Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Hey hi hello
If you've found this page, chances are you've probably already seen me on some other site or social media platform. Cool! This is just a blog I'm keeping as I go. Please check out the other pages at the top (wish list especially -- sorrynotsorry), and feel free to get a hold of me if you have any activity ideas, want to offer me a place to sleep, or will buy me groceries or gas or something. :P Or just follow along!
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Processing
I crammed a lot of living into a few months. I'm back home now, and "reality" will hit soon enough. There is a lot to process, a lot to think about from what just happened, and a lot to think about that is going to happen soon.
It's like I downloaded a bunch of information over the last 2+ months -- and now I need to figure out what to do with it. It's a lot to take in.
11,500ish miles. Over 20 National Parks and Monuments. Many other parks and recreation areas. Sleeping in the homes of 10+ strangers. Meeting lots of people I never would have met. Engaging in conversations -- some really good ones, too -- with complete strangers. No major incidents or mishaps. Sleeping in my car a lot. Mountains and deserts and wildlife I've never seen before. Places I definitely want to go back to. Places where ... once was enough. A lot of really good, and a little bit of bad. But a lot of living. And that's what I wanted.
I surprised my family yesterday, and we spent most of the day together. I walked my dog. We went to the park. We went and got groceries, of all things, and we had dinner together.
For the next several days, though, I'll have the house to myself -- which I think has the potential to be both really good and kind of bad. I'm used to being alone -- really alone -- so that's not bad, it's just that with so much to think about I don't want my mind to race straight to the potential bad things.
But, in an effort to stay positive, here is a list of reasons I'm excited to be home:
- Time with my family
- Time with any people
- Time with my dog. Walks, park visits.
- Archery
- Archery deer season
- Hockey season
- Skating
- Getting back into a normal training schedule where I actually make, you know, progress, instead of just hitting the same numbers over and over again
- Eating normally
- By eating normally I of course mean it's bulking season. Time to try my hardest to get fat.
- Fall. I love fall.
- Looking for opportunities to apply lessons learned going forward, and make my life better
- Enjoying this small town, and embracing that it is a small town and I'm a "small town boy"
- Trying to meet new people in this small town
- Try to find new places in Northern Michigan
- More family and dog and friend time
Of course there is a corresponding list of things I'm not looking forward to -- but I'll keep that one to myself for now.
It's like I downloaded a bunch of information over the last 2+ months -- and now I need to figure out what to do with it. It's a lot to take in.
11,500ish miles. Over 20 National Parks and Monuments. Many other parks and recreation areas. Sleeping in the homes of 10+ strangers. Meeting lots of people I never would have met. Engaging in conversations -- some really good ones, too -- with complete strangers. No major incidents or mishaps. Sleeping in my car a lot. Mountains and deserts and wildlife I've never seen before. Places I definitely want to go back to. Places where ... once was enough. A lot of really good, and a little bit of bad. But a lot of living. And that's what I wanted.
I surprised my family yesterday, and we spent most of the day together. I walked my dog. We went to the park. We went and got groceries, of all things, and we had dinner together.
For the next several days, though, I'll have the house to myself -- which I think has the potential to be both really good and kind of bad. I'm used to being alone -- really alone -- so that's not bad, it's just that with so much to think about I don't want my mind to race straight to the potential bad things.
But, in an effort to stay positive, here is a list of reasons I'm excited to be home:
- Time with my family
- Time with any people
- Time with my dog. Walks, park visits.
- Archery
- Archery deer season
- Hockey season
- Skating
- Getting back into a normal training schedule where I actually make, you know, progress, instead of just hitting the same numbers over and over again
- Eating normally
- By eating normally I of course mean it's bulking season. Time to try my hardest to get fat.
- Fall. I love fall.
