Follow Me!

Oh, what I have seen since the last time I sat down to write! Let's see, since then I've made my way down from Montana and Idaho, across Utah and Nevada, up through the Northern California heartland, back down the California coast, seen the bright lights of Vegas, and now sit in the middle of nowhere near the north rim of the Grand Canyon! Whew! Sorry for not writing in a while! It's been a blast, and believe it or not, the experience truly is getting me closer to figuring all those things out that I set out to find. No, I haven't answered the mysteries of the universe just yet, but I think I've learned a bit more about who Lefty really is.

I thought it would be fun to put up a map of my travels, and include some interesting tidbits about each of the spots. Next time I'll post some more pictures, and boy, do I have some doozies! It really is beautiful country out here.

If you are interested, the following footnotes accompany the numbering on the map above. The numbers don't correspond with "days" or anything, just interesting things or places along the way. Click the map to open it full size.

#1 - The starting point of Lefty's trail... Jensen Beach, Florida. Some serious memories here. Some good, some not so pleasant... including the reason I started this little journey.
#2 - Beaufort, SC: Wanted to visit an old friend and say goodbye. I've had a tough time letting go of her, but it was good to see her one last time. I don't think she checks in and reads this blog, even though she was the one that said "I'll stay in touch. We can be friends, and I'd hate to think of life without you as friend." Yeah. Uh-huh. That's why she hasn't initiated contact in 5 months. Karen, if you do read this, sorry, but that's the truth. Ok, I digress... sorry about that folks. While on this # on the map, note the curiously incorrect placements by this cartographer of Augusta and Savannah, GA. They put Augusta where Savannah is, and put Savannah down the coast where Brunswick is supposed to be!
#3 - A quick stop at my Uncle Bill's place before "heading west"!
#4 - Christmas & New Year's in Little Rock! Simply the best. Thanks for it all you two!
#5 - Some time in Tunica, Mississippi proving to myself that I'm actually a decent poker player.
#6 - Iowa City, IA... home to my dear friends Ann and Bishop. Thanks for the hospitality! I hope it works out for me to loop back that way on my return trip.
#7 - The "frozen tundra of Lambeau Field", also home to my friend Greg. What's happening Schmitty!!!
#8 - Snow started to fall really heavily here in southern Minnesota, so I darted back south in an effort to stay out of the worst of it... HA! That didn't work out to well after spending a couple of days stuck in Ames, IA. Oh well... found a great little Mexican restaurant there. You know me.
#9 - Omaha, NE: Not much to mention here, so I won't. hehe.
#10 - Sioux Falls, SD: Spent the night here and felt like I was finally on the road. No old friends in front of me, no security blankets. Just me, the road, new people and places, and life waiting to be lived.
#11 - Badlands National Park, SD - You already know about my camping trip here. So far, one of the best memories of the trail.
#12 - Buffalo, WY - First attempt at heading to Yellowstone - road closed.
#13 - Sheridan, WY - Second attempt at heading to Yellowstone - ditto.
#14 - Billings, MT - My third attempt at heading to Yellowstone - uh-huh... you guessed it.
#15 - Livingston, MT - Finally an open portal to the park! Stocked up on supplies for camping.
#16 - Mammoth Springs Campground & Yankee Canyon Campground. Spent some wonderful nights here. Went for my first "Vision Quest" on a mountain top. Although nothing was more powerful than that morning in the Badlands. More about that quest another time.
#17 - Drove across Yellowstone to where the road would have come in from Billings. Highest elevation that I've been at on this trip - 8,000+ ft. above sea level. Elk, Bison, Coyote.
#18 - Butte, MT: Along with Missoula, Butte became a second home for me as I traveled in this region. I looped around a couple of areas, but weather seemed to force me back to Butte or Missoula more often than it cooperated.
#19 - Watched the Superbowl in a hotel in Missoula. Thank GOD the Patriots lost!!! Also, after finding out that two of the campgrounds in Glacier National Park were open for "winter" camping, I stocked up on supplies here and then headed north.
#20 - Couer d'Alene, ID: Actually, this stop came before I headed to Glacier. I went up and down that stretch of I-90 a couple of times.
#21 - Glacier National Park: I spent three nights here. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was in the Badlands. Actually, even though there was a TON of snow, the temp was a balmy 26 - 35. Not bad, really. Some beautiful country up here, at least West of the Continental Divide. I was amazed at how much it changed as soon as I went over it here on the east side of the park. Quite a contrast compared to other places that I've crossed it before. It went from alpine terrain to "high plain" or even "desert". Very interesting.
