Countryside

I've been having problems with formating these posts with photos so I think from now on I 'm going to just write in one post and follow it up with a post of just photos and maybe some brief descriptions.  Ok?...hello....?  anyybody there....?

  Riiiight.  Its been a while since I've posted.  Thats because I've been swamped with work.  Last weekend was pretty gnarly.  I had this bitchin' headache and no medicine on Thursday night (this is 6/11, mind you) so I went to class completely unsuited to teach.  I told my childrens class about my problem, bless their little hellion hearts, they actually were agreeable for once.  They were quiet and obedient, telling each other to shut up when one got too loud.  Even quietly doing their homework and insisting I "sleep, teacher, sleep!" whenever I ventured to raise and eyelid.  Unbelievable.

  The plan was to catch the train immediately after class with my friend Erca and head to his girlfriends' parents home in a town called Mandal.  I was still hurtin' from sleep deprivation but there was no way I was going to turn down an opportunity to see the countryside, I'd been cooped up in this damn city for too long!  So I got on this old reminant of the Soviet empire for three hours of uncomfortable riding.  I felt bad for my host as I was non too lively but damn I was tired.  He fed me some horse meat sausage which didn't agree with my stomach and I passed out.  Later we hiked to the house we were staying at.  I collapsed into the bed they offered me but, tired as I was, it took a long time before I could actually fall asleep.  Something about sleeping in a new space always puts me a little on edge.

  The next morning we slept in and woke up to a breakfast of beef stew.  I couldn't  believe it.  This is the kind of meal I like to eat for dinner in winter when I'm ready to be warm, full and sleepy.  Beef stew for breakfast.  Ooof.  Too heavy to start the day.  

  My host and I ventured out to begin our tour of the country side.  I requested a hike in some trees so we made off towards a promising mountain off in the distance.  I swear it looked closer but the more we walked the farther away it got.  We climbed one hill thinking it would yield our goal across the next valley only to find another hill and valley beyond.  This happened five times.  Our relentless march was strained further by a merciless sun.  A buzzard circled over head, surely awaiting our eventual collapse.  God was not with him on this day.  Along the way we saw a fox trotting in the distance, a hare scared from his hidey hole and a wee lizard darting through the tall grasses beneath our feet.  I saw my first dung beetle, rolling a ball of shit, sho nuff.  In a gopher hole I saw the body of a snake slithering around the corner.

  Storm clouds rolled over the steppe as we hiked, catching up to us just as we reached the crest of our destination.  We estimated it a 15km trek out after which I was already cashed.  We layed low a bit as the storm swept around us, just kissing us with a misty breeze.  Thunder echoed across the valley but the lightning never came close.  Still would've been wise to seek low ground.  Oh, well.  The hike back was outlandishly long, and my damnable flat feet were screaming as we returned.  Once again to bed and a long easy sleep afterward.

  More beef stew for breakfast, delicious but so inappropriate.  We jumped on ancient mountain bikes and b-lined for the river.  I've ridden trails before but this was the first time I've ever really ridden totally cross country.  The river was a completely different climate.  With richer, wetter soil the land was actually bright green as opposed to the dry brown of the steppe.  We came across some ranchers who let me ride one of their horses a bit.  It felt really small and cramped, totally unergonomical.  I think I'll stick to the western horses thank you.

  Later we climbed another rocky hill that afforded some sweet views of the valley below.  Apparently Mandal is one of the few towns that is experiencing any luck with agriculture so they're really developing farming practices out here.

  A grueling train ride at three in the morning returned me to my post.  A few short hours of fitful sleep and then its back  to work.  Monday was rough as I was suffering the triple threat of sleep deprivation, dehydration, and probable malnutrition.  I need some spinach and some sleep.  Peace out!     

Third World Squalor

I suppose I outta apologize.  My last few posts have been rather negative.  Still my stay here has been less then pleasant so far.  The other night I came home from a night of drinking with friends (fellow teachers mostly) only to break my key in the lock, effectively leaving myself locked out for the night and my neighbors locked in!  Lame!  Fortunately my friend let me crash on his floor but the next day was stressful as I tried to arrange for a lock smith with communication hurdles plaguing my progress.   I finally got into my apartment with minutes to spare as I had planned to meet my students at the Natural History Museum.  I wasn't going to stand them up for any reason.

