The Odyssey

Journal of Peter Judge

(from http://journals.aol.com/pjudge80/TheOdyssey)

Monday, November 3, 2003 2:40:00 PM EST Feeling Anxious Hearing Howard Tate "Rediscovered"

order out of chaos

As some of you know, I'm driving to N. Carolina to visit Moe, so without further comment, I begin.....The Journal. "I wish that life were simple, and everything I needed I could carry in my pocket, and I'd sleep anywhere I found six feet of flat earth. Or not so flat." I wrote those words in 1997 when I was going through PHP at Stanford. At the time I was intensely unhappy about-among other things-the complexity that having CF created in my life. I'm more at peace with it now than I was then, but sometimes...... My housemates had a going-away/early-birthday dinner for me last night. Robin made a salmon fillet-one of my favorite foods-and there was cake and some very nice travel related presents. I'm fortunate to live where I do and with the people I do. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I have to stop by the clinic, and then get in a swim before really hitting the road. My destination the first day is.... Bakersfield, which is distinguished for not having any distinguishing qualities. My itinerary is as follows: Bakersfield, Bullhead City, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Asheville NC, and Wake Forest. I'll be coming back via Knoxville, Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Sioux City, Chamerlain S.D., Rapid City, Billings, Missoula, Spokane, Seattle, Port Townsend, Medford/Ashland, and home. Say it fast and it sounds like a Johnny Cash song. I've got some errands to run-washing the car, pharmacy, swim, blahblah last minute things-so until tomorrow, take care and love. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, November 4, 2003 8:47:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing the radio

an exodus of one

Bakersfield, city of light, city of magic. Showered, packed, and lightly breakfasted, I left La Honda this morning. Robin and Art and Bruce and Jazzy came out to say goodbye and wish me God's speed. After a couple errands, I got on the road proper about 11:30. Driving through Gilroy on hwy. 152, I pulled in big lungfuls of air through my nose, the aroma of garlic as thick and pungent as ever. I thought of some other names for this journal: "pete's journal", "track pete's trip"-pretty boring. "The Odyssey" is a little more poetic, even if my adventures won't rise to the level of Odysseus's. A couple of stops and an uneventful drive down 99, and I got to Bakersfield just after 4:00, checked into the motel and unpacked. I'll probably spend the evening watching TV and reading. I brought alot of books with me: besides the Bible-"The Quiet American", Graham Greene; "The Corrections", Johnathan Franzen, "The Confessions of Nat Turner", William Styron, "Give War a Chance", P.J. O'Rourke, "On Liberty", J.S. Mill, "A Thief of Time", Tony Hillerman, and yes, "The Odyssey". Thanks to everyone who's kept me in their thoughts and prayers. Tomorrow Bullhead City. Okay for now. Take care and love. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Thursday, November 6, 2003 9:08:00 PM EST

the times they are a' changin'

tehachapi windmills Leaving Bakersfield I pointed the car east. Going over tehachapi, hundreds(thousands?) of giant 3vaned windmills stretched across almost the whole horizon. Coming down into the Mojave desert, I saw the first Joshua trees, twisted and pre-historic. I stopped in Mojave for breakfast. When I was a kid my dad and I used to stop at White's Cafe on the way to Mammoth Lakes. The motel's still there, but there's a McDonald's where the restaurant used to be, so I ate at Mike's Roadhouse diner. I had the trucker's breakfast: 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham, hash browns, and pancakes. There's a huge field in Mojave where airliners are stored because of the dry climate. Must be hundreds of planes there. At Barstow-after going the wrong way on I-15-I got on I-40 at its start, where there was a sign that reads "Wilmington NC 2554 miles." I crossed the Colorado river into Bullhead City AZ about

4:30. There are a lot of pawn shops in Bullhead, which isn't surprising, since it's just across the river from Laughlin NV. It seems like the poorer a town is, the more pawn shops there are. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________ Thursday, November 6, 2003 11:05:00 PM EST Hearing the TV

raising arizona

I almost never forward e-mails, but i'm a sucker for those "getting to know your friends" questionnaires. In one of them there was a question, "are you an ocean person or a mountain person?" My mom, who grew up in the rocky mountains, said she was a mountain person, because she felt that much closer to God. Between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, I passed over 8046', which, unless I-90 goes higher through Montana, will be the high point of the trip. Good thing too. I was glad to leave Bullhead City. The place had a shabby, down-at-the-heels feeling to it. Anyway, from there it was the long pull up to the colorado plateau. I stopped in Kingman for breakfast, and from there went to the Grand Canyon. I was going to swim when I got to Flagstaff, but I was pretty tired, so that and the altitude turned that worm. So now, I'm relaxing in my room, and in a little bit I'll walk down to the Denny's next to the motel. Fine dining tonight. Albuquerque tomorrow. Okay for now. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Saturday, November 8, 2003 10:22:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing NPR

"where the rivers change direction...."

Tucumcari, NM. Tucumcari? I was planning to stay in Albuquerque, but after I stopped there, I decided to continue on to a lower, oxygen-rich elevation. I'd been above a mile elevation since before the Grand Canyon, and I could feel the difference, so Tucumcari-being only a couple hours further-it was. I made a few stops along the way; one in Winslow, AZ-the picture doesn't need a caption-; at the continental divide; and once or twice for food and gas. Also, by putting in some extra miles, I can take the next two legs of the trip in smaller bites. Instead of Amarillo, I'll go as far as Shamrock, and then Oklahoma City Sunday. ____________________________________________________________________

Saturday, November 8, 2003 10:59:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin'

"where the wind come's sweepin' down the plains..."