- Looking for opportunities to apply lessons learned going forward, and make my life better
- Enjoying this small town, and embracing that it is a small town and I'm a "small town boy"
- Trying to meet new people in this small town
- Try to find new places in Northern Michigan
- More family and dog and friend time
Of course there is a corresponding list of things I'm not looking forward to -- but I'll keep that one to myself for now.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Oh, also.... (Picture stuff)
I gave up on posting large batches of photos. Until I get home. I still have a lot of good ones that didn't get posted, but the process I was using to post them before is broken and doesn't work well, so I have decided just to wait until I'm back home to do it on my own time. I'll have to go through them all, which actually isn't a horrible process, and then figure out the best way to do it. So even after I'm back home I'll still be posting lots of pictures for a while. I don't think anyone (who is paying attention) will mind very much.
Basically it's just California and everything in between, but I might sift through the older ones too and find some better ones that didn't get posted before. Not sure if I'll mostly put them on the blog here, which honestly I get the impression most people are not looking at at all, or all on IG/Facebook.
Basically it's just California and everything in between, but I might sift through the older ones too and find some better ones that didn't get posted before. Not sure if I'll mostly put them on the blog here, which honestly I get the impression most people are not looking at at all, or all on IG/Facebook.
The Last Leg
I'm in St. Louis. I'll be sticking around tonight and at least part of tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out what to do next.
I could be home tomorrow, if I wanted.
At the beginning I had this idea that I wanted to go all the way to the northeast and explore that area some -- but I knew there was a high probability of both my desire and my money being low. The desire is half there. The money is indeed getting tight, but I could swing it. I could dip into my "extra" savings I didn't want to touch. I could beg for money.
My mental energy plummeted while I was in Southern California, but has since come back somewhat. I think the mental burden has lessened since "turning the corner," so to speak, by heading north and east again. I can think more clearly and formulate something resembling a plan again. Part of me wants to continue. But a lot of me wants to go home.
Some time while I was in Denver I started to think about doing an abbreviated half-trip to the northeast. Go around the eastern-most Great Lakes, go into Canada one more time, visit some friends in Detroit and maybe other areas of southern Michigan, then head north. That's basically the assumption I was going on for the last week or so.
But I don't know. I'm not sure what to do or where to stop along the way. I'm not sure I want to do it that badly. It might just be a better idea to wait and do a proper northeast trip another time.
The closer I get, and the longer stretches I drive (I basically drove all the way across Kansas stopping two-ish times), the more tempting it is to just put "Traverse City" in the GPS and make a day of it.
So I'll pass it by people and see what kind of input I get.
---
This is kind of what I was thinking....
Or there is a shortened version of this, where I go to Niagra Falls and only go around Lake Erie....
Or there is the extended version, taking me to Vermont and maybe Montreal and Ottawa.
---
I wanted to get all the way out to Nova Scotia, but I just don't see it happening. Slash don't really want to right now.
What sounded good a week ago honestly just doesn't right now. I'm tired of seeing/not even really seeing the cities. They're all just kind of stops right now, and I'm not really doing much exploring or enjoying.
As much as I'd like to see Niagra Falls, and to go to Canada one more time, I think if I do a proper, longer northeast trip another time I can do those and a lot more. And have the energy. And plan better. And they won't just be stops.
I kind of just want to go home. I know most comments will be "Go here! Go there! Go everywhere!" And yeah, it sounds fun. But I'm going to have to get some fairly compelling arguments.
---
EDIT:
OR, or, or....
Something totally different. I could go to the Porkies finally, which I've been wanting to do for years. I can get a quick UP trip in. And I can go home.
---
I think tomorrow I'm going to go to find a gym mid-day and wait on comments and mull all of this over before I decide to go anywhere. Hopefully I'll have some input, or just some time to think, and I'll make a decision I'm happy with by the middle of the afternoon.
Or I can always just go the most direct route....
Or I could take "backroads" or something to make it more scenic.
Either way, it's looking like I'm sleeping at a Walmart tonight.
I could be home tomorrow, if I wanted.
At the beginning I had this idea that I wanted to go all the way to the northeast and explore that area some -- but I knew there was a high probability of both my desire and my money being low. The desire is half there. The money is indeed getting tight, but I could swing it. I could dip into my "extra" savings I didn't want to touch. I could beg for money.
