So overwhelmed...
(Photo one is the FINISHED room that you saw in the previous post. Photo two is the team on a water break, and photo three is Jacques-Imo's.)
Well, I had envisioned writing an entry for the blog everyday. Turns out, after ripping muck and insulation and drywall out of a house, you're pretty tired! Still, I wanted to chronicle the past few days because my time in St. Bernards Parish is running out!
Our first night at Camp Premier, we met our team (called "Gold 3"). Here is our team:
Harrison, age 19 - Team Leader
Ben, age 20 - Tool Leader
Team members:
Mel, age unknown (maybe mid-thirties?)
Kelly, age 20
James, age 17
Sara, age 32
Mark, age 38
Melissa, age 29
Leslie, age 29
John, age 70
According to James, we all looked 25 (except for John, who he calls "Crazy John" or "Pops.")
We totally lucked out and got a great team.
Our first day of work had us finishing a house that another team had started. We were totally spoiled by this because we did not have to move any heavy furniture or appliances that were filled with rancid food and flood water. It took us nearly the entire day to finish the house, which means you remove everything that is removable from the home and bring it right down to the studs. About an hour before quitting time, we moved on to a new house.
This house had also been started by another team, so we were again spared from doing mucky work. However, this time, there were several rooms still filled with junk. For some reason, I felt the need to tackle the bathroom. It was completely disgusting and filled about two feet deep with junk. I found the computers in there, and I also discovered that the drawers in the countertop were filled with rancid water. I got one of the big strong boys (and John) to take the water-filled drawers out.
As I was cleaning out the bathroom, I heard Melissa call out, "Oh there really is a snake!!!!" There was one coiled up on top of the toilet in the bathroom where she was working. (They had warned us about snakes in the training.) She ran out, and I ran in to see it. Then Ben walked into the bathroom, grabbed the snake by the head, and took it out to the front yard to show Melissa that it was an extremely dangerous, venomous, lethal.....fake snake! He and James had found it cleaning out the back bedroom and set up the trick during an early water break. It was just the beginning of day filled with wildlife!
Later in the afternoon, I made the trek to the portapotties for a break. On my way there, I heard a woman scream and the word "rat." I felt glad that our house had already been divested of the old food and stuff, and I kept walking. On my way back, I met up with Melissa who told me that I was lucky because I missed the rat. She was the one who had screamed. Mark was taking out some insulation and a rat ran out and up his leg. He had been working in the very room I had been in before taking a break! Harrison had requested that we kill all vermin we encounter, but they told me that the rat had not been killed. Hmmm...I was not happy, but I got back to work anyway. Shortly, Mark was again buried deep in the master bedroom closet tackling more insulation and drywall, when he began to scream like a girl. (Now we call him Dr. McScreamy. Hee hee.) Another rat! I made a mad dash for the street because I obviously hate rats!!!!!!!! Thankfully, I didn't see the rat, and after a few minutes my heart palpitations died down. Also, thanks to the fast action of Ben, Harrison, and James the rat was now dead, so that helped me calm down. I went back in the house and decided to help finish it. I got a little obsessed with sweeping out every crumb of drywall and dust. I used a little broom and just went to town on the place. I took a water break and met the deputy fire chief of St. Bernard's Parish. He looked kind of like Dick Cheney but friendly. He told some crazy stories. He and his wife have been living in a FEMA trailer on their property. They're just waiting for permission from FEMA to rebuild. Something compelled me to return to finishing the house, even though the chief was still telling some great stories. You kind of get into a zone when you're working, and it feels so good to get a room finished and all clean. I envision the family returning to the house and being really sad at how little is left of their stuff, but then having a big huge party in their empty house, the kids rolling around on rollerskates, a barbecue out back, and people sitting around designing the new version of their old home.
Thanks to my "zoning out," I have now been dubbed "The Finisher." It sounds like the name of a comic book character. Maybe one of my students will chronicle my story!
We didn't get the house finished on this day, but we knew we would return in the morning. We'd be a little more tired and a little more sore, but we'd be back.
When we got back to camp, we showered and made a plan to go into New Orleans for dinner. We had some recommendations from a former resident, and we decided to check out Jacques-Imo's (we found out later it was pronounced Jacomo's). We convinced Sara (our teammate and tentmate) to join us for dinner. We couldn't take the Mini because it was still filled with our stuff, so we took her huge rental car. It was called a Jeep Commander, and it was certainly a commanding presence on the tiny, narrow roads of New Orleans. We had taken her car into the city the night before, and Sara had had an interesting time parking it in the world's most bizarre parking garage. This time, we took the scenic route to the restaurant and almost missed it. From the outside, Jacques-Imo's is quite modest, but inside it was a New Orleans wonderland. The food was expensive, but it was sooooooooooooooooooooooo good. I had freshly baked cornbread with garlic butter and parsley to start. It was defnitely the best cornbread I'd ever had. I had seconds. Then I shared some fried green tomatoes with Melissa. They were tender and spicy and perfectly cooked. YUM! For dinner, I had the fried chicken plate. It should have been called the fried chicken platter to serve 10. It was huge. No room for dessert! It was so delicious, and I took my leftover chicken back to the camp for the guards. We walked around for a little bit and explored one very weird and kind of smelly and also fascinating coffee shop. We also went into another coffee shop that was in an old bank. They let us look in the vault, and Sara was excited because she is studying historic preservation. The vault smelled just like the vault at my grandmother's house, which also used to be a bank. We went back to camp and immediately went to bed. Each night, it gets easier and easier to sleep on the cots in the tent because you are just so incredibly tired. Like right now. So tired. More tomorrow. I MUST tell you about day three. We finally started a new house from the beginning. Heartbreaking, stinky, fascinating, and gross all at the same time.
