Alright folks, here it is. I've got my pictures back, and I've made a map for y'all. Let's start w/ the map.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1223506>

I left Minneapolis the afternoon of July 2nd, returned the afternoon of August 17th.

my dad grew up in minneapolis by some big lake i forget what its called..

Less than 1 day past August 8th and you could've visited me and Mooney.

good move staying away from north dakota and tennessee..

glad to see you made it back alright. Did you go with friends?

Originally posted by Pleasure|Contempt
Less than 1 day past August 8th and you could've visited me and Mooney.

I wasn't able to get some documents that would've made crossing the border quick and easy, so i decided to keep this trip to the U.S. Believe me, I really wanna see Canada (especially your guys' part of it) someday. And of course meet all you awesome folks out there. I loved doing this trip too much to not do any more in my lifetime, so I'm sure I'll make it out your way some time soon.

Originally posted by Travis Meeks
glad to see you made it back alright. Did you go with friends?

Thanks. I pretty much did this trip solo. I visited some friends in a few places around the country, and spent a week in Idaho with an old high school friend and his little brother, who randomly happened to be out there on a road trip the same time I was out there on mine, but otherwise I was by myself.

I slept in my Jeep at truck stops and just randomly out in the wilderness for free, or where necessary I parked it at state park campground and usually paid the fee like a good citizen.

here's the first batch of pics. most of them didn't turn out as well as i'd like - i'm still getting used to my camera and i think it needs a little clean-up and repair. but i got a few ok pics out of it.

highway wayside in Missouri

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1223538>

forest fire in arizona

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1223543>

Originally posted by Mariner


Thanks. I pretty much did this trip solo. I visited some friends in a few places around the country, and spent a week in Idaho with an old high school friend and his little brother, who randomly happened to be out there on a road trip the same time I was out there on mine, but otherwise I was by myself.

I slept in my Jeep at truck stops and just randomly out in the wilderness for free, or where necessary I parked it at state park campground and usually paid the fee like a good citizen.

Did it get boring when you were alone or did you, parden the cliche, find yourself?

Originally posted by Travis Meeks


Did it get boring when you were alone or did you, parden the cliche, find yourself?

cliche is pardoned, 'cause that's kind of exactly why i went. it worked pretty damned well. i never got bored; i stayed off the interstate quite a bit to avoid falling into that driving-zombie state, listened to a shitload of cds and perfected my alone-in-the-car singing, and tuned into NPR and ignorant super-biased (on all sides of the spectrum) radio talk shows. i also did a lot of, uh, (cliche alert) soul-searching and thinking stuff through and working some stuff out that needed to be worked out.

more fire in arizona

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1223551>

pic taken from the navajo bridge, over the colorado river just upstream from the grand canyon

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1223554>

and another from the navajo bridge

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1223557>

What place did you hate the most?

I'm doing this next year...

'wish i could so something like that

Originally posted by Randall Sandell
'wish i could so something like that randall, you should ride with me we'll party with the t-dot bitches.

How much was the total expense for gas?
What was the total expense for the trip?

Originally posted by spa ced
How much was the total expense for gas?
What was the total expense for the trip? YEAH! I need to know this!!

Originally posted by sppunk
What place did you hate the most?

i never really found myself saying "man, i hate this place", but i wasn't impressed at all with Albuquerque, NM.

wow

Originally posted by spa ced
How much was the total expense for gas?
What was the total expense for the trip?

I put almost 18,000 miles on the Jeep, and spent about $1700 on gas. Total trip expenses were about $2500, tops.

Originally posted by Mariner


i never really found myself saying "man, i hate this place", but i wasn't impressed at all with Albuquerque, NM.

Aw. That's the home of the Shins. I picture myself driving through the New Mexican land listening to New Slang.

the grand canyon at sunrise. i slept in the jeep on the canyon's edge, after 2 hours of hardcore off-roading, half of it after dark. i was about 20 miles from any other sign of civilization.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224046>

more grand canyon.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224051>

you haven't lived 'till you've stood naked on the edge of a thousand foot vertical drop. ( :o )

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224059>

naked? :erm

Originally posted by Mariner
Alright folks, here it is. I've got my pictures back, and I've made a map for y'all. Let's start w/ the map.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/notworthtelling/roadtripsummer04map.jpg">

I left Minneapolis the afternoon of July 2nd, returned the afternoon of August 17th.

holy shit, you did hawaii in one day?!??!

my trusty steed (and house)

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224066>

zion national park. pictures taken from the top of this crazy pillar of rock way out in the middle of the canyon. to get there you had to hike half a mile along the precarious spine of a curtain of rock 20 feet wide at the top and 1000 feet straight down either side.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224084>

wow...cool.

regarding your background, I would have expected some interactive map. ArcIMS for you?

