A Summerfest Visit

Well, after a two year absence from the "Big Gig", I finally made it to Summerfest last night.



My main reason for going was to see one of my favorite "When I was young" bands...Cheap Trick. They were playing at one of the "free stages". It was a fun time, alot of people my age (and alot of younger people too) and everyone was all pumped up. They sounded excellent and though they only played for an hour, it was a very nice hour. They played all their "old" stuff as well as a few newer numbers. I even managed to get a CD for 5.00, which was pretty cool.



But when at Summerfest, one must also try to do some of the things that makes going to Summerfest worthwile...and though I didnt manage to accomplish all the things on the list that the Milwaukee Journal said "one should do", I did manage to do a few of them.

(I put a "yes" by the ones I managed to do...

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The list the newspaper put out:

100 things to do at Summerfest

By OMC Staff Writers

Each year, the OMC editorial staff puts its decades of combined Summerfest experience to good use by publishing this very important article: 100 things to do at Summerfest. Updated for 2004, it's a quick look at your best ways to enjoy the Big Gig. Just don't forget to wear sunscreen ...





Drink freshly squeezed lemonade

Eat Saz's mozzarella sticks

Watch the Big Bang

Ride the skyglider (no spitting, please) -YES

Get a free pass-out ticket from noon-6:30 p.m. daily and you'll be able to get back in for free before 7 p.m. that same day.

Check out all the Harleys at the Harley-Davidson parking area -YES

Take a Summerfest shuttle

Corn! -YES

Get in free! There are promotions every day!

Eat eggplant strips at the Venice Club

See the amazing new light show

Get a temporary tattoo

Dance! -YES

Get your funk on with Kool and the Gang on June 30.

Obey the dress code

Start thinking about The Encore (Sept. 2-4)

Suck in your gut-YES

Sample every beer

Do the math and see if joining the Fest Head Club makes sense for you

Enjoy some wine coolers -YES

Say hi to Jake Leinenkugel

Watch a live newscast

Get a foot massage

Take a boat excursion on the Iroquois

Try the latest guitars at the Fender Roadhouse

Meet at the "Meet Me at the Fountain" official Summerfest meeting place.

Save a puppy by participating in the Humane Society promotion on July 2

Tip the strolling performers and that guy who plays six instruments at once -YES

Be leery of the ticket guys on the street, they might be selling fakes! -YES AND NO

Wear shoes at all times, please -YES

Sit on grass seats -YES

Eat those huge turkey legs

Buy some big cheap sunglasses

Get in free with Dean's Ice Cream Day on June 30

Check out Pat McCurdy every night

Watch some kickboxers

Check out the water ski show

Wonder why it only costs $12 to get in to Summerfest -YES

Play a little bingo

Play beach volleyball

See which Liz Phair performs on June 24

Sing some Karaoke at the Starbucks/Ticketmaster Legends Stage

Have a Sno Cone

Try some fried cheese, gimme some Moz!

Count the mullets at the Cheap Trick show on June 29 -YES

Take a romantic stroll by the lake

Come at noon, leave at midnight

Hit a TYME machine outside the mid-gate or inside the grounds -YES

Park far away for free and use www.parkmilwaukee.com to find good parking in greater downtown

Go to the Admirals Sports Area

Don't urinate in the Third Ward

Hang out at Timers after the Fest

Watch for falling objects under Hoan Bridge -YES

Tell everyone that you're good friends with Ricky Springfiled (a "Boogie Nights" reference)

Dance and sing with Paul Cebar

Try to figure out why a Def Lepard Tribute band is on the schedule

Wear comfortable shoes to the Indigo Girls concert on July 4

Meet Will Durst, the guy who gave OnMilwaukee.com its WAMI

Look for that guy who looks like Abe Lincoln

As you finish a beer, stack it on top of your other emtpies until you get the Slinky effect goin' on

Get in for free on Cedar Crest day on June 25

Don't forget, the rides are gone

Pretend you like Britney "for the music"

See Goran of The Gufs

Rock with Joan Jett

Say "hi" to our friend, Kevin Brandt

One word: Jazzercise

Get your photo taken by OnMilwaukee.com, pick it up online the next day-YES, TRIED BUT COULDNT FIND IT!!!



Check out the Wave soccer exhibition

Buy a Summerfest T-shirt

Gawk at everyone on their cell phones, all the time -YES

Get beer spilled on you early, for that cool, sticky feeling

Crunch some almonds!

Buy a pewter dragon or a unicorn T-shirt in the shopping area

Try to get a juggler to drop his balls

Order volcano chicken from King & I

Kick back on a bench and get a tan

See if Bo Black shows up

Resist the urge to joyride in an official golf cart, trust us -- you'll be ejected!

Bring your own toilet paper

Assign a meeting place with your pals before you get lost

Wonder why people are playing at the arcade

Leave the really young babies at home, please

Experience ComedySportz

Marvel at David Seebach's magic

Get autographs from band members

Don't bring pets, laser pointers or skateboards

Sneak a kiss near the lake

Stand at the north end of the grounds and watch the Milwaukee Art Museum's wings open (or close)

Surf the net, re-set all computers' homepages to OnMilwaukee.com

Follow the strolling performers like the Fabulous Feno and Johnny on Washday

Buy a root beer from one of those barrels

Make faces at the radio people as they broadcast live

Laugh at all the men who wear socks with their sandals -YES

Count bald heads, naked bellies and mullets -YES (150 THAT I COUNTED!!)

Think when you drink, and take a cab or the bus if you happen to over do it!

Run into "everyone" from your high school class

Eat funnel cakes

Don't forget your manners, apologize when you bump into someone, and buy the dude or gal a beer if you spill one -YES

Please don't try to play the big guitar!

_________________________________________________________________________________________



So....I probably did 1/5 of the things they suggested. Not bad for 4 hours.

I had a fun time. One day is more than enough for me though.



Thats it for today......

Another tidbit on my thoughts on the "Free Iraq"

As I am sitting here reading the news online, I come across this little part of a story detailing the return of "self rule to the Iraqi people":

_____________________________________________________________________________________

From the Journal-Sentinel Online Newspaper on June 28,2004:

The U.S. is to continue to play a dominant role in reconstruction, mainly because it controls most of the money.



Although an Iraqi flag was raised over the Green Zone, the U.S. had announced no plans to move out of Hussein's former Republican Palace there, and American troops were still guarding it. A new U.S. Embassy, the world's largest, is being built nearby.



______________________________________________________________________________________



Read the last line again....makes one think doesnt it???

That's all for tonight.

An Earthquake in the Midwest....ha? (and) A New Day in Iraq (maybe)

Monday 6-28-04

330AM



Ok...So here I am a few hours ago, watching TV and browsing the web and I feel this weird sensation, like when u get slightly dizzy when u feel lightheaded, and think I am hearing a weird kind of noise, like a moaning sound or something. Too much looking at the computer screen the last few hours probably......



So, I get up to look around the apt and cant figure it out. Thought maybe Scrappy was into something again...Like she always is. Go back to browsing the web..When all of a sudden just a few minutes ago (330am), I come across this in the Milwaukee Journal sentinel Online: (Thank god.....For a minute I thought I was nuts)



Did anyone else feel anything???

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Strikes Midwest



CHICAGO (AP) -- A brief earthquake struck the Midwest early Monday, rattling windows and awakening sleeping residents from Wisconsin south to Missouri and from Indiana west to Iowa.



No injuries were immediately reported from the quake, which occurred about 1:11 a.m. CDT. It was centered about 7 miles east of Troy Grove and 71 miles west of Chicago, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.



Brian Lassige, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado, said the quake was magnitude 4.5, and its epicenter was about eight miles northwest of Ottawa in northern Illinois.



Initial reports indicated no major damage from the temblor, although police agencies and radio stations within the quake area were inundated with telephone calls.



Reports of the shaking came from at least as far east as Valparaiso, Ind., and as far west as the Quad Cities, and from Wisconsin in the north to the St. Louis area in the south.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Iraq Self Rule????



We (the U.S. Goverment) have finally handed over rule of Iraq to it's own people. This happened a few hours ago, as I was watching the News (June 28, 2004), two days ahead of schedule. Isn't it funny that they decided to do this at exactly the same time that our president is over in that area of the world.



Some may believe that this "handover of power" is above board and exactly what it is supposed to mean (self rule of a people of their own country), but I don't believe that for a second.



I think it is just another "ploy" our wonderful government is using as part of it's ONGOING campaign to "rule the world" with other like minded nations (such as Britain and the European Union) that has been in the works for many many years. There is just too much credible information out there to NOT think that there are "ulterior motives" for our government to have started this whole thing in the first place.



I firmly believe that our government invaded Iraq, toppled its government, and in the process, installed it's own "puppet government" there so we (The U.S.) can control the world's LARGEST supply of OIL on the planet.