Road Trip Part Deux...New Orleans!
So, welcome back to my blog! It's been nearly a year since I started this one, and I kind of abandoned it when I got home from my last big road trip. I thought I'd continue this blog with my latest trip in JUDSMNI. This time, I'm with my cousin Melissa, and we headed down to New Orleans for Spring Break to do relief work for Hurricane Katrina. Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done down here on the Gulf Coast, even though the hurricane hit over seven months ago.
Not too long ago, Melissa decided to sign up with Habitat for Humanity to come to New Orleans and volunteer. She invited me to join her, and I accepted! We decided to drive down to New Orleans after school on Friday, April 7. We made it as far as Dublin, VA, which is in southwest Virginia. I was pretty surprised to discover just how big Virginia is. It's huge. It was gorgeous driving through the rest of Virginia and Tennessee the next day. It reminded me of England's or Ireland's countryside. Plus, it had rained buckets the day before, and everything was so lush and green. There were these intensely beautiful purplish-pinkish trees that lined the road. They are called redbuds (thanks, Juppy!), and they are so striking. I just love spring. We stopped for lunch in Knoxville, Tennessee, just in time to attend their annual Rossini Opera Festival! It was fun to walk around and see the booths and eat some food. We had "curly chips" which were not quite Italian, but they were yummy. There were lots of very hip people at the festival, so it left me with a nice impression of Knoxville. I hadn't really known much before about Tennessee besides Elvis, Country Music, and my friend Tafanie.
The next day as we headed to Birmingham, Alabama, we stopped in Scottsboro, Alabama, to see if we could find a marker or memorial referencing the famous trials of the Scottsboro Boys. After initially being disappointed that we didn't see anything about the trial, we finally found it. I decided we should check behind the courthouse, and sure enough, the historical marker was around back. As we headed out of town, we stumbled upon a store called Unclaimed Baggage. We were so curious that we checked it out. Melissa thought it was a store where you purchase suitcases that were never claimed, and what you get is whatever is in the bag. I thought it had something to do with unclaimed baggage (duh), but I thought this was kind of creepy, so then I thought it was just a clever name. But, we were both sort of right. The greeter inside the store told us that it is a company that bids on the contents of unclaimed baggage and cargo from airports and then sells it. They had everything from clothes to books to jewelry to large things like couches and TVs. There was even a little cafe in there. Clearly people make a day of going to Unclaimed Baggage. It was weird. I decided my mom would like this store, but the prices at Goodwill/Salvation Army are way better. Anyway, you can learn more about it here: www.unclaimedbaggage.com. As we headed down to Birmingham, we were cruising along at a good pace (I was driving) and in the distance, I saw another car. We were on a back road in Alabama, and I could not tell what kind of car it was. Sure enough, its blue lights on the roof lit right up, and I was like, "Shoot! Not again!" I have already gotten TWO tickets in the Mini this year. I slammed on the brakes. But, surprisingly, the police officer did not pull me over. He apparently was just giving me a friendly heads-up that 75 miles per hour was too fast for a back road (hey, it was kind of deserted...). I love southern hospitality!
We stayed the night with Melissa's friend Mary in Birmingham, Alabama. She is quite a world-traveler, and they met on Melissa's trip to Egypt last summer. She was super gracious, and she had a lovely Basset Hound named Millie. It was fun to sit around and listen to stories about their time in Egypt and all the other places Mary had traveled. We got up early the next day to make the drive to Camp Premier in St. Bernards Parish, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans. We had gained an hour by switching to Central time, so that helped. We got to drive through Alabama and Mississippi, and while it was not as picturesque as Virginia and Tennessee, I was excited to check those states off my list.
Once we came within 20 miles or so of New Orleans, we started to see the effects of the hurricane. Trees lining the road were bent and broken. As we got closer and closer to the city, we saw more effects. Lots of stores were closed; even Six Flags was closed. There were lots of billboards and advertisements for building materials or services. There were also lots of billboards that referenced the hurricane. We found the camp very easily, and it was as we were driving to camp that we saw the most visibly graphic signs of a disaster. Very few stores and restaurants were open, and most of them didn't look like they were anywhere near opening soon. As soon as we arrived at the camp, a guard asked me about the Mini. IT was just another example of the friendliness we have experienced so much on our trip so far. It seems the the farther south we go, the friendlier people are. So far, living at Camp Premier is interesting to say the least. It is very similar to being in the military (as far as I know!), and as I write this, I am sitting on my FEMA-issued cot in my climate-controlled FEMA-issued tent. We had our first day of work today after a long orientation session yesterday. I'm too pooped to write about it now, but I will tomorrow, I promise. I will just say this: The damage is much worse than you can imagine. It feels unreal. It feels like an apocalypse has occurred. I have taken lots of photos, but they won't do it justice. Volunteers AND tourists are still needed, so you just may have to come and see for yourself.
(The photos are of our camp's entrance and the house we are currently working on clearning. The house has been untouched since the flood. More on that tomorrow!)
Welcome to NH
I'm hooooooooome!
I have some more to say about my last two days of the trip, and I'll post it soon. But for now, just know that I got home safely! I'm home (it feels good)!
Iowa (I'm trying to think of something clever to say...)
