Better Living Through Simplicity

How Foursquare Could Be Better And Why I Am Done With It (For Now)

2011-07-24T11:01:00.001-07:00

I'm a gadget guy. I love to try out new technologies, web services and geek toys. Usually I fiddle with a "new amazing thing-a-ma-jig" until I find a purpose for it in my life or I it becomes laborious so I delete/stop using it. Foursquare is an example of one such thing-a-ma-jig that I have been playing with and I've decided to delete.

The concept is simple enough with the web service Foursquare:

Wikipedia defines it as: "...a location-based social networking website based on hardware for mobile devices. The service is available to users with GPS-enabled mobile devices such as smart phones. Users 'check-in' at venues using a mobile website, text messaging or a device-specific application by running the application and selecting from a list of venues that the application locates nearby. Each check-in awards the user points and sometimes 'badges'."

For those of you who have never heard of it and are reading about it here you are probably asking WHY in the world would anyone want to do this? What's in it for them? This is my question exactly.

A little backstory: I've been using Foursquare off and on for the last two years. I make an effort to "check-in" often and from time to time will add a picture or comment. To date I have received no return on the investment of time and energy I have put into "checking in". Yes, it DOES take time and energy to "check in". You have to pull out your smart phone, navigate to the correct application, find the appropriate location to "check in" and then comment about your activities (this last step is optional.) That's a lot of steps to get nothing in return.

Yes, I am aware that there are "Mayorship" deals and first time check-in awards for certain locations, but this really doesn't influence where I go (nor where I check-in.) I am finding I'm doing most of my checking-in out of obsessive habit. Walking through a parking lot with my eyes glued to an iPhone isn't probably the best use of time either.

Admittedly, the social aspect is nice, but not really anything that Twitter or Facebook isn't already doing (you can geotag your tweets and on Facebook you can check in using the "Places" feature.) Once in a blue moon I will have a friend mention that they noticed that I have checked into some place interesting...but that was back when I had my checkins going to Facebook and Twitter automatically (I've since turned them both off because no one cares if I become mayor of a dog park or a historic prison...which I am by the way.)

So here I am providing someone with all sorts of data about my shopping habits yet I really don't see what I am getting from it. I'm sure that a market researcher finds it interesting that I am at place "X" at "Y" time of day every "Z" day of the week. It seems to me that this "data" could be used to help market things that may be interesting to me. Simply put, I know my checkins are worth something.

This is why I'm done with Foursquare for now. Until they either monetize my checkins or start rewarding me with incentives* that are impacting to my pocketbook, I have to stop using it.

*It took me 10 days to become mayor of my neighborhood Goodwill only to find out that I get a 10% discount...in the end it didn't feel worth the effort.

MY IDEA(S) FOR IMPROVING FOURSQUARE

Let's move away from having to actively check in. At the most users should be checked in automatically or at the very least confirm the locations where they are or have been (meaning at the end of the day you could retroactively check in to the various places you had been during the day. No, this isn't very useful from a "real-time" status point of view, but that data is still useful.)

Here's the "key"...pun intended: I personally think Foursquare should develop a Foursquare electronic key fob. This electronic device would go on your keychain and would check you in automatically to locations that support this device. The fob would have a small display (LCD) that gives the business name you where you are about to check in to. You would have the ability to scroll through nearby business and confirm your location if the default location was incorrect. One important feature of the fob would be the ability to turn it off easily (in case you do NOT want a passive check-in to occur.)

In order for this to work, the store (or location) would need to provide the short range network (wifi, RFID, infrared, etc.) Obviously we couldn't have something on our keychains that utilized a phone network nor would it make sense for a GPS sensor to be placed in a fob. This short range network would be provided by the folks at Foursquare. All a vendor would need to do is plug it in and hook it up to a phone line or network connection.

If the right partnerships were created with stores and Foursquare, I don't see why we (the users) couldn't reap the benefits of sharing our whereabouts (i.e. market data.) A fob owner could receive a monthly incentives or coupons from Foursquare based on their checkins. These coupons could include places the user may have not been yet but are similar to my venue tastes.

The question you may have is "where would the money come from?" Foursquare would provide the boxes that a store would have to provide the short range network and it would cost the business a certain amount of money per month (a sliding scale would make the most sense based on business size.) The data that these boxes collected would be compiled at Foursquare and then sold back to businesses too. Maybe if you're a small clothing venue, you would pay Foursquare a small fee to find out the demographics, habits and the number of competing small clothing venue checkins in the area. A larger business with deeper pockets would get monthly (or weekly or daily) reports with deeper analysis of the data and (for a fee) provide compelling sales pieces about their customers, etc etc etc.

Big picture, Foursquare has the ability to become a huge data repository to help businesses grow while maintaining an entertaining social media network.

Maybe Foursquare has been down this road and they are working on something similar. For now, I'm removing it from my phone and we'll see if it negatively impacts my life. I'm guessing not.

It Could Happen To You . . .

2009-10-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

Date: October 15th, 2009
Time: 5:55 PM to 8:15 PM
Location: Northwest Washington D.C.

5:55 PM - Typically on Thursday nights Nicole volunteers in Northwest D.C. and I come with her and linger at a bookstore nearby. On this night I walked Nicole to the door of the non-profit organization then walked a quarter mile back to the bookstore.

6:00 PM - Arrived at bookstore (which has a cafe).

6:02 PM - Picked up an in-store copy of "Horse Soldiers" (Nicole had the excellent idea of instead of bringing my own book, to just remember the page I am on and use the book at the store).

6:04 PM - Ordered a mocha.

6:05 PM - Barista asks if I want whipped cream. I respond with yes.

6:05:10 PM - Barista asks if I want chocolate drizzled on top. I respond with yes.

6:06 PM - I have mocha in hand (the whipped cream and chocolate rise above the rim at least an inch or two).

6:07 PM - I sit in the public area with chairs and couches. I make a mental note that it's a full house (only one chair is available...front and center of the cafe).

6:09 PM - I open up the book to the last pages of the last chapter--I'm excited to finish.

6:10 PM - I drink (and almost guzzle) my delicious mocha.

6:12 PM - Mocha is finished...so good!

6:13 PM - Return to reading my book.

6:20 PM - People filter in and out of the coffee shop. I look up and make eye contact with a man in his 70's. He looks at me like he knows me. I smile and return to my book.

6:30 PM - Get an alert on my phone that some kid who was thought to be in a balloon over Colorado has been found safe.

6:31 PM - Continue reading.

6:44 PM - A teenager sits to my immediate right at a table facing me.

6:47 PM - Same teenager starts texting on her phone. I look over and she looks down to her phone suddenly.

6:48 PM - Continue reading.

6:55 PM - A woman walks by and looks at me as if I'm familiar to her. I smile politely...she does not return the smile.

7:05 PM - I read through the epilogue of the book.

7:07 PM - Teenager next to me is STILL texting and looking at me. I think to myself, do I look like someone famous?

7:08 PM - I look across the room and the woman who walked by is looking at me but then quickly looks down at her work.

7:18 PM - I finish Horse Soldiers.

7:19 PM - I log onto Twitter to write a very brief review of the book.

7:22 PM - My friend from UC Irvine starts chatting with me on my iphone (instant messaging).

7:33 PM - An awkward man sits at the table across from me. He wears his pants really high and is wearing white socks with black loafers. He looks at me, smiles, then sits down.

7:45 PM - Still chatting with friend online. Look up to see that awkward man is staring at me.

7:55 PM - A college study group shows up. Many of them look in my general direction. I feel like I am sitting in a seat reserved for someone else as they look at me and talk amongst themselves.

7:56 PM - Teenager still texting next to me...avoiding eye contact when I look that direction.

8:01 PM - Nicole sends me a text to let me know that she is done volunteering.

8:01:01 PM - I send her a text that I am on my way to her location.

8:04 PM - I walk down the stairs of the bookstore and a very official man is going up the escalator. He looks at me for a very long time. I smile nervously and continue down the stairs.

8:08 PM - I can see Nicole in the darkness two blocks ahead of me walking in my direction.

8:09 PM - I meet up with her and prepare to give her a kiss.

8:10 PM - Nicole stops me and says "WHAT IS ALL OVER YOUR NOSE? IS THAT CHOCOLATE AND WHIP CREAM?" (See 6:10 PM entry)

8:10:01 PM - A wave of embarrassment sweeps over my body. I touch my nose to feel the softness of cream and the stickiness of dark chocolate all over the tip of my nose. My mind flashes back (much like the ending of "The Usual Suspects"). All of those people staring at me for the last two hours said NOTHING. Here I felt like maybe I looked like someone they knew, or that I had taken a "regular's" seat. How hard would it have been for someone to politely come up to me and say "Sir, there is chocolate and whip cream on your nose." Someone could have gestured towards their nose and I probably would have taken the hint.

8:10:30 PM - I say to Nicole "That's why everyone was staring at me!"

8:10:31 PM - Nicole collapses in laughter.

8:10:45 PM - I explain to her the sequence of events. Nicole laughs even harder!

8:11 PM - I wipe my nose again to make sure that I got every ounce of it off.

8:12 PM - We make our way to the Metro.

8:14 PM - I do a search on Twitter to see if anyone posted anything about a "Bald Guy sitting in bookstore with whip cream and chocolate on his nose--oblivious.")

8:15 PM - The search reveals that no one posted it so in good humor I post it about myself.

Back To Basics

2009-09-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

I've painted myself into a corner.

Somewhere around January I took this whole thing off track. I was so fascinated by the sociological implications of Facebook, Twitter, iPhones, and the countless other digital distractions that I thought I could do a commentary on them. I don't know why I thought I could be an authority when I didn't really do much other than read about them. Learning about them is really just a Google Search away.

Ironically the iPhone entered my life at the end of June and Twitter became very useful shortly after that (thanks to Tweetie.) In mid-July I took a week to analyze Facebook and hunt for old Marine Corps friends (with little success.) Alas, it was a great experience, but in the end I realized there is absolutely nothing wrong with Facebook...it's just not right for me.

I'm not sure why I wanted to write a long essay on the risks and rewards of these variable digital distractions. At this moment I realize that it's not the devices or websites that can be a problem, but the way people use them.

For those of you who have been waiting for this Facebook, Twitter, iPhone mega post...it's not going to happen. I'm not the expert. I love to talk to people in person on how I "feel" about social media, but I don't feel comfortable making blanket statements here. Lastly, I want the content of this blog to be unique and I'm okay with it not following any rhyme or reason.

* * *

So it has been nine months since I have written about the real world things going on in my life. I can tell that my writing is rusty and I need to write more even about the seemingly small stuff.

We moved to Washington D.C. in June in pursuit of "Better Living" and we are really happy to be here. The Northwest will always be where our hearts are, but we needed to move to an area that provided an "education" that we could take back with us. Most conversations that we get into with others (from new friends to strangers on the Metro) lead to learning something new. Since we've been out here, Nicole and I have been inspired in many directions that otherwise wouldn't have happened had we stayed in the Northwest. We're calling this chapter of our lives "The D.C. Internship."

Just yesterday we took the Metro to D.C. for Vegfest. While Nicole was volunteering at a booth there, I went searching for protesters that were marching to the Capitol. On my walk, I found a group of people playing roller hockey behind the White House. When I say behind, I mean literally behind...on the pedestrian-only street that runs behind it. It was a little surreal.

Meanwhile, there was a protest somewhere, but I must have missed it. I walked to Freedom Square only to find trash blowing in the wind and a handful of city workers cleaning up. It was really weird because I could almost feel the warmth of the thousands of people still on the bricks yet it was quiet (by then they must have reached the Capitol.)

Following my failed photo shoot I returned to Nicole only to hop on a shuttle bus to the Kennedy Center for an open house. We arrived to find clusters of people surrounding various street performers from all over the world. They were performing on various stages around the building. One thing about Washington D.C. is that there seems to be plenty of high quality free entertainment. This was no exception. I enjoyed watching the kids laugh and smile even more than I enjoyed watching the various performances of jugglers, unicyclists, and pantomime performances. A street performer can really grab the attention of a child (and an adult's "inner child".)

We left the Kennedy Center and headed to our favorite downtown theater, the Landmark E-Street Theater. Located just a few blocks away from the White House, it is a great theater for seeing foreign, documentary, and independently produced films. So far we have seen "Food Inc." (3 times), "In The Loop", and yesterday "It Might Get Loud". This last movie was great if you love guitar and Jack White-The Edge-Jimmy Page.

We returned to our place greeted by our full-bladder dog who was very happy to see us.

I hope to write more often on a daily basis. I will write about technology, simplicity, and perhaps the incredible things that happen to us while we're out here.

Welcome Twitter Users

2009-08-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

So I'm still working on my Twitter/Facebook Manifesto (hopefully I am able to finish it!)

In the meantime, take this poll and I will add it to the story (if enough people respond.)

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

My various Twitter accounts:

http://twitter.com/annieisadog Life through the eyes of our dog

http://twitter.com/thetweetlab My primary Twitter account...I do a lot of testing using this account

http://twitter.com/nicoleandjeff More of our joint Twitter account...good for status updates regarding us in a general sense

http://twitter.com/breakinginfo This is a strictly news account. I mostly monitor the news here, but will occasionally retweet (or even break my own news)

http://twitter.com/idwhatiam This one is just for fun...I have a camera on my cell phone so I take pictures of things (bugs, birds, strange objects) and try to get people to guess what they are.

Coming Soon

2009-08-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

I've received numerous email and calls asking for updates. Since moving from the Northwest to a yet to be disclosed location, I have been busy testing Facebook, Twitter, an iPhone, and a pair of really interesting shoes.

I will do my best to follow through with a promised entry in the next week or so. In the meantime, here are some links that are a great prologue to the post that I'm working on:

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-capsule10-2009aug10,0,2375480.story

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/08/05/marines-ban-facebook-and-myspace-pentagon-considers-it/

http://www.google.com/trends?q=facebook,+myspace,+twitter&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=usa.dc&date=ytd&sort=2

Twitter: Am I "Interesting" Enough For It To Be Useful?

2009-05-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

My wife didn't want me to write about Twitter. In her mind she thinks it's pointless and a little "scary" how people want to use these applications in hopes of connecting and communicating. I'm not sure if I disagree with her, but I want to get this out just because Twitter seems to be growing.

You say Twitter to someone and one of two things happen. Either they get really excited and want to talk about it or their eyes glaze over and the force-field of "new technology fear" is raised. Like most things new on the web, there is this overwhelming feeling of concern and excitement as the latest "gadget" comes out vowing to make our (Internet) life more fun.

I won't try to explain Twitter. I've learned over the years that explaining new technologies that have never had application before are very challenging to understand. My parents swore up and down that Tivo was completely unnecessary when they had two VCRs and they never missed anything they wanted to watch. My brother and I bought them a Tivo anyway. They kicked and screamed for about the length of time it took to download the program schedule to the Tivo. Today you couldn't convince them to ever get rid of it. Other examples of these "hard-to-explain-to-your-parents" technologies are the iPhone, RSS, Blogs, etc. Once you find a use for them, you wonder how you could have ever lived without them.

If you want the best "explainer" I have found for Twitter watch this very short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o (youtube version)

Does anyone care what I do from email to email or from post to post? I have never had anyone email me and say "What are you doing RIGHT NOW?" or "Why haven't you blogged lately?" My friends and family understand that I contact them when something is going on...not when I've just switched brands of toothpaste or found the cleanest public bathroom in Portland or mowed the lawn in circle patterns. What I'm getting at is that the details between email or phone calls are important to store and talk about later.

I would argue that by not keeping a little information about yourself stored up and told later, you are destroying the romantic aspect of your life. When we store up a bunch of mildly important events and later tell them to someone else, we have the opportunity to embellish the story to make it more interesting...even if we stretch the facts a bit. This is what life is about. If you knew every aspect of my life before I had the opportunity to tell you personally, I would be an incredibly boring person.

Believe it or not, I do think Twitter is EXTREMELY useful...but probably not for me. If I were a teacher, I could use Twitter to inform my students that the geography assignment will be due in 2 weeks instead of on Friday. If I were a sales manager I could let sales people know that the new sales presentations have a typo on them and not to use them. And so on. If you have information that "impacts" others I think you should seriously consider Twitter.

As for me, I wish I could find uses for Twitter in my life...but alas I can't. My Twitter page at the time of this post says it all:

My first cell Tweet - about 7 hours ago from txt
Actively experimenting with twitter - 10:11 AM Apr 22nd from web
Learning about twitter - 8:47 PM Dec 18th, 2008 from web

Hopefully when you read this (maybe years from the actual post date) our page http://twitter.com/nicoleandjeff doesn't contradict everything I said . . .

Something Different: How To Shave Your Head (And If You Really Should)

2009-04-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

It's time to do something different on BLTS - a "How To"

I've been considering writing this ever since I decided to shave my head during the winter of 2004. I still remember staring in the mirror asking myself...is it time? I wish that I had been given some advice and tips on what to do. Hopefully this post will help someone who is on the fence about shaving his/her head.

Not to go back too far in history but when I finished my time in the service, I noticed that my once head full of thick hair had abruptly stopped growing around the crown of my head. At first I rebelled...I bleached my hair blond (which matched my scalp more than brown did) and tried to conceal the fact that the hair on the top of my head was just not growing. Eventually I got sick of the toe-head look and let my original color grow back in. At that point it was quite obvious...the hair on the top of my head had fully retired.

For at least 3 more years I kept it short on the sides to match the apparent thinness on the top of my head. This resulted in a visit to the barber at least once every 3 weeks (if not more.) Worst of all, some barbers would say "You have a lot of hair! You're not going bald at all!" I'm not sure why some barbers would say such a thing when it was so obviously not true...but needless to say I never went back those liars.

Trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation, I tried to negotiate a yearly membership price with a favorite barber so I could come in as often as needed. I constantly needed to have my head cleaned up to hide the hair on the sides of my head that were growing 10 times faster than the top. Even though I offered to pay something close to the equivalent of 3 haircuts a month for a year, for unlimited haircut access...he declined. In the end I was sick of paying for these maintenance haircuts...so it was then I decided to take the leap.

To me, shaving your head says one thing about you...you're brave. You're willing to face the music and embrace the truth...you're going bald. The two dimension liar (also known as a mirror) will make you feel like you have concealed the problem, but the truth is people can tell you are losing your hair. Shaving your head is a way to say "I am not scared of going bald; I'm embracing it."

The sooner you shave your head, the longer you will live with this new identity (which I'm almost sure that you will prefer...if not...it grows back.)

It's important to note that shaving your head isn't for everybody. I highly recommend cutting your hair to the shortest "stylable" length before considering shaving it. Once your hair is gone you have committed to an appearance that may take months to grow out.