Why would we want to do this you may ask? Because we (and the rest of the world) use oil in such immense amounts, and it wont last forever (in fact there are numerous studies saying that the world could possibly exhaust its supply of natural oil in the next 100 years or less), and those that control the most oil, will be the most powerful among us on this planet we call Earth. And that of course will be (and is)us as of last May when we took this oil by force.



I have other ideas as to the depth of all of this, and not enough time to go into all of it here right now (no one would want to read my ideas anyway probably) but suffice it to say, there is much more going on over in Iraq than we are being led to believe.....



Thats it for tonight.....

Computer virus'-A new Book to read-The Adventures of Scrappy Doo

COMPUTER VIRUS



I got my first "trojan horse" virus last night. Spent about an hour researching where it came from and it was one of those stupid advertizing popup programs.



I installed a few more antivirus applications to keep my computer more secure, esp since i have "Broadband high speed" and a "wireless connection" to the internet. I did find a cool little application that was made by the U.S. Goverment that lets me know what the "terror alert system" is at. It sits next to the clock in the bottom of the screen and changes colors and will notify u with an audible alarm if the terror alert changes to a different level.

_______________________________________________________________________________________



A NEW BOOK TO READ



I bought another book. It is called "Uriel's Machine" and it talks about ancient happenings on earth such as the flood and how we as humans were helped along in our growth and eveloution by ancient godlike beings and their ability to predict worldwide cotastrophies and to be able to survive them as did someone named "Noah" from the Bible.



I think it should be an interesting read. I have always beleived that their has to be more to our ancient history and the way things happened, then what we have been told and or what has been written down. How do you explain all the awesome things that our ancestors were capable of such as the pyramids and all the other wonderous things that history has recorded.



I think everyone owes it to themselves to at least look at what some people have spent tons of time trying to "decipher" and then draw their own conclusions in whatever direction they may want to.



The link to the web site that gives a background on the book, if anyone is interested in finding out a little more of some of the things I am interested in, is:







http://www.hiramkey.force9.co.uk/uriel.html



This will probably be my summer read. A very long read, but one that, according to the jacket, is a very understandable and enjoyable one.I got it at the Barns and Noble here in Racine on Wed evening. It was on sale for 9.95, and though I would have paid full price for it, being on sale was even a better suprise!

________________________________________________________________________________________



THE ADVENTURES OF SCRAPPY DOO



Scrappy (my little purring bundle of fur) just climed up onto my lap and then jumped on the desk. She was swatting the tv earlier, well actually she was swatting the TV news anchors on CNN....too funny...you had to see it....her little paws batting the screen.



She can be so cute. She is just laying here on the desk, watching me type right now and it is so weird. I just gave her some kisses and she is looking at me like I am the weird one!....hmmmm....kids...I tell ya.

She gets into these moods where she doesnt want to be near me and then all of a sudden she is like 2 inches away and will follow me wherever I am for hours.She is in one of her "docile" moods right now, letting me pet her and kiss her and I keep leaning over to talk to her and she will be laying there and then get up and sit on her back paws (as she is doing right now) and moves her head like she is "watching the TV!!"



And now she is off again to explore and see what else she can get into around the apt. A few nights ago, she brought the dam kitchen sink "sponge" to bed!!

I was like "No..honey...I dont want to do the dishes now....I want to sleep. I have to hide the damm sponge now as she will jump up on the kitchen counter to grab it. And then this morning I woke up and my printer is hanging off the desk....she must have been exploring and found the "leather pouch" that I keep my bills and things in on my desk, as that was on the floor. It has a "string" to close it on it, so i am sure that is what she was after.



And she sure is getting big. She is still skinny and muscular but she is growing longer. She almost doesnt fit in the "shoebox" that I brought her home in and that has been her little "napping bed" since she has been with me. Pretty soon, I will have to look for a darn "refrigerator box" if she keeps growing. She is 6&1/4 months old yesterday. I have to save some money also in the next few months so I can have her "fixed". The only reason would be to stop the "Heat process" that the vet says I dont want to have happen. She mentioned something about whining and weird behavior that happens during this period. That will cost me about 300.00 though...ouch. Oh well.



And get this...she gives herself these "paw and tongue baths" as I have come to call them, and then right after, tries giving me one! If she isnt rubbing up against my face with her body (with the purr engine going full roar), then she is licking my face. I hope its love. What else could it be?? A bored, weird kitten?? Who knows!!



Time for bed....

Hmmmmm

I am sitting here pondering the meaning of life. (I know...deep subject)



Why are we all here?



Is it to work our arrses off and in the end be reduced to compost piles?

Is it a test of some sort for a better world somewhere?

Is it like the MATRIX, where it is all just an intense simulation of sort and we are really dreaming and everyone I come into contact with, is a part of that dream??

Is it a step on some intracate, and as of yet, non-understandable level of life or evalution for the human race?



Hows that for a "thought for the day"???

A note about my blog...

For anyone reading this blog, bear in mind that the entries in "blogs" are in reverse order, with the newest entries being at the top of the blog. So, to get a "chronological" feel for what I am doing, you should (if you want) either go to the bottom of the page (the end) and then read upwards, or access individual entries by their titles on the left hand side of the page.



Other than that, I have heard from a few people that I sent a link to and I want to thank them for their support and nice things they had to say in regard to my new "personal efforts".



Like I said when I started this, it is a place for me to write down my thoughts and recollections and I thought that it would be cool to share some of these things with my friends and family.



Also, my spelling isnt the greatest, and there will probably be tons of spelling errors as well as paragraphs not put together they way one would in "English class". I enjoyed "Creative Writing" in school, but unfort. never got straight A's in any of those classes.



I am still working on the photos of my vacation and trying to determine which ones to include on this site.

My trip out west...beware....a Long (and probably boring) Read

This is a copy of my travelogue that I wrote while on my vacation of 2004. I decided to take a road trip out west as my trip to Europe didn’t pan out for various reasons. I have also this “log” in my journal, but wanted to keep an extra copy separate of just the trip. I have so many memories to last the rest of my life and I feel that these two weeks were some of the best of my life. I got to make a dream come true by going back to Colorado to close some open doors (or at least try) and to stop some really weird nightmares that I have had over the years, regarding Colorado and Denver. A part of my life is now complete and add to that I got to experience a part of the country I have lived in during my life. I have not one regret, except that it would have been nice to have more time to see all the wondrous things and to explore a bit further. What an awesome land we call home!



Tues-May 11, 2004

11am



Looks like my travel will be a bit rough here and there if the weather channel is accurate (See forecast below). The weather channel is saying that Minnesota will be relatively calm though! At least I will have smooth sailing for a day. I didn’t realize when making my plans that I was planning a "winter wonderland vacation"! Heading out of town in a few hours as soon as I drop off Scrappy at my boss’ house. Will keep everyone up to date on the trip. For those of you I haven’t talked to in a few days, I am taking a road trip out to the great rocky mountains and the southwest of the US. 10 days is the plan. Hopefully I will be able to see all that I want to. Will see....the route as of now (Minn-Dakotas-Wyoming-Utah-Arizona-NM-Colorado and all the cool national parks that all those states have to offer, plus a stop in my old stomping grounds in Denver)

130pm: Truck is packed...hitting the road. First stop: Parents in Oxford Wis and then up to Minneapolis.



-Taken from the weather channel at (11am)

West

A powerful storm system is moving through the Intermountain West and yesterday produced very strong winds across the Great Basin. Salt Lake City, Utah, reported a wind gust of 71 mph last evening. Gusts over 40 mph were widespread across the West, stretching from Montana and Colorado into California. Much colder air is pouring into the region now, with temperatures plummeting into the 30s and 40s behind a strong cold front. Winter weather warnings and advisories are posted for the high terrain in Montana, Idaho, and Utah; snow accumulations will likely exceed half a foot in parts of Montana. The snow falling heavily at times along with strong northeasterly winds will make for poor visibility and lousy travel conditions. Be prepared if and when you make a run along Interstate 90 or U.S. Highways 2, 12 and 93. Rain showers will be prevalent at lower elevations from Washington and Oregon into Wyoming. Highs will only be in the 40s and 50s across much of the Northwest and Great Basin. The only escape from the stormy and cool weather will be in the Southwest, where sunshine with highs in the 80s and 90s will be common in the deserts.

Continued…..

A note about the Desert Southwest: after a string of many days with highs in the mid- to upper 90s in Las Vegas, and highs topping the century mark in Phoenix, both of these desert cities will feel some of the "coolest" temperatures this month. Las Vegas will reach highs in the low 80s while Phoenix will top out in the low 90s.

