Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | by nathan

Three Trips

Traveling has been on my mind of late. I just finished the third in a series of travel articles I’m writing for the local alternative newsweekly, and in about six weeks I will fly to Washington, D.C. for a weekend of patriotism and mayhem before Brian, two of our great friends and I take off for a week in Ireland. To say I’m excited wouldn’t quite be fair; I’m having throes, people. Throes.

I’ve been to all of these places before, of course. But the gist of the travel series (which is based on last year’s Road Trip), is that even within my own state there is so much to see that often goes unseen, and so to that end I’ve been thinking about how much of America I have yet to see for myself. Brian and I were talking about this the other day. I was telling him about how when I was a kid we used to take these crazy-complicated road trips all over America - from Oklahoma to Los Angeles to Northern California to Colorado and back, or from Oklahoma to Cincinnati to New Orleans and back to Oklahoma. But if you drew a horizontal line through a map of the U.S., there is a great deal of stuff north of that line that I’ve never seen.

So, to that end I’ve been thinking about how to cover the 14 of the contiguous United States I’ve never visited; I figure Alaska and Hawai’i, while more than worthy of visits, are trips unto themselves. I used to dream that I’d take all 14 at once, in a Kerouac-esque hitchhike-a-thon across the northern half of our country. But now, encumbered and enhanced both by the wise caution that comes with growing older and a sense of perspective, I came up with three potential road trips to cover all 14 states and as much ground as possible.

Trip #1: Middle America

This trip begins and ends in Des Moines, IA, mostly because I have been fascinated by Iowa ever since I read On The Road, wherein Kerouac states that "the prettiest girls live in Iowa." I’d like to wind through northern Nebraska and the Black Hills of South Dakota (with a stop at Mt. Rushmore) before traveling north to visit North Dakota’s Audubon National Wildlife Refuge and Audubon Lake. From there it’s into Fargo, then to Minnesota, hopefully catching a live show of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. This followed by a jaunt through Wisconsin - Eau Claire, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison, before winding back through Iowa. Middle America writ large.

Trip #2: Northern New England

I lived in New England for a time, squatting in a New Haven walkup and trying to be a Yale student. We all know that it didn’t go great. Since my time in the northeast was cut short, I missed out on exploring as much of that area of the country as I’d liked. So this trip starts in Boston (I’ve already been to Massachusetts, but) and winds up through New Hampshire and Vermont - the town of Rutland is of special interest to me because of Time Chasers - before rounding out the inner portion of Maine and then returning to Boston. I consider the part of the country that I’m originally from - Oklahoma - to be basically the exact opposite of New England, and so the idea for this trip really thrills me.

Trip #3: The Northwest

But this idea here is, to me, the most exciting. Starting in Seattle we’d drive up to Port Angeles, Washington, then down the Pacific Coast before turning inland to visit Portland and Bend, Oregon, then traipsing across Oregon, through the southern part of Idaho, to Casper, Wyoming. From there it’s north to Billings, Great Falls, and Kalispell, Montana, then across the panhandle of Idaho to Coeur d’Alene, up to the Grand Coulee Dam, then back to Seattle. Everything about the idea for this trip - except for the cost, really - excites me, and I hope to get to do it someday soon.

So, those are the three trips I’ve conceived to cover the 14 contiguous states I haven’t visited. Who’s in, and for what part? Also - if any struggling car companies want to reach out to me to, say, creatively market a  new car, especially an SUV hybrid, by sponsoring me to take one or more of these trips and blog about it, well, THAT WOULD BE FINE. JUST FINE.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | by nathan

Samyawn

Brian took this photo of Sam the other day while I was working in the garden. Every time I look at it, it makes me sleepy. In fact, I think I … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Monday, May 18, 2009 | by nathan

Yellowjacket

I caught this guy making himself a home on our front porch the other day. While my arachnophobia is almost debilitating - don’t even ask me what happened when I found a spider in the shower this weekend - I find that I’m more just fascinated by stinging insects. So long as they’re not stinging me, that is.

Monday, May 18, 2009 | by nathan

Weekly Reader - 18 May 2009

Particle Physics and Philosophy
I’m a nerd for both, so this WSJ article about "spooky actions" and how quantum physics is influencing philosophy - and data encryption! - is a must-share.

Kid Rock Solves the Recession
I’m no great fan of Kid Rock. I’d even go so far as to state that I loathe his music and everything about him. And now he’s creating his own beer called, predictably, "Bad Ass Beer." But what’s incredible is that he’s doing it in a way that’s helping the depressed Michigan economy, so here’s something I thought I’d never say: yay for Kid Rock!

Roomba Map
"The central question that those of us who don’t own a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner have often wondered: Does it really clean the whole room? Now, thanks to a personal project by signaltheorist.com, we have our answer: Hell yes, it does."

Guess Mrs. Butterworth’s Name
My current guess is "Helga," though I wouldn’t mind for it to be something totally stripptertastic, like "Raspberri."

