It has been a long road since last we wrote.

Highway One and California have treated Jeanie and I very well these last few weeks.

After leaving Crater Lake (last post) on the fourth, we headed south to Medford, Oregon. While we were there, we hung out at a local coffee shop, dumpstered a bit, and got into the movies. It was a really fun night. We saw about twenty minutes of 'The Condemned' (booo), all but the first few minutes of 'Hott Fuzz' (woooo!) and all of Spider-Man 3 which wasn't too bad. We got in on opening night for free so that made it a lot cooler. Later that night we crashed in the car and headed south in the morning.

Our first stop was a beautiful Redwood grove.

(be prepared for way too many pictures)











Before we left the grove, each us gave a biiiiggg tree a biiiiiggg hug.






The first town we arrived in California was Crescent City. We started talking about how nice a shower would be, so we decided to stay at a motel for the night. It was only our second time to stay at a motel on the trip and the last was in Virginia Beach. So, we hung out and took long hot showers and enjoyed having a bed.

The next morning we went down to the water and saw the sights! (The ocean was beautiful!)












After Crescent City we drove south along Highway one. Every now and then we'd stop in cool small towns to hang out on the beach. At one point we snuck passed the toll booth and drove through a redwood tree. (wooo, we are such tourists!) Then later we watched the sunset in Mendocino. (a proud town of 500). Actually, they called it an 'official village', which meant that there weren't any coporate chains or street lights, only stop signs. The town was beautiful- as was the sunset.










Goat Rock in Sonoma National Beach was an amazing find. It seemed that it took pride in being named the second most dangerous beach in Califonia. There were warnings all over about sleeper waves that would take you under if you swam or even wade in the water. So- we waded in the water, chased birds, saw seal along the shoreline (!), and while we walking we discovered drift wood huts on the beach.














After we walked the beach we drove back into the closest town Jenner, bought some Fat Tire, went back down to the beach, made our own tipi style hut and stayed the night on the beach. It was really awesome night.




The next morning we got ahold of Anthony who recently moved to San Jose. We left our beautiful tipi hut and headed south on Highway One to San Jose. Driving through San Francisco we saw the Golden Gate bridge in person for the first time. Though it was covered in fog, it was an exciting moment. Then we had pay the toll to get through- booo.







So, we made it to Anthony's houses. We've been hanging hard for the last few days. We visited Brandon at Stanford, hung out on the beach in Santa Cruz a lot,



we made a fire on a secluded part of the beach with Anthony and his cousin,







and we stenciled the streets a bit. I'm not sure what it means, but there are arrows on the streets and sidewalks pointing different directions with 'USA' sprayed underneath- so we added our own homage.



We hadn't spent much time in San Francisco so yesterday we made a sign and caught a ride to Golden Gate Park. From there we walked around the park, saw beautiful flowers, walked around Haight-Ashbury, talked to traveler kids, and accidently ended up at a free Dinosaur Jr. show at Amoeba Records. Then we made a sign and caught a ride back to San Jose.







So, today is our last day in San Jose. We're going to get the car all ready to go, pack up everything, and then go to Man Man and Modest Mouse show tonight! Woo! They're playing in San Jose tonight and Dylan got us on the list because he rules at being awesome. Yeah!

See you super soon friendlys.

Love,
Marshall

This is the time to slow down.

We've been through three states since we left my aunt, our second mom (and good friend), in our second (or maybe eighth) home of Lyons, Colorado. We left Monday and drove to Estes Park in attempt to drive west through Rocky Mountain National Park. The South exit was closed for winter, so forced to turn back we made our way around the park. We saw a few different forms of wildlife along the route.




Elk!





Goats!


We drove through mountains until stopping in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat resides in the most beautiful valley on earth ever. We hung out there for the night and had a good meal and some wicked fat tire ale. The next morning we began our drive to Salt Lake City.

During this drive we opted for smaller highways and it was well worth it. We had some fun with a town named Parshall, hiked a dinosaur bone trail near Dinosaur, and we watched some beavers cross the road somewhere in between.













and we saw petroglyphs!




Then we were in Utah. We drove into Salt Lake City Tuesday afternoon and headed straight to the mormon square. (we were excited) We spoke to a young woman in the only temple open to visitors. (it was pretty) We walked around the square for a while before going to the public mega-library.



Temple of doom! (kidding)



Beehive Behave! (btrb/jeanie)



John the Baptist passing the aaronic lineage (while doing pushups off their heads?)



Mega huge mega library!



Absurd stack of fireplaces!




Can you guess what this is?


The library was really awesome. It has a rooftop garden that you can access from a huge ramp that circles one half of the courtyard. We hung out in the library, checked out the university of utah's campus, and then slept under a tree for the night.

The next morning we got our second oil change of the trip and started out of Utah. We decided to stop and check out Antelope Island which resides in the middle of the salt lake. (amazingly glad we did) We climbed rocks, saw buffalo, drew in the sand, skipped rocks in the great salt lake, and took showers in the bathroom. It was amazing. (again)













The island is a little less than eight miles off of the main land. There are around six hundred free roaming buffalo as well as other wildlife (including antelope-duh!). We climbed to the top of of Buffalo Point and for this I felt victorious.



We then drove through super windy Idaho and stopped in Boise for the night. The next morning we ate at a mom & pop diner and then drove to Bend, Oregon. We took isolated highways and on the way we saw this marvel of man kind!