Midwest

As the western storm system begins to emerge into the Plains today, severe weather will become more widespread. Thunderstorms producing large hail, strong winds, and isolated tornadoes will threaten the central U.S. from North Dakota into the Texas Panhandle. Farther east, mostly sunny conditions are expected from Missouri into the western Great Lakes, but winds will be gusting over 30 mph. Highs will be in the 80s across the central Plains, but temperatures in the 50s and 60s will persist across the northern Lakes. Showers and thunderstorms will linger across the Ohio Valley, though maximum temperatures will be mild, generally in the 70s and 80s.







Wed-May 12, 2004



Well, I survived my first day of travel and finally found a room at a Marriott Residence Inn right in downtown with a really nice view of the city skyline. A nice room which even has a fireplace! All for only 40.00 (plus parking and taxes).

This morning, around 7am, I woke to a housekeeper coming in to my room here in Minneapolis saying "soo sooorry.." in her best Spanish. That got me up and around quickly!

The "Residence Inn" where I am staying has a very nice continental breakfast which even includes Scrambled Eggs! There coffee could use some help though. (I guess I have become addicted to Starbucks!). And no hot tub! They have a watermark but it is closed on weekdays! They share the water park with the Courtyard which is connected to the Residence Inn here.

Have to look at the atlas to see which way is the best to hook up with 1-90 and head west across the state. The weather I am heading into seems very rainy and windy but hopefully the snow will stay well to my north. I really didn’t plan on seeing winter on this vacation...who knows.

I am going to take a drive around Lake Harriett here in Minneapolis (the area I used to live in when I was working up here back in the nighties) and then head out of town. I would like to get at least 400 miles under my belt today. We will see. If I can make it across the state and into South Dakota, I will be happy. Time to go as checkout is a little more than an hour away........

















Thurs-May 13, 2004

1130pm



(End of day 3 of my journey and start of Day 4)

(This is being sent from Cheyenne, Wy on Friday, May 14- as my laptop battery died last night while at the restaurant)



Well I made it to Wyoming! What a very awesome looking country! Not to mention the western part of South Dakota which I passed through this morning and afternoon after spending the evening on wed in Mitchell South Dakota.

Gas is cheap out here. 1.75 a gallon!!! Wow, what a difference!

(A note for my friend Doris.....there is a town called Farmer South Dakota! I tried taking a picture of the sign but my camera wasn’t behaving...)



South Dakota:

Lots of driving and lots of driving....the eastern part of this state is boooring...lots of Wisconsin looking fields. The only saving grace was a speed limit of 75 (which means 80!).

But...crossing the Missouri River was pretty out of sight....rolling hills, high vistas. It almost made me wanna cry, that is how cool it looked coming down towards the river.

I took our Chef's advice and drove through (and stopped quite a few times) the Badlands National Park. My god! The formations of the rocks are just amazing. I took tons of pictures and I will send some in a different email as soon as I download them to the laptop. I ran into a couple from New York halfway through the park and they took my picture. We talked for a bit and it turns out they live just a few miles from one of the hotels that my hotel company owns (The Queensbury in New York), and they were very nice people. On the way out of the park, I stopped at Wall SD and they have this huge (I mean HUGE) drugstore called Wall Drug that is like a mini shopping mall, only gaudier! Was fun..plus they offer "Free Ice Water"..I guess that is what made them famous or something.

I then made a stop in Rapid City to get some info on Mt. Rushmore and the Black hills and decided that though I would be driving through those "Black Hills" sometime in the next few minutes, I wouldn’t have time for Rushmore....oh well.











Wyoming:



Made it across the border around 6pm thus evening. Took some cool pictures of the mountain views coming in on I90 and stopped at a little store to get some souvenirs and info on Wyoming. Doris I got you an ashtray!!!

Next stop "Devils Tower. I drove through "Sundance" but couldn’t find any film festivals and Robert Redford or Paul Newman weren’t in sight either. The drive into the park where Devil's tower is was very nice..winding mountain roads with very cool outlooks. There was a log home butted up against some rocks on the road....my wish home indeed.

Arrived at the "Tower" around 730pm and ended up talking to some people from Italy (of all places) for a bit and they took my picture on top of my truck with the "Tower" in the background. They were very cool and I told them about my original plans for Europe and we talked about Florence which is where they are from. They are doing pretty much the same thing as me but the opposite way. They had come from Denver and were on their way to the badlands. They gave me their address and told me to look them up when (and if) I get to Florence. I then took a hike around the tower. So cool and so many markers saying how the local Indians called it "Bear lodge" and how it was formed. I called out to the "aliens" that landed on the top of the tower in the movie "Close Encounters" but no one answered. Oh well. So much for that close encounter. (Guess I will have to wait till Roswell and Area 51 which hopefully will be by late Sunday or Monday, before heading home.)

I then left the park around 9pm, as it was getting dark and headed towards Gillette WY which is about an hour away. Got a cheap motel and crashed there. Didn’t sleep too well. Was prob the awful "Corn Fed" Rib eye I had just a few minutes before bed at some truck stop...







Friday 5/14

5pm

Overslept and almost missed the included 99cent breakfast that came with my room! Was dam good, esp. for 99cents. But then they charged me for the coffee and OJ. Still less than 5 dollars. Some nice people helped me look over my atlas at the restaurant and gave me pointers on what to do and miles and times to travel.

With how expensive gas is, I decided to forego "Yellowstone" this time around and concentrate on the southern states and Colorado, which is what I have dreamed of returning to since I left so suddenly in 1989. Hit the road and left Gillette WY around 1130am this morning and am heading south on 59 which is a state highway.

The trip from Gillette to Cheyenne (which is where I am at now at a Kinko’s) was very breathtaking. Buffalos grazing in the wide open with mountains everywhere and prairies on the other side, oil well thingies (you know the contraptions that go up and down) in the fields, and very awesome views everywhere. At one point, I saw what looked like funnel clouds coming out of a cloud and touching the ground. It was very surreal. Coming into "Douglas WY" which is where I hooked on to I-25South was about one of the coolest interchanges yet...mountains on one side, weird looking outcroppings of Giant rocks on the other and deep valleys everywhere.

Though the day so far has been pretty much driving, it has been a very cool drive. The temps are in the high 40s, sometimes the 50s, and it is partly cloudy. The sun goes in and out. It even rained (sprinkled) a few times at different points.

I am leaving Cheyenne in a few minutes (520pm) and driving an hour west to Laramie.

I want to see the place where that poor kid, Mathew Shepard, got killed a few years ago by those men who tied him to a fence post out in the open. They have a memorial out there. After that, maybe stop for dinner in Laramie somewhere and then I am planning on heading south yet today and into Colorado!!! Yee Haa! I am hoping to make Co. by nightfall and don’t actually know what route I am going to take yet, but coming in from Laramie is supposed to be very scenic. I hope so.

The change in the travel plan as of now is:

Colorado (Denver, Red Rocks, Pikes peak hopefully, Mesa Verde)

New Mexico (Roswell and Area 51)

Hopefully I can get this all in the time I have left (and money).

And then back home.........

Time to go.....got to hit the road. (Maybe I will find a cowboy hat to wear, since I am in cowboy country!!)









Friday- May 14, 2004

1130pm

Just arrived in Colorado!!

Coming in, I made sure to say hi to the state for my dear friend Doris who has always wanted to visit. (We will go together next year....start planning now Doris!!)

Had dinner just outside Cheyenne and then hit the road around 830pm. It rained a little on the interstate which made things a bit slippery on the overpasses, esp. considering I was driving 80mph (legally!!). That is so cool. I am prob going to get speeding tickets when I get back to Wisconsin!!

Almost every single Marriott was booked in the Denver Metro area and I was planning on staying in Fort Collins, but the Marriott Res. Agent got me a room.

So I am Sleeping overnight at a courtyard by Marriott in Longmont which is about 30 miles from Denver. A very nice hotel and even very nicer, considering my associate rate is only 39.00. Plus free high speed so I can email and browse the web. It is a nice evening and though it is only about 39 degrees outside, I have the balcony door of my hotel room open and the fresh Colorado breeze feels very refreshing. My adrenaline is at an all time high right now, and that is probably why even though my room is colder than outside, I don’t feel it. I was almost thinking of camping out tonight but they are calling for lows of 32 degrees..buuur. I would rather freeze in a king size bed with a TV on.



Tomorrow (Sat) will be a day of closure for me in a way. And also a day to rediscover a city that I fell in love with way back in 1987!

Ill explain.....(This will be long...so bear with me)

I lived in Denver from 1987 till 1989.