I didn’t want to like Iowa. Unfortunately I don’t know anyone in Iowa, so I didn’t really have a reason to stop there. And, their “Welcome to Iowa” signs were placed so that I could not take a picture of my car in front of them without causing a serious accident. One bad thing about Iowa: It looks just like Nebraska. Fortunately for Iowa, the good outweighs the bad. The good: There are more big cities in Iowa than Nebraska. Walnut, Iowa, the antique capital of the state. is a charming little town that looks like the kind that only exists in the movies. It has a few more hills than Nebraska. And, the best part about Iowa is that all of the rest areas have wireless internet access! If I hadn’t been in so much of a hurry to get to Illinois, I could have stopped every 50 miles or so to check my email, update my blog, order movie tickets, and shop at amazon.com, if I’d wanted to. But, I had to get to Urbana, Illinois, to see my cousin Juppy (Melissa’s mom) in time for dinner. As I drove, my cell phone rang, and it was my buddy Kate. She was calling to get Melissa’s mom’s phone number because Melissa had mentioned Kate could stay with her mom while in Illinois. I told Kate that I did not think it would be a problem, since I was staying with her mom that night, too! So, Kate and I crossed paths once again on our trip. Juppy had us meet her at a gas station, and then she took us to Channing-Murray, the Unitarian organization on the campus of the University of Illinois. We went to her and Melissa’s favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner, and we stuffed ourselves silly. Back at the house, I showed them my pictures from my trip so far, and then we gratefully went to bed for the night. Both Kate and I slept in (I was still running on Mountain time), but I finally woke up when Kate asked me what the siren was that we could hear blaring across town. It sounded just like the tornado siren I’d heard in North Dakota, and Kate asked me if I thought there was a tornado. I looked outside at the bright sunshine and gently swaying trees, and I assured her there was no tornado. I thought maybe it was like when they test the air raid siren/fire whistle in Milford every Saturday morning at 11:45 a.m. (not sure if they still do that, but I remember it strongly from growing up). We checked the TV (Melissa, you MUST get your mom a new TV!) and The Price Is Right was on, so I figured that if there were indeed a tornado, then the local news would surely interrupt Bob Barker and his price guessers. The siren stopped, so we figured it was a test. We went to make breakfast, and then the siren started again! I was certain there was no tornado, and I found out later that it was some kind of test, for the local civil defense or something like that. Anyway, after breakfast, we parted ways again, and I went in to the University to visit Juppy at work. Then, I said goodbye and headed for Detroit, my next destination!
Detroit was not far, only about a six hour drive, but I lost an hour as I crossed into Eastern time, so it was more like seven hours. I was to meet up with my dad’s buddy Gib for dinner. Dad had lived in Detroit for many years when he worked for GM. I had not managed to make it there while Dad was alive, and I was regretting this very much. Truthfully, I had never thought Detroit was a very interesting place to visit. I’d heard so much about the terrible crime in Detroit, and it’s so cold there in the winter – what could there be to see? Turns out, I was completely wrong about Detroit. I finally got there at around eight p.m. and Gib directed me to a restaurant in Troy just outside the city. I had not met Gib since I was a baby, so I didn’t really know what he would look like, but I found him without trouble. I was supposed to stay with him that night, but his mother-in-law had just died a few days before, so his house was full. I was just so grateful that he was able to meet me for at least dinner that I didn’t mind getting another hotel for the night. We had a wonderful time at dinner, and he shared with me lots of stories of what it was like to be friends with my dad. I wish I’d had more time to spend in Detroit, and one thing I definitely need to do is make a trip there to stay for much longer. I asked Gib if there were tours of GM, but they don’t do them anymore. So, I decided to spend the next day at the Henry Ford Museum, which is called simply, “The Ford.” It was absolutely amazing.
The museum is huge, and I really could have spent two days there. I have to say, it was a particularly emotional museum for me. First, it was filled with cars, buses, planes, trains, and other moving vehicles. So, I naturally wished I could have gone there with my dad. I spent most of the time choking back tears, to be honest. The emotional punch was increased when I saw the actual limousine in which Kennedy rode when he was shot, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from Ford’s Theater, and the bus where Rosa Parks refused to move to the back. As I walked on to the bus (yes you can get on it) I got pretty choked up. It was amazing to be there, and the story of how The Ford rescued and restored the bus was interesting. They went through extensive research to determine that this was indeed the very same bus on which Rosa Parks made her historic refusal. The bus was destined for a junkyard, but the museum came to its rescue just in time. That is the great thing about this museum – they rescue bits of Americana that perhaps no one else can.
That is how the Greenfield Village part of the museum came into existence. Henry Ford was pretty much obsessed with all things American and he wanted to make a place where American History could be preserved. I know that sounds like every other museum’s purpose, but there is something kind of magical about this museum. In Greenfield Village, Ford has placed a number of iconic buildings from American History. He has Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park complex, including the building where he invented the light bulb and one of the homes he selected to demonstrate his new invention. There is the home of the Wright Brothers, and you can even sit and chat with them and their sister if you want (thanks to costumed actors). There’s Noah Webster’s house, where he wrote his first dictionary. And, when Robert Frost was a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, he lived in an adorable little Greek Revival home, which is also at the village. Ford even preserved his favorite teacher’s home and his one-room schoolhouse! I hope one of my students wants to enshrine my home someday. The most humbling part of the museum, and the place where I was again choked up and had chills running down my spine was where Ford preserved some rare examples of slaves’ quarters from a plantation in South Carolina. You can sit in the small homes, which housed anywhere from three to ten slaves at a time, and listen as the stories of seven slaves are played through a speaker. It’s sad and scary and chilling, and was an experience I’ll never forget.
I could not see everything I’d wanted to, so I must return someday. For now, though, I have great memories of Detroit.
(photos: Slave quarters, Rosa's bus, welcome to Michigan!)