I was going to stop in Shamrock, TX, but since Oklahoma City was only another 3 hours, I kept going. I stopped at the YMCA in Amarillo. Downtown Amarillo, where the Y is, looks like a ghost town. I went into a men's store that was having a going out of business, 50% off everything in the store sale, and the owner said that all the businesses have moved out to the malls. I stopped in Groom, TX, to see the largest cross in the western hemisphere. I didn't really need to stop, since it's visible from miles away: 190' tall, 110' wide, weighing 2.5 million lbs. I was hoping to see the lunar eclipse, but, with the exception of a short stretch east of Amarillo, it's been overcast since before the Grand Canyon. I-40 has been following old route 66 since before Kingman. In lots of places, you can see the old road just off the interstate. It's also the main drag in some of the small towns off the highway. In Tucumcari, there are lots of skeletons of old motels and other businesses from the days before the middle class could afford to travel by plane. The interstates are the domain of the 16 wheelers; I think that the rest of us are just visiting. When I go shopping, I don't think about where things come from, but the sheer number of trucks on the road makes it clear what the wheels of commerce really are. Going through AZ and NM, I also saw a lot of trains, almost all of them pulling flat cars with metal containers or truck trailers. Not one box car. There are a lot more country/western stations in NM and TX than there are back home. Some of them even play real country music. One thing that's the same though, is NPR; you can still hear "a prairie home companion" on a saturday night. There's been a Denny's within walking distance 3 out of the 5 places I've stayed. Location, location, location. Just steps from weapons-grade cuisine. Okay for now. Take care and love. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Sunday, November 9, 2003 11:23:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing patty loveless

oklahoma city

I didn't get on the road to Little Rock until 2:00. I had breakfast and went swimming at the downtown Y. But before that, I visited the Federal Building Memorial, just 3 blocks from the Y. It's

a beautiful memorial, with many different features, and a peaceful, quiet feeling. There's a long fence with every type of momento imaginable placed on it by the public. Somber, but touching and serene. I took alot of pictures, but I'll only post a few. As I was walking around, I was looking at the area and trying to imagine what the bomber-his name isn't mentioned anywhere in the memorial-was thinking and feeling when he parked in front of the building that morning. Just a truck parked in front of a building. That part of downtown Oklahoma City is very nice, with many old, nicely maintained buildings. Churches, people walking, slow moving cars, parents with children. How could he have looked around at the same things that I saw, and been able to do what he did? To stand in a place that seems so ordinary, and try to fathom what happened that morning, how completely unimaginable it must have seemed to the people who were there, to go from the familiar and mundane, to the mad and horrific in less than a minute, was very hard for me, if not impossible. It was a pretty uneventful drive. I pulled off the highway in Henryetta, OK, and took a short nap in the car. When I was about to get back on the road, I saw a sign in the window of "The Hungry Traveller". The sign said, "home-made pie". Like Tevye, I asked myself(not really), would it spoil some vast eternal plan if I had a piece of home-made pie? Apple. I got into Little Rock about 8:00. Tomorrow, I'm thinking of just stopping in Memphis for lunch and a little sight seeing, and then pushing on to Nashville. Okay for now. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 12:45:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing elvis, johnny, carl, roy, jerry lee, et al

that beautiful tennesse waltz

mississipi bridge

graceland

sun records

Had a nice swim before leaving Little Rock this morning. I talked to a couple nice people on the staff, including the executive director, Susan, who gave me a Y t-shirt. When we were talking in the lobby, I saw the president speaking on television from downtown Little Rock. Coincidence? Crossed over the mighty Mississippi, Old Man River, the Father of Waters, Big Muddy, you get the idea. First stop in Memphis was Sun Records, birthplace-arguably-of rock n roll. Where Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Elvis got their starts. The founder and brain behind Sun, Sam Phillips, just died about a month ago. Of all of them, only Jerry Lee's still living. Speaking of Jerry Lee, coming east from Little Rock, I heard his cousin, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, on the radio. Been a long time. But i digress. Sun, like a lot of things, has been turned into a sort of theme park version of itself; lots of nostalgia, and heavy on the merchandising-which didn't stop me from buying some souvenirs. Still, it's an impressive place to have housed so much talent, and been the center of so much that made its way into the culture. I mean, maybe Roy Orbison burped, RIGHT WHERE I'M STANDING. After that, it was down to Graceland. I didn't take the tour, so just standing outside the gate wasn't very moving. His private Boeing ,the "Lisa Marie", parked across the street, was impressive though. Got into Nashville about 7:30, and as usual, it took me a little time to set up shop and do my endof-the-day paperwork/planning/blahblahblah. Swim, then Asheville, N.C. tomorrow. Ah, N. Carolina, finally the eastern time zone. Actually, i'm two days ahead of schedule. Tail winds. Love. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 9:46:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing the man in black

nashville cats

painting in a window

ryman auditorium

young soldiers

After a swim this morning, I drove into downtown Nashville to see some sights. Downtown has a nice mix of old buildings, and new. My first stop was the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974. There had been a big tribute to Johnny Cash the night before, with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. I also caught the very end of the Veterans Day parade. As i was taking pictures, a couple of Air Force soldiers passing by said, "you should take our picture", and I was thinking the same thing, so I said, "sure". It started out as just the two of them, but in a few seconds, they'd gotten all of their friends to join them. They were all so happy and laughing and sharp-looking in their uniforms. Hopefully they'll spend their whole tour in the U.S. Tennessee's supposedly the greenest state in the land of the free. I'd vote for West Virginia, but I was there in August, not November. Anyway, the south has a very different effect than the west. Going through the desert made me feel like I was really out of reach of civilization. In the parts of the south I've been through, even where there aren't any cities or towns, there are farms or other signs of human habitation. In the desert, it felt like just cactus and scorpions. Moe and Jenny's tomorrow. It'll be great to see them, and also to unpack all my stuff without having to pack it back up the next morning. Okay for now. Love. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Thursday, November 13, 2003 12:07:00 AM EST Feeling Chillin'