On a Feb. day in 89, I was involved in a pretty horrific accident (my parents and probably a few friends have only heard this stuff) where I was sitting at a Stoplight in the middle of downtown Denver and it was about 5pm. I had just washed my brand new Toyota truck and was waiting for the stoplight to turn green when a guy came up to my truck, started kicking on the driver side doors and I rolled down my window and asked him "What the F.... are you doing kicking my truck???" The next thing I knew he had pulled out a switchblade knife and started to try and stab me! I was in utter shock and disbelief and tried shielding my face with my hand as he was going for my face and I think my neck. He got my left hand pretty good and blood was pouring everywhere...I couldn’t feel any pain though. The only thing I was thinking was...."I gotta get out of here!!" and I put my foot on my gas peddle and shot into the middle of the intersection which was still red on my end. A car (of course) hit my truck, going about 35 miles an hour and my truck flipped onto its side and back upright right in the middle of the intersection of busy rush hour downtown Denver. It seemed like forever but, the ambulance was soon there, the paramedics trying to stop my tattered hand from bleeding, make sense of my babble and trying to tame my shock level, and other paramedics trying to tend to the lady in the other car. They took us both to the hospital (meanwhile the guy who attacked me ran through an alley....they never did catch him as far as I know), and that night after being stitched up and being cleaned up and given drugs for a slight concussion, a friend came to pick me up and took me home. (Continued on next page….)



With my hand being useless (I was waiting tables at the time), my employers decided to fire me! I didn’t have any savings and though I managed to get some victims compensation, it didn’t last very long. My sister lent me some money about a month later to fly back to Wisconsin and I have been there (WIS) for the most part ever since.

In a sense, you could say I left my heart in Colorado. (A good name for a country song hey??) I also left allot of doors open out here and didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to friends and other things, since my departure was kind of sudden and I really didn’t want to leave but I had no choice. My family was back home and I needed more support than I could give myself at the time.

I have dreamed (literally) about coming back to do just that..finish things and get some closure. (My dreams at times have been so vibrant, so much so as to include the road I was driving to get here and the restaurant that I worked at and seeing allot of my old friends and not being able to find a special friend whose name is Phoebe, who I was very close to.) The weird thing is that when I was coming over from Cheyenne WY to the Co. boarder this evening, I felt the weirdest sense of DejaVu,like I had been on that road before (but I hadn’t!).

So...this is kind of a "vision quest" of sorts for me and also very emotional. I know now that this trip was meant to be and not Europe. It hit me as I entered Wyoming yesterday and there is such a sense of knowing where I am going and what I am doing. I really cant explain it, but everything just seems perfect and being alone is exactly what I need though I do miss everyone back home. My phone bill is going to be outrageous when I see it.



So the plan for the weekend is to drive into Denver, and first take a drive into Littleton to the restaurant I worked at and see if there is anybody still there that I remember (and hopefully that will be able to give me some info on finding Pheobe..my long lost friend)........ and then Red Rocks park, my old apt here in Denver, downtown, the zoo, and heading into the mountains to wonder and get lost. After that, on to I-25 South, and Pikes Peak, and then Mesa Verde.



A short background on Phoebe is in order first I guess to make my search for her understandable to everyone: When I first started at the Stuart Anderson's Restaurant out here in 87, Phoebe, who was in her late 30s and was a server,took me under her wing so to speak, and taught me allot about everything.

A very soulful woman who had a heart of gold and also happened to read palms!

(If any of you have seen the movie "About Schmidt" with Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates, I think someone modeled her character (Kathy Bates) on Phoebe and that they must have known her, because Phoebe is the spitting image of Kathy Bates' character-plus the movie takes place in Denver where Bates' character is involved, oh and get this.....the house they used for filming is in the same area of town as where Phoebe lived when I lived out here! Too strange.)





One day between lunch and dinner, we were sitting in a booth killing time in between shifts and she read my palms. She foretold an accident that would take me away from Colorado (even the month), though she did also tell me that I would return for a visit someday. She also told me that my mother would pass away before anyone was ready for her to. And there was her foretelling that I would find a friend some day who would end up meaning the world to me and being a close and dear confident for the rest of my days. I think I have met this friend already, at least I am pretty sure I have.

The xmas of 1988 was also a Phoebe event. I couldn’t afford to go home to Wisconsin and there were a few others like me in the same predicament at the restaurant that year. Being without family at xmas can be very lonely. (I wont go into the xmas of 1987!!) Phoebe invited all us "misfits" to her home for xmas day to be all together with her and her boyfriend Ken, and she had wrapped up little gifts for all of us. Mine was a crystal on a chain, that she told me was for good health. Also were included pictures of herself and her cat "Webster", who was as black a cat as you have ever seen. Some of the younger kids at work thought she was a witch. She had some very strange and intense beliefs and she was always talking about holistic healing and other "fringe" subjects. I think that was one of the things that I really liked about her.

It was probably one of the most memorable xmas days I have ever had.

Well, I left Denver and unfort lost contact with her. I tried finding her through web searches and other avenues but she has gotten married and changed her last name. To this time, I have not been able to track her down. So this is one of my major agendas for the weekend while I am out here.



I need to go relax in the hot tub (it is closed but the Night Auditor here said that if I am quiet, he doesn’t mind. He also told me not to drown!!) and then to bed. A wake up call is placed for 9am so I can get an early start on my quest.







Monday-May 17 2004

10am

Wow....what a weekend. Email wasn’t working at the hotel and I think I got this thing figured out so I can update (at least for a bit).

It is close to check out time here in Lakewood and I have to pick up some film at Wal-Mart and drop off a few more rolls. I have taken so many pictures. So much I have seen and I want to remember it all. I cant even begin to describe all the things my eyes and senses have taken in.

In the last few days, I have cried, laughed, been in awe and just about every emotion in between. When I first saw the sign that said "Colorado 5 miles" on I-25S coming from Wyoming on Friday evening..I totally lost it and was like a baby...I couldn’t even see the road out the windshield! I know...stupid. And things have just been awesome the whole weekend (minus the loss of my digital camera pics which hopefully I will be able to retrieve when I get home.

Saturday was a trip up into the mountains west of Longmont including Estes Park (saw the hotel that the "Shining" was filmed in and stopped and dipped my feet into a mountain creek (cold!!). I then traveled up the mountain further and stopped at a very cool huge visitors center just before entering Rocky mountain National park and shopped for some souvenirs. Not telling anyone what I got them!! I then drove into the park (didn’t have to pay as the Ranger said they weren’t charging anymore for the day!!! Cool). The views were great and just kept getting better the further up I went. I stopped almost every 1000 feet, took some hikes through some wonderful trails, saw an elk family grazing on some grass, almost drove off the side of one of the curves-was going a little to fast around a steep grade- and eventually made it to the farthest and highest point before the road was closed. It was like being at the top of the world (and I guess when you are 11000 odd feet up IN the clouds...you pretty much are! I talked to some people up there and they took my picture and we threw some snowballs out over the peak. (Oh..I also sat on a bear!!....one of the pictures I took will explain this....not what you might think!!) I started driving down as it was getting dark and stopped at a MickyDees for a quick sandwich (hadn’t ate all day and had been up since 8am) and drove through Boulder and Golden and ended up back in Denver around 11pm.

Sunday I got up early and decided to make this a day of finding old places where I lived and exploring the foothills and the mountains west of Lakewood (the suburb I am staying in and where I lived for a bit).

The day was sunny and warm with temps in the 80s (no humidity), and got a bit of a sunburn.







First stop after checking out old places I lived was REDROCKS. Wow....when I was last here, it was awesome but in the past 15 years they have built a visitors center with a restaurant and interactive music displays and improved the outdoor concert area! It was too much. Lots of pictures (I took one of all the bands that played out here the 2 years I live here) and then I met a very cool lady named Ronda who was also a lost soul wondering around alone. I was sitting at a table on the outside deck of the restaurant and she came up to me and asked me if I knew where an art show was. And we started talking a bit. She sat down and introduced herself and we got lost in talking about her, me, traveling, cool places to visit (she gave me a cool idea for a side trip that I am going to make later today) and 2 hours just rolled by. I asked some guy who was standing in the visitors center if he would take a picture of me and my new friend.....and he did. We then exchanged addresses and stuff and she invited me to visit her if I am ever in Col. Springs which is the way I am heading later today, so I may hook up with her for a coffee or something. Was a very "Nice" afternoon.

I then left red rocks and headed into the mountains on that edge of the range, through Morrison and Evergreen in the foothills and then made the "Back" way up to the ski areas. This leg has to be the most scenic I have seen so far! The steep grades..the huge views coming down and around the curves of hwy285 and then a long stretch of Interstate (but high up in the mountains!). I must have shot 2 rolls of film just on that hour and a half drive up. On the way, I saw a family of horses next to the road and I stopped and went up to them and I petted the big mommy horse and then went back to my truck to get some licorice that I had and put some in my mouth and she ate it...was so cool. Took a picture of them also.



