Wabasha, MN

Moteled it last night in Wilmar, MN, I know that was a little quick, but I just didn’t feel like hunting down a campground. Tonight I’m camping west of Wabasha. I’m used to having the campgrounds to myself this late in the year, but the weather is still pretty mild in Minnesota and this is a weekend so I’m camping between two groups of young folk who seem to be competing to be the most obnoxious campers in this part of the country. One group, I think all guys, is listening to AC/DC and managing to hold conversation at a level that would be more appropriate at an AC/DC concert. On the other side is a group that I’m guessing forgot to bring flashlights because every time one of them wanders into the woods to piss, they have to play Marco Polo to find their way back. I’m not sure why they don’t just follow the glare from the bonfire they have going, but it is crowded enough here they might wander over to the wrong one. Lord knows they don’t want to wander to this one, I’d hate to have to hit someone with my fire-poking stick, that’d be one dirty deed done dirt cheap. Anyway, I don’t want to sound pissy, this has been an otherwise great night. Had steak with sautéed onions and au gratin potatoes with a nice cheap cabernet drunk out of a peach can, the peaches were the appetizer for tonights meal. I’m now sitting in front of a nice warm campfire and wondering if these two groups will decide to go to bed early tonight… yeah right.

I just stopped to poke the fire and was thinking about how I really hate when people blare music whilst camping, how if that’s what they want to hear, they oughta just stay home and leave the woods in peace. Then I remembered I once had a mix cd titled, “Sitting around a campfire drinking cheap beer out of a broken cooler Music”. Ok, I’ll admit to a little hypocrisy, but dammit there wasn’t any fucking AC/DC on that cd. Anyway, I’m a grouchy old man and I’m sure when I was younger I might have pissed off an old person or two in the days of Natural Light and stolen steaks.

Oh Clinton Lake, we were some rowdy beer-soaked bastards.


This whole trip reminds me of the Ultimate Road Trip that Jason and I took in those younger poorer days, when nothing beat splitting a smoke, sitting on a rock, and making do with what little we had brought.

Oh, days pass and they pass and don’t we wish just now and then we could pluck one from the rack like an old record and let it spin if only for an hour?

UPDATE: The Next Morning: Karma is great, one of the AC/DC guys backed his truck into a tree, pretty hard by the sound of it, too. Heh heh heh.

Selby, SD

I have discovered that I get an earlier start on the day when I stay in a motel than when I camp. Camped last night at Lake Hiddenwood State Rec Area east of town. When I went through town the bank clock said it was 31 degrees and that was at 5pm.

I found a site by a little stream that was mostly out of the wind and after staking out my little shelter and spreading out the bedroll went to work making dinner. I browned a pound of hamburger, threw in half a chopped onion and made a couple cups of rice. I made some hot chocolate, mixed the rice and burger together and spent the next 20 minutes trying to decide if it tasted better with hot sauce, soy sauce or plain. I eventually decided it needed cheese and since I had none I choked down what I could and went to bed.

I’m not sure how cold it got, but when I woke up today the stream was frozen over.

This was a boring entry, sorry.

Miles City, MT

Driving through Montana it’s easy to imagine what it must have looked like a hundred years ago. A milky grey sky stretching on and on, muscular rolling plains and the Rockies standing like imperial guards to the west. It’s easy to imagine mainly because not a whole lot has been done to Montana in the last 100 years.

Part of this feels weird, one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about traveling is the secret pleasure I take from it, the zen-like trance tires humming on pavement creates in me, the quiet little moments of bliss that become silly and pointless if exposed to the mental process of trying to explain them. It’s like I’m opening a door to a secret world for you.

The first day or two of the trip my mind sort of revolts. The idea of having no pressing matters or deadlines sort of rips a hole in the space-time continuum for me, like a faulty logic loop. Once my conscious mind accepts that it is just along for the ride, that this trip is for the benefit of my sub-conscious, things tend to smooth out. The part of me writing this is the conscious, a loudmouth hitchhiker sharing mostly inane observations. Occasionally the other part of me volunteers something, but it's mostly mute.

Bozeman, MT

Question: What does one take on a trip around the country if one will be camping/moteling/sleeping in the car/visiting friends in and around small towns/big cities/middle of nowhere for days/weeks/months?

Answer: Too much.

Well, now I’m sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Last night was a bit cold, but I did alright for the most part. There were a couple things I needed, hence the Wal-Mart stop. I’m probably gonna end up shipping a box-o-shit back home. The stuff that was nicely folded and organized into the trunk has somehow exploded all over the backseat and spilled over into the frontseat. I really don’t need as much crap as I brought. You’d think after the 412,576 (rough estimate) roadtrips I’ve taken I would be better at packing for them. The problem is, every trip is a little different and not knowing what sort of feel this one would end up taking I didn’t want to be sitting in the middle of Minnesota thinking, ‘This sure would be paradise had I only remembered to bring my…’

Big Piney, WY

Well, I'm not really sure I can explain what this is all about. I've always liked roadtrips and lately I've been feeling out of touch with myself. It's as if I've lost my footing in life, like I'm becoming invisible. I will admit to a touch of arrogance in assuming some of you might find this a little interesting, but if not I won't be all that surprised or bothered. I don't have any real definite goals for this trip, at least not exterior goals like seeing the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota. Like most journeys, the destination is irrelevant, it’s the interim that matters. I imagine I'll most likely make stops in to visit many of you, but of course nothing is set in stone.

Occasionally I will upload a snapshot and I will try to keep this site updated with my route, but due to the nature of roadtrips I don’t know how regular the updates will be. You can expect entries to be entered in batches whenever I get a chance to steal some wi-fi.

I leave in a few minutes from Big Piney, WY and will be heading north. My tentative plan will be to go east after that, but I have no real timeline for getting anywhere. I won’t have a cell phone with me, but feel free to post comments.