For-Everglades

Miles: 8197.4
Gallons Burned: 279.3
Caffeinated Drinks: 46
Gigabytes of Pictures: 18.2

This Latte is great here at Fido in Nashville. Josh and I enjoyed the Opryland Hotel & Resort and the Nashville Parthenon...Yes it exists. I'll post pictures when I get caught up in posting. Until then let's go back to the Everglades.
At a place like to the Everglades, biodiversity is the most amazing thing...No. Actually the sun is. In Seattle we get 8 months of gray cloudy drizzle 2.5 months of cool partly cloudy Fall and 1.5 months of Sun. The lack of sun makes Seattle known for its high use of anti-depressants and caffeine. So as the typical moody Seattle guy, the Sun in Florida's southern extremes is amazing.
Fist I'd like to talk about the Fauna.
Did you know there is an American Crocodile? (Yeah Alicia and Jen you know but how about other people?) I had no idea. Turns out there are between 1600-2000 adult Crocs in Florida and the Everglades is the only place on Earth where Crocs and Gators coexist. They can be clearly differentiated using three basic characteristics:
1 - snout shape - The Crocs' snout is narrower than the Gators'
2 - teeth - the Crocs' teeth upper and lower teeth are always visible, whereas only the Gators' upper teeth are visible
3 - color - The Gator is darker than the Croc
This little guy was hot so he had his mouth open to cool down. He and his bigger friend looked chill, so I walked up (ready to sprint away if he/she so much as flinched) and took this:

This little guy was next to the Crocs above:

Just like in Seattle this "Laughing Gull" is fearless and begs shamelessly for food:

I was hiking toward Snake Bight when I ducked off-trail and wandered for a 100 yards until I ran across this Snowy Egret and his with reflection.

While on the Bight path I found the secret spider that bit Peter Parker.

At Snake Bight there were no snakes but there were these neuts (or non-specific lizards). This littl eguy is about 3 inches long:

Here we see a Great Egret, notice the distinctive beak that differentiates it from the Snowy Egret. he was sunning himself, so I used my old trick to get close to him so I could get this shot. Oh what's my trick? Hmm... I don't want to tell you otherwise you tell a cat or bird and they won't fall for it anmore.

My only shot of Manatees, you really need a boat to see them well and Jolly Green wouldn't stand for the injustice of having to wear that hat (cars with kayaks on top look like the "cool" kids with their fancy hats).

I made a friend! "Tony", an adolescent Brown Pelican, hung out with me for 45 minutes when I wrote those blog posts from Flamingo Bay. Again the trick worked!

As I stalked an egret to get a great shot, I saw this little fellow.

The rare and illusive "Bowen".


Moving on to the glade part of the Glades
As a registered "amateur, amateur botanist" I feel qualified to use the Latin classification of genus and species when referring to the flower below: Prettius Flowerus

See how dense the undergrowth and Mangroves gets.

Again this "amateur, amateur botanist" will use my massive knowledge of plants to classify this little fellow: the Parasitic Aloe. Actually my mycologist friend Josh informed me it is a Bromeliad.

Josh couldn't ID this one so I'll call it a Lilly.

Yeah, they have palm trees everwhere.


I really enjoyed the Everglades and the whole experience of seeing this sub-tropical nirvana.
Next time the Keys...