Jess and Flavio sitting in a tree...M-A-R-R-I-E-D
The day of the wedding had arrived, and Fernanda, Roberta, Ze and I met for breakfast in the morning. We had decided to go tubing down Boulder Creek, which is a popular activity in this city. We bought tubes at a local gas station, and we all squeezed our air-filled tubes and ourselves into the Dodge Stratus that they had rented. It was hilarious. Roberta and I practically had to be contortionists to fit, but we managed. Fernanda drove us up the creek about a mile - she had decided not to go tubing because she didn't want to get all wet. Juliana had told them that there was probably a boat or something! She had misunderstood what the activity entailed, but Fernanda was good natured about skipping out on the fun. Roberta, Ze and I hopped in the creek only to discover that it was FREEZING! I wish we had taken pictures, because it was hilarious, but we didn't want to get our cameras wet. We got absolutely soaked, and the creek was really shallow and filled with big rocks, so we also got absolutely bruised. It was really fun, but we definitely sustained some major bumps and bruises to our backsides as we thumped over the rocks and down the creek. The best part was when there was a little waterfall, and you just slide right down it into the next basin. Sometimes, we floated along quickly and other times we had to grab on to rocks and pull ourselves along. Ze went first, so he kind of paved the way for Roberta and me. You could hear us all go "oooof!" and "owww" as our butts hit the rocks, but we were laughing the whole time anyway. When we floated back down to the library where we were meeting Fernanda, we were each ready to get out and sit in the sun to warm up and dry off. We lounged around and waited for Fernanda while slowly deflating our tubes so that we could fit comfortably back into the car.
I knew I would be hurting, so I spent the afternoon relaxing and storing energy to make it through the wedding that evening. If Juliana's wedding was any indication, we would be dancing and partying until the midnight hour. Those Menasces sure know how to throw a party! It turned out I was right on the money, but more on that later.
The wedding was up in Boulder Canyon at a beautiful mountainous location. There was a beautiful chuppa decorated with flowers and semicircles of chairs set up facing it. The wedding was going to be a mix between Jewish and Quaker traditions, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful (and educational!) weddings I have ever been to. The Quaker part involved silence, of course, but Jess's dad explained how it would work. We all sat in reflective silence, and then if anyone felt moved to share thoughts on marriage or the couple, then he or she could stand up and speak. I was kind of worried no one would talk, but I didn't need to be. Lots of people stood up and shared some wonderful things, and lots of times, I got pretty choked up. It was beautiful. Then, there was the blessing of the wine, and the seven blessings, which Flavio's dad introduced and explained. Flavio and Jess wrote their own beautiful vows, and they were very composed as they said their vows to each other. You could see how happy they were to be getting married. Then, they did the signing of the Ketubah and the similar Quaker marriage document. It was great. Of course, at the end, they broke the glass, signaling the beginning of the celebration.
And boy, did we celebrate. The absolute best part was when Flavio and Jess started dancing their first dance to a slow, romantic love song. All of a sudden, the record scratched and everyone let out a gasp. Then, the love song was replaced by Michael Jackson's disco classic "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough." At first, it looked like a horrible error on the DJ's part - even he looked shocked, but as soon as Flavio and Jess broke into exhuberant dancing, I could tell that Flavio had planned this little trick. It was so him! Anyone who knows him knows that he LOVES to dance and he's really good. It was a great trick. Apparently, only three people knew about it: Flavio, Jess and Flav's friend Dan (he had helped record the cd with the record scratch). Flav said the DJ was impressed and had never seen anything like it before. It was great, and it really set the tone for the reception, which was to have as much fun as possible.
And we did. Both Juliana and Jess's brother JJ gave wonderful toasts that had everyone both laughing and crying. The food was delicious, and even after stuffing myself, I managed to dance until the DJ played the last song. My feet were killing, and I was sweating like crazy, but I was tired in a good way and ready to go home. Of course, this was a Menasce party, so it couldn't end just because the DJ packed up and went home! A handful of us continued celebrating on Pearl Street, and it was nice, because even though I was DEAD TIRED I got to chat with Flavio a little. That's always the trouble with weddings - you don't get to spend much time with the bride and groom because they have so much ground to cover. So, I was glad we went out afterwards. I was ridiculously tired, though, so I crashed as soon as I got back to the Golden Buff.
My room was a disaster - I had practically moved right in to the place and I was supposed to go to brunch in the morning (really a few hours after I went to bed). I knew I wouldn't be ready for check out, so I arranged for a late check out. I realized that I have acquired a lot of stuff on this trip...oh well. Most of it isn't for me because I've been doing Christmas shopping! I still had to get it all back in the Mini, so I definitely needed the late check out.
The brunch the next morning was great, and I, again, ate way too much (I'll definitely be hiking and hitting the gym when I get back!). I couldn't stay too long, though, because I had a lot of work waiting for me back at the motel to get out of Boulder and on to the next destination, so I reluctantly said goodbye to the Menasces and Braiders and packed up to leave. My goal for the night was Omaha, about an eight hour drive. Adding to my stress was the fact that I was going to lose an hour as I drove from Mountain time to Central time. I finally got on the road at around one o'clock. Omaha felt really, really far, and it turns out, I was too tired to make it all the way. I stayed in York, Nebraska, which is just a blip on the map. I hope no one from Nebraska gets upset with me for saying this, but it is a super boring state. It was rough. I was so tired. Anyway, maybe I'll make a friend from Nebraska one day and see it through someone else's eyes as well as have a reason to go there. But for now, it's just one long, boring, flat piece of farmland that stands between me and the mountains of Colorado.
