakfast at Zazie’s in San Fran and hit the road with a full stomach; even Anna enjoyed this breakfast. We drove for a while along route 1, which was at first foggy but as it curved inland it became a rolling landscape with horses and barns reminiscent of a more arid Yorkshire Dales. We hit some towns with meager populations; one whose sign even had the official population of 31 crossed out and replaced with a hand painted 32. After replacing a light in the instrument panel of JJ, we were again able to see how slow our progress was going to be at night. Next we wound into some small dirt roads in the Sonoma Valley and visited a couple wineries along the way (aren’t we cultured?). Thankfully Jono was driving as, pathetically, Anna was tipsy after a few sips. Later we pulled off at a swimming hole along route 101 in the Eel River –refreshing! On the whole, yesterday was one of the first drives where we didn’t feel rushed to get anywhere, allowing us some much needed dabbling in local towns and food joints (Yanni: we got a vanilla malted that didn’t compare to yours!). We hit some unscheduled stops including a solar farm and a bakery. From there we headed to the land of the giant redwoods and camped along the Avenue of the Giants, where we don’t have enough reception to post today’s blog. Lynn and Joan, don’t be worried. Over and out.

Day 11 - San Francisco

-Anna & Jono with Tara and "Greg" in front of their new place

We arrived at Greg and Tara's slightly before midnight last night, in time to catch up with Greg before he left for his morning flight to Boston, of all places. They just moved into their new place and its character and charm make it the most exquisite hotel in town. For reservations, their number is: (415) 786-9185 and we suggest you call ahead of time (not at noon of the day you're planning to arrive). They have been our gracious hosts for a relaxing night and day, and will be again tonight. We started the day with lunch at Magnolia's, a restaurant on Haight Street serving free-range and organic foods. We both had the protein fix we've been craving (also known as environmentally justifiable lamb - yum). We then walked along Haight Street and to the top of Buena Vista Park, where we enjoyed a fine view of the city. Tonight we had dinner with Anna's Georgetown friends - Colleen, Matt, Liz and Mark Zarella at Cha Cha Cha - another great meal, this one with many hearty laughs. Although we've relished our time with friends in San Francisco, we're both craving a return to the backwoods. Tomorrow morning we will wake on the early side and head north along the Cali coast, perhaps stopping in wine country for a meal and a recommended dunk in the Russian River. These road warriors are ready to roll...

Day 10 - Las Vegas --> San Francisco

- Jono and JJ in the Mojave desert

After our 9am recorded wake-up call from our "receptionist" with a perfect French accent (this is, after all, the MGM Grand) we headed downstairs to breakfast on the patio and then tubing in the lazy river. The lazy the river was the main draw for our visit to Las Vegas - and although our time in it was brief, it was well worth the $14.95 per tube (don't worry Linakis/Baker families, when we left after an hour we sold them to two nice young men from Fall Rivah, MA and recouped half our money). Since we gambled little in Vegas, we figured we’d take a big gamble and drive JJ across the Mojave Desert at high noon. We thought Utah was hot, but 104 degrees was a first for JJ – he makes us proud! We’ve now made it through the desert and are currently stuck in traffic, of all things, headed to San Francisco. All this traveling has redefined what a “reasonable” driving distance is to us; Then again, this coming from two travelers who have taken to calling each other “Merl” (based on the name of our train-yard tour guide in Nebraska with a heavy Midwestern accent). So long as we get ourselves out of this traffic jam on route 5, we’ll be staying with Greg and Tara tonight on Haight Street, thanks to their kind offer to take us in at 11pm - or later - on a weeknight. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day in San Fran to see some friends.

Day 9 - Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas

It's #@$%^*&% hot here!!! We are in Las Vegas for the night at the MGM Grand (Anna wanted to try out the lazy river) Not sure what our plan is for tomorrow but we may head straight to San Francisco or skip it depending upon how the heat affects JJ. Talk to y'all soon.

