Odyssey of Peter Judge

7/31/2019 Odyssey of Peter Judge

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The Odyssey

Journal of Peter Judge

(from http://journals.aol.com/pjudge80/TheOdyssey)

Monday, November 3, 2003

2:40:00 PM ESTFeeling AnxiousHearing Howard Tate "Rediscovered"

order out of chaos

As some of you know, I'm driving to N. Carolina to visit Moe, so without further comment, Ibegin.....The Journal.

"I wish that life were simple,

and everything I needed I could carry in my pocket,

and I'd sleep anywhere I found six feet of flat earth.

Or not so flat."

I wrote those words in 1997 when I was going through PHP at Stanford. At the time I was intenselyunhappy about-among other things-the complexity that having CF created in my life. I'm more atpeace with it now than I was then, but sometimes......

My housemates had a going-away/early-birthday dinner for me last night. Robin made a salmonfillet-one of my favorite foods-and there was cake and some very nice travel related presents. I'mfortunate to live where I do and with the people I do.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I have to stop by the clinic, and then get in a swim before reallyhitting the road. My destination the first day is.... Bakersfield, which is distinguished for not havingany distinguishing qualities.

My itinerary is as follows:

Bakersfield, Bullhead City, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis,

Nashville, Asheville NC, and Wake Forest. I'll be coming back via Knoxville, Louisville, St. Louis,Kansas City, Sioux City, Chamerlain S.D., Rapid City, Billings, Missoula, Spokane, Seattle, PortTownsend, Medford/Ashland, and home. Say it fast and it sounds like a Johnny Cash song.

I've got some errands to run-washing the car, pharmacy, swim, blahblah last minute things-so untiltomorrow, take care and love. pete

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Tuesday, November 4, 2003

8:47:00 PM ESTFeeling QuietHearing the radio

an exodus of one

Bakersfield, city of light, city of magic.

Showered, packed, and lightly breakfasted, I left La Honda this morning. Robin and Art and Bruceand Jazzy came out to say goodbye and wish me God's speed. After a couple errands, I got on theroad proper about 11:30. Driving through Gilroy on hwy. 152, I pulled in big lungfuls of air through

my nose, the aroma of garlic as thick and pungent as ever.

I thought of some other names for this journal: "pete's journal", "track pete's trip"-pretty boring."The Odyssey" is a little more poetic, even if my adventures won't rise to the level of Odysseus's.

A couple of stops and an uneventful drive down 99, and I got to Bakersfield just after 4:00, checkedinto the motel and unpacked. I'll probably spend the evening watching TV and reading. I broughtalot of books with me: besides the Bible-"The Quiet American", Graham Greene; "The Corrections",Johnathan Franzen, "The Confessions of Nat Turner", William Styron, "Give War a Chance", P.J.O'Rourke, "On Liberty", J.S. Mill, "A Thief of Time", Tony Hillerman, and yes, "The Odyssey".

Thanks to everyone who's kept me in their thoughts and prayers. Tomorrow Bullhead City. Okayfor now. Take care and love. pete

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Thursday, November 6, 2003

9:08:00 PM EST

the times they are a' changin'

tehachapi windmills

Leaving Bakersfield I pointed the car east. Going over tehachapi, hundreds(thousands?) of giant 3-vaned windmills stretched across almost the whole horizon. Coming down into the Mojave desert, Isaw the first Joshua trees, twisted and pre-historic. I stopped in Mojave for breakfast. When I wasa kid my dad and I used to stop at White's Cafe on the way to Mammoth Lakes. The motel's stillthere, but there's a McDonald's where the restaurant used to be, so I ate at Mike's Roadhousediner. I had the trucker's breakfast: 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham, hash browns, andpancakes. There's a huge field in Mojave where airliners are stored because of the dry climate.Must be hundreds of planes there.

At Barstow-after going the wrong way on I-15-I got on I-40 at its start, where there was a signthat reads "Wilmington NC 2554 miles." I crossed the Colorado river into Bullhead City AZ about

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4:30. There are a lot of pawn shops in Bullhead, which isn't surprising, since it's just across theriver from Laughlin NV. It seems like the poorer a town is, the more pawn shops there are. Takecare. pete

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11:05:00 PM ESTHearing the TV

raising arizona

I almost never forward e-mails, but i'm a sucker for those "getting to know your friends"questionnaires. In one of them there was a question, "are you an ocean person or a mountain

person?" My mom, who grew up in the rocky mountains, said she was a mountain person, becauseshe felt that much closer to God. Between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, I passed over 8046',which, unless I-90 goes higher through Montana, will be the high point of the trip. Good thing too.

I was glad to leave Bullhead City. The place had a shabby, down-at-the-heels feeling to it.Anyway, from there it was the long pull up to the colorado plateau. I stopped in Kingman forbreakfast, and from there went to the Grand Canyon. I was going to swim when I got to Flagstaff,but I was pretty tired, so that and the altitude turned that worm.

So now, I'm relaxing in my room, and in a little bit I'll walk down to the Denny's next to the motel.Fine dining tonight.

Albuquerque tomorrow. Okay for now. pete

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Saturday, November 8, 200310:22:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing NPR

"where the rivers change direction...."

Tucumcari, NM. Tucumcari? I was planning to stay in Albuquerque, but after I stopped there, Idecided to continue on to a lower, oxygen-rich elevation. I'd been above a mile elevation sincebefore the Grand Canyon, and I could feel the difference, so Tucumcari-being only a couple hoursfurther-it was. I made a few stops along the way; one in Winslow, AZ-the picture doesn't need acaption-; at the continental divide; and once or twice for food and gas. Also, by putting in someextra miles, I can take the next two legs of the trip in smaller bites. Instead of Amarillo, I'll go asfar as Shamrock, and then Oklahoma City Sunday.____________________________________________________________________

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Saturday, November 8, 2003

10:59:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'

"where the wind come's sweepin' down the plains..."

