Sannnn Francisco!

After a restless night in the hills of California, I made the brief drive down to San Francisco. As I've noted before, San Francisco is easily my favorite city (at least of those I've visited before!) in the U.S. The city pulses with activity, culture, and ethnic diversity unlike any place that I've ever been before, and has always had such a positive effect on me. With this in mind, I decided to stay a couple days rather than just blowing through like I have previously on the trip.

My cousin Elizabeth's daughter, Amethyst, lives in San Fran and is the most worthy of tour guides. Although I didn't go to the typical sites (Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, etc...) I saw San Fran for the amazing city that it is. Amethyst lives in a beautiful area of the city called 'The Sunset', one of many gorgeous areas that SF has to offer. Sunset is mainly known for its proximity to the beach, which we took full advantage of straight away. After a quick walk on the beach, we headed back to her place to get ready for a night on the town. 

Our first night out was a great time, and certainly did not disappoint in any aspect of the word. After cruising a couple bars in the Mission, we headed down to a bar called Zeitgiest, a biker/hipster/whoever you are type of bar that makes S.F. what it is. We arrived and the place was crazy! Wall to wall packed with what we would discover were supporters of the 'Tamale Lady', a local cult classic food vendor, and a San Francisco staple for over a decade. Of course I had to try one, and it was absolutely epic! Easily the best tamale I had ever eaten. In addition, we met up with a friend from Omaha who was in S.F. for a couple nights sight seeing and such. We drank, smoked, and had a really excellent time.

Day 2 was just as exciting as the first, but with very different contents. Amethyst and I started the day by walking around Berkley, including the university campus as well as the surrounding area. After working up an appetite, we met up with her friend Matt for Thai food. The food was very good (sorry, no pics!) and very spicy -- Even asking for mild on most dishes resulted in some realllly hot food -- not that I'm complaining! After a nice afternoon in Berkley, we headed over to Oakland to catch a baseball game. We thrifted for some A's gear, and then headed over to the game. Although the A's didn't win, we had a great time, and it was a beautiful evening for America's past time.

Day 3 in the bay was slightly less eventful, but enjoyable none the less. Amethyst and I spent most of the morning looking around at schools in the bay area, and then we met up with another old friend of mine. Lauren, a friend from Omaha had moved back to the bay area about 4 years ago, and lives in the Marina area. Obviously this was a good opportunity to get down on the freshest seafood in country, so we decided to grab some sushi. We walked down to a place called Naked Fish, that had some brilliant sushi -- Incredibly fresh tasting, and delicious -- This was serious sushi! After having a delectable lunch and some intriguing conversation, we parted ways with Lauren and headed to the next destination.  

After a bit of running around, we headed over to Delila's (Amethyst's sister) for dinner. The main attraction at this destination was Delila, who is 8 3/4 months pregnant and about ready to burst! We had some pizza and salad with her and her husband Adam as well as a few others from their circle. The food was good, and after another long day, Amethyst and I retreated back to her place to get some Z's.

I awoke the next morning, packed my things, and regrettably left my happy place. I had planned to drive far into the desert of Nevada, but after traffic jams in S.F. and on the highway I ended up in Reno for the night. Tomorrow I hope to drive to southern Utah (Zion National Park) and camp for the night!

Alright blogosphere, you are officially caught up on my goings on! Again, my apologies for my extended absence, but as you may garner, I was too busy having a good time (and no Internet)! More to come soon.

A.S. Bloom

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Mendo and Such

After a night of 'camping' in the abandoned lumber yard, I headed expediently down the coast and a bit inland to Mendocino County. Talk about beautiful country, Mendo is one of those rare areas that has just about every geographical feature that one could imagine. The rolling hills in Potter Valley, Lake Mendocino, and the beach at Ft. Bragg -- Just about everything a man could want!