from sea to shining sea almost

I forgot to note the mileage when I pulled into Moe & Jenny's around 4:30 this afternoon, and I don't feel like walking downstairs and out to the car to look, but it's about 3000 miles. Somewhere on the road I heard a writer on NPR comparing writing a book to driving at night; that you could only see a little way ahead with the headlights on, but you could make the whole, long trip that way. It doesn't seem likely that I crossed N. America, but by doing a few hundred miles every day, I got here before I really noticed; Bullhead city to Flagstaff, Flagstaff to Tumcumcari, etc. and now I'm here. After a swim, I left Asheville. It was a pretty uneventful drive, and since Wake Forest is closer to Asheville than I had thought, I got to Moe's about an hour ahead of schedule. Moe had thought he wouldn't be home, but that 45 minutes or so made the difference, and I got to see him before he had to leave for a couple of hours. That was good, because I had the house to myself to unpack

and do laundry and shower and fix some food and just relax. Moe and Jenny got home a little later and we talked and watched a little TV. We're going to take Elsa(the dog)to the vet tomorrow; she's got a cancer above her jaw, and some tests need to be done. We'll have a few hours to do what we want before she gets picked up, so probably lunch and a swim. I have to get up early so that's all for now. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Friday, November 14, 2003 5:12:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet

a beautiful mind

Id like to thank the Nobel committee The drive out was 3113 miles. When I went to the Grand Canyon, I paid the entrance fee and pulled into the park. After about a mile there was a long back-up of cars following a slow-i mean real slow-moving truck. It was one of those highway maintainance type trucks with a seat at the back of the flatbed, and a guy sitting on the seat and putting cones on the center striped line every 200 feet or so as the truck cruised along at about 5 mph. The asphalt on the road looked new, but I didn't think much of it and I couldn't see why the cones were being put down. I wasn't born with the patience of Job, and sitting in traffic is one of the most frustrating things in the world-without going into it, I think I come by it honest. And when I get impatient, I'm quick to jump to a conclusion, usually a bad one. Anyway, I know myself at least that well, and try not to act like that, but sometimes.... So I'm sitting in this line of cars that's moving at the speed of evolution, and my blood pressure's going up, so when there are no cars coming the other way, I pull into the opposite lane and drive ahead of the line and the maintainance truck. I wasn't zooming, just going fast enough to pass before any oncoming traffic. As I pass the truck, I see that, although there is a center line on the road after it, there isn't one ahead of it. The truck is painting the line on the new asphalt, and the guy in the jump seat is putting down the cones to keep drivers off the wet paint. I get to the parking lot and look at my wheels, which now have yellow racing stripes, and the wheel wells, which are dotted with yellow drops of paint. Leaving the park, I pass the spot where I drove over the line, which now has a yellow streak with my tire tread on it, and I think to myself -not for the first time-that I am now one of those people that if I had seen someone else doing what I had just done, I would have shaken my head and thought, "what a jerk". A real Homer Simpson moment. Yesterday was low-key. We took the dog to the vet, then had lunch and went swimming. Went to the Y today, and then washed my car. Moe and I are going over to a friend's after dinner to play cards. Take care. Pete ____________________________________________________________________

Sunday, November 16, 2003 9:18:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing Howard Tate

down to the sea in ships

The weather's been mostly good since I got to N. Carolina. Last Thursday was windy, and there were one or two cold nights, but other than that it's been warm. Today was about 70 degrees. Moe and I went to see "Master and Commander", the new Russell Crowe movie directed by aussie Peter Weir. It was very good; a good story, vivid depictions of life on an early 19th century sailing ship, and intense battle scenes. And despite it being a period piece, and-to some degree-an action movie, the characters were all human, and their interactions rang true. No phony relationships or dialogue or conflicts. Had a swim, then ate dinner with Jenny's sister's family. Moe and I are going to try to make a trip to Kittyhawk. I've never been, and the 100th anniversary is next month. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 6:55:00 PM EST Feeling Happy Hearing ray charles

paint your wagon

get out of the way

jackson pollack painting co.

No entry yesterday-it was a pretty quiet day. Moe and I painted part of his front porch, then later that night went over to a friend's house to watch Monday night football. I'm not a real pro football fan but I went for the company. Today we went to lunch at a place called "The Forks" lunchroom, which, I think, has something to do with Falls Lake. Or maybe because it's at a fork in the road. The place serves very southern cuisine with no frills. I had fried chicken and mashed potatoes(Dan Quayles downfall-no "e" on the singular) with gravy, and Moe had yams and cooked cabbage and trunip greens. And of course sweet tea. We got home and painted some more until the mosquitoes started waking up. After dinner we've got a couple of movies. Thursday we go to Kittyhawk. I'm looking forward to that. I've seen a few things on this trip that I've heard about for a large part of my life but have never seen before. I think the Wright memorial will be one of the highlights. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Friday, November 21, 2003 2:55:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing various

Kittyhawk

working flyer replica

the spot where the air age began

Moe and I got on the road about 8:30 this morning, heading for the outer banks 200 miles away. Starting about 125 miles from the coast, we saw a lot of evidence of hurricane Isabelle: trees bent over, snapped, and uprooted, lots of homes with roof damage. Crossing Albemarle sound, and Roanoke Island, we got to Kittyhawk about 12:30. We had no idea, but today was a very good day to visit. Besides the other features of the memorial, a fully operational replica of the Wright Flyer was being tested today, and we got to witness it's first ever flight. We were up on top of Kill Devil Hill where the large stone monument to the brothers is located when the flight took place down on the field below. While we were up there, a photographer working with the project was shooting some pictures and he gave us a lot of information about the plane, and about the history of the Wrights and Kittyhawk. He also told us that the replica Flyer had been built using only the types of materials and tools that the Wrights had had; no modern technology. There's lots of preparation going on for the centennial on Dec. 17: pavilions and bleachers being set up. The plan is for the Flyer replica to fly in front of the huge crowd-including the President, John Glenn, Chuck Yeager, and Buzz Aldrin-that morning. Besides the monument, we went through the small museum and another exhibit building, saw replicas of the hangar and small wooden house that the Wrights built to house their plane and themselves, and another replica Flyer and glider. We also saw the stone markers marking the spots where the plane, with Orville aboard, first took flight-memorialized in arguably the most famous photo ever taken-and where the first four flights landed, the first being only 120 feet, and the farthest that day, made by Wilbur, being over 800. It was hard for me to look at the photo and imagine that I was standing on the very spot where it all happened. What a day that must have been for them. By the time Wilbur made the last and longest flight that day, they must have been as happy as two people can be. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Saturday, November 22, 2003 5:04:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing sun