  It was nice to spend the day with students outside of class.  We got to know each other a bit more and they learned new vocabulary and such as I explained certain things in English.  They learned that my name and "petrified" share the same base so in one room they turned to me and said "Hey teacher, we found some of your wood."  Ha!  Clever students.

  I have two classes at this time.  One adult class and a children's class.  I have a problem with patience  which the kids test at every moment.  I never asked to be a baby sitter, yet I feel that is essentially what I am doing with them.  Bogus!  My adult class is on the opposite end of the spectrum.  They're very attentive, they participate and are a lot easier to communicate with.  And what's more they take me out to the museums.   Much nicer then children.   

WalkAbout

We've been getting these real pretty sunsets lately. Suhbaatar square is so picturesque to begin with, I want to take
more, particularly at dusk. I think I need to get
there earlier to take full advantage.
I went for a walkabout today to get a look at my new world. Ulaanbaatar is not very pretty. On the left is a "park." Coming from Madison, WI where we really take pride in our parks I'm quite spoiled. Some things are "ugly" but still photogenic. These are some of the funnest things to shoot. I had to struggle to find such sites as most of ULN is just boring and ugly. I did, however find this old burned out building that homeless people were using for a shelter/toilet. It was pretty rad.

I hadn't planned on hiking today but I was getting tired of being cloistered in by dilapidated buildings so I just took off. I wish I had had the foresight to bring water. It wasn't so much the heat that drained me, it was the damnable wind that threatened to blast my body's moisture away. I think some of these hills in the area would prove ideal sites for wind energy development.

It was nice to find a vantage point with some perspective. ULN appears to be sprawling away with no end in sight. Some of these people are living in such squalor. I can't imagine living in the boon docks of ULN would actually be superior to roaming the Mongolian Steppes as a nomadic high plains drifter. What do I know?

So I finally got to see a bit of the country side. Now I really wanna get a horse. I believe I would really enjoy spending a year exploring the countryside as a nomad.

Maybe I shoulda stole this guys ride.

I mean he just left her there in the midst of the junk yard. Ah, yes. The junk yard. What a weird place. No effort to bury the shit, just drop it where you will, let God sort it out. The high winds sweep the junk everywhere, I found shards of glass and bits of plastic bag all over the surrounding hills.

Putting up a barb wire fence in the vicinity just invites the wind to create a fence made of barb wire and junk. Nearby is a graveyard. There is no physical barrier between the grave yard and the junk yard. With no clear delineation they sort of drift into each other. I think that's sad.

SculpturesOfULN

                                                                                  
As promised, some sculptures from around Ulaanbaatar.  These first three are found at Suhbaatar Square where Parliament is housed.  A huge bronze of an enthroned Ghengis Khan faces south, flanked by two  mounted generals from  an archaic time.  Very epic.   

  Other scultpures appear to be left over from the Soviet era when Russia had a   great deal of influence on the Mongolian state.  The figure on the left is found outside of the Mongolian National 

History Museum.  It reminds me of the Constructivist style we studied in Art History class. As the Communist revolution swept through Russia the power elite ordered a new style of artistic expression to  represent the energy of the times.  Many of us would recognize this development in the propaganda posters that were so prevalent at that 

time.

  The rest of the sculptures shown here appear to be monuments of some sort to Mongolian military strength.  The tower (right) depicts a trio of propeller   war planes climbing vertically, presumably a monument to Mongolian Air Force.

 This dude on the right appears to be some kinda Soviet 

General or sumfin and yonder rider must represent calvary.  

I dunno.  I just like the figures.  I could care less about 

military strength.  More later.

Rally

I stumbled upon the acceptance speech of the newly elected Mongolian President.  It was like a light mosh pit (does that make sense?) with toddlers and grandmothers mixed in the crowd of otherwise drunk people.  I was told to avoid such gatherings for safeties sake, but besides the rude jockying for position everybody was pretty well behaved.  No hooliganism that I was aware of.  I guess the people were pretty stoked that this guy won.  My understanding is that the old guy was a corrupt conservative and the new guy is a corrupt liberal.  Sound familiar?