My mental energy plummeted while I was in Southern California, but has since come back somewhat. I think the mental burden has lessened since "turning the corner," so to speak, by heading north and east again. I can think more clearly and formulate something resembling a plan again. Part of me wants to continue. But a lot of me wants to go home.
Some time while I was in Denver I started to think about doing an abbreviated half-trip to the northeast. Go around the eastern-most Great Lakes, go into Canada one more time, visit some friends in Detroit and maybe other areas of southern Michigan, then head north. That's basically the assumption I was going on for the last week or so.
But I don't know. I'm not sure what to do or where to stop along the way. I'm not sure I want to do it that badly. It might just be a better idea to wait and do a proper northeast trip another time.
The closer I get, and the longer stretches I drive (I basically drove all the way across Kansas stopping two-ish times), the more tempting it is to just put "Traverse City" in the GPS and make a day of it.
So I'll pass it by people and see what kind of input I get.
---
This is kind of what I was thinking....
Or there is a shortened version of this, where I go to Niagra Falls and only go around Lake Erie....
Or there is the extended version, taking me to Vermont and maybe Montreal and Ottawa.
---
I wanted to get all the way out to Nova Scotia, but I just don't see it happening. Slash don't really want to right now.
What sounded good a week ago honestly just doesn't right now. I'm tired of seeing/not even really seeing the cities. They're all just kind of stops right now, and I'm not really doing much exploring or enjoying.
As much as I'd like to see Niagra Falls, and to go to Canada one more time, I think if I do a proper, longer northeast trip another time I can do those and a lot more. And have the energy. And plan better. And they won't just be stops.
I kind of just want to go home. I know most comments will be "Go here! Go there! Go everywhere!" And yeah, it sounds fun. But I'm going to have to get some fairly compelling arguments.
---
EDIT:
OR, or, or....
Something totally different. I could go to the Porkies finally, which I've been wanting to do for years. I can get a quick UP trip in. And I can go home.
---
I think tomorrow I'm going to go to find a gym mid-day and wait on comments and mull all of this over before I decide to go anywhere. Hopefully I'll have some input, or just some time to think, and I'll make a decision I'm happy with by the middle of the afternoon.
Or I can always just go the most direct route....
Or I could take "backroads" or something to make it more scenic.
Either way, it's looking like I'm sleeping at a Walmart tonight.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Monday, September 25, 2017
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Looking back at myself ten years ago
Tonight I met a 19-year-old kid who is off a similar-but-different journey to what I'm doing. He's backpacking, floating around the country for a while, maybe making his way out to Hawaii, maybe WOOFing. Super nice, very humble, and I had a good time getting to talk with him for a few hours.
Almost nobody knows this, because I didn't tell pretty much anyone about it at the time, but I considered doing something like this (that?) when I was about 19 or 20. It was even more of a rugged adventure. It was even more ill advised.
It didn't happen, for lots of reasons, and it's probably a good thing it didn't happen.
In some ways I'm actually really happy that I had to wait ten years to make this happen. I'm ready for it. I'm able to do it. I'm mentally stronger. I'm ... kind of prepared. It just seems like a good time. So I guess no, my 20s weren't a total waste, and a lot has happened in the last decade. But I can't help but be envious of Ezra. He's super young, super hopeful, super positive.
And no, he and I are very different people. My journey would have been a lot different than his, and my journey now is a lot different than his. But to experience all of the wonder that all of these borderline-magical places have to offer, to get to meet all of the amazing and sometimes strange people -- I kind of wish I had done it. Who cares if I wasn't prepared. Who cares if it could have been disastrous.
The thing about that is: It probably wouldn't have been. And even if it was, disaster teaches you something. And I wonder what it would have taught me. I wonder how the last ten years would have been different. Would they have been better? Would they have been worse?
Unfortunately, I'll never know now. And I also don't know what the next ten years will bring. Maybe they'll be the best years of my life. Maybe they'll be the worst.
Even if they are, does it matter?
I'm gonna go to Denny's at midnight.
Some things never change.
Almost nobody knows this, because I didn't tell pretty much anyone about it at the time, but I considered doing something like this (that?) when I was about 19 or 20. It was even more of a rugged adventure. It was even more ill advised.