Central Florida

Miles: 7765.3
Gallons Burned: 265.8
Caffeinated Drinks: 42

Holy cow! I added 1,000 miles from 11pm on February 12th to 6pm on February 14th. That's not at break neck speed, but most of them were at night and on unfamiliar roads all the while fighting my GPS unit and its strange concept of space and time.
No big deal.
Right now I'm at Eric's house (not the soon-to-be-winged naval aviator in Pensacola from my high school days) in Atlanta Georgia. He has one orange tabby in particular who is my buddy right now. He is constantly nosing the keyboard, so any misspellings are do to him. So how do I know Eric? Well I go to Mars Hill Church and there is this guy who started showing up to Campus Cleanup, Yuskie (pronounced Yoose-Kay). He had just moved out to Seattle from Atlanta for work. Yuskie is a solid guy who is honestly amazing. He is fun to be around and knows God in a refreshing way. So his buddy Eric from Buckhead Church (yeah, the name...its odd. But nothing compared to Mars Hill Church, sounds cultish) offered to put me up for tonight.
There is snow on the ground...Not good. I knew that the white was coming, but seeing it for the first time since New Mexico sends shivers down my spine.
How about I tell you about my time after Dunedin, FL?
Fort DeSoto was a strategic defense position guarding the entrance to Tampa Bay. It was built at the turn of last century.
The guns and fortifications are significant, but the purpose of the structure was to be an invisible mortar position that would deal massive damage to ships at close range (less than 5000 yards). The exposed side is overgrown by brush intentionally to provide camouflage. An invading ship wouldn't even see the lethal shot coming.


After the fort, I ran down to Myakka State Park in south central Florida. The park is famous for the two biggest airboats in the world and the best example of Florida's old prairies. They still burn the prairies to renew the ecosystem.
Both here and in the Everglades the vultures are a constant menace...to cars. Yeah they will eat the rubber tires off your car!

I got so close to this little guy that I almost stepped on him! Armadillos are really neat. I ran into at least 20 in my 5 hours at Myakka.

So as I drove through the park I realized there were no trail markers.
WARNING Random Aside!!
I love to hike. I have been known to walk the mile down to Lincoln Park in West Seattle and wander through the tall pines and cedars for hours lost in thought just to "hike". I have driven the 22 miles out to Tiger Mountain over and over just so I can pack 40 pounds of bricks up to the summit (Nick an I are building something...It'll be sweet when we're done). I love to drive the 195 miles out to Mount Rainier at least 6 times a summer (often alone) just so I can hike at 1-2 mile high altitudes. I like hiking!
So back to Myakka. They had NO trails, NO self guided tours. Only a road to drive. Well I couldn't stand for that! So I ditched my car, slapped on some Vietnam Marine Corp BDUs (battle dress uniform), laced up my steel toes, and charged into the brush. I still hadn't seen an alligator and I really wanted to. Very soon I came to a game trail and followed that. I saw this. Can you see the alligator? With my trusty 25X monocular, I could just make it out. I saw my first alligator! Yes!

Here are two pictures showing just how amazing this place is.


And I even took a picture of myself on location.

Sorry I look all pissed off. But the downpour started just as the picture was taken making a second shot dangerous for the camera.
After Mayakka, I headed south with the last of the day light being drenched in subtropical showers. I told George that I would stay near Myakka, but I changed my mind. I guess the rain sealed the deal. I pushed on to the Everglades so I could wake up in the warm southern sun. I took highway 41 instead of interstate 75. I figured I could save $5 on tolls by taking the county highway instead of the famed "Alligator Alley". I still stand by my decision, but I nearly bit it on that road.
I started down 41 at 9:30pm I anticipated a deserted stretch of straight blacktop. It wasn't.
In the first 20 minutes I dodged 4 oblivious armadillos. They aren't the most destructive things you can hit, but I'm not driving an uparmored turbo-diesel air ride equipped HMMWV(huvmee). I'm driving the Jolly Green (short for jolly green giant, because is is green, small, and sounds like a happy kid hopped up on Skittles each time I turn the key).
The really fun part came when I was doing 65 mph (105 kph for my English browsers) with my brights on and this blinding brown blur flew at me from my left. I swerved hard right and felt contact through the steering wheel. I counter-steered hard left feeling the car sliding sideways, so I tapped the brake to bring her out of the slide then counter-steered lightly left once more and came to a quick stop.
My post incident inspection revealed no damage to the car. My suspicion is that the deer's nose clipped the left side mirror casement and then the front or flank touched my left rear fender.
The whole ordeal reminded me of a night Joe and I were coming back to Hillsdale from a Ted Leo concert in Detroit. It was 2:30am and I was on my 3rd mug of "caffeine re-enforced cappuccino". We were at 68 mph (109 kph) and I looked this 10 point buck in the eye as I slammed the car hard right and hard left. On highway 41 I was not as heavily caffeinated, so my slower reflexes probably bloodied some poor deers nose.
I made it to Flamingo in the Everglades at about 12:45am and slept the sleep of the satiated.

