Western Tour, 1981

Thank you Piedmont Fossil for some truly amazing photos:

Mary and I took our pop-up camper and made a big loop through the western states of Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico before heading home by way of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. My parents flew out to Denver and rode along with us as far as Santa Fe before flying home again.

Lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland.Got a head-on collision, smashin in my guts man.I'm caught in a crossfire that I don't understand.But theres one thing I know for sure girl:I dont give a damn for the same old played out scenesI dont give a damn for just the in-betweens.

You guys want to take a try at finding a grizzly?

Jim, Bryan and I woke up early after our first night camping in the Tetons so we could get an early start to get to our second campsite, which was about 15 miles away, a lot for us at the time. Our out-of-shapeness had hit new lows.We got there early in the afternoon and had the two backcountry tent sites all to ourselves. It's a damn good feeling to get to your campsite and realize that you have it to yourself, but it's stressful as hell waiting around to find out if it'll stay that way. It didn't. A couple in their late 20s hiked in around 5pm, put up their tents, and immediately started looking over the ridge that had occupied our attention from the minute we had finished putting our food in the bear box. After a few minutes, the couple started walking towards us, binoculars in hands."You guys want to take a try at finding a grizzly? We're not very good at this and, fuck, do we want to see one.""Sure." I grabbed the binoculars and to my surprise, found a family of grizzly bears after 30 seconds of looking. No clue how. I'm bad at nearly everything I do and finding a bear off in a distance field is not one of my specialties. Or so I thought.We all laid down in the grass until the sun went down and watched a grizzly bear and her cubs prance around a field for an hour. When they were finally out of site, a moose came along, like we had just changed the channel on the show we were watching. We shoved alcohol down our throats and our new friends went to bed early, leaving us for dead. A black bear came into our campsite that night. I don't care what you say about black bears bla bla, if you're in the middle of the Tetons and there's a bear at your campsite, that is shit inducing scary. Call me whatever you want, I was scared. Frozen. I was hugging my roommate. We don't talk about that embrace anymore.We woke up the next morning, and much to our dismay, our new friends had left, and we never got to have that next day "HOLY SHIT, REMEMBER LAST NIGHT? BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!" fest. Didn't even get to say goodbye and, more importantly, didn't get to tell them about the bear at our campsite.Two weeks later, on a flight to Omaha, at DIA, I saw my two friends on the plane. They were 14A and 14B. I was 14C.I had the time of my life.MP3: The Gaturs - Cold Bear

Palindrome Wars

Now that school is back in session, you can be sure that kids all across the country are telling ridiculous stories of what they did on their summer vacations. The first year I went to camp, I told my entire class, in full detail, about a palindrome war that I participated in. Yep, a palindrome war. We were The Race Car Team and I think it was The Mom Team that was crowned the victors after they clinched the Capture The Flag competition.If I were a teacher and I heard that shit come out of my nine year old self, I would be very very concerned.STAY OFF THE EROSION TRAIL!This American Life: Notes On CampMP3: David Vandervelde - Someone Like You

Dry Tortugas

For the past few days, it's been impossible to turn on the television without hearing about Cuba, Florida, and Hurricane Ike. Rightfully so. With all the talk of Southern Florida, The Florida Keys, and The Everglades, we're reminded of a place we've always wanted to visit, Dry Tortugas National Park.Here's some info:

The Tortugas were first discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513. Abundant sea turtles or "tortugas" provisioned his ships with fresh meat, but there was no fresh water-the tortugas were dry. Since the days of Spanish exploration, the reefs and shoals of the Dry Tortugas have been a serious hazard to navigation and the site of hundreds of shipwrecks.U.S. military attention was drawn to the keys in the early 1800s due to their strategic location in the Florida Straits. Plans were made for a massive fortress and construction began in 1846, but the fort was never completed. The invention of the rifled cannon made it obsolete. As the military value of Fort Jefferson waned, its pristine reefs, abundant sea life and impressive numbers of birds grew in value. In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt set aside Fort Jefferson and the surrounding waters as a national monument. The area was redesignated as Dry Tortugas National Park in 1992 to protect both the historical and natural features.