misc and kittyhawk redux

Talking to the photographer at Kittyhawk on Thurs he told us a couple more interesting facts. In 1903, Kill Devil Hill, the site of the monument, was about 450 feet from it's present location. Originally just a huge sand dune, it was moved by the wind over a number of years. Eventually, grass was planted all over the hill-and down on the flats below where the powered flights took place-to stabilize it and keep it from migrating any further. Also, the propellers that the Wrights used, and which they designed and built themselves, have been subjected to tests at NASA, which show them to have an efficiency within 5% of modern day propellers. Besides the aeronautics of flight, some of the Wrights's most innovative inventions were their propellers, which they thought of as moving wings-as opposed to the wisdom of the day, which was to think of them as analogous to ship's screws-the engine of their own design, and their ability to control the movement of the plane in flight. Spent the last 2 days mostly at the house. We did some more painting yesterday and today, and yesterday we started excavating a tree stump in the back yard to dig a fire pit. More on that as it happens. Moe and I are going out tonight to shot pool and have some food. Take care. pete

Tuesday, November 25, 2003 12:57:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing patsy cline

monday

Yesterday morning Moe and I went to the Lutheran church he attends. It was a pretty different experience than going to the Vineyard. Not nearly as informal, which isn't good or bad, just not what I'm used to....okay, I like the Vineyard. Last night we went to a local mall so Moe and Jenny could have their picture taken with Elsa(dog) and a man pretending to be Santa Claus. The backdrop was a lot more elaborate than when I was a kid. Back then, he had a chair and some fake snow, and maybe an archway with some fake mistletoe wrapped around it. Now it looks like part of "it's a small world". Went to lunch today, and then did some shopping. We rented a couple movies, and watched "The Quiet American", which I just finished reading a couple days ago. We were going to go down to Dave's in S. Carolina tomorrow, but we've bumped it back one day. Moe and Jenny's dog has cancer, and the prognosis isn't good, so Moe doesn't want to be gone long in case her condition takes a turn for the worse. We get these animals and somehow we get fond of them. The weather was muggy today, but it wouldn't rain. It finally got cold tonight, down in the 30's. That's not too bad, and mostly it's been beautiful since I got here. On the subject of weather, when we went to Kittyhawk it was clear why the Wrights picked it to fly their gliders and planes: strong, consistent wind. The Wright Flyer had a top speed of about 35mph, and on the morning of the first flight there was a 27mph headwind, so the planes' groundspeed was only about 10 feet/second, about a medium jog. Take care. Pete

Thursday, November 27, 2003 2:40:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing various

orangeburg south carolina

moe confronts the legend

new and old world monkeys

the big sombrero

keep your eyes on the egg, youre getting very sleepy

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Moe and I got on the road around 1:30 this afternoon to Dave and Marie's in SC. We only made one stop-at Pedro's South of the Border, of course. For those who aren't familiar with Pedro's, it's an institution along I-95, right on the North/South Carolina border. The whole complex probably covers about a hundred acres, and consists of almost every kind of road-side amenity a person could think of: market, liquor store, souvenier store(several), fireworks store(also several), motel, RV park, restaurant and fast food joints, and a few other things, all bearing the Pedro's name and, to some degree, the Pedro theme. Pedro-or his inventor-wasn't Walt Disney, but he had a vision. So, we spent about 45 minutes at Pedro's before getting back on the road. We got to Dave and Marie's just before 7:00. After relaxing for a little while, Marie and Dave took us to dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant, where we had sushi, and watched a Benihana style chef prepare a mixed grill for another party. Tomorrow we go over to Norway to Marie's uncle Bubba's for the big Thanksgiving get-together and dinner. There is always a large group of friends and family and more food than can possibly be eaten. The dinner is held in the fellowship hall of the Baptist Church that is on Bubba's property, just a few hundred feet from his home. In years past there's been touch football or deer hunting after dinner. I've gone on two hunts as a spotter, but probably not this year. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Friday, November 28, 2003 1:21:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing tom petty, natalie merchant

thanksgiving

willow swamp baptist church

dinner

weeping willow

Today was a full one. I got up late, but it wasn't a problem, as we didn't head over to the gettogether until about 1:00. We drove to the Willow Swamp Baptist Church-which I mentioned in the last post-to meet all of the assembled family and friends, and enjoy a lot of good food and fellowship. Marie's extended family is very large, and her relatives have always made me feel very welcome, even though I'm an old carpetbagger. They couldn't be nicer and I always enjoy seeing them. There were great amounts of different foods: turkey, ham, collard greens, sweet potatoes, rice(2 kinds), beans(also 2 kinds), casseroles, gravy, different breads and rolls, things I'm probably forgetting, salads, and 6-7 different desserts. After eating I took a walk around the church and the small cemetery across the road to stetch my legs, and my stomach. About 3:30 we went back to Dave and Marie's, where we played cards with her brothers until about 7:30. We left Orangeburg at 8:00, and got back to Moe's just after midnight. It's just after 1:00pm now, so that's all. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

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Monday, December 1, 2003 10:08:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing various

heading west

why am i pointing south?