San Antonio

Miles: 5264.3
Gallons Burned: 177.24
Caffeinated Drinks: 33

I entered New Orleans Last night around 6pm traveling from Avery Island, LA. I met up with a retired Naval Nuclear Technician and we talked in Bayou Segnette State Park's free laundry pavilion.
As I conduct a review of my trip' technical elements I notice three challenges thus far: Weather Proofing (dampness of all my gear is getting rather ridiculous), Fuel (each time I fill up about 1 cup of Gasoline leaks from a fitting between the port and the tank, and Windshield (a 6 inch crack inspired by a golf ball sized rock, thrown from a big rig, has matured into a 13 inch long python).

Well lets talk about San Antonio:

I pulled into town at about 7:15pm and stayed with Larry and Gale's daughter CJ and her husband Roger. Their 2 kids Josh and Caleb were great. They showed me amazing hospitality and were kind in every possible way. I am ashamed to say that I neglected to take their picture so I cannot share them fully with you all.
Upon their recommendation, I went into downtown San Antonio on the 28th and saw the Alamo Mission and the River walk.
The Alamo is the quintessential Texas site. The place where men were men and died as men. Prior to the famous battle the soldiers voted (they were not ordered) to fortify the Spanish Mission and stay to defend it instead of withdrawing. They new that there was no hope if the Mexican Army attacked and yet they chose to stay.




In summer the sun beats down on San Antonio and walking around is terribly uncomfortable. So what the city did was to create an oasis in the city the River Walk.
After parking, I walked West following the signs to the River Walk. I just sort of ran into it. Even half a block away there is no evidence of the RW. Only when you come to the bridge and look down do you see it. about 20 feet below street level is the base of this urban canyon:

There are boat tours and more than a dozen pedestrian arches flanking the walk. I hobbled all the way up one side and back the other taking pictures with many thanks to the guy who synthesized acetylsalicylic acid.



And I had to take a picture of the local fauna (notice the unusual "antlers" atop their heads) :

I wouldn't like to live in San Antonio (not enough cloud cover for me) yet I would love to come back again and eat at one of the open air cafes in the heat of summer next to the cool river.

Long days and Not-so-Plesant Nights

Miles: 4134.2
Gallons Burned: 135.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 29

I'm here in San Antonio TX with Roger and CJ and their great kids Joshua and Caleb.
A quick note, I have been nursing a nagging injury to my right leg for 4 days now. My Soleus Muscle in my right calf has been hurting so if you guys could keep me in your thoughts and prayers, I'd be hugely appreciative. Julio thanks for the bottle of aspirin! Roger gave me some IcyHot, and if that doesn't work, I'll get some medical advice.

So now my latest brush with excitement...
I awoke to about 6 inches of fresh snow my last morning in Joshua Tree NP and this hungry coyote.

My original trip plan included a stop near Wilhoit AZ with Beverly and Jim but many towns like Wenden AZ were buried under water and mud. So under the wise council of Beverly I chose to not head to Wilhoit but rather detour South. The goal was to avoid all the Snow and flooding; well at least I avoided the flooding. Unfortunately I relied on my GPS unit to calculate a detour. It was less than successful. The two day trip:

View Stuck on a Mountian Pass 1/22/10 in a larger map
The road to Phoenix was mildly ominous as the side of I-10 was lined with 30 foot trees that had been pulled up by the roots. Once in Phoenix, the only hassle was some light traffic. The GPS told me to take SR-60 East to Show Low AZ. It did not mention the mountain passes. In case you wondered, the name of that stretch of road is "the Superstitious Highway".
I made it over a low pass and entered the sunny town of Miami AZ only problem was it was actually snowing. Snowing quite heavily. The roads were bare and wet inspiring confidence in my choice to go on, as daylight faded to black and the longest night of my life began.
Um so a typical author or poster...No scratch that, let's go with "spammer" would follow this ominous sentence with a tale of terror, suspense, excitement, or inspiration. I will instead show you a seasonally appropriate captioned picture of a silly cat!

