Blogging Across America Archives Digest
This is a summary of each post only. The numbers in parenthesis after each entry are the number of comments and number of trackbacks.
For the full archive (large file), click
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December 20, 2005
The upstate New York version of the South Bronx, otherwise known as Newburgh, has been featured here in the past. In October 2003 I visited that less-than-charming burg: "Where can I buy crack in the mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York State?" While driving through a semi-rural area...
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December 07, 2004
Can you imagine some really bad porno music? You know, the kind with the rhythm guitars or the saxophones, preferably from the 70s or 80s? OK. Now, read this report from the LAT: "We're Not in G-Rated Kansas Anymore" ABILENE, Kan. — Outside, the prairie lies dark and still. In...
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November 21, 2004
Last year, while driving across Kansas, I stopped at a store selling gothic/fetish clothing. Now, someone is camped out on the roof of a different store that sells porno: Written on a white sheet tacked to the front of Behind Closed Doors, 768 N. Broadway, are the words: “Honk if...
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July 06, 2004
People frequently ask me, "What was the key lesson learned on the Blogging Across America tour?" And, I tell them in all seriousness, the key lesson learned - the one bit of info I find most perplexing - is this: there are no Chinese steam table restaurants outside California. For...
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December 08, 2003
As I was getting ready to leave Lordsburg, I was still debating where I was going to travel next and what I was going to do. West or North? Forsake L.A. and spend some quality time in Denver? I briefly considered visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Tent...
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December 07, 2003
On my way out of El Paso, I made a bit of a mistake. Namely, I should have spent the night in Las Cruces. It's New Mexico's second largest city (OK, that's not saying much, but anyway...) and it seems to have some of the things that El Paso...
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After my hike at Hueco Tanks on December 5, I drove out of El Paso along the Trans-Mountain Highway. I already posted some of my thoughts on El Paso here, and I hereby promise you a more complete treatment at a later date. On the way out of town, I...
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I spent the night of December 4th in the campground at Hueco Tanks State Park outside El Paso. The temperature was above freezing, and initially I hadn't set up the rain fly. However, around 10pm suddenly the wind came in with a vengeance, making it quite cold and most...
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On the way to Carlsbad Caverns, you drive through White's City. It's a small tourist trap with a motel, gas station, museum, etc. I didn't visit the "Million Dollar Museum" as it's already been done. The above shot was taken on the way to the city of Carlsbad, not...
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Driving from Fort Stockton, Texas to Carlsbad, New Mexico with his tape recorder in his hand, blogging superstar "Lonewacko" tries to write the Great American Road Novel. This transcript - taken direct and unedited from the Lonewacko tape recorder - shows the blogging legend at work: "shocked around the bend...
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A couple weeks ago I drove to Carlsbad, NM starting from Fort Stockton, TX. Fort Stockton is a dumpy, disheveled hole which isn't that bad a place to spend a night, except it doesn't have a Wendy's nor a Hardee's/Carl's Jr. I had a bit of a problem at the...
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Lonewacko and Lonewacko Jr. recently visited El Paso as part of their Blogging Across America tour. I interviewed the junior member of the team in a cheap motel at an undisclosed location a day's drive from their home base in Los Angeles. Lonewacko Jr. entered the room dressed in a...
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December 04, 2003
No jokes now, they actually look pretty interesting. They're on BLM land next to the White Sands Missile Range. I spent a bit of time and fuel driving off the highway six miles to the campground in search of information and perhaps a short hike. The only two described...
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A shot from the White Sands Missile Range museum. The plaque says "This spacecraft was a section of the Voyager Balloon System which was launched near Roswell, NM and landed on WSMR... These bright, shiny aeroshells projected an illusion of flying saucers." What is it they want us to...
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When I visited Waco, I avoided making the obvious pun. So, to make up for that, the title of this post. The above shots were taken at the White Sands National Monument, which is located between Alamogordo and Las Cruces, NM. Driving along the road into the heart of...
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[Post summary: Stay away from Alamogordo, NM. Just drive right through it. Don't stop. Don't buy anything. If you can find a way to make them spend money instead of the other way around, do it.] "Say, do you have any demographic, er, musings on Alamogordo?" "No" "I mean, where...
