Off the beaten path.

After a much-needed R&R in Tucson, it feels great to be back home at la casa, sitting on the patio with Miz K, both of us playing on our laptops and sipping on High Lifes. (High Lives?)

Tucson is a fabulous town -- hip and quirky, dry and hot, with fantastic hiking, food and people-watching. It was so lovely to see the culmination of Miz K's first year of work with Voices Inc. Her students, photography novices all, produced some amazing work, which is testament to both their own perseverance and their instructor's mad skills.

Went for two short but great hikes -- Gates Pass to the west, at sunset, and Catalina State Park to the north. A town surrounded by mountains and home to one of my BFFs ... why am I so eager to move overseas when I could just move down to the desert?


The Tucson trip was capped by a perfectly lovely evening listening to samba music at The Hut with K and her friends Sean and Monica. The musicians were mostly a bunch of gray-haired white men, flanked by a more traditionally rasta-styled drummer and a beautiful flutist of indeterminate heritage. Despite their anglo looks, the band was fantastic. Everyone -- all ages, all body types, all socioeconomic levels -- grooving together. We danced and danced and then went to The Grill for bad tater tots and sophomoric, giggly humor. Such a fun night.

Then we hit the road. First to Phoenix to see the Fabulous! Miz J and Mr M, as well as K's adorable extended family, then 2o+ hours to Lincoln. The drive from Phoenix through New Mexico is just phenomenal.


We saw many amazing sights along the way. Most defy description.


Miz K drove the whole way, by choice. She's quite the multitasker.


Now we're back, as if things had never left off last August. Amy's here with a pack of smokes and a bottle of Piesporter. William's on his way over. All is right with the world.

Back from the road.

Miz K and I took a kickass driving tour of Nebraska over a three-day weekend. We took Highway 2, to see all the little towns (how can there be so many "towns" with fewer than 5o residents?) and so we could stop frequently to pee and refuel (Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper and pie).

Carhenge is totally worth the six-hour drive. The near-dusk light was perfectly eerie. The view from my dashboard:


Krista showed me how to frame this shot:


From Alliance, we drove up to Chadron State Park to camp for the night, setting up in the dark. The piney scent was lullabying. In the middle of the night the pine mixed with the smell of what we thought was leftover campfire smoke; in the morning we learned there'd been grass fires up on the Pine Ridge reservation.

From Chadron, we drove to Smith Falls State Park and set up camp there for the second night. It's "Nebraska's newest state park" and doesn't have much in the way of amenities. But it's on the Niobrara River, which I had never seen. Sunday was freaking hot, so we didn't do much but sit with our asses in the river water, drinking High Life.

Krista at Smith Falls:


On Monday morning we set up an impromptu, short Niobrara tubing expedition, just a couple of hours before we had to head back to Lincoln. The river is so beautiful, and so utterly quiet. Stark bluffs topped by forest. It's like a whole 'nother Nebraska from the one I know. I was afraid to take my camera along on the river; then we got off and I complained that it would have been fine, nothing we brought got wet; then I dumped the cooler (which would've held the camera) into the river.

So no tubing photos. But here's a view from our campsite:


Mostly we spent our weekend just driving, snacking and talking ... perfect. K & I made good camping partners ... we don't mind getting dirty and smelly, we overpack for any situation, we can talk the virtues of roughing it even while listening to a "This American Life" podcast, scratching our mosquito bites and wishing we'd brought a pad to sleep on ...

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Road trip by the numbers:

Road trip iPod mixes: 2
Signs involving animals: ??? (Krista will have to fill this in, she was the official keeper of the animal signs list)
Tubing outfitters in well-worn Wranglers: 2
Tanks of gas: 3
Stops by state troopers: 1
Warnings instead of tickets: 1 (!!!!!)

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Here's a good road trip mix list:

Hit the Road and Go, Johnny Cash
The Truck Song, Lyle Lovett
Interstate Cannonball, Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
Another Traveling Song, Bright Eyes
Passenger Side, Wilco
Dirt Road Blues, Bob Dylan
Lonely Road, Sarah Benck and the Robbers
Dashboard, Modest Mouse
Floorboard Blues, Cowboy Junkies
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
Ghost on the Highway, Exene Cervenka
Speeding, the Go-Go's
Devil in My Car, B-52s
King of the Road, REM
Let's Get Lost, Lloyd Cole
My Way Home, Citizen Cope

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