Source.
Back to the story, I continued east passing several signs warning "Drive with caution Extreme Winter Conditions". I watched my GPS's altimeter tick from 3,000 feet to 5,000 feet in the course of 15 minutes as the visibility halved and then halved again. I passed two State Troopers assisting a U-Haul in the ditch, their lights fading in the rear-view mirror like memories of daylight.
At this point, I was concerned. My speed was a cautious 20 MPH, my horizon only 40 yards, and my tank down to 5 gallons. Four-wheel drive trucks and SUVs passed doing 50 and I shook my head in envy and disgust. I pressed on as a Snow plow blazed a short-lived trail of good traction for oncoming vehicles. I thought, "The plows are out how bad could it be?"
As my altimeter reached 5,300 I noticed the road pitch tenuously downward. The Colorado River canyon switchbacks began. By the second sharp bend my visibility was at 100 yards and the snow was a mere dusting with none on the road. The time was 8:40pm.
At the bottom of the canyon, the river roared so loudly it was clearly audible over the engine and Decemberists. At 3,200 feet I felt exultant my GPS showed a straight road ahead and the snow had completely stopped. I said a silent prayer of thanks and drove past an RV stopped in a pullout. I immediately noticed that the road slopped upward. The road was soon covered with snow and visibility was down to 20 yards. I slowed my progress to a crawl. I decided to slip into a pull off and wait for a snow plow to wander by so I could drive behind him. I got stuck. The wheels spun to no avail and I was left immobilized in the dark. Right then, the snow plow roared by. Twenty minutes of effort yielded 10 feet of progress toward the road, soaked boots, soaked gloves, and soaked pants. Then an SUV drove by. It stopped (probably to see the spectacle of the stupid guy from Washington "playing" in the snow). Three guys jumped out and helped me get unstuck. In the twenty minutes that had passed the snow plow's trail was filled with 4 fresh inches of snow. So I decided that since things weren't getting better, I was going back the way I came over the mountain pass I had already crossed. On my way back everything looked different. The previously bare road was caked in 5 new inches of snow, the RV was frosted and the formerly clear switchbacks were now practically a bobsled run. Another snow plow must have come through recently because the oncoming lane looked less snow covered than my lane, so I used it. My knuckles were not figuratively white as I climbed the perilous road and turned up the music to hide the sound of my heart in my ears. I clung to the steering wheel like a drowning man would a life saver; my eyes intent on the blind corners searching for oncoming headlights. I stopped next to a jack knifed tractor-trailer and asked the driver if he was okay. He was, and asked if I had any cell coverage. I didn't, so I drove on. There was so much snow. Falling, swirling, waiting for me like quicksand.
On a fresh switchback, I felt the right side of the car lose traction, so I counter-steered left, but then the left side lost purchase too. I went into a slow 90 degree spin as the car's momentum drove uphill. I went sideways, headlights to the rocky mountain wall. instead of breaking I tapped the accelerator and the left front tire caught traction forcing the car into a sharp 180 degree counter-spin. The windshield's view went from a charming view of a rocky facade to the empty space of the canyon. As the car's momentum carried it uphill, I saw the cliff's edge approach. I tapped the brakes with religious fervor not thinking, not feeling, yet understanding. I stopped 12 inches from the edge.
I am sideways on a steep, snow-covered, two lane road, at night, but not dead.
I won't tell you how I got the car pointed down hill, but I did. After failing to escape my white prison I headed down to where I had seen the RV to wait things out.
I slept (no sleep actually occurred I am just using the euphemism) in my car for the fourth consecutive night, ate an MRE, and got very cold (using the car's heater was out because I needed to conserve gas). The trooper who showed up after midnight said that it was best for me to stay put, but warned that the snow was not stopping until 8pm the next night. Fortunately he was wrong. My mind drifted as I tried to force sleep but, none was possible. I felt on edge, being cut off in the dark. My predicament (or maybe the hydrogen gas from the MRE heater) somehow made my meal hilarious, so I took this pic of a MRE's label: "Don't eat the chemical heater?!"