Some Of My Screening Questions To See If Shaving Your Head Is Right For You:

Are you obsessed with a single hairstyle that cannot be changed (and swimming makes you feel self-conscience about your hairline? (Simply put...are hats a necessary part of your outfit?)
Are you older than 30? (Young faces with shaved heads can look strange...unless you add the element of cool facial hair)

Do you secretly wish that the cure for baldness will be developed in the next 5 years? (Don't count on it, in the 24th century Captain Jean-Luc Picard is cruising around space with male pattern baldness.)
Do you spend more than 20 bucks a month for a haircut but the haircut itself takes half the time as someone else's haircut? (Trust me...your barber loves you...same price...less time.)
Do you have a good wardrobe? (Since the focus will be off of your hair, your self expression will be limited to facial hair and wardrobe. Simple t-shirts won't look quite the same without hair.)

If you answered yes to some or all of these questions, it might be a good time to shave your head!

Before You Do:

Get advice! Ask your friends and family what they think. Your mother will probably tell you not to...that's normal. Listen to everyone carefully and try to discriminate the good advice from the bad. This is a big step. I don't recommend doing it as a form of rebellion because after the angst wears off you're stuck with a shaved head and no plan.

Look into the maintenance of a shaved head. A clean shaven head needs to be shaved every 3 to 4 days (twice a week.) This will require time in the shower and equipment. If you shave with clippers (not quite clean, but with stubble) you can do it once a week, but you have the clippings to deal with (not fun if you like a clean bathroom.) You MUST buy sunblock. Even living in Seattle, if I was going to be outside for longer than 10 minutes I would put a little sunblock on the top of my head. This part of your body is the most exposed to the sun and WILL get burned. Skin cancer that starts on the head could be very unsightly not to mention extremely deadly.

I recommend the following products:

For Shaving With Clippers:

Wahl Pro PEANUT Palm Size Hair Trimmer Clipper 8685
A barber cape
A vacuum and broom for cleanup
A hand mirror

For Clean Shaving*:

The HeadBlade
Neutrogena Men Skin Clearing Shave Cream
Clinique Face Scrub
Clinique Face Soap
Lily Of The Desert - Aloe Vera Gelly (beware, it will make your head shiny)
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF 70

Clean shaving may require a lot of products, but in the end you will get a very good shave. At the very least I recommend using the Headblade and the SPF.

*You will probably need to cut your hair first with clippers before clean-shaving your head.

How To Shave With Clippers:

Cut your hair standing on a sheet on the floor, or in your shower (turned off), to catch the loose hair. If you cut it out of doors, then you do not need to worry about hair on the ground.
Set the clippers to the shortest setting. With most clippers this means removing the guard completely. Avoid using an electric razor on your head as it does not work that well and the noise will drive you mad.
Choose to do it yourself or get help. You can do it yourself with practice, or get someone to cut your hair for you. If cutting yourself, plan to shower immediately afterward, so you don't worry about getting the clippings all over yourself.
Begin at the nape of the neck and run the clippers in rows up over your scalp to the front.
Be sure to give extra attention to the nape of your neck, the sideburns, and just over the ears.
Check the style. When you think you're done, use a mirror to check, and try running your hand all over your head. You should be able to feel any spots you've missed.

How To Shave Using a HeadBlade

Use clippers to bring your hair down to the shortest stubble possible.
Take a shower, and while you're in, do the following:
Use Clinique Face Scrub (followed by Clinique Face Soap) to ensure that your head is clean and that all hairs are above the surface (an ingrown hair can cause problems.)
Apply Neutrogena Men Skin Clearing Shave Cream to your head making sure that the consistency is not too thick (you will need to be able to feel for stubble along the way)
Go to HeadBlade.com for recommended techniques. There are videos and FAQs on the finer points of using this tool. I won't waste space here reiterating them.
After finishing in the shower, shave the rest of your face as necessary. I've noticed that I have to shave my temples and around my ears with a regular razor because it's a little awkward in the shower with the HeadBlade.
Apply SPF
I like to put aloe on my head. It seems to help prevent any nicks from getting infected and adds a nice shine.

The first time you shave your head you will probably go through a little bit of hair shock. You might find yourself staring in the mirror and not recognizing the face looking back at you. My coworkers seemed to be slow to like it, but eventually everyone said that it was really a good look. Allow 3-6 months to fully acclimatize and expect a reaction at reunions and holidays (but by then you should love it)

I met my wife 2 months A.S. (After Shaving) and she has never known me with hair. Sometimes I'll pull out old photos and she says over and over how much better I look with a shaved head. A huge bonus is that I can be creative with my facial hair (not so with my former ultra-conservative "hide-the-fact-that-I'm-balding" haircut) and have had fun growing handlebars, goatees, soul patches, and the like.

I am very happy shaving my head and do not plan to grow it out again (what little there is.) With a shaved head I look the age I feel. I hope that a shaved head works for you as it has for me.

Did You Know . . .

2009-03-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

There are earlier versions of this that aren't as snappy (see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U) as this one, but the message is somewhat the same. A while ago I started another blog Geolibrium.blogspot.com (Geo=Earth Librium=Balance) as a way to share interesting (and sometimes boring) tidbits on our earth (namely geopolitics) and how they are rapidly shaping our future. Check it out when you have the chance!

Hope this video makes you think!

Why TV Lost

2009-03-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

I read the below essay late last night and it really affected me. I worked in television up until recently for just over nine years. From my first day of work I knew that television wouldn't be around forever. My poor co-workers had to put up with me saying "the end is near!" The below essay captures what I couldn't say.

Why TV Lost

March 2009

About twenty years ago people noticed computers and TV were on a collision course and started to speculate about what they'd produce when they converged. We now know the answer: computers. It's clear now that even by using the word "convergence" we were giving TV too much credit. This won't be convergence so much as replacement. People may still watch things they call "TV shows," but they'll watch them mostly on computers.

What decided the contest for computers? Four forces, three of which one could have predicted, and one that would have been harder to.

One predictable cause of victory is that the Internet is an open platform. Anyone can build whatever they want on it, and the market picks the winners. So innovation happens at hacker speeds instead of big company speeds.

The second is Moore's Law, which has worked its usual magic on Internet bandwidth. [1]

The third reason computers won is piracy. Users prefer it not just because it's free, but because it's more convenient. Bittorrent and YouTube have already trained a new generation of viewers that the place to watch shows is on a computer screen. [2]

The somewhat more surprising force was one specific type of innovation: social applications. The average teenage kid has a pretty much infinite capacity for talking to their friends. But they can't physically be with them all the time. When I was in high school the solution was the telephone. Now it's social networks, multiplayer games, and various messaging applications. The way you reach them all is through a computer. [3] Which means every teenage kid (a) wants a computer with an Internet connection, (b) has an incentive to figure out how to use it, and (c) spends countless hours in front of it.

This was the most powerful force of all. This was what made everyone want computers. Nerds got computers because they liked them. Then gamers got them to play games on. But it was connecting to other people that got everyone else: that's what made even grandmas and 14 year old girls want computers.

After decades of running an IV drip right into their audience, people in the entertainment business had understandably come to think of them as rather passive. They thought they'd be able to dictate the way shows reached audiences. But they underestimated the force of their desire to connect with one another.

Facebook killed TV. That is wildly oversimplified, of course, but probably as close to the truth as you can get in three words.

___

The TV networks already seem, grudgingly, to see where things are going, and have responded by putting their stuff, grudgingly, online. But they're still dragging their heels. They still seem to wish people would watch shows on TV instead, just as newspapers that put their stories online still seem to wish people would wait till the next morning and read them printed on paper. They should both just face the fact that the Internet is the primary medium.

They'd be in a better position if they'd done that earlier. When a new medium arises that's powerful enough to make incumbents nervous, then it's probably powerful enough to win, and the best thing they can do is jump in immediately.

Whether they like it or not, big changes are coming, because the Internet dissolves the two cornerstones of broadcast media: synchronicity and locality. On the Internet, you don't have to send everyone the same signal, and you don't have to send it to them from a local source. People will watch what they want when they want it, and group themselves according to whatever shared interest they feel most strongly. Maybe their strongest shared interest will be their physical location, but I'm guessing not. Which means local TV is probably dead. It was an artifact of limitations imposed by old technology. If someone were creating an Internet-based TV company from scratch now, they might have some plan for shows aimed at specific regions, but it wouldn't be a top priority.

Synchronicity and locality are tied together. TV network affiliates care what's on at 10 because that delivers viewers for local news at 11. This connection adds more brittleness than strength, however: people don't watch what's on at 10 because they want to watch the news afterward.

TV networks will fight these trends, because they don't have sufficient flexibility to adapt to them. They're hemmed in by local affiliates in much the same way car companies are hemmed in by dealers and unions. Inevitably, the people running the networks will take the easy route and try to keep the old model running for a couple more years, just as the record labels have done.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal described how TV networks were trying to add more live shows, partly as a way to make viewers watch TV synchronously instead of watching recorded shows when it suited them. Instead of delivering what viewers want, they're trying to force them to change their habits to suit the networks' obsolete business model. That never works unless you have a monopoly or cartel to enforce it, and even then it only works temporarily.

The other reason networks like live shows is that they're cheaper to produce. There they have the right idea, but they haven't followed it to its conclusion. Live content can be way cheaper than networks realize, and the way to take advantage of dramatic decreases in cost is to increase volume. The networks are prevented from seeing this whole line of reasoning because they still think of themselves as being in the broadcast business—as sending one signal to everyone. [4]
- - -
Now would be a good time to start any company that competes with TV networks. That's what a lot of Internet startups are, though they may not have had this as an explicit goal. People only have so many leisure hours a day, and TV is premised on such long sessions (unlike Google, which prides itself on sending users on their way quickly) that anything that takes up their time is competing with it. But in addition to such indirect competitors, I think TV companies will increasingly face direct ones.

(Click for larger image)

Even in cable TV, the long tail was lopped off prematurely by the threshold you had to get over to start a new channel. It will be longer on the Internet, and there will be more mobility within it. In this new world, the existing players will only have the advantages any big company has in its market.

That will change the balance of power between the networks and the people who produce shows. The networks used to be gatekeepers. They distributed your work, and sold advertising on it. Now the people who produce a show can distribute it themselves. The main value networks supply now is ad sales. Which will tend to put them in the position of service providers rather than publishers.

Shows will change even more. On the Internet there's no reason to keep their current format, or even the fact that they have a single format. Indeed, the more interesting sort of convergence that's coming is between shows and games. But on the question of what sort of entertainment gets distributed on the Internet in 20 years, I wouldn't dare to make any predictions, except that things will change a lot. We'll get whatever the most imaginative people can cook up. That's why the Internet won.

Notes

1. Thanks to Trevor Blackwell for this point. He adds: "I remember the eyes of phone companies gleaming in the early 90s when they talked about convergence. They thought most programming would be on demand, and they would implement it and make a lot of money. It didn't work out. They assumed that their local network infrastructure would be critical to do video on-demand, because you couldn't possibly stream it from a few data centers over the internet. At the time (1992) the entire cross-country Internet bandwidth wasn't enough for one video stream. But wide-area bandwidth increased more than they expected and they were beaten by iTunes and Hulu."

2. Copyright owners tend to focus on the aspect they see of piracy, which is the lost revenue. They therefore think what drives users to do it is the desire to get something for free. But iTunes shows that people will pay for stuff online, if you make it easy. A significant component of piracy is simply that it offers a better user experience.

3. Or a phone that is actually a computer. I'm not making any predictions about the size of the device that will replace TV, just that it will have a browser and get data via the Internet.

4. Emmett Shear writes: "I'd argue the long tail for sports may be even larger than the long tail for other kinds of content. Anyone can broadcast a high school football game that will be interesting to 10,000 people or so, even if the quality of production is not so good."

Thanks to Sam Altman, Trevor Blackwell, Nancy Cook, Michael Seibel. Emmett Shear, and Fred Wilson for reading drafts of this.

Source: http://paulgraham.com/convergence.html

When I woke up this morning the following entered my mind.

The reason [INSERT NEWSPAPER, RADIO, TELEVISION, INTERNET, OR "NEXT GADGET" HERE] is successful is because of the following factors:

We will want to use it all the time.
We will talk about it when we aren't using it.
We will go to great lengths to teach or convince others to use it.

When the next big thing comes along to compete with the internet, test it against the above three factors to determine if it will be here to stay.

My iPhone Killer...

2009-02-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

For a long time I've been wanting to write more in the theme of why I created this blog in the first place...keeping things simple. The definition of simplicity is "the property, condition, or quality of being simple or uncombined."

In the electronics world, more and more it's about features, buttons, and menus that help sell the product. While I am a gadget lover and guilty of buying the most pointless and complex digital toys, there is one device that I believe has fallen off course from it's original purpose...the cell phone.

I bought my first cell phone in 1996. I was in the Marine Corps and had no means of communication other than payphones (remember them?) The phone was as big as a pack of cigarettes and had limited talk time. Also the rate plans back then were all by individual minutes (no 500 minute plans or whatnot.) I tried to use my phone only when needed and managed to keep costs low.

In the late 90s cell phones became more common and pricing plans were more affordable. In 1999, I signed up with AT&T Wireless and bought my first Nokia phone. This phone I used a little more because I was rarely home (work, college, etc.) Needless to say I found myself upgrading my phone every 2 years...but why? The truth is that I was in love with the gadgetness.

Enter 2009... The iPhone has been out for a couple of years and other cell phones (and "smart" phones) have made leaps and bounds in technology...but to what benefit? Isn't a phone for communicating with people in real time? How did the MP3 player, GPS, camera, internet browser, and video player become essential tools? I will agree that email on the phone in today's day and age is very important for people in certain professions. I also will concede that text messaging is a wonderful thing. What frustrates me is that it is very hard to find a simple phone minus the crap.

As I mentioned I used to buy a new phone every so often. One phone in particular that I purchased in 2004 was the Nokia 6820b (pictured right.) I cherished this simple phone up until AT&T became Cingular. The folks at the Cingular store said that it will not work on their network and I had to get a new phone. At the time I thought that it was just a matter of time before Nokia (and Cingular) would introduce the next version of this phone. Unfortunately...it never happened. Instead Cingular became AT&T again and the iPhone and Blackberry became the weapon of choice for gadget lovers like me.

I have ooohed and aaahed over the iPhone and the various Blackberry phones. I even had a Blackberry Curve for a week until I realized that I was wasting time (and an extra $30 a month) on this gadget. It was constantly demanding my attention. *BEEP*....'oh, a new email'....*BEEP*....'something from my work email'....*BEEP*....'oh someone just commented on my blog'. . .you get the idea. I returned it and begged them for something simple. I ended up taking the free basic Nokia phone.

About a month ago I was digging through some old electronic stuff and found my old Nokia 6820b. I thought since AT&T was now back that I would stick my SIM card in this antiquated phone and see if it worked. The phone display read ENTER UNLOCK CODE. I immediately went to the web and frantically tried to find some magical code that would make this phone work. After going to many geek sites with various codes (that did not work) I gave up. Just the other day I had some time to kill in downtown Portland and decided to see if I could find anyone who could help me get this phone to work again.

The first place I went was the AT&T Wireless store. I showed them my phone and described my frustration with the phones that they sell now. The salesperson went around and showed me all of the basic phones, which were a little too basic (not to mention I would have to restart my contract with them...which I am thankfully no longer in.) The salesperson said he did know someone in town that might be able to get it to work again. He handed me his card and I hopped on the MAX headed over the river.

After a short walk from the Hollywood MAX station I arrived at AIRLINK. (Located at 3626 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232) I tried not to get my hopes up when I showed the salesperson my phone and asked if he could get it to work. Without even blinking, he looked at me and said "no problem!" In less then 10 minutes and for a couple of bucks, my beloved phone from the past was working on the AT&T network.

View Larger Map

Needless to say, I have been overjoyed since getting this phone working again and have been (re)familiarizing myself with it's features. I have gone through and added all the voice tags (so when I'm wearing a headset I can say the name without having to dial.) One of the greatest features is the fold out keyboard for text messaging. Though many phones have QWERTY keyboards, many sacrifice the size of the phone for this feature. Additionally, I tweaked the phone so I can get to my Gmail account (which is good for emergencies, but which is not a necessity.)

I personally believe this phone is as complicated as a phone should be:

It has a very basic camera
The phone is small
It has voice dialing
It is Bluetooth capable
The ringtones are basic and not obnoxious
Very strong vibration in silent mode

I want to end by mentioning that I do LOVE the iPhone, Blackberry, and other smart phones...but only because they are like toys. I personally don't think it is wise to consolidate all of these things into a single tool. I believe in carrying a toolbox rather than just a Swiss army knife. I have an awesome hand held GPS, two wonderful cameras, a great computer, and an 80gb iPod that's almost full of music. I love having reasons to bring these items (each as needed) on trips and don't mind that they are independent of each other. If one of them breaks, needs new batteries, or just needs to be upgraded I don't have to give them all up to do so.

My cell phone is just one of my tools...not all of them.

Facebook...Social Media...What's Your Take?

2009-01-30T16:56:00.000-08:00

I recently read "You Have No Friends: Everyone else is on Facebook. Why aren't you?" on Slate.com (http://www.slate.com/id/2208678/pagenum/all/#p2) and I was going to write a long drawn out response (I'm not on Facebook.) But instead of dawning my tinfoil hat, I thought I would experiment with a survey.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

If you would rather just respond in a comment for the world to see, you can do that too!

It should probably be noted that at one time I had 2 (two) Myspace accounts at the same time (one was a Tyler Durden-esc alter ego.) After one of the most life changing conversations with my wife (at the time she was my girlfriend) my perspective changed about myspace and social media permanently.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Let me know!

Lastly for those who aren't sure what social media is here are some examples:

Facebook.com
Twitter.com
Myspace.com
etc
oh...and yes...Blogger is considered social media too!

I Did This Once And Pat Has Done This HUNDREDS Of Times

2009-01-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

The other day I was asked to help the chief engineer at KRCW by accompanying him to a transmitter site out in the mountains of south east of Portland. Pat has either driven, snow catted, snowmobiled, and snowshoed to this transmitter literally hundreds of times. He is one of those guys that 99% of what he does is unseen (and under-appreciated at times.) I made the below video on a whim (20 minutes on iMovie) to "dramatize" my ride up there. Seriously though, it is a LONG haul and driving a snow cat is no easy feat (I tried for 10 minutes.)

A very special thanks to Pat who included me on this job and allowing me to experience something that very few have had the opportunity to experience in person. Pat is a humble guy who will never ever admit to the amount of behind the scenes work he does. He works hard for the sake of keeping your television signal top notch.

(I will try to improve the quality of the you tube video as soon as I figure it out.)

Internet Job Searches: Half The Time, Twice As Difficult

2008-12-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

I have been trying for some time now to find a career with a little more meaning. I have been looking online throughout the Northwest (I define the Northwest as Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, parts of Colorado, and Taos, New Mexico.) The search is tedious and frustrating.

When I was younger, I remember job searching was a 3 step process:

Find open positions in the newspaper
Go to the hiring business and ask for an application
Fill out application (bonus for typing) and return to potential employer

Back then it was a very simple task and most times I would even have the opportunity to shake hands with a "personnel manager." Sometimes I would get a call back and sometimes I wouldn't. Every week a new job listing would come out in the local paper and the process would begin all over again.