take the picture and leave redstone rocket

I said goodbye to Moe and Jenny this morning. It was a good visit, and I could have stayed longer with no trouble, but my hosts might have had something to say about that. On the up side, i'm looking forward to seeing new country, and I can sing to the radio without getting on anyone's bad side. I made a stop at the Durham Museum of Science before getting on the road. They have a MercuryRedstone rocket with a Mercury capsule mock-up at the top. This was the rocket that was used to launch Alan Shepard and Gus Grissum on their sub-orbital flights. I was surprised at how small the rocket was, probably only 80-90 feet tall. By comparison, the Saturn V's that were used in Apollo were 363 feet. Got to Knoxville just after 4:00. After getting set up, I went out to get some food, and to a music store to get a pitch-pipe to tune the banjo. Here's the story: last friday we had dinner at the house with Jenny's sister and brother-in-law, and Moe and Jenny's next door neighbor Betty. She was asking about e-bay, and said she had a banjo she wanted to sell. I asked her if I could look at it, and so on Saturday, Moe and I went next door. It was a nice instrument, and Betty said that I could take it and send her what I thought was a fair price when I got home. So now I have a banjo. Here in Knoxville, I went to Pick 'n Grin, a music store specializing in string instruments. They sold me a pitch-pipe, and Matt, the counter-man, tightened the head for me, and adjusted the neck. A nice guy, we talked for a while, and he gave me the name of some restaurants in Bozeman, for when I pass through there. Swim tomorrow, and then Louisville, via Mammoth Caves. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, December 2, 2003 11:35:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing tom waits

mammoth cave

wait, werent there four of you?

USGS survey mark in cave

another morning

After a swim this morning, I got on the road heading north toward Kentucky. I made one stop just before the state line to take a quick nap and buy some very smooth and fudge. Leaving the

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interstate, I took the Cumberland Parkway west. All along the way were green, rolling hills, interspersed with river valleys and limestone cliffs. I got to Mammoth Cave about 3:00, in time to catch the last tour of the day at 3:30. Being the offseason, there were only 3 of us and the park ranger, so we got to see some things that there wouldn't have been time to see with a big group. Mammoth cave is the largest cave complex in the world, covering-currently-360 square miles. Back in 1972, a cave explorer was the first to discover a link between Mammoth and Crystal cave, thus making it the worlds largest. It was impossible to appreciate the size, because we saw just a tiny part of it, and from well established walkways at that. To have crawled and slithered through wet, narrow cracks, not knowing what was ahead, or if you would hit a dead end and have to back out-if you could-would have been something else completely. People did get lost, and some never came out again. At one point in the tour, our guide turned out the lights. I don't know if I've ever experienced utter darkness before. He also told us to stay silent. Under those conditions, after some time has passed, people will begin to have visual hallucinations, and will mistake there own heartbeat for an outside source of sound. The human mind can only take so much-or so little maybe. I was going to stay in Louisville tonight, but after trying-unsuccessfully-to get reservations at a couple different motels(I forgot to make them last night), I went about 20 miles west to Corydon, Indiana, and found a place. Check out time isn't until noon, and I pick up an hour in central Indiana, so tomorrow I'm sleeping in. Yawn. St. Louis tomorrow. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, December 3, 2003 11:54:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing o brother where art thou?

st. louis

outside sun records

one dog night

no, I havent seen your pet rabbit

roadkill shshi just kidding

Southern Indiana-miles of rolling farm and grassland. I made a short detour to Evansville to go swimming, and ended up spending a couple hours at the Y. Crossing through Illinois, I ran into light rain that lasted all the way into St. Louis. Crossing the Mississippi river, this time going west, I had my first views of the Arch. It was lit from below, and had a light silvery sheen. Since I got here too late, I'll go to the Arch tomorrow. I'm actually staying in Maryland Heights, about 15 miles west of the city. Also tomorrow, time allowing, I'll see the transportation museum in nearby Kirkwood. I'm managing to stay a day or two ahead of the weather. The last 2 nights I've watched the news, and snow is predicted a couple days after I leave the area. It's supposed to rain throughout the night, but the tempature will only get down to about 36 degrees, so no snow. I didn't take any pictures today, but I'm going to post a few of the better ones that didn't make it up before. take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

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Thursday, December 4, 2003 11:29:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing man in black

missouri breaks

at the top

view from the arch

It started out a damp and chilly day in St. Louis. After breaking camp and taking a swim, I headed to downtown and the Arch. Just a few hundred feet from the Mississippi, the park surrounding the arch is pretty with lots of trees and paths and pools. The Arch itself is a contrast in big and small; that something so big-and to really appreciate size, you have to stand at the bottom and look up-should have bases that are only 54 feet on a side. An inverted catenary, in cross section the arch is a triangle, with the apex in the center and the base on the outside. "Graceful" is probably an over-used adjective to describe it, but that it is. At the top, it's only 17 feet wide, and of course narrowing to a point underneath the floor. The entrance to the Arch is underground, where there is a museum and other exhibits. A train of little ferris-wheel type closed cars takes you to the top. The cars, which have 5 seats facing toward the middle, are shaped like a barrel on its side, with a circumference of about 5 feet, and a depth of about 4.5. It's not for the claustrophobic. It's about a two minute ride. From the observation windows, there's great views of St. Louis, the river, and into Illinois. The architect, Eero Sarinaan, died in 1961, two years before construction actually started. After the Arch I was a little tired, so I skipped the transportation museum. Got into Independence, MO, just outside of Kansas City, just after 7:00. Got set up and relaxed for a bit, and now I'm going to head out and have some food. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Friday, December 5, 2003 9:52:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing howard tate

atchison, topeka, and sioux city

atchison train museum

hamburg, iowa - no comment

Leavenworth best seen from the outside

Cold tonight in Sioux City. There's snow on the ground, but it isn't snowing now. The tempature is supposed to be down below 20 degrees tonight. I was in 4 states today. I started in Missouri, ended in Iowa, and made short trips into Kansas-and the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth-and Nebraska. There must be a special school just for prison architects.