After driving around the area for a while, I arrived at my cousin Elizabeth's house in the hills of Potter Valley. As I stated before, this area is really gorgeous, scenic, and worth spending a good amount of time in. Although I only spent a night there, I easily could have stayed weeks/months. The area is filled with local farmers and the like, and is mostly rural with the exception of Ukiah, a few miles away from where I was staying. The house that I was staying in was perched atop a great hill, with views for miles around.

I arrived at Elizabeth's a bit before my anticipated arrival, and decided to take a walk through the hills. I walked about 1/4 of a mile before realizing that I really needed to bring my camera along for said endeavor. I retreated back to the car, grabbed my gear, and set out on my hike. It was a gorgeous California day with the sun shining, and a slight breeze blowing at my back, propelling me as I went. I was really glad to have my camera along with me to capture the beauty of the area, and if you haven't checked out my flickr page already, jump over there and check out the rest of the pics to know what I am really talking about!

After getting back from my hike, I met up with my cousins, and shared a nice vegetarian meal. We talked for hours about family, life, and radio lab -- easily three of my favorite things to chat about -- and the night rapidly slipped away. These people are very interesting artists types, so inevitably there are always lots of cool things to talk about. Elizabeth is actually a little famous, as she has done mosaics around the country for different organizations. Michael, her husband, is a music teacher at local school, as well as an independent artist with a new CD scheduled for release in the near future. Simply said, the conversation was stimulating, and it was quite a surprise to learn that is was well after midnite before I said my goodnights. 

I slept well that night, even though I was a bit restless, tossing and turning with thoughts of impending travel to my favorite city in the U.S. -- San Francisco -- and that's where this blog ends and the next begins!

A.S. Bloom

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Coos Bay & Eureka - Two beautiful locales

First and foremost, let me extend my deepest apologies for leaving my followers without a blog for nearly a week, but let me assure you, the next couple are full of great information, and beautiful pictures! Its been a great few days, with events running the gamut from an ocean dip to baseball in the bay, so hold on for the blog onslaught!

The last time you heard from me, I was taking in the natural splendor and tasty food of Portland -- Some of the best in the country! I departed Portland and drove down the coast of Oregon on Hwy 101, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The 101 is only matched in beauty and sheer driving excitement by Hwy 1 in California (which I intend to drive at some point on this journey) and is truly a spectacular expedition. The roads winds up and down the coast, zig-zagging between quaint little towns, and dense forestation. If there were no speed limits, and limited traffic, this would be the road you would want to test your new Porsche on. Period.

After arriving in Coos Bay, I explored the town a little, and then headed for my selected campground for the night. The reason I had selected this particular area was for its proximity to the beach and coastline, and I was surely not disappointed. Within two blocks of my site, I had vast sandy beaches surrounded by dense forests. I took a quick run on the beach, and then retreated back to the campsite to get my camera for an excellent photo op. I snagged some pictures, and decided it would be best to get the full effect and jump in, if only for a moment.  Although it surely wasn't the warmest beach I have ever been to, it was still worth jumping in quickly to get the full effect. Chilly, but refreshing!

After a restful night of camping with the ocean as my soundscape, I jetted down the West coast to Eureka. The drive took a bit longer than I had anticipated with the windy 101 often having a maximum speed limit of 35, but I still arrived in time to set up camp and cook up some dinner.... Or at least I thought.... After driving all around town trying to find a campground for almost 3 hours, I finally found one that wasn't at its maximum occupancy. Bear in mind that this was a KOA, which in my opinion is not technically camping, but by that time I arrived, I was exhausted and resigned to stay there, even though it was located in what appeared to be an abandoned lumber yard. An interesting night to say the least.

Although I spent most of my afternoon driving around in vain, I was able to grab a couple good pics from one of the areas that I visited to obtain a campground. The Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, just outside of Eureka was stunning, and reminded me a bit of the dunes in Colorado. Sand as far as the eye could see, but with beautiful rolling hills interspersed throughout. This area used to be used as an ammunition bunker during WWII, and these bunkers are still there in area (although I was not able to capture them on camera) on the outskirts of the dunes. It was gorgeous and scenic, especially on a day when I was a bit stressed!