(no, seriously, looking forward to your pictures -those clouds of Oklahoma are fantastic shot - I guess meteorologists would have had a climax from that).

<font color="DAB9E8">That's so awesome. I wish I could do something like that, although I don't think I'll ever get to. It looks like you passed right through Lubbock Texas (I-27). </font>

there was a dude up there at the top of that insane trail at zion who was a spitting image of sean william scott (stifler from american pie), and who exuded all of the cool things about the stifler character and none of the negative things about him. and he was from memphis. he was like stifler's awesome, friendly southern cousin.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224098>

zion was incredible. the hike up to this place (called angel's landing, i highly recommend) had like 50 trail switchbacks and was about a 1,500 foot ascent in 2.5 miles.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224105>

mariner you are my idol

ack. i played around with that storm picture and tried to change the attachment in the original post. didn't work. here it is.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224137>

hey mariner, by any chance, do you know of a place to download AutoCad? for free? b/c i'm a cheap asshole....

was it lonely going on a trip alone?

Originally posted by DeadSwan
hey mariner, by any chance, do you know of a place to download AutoCad? for free? b/c i'm a cheap asshole.... send me a link, too! Thanks.
BTW DeadSwan, what do you need AutoCad for? I thought you do something completely different

Originally posted by RopeyLopey
send me a link, too! Thanks.
BTW DeadSwan, what do you need AutoCad for? I thought you do something completely different

i want to teach myself.
i'm considering architecture. what do you want it for?

Originally posted by DeadSwan


i want to teach myself.
i'm considering architecture. what do you want it for? A lot of companies back home are still using that for producing maps. Getting new software is too expensive for them. It's better to really get good at it - you never know - it might be useful one day.

Originally posted by RopeyLopey
A lot of companies back home are still using that for producing maps. Getting new software is too expensive for them. It's better to really get good at it - you never know - it might be useful one day.


do you want to be a cartographer?


i love maps


:o

i didn't take any pics in southern california. i had one day to drive from zion nat'l park in utah to san fran to visit liquid-j, and there were no raods that went across so i spent about 13 hours on the road going way south and then way north again.

the weekend with jesse was awesome. i pretty much figured it would go that way when he strolled up to greet me in a suit and highway patrol/aviator sunglasses. best first impression ever, lol.

i tagged along as he and his friends tore up the downtown club scene. all his friends were a lot of fun, and some were pretty notable people. they all drunkenly forgot my name, so by the end of the weekend they were just calling me "minnesota!" me and j had a hilarious conversation with a stripper about her sexual adventures and her penchant for erotic asphyxiation. i also had her believing j was gay. "why else do you think he moved out to san francisco after college?" she was all "oh my god, really? that's so fucking hot!"

j introduced me to sushi, which is awesome. also had some good steak on a couple of occasions. we hit up the beach one day, the first time i'd ever really seen the pacific ocean. heh, we saw a lady there almost get her head taken off by her kid's kite. we got pestered by this little neighbor kid that would only say his name was "bear". lol. i helped his crazy polish roommate break into her room through the window after she locked herself out of it.

j is one of the coolest cats i've ever met. you can take that to mean every way "cool" can be interpreted. we joked about the space-time continuum, rocked out to dido in his car, and hit up a laundromat. yeah, it was a pretty diverse weekend. i look forward to hanging out with him again.

Originally posted by DeadSwan



do you want to be a cartographer?


i love maps


:o I already have a degree in Cartography and Geoinformatics. I love them, too. (and Mariner does, for sure, as well)

awesome, i can't believe you did it alone. you came to san fran did you like it here! i hate my city sometimes

Originally posted by DeadSwan
hey mariner, by any chance, do you know of a place to download AutoCad? for free? b/c i'm a cheap asshole....

i don't myself, but i could ask around, i think i have a few friends that might know about that.


i love maps


heh, i was a geography major. i worked in a map library for a while (looking at all the stuff at work was cool, but the work itself drove me insane.)