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During my first trip to see Moe, in 1997, I spent an afternoon in Washington DC, mostly in the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. More than one person has told me that to do justice to the Smithsonian, you would have to spend a couple weeks there. Driving around the country recently, as much as I've seen, for every one thing I do, there are 5 things that I don't have time for-if I'm going to get home before my money and medicine run out. Today for example, I found myself-mostly by chance-in Atchison, Kansas, as in Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. There's a small museum there, dedicated mostly to the railroad, and Atchison native Amelia Earhart. The things I didn't see were the Truman Library in Independence, a riverboat exhibit, a keelboat museum, and the Strategic Air and Space Museum. In addition, in any city or town, are buildings or sites of historic interest. There's just too much to see. Scenes from an interstate: motels, gas stations-with and without minimarts-restaurants, from fast food to coffee shops to haute cuisine, truck stops and truck washes, fireworks stores, antique stores, souvenier shops, museums for almost anything, discount cigarette stores, trucks, trains, single-wides, farms, factories, cows, horses, green earth, brown earth, black asphalt, white snow, and gray sky. South Dakota tomorrow. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Saturday, December 6, 2003 11:33:00 PM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing patsy cline

chamberlain, SD

Chamberlain is a Lakota Sioux word that means "middle of nowhere". I got my first taste of cold weather today. From Sioux City to Sioux Falls, the tempature was in the 20's, but the wind made it feel colder. Lots of snow on the ground until around Mitchell, SD-home of the Corn Palace. After that, the sun actually came out. Currently in Chamberlain it's about 35 degrees. I stopped in Sioux Falls to go to the Y and to take a short nap in the car. Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota: what do they have in common? They all have legalized gambling. It surprised me, I don't know why. So far, South Dakota looks a lot like I imagined; lots of snow-cover flatness, farms, cows, small towns. I know, though, that further west the terrain will start to change. No pictures today. Mount Rushmore tomorrow. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Sunday, December 7, 2003 11:25:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing los lobos

4 presidents and a good indian

Ive been crossing this river since st. louis

crazy horse from a distance of one mile

scale model sculpted by ziolkowski

I'm limited to 2500 characters, so this might take 2 entries.

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Today was the fullest yet. I was on the road by 9:00, made a stop in Wall, SD, and was in Rapid City just after noon. Western SD: Cosmos Mystery Area, Bear Country USA, the Reptile Garden, Wall Drug, the Petrified Garden, the 600 lb. prairie dog, jackelopes, the Presidential Wax Museum, the Black Hills, the Badlands, Rushmore Cave, Crystal Cavern, Bethlehem Cave, shaggy ponies grazing by the highway, snow-covered plains, roadside billboards by the hundreds, more snowcovered plains, Ellsworth Air Force Base-home of the 28th bomber wing, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mountain, and more modest tourist attractions too numerous to mention. After checking into the motel, I got in a swim at the local Y, and got on the road to Mt. Rushmore about 2:00. It was strange getting my first glimpse of the mountain. It's such an icon, and I've seen pictures and films of it for most of my life, so rounding a curve in the road, and suddenly seeing it, was pretty exciting. The park is very nice, with a book store, gift shop, restaurant, and a large ampitheater at the base of the mountain. There's also a walkway with the flags of the 50 states and markers with the dates of their induction into the union. After that it was a few miles further down the road to the Crazy Horse memorial. It's hard to tell from the pictures just how big the sculpture really is. The visitor center, where the current viewing area is, is a mile from the mountain. Suffice to say, it's huge. The mountain itself, and the entire memorial, has always been privately funded; it's never received any state or federal money. The creator and sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, twice refused $10,000,000 from the federal government, because he didn't believe they had the same vision and commitment to the enterprise that he had. No kidding. Similiarly, the federal government gave Samuel Langley-the Wright brothers main rival to build the first plane-$50,000 to build his Aerodrome, the flying career of which was limited to two nose dives off a houseboat into the potomac, while the bicycle mechanics from Dayton made history. Okay, I could say a lot more, but there's so much information that I'll refer you to the web site: www.crazyhorse.org. ____________________________________________________________________ Sunday, December 7, 2003 11:49:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing los lobos

crazyhorse II

Note: read the next entry down first. Crazy Horse-who was one of the planners of the battle of Little Bighorn, never signed a treaty with the US and never lived on a reservation-was killed when he was literally stabbed in the back by a US soldier while under a flag of truce. Got back to the motel very tired around 5:30, did a breathing treatment, then treated myself to a buffet dinner at the Golden Corral across the street. Now I've loosened my clothes and I'm just relaxing. Lastly, two notes: Moe and Jenny's dog Elsa succumbed to cancer yesterday, and my thoughts are with them; and today would be Amy's 32nd birthday. Go gently Amy Rebecca. pete ____________________________________________________________________

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Tuesday, December 9, 2003 1:08:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing npr

big sky

TV in N. Dakota: I saw 3 different shows on bow-hunting; in Rapid City there's a show called "Fugitive Watch" that's sort of a local "America's Most Wanted", which shows mug shots of local fugitives, and what they're wanted for, while musak plays in the background; also saw Fred Price from the Crenshaw Christian Center on the old Pepperdine campus in south central L.A.; there's a message-I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's a Christian sentiment-that's painted in big white letters in the parking lot, that is right under the glide-path at LAX and that you have a bird'seye view of as you descend into the airport. Even with 4-wheel drive, a car will slide. When I visited Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse yesterday, there were almost no other people there. I watched a great 23 minute orientation documentary at Crazy Horse, and I was the only one in the theater. There's a real advantage to visiting out of season. I set the alarm for 9:30 this morning, but I woke up at 8:00, so I took my time packing up. There was a little bit of very dry, powdery snow last night. When I was loading the car, I filled my cooler with snow I scraped off the windshield. Checked out at the stroke of 10:59, then went and had a big breakfast. Today's drive was one of the longer ones on the trip, so I skipped swimming and was on the road at noon. Stopped in Surgis-which is the site of a huge Harley rally every summer-and visited the local H-D shop and a small motorcycle museum. There's a lot to see and do in western N. Dakota; it would be a nice place to visit and stay for a few weeks. Got into Billings after 7:00 and found a motel. Not much else to tell. day on the road. I'm just relaxing after a long