When the internet hit the mainstream I thought that hiring would become this simple process, and that unemployment would be left to those who just didn't want to work. In the early 2000s, I put my resume online expecting Donald Trump and Bill Gates to get into a bidding war over who could have me. Surprisingly, nothing happened and I ended up getting a great job from an inside recommendation.

Today, job hunting can appear to be pretty daunting. Walk near a business section of a bookstore and you will see an entire aisle dedicated to resume writing, interviewing, and job hunting. I know people who are too scared to leave their jobs to find a better one, just because they feel like they don't know how to do a 21st century job search.

Job hunting via the internet requires a little bit of knowledge and plenty of patience. First, one must know WHICH job search engines to use. Years ago it was Monster, Hotjobs, etc. Today web 2.0 has made things much easier.

Here are my favorites:

Indeed.com
Simplyhired.com
craigslist.org (I recommend using crazedlist.org - it searches multiple craigslist sites at the same time)

The next step is one that requires plenty of time and reading. Before you submit your cover letter and resume you must research the company. This requires looking for press releases, browsing their website, and if applicable, looking at their Wall Street data. After you have completed your research you will either feel extremely excited to work for them, or you might not be interested in their business. I recommend writing your cover letter immediately after you have completed this process.

The options to get your resume to the employer can be varied. Some employers want you to email a cover letter and resume, while others have a custom interface that allows you to cut and paste your cover letter and resume (goodbye hours of formatting.) Other employers have online applications that require you to nearly rewrite your entire resume.

After you submit the required materials you have to wait. Most sites say "no phone calls" so you can't call to see if they received your resume and cover letter. I find myself checking their employment page hoping that I get an email or a phone call before the posting disappears. On a daily basis I repeat this process...it can be pretty depressing.

I might add that November and December have been challenging months to find a job. I refuse to blindly blame the economy...instead I point the finger at the Thanksgiving and winter holidays. This time of year there are more people on vacation, more office functions, and a desire to postpone projects to 2009. I have high hopes for January!

Stress, Traffic Jams, And Shopping Lists

2008-12-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

I was emailed the below video a couple of days ago and it affects me every time I watch it. Though the message is Christian based, the concept is one that everybody can grasp.

Last year (around this time) we learned about how much money is spent "around" (double meaning) Christmas and how little of it actually trickles down to those who need it. Of course water is one example as cited in this video, but you could easily find somebody in your own neighborhood that could use help (time, money, friendship, etc.)

I post this video for those who feel like something has been missing during Christmas (and a couple of examples of what they could do.)

An Anthropological Introduction To YouTube

2008-12-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

My wife and I found this to be extremely captivating (but beware...it's almost an hour long.) I believe that this is one of the most important videos of 2008 (and it's not even about ~~global warming~~ climate change!)

Special thanks to Peter for sharing this with me!

Your insights welcome . . .

Fitness Gadget For Desk Jockies (Or How To Get More Activity Back In Your Day)

2008-12-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

I used to spend my entire day at a desk (yes...there was ping pong...thank goodness.) My problem was that I never got enough exercise during the work week. My commute was almost an hour each way and by the time I got home I was in no mood to go to the gym. I tried some of the old tricks such as moving my printer out of my office (which did help) and I tried to get out of my chair and meeting people face to face (instead of calling or emailing someone who was just down the hall.) I am no longer working there yet I have to be on top of my activity level and monitor it so I don't go the way of the couch potato.

Sometime last year I became fascinated with the concept of the pedometer. Previously I thought of a pedometer as one of those devices that someone buys in hopes to see how FAR they walk. My mother even had one years ago and we all agreed it was truly inconvenient. Back then you had to wear it on your waist, it looked like a garage door opener, and it never really did the job in a useful manner (it was just easier to drive in a car to calculate how far you walked.)

So sometime at the beginning of 2008 I did some new research to see if pedometers had improved. Much to my surprise, pedometers had come a long way. In my research I found one in particular that seemed to be a favorite: the Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer.

This pedometer has an amazing 1,933 customer reviews (at the time of this post) on Amazon and has a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. I decided to order two of these (one for me, one for my wife) and see if I could use it as an "activity motivator."

The device has some really cool (and critical) features:

Seven day memory
Tracks: [STEPS, AEROBIC STEPS, KCAL, AND MILES]
Can be carried anywhere on the body (including a purse)
Resets itself at midnight (and sends your work to the memory)

Now all I have described is a pedometer (a good one at that) but what I really want to point out is how having a device like this in your pocket everyday helps motivate you. You can obsess about kcals, miles, and steps all you want, but that is unnecessarily complicated. All that REALLY matters is that you are active and are trying to be MORE active. This is where the memory on this device is crucial (and essentially why you should by the model I recommended.)

After only a week of putting this thing in my pocket as I dressed everyday I realized that the "Steps" category for all practical purposes SHOULD be used ONLY as an index. Like television ratings are to programs, broadcast executives care more about how ratings are up and down, not necessarily what the number indicates (and I might add that very few people actually know what a rating point is.) The "Steps" you take in one day is completely relative to the day before (and the day following.) If you are only starting with 1000 steps on your first day then you walk 2000 steps on your second day, you have DOUBLED your activity level (better than doing nothing.) We can't all walk 10,000 steps in a day (as recommended by sources on the web) the very first day or even a year later for that matter. But you can walk more than you did the day before and that is progress.

I created this chart quickly in Excel.

(Important note: I JUST started using my pedometer again on the 26th of November...it had been in storage for several months before so this is "out of the gate" data)

What is important to note is that my activity level went UP when I started putting it in my pocket again (Sunday was a very lazy day and Monday we were in the car delivering meals to home bound folks.) Today (which is not listed because it ends at midnight) I looked at my 7 day history and decided to try to beat yesterday's steps (6247) and ended up RUNNING a couple of miles which I haven't done for MONTHS (btw the pedometer works just fine if you run with it too.)

In summary, I want to push all of you out there who know that they are having a hard time getting to the gym and want to move in a positive direction. I believe if you use this on a daily basis, you will become more active and those other goals such as losing weight, running more, going to the gym more will follow. This device is the first step in getting you out of the "desk rut" that you may be in.

Where to order: http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HJ-112-Digital-Premium-Pedometer/dp/B0000U1OCI

It's the perfect gadget for a New Year's Resolution . . .

Off The Radar Until Next Year

2008-12-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

(Please Note...I had been working on a huge blog about cell phones and how the wireless industry has steered so far away from functionality to "gadgetality." If you would like me to post it, please let me know...otherwise I will file it away.)

I've read time and time again that I should update this blog more often if I want to maintain interest. Because a lot of other things are going on in our lives currently I have put the writing to a lower priority. Expect to see something around the first of the year.

In the meantime I have been trying to catch up on my reading. I have been reading 6 books below at the same time and all of them are very interesting!

(all reviews below taken from the web):

Term Limits - Vince Flynn (Fiction)
In a night of shattering brutality, three of Washington's most powerful and unscrupulous politicians have been executed with surgical precision. Their assassins, vanishing without a trace, have delivered a shocking ultimatum to the leaders of the American government: set aside petty, partisan politics and restore power to the people, or be held to deadly account. No one, they warn, is out of their reach -- not even the president. A joint FBI-CIA task force reveals that the killers are elite military commandos, but no one knows exactly who they are or when they will strike next. Only Michael O'Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and freshman congressman, holds a clue to the violence: a haunting incident in his own past with explosive implications for his country's future.... In a tour de force of action and suspense, Vince Flynn takes the ultimate American ideal -- a government of the people -- to a devastating extreme.

Creating A World Without Poverty: Social Business And The Future Of Capitalism - Muhammad Yunnus (Non-Fiction)
The winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world - and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today. Over the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe, bringing with them enormous potential for positive change. But traditional capitalism cannot solve problems like inequality and poverty, because it is hampered by a narrow view of human nature in which people are one-dimensional beings concerned only with profit. In fact, human beings have many other drives and passions, including the spiritual, the social and the altruistic. Welcome to the world of social business, where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today's most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick and protecting the planet. Creating a World Without Poverty tells the stories of some of the earliest examples of social business, including Yunus's own Grameen Bank. It reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that is already under way - and in the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of every human being.

Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-Free Productivity - David Allen (Non-Fiction)
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. Veteran coach and management consultant Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to thousands. He shows how to assess goals, relax, and stay focused.

The Laws Of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life - John Maeda (Non-Fiction)
Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design—guidelines for needing less and actually getting more. Maeda—a professor in MIT's Media Lab and a world-renowned graphic designer—explores the question of how we can redefine the notion of "improved" so that it doesn't always mean something more, something added on. Maeda's first law of simplicity is "Reduce." It's not necessarily beneficial to add technology features just because we can. And the features that we do have must be organized (Law 2) in a sensible hierarchy so users aren't distracted by features and functions they don't need. But simplicity is not less just for the sake of less. Skip ahead to Law 9: "Failure: Accept the fact that some things can never be made simple." Maeda's concise guide to simplicity in the digital age shows us how this idea can be a cornerstone of organizations and their products—how it can drive both business and technology. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

Dune - Frank Herbert (Fiction)
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, DUNE is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, DUNE formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

Outliers: The Story Of Success - Malcolm Gladwell (Non-Fiction)
Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky." Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendants of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential.

Here is my progress on reading all of these as of 10:18am on December 2, 2008:

The Northwest's Never Never Land

2008-10-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we were planning a business trip to Seattle when I offhandedly suggested that we should go to Victoria, British Columbia afterward. We had an unused train ticket from Whitefish, Montana to Vancouver, Washington that needed to be either used or charged backed to our card so we were able to rationalize a low cost vacation without spending much extra. I had no idea that this very simply put together plan would be one of our favorite trips that we have been on together.

We headed up to Seattle on the train early Wednesday morning on the Amtrak Cascades which is our favorite train because of it travels 80+ MPH in some places (I used my GPS.) It was a cold clear morning and the leaves in most of the northwest had already turned yellow and orange. All of this color at 80 miles per hour made the train ride to Seattle feel like the beginning of the old Dr. Who program.

We actually arrived in Seattle a little before our scheduled time so Nicole and I walked from the station, to downtown, to Pike's Place Market, to Belltown, and finally to the Space Needle.

In order to be "mobile" we had packed 4 nights worth of clothes in our respective backpacks. In the planning phase this seemed completely rational. Around the Belltown portion of our trip Nicole was in complete agony. She had injured her back (most likely from ping pong) a week earlier (but after we had made arrangements for the trip) and had thought that it was in shape to carry a pack. I could tell by her face that the whole "backpacking around Seattle and Victoria" wasn't realistic.

We sat down at Zeek's Pizza and discussed scenarios from going home (right then) to pushing through with pain killers and buying a huge pack for me to carry everything in. After a long discussion, Nicole surrendered her mind (pain does that) and asked me to make the best choice. I sat there staring into space for a very long time. After pushing around ideas I called a cab and we rode up to that evenings destination near Green Lake.

That first evening (our business portion of the trip) was with the organizers of Club Rust and managers of Rancho La Paloma. (I wrote back in July about how that experience affected me and gave me the desire to be a part of something like this.) We enjoyed an incredible dinner with them and great conversation. We had the most wonderful time with their family and can't wait to see them again.

The alarm was very unwelcome at 5:30am. It took me nearly two minutes to find my cell phone (alarm) and make it stop beeping. It was of course pitch black outside and the house was completely silent. We had to catch the bus to the Ferry before 6:15am so Nicole shuffled to the shower and I repacked our bags. We tried as quietly as possible to not wake anyone as we walked through the complete darkness of a home we barely knew. I'm sure everyone woke up as I walked awkwardly up the stairs without any lights carrying two giant backpacks. Nicole's back had reached its peak in pain the night before and in the morning felt somewhat better. I still decided to carry both packs for now, despite Nicole's protests.

Once out on the street we walked a couple of blocks to a gas station to get change for the bus. I had forgotten how many people in Seattle commute at such an early hour. Even at the bus stop there were a handful of people wearing business attire for work and it was barely after 6am.

We boarded the bus and I was once in awe of the Seattle phenomenon of a completely full bus (people standing too) yet there was absolutely no talking. I could only hear the sound of the bus brakes and the occasional "ding" informing the operator that a stop has been requested. It reminded me of when I was riding the same bus system years ago:

(by the way...below is a flashback story so if you want to skip down to the current event, read past the italics.)

I had a morning routine. Living alone on Queen Anne made me very regimented. Every workday I would get up, turn on the TV (I worked in TV so I had to see what was going on in the world as it was going to be what my day was focused on.) After absorbing the headlines, I would head to the shower, get dressed and walk out the door.

I liked to leave a little early in the morning (didn't have to be to work until 8am) so I could get in a long walk to the Starbucks (I think it was on Boston and Queen Anne Ave.) I loved walking there for several reasons. First was for the mocha. This was my kick-start for the high energy environment that I was headed to (a newsroom.) Second was (and this is sorta sad) that it was the first place every day where I would actually talk to another person. I'm guessing that for many of those who are single and live in the city, the first thing you hear from another person at the beginning of the day is "Welcome to Starbucks, can I take your order?"

The third reason I walked up to this location was because the bus route originated (i.e. first stop.). This meant I could guarantee a seat anywhere on the bus. After much thought and many bus rides I determined that the best seat was behind the back door on the right-hand side of the bus. From this perch, I could see everyone in front of me and because there is a Plexiglas shield separating the doorway and that elevated position, I could see reflections behind me. I could see all.

Typically I would sit in this seat, drink my Starbucks, listen to music, and read (all at the same time.) From time to time I would remove my headphones just to listen to a quiet, full bus. Again, full bus...people standing in the aisle...no sound, just engine noise.

Until the morning I changed all of that--if only for a moment. On that particular day, I rode the bus sitting at my typical perch, listening to Cirrus and reading "Fight Club" for the tenth time. It was a warmer day because I remember feeling the sun on my arm and wearing short sleeves.

I was halfway to my destination and fully involved with my book when the hair on my right arm kept twitching like a piece of lint was caught in it. With my coffee in my left hand and my headphones in my ears I looked to my right and saw the biggest, hairiest spider I had ever seen in my life, headed up my arm toward the open part of my sleeve.

My reaction was what you would expect of any twenty-something former Marine. I screamed like a little girl. Not only did I scream, but I screamed until I could hear myself over the music in my headphones. The coffee in my left hand flew up and mocha coated the Plexiglas in front of me. I brushed the hairy spider off my arm and it fell to the floor in front of me. I stomped and stomped HARD until I was convinced that I had killed it by observing the bug juices smeared on the floor.

At this point I was oblivious to anything else around me and my headphones were still in my ears. I regained my composure and looked around the bus. Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy. To them I had screamed and stomped the floor for no apparent reason. I tried to explain it to the one person who maintained eye contact with me, but he just shook his head.

After a couple of minutes I could see other people giggling to each other about my reaction--I laughed pretty hard at myself, too. I tried to imagine what it must have looked like to all the other business commuters on that dead silent bus.

Starting the next day I took an earlier bus and did so for the rest of my time in Seattle.

Now...back to our story . . .

(just after 6am on the bus going to the ferry terminal)

We hopped off the bus near the Space Needle and walked the remaining 1/2 mile to Pier 69 where we were to catch the Victoria Clipper. It was just before 7am and the sun was still down. It felt like we were the only people on the waterfront. Once inside the terminal we got in line, passed through security and got on board.

The Victoria Clipper is a relatively high speed, fully enclosed passenger ferry that takes people from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia in about 2 and a half hours. The ferry we were on had two levels with a view from nearly every seat. There were also food and beverages served on board so Nicole and I were able to wake up with a fresh cup of coffee.

About an hour after leaving Seattle the sun broke through the clouds and we were able to see the many islands and the shoreline of the Olympic Peninsula. For the time remaining on the boat I watched for any signs of a breaching killer whale while Nicole spread out over 3 seats and was swayed asleep by the gentle rocking of the boat.

I had never been to Victoria and to be honest, had always been turned off by what I had heard. "Oh the gardens and flowers are so beautiful," or "You must have high tea at the Empress Hotel". The more I heard about it, the more it sounded like something that would never appeal to me.

The boat slowed and eventually we made our way through Outer Victoria Harbor (or should I say Harbour?) As we entered the Inner Harbour I felt like we were arriving on the shores of some European country. The unique, modern architecture of the condos and homes were a refreshing change from the typical style that line the streets of the Pearl District in downtown Portland. Mixed in with new was the old...Victorian old. The Empress Hotel is on the elbow of the Inner Harbour and as we approached the still waters reflected the red ivy that covered the building. I could tell by looking that Victoria wasn't just a city of flowers and tea; it was a cosmopolitan town with international influence.

We hardly took two steps out of Canadian Customs before I pulled my camera out and started taking pictures of everything. On each trip I try to learn a little more about my camera and photography, and I think that on this trip it paid off. Because the sun was so low in the sky (even at midday) the lighting was perfect for pictures. The majority of the pictures I took were a little on the dark side, but that touch made the photos even more "European." (When was the last time you saw a bright picture of London, Paris, or Amsterdam?)

We walked to our hostel (near Chinatown) and checked our packs in (we couldn't check in until 3pm) and headed back to town to find a bite to eat. Nicole had done research before our trip and found a very good (and cheap) sushi restaurant, Sushi Plus. For those of you that need sushi to be served in a neo-uber-space age-sterile-swanky-pretentious-environment, Sushi Plus is not for you. It was a very small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant where you can see all of the food being prepared. The nigiri wasn't dyed which made the whole experience seem a lot more legitimate. It was obviously a local choice because it was packed with business people (not tourists...except us.)

We visited the many restaurants, stores, and sights of the area-all of them wonderful. I do want to list the restaurants and our hostel as it may be useful for those who need some travel ideas:

Our accommodations:

Ocean Island Backpackers Inn
http://www.oceanisland.com/
1-888-888-4180
791 Pandora Avenue
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada

Cons: If you want to go to sleep before 1am...bring earplugs.

Pros: Clean rooms, great functional furniture (think IKEA), infinite hot water, little cafe/bar on premises, travel information galore, and international traveler energy.

- - -

Places We Ate:

Sushi Plus
Irish Times
Demitasse
Green Cuisine
Siam Thai
The Mint
Mirage Coffee

The next day we walked all over Victoria. We went to hat shops, vegan restaurants (I drank water), many clothing stores and walked around the harbour.

I could spend all day taking pictures. We stood out on a rocky point in the cold, snapping photos of ferries, planes, and boats that seemed to go in and out of the harbor non-stop.

The planes were fun to watch because (on this day) they were flying in from the west, dropping down near the bridge, then suddenly banking to the right just before touching down on the water. It is definitely worth watching if you are ever in Victoria.

That evening (Friday night) Nicole and I hit the town...to the best of our ability. We had incredible Thai food and I am convinced that I ate an entire red onion (my dish was ground chicken, cilantro, red onion, and a little bit of lemon or lime juice).