Alright blogosphere, 1 of 3 posts for tonight finished! I'll be uploading 2 more posts in the near future after I finish uploading and editing the subsequent pictures -- More Cali to come!

A.S. Bloom

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The City of Roses

After a restful night of camping, I woke early, took a run around the Olympic National Forest, packed up camp, and set out down Highway 101 towards Portland. The drive down the coast was absolutely spectacular with the road winding serpentine through iconic little cottages and towns along the way. Although it wasn't the quickest route between two points, it certainly was the most beautiful.

I arrived in Portland at about 1:30, and set about getting my hands on some food, ASAP. I had heard of a little hole in the wall Thai restaurant called Pok Pok. This place has won numerous awards, is Zagat rated, and is widely known as one of the best Thai restaurants in the country. It certainly did not disappoint. I ordered one of their most famous dishes, a Thai chicken wing dish, that was recognized as dish of the the year by Food and Wine magazine in 2007. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. This dish was purely a mouthgasm. Sweet, Savory, Spicy, Unami -- It hit on all sectors of the palate, and easily was in the top 5 dishes I had ever eaten. If you're ever in Portland, you HAVE to go here.

After having one of the best meals of my life, I headed to Washington Park, home of some of the most beautiful and ornate gardens in the states. My first stop was the iconic Rose Garden, known worldwide for its immense collection of roses (who woulda thought?!?). There are literally thousands of different varieties of roses, and although I'm no expert on flora, I was still very impressed by the collection. I was awestruck by the simplicity, yet the immense beauty of the area, and its really hard not to be. There are award winning, classic, ornate, hybrid, and just about every type of rose one could ever dream up. Truly amazing.

After touring the rose garden, I headed up the hill to the serene Japanese gardens. Although my trip has been a bit hectic at times, these gardens truly provided a moment of serenity. The term 'garden' should be used somewhat loosely, as it was more of an oasis of Japanese culture that happens to have many different types of plants and animals. The rock gardens were especially fantastic, and brought a calming aura to everyone that entered the area. All in all, very interesting, and beautiful.

After another long day of travel and sightseeing, I settled down in my motel room to watch the celtics v. lakers game which turned out to be an epic battle. Ate some leftovers from lunch, drank a tasty local beer, (Full Sail Pale Ale made in Mt. Hood, OR) and now its time for bed. Goodnight blogosphere, we'll talk again soon.

A.S. Bloom

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Seattle and the Olympic National Forest

Its only been 2 days since the last entry, but it feels like its been ages! So much has happened since the last posting that again I will be breaking my post into two manageable sized blogs rather than one incredibly large one. The good news: You, the reader, get another double dose of life on the road with me -- Could you ask for more?

OK, so last you heard from me, I had arrived in Seattle, and was preparing for a day on the town. Well, that day on the town was wildly fun, and filled with all the sights, sounds, and smells of one of the most beautiful cities on the West Coast. My first stop, after struggling to find parking, was at the Pikes Place Market, an icon of Seattle. The market is absolutely spectacular and chaotic, with vendors hawking their wares, street performers crooning on every corner, and the smells of fresh fish, baked goods, and just about every other wonderful smell you could possibly dream up. It is truly a feast for the senses! 

After strolling about the market for over an hour, being fed by every vendor with a little bit of this and that, I settled down by the waterfront for a quick bite from Piroshky, Piroshky -- a delectable baked bite filled with delicious BBQ pork. This place is world reknowned for their cuisine, and it was completely apparent why. As I approached, the line was waaay out the door, probably at least 30 people or more. You know that the food is good if people are willing to wait 30 minutes in line, when there is an abundance of great food within spitting distance. Its authentic, and in case you doubted them, they have a huge window right into their kitchen where you can see babushka piroshky herself!