I was going to stop in Shamrock, TX, but since Oklahoma City was only another 3 hours, I keptgoing. I stopped at the YMCA in Amarillo. Downtown Amarillo, where the Y is, looks like a ghosttown. I went into a men's store that was having a going out of business, 50% off everything in thestore sale, and the owner said that all the businesses have moved out to the malls.

I stopped in Groom, TX, to see the largest cross in the western hemisphere. I didn't really need tostop, since it's visible from miles away: 190' tall, 110' wide, weighing 2.5 million lbs.

I was hoping to see the lunar eclipse, but, with the exception of a short stretch east of Amarillo, it'sbeen overcast since before the Grand Canyon. I-40 has been following old route 66 since beforeKingman. In lots of places, you can see the old road just off the interstate. It's also the main dragin some of the small towns off the highway. In Tucumcari, there are lots of skeletons of old motelsand other businesses from the days before the middle class could afford to travel by plane.

The interstates are the domain of the 16 wheelers; I think that the rest of us are just visiting.When I go shopping, I don't think about where things come from, but the sheer number of truckson the road makes it clear what the wheels of commerce really are. Going through AZ and NM, Ialso saw a lot of trains, almost all of them pulling flat cars with metal containers or truck trailers.Not one box car.

There are a lot more country/western stations in NM and TX than there are back home. Some ofthem even play real country music. One thing that's the same though, is NPR; you can still hear "a

prairie home companion" on a saturday night.

There's been a Denny's within walking distance 3 out of the 5 places I've stayed. Location,location, location. Just steps from weapons-grade cuisine.

Okay for now. Take care and love. pete

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Sunday, November 9, 2003

11:23:00 PM ESTFeeling QuietHearing patty loveless

oklahoma city

I didn't get on the road to Little Rock until 2:00. I had breakfast and went swimming at thedowntown Y. But before that, I visited the Federal Building Memorial, just 3 blocks from the Y. It's

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a beautiful memorial, with many different features, and a peaceful, quiet feeling. There's a longfence with every type of momento imaginable placed on it by the public. Somber, but touching andserene. I took alot of pictures, but I'll only post a few. As I was walking around, I was looking atthe area and trying to imagine what the bomber-his name isn't mentioned anywhere in thememorial-was thinking and feeling when he parked in front of the building that morning. Just atruck parked in front of a building. That part of downtown Oklahoma City is very nice, with manyold, nicely maintained buildings. Churches, people walking, slow moving cars, parents with

children. How could he have looked around at the same things that I saw, and been able to dowhat he did? To stand in a place that seems so ordinary, and try to fathom what happened thatmorning, how completely unimaginable it must have seemed to the people who were there, to gofrom the familiar and mundane, to the mad and horrific in less than a minute, was very hard forme, if not impossible.

It was a pretty uneventful drive. I pulled off the highway in Henryetta, OK, and took a short nap inthe car. When I was about to get back on the road, I saw a sign in the window of "The HungryTraveller". The sign said, "home-made pie". Like Tevye, I asked myself(not really), would it spoilsome vast eternal plan if I had a piece of home-made pie? Apple.

I got into Little Rock about 8:00. Tomorrow, I'm thinking of just stopping in Memphis for lunch anda little sight seeing, and then pushing on to Nashville. Okay for now. pete

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12:45:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing elvis, johnny, carl, roy, jerry lee, et al

that beautiful tennesse waltz

mississipi bridge graceland sun records

Had a nice swim before leaving Little Rock this morning. I talked to a couple nice people on thestaff, including the executive director, Susan, who gave me a Y t-shirt. When we were talking inthe lobby, I saw the president speaking on television from downtown Little Rock. Coincidence?

Crossed over the mighty Mississippi, Old Man River, the Father of Waters, Big Muddy, you get theidea. First stop in Memphis was Sun Records, birthplace-arguably-of rock n roll. Where JohnnyCash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Elvis got their starts. The founder and brainbehind Sun, Sam Phillips, just died about a month ago. Of all of them, only Jerry Lee's still living.Speaking of Jerry Lee, coming east from Little Rock, I heard his cousin, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, onthe radio. Been a long time. But i digress. Sun, like a lot of things, has been turned into a sort oftheme park version of itself; lots of nostalgia, and heavy on the merchandising-which didn't stop mefrom buying some souvenirs. Still, it's an impressive place to have housed so much talent, andbeen the center of so much that made its way into the culture. I mean, maybe Roy Orbison burped,

RIGHT WHERE I'M STANDING. After that, it was down to Graceland. I didn't take the tour, so juststanding outside the gate wasn't very moving. His private Boeing ,the "Lisa Marie", parked acrossthe street, was impressive though.

Got into Nashville about 7:30, and as usual, it took me a little time to set up shop and do my end-of-the-day paperwork/planning/blahblahblah. Swim, then Asheville, N.C. tomorrow. Ah, N.Carolina, finally the eastern time zone. Actually, i'm two days ahead of schedule. Tail winds.Love. pete

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9:46:00 PM ESTFeeling QuietHearing the man in black

nashville cats

painting in a window ryman auditorium young soldiers

After a swim this morning, I drove into downtown Nashville to see some sights. Downtown has anice mix of old buildings, and new. My first stop was the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand OleOpry from 1943-1974. There had been a big tribute to Johnny Cash the night before, with WillieNelson, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. I also caught the very end of the Veterans Dayparade. As i was taking pictures, a couple of Air Force soldiers passing by said, "you should takeour picture", and I was thinking the same thing, so I said, "sure". It started out as just the two of

them, but in a few seconds, they'd gotten all of their friends to join them. They were all so happyand laughing and sharp-looking in their uniforms. Hopefully they'll spend their whole tour in theU.S.