After we finished we decided to go to a pub for a drink and desert. The whole town was packed with locals (mostly students from University of Victoria) so it was a little hard to find a place that wasn't standing room only. We eventually found a nice, down-tempo bar known as The Mint. Admittedly, we stood out like sore thumbs in our sensible clothing amongst the swankiest of swanky. That didn't stop me from ordering a Phillips Chocolate Porter and a piece of chocolate cake. Nicole ordered a fresh raspberry pureed mint julep. Though we didn't stay there long, we enjoyed sitting at the bar, looking around at the artwork and watching people. The bartenders were very nice and hospitable. The Mint is a place where you can hang out, listen to live music (that night there was a DJ) and "be cool" for hours on end.

The next day we took the public bus to Butchart Gardens. We had procrastinated this trip because the weather the day before was so gloomy. Saturday ended up being the best day because it was sunny and gorgeous outside.

The bus ride from Victoria was just under 45 minutes but that was because it was public transit. There are buses that go straight there, but they cost more than we were willing to shell out. It's also nice to ride the public bus because you meet some interesting people...but I'll get to that in a little bit.

The gardens are spectacular (even though there are far fewer flowers than spring and summer.) Nicole and I fought over the camera as we walked around the fifty acre park. The gardens are split into several sections such as a Japaneese garden, Rose garden, Chinese garden, etc. At the bottom of this entry is a link to more pictures of our trip and of the gardens.

Our plan was to go to a nearby Cajun restaurant that served alligator meat, but after walking through the gardens, I talked Nicole out of it because of time considerations (we had to be back to the ferry by 5pm.) After my hotdog at the visitor center, we hopped back onto the public transit bus to town.

As I mentioned, public transportation can help travelers meet interesting people. Because the bus was completely packed Nicole and I were forced to stand with many others in the aisle. About halfway through the trip I turned to see Nicole talking with someone at the very back of the bus. The girl she was talking to had a white face, black hair, and fake blood running from her mouth to her neck. Nicole asked if the girl was on her way to a Halloween party. The girl explained that the makeup was for something completely different.

Apparently in towns across the world there are random "flash mob" events called....wait for it...wait for it...Zombie Walks. The way it works is people go to a website (such as this one zombiewalk.com) and find out when and where a zombie walk will be held. At the time and place the zombie walk will be held people show up in full zombie costumes and makeup. Once assembled, they depart from the meeting location and walk around acting like zombies to another destination. The mob will go through malls, town squares, and even clog intersections all while holding their arms out in front of them and screaming "more brains" (you may need to do your zombie research to understand.)

After quizzing this girl, Nicole found out that the Zombie Walk was at 4 pm at a square close to our hostel. Excited for the photo opportunity, we got off at our stop, grabbed a quick bite to eat and went to the square and waited for them to gather.

I could not believe the number of people that showed up for this event. There were zombies everywhere. From little children to seniors, there were people who had spent hours on makeup. Nicole and I felt like press photographers as we ran around snapping photos at the very willing subjects.

Just before 4pm the mob came to life and started zombie-ing across the square and into town. I have to admit it was very eerie to have hundreds of people walk toward you (all in character) and scream "we want to eat brains!" In a few minutes the mob of nearly a thousand people filtered into the city and out of sight.

Here is a handful of the zombie pictures we took: http://picasaweb.google.com/NicoleandJeff/ZombiesInVictoria#

On our trip to catch the ferry (half an hour later) we ran into the mob again. This time they were far more dispersed and taking advantage of the uneasiness that it caused tourists on the street. Zombies were chasing people, walking up to cars at stoplights, and posing at every photo opportunity. We found ourselves captivated...so much so that we had to rush to catch our ferry.

On the ferry Nicole faded in and out of sleep, while I sat with a recently retired couple who were on their last leg of an around-the-world trip. They had gone from Chicago to Poland to India to Thailand to South Korea to Canada (Vancouver then Victoria) and were going to Seattle before returning to Illinois. Apparently they have been doing these 3 week "around the world" trips for the last 15 years. Each time they change it up a bit and visit different countries. The husband and I talked almost the entire trip about cameras, GPS devices, and the many places they have been.

We arrived in Seattle near 9pm and we had no idea where we were going to stay. You think we would have learned after THIS incident.

We walked up to the hostel near Pike's Place Market and checked to see if they had any private rooms. The guy at the front desk told us that they didn't but that we should check up the street at a place called the Moore Hotel. I barely wanted to stay at a hostel and the idea of staying in a cheap hotel nearby made me uneasy. At this point, Nicole and I talked about splurging on a really nice hotel.

Nevertheless, we walked the three or four blocks up the street to check out the Moore Hotel. Before walking in I told Nicole "let's ask to SEE the room before doing this." I was a little jaded from our Lynnwood experience a couple of months earlier.

At the front desk was Bob. Bob was about our age, energetic, clean cut yet Seattle-esque. He told us that the rooms were just over 60 bucks (not including tax) and that some had shared bathrooms. We decided to check out a room with its own bathroom. The room we checked out was clean, simple and seemed like a bargain so Nicole and I went back down and told him that we would take it (or one like it.)

Nicole asked Bob point-blank what the catch was. The entire lobby was marble and the building was vintage and clean. The rooms were very nice, very clean, and quiet, but the price seemed too good to be true. We had just called the Westin to check their rates (just a few blocks away) and they wanted 280 bucks a night. Nicole asked without any hesitation, "Is this place haunted?" Bob explained that the Moore Hotel was left to the wife and daughters of the prior owner and that the family isn't interested in turning the place into a swanky hotel. With that, Bob checked us into our room (mumbling something about an upgrade) and we took the ancient, tiny elevator to the fifth floor.

After walking down the longest, quietest hallway, we arrived at our room. Nicole gasped when she opened the door. Bob had REALLY upgraded us. We had expected to see a bed and a window like the first room we checked. Instead, it was a dining area (with a table for 8) a living room, a kitchen, and in the distance a glass door to the bedroom. It was huge. The windows were gigantic. There was a couch and two love seats, a refrigerator, stove top, and a flat screen TV. The bedroom had a gigantic bed and a view of the Sound (between buildings.) I was shocked at what we got for such a great price.

We went back downstairs to get suggestions for late night food and to thank Bob for the upgrade. He named off a few places to grab a late night snack and we decided to go with his suggestion for an Italian restaurant called La Vita E Bella in Belltown.

The food there was incredible! I actually found myself staring at my food trying to figure out how to prolong my meal (I got a mushroom ravioli) so it would never end. Our server was very helpful and we ended up talking with her for the majority of the meal. I highly recommend this place if you are ever in Seattle.

The next morning we walked to the train station, discussing our trip the whole time. We swung by a great coffee joint just before boarding the train, called Zeitgeist Coffee. Nicole even made the claim that they made the best rice latte she has ever had.

Eventually we boarded our train bound for Portland excited for our next adventure...whatever it may be.

Here are more photos from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/NicoleandJeff/VictoriaTrip#

Intermission

2008-10-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

We are still here.

Nicole and I have been reading and researching as much as possible in preparation for our next step. Unfortunately, the state of the economic world has made things seem like it may be more challenging. I make the mistake (daily) of looking at the gloom and doom that is being constantly reported and can't help but get sucked in. It's also fair to say that I really don't know how this "situation" will affect our future. Needless to say, I'm not too worried. . .we have worked really hard to break the chains that connect us to it.

I've been wondering if the movie "Fight Club" is being rented more often right now. I used to watch that movie nearly everyday before I went to work at a restaurant on NW 23rd in Portland. The year was 1999, everybody was drinking Starbucks, talking on cell phones, and spending money on knickknacks for their condos:

~ ~ ~

The NW Portland Years (1999-2000)
I hated living in that part of Portland, yet I had worked really hard to find this "Shangri la" when I had been living in Bend. Don't get me wrong, Bend was great at the time. I ran everyday and mountain biked every other day but Bend at the time lacked the cosmopolitan experience for someone my age (25) . . . so I set my sights on Northwest Portland.

Northwest Portland is more than just a geographical reference to a part of Portland, it's more of a neighborhood. In the late 1990s it was an up and coming shopping district with boutique shops, outdoor dining, and coffee shops with parking spots for your dot-com Lamborghini.

I initially moved to NW 21st with a friend who also thought it would be fun to move from the small town of Bend to the giant city of Portland. He and I had already been roommates for a while in Central Oregon so we knew that we could get along. After only a few months in Portland, he bought a dog and moved back to Bend (then joined the Air Force and has been in for 8 years.)

Eventually it was only me in a two bedroom apartment overlooking The Gypsy (restaurant.) The apartment was the cheapest thing I could find in that neighborhood and it showed from time to time. An example of how "affordable" it was became evident when one morning I woke up to find that the walls of my bathroom were ballooning. It looked like giant moles had burrowed down the wall from the ceiling and were making their way to the floor. I lived on the 3rd floor of a 4 story apartment building so I knew that trouble was coming from above. The curious boy in me decided to push with my finger on these raised portions of the wall. The paint immediately gave way and a steady stream of warm soapy water sprayed all over my bathroom. Apparently the pipes above my bathroom had broken just below their bathtub.

What was funny about that experience is that in the days following, the management worked to fix it at a snails pace. At one point (or should I say the breaking point) the maintenance guy cut a hole in my ceiling (my upstairs neighbor's floor) right in front of their toilet. I walked in there and looked up to only see a pair of crumpled Levi jeans covering the a 5 inch by 5 inch hole. Minutes later there was a flush and the jeans disappeared and I could see my neighbor's bathroom ceiling. I was on the phone within minutes demanding resolution to this problem and used the whole situation as leverage for the best apartment in the building (at the same rent.) I moved to the fourth floor the very next day.

So now that I had the coolest apartment, in the hippest part of town, one would think I would have been happy. It didn't work that way at all. Because living in that part of town everyone would put on their best outfit to shop or "be cool" on a restaurant patio, I felt like I needed to look my best even when I would walk to the store for bread. Being single at the time compounded this environmental insecurity.

I eventually learned to tune out most of the neighborhood. I would listen to headphones if I was studying at a coffee shop, go on long drives out of the city, and I also kept a bag of water balloons next to my bed.

As mentioned earlier, I lived right next to a restaurant called The Gypsy. This place (at the time) was not really a destination restaurant, more of a "Let's meet at The Gypsy before we go dancing" or "Let's all go to the Gypsy now that we have been dancing." Get the picture?

I had no AC and in the summer everyone in that apartment had to leave their window open to stay cool. It was wonderful to be on the top floor with my windows open because the breeze kept it just right. The only problem was that The Gypsy down below tended to attract young drunk males who typically would take fights out to the sidewalk...at 2 in the morning. Because my sleep was valuable to me, I became very irritated with the constant scuffles that occurred just 4 stories below my window. The solution: water balloons.

To be clear, I had a couple of tactical advantages to my location.

I lived on the 4th floor
I lived above a huge tree (the tree top was around the 3rd floor)
The street lights were below my position
I lived in a keypad secured building
Everyone had their window open with the lights off
My door had double locks
They were drunk
I was sober

Nothing changes the attitude of two drunk alpha males like a water balloon to the head. Typically I would lob the balloon (this helped mask the point of origin) on to the head of the more aggressive of the two. After impact I would hide for a moment or two and listen to the reaction of the targets. Surprisingly it was often the same reaction. They would instantly befriend each other in the name of finding whoever threw the water balloon. "You go that way around the block and I will go this way and we'll beat the crap out of him." This response happened most of the time. Two would-be enemies would team up to fight a new bad guy. Fortunately for me, no one ever had the sense to look up to the apartments...thank goodness for alcohol.

This annoyance along with many others made Northwest Portland a tough place for me to be happy. Near the end I made the best of it. My form of entertainment was going to the Starbucks on the corner of 23rd and Hoyt and people watching. It is still a great place to watch people to this day.

One day just for fun outside of that Starbucks I pretended to tie my shoe on the sidewalk and instead affixed a quarter to the sidewalk with superglue. I stood on it for a couple minutes before going back inside. I sat at the bar inside Starbucks facing the window for over an hour watching people try to pry that quarter from the sidewalk. I watched as older women would pull out tools from their purse such as a metal nail file trying to get it. I had no idea a glob of glue and a quarter could provide so much entertainment.

I eventually moved far away from that part of town and look back at those years as a "growing experience." Years later I would learn that the love of my life, my wife Nicole, worked two blocks away from that apartment during the same time. I find myself constantly wondering how close we came to each other without meeting. I know that my whole perspective would have been different if I had met her then.

~ ~ ~

I will try to write more little historical "episodes" when we have gaps between our adventures. Hopefully this will help provide insight for the inspiration of our journey.

Lastly, Nicole and I might be close to another adventure...but we have to keep it under wraps for now.

The Drawing Board . . .

2008-09-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

We are still in the Portland area, examining opportunities near and far. As fall approaches we have taken some extra efforts to add structure to our daily activities to keep us on track. I even bought the book "Getting Things Done" to help further our efforts. After rethinking our Whitefish experience we have re-focused our efforts and have been volunteering locally while still looking for our "place."

Throughout the summer we have been exposed to a number of volunteer resources, programs, and other organizations that are worth looking into. If you have ever wanted to volunteer (even briefly) or are looking into a career path that might be rewarding I recommend looking into the below websites (or search here: http://www.volunteermatch.org/) Also share some of your own as a comment...we would love to create a larger list!

(In Random Order)

Quest Aircraft:
Quest Aircraft Company, located in Sandpoint, Idaho, USA, produces the Kodiak, a single engine turboprop high wing STOL aircraft. The company was started in an effort to design an aircraft suitable for humanitarian applications throughout the world. The Kodiak's high useful-load is approximately equal to its empty weight, making it a very effective cargo airplane. An effort was made with the design and production of the Kodiak to produce an aircraft that outperformed its competition while selling for significantly less.

Forward Edge International:
Forward Edge International alleviates suffering through disaster-response work, health-care projects and programs for at-risk children. Since 1983, more than 10,000 ordinary people have found extraordinary purpose through serving with Forward Edge in many parts of the U.S. and 34 nations.

Club Rust:
ClubRust is a Christ-centered group of men and women that travel from the Pacific North West to Baja, Northern Mexico every year to build homes for the people living in make-shift shelters. It takes 3 days of hard work for a team of around 20 people to put up one of these homes. Families with kids are also welcome on trips.

~ ~ ~

Since we have been back (just over a week) we have renewed our interest in hot yoga, eating locally grown produce (expect an entry devoted to this in the future), and for our dog...rolling in horse poop (see photo right.)

Oh...and by the way...our dog now has a blog.
http://amusingmutt.blogspot.com/

The Return To Whitefish, Montana

2008-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

The best part of life is that one never knows what will happen after waking up. Some of us have routines or schedules that we follow to help frame the day, but at any given moment plans could change and at the end of the day something could redefine a new routine or path for the rest of your life.

Nicole and I had a list of goals for our most recent trip to Whitefish:

Drive to Whitefish
Find a temporary (6 months or less) place to live
Follow up on job leads
Park car at new residence
Take the train back to Portland
Pack up everything (95% is ready to go)
Drive the truck with a U-Haul trailer to Whitefish
Start a new life in Montana.

We left early Labor Day morning (we were out the door around 6:30am) for our long drive to Whitefish, Montana. The trip according to Google maps is roughly 10 hours. We tend to take a break every 60 miles on windy roads and every 100 miles on interstates. Though it adds about an hour to every 4th hour of predicted time by Google, it really helps keep our energy up.

As with most road trips to someplace exciting, we were buzzing about our future in Whitefish. We talked about what we would like to do and I emphasized that we would probably make less money than the big city and that it would be COLD during the winter (think snow on the ground for 3 months.) Together we attempted to acclimatize each other so we could hit the ground running.

In the back of my mind, I was dreading the stretch between The Dalles and Spokane. I'm not sure if it's the lack of mountains or the permanent orange hue that blankets the landscape in fall. We borrowed the book on CD "Blink" (which I had read) and listened to it as a distraction to the bleakness. This stretch is four hours long, but felt longer than our entire trip across the country. If anyone knows of an alternate route to Spokane from Portland, please let us know!

We did finally make it through and we stopped just beyond Spokane in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. We ate a couple of burgers from Red Robin and I took a little nap in the parking lot afterward. Feeling like we were falling behind schedule we stretched a little and headed out of Idaho.

One of the most beautiful places on earth is just off of I-90 in Montana. We turned off of the road at St Regis and drove north along the Clark Fork River. This river is what I imagined Norman Maclean was trying to convey about Montana in his book "A River Runs Through It." This river is so incredible and I instantly made plans in my head to go fly fishing with my father someday in the future. I could care less if I didn't catch anything.

After this turn off to the north, the scenery only got more beautiful. Towns like Paradise (aptly named) and Plains had me wondering if Nicole and I could ever retire in such a remote and beautiful river valley. We made our turn just short of Plains and drove through the Flathead Indian Reservation.

We finally arrived in Whitefish just before sundown. Just prior to checking into a hotel we drove all through town looking at shops, homes, and neighborhoods. There were deer everywhere on the road up to the mountain. It was 38 degrees outside (September 1st!). We found our hotel, checked in and went to bed excited to explore and check off the items on our list.

We woke up early the next morning (6am MDT) and quickly got ready to check out a cabin just outside of town. Nicole had found an ad in the paper or online (not sure which) that didn't describe the place at all and had no pictures. We drove out there after getting some directions from the real estate agent.

Immediately after seeing this cabin I knew I wanted to live there. Situated on 10 acres in the forest was a simple cabin on the top of a small rise with a pathway/staircase leading to it. Getting out of the car you could hear nothing but the wind in the tall trees and our feet scrunching on pine needles. This sturdy cabin (with a detached garage) was exactly what we were looking for.

We ran up to the log cabin (we didn't have keys nor was anyone living there) and looked in every available window to peek inside. We could see a stone fireplace, a kitchen, a large sun room, a guest room and a bathroom just from walking to each window.

Walking around the garage I spooked a large doe which ran around the garage and spooked Nicole. Given that the house was in a draw I suspect that a lot of wildlife would cut through this part of the woods. Nicole called up the rental agent to see what we needed to do to get an inside look.

After hearing that all we needed to do was get keys from the agent, we jumped in the car and drove back to town. On the trip to town, I timed how long it took to get from the cabin back to town. In just 14 short minutes we were in downtown Whitefish now with keys in hand.

This time I drove (to see if I could beat the 14 minutes) back up to the cabin. The whole way there I was trying to imagine how much longer it would take in snow. The roads didn't really allow for speeds greater than 35 so it wouldn't be too much longer if the roads were icy or snowy. It was important to us not to be too far out of town as we would have jobs that we would need to get to regardless of weather conditions.

I was blowing Nicole's time out of the water when I saw a dog sitting out in a field. It was a little bit bigger than our dog (of 65+ pounds) and had a black body and a white head. It looked like it was just sitting there waiting for his master.