I've been thinking about-and listening to-Johnny Cash and June Carter a lot recently. There's a line in "Meet Me in Heaven", that he wrote for the "Unchained" album, that goes, "Can't be sure how it's going to be, when we walk into the light across the bar, But I'll know you, and you'll know me, out there beyond the stars." There's a Yiddish word, "basherta"-I doubt I'm spelling it right-that means, "meant to meet." You only get one of them in your life. June and Johnny were basherta. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, December 9, 2003 11:23:00 PM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing haywood banks

pardon my whiskey breath, i just got in from Butte*

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butte *thanks to raymond chandler For the 2nd morning in a row I set the alarm clock for late and woke up early. If I don't waste any time, it takes an hour and a half from the time I wake up to the time I'm on the road. On the other hand, it's nice to wake up early and be able to waste a little time; lay around and watch the weather channel, yawn and stretch, take a long shower. I made two stops, one in Big Timber for breakfast, and one in Butte for gas and a little sightseeing. My mother-along with my aunt and uncle-grew up poor, smart, and tough on "The Richest Hill on Earth." There's probably a syllogism in there somewhere, that if you managed to grow up poor in Butte, you had to be smart and tough. My uncle Dallas worked in the Ananconda copper mines; his bakelite mining whistle that he gave me when I was a kid is still hanging on my bulletin board at home. The undergound mines closed years ago, and the Berkeley pit, the biggest open pit copper mine in the U.S.-from which 290 million tons of copper ore were extracted starting in 1955closed in 1983. It's filling up with water and was listed in Mother Jones and few years ago as one of the ten worst Super-Fund sites in the country. I got into Missoula at 6:30 and found a motel. Current weather is 23 degrees with a wind chill of 17. It's supposed to get down to 15 tonight with a 50% chance of snow tonight and tomorrow. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Friday, December 12, 2003 5:01:00 AM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing bob seger

the emerald city

walter and kathleen

i have this effect on everyone

Before leaving Missoula yesterday, I stopped at Rockin' Rudy's, a local landmark, to do a little shopping. Also stopped at a florist's and a bakery to get some things to take with me to Amy's grandparents. Walter and Kathleen live in the town of Alberton, 30 miles west of Missoula. I stopped for lunch and stayed until about 4:30. Kathleen made us 2 different soups and a chicken dish; mmmmmmmm. After lunch we looked at pictures and talked. They are remarkable people who were greatly loved by Amy, and I was so glad to have the chance to see them again. Of all the places I've been so far, western Montana is the most beautiful. After crossing Idaho in about an hour, I arrived in Spokane at 7:00, and then wasted an hour by missing my exit and then

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going the wrong way. Finally got to Mavis'(Art's sister) about 8:00. I was tired last night, so no entry. This morning, Mavis' fiancee, Henry, made me breakfast, and after loading the car, I left just before noon. Before leaving Spokane, I stopped at the Spokane Valley YMCA to swim. It was probably the nicest Y I've ever seen. I had skipped 3 days in a row, so getting back in the water was deeply satisfying. After a dreary drive across eastern Washington, I crossed the Cascades and arrived in Seattle at 6:30. Sara works in Lynwood, about 30 minutes north, and I met her there. She had to work until 10:30, so I had dinner and tried to find new strings for my banjo-no joy. Busy day tomorrow. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Saturday, December 13, 2003 4:35:00 AM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing various

emerald city redux

I did and saw a lot today. I also forgot to take my camera. But, Sara and I are going back into Seattle tomorrow, so I'll get pictures then. First stop today was Dusty Strings, to have the banjo re-strung. I hadn't done it before, and I was glad to watch someone else do the job, since I found out that there were a few ways to do it wrong. Next stop was the AAA office, of which I had the address. A few words here about Seattle. It is, I think, even prettier than San Francisco. It's also the worst city I've ever driven in. None of the streets go straight, they dead-end and start up again, they go from two-way to one-way and back to two-way, there is an express freeway, which if you get on, you stay on for many miles because there are no off-ramps. I found out about this last one while watching all of downtown Seattle passing me by. I finally ended up down by the football and baseball stadiums, which are on the southern end of downtown. The AAA office turned out to be on the north end, naturally. It has a huge red neon sign, "AAA", inside a red circle, that's probably visible from orbit, but of course I didn't see it before I got on the can't-get-there-from-here freeway. After that I went looking for a Kinko's. One other area where Seattle rivals San Franciso is lack of parking. I found Kinko's, then drove around for ten minutes looking for a place to park. I finally parked at the Jack-in-the-Box across the street. There was a "customer parking only" sign, but I thought, "I'll bet nobody ever gets ticketed". Until today. $65. Needless to say, the day wouldn't have been complete unless I got lost going back to Sara's. I finally called her at work. Men, if desperate enough, will stop and ask for directions. After that, I was 30 minutes late picking her up. We went to Tony Roma's for dinner, and several hoofed animals went on to a better world, as did an oversized piece of cheesecake. Last thing of the night, we went to feed a friend's of Sara's cat. His apartment had views in three directions, including downtown(and the Space Needle) and Puget Sound; beautiful. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Sunday, December 14, 2003 3:36:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing tom waits

washington state of mind

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i thought san francisco was far left