Tennessee's supposedly the greenest state in the land of the free. I'd vote for West Virginia, but Iwas there in August, not November. Anyway, the south has a very different effect than the west.Going through the desert made me feel like I was really out of reach of civilization. In the parts ofthe south I've been through, even where there aren't any cities or towns, there are farms or othersigns of human habitation. In the desert, it felt like just cactus and scorpions.

Moe and Jenny's tomorrow. It'll be great to see them, and also to unpack all my stuff withouthaving to pack it back up the next morning. Okay for now. Love. pete

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12:07:00 AM ESTFeeling Chillin'

from sea to shining sea almost

I forgot to note the mileage when I pulled into Moe & Jenny's around 4:30 this afternoon, and I

don't feel like walking downstairs and out to the car to look, but it's about 3000 miles. Somewhereon the road I heard a writer on NPR comparing writing a book to driving at night; that you couldonly see a little way ahead with the headlights on, but you could make the whole, long trip thatway. It doesn't seem likely that I crossed N. America, but by doing a few hundred miles every day,I got here before I really noticed; Bullhead city to Flagstaff, Flagstaff to Tumcumcari, etc. and nowI'm here.

After a swim, I left Asheville. It was a pretty uneventful drive, and since Wake Forest is closer toAsheville than I had thought, I got to Moe's about an hour ahead of schedule. Moe had thought hewouldn't be home, but that 45 minutes or so made the difference, and I got to see him before hehad to leave for a couple of hours. That was good, because I had the house to myself to unpack

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and do laundry and shower and fix some food and just relax. Moe and Jenny got home a little laterand we talked and watched a little TV.

We're going to take Elsa(the dog)to the vet tomorrow; she's got a cancer above her jaw, and sometests need to be done. We'll have a few hours to do what we want before she gets picked up, soprobably lunch and a swim.

I have to get up early so that's all for now. Take care. pete____________________________________________________________________

Friday, November 14, 2003

5:12:00 PM ESTFeeling Quiet

a beautiful mind

Id like to thank the Nobel committee

The drive out was 3113 miles. When I went to the Grand Canyon, I paid the entrance fee andpulled into the park. After about a mile there was a long back-up of cars following a slow-i meanreal slow-moving truck. It was one of those highway maintainance type trucks with a seat at theback of the flatbed, and a guy sitting on the seat and putting cones on the center striped line every200 feet or so as the truck cruised along at about 5 mph. The asphalt on the road looked new, butI didn't think much of it and I couldn't see why the cones were being put down. I wasn't born withthe patience of Job, and sitting in traffic is one of the most frustrating things in the world-withoutgoing into it, I think I come by it honest. And when I get impatient, I'm quick to jump to aconclusion, usually a bad one. Anyway, I know myself at least that well, and try not to act like that,but sometimes.... So I'm sitting in this line of cars that's moving at the speed of evolution, and myblood pressure's going up, so when there are no cars coming the other way, I pull into the oppositelane and drive ahead of the line and the maintainance truck. I wasn't zooming, just going fastenough to pass before any oncoming traffic. As I pass the truck, I see that, although there is acenter line on the road after it, there isn't one ahead of it. The truck is painting the line on the newasphalt, and the guy in the jump seat is putting down the cones to keep drivers off the wet paint. Iget to the parking lot and look at my wheels, which now have yellow racing stripes, and the wheelwells, which are dotted with yellow drops of paint. Leaving the park, I pass the spot where I droveover the line, which now has a yellow streak with my tire tread on it, and I think to myself -not forthe first time-that I am now one of those people that if I had seen someone else doing what I hadjust done, I would have shaken my head and thought, "what a jerk". A real Homer Simpsonmoment.

Yesterday was low-key. We took the dog to the vet, then had lunch and went swimming. Went tothe Y today, and then washed my car. Moe and I are going over to a friend's after dinner to playcards. Take care. Pete

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Sunday, November 16, 2003

9:18:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing Howard Tate

down to the sea in ships

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The weather's been mostly good since I got to N. Carolina. Last Thursday was windy, and therewere one or two cold nights, but other than that it's been warm. Today was about 70 degrees. Moeand I went to see "Master and Commander", the new Russell Crowe movie directed by aussie PeterWeir. It was very good; a good story, vivid depictions of life on an early 19th century sailing ship,and intense battle scenes. And despite it being a period piece, and-to some degree-an actionmovie, the characters were all human, and their interactions rang true. No phony relationships ordialogue or conflicts. Had a swim, then ate dinner with Jenny's sister's family. Moe and I are going

to try to make a trip to Kittyhawk. I've never been, and the 100th anniversary is next month. Takecare. pete

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Tuesday, November 18, 20036:55:00 PM ESTFeeling HappyHearing ray charles

paint your wagon

get out of the way jackson pollack painting co.

No entry yesterday-it was a pretty quiet day. Moe and I painted part of his front porch, then laterthat night went over to a friend's house to watch Monday night football. I'm not a real pro footballfan but I went for the company.

Today we went to lunch at a place called "The Forks" lunchroom, which, I think, has something todo with Falls Lake. Or maybe because it's at a fork in the road. The place serves very southerncuisine with no frills. I had fried chicken and mashed potatoes(Dan Quayles downfall-no "e" on thesingular) with gravy, and Moe had yams and cooked cabbage and trunip greens. And of coursesweet tea. We got home and painted some more until the mosquitoes started waking up. Afterdinner we've got a couple of movies. Thursday we go to Kittyhawk. I'm looking forward to that.I've seen a few things on this trip that I've heard about for a large part of my life but have neverseen before. I think the Wright memorial will be one of the highlights. Take care. pete

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Friday, November 21, 2003

2:55:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing various

Kittyhawk

working flyer replica the spot where theair age began

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Moe and I got on the road about 8:30 this morning, heading for the outer banks 200 miles away.Starting about 125 miles from the coast, we saw a lot of evidence of hurricane Isabelle: trees bentover, snapped, and uprooted, lots of homes with roof damage. Crossing Albemarle sound, andRoanoke Island, we got to Kittyhawk about 12:30.