(photos: Roberta, Fernanda and Ze, my new friends and wedding weekend companions and wedding photos of Jess and Flavio)
Boulder and all the pretty people part 2
So there I was, walking up a hill towards where they were filming a movie with Jennifer Garner. I was worried that I was not supposed to be walking on the set, and sure enough, a production assistant wearing a headset started walking towards me. I expected her to ask me to leave, but instead she said brightly, "Do you want to hang out and watch?" When I said yes, she said, "Cool! Just make sure your phone is turned off and you don't use a flash when you take pictures." I got a good spot sitting under a tree in the shade where I could see everything going on. There were a few others watching, including an excitable group of little girls and their even more excitable mother. I think that mother would have trampled over everyone to get a picture, and she was kind of obnoxious. After a bit, the girls were getting bored, and one of them kept asking, "When are we going swimming? I'm hot!" The mom or whoever she was kept ignoring her and then saying, "Oh did you just say something?" The little girl always said no, and then she would try asking again a few minutes later. I mean, this mom HAD to have heard her. I heard her! Plus, we were all being really quiet because they were filming and they asked us to be "quiet on the set." This mom was too much - if that were my kid, I would not force her to sit there so that I could get a glimpse of Jennifer Garner's pregnant belly. We watched them film the same scene for about 30 minutes and then the director came over to us and told us we couldn't take any pictures. I had already gotten a few, but they weren't that good. Oh well, I was just happy to sit back and watch the movie making process. It was so interesting, especially that they needed about 60 or 70 people doing all kinds of different stuff just to film a minute of a movie. Then, they moved us to the other side of the set so that they could film the scene from the other character's perspective. When they were finished, Jennifer came over to us and chatted and signed autographs for every single person. She was soooooo nice! She is very pretty in person, of course, and her dimple is quite prominent. She is definitely pregnant, although I could not tell if she is supposed to be pregnant in the movie. She couldn't comment on the movie at all, and she was sad that we couldn't take pictures of her. They said it was for copyright reasons. Most people were really cool and excited to meet her but there was one lady who her bodyguard had to ask to leave because she had a whole stack of professional photos of Jennifer and she wanted her to sign all of them. She kept saying it was for her daughter, but the bodyguard was like, "Look, I know they're not for your daughter and I already had to ask you to leave yesterday so did you not hear me the first time or do I have to remove you again?" He said something like that anyway, and the whole time he was really calm and he had a smile on his face. She left. He was very effective.
After she signed an autograph for me, I decided I didn't really need to hang around there anymore, so I bought a glass of lemonade from a very smart and cute kid named Aidan who had set up a lemonade stand in front of his house which was right next to where they were filming. The kid was totally raking in the dough. I gave him a dollar and told him to keep the change, and he said, "Everyone keeps telling me that!" He was so cute.
I returned to my hotel and spent the afternoon out by the pool swimming and reading and relaxing. It was great. I went to an open house at Jessica's parents' house that night and met lots of other relatives and friends. It was lots of fun, and afterwards, some of us went out to Pearl Street again and had some drinks with Flavio and Jess at a bar.
One of the things I noticed about Boulder is that it is really progressive with an eclectic mix of people living there (thanks in part to the University of Colorado and the Naropa Institute, which is sort of Buddhist), but I would not say it is really diverse. It's really clean and swanky, especially on Pearl Street, where everyone kind of looks the same (tall, fit, and attractive). The neighborhood where they were filming the movie is called "The Hill," and it's near the University. The houses are modest but nice. I noticed a few for sale, and one of them was going for 1.3 million dollars! It only had one level and two bedrooms - no garage or anything and it was that expensive! I didn't see any slummy parts or anything, but I don't know for sure if they have any problems with poverty and such. I'm sure they do - everywhere does, but for the most part, it appears that most folks in Boulder are pretty well-off. It is a lovely place, and I would love to go back there someday and spend more time. I don't think I could live there, but it is a great place to visit and get away from it all.
(photos: Jennifer on set - I swear that's her, and her autograph to me!)
Boulder and all the pretty people!
South Dakota was hard to leave. It was so hard to leave, in fact, that I took my own sweet time getting out of there. I was anxious to get to Boulder, but I was going to pass right by Wind Cave National Park, and you just can't drive by a park called Wind Cave without going in the cave! So, I did! It was really cool. This cave is the 5th largest natural cave in the world, and they have mapped out 117 miles of passages. However, they think that they have only discovered between three and five percent of the cave! So, who knows how big it really is. Some of it is under the water table, and so far, it has been too dangerous to explore. We had a great tour guide named Nick (ha - Ranger Nick!) and even though I had to take the shortest tour, it was still really cool. I'll attach a photo of the cave's "boxwork," which is the formation that is among the rarest in the world. This cave is home to most of it. Photos don't really capture the cave, so I recommend just going yourself! It's cold down there, and really dark. You can tour by candlelight, but I missed that one, so I had to go on the one with the lighting already installed. Still, Ranger Nick turned out the lights at one point and talked to us in the dark, and I thought I was going to go insane. I am used to my eyes adjusting to limited light and then being able to see a little bit, but this was complete darkness. I kept blinking my eyes to make sure they were really open. I know that some blind people can even see light and/or shadow, but some must live in this kind of darkness all the time. They are heroes, because after about five minutes, I felt like I was going insane. Finally, he turned them back on, and everyone looked relieved.