Originally posted by vanilla
was it lonely going on a trip alone?

naw, not at all. it was really cool to be completely on my own, do whatever i wanted whenever i wanted. i absolutely loved it. i got the right mix of companionship with the people i visited and with my buddy and his bro joining me for a week or so in idaho/wyoming. beyond that, i needed some time away from the cities and my friends and family, so this was the perfect opportunity to get away from it all.

Originally posted by thechick
awesome, i can't believe you did it alone. you came to san fran did you like it here! i hate my city sometimes

i liked downtown san francisco proper, if only for the whole waterfront/bridges thing. i have kind of a waterfront fetish. :o i honestly didn't see a whole lot of the rest of the area, but what i saw i liked. good diversit of climate and landform and communities, etc. it was insanely expensive and pretty damned busy, though, so i'm sure that would get old fast if i lived there.

Originally posted by Toby
I'm doing this next year...

you damned well better.

Originally posted by Randall Sandell
wish i could so something like that

you damned well can. do it. dooo iiiiiit. c'mon.

did you pick up any hitch-hikers?

Originally posted by RopeyLopey
did you pick up any hitch-hikers?

heh, only the one...and no one will ever hear from him again :dead:

north of san francisco

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224311>

did you keep a road-diary?

hell YEAH.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224325>

Originally posted by RopeyLopey
did you keep a road-diary?

i started, but i soon realized that i was so anal about it that i'd waste too much time on the diary that i could be spending seeing what i set out to see. so i put the kabash on diary-ing, and instead made a conscious effort every day to always be fully aware of the moment and to really soak in everything i was experiencing.

washington's olympic peninsula:

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224344>

that's not a rain forest!!!
where in washington did you stop / do things ?

Originally posted by So very sad about me
that's not a rain forest!!!
where in washington did you stop / do things ?

is too! not a tropical rainforest, but a rainforest nonetheless.

i drove into washington from astoria, oregon. i stayed at ft. canby state park, right in the southwest corner of the state. had a close encounter with a bear there. drove up the coast on a still, misty, beautiful morning. spent the day hiking in olympic national park (where i took that picture). went swimming in the pacific ocean there, much to the surprise of the raincoat-sporting tourists checking out the tide pools. it was like 50 degrees and rainy, and there's me in my shorts jumping into the 35 degree ocean. i got some pretty entertaining looks on my way back to the jeep. stopped in port angeles for lunch, then made my way out to fort flagler state park for the night. explored the awesome ruins of this huge old early 1900s fort/gun batter there, where i took the following pictures:

sunset behind a bunker

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224356>

i took this one as i was on the phone with colin (jczeroman) about meeting the next day. holding a cellphone and a clunker of a big old camera at the same time was a little hard.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224358>

Originally posted by Mariner


is too! not a tropical rainforest, but a rainforest nonetheless.

i drove into washington from astoria, oregon. i stayed at ft. canby state park, right in the southwest corner of the state. had a close encounter with a bear there. drove up the coast on a still, misty, beautiful morning. spent the day hiking in olympic national park (where i took that picture). went swimming in the pacific ocean there, much to the surprise of the raincoat-sporting tourists checking out the tide pools. it was like 50 degrees and rainy, and there's me in my shorts jumping into the 35 degree ocean. i got some pretty entertaining looks on my way back to the jeep. stopped in port angeles for lunch, then made my way out to fort flagler state park for the night. explored the awesome ruins of this huge old early 1900s fort/gun batter there, where i took the following pictures:


my parents lived in port angeles and sequim. that area is really beautiful.

Originally posted by DeadSwan



my parents lived in port angeles and sequim. that area is really beautiful.

heh, my mom just told me she's visited those same two towns when she was my age.

Originally posted by Mariner


heh, my mom just told me she's visited those same two towns when she was my age.


your mom sounds hot

Originally posted by Toby
I'm doing this next year...

me too. except i'm wanting to ******* alaska in my driving.
my plan is to work as much as i can for several months and then take july/august (or so) (hopefully) off to wander around.. maybe off and on.. maybe straight through.

i've done quite a few trips this year, though..

Originally posted by Mariner


i never really found myself saying "man, i hate this place", but i wasn't impressed at all with Albuquerque, NM.

albuquerque wasn't bad for me (except for the fact that I40 was closed when i was coming into town), but man... wasn't I40 through the texas panhandle awful? i guess part of it could have been that i'd already driven 800+ miles the day before and then drove 800+ more that day that *******d that section of texas..