We had no idea, but today was a very good day to visit. Besides the other features of thememorial, a fully operational replica of the Wright Flyer was being tested today, and we got to

witness it's first ever flight. We were up on top of Kill Devil Hill where the large stone monument tothe brothers is located when the flight took place down on the field below. While we were up there,a photographer working with the project was shooting some pictures and he gave us a lot ofinformation about the plane, and about the history of the Wrights and Kittyhawk. He also told usthat the replica Flyer had been built using only the types of materials and tools that the Wrights hadhad; no modern technology.

There's lots of preparation going on for the centennial on Dec. 17: pavilions and bleachers being setup. The plan is for the Flyer replica to fly in front of the huge crowd-including the President, JohnGlenn, Chuck Yeager, and Buzz Aldrin-that morning.

Besides the monument, we went through the small museum and another exhibit building, sawreplicas of the hangar and small wooden house that the Wrights built to house their plane andthemselves, and another replica Flyer and glider. We also saw the stone markers marking the spotswhere the plane, with Orville aboard, first took flight-memorialized in arguably the most famous

photo ever taken-and where the first four flights landed, the first being only 120 feet, and thefarthest that day, made by Wilbur, being over 800. It was hard for me to look at the photo andimagine that I was standing on the very spot where it all happened. What a day that must havebeen for them. By the time Wilbur made the last and longest flight that day, they must have beenas happy as two people can be. Take care. pete

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Saturday, November 22, 2003

5:04:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing sun

misc and kittyhawk redux

Talking to the photographer at Kittyhawk on Thurs he told us a couple more interesting facts. In1903, Kill Devil Hill, the site of the monument, was about 450 feet from it's present location.Originally just a huge sand dune, it was moved by the wind over a number of years. Eventually,grass was planted all over the hill-and down on the flats below where the powered flights tookplace-to stabilize it and keep it from migrating any further. Also, the propellers that the Wrightsused, and which they designed and built themselves, have been subjected to tests at NASA, which

show them to have an efficiency within 5% of modern day propellers. Besides the aeronautics offlight, some of the Wrights's most innovative inventions were their propellers, which they thought ofas moving wings-as opposed to the wisdom of the day, which was to think of them as analogous toship's screws-the engine of their own design, and their ability to control the movement of the planein flight.

Spent the last 2 days mostly at the house. We did some more painting yesterday and today, andyesterday we started excavating a tree stump in the back yard to dig a fire pit. More on that as ithappens.

Moe and I are going out tonight to shot pool and have some food. Take care. pete

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12:57:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing patsy cline

monday

Yesterday morning Moe and I went to the Lutheran church he attends. It was a pretty differentexperience than going to the Vineyard. Not nearly as informal, which isn't good or bad, just notwhat I'm used to....okay, I like the Vineyard.

Last night we went to a local mall so Moe and Jenny could have their picture taken with Elsa(dog)and a man pretending to be Santa Claus. The backdrop was a lot more elaborate than when I was

a kid. Back then, he had a chair and some fake snow, and maybe an archway with some fakemistletoe wrapped around it. Now it looks like part of "it's a small world".

Went to lunch today, and then did some shopping. We rented a couple movies, and watched "TheQuiet American", which I just finished reading a couple days ago.

We were going to go down to Dave's in S. Carolina tomorrow, but we've bumped it back one day.Moe and Jenny's dog has cancer, and the prognosis isn't good, so Moe doesn't want to be gone longin case her condition takes a turn for the worse. We get these animals and somehow we get fond ofthem.

The weather was muggy today, but it wouldn't rain. It finally got cold tonight, down in the 30's.That's not too bad, and mostly it's been beautiful since I got here. On the subject of weather, whenwe went to Kittyhawk it was clear why the Wrights picked it to fly their gliders and planes: strong,consistent wind. The Wright Flyer had a top speed of about 35mph, and on the morning of the first

flight there was a 27mph headwind, so the planes' groundspeed was only about 10 feet/second,about a medium jog. Take care. Pete


2:40:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing various

orangeburg south carolina

moe confronts the legend new and old the big sombrero keep your eyes on theworld monkeys egg, youre getting very sleepy

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Moe and I got on the road around 1:30 this afternoon to Dave and Marie's in SC. We only madeone stop-at Pedro's South of the Border, of course. For those who aren't familiar with Pedro's, it'san institution along I-95, right on the North/South Carolina border. The whole complex probablycovers about a hundred acres, and consists of almost every kind of road-side amenity a personcould think of: market, liquor store, souvenier store(several), fireworks store(also several), motel,RV park, restaurant and fast food joints, and a few other things, all bearing the Pedro's name and,to some degree, the Pedro theme. Pedro-or his inventor-wasn't Walt Disney, but he had a vision.

So, we spent about 45 minutes at Pedro's before getting back on the road. We got to Dave andMarie's just before 7:00. After relaxing for a little while, Marie and Dave took us to dinner at a niceJapanese restaurant, where we had sushi, and watched a Benihana style chef prepare a mixed grillfor another party.

Tomorrow we go over to Norway to Marie's uncle Bubba's for the big Thanksgiving get-together anddinner. There is always a large group of friends and family and more food than can possibly beeaten. The dinner is held in the fellowship hall of the Baptist Church that is on Bubba's property,just a few hundred feet from his home. In years past there's been touch football or deer huntingafter dinner. I've gone on two hunts as a spotter, but probably not this year. Take care. pete

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Friday, November 28, 20031:21:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing tom petty, natalie merchant

thanksgiving

willow swamp baptist church dinner weeping willow

Today was a full one. I got up late, but it wasn't a problem, as we didn't head over to the get-together until about 1:00. We drove to the Willow Swamp Baptist Church-which I mentioned in thelast post-to meet all of the assembled family and friends, and enjoy a lot of good food andfellowship. Marie's extended family is very large, and her relatives have always made me feel verywelcome, even though I'm an old carpetbagger. They couldn't be nicer and I always enjoy seeingthem.