    I've been me

aning to roam about the city with camera in tow and take some pix of the plethora of sculptures and such that a bound in ULN.  Its almost like Paris over here.  I like it when cities do that.  I wish we had more representational sculpture in Americ

an cities.  Meanwhile check the statue of Lenin and some Mongolian graph.  Peace.

Slow Start

I was particularly stoked about this shot.  This building can be seen outside my apartment window.  As you can see I just barely can't catch the sunsets.  I like this building though because it has this vast array of electrical wires streaming off the top that I find rather appealing.

This first week has been rather trying as I've had to spend a good deal of time acquiring certain things that I had assumed were a given.  I thought that I was entitled to a proper bed but instead I had to track down a mattress, sheets and a pillow.  Things weren't located where they should've been, I had to go to one place to get sheets and another to get a pillow.  Its weird, everything is disorganized.  The buildings and streets are crumbling, there're too many cars and nobody follows any kind of traffic law known to man.  Its all very interpretive.  I draw stares and dirty looks, I don't know if its because I'm white or because of my dreads.  Probably both.

After  a few days of being a complete minority I finally met some white faces, my co-workers at school.  I never thought I'd be so relieved to see white people.  Everybody's really cool and supportive so I'm finally able to get things that I need.  It took a while but I finally was able to get intronet at home.  This makes blogging much easier, thanx for waiting.

I keep hearing horror stories about foreigners getting rolled in the mean streets of Ulaanbaatar.  As one co-worker put it, "travel in packs, they sure do."  I've been staying in at nights.  Doesn't sound like the club scene is really that dope and I don't really have anywhere to be.  Maybe later when I know more people and the surrounding area.  I really want to get out and see the country side more then anything.  Soon maybe soon.

One Week

Yo.  Check out the sweetest shower unit ever.  When I first saw it I thought it was a personal euthanasia chamber.  Turns out its a three function shower.  You can toggle between getting rained on from overhead, the sprayer on a flexible hose (needs some silicone caulk, know  where to find any in ULN?), and massager jets.  Far out man.  Plus only the unit steams up, the rest of the room stays clear.  Fascinating.

Hey all my glass peeps.  Twisty cane handles on my kitchen cabinets?  In effin' Ulaanbaatar?  Get out!

The front door to my apartment.  Pretty dodgy.  I like that word.  Dodgy.

Yup.  Its third world up in here.

I'm not sure if this is work by locals or some punk whities.  Still though, C-Town/U-Town, sister cities?  Not a far cry.

Paranoid Agent

5/16/09 10hrs to Tokyo wasn't so bad. Airbus 330 really delivers with personal touch screen monitors on every seatback and a vast selection of movies available for your entertainment/distraction. They fed us twice. Normally I'm not too enthusiastic about airline food, but I gobbled that shit down. Must've been hungry. Also had about 900 new songs on my iPod from Christine to sort through, decide what to keep, what to toss. This helped kill some time. Thanx Christine.

Goddam swine flu. I missed my connecting flight to Seoul form Tokyo due to paranoia. A team of quarentine specialists boarded once we landed. Decked out in medical HazMat suits they routinely checked every passenger onboard, delaying us by an hour. Must have been an expensive process. They photographed everybody with a special camera that alledgedly took an infrared image of every person onboard. Those that displayed a risky heat signature were isolated for further tests. I was released, too late to catch my flight to Korea, missing my further connection to Ulaanbaatar (ULN). They gave me a later flight to Seoul with a connect to ULN by noon the next day. I ended up spending a fitful night and following morning at Incheon Intl' Airport S.Korea. Lame. Goddam swine flu. Goddam paranoid agents. Just another example of how I can trace all of my problems to intensive agriculture through six degrees of separation or less.

So I finally made it to ULN by 3pm local time May 15th. My sore throat had gotten worse and I was racked by jet lag/sleep deprivation. On top of that I was still wearing the clothes I put on three days ago. Gross. I was escorted to my apartment by two Mongolian gentlemen, after which I promptly passed out, on the couch no less. The bed is only equipped with a box spring. No pillows. No sheets. No mattress. I guess "fully furnished" is open to interpretation.