While "Terrapin Station" would clearly be the best choice for the musical accompaniment , we don't want to beat you down with Grateful Dead.Next best thing:MP3: The Turtles - Earth Anthem (Thank you Brendan and the amazing Rising Storm)

Save The Earth, Here's A Pin

Nothing more annoying than a college kid yelling at you to save the Earth or crying while watching videos of animals being killed in a student union.Here's Sierra Club's list of the top ten "greenest" campuses. Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT comes in at #1.Above: Sunrise somewhere outside Middlebury. Middlebury readers, help me out with the location? I know you're there.Update: It's Lake Dunmore. Thank you Ms. Hunsberger.MP3: Willie Nelson - Moonlight In Vermont (Thank You False 45th)MP3: Paul McCartney - A Love For You

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Many moons ago, I drove down to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado with a few friends for a weekend full of the the idiot things 20 year olds do when they think they're in the desert. We got in after the sun had set and after an hour or two of repeatedly getting my Mercury Mountaineer stuck on the sand road en route to our campsite, we found our way and drank red wine until we couldn't hear our sick friend, John, snoring from the tent he had setup for himself.We woke up early the next morning to a caravan of cars leaving the campsites to get to the dunes. It had rained during the night and the streams we crossed going in were now rivers. I decided to take a different route through the water than the rest of my fellow campers and, by the time I got to the other side, my car was dead. Everyone that came within fifty feet of us during the next four or five hours had their own idea as to how to fix the problem, but when the sun started going down and my car hadn't moved, it was time to call a tow truck. The truck took us out of the campsite road (remember: made of sand, not pavement) and took the car for repair in Alamosa, CO. We never even got to the dunes.A park ranger picked us up at the park around 8pm after the car had been towed and drove us to a motel in Alamosa. He spent the whole car ride trying to convince us to buy his wife's Ford Aerostar so we could drive back to Boulder. We declined his offer and stayed in a motel while stuffing our faces with Little Caeser's pizza. We took a greyhound back to Boulder the next morning.Two weeks later, when my car was ready to get back in the world, I finished up watching Diane Lane's naked body in Unfaithful and, at midnight, started the 4(?) hour drive back to Alamosa with my roommate, who had been with me two weeks previous. The sun was coming up as we started to make the drive back and we decided that it'd be crazy to drive all that way to not see the dunes twice, so we drove into the park, hiked up into the dunes a little ways, watched the sun come up and then quietly drove back to Boulder.I hate Great Sand Dunes National Park.MP3: Buckingham Nicks - Crying In The Night

Lost Lake Pt. 1

Lost Lake is located in the northeast corner of Rocky Mountain National Park, 10 miles from the nearest trail head. If you want to get there, you've got to walk about 4 miles through Roosevelt National Forest, which contains a few minutes of private land, and more than a few minutes of dodging horse apples. You'll follow the Big Thompson River for most of your ascent, which is slow and steady, a moderate climb that still manages to embarrass you if you've got 40 pounds on your back. On the way you might pass a lama or two bringing up packs for those who have finally given up on the idea that carrying the sleeping bags, granola bars, extra layers, and iodine are a means to end, but rather a inconvenience that can be easily avoided. But you got to hand it to these people, they brought lots of beer.Go to Estes Park, find Devil's Gulch Road and head towards Glen Haven. Make a left onto Dunraven Glade Road (2 miles after town) and take the road all the way until it ends. The trail head is impossible to miss. You'll stay in the forest most of the 10 miles, with little to see in the way of postcard views of the great Rockies. It's worth it. There are countless sites to stop and make camp if you can't make it all the way, but of course, don't do it. Keep going. Lost Lake is beautiful to a point of silliness, and the campsites are just as fine. Get a good night's sleep when you get there cause tomorrow is much better...MP3: Pink Floyd - The Gold It's In The...MP3: Paul Simon - Loves Me Like A Rock (Acoustic Demo)

You Say Morocco

I spent last week in Colorado, and on the drive back to Denver from Boulder, we stopped in beautiful Broomfield to buy some T-shirts at the ARC Thrift Shop. Before ARC, all we had was a dead iPod and the radio, so I bought a gift for the car in the form of a cassette of Jackson Browne's first album, Saturate Before Using. Side B came on first, and its' lead off track, "Something Fine", has been in my head ever since. Perfect for any trip on Route 36. East or West.As Jim said, "That's a nice song."MP3: Jackson Browne - Something FineYoutube: Jackson Browne Playing The Same Song in 1976

delaware river song

Gotta say that getting in a kayak or a tube or a canoe or a raft and gliding down the beautiful Delaware River is one fine way to spend a weekend afternoon.  Even if you get caught in one freaky-ass lightning storm.  Then you enjoy your afternoon from the bank of that beautiful Delaware River, and wait for the rainbows.  In any case, if the weather is clear and the water level is high, you can have yourself one chiiiiiiil afternoon.  The drive is short from NYC and Philly, there are plenty of places to rent some gear.  Best of all experience is not required.  It’s a smooth ride.