I80 through northern nevada is just about as bad.

Originally posted by DeadSwan



your mom sounds hot

unfortunately, i'm used to "your mom" and "hot" being in the same sentence around me.

<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">When I drove to NJ this May I decided I wanted to do a roadtrip similar to yours. Maybe after I graduate.

You were in Say Town and you didn't call a niggah up? That's fucked up.</font>

Originally posted by Mr. Rhinoceros

and you didn't call a niggah up?

that's b/c you can never understand what they're saying. why waste your quarter, when you could buy candy?

<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">PS Two questions:

1) How's Wyoming. I want to visit so bad.

2) Why did you skip West Virginia? Everyone should see West Virginia at least once (and visit Morgantown and get roaring drunk).</font>

man those pictures are awesome, sounds like you had a great time as well...

music would be the only thing that'd keep me sane on a trip like that.

Originally posted by distance


albuquerque wasn't bad for me (except for the fact that I40 was closed when i was coming into town), but man... wasn't I40 through the texas panhandle awful? i guess part of it could have been that i'd already driven 800+ miles the day before and then drove 800+ more that day that *******d that section of texas..

I80 through northern nevada is just about as bad.

yeah, that 800+ miles thing might've had something to do with it. i kinda liked 40 through the panhandle. big, open, slightly rolling country...and then you drive up that little 50' cliff and all the sudden it's like you're driving on top of a giant pool table at the top of the world - ridiculously flat, green, and endless. it was so monolithically, poignantly empty that it kinda got to me a little bit.

yeah, I-80 through nevada is probably the worst long drive i've ever done. that and the mojave desert around I-15 once it crosses south into california. like driving through a gravel pit for 3 hours.

<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">I-80 incedentally follows the trail along the Humbolt River that settlers followed to get to California.

And you guys complain about driving across it...</font>

Originally posted by Mr. Rhinoceros
<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">PS Two questions:

1) How's Wyoming. I want to visit so bad.

2) Why did you skip West Virginia? Everyone should see West Virginia at least once (and visit Morgantown and get roaring drunk).</font>

i backpacked a night through the grand tetons. 21 miles and a 7,000 foot vertical climb and descent in 24 hours. absolutely, indescribably spectacular. just...damn. best. mountains. ever.

i'll hopefully have some better pics of the tetons in a day or two (the roll's still getting developed), but this is what i took on the backpacking segment of my teton visit.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224432>

fresh off the melting teton glaciers

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224434>

my high school bud and his little brother, above a glacial lake at about 9,000 feet

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224436>

i think i've been to most of the places you visited. i think that's neat. national parks are totally under-rated.

a lot of the hike was across steep, loose rock piles and snow fields. i was wearing hiking sandals and shorts, making my way across 3 foot deep snow formations hanging precariously off the side of the glacial valley walls. it was awesome. i stopped in the middle of one of them and took another pic of jon and mike.

note the trail disappearing off into the distance down the slope and off to the right of the picture - and that doesn't even do justice to the scale of this place
<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224443>

i wish the color in these would've turned out right. the scenery on the hike was usually so big you couldn't even fit it all in one camera shot. just absolutely ridiculous. if i was gonna be a wilderness hermit, i'd want it to be there.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224447>

<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">I should get my travel photographs developed.</font>

Originally posted by Mariner


yeah, that 800+ miles thing might've had something to do with it. i kinda liked 40 through the panhandle. big, open, slightly rolling country...and then you drive up that little 50' cliff and all the sudden it's like you're driving on top of a giant pool table at the top of the world - ridiculously flat, green, and endless. it was so monolithically, poignantly empty that it kinda got to me a little bit.

yeah, I-80 through nevada is probably the worst long drive i've ever done. that and the mojave desert around I-15 once it crosses south into california. like driving through a gravel pit for 3 hours.

green? i guess my going through in april made it not-so-green.
i don't remember the panhandle being interesting at all until around the NM border.. it was just flat with basically nothing in any direction.... nothing at most of the exits either....
except 'the largest cross in the western hemisphere".

I15 i didn't think was that bad because it's not that long of a drive.. and the speed limit is high.. i really don't remember much of my drive from vegas down 15.

i wish i would have had the time to get out and hike @ zion. i'm definitely going back sometime. we just drove through and there's really almost nothing that you can really see driving through.

i'm actually thinking of trying to check out those southern utah parks this winter.

