Friday, July 21, 2006

So hitchhiking with a gun or knife is boosh! not cool...

If I were the king of the world, I would of course deal with issues of injustice but I would also go to all public restrooms in parks and rest areas and make scratchings on the bathroom stalls from, "James - the king of the world." I think I could enjoy something like that and it might encourage the support of all those crazies who do make the scratchings on bathroom stalls to let others know that "they were here." My second order of business would be to form a counsel to find my Ziggy Stardust album. I'm very concerned that I've lost it. VERY concerned.

That's the word from Shoshone, Idaho. I haven't really interacted with folks from around here but Idaho is hilarious. I truly think that if I lived here I would be forced to grow a mohawk because that is what I think would keep the spice in life around these parts. I've already seen one fellow with one and was extremely encouraged.

I'm several days away from my destination and I imagine there will be more when I get there. Until then, or if this is all I have left to say on this blogsite let me say that aside from all the politics, suburban vices, 'no child left behind' policies, and extreme consumerism that we all partake in, we live in an extremely beautiful country. There are sights that have made me curse because I wasn't ready for the magnificance of what my eyes have confronted. There are people who I have met that have altered my preconceived notions that are present no matter how much I repress. There is a sort of quiet that I've finally found that I need, that keeps my senses peaked, that gives me calm, and that makes me think that I may be doing something right for once.

And now I'm getting the boot from this computer.

Bull Elk are sweet!

Jameson

Friday, July 07, 2006

Say "Ponderosa Pine" with me friends. Don't you love the way it rolls off the tongue?

I'm in Phoenix, Arizona right now, chilling with my old baby-sitter. And it's pretty great. Like driving through fresh, cool air in the desert or something like that. I've finally gotten to a computer and so this is what has been going on. . .

Texas took a while to leave. Not because I love it (though there is some sort of appreciation for it), but because it's so flippin huge. I stayed at Big Bend National for a couple days. Here's a tip for making money when you don't have a job:
1. Take a hike to see the sunset regardless of how long it will take on the return journey.
2. Enjoy the moment once you arrive and then head back.
3. On the return journey, run real fast around the bends, kind of like a mountain lion, to get the attention of others.
4. When/If you do in fact run into other hikers let them know that they won't make it to the cliff and get back before it gets real dark and Jurassic park like.
4.5. Don't give the creepy stalker vibe (questions like 'where do you live?' is not a good question)
5. Once you've convinced them to try another day, lead them back to the camp.
6. By the time you return, it should be pretty dark and the folks you are taking back will hopefully be living it large in a big lodge a mile away so it's on you to give them a ride.
7. Do your duty to society and you will most likely make 5 bucks. And even though you insist that it was no hassle, they will demand you leave with money because gas is so darn expensive.


- Guadalupe Mountains was my next stop after Big Bend. Good couple of days. I met a handful of people from Austin, TX (the greatest city in the world at this point in my life) and camped around Guadalupe Peak. I made a wrong turn on the trail (carry a map, James) I was supposed to take and I didn't want to turn around so I ended up at the top of the mountain and the hike sucked but the time up there was amazing. William Least Heat-Moon would be so proud of me. I chilled with a couple from Austin, saw a mule deer, looked for a bottle of wine buried 14 years ago on that very peak, and talked about life with the first people I've met since leaving SA all on the highest point in Texas. The night was pretty much the coldest night I've ever slept in outside. Maybe I should have taken a sleeping bag to the top (You're an idiot aren't you James?). All in all a good time had by all.

Lately I've been doing a lot of driving. Some of the places I've stayed the last few days rival some previous places I've slept in regards to "stupid" and "unsafe", but my grandkids will be proud. Or at least somebody's grandkids will be proud and impressed (Hopefully, for the survival of my ego of course). I'm hoping to slow down a bit in the North of Arizona (Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff, and all places that consist of Ponderosa Pine). We'll see how that goes because the South of Utah appeals and talks to me in my sleep for some reason. So that's where I'll be for those creepy stalker folks who have discovered this site. Catch me if you can.

Ok, I'm flirting with the possibility of being boring even to myself so I better get going. This blog is for el Capitan in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas (that's the second picture above. Muy impressivo!), for big business leaders who don't see a whole lot of problems with high gas prices, and Angie in the picture at the end of this blog just because I can do that kind of thing (I asked her to marry me but she didn't like the idea of that. I think we are too overly competitive for each other but that's me).
Honor the silence everybody. It's out there, it just takes a little bit to get to it.

James