It didn't happen, for lots of reasons, and it's probably a good thing it didn't happen.
In some ways I'm actually really happy that I had to wait ten years to make this happen. I'm ready for it. I'm able to do it. I'm mentally stronger. I'm ... kind of prepared. It just seems like a good time. So I guess no, my 20s weren't a total waste, and a lot has happened in the last decade. But I can't help but be envious of Ezra. He's super young, super hopeful, super positive.
And no, he and I are very different people. My journey would have been a lot different than his, and my journey now is a lot different than his. But to experience all of the wonder that all of these borderline-magical places have to offer, to get to meet all of the amazing and sometimes strange people -- I kind of wish I had done it. Who cares if I wasn't prepared. Who cares if it could have been disastrous.
The thing about that is: It probably wouldn't have been. And even if it was, disaster teaches you something. And I wonder what it would have taught me. I wonder how the last ten years would have been different. Would they have been better? Would they have been worse?
Unfortunately, I'll never know now. And I also don't know what the next ten years will bring. Maybe they'll be the best years of my life. Maybe they'll be the worst.
Even if they are, does it matter?
I'm gonna go to Denny's at midnight.
Some things never change.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Monday, September 18, 2017
Pictures from Oregon
I spent a lot more time in Oregon, but actually didn't manage to get a ton of pictures.
First I raced all the way down to Detroit, OR, to meet my friend Josh who had flown into the area specifically to see the eclipse. For me, on the other hand, it was a happy accident. I'd rather not detail why (frustrating), but he and I actually didn't run into each other until after the eclipse. But it was still fairly ... magical? for both of us, and an unforgettable experience to be sure. And also, where better for two friends from Michigan to meet than in a town called Detroit? (I don't think there is a Grawn, OR. I could be wrong.)
Then we went back up to Portland, where I stayed with my cousin Lance and his girlfiend Carlin. I hadn't seen Lance in years, but it was so, so nice to see another familiar face, and family, at that. They were great hosts, and I had a great time with them. I stayed just shy of a week. They helped me celebrate my birthday in style -- and I was semi-dreading it -- and it came and went and was painless. (Well, finding my way back from the porch took a little doing.)
I then drove about 100 miles south to Eugene, and stayed with my friends' Maria and Corrinna's aunt and uncle, Rachel and Tom. They were also super nice, and great hosts. I only thought I was going to stay one night, but sure enough, it was three. So in 10 days I really only made about 100 miles of progress south.
Stopped at Crater Lake, and since pretty much the whole west coast is on fire, the park was too smoky to even see the water. Maybe the biggest disappointment of the whole trip. I was really looking forward to it.
I did, however, give a lift to Taro, a guy from Japan who was backpacking pretty much all of Oregon (north-to-south). We drove through the park together and talked, and compared travel stories (he has many more of them than I do). He bought me dinner and it was pretty cool. If you're reading this back in Japan, Hello Taro! It was really nice to meet you!
Anyways, pictures! The order got kind of messed up again, but, again, can't be bothered to fix.
First I raced all the way down to Detroit, OR, to meet my friend Josh who had flown into the area specifically to see the eclipse. For me, on the other hand, it was a happy accident. I'd rather not detail why (frustrating), but he and I actually didn't run into each other until after the eclipse. But it was still fairly ... magical? for both of us, and an unforgettable experience to be sure. And also, where better for two friends from Michigan to meet than in a town called Detroit? (I don't think there is a Grawn, OR. I could be wrong.)
Then we went back up to Portland, where I stayed with my cousin Lance and his girlfiend Carlin. I hadn't seen Lance in years, but it was so, so nice to see another familiar face, and family, at that. They were great hosts, and I had a great time with them. I stayed just shy of a week. They helped me celebrate my birthday in style -- and I was semi-dreading it -- and it came and went and was painless. (Well, finding my way back from the porch took a little doing.)
I then drove about 100 miles south to Eugene, and stayed with my friends' Maria and Corrinna's aunt and uncle, Rachel and Tom. They were also super nice, and great hosts. I only thought I was going to stay one night, but sure enough, it was three. So in 10 days I really only made about 100 miles of progress south.
