Day 9 - Redding, California

OK, a couple of questions:

Why do Subway employees have such a hard time with the concept of "just a little bit"?

Shouldn't a park called "Library Park" have a library in or near it?

Why can't I get cell phone reception in the middle of Sacramento?

Also, you know how in school they tell you that deserts get really cold at night? It's not true; they just get a little less warm.

While in Arizona, I went to see the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. It was pretty cool, especially since I got there just as the sun was setting.

This was a sunrise in the desert, where I spent the night

At any rate, I'm now in northern California, on my way to Oregon, where I'll check out the University of Oregon. I haven't seen much of interest in California; so far it's just deserts, farms, and cities that are way too big. I did eat at an In-N-Out Burger, but I didn't have a chance to look up the secret menu, so I just ordered normal food.

Day 7 - Grand Canyon, Arizona

I got into the Grand Canyon National Park last afternoon, and parked at one of the campgrounds near a viewpoint. I got to watch the sunset over the canyon as a park ranger explained the human history of it. Then this morning I took a hike 1100 feet down into the canyon. It's about a mile down to the bottom, so we were still pretty near the top. Also, the trip back up was exhausting.

In the interest of disclosure, I broke my two rules yesterday. I stayed in a Motel 6 because it turns out all the campgrounds in Colorado cost $15 or more, and don't even have running water, so I was due for a proper shower. Also, I bought a sundae at McDonald's when I was driving through the desert, since it was too hot to run the air conditioning without overheating the engine.








In other news, I think I cut my finger washing an apple today. I doused it with water from a drinking fountain and scrubbed it a little with my hand, and then suddenly got a sharp pain in my finger. I looked, and noticed a paper cut, so I had to get a band-aid. At any rate, my next stop is Lake Havasu City to see the original London Bridge.

Day 5 - South Fork, Colorado

After my visit to Colorado State, I started heading south, and stopped by Bishop Castle, tucked way back in the mountains. It was built entirely by one man, by hand, who also had to deal with the local government trying to stop him. Basically, it's like a libertarian jungle-gym.

Yes, that's a dragon head.

Also, thunderstorms on mountains are just cool.

The Five Iron Frenzy fans out there might be interested to know that I drove the intersection of Colfax and Broadway; there was neither a zero nor a fifteen, but there was a nice park. There's not a whole lot else to speak of, just a lot of really beautiful country in the Rocky Mountains. Now I'm on my way to the Grand Canyon.

Day 3 - Fort Collins, Colorado

I spent most of Saturday continuing to drive through Kansas, but I took a break to go see "Up." It joins the elite ranks of the few movies that would have made me cry, if, you know, I wasn't so manly *cough, cough.* I also stopped just short of the state line to see "Prairie Dog Town," home of the world's largest prairie dog, along with lots of other animals. In fact, the ground was covered with burrows, and you had to watch your step to miss them.

This is the world's largest Prairie Dog. I think it might be fake.

The sign said they were Russian Wild Boars. They don't look that wild to me, nor are they in any particular rush.

Later that night, I stopped at a rest stop just inside of Colorado, and discovered that on the other side of an open gate was a community center with some kind of commotion going on. I went to check it out, and it turned out to be a Quinceanera. I had some appropriate clothing, so I watched for a while, but since everything was in Spanish, and I didn't know how to dance to anything, it was pretty boring.

This afternoon, I arrived at Fort Collins, Colorado, in order to visit Colorado State, one of the schools I'm considering for graduate school. I have a meeting with the professor tomorrow, but today I checked out a Christian housing facility. It was very nice (and co-ed), but it costs an arm and a leg, and a meal plan is required on top of that. So that doesn't look too promising there. I plan on staying in town for a couple of days to finish checking out the campus and go hiking in the mountains, but after that, it's off to the Grand Canyon.

Day 2 - Hays, Kansas

I'm trying to get through Kansas as fast as I can (you can only look at farms for so long before you go crazy), so I've been traveling down I-70 toward Colorado. There isn't much scenery to speak of, and most of it just looks like more of Missouri, but flatter. However, I did pass some gigantic wind turbines, although there wasn't a good place to pull over and see them well.

To get a sense of scale, keep in mind that those turbines are freakin' huge.

I also saw this airplane caged up in a park in Grenola, Kansas (so named after the towns of Green Field and Canola joined due to the construction of a railroad). I have no idea what it is, so maybe somebody more familiar with old fighter planes could fill me in.

Last night, I was looking out over an open field, and noticed the lightning bugs out in force. What's curious is that, as opposed to the longer flashes that I'm used to, these lightning bugs would only flicker for a split second at a time. I'm not sure if this is a regional variation or what, but it was definitely curious.

Day 1 - Parsons, Kansas

My first stop on my trip was West Mineral, Kansas, home of Big Brutus, the largest electric shovel still in existence. It stands 160 feet tall, and weighs about 5000 tons. There are stairs leading up to the very tip of the boom arm, but they haven't been open since 2004, so I wasn't able to go higher than the control booth. Still, the treads that it moved on (with a top speed of 0.2 mph) were taller than me, and it could crush my car without a second thought. But really, the pictures should speak for themselves.

That shovel holds 90 cubic yards of dirt.

Those treads on top were 6 feet off the ground. I was standing under Big Brutus at the time.

See those people down there? Yeah, neither can I.

Day 1 - Embarkation

Since internships are hard to come by these days, I found myself without any plans for this summer. This could be my last summer without any obligations, so I’m taking the chance to do something totally reckless and irresponsible. I’ll be taking a driving tour of the country, visiting national landmarks, friends, and some potential graduate schools. The only rules are: no hotels, and no restaurants (unless they're culturally significant, of course).

My first stop will be West Mineral, Kansas, home of the world's largest electric shovel (11 million lbs.) still in existence. I'll be blogging about my progress and posting pictures at http://roadtripof2009.blogspot.com. Be sure to check back to see how I'm doing!