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Like Guadalupe Peak (see the previous entry), I'd wanted to visit the Caverns for a few years. I read up on them and seen the pictures, and I was ready for my first trip underground. Since I'd done the Caverns of Sonora a few days earlier, it wasn't an...
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December 03, 2003
I hiked up Guadalupe Peak - the highest point in Texas at 8749' - on Thanksgiving day. In keeping with the Lonewacko ethos, it was a solo hike. I felt very good about getting to the top of this peak. I've wanted to come here for about three years,...
(1 / 0)
Alpine is a somewhat interesting small town pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Or, at least 60 miles from the I10, and about 100 miles from the real middle of nowhere, Big Bend National Park. Unfortunately, I never made it to Big Bend, but I did spend some time...
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December 02, 2003
When I first drove into Alpine, I noticed a quite impressive pyramid-shaped peak rising out of the desert. It was visible starting a few miles from Alpine along 67. On my way to visit Davis Mountain State Park (see the previous entry. Confusing, eh?), about 10 miles outside of...
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December 01, 2003
On November 21, I drove through Alpine, Texas (of which more later), bound for Davis Mountain State Park. The park didn't seem that very interesting, but then again I didn't do anything other than stop at the visitor's center. It's divided into two parts: a developed area with some...
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On the way to Fort Stockton, I decided to stop at Fort Lancaster State Park, which houses a fort used to defend against Comanche raids and protect travelers from San Antonio to El Paso. That's located on a 20 or so mile bypass highway that runs from the 10, through...
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November 30, 2003
On November 19 I found myself driving through Sonora Texas, and I decided to take a tour of the Caverns of Sonora. I'd never been in a cave before. I was under an overhang in Missouri, but that's not the same thing. I've wanted to climb Guadalupe Peak -...
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After S.A., I was going to go to Enchanted Rock State Park, which is located in Texas' "Hill" Country north of Fredericksburg. The greatest elevation hike there is 400' to the top of the rock, and that appears to be the most difficult hike within hours of Austin, Dallas, or...
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[I visited San Antonio on November 17, this entry is just catching up.] I had trouble finding anyone who'd say anything bad about San Antonio. They'd say bad things about Houston or Dallas or Hobbs, NM, but not about S.A. And to a fairly good extent that's justified. It's...
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November 26, 2003
caption: "Latin American Woman" A typical European While considering a trip to Houston, I began asking myself, "Is Houston truly a multicultural city? Does it celebrate its diversity every chance it gets?" The answer came in the form of the glossy, 62-page 'Greater Houston Multi Cultural Guide' produced by...
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November 25, 2003
[I visited the former Branch Davidian compound outside Waco on November 11, this entry is just catching up.] I posted another photo from the compound earlier. Maps to the compound are available at the visitors center and at the local motels. The directions are generally accurate, but I didn't see...
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[I visited Waco on November 11, this entry is just catching up.] After my bike ride, I went to the Cameron Park Zoo, which, for a smaller town, is much better than the zoo in Indy. Everything about this zoo was better, with the exception that they didn't have a...
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[I visited Waco on November 11, this entry is just catching up.] Mention "Waco," and you know what everyone thinks of. This is despite the fact that the Branch Davidian compound was actually located about a dozen miles outside Waco in Mount Carmel. If not for the regrettable incident that...
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[I visited Dallas around November 10; the shot above shows the Grassy Knoll.] A couple blocks from Dealey Plaza is the Conspiracy Museum. Flyers for it are available at the visitor's center, which is almost unmarked. The museum has exhibits on JFK, as well as a UFO display in...
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November 24, 2003
[I visited Dallas around November 10, this entry is just catching up.] I rode the streetcar a bit through The Historic Uptown Section of Dallas. Apparently, this used to be a rundown section of the city until a group of civic-minded folks (no doubt including real estate developers) decided...
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[I visited Dallas around November 10, this entry is just catching up.] There are nice people in Dallas, and there are also assholes. Just like any other big city. Some of the assholes here however have a particular talent for soul-sucking. One would wish to pay actual money not to...
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[I visited Dallas around November 10; the shot above shows the Grassy Knoll.] It's not like Dallas sprung up out of nowhere, it just feels that way to a very great extent. Everything you need to know about Dallas you probably already know: Dealey Plaza, J.R. Ewing, and the...