I left Wind Cave sooner than I would have liked to and headed for Boulder. Man, it was a flat drive. The roads were nearly deserted, and there was just nothing for miles and miles. I mean, there was grassland, so I'm sure that's full of some kind of life, but nothing I was too interested in. I was so starving and I had to go to the bathroom, so I was really grateful to pull in to the town of Lusk, Wyoming. I ate at an adorable little pizza parlor where I was helped by a cute middle schooler who was working there for the summer. I think his parents owned it. There were several people dining there, nearly all of them travelers on their way to or from Mt. Rushmore. The kid saw that I was reading Harry Potter, and we talked about books for a bit. He made me my own individual pizza and a big salad, and it was delicious! It's called The Pizza Place in Lusk, Wyoming. Trust me, you can't miss it. It was right next door to an antique shop, so after I told him I would NOT reveal the identity of the Half-Blood Prince to him (he hadn't started book 6 yet), I went over to browse for antiques. The owner was really nice, and he chatted away with me about how he just had to pay his taxes and how expensive they were. I asked him how much. "Six hundred something dollars!" he said. "How many acres?" I asked. "Oh just over 15." he replied. I told him that in New Hampshire, taxes are much, much higher. Like, how about $4000 a year for half an acre? He was shocked, and so I think the perspective helped him. Of course, he's stuck in Lusk, Wyoming, so the trade-off is important to note. I bought a planter from him for my collection (so far I've picked up three on this trip!) and hit the road again. I stopped for gas and then someone asked me for directions to Mt. Rushmore. I must look like I live in Wyoming or something, which kind of freaks me out, but anyway, I told her to stay on the very, very straight road and she would hit it in about two hours. She was not American, so I think she was a little flabbergasted that it might take so long. Well, welcome to Wyoming, honey!
I finally rolled in to Boulder at 6:30, and I took a quick dip in the pool at the Golden Buff Motel, my home for the next three days. I was so hot in the car, even with the air on full blast, because the sun was so strong up there in Boulder.
I was in town for the wedding of my friend Flavio and his fiance Jessica, so I met up with Flavio's sister Juliana and her family for dinner. There, I met her cousins Fernanda and Roberta, her uncle Arnaldo and her aunt Luciana, and Fernanda's boyfriend Ze. Gosh, I hope I spelled those names right (sorry if I did not!). Fernanda and Roberta are twins, but it was pretty easy to tell them apart. We also ate with Ethan, Juliana's husband, his brothers David and Sam and Sam's wife Kelly. We went to the Dushnabe Tea House, which is a real tea house from Dushnabe, Tajikistan, which is Boulder's sister city. They brought it to Boulder about 10 years ago in pieces and reconstructed it there. It was beautiful and very serene. I had cherry banana iced tea and some Bolivian chicken dish for dinner after appetizers of samosas and hummus. It was very good, and the menu was very eclectic and international. Juliana's parents, Ethan's parents, and Kelly's parents came in for dinner, too, so when we were finished, someone had the waitress send them our check, just to be funny. Of course, they didn't pay it, but we all had a good laugh anyway. The guys were all going out to do guy things with Flavio, so the girls went down to Pearl Street to watch street performers and seek out some ice cream for dessert. Juliana always eats dessert, and I started to eat dessert when I met her. I was totally full, but a few hours later, I managed to find room for some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. My eating tour of the United States continued! I got to chat quite a bit with Kelly, and she told me that earlier in the day she had seen Jennifer Garner shopping on Pearl Street while they were filming a movie there with her. I was really excited that I might get to see a movie filming, so I decided to see what I could find the next day. I also wanted to tour around Boulder because I heard from my old roommate Kelly who used to live there that it was a really cool and beautiful place. I liked what I'd seen so far, so I went back to my hotel for a good night's sleep.
I got up kind of early the next day and went out in search of breakfast. I went to a really cute bookstore and cafe on Pearl Street called Bookends for breakfast and watched Boulder wake up. I finished reading Harry Potter (HOLY CRAP! _________ is the Half-Blood Prince!) and then I went in search of the library. I always like to check out a town's library; plus, it's a great place to read the headlines and use the bathroom! I walked across Boulder creek and then along a pretty path that ran along it. There was a little peace garden there and some tables and benches and even some people hanging out along the creek. I think they were homeless, but in Boulder, it's kind of hard to tell. You see lots of scruffy, hippy-type people there just sort of hanging around, so I wasn't sure what their deal was. Anyway, they were nice, just enjoying the early morning coolness before the sun came on full blast. When I got to the library, I discovered that the movie people were set up in the parking lot there using it as their base of operations! I saw a woman with long brown hair sitting on the curb using her cell phone, and I thought it might be Jennifer Garner, but I didn't want to bother her. So, I went to the library for a little while. It is a gorgeous library - I was impressed. When I came out, I saw that a few vans were loading up with make-up and wardrobe people. I decided to get my car and see where the vans were going to see if maybe I could watch some filming. I followed them for a few blocks when I suddenly saw all kinds of "ROAD CLOSED" signs. Hmmmmm, had I discovered the movie? Would I be allowed to hang out and watch?
Tune in to find out................
(Photos: Boulder Creek, Entering Colorado, Wind Cave boxwork)
West to Wyoming...and then back to South Dakota!
I woke up to a bright and crisp sunny day at the Devils Tower KOA "Kampground." Both Kate and I were tired; we had spent the previous night looking up at the amazing star show that the sky provided. I saw a few shooting stars, and the sky was so clear, you could see the milky way. It was gorgeous. After breakfast, Kate and I went up to Devils Tower, where I learned why there is no apostrophe in the name of the monument. Apparently, it was a clerical error that was never rectified, and that annoys me. But, I am glad to learn that the National Park Service is aware of the grammatical error, even if they don't bother correcting it.
It was so cool to see the tower in all its glory in the daylight, especially after seeing the movie. It's really tall, and you just can't miss it from anywhere you look, since Wyoming is so flat. It's made of lots of columns of rock, and it is ideal for a difficult and dangerous rock climb. There were several rock climbers that day, but it made me a little uncomfortable that people would climb it. Local Indian tribes consider Devils Tower sacred, and they have asked that people refrain from climbing. As a compromise, the National Park Service bans climbing in the month of June, which is when the local tribes hold religious ceremonies there to honor the tower. Still, this didn't stop some climbers from suing (unsuccessfully) the National Park Service saying that their right to climb supersedes the Indians' wishes. Oh well, welcome to America, folks.