Snow this morning. WTF? I guess I can kiss summer goodbye. Time to explore my new world.

ULN 5/16/09

Chasing the Sun

5/13/09

It's been almost three years since I last posted. Though I'm sure many of you were there for part of the time, none of you were around for all of the time. Allow me to fill in the blanks...

On September 2nd, 2006 I rolled into Seattle, just sick as a rat. Broke, with no life line I was surely doomed. The Gods took pity on my wretched state by handing me into the able hands of Rebecca Chizeck, my art school comrad. Recovery took a long time. I spent the next month couch surfing while trying to settle in and get back on my feet. After three weeks in my friends tiny cabin of an apartment I had over stayed my welcome (nice one, dude!) With no where left to turn I was forced to join the ranks of the homeless. Ironically I had simultaneously landed three jobs. So while I was working overtime I was spending my nights spooning my bicycle under a bridge. In retrospect it was kinda funny but at the time I was scared. Fortunately the homeless population of Seattle are very much like the rest of the populace, namely polite and distant. Shitty Dave , with his raspy voice, and his homey entertained me with stories of their wanderings, yet insisted on bedding down promptly at 10pm. Fine by me. I had to leave for work the next morning at 6:30.

By and by I was able to squander up enough cash to rent an apartment. I jumped on the cheapest pad I could find, a studio in Capitol Hill. I thought I would search for something bigger later but the little place grew on me and I outlasted three building managers in the course of my stay. Lured by the promise of full health insurance I scrqapped my part time job for a single full time gig with Manifesto Corp., Seattle's premiere hand-blown designer glass lighting factory. I love labor jobs. Nothing beats physically toiling with a team of like minded individuals to produce a tangible object. I really appreciate the comraderie that forms from such endeavors and its good to be tired from a days honest labor. Unfortunately my body was not up for it. A hernia, which had been brewing up in me for years finally gave way leaving me with debilitating abdominal pains. I had to seek medical assistance, and through the grace of Sweedish Medical Centers I was granted a free surgery. Seriously folks, how does this kid get so lucky?

Surgery put me out of commission for a bit, but my boss was kind enough to offer me some lower impact work at the company to allow for a proper recovery. Being out of work for a bit set me back a little so I spent the next summer (2007) working long hours to make up for lost time.

I never did make it back on the production team full time (filled in here and there, but mostly they had found replacements) so the rest of my time with Manifesto was spent languishing in the cold shop; grinding, polishing, tracking and shipping orders. It was disappointing, not what I got into glass for, and I contemplated quitting often. One day my boss pulled a fast one on me, I was "let go" on the spot. No warning. I wanted to quit anyhow so I wasn't going to complain, this way I was allowed to collect unemployment. This all happened in October of 2008 around the time of the economic collapse. Work was sparse so needless to say I got some R&R.

Eventually I decided to change my direction. I enrolled in a course and got certified to teach English as a foreign language, which affords me the opportunity to travel wherever English teachers are needed. Paid to travel. Perfect for a man in my shoes.

After a brief stint back at home with family and friends I'm on a plane, chasing the sun to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Do you know anybody whose been to Mongolia? Neither do I. I will tell all, just watch...this...space.

Seattle was a mixed blessing. I saw a lot of good music; DJ Krush, Q-Bert, and in particular Seattle's local Drum'n'Bass scene delivered on a weekly basis as well as bringing in such international talents as DJ Dara, AK1200, and my favorite DnB show, DJ Marky, straight outta Sao Paulo. I met a few cool people but most of my friends were old homies from high school and college. I do however wanna give a shout out to Ubik. and the Lava Lounge crew. It sucks that I had to leave so shortly but I feel that I have a posse to return to...someday.

10hrs to Tokyo. Pray for me!

VanCouver Intl' Airport. 5/13/09

Saved!

I don't know how I do it, but somehow my luck works out for me everytime. So, I roll into Seattle just sick as a rat. The sore throat is gone, thank god, but the cold has just moved its way up into the sinus area. My nose is sniffling and my head is clogged. I feel like I'm walking through jello world.