As we got closer I slammed on the brakes. It was no dog. It was the biggest Bald Eagle I had ever seen in my life. I've seen Golden Eagles (which I believe are typically bigger than Bald Eagles) and it seemed to be even larger. Nicole gasped and I scrambled to put on the zoom lens for the camera. A couple of bicyclists rode by as I was taking pictures and nearly crashed when they saw this bird. Though there was nothing close by to show scale I took pictures of this mighty bird.

We drove away stunned, toward the cabin and Nicole's time to town would remain unbeaten for now. At the cabin, we ran up to the door and started taking pictures. The inside was more incredible than the outside. The house was made from whole logs and felt like a meteor could hit it and it would remain intact. Every room was amazing and felt like home. We went upstairs and playfully argued about which room would be the bedroom and which would be the craft/office room. My stomach ached I was so excited.

We drove back to town and filled out the application for this dream home. This rent was half of our former mortgage payment and we were excited to follow up on some jobs in the area now that we had figured out where we were going to be. We ate lunch nearby and I was a little edgy (tired mixed with stress of everything.) Nicole drove me back to the hotel and I took a needed nap.

After waking up we had still not heard back from the rental agency, so in the name of caution, we looked up some other properties and planned an afternoon of looking at other homes. Because of our time line we needed to have a place nailed down by the next day before noon (our train left that night.)

Nicole went back into the rental agency to get keys to another place in town when she got the news. The cabin that we loved . . . had been rented to another person who had filled out an application the Saturday before we arrived. The morning agent didn't know this because she had been out of town and thought we were the first to inquire and apply. The owner of the company had already shown the house to this person and the deal was 99% done.

Nicole and I did our best not to be upset over this setback and spent the remainder of the afternoon looking at places around town. Unfortunately we couldn't push the cabin out of our minds for many reasons. Seeing the cabin helped us realize that we really DO want to be out of town and in the woods. Also we were shown huge houses all within our price range (one even had a hot tub) and it felt like too much house for us. We wanted simple.

Nicole and I sat in the parking lot of another rental agency discussing the future. We talked about Whitefish and the concept of Small Town USA. We sat in that car for a very long time. We knew that it wasn't the right time for Whitefish. If you want to know specifics, I'd love to tell anyone in person what we talked about in the car, but I won't go into it here; I don't want to minimalize by posting it on a blog.

It was the end of the day on Tuesday and we had just gone from future residents of Whitefish to tourists! We went back to our hotel room, ate leftovers from the night before and sat in the hot tub still spinning from our sudden change of plans.

We woke up the next morning and hit the road out of town. As I mentioned earlier, the one who applied before us for the cabin had only completed 99% of the process to get the cabin which meant that there was a remote chance of getting it. Knowing this we still drove out of town, out of cell phone range, chattering all the way about what exciting things lay ahead for us.

We stopped at many roadside vistas. Thompson Lake was our first stop. Nicole I walked out to a small pier to look out into one of the clearest lakes I have ever seen. The lake was so clear that when you went out on the dock it felt like you were high off the ground (the underwater drop off was dramatic and visible probably 100 feet below!)

We stopped in Libby, Montana which is a really neat town with nothing going for it. It's a former logging town situated at the base of the Cabinet Mountains and has the feel of a resort location (minus the resort)with the skeleton of blue collar industry. The movie "Always" was filmed in the area of Libby and Bull Lake.

The local gas station attendant told us to stop by Kootenai Falls on our way out of the area. She mentioned a swing bridge near the falls and I really didn't think much of it. This swing bridge turned out to be pretty dramatic. After a short walk down the trail to the falls, we arrived at the bridge which hung 100 feet or so over the raging Kootenai River. I'm not scared of heights (anymore) but this bridge made me a little nervous.

Surprisingly, Nicole who is afraid of heights (or as she now says "has an appropriate respect for high places") climbed to the top of the stairs leading to the bridge and told me she would like to try to go out on the bridge.

We waited for a few people to cross because the bridge literally does swing and has a five person limit. Nicole then started across the bridge. I can't tell you what it was like to watch her face her fear like this. She stepped one cross beam at a time holding on to the rope railings pausing when the bridge would start to sway. Watching her I could see her actively fighting her fears (and winning) and at times it was as if she wasn't even on the bridge at all, but in some distant place defeating a faceless monster. She made it halfway across and felt satisfied (and a little exausted) and turned around and made her trip back to the cliff edge. I am so proud of her, not for crossing the bridge, but for facing her fear so willingly and with determination to set a new standard for herself.

Nicole had a spring in her step as we walked to the falls nearby. The falls were not a huge drop, but the volume of water that flowed down was amazing. Nicole mentioned that she expected to see a bear at the top of the falls swiping at jumping fish (it really looked like that scene from a wildlife video...minus any bears.)

Ironically, Nicole and I were looking down at the falls when a man and his wife (whom we had met on the bridge earlier and watched Nicole start her bridge crossing) came up from behind and nearly scared us off the cliff. The man was very embarrassed knowing that Nicole was a little acrofobic and apologized for giving her a heart attack; they had only wanted us to take their picture in front of the falls.

Eventually we got back on the road again and drove down to Sandpoint, Idaho stopping for lunch at the best potato restaurant in the world. We walked by real estate offices and dreamed of owning a small piece of land in the area.

Just west of Sandpoint we managed to stop by two animal shelters/stores (one in Priest River and the other in Oldtown, Idaho.) At the first shelter we played in a cat room for half an hour then hung out with the local stray and rescued dogs for another 30 minutes. Nicole and I wanted to take them all home, but for a variety of reasons, we didn't. Similarly in Newport we visited all the exotic animals (including a Bengal Tiger that I made friends with) for another hour. As much I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to buy the Vietnamese potbelly pig, emu, and two pug/dachshund puppies that Nicole so desperately needed.

We eventually spent the night in Spokane and ordered Red Robin (again) this time as a "to go" order. We got back to our room and found that they had gotten both of our orders wrong so Nicole called the manager. Though our orders were not that far off from what we had wanted (meaning I ate mine anyway) the manager insisted that he brought us the food that we originally had ordered and delivered it to our hotel! Joe (the manager at this particular location) said to Nicole, "Red Robin is known for 'Gourmet' burgers and if that isn't what you get then they aren't doing their jobs." Our revised order came 15 minutes later and he threw in two cokes free of charge. It's nice to see customer service taken to that level in a day and age where it's tough to get a cashier just to make eye contact with you.

The next morning we drove home (again through the painful orange dreary between Spokane and the Gorge) and were happy to be 'home.'

We are going to spend the next week or so working on a new plan and hope to share it with everyone really soon!

PHOTOS FROM THE TRIP: http://picasaweb.google.com/NicoleandJeff/AnotherTripToWhitefishMontana#

What's Next!?!?

2008-08-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Most of our summer goals (which changed frequently) have been completed and we are starting the next phase: relocation. One of our goals on this long road trip (and others that we did over the summer) was to research moving to a smaller town and attempt to start a life there. On our most recent "X-ing America" adventure we intentionally went out of our way to drive to many tiny towns and one stuck out a little more than the rest.

We are actively researching the beautiful town of Whitefish, Montana. Nestled in the northwest corner of the state, Whitefish is a small town of around 6,000 people that has a ski area overlooking the city. The downtown area consists of great restaurants and shops all nestled tightly together in a handful of city blocks.

The Whitefish Chamber Of Commerce describes the town like this:

"There is only one Whitefish. Tucked tight against Big Mountain and the stunning peaks of Glacier National Park, Whitefish is a year-round playground steeped in the romance of the rails. From its historic railroad depot to its charming Central Avenue, Whitefish was built on the personalities, generosity, and wisdom of its residents. Cafes mingle with gourmet restaurants, general stores share the downtown with galleries and boutiques, and a variety of western bars will suit any mood. You will also find sophisticated amenities like inns, hotels, rustic lodges, ski and board shops, outdoor gear stores and more. Whatever leads you to Whitefish - the historic downtown, the dramatic landscape, or your own wanderlust- you'll be glad you followed it."

There are a number of requirements that a small town must have for us to consider living there.

Must be under 10,000 people
Must have a reputable hospital
Must have a reputable school system
Must have a larger city nearby (within an hour's drive)
Housing must be affordable
Must have a way for us to stay healthy and active year round
Must be dog friendly
Lakes and/or streams must be nearby
Mountains and forest must be nearby
Should not be on an interstate or "through road"

There are many more standards that Nicole and I have created, but I wanted to illustrate that there is a method to our selections. Geography (economic, cultural, physical, etc) is one of my passions and has had a major influence in our decision making and I believe that Whitefish is ideal for a number of reasons.

First, there is water everywhere. Whitefish Lake, Flathead Lake, Hungry Horse Reservoir along with the rivers and streams that flow in and our of them. I think with any great place in the world, one will find water nearby. Conversely, an area that has little water seems to have problems down the road.

Second, the proximity of Kalispell to Whitefish makes it very appealing. I read somewhere that "Migration between two cities is proportional to the product of the two cities' populations and inversely proportional to the intervening distance" (if it seems familiar that's because it's similar to that of the theory of gravity.) I haven't exactly put exact figures into this equation yet, but my gut feeling says that that Kalispell helps keep Whitefish going (along with nearby Columbia Falls.)

Nicole and I are continuing to research and budget the feasibility of relocating there for the next week or so. We would need to spend at least four months there before we could really determine if this is where we want to stay for years to follow.

We will keep you posted as we find out more. In the meantime, checkout this Craigslist ad we created: http://montana.craigslist.org/hss/806554617.html

Crossing America: Day 17-19 (The Last Leg)

2008-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Prineville, Oregon(2 days there) to Portland, Oregon
August 16th-August 18th
Distance: 168 miles
Time In Truck: 8:45am to 2pm

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It's taken me too long to write since we have officially arrived back in the Portland area. For one thing, it feels nice to not be driving and I have been enjoying catching up on news, books, and various research. Our sleep patterns are somewhat back to normal and we are eating balanced meals again (one cannot survive on Black Pepper Triscuits and Easy Cheese.)

All those days on the road actually did have one side effect. I was napping the other day and something suddenly woke me. Startled, I looked around the room and I was very confused. Everything looked familiar. For some reason my brain had become accustomed to being "not home" that when I saw we were in fact "home," I started to panic. 'We're we in an accident? Was this road trip a dream? Who brought me back here?' It didn't quite make sense that we had actually driven all the way back. It was as the DC to Portland trip had not been completed in my subconscious. After I woke up completely, I was so happy to know that the trip had been completed.

Crossing America: Day 16

2008-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Coeur D'Alene, Idaho to Prineville, Oregon
August 15th
Distance: 391 miles
Time In Truck: 6:30am to 4pm

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Crossing America: Day 15

2008-08-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
August 14th

We spent the day walking around and taking pictures in Coeur D'Alene.

(Photos will be added later)

Crossing America: Day 14

2008-08-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Missoula, Montana to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
August 13th
Distance: 170 miles
Time In Truck: 11:30am (MDT) to 2:30p (PDT)

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Crossing America: Day 13

2008-08-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

Whitefish, Montana to Missoula, Montana
August 12th
Distance: 145 miles
Time In Truck: 12pm to 5pm

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Crossing America: Day 12

2008-08-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

Butte, Montana To Seely Lake, Montana to Columbia Falls, Montana to Logans Pass, to Whitefish, Montana
August 11th
Distance: 350 miles
Time In Truck: 6:15am to 6:30pm

Once again Google Maps couldn't handle our route so I left the map off this post

Crossing America: Day 11

2008-08-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

Bozeman, Montana to Butte, Montana
August 10th
Distance: 104 miles
Time In Truck: 12:30pm to 2:30pm

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Crossing America: Day 10 (Includes Summary Since Chicago . . .)

2008-08-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't really had the time or energy to sit down and write what we have seen and experienced since we left Chicago so I thought I would take a moment to recap. Before I start it's important to note that it is impossible to keep track of all the odds and ends we have seen so far and Nicole and I often comment back to each other how we hope to "remember it all." I will try to highlight some of the interesting sights since we left Chicago.

Chicago was such a recharging experience that nearly every day after we have been getting up early and trying to walk, take pictures, and grab coffee before we dawdle across America. This has really helped us feel a little better about sitting for hours (because of the exercise) in the car. It has also allowed us to take more pictures in good light (mornings are great photo times.) When we finish this trip I hope to post "The Best Of The Best."

As mentioned before, we left Chicago in the nick of time and traveled north toward Minneapolis. I was really surprised how beautiful Wisconsin and Minnesota are and quickly changed my preconceived notions about these northern mid-west states. Though they lack mountains (by definition a mountain is over 10,000 feet...citation needed) I was amazed how lush and "cozy" each little town felt.

Minneapolis was beautiful. It felt like Portland minus the hills and sprawl (although we didn't venture out into the surrounding areas.) We stopped in to a Barnes and Noble to find some music for our looming South Dakota leg (we weren't looking forward to it.) The styles and personalities in the bookstore mirrored Portlander attitudes and political views. Minneapolis seemed to be an island of liberal ideals in a sea of conservative states.

Leaving Minneapolis we headed south to Luverne, Minnesota. On this leg I finally saw something that Nicole had talked about since I met her...factory farms. I was a bit surprised having been raised in an area where livestock roam free and never as a child did I think that a cow, chicken, or pig had a hard life. My father would often take us by a sheep farm after church to see the baby lambs and I would think to myself how happy they all were.

We drove by many chicken/goose "sheds" that were literally wall to wall birds. They were all staring out the chicken wire crammed together barely moving...thousands of them. I am still a meat eater and don't plan to change soon, but I can say that I have never seen conditions like this for an animal...and it is saddening...no matter who you are.

After our stay in Luverne, we began our "South Dakota" leg. I knew it was going to be interesting when we passed a billboard after crossing into South Dakota that read "We Dakotans REJECT Animal Activists. Furs, Game, Fish & Livestock are Our Economy!" Nicole couldn't get to her purse quickly enough to write it down. Also, the welcome sign into the state read: "Welcome to South Dakota. Watch Out For Jack Rabbits."

We drove into Sioux Falls, South Dakota...very, very strange town. Our mission was to get an espresso...and it was nearly impossible. The town itself feels like someone created it on SimCity. All the buildings were 3 to 4 stories...and very similar. There were HUGE parking garages full to the brim yet the town had nearly no foot traffic. We stopped by the cafe and bakery to get a mocha and the girl behind the counter pointed to a machine found commonly in hotel lobbies that make "instant" mochas or lattes. Distressed (and wondering if we were in the twilight zone) we did endless circles radiating from city center. By pure luck we found a Starbucks and felt as if we had found the American Embassy in a developing nation. I did a little research on the city and found that it is home to many financial companies (South Dakota doesn't have corporate income tax.)

As expected South Dakota was a long day. We finally arrived in Rapid City, SD around 5pm only to find out that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally had just started (only a town away.) Hotel rates were through the roof and I honestly thought we would have to drive to Wyoming to find a place to stay. Thanks to Nicole, we were able to negotiate a pretty good rate in nearby Hill, SD.

Before we headed to our hotel, we swung by Mount Rushmore. From what I had heard and read about it, I expected to be underwhelmed. It was amazing. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined and the viewing area made for great pictures. I'm not sure if I would plan a family vacation around this destination, but I definitely would recommend it for anyone traveling on I-90...it's worth the detour.

The next morning we got up early and took pictures of Hill City before jumping in the truck and heading for Sheridan by way of Devil's Tower. For anyone who has seen "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" they would recognize this rock formation as the center piece of the movie's plot. Seeing it up close made me feel special; like I had some bragging rights or something. It's pretty spectacular...but I'm not 100% sure it's worth a side trip unless you are a rock climber.

We finally pulled into Sheridan early enough to get a fantastic dinner at the local Mexican Restaurant (which was amazing.) The hotel we stayed in was very interesting. The Mill Inn is a converted wheat mill (with giant silos) into a hotel plus commercial building. The rooms were very unique and had such an insulated feel that Nicole and I thought we were the only ones in the hotel (it was completely booked.) At sunrise we walked to a coffee stand (after walking to a baking only stand that looked just like a coffee stand) and took pictures of locusts along the way. By the time we got back to our room (around 7:30am) it was already hot outside. We spent the rest of the morning getting new windshield wipers, fix-a-flat, and extra water for our adventure over two high mountain passes (each over 9,000 feet.) After filling up we set out for Medicine Wheel (thanks to Pat S for pointing us this way) which is located at 10,000 feet in the Big Horn National Forest.

On our way up to Medicine Wheel, we stopped to watch people launch hang gliders high above the Wyoming flatlands. We had been driving for a while and stopped at a scenic lookout point to find that a bunch of people had gathered to watch two guys take off in hang gliders. I have never seen a hang glider take off (which were literally just a couple of feet from us) but it was incredible. A crowd gathered before they took flight and everyone gasped each time one would run and jump off the precipice. We could have spent all day there but we had to be over the 2nd pass before sundown.

We arrived at the Medicine Wheel parking lot and walked a mile and a half to the location itself. It was a very solemn experience and we elected not to take pictures (it wouldn't have translated anyway.) On our walk back we saw pica (which are super cute giant rats) and evidence of either bear or cougar (we found scat with fur in it.) We jumped back into the truck and descended down a 10% grade for over 12 miles bringing us down to around the 4000 feet in elevation.

We drove through many quiet Wyoming towns that seemed permanently separated from the modern world. We wondered how close the nearest municipal airport was and if people traveled much outside northern Wyoming. It felt very isolated.

After passing through the last of our Wyoming towns (Cody, Wyoming) we headed north toward the infamous Bear Tooth Pass. I love to study maps in my spare time and I have studied the Bear Tooth Pass on more than one occasion. Before we ascended the pass, Nicole spotted a cougar crossing the road ahead of us (I was of course looking at the beautiful landscape and not the road) and because it was a switch back we were able to cross it's prospective path. Instead of seeing the cougar again, we saw it's prey...a coyote. We stopped in the middle of the switchbacks waiting for the cougar to cross either in front or behind us...which never happened. The coyote crossed behind us and we suspect that the cougar gave up his hunt because of the two humans and their cameras sticking out of sunroofs and windows. Unfortunately, we didn't get the "National Geographic" moment we had hoped for.

Minutes before we started our drive up the Beartooth Highway, we were caught in the most spectacular thunderstorm. The clouds made everything so dark I had to turn on the headlights and Nicole barely got out "three Mississippi" before the thunder rattled the truck. I hoped quietly to myself that it would pass over before we climbed up to nearly 11,000 feet...into the heart of most storm clouds.

As we made our right turn onto the Beartooth Highway the storm ended and the sun came out. We only had an hour and a half until sunset so I made my best effort to get up the mountain as safely possible. Never really going faster than 20 miles an hour we eventually crossed over the top at exactly sunset. Along the way we tried to take pictures and observe wildlife but in the interest of time kept it brief. I got a little camera happy at the top and became obsessed with photographing the most incredible rainbow I have ever seen in my life (of course none of them really turned out.) We were both a little exhausted, the sun was going down, and I had absolutely no idea how far the city of Red Lodge was.