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I am in Carlsbad. Carlsbad is a city in New Mexico. I like this town! Twenty thousand people live here. That is a lot. That is more than three times the number of people in Fort Stockton in Texas. Fort Stockton had an AOL access number. There is no computer...
(0 / 0)
November 16, 2003
After Austin, I was hoping to find something to cleanse my palate. Providence and I met on the way to San Antonio when I saw the sign for the Snake Farm in New Braunfels. Unfortunately, it was closed. San Antonio is a larger city than Austin, and there were...
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Lest you dismiss Austin as just a small city that's home to a cow college, let me rectify your misconceptions: Austin is truly a cultural mecca. Whether you're searching for a delicious repast or a world-class art gallery, Austin has it all. Plus, it's the "Live Music Capital of the...
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I'm currently at a Boingo WiFi access point at Guadalupe and 41st. However, there's no foot traffic here, so I'm leaving in search of another place. Check back at around 2pm Central Time. UPDATE: I'm now at Mojos Daily Grind at 2714 Guadalupe St. I'll be here until about...
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November 11, 2003
A shot from the former Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas. There's a plaque memorializing each of the people killed during the siege in 1993 under each of the trees shown above. Most of the trees aren't shown. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself; I need to post...
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I recently drove from L.A. to Maine, blogging all the way. Now I'm going back, and I'll be passing through Austin in a day or two. I'd like to meet other bloggers and do interesting things. Despite driving thousands of miles through about 20 states, I haven't had much luck...
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November 10, 2003
Hope, Arkansas is a sleepy, slightly run-down community that has the standard assortment of fast food restaurants and gas stations, along with a small downtown section still awaiting redevelopment. There's very little Clinton-related stuff here: two of Clinton's boyhood homes, an eponymous middle school, and a boulevard named in his...
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I paid a brief visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro AR. It was a bit of a waste of time and money; I went there on the state highways and if I'd just gone from Hot Springs south along the interstate I could have saved myself at...
(0 / 0)
November 09, 2003
Pictured above is the headquarters for the Hot Springs Showmen's Association ("No Business Like Show Business"), a meeting hall/entertainment center for carnival folk. In a way, this place sums up Bill Clinton better than anything else could. Ike was born in Texas and raised in Kansas; one can see...
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I paid a brief visit to the Arkansas Alligator Farm, which is home to the "Merman." I wouldn't go there for the Merman. It's an obvious fake, especially with the hair. However, if you like alligators, it's got a lot of them. Unfortunately, alligators start shutting down in November, and...
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The Hot Springs National Park is probably the least worthwhile National Park I've ever seen and could ever imagine. As I told the people at the visitor center, I have trouble caring. After having toured the Fordyce Manor, I have even more trouble caring. So, they used to rub...
(0 / 0)
November 07, 2003
AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION OUTSIDE OF ARKANSAS - I'm still trying to figure out what happened. All I know is I was driving through Arkansas and asking people a bunch of questions. Sure, I might have asked the wrong person the wrong question, but, people are free to ask questions, right?...
(0 / 0)
November 04, 2003
I've been very depressed lately. There are various reasons for it. I think I've handled it fairly well, but it's probably become a bit evident on this blog that there's a problem. A lot of things seem to have come to a head lately. First, no other bloggers want to...
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After the Arkansas highpoint, I took the 10 to the 7 south to Hot Springs. It looks like a bit of a straight shot on the map, but in practice it's a rather difficult road with enough blind rises, blind curves, and 180 degree turns that it demands your complete...
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Pictures from a church on AR10 east of Havana. The figures on the first sign are crosses with shadows. In both pictures, I should have had the signs in the foreground with enough of the church in the background to show that it was a church. I was a...
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Earlier today, I biked/hiked to the high point in Arkansas, Signal Hill in Mt. Magazine State Park. In comparison to some of the other southern highpoints I've done on this trip, it's not that difficult to find or to get to, as long as you don't mind driving 40...
(0 / 0)
November 03, 2003
I really should have stayed in Memphis another day. Even during the day, Little Rock is a bit sleepy. The Clinton Library is still under construction, and won't be open until Fall 2004. That's it in the background. The display is located at the River Market in downtown. I...