Saturday, May 16, 2009 | by nathan

Turbinomic

A building that generates its own power and supplies the surplus back to the grid. THESE are the kinds of solutions we need, people; we’ll see what feasibility studies have to say about whether or not this is a real possibility, but if it is, I can’t think of a better place for it than OKC. Read more about Turbinomic here.

Friday, May 15, 2009 | by nathan

Let The Summer Commence

I have to work for a few hours tomorrow afternoon, and then on Monday my office is going to a four-day work week through the end of July. That means I will have Fridays free and all to myself, which will be wonderful - so wonderful, in fact, that I’m already dreading the first five-day week back at the beginning of August. Things I’m excited about this summer include:

• Fourth of July weekend in Washington, D.C.
• Followed by six days in beautiful Ireland with three of the world’s best people.
• Getting to take the "Great Oklahoma Road Trip" series I’ve been doing for the Gazette actually on the road. I’m figuring a lot of Friday trips around the state will be in order; who’s in?
• The garden, three varieties of fresh tomatoes, two of squash, purple opal basil and hot peppers. Have I mentioned to you my excitement?
• Gin fizz buzz in the late afternoon.
• Fireflies, indian paintbrushes, june bugs and sunshine. IF IT EVER STOPS RAINING.

To sum up, I’m excited, and I’m kicking off the summer tonight by attending sold-out final edition of The Parlour Series with my husband and my mom. Tomorrow, after I finish some work stuff I have to do, we’re going to the Dr. Pants show at VZD’s. Oh, what? You’re not doing anything? Well! TiVo Will Ferrell on SNL and meet us at VZD’s!

Also, considering that I’m obligation-free on Fridays starting tomorrow, I’m thinking that Thursday-night karaoke and/or Porch Sitting And Nintendo Playing With Booze should be a regular deal. Who’s in?

Friday, May 15, 2009 | by nathan

Debris

That storm that blew through here the other night was also kind enough to pile all our front-porch furniture up at one end, so, I dunno, we could sweep or something. In other news, I’m considering creating an entirely new category here that’s just "Photos Of Shit That Happens To Our House/Neighborhood When There’s Weather."

Thursday, May 14, 2009 | by nathan

Storm Color

Brian got home from out of town last night, and the plan was to get together with friends and watch the Lost season finale (AND OH MY GOD CAN YOU BELIEVE IT OH MY GOD OH MY GOD). For over an hour before it started, however, there was the customary wall-to-wall weather coverage that is a part of every Oklahoman’s life in the spring. Usually this is fun, but here we were talking about freaking LOST, people! Brian and I cleaned up the house a bit and then got hung up watching the evening rerun of the Simpsons until our friends arrived. They dragged us outside to look at the clouds that were forming ahead of the storm, and I’m so glad they did, because check these suckers out: 

The local station did leave its weather coverage precisely at 8, and we got to see the first 75 minutes or so of Lost before the National Weather Service declared a tornado warning in Oklahoma County, at which point we were cut off again. We were bummed - pissed even - but then we just started MST-ing the weather coverage and though I’m sad I had to wait until this morning to find out what happened to the castaways (OH MY FREAKING GOD), I have to say I don’t know when I’ve had more fun watching weather coverage.

Thursday, May 14, 2009 | by nathan

A Grand Old Relic, With A Grand Old History

Brian took this photo of me when we pulled off the side of the road near Black Mesa State Park to hike some very cool rock formations, and despite the fact that I’m not super-crazy about having my photograph taken, I really like this one. That sweatshirt I’m wearing is probably the single most comfortable piece of clothing I own. I’ve had it since 2001 and now that they don’t make that particular one anymore, I really mean it when I say that when it inevitably wears out - I figure it’s got at LEAST 8 more years in it - that I might give it a funeral and a military burial. If Mary Chapin-Carpenter hadn’t already done it, I’d even write it this song (the embedding is disabled, so just click the video player to watch/listen at YouTube).

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | by nathan

Kounterfit Kanyes

Kanye West gives me a moment’s doubt about using Twitter:

WHY WOULD I USE TWITTER??? I ONLY BLOG 5 PERCENT OF WHAT I’M UP TO IN THE FIRST PLACE. I’M ACTUALLY SLOW DELIVERING CONTENT BECAUSE I’M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BUSY BEING CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME AND IF I’M NOT AND I’M JUST LAYING ON A BEACH I WOULDN’T TELL THE WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT TWITTER OFFERS I NEED LESS OF.

The emphasis on the last line is mine. I may never figure out the place that blogging and social media should hold in my creative or personal life, especially on days like today, when the dream of being a professional, paid, full-time writer seems so impossible and out of reach that I feel at once emotionally spun-out and strangely urgent at the same time. In other news I am finishing up a couple more new columns and obsessing over a book proposal and a new travel article.

The other night Brian helped me talk through some of these feelings. When he asked me what I need, the only reply I could think of was, "I’d say I need six more hours in the day, but the truth is that if I had them I’d find ways to fill them, and I’d end up asking for six MORE." All that is to say, what I need is the diligence and discipline to make the time, and the courage to believe that I’m good at it even when MY ENTIRE BRAIN seems intent on convincing me otherwise.