Stopped at Crater Lake, and since pretty much the whole west coast is on fire, the park was too smoky to even see the water. Maybe the biggest disappointment of the whole trip. I was really looking forward to it.
I did, however, give a lift to Taro, a guy from Japan who was backpacking pretty much all of Oregon (north-to-south). We drove through the park together and talked, and compared travel stories (he has many more of them than I do). He bought me dinner and it was pretty cool. If you're reading this back in Japan, Hello Taro! It was really nice to meet you!
Anyways, pictures! The order got kind of messed up again, but, again, can't be bothered to fix.
Pictures from Washington
Catching up on pictures. First up, Vancouver.
So over the last several weeks there have been some complications with uploading and backing up pictures in large quantities, like I was doing earlier in the trip. Mostly it was an issue of Google Drive filling up.
Anyways, I've finally went back and gotten a bunch ready to post.
I've definitely been posting pictures, yeah, but the ones from Instagram are mostly a highlight reel. There are a lot of cool ones that haven't been put up.
I'll spare the narrative for the most part, since it's so far behind, and just post.
First, a handful of photos taken in Vancouver that didn't get posted.
Anyways, I've finally went back and gotten a bunch ready to post.
I've definitely been posting pictures, yeah, but the ones from Instagram are mostly a highlight reel. There are a lot of cool ones that haven't been put up.
I'll spare the narrative for the most part, since it's so far behind, and just post.
First, a handful of photos taken in Vancouver that didn't get posted.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Just a List of Good Things
I realized several days ago, somewhere while driving through California, that a lot of the blog posts I've been making kind of focus on some of less good things that have come up for me on this trip. And that's kind of unfortunate, because so are so many great things I've seen, had happen, had pop into my brain, and so on.
Here are some of them.
Here are some of them.
- For years I've felt like I'm a pretty adaptable person. This has been confirmed.
- I also have liked to believe I'm relatively resourceful and self-reliant. This has also been confirmed (in many ways).
- So many people are so nice. Including complete strangers.
- In fact, sometimes complete strangers even go beyond the point where friends or acquaintances will go.
- But, friends and family still come through. I've received multiple donations along the way, and it makes that day a little better every time.
- Even if it's just a substitute, support from social media actually feels really good.
- I've gotten to meet a lot of people I would have never gotten the chance to meet otherwise.
- While they still absolutely needs to be protected, there are still a lot of wild places in this country.
- While not without its flaws, this trip wouldn't have been possible without technology. Namely, the internet and a smart phone. I could have done something similar, yes, but those things are my lifelines.
- "Winging it" usually works out just fine.
- I got to see some of the biggest trees on the planet. Literally a dream come true.
- I got to see some really big mountains. Drive through different ranges, camp in the shadows of them.
- I got to see glaciers.
- Even though I might feel vulnerable and alone at times, traveling alone has also been pretty empowering.
- I've had lots of conversations with lots of random people about lots of different things in lots of different locations. Given the chance, I'm talking people's ears off.
- Driving long distances really hasn't been that bad.
- I'm kind of falling in love with my new (to me) car.
- I've gotten to rediscover a lot of music I haven't listened to in years.
- I've found some clarity about the things that are important to me, and the things I want do do going forward.
- I've accepted that I won't find clarity in everything, but I know I can make it through anyways.
- Autopilot mode isn't the most glamorous or adventurous way to get across the country, but it is functional.
- There's this phase you'll here sometimes, "Get comfortable being uncomfortable." Yeah, I think I've done that. Some variation of it, at least.
- I've gotten to see several different animals I've never seen before.
- I've gotten to see several different trees and plants I've never seen before.
- I've gotten to see several different animals and plants that are related to species I've seen lots of, and I would have been able to at least narrow it down to a family based upon the ones I knew.
- My 30th birthday came and went and it was fine.
- I've seen how helpful staying organized can be (in ways).
- I've met a handful of really amazing people and have been able to share in mutually enriching experiences. I couldn't forget about them if I tried.
This is obviously an incomplete list. And there is still a lot left to see and do!
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
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