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See, now you've got it constantly running through your mind too, and no amount of soothing Elvin music will erase the sound of the bad one out of Simon & Garfunkel. I didn't take a tour of Graceland, or any of the other attractions. Maybe next time. I did...
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Driving west on the 40, I intended to spend the night at the KOA in Buffalo, which is also the entry point for the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch. While I knew the name "Loretta Lynn," I couldn't quite figure out which one she was. All I knew is that she...
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I arrived in Gallatin, TN on a late Saturday afternoon. Gallatin, for those who don't know, is the birthplace of my idol, Huell Howser. Unfortunately, many of the shops were closed at that time, as was the visitor's center. I wanted to inquire about Huell-related celebrations, or suggest they...
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After my thankfully brief car scare, I continued to drive west. The Nashville KOA wanted $27 for a tent site (what do they think this is, Newburgh, NY?). So, I decided to spend Halloween tenting it in Lebanon TN. That only cost $14, and it was less than a mile...
(1 / 0)
October 31, 2003
The last time I had any major car problems was over a year ago. Driving up the White Mountain Road near Bishop, CA the temperature light suddenly came on. Stopping didn't help; adding a bit of water didn't help. Apparently the water pump had broke, and not in such a...
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KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - Last night, I took Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds to the rock climbing gym. This was his first time climbing, and it was quite an interesting and informative experience for him! He thanked me for my basic instruction in such matters as tieing a figure-8-with-a-follow-through, doubling-back the harness,...
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I haven't seen L.A. public access cable TV in a long time, but several years ago two characters stand out. One was a crazy Irish-Jewish guy who would sit in a chair, stare at the camera, and free-associate. Another, even more interesting guy who had his own show was...
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October 30, 2003
I got to Clingman's Dome just as the sun was setting, and started up the wide asphalt path to the futuristic summit tower. It was fairly steep, albeit quite short: just .5 mile and 300' of gain. I got there maybe 15 minutes too late for a good sunset,...
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After ascending Mt. Mitchell, I drove to Tennessee to do the high point of that state, Clingman's Dome, which is located in Great Smoky Mountains State Park. The picture above is on the way to the park. This was outside the park, and just one of the first good...
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Two days ago I - or, rather, my car - climbed Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina's highest point. As you can see, the view from there is quite good, although it would be better if I'd actually earned it. Apparently people do climb it in winter. At that time it's...
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While driving through West Virginia and now Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, several images come to mind. One of the more positive ones is from an old National Geographic feature on remote hollers, I believe in WV. One of the settlements was so remote that the only access to it...
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October 28, 2003
[In our last installment, Lonewacko was describing the many beautiful women to be found in Asheville, North Carolina and how that city was truly a babe wonderland. However, his inner voice kept interupting him with something important to say...] Lonewacko, have you checked the batteries in that thing? What...
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October 27, 2003
I knew there was something special about Asheville, NC the moment I drove through there on the freeway. I hadn't even gotten into the town itself or gotten off the highway, and I knew that this town was different. Even those less astute have figured it out; Asheville has been...
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I climbed Mt. Rogers - Virginia's highest point - a few days ago. Oh, you want a trip report, right? Well, there isn't that much to report regarding either most of the hike or the summit of Mt. Rogers itself. As I look back on it, I don't remember...
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October 21, 2003
As indicated in the previous entry, on Sunday I drove into Southwestern VA, and I intended to do Mount Rogers the next day. I also needed to run an errand in a big city, which I decided to do on Monday, leaving the hike for Tuesday. I decided to...
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October 19, 2003
I posted the last two entries from the Kinko's in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Harrisonburg is the home of James Madison University, and it looked like a nice small city. There was a pretty, young, be-ringed lady making copies, and two other pretty young ladies came in to use the computers. They...
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Earlier today I drove along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The park - and the parts of Virginia I've so far seen - are quite attractive. I briefly stopped to do the Bearfence Mountain trail, a fairly short and easy 2nd class scramble up to a 360 degree...
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I took a biking tour of the Mall area, riding from Union Station to the Lincoln Memorial and back, stopping at the Washington Monument and the White House. Pictured above is Dr. Choi (who is from the Philippines) leading her lonely crusade in front of the White House to...