The next morning I manned-up and got out of that beautiful but dangerous canyon:


I learned that I really thrive in adventure even if cliffs and sudden death is involved. I wonder how I would fare in a real catastrophe (like Haiti) not just an uncomfortable night on the road.

City of Angles and a Keyed Car

Miles: 3142
Gallons Burned: 100.5
Caffeinated Drinks: 27

Mars Hill ABQ has been great, and I totally dig the people of Albuquerque. I have met amazing men and women in this diverse and engaging city.

Now let me tell you a little story of a wanderer in West Hollywood...
What comes to mind when you think of West Hollywood(called Wee-Ho by locals)?
I got to experience some incredible events, people, and locations thanks to my buddy Phil.

He led me on a tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the Beaches south of Malibu.
He showed off the interesting and awesomely peculiar people of Santa Monica Beach/Pier and Venice Beach. Here is an shot of the Santa Monica pier from below:

Phil and I went to Riverside to see Sam, Lili, and Andrew. We burst into Sam's lab and as usual couldn't startle her. I also ruined the surprise for Lili by letting Phil's visit slip over the phone.
We enjoyed Settlers of Catan and great palaver.
When I ran Phil back to "WeHo", he invited me to his gym, a Gold's. My first full-gym workout in 8 month was awesome. I even was awkwardly invited to a wrestling gym by two sketchy guys. Everyone was very fit at the gym, so my sense of pride was glad that I have been faithful in my 200-50 daily workout.

Honestly this hour-and-a-half workout was an memorable life experience. I was not uncomfortable, how often do you get to work out in a culture like this?
Of course I forgot my Driver License there...so I drove back to Riverside illegally.
The next day I drove Sam and Lili to the La Brea tar pits where bones dating back 30,000 years are being salvaged every day.
I managed to lock the keys in Sam's car and waste 90 minutes of our time until the lock specialist's 90 seconds of work loosed the mocking metal.

Only when we returned to Riverside (after I decided that my trips to LA were concluded) did I notice my ID's absence.
Jonathan (my dear friend from Garfield High) and his gracious fiancee Madeline visited me in Riverside, and we enjoyed the game Dominion and great stories.

The next day I drove out to San Onofre State Park next to Camp Pendleton. The day at the beach was anything but. Constant high winds and driving rain soaked me and my valiant compatriots to the bone. Still there were nice Pacific Pelicans:

Finally revelation struck that night as to where my ID was. When I took my leave I made the 3 hour detour back to WeHo to get it.

Portland Oregon

Miles Clocked: 187.2
Gallons Burned: ~6
Caffeinated Drinks: 2

I downed 2 energy drinks to make it to the green citadel to Seattle's south and met up with my buddy Andy from Hillsdale College, my old Alma Mater. I have only forgotten two things so far: CAT 5 Cable and all my warm hooded sweatshirts.

As I type this I am enjoying the REI Thermarest sleeping pad that Jen so Graciously lent me and a small glass of Arabica Cherry-Cafe Wine.

I am tired after 40 hours of preparation and driving, so I'll end with a quote from Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz...

There is something beautiful about a billion stars held steady by
a God who knows what he is doing. They hang there, the stars,
like notes on a page of music, free form verse, silent mysteries
swirling in the blue like jazz.