Originally posted by Mr. Rhinoceros
<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">I-80 incedentally follows the trail along the Humbolt River that settlers followed to get to California.

And you guys complain about driving across it...</font>

well, every place has its beauty, and i distinctly remember appreciating it there. unfortunately i have bad memories attached to that drive that have nothing to do with how scenic or not it was. the whole nearly identical ridge-and-valley over and over again thing got kind of old after 4 hours.

Originally posted by Mariner
the whole nearly identical ridge-and-valley over and over again thing got kind of old after 4 hours.

<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">It's funny because I was reading a book about people going to California in 1849 and they would think that Cali would be over the next ridge and it wasn't it was just another ridge in the distance. It was pretty harrowing for them.

I'd like to make that drive just to see what it looks like, for historical understanding. I'm such a history nerd, when I went through Kentucky I stopped in Boonesborough and toured the replica of the fort that was first established there. It was so rad.</font>

Originally posted by distance


green? i guess my going through in april made it not-so-green.
i don't remember the panhandle being interesting at all until around the NM border.. it was just flat with basically nothing in any direction.... nothing at most of the exits either....
except 'the largest cross in the western hemisphere".

I15 i didn't think was that bad because it's not that long of a drive.. and the speed limit is high.. i really don't remember much of my drive from vegas down 15.

i wish i would have had the time to get out and hike @ zion. i'm definitely going back sometime. we just drove through and there's really almost nothing that you can really see driving through.

i'm actually thinking of trying to check out those southern utah parks this winter.

ha! i forgot about the "largest cross" thing. that got a laugh out of me. the best part was later in the trip when i saw signs for another cross claiming to be the "western hemisphere's largest" in a completely different place (and dammit i don't remember where it was).

definitely check out zion. of all the parks i visited that one was right up there. do the angel's landing hike.

<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">Texas is fucking awesome.</font>

Aaron (Ace) and I did a drive similar to this two years ago, but we went north from Houston, toward the east to New York state and just kept going past the border. We came back down through Nevada, etc.

I want to do it again.

Originally posted by Mariner


ha! i forgot about the "largest cross" thing. that got a laugh out of me. the best part was later in the trip when i saw signs for another cross claiming to be the "western hemisphere's largest" in a completely different place (and dammit i don't remember where it was).

definitely check out zion. of all the parks i visited that one was right up there. do the angel's landing hike.

well, one reason i'm wanting to do it in the winter is because i know the park is open year round.
also, i bought a national parks pass and so far the amount of what my park entrance fees would have cost me is only equal to the cost of the pass.. so if i don't go to more parks before next may, it won't have done much for me.

i have to do something.

i didn't see any other largest cross signs in other places, so i must not have gone where the other one was (or i wasn't paying attention).
if i was going to make something as pointless as that, i wouldn't put it so close to the interstate. why get off the interstate to see something like that when you can get more than enough of a view of it from the highway as you drive by at 70-80mph?
i also didn't really think it was all THAT big. i was expecting something a lot bigge.r

Originally posted by Mr. Rhinoceros


<font color=#007AAA face="Courier new">It's funny because I was reading a book about people going to California in 1849 and they would think that Cali would be over the next ridge and it wasn't it was just another ridge in the distance. It was pretty harrowing for them.

I'd like to make that drive just to see what it looks like, for historical understanding. I'm such a history nerd, when I went through Kentucky I stopped in Boonesborough and toured the replica of the fort that was first established there. It was so rad.</font>

you might really like fort flagler state park, then. for about a mile along the cliffs overlooking the entrance to puget sound, there's half a dozen huge old gun batteries/bunkers a few hundred yards across, some going 3 stories into the ground, each a big maze of concrete and rusty iron and steel.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1224532>

Originally posted by distance


why get off the interstate to see something like that when you can get more than enough of a view of it from the highway as you drive by at 70-80mph?
i also didn't really think it was all THAT big. i was expecting something a lot bigge.r

i had exactly the same thoughts when i saw it.

and yeah, use that pass a bunch. there're national parks all over the place, especially out west, and they all seem to have pretty cool stuff to experience. i bought one for the road trip and used it at 13 + nat'l parks. good stuff.