After feasting my senses at the market (and buying a couple items for dinner - but more on that later!) I made a quick jaunt over to the Space Needle to snap some pics of the surrounding artwork, as well as take pictures from 60 stories up! The space needle provides the best vantage point in all of Seattle, and is truly worth the price of admission. You can see for miles and miles around you, with breathtaking views of the city, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Peninsula. The art was cool too :).

After my adventures in downtown Seattle, I made the trek to the Olympic National Forest for a night of camping. This involves driving down to the coastline, and then taking a ferry from Seattle to a little town called Kingston. After arriving, one takes a magnificent rural road up the coastline to the Forest which sits secluded on the Northern part of the peninsula. The whole drive is absoultuely breathtaking, and I would reccomend it to anyone, any day of the week. 

I arrived at the campground around 8:00, exhausted from a long day of travel and sightseeing, but not too exhausted to cook myself a gourmet meal  --- Remember I mentioned that I bought some goodies for dinner? Those goodies included freshly caught spot prawns, hand picked organic arugula, and Washington asparagus. Inspired by the bounty of my shopping, I quickly cooked up a delicious plate for myself, took a walk around the forest, and then passed out. A fun filled day, not to be soon forgotten...

A.S. Bloom

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Good People, Good Times in Missoula

After an amazing day at Yellowstone, I packed up camp and headed North and West to Missoula. Originally my itinerary had called for an overnite in Helena, but I remembered that one of best childhood friends was living in Missoula, and thus my plans changed expediently. Missoula was only an additional 80 miles from my original destination, so it made complete sense to venture into this lovely mountain town.

After buying a shower from the Yellowstone Lodge ($3.50), I departed for Missoula. The drive was fairly short and I arrived around lunch time. I grabbed a bite at a local joint called Taco del Sol, which has won numerous awards for best Mexican in Missoula (sorry, no pics!). The food was delicious and home made: One of the best combinations known to man. After lunch, I took a nice long stroll around downtown and met up with my friend Nick who lives there.

After very little debate, we met up with Nick's coworker Jeff who had a great knowledge of the area's local fishing spots. We all piled into my already overflowing car, fishing gear and all, and headed North of town for a relaxing afternoon by the river. We drank some beer (finally got my Moose Drool fix), discussed life and the pursuit of happiness, and cast our lines out for a few hours. Our efforts were in vain on the fishing portion, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and got some good perspective on life.

After returning from fishing, we dropped Jeff back at his residence and headed to the local organic grocers to pick up some staples to make dinner at Nick's friend Beth's house. I was overjoyed at the opportunity to help create a home cooked meal for some friends, and the event proved to be quite enjoyable. We cooked, drank some tasty red wine and whiskey, and discussed life in Missoula among other things. Nick's friends were incredibly hospitable and let me crash on their couch. I slept well, at peace with the world after two incredible days.

I woke early and took a nice run around the neighborhood before departing for the day around 8:15. I had planned to spend the night in Spokane, but upon arriving, realized that it was of little cultural merit, and decided to buck up and head to Seattle driving the whole state of Washington in one day. I arrived after 10 hours of driving, checked into the motel, exhausted, but with the promise of a brilliant day in one of my favorite cities tomorrow.
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OK! We're finally caught up! Thank you to all my readers for bearing with me the past couple of days with no updates, but I promise to try to be more regular in the future. Looking forward to a great day on the West coast tomorrow.

A.S.  Bloom

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Awestruck at Yellowstone

Good evening blogosphere -- Tonite you will be treated to not one, but two postings! There has been so much going on in the past couple of days that I could not realistically justify mashing all the information into one blast, so I'll sit down here and fire away.