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October 18, 2003
Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT stay at the Greenbelt National Park campground. The reader might be familiar with NYC's Central Park or L.A.'s Griffith Park. If so, the reader is invited to let his or her imagination run free vis-a-vis what it would be like if they allowed camping...
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Traffic wasn't that bad, and I soon found the place where I was going to stay, which will be covered in the next post. Stopping at the Boston Market in College Park, I discovered to my dismay cool cornbread. Subsequently, I tried to get WiFi access at Chop It...
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Baltimore seemed OK for a smallish, flat, gritty East Coast city. At least based on the 1/2 hour driving tour I took. It supposedly has a few large ships, although all I saw was a Coast Guard cutter. It even has a Hooters. In a desperate attempt to escape the...
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October 16, 2003
If you're a D.C. blogger or bloggee, get in touch. abuse at tolstoy dot com. UPDATE: There must be something wrong with my mail server or something. None of the messages I sent out to D.C. bloggers and blogging groups appear to have been delivered. Because, if they had, I'm...
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October 15, 2003
But, first a bad thing. The traffic here - at least in certain parts - is horrid. Trans-L.A. horrid. I got off the freeway (676?) near downtown Philly at the Broad Street exit. Admittedly, that was a wrong turn: instead of going "West," I should have gone "East." However, it...
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Today, Wednesday October 15 2003, between about 4pm and 4:30pm, I'll be sitting out in front of Cosi's at 4th and Chestnut in downtown Philly, inviting passersby to guest blog in this very space. I may have to move, so watch this space if I end up at a different...
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October 13, 2003
Thanks for asking. Hiking, and lots of it. And, that means gaining elevation. Thankfully, we/you Angelenos have it good. Just five minutes from Lonewacko's spiritual home is Griffith Park, with 50 miles of trails and gains ranging from 500' to 1200' of varying degrees of steepness. Just a few miles...
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October 12, 2003
I'm sure there are good things I could say about New Jersey. For instance, Lonewacko's dream girl Janeane Garofalo is from here. Then, there's the state high point which he bagged just a few days ago. I'll list more good things about New Jersey at the end of this post,...
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October 10, 2003
The reader is, no doubt, familiar with the Yosemite Decimal System ("YDS")*. Earlier today, Lonewacko bagged the highpoint of Delaware, and has thereby extended the YDS to include a new class: Class 7. "Class 7" is the same as Class 1, but with the added risk factor not of...
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October 10, 2003 MOUNT POCONO, PA - The Poconos? In Lonewacko's mind, that has a vague association with cheezy honeymoon palaces for Joiseyites. Which, indeed are here. As well as the Mount Pocono Golf Club in which Lonewacko is now sitting on a couch using their WiFi. In addition...
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As predicted in the previous message, I bagged the highest point in New Jersey yesterday. The only difficulties were a few large flocks of ladybugs....
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October 09, 2003
October 9, 2003: "That peak is mine" Lonewacko intoned while pointing his ice axe in the general direction of High Point, New Jersey (1803'). "None shall challenge my hegemony over the peaks of the flatlands!" I'll probably be doing this today, as it's only about 50 miles away. Unfortunately, that...
(0 / 0)
October 08, 2003
New Paltz! October 8, 2003: If you're looking for targets for your stinging social commentary and satire, New Paltz is truly a target-rich environment. In Kingston, I picked up a copy of their local free rag, the Chronogram. It has a glossy cover and nice paper inside; other than that,...
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October 8, 2003: Are you looking to rock climb to the top of a cliff that's not a real peak in a less-than-wilderness setting about as populated as Griffith Park? Well, look no further than the Shawagunks, or the "gunks" for short. It's not that they're bad from a climbing...
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Newburgh! "Where can I get a cheap hooker and a no-tell hourly motel in the mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York State?" Yes, Newburgh! October 7, 2003: The section of 9 between the 84 and Poughkeepsie looked like, well, Hawthorne Blvd. through Torrance: a wide highway with shopping centers,...
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I (thankfully) exited Connecticut and entered the next state over, New York, on the 84. Looking at the map I realized I had the opportunity to drive through Wappingers Falls, so, naturally, I decided to do so. For a small town, WF, or at least the main street portion of...