Also saw the most amazing homes and ranches and mountain lakes with views that only God could have created. It was sunny and cloudy and the temps were in the low 40s...chilly and my ears were popping as I kept going higher and higher. I then came to a town called Fairplay and it was just like out of "Twin Peaks" or something! Old Cherokees lining the roads, ramshackle cabins and homes, some really nice expensive ones, a county jail that looks like it was built eons ago. Through there and the views just kept getting better and better. (Doris...I took so many pictures for you that YOU will feel that you were there!!)



I then continued on to the "ski towns". Some small and unknown (I’m on Hwy 9 at this point which is a cool way to get to the area instead of 1-70w) and got to Breckinridge, where at this time my eyes were hurting from I don’t know what and I needed some energy.



I am driving along and all of sudden up pops a "STARBUCKS!!!". I pulled over so frickin fast that I almost caused an accident!! On the main street of Breckinridge.............can you see the headlines..."stupid oaf from Wisconsin in search of coffee fix causes pile up!" I stopped there, got some directions on how to get to the "Continental Divide" and the people there gave me a "hidden scenic" route to take over to Keystone called Swan Mountain Road. I am so glad I did! It was dark at this point but it didn’t matter. The winding road followed a huge mountain lake with lights dotting the cliffs and on the other side pure rock cliffs. Sharp up and down curves around the bends. I stopped and took a few more pictures of this wondrous lake and through a pass up into Keystone and then another pass up into the A-basin and then more winding roads and up through the Loveland pass. Somehow I could NOT find the darn sign that says "You are here where the water flows both west and east yadda yadda". I know its up there as I saw it back in 87 but for the life of me I couldn’t find it. Oh well.



I then somehow managed to merge onto I-70 east heading back to Denver. The grades (6% in most places) were a kick to drive down and when you go around the curves and see (even in the dark) the silhouette of the mountain ranges, it is just cool. On the way down I pulled off at Lookout Mountain and drove in to see the gravesite of "Buffalo Bill" and the overlook on "Lookout Mountain" which is an overhang above Denver where you can see the lights of the city. Wow! I sat there and just looked out at this huge city. It sure has grown since I lived here. It was almost midnight at this point so I thought I better get back and get some sleep.



On the way back, coming around to C470, I saw the accident site on 1-70 where on Saturday morning, a girder fell off the interstate bridge and came down and crashed onto a dodge Durango, ripping the top half off the truck and killing all three people immediately. How awful Looking at the girder hanging there sent a chill through my body. The interstate was still closed ahead of me and my turn off was right there.

Now a day around Denver and then off to the south and a side trip to the San Lois Valley and into the Sangre De Cristo Mountains to camp at a "hidden Hot-springs resort" that Ronda told me about. Natural springs, bunkhouses, horses. I am very excited.















----------------------------------------------------------------------------------







Excerpt of a letter I sent To Doris(my boss and one of my best friends) on Monday….



Hope all is ok. Think of everyone often....even when I am having emotional moments which have been quite a few!! Sent you and the gang another postcard today.



When am I back? Sunday, or Monday?





Miss you lots



How is my baby Scrappy?? (my five month old kitten who she is sitting)



I have to buy more minutes for my phone...I am down to 5minutes



But I have been using my calling card to call my dad and Stepmom at least twice a day (Mandatory check in sort of, just to let them know I am alright...you would think I am a kid!!)

Tonight I almost missed the deadline. I cant call after 11pm unless its an emergency and it was 950pm here which is an hour behind! I got off the interstate halfway down from the mountain and pulled off at a quick mart and called....I said "Did I make it in time??" to my stepmom and I think she thought I was a smartass cuz she hung up and let dad talk to me alone which she never does. Oh well.



....took TONS of pictures for YOU today...all around Colorado, I must have drove 400 miles or more just today, saw some really awesome sights-like a moose in the middle of the road that just stood there and I got close enough to him to almost touch him- a horse that ate some licorice out of my hand on the side of the road up in the high mountains(I took a picture of her and her family).............................and there was a STARBUCKS at the top of the world in Breckinridge!!! I was so impressed, and overjoyed at being able to get a kick start.. I even took a picture of the store. Its a cute little yellow cabin on the main street nestled against the snowy ski-mountain.



plus got a chance to get sunburned and meet some real cool people (none like you though...well almost..her name is Rhonda and she lives in the Springs. We spent about 2 hours together wondering Red rocks Park where I also got to listen to a bunch of people playing their guitars and just goofing around with their musical equipment.



Two lost souls. It was quite funny. I have a picture of her with me that some dude took,and I told her that she was the Doris replacement so I kept calling her Doris and she just kept laughing and laughing. We then took the wrong stairs down to the parking lot and though it was where I was parked, it wasn’t where she was!! So I had to give her a ride to the other lot.I told her she was sitting in your seat!!

Continued on next page…….

She gave me some cool travel info on southern Colorado and a cool camp-resort in the San Louis Valley in Southern Colorado that has natural Hot springs and you can either car camp, stay in a cabin, or in a communal bunk house for 29.00. You have to bring in your own food though and they have grills and stuff and people from all over though it is a "shhhh type of place" that only a few people actually know about...a hidden little gem in the mountains of Southern Co. I cant wait! That is where I am going to stay on Monday night on my way to Mesa Verde)Natural Hot Springs....I would have never known about this if she hadn’t approached me and asked me if I knew of an art show going on...of course I didn’t.



The photos that I took, I am also having put on disk and then I can "burn whatever ones you would like" on another disk. It will be just like you were here. Have to pick up two rolls in the morning and drop off two rolls for one hour and buy two more rolls before I leave Denver which will prob be sometime Monday afternoon or early evening.



Write soon.....





PS: I drove past that awful accident on 1-70 where those people were killed when the girder fell off of the interstate, on my way back into Denver from the mts a bit ago. The girder was still on the interstate and it was closed just ahead of where I turned off. Pretty freaky shit man.



Its late and I need sleep..jst got done swimming and reading for a bit in the Jacuzzi. Want to be up by 730 or 8am in the morning to get an early start.



Good night and good Monday.



Just me



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------







Tuesday-May 18, 2004



What a couple days. Though I am getting a bit tired after yesterday (Monday), which was a very emotionally draining day, I still have a little energy left in these batteries to hit my final two destinations that I really want to see.



I spent the entire day revisiting old familiar places in Denver and also checking out the downtown area. Toured the capitol and met my first two homies (people from Wisconsin..Milwaukee no less...go figure!! Was kind of cool and we talked for a bit and kind of hung out together while on the tour. Amazing that I never did alot of this stuff when I lived out here..I guess sometimes, one doesnt appreiciate what they have right in their own back yard, until it is not "their" back yard anymore....that was my deep thought for the day by the way!



My last stop before leaving Colorado on Monday evening, was the restaurant that I worked at before leaving in 1989. I pulled in and had goose bumps and was shaking.(Remember..this is something I have literally dreamt of doing many times and always seem to wake up just when I am about to enter that damm restaurant!!)



I walked in and decided to sit at the bar and have a beer and maybe > something to eat. The place was just as I remembered it. No one was there that remembered me...or so I thought. The district manager was at the bar and the bartender told me that he was here back then or so he thought. Said something about another bartender who left about 3 years ago (Nita) who was a very nice lady and lent me her car when I first got out there and wanted to check out the city. (Im getting off track)so I told the bartender to call this guy over to where I was at the bar.



And so he came over, sat down beside me, and mentioned that he thought I looked familiar. I told him I used to work there back in the late Eighties and he thought a minute and then he guessed my first name but had problems with the last..(why I don’t know...as its such a popular name!!)We reminisced and talked about old times and how when I was working there back then, he was a DJ . (And now he is District Manager!!) and he told me a few of the people, who were working there back then were now in management at some of his other restaurants (in fact he called one of the guys who used to be one of my bussers! and is now a manager out a suburb of Denver).

He said most had moved on to other things. We talked for quite a while, I took some pictures of the place, he let me go back into the kitchen and dining room to check things out and snap some photos and....... it was a fitting end to my stay in the Denver area.

Though I haven’t been able to find my friend Phoebe, I did get her x-husbands number and have tried calling but no answer. I plan to keep trying. At least I have an idea of how to reach her now.



I gassed up and decided to do some night driving to shave some time off of getting to New Mexico after that. I thought about the drive to Mesa Verde, and with the miles and time constraints (and the money....gas is expensive!!), I decided to let that wait for another time along with Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. I drove from 10pm until almost 4am, passing through Colorodo Springs and Trinidad, with a few rest stops and made it into the top half of New Mexico before sleeping for a bit.

I pulled off to the side of the road at a picnic area. I never knew there were so many stars in the sky!! It was pretty awesome. I could even see bits of the cloud stuff that I think was the Milky Way....wow cant even describe the skys out there!