I left Bozeman for Yellowstone at about 9:30 on Sunday morning, and encountered one of the most beautiful drives I have ever experienced. I took the more scenic of the two routes (Hwy 191) which follows what I believe to be the Gallatin River, and winds methodically up through the mountains. Absolutely spectacular views the whole way, which forces one to really concentrate on driving rather than the gorgeous scenery that surrounds you. Arrived at the West entrance to Yellowstone at about noon on Sunday with much fanfare. Upon arrival there was a line of about 10-15 cars in each lane with numerous cars piling in behind me.  Quite busy, and as the park ranger that greeted me noted, it would only get busier in coming weeks.

After getting past the main thoroughfare into the park, I pulled off to the side of the road to orient myself with the map of the park. Unfortunately for me, Yellowstone is absolutely massive and has many winding offshoot roads that can easily lead to confusion. As to not complicate and already complicated matter, I (for the most part) stayed on the Grand Loop Road which as it sounds makes a large circle through the park (something like 100+ miles in total). After a short bit of driving I happened upon the first geyser park on the main road. All I can say is that I was giddy with amusement, and must have looked like a lunatic, often giggling to myself in amazement of the natural wonder. These geysers were very impressive, but nothing like what was in store for me 15 miles down the road.

Old Faithful is likely the most iconic figure in all of Yellowstone and is recognized the world over for its impressive display which is unlike anything else in the world. I arrived at the site at about 1:20 and there was already a large group gathered around the geyser anticipating its eruption. The NPS predicts the expected time of eruption and posts it so that groups can gather and watch the event. Generally their predictions are within 10 minutes of the actual eruption, and today was no different. As the geyser erupted one could hear the chorus of thousands of camera lenses capturing the image. It was truly stunning, and does not leave one with much doubt as to why it is so famous. It was absolutely spectacular.

After seeing the main attraction, I headed South to Yellowstone Lake which by most accounts is just as spectacular as Old Faithful. The lake is enormous, and one is barely able to see from one side to the other. The only thing that really allows a bit of perspective on its size are the mountains that are the backdrop for the lake. Without these, the lake would seem to go on forever and ever, but luckily the peaks provide context on the sheer size of the lake, and only increase the beauty of the area.

After seeing Yellowstone Lake (located at pretty much the Southernmost point of the park) I headed back North to my intended camp point, Mammoth Hot Springs. Although the drive was not lengthy in terms of mileage, the time required to cross from one side of the park to the other is massive. To reach my campgrounds, it took nearly 3 hours from point A to point B. Frustrating, but how can one really complain when you're traveling through places like Yellowstone Canyon and multiple scenic views that have inspired artists for centuries?

I arrived at my campsite at about 7:30 and rushed to make camp and build a fire before realizing that I easily could have taken my time, given that the the sun sets there well after 10:00. After making camp, I got my cook on, and prepared myself a nice little feast of sausage, peppers, onions and some nice whole grain bread - Yum! After dinner I did a little writing, and then hit the sack, satisfied with one of the greatest days of my young life. 

A.S. Bloom

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Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Just a quick blast tonite, as most of the day was spent driving. I ended yesterday's blog questioning whether I would drive to Billings or Bozeman today, and the final decision was Bozeman! Although I arrived in Billings with plenty of time left in the day, it reminded me too much of Casper (largely industrial, much of the town looking like the roadstop that it is) so I decided to proceed on to Bozeman - an additional 2 hours or so.

Arrived in Bozeman a bit after four, checked into the motel for the nite, and was on an immediate quest for grub. A long day on the road is always cause for hunger and thirst, and they were both quickly satiated. I headed to the downtown area of Bozeman, a quaint little area, that reminded me of the downtown in Telluride,CO. The rain that had followed my drive all day (again causing a slower drive than expected) finally broke as if to reward me for my patience. The dry spell allowed me to grab a couple good pics of the downtown area, mostly of the local artists pieces that were scattered up and down the drag.

Dinner tonite was at the McKenzie Pizza Company, a chain in Montana and Idaho, that regularly features fresh farm to table entrees. First order of business though, was a cold microbrew: I had expected to get a Montana favortie, Moose Drool (a gross name, but a delicious beer!) but instead opted for a local IPA which was ice cold and delicious -- hit the spot like nothing else could!