We hiked around the base of the tower, which even though it wasn't really uphill, was still a good workout. Then I decided to follow Kate back to South Daktoa to finish up the Black Hills.
We stopped for lunch in Deadwood, which was founded illegally by miners in the 1800s. They love to play up their outlaw heritage (Wild Bill Hickock was killed here), and the first restaurant Kate and I walked in to was a big casino full of slot machines. We soon discovered that just about everything in Deadwood is a casino, even the souvenir shops. We managed to find some food at Wild Bill's Saloon, and then we strolled the streets, occasionally making way for some shady looking men (we assume they were in costume) with guns strapped to their waists and chaps on their legs. On our way out, we tried a 25 cent slot and won $1.50! I wanted to play again, of course, but we lost the next time. We quit while we were ahead, so now I am one dollar richer!
We pressed on back to the Black Hills and Custer State Park, where I wanted to see the Wildlife Loop where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play. And of course, I was not disappointed. I did see buffalo and deer and antelope and prairie dogs and donkeys and bunnies! It took us a while to find the wildlife, but when we did, boy was it ever cool! The buffalo were amazing - so huge and RIGHT THERE! They just walked wherever they wanted in the road, and a few times, Kate and I were afraid they were going to ram the cars. They burp and grunt all the time, and it smells horrific, but I was so fascinated. I took a ton of pictures (see above).
Then, Kate and I parted ways, and I headed to Hot Springs, South Dakota, for the night. All the restaurants and shops were closed, so it was Dairy Queen for dinner. Dairy Queen is everywhere here. It really hit the spot, and then I crawled into bed for my last night in the wild, wild west. It was south to Colorado tomorrow, via Wyoming once again. Finally, I would be in Boulder, my final destination before heading back! (photos: Kate and me at our "Kabin", Devils Tower, and buffalo!)
National Parks and Monuments Galore! South Dakota Rules!
I left Hope’s early Monday morning when she left for work. I was anxious to get to South Dakota and check out the Badlands and Black Hills. I stopped to take a picture of the Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls and I also inadvertently took in an art exhibit featuring all nude studies - I thought it was a store selling local art, but it was a gallery, and I was the only person in there, so of course I had to act like I was really interested in the nudes and all of that. It was kind of uncomfortable, but some were really good, I guess. Again, sometimes I'm not the best art judge (see my Minneapolis entry. I stayed the night in Chamberlain, SD, a tiny town on the Missouri River where Lewis and Clark set up camp for a while over 200 years ago. I had buffalo for dinner at Al’s Oasis, a big, tacky restaurant that seems to be the only food for miles, so anyone and everyone goes there for dinner. I tried to get an early start the next day, but I slept in a little. I missed the free breakfast at the hotel, but I managed to get them to score me some milk and cereal.
Then, it was on to the Badlands, in the southwest corner of the state. On the way there, I drove throught lots and lots of endless grassland. Every once in a while I'd see a really old house just abandoned. They were usually pretty windblown and falling down, but they were so pretty in a way. If I weren't going super fast on the highway, I could have stopped to photograph more of them (I did manage to catch a few) but they were one of my favorite things. I don't really know why. I just thought it was funny that these houses were just left there. I mean, they are probably on someone's property and at some point, the people just built a better house. But they're cool. Some were clearly once quite grand and lovely, but now they're just home to wildlife. I like that they have been left standing and not torn down.
I was kind of bummed because the weather was not great. Greyish-blue clouds hovered in the distance, and having already experienced a wide variety of weather in North Dakota, I knew I was not in store for a clear blue sky. I drove for what felt like forever across wide, flat plains, and I thought for sure I would never find these so-called Badlands, because everything just looked the same as ever. All of a sudden, though, out my window, I saw the butte drop off dramatically, revealing amazing cliffs striped in pink, red, grey, and white. I realized these plains I’d been driving across weren’t as low as I had thought. They were merely the very flat tops of huge buttes, and the badlands are where the flatness ended. Every turn in the road revealed more dramatic rock formations, and soon I officially entered Badlands National Park. Of course, I stopped immediately at the first overlook, along with every other tourist in the park. I snapped photos everywhere, but I’m afraid the camera just couldn’t quite catch the true awe-inspiring beauty of the park. Also, it really looks like another planet. It's just so unique. The canyons seemed endless, and the going was treacherous. You had to be careful how closely you stood to the edge of each cliff because they were so slippery you could fall without a moment’s warning. Lots of nervous moms and dads corralled their curious children to prevent them from slipping off the edge. No one needed to worry about me, though, because I was way too chicken to tempt fate. At the next overlook I came to, the parking lot was located at the edge of a bunch of tall rocks, but if you climbed up to peer through the gapes in between the rocks, you could see way out into a vast open space filled alternately with deep ravines and tall spires of rock. Now, the word rock for these formations is kind of misleading. It was more like clay that looked like rock. If you touched it, it broke off easily and covered your hands with a chalky, dry powder. It had started to sprinkle a bit, and the sky was a pale grey. The moisture made walking on the clay extremely difficult. It caked to the bottom of my shoes, and it was really difficult to remove. I was slipping and sliding all over the place, and so was everyone else. A few brave (or crazy) souls managed to scramble up the clay spires and perch themselves on top for what I’m sure was an amazing view, but there was no way I was going up there. I didn’t stick around to see how they managed to get down; I did notice a set of near frantic parents trying to convince their teenager to figure out a safe way down, and he was kind of resistant to their urges for safety. I was nervous for him, too, so I slipped and slid on out of there before I became a witness to disaster. A bit later down the road, I tried to hike up a steep cliff side, a short but steep trail. I made it about a third of the way up, and then I decided that it was too wet and dangerous to do. Going up was easier than coming down. There is nowhere to grip your hands so that you don’t just slide right down. I didn’t feel like sliding down on my butt (many others had to resort to this option to get down safely), and so I turned back. My shoes were worse than ever with clay, and I was so sad that I couldn’t quite get all of it off. I had to give up the fight against the clay at some point, though, so now the floor mat of the Mini that I meticulously vacuumed a few weeks ago is covered in dried clay that is slowly turning into fine powder. Oh well, I’ll just vacuum again when I get home!