There were great amounts of different foods: turkey, ham, collard greens, sweet potatoes, rice(2kinds), beans(also 2 kinds), casseroles, gravy, different breads and rolls, things I'm probablyforgetting, salads, and 6-7 different desserts.

After eating I took a walk around the church and the small cemetery across the road to stetch mylegs, and my stomach. About 3:30 we went back to Dave and Marie's, where we played cards withher brothers until about 7:30. We left Orangeburg at 8:00, and got back to Moe's just aftermidnight. It's just after 1:00pm now, so that's all. Take care. pete

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Monday, December 1, 200310:08:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing various

heading west

why am i pointing south? take the picture and leave redstone rocket

I said goodbye to Moe and Jenny this morning. It was a good visit, and I could have stayed longerwith no trouble, but my hosts might have had something to say about that. On the up side, i'mlooking forward to seeing new country, and I can sing to the radio without getting on anyone's badside.

I made a stop at the Durham Museum of Science before getting on the road. They have a Mercury-Redstone rocket with a Mercury capsule mock-up at the top. This was the rocket that was usedto launch Alan Shepard and Gus Grissum on their sub-orbital flights. I was surprised at how smallthe rocket was, probably only 80-90 feet tall. By comparison, the Saturn V's that were used inApollo were 363 feet.

Got to Knoxville just after 4:00. After getting set up, I went out to get some food, and to a musicstore to get a pitch-pipe to tune the banjo. Here's the story: last friday we had dinner at the housewith Jenny's sister and brother-in-law, and Moe and Jenny's next door neighbor Betty. She wasasking about e-bay, and said she had a banjo she wanted to sell. I asked her if I could look at it,and so on Saturday, Moe and I went next door. It was a nice instrument, and Betty said that Icould take it and send her what I thought was a fair price when I got home. So now I have abanjo. Here in Knoxville, I went to Pick 'n Grin, a music store specializing in string instruments.

They sold me a pitch-pipe, and Matt, the counter-man, tightened the head for me, and adjusted theneck. A nice guy, we talked for a while, and he gave me the name of some restaurants inBozeman, for when I pass through there.

Swim tomorrow, and then Louisville, via Mammoth Caves. Take care. pete

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Tuesday, December 2, 200311:35:00 PM ESTFeeling QuietHearing tom waits

mammoth cave

wait, werent there four of you? USGS survey mark in cave another morning

After a swim this morning, I got on the road heading north toward Kentucky. I made one stop justbefore the state line to take a quick nap and buy some very smooth and fudge. Leaving the

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interstate, I took the Cumberland Parkway west. All along the way were green, rolling hills,interspersed with river valleys and limestone cliffs.

I got to Mammoth Cave about 3:00, in time to catch the last tour of the day at 3:30. Being the off-season, there were only 3 of us and the park ranger, so we got to see some things that therewouldn't have been time to see with a big group. Mammoth cave is the largest cave complex in theworld, covering-currently-360 square miles. Back in 1972, a cave explorer was the first to discover

a link between Mammoth and Crystal cave, thus making it the worlds largest. It was impossible toappreciate the size, because we saw just a tiny part of it, and from well established walkways atthat. To have crawled and slithered through wet, narrow cracks, not knowing what was ahead, or ifyou would hit a dead end and have to back out-if you could-would have been something elsecompletely. People did get lost, and some never came out again. At one point in the tour, ourguide turned out the lights. I don't know if I've ever experienced utter darkness before. He alsotold us to stay silent. Under those conditions, after some time has passed, people will begin to havevisual hallucinations, and will mistake there own heartbeat for an outside source of sound. Thehuman mind can only take so much-or so little maybe.

I was going to stay in Louisville tonight, but after trying-unsuccessfully-to get reservations at acouple different motels(I forgot to make them last night), I went about 20 miles west to Corydon,Indiana, and found a place. Check out time isn't until noon, and I pick up an hour in centralIndiana, so tomorrow I'm sleeping in. Yawn. St. Louis tomorrow. Take care. pete

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Wednesday, December 3, 200311:54:00 PM ESTFeeling QuietHearing o brother where art thou?

st. louis

outside sun records one dog night no, I havent seen roadkill shshi just kiddingyour pet rabbit

Southern Indiana-miles of rolling farm and grassland. I made a short detour to Evansville to goswimming, and ended up spending a couple hours at the Y. Crossing through Illinois, I ran intolight rain that lasted all the way into St. Louis. Crossing the Mississippi river, this time going west, Ihad my first views of the Arch. It was lit from below, and had a light silvery sheen. Since I gothere too late, I'll go to the Arch tomorrow. I'm actually staying in Maryland Heights, about 15 mileswest of the city. Also tomorrow, time allowing, I'll see the transportation museum in nearbyKirkwood.

I'm managing to stay a day or two ahead of the weather. The last 2 nights I've watched the news,and snow is predicted a couple days after I leave the area. It's supposed to rain throughout thenight, but the tempature will only get down to about 36 degrees, so no snow.