Originally posted by Mariner

and yeah, use that pass a bunch. there're national parks all over the place, especially out west, and they all seem to have pretty cool stuff to experience. i bought one for the road trip and used it at 13 + nat'l parks. good stuff.

there's nothing terribly interesting around VA for me to use it on, though.

i guess acadia isn't THAT far away, but the coolest stuff is all in western states/alaska/hawaii

the east seems to be mostly historical sites/national monuments/etc. i am not terribly interested in battlefields/dead people's houses.

i think i only used the pass at zion, petrified forest, yellowstone.
originally i was going to yosemite and grand canyon, but didn't. almost went to glacier too.

a bee, somewhere in california.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226883>

a mountain river in colorado. i took a "shower" in it. it was like 33 degrees.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226886>

again, said river

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226891>

dude, i gotta say, i think your photos are fucking AWESOME!!! also thanks for the kind words, you know i think you're the man!

what do all your photos look like they are from the 70s

random giant sand dunes in the middle of nowhere, idaho. friggin' huge. like, really huge. like 20 stories tall.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226897>

is it because you are a hippie

Originally posted by 3Marlon3Brando
is it because you are a hippie

yes. remember my long, flowing hair, my heavy lidded eyes, and my seriously flawed outlook on life?



(i think it's because my camera is almost old enough to be from the 1970s.)

here's some people on the dunes for scale.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226907>

i made the mistake of trying to climb up the face of the first dune, instead of going up the ridge, 'cause the base of the ridge was kinda hard to get to due to the marsh around the dunes' base. this picture is me about 1/4 of the way up the dune. note that you are looking down a really steep slope, at the top of those bushes, not the sides. also note my footsteps trailing off/down to the foot of the dune. i had to stop this far up 'cause the climb was so difficult (and i was going so fast) that i got all lightheaded for a second.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226912>

once i got to the ridge, the walking was a little easier. it was an awesome view.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1226917>

Originally posted by Liquid-J'sGhost
dude, i gotta say, i think your photos are fucking AWESOME!!! also thanks for the kind words, you know i think you're the man!

:cheers:

kind? maybe. the truth? totally.



in other news:

*waits for nimrod's son to lay the guilt trip on for not visiting him*

tune in later tonight for my visits to jczeroman and dude-thinks-i'm-a-hippie.

for lack of a better description mariner, you are a very cool dude.

thanks for making the life of an easy rider seem safe again.

Originally posted by Isle
easy rider

mr. isle, you just made my afternoon.

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Fuck. I went on a three-week 7,000-mile road trip this summer and that surprised people. I can't imagine what your friends and family thought of your trip.

thats awesome. great pics man! Im actually in a band from CT/NY and we have to tour cause of our label, which is a pretty sweet deal, so we take the time off to tour the midwest and down south and all. Next summer is 2 months over to the west coast. Were leaving in a few weeks for a tour, then gonna be gone the whole month of January for a tour. Hope we get to check out some of those places in your pics, the only bad thing is there usually isnt ever enough time.

Originally posted by Mariner
a bee, somewhere in california.

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woah, dude! i think i've seen that bee!

Originally posted by Liquid-J'sGhost


woah, dude! i think i've seen that bee!

:rofl:

Originally posted by Liquid-J'sGhost


woah, dude! i think i've seen that bee!

jesse, you're on a roll.






this thread is awesome. i need to re-evaluate what i am doing.

my two best friends and i are trying to plan something like that this summer..

how much did you spend, approx?

i've been to half those places and REALLY want to go back. we're def hitting up yosemite, zion, grand canyon, acadia, yellowstone, tetons, glacier national park, and olympic.

did you go alone?

Originally posted by SuckSuckStyle
my two best friends and i are trying to plan something like that this summer..
Don't. Just get in the car and drive. If you plan, you won't do it.

Originally posted by The Ace of Aces
Fuck. I went on a three-week 7,000-mile road trip this summer and that surprised people. I can't imagine what your friends and family thought of your trip.

yeah, i got a lot of :erm and :Skeptical for a while, but once i got back it changed to :eek: and :cool:

i guess they were worried about me for a while, 'cause i was really bad about having my cell phone on and hadn't set up my voicemail yet ( i thought i had but i guess i was setting up something completely different). so for a while some of my family member and college friends were emailing back and forth being like, "uh, have you heard from eric lately?" "no, i thought you had. oh no!" "yeah, where the hell is that bastard?"