Oh, and don’t forget your Coozie and a sixer of Budweiser.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

American Journeys - Delaware Water Gap

MP3: William & Versey Smith - When that Great Ship Went Down

Obvious Child

Many years ago I spent a summer driving around British Columbia in a big white van with a bunch of soon to be high schoolers with names like Robo and Rufus and Mary Apple. I called my mom from a supermarket parking lot after I had stuffed myself with Corn Nuts and Coca Cola and, as I put the phone to my K.D. Lang haircut, she hung up when she didn't recognize the voice that had so embarrassingly dropped the night before.We were on our way to some place with a name I can't remember and a marmot that liked the way we smelled. On the first night, we got scared there was a bear near our tents so we screamed the Fresh Prince theme song at the top of our lungs until we felt safe. The ten of us came back five days later and I burned a piece of twine around my wrist and made a fancy bracelet out of blues and yellows while people barked a funny noise at an RV Camp that would be the last place I ever slept in Canada. For a whole summer my only options were Bob Marley Live and Paul Simon's Rhythm Of The Saints and it just dawned on me how wonderful it is that "Obvious Child" is the name of the song that I remember most from being a fourteen year old going through puberty on a camping trip.MP3: Paul Simon - Obvious Child

Orient, NY

The north fork of Long Island is a real jewel of a place. Farmland, vineyards, diners, thrift shops, mansions, shacks, cattails, prickly pear cactus, and some mighty warm ocean water. Don't let the proximity to the Hamptons cloud your mind. Apples and oranges, my friends. Yes, there's a lot of money. Yes, there are big houses. But there ain't no glitz and glam. It's wine, beets, and fresh cut lavender.At the end of the North Fork is Orient Beach State Park, which boasts 45,000 feet of frontage on the bay. The forest along the beaches are beautiful, filled with cedar and cactus and piping plovers. And getting to the beach? It's as good as it gets. Endless amounts of fresh food being sold on the highway that was picked forty feet away.It's a little bit of a hike to get out there but well worth it. Take the LIRR early in the morning to Greenport with your bike. Don't forget your permit. When you get off at Greenport, poke your head around a little bit. When your belly's full, go north on Main Street to 25 and head east until you can't head east no longer. The ride is about five miles, but if you don't want to go the whole distance, take a left or a right just about anywhere and you'll find small mazes of aromatic back roads that will eventually lead you somewhere you won't want to leave.MP3 - Youngbloods - Sugar Babe (Thank Your Rising Storm)Youtube: Johnny Cash + Joni Mitchell - Girl Of The North Country

The Last American Man

I listened to the This American Life with Eustance Conway last night before going to bed (it focuses on Eustace and his brother's journey across the country on horseback) and decided it'd be a good idea to post this again. Read this book if you haven't already. It's really wonderful.Before Elizabeth Gilbert wrote the ubiquitous Eat, Pray, Love, she wrote a fantastic book about a guy named Eustace Conway called The Last American Man. Conway is a naturalist who moved out of his house when he was 17 years old to live in a teepee. From there, he bought a plot of land in North Carolina that he named Turtle Island and has been living the "old fashioned" way ever since.There's mountains more to the story than that, but the interesting part of this book is how Gilbert focuses on Eustace the person, not Eustace the mountain man. The Last American Man is not about what tools Eustace uses to make a barn or how Eustace catches the squirrels that he eats for dinner. The book is a sad chicken and egg story about a guy's exile from his family life and the modern world and his extreme love/obsession of a forgotten way of life. Eustace is one of the most incredible, brutal, and intense men you'll ever read about. His story reminds us of how difficult it is to simply go into the woods and "live off the land." There are papers to be signed and lots of money to be made...Eustace on This American Life (I highly recommend listening to this)Eustace on The Today ShowMP3: Gillian Welch - I Had A Real Good Mother And Father

Sugar Sugar

Everglades National Park is one of Cold Splinters' favorite places on Earth and yesterday was a historic day for the park. The nation's largest sugarcane producer agreed to sell all of its assets to the state and go out of business. Florida will pay $1.75 billion for United States Sugar, which will turn over 187,000 acres north of Everglades National Park in the next six years.Governor Charlie Crist announced, “I can envision no better gift to the Everglades, the people of Florida and the people of America — as well as our planet — than to place in public ownership this missing link that represents the key to true restoration.” Crist also called the deal "as monumental as the creation of the nation's first national park, Yellowstone."The New York Times says, "The impact on the Everglades could be substantial. The natural flow of water would be restored, and the expanse of about 292 square miles would add about a million acre-feet of water storage. That amount of water — enough to fill about 500,000 Olympic size swimming pools — could soak the southern Everglades during the dry season, protecting wildlife, preventing fires, and allowing for a redrawing of the $8 billion Everglades restoration plan approved in 2000."MP3: Ike and Tina Turner - Sugar Sugar