JOURNAL

WE DROVE THE MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY THROUGH THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS THAT WAS FULL OF HAIRPIN TURNS AND CROSSBACKS UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAINS WHERE WE WERE EXCITED TO SEE POPS OF YELLOW ASPEN LEAVES ALL AROUND US UP ALONG THE MOUNTAINSIDES.

WE WERE HOWEVER NOT QUITE EXPECTING TO SEE A YELLOW RIVER TO MATCH IT, THOUGH. COME TO FIND OUT, THIS RIVER HOLDS OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OF OXIDIZED METALS, A WASTE BYPRODUCT OF THE ABANDONED MINES THAT DECORATE THE HILLSIDES THROUGHOUT THE OURAY, SILVERTON, AND TELLURIDE AREA..

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AFTER WE GOT BACK FROM ALASKA, WE WERE SCHEDULED TO FLY OUT A FEW DAYS LATER FOR OUR HAWAI’I PROJECT, BUT HURRICANE LANE HAD OTHER PLANS. THANKFULLY, SHE LEFT MILD DAMAGE, BUT WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO POSTPONE HAWAI’I FOR ANOTHER TIME.

ALTHOUGH UNFORTUNATE, THIS MEANT WE HAD SOME UNEXPECTED EXTRA TIME BEFORE THE STATE 28: UTAH PROJECT, SO WE HEADED SOUTH TO A HANDFUL OF NATIONAL PARKS INCLUDING ZION, CAPITOL REEF, BRYCE CANYON, AND ARCHES. BUT FIRST, WE PULLED OVER TO ADD OUR UTAH DECAL.

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THE COLOR OF THE AIALIK GLACIER WAS LIKE AN ARTIFICIAL FRESH MINT BLUE. AS THE KENAI FJORDS TOUR BOAT MANEUVERED PAST THE GLACIER DEBRIS FLOATING OUT TO SEA, YOU COULD HEAR THE DEEP MOANS OF THIS ARM OF THE HARDING ICEFIELD STRETCHING, MOVING, AND BREAKING OFF IN LOUD AND DRAMATIC CRACKS AND SPLASHES BELOW.

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL RUDE AWAKENING TO THE CLIMATE CHANGE OUR WORLD IS FACING AS I WATCHED ONE LARGE PIECE BREAK AWAY AFTER ANOTHER. I FOUND MYSELF MARVELING AT THE SIZE, WEIGHT, AND NOISE OF THIS MOVING WALL CRUMBLING DOWN BEFORE ME.

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MONTANA HAS QUICKLY BECOME ONE OF OUR FAVORITE STATES IN THE COUNTRY SIMPLY BECAUSE OF ITS NATURAL BEAUTY THAT EASILY GRANTS US THE ABILITY TO UNPLUG AND APPRECIATE THIS EARTH MORE.

AMONG THE BEAUTY OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STRETCH OF CONCRETE IN THE COUNTRY: THE “GOING-TO-THE-SUN” ROAD THAT WINDS ALONG RIVERS AND UP, AROUND, AND THROUGH MOUNTAINS. WE FIRST VISITED “BIG SKY COUNTRY” IN 2016 ON A TRIAL RUN AS WE WERE PLANNING THE TOUR, CAME BACK IN 2018 WHILE ON THE TOUR, AND ALREADY CAN’T WAIT TO GO BACK.

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WITHOUT HOOKUPS, WE LEARNED THE HARDWAY THAT ONCE OUR AIRSTREAM BATTERY GOT LOW, THE CARBON DIOXIDE DETECTOR WOULD START BEEPING. LOUDLY. AND WITHOUT STOPPING.

NO PILLOW COULD CUSHION THE SHREKING BEEPING AT 4AM AND SINCE THERE WAS NO WAY WE’D LEAVE NOEL BEHIND TO SUFFER, WE LOADED HER UP AND EXPLORED GRAND TETONS NATIONAL PARK WITH HER BY OUR SIDE TO WATCH THE SUNRISE.

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WE STUMBLED UPON LITTLE CALDWELL, IDAHO, WHICH YOU COULD TELL HAD SEEN BETTER DAYS JUST BY LOOKING AT ITS MAIN STREET THAT WAS UNDOUBTEDLY A VICTIM OF THE WALMART AND CHAIN STORE SPRAWL.

STILL STANDING DOWNTOWN WAS A MILITARY SURPLUS STORE WHERE I NERDED-OUT ON SOME UTILITARIAN GEMS, JACKETS, PACKS, AND MORE. I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO TAKE HOME AN OLD FOOTLOCKER AND OTHER WWII-ERA CONTAINERS, BUT ALL I HAD ROOM FOR WAS A SMALL GOODIE BAG OF VINTAGE FINDS.

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WE VISITED AND STAYED WITH MY COUSIN IN WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON, WHICH IS LOCATED 4 HOURS SOUTHEAST FROM SEATTLE, 4 HOURS EAST OF PORTLAND, AND 4 HOURS NORTHWEST OF BOISE. THE HISTORIC TOWN IS LIKE AN ISLAND SURROUNDED BY ROLLING HILLS OF WHEAT FIELDS WITH OVER 120 WINERIES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT.

ONE WINERY AND TASTING ROOM YOU’LL HAVE TO VISIT WILL BE OPENING THIS UPCOMING SPRING 2020: KINHAVEN WINERY. WHY? READ MORE TO FIND OUT…

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OREGON WAS ONE OF TWO STATES WHERE LONG BEFORE THE “50 STATES: VETERANS + ARTISTS UNITED” TOUR HIT THE ROAD, WE CAME OUT WEST TO PITCH THE CONCEPT TO NIKE (AND STARBUCKS IN SEATTLE, WA).

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, WE CAME BACK OUT AGAIN TO HOST A PILOT PROJECT IN EACH STATE, AND THEN WELL OVER A YEAR LATER, WE FOUND OURSELVES BACK IN OREGON ON THE TOUR. ALL THIS TO SAY, OREGON HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN OUR HEARTS AS ONE OF THE “FOUNDING STATES” OF THE TOUR.

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WE WOKE UP AT 4AM AS OTHERS IN VEGAS WERE STILL STUMBLING BACK TO THEIR HOTELS TO MAKE THE TWO-HOUR DRIVE TO DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK BEFORE SUNRISE TO SEE THE ARTIST’S PALETTE ON THE WESTERN FACE OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS.

ITS VIBRANT VARIETY OF ROCK COLORS ARE THE RESULT OF ANCIENT VOLCANIC ASH AND METALS THAT HAVE GRADUALLY OXIDIZED AND DECOMPOSED AS THE EARTH’S SURFACE HAS ERODED ABOVE THEM. IT WAS A SITE TO SEE AS EARLY IN THE DAY AS CAN BE.

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MANY OF THE BUILDINGS WITHIN THE FRENCH QUARTER DATE BACK BEFORE 1803 WHEN THE U.S. MADE THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. JUST PRIOR TO THAT, NEW ORLEANS WAS UNDER SPANISH RULE, AND WHEN MAJOR FIRES DESTROYED THE FRENCH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN 1788 AND 1794, THE SPANISH INTRODUCED THEIR STYLE IN THE BIG EASY.

BUT NOLA IS KNOWN FOR MUCH MORE THAN ITS ARCHITECTURE, IT’S CONSIDERED THE BIRTHPLACE OF JAZZ, WHICH IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL EVERYWHERE YOU GO, ESPECIALLY ON BOURBON STREET.

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