Death Canyon, Teton, WY

Took a day hike up Death Canyon today. Stunning view of Phelps Lake from 7200 ft with a glassy morning surface. Was fighting to get over snow here and there, and eventually lost the trail in an impassible, sheer, deep, steep snowbank, where trying would have meant a certain slip, and landed me in the churning and swollen snowmelt river. Prudence won the day over certain death. Still a 4 hour hike, plenty of steep terrain.

You know it’s a good sign when…I didn’t get a shot of the previous sign, RVs and Trailers forbidden, winding and narrow road.

Yellowstone National Park, WY

Wednesday the three of us drove up to Yellowstone and visited the geysers and hot springs (to look at, not bathe in). It is a stunning landscape there, and one of the largest supervolcano calderas on the planet. When it erupts, it will take out the middle half of the American continent. But it may be another million years that happens.

The highlight of the visit was catching Beehive geyser erupt, and walking through its spray. The steam was hot, the water frigid snow melt. Really cool.

Artists’ Paint Pots

Old Faithful / Sun through Beehive plume

Grand Teton National Park, WY

After Badlands I settled into a 10 hour drive to Grand Teton, one of my most favorite vistas in the world. I met up with Zaid and Greg at Signal Mountain Lodge late Monday. Tuesday morning we took a hike around Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls, but the route to Inspiration Point was still closed due to lingering early-season snow. Then a drive into Jackson for a walk around town (lots of leather and tourist shops) and dinner at the The Gun Barrel Steak and Game House. Excellent meal (I had the game sampler, the guys each got a 16 ounce beef prime rib), and a cool interior of taxidermy.

The Badlands

I spy with my little eye…six bison. The road is another couple miles behind that ridge on the left.

This is my chapel.
My parishioners this morning were a herd of bison; how kind of them to share their space with me.
We had a fellowship of nearly four hours on a fine Sunday morning.
The pictures, of course, do not do the scene justice. They're just dots of color printed on a rectangular screen.
I could have captured the GPS coordinates, but they're meaningless, just numbers and a map.
This specific scene is not the chapel, rather, this experience is the chapel. Chart your own course, find some space away from life and society and cities of men.
The rational mind, the classical mind, must be set aside; the experiential, the romantic, must be engaged.
To practice here, you must be present, in the now, engaging all of your senses, lost in the expanse, quiet in the mind.
You need to feel the stare of a bison, as you give it a wide berth, while he never takes his eyes off of you.
You need to watch the antelope sprint away. The birds, the wind, the smell, mindful of every footfall in choosing a safe course.
Be here, be present, be now.
Oh! Give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

When I arrived at the Sage Creek Campground Friday about an hour before dusk (free with park entrance, no running water), I got to cooking straight away (beans & rice with stewed canned tomatoes and a dal masala mix—entirely shelf-stable :)). At the end of the campground, maybe 100 metres away, were a half dozen bison, having a dinner of their own. I had an amazing stream of consciousness at the moment along the lines of, "It's really happening! I'm cooking on a camp stove at a campground 'out west,' and there is wildlife sharing the space with me!" So awesome.

Saturday. An amazing feature of the Badlands is that backcountry is unrestricted—you don't even need a permit to camp, just stay out of sight from the main road. So this morning I went to a pull off, a vista, a point most people stop and take a photo and then drive away from. I took the photo, and then I walked off into it (pictured, left). It was fantastic, surreal even, and just perfect. The country is relatively flat, the road is up high and running east-west, so I went south, then west, then back north until I hit the road again. I was at hiking for a solid three hours and the terrain is just stunning. The most amazing thing is how you can plan a route from a vantage point and end up being totally wrong when you get there. That's not a solid field of grass, it's punctuated by streams and bluffs. Those soft clay hills are actually steep and impassible up close. Bumping into bison and having to give a wide berth. And so on. Just amazing. Stepping into the postcard picture.

Now I'm back at the campground blogging, editing photos, and about to cook some Italian sausage with grilled peppers and onions and rice. Yay fresh food! :) Oh and cold cider. Yay ice!

Sunday. I built a little cairn today when I was sufficiently into the backcountry. It made me wonder: will any human ever see this again? I'm maybe 4 miles from the main road, I only see bison footprints and no human ones. This cairn is on top of eroding clay. Will it erode before another human sees it? Could I even find it if I tried? I do hope someone sees it--I like think that they'll notice it, ponder it, and wonder when it was put there and by whom.

The diversity in the topology here is staggering and breathtaking. One minute you're fighting through an overgrown muddy patch, the next climbing over a hot clay hill, the next in a meadow with trees, cactus, and bees.

A moment on Wall Drug. It is a store mostly dedicated to tourist kitsch, with a café, ice cream parlour, candy shop, western wear shop, etc. What really sets it apart is the sheer number of billboards advertising it. Still in Minnesota on I-90, there were signs such as "Only 350 miles until Wall Drug." There are literally dozens of these billboards, and on 90 in South Dakota, there ain't much else to look at. So you really get it in your head that Wall Drug must really be something, even though it’s the only thing to see in Wall, SD. Well done, Wall Drug, well done.

Minneapolis

After the drive up along the Mississippi River Wednesday, I met up with my cousin Kim and her fiancée John at her apartment on Grand in St Paul. My immediate reaction in a 15 minute walk up and down that street: people are friendly there! Strangers on the sidewalk kept making eye contact and smiling and even saying hello sometimes. What a great and welcoming feeling that gives! Is that "Minnesota Nice?"