We descended down the most frightening switchbacks of my life. I joked with Nicole that it was incredible that a movie hasn't utilized this unbelievable scary road for a car chase scene. We would turn to the left 180 degrees...then turn to the right for what seemed to be 270 degrees and then back again the whole time with sheer cliffs on the outboard side. It was pitch black by the time we reached the valley floor and we didn't roll into Red Lodge, Montana for another 30 minutes.

Exhausted we stopped at the first place in town that didn't have the ominous "NO VACANCY" sign on. Fortunately we got one of the last rooms in town. We dropped our bags in the room and collapsed on the bed...still buzzing from the amazing sights of the day.

We woke up the next morning (today from the author's perspective) and walked around the beautiful city of Red Lodge. Full of antique shops, bakeries, cute espresso cafes, a candy store, and other tourist targeted venues, this city was extremely charming. I had a deep fried donut for breakfast and a mocha with one too many shots in it. Nicole had an Americano that made her so hyper she was pointing at everything and convincing me that we needed to move here.

After chewing the fat with a local at the Candy Emporium, we hit the road and ventured to Bozeman. After one of our shortest car rides yet, we arrived in the early afternoon which allowed us to check in to a hotel early, shower, nap, and best of all catch up on the blog.

Red Lodge, Montana to Bozeman, Montana
August 9th
Distance: 170 miles
Time In Truck: 10am to 1pm

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I haven't looked at the map in detail today, but I think we will head up north tomorrow...

Crossing America: Day 9

2008-08-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

Sheridan, Wyoming to Red Lodge, Montana
August 8th
Distance: 264 miles
Time In Truck: 11am to 9:30pm

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Authors Note: Google Maps couldn't handle the route so the map above is hardly useful.

Here are the step by step route we took:
Sheridan, Wy to Medicine Wheel, Wy to Lovell, Wy to Cody, Wy towards Cooke, Wy to Beartooth Pass, Wy to Red Lodge, MT.

Crossing America: Day 8

2008-08-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hill, South Dakota to Sheridan, Wyoming
August 7th
Distance: 302 miles
Time In Truck: 8:30am to 5pm

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Crossing America: Day 7

2008-08-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

Luverne, Minnesota to Hill, South Dakota
August 6th
Distance: 450 mi
Time In Truck: 8am (CDT) to 7:30pm (MDT)

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Crossing America: Day 6

2008-08-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Portage, Wisconsin to Luverne, Minnesota
August 5th
Distance: 445 mi
Time In Truck: 9am to 8:30p

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Our next leg: Crossing South Dakota...

Crossing America: Day 5

2008-08-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

Oakbrook, Illinois to Portage, Wisconsin
August 4th
Distance: 176 mi
Time In Truck: 2pm to 5pm

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SIDEBAR-Hours after we left Chicago they got slammed with a major storm:

Severe storms rattle Chicago, suburbs
Thunderstorm watch remains

By Dan P. Blake, Steve Schmadeke and Jeremy Gorner

Chicago Tribune staff reporters

7:01 AM CDT, August 5, 2008

Clean-up efforts were under way Tuesday morning after a line of severe thunderstorms moved through the Chicago area Monday night, downing trees and power lines, starting fires, peeling off roofs, briefly closing down both Chicago airports and ending a Cubs game after two rain delays.

About 225,000 Commonwealth Edison customers were without power.

A severe-thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9 a.m. for Grundy and Livingston Counties, the weather service said.

A little over 2 inches of rain fell at O'Hare International Airport during a six-hour span, the weather service said.

Powerful winds and apparently lightning destroyed part of the roof near the main entrance of St. Charles North High School in the far west suburb, which led to water damage to the hallways, guidance center and potentially a portion of the library, said School District 303 Supt. Don Schlomann. Members of a youth baseball group in the building when the storm struck were safely evacuated by the Fire Department, he said.

Power and gas service was shut off to the high school Monday night and structural engineers were scheduled to assess the damage Tuesday to see if the school can be ready to open when classes start Aug. 27, Schlomann said.

Summer school classes at Glenbard East High School in west suburban Lombard were canceled for Tuesday due to a power outage, according to the school's Web site.

Lightning may have sparked fires at a Batavia barn and single-family homes in Hillside and unincorporated Downers Grove, fire officials in those areas said. Powerful winds accompanying the storms knocked down power lines throughout the area and ripped the roofs from a Hillside commercial building and at least a half-dozen homes in the Hickory Oaks subdivision in Bolingbrook.

As of 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, some 225,000 Commonwealth Edison customers were without electricity in northern Illinois due to the weather, according to Jeff Burdick, a ComEd spokesman, who said utility crews had already restored power to more than 175,000 customers since the storms began earlier Monday night.

Of those currently without power, Burdick said, more than 100,000 were in the Chicago area.

Burdick said more than 270 crews, consisting of two to four people, have been working around the clock to restore power, but it was expected to be a multiple-day effort.

In Chicago, there were numerous downed power lines and fires at single-family homes and apartment buildings that were weather-related, said Larry Langford, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman. Many of the fires were "roof or attic" fires, indicating that lightning may have played a role in the blazes, he added..

Langford said the fires, which were put out quickly upon the firefighters' arrival, caused no serious injuries. Firefighters, however, had to rescue several people trapped in their cars under flooded viaducts at various locations on the North and South Sides, he noted.

As of 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, crews from the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation responded to reports of 1,104 damaged trees, 132 malfunctioning traffic signals, 55 damaged street light poles and 92 downed wires. The department said there were also 194 city blocks without working street lights.

A trained spotter reported a tornado touched down in Elmhurst, weather service officials said, but Elmhurst officials said the report was incorrect.

"There was no tornado that touched down," said Elmhurst Police Sgt. Bob Tannehill. "We just had some heavy winds come through the area—some trees down, nothing major, and some downed power lines."

Elmhurst authorities said the minor damage was not confined to any single area of town. No injuries were reported.

Spotters also reported funnel clouds in other west suburbs and officials in Schiller Park said their town suffered wind damage.

In Michigan City, Ind., high winds caused a tree to fall on a car, killing a 23-year-old Michigan City man, authorities said.

About 8 p.m. in downtown Chicago, a calm, warm, humid evening turned into a frightening lashing of wind and strong rains. Tornado sirens could be heard at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs game was delayed twice by the rain.

Thousands of fans were evacuated to the stadium's concourse. Officials warned fans through a public-address system and on the scoreboard to get into the lower levels of the stadium, but thousands remained in their seats. Several fans ran out onto the field and slid on the rain tarp before being pulled away.

There was heavy tree damage in south Maywood and Broadview. Many roads were impassable because of the fallen tree branches.

"This happened so fast," said Broadview resident Roberta McGill, who was taking pictures of a large tree branch that fell on the parkway outside her home. She and her daughter, Nia, 14, saw the sky turn black and green and quickly headed to the basement to wait out the storm. "We hate to lose that tree. That's a lot of shade."

A couple of blocks away in Broadview, Azariah Israel arrived home just after the storm to find a large branch from a backyard tree down across his deck. "It could have been worse," he said.

A window reportedly broke on the 40th floor of the John Hancock Center at 875 N. Michigan Ave. Chestnut Street and Michigan Avenue were closed to traffic. Flooded streets were reported in several suburbs from Tinley Park to Elgin.

Winds of 94 m.p.h. were reported at the Harrison-Dever Crib, about 3 miles offshore in Lake Michigan.

The weather temporarily halted flights at both Chicago airports, according to the city's Department of Aviation. By 9:45 p.m. air travel resumed at O'Hare International and Midway Airports. Nevertheless, flights late Monday night were experiencing delays of up to one hour at O'Hare and 90 minutes at Midway with scattered cancellations.

During the tornado warning, which ended a little before 9 p.m. Monday, O'Hare travelers were temporarily moved to a lower level at the terminals, officials said. More than 350 flights were canceled during the height of the storms.

At Wrigley Field, the game resumed about 10:30 p.m. but was halted again and, subsequently, called due to another round of rain and lightning that began shortly after 11 p.m.

In Bourbonnais, a tornado warning forced the Bears to halt their practice at about 8:30 p.m. and clear the field.

On Tuesday, the Chicago area should see partly sunny skies with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall, according to the weather service. High temperatures in the mid 80s are expected and winds would be coming from the north around 10 mph.

Tribune reporters Hal Dardick, Josh Noel and Ted Gregory, freelance reporter Victoria Pierce and The Associated Press contributed to this report. dpblake@tribune.comsschmadeke@tribune.comjgorner@tribune.com

Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune

Crossing America: Day 4

2008-08-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Oakbrook, Illinois to Chicago, Illinois
August 3rd
Distance: 40.6 miles Train (Round Trip) and 8 miles on foot
Time On Foot: 6am to 9:30pm

Nicole and I have never been to Chicago so we thought it would be fun to stay at least a full day and explore. It was so easy to get to downtown from our secret hideaway (this place is a diamond in the rough.) Even though we only had a day, we went so many places.

After getting up around 6am to exercise and swim laps, we drove to the nearby Westmont Metra Train Station to catch the 8:40am train. Though we were far out from Chicago, the train was already fairly full. Looking at the passengers (who were primary dressed in blue shirts and baseball hats) we quickly figured out that there was a Cubs game today. The train itself was nice (enough) and we took turns dozing in and out on our 45 minute ride into town.

Chicago Union Station is right across the river from the Sears Tower. Nicole (who would not go up) encouraged me to get in line to see what it was all about. After a series of elevators (both down and up) a 15 minute History Channel movie, a security check, and a photo (which I declined but they took my picture anyway) I found myself at the top of the Sears Tower.

The view from up there is breathtaking and unnerving. When I went up to the top of the Empire State Building I didn't remember being so much taller than everything else around. From the top of the tower I could see for miles in every direction even with haze in the air. It was fun to look around but I was eager to go back to Nicole (I took a photo of her from the top...it's really blurry)

From the tower we walked north to Michigan Avenue stopping for coffee along the way. We walked slowly North visiting gardens and Millennium Park taking pictures and watching children play in fountains.

Chicago has to be one of the most "appealing to the eye" (for lack of a better description) cities that we have ever visited. The rivers, trains, architecture and proximity to a huge lake make this city so beautiful and constantly interesting to look at. It also felt a little more spacious than New York or Boston like the sidewalks were bigger and people's social bubble was also large for a big city.

After gazing at "The Bean" at Millennium Park for a long time, Nicole and I had a Chicago Style Pizza. Though it took forever for them to prepare the pizza, it was worth the wait. There is nothing like it in the Northwest...the portion I ate weighed 1.5 pounds (an easier way to describe portion size our bartender told us.)

From there we walked further north past the Tribune Tower (an amazing building) and creeped into the shopping district where Nicole bought nothing and I was the one who got the goods. We finally reached Water Tower Place and realized that we were exhausted and that we had to backtrack to the station.

We walked back to the river to find that we had missed the last water taxi to Union Station by mere minutes. Because the trains run every two hours we knew that we had to really get going if we were to catch the 6:40p train back towards Aurora. Walking as fast as we could in flip flops we decided to walk along the river all the way to the station. Even though it was a hurried 30 minute walk, we saw some of the most amazing buildings (too many to name) that helped distract us from our aching feet.

Of course we made the train (with 3 minutes to spare.) The train was packed (remember that Cubs game?) I had to stand for a portion of the trip because there were so many people on board. Eventually I was able to sit and Nicole and I took turns sleeping for only seconds at a time. This train trip took an hour this time.

After arriving back to the station we grabbed a meal and returned to our hotel. We each cleaned up and scrubbed our feet (8 miles in flip flops will do a number on your heels.) We both asleep shortly thereafter.

Chicago is our favorite city so far and we hope to come back here (it's a great halfway point for our East Coast siblings) or perhaps bring friends and family for a shopping blitz. I can't believe that I waited so long to visit

Crossing America: Day 3

2008-08-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

Elkhart, Indiana to Oakbrook, Illinois
August 2nd
Distance: 128 mi
Time In Truck: 10:30am(EDT) to 12:30pm(CDT)

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Crossing America: Day 2

2008-08-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Triadelphia, West Virginia to Elkhart, Indiana
August 1st
Distance: 399 mi
Time In Truck: 8am to 7:30pm

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Crossing America: Day 1

2008-08-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Arlington, Virginia To Triadelphia, West Virginia
July 31st
Distance: 287 mi
Time In Truck: 1:30p to 8:30p

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Before we started I played 9 holes of golf at the East Potomac Golf Course in possibly the hottest, most humid weather of my life (and I have been to Thailand, Singapore, Okinawa, etc.) It was nice to walk before being stuck in the truck for so long and I had lots of fun with the guys we played with.

Our goal was Cleveland, but due to the world's worst traffic jam outside of Morgantown, West Virginia.

I will finish this later...we're off to Holland, Michigan.

The Northwesterners Versus The Mid-Atlantic Weather

2008-07-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

We have been in the Washington DC area for over a week and the heat and humid weather have not let up. We have managed to visit everywhere we planned, but it has taken a toll. Nearly everyday around 3 or 4pm we lose our ability to walk, stay motivated, and most of all stay awake. We find ourselves packed in mass transportation (the Metro) like little sweaty sardines. Actually, we have walked great distances each day, as there is something neat to see wherever you are. No matter your location, when you look up, you see either monuments, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, and so much more. Also, we have never seen so many men and women in military uniform just casually walking about the city. It is strange to think that we are around the most powerful people in the world, in the most powerful place in the world, as we run around in flip flops and t-shirts!

We arrived at BWI (Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport) on Wednesday evening (July 23rd.) We were picked up by Nicole's cousin, Andy and his friend Victoria. He took us on a short tour of downtown Baltimore before taking us on a tour of his very cool, old, brick townhouse.

We were starving so we elected to walk to a famous (on Wednesday nights only) baked potato place called Birches. At around the halfway point Andy made it quite clear that we were not only going to get poured on...but a huge storm was coming in fast.

Not less than two blocks later the sky slammed us with lightning bolt after lightning bolt and the interval between them was no more than 30 seconds at the most. Our walk turned into a hurried scamper as the rain started to come down.

Two blocks away a cab pulled up at the intersection and Andy had the quick mind to stop him and we all jumped in. As soon as everyone was in the cab it POURED. Even though it was a two block trip, it was the best 3 bucks we ever spent for a taxi.

Despite being dropped off at the restaurant doorstep, we still ended up getting soaked from the rain. From the inside we could see the wind blowing on the restaurant's outdoor umbrellas and the sky flashed electric constantly for over an hour.

After riding a lightning bolt to the front door, we found ourselves in a quaint, candle-lit, very cozy little brick restaurant. Birches offers a baked potato bar every Wednesday night-with a menu of about 50 different potato toppings. If you are a regular, they keep track of which toppings you've tried, and when you've tried all 50, you join the famous "Baked Potato Club" and get a t-shirt. It was a very neat, old place and it seemed like the servers knew all the people eating there. It was Cheers-esque.

As for the rest of our time in Washington we have visited several of the Smithsonian Museums, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and all the suburbs near Arlington. I don't have time to write about everything that we have done so far, but I hope to add to this when we are on the road.

Next stop Cleveland?

Video From Mexico

2008-07-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

I want to say thanks to Ryan who put this together. Video editing is one of those things to a "not-knower" would seem to be the easiest thing in the world. Those of us who have put video together (especially from hours of video footage) know that something like this can take weeks or months. Ryan managed to finish this in record time.

I'd also like to note that not only did he shoot video while in Tecate, but he also was there every step of the way hammering, cutting, and sweating with the rest of us. One second he would be on the roof nailing down plywood...the next he would be shooting video...moments later he would be right back up there hammering away. I am truly grateful for his double duty...without him this below video wouldn't be possible.

Direct Link Here: http://www.vimeo.com/1398644

Below is the embedded version...which may take a while to preload depending on your connection speed

Tecate, Mexico, Summer 2008 from Grace Missions on Vimeo.

Seattle To Portland (The Long Way)

2008-07-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

After having a traumatic evening the night before (see this entry) we decided to make up for it by taking a creative way back to Portland. Originally we considered driving from Federal Way to Yakima to Goldendale to Portland but thought that it would take way too long considering that we checked out at 12:01 pm.

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Instead, (after a wonderful breakfast/lunch at Poverty Bay Coffee Company) we headed east to Auburn determined to travel to Portland on back roads behind Mt. Rainier and Mt. Saint Helens. We stopped briefly for $50 worth of gas (around 12 gallons) in Enumclaw where we purchased a necessary map of Washington.

I had always wanted to go this way ever since I read the account of Kenneth Arnold when I was a little boy:

Kenneth A. Arnold (born March 29, 1915 in Sebeka, Minnesota; died January 16, 1984 in Bellevue, Washington) was an American businessman and pilot. He is best-known for making what is generally considered the first widely reported unidentified flying object sighting in the United States, after claiming to see nine unusual objects flying in a chain near Mount Rainier, Washington on June 24, 1947. Arnold described the objects' shape as resembling a flat saucer or disc, and also described their erratic motion as resembling a saucer skipped across water; from this, the press quickly coining the new terms "flying saucer" and "flying disc" to describe such objects, many of which were reported within days after Arnold's sighting. Later Arnold would add that one of the objects resembled a crescent or flying wing.

Unfortunately, we saw no UFOs on our trip.

One other thing that was present in my mind was the road/valley on the way to Mt Rainier. During every television "sweeps" period in the Seattle Area, there seems to be an in-depth story on the risk of a Lahar flowing from Mt. Rainier to the Seattle area. Wikipedia uses the canyon that we drove up to Rainier as an example:

A lahar is a type of mudflow composed of pyroclastic material and water that flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term 'lahar' originated in the Javanese language of Indonesia. In Hindi 'lahar' means 'wave'. Lahars have the consistency of concrete: fluid when moving, then solid when stopped. Lahars can be huge: the Osceola lahar produced 5,600 years ago by Mount Rainier in Washington produced a wall of mud 460 ft deep in the White River canyon and extends over an area of over 130 sq mi for a total volume of 0.55 cubic miles.

As we made our way to Sunrise, Washington I was surprised how "climbable" Mt. Rainier seemed to look. Of course 14,411 isn't exactly a day hike no matter how easy it looks. Also the mountain is famous for it's many crevasses which were visible from our location at 6400 feet. Even at this elevation the summit is still over a mile (7711 feet) in vertical elevation.

We drove down the mountain and managed to find yet another traffic jam. This time it was just past the Yakima turnoff toward Packwood, Washington. The construction seemed to go on for miles and miles and we felt sorry for a large group of motorcycle riders that had to drive over the gravel portions on their shiny Harleys.