Day 8 - Zion -> Grand Canyon

-The Grand Canyon at sunset (look carefully)

We left our campsite at Zion by 8am to assure that we got a campsite near the Grand Canyon. The drive between Zion and the Grand Canyon was, let’s just say, not bad. We passed stretches of red rock canyons, wide-open valleys and alpine meadows. At one point we stopped to get a photo of “JJ” off-road, and Jonathan had a little too much confidence in JJ’s off-roading capabilities – within five seconds we were stuck in soft sand. With the help of the Baker’s homemade van levelers we were able to drive ourselves onto them and get on to solid ground. Continuing south, we hit the first campground in Kaibob National Forest, found some good sites, but decided to chance it for a site closer to the canyon. By this point we had seen a sign that read “National Park campground full” but were hoping to find one just outside the park. We looked at another one a bit closer but were feeling lucky … and we were! Anna sweet-talked the woman at the entrance booth, and we ended up a campsite that most others had reserved months in advance. We’re pretty psyched – 100 yards or so from the North Rim! After getting situated, we had a great hike along the rim and then spent some time chilling at our pocket sized 4-star hotel. Jono even took a nap! The sun set colorfully and we then went to see the stars through a powerful telescope at the main lodge – a 1.2 mile walk from our campsite. Anna was a little freaked out on the walk by the thought of bears but fortunately had a burly woodsman from Duxbury with her. We’re off to bed and you won’t see this until mid-day Sunday when we re-enter modern civilization (AKA Vegas).

Day 7 - Zion National Park, Utah

-Anna and Jono, Zion

We hit the road quickly this morning in order to get a spot at a campground near Zion. We soon discovered that the National Park campground was full so we ended up here at the Springdale campground adjacent to the park. This campground was not like any we had invisioned, as we are feet from our neighbors rather than in a secluded canyon with roaming wildlife.. however this type of experience is social phenomena that we've decided to relish for its own reasons; One being the large man in the tight bikini briefs setting up his tent, man oh man. Moving on...we chose a beautiful but tricky hike in the Zion Valley. It lead us along steep ledges where we used chains built in for handrails to keep from falling 1,000 feet (Isn't a little adrenaline healthy?) This, of course, culminated in some awesome views. The weather was hot but we appreciated it. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with ice-cream for dinner and mac-and-cheese for dessert. We took showers and are heading to bed clean, for a change. The tentative plan for tomorrow is to wake up early and head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for the day. Hope you're all well.

Day 6 - Boulder -> Beaver, Utah

- the canyonlands of Utah

We left Boulder around 10am, heading toward Utah. Little did we know US 70 would be such a beautiful, windy road running through gorges, gulches and snow-covered mountain peaks. We passed Copper Mountain, Vail, Steamboat Springs and the continental divide - gaining elevation from 5,000 to 11,000 feet. The steep grades were a trial for JJ, as we crept up the mountains at a measly 30MPH with flashers on (even 18-wheelers left us in the dust).
The landscape was strikingly large and beautiful, the valleys deep and the land red and arid. The scale of things out here is quite different - there was one segment of US 70 where there were 100 miles between any services, including gas, which we realized we needed after having passed the "no services for 100 miles" sign. Whoops. Luckily, on fumes, we coasted in to a gas station in Salina, UT. This will likely be the only time we'll pay $2.25/gallon with a smile. We made it in to our campsite in Beaver, UT, on a lake in the middle of nowhere. The stars are abundant and bright. Tomorrow we're headed an hour or so south to Zion where we plan to hike for the day.
Goodnight.

Day 5 - Boulder, CO

- jb, Anna and Ali hiking the Flatirons

After an evening of thunderstorms we woke up to bright sun, had breakfast in town and headed off on a short hike with Alison. The clouds rolled in quickly but didn't slow us down. We spent a good part of the day walking around town, and then did little life errands like getting JJ's oil changed, doing laundry and going food shopping. After window shopping down Pearl Street, Anna got a bumper sticker she loves: "Recycle or Die" - that's right, she's hard core! We've seen more Westy campervan's here than we could have imagined were still running, though we did see quite a few of them laid-up in the lot of Verner's VW repair shop. We've been spending as much time logging our expenses as we have spending our money, but it gives us some sort of twisted pleasure to have it all written down (FYI our average MPG has been 18.4, but that's sure to change in the Rockies). Here's a big shout-out to Alison for hosting us so graciously for the last few days. We'll catch up with y'all again when we get to the Southwest...