After the Badlands, I popped up to Wall, South Dakota, for a bite to eat at the famous Wall Drug. It’s about as tacky as you can get, but it’s an experience. This town, Wall, really wouldn’t be much without Wall Drug. There were literally hundreds of tourists there, maybe thousands. There are like 30 or 40 different shops that make up “Wall Drug” and only one of them is an actual drug store. Back in the late 1800s, they advertised “free ice water” at Wall Drug, and it became such a popular stop for westward travelers that it has morphed into the ultimate road trip break. They still have free ice water, and I filled my water bottle there, but the water wasn’t that good. I also had more buffalo there, this time a delicious buffalo burger that was as juicy and delicious as a hamburger, but with much more flavor, and way less fat and cholesterol.
Up next was the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. This terrain is very different from the badlands. There were lots of rocks this time, jutting high into the sky and surrounded by trees. It was easy to find Mt. Rushmore because there were about 8,000 signs. It felt like everyone was headed there, and I finally rounded a bed in the road and was met with the four presidents staring out into the South Dakota wilderness from the face of a huge rock. It was actually much more breathtaking than I had anticipated, and I immediately pulled into a little spot on the side of the road that was crowded with RVs and motorcycles and lots of people with cameras. I thought this was my only chance to see the mountain, so I took a bunch of photos and had a lady in an RV take one with the Mini and me in it. I was kind of sad that I wasn’t viewing the mountain straight on as I had seen it in photos. I was kind of off to the side. But, as I drove away from the pull-off and came around the next bend, I saw that there is a whole visitors’ complex for Mt. Rushmore. However, it costs 8 bucks to park, and frankly, you can get some great shots from the road, so I skipped the parking lot. On the other side of the mountain, you can take photos of Washington’s profile, and that’s free. Technically, you could stop on the road in front of the mountain and take a photo, but there are barriers and lots of “no parking, stopping, or standing at any time” signs to deter you. They really want your eight bucks.
I continued on to Crazy Horse, the American Indian response to Mt. Rushmore. I mean, yeah, Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln are the founding fathers to many Americans, but to many other Americans (like the ones who were here first!), Crazy Horse is their ultimate founding father. He was a staunchly proud Indian. He even refused to live on a reservation believing that it was too condescending. The Crazy Horse memorial is not federally funded – in fact, the foundation has refused federal funding of over 10 million dollars twice. When it is finished, which will be a long, long, LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time from now, it will make Mt. Rushmore look like a few dents in some rocks. Crazy Horse will be riding on his horse and pointing out at his lands saying “My lands are where my dead are buried.” Yup, no flies on Crazy Horse! He doesn’t beat around the bush! The Crazy Horse memorial foundation says, “When completed the Crazy Horse mountain carving will be 641 feet long by 563 feet high. Crazy Horse's completed head is 87 feet 6 inches high. The horse's head, currently the focus of work on the mountain, is 219 feet or 22 stories high.” So far, only the face is finished completely, and because money and weather are pretty inconsistent and hard to predict, no one knows when it will be finished. It’s pretty incredible, the set-up they have at the memorial, and they’ve clearly managed to raise a ton of money. It’s worth seeing and finishing, so if you’re ever in South Daktoa, be sure to check it out along with Mt. Rushmore.
I wound my way through a lot of the Black Hills along the Peter Norbeck byway, but it was getting late, and I had plans to meet up with my friend Kate in Wyoming at Devils Tower for a night of “kamping” at the KOA. She’s been on the road for much longer than I have, and it just so happened that our paths were crossing at Devils Tower! So, I didn’t get to see all I wanted to in South Dakota, but I thought about returning the next day, as I did not have to be in Boulder until Thursday. The drive to Devils Tower took longer than I thought, and I arrived at night. It was kind of scary driving through unknown territory so late at night. There was hardly any light at all, and hardly a soul lives in that part of Wyoming. Ranches and grassland stretch for miles and miles, and there is a lot of wildlife to watch out for as you drive. I saw a ton of deer, but I thankfully did not hit any! When I arrived at the KOA, I found Kate bundled up in a blanket watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They show it every night at the KOA because it was filmed at Devils Tower. I could see the tower in profile against the night sky, and I was excited to see it in the light. After a day of rain, the clouds had retreated, but they left behind crisp, cool air, and it was a chilly 40 degrees that night! Thankfully, Kate had rented a “Kamping Kabin” (seriously, are these people trying to kill this English teacher????) and she had a spare sleeping bag and pillow, so I was toasty all night! More later on climbing the tower – Yep, I climbed it, all the way (up to the base – hee hee hee)!
Photos are of Crazy Horse with the model of how it will look once finished in the foreground, the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore (the free view), the Badlands, and Mini arriving in Wyoming.
(Photo one is the FINISHED room that you saw in the previous post. Photo two is the team on a water break, and photo three is Jacques-Imo's.)
