003 The Journey Begins!

Yesterday was my last day in Minnesota for quite some time.  Abby was helpful (as she was the last time I left) by taking a photo (at the right) of me and my rig, before leaving - Thanks for the photo & packing help, Abby!  I left Minneapolis around 9:30 in the AM and started driving to Rapid City, SD.  It wasn't until about 10pm that I entered the city.  At least I have my TomTom to help guide me this time!  Much easier to find my way around.

By the way, I believe I forgot to mention another part of this adventure...  My parents heard that I was going to go West, and stay with my relatives in Oregon for a while.  My grandpa lives about 30 min. from my aunt & uncle out there; well, he's not getting any younger, so they want to see him, too.  Basically, I'm caravaning with my parents for a little while (left, with Rushmore in the background).

  

This means we're staying with family, friends, and relatives along the way quite a bit because they don't want to camp as much as I do.  The photo to the right is my parents driving in front of me, trailering their scooter, driving into Chamberlain, SD.  It was gorgeous, for at least a minute...

It was unfortunate that we drove through the badlands after the sun went down last night, but to make up for it, today was a really great day of biking around the black hills area.  Before leaving around 1:30 (we're now in Mountain time which is an hour earlier than MN) this afternoon I planned out a route which is at the right.  Riding time without any stops was something like 2 hours 2 minutes.  Perfect.

The first stop was at the Pactola Resovoir which was pretty.  

It wasn't too big of a deal to me, but I do like this self-portrait that I took while there...  I like self-portraits.  

Next, it had been a long time since I had last seen Crazy Horse, so I was quite interested in seeing what kind of progress had been made.  There was a 20 minute introduction-ish film, though I wasn't at first excited to watch, it ended up being really interesting.  

The Crazy Horse monument and its story are awesome.  If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend going.  The people building it (mostly a family carrying on their father's project) refuse to use government money which means that it's completely supported only by people who are interested in it and they remain in complete control.   So, that was the first stop.  After that, I wanted to cut through Custer State Park which went straight into the Black Hills National Park and led to Rushmore next (didn't stop there but saw it from other locations anyway)...  Simply incredible overall. 

 

In the Black Hills National Park, there were some curves that were practically doubling-back on themselves, they were so tight, 15 mph.  I guess they were called the Pigtail Bridges (left and right photos).  There was another section of road called the Needles Highway which would have been cool to see, but there is only so much time in one day of biking an area.  It was exhilarating, really, quite spectacular to be so close to everything on my motorcycle.  

What a way to see the country up close and personal;  I know, a bicycle or something would be even closer, but we all know how unathletic I am!  Anyway, there was one buffalo right next to the road (I didn't slow down too much for him), tons of deer everywhere, a herd of goats at one point, and tons of other wildlife.  Did I say exhilarating?  Exhilarating.

The parks were beautiful.  I can't wait for more along the way.  It did get a little bit chilly, so I'll probably be sporting my chaps in the near future...  Sweet...

Anyway, I'm finishing up my day with this little blog bit and a bit of work as well.  I hope you have enjoyed my adventures as much as I have, here's one last photo for you to enjoy from today!

002 Almost all packed & dreaming...

Today I leave Pelican for Minneapolis, with all of my stuff (photo of my packed trunk to the left).  I have spent the last few days preparing everything that I have so that I can "move" with it.  Finally I have finished creating my first aid kit, dry food tub, fun drawer with hacky sack, journals, mushroom playing cards, art supplies & more, and of course packing away the clothes that I have allowed myself to carry with for all sorts of weather...  Camping supplies, day bags, picnic bag (kitchen utensils and spices), and a bunch of other stuff, but not too much...  I think.