Seattle Central Library is huge and intimidating. The impressive structure spans ten floors, with elevators, escalators and even a small coffee stand. The all red fourth floor creeped me out. I browsed about, checking my e-mail and trying to get a hold of Alicia. I finally got through but she was in Montana so reception was bad. She just had time to recommend getting a hold of Rebecca Chizeck, another art school comrad. Too late, she cuts out before giving me the number. I'm doomed. Whats more I'm out of minutes on my phone card. No chance left.

Outside the library I wait, desperately, for theoff chance that Alicia has called Rebecca and told her to find me at the library. Keep hope alive. Eventually I decide to take a hike, find some food. Following my lonely planet guide I take a stroll to Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen. The walk is quite pleasant. Seattle is a beautiful city, very clean, well laid out and lush. I found the restaurant and ate good. Feeling better I prepared my self for the inevitable homeless night. Somehow, despite my desperate condition I'm relaxed, comfortable, opptomistic.

Thank my lucky stars I chose to walk back a different way then I came. I guess you always should when you've found a new place, it helps to see more stuff. A particular bookstore/coffee shop caught my eye. I crossed the street to take a closer look. I rounded the corner. There she is, I'm saved.

So, I'm in good hands, crashing at Rebeccas while I recover from my illness and prepare to start a new. I really am starting from scratch. With only $100 left to my name I have to acquire a phone, a job and an apartment in that order. Its not going to be easy or pleasant but with some help from my friends I might just make it. Rebecca has some connections to the glass scene here in town, asa well as some other odd jobs so I'm just gonna play it by ear and hope for the best. It will take a while but I think this town is my launch pad.

Well that effectively marks the end of my journeying. I made my way across many unknown miles, exploring wild landscapes and splendid cities, mostly on bicycle. I'm in a place I've always wanted to be preparing to establish my career. I may or may not continue to relate my adventures but after seven weeks of excitement and peril this saga of my life is effectively over. Thanx for coming along and don't forget to write.

9/1/06 Shoestring Stretches Thin

Will I make it through this night? While biking into town I noticed things looking pretty typical of suburbanite America except for Mt. Ranier in the background. It was almost unreal, like some fake back drop found only in movies. I'd love to spend some time exploring this city but I'm so broke I can hardly make it worthwhile. I'll have to kill somehow...

Payed a visit to Tacomas Museum of Glass. Its strange, for the size of the place you'd think there'd be more to it. Just three galleries and the hotshop inside the ridiculous cone. Karen LaMonte had a show up, her "Absence Adorned" cast glass dresses. Totally sweet. Everybody should check her out. Look up her website, her work is amazing. It was awesome to see them in person. I especially enjoyed the reclining figures, you could tell she molded them directly off a live model. Must've been an intense process.

Did some gallery hoppin' in the area. Mostly uninspiring glass shit, but glass shit nonetheless. In a way I can feel that I've found the community that will be able to support my interests. I'm not sure how the process needs to play out from here but this scouting mission was probibly a good start.

Man I've been sick the last couple of days which has made being homeless a total drag. I'm gonna get to Seattle tomarrow. I'm definately going to gallery hop and I might (if I'm crazy enough) buy a ticket to Bumbershoot for sunday. That'll keep me occupied until monday afterwhich I hope Alicia turns up 'cause otherwise I'm positively screwed. One day I'll get my shit together, settle down and do some real work. Meanwhile I'm having too much fun being a loony, fucked up, transient mooch. The End.

8/30/06

Man I shoulda never left. I was in such good hands with Liz in Portland. There life was carefree, none of her roomates seemed to give a shit if I just lazed about all day without showering. That's what I call the sweet life. I left under the pretense of feeling guilty for moochin' so much and that I needed to catch up with Alicia at the appropriate time.

Portland didn't want we to leave. She cast a spell on me, clouding my senses, distracting my better judgement. I missed the turn that I was supposed to take that would bring me over the Columbia and into Washington. I ended up riding up and down the southern shore oblivious to my discombobulated state, seduced by her enormous charm. It took a great act of will to break her spell. At the sight of the sign reading "Leaving Portland" I shed a lonely tear.