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[This is a housekeeping entry; see the next entry or the one two back for the real excitement.] October 6, 2003: After his special guest appearance at BloggerCon, Lonewacko drove through Connecticut as quickly as possible. He was on his way to visit the rock climbing areas in the Shawagunks...
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I spent almost a couple weeks in Maine, and I pretty much enjoyed it up there, all things considered. I've already posted a little about the trip, and I have several more posts to go. However, in the interest of efficient blog administration, I've decided to skip forward to the...
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October 07, 2003
Since I'm getting Instalanched, now's a good time to give a preview of a longer post. Briefly, Canada and the U.S. have a boundaries dispute involving a small island off the Maine coast, Machias Seal Island. My preliminary investigation reveals that this is U.S. territory, yet Canada thinks otherwise. This...
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October 05, 2003
I'm passing out these flyers to the 50 or so people still here. It describes my new service: MEET A BLOGGER Blogging superstar Lonewacko just Blogged Across America: he drove from Los Angeles to BloggerCon 2003, blogging all the way. Read about his adventures at lonewacko.com/blog. Now, through this...
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October 04, 2003
Lonewacko will be making a special guest appearance at BloggerCon this Sunday October the 5th. I'll be available for interviews throughout the day (probably from about 11am on). The flyers I'll be passing out will have more details, including a fee structure for interviews or personal appearances. See you there!...
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October 02, 2003
Sep. 22, 2003: As I was driving towards Mt. Washington, I saw these black plumes of smoke high up the mountain, and I couldn't figure out what they were from. A forest fire above treeline? Some strange weather phenomenon? Then I remembered the cog railway, a century-old train system that...
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Sep. 22, 2003: After Littleton, Lonewacko drove himself to the Mount Washington area to check out the possibility of climbing it. Along the way, I saw the sign announcing that the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference ("BWMC") was signed at the Mount Washington Hotel, so I decided to make the...
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Sep. 21, 2003: After Mt. Mansfield, I took the 2 through St. Johnsbury VT and Littleton NH. In St. Johnsbury I stopped for a slice of pizza and found to my surprise a fellow traveler: a college-age kid who'd been in 43 of the states, and who'd driven across the...
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Sep. 21, 2003: I tried to get up Mt. Mansfield (Vermont's highest point at 4393'), a few years ago. As I did then, I took the gondola up. There were no carnie-related issues as there were last time, in fact, they were quite helpful. I hereby withdraw my earlier...
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Sep. 20, 2003: After climbing Marcy, I drove to Plattsburgh, getting there at night. Unfortunately, there was some kind of swine grower's convention or lumberjack rodeo or some convention or other in town, and all the rooms were either too expensive or booked. Furthermore, I was dismayed to find that...
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Sep. 20, 2003: I clocked in at 10am, I slogged my way up the interminable trail to Mt. Marcy (New York state's highest point at 5344'), I ate lunch on the top, I hiked down, and then I clocked out at 5:30pm. The hike itself wasn't that bad, it...
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Sep. 19, 2003: I tried to get up to Lake Placid before dark, but I failed. However, "Ems" (see the previous entry) provided me with some useful beta on a low-priced motel there, the Saint Moritz. Because it was a Friday, they wanted $45 for a room, so I drove...
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Via Blog RE: Our conversation of Sep. 19, 2003 ("The Conversation") Dear "Ems," I'm sorry it took me so long to post about our meeting at the EMS store in Albany. As you can see, I'm not using your real name. ("EMS" store, "Ems," get it?) As you explained in...
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September 29, 2003
You'll note that the last entry took place 10 days ago, about the time I entered northern New England. Internet access here is extremely difficult, unless you stay at one of the few large hotels or have a monthly landline service of some kind. So, the blog is a bit...
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Sep. 19, 2003: Driving through Troy, I spotted the headquarters of the Tutunjian for Mayor campaign. Since I was having trouble finding the visitor's information center, and since I wanted to know where I could score some hummous, falafel, tahini, and all the other good things I had come...
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Sep. 19, 2003: Albany is semi-OK, for a capital city that few go to unless they've got governance on their minds. It has some high-crime areas, and it also has an interesting area where I was able to buy two very greasy slices from a shop obviously owned by a...