Day 4 - Nebraska -> Boulder

- field of dreams...Nebraska

We stayed in a sweet campsite in Nebraska, beautiful setting but it was a bit too close to the highway so sleeping was rather difficult. Regardless, the bright sun and summer temps were enough to get us going on the early side. We spent a good portion of the day on the road, and thanks to Dave Ambrose's back-roads xcountry book, we found out about the world's largest train depot, which happened to fall along our route, in North Platte, NE. Since the directions were sketchy we asked for help and were consequently lead to the train yard by "Steve," a friendly cornhusker in a pickup truck with a fitting twangy accent. After a bit of cajoling, Anna convinced Jonathan to approach the local train traffic tower to enquire about ways to see the depot from above, and low-and-behold within seconds a train yard worker, Gilbert, popped his head out of the tower and asked if we wanted to check it out. We did, met the traffic controller himself, and it was great (for Jonathan at least). We hit the road and got to Boulder by 6pm in time to meet up with Alison and Jon. The long days of travel with the two-hour time change have made for some pretty tired campers. We're waking up early tomorrow to go on a hike in the Flat Irons with Alison, can't wait...

Day 3, Chicago -> Iowa -> Nebraska

-somewhere in Iowa

After grabbing morning smoothies at Jamba Juice in Chicago (highly recommended) we were off. We spent hours upon hours on I-80, shoved from lane to lane by 35 mile-an-hour winds and past maaany more corn and soy fields then we had imagined could fit in one state. We covered close to 700 miles today. We passed over the Mighty Mississip (or as Clark Griswald would say, “the old man”) with Jonathan at the helm and Anna asleep in the back. Who knew we would hit 88-degree weather so soon. Having no AC is not as bad as most Americans think!… although we had to forgo music for the open windows. We eventually made it to a campsite near Lincoln, NE, which charges a small fortunate for an unfortunately small plot of land, so we decided to forge on. After locating a Walmart online, whose parking lot we were hoping could host us for the night (sorry Ruth and Nancy), we found the accommodations to be unsatisfactory and decided to go for a real campsite instead. Hence the reason we’re now writing this entry from I-80 in Nebraska at 11:30pm. Good news, we’re able to stay in our lane now that the wind has died, and have less ground to cover tomorrow. We have a campsite lined up in Gibbon, Nebraska, with lake swimming to boot. Goodnight.

Day 2 - Niagara Falls -> Chi Town

-An, jb and Erin (and a Chicago cub)

We left our campground in NY on the early side and saw Niagara Falls from the US side. A must see, interesting, but not worth gawking at for more than 10 minutes. So then we hit the road and drove, and drove, and drove... past many a'farm and plenty of unmemorable places. (Statistically speaking, Indiana had the majority of these places.)

Got to Chicago at dusk - gas prices here the highest we've seen yet ($2.45) but apparently there are worse to come in Cali. Had dinner with Erin and Ryan, a short tour/drive of Michigan Ave, and returned home to Erin's apartment for a personal concert -- a duo of '80s cover songs. Pretty good for a couple of MBA students!

On our way through some more farmland tomorrow, Colorado in sight...

Day 1 - Darien Center, NY

-2 dorks in a bus

Left Cambridge at 11am and made it to a lovely lunch spot off of I-90 where we ate hummus sandwiches in a parking lot in the bus. Our first official stop was Camping World, an "underwhelming" shopping experience. Continuing west on I-90, and thanks to Steph Linakis and her camping directory gift, we ended up at the Darien Lake campground just east of Niagara falls. Little did we know this sleepy farm town has a 6 Flags Great Adventure, but got here too late to hit the rides. We were considering making it to the falls during their 9pm-midnight night display hours, but decided to wake up early and see them under the sun instead. We cooked our first meal in the bus! Healthy fried jalapeno poppers and pesto pasta. Don't change the channel...We'll be back
- Buenos noches.

Stay tuned...

As of the 5th we will start posting updates on our progress

Not quite outa boston...

Tonight drew and i fought viruses and learned that his computer is pretty much hosed. Well, tomorrow is another day. Anna and I are off to sleep...over and out
New years Eve @ Zealand Hut - we HAD to wear the custumes to keep the lights on until midnight, according to the hut guys!!