Oh if only I knew the troubles ahead I may have never left. I don't recomend riding a bicycle on the interstate. There are off and on ramps the whole way up with speeding cars making unpredictable moves. It requires too much concentration, not that the surroundings are anything to write home about. Its all city outskirts from Portland to Olympia and most llikely beyond. Despite all this I do feel that I make better progress on the interstate. Smoother road surfaces, wider shoulders and plenty of tail wind from frequently passing semis seem to increase milage. I pulled 84miles yesterday without hurtin'...much.

Oooooh...did I tell you about the crank head highway walker? Yeah, as I was taking a rest this wild woman, looking hagard as all hell walks up to me. I can tell that she sees me eating and wants some, so I make polite and say hi. Where is she headed? Seattle. How long has she been at it? A couple months now. Unfuckin'believable. She's dirty and stinking of piss, who knows when she last washed her clothes or herself for that matter. She's wearing flipflops and carrying only a small purse. She asks how much further I'll make it tonight. 20miles is my response. She says she'll probibly see me in the morning. What, you're going to walk all night? Yup, usually do. I'm begining to think she's a tweaker. Time to saddle up. I indicate that I'm making to leave and she just stands there all creepy like. Finally I shake her hand, wish her luck and get the fuck outta dodge like a bat outta hell.

That night I lay me down in this barren patch that turns out to be dead thorn bushes. I think nothing of it until I realise my Thermarest is going flat. After a few failed attempt to reinflate I accept my dusmal fate. Thermarest has been punctured. Three in the morn and it begins to rain. Can this night get any worse? Of course if I had bothered to set up my whole camp with tarp and bivey sac I probibly would've been fine. I'm begining to hate myself.

Cold morning and I've picked up a sore throat. Its overcast and windy and I can see my breath. Nothing to do but ride. By and by the sun comes out and its actually starting to feel nice. I'm making good time and I pull into Olympia at about noon. Its nice so far, I pay a visit to the visitors center and then take a nap in the lawn. Later I go to the library only to find Alicia won't be in Seattle until the fourth or fifth. Fuck. I'm pretty much screwed. I guess I'm gonna have to spread my time out as much as possable. Oh well. I can gallery hop here in town and spend another night. Do the same in Tacoma Friday and Saturday. Get to Seattle by Sunday noon and then god knows what. What a life. What a crazy, mixed up, confused, batshit life. Somehow I think it will work itself out. It always does...I hope.

8/28/06 Good To Be Here!

I had a nice couple of days scopin' out Portland on foot. Gallery hoppin' proved to be the most worthwhile yet. This one place had original Dali prints and a replica Michelangelo's Pieta. Another place had these cast acrylic resin sculptures that looked like glass. They had these amazing translucent ghost images within the transparant interior. I wanna be able to do that with glass.

I really wanted to go down to Eugene and visit with Erica, my friend from the restaurant we worked at in Madison, and her husband Adam whom Liz and I knew from high school. There was some apprehension because some people wanted to check out this strings festival and I thought I would have to bike on my own which would've made for a really tight schedule. But then I lucked out. When Liz and her boyfriend found out the cost of the ticket price they changed their minds which means I got a free ride ot Eugene! Pow!

Eugene was quite the bizarre ride. Take a slice of home (ahh, Madison, forever you'll be in my heart) and add a dash of eccentric hippy, about two tablespoons of cracked out homeless and a pinch of "oh shit, we got kids now? Fuck, let'em do whatever" and you've got yourself a pipin' hot peice of Eugene pie. Basically a smaller, crazier Madison, WI. I felt at home.

Erica and Adam were busy when we rolled in so we took a walk down to the Saturday Market. Score one for our team. Take a crafts fair, a farmers market and a hippie fest drum circle and roll it into one burrito, then throw that party every week! Amazing. Liz and I threw off our sandles and danced like mad pagans on the concrete. I could feel the city embracing us with her psychic arms of insanity and tolerance.