As we approached Packwood I thought about another childhood curiosity...Bigfoot. Growing up I had studied Bigfoot as most 4th graders did and knew that we were in the heart of Sasquatch country. One story in particular has always peaked my interest:

1924: Fred Beck and four other miners claimed to have been attacked by several sasquatches in Ape Canyon in July, 1924. The creatures reportedly hurled large rocks at the miners’ cabin for several hours during the night. This case was publicized in newspaper reports printed in 1924. The Ape Canyon area has long been held to be a bigfoot refuge. Tribes in the area have believed that this is a home of the bigfoot. Ape Canyon was reportedly the site of a violent encounter in 1924 between a group of miners and a group of Sasquatch. Their account was publicized in several July 1924 issues of The Oregonian.[2] One of the miners, Fred Beck, claimed the miners shot and killed one of the creatures and that night a large group of Sasquatch attacked their cabin and tried to break-in. William Halliday, director of the Western Speleological Survey, claimed in his 1983 pamphlet Ape Cave and the Mount Saint Helens Apes' that the miner's assailants were actually local youths. Until the very last summer of Ape Canyon's existence in 1979, counselors from the YMCA's Camp Meehan on nearby Spirit Lake brought hikers to the canyon's edge and related a tradition that the 1924 incident was actually the result of young campers throwing light pumice stones into the canyon, not realizing there were miners at the bottom. Looking up the miners would have only seen dark moonlit figures throwing stones at their cabin. The narrow walls of the canyon would have served to distort the voices of the YMCA campers enough to frighten the men below. However, Halliday's explanation may fail to account for several factors:

Beck claimed that the "apes" were seen clearly enough to note that they were not human;
Beck claimed that one of the "apes" was shot and killed, but its unclear if Halliday claims that one of the stone-throwing teenagers was shot and killed in 1924.
According to a series of 1924 articles in The Oregonian, multiple reporters and other eyewitnesses saw damage to the cabin, and enormous footprints at the scene of the "ape assault", and it's difficult to imagine how stone-throwing teenagers might have caused these details.

And An Interesting Missing Skier Story From Ape Canyon

In 1950 a skier named Jim Carter was with a group of other men from The Mountaineers club, but went off by himself to film the group as they went down the hill. He was never seen again, despite a massive 1 week search. One of the search team members said he had a chilling feeling of being watched the entire time. Carter's ski tracks seemed to indicate that he took off at a very high speed, making tremendous jumps that no experienced skier would make unless he was frightened beyond reason or being pursued. His ski tracks led to the edge of a cliff, but a search below never produced his body.

For the nearly 9 hours we spent in the car from Seattle to Portland, we saw some incredible countryside in some places so remote that we didn't pass a car for an hour and a half (this was behind Mt. Saint Helens.) The drive, though long, fulfilled a curiosity that I have long held since I was a boy. . .

We're off to Washington D.C. for a couple of weeks followed by a cross country trip back to Oregon.

10 Minutes In A Scary Motel In Lynnwood, Washington

2008-07-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

Authors Note: I thought that this story (though part of our 24 hour Seattle Visit) deserved a separate entry. Just in case you have ever considered staying in a place because the price seemed like a good deal, or you were too tired to look for a better place or you just had to go to the bathroom, take our advice...never EVER second guess your gut instinct (in fact here is a link to 2 great books all about trusting your instincts: The Gift of Fear and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Nicole and I have read both of these and credit them for our decisions 9 minutes after checking in.

So Nicole and I went up to Seattle to visit friends and relatives on Wednesday, July 16th because it had been way too long since we had been up there (almost a year.) Seattle isn't on our list of favorite places to stay for a number of reasons (see left.) (Note: Both Nicole and I have lived in Seattle at different times before we met, so it's fun to visit each other's old stomping grounds.) But I had a friend that I hadn't seen for years who wanted to take us out on his boat on Lake Washington.

After spending the late afternoon cruising around the lake, we were dropped off at our car just after 8pm. We had a couple of hotel areas in mind when we drove away from Mercer Island such as University Village, Northgate Mall, Tukwila, and the base of Queen Anne Hill.

We headed north to University Village and didn't get the "vibe" that it was in our price range so we went further north. We stopped at a Hotel called the Nexus, where they wanted $180 plus tax and as far as I could tell it was just a renovated Ramada Inn (see Yelp Review Here) The fact that the guy behind the counter took a call from his personal cell phone before helping Nicole sealed the deal...we weren't staying there.

After nearly two hours of aimless driving we ended up on highway 99 (aka Aurora) and we were getting desperate. Now instinctively I knew that we should avoid no name motels on Aurora especially after putting this web page together a number of years ago when I worked in Seattle. For some reason, a modern looking motel seemed safe...it was made from stucco and looked like a Days Inn or a Motel 6.

This place (which will remain nameless until all of our credit cards have been refunded) had the right price in our time of desperation (under $70) and looked "safe."

From the moment we got out of the car, little situation indicators were telling us "DON'T STAY HERE." On the hotel sign it read "Weekly Rates $250" and the lobby, though clean, seemed sparse (maybe so people couldn't steal things?) The gentleman behind the counter was a very nice guy who, oddly enough, was also folding towels (my brain said that this is how the hotel owner keeps housecleaning staff minimal...later I would find out how minimal it was.) All of these indications and we checked in anyway.

On the advice of the hotel clerk/housekeeper, we parked in the "covered parking" area which was a euphemism for parking under the building. As I parked in one of MANY empty parking spots I saw a man walking slowly around a convertible (the top was down) Mercedes. It was by far the nicest car in the lot and had custom wheels and a gold paint job. This man seemed to be circling slowly with a plastic bag. As we passed another conspicuous car (primary held together with duct tape and garbage bags) the man started to pretended to wax the Mercedes using a napkin from inside his plastic bag.

Nicole gave me a quiet nod to let me know that she felt like this guy was somewhat harmless and we went inside. Inside we boarded the elevator to go up to the third (top) floor. The elevator was all metal inside and every square inch of it had been scratched by keys or knives of various gang signs. I have to say because every part of the elevator was vandalized...it almost looked like a beautiful art...almost.

As the doors opened to the third floor I could immediately smell intense cigarette smoke, which was odd because in the lobby a sign had posted no smoking anywhere on the premises. As we walked down the hall we could smell smoke coming from nearly every room and TVs were blaring. We arrived at our room and this was the first time I saw the key that was given to Nicole.

The key looked like it was made sometime after regular hotel keys (the typical metal ones) and a period before the common magnetic strip key. It was as if we had been handed the "8-Track" of keys. In my mind, it looked like a key that a hacker could mess with so he could open any room...like ours. I fiddled with it to get it to work and our door opened a little too easily.

Once inside the room I felt this overwhelming feeling of dread come over me. The window was wide open, the refrigerator was in the middle of the kitchenette (or I suspect was once a kitchenette,) none of the lights worked, and the floor was covered in stains.

When I say covered with stains I mean that there was more stain than carpet. It was a hyperlink blue color with stains that were lighter and significantly darker than the rest of the floor. In one corner there were freshly cut fingernails. At that point I stopped looking at the floor and told Nicole that we were not staying.

Unfortunately we had been in the car for hours and Nicole needed to use the bathroom. If you want to hear about what was in that bathroom...you will have to ask her. Her story when she got out traumatizes me to this day.

While I had been waiting her I turned on the TV. By pure coincidence, it was tuned a station airing American History X at one of the most gruesome points of the movie. If you have seen the movie, you know the scene. At this point I was getting a little worried about spending another second in the motel.

Nicole came out of the bathroom and we immediately went downstairs (via the stairs this time) which reeked of urine. As soon as we walked into the lobby the guy behind the desk knew exactly what we would say next. He said that he understood and he refunded the money immediately. I could tell by the way he handled the situation and his look on his face that this wasn't the first time people had asked for their money back.

We walked back to the "covered parking lot" to find that same man hovering over the same Mercedes. He was talking to a woman in the parking lot and I decided to take a better look at him. Initially I had thought he was homeless, but it was because of his haircut and unshaven appearance. When I took a closer look, his hair was intentionally feathered in a mullet fashion simialarly to how Chuck Norris looked in the 80s. This man had acid wash jeans and very expensive looking shoes. I now believed that the Mercedes was in fact his car and he was a pimp. I decided not to make too much eye contact and quickly tossed the bags in the trunk.

We drove around for an hour and a half more looking for a reasonably priced hotel (under $200) in the Seattle area. Everything in the area was booked so hotels were able to name their price (which in this experience I learned that all the hotels know the status of competing hotels occupancy levels in the Seattle area and can adjust their rate accordingly.) We were exhausted and I was seriously considering driving back to Portland in the middle of the night.

Fortunately we found a Choice Hotels catalog that I had picked up on one of our many road trips. This little gem has every hotel in the U.S. listed including approximate rate per night. Nicole found a Comfort Inn in Federal Way and we set our course down Highway 99, planning to cross over at Sea-Tac International Airport to I-5.

It was 11:30 pm, Nicole was nearly in tears from exhaustion, and I was edgy and still recovering from the motel in Lynnwood when we hit a dead stop traffic jam just outside of Sea Tac. I started to laugh and Nicole stopped talking completely. It took us another half hour to get to Federal Way.

We did finally make it to the hotel and our stay was wonderful. Ironically in the morning we had some problems with the hot water and the hotel actually gave us some of our money back. When we got back in the car to head home the next morning we figured out that because of the refund that Comfort Inn gave us, our stay there ended up being cheaper than that of the Pimpin' Lynnwood Motel!

The rest of the drive home (which was the long way) I will cover in the next few days.

The Week That Changed Our Life

2008-07-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

(This will be edited several times over the next couple of weeks and also for those of you who were there, please comment to help add revise, add, or correct the story from below...what I wrote is purely from our memory)

> > > More Pictures Coming Soon < < <

We just returned from Mexico just over 24 hours ago and I'm still having a hard time adjusting. The hurry, the green, the running water, the flushing toilets...I can't help but feel guilty for how lucky we are to be in a place where the "comforts" are plentiful. Here I am sitting on a leather couch, drinking water, in an air conditioned house . . . I had no idea how much I take for granted until a week ago.

We left on Tuesday (July 1st, 2008) from Portland (Oregon) to San Diego (California). Nicole and I had on our travel clothes with our bags packed with our hot weather work clothes and other items that we thought were necessities for travel and work south of the border. I wish we had brought more...but only if we would have left it there.

For me arriving at San Diego was a surreal experience and here's why: Back in 1994, I traveled to San Diego to volunteer another "mission." This "mission" had us (upon arrival of San Diego) cross the Terminal 1 sky bridge, put our bags down and wait for a bus to take us on a life adventure. When that bus arrived on a cold night in January 1994 a man got out and started yelling at us. This was my first day in the United States Marine Corps.

When we arrived on Tuesday, our instructions were to cross that same sky bridge, put our bags down, and wait for a bus to an experience unknown. The similarity was striking and little did I know that the experience in Mexico would have echoes of that past military experience of the mid 90s.

The buses arrived (minus the yelling drill instructors) and we loaded up all of our gear and climbed in. Everyone (with the exception of Nicole's brother Josh and a few others) was a complete stranger to us. The group on this bus were from Virginia (Arlington area) and knew each other...but not us.

On our drive down we met those who sat close to us along with the two that Nicole and I had agreed to chaperon. In the interest of protecting the identity of these two minors, we'll call them "Hank" and "Mary." I was asked to keep an eye on Hank (age 13) and Nicole was chaperoning for Mary (age 12). Both of them are brilliant young adults that know how to have fun, and can also be responsive/helpful in times of need. Those two had a tremendous impact on us and definitely made the trip memorable.

We crossed at the Tecate border crossing late in the afternoon without any snags. As we rode through Tecate the contrast was apparent immediately that we were no longer in the United States of America. We arrived at Rancho La Paloma roughly 20 minutes after crossing the border.

The ranch was a humble residence that, at first sight, seemed too small to house the 140+ people that arrived in the bus convoy. Everything was a shade of muted brown. The air was dusty. I could feel the sun immediately beating down on top of my head. This was Mexico.

We unloaded our stuff and Nicole and I went to our respective dorms (because of the number of people at the ranch, only a few couples with children were able to sleep in the same room.) My room had 6 beds (3 bunks), while Nicole's had 10 to 20 bunks (she was in the women's dorm.) I dropped my stuff off and returned to the palopa (our main meeting place) for our first meeting.

(Rather than go into the blow by blow of every moment, such as meals, meetings, free time, etc...I'm going to fast forward to the first day at our job site.) Also, here is an overview of why and how this all happened. Each newly constructed house cost around $10,000 in materials. Individuals and churches donated the money needed for the 5 houses that were built on our trip. The families receiving the houses did not earn them, pay for them or necessarily deserve them. The houses were given to them, completely free of charge. This is why the house dedication had such a tremendous impact on the family receiving and all of us who worked to make it happen. Hector, one of the leaders/builders who guides these projects, became interested in helping out when his family was one of the families given a house, over a decade ago.

The home site was a 45 minute bus ride from the ranch (most of it on paved road, but with a sizable portion on dirt.) The site itself is up a hill/mountain looking west toward Tijuana (though we could never really see it...too much pollution.) On our first day the site consisted of cut lumber (2x4's and 2x6's), plywood, trim, drywall, and accessories typical to a house (windows, a door, vents, etc) all of which were positioned on the hillside next to a pre-poured foundation roughly as wide as two parking spaces at a typical mall and roughly the length of three parking spaces. I couldn't believe that we were going to be able to build a house (with a loft) in 3 days.

The first day was all about framing. Amazingly and with very little instruction, we managed to have 4 walls up and nailed together before lunch. In my mind, I thought that at the pace we were going, we would be done early (this tells you how much I know about home building.)

I should take a moment and talk about the homes (that we would be replacing) on the mountain side. They were shacks, sheds, shanties or whatever you call a residences that was a composition of pieces of broken plywood, metal scrap, old garage doors, and abandon buses or vans with boards over the windows. Sprinkled on the hillside were the occasional mobile homes that looked like they had been dropped from 10,000 feet...these were considered the "nice" places compared to the rest. Garbage and filth littered the ground everywhere you looked.

Our house that we were building, known as House One (H1) was amongst 5 that Club Rust would be building that week. Josh (Nicole's Brother) was the lead builder for H2 which was conveniently located 10 feet to the south of our assigned H1. Later on in the week we would all work (teams for H1 and H2) together to complete both houses.

Immediately below our work site was the existing "home" for the future owner of H1. Their home was the size of a single parking space. They had dirt floors and a wall that consisted a garage door, broken scraps of plywood, and hanging sheets to connect them. There was an old mattress to sleep on, a propane heater, and a container for water (which they had to haul up the mountainside routinely.) Just outside the house was an "outhouse" which, without going into too much detail, was a board seat with a roughly cut hole in the center. Their living conditions were unbelievably poor.

As I mentioned earlier, we had all 4 walls up by lunchtime on the first day. Lunchtime was a welcome rest from the heat, dust, and pollution. We had to walk down the mountain side to our lunch (the buses couldn't make it all the way to the home sites because of the condition of the road and the pitch of the hillside.) Our lunches were sandwiches (choice of PB and honey, PB and jelly, or tuna fish) with carrot sticks, some fruit, and oreos (melted by the heat.) We ate for energy and it was delicious.

By the end of "building" day 1 we had walls up and a great start on the second floor (loft) along with some scaffoldings for the next day. We loaded into the bus tired and hungry. Many chatted on the ride home while others slept. By this time this feeling of tired yet satisfied reminded me of the days back in the USMC...hard work, team work, and a sense of accomplishment.

The morning of day 2 on the mountain side was a little slower. We were tired and immediately I noticed that people weren't drinking enough water. After a little encouragement, we picked up the pace and found our groove.

This day was dedicated to building interior walls, the construction and the mounting of the roof eaves, electrical wiring, and the roof itself. Even though we had a slower start we managed to have H1 roofed off (minus the roofing) by the end of the day. It was then that I realized that we still had a lot to do.

After lunch on work day 2, something happened that took us all by surprise. In the midst of all that hammering, yelling, and sawing someone yelled a words that didn't compute for a least 5 seconds..."THIEF! STOP! QUICK! GET ON THE RADIOS!!!" I was just walking off the road when we had a man on a beat up bmx bicycle ride through our work site and grab one of our backpacks and speed down the dirt road at an amazing speed. It seemed like there was nothing we could do. The trucks were blocked in, the man rode down the hill at what seemed to be 30 miles an hour, and we couldn't get to a radio to relay to other vehicles in the area.

After what seemed like an eternity, a jeep (loaded with people) raced down the hill a good 3 minutes behind the man. From my vantage point, the jeep looked like a car competing in the Baja 1000, sliding around corners with a cliff on each curve. Eventually the jeep drove out of site and we heard nothing of the status of the backpack thief.

While we waited for the jeep to return, we found out the contents of the missing backpack: a digital camera, a Blackberry, and other personal effects. The thief had made an excellent choice of packs and it had the potential to yield an excellent return for his risk.

Something should be said for what this guy did. In Mexico, people don't steal for fun, it's a weighed risked based on necessity. This man must have watched us for a long time, wondering how he could steal something without 100+ people grabbing him in the process. The explanation for his risk was explained best when the jeep returned to our site . . .with the backpack.

The rest of the backpack thief story was told by Grace Community Church's Pastor, John, when he hopped out of the jeep. He talked about the terrifying pursuit down the mountain, sliding around corners, bouncing all over the road, the whole time WITHOUT having regained visual contact with the thief. When they got to the valley floor they asked a construction crew if they had seen a man riding down the road with a pack. The crew had seen the man and pointed down a long road to where he had went. After a traveling down that road they could see the thief making his way up the other side of the valley (this was a LONG way from our work site.) Hector, the driver (and one of the heroes of this story) pulled his vehicle in a jackknife position in front of the biker and everyone got out. The man immediately threw down the backpack and rode away quickly. John checked the backpack to ensure that the contents were all still in the pack (though he wouldn't have known if anything was missing either.) Hector and the rest of the group climbed back into the 4X4 and pursued the thief again...this time for a different reason. After another jackknife stop, they stopped the thief again and asked him to empty his pockets (just to be sure) and Hector told the man that everything was going to be okay and the "policia" would not be contacted. Hector asked the man why he stole the backpack and the man explained that he had 5 children at home and he had no job...in essence it necessity that drove him to it. Hector asked the man if it would be okay if they would bless him right there. The man, full of shame, walked toward the 4X4, put his head down on the jeep while the other prayed for him. Afterward, the group gave the man $20 and welcomed him back to the work site for food if he wanted.

This story when it was told to us moved us tremendously when they returned to the work site. It was a wake up call...this is what people have to do to survive (and their families) in this poor portion of the world. I will never forget this thief and I will never have ill will for his attempt. I hope that Hector (pictured left) and John had an impact on his life and helps him see the world in a light that he may have never been exposed to. That experience energized us through the rest of work day 2.

Day 3 on the mountain was vastly different from the previous days. H2 was seemingly behind (but I later realized that they had done a number of things that H1 hadn't yet completed.) H1 had plenty of things that had to be done as well. Most importantly, these houses were supposed to be finished (sheet rocked, roofed, trim, wiring completed, windows installed, and a door hung) by 4:30pm. To top things off, this was by far the hottest day yet.