Originally posted by spidrr
...the only bad thing is there usually isnt ever enough time.

yeah, but even just being on the road can be awesome, although i'm sure it's a little different when you're sorta on the job. what kind of music do you guys play, and what cities in the upper midwest and pacific northwest are you hitting?

Originally posted by Liquid-J'sGhost


woah, dude! i think i've seen that bee!

SHEESH

Originally posted by pink_ribbon_scars

i need to re-evaluate what i am doing.

DO IT.



Originally posted by SuckSuckStyle

my two best friends and i are trying to plan something like that this summer..

how much did you spend, approx?

did you go alone?


yeah, like sppunk said, keep your planning to an absolute minimum. if you need any advice on the details, feel free to ask, seriously.

i spent about $2500, mostly on gas, i kept food expenses as low as possible by trying to only eat out of grocery stores if possible. another good chunk of $ went to toll roads in NYC, and a lot was spent just keeping up with the joneses (ie liquid-j and his crew) in san fran, which was more than worth it, by the way.

yep, i went alone. it was awesome. i had enough companionship visiting people, but it was great to otherwise to just be able to do what-where-when-and-how i wanted it.

sunrise from the beach at padre island national seashore in southern texas. they let you drive right out down the 15 mile long beach and camp for free. i slept outside under a big, beautiful moon with the sound of waves crashing on the beach lulling me to sleep. it was awesome.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1229247>

the same sunrise after the sun came up. i kept the shutter open for a few seconds by accident. sometimes the best ones happen that way.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1229251>

did you take any pictures in college station? i mean, we have a football stadium, that is pretty neat. they don't make too many of those.

Originally posted by Mariner
the same sunrise after the sun came up. i kept the shutter open for a few seconds by accident. sometimes the best ones happen that way.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1229251>

i love the light in that one

yeah i think we're just going to plan on places we definately want to hit, but no dates. pack light and eat out of grocery stores. our main concern is a car that would make it right now. I thinkwe might have to get one...blah. unless my dad lets me take his truck which i dont think is going to happen...

we're going to start saving now and see what happens.

i WILL be asking you for advice. thanks.

Originally posted by 3Marlon3Brando
did you take any pictures in college station? i mean, we have a football stadium, that is pretty neat. they don't make too many of those.

i was having too good of a time hanging out with you to think about taking pictures. (plus i am lazy.) i actually pretty much quit taking pictures for the whole eastern half of the u.s. (sorry guys). i had to take more of each day to drive and to do so on the interstates, so picture taking time/opportunity dwindled. in nyc i was so busy, all over the place and far away from the jeep that lugging the camera around would've been kind of a pain. plus i wanted to at least attempt to blend in a little bit. ha.

Originally posted by Mariner

*waits for nimrod's son to lay the guilt trip on for not visiting him*
Way to steal my thunder there

Originally posted by Mariner
north of san francisco

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I'm only this far in the thread...but this is so, so gorgeous. I bet it would look even gloomier and colder in november...

Originally posted by Mariner


yeah, but even just being on the road can be awesome, although i'm sure it's a little different when you're sorta on the job. what kind of music do you guys play, and what cities in the upper midwest and pacific northwest are you hitting?

Everyone has a different classification for music they hear, but its mainly just rock. at the drive in/mars volta-esque, sunny day, shiner. every song we write is a different style, so its hard to say. Upper midwest that i know of now for January were playing Iowa City, IA, but thats about as upper as were going. Also doing st.louis, a few days in TX etc. But next summer is the big west coaster

i was digging around for this thread to show somebody and realized i never told you guys about my hangs with jczeroman and 3marlon3brando. i was planning on posting them when the last roll of film from my trip came in, but it turns out target/kodak 'misplaced' it, so i've been waiting for it for a few months now and forgot about finishing this thread. i'll get to it tonight, and if i'm lucky a few months in the future they'll find that roll in the bottom of a drawer at a target store in illinois somewhere and get it back to me, and i'll post those too.

mariners trip around the US>>>>>>>>>>>>>vanilla's trip to hawaii.

Originally posted by vanilla
mariners trip around the US>>>>>>>>>>>>>vanilla's trip to hawaii.

hey, YOU crossed an ocean and went one of the most unique and awesome places in the world. whatever!