After a quick look over the menu, I asked about the daily specials, which is always a good bet at a farm to table restaurant. My server mentioned a 'rollini', a sort of half pizza, half calzone hybrid stuffed with locally sourced spicy italian sausage and basil. It was absoulutely delicious! The pizza dough was nice and crispy, topped with a nice salty parmesan cheese. The spicy sausage was flavorful and had a nice bite to it, while the basil tasted fresh and was an excellent complement. It was served with their homemade pizza sauce which was a bit spicy as well, and had a tangy finish. Yum!

Thats all for tonite blogosphere -- I have another somewhat lengthy drive to Yellowstone tomorrow, and need to rest up so I can get a run in with the beautiful mountain scenery before I head for the day. Probably won't have an update tomorrow, as I hope to be camping (weather permitting), so again, expect a double dose on Monday!

A.S. Bloom

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Mount Rushmore and The Crazy Horse Monument

Welcome to Day 5 of my epic journey. Another rainy day, but I was very fortunate to get looming clouds instead of rain this morning for my trip to Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument. I woke up early (around 8ish), got my stuff packed in the car, and jetted up the hill to try to see the sites before the imminent weather. I was hesitant with large dark clouds hovering over the area, but as I said before, I was very happy to get some high winds and light drizzle instead of what came later in the day.

I know Ive said it already, but the brief reprieve from the damp weather was truly a blessing, as both Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse were truly spectacular, and not to be missed. Its hard to believe that I went nearly a quarter of a century without visiting these sites, but now that I have, I know that I was missing quite a bit. Rushmore was grandiose and beautiful, and I can't really compare it to anything that Ive ever seen before. The monument serves as an interesting political commentary -- What is even more interesting is the president that can be viewed from the ride up/down the hill, whereas if you want the full view you must pony up the bucks!

My main sentiment about the Crazy Horse monument is how truly gigantic it is. Because I visited Mt. Rushmore first, my initial impression was "wow, its amazing how large and detailed the monument is." That was only my impression for a few minutes, however, because as you view Crazy Horse you are truly taken aback by how it dwarfs Rushmore. Although it is nowhere near completion, there are scale models of the finished project in and around the visitor center. I really hope that it is completed within my lifetime so that I can experience the grandeur of the finished project!

The drive from the sites to Casper took a little longer than I had hoped, mainly due to significant road construction on some of the rural highways that I was traveling to get there. At one point I was stopped for more than 30 minutes while traffic was being directed! No worries though, as I was thoroughly entertained by some Dane Cook CDs that I have. I have heard his bits a million times, but I always bust a gut with some of his jokes -- Especially his routine where he turns the sounds of a car alarm into a monologue -- hilarious!

Dinner tonite was served at La Cocina, a little Mexican joint down the street from my hotel. Generally my opinion of Mexican restaurants heavily depends on the quality of their chips and salsa, and theirs were exceptional. For those of the Omaha constituency, they reminded me a bit of OJs back in their heyday. Dinner was a Mexican salad with chicken, guac, and sour cream. Everything was good, the chicken a bit too salty for my taste, but overall very tasty. The margarita that accompanied dinner was also well crafted and strong, another important fixture that defines good Mexican restaurants.

Once again, its getting late, and I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow.  Im still deciding as to whether I will drive to Bozeman or Billings, but I suppose I will have more to report in the next installment!

A.S. Bloom

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Double Dose -- Fargo to Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake to Rapid City

Gooood Evening!

As I stated in Tuesday's blog, I had no access to Internet yesterday, so you lucky readers get a double dose of 48 States 80 Days tonite. It has been a busy couple of days, with plenty to report from the road. Yesterday I drove from Fargo to Devil's Lake with more monotonous rolling hills and green pastures. It was a beautiful drive, but no spectacular geographical features to describe for you. The drive went fairly quickly -- Listened to an interesting Radio Lab feature about lying and deception. The production value for the show is always amazingly high, and this show was no different. The most interesting vignette was about a conwoman and her deceptive habits -- Again, if you're interested go here.