The heat and the urgency may have lead to a couple of pauses in our operation in the form of injuries. I was on the roof of H2 when I heard someone say "DAVE!!! DAVE!!! WE NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!!!" Dave was our first aid guy (amongst many other vital roles) and when someone called out for him it was usually because they needed first aid.

From my vantage point I could see Julie holding her head and walking up to the road with blood running down her face. Somehow in the heat and rush, a swinghammer stapler had slid off the roof and hit her in the head. Dave immediately jumped off the roof and ran to her aid. After 15 minutes, it was apparent (to our relief) wouldn't need to be transported to the U.S. and that though she couldn't work for the rest of the day...she would recover.

Dave dressed the wound, knotted her hair to act as a suture, and monitored her as she sat in an air conditioned vehicle. Not more than 10 minutes after addressing this injury, another person (Courtney) was hit by a falling 2X4 and Dave had to care for her. Fortunately, Courtney received just a bump on the head and went right back to work. Without Dave and the others with medical training, we would have had to take some of these people off the site and possibly to San Diego for treatment.

The day pressed on and so did the heat. We did manage to get into the groove and though 4:30 came and went, we reached a stopping point around 5pm. The house was 95% done. There were some vents that needed to be installed and the walls would need some mudding, but all in all 2 homes were nearly complete. Also (to our relief) we found out later that Hector and Pablo would come the next day to complete what needed to be done.

At the end of work day 3 was the house dedication. It's important to note that no matter what I write about this dedication it can't possibly capture what it was like. The experience changed me permanently.

Leida, the mother and wife in the family that was receiving the house, walked into it after we gathered in a circle in the main living area. One by one people presented donations and gifts to her. The one gift that stood out at the dedication was a Spanish bible. She immediately started crying and would later explain (through the help of "Mary" our 12 year old translator) through her tears, said that ever since she was 10 years old she has wanted a bible. She was visibly stunned when Julie (with her newly bandaged head) handed her the keys to her new home. All the work, sweat, blood, and tears had paid off and Leida's reaction showed it. Again...this experience cannot be captured in words...I recommend if you want to know what it was like, you schedule a week next year to come. . .if it doesn't change you forever...I'll pay for your trip.

The rest of the time there consisted of relaxing, traveling to Tecate, and visiting an orphanage. There are plenty of details that I have left out in the interest of keeping this short(er) such as the random dogs (that we weren't supposed to feed...but Nicole did anyway because it had the demeanor of our dog back home) or the filthy conditions nearly everywhere. I also left out that we had cold showers every day, slept on rock hard beds, and we couldn't flush the TP in the toilet. We had to use bottled water just to brush our teeth, too. All this and we were considered amongst the privileged in comparison to those who lived outside of the ranch.

(A quick note on the "church" aspect of the trip. There was no preaching involved. Each day before we began to build, someone prayed for the house, for the family receiving the house, and for our day. On the last day of building, as we gathered early in the morning to pray for our day, one of the families receiving a home asked if they could join us in prayer. Just one of many touching experiences we had.)

Nicole and I made some (over 50) amazing new friends (too many to list!) We hope to stay connected with all of them as they each had a tremendous impact on us. The group that we worked on H1 and H2 were primarily from Arlington, Virginia, but we also made connections with people from Seattle area (Shoreline to be exact) and New Mexico.

This was a life changing experience and Nicole and I are still struggling knowing that there is so much need in the world. I suspect that we will be leaving again to do something like this very soon. At the very least we are planning a trip in the next couple of weeks to Arlington to visit those who affected us.

~"Preach the love of God everywhere you go, and if absolutely necessary, use words." Francis of Assisi

From The Mountains Of Oregon To The Deserts Of Mexico

2008-06-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

We just concluded an overnight stay at Timberline Lodge. The lodge was very cozy and the food was INCREDIBLE! Unfortunately, there were thunderstorms so we weren't able to visit the outdoor pool and hot tub.

The storm was fun to watch. First lighting struck close to Mount Hood Meadows (starting a fire...click on picture to the left for better smoke detail.) Later lightning struck on the various tall buttes surrounding the mountain. Firefighters must have had there hands full.

Tomorrow we are off to Mexico to help build houses. We are both a little tired and have spent most of the evening triple checking our packs and gear lists. We really don't know what to expect (although I just bought travel insurance minutes ago and I feel a little better about it now.)

I will try to write everything down while in Tecate so we can share the experience.

No digital cameras though...it would just complicate our mission.

Camping Close In: Battle Ground Lake State Park

2008-06-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Excited to stay in "travel mode" Nicole and I chose to stay 3 nights at Battle Ground Lake State Park. The lake is relatively small and close to the Portland Metro Area. It made a perfect simple place to camp allowing us to have the feel of camping minus the miles on the road in search of wilderness.

Battle Ground Lake is a "crater" type lake created by a magma induced steam explosion from years ago. It's located just a couple minutes northeast of the city of Battle Ground, Washington (which is not too far out of Portland. ) The lake is a local hotspot for swimming because of the relatively small size and ban on power boats. While we were there we decided it was a little too cool to take a dip.

We spent 4 days and 3 nights at a remote "hike-in" primitive campsite surviving mostly on hot dogs/Tofurky dogs, peanut butter, bread, and chocolate chips. We brought cards, dice, and books to pass the time between eating and sleeping. Amazingly the time went by (too) quickly.

On the second day some friends showed up. We had a wonderful time eating and laughing and taking short hikes down to the lake. That night we sat around the campfire telling stories of travels, movies, and current events.

On the third day I finished my book "The Cold War: A New History" and Nicole got halfway through her book - "The Time Traveler's Wife." As we read we took breaks talking about where we were in the book and how interesting it was. It felt like we were a hundred miles from civilization.

On our last day I got up a little early and Nicole got up even earlier. I had put in silicone earplugs at dawn because the birds were extremely vocal at first light (it took me 2 days to figure this out for some reason.) Unfortunately, Nicole didn't sleep through them as well as I did. I had no idea that earplugs would be such a great tool while camping.

Upon departure, we managed to pack everything in one load (it took a wheel barrow) and leave the camp before it got too hot (it was 90 when we left.) The walk back to the truck was just under half a mile, but it felt a lot further because we loaded the wheel barrow up so high. The heat had attracted many people to the lake so we were relieved to leave the park and get away from the crowds that were now forming at the beaches.

It's nice to be back in an air conditioned house and I haven't yet showered as of this entry. In fact, that's what I'll go do right now!

Over The 45th Parallel At Least Four Times

2008-06-25T11:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a slideshow from the past week (see previous entries).

We are going on a 3 day camping trip starting today (a somewhat local one at that.)

More maybe on Saturday!

Cheese Land And Some Rest

2008-06-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

6-22-08
We drove up the Oregon Coast from Florence and made several stops along the way. Our first stop was Sea Lion Caves. I hadn't been there for long time and Nicole had never been there. Although it was warm and sunny in the parking lot, it was very cold and windy near the cliffs and in the cave.

Next stop was Depot Bay where we stopped to get taffy and checked out stores with huge varieties of Croc Shoes.

The last rest before Tillamook was the town of Pacific City. It has a beautiful beach with pretty nice waves (not to mention that you can easily drive out to the beach if you have a 4WD vehicle.) This quiet town seemed very unspoiled and fun beach for surf hounds.

We arrived in Tillamook in the evening. Immediately after checking in we went to a local pizza joint and had a wonderful 13" half cheese and half taco (minus the sauce. . .remember: myyearwithout.blogspot.com)

6-23-08
After sleeping in and lounging in the pool, steam room, and hot tub, we decided to stay one additional day in order to take a more leisurely approach to the area.

We eventually visited both the Blue Heron French Cheese Factory and the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I was surprised how simple cheese making (conceptually) is and amazed how the Tillamook Cheese was so automated...I could have spent hours watching the cheese being packaged.

6-24-08
After having another wonderful swim we packed up the car and headed back to our hub of operations. It was really hard to get used to the traffic and the rush passing through Portland. We decided that we would camp Wednesday through Saturday to help us stay in our Zen Travel Mode . . .

The Cove, The Cougars, And The Coast

2008-06-22T11:42:00.001-07:00

6-20-08
We spent the day swimming in the Deschutes arm of Lake Billy Chinook. We found a nice little beach and took turns swimming and trying to get our dog to swim with us (with no luck.) The water was FREEZING (I'm guessing from the late start of summer this year.)

After feeding a group of geese, we made our way up to the Crooked River Campground located near the eastern approach to the lake. The campsite was wonderful and catered mostly to RVers and other folks with large motorized toys. Even though the Deschutes Campground was full, this turned out to be a better place to camp (it was warmer and felt a little more mellow.)

In the middle of the night, Nicole woke me up to tell me she had heard two cougar screams in the distance. At first I thought she may have dreamed it, but based on the activity and rumbling from surrounding campers I could tell it had woken others as well. Having not heard exactly how far off it was or in which direction, I stayed wide eyed for a long time (long after Nicole drifted back to sleep) trying to decide if a cougar would dare cross into the site.

6-21-08
The next morning (at very first light) I was eager to get up and start a morning fire. I suspect it was just before 6am before I was able to entice Nicole to get up too. Annie was ready for her walk and to do her business so I took her for a quiet jaunt around the campground. I didn't mention that no one out of the nearly 100 campsites seemed to be awake yet.

The dog and I only got about a 100 ft before the dog in the campsite next to ours barked and howled (louder than any cougar) as we went by. Shortly there after it's safe to say that the rest of the campsite was awake...against their will.

After an early start (7:30) we drove from Lake Billy Chinook to Sisters (Highway 20) via back roads. In my years growing up in Central Oregon, I have never had the time to take this beautiful back country route. Most of the area was devastated by fire years ago. The elevation gain from Lake Billy Chinook to Black Butte was actually pretty dramatic.

Next stop was the Headwaters of the Metolius. I had remembered it to be a very dramatic site, but when we got there it was just a river flowing out of the ground. It was still very beautiful and I think I may have had it mixed up with another river that flows out of the ground; Jack Creek.

The rest of the day consisted of driving from Black Butte to Florence with a stop at Sahalie Falls. We recommend this as a perfect rest stop between Eugene and Bend. The temperature difference between the parking lot (near 80) and near the falls (near 50) made it a refreshing stop.

We finally arrived in Florence tired from all the driving and stayed in a very nice (for the price) motel called "The Old Town Motel" just North of the bridge crossing of the Siuslaw river.

6-22-08
We're heading north today, maybe to Tillamook and hopefully to a yurt by the sea! I'm typing this entry from a very cool coffee shop with a view of the bridge (see picture below.) Nicole is off shopping in the "Old Town" of Florence just a walk a way from here.

The sun is coming out...off to our next adventure!

Two Days In Rattlesnake Country

2008-06-20T09:03:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken from the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds. See map here: Google Map.

6-18-08
We traveled from Prineville to Kimberly, Oregon to Spray, Oregon to Fossil, Oregon. We stayed at a camp near Fossil for the night...we had the entire camp area to ourselves! Bear Hollow was the name of the campsite yet we saw no bears. The next day we did find out that there is a bear "at large" in the area. No wonder the first camp site we drove through had a large bear trap on the grounds.

Fossil is an adorable town with a lot of character. It's a bit on the dry and dust side for us, but we could see how people live there for generations.

6-19-08
The following day we drove to Wildhorse Camp (aka Big Muddy Ranch (formally home to the Rajneesh (more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneeshpuram).) The Wildhorse camp is INCREDIBLE! Upon arrival we were taken on an air conditioned van tour of the entire camp (which ironically is what the Rajneesh did for my mother and I when I was 10 years old.) This tour was a lot less creepy to say the least. If you EVER have the opportunity to visit the camp (it is way out in the middle of no where) we highly recommend it. It's like paradise for kids! They have a 30 foot high ropes course, 3 zip lines ending in the lake, an Olympic-sized pool, and a 2-acre sized sports center (basketball, skate ramps, volleyball, ping pong tables, etc). That's not all. We toured the dining hall which was formally prepared for 1,000 diners, complete with linen napkins and salt-rimmed glasses! There are mountain bike trails, club houses, and a volunteer medical team that includes two nurses, a doctor, and a paramedic. These teams rotate every week and are entirely volunteer. The Rajneesh's old living quarters have become dorms and hotels for campers and visitors. There was a grass fire in the area right before Young Life opened its doors for camp--the fire only destroyed the BogWon's (sp?) home, which Young Life was wondering what to do with anyway!

After driving through Wildhorse we took the back roads to Ashwood, Oregon. The pavement literally ended just past town. Although we didn't stop here, we could tell that this town had a lot of history. Just as we left town we had to wait for two baby fawns (smaller than a medium sized dog) and their mother to let us go by. It's rare to see a fawn that small let alone two!

We spent the night in Madras at Sonny's Motel (nice place) and before going to bed grabbed some food from Subway (for me) and from a little taco stand (for my wife) in the parking lot of Dollar Tree. When we stopped at the taco stand I saw that we had a flat (I'm guessing from all the back-country driving) and "fix a flatted" it on the spot. This morning I got up and took it to Les Schwab's for a new tire and had the rest of them balanced. Madras was a good place for us to get a flat. It would have been a little tougher to get a new tire in a town like Spray.

6-20-08
Today we are off to the Cove Palisades and then maybe onto Florence. . .

Travel Day

2008-06-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Today is a travel day.

We are aiming for Kimberly (Oregon) but I haven't been able to find a "campsite" on the web. All I really know about Kimberly is that people say it is a "Garden of Eden" of eastern Oregon. It looks like a pretty little area.

We may push on to Spray or Fossil if the conditions aren't right for camping.

More updates coming soon...including a deeper entry about what we are doing and why we are doing it . . .

Updates, Slideshows and Camping (oh my)

2008-06-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

We are having a "tech" day today. She is updating her blog http://www.myyearwithout.blogspot.com/ with pictures and I am going through our blog and adding a little more dialog to previous posts. Below are some pictures from on the way and at our camping spot thus far.

FIRE IN WARM SPRINGS!!!
(and we are there moments after it starts..these photos are the ones WE took...CLICK ON THEM TO MAKE THEM BIG)

Wildfire burns about 200 acres on Warm Springs Reservation
6/16/2008, 7:18 a.m. PT
The Associated Press

WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (AP) — A wind-fueled wildfire raced over about 200 acres on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation over the weekend, burning in grass and sagebrush.

The Greeley Heights fire was reported around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, about 1 1/2 miles southeast of the town of Warm Springs.

Ken Lydy, a fire management officer says crews had bulldozer lines around 30 to 40 percent of the fire by Sunday.

He says full containment could come in a day or two, if all goes well.

No evacuations had been ordered and no injuries reported.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, but officials believe it was started by a human, as there have been no thunderstorms in the area.

- - -

PICTURES FROM CAMPING (DAY 1)

Here are 3 pictures we took last night (the sun was down) leaving the shutter open for about 8 seconds. Tonight we have a full moon so we hope to have some incredible shots.

"I Like This Better Than The Cove" ~ Anonymous

2008-06-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

I once knew this person who claimed that the "Cove Palisades" was the best place in Central Oregon. This same person uttered "I like THIS place better than the Cove" last night on a beautiful sunset walk along Ochoco Reservoir.

Slideshow: S.O.R.T. 08

2008-06-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

SORT = Southern Oregon Road Trip

Above our some photos from our trip throughout Southern Oregon. We will be publishing "slideshows" upon the return of trips. If you would like us to expand on or add more photos for the above slideshow, just add a comment requesting it and we will make our best effort to fill your request!

View From A Secret Spot

2008-06-05T13:05:00.001-07:00

Click on the picture for a larger view.

We took a long drive to this place (to remain nameless) and this picture does not do it justice. By far one of my favorite places on earth.

The Beautiful Town Of Oakland, Oregon

2008-05-30T14:40:00.001-07:00

We highly recommend visiting the little town of Oakland, Oregon the next time you are between Eugene and Roseburg, Oregon.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first time I used a feature that allows me to send pictures from my mobile phone directly to our blog. The title will initially read "Multimedia Message" until I get to a real computer to edit the title. This has been a handy way for us to get pictures up the moment we are there.

On The Road Again . . .

2008-05-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning...decided it was time for another trip!

View Larger Map

Below are the towns we plan to hit:

Cottage Grove, Oregon

Oakland, Oregon

Roseburg, Oregon

Winston, Oregon (Wildlife Safari!)

Coos Bay, Oregon

Bandon, Oregon (HUGE petting zoo)

Brookings, Oregon

Cave Junction, Oregon

Medford, Oregon

Lakeview, Oregon

Burns, Oregon

John Day, Oregon

Prineville, Oregon

Paulina, Oregon

Which Is Better?

2008-05-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

A true story that happened while we were in Boston:

I was on the 2nd floor of Macy's waiting for the elevator down because the escalator was broken. There was a long line of disgruntled females as the elevator seemed to be taking so long. all of a sudden, two teen-aged, Britney Spears wannabes showed up in their little mini skirts and over-done faces. They blurted out that they were NOT going to wait for the elevator and ran up to the emergency double doors. They paused and wondered out loud if they could go through, not seeing the giant red sign that said EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. Quickly without using their brains they burst open the doors and all hell broke loose. They screamed (for attention)and Macy's store employees began running around shouting. The two girls stood there looking very stupid. I approached and asked them a question: "Hey girls, is it better to be SMART or CUTE?" They stood there staring at me, tapping their heels nervously on the tile floor. "CUTE!" the one with bright red lip gloss said triumphantly. "WRONG!" I said to them. "It is better to be BOTH!"

Change Of Plans

2008-05-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

We cut back a couple of days...here are pictures so far:

Well we ended up jumping out early on this one...there were many factors in this decision.

We average about 7 miles of walking a day (which we loved) and would be walking less if we were on a bus for long periods of time
The weather was getting a little scary in the South and Midwest (See Right)
We missed our dog.

I'm sure we'll get to the South some day soon. The next time we will probably drive ourselves around so we have more opportunity to linger in places and ~~chase storms~~.

Watch It Grow

2008-05-15T09:34:00.001-07:00

Below is a map of where we have been (both cities and countries.)* In the next couple of months watch it grow as we travel from here to there and everywhere. I could spend hours detailing every small town we have been to!

*This map represents places that we have been TOGETHER...all prior travels before we met will not be listed.

Summer Goals

2008-05-14T16:39:00.001-07:00

Below are a handful of goals that we have for this summer...in no particular order

Trip 1.0

2008-05-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

(Planes, Trains, and Greyhound Buses)
We're less than a week a way from our trip: Here is our proposed route:

View Larger Map

We have only planned the first portion of this trip (Boston, NY, DC) and have left the Greyhound portion "Open Ended." I think it might be a good idea to see how we feel when we get done with DC before we commit ourselves to 1.5 weeks on a bus through tornado country . . .