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Sep. 18, 2003: I wanted to get to New England as quickly as possible, because I'd dawdled a bit in the towns in Illinois and elsewhere. On the way out of Bedford, I briefly stopped at the Tourist Bureau, but they were a bit parochial and didn't really have anything...
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September 26, 2003
Fort Kent - On Sunday, October 5, 2003, actress-playwright Susan Poulin will present her critically acclaimed one-woman play 'Franco Fry (Or, Pardon My French!)' in a 1:00 p.m. matinee performance at UMFK's Fox Auditorium. In 'Franco Fry,' native Mainer and Franco-American Poulin recounts her sometimes humorous, sometimes treacherous journey to...
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[All the other posts here are in English./Tous les autres posts ici sont en Anglais.] "Ou sont les communities francophones?" j'ai inquirie de un few peuple a les bureaux touristiques et elsewhere. Oui, bien sur, j'ai wanted to brush up on my French. En Los Angeles, est no problem de...
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September 23, 2003
I'm in Maine. Maine? The Lonewacko has heretofore known very little about Maine, mostly out of disinterest. It was all the way at the other end of the country after all. Wasn't it really actually part of Canada anyway? Lonewacko was apparently out of the loop, because not only do...
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September 17, 2003
BEDFORD, PA - Pictured above are, from the top: - the view from Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia - Seneca Rocks, WV - the smallest church in the U.S., near Silver Lake, MD - the WV/MD border marker near the highest point in Maryland, Backbone Mountain...
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September 16, 2003
Yes, that's right, I've made it all the way to Elkins, West Virginia. Why, I'm almost to the East Coast. Regarding WV, put your preconceptions aside. I've been here already six hours, and I've not once been "jacked," robbed, marked as a tourist city slicker and tailed by toothless mountain...
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Earlier today I bagged the highpoints of Indiana (1257') and Ohio (1550'). The tent area of the KOA Kampground where I stayed yesterday was nestled between a nice little pond and the ever-present noise of I70. So, I didn't get much sleep and I didn't feel up to going...
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September 15, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS - "Indy," a.k.a. "The Circle City," looks OK for a flat midwestern town. But, if it's the 11th largest city in the U.S., we're in trouble. The per capita asshole population here seems to be greater than most other places I've visited on my tour. The downtown area is...
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September 14, 2003
INDIANA - So, I was trying to find guest bloggers by standing out in front of Cosi's cafe on Michigan in Chicago. I was holding up a sign that said "Free Blogathon." Almost immediately after setting up, I found what would be my single guest blogger. The rest of the...
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My first guest blogger is Doug, who took his baby for her first trip to the Art Institute, and "she's glad to be born in the year of the second Cubs/White Sox World Series." Also, "She's doing everything she can to overturn the Bush coup." UPDATE: Other than Doug,...
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September 13, 2003
I drove into the Chicago ourskirts on Thursday night, and Friday I went into the city. I started in the Loop, and then I went to a nearby area to visit a couple places that I vaguely remember from many, many years ago. Friday was quite an emotionally difficult day...
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Pictured above is French Canyon, at Starved Rock State Park about 80 miles west of Chicago. There are several small canyons about 50-100' deep, and all the trails on the tops of the canyons are actually board walks with handrails. Which, to a certain extent makes sense as there...
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Normal, Illinois is a smallish town coalesced with Bloomington, Illinois into Siamese twins of unrelenting Midwestern normalness. According to a local source (a hot little Gidget type who despite having received a Lonewacko: Blogging Across America card has not corresponded with me), the students at Illinois State University are...
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September 12, 2003
My interview and pictures at Joe Shea's Route 66 museum can't do it justice, and it's already been covered many times. In his former service station he's collected various Route 66 memorabilia. He showed me various articles that U.S. and overseas newspapers had written about him, including one from...
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While touring the Lincoln House, I noticed that a reporter and his cameraman were outside shooting. It turned out to be Jerry Lambert, News Anchor of Springfield's NBC affiliate News Channel 20. They were there to interview an NPS official about funding for the Lincoln exhibits. "What are the...