I didn't take any pictures today, but I'm going to post a few of the better ones that didn't make itup before. take care. pete

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Thursday, December 4, 200311:29:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing man in black

missouri breaks

at the top view from the arch

It started out a damp and chilly day in St. Louis. After breaking camp and taking a swim, I headedto downtown and the Arch. Just a few hundred feet from the Mississippi, the park surrounding thearch is pretty with lots of trees and paths and pools. The Arch itself is a contrast in big andsmall; that something so big-and to really appreciate size, you have to stand at the bottom and lookup-should have bases that are only 54 feet on a side. An inverted catenary, in cross section thearch is a triangle, with the apex in the center and the base on the outside. "Graceful" is probablyan over-used adjective to describe it, but that it is. At the top, it's only 17 feet wide, and of coursenarrowing to a point underneath the floor. The entrance to the Arch is underground, where there isa museum and other exhibits. A train of little ferris-wheel type closed cars takes you to the top.The cars, which have 5 seats facing toward the middle, are shaped like a barrel on its side, with acircumference of about 5 feet, and a depth of about 4.5. It's not for the claustrophobic. It's abouta two minute ride. From the observation windows, there's great views of St. Louis, the river, andinto Illinois. The architect, Eero Sarinaan, died in 1961, two years before construction actuallystarted.

After the Arch I was a little tired, so I skipped the transportation museum. Got into Independence,MO, just outside of Kansas City, just after 7:00. Got set up and relaxed for a bit, and now I'mgoing to head out and have some food. Take care. pete

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Friday, December 5, 2003

9:52:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing howard tate

atchison, topeka, and sioux city

atchison train museum hamburg, iowa - no comment Leavenworth bestseen from the outside

Cold tonight in Sioux City. There's snow on the ground, but it isn't snowing now. The tempature issupposed to be down below 20 degrees tonight.

I was in 4 states today. I started in Missouri, ended in Iowa, and made short trips into Kansas-andthe Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth-and Nebraska. There must be a special school just forprison architects.

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During my first trip to see Moe, in 1997, I spent an afternoon in Washington DC, mostly in theNational Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. More than one person has told me that to dojustice to the Smithsonian, you would have to spend a couple weeks there. Driving around thecountry recently, as much as I've seen, for every one thing I do, there are 5 things that I don't havetime for-if I'm going to get home before my money and medicine run out. Today for example, Ifound myself-mostly by chance-in Atchison, Kansas, as in Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. There'sa small museum there, dedicated mostly to the railroad, and Atchison native Amelia Earhart. The

things I didn't see were the Truman Library in Independence, a riverboat exhibit, a keelboatmuseum, and the Strategic Air and Space Museum. In addition, in any city or town, are buildings orsites of historic interest. There's just too much to see.

Scenes from an interstate: motels, gas stations-with and without minimarts-restaurants, from fastfood to coffee shops to haute cuisine, truck stops and truck washes, fireworks stores, antiquestores, souvenier shops, museums for almost anything, discount cigarette stores, trucks, trains,single-wides, farms, factories, cows, horses, green earth, brown earth, black asphalt, white snow,and gray sky.

South Dakota tomorrow. Take care. pete

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Saturday, December 6, 200311:33:00 PM ESTFeeling QuietHearing patsy cline

chamberlain, SD

Chamberlain is a Lakota Sioux word that means "middle of nowhere". I got my first taste of coldweather today. From Sioux City to Sioux Falls, the tempature was in the 20's, but the wind made itfeel colder. Lots of snow on the ground until around Mitchell, SD-home of the Corn Palace. Afterthat, the sun actually came out. Currently in Chamberlain it's about 35 degrees.

I stopped in Sioux Falls to go to the Y and to take a short nap in the car. Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa,South Dakota: what do they have in common? They all have legalized gambling. It surprised me,

I don't know why.

So far, South Dakota looks a lot like I imagined; lots of snow-cover flatness, farms, cows, smalltowns. I know, though, that further west the terrain will start to change.

No pictures today. Mount Rushmore tomorrow. Take care. pete

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Sunday, December 7, 2003

11:25:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing los lobos

4 presidents and a good indian

Ive been crossing this crazy horse from a scale model sculptedriver since st. louis distance of one mile by ziolkowski

I'm limited to 2500 characters, so this might take 2 entries.

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Today was the fullest yet. I was on the road by 9:00, made a stop in Wall, SD, and was in RapidCity just after noon. Western SD: Cosmos Mystery Area, Bear Country USA, the Reptile Garden,Wall Drug, the Petrified Garden, the 600 lb. prairie dog, jackelopes, the Presidential Wax Museum,the Black Hills, the Badlands, Rushmore Cave, Crystal Cavern, Bethlehem Cave, shaggy poniesgrazing by the highway, snow-covered plains, roadside billboards by the hundreds, more snow-covered plains, Ellsworth Air Force Base-home of the 28th bomber wing, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy HorseMountain, and more modest tourist attractions too numerous to mention.

After checking into the motel, I got in a swim at the local Y, and got on the road to Mt. Rushmoreabout 2:00. It was strange getting my first glimpse of the mountain. It's such an icon, and I'veseen pictures and films of it for most of my life, so rounding a curve in the road, and suddenlyseeing it, was pretty exciting. The park is very nice, with a book store, gift shop, restaurant, and alarge ampitheater at the base of the mountain. There's also a walkway with the flags of the 50states and markers with the dates of their induction into the union.

After that it was a few miles further down the road to the Crazy Horse memorial. It's hard to tellfrom the pictures just how big the sculpture really is. The visitor center, where the current viewingarea is, is a mile from the mountain. Suffice to say, it's huge. The mountain itself, and the entirememorial, has always been privately funded; it's never received any state or federal money. Thecreator and sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, twice refused $10,000,000 from the federal government,because he didn't believe they had the same vision and commitment to the enterprise that he had.No kidding. Similiarly, the federal government gave Samuel Langley-the Wright brothers main

rival to build the first plane-$50,000 to build his Aerodrome, the flying career of which was limitedto two nose dives off a houseboat into the potomac, while the bicycle mechanics from Dayton madehistory. Okay, I could say a lot more, but there's so much information that I'll refer you to the website: www.crazyhorse.org.

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11:49:00 PM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing los lobos

crazyhorse II

Note: read the next entry down first.