(I camped in the back of my truck..sleeping bag, blankets and pillows and it was actually quite comfy.) Also saw one of the coolest sunrises this morning.



Got on the road again around 10am and just hopped on and off the interstate (I-25S), hitting towns and cities along the way and driving some back roads. Took old Historic Route 66 highway which is the pre world war 2 highway that skirts I-25 and hit some historical sites and saw lots of cool houses and other things...ran into a couple who were doing a 3 month trip of that route through the US and they wanted to take a picture of my license plate as they didn’t have one of Wisconsin.



Santa Fe was as gorgeous as I had read about and the mountain ranges and passes were just as majestic as Colorado's, if not more so in some areas. I stopped at a Casino off the interstate between Santa Fe and Albuquerque and >wasted about 5.00 on 25cent slots and didn’t win anything and then got on the interstate and got to Albuquerque about 330pm.



I stopped at a Boarders Book Store hoping to log on to check email and do a little writing, but that store didnt have the T-Moble Wireless Service yet, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and browsed the store for a bit....just kicking back and ralaxing. (Where did I have to be after all....?)



I then left and quicly found a wallgreens where I HAD to get some burn lotion as my driver's arm was about to fall off from the scorching heat....ouch! and then drove around town and saw a sign for an internet cafe.....(I think I almost ran a red light, looking out my window and seeing that!!)



On the way in there is a mountain range called the "Sandias" and they are almost black, with pointed peaks and they go on forever. Very cool. The guy here at the coffee shop mentioned that they are hollowed out for the most > part as this is where they had some minutemen missiles and also built some > test aircraft. He told me to go south on my way out and look for the long > tears on the mountain sides. That is where the missiles were and are now > taken out. > >



As I write this, it is 6pm and I am sitting at this little cafe on their patio, (they have complimentary internet access), in downtown Albequerque right now and it is just about the most perfect evening I could imagine or hope for. Mexican music, a light southerly wind, sunny, (no humidity!!),and a cold huge Iced Tea in my hand.



The counter guy even brought me a free chocolate chip cookie to munch on...how cool.... and came out and asked if I wanted a free refill on my tea a few seconds ago. There is a pizza place next door and I can smell the aroma of fresh baking pizza (or something darn close) and it is making me so hungry. Also, lots of people walking down the street and kids driving with the tops down on their convertables... Who could ask for more....not me. At least not today. A very nice city. One of the nicer I have seen so far. Gonna run out to my truck and grab some of the Colorado photos I had developed before leaving Denver......get this..the counter guy is going to come out and sit at my table and watch over my laptop and stuff while i run across the street to my truck..now that IS Custumer Service!!



Trying to figure out what to do next. Thinking of staying over night here in, or possibly doing some more night driving to get to the southern part of NM by the morning. Sometime tomorrow (wed) I would like to check out the "National Atomic Monument Site called Trinity", if I have time and take some pictures of the missile range and then head to Roswell Area. At least that is the plan right now. Who knows for sure.

But Roswell is definite and I am, once I am down there, only a ways from the white sands area so I figure it will be worth it to check it out. My laptop battery will probably die soon so I am going to end for today. Maybe walk around downtown Albuquerque for a while.











Thursday, May 20, 2004



I have to confess that with all the driving I have been doing the last few days, there hasn’t been much time to catch up on my trip.



I did email from Albuquerque NM, but I guess a few people didn’t get it, so I am going to recap just a bit and then on to the last few days leading up to tonight (thus the 20th)



(Some of this may be a repeat of the last few paragraphs)



On Monday evening, the 17th,After dinner in Littleton and reminiscing with one of the only people that is still there (John Carpenter…he used to be a DJ back in 1988), I took some pictures of the restaurant, found Phoebe’s Ex husband’s number and tried calling him but no answer. I am going to wait until I get home to try again.



I decided not to do the Springs I had heard about or Mesa Verde this time. I didn’t realize how many miles in between everything. But that is what is cool about vacationing and not having an itinerary. Ideas that don’t come to pass can always be filed and put away for another trip. And I guarantee I will be taking another one out here…but maybe flying next time into Denver and renting a car for a week…..



I drove all evening that night and crossed the border into New Mexico after driving through Colorado Springs (Too dark to see all that much) and passed through Trinidad and into NM around 1230am on Tuesday morning. I just kept on driving until I got tired which was about 5am and pulled over at a rest area and made up a little bed in the back of my pickup. The sun was already coming up and it was very cool looking. The difference in the landscape was just amazing from Colorado to New Mexico.



I woke up to stifling heat and high winds around 10am and started driving again and pulled off at the first gas station I could find which was about 10 miles down the road. I felt like I was in Mexico and not New Mexico…..it was very cool. Adobe building and everyone was Hispanic. They had showers for Truck Drivers so I used that and then repacked my cooler with new ice and plenty of water (Hot out there!) and then hit the road.



The views towards Santa Fe were nothing short of amazing. The mountains and the homes, the prairies on the other side. It was pretty breathtaking (just as Colorado and Wyoming and South Dakota after the Missouri were, if not more. I stopped quite a few times to take photos of all I was seeing so I could remember it…..I must have went through 2 rolls just on that drive (which are sitting in my truck waiting to get developed as soon as I get home).





I stopped off at a Casino between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and though I put a few quarters and nickels in some machines, I didn’t win anything. That was off of I25.

Then the “Sandia” mountain range came into view a bit later on my left and it just kept going and looked like one huge awesome mountain. Coming down passes and over curves was just way too much. I had to stop a few times (illegally) to get some pictures of what I was seeing. Other autos must have thought I was nuts.





I got into Albuquerque in the middle afternoon and drove around town and just checked things out. I found a cool little internet café where I emailed an update (the one that a few said they didn’t receive…) and sat there enjoying the warm dry sunny windy afternoon, and talked to the employees for a while. They gave me some pointers on things to see and some cool artwork on certain buildings. At one point, one of the employees brought me out a cookie to munch on (no charge) and said something about “here is something to tide you over”….I wonder if I looked hungry or something. I was smelling pizza drift over from next door, maybe he sensed that….who knows.





ON TO THE NEW STUFF.......



After an hour or so, I drove around the city, taking pictures of all the cool building artwork. I was driving down one street and saw a guy with this cute little wiener dog and got him to stand still so I could take a picture of the dog. (I know…stupid).





After that I was trying to decide what to do for dinner and figure out where to go from there and I stopped a lady in the street………



(which I have been doing a lot of…asking strangers for directions and suggestions. In a way this can be a good thing as they are local and know the shortcuts and interesting things one may not be able to find out on there own….it is something that I think everyone should do when they are in a strange town. Brochures only tell you so much.)



……to ask for suggestions on a good place to eat. She mentioned a diner called “66 Diner”, just down the road. I am glad I took her suggestion. It was a cool place, with lots of memorabilia on the old Route 66 highway, which I have to be honest I knew really nothing about…and I had been on it for quite some time here and there. I decided to call my folks from there and talked with them for a while. At dinner, I was looking at the atlas and some of the brochures I had picked up earlier about NM and the Roswell area and remembered reading something on the internet about the long desolate highway leading to Roswell being strange at times, with people seeing weird lights in the sky and strange things happening to their vehicles while driving down that road,so I decided, what the heck...lets do a night drive and see what we can find! After dinner I headed south, getting to Clines Corners which was where 285 South started. This was the beginning of my next adventure and destination…Roswell New Mexico.







So,I bought some soda, some sandwiches, gassed up and changed into some sweats as I knew it was going to be a long night drive (3 plus hours) and I chose this time because, as I mentioned just a second ago, I have read that on the way to Roswell on that highway at night, people have been known to see strange lights and have weird things happen to them(Think UFO‘s here guys…..)I was so keyed up for this and hopeful too! I even called Doris and my friend Doug from my cell and told them it was cool knowing them If I got abducted!!!

I had been hearing that the road WAS DARK AND BORING by quite a few people in NM, and they were right! Very dark.



I started out and about 25 miles south, I decided to pull over on the side of the highway and watch for some lights. It was so dark and you could see every single star in the sky for miles up. I don’t think I have seen star light that ever. After about 30 minutes, I got on the road again and then came upon a historical marker, which gave me another reason to pull off the road and watch for more lights!!



Just as I was getting ready to get back on the road, my cell phone started beeping like crazy on the dashboard. Talk about freaky. It is pitch dark, I had never heard that sound before coming out of the phone and then just then, a sound comes out of nowhere to my left through my open drivers side window. A loud roaring sound! The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I was kind of weirded out! I looked out my window and peered into the darkness and what I saw (and heard) was a train going down the tracks on the other side of the highway with its lights off and going very fast. It was very windy that night also. So much for that encounter! But I never did figure out why my cell made that incessant beeping. It did it almost the whole way down.



