Sleepdriving

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"It buried a starlit fog
You remembered it all
I'm sleepdriving away

Metal and mold, bourbon and clove
Mirrors and smoke, yesterday's clothes
I'm sleepdriving away

Eyes through your window, I stare out
And some, someday we'll be too old

Cold will ache with making you jaw
You're only as old as you say that we are
I'm sleepdriving away"

Once again, the Grand Archives have found a way to be poetically perfect.  After we detoured to the most beautiful part of Wyoming in clothes from the day before and yet another wee hour nap at a rest stop, Yellowstone National Park was our last unplanned stop on our drive home.  If you are ever in the general area and thinking, "I bet we could just drive through for a couple hours and be on our way" you would be mistaken.  John and I had even both been to Yellowstone before.  Granted, we went as children, and the magnificence took on a whole new perspective as adults.  When I was little, I remembered Yellowstone being stinky with lots of bubbling mud and ginormous geysers.  Now, the smell is more tolerable, the geysers were not as big yet still impressionable, and the bubbling mud was still one of my favorite parts.  I took over 450 pictures, so I am proud that I narrowed it down to less than 30 for my blog.  I'm sure most people think "Awe nuts!  Somebody's stupid vacation photos" but frankly, I do not care.  I thought these were, in the words of Napoleon Dynamite, FLIPPIN' SWEET!






We saw this grizzly bear maybe ten minutes into Yellowstone.  We were surrounded by people who had been looking for one for two days.


It's difficult to tell where the steam ends and the clouds begin.





This would be one of the pictures I set my sunglasses down for a few minutes to take.  Of course, some jerkface ran off with them when I wasn't looking.  I am abnormally attached to my sunglasses, so I was miffed and randomly ranted the rest of the day.  I am still mad, even though I bought a new pair in South Dakota.  Why would someone steal a pair of scratched and warped sunglasses?  Seriously?










Somehow, we managed to pass by the Artists Paint Pots, the only thing I was adamant that I needed to see.  So, I backtracked, and I am so glad I did.  I got there at the sweet hour.  The light was unbelievable!



How amazing is the sunset, backlighting the steam?  Just WOW.


On the way out of the park, we got one last delight.  A whole herd of elk stepped out of the forest long enough for us to photograph them, then disappeared again.  That is too fortunate to even be luck!

Overall, I would have to say, this was a fantastic road trip.  We really didn't plan it that much.  John was offered a new job as the Chairman of Renewable Energy program at the local college, and he had a few weeks before his start date, so we packed up the car and hit the road to California.  With his previous job, he was always working, and never able to take a vacation, so this was great for him.  If I had to pick top three most memorable parts, I would have to say Moab, Pfeiffer Beach, and Yellowstone.  I loved the whole trip, and I am so fortunate to have been able to go!

Breezy No Breezy

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Sometimes, an instrumental piece by the Grand Archives is the best pick for a beautiful place with nothing to which to compare it.  Our last stop in Oregon was Multanomah Falls.  And it was spectacular!









Your Honor

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"But I'm a pizzatarian so it's a frozen pizza pie"

Gotta love the clever whimsy of Regina Spektor!  But the pizza at Pizza A'Fetta was anything but frozen! This tiny little pizzeria in Cannon Beach actually was noted as one of the top 50 in the nation.  Though I thought it was ridiculously overpriced, the service was beyond compare, and the pizza was very yummy.  We had artichoke, red onion, and green pepper pizza, as well as breadsticks.  Mmmm!  Oregon has awesome food.  Another great place we ate was Burgerville.  Burgerville was fast food, but it was high end fast food, if such a thing exists.


I tried to get a picture of the steam rising off the pizza, but it just looked blurry.  How delicious does this look?


At Burgerville, we upgraded our fries to a side of fried asparagus.  Good stuff!

I got a spicy black bean burger with a chipotle mayo.  Wow.

For dessert, I ordered this milkshake with Ghiredelli chocolate and black cherries.  It was foodgasmic.


Weird Fishes

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"In the deepest ocean.  The bottom of the sea... Weird fishes.  Weird fishes"

I could not go through a whole trip and not quote Radiohead, especially not after finding my way to Hug Point tide pools.  There were hundreds of starfish, clams, anemones, and various other weird sea creatures.  As much as I love taking pictures in aquariums, there is nothing quite like the real thing.  I even saw a crab, but of course, once he saw me, he would not come back out of his hiding spot so I could photograph him.  We had limited time at the tide pools because the tide was returning, not to mention it was a record cold day for Oregon.










Goodbye California

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"Goodbye, Goodbye, California.  Goodbye and I'll be moving on"

Jolie Holland expressed exactly was I was feeling by the time the bad moon rising caught us in the Redwood National Forest.  After nearly two weeks on the road, and approximately 5,000 miles, the water pump in our Jeep decided it was done.  With no reception, no idea what was wrong with the car, and 83 miles from the nearest shop, we were stuck on the side of the road.  Though we never saw their wings, two angels pulled over within five minutes of our catastrophe.  They were headed in the same direction we were, and offered to call a tow truck for us as soon as they had cell phone reception.  Maybe an hour later, the tow truck arrived, and gave us a one of a kind tour through Humboldt county.  Fortunately, we were fixed and on the road again by supper time.  We camped in the redwoods, got a nice hot shower for a couple of dollars, and were back on the road to Portland, Oregon.


Surprise!  Another rock I thought was cool!






This is not photoshopped.  I swear, this tree had fallen down, and where the bark was missing, was this amazing turquoise design.



When I'm dead and gone
My immortal home
Will hold me in its bosom 
Safe and cold
No more desiresWill light their fires
Or disturb my immaculate calm
And the birds of the air
And the beasts of the soil
And the fishes of the desperate seas
Will know who I am
And our substance will expand

As part of everything


As part of everything, my God
As part of everything
And the clouds will roll
And the wind will blow

And the beautiful birds will sing


Goodbye, goodbye, California
Goodbye to your waving trees
To you succulent wind
And all my friends
Fare thee well
GoodbyeSo be it
Amen