July 5 - Driving across Kansas

The drive from Missouri to Colorado was long and boring. Most of Kansas consists of nothing and we had to find way to entertain ourselves. For me, that was napping. I pretty much napped my way across America.

We passed through acres of wind turbines. There were hundreds of them. I had never seen anything like it before. It reminded me of Don Quixote.

We saw several signs for this attraction called "Prairie Dog Town". They claimed to have to largest prairie dog ever! Being we were in the middle of Kansas with time to kill and only road ahead of us I convinced Jason to stop. It wasn't what I expected but still entertaining.

Rattlers!

Prairie dogs are probably one of the cutest things ever.

I like this one. The goats were hams for the camera.

No worries, he wasn't dead. He was sleeping. After a few minutes in the sun he flopped on his back in the shade. Funny things badgers are.

And this is why I was disappointed. These were the largest prairie dogs ever. I was foolishly expecting them to be real.

That night we made it to Denver, Colorado and graciously were surprised with a hotel room from our parents. The hotel was great. We explored Denver that night a bit but saved most of them wanderings for the morning.

July 4 - Kansas City, Missouri

From Little Rock we bolted to Kansas City. With in the city there is an amazing BBQ joint called Aruther Bryants. I don't even really like southern BBQ and this was amazing! It apparently has become a traditional hot spot for presidential candidates on their campaign trails as the walls are littered with photographs of politicians enjoying the pulled pork sandwiches. After waiting in line for 20 minutes for our food in the cuisine hotbed and unsuccessfully attempting to clean our plates from the huge mountains of meat, fries, and pickles we explored a bit of town.

James C. Olson is our great uncle. After he passed, the University of Kansas - Missouri dedicated this performing arts building in his honor. He taught for many years at the school and donated much of his free time their. It was really cool to see a family member honored in such a way. I had never seen the building before and unfortunately it wasn't open. Apparently there is a giant painting of him hanging inside the lobby. I don't recall ever meeting James, but visiting his building made me feel connected to his life and what he cared about.

It was the 4th of July and we wanted to fine something cool to do. There was a festival going on in the city that we had to board a shuttle to. Once we arrived though the sky turned a dark grey and the wind picked up so Jason and I decided to venture back to our campsite instead. Besides, it was like $10 to get into this festival that just didn't look worth it. The owners of the campsite graciously set up an ice cream stand in one of the campsites with the best view of fireworks. It was very nice of them and Jason and I got to mingle with some of the other campers. Although we were in a foreign city it was important to do something traditionally American. Nothing beats fireworks and ice cream!

Later that night we heard two people not far from us getting it on in their tent. NOTE: nylon tent walls are not soundproof!

There is an abundance of graffiti in Kansas City and I really wish I had photographed some of the cooler stuff. Boo.

July 3 - Memphis and Little Rock

In Memphis we hung out on Beale Street and I was mesmerized. The signage there is overwhelming. I would have love to see it at night time all aglow instead of mid afternoon. Every store front is begging you to enter with signs, music, or actual people outside carnival calling and schmoozing passersby. And everyone has lunch time happy hours. It was kind of awesome.

We spoiled ourselves with giant $5 beers at lunch time. I don't think I could finish mine.

Long happy hour ever - 11:30am to 7:00pm

Segway Cops

Although we were in Memphis we did not make it over to Graceland even though I really wanted to take a peak at it. We did buy an Elvis car decal though to make up for it. He boogied on the side of our blue showstopper all the way around America!

We then headed to Little Rock.

This is Central High, the first desegregated school. The school is humongous and resembles a castle. Being that it was summer, the school was closed and we couldn't poke around. It is honestly the largest high school I've ever seen. Sad though it is surrounded by boarded up houses and shops with broken cars parked on the street.

After exploring the city a bit we quickly realized that Little Rock kind of blows and returned to our campsite. There we found the kids of the family occupying the campground next to us frolicking about in poop sewage. The nearby bathroom and their RV must have had a drainage problem and the air reeked of poopie. The smell alone was horrible, but to then watch 3 little boys run around in the poopie puddles while their parents looked on lovingly was completely disturbing. Sick freaks. To make a stinky situation slightly bearable Jason and I ventured to a nearby gas station to pick up 40s of Smirnoff. Why Smirnoff? I have no idea. It just felt right.

Not a big fan of Little Rock.

July 2 - Lynchburg and Nashville, Tennessee

On our way from The Smokies to Nashville we stopped in Lynchburg, Tennessee for the free Jack Daniels Distillery tour. It was actually really interesting! Unfortunately and oddly enough, Lynchburg is a dry county and they were not offering samples on the tour. But we did get lemonade. They actually forbid photography is many of the buildings we toured so below are the only shots I was allowed. The process of creating JD is long and stinky. I felt really light headed in many of the buildings, especially the Barrel House where barrels are stored for years in order to age. The smell is overwhelming and sickly. I don't think I'll ever really enjoy JD after passing through that building. Overall though, good tour, totally recommended and its free! Our tour guide was this little pistol of a lady who told sassy jokes and insisted on chatting up every person on the tour between buildings.

The afternoon we made it to Nashville and checked into a seedy motel near the highway. We had read of this Mexican place called SATCO that's known in the area for cheap food and beer with a huge patio available. It was everything we read about including the food being cheap AND delicious!

Nashville is home to "Music Row" where dozens of radio stations, recording studios, and music producers have set up shop.

By the time we returned to our nasty motel the parking lot had filled with people looking for a stop to tweek and hook. The room next to us was occupied by several loud men yelling and slamming doors. It was honestly a little frightening. I was convinced they were going to steal our car and/or break through the adjoining door of our rooms and rob us. Nothing happened.

Although we were sleeping indoors on real beds I brought in my sleeping bag so I wouldn't have to actually touch any part of the comforter that was littered with cig burns, some the size of my fist. Believe it or not, Jason's bed was worse. I do not recommend The Cumberland Inn.

July 1, 2009 - The Smoky Mountains

The first day our classic American adventure. It took about 7 hours to make it through Virginia to the Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. Jason drove the whole time.

The least subtle roadtripping car ever. And our first camp site.

Some shots from the park. There was a storm coming in that left the sky erie and clouded.

Jason and I hiked up to Clingman's Dome. The clouds rolling in tasted of pollution as we were completely enveloped inside at this high elevation.

Looking down on a huge tree from the Dome.

We saw two guys come off the trail to the Dome. They both look emaciated and half dead. They had only been on the trail for a few weeks. I'd hate to see what they'll look like after hiking the trail for 4 months.

Our first dinner. Consisted of toasted sandwhiches, granola bars, baked beans, and a pop tart for dessert.

I had been extremely apprehensive as our departure date approached for this adventure, but the ease and enjoyment of this first day calmed my nerves.