Later we met up for drinks and got drunk way too fast which brought us all to bed quite early. Adam, trying to be hospitable suggested that if the cats were bothering me I could just put them in the bathroom for the night. I couldn't bring myself to commit such an act of cruelty so I just sucked it up like a man. Lexi, she's but a year and a half, kept me up by licking my fingers and purring loudly in my ear. In my half conscious state I imagined a cougar had prowled into my campsite. I lay there and awaited my fate with cool detachment. Eventually morning came.

Liz and Allen took their time waking up. The plan was to go hiking but we didn't really leave until one. We b-lined to the coast and checked out some seals before heading into the woods. Moss curtains draped every surface and ferns grew high on the branches of the dead. We came upon a pond with newts which excited Liz to no end. Their bellies were bright orange, brialliant against the murky brown of the ponds bottom.

The path crossed the highway and down into a dense patch of these weird otherworldly pine trees that formed a canopy overhead and a spacious habitat below. Then down to the ocean. The beach was white sand and overtly foggy. The waves crashed in and the mists swirled about us. We were in a dream land, visability was down to fifty yards. The beach was almost deserted , we pretended to be alone and it was mysterious.



Climbing up from the beach we crawled through a secret tunnle made of roots and branches and we were on the hobbit trail. The mist and the moss made for a wild time/space displacement which stretched the few moments it took to get back to our car into an endless jungle safari.












We took pleasure in a seafood dinner and headed for home. Parting with Adam and Erica was bittersweet but I know I have good friends in a good place. I shall have to return.

8/23/06 Portland!

Yeah, so I was bitchin' about them Willappa hills but they ain't got nathan on the endless climbs of the Pacific Coast Range. So many times I had to stop midway up the mountain pass because it was too much for me. Talk about a blow to the ego. From Cannon Beach I climbed 1,600ft to the summit of the mountain. Little did I know that hwy 26 had two more in store for me. Ouch.

Cannon Beach was actually pretty fly. Kinda touristy but real cute, lots of original structures. They had a lot of galleries which were pretty decent. I had some dirt cheap pizza and strolled the beach a bit. Haystack rock looked straight out of the "Goonies."

I ended up camping out on the summit of the Coast range. It was 8pm and getting dark and I had no idea where the top was. Just my luck where I decided to lay me down was it. I was so disappointed in myself, I just got up early and rode. Good thing I was basically over the range. It was another 25 miles of flat all the way to Portland which was just what the doctor ordered. It was kinda relaxing. Riding into town kinda sucked because it was on the highway which constantly had on and off ramps intersecting my path. Quite risky. One dude honked at me even though I wasn't even close to disrupting his trajectory. I flipped him off for a long time.

It was really good to see Liz again and just be able to settle down. She's got a sweet house in the hippy district with lotsa nice roomates who're all very generous. I like it here.

Last night we all went out for pizza and beers. Everyone in Portland is a beer snob, but they've got a ton of fine local breweries so can you blame them? Things got sureal when the Balkan folk singers just busted out in song like they owned the place. It seemed like totally the wrong venue for them but people were dancing all traditional and shit, very serious for some reason. Then this chick on a unicycle barreled through the door and all hell broke loose. We had to leave before being swept up in Balkan night fever!

8/21/06 Astoria!

Cold morning and yesterday was a cold ride. I don't know about thiss coast action. Its all overcast and windy. If it rains I'll freeze. I've been riding hard from Port Angeles for the last three days. It took me that long to get here, Astoria Oregon. I had higher expectations of this town for some reason. Oh well.

Riding south on Hwy 101 in Washington was ugly. After the beauty of Olympia National Park it was all clear cuts and stunted growth of previously clear cut forests. The hills were brutal! Yesterday I rode through Willappa Hills and that just bit ass. I'm prayin' for flat land, and hows about some sun? Yesterday was alright because there was some intermitant ssunshine. But as I was rolling over the four mile bridge that spans the Columbia River and leads from the southern border of Washington on into Astoria, an ominous bank of darknesss rolled in from the west. Its been cold and dark ever since.

I'm gonna take a slow day and get to Cannon Beach today. I'm gonna check out the galleries there, apparently there's a show of some significance going down. I'm gonna call Liz and hope to god she offers to pick me up 'cause I'm pretty sick of riding my bicycle.