Crazy Horse-who was one of the planners of the battle of Little Bighorn, never signed a treaty withthe US and never lived on a reservation-was killed when he was literally stabbed in the back by aUS soldier while under a flag of truce.

Got back to the motel very tired around 5:30, did a breathing treatment, then treated myself to a

buffet dinner at the Golden Corral across the street. Now I've loosened my clothes and I'm justrelaxing. Lastly, two notes: Moe and Jenny's dog Elsa succumbed to cancer yesterday, and mythoughts are with them; and today would be Amy's 32nd birthday. Go gently Amy Rebecca. pete

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http://www.crazyhorse.org/http://www.crazyhorse.org/


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Tuesday, December 9, 20031:08:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing npr

big sky

TV in N. Dakota: I saw 3 different shows on bow-hunting; in Rapid City there's a show called"Fugitive Watch" that's sort of a local "America's Most Wanted", which shows mug shots of localfugitives, and what they're wanted for, while musak plays in the background; also saw Fred Pricefrom the Crenshaw Christian Center on the old Pepperdine campus in south central L.A.; there's amessage-I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's a Christian sentiment-that's painted in bigwhite letters in the parking lot, that is right under the glide-path at LAX and that you have a bird's-eye view of as you descend into the airport.

Even with 4-wheel drive, a car will slide.

When I visited Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse yesterday, there were almost no other people there.I watched a great 23 minute orientation documentary at Crazy Horse, and I was the only one in thetheater. There's a real advantage to visiting out of season.

I set the alarm for 9:30 this morning, but I woke up at 8:00, so I took my time packing up. Therewas a little bit of very dry, powdery snow last night. When I was loading the car, I filled my coolerwith snow I scraped off the windshield. Checked out at the stroke of 10:59, then went and had abig breakfast. Today's drive was one of the longer ones on the trip, so I skipped swimming and wason the road at noon. Stopped in Surgis-which is the site of a huge Harley rally every summer-andvisited the local H-D shop and a small motorcycle museum. There's a lot to see and do in westernN. Dakota; it would be a nice place to visit and stay for a few weeks.

Got into Billings after 7:00 and found a motel. Not much else to tell. I'm just relaxing after a longday on the road.

I've been thinking about-and listening to-Johnny Cash and June Carter a lot recently. There's a linein "Meet Me in Heaven", that he wrote for the "Unchained" album, that goes, "Can't be sure how it'sgoing to be, when we walk into the light across the bar, But I'll know you, and you'll know me, outthere beyond the stars." There's a Yiddish word, "basherta"-I doubt I'm spelling it right-thatmeans, "meant to meet." You only get one of them in your life. June and Johnny were basherta.Take care. pete

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Tuesday, December 9, 2003

11:23:00 PM EST

Feeling Chillin'Hearing haywood banks

pardon my whiskey breath, i just got in from Butte*

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going the wrong way. Finally got to Mavis'(Art's sister) about 8:00. I was tired last night, so noentry. This morning, Mavis' fiancee, Henry, made me breakfast, and after loading the car, I left justbefore noon. Before leaving Spokane, I stopped at the Spokane Valley YMCA to swim. It wasprobably the nicest Y I've ever seen. I had skipped 3 days in a row, so getting back in the waterwas deeply satisfying.

After a dreary drive across eastern Washington, I crossed the Cascades and arrived in Seattle at

6:30. Sara works in Lynwood, about 30 minutes north, and I met her there. She had to work until10:30, so I had dinner and tried to find new strings for my banjo-no joy. Busy day tomorrow. Takecare. pete

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Saturday, December 13, 2003

4:35:00 AM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing various

emerald city redux

I did and saw a lot today. I also forgot to take my camera. But, Sara and I are going back intoSeattle tomorrow, so I'll get pictures then.

First stop today was Dusty Strings, to have the banjo re-strung. I hadn't done it before, and I wasglad to watch someone else do the job, since I found out that there were a few ways to do itwrong. Next stop was the AAA office, of which I had the address. A few words here about Seattle.It is, I think, even prettier than San Francisco. It's also the worst city I've ever driven in. None ofthe streets go straight, they dead-end and start up again, they go from two-way to one-way andback to two-way, there is an express freeway, which if you get on, you stay on for many milesbecause there are no off-ramps. I found out about this last one while watching all of downtownSeattle passing me by. I finally ended up down by the football and baseball stadiums, which are onthe southern end of downtown. The AAA office turned out to be on the north end, naturally. It hasa huge red neon sign, "AAA", inside a red circle, that's probably visible from orbit, but of course Ididn't see it before I got on the can't-get-there-from-here freeway. After that I went looking for aKinko's. One other area where Seattle rivals San Franciso is lack of parking. I found Kinko's, then

drove around for ten minutes looking for a place to park. I finally parked at the Jack-in-the-Boxacross the street. There was a "customer parking only" sign, but I thought, "I'll bet nobody evergets ticketed". Until today. $65.

Needless to say, the day wouldn't have been complete unless I got lost going back to Sara's. Ifinally called her at work. Men, if desperate enough, will stop and ask for directions. After that, Iwas 30 minutes late picking her up.

We went to Tony Roma's for dinner, and several hoofed animals went on to a better world, as didan oversized piece of cheesecake. Last thing of the night, we went to feed a friend's of Sara's cat.His apartment had views in three directions, including downtown(and the Space Needle) and PugetSound; beautiful. Take care. pete

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3:36:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing tom waits

washington state of mind

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i thought san fran- the experience music projectcisco was far left from outer space

Today was a busy one. Sara and I left the house about 11:00 and took two cars so I could catchthe ferry and she could go to work when we were done. We made two short stops on Fremont so Icould take pictures, then parked my car at her friend's and drove together to Seattle Center. This isa neat complex near downtown that has theaters, conference centers, a staduim, the ExperienceMusic Project, a small amusement park, the monorail, lots of other attractions, and the highlight,the Space Needle. Although I've seen lots of pictures over the years, I was still struck by howgraceful it is. Even on a rainy day, there were lots of people there. We rode up to the top, andspent some time checking out the various vistas of Seattle, Puget sound, and the surrounding

geography, and being blown around by the wind. We then went down to the restaurant directlyunder the observation platform, and had brunch. "Sky City", rotates completely around once every47 minutes. For the second day in a row we ate very well.