Arrived in Devil's Lake (the town) and grabbed a bite to eat at the Main Street Cafe, a little hole in the wall in this one horse town. The food was unremarkable, and not really worth photographing. After a quick stroll down main street, about 10 minutes at a turtles pace, I headed off to Devil's Lake (the campground) to set up camp and explore the area. Completely beautiful and unexpected: Something that I did not at all expect out of North Dakota. Water as far as the eye could see, and miles and miles of relatively undisturbed beach front. The rain that had previously been following me finally ceased, and I was able to really enjoy the natural beauty that the lake provided.

The night was also spectacular. Not only did the sun not set until well after 10:30, but after it was down, the stars glowed brightly until I laid my head down at about 12:15.  I awoke abruptly at about 5:15, looking around for the source of my wake up call. Turns out it was pouring down rain, and this guy neglected to put up the rain fly before bed.... Ooops... Soaking wet, I proceeded to clean up camp in about 1/3 the time it took me to establish it. Should be some kind of record, but I'll have to double check with the Guinness Book... I escaped relatively unscathed, except for the fact I had no plans of being up at the butt crack of dawn!

Today I had planned to travel to Bismarck and see a few sites, but with my early start, I arrived around 10:00 and the rain with still coming down. I made an executive decision to proceed on to my next destination, Rapid City, and forgo whatever I may have seen in Bismarck (which from what I read, is really not too much). This proved to be a good and bad decision. The drive proved to be much longer than I had expected (completely neglected the fact that I had to change time zones), but for the first time, I found some gorgeous scenery. These buttes came out of nowhere, and where gone before I knew it, but they definitely made me excited for beautiful topographic features that lay in store for me in the West!

Alright blogosphere -- Its getting to be that time again -- Its been a long exhausting day, and I have a busy day tomorrow. Getting up early to go see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse (weather permitting) and then traveling on to Casper, WY.  Should be some great pics and info!

A.S. Bloom

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Egad! Almost forgot the food porn for the day! It wasn't conventionally delicious, but in a eerie sort of way the McGangBang was pretty good. Shout out to Matt B. for putting that silly idea in my head. 

Sioux Falls to Fargo

Day 2 -- Another great day on the road! Although the drive today was again uneventful, (read: lots of rolling flat hills with the occasional corn plot or cattle feed lot) I enjoyed listening to the latest edition of 'This American Life'. For those who don't listen to the program, they follow a theme with three stories, generally with subtle variations on the theme. This week's theme was 'Held Hostage', with the most interesting story being about 3 people in New Orleans who were held hostage by a man burying them in ridiculous legal paperwork, claiming that he owned or held rights to their property... If you're interested go here.

Arrived in Fargo at about 2:00 with heavy thunderstorms accompanying me. I headed out to lunch at a local sandwich joint in Moorhead (just across the river from Fargo) called 'Grand Junction' known for their 'East Coast Style Sandwiches'. I got their signature sub which had salami, ham, turkey, peppers, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and provolone cheese. They cook all their sandwiches like Philly cheese steaks- combine everything on a big grill, chop it up, and add bread on top - you know the routine. The sandwich was above average, but the bread was the highlight - delicious, freshly baked, and nice n' crispy.

The weather was still icky after lunch, so I headed for a sweet fix and a boon for a rainy day. Carol Widman's Candy, a Fargo establishment since 1885, was just the spot. I got a couple pieces of their famous 'Chipper Fritters' which are chocolate covered potato chips (Delish!) and also sampled a chocolate covered habanero pepper while I was there. Normally I'm a hot pepper lover, but this thing blew me through the roof! I started sweating, hiccuping and thought I might just pass out right there! I humbly excused myself with a piece of caramel to soothe my pain, retreated to the car, defeated by a piece of candy. Sorry no pictures of my suffering :P

The weather finally let up, and I was able to inspect a couple of outdoor locations that I had wanted to visit. The Fargo visitor center, which is shaped like a grain silo, is home to one of the most beautiful of the bison j. doe projects, so I had to snap a couple pics! After a quick visit, I headed over to Concordia College, where a couple friends had attended, to check out the campus. The campus was lush and green, and had a few pieces of cool modern art, including the pic attached called 'North Winds'.