We met up with my Uncle Dave and had dinner across the way at Brassa. I remember this place (albeit a different location) from my days working in Minneapolis in 2009-2010, one of the few places other than the office and the hotel bar I ever saw! Kim, John and I stayed out for a bonus drink at Wild Onion. There was a disco ball.

Thursday I went to Uptown for a wander, had lunch at Amazing Thailand (crushed their all-you-can-eat buffet), then to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for see their collection. I particularly enjoyed a Finnish design exhibit. Then I met up with my Aunt Karin at her office (got to see a 3D printer in action!) a restaurant that used to be her former office, The Free House, and then for a walk around Lake Harriet.

Friday morning Kim and I had a Cuban breakfast at Victor's 1959 Café, and then I hit the road to settle in to a nine hour drive to the Badlands, South Dakota.

Frontenac State Park

Stopped here for a couple hour hike along the main trail loop, switchbacking up and down the bluffs of the river. Nice spot for a quiet walk.

National Eagle Center, Wabasha, MN

Pretty cool! Gorgeous drive up the Mississippi River to St Paul after as well.

Rochester, MN

Rochester is the home of Mayo Clinic, a renown and historic health care facility. My cousin David lives there with his wife Rachel, who is doing her audiology doctoral externship here.

I arrived Sunday midday, and we went for Mexican at El Carambas (¡comidas verdades!). They gave me a little driving tour of the area and some of its history, including a stop at the Plummer House with a walk around the grounds.

That evening I made rhubarb pie from rhubarb picked up at the Madison farmers’ market.

Monday we had lunch at the DAHLC (Mayo’s staff fitness facilities) cafeteria, tried to go on an art tour (Mayo has an amazing collection lining its building walls) but the volunteer didn’t show (boo), ran into a falconer in the building. Fhkj Rachel gave us a tour of her offices, tested my hearing (still okay) and gave me a detailed talk on cochlear implants. David and I took a self-guided art tour (free audio guides at the info desk) while Rachel took a meeting, and saw a number of famous works by Warhol and Chihuly’s glass. We wrapped up the day with yoga at the DAHLC and then back home for dinner of red beans and rice.

Tuesday David and I had dinner at Mango Thai (excellent), walked around the few blocks of retail, checked out the coolest Barnes and Noble in the world, went for a hike at Quarry Hill Nature Centre, and then picked up Rachel from work who was unfortunately ill. David and I had a quick dinner at City Café, where I had a nice piece of rare seared tuna.

Tomorrow I’ll head up to Minneapolis via the Mississippi, and then leave the Midwest.

Madison

First stop Madison. Day one, met up with Ryan for lunch at the Great Dane in Fitchburg, then wandered around downtown along State Street and Williamson streets. Met up with my hosts Kara and Wes and we barbecued up some Italian sausages from The Underground Butcher and caught up over wine.

Day two was action-packed. Started off guitar shopping at Madison Music, yoga at Perfect Knot on Willy St (Bev’s Yin yoga, with deep multi-minute holds), lunch at a Laotian restaurant across the street, a tour of the capital (pictured above), a slice of pizza with Evan at Ian’s and a drink at Coopers Tavern, dinner and drinks with my cousin Vanessa and her husband David at Eldorado Grill, then met up with Evan again in Middleton where I subbed on a beach volleyball team, then back to his house for a glass of wine with his wife and two boys (and two dogs and two cats).

Day three was much more chill. Got a haircut in the late morning at Thorps on Atwood, went to lunch next door at Alchemy, then went down to the university Terrace and had a beer and read for a while. Met up with Brenna and Ryan at their new house (they closed the day prior) and had a cheers and a couple drinks.

Day four: Farmers' Market at "the square" in the morning, and then helped Brenna and Ryan move. And then went with Evan and Angie to a house party for a team running the Ragnar relay race (same format as the Golden Gate Relay I’ve run a few years, but from Madison to Chicago).

In summary: Madison is a very cool city. Great blend of urban, campus, government and business. Every significant road has a dedicated bicycle lane, and there are heaps of trails all over the city and surrounding countryside. In just 15 minutes you can go from urban to rural. The culture is very focused on local food, there is tons of great dining, and some great hippie-ish green/natural living. Really neat city.

Sunday morning: drove to Rochester, MN, to visit David and Rachel for a couple nights. Crossing the Mississippi River was amazing—it is HUGE. The bridge and surrounding roads were under construction so there was no place to stop for a picture.

About that guitar: I picked up a Composite Acoustics Cargo guitar, their travel model. It is a thing of beauty, made of carbon fiber, impervious to the elements (you could play it standing in the rain), impervious to temperature (you can leave it in a hot car without the glue melting, as it is a single piece of carbon fiber), and never needs a set up (doesn't even have a truss rod). Can't wait to get to know it better.

Setting Off

I'm heading out on the road today, first stop: Madison, Wisconsin. After a few quiet weeks getting ready, things are about to get interesting :) This trip only has plans forward, an open-ended adventure.

Getting Warmer

Spring is springing. It's getting warmer. Green and blossoms abound. Birds are chirping. Nearly ready to go. T minus 1 week to planned departure. My roof top tent project is nearly complete, as is the outfitting. Stay tuned.