Originally posted by Mariner
i was digging around for this thread to show somebody and realized i never told you guys about my hangs with jczeroman and 3marlon3brando.

hey dude, there are some things i would rather you not post because i dont want them getting back to my pastor. what happens in college station stays in college station wink wink nudge nudge

<font color=33FFFF> so man do you know roughly how many miles you did total?</font>

Originally posted by Mariner
the same sunrise after the sun came up. i kept the shutter open for a few seconds by accident. sometimes the best ones happen that way.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1229251>
Looks like an oil painting

just when you thought you were safe

the missing roll of film from idaho / wyoming showed up


craters of the moon nat'l monument (idaho hot spot young lava flows)

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deadswan's new name should use one of these next two pictures for her avatar

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sometimes the campgrounds are all full and you have to do it illegally somewhere

this was when i randomly met up with an old high school friend and his brother, and we hung out in idaho/wyoming for a week or two. just south of the grand tetons.

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Where are the pics of you making out with Colin and Thomas?

we sold the pics to a few gay porn sites and made good money. this is what's putting thomas through emt/firefighter school


after i met up with the old h.s. friend and his little brother, we spent a few hours driving gravel roads over mountains way into the central idaho wilderness, to find a friend of his who was manning a forest service fire lookout station for the summer.

we knew he was up on top of a mountain, but we didn't know it would be so literal. we rounded a bend in the road and this guy's lookout station came into view, literally perched on the very top of a steep, rocky peak.

it is in fact visible in this picture:

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1540098>

This is an absolutely fantastic thread. Cheers to you for going on this trip.

One year ago, my dad moved from Orlando to Vegas. At the last minute, I decided to accompany him on the trip. Even though we pretty much drove straight through to Vegas (short stops in Paris Arkansas and Oklahoma City), it was absolutely a fantastic time. Anybody who is at all hesitant to attempt something like this, don't wait. Just do it.

Originally posted by wally
This is an absolutely fantastic thread. Cheers to you for going on this trip.

One year ago, my dad moved from Orlando to Vegas. At the last minute, I decided to accompany him on the trip. Even though we pretty much drove straight through to Vegas (short stops in Paris Arkansas and Oklahoma City), it was absolutely a fantastic time. Anybody who is at all hesitant to attempt something like this, don't wait. Just do it.

exactly. i fully and enthusiastically agree. and do it now, before gas is $4.00 a gallon.



this is the fire lookout station later that evening. literally perched on this pile of boulders atop the very peak of the mountain, around 10,000 ft elevation. we spent the night up there, cooked a great taco dinner, enjoyed lots of beer, and bad drunken sing along-ing, watched a thunderstorm sail by below us (we were on top of one of the taller mountains in idaho), saw the northern lights, and made some of the best pancakes i've ever had the next morning.

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They never turned up, huh?

I think I'm going to get a digicam. The last roll of film I had developed had about 6 pics of a roll of 24 come out

Originally posted by Nimrod's Son
I think I'm going to get a digicam. The last roll of film I had developed had about 6 pics of a roll of 24 come out

what are you, the fucking unabomber? get a damn digital camera you living in 1994 technology hater

Originally posted by Nimrod's Son
They never turned up, huh?



Originally posted by Mariner

we sold the pics to a few gay porn sites and made good money. this is what's putting thomas through emt/firefighter school

Originally posted by wally


what are you, the fucking unabomber? get a damn digital camera you living in 1994 technology hater

hey now, all these pics were taken with a camera probably as old as you are



we got up to the lookout around noon, to find this note on the door (top sticky note). we waited seven hours before the guy actually showed up, hence our reply.

<img src=http://forums.netphoria.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1540115>

Originally posted by Mariner


hey now, all these pics were taken with a camera probably as old as you are



from 1977?

oh yeah, we had a snowball fight up there too. so far the only time i've done that in july, despite growing up in duluth.



thunderstorms moved in around sunset.

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oh man, i loved craters of the moon when i was a kid

there was a lot of lightning after dark, and it was pretty wierd to be looking down on it, but i quit taking pics once the sun went down.

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apparently these were some of the first monsoons of the season

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Originally posted by wally


from 1977?

yeah

it used to be my mom's

being remind of this thread makes me want to do another road trip (not that i already didn't want to)

teton action

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flawr

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i got up really effin early and i still missed the sun coming up on the mountains.


so early it was the 1970s, marlon

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your photos are going to grace so many emo album covers

then i'm probably going straight to hell

don't worry i will take pictures