Two nights ago I camped on the waterfront park in Hoquiam, WA. There were blackberry bushess all over the place. I smooshed some blackberries into my morning oatmeal. It was the straight scrumdiddly.

8/17/06 Back To Port Angeles

So I picked up the real trail the next day and took it down to the creeks edge. By and by it led to a huge log that spanned the creek. I walked the log only to find it not connected to the other bank. I clambered over its roots and hopped ashore but the bank was steep with no path in sight. Frustrated at this conundrum I back trailed in search of an alternate route. I found one little diverging path that spilled out onto a rocky shore. It did not look promising. I looked across. On the opposite shore was a log pushed up againts the bank by the current. Oddly enough there were rails bolted to its side as though it were meant to be a bridge. I looked further up and sure enough there was another section of log with rails bolted on, this one was connected to a path. Judging from the clean edge someone had obviously cut it with a power tool, but why? Curiouser and curiouser. I had to wade across the creek which was treacherous for having a current and slippery rocks. I was kinda pissed. Who's maintaining these trails?

A little ways up I came across the main trail that indicated the exit was immanant. I was relieved, a few days without human contact was sweet bu I was tired, hungrey and sore. I made the trek to Merrymere falls which was all fascillitated and heavey with tourists. Nice waterfall. Tall. And then it was out.

I ended up hitching a ride back to Port Angeles from this rat bastard. He was racist (refered to Muslims as "towel heads"), sexist (said women are dumb because they consider children their primary concern when they should be looking after their husbands who make all the money, how old school is that?) and just plain belligerant. We did agree on a few things, weed is sweet, George Bush is dumb and religion is fucked up. Well I wasn't really gonna argue with him. Shit, he was doing me a favor. Back at Thor Town I passed out hard. I'm gonna lie low and then head to Portland tomarrow. I'm comin' for you Liz!

8/17/06 Olympia: Two Nights

Managed to kill some time by hiking about in Olympic National Park. I wanted to see what I could handle with my CamelBak so I loaded it up ass much as possable and just went. I'm so glad I did. I got a shit ton of sweet pix. My hike lasted two days and two nights. It started out as a real steep ascent that took me into alpine forests and meadows. Eventually I was walking along a ridge that sloped away sharply on either side. This offered stunning veiws of the mountains on both sides of me.
















Further along I came to Happy Lake which appeared stagnant and scummy. I was a little disappointed. That night I camped on Boulder Lake. It too was kinda gross and there was a group of teenagers who were being loud and obnoxious which made the experience less pleasant. A small family of deer wandered through my camp, nibbling on the undergrowth. They seemed completely unconcerned with my presence. I was preparing dinner the whole time, making plenty of noise but they didn't seem bothered at all. Strange.



The next day I began the descent which wrecked havoc on my poor knees, particularly my left which has been bothering me so. It was sweet though as alpine forestss gave way to lush jungle. Ferns began to crop up and moss gathered everywhere, so green and wet. I came across several creeks spilling down the mountain towards the sea.

At one point I came across a sign post marking a ssplit in the path where my map showed none. It only indicated two paths, the one I had come down and another labled Barnes Creek Trail which I persumed was my destination. The third path appeared unmarked. Later I found that I was completely wrong, that this one was marked and obviously the correct path, but in a way I was glad. Sometimes getting lost is the best.

The Barnes Creek Trail began to ascend again which I found ssusspect. It headed off to the east which was suspect as well. But it crossed over wild creeks spilling down the mountain, tumbling over sculpted rocks and spraying the dense coverage of moss. This is what egged me on, beyond all logic. I knew I was going the wrong way, perhaps getting lost, but it was too beautiful to retreat. I found areas where trees had fallen, spanning the gully carved by the ancient creek. This made for good adventure climbing over and photographing the watery terrain below.


It was getting late. I knew I was lost. I decided to turn back. My knees were terribly sore at this point and my flat feet were beginning to feel the burn. At the second creek crossing I decided I shouldn't walk any further and made my camp. Luckily I had just enough food to squeeze out another night. This place was lovely, secluded. I hadn't come across another soul all day. No obnoxious teens to contend with tonight. Just me, the river and the stars. I cooked beans for the second night in a row and slipped down into my sleeping bag. Good night.