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Pictures from Lincoln's house in Springfield IL. That's the actual desk he used, not a replica. Which is kinda trippy when you hold up the ranger's tour thinking about it. As the ranger stated, the stereopticon shown in the middle picture was their version of the Internet. Making me...
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Unfortunately, I had to spend a night there. Like working through sedimentary layers, MO gets down and dirty and pretty darn close to the unreconstructed hickdom frequently visible elsewhere in the midwest. The greenery and water is certainly attractive, and one can almost imagine Huck and Tom around the...
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Apparently, regional English in the eastern Colorado and Kansas areas dictates that one must say "Do you want a sack?" when one is, in fact, offering a "bag." Chicago seems to be using the correct "bag."...
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The next morning, I decided to go check out KC. By this time, I had asked several of the fine residents of the eastern suburbs about this West Port. "All manner of weirdos go there" was the common refrain. In search of my fellow weirdos, I decided to check...
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The reader has, no doubt, heard of Philip Greenspun, author of the famous web journal Travels with Samantha. Basically, his dog dies, so he drives across America and Canada, chatting up and taking pictures of pretty women. The Lonewacko Blogging Across America tour is simply following in his giant footsteps...
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I briefly stopped in Lawrence KS, home of the University of Kansas, in order to take the picture for this post. I didn't like it too much. Kind of like Berkeley (or, more accurately, Westwood) but with the population replaced with farm boys and girls who, come Saturday night, do...
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After the Eisenhower Museum, I decided to get a few "confluences." Confluences are the points where even latitude and longitude lines meet, for instance 97W/39N, 98W/39N, and 99W/39N. Those were all on my flight path and just a few miles from I70. The first is located near Chapman, north of...
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The Eisenhower Museum in Abilene KS has a museum and a library, as well as Ike and Mamie's tomb. A few plaques in the museum deal with Senator Joe McCarthy, and not in a way that Ann Coulter would find to her liking. While the museum has interesting historical...
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September 09, 2003
If Huell and Luis were driving around Salina KS taking a quick tour of the town, and they spotted a store selling gothic and fetish clothing, would they go in and feature it on the hypothetical Kansas Gold show? I think not. What exactly is a gothic and fetish...
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September 08, 2003
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. - I recently posted to the Chicago Bloggers Yahoo group, saying that I'd be there soon and asking if anyone would like to meet me and do things. In response, I received one helpful private reply, and two less than helpful replies to the list. "Jeff" writes: "Why...
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Located in Victoria, KS. Here's their homepage, and here's some pictures from inside. There wasn't anyone there, and I foolishly assumed the doors would be locked, so I didn't even try to see the inside....
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September 07, 2003
1. The High Plains Museum in Goodland: The High Plains Museum is small in size, but it's larger in spirit. It features your standard exhibits about prairie life, antiques, etc. Plus, it has a few dinosaur and mastodon exhibits. All is not sweetness and light; the mannequins gave me the...
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A closed gas station in western Kansas....
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September 05, 2003
These are pictures from Mt. Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas. In actual fact, no technical skills or equipment are required to reach the summit other than about 42 miles of dirt road driving and a 10 foot walk. Most "highpointers" - those who try to reach the highest...
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September 04, 2003
That's a picture of me climbing the Third Flatiron outside Boulder, CO earlier today. This was my first multi-pitch route. Here's more information on the route and a picture of the Third Flatiron, and here's a picture from winter. More later, now it's on to KS....
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September 03, 2003
I'll post higher res pictures later....
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All at the same time that is. This picture was taken at the Four Corners monument where those states meet....
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I briefly visited the LoDo area, and it didn't appear too very bohemian to me. I'd imagine the rents there are outside the capabilities of most starving Denver artists....
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September 02, 2003
Pictures from Zion and Bryce National Parks are here. More pictures later....
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The Lonewacko Blogging Across America tour continues, and I'm now in Denver. It took a bit more time than expected because I was driving aimlessly back and forth through UT, AZ, and the southwestern part of CO, including visiting several national and state parks. I'll post pictures later. However, I'm...
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August 24, 2003
Welcome from St. George, Utah. I'm taking a long road trip, and I might be coming to a town near you. If you're a fellow blogger, let's get together and blog or something. My current plan is to drive all the way to New England. I'll probably take the 70...
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