the experience music project from outer space

Today was a busy one. Sara and I left the house about 11:00 and took two cars so I could catch the ferry and she could go to work when we were done. We made two short stops on Fremont so I could take pictures, then parked my car at her friend's and drove together to Seattle Center. This is a neat complex near downtown that has theaters, conference centers, a staduim, the Experience Music Project, a small amusement park, the monorail, lots of other attractions, and the highlight, the Space Needle. Although I've seen lots of pictures over the years, I was still struck by how graceful it is. Even on a rainy day, there were lots of people there. We rode up to the top, and spent some time checking out the various vistas of Seattle, Puget sound, and the surrounding geography, and being blown around by the wind. We then went down to the restaurant directly under the observation platform, and had brunch. "Sky City", rotates completely around once every 47 minutes. For the second day in a row we ate very well. Sara had to be at work at 3:30, so we just had time to check out the gift shop before walking back to the car. She dropped me off and we said goodbye, and I drove down to the ferry terminal. The Bainbridge Ferry left at 3:45, and Seattle looked beautiful from the back of the departing ferry. Crossing Puget sound, I could see all the way to the Olympic mountains in the west. Landing at Bainbridge after the 30 minute crossing, it took me about an hour and a half to get to Port Townsend. As I was driving down Water Street, which runs along the sound, a man fell down on the sidewalk. I did a u-turn and drove back to see if he was all right. Another man, an off-duty firefighter, had also just stopped, and I gave him my cell phone to call 911. The man on the ground was a fisherman from Dutch Harbor Alaska, named Mike, and there was nothing wrong with him except too much alcohol. The fireman said he'd wait for the paramedics, so I left and got to Dave and Jacky's about 5:45. Had dinner with them, and Jacky's mother, son, and grandson. Afterward, just relaxed. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Monday, December 15, 2003 3:01:00 AM EST Feeling Chillin'

port townsend

county courthouse

dave deals with the paparazzi

dave and jacky and diva

local fountain

Washington is known as the Evergreen State. Of all the states I've visited, it's probably the most beautiful. The better part of today was spent getting a tour of Port Townsend with Dave. All

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around on land is deciduous rain forest, and on two sides is Puget Sound. Across the sound can be seen Whidbey Island and the San Juans. To the west and south are the snow-covered Olympic mountains. Dave also gave me a lot of history about some of the things that we saw. We spent some time at Fort Worden, at the north end of town. A former active army base, one of three guarding Puget Sound, it has been turned into a state park, with camping sites, former officer housing that has been turned into vacation rentals, and lots of hiking areas and otherwise lovely scenery. It was here, also, that most of "An Officer and a Gentleman" was filmed. Downtown Port Townsend has been nicely preserved and has many old victorian style buildings. We visited Jacky's store, Twigs, and had fish 'n chips for lunch at a little hole in the wall called Sea J's. I just watched a show on TLC called "The Wright Stuff", about an attempt by a group in Virginia to build a working Flyer, and the problems they ran into. What the Wrights did is even more impressive. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, December 17, 2003 1:31:00 AM EST Feeling Quiet Hearing nanci griffith

six weeks on the road

welcome to california Pointing the car south from Port Townsend yesterday, the scenery down the Olympic Peninsula was lush and green. Following Hood Canal, there were many bays and coves. After many miles, the water finally ended, and soon I was passing through the city of Olympia. To the east were the Cascades, but Mt. Ranier was covered in clouds. I could see Mt. St. Helen, though, looking snowy and sinister. Crossing over the Columbia river for the second time-the first was between Spokane and Seattle; wider than either the Missouri or the Mississippi, with sheer cliffs extending down to the water, it had a primordial appearance; I could easily imagine huge marine reptiles breaking the water and pteradactyls drifting down the canyon on leathery wings-and crossed into Oregon. Got into Eugene and found a motel, the phones of which turned out to be the only ones of the trip that didn't have a plug-in jack, so no entry last night. Up early this morning, and after a swim at the Y, got on the road. Stopped about an hour south for breakfast, and a little later for a nap. Crossed over Siskiyou pass-the highest point on I-5, and the last place that I might have needed chains-and a few miles later was in California. Stopped in Yreka, just over the border, for gas. Also had a view of Mt. Shasta for many miles, its upper slopes covered with snow. Got to Redding about 6:30 and have been relaxing. Take care. pete ____________________________________________________________________

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Thursday, December 18, 2003 1:42:00 AM EST Feeling Chillin' Hearing bob seger, los lobos

home

a familiar sight

full circle

6 weeks and 1 day, 21 states, 8545 miles. Bakersfield, Bullhead City AZ, Flagstaff, Tucumcari NM, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Nashville, Asheville NC, Wake Forest, Orangburg SC, Knoxville TN, Carydon IN(Louisville), St. Louis, Independence(Kansas City), Sioux City Iowa, Chamberlain SD, Rapid City, Billings, Missoula, Spokane, Seattle, Port Townsend, Eugene OR, Redding CA. I saw a lot of new country, many things and places I hadn't seen before. I saw natural and manmade wonders, and the results of one man-made horror. Went from within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean, to within a few yards of the Atlantic. Moe and I got to see the Wright Flyer struggle airborne, a sight that the President and a crowd of luminaries was denied. Saw Ablemarle Sound and Puget Sound. Crossed several mountain ranges. Went from sea- level to over 8000'. Saw many friends and spent 18 great days with Moe. The alarm was set for 7:30 this morning; I wanted to get home early so I wouldn't be unpacking in the dark. I woke up at 5:45, and decided to stay up. Took my time getting ready and was on the road at 8:15. It was an uneventful drive, and the Golden Gate bridge was a cheerful sight. By 2:30 I was home, and was greeted by Robin and Jazzy. Unloaded the car, did laundry, and slowly unpacked. Art and Bruce get home a little later and we had one of Robin's classic dinners. Those of you who followed along via the log know what a good trip it was. Robert Frost said that home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you. It's good to be home. Take care and love. pete ____________________________________________________________________

4/22/05

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