Another hour and I came upon a small town and stopped to stretch a bit. Later on I found my AC/DC power inverter I had been using to charge my cell phone and my laptop was fried. I have a feeling this happened on this leg of the trip……..hmmmm……very strange!



Its almost midnight by now and I have been traveling that dark lonesome stretch for over an hour when I saw this little 24 hour diner….and I thought that it might be a cool place to pull over and get some coffee and maybe ask some driving directions. The place was on the roadside in the middle of nowhere but once walking in the door, it was like being at home.

(What is really weird, is that it looked really familiar, like maybe I may have seen it in a movie or something...it sure could have been used as a location... Kind of out of the 50s with neon on the walls and stainless steel…a very neat counter with high stools and clean cooking equipment that you saw when sitting at the counter. A few truckers sitting at the counter as well as one or two “cowboys” and some local jo’s at a table towards the back. It really could have been a diner out of a movie set somewhere.)



I sat down, ordered a coffee and some apple pie with ice-cream and started looking at my atlas and also had my laptop, which I turned on to look at some websites I had saved. The waitress came over and was gawking at me and saying “Wow…that is really cool….technology…aint it amazing???” As she smiled at me and asked if she could look closer at the screen. I was more than happy to show her my little toy, and tell her a little about how it all worked. I don’t know if she understood. She was a very sweet woman, but at the same time, a little simple minded, but I think that is what I found most endearing about her. She called everyone “Hun” and you don’t hear that too often any more, at least where I am from here in Wisconsin. But you know the further I got south, the more often I heard this type of talk which was very refreshing after dealing with stuffy stodgy “corporate types” for the last few years at work.

The Midwest and the east could learn a thing or two about hospitality from these southern folks…..they really seem to CARE about people, even strangers….like me.



I am getting off track….that little stop was interesting and informative, and I found out a few things I wouldn’t have known otherwise…

#1: Not to stop and sleep in the back of my pickup truck in that area of New Mexico because Mountain Lions are out off the highway and may attack a person, even if they are laying in the back of a pickup. I guess she said it has happened to people camping on the side of the highway in sleeping bags besides their cars, hoping to see some lights and or weird objects in the sky.



And #2: Not to stop for too long on the side of the highway (even on a side road) as the state troopers frown upon it and are know to give hefty tickets to people, esp. the “out of staters”. Hmmmmm….two things I was really looking forward to doing on this leg of the trip but after hearing about these things, I kind of started having second thoughts. I decided it was time to go after about an hour and a half and got on the road again....





The rest of the drive was with the window open, I did stop a few times and pulled off to the side, hoping not to by seen by a NM state patrol pig!!) and shut off my lights and motor and got out (hoping not to get attacked by a big kitten!!) and looking at those night skies was pretty amazing. Stars forever and so clear and so dark.



There were lights that you could see in the distance in the sky but who is to say what they were. There were a few times where I “thought” I saw some really weird things moving in the sky, but I was so full of adrenaline at that point, it could have very well been a mosquito and I wouldn’t have known the difference. After a few of those stops every 12 miles or so, I made it in to Roswell around 5am in the morning. I was exhausted but yet very alert and the town just seemed very surreal as I was driving in to it. I saw a Marriott and decided I needed to bed down for a while (bearing in mind the mountain lion story) and the clerk was awesome, got me less than the associate rate and I asked for a wake up call for 10am. My plan for the day was to explore the city of Roswell, visit the UFO museum that I have read so much about, and get some info on the military base and the ranch where the flying saucer supposedly came down in July of 1947.



I fell asleep immediately and when I woke up, I tried logging on to the internet but I could not…the connection kept dropping. It would work and I would be looking at a web page and then I would go to a page about Roswell and the UFOs and I would get cut off. I was starting to feel a bit paranoid, like someone was watching me and didn’t want me to have any of this info and then I thought to myself that that was ridiculous. I mean, I am at a Marriott hotel!! Why in the world would anyone care what I look at on the web. Then I remembered hearing a “story” that half the population of this city was rumored to be either connected with the “cover-up” or had an “alien background”. Think “Taken” the TV series, Roswell the movie, Roswell the TV series on the WB and all the many books out there that talk about all of this. It is pretty eerie when you think about it. Enough of that I thought and decided to give up on the web and got ready to check out.



I made my way down the city and into downtown area and you could tell immediately that this city has really taken advantage of the “alien story’s”. (I have some photos that will show some of this stuff..its actually pretty cool.) . The street lights are covered with “Alien heads”, a lot of the buildings have “alien inspired” murals on their windows and walls and there are ufo replicas and alien creatures for sale everywhere you look. I had my picture taken with a balloon type alien in front of a shop and I guess he is one of the most popular photo props that people have their pics taken with!! I picked up a few souvenirs to thank him for taking my picture with the “alien” and I then went back outside and there it was!!……





“The International UFO Museum”! My final destination was in sight! I had read about this place forever and thought how cool it would be to one day be able to tour it.



I stopped a guy walking down the street and asked him if he wouldn’t mind taking a picture of me in front of the entrance and he was more than willing. I wanted to really document this part of my trip especially.



From the web, I knew what to expect when walking in (like the board of the us where u are supposed to take a stickpin and put it on the area you are from. More people from the Chicago area than anything and their pins when past Milwaukee so I ended up sticking my pin in just north of Madison.) and I also knew about the “audio tour” where for 1.00 they give u a cassette that better explains the exhibits. I thought why not. For 1.00 I mine as well. Though I didn’t end up using it too much…for me it ended up being better just reading the articles and looking at all the very cool displays and recreations of some of the events and timelines of the supposed crash. The museum did a fantastic job of putting together the displays and everything was very interesting. I knew a lot of what the displays were talking about and that made the even deeper things much more interesting.



To really enjoy the museum, I think one has to at least be pretty familiar with he events surrounding what they call “The Roswell Incident”. I have some books, and links to some pretty informative web sites, if anyone ever wants to borrow them, just let me know.



I took a lot of pictures of the different displays and just took my time looking at everything. Around 4pm, a huge crashing sound came out of nowhere and people started “freaking out” and running towards the front door!! I was like “what the heck is going on???” and followed the crowd and there was everyone standing at the door looking at……….a huge thunderstorm rolling through the city! Hail, driving wind, lightning, thunder. Pitch black skies and streets flooding within minutes. It was a pretty amazing storm and to watch it from the entryway of the UFO museum, was kind of cool.



I realized I had left my windows cracked open of my truck as it was very hot that afternoon (almost 100 degrees) where I had parked it at the visitors center, so I told the lady at the counter I would be back and I ran out in to the storm and down the street to get to my truck before it was totally soaked. I had souvenirs and my luggage and my atlas sitting on the seat…Arrrg. I stepped through flooded streets, my shirt was getting soaked and as soon as I got back to my truck, it stopped raining. Things were a bit wet but not too bad.





I then drove back down the street to the museum and finished looking at the displays, took some more pictures and………. got into a small argument with an old coot who said that where “I was told the Ranch of the crash is” was a fake and the real site was somewhere else. Well, I knew that this was going to happen and there was a web site that warned a lot of people connected with the museum would try to convince people of other sites as being the true ones.



It seems there is a small story that when the museum first opened, they would take bus tours out to the crash site off of 285 north and the guy who owned the ranch enjoyed the publicity as well. After a few years, he demanded some cash for allowing the tours to continue on the ranch land. The museum refused to give the guy any money, he disallowed the bus to go out there and the rift was set in motion. Now, according to the museum, this site is called an “ALLEDGED” crash site and they (the museum) even goes as far as outlining it as such on a map of the Roswell area on one of the displays. How funny???



And here is this old coot up at the welcome counter, standing by his story of this not being the site and yadda yadda, and I ask him about this story and he tells me that “I DONY KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!!”.

I told him to stop spreading “disinformation” to people and went on to tell the other tourists gathered there, how to get out to the “Real crash site” even if the “disinformation people” would not! I think I pissed them off but I don’t care. Sometimes you just have to stand up for what is right and for those people to be spewing venom just because of a fight over money….that is ridiculous. In the back of my head, I was thinking “shit if they are aliens, I am dog shit!!“ but then realized that these are the people who are probably only trying to piece together, along with everyone else, what really happened out there so many years ago. One of the owners of the museum is the mortician who was called upon back in 1947 to get 5 small (4ft) coffins and was asked if they could be “hermetically” sealed. He (Dennis) along with another guy who was in the military at Roswell at the time opened this place back in the early 90s and just a few years ago, moved to this new building. Oh well. They did do an excellent job with the displays and the overall info that they had available was pretty awe inspiring. I ended up buying a few souvenirs from the gift shop, forgot about the old coot who actually said ’You comer on back now…you hear”..(ha ha!!).









