self portrait — nov. 2009.

THE ROUTE updates

I had too many way points along my travels and I eventually broke the Google Map functionality. Apparently Google doesn’t like it when you ask it to calculate over 11,000 miles from one destination to the next. I have taken a little cue from my friends Becca & Nate and have added comments to each place I visited instead of creating an actual connect the dots map. Perhaps, you shall enjoy.

Jackson, WY to Salt Lake City, UT

The rest of my time in Jackson, Wyoming involved raging fires so hot we had to open the doors, beer, watching the Pens beat the Bruins in an outstanding display of hockey, bison (buffalo), and a pretty baller ski movie premier. My time in Jackson was amazing. The amount of wildlife I saw was amazing. Also, It was my first taste of winter. It snowed quite a bit and got down to the single digits at night. Quite the difference from when I left in August.

From Jackson I headed south towards Salt Lake City where I will be spending the winter skiing and working. I will be heading back East for Thanksgiving and then return to (a hopefully snowy) Salt Lake for the winter. BOO YAH.

Thanks to Nick, Cooper, and Neil for letting me stay at their place. Also, I hope that ya’ll continue to build fires of the same caliber throughout the winter. If you don’t, I will come up and visit and build them for you.

Half & Half

Wyoming Sky

Droppin’ a Knowledge Bomb

Along my way across the country I have seen a lot of sunsets. Sunsets, in my experience, usually entail a lot of ‘visible light’. More often than not, I will experience something that I have always called a ‘Lion King Moment’ wherein beams of light will burst through the clouds creating beautiful cascades of light inspiring everyone who is present for this miraculous display of God’s eternal love of the award winning film ‘The Lion King’. For all of you who have experienced a similar tear inducing display of God’s almighty power (see image above or below) I would like to drop a knowledge bomb on ya’ll…

These beams of ‘visible light’, which since 1994 have been a symbol of the passing of the throne from one king to another, are in fact called ‘Crepuscular Rays‘. BOOM. Digest that one.

From Wikipedia:

Crepuscular rays, in atmospheric optics are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds or between other objects, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions. The name comes from their frequent occurrences during crepuscular hours (those around dawn and dusk), when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious.

Still don’t believe me? I urge you to visit the award winning Wikipedia Entry for ‘Crepuscular Rays’ at your earliest convenience.

Thank you and Goodnight.

My First Couple Days in Jackson, Wyoming

From Eastern Washington I drove through Oregon & Idaho towards Jackson, Wyoming. This drive ended up being my longest drive yet at around 11.5 hours. Thank you Dan Deacon, wherever you are, for keeping me awake for the last part of the drive. I got into Jackson around Midnight and upon driving down the Mountain Pass into Jackson was greeted by an entire family of Elk crossing the road. 2 babies, a Mom or 2, and a BIG, glorious dad. It was the perfect way to enter the state of Wyoming. Magical even. Especially in the mental state I was in after 11 hours of driving by myself. AKA: Shiny things looked cool so you can imagine how cool seeing some ELK was.

(congratulations Margot on making the almost 700 mile drive in one fell swoop)

My first two days here have been filled with a lot of beautiful views and amazing wildlife. As well as the Elk family, I have seen a herd of Bison, a coyote, and FINALLY…AFTER YEARS OF WAITING…I HAVE OFFICIALLY SEEN A MOOSE. I realize that someday I’ll be dead…but now I can die happy. Not only did I see a bull moose with a huge Rack, but I saw 2 huge bulls with full antlers…AT THE SAME TIME. Is there anything better in life? Yes…there is…and it Manifested itself as Jackson Lake.

I spent a large portion of today (along with Nick & his roommate Coop) building a magnificent Jetty into the cool crisp waters of Jackson Lake. What started as a childish game of throwing sand into the water turned into a (childish) full scale operation including the use of a (real) shovel, the moving of large rocks/boulders, and the excavation and manipulation of large pieces of drift wood. The Jetty ended up being about 5 feet long and will probably be used by the locals to Fish or enjoy the views of the Lake as we did.

I have also been enjoying the fires being made each night in the Wood Burning stove that are usually lit with the aid of a Blow Torch. Can’t beat it. Life is good.

Washington State (Seattle & Eastern Washington)

My time in Washington was wonderful. I was able to meet up with a friend of a friend and he showed me around the city extensively. I didn’t take as many pictures in Seattle as I would have liked, but this is mostly because I was busy living it up. I also enjoyed a beautiful bike ride, A full round of Frisbee Golf, some solo exploring, meeting random family members, Irish Bars, a lot of Tea (and a new teapot), and a challenging Pub Quiz.  Seattle was great and had delicious fish. The weather was fine and everyone I met was extremely nice. Thanks to all who put me up (and Nick for hooking me up with people in Washington). It was one of my favorite places on my trip.

I also headed to Eastern Washington and stayed with my friend Nick’s parents for the night in Pasco. Thanks to them for putting me up as well.

Halloween in Portland, OR

Here are some pictures from Halloween. It was enjoyable. I dressed up as Richie Tenenbaum for those of you who aren’t familiar. Enjoy.

Jackson, Wyoming

I made it to Jackson Wyoming last night on the longest drive so far… 11.5 hours. w00t. I’ll put some pictures up soon now that I have a good internet connection. Be patient..I have good photos on zee way.