After a long day, I checked into the local HoJo and set out to watch the Lakers-Celtics game at a sports bar down the street - One hell of game! Its now well after midnite, so I should hit the sack -- I'm camping tomorrow, so there won't be an update - prepare for a double dose on Thursday!

A.S. Bloom

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Day 1: Omaha to Sioux Falls

Ahhh the first day of a road trip can be trying, but today was a great day. Left home at about 10:30 with the car fully packed with contents including:
1. Duffel Bag brimming with clothes
2. Sleeping Bag, Tent, Grill, and other camping supplies

3. Digital Camera, Ipod Touch, Garmin etc...
4. A Cooler full of PBRs (very important!)

The drive up to Sioux Falls was uneventful, with most of Iowa and Southern South Dakota going by pretty quickly. The Loess Hills of Iowa are beautiful and lush green after recent rainstorms, and provided a nice backdrop for the drive. Nothing really remarkable except for a sign that read: "Best Ice Cream in the World -- Le Mars, Iowa 26 Miles off of I-29." Although I doubt their claims of best in the world (Zesto's in Omaha currently holds my personal favorite), I decided that a 26 Mile venture off the interstate was a bit much for the first day. I guess their claims will have to be tested another time.

I arrived in Sioux Falls around 2:30, with a hunger in my belly that needed to be squelched ASAP! The most famous establishment in Sioux Falls is Bob's, a small diner just outside of downtown sporting a large neon sign with a chicken that looked pretty cocky considering his ultimate fate. I ordered a burger and fries, both of which were good, but nothing compared to what came next. After chatting up the waitress and chef, they recommended that I try the coleslaw and the mother of all corn dishes, 'Bob's Cob'. The coleslaw was sweet and delicious, but 'Bob's Cob' was an epiphany. Essentially they take a whole ear of corn, batter it, deep fry it (they call it broasting, but lets be real, this shit was deeeeep fried), and then serve it with maple syrup. Bam - Mouth Orgasm! Juicy, Crispy, and Sweet -- unlike anything Ive ever heard of or tasted before. The Chef's inspiration: His mother's corn fritters, which he couldn't replicate at work, so this was his solution for a fritter fix -- Genius...

After a meal like that, I needed to walk off some of the excess calories, so I headed downtown to see what was going down. The answer in short, was, well, not a whole lot. It was drizzling, and overcast - sort of how I envisioned South Dakota. It was like a ghost town, with the only person I saw being a policewoman on a Segway zipping around writing parking tickets. I popped into the Courthouse Museum, which is somewhat deceiving in its nomenclature: The museum is housed in a courthouse, with the contents being random at best ranging from 'The History of Corn' to 'Automotive Innovations'.... The contents were uninteresting, but I was able to get a couple good pics of the architecture, which was beautiful and ornate. I ended the afternoon with a quick stroll through Falls Park which houses the namesake for the city. Sioux Falls is more like a trickling stream, but the park was nicely maintained and seemed like it would be a nice place to congregate and throw a football around on a nice sunny day. Today, however, it was rainy, and about the time I got to the falls it started pouring which forced me into a mad dash for the car given that I had my Ipod, Computer, and Garmin in my shoulder bag -- Not wanting to damage said items I retreated.

10 Minutes later I arrived at my motel of choice - The glorious Budget Inn of Sioux Falls - Settled down with a cold beer, put my feet up, and found some silly movie on HBO.... A good day....

A.S. Bloom

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