I then drove up the road to the "old Military Base" and following a guy's directions (whom I had met earlier that day at a gift shop and gave me some cool "locals only" info), I saw the entrance just as he had said. It is a "private" faciltiy now that makes rocket parts for the goverment (and according to some websites I have checked out, that is a "cover" and the base is supposedly still involved in "secret goverment stuff to this day!!".)...well, I walked around the entry a bit, saw the original "Hanger 84" in the distance, and the there was a sign on a fence post that said "Roswell Military Base" still....kinda cool. I took out my camera, and go figure, it was out of film...I must have used it all up at the Museum!! It was getting dark again, like it was going to rain, so I decided to see if I could make it out to the sight where one of the crafts "allegedly" crashed. I drove north on 285 but for the life of me, could not find the turnoff to the ranch or the signs that some guy said would be out there. (I saw the signs on a website earlier that day...damm!).



So , I turned back into town, decided to look for the movie "Roswell" so I could maybe watch it on my way out of town later that evening and every single place I stopped did NOT have a copy of it!! Would you not think that a movie named for a city would be at every store in town?? Nope..not to be!

But, get this!! The local WallMart had murals of Aliens and UFOS painted on the store front! I took pictures of this as it was kind of cool looking.

Dinner next and as I was sitting there looking at the Atlas and trying to figure out where I was and how far from home, it hit me!! 1400 some miles to get back to Wisconsin!!



......and at that point (wed), I realized that I had two days to get back home, and with approx. 1400 miles to travel....ouch!! How in the hell was I going to accomplish this feat??



So, I mapped out a route which would (and did) take me through 4 more states to make it back to Wisconsin by Friday evening. Some long driving hours I was sure, were ahead, and were!!



I left Roswell at around 8pm and drove pretty much non stop until 5am the next morning, (Saw a very cool Roadside rest area that was all done up with Route 66 paraphanailla)and I made it through all of Texas (skirting the top from Amarillo to the boarder with Oklahoma) and stopped to rest just short of Oklahoma city, (again in the back of my truck (The John Motel...).



Got up around 1030am after bedding down in the back of my pickup, and hit the road again and made it just past Oklahoma City when............. I ran out of gas on the turnpike! My first call to Ford Roadside assistance!



They came out about an hour later and put almost a half a tank of gas in my truck (complimentary!!) and then it was "on the road again"...and get this....just as I was getting on to the highway, I turned on the radio and "Willie Nelson was singing "On the Road Again"!!.. I couldn’t stop laughing....you had to be there.



I drove another couple hours and decided to stop in Tulsa to check out the city for a few hours. Nice place, walked around a park by a river, drove into downtown and found a place to eat and took a few neat photos of some nice sculpture work that I saw through out the city.



Then it was almost 8pm so I got back on the interstate and drove pretty much nonstop until 7am Friday morning when I was coming into the "Ozarks" area of Missouri. I saw the coolest (like wow!) sunrise ever, I think I may have even cried because it was just so intense.... took a few photos to try and capture it and decided to pull off and rest for a bit.



Got up around 1030am and back on the interstate and just past Rolla Missouri, as I was backing up on a sonic overlook to get a picture of the pass............ I ran into a rail guard and my rear tire got punctured...and went flat!!



Another call to Roadside Assistance, they got out there about an hour later (remembering me from yesterday's gas incident....) and changed my tire. It was close to 2pm by the time I got going again and as I drove PAST St. Louis, I tried snapping a few photos from the interstate, of the Arch. Don’t know yet if they turned out...I sure hope so, esp. after all the cars behind me beeping because I was going 35 miles an hour in a 60mph zone. Oh well...you only get one chance at a photo opportunity sometimes, and one just has to grab it no matter what.





Into Illinois a few minutes later and up through central Illinois, running into a "Tornado" and very bad thunderstorm just south of Rockford Ill and got into Wisconsin via Beloit on I-43 around 8pm. I was back to Milwaukee by about 9pm with rain, thunder and lightning all the way from Rockford to home. What a fitting end to my trip. The whole trip had been clear and mostly sunny and then two hours to home and it storms!!! Hmmmm.



I was exhausted and as I write this now, I have come down with a serious respitory infection (probably the result of all the climate changes I went through, which were quite numerous) that made me come home sick from work yesterday (the first time in 30 years of working that I have ever done that). But the trip was worth it. And I would do it again in a second.



In fact, I am now in the process of planning a shorter trip to for either the fall or for sure next year, to check out some things I didn’t get a chance to do on this one. Who knows if I will be able to make it happen, but I will surely be trying. I will probably fly out to a drive off point and then rent a vehicle though. The drive out was terrific, but the drive back didnt have much of anything I wanted to see, so it ended up being very tiring...or maybe I was just burnt out from doing so much in the days prior. Who knows.



Then of course, next year will hopefully be my trip to Europe, which got ruined by some shithead from work who stole my wallet-checkbook, which had all my travel documents and credit cards and everything else. Oh well.



Thanks for letting me share my trip. I realise most of it is probably utterly boring, but for me it was one of the best times of my life.



There are approx. 300 photos being developed right now and as soon as I have them back, I am going to build a photo album and try to get some of the pics online to share with everyone.



Oh and....hi Travis (I hope your couriousity is now satisfied....you now know the ending!)

An introduction to my crazy roadtrip out west

2:00 pm



I thought I would transpose my "travelogue" from my vacation that I recently took out west, to my blog. Most of my friends and family were "subjected" to my musings while I was on the road, as I emailed "installments" of my journey to people while I was traveling. There were a few people who I did not include in my emails though, and some who because of technical glitches, did not receive some of the letters. (How lucky these people must have been!!).



So, in the next post, will be these recollections (some as they were happening)of my "substitute" trip of a lifetime.



I will explain the "substitute" part: Originally, I had planned on going to Europe this spring. It was to be a vacation of my "life". But, things happen and sometimes things do not work out they way they are supposed to. With my vacation time in hand and money to spend, I decided to take a different trip that I had been thinking and "dreaming" about doing for years, which was to drive back out to Colorado, where I lived in the late eighties. The "travelogue" will explain some of why I wanted to do this, so I wont go into details here and now, but suffice to say that it was a trip that I am glad I took.



My being has been "rejuvinated" and I have a clearer outlook on life and myself because of this trip and I have so many memories that are STILL being sorted out and filed in my head (as well as over 200 photos, souvineirs, junk and numerous other momentos) of my 2 weeks "on the road".



Ooops...out of time and have to go to work (someone has to pay the bills and keep "catfood" on the table for my little brat "Scrappy").



To be continued......

Why did I choose a Blog???

430am



I have been reading about blogs for some time now. (For my friends who end up looking at this, the simplest way of explaining a blog is to say that it is an "online journal").



For me, it is a way of putting my life in perspective for myself,remembering and writing down the experiences that have shaped my life, sharing special (or dull and boring) moments of my life with those that I care about, and most of all capturing my experiences to written form so I can look back on my life as I grow older.



I was contemplating starting this while I was on my vacation (crazy road trip that is) out west, and I think it would have made my email troubles dissapear...but I was hoping that a travelogue via email would have been sufficient, which it was for the most part.



And for those that are interested in the "goings on" of my life, are more than welcome to come to this site to read about things, and if others are not interested, then I wont be intruding via their email...which I kind of feel I may have with some people.



Alot has happened to me over the years, most of it kind of boring, but some very neat- (at least to me)- and surreal experiences have been had also, during my 38 years on this planet. I wish to share some of these stories with people and maybe by doing this, some people will get to know me better or at least better understand why I am the way I am.



Maybe I will also better understand myself by putting down some of my experiences and thoughts about those experiences. Who knows...maybe someone will make a book out of all of this someday...or a movie! (I cant imagine either, but it is nice to think "gradiose thoughts" once in a while. Not to worry though, my feet are firmly planted on the ground (most of the time...)



So.....welcome to my "Crazy World". I hope those that dare to tread these waters, find something interesting to browse while here. And if not, thanks for taking an initial look, and no hard feelings if you decide not to come back again.



I realize we all have our lives, and our "own dramas" that are going on in them. The way I look at it is, that sometimes a look at other people's lives give one ideas and inspirations for their own. At least that is what has happened with me quite a few times in my life so far.



Some of the stories I plan on sharing, I have never told anyone. Others are events in my life that have had profound impacts on me and still others are just rememberences that will only have signifigance for me (and maybe a few others).



This will not be a day to day "journal of my life". It is meant to be a "compilation" of sorts of some of what I consider to be some "highlights" and "defining moments" of my life. It also will probably not be chronilogical, though at times I may put a "timeline" together to explain certian stories.



Above all, this is a "gift" to myself.



To be continued......