#22 - Crossed the border back into Idaho... this time Southern Idaho. Some really interesting landscapes up here, and quite high in elevation. Near white out conditions from snow, fog and blowing snow. Found out that it takes awhile to get anywhere moving 5 mph!
#23 - Idaho Falls, ID. Again, nothing too special other than another Super 8 Motel.
#24 - Salt Lake City, UT - Would have been some beautiful country here, but I discovered what happens to the best that Mother Nature can provide if too many people and too much industry comes around. So much air pollution that I could hardly see the lake. Ugh! Maybe another day would be different, but this was quite disappointing.
#25 - Bonneville Salt Flats - I neared the world land speed record of 600+mph while driving on I-80... haha... just kidding... kind of.
#26 - Reno, NV - Got stuck here for a night 'cause Donner Pass into California was closed. I managed to find some entertainment at Harrah's Hotel and Casino. Imagine that!
#27 - Mount Shasta area, California. This was some cool country. After coming through some of the valleys at sea level or just above, there was this 14,000+ft. behemoth in front of me. Spent some time hiking near Lake Shasta. Was going to camp here, but those crazy Californians don't like the people with national park passes, so I moved on up the road. Saw that I was relatively close to Redwood, so moved on.
#28 - Starting point of a great week. Headed west from Grant's Pass, Oregon, down US 199 towards Redwood National Park. I had NO IDEA that I would run into one of my NEW favorite places! Smith River National Recreation Area. Wow! Stunning views, a pristine river, trout that bit no matter what you had on the end of a line (thanks Bill!!!), and some incredible mountain drives. I spent three days and two nights in this wonderland just soaking it in. I will be back!
#29 - Smith River Campground - Really, starting a campfire with damp wood is not as easy as you'd think, even with the right "stuff". But once it's going... AHHH!
#30 - Redwood National Park - Simply amazing. I challenge anyone to walk through these forests and not come out without a greater appreciation of the environment. More on that topic next time...
#31 - Started down the scenic "Shoreline Highway"... Also known as California Highway 1. Stunning views, sheer cliffs, hairpin turns that really do make your hair stand on end, and some awesome photographic opportunities.
#32 - Spent the night on a bluff overlooking the Pacific with huge surf thundering against the rocks below... slept like a baby.
#33 - San Francisco, CA - Very cool city, but too many people for me. The Golden Gate Bridge was cool.
#34 - Monterey Peninsula & Carmel Bay - Interesting. One minute you are in fairly dry, barren land... grassland mostly, then all of the sudden, "boom"! I guess everyone in Central CA was here though since it was the weekend and beautiful weather. Got out and strolled around for a awhile. Didn't want to pay 11 dollars to take the scenic 17 mile drive though. Maybe next time. There were just too many people and too much traffic!
#35 - Death Valley - Again, too many people. I guess I need to plan on visiting parks in off seasons, like I did with Yellowstone and Glacier. It was beautiful, especially with some of the wildflowers in bloom, but again, just too many darn people. I'll go to Death Valley again in July. That should be interesting!
#36 - Vegas - Come on, you really didn't think that I'd come all the way out here and not at least stop in, did you? All told, a successful venture at the Bellagio, walking away $600 up at the $2-$5 no-limit hold-em table... RUN while you can, Lefty!
#37 - Zion National Park - Stunning! Again, some great photos. Still a lot of people, even for a Monday. I guess a lot of people heading out of Vegas after the long weekend stopped in here.
#38 - Here I am in a little town named Kanab. I'm going to head towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow, but I've been told that there's a lot of snow. It's 54 degrees here in Kanab, but it's only at 4,500 feet. The road to North Rim goes over 7,000 and close to 8,000. So I may not be able to go that way. The back-up plan is to head north from here to Bryce Canyon National Park, then north up 89 to I-70. From there, head East into Colorado.

So, there you have it. Lefty's Trail. At least the physical side of it. The more interesting side is the spiritual and non-tangible side that I've been able to connect with. It's been a blast and I'm looking forward to a few more days before I head back East.

Next time, another photo update and some thoughts about what you can't see.

'till then.

Lefty