Sara had to be at work at 3:30, so we just had time to check out the gift shop before walking backto the car. She dropped me off and we said goodbye, and I drove down to the ferry terminal. TheBainbridge Ferry left at 3:45, and Seattle looked beautiful from the back of the departing ferry.Crossing Puget sound, I could see all the way to the Olympic mountains in the west. Landing atBainbridge after the 30 minute crossing, it took me about an hour and a half to get to PortTownsend. As I was driving down Water Street, which runs along the sound, a man fell down onthe sidewalk. I did a u-turn and drove back to see if he was all right. Another man, an off-dutyfirefighter, had also just stopped, and I gave him my cell phone to call 911. The man on the groundwas a fisherman from Dutch Harbor Alaska, named Mike, and there was nothing wrong with himexcept too much alcohol. The fireman said he'd wait for the paramedics, so I left and got to Daveand Jacky's about 5:45. Had dinner with them, and Jacky's mother, son, and grandson. Afterward,

just relaxed. Take care. pete

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Monday, December 15, 20033:01:00 AM ESTFeeling Chillin'

port townsend

county courthouse dave deals with the dave and jacky and diva local fountainpaparazzi

Washington is known as the Evergreen State. Of all the states I've visited, it's probably the mostbeautiful. The better part of today was spent getting a tour of Port Townsend with Dave. All

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around on land is deciduous rain forest, and on two sides is Puget Sound. Across the sound can beseen Whidbey Island and the San Juans. To the west and south are the snow-covered Olympicmountains. Dave also gave me a lot of history about some of the things that we saw. We spentsome time at Fort Worden, at the north end of town. A former active army base, one of threeguarding Puget Sound, it has been turned into a state park, with camping sites, former officerhousing that has been turned into vacation rentals, and lots of hiking areas and otherwise lovelyscenery. It was here, also, that most of "An Officer and a Gentleman" was filmed.

Downtown Port Townsend has been nicely preserved and has many old victorian style buildings. Wevisited Jacky's store, Twigs, and had fish 'n chips for lunch at a little hole in the wall called Sea J's.

I just watched a show on TLC called "The Wright Stuff", about an attempt by a group in Virginia tobuild a working Flyer, and the problems they ran into. What the Wrights did is even moreimpressive. Take care. pete

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Wednesday, December 17, 2003

1:31:00 AM ESTFeeling QuietHearing nanci griffith

six weeks on the road

welcome to california

Pointing the car south from Port Townsend yesterday, the scenery down the Olympic Peninsula waslush and green. Following Hood Canal, there were many bays and coves. After many miles, thewater finally ended, and soon I was passing through the city of Olympia. To the east were theCascades, but Mt. Ranier was covered in clouds. I could see Mt. St. Helen, though, looking snowyand sinister. Crossing over the Columbia river for the second time-the first was between Spokaneand Seattle; wider than either the Missouri or the Mississippi, with sheer cliffs extending down tothe water, it had a primordial appearance; I could easily imagine huge marine reptiles breaking thewater and pteradactyls drifting down the canyon on leathery wings-and crossed into Oregon. Gotinto Eugene and found a motel, the phones of which turned out to be the only ones of the trip thatdidn't have a plug-in jack, so no entry last night.

Up early this morning, and after a swim at the Y, got on the road. Stopped about an hour south forbreakfast, and a little later for a nap. Crossed over Siskiyou pass-the highest point on I-5, and thelast place that I might have needed chains-and a few miles later was in California. Stopped inYreka, just over the border, for gas. Also had a view of Mt. Shasta for many miles, its upper slopes

covered with snow. Got to Redding about 6:30 and have been relaxing. Take care. pete____________________________________________________________________

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Thursday, December 18, 20031:42:00 AM ESTFeeling Chillin'Hearing bob seger, los lobos

home

a familiar sight full circle

6 weeks and 1 day, 21 states, 8545 miles. Bakersfield, Bullhead City AZ, Flagstaff, Tucumcari NM,Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Nashville, Asheville NC, Wake Forest, Orangburg SC, Knoxville TN,Carydon IN(Louisville), St. Louis, Independence(Kansas City), Sioux City Iowa, Chamberlain SD,Rapid City, Billings, Missoula, Spokane, Seattle, Port Townsend, Eugene OR, Redding CA.

I saw a lot of new country, many things and places I hadn't seen before. I saw natural and man-made wonders, and the results of one man-made horror. Went from within a few miles of the

Pacific Ocean, to within a few yards of the Atlantic. Moe and I got to see the Wright Flyer struggleairborne, a sight that the President and a crowd of luminaries was denied. Saw Ablemarle Soundand Puget Sound. Crossed several mountain ranges. Went from sea- level to over 8000'. Sawmany friends and spent 18 great days with Moe.

The alarm was set for 7:30 this morning; I wanted to get home early so I wouldn't be unpacking inthe dark. I woke up at 5:45, and decided to stay up. Took my time getting ready and was on theroad at 8:15. It was an uneventful drive, and the Golden Gate bridge was a cheerful sight. By 2:30I was home, and was greeted by Robin and Jazzy. Unloaded the car, did laundry, and slowlyunpacked. Art and Bruce get home a little later and we had one of Robin's classic dinners.

Those of you who followed along via the log know what a good trip it was. Robert Frost said thathome is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you. It's good to be home.Take care and love. pete

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4/22/05

Documents

Odyssey of Peter Judge