Last night, I had a wonderful dream.  As my dreams have gone lately, they haven't been all that pleasant but this one was entertaining!  I think that maybe it's come about because I know I'm about to begin a journey and I have many different emotions hiding inside that peek their heads out for a second; I dreamt of friends, mainly.  Friends from long ago, friends from other places, friends from now - all in the same fantasy land that I created.  It was wonderful seeing you all, I can't name all names but a few who were prominent were Shannon, Isaac & Leif.  As the dream fades away from this morning, I lose the details of the other faces.  There were so many throughout; I believe it was a dream reminding me of my travels beginning again and how many new & old faces I'll meet along my way.  Besides the faces, though, I saw amazing shows & places as well.  Across from the balcony that I was on was a "club" of sorts (I think it was an old-style gentlemen's club - just guys playing poker and drinking scotch) that had the most incredible hidden passageways.  One entrance that I watched someone open moved an entire corner wall of the castle-like facade to reveal the entrance at the bottom but which also revealed the men in the club (which is how I knew what it was).  It was incredible.  If anyone knows how much I like secret passageways, you'll understand.  I believe that I spent the next little while trying to sneak in with a couple of friends to see more of it inside.  Sometime later in the building that I was in, there was a show along the lines of Pilobolus, but this time they weren't shadows; the people themselves seemed to multiply.  One person would turn into three people doing acrobatics, three would turn into one.  It was spectacular and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Anyway, my dream was exciting and fun and I woke up with many emotions thinking about poking their heads out, but overall I know that I just need to get out of my robe for the day and finish getting everything into my car.

I am so looking forward to all of the adventures that I'll be having in the future, and all the friends that I'll get to see in person all over the place.  Thanks to everyone for being with me last night, it was comforting.

001 The plan...

As the days close in on my departure date, I have realized just how much I have to do in an increasingly shorter amount of time.  It's a week away right now and I'm getting very excited for it!

But I suppose, I should start by telling you about what it is I'm doing.

The How

My small but dependable '94 Toyota Corolla is coming with me again, but this time its load will be a bit heavier since I couldn't possibly consider leaving my motorcycle behind; so I'm going to be trailering my 2001 Honda Shadow 600 with me for day trips and the like.

The trailer is pretty sweet, it's called a Trailer in a Bag.  With it, I'll be able to load my bike on and off of it by myself, and if I want to, pull apart the trailer and pack it away in my trunk, storage or whatever!

My nights will be spent either camping with my Jungle Hammock, renting Yurts in national parks, staying with relatives or in Hostels (of course there's always Couchsurfing, too...).

I'm going to attempt to keep up at my bloggings, and even have them not be completely boring and dull... but I make no promises!

The Where

I will be leaving from Minneapolis and heading through South Dakota to arrive eventually in Yellowstone National Park for a couple of days; then up to Glacier National Park as long as it's not too cold (I don't literally want to freeze my butt off!).  I haven't yet made it to Washington state, so I'm hoping to spend a few days there exploring.  My relatives in Oregon are expecting me, however, so I'll be hangin' out for a while, checking out the state that I once fell in love with much more.  After that, the California coast has been calling to me for quite some time and I can't wait to travel around it for a few weeks.  From there, you'll have to stay tuned since it'll be a surprise to both of us...  There are many possibilities.  Some may involve freighters and sailboats, New Zealand and Fiji.  We'll just have to see!

Of course, I'm excited to see some of my friends out that way as well, so I'll try to let you know when I'm in the area and I hope you'll have time to see me! 

The Why

People are always asking me why I am doing this.  The easy answer is because I can...  I have a bit of money saved to start, and I'm hoping to find some small jobs along the way that will also help tide me over (keep that in mind if I'm in your area!).  After my previous adventures on the East Coast, this time I intend to finish what I originally set out to do; explore the west coast!  I may not get another opportunity for this kind of travel again for quite some time, if ever, so I plan to soak it up.  There are so many places that I really want to go and so many experiences that I want to have.  

Anyway, this is the general plan right now.  If any of you know how well I followed my plan last time, then you know that it's all subject to change...  Or if the wind blows me in another direction.

As always, I welcome thoughts, comments, suggestions from everyone.  I hope you keep in touch.