The shoe tree! (jeanie exchanged shoes with its greatness)



And this may have happened.



(hahahahaha)

We slept in Bend and then drove to Crater Lake this morning. It is a beautiful blue fresh water lake on top of one of the Cascade Mountains that was caused by an eruption many years ago. (look it up! it's interesting to boot) Also, it is the deepest lake in North America at nearly 2,000 feet deep.








It is super snowy there this time of year, with an average 66 feet of snow per year! (see- interesting!)

We left Crater Lake this afternoon and drove South. Currently, we have stopped in Medford, Oregon. We have been driving quite a bit lately, so from here we hope to take it slow. With plans to make our way along the West Coast from here, we could stretch it out for a while.

We hope all is well with you where you are. Live well with love life livers.

Safe travels and all the love,
Marshall

Colorado and Lovingkindness.

We've spent the last two weeks in Colorado, one at Marshall's aunt Robbin's house in Lyons, and the other at Shambhala. Life has basically been amazing. Robbin takes good care of us. Especially in the feeding and sheltering department.

Lyons is very close to Boulder, so we have had the opportunity to go to Boulder a lot. I even toured Naropa University. It might be just what I want. I have until January to decide if I want to apply, so there's plenty of time for considering.

We didn't take many digital pictures of our Lyons time (but we did take some polaroids). We mostly just lived simply here, with the river in the backyard and good company.



Here's one of Robbin and I working in her garden. Marshall and I helped her build this wicked fence.

Last Saturday, we drove two hours north and two thousand feet higher to Shambhala. It was beautiful. We stayed together in the children's dorm, and worked Monday through Friday with the facilities department. Really, we didn't have to work very much (six hours a day, tops) and we even got to see some snow!

Shambhala has delicious food and the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, Which Liberates Upon Seeing. The stupa contains thousands of tiny stupas inside its walls, the ashes and skull of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and an 18 foot Buddha statue. It amplifies all of the thoughts and intentions that are in its vicinities. Kind of like a beautiful spiritual satellite. Here are some pictures:




We could not take a picture of the front of the Stupa that did not show this distortion. Interpret it as you will!




This is some of the detailing on the walls. It is absolutely gorgeous.





Here is a marble pomegranate. We befriended Devin, who worked in the Stupa, and he gave us each a marble from the pomegranate to take home. It was a wonderful gift.






The Buddha, in all sort of peaceful glory.






This is a Shinto shrine. It is dedicated to Kami (a sun goddess from Japan).

It is pretty amazing that this place exists, especially in America. Come to the Rockies and spend time with it. You can volunteer over the summer, and live extremely well.

We drove back down to Lyons yesterday, to make samosas and stay with Robbin before we head out for Salt Lake City tomorrow. We ate a great dinner in Estes Park, and saw many elk.



Here are some elk!

We slept, and woke today to clean out and wash the car (a bar of chocolate melted in the backseat). We spent most of the afternoon sitting with our feet in the freezing Colorado river, until Marshall decided to brave the waters:

!!!

Life is pretty much great! We have decided to begin the circle that will bring us home. Look out for us, West Coast! We're coming!

Safe travels!
j


oh, p.s., we visited the hotel in which the Shining was filmed. Not really isolated, but very pretty, and supposedly it is actually haunted. It's called The Stanley, for those that are interested!

colorado mountain bodies

quick note to say that we are going to shambhala today. talk to you soon.

safe travels,
j

Here, in good time and well.

There has been some time to think while wandering around with time to talk and aspiring with time to relax. We miss our homes as we love our travels. And with all our stops and all our goes- weather is a wonder, never knowing what to expect.

(I often think of so many lyrics to come from all of this and I smile often.)

Nearly a week has passed since a post has been presented. Jeanie and I have since then traveled in and out of states. We count five as we settle in Colorado. It's beautiful here. The weather is warm as if it were spring!

So it goes-

We were conflicted in Missouri, debating wether we should go north, south, or directly west. While cold up north, we had both visited the states south and west of us. Finally, we opted for the cold unknown that was north.

Iowa has corn- lots and lots of corn. We gassed up with ethanol which is amazingly progressive especially because, in Iowa, you do not have a choice. (All they have is ethanol!) We expolored Des Moines and Omaha, Nebraska and later made camp in a state park near Onawa. We slept well, made a wicked fire, eat smores, and nearly froze to death.

Oh, Iowa also has the first ever train robbery site perpetrated by Jesse James.


Rested and thawed, we drove further north. I must say, if you ever have the chance to visit South Dakota, that the black hills are worth it alone. The drive is really pleasant (and different). There arn't suburbs or much of anything else for miles and miles. That is other than beautiful open sky, long rolling hills, the occasional truck stop with showers, and an endless supply of billboards advertising roadside attractions along I-90.

We stopped at a few.





Mitchell was about halfway through South Dakota so we decided to crash there for the night. After a brief viewing of the outside of the corn palace (yes, all of the art is entirely made of corn) we found a small christian college. There we made indian food from a box, played pool, watched Shaun of the Dead, and slept in a media closet. Colleges are best for free lodging.

The next morning we drove to Rapid City and visited mount rushmore. Along the way we saw maybe a million deer, super friendly mountain goats, we climbed way passed the no go zone and dominated mt. rushmore, infiltrated the blast zone of Crazy Horse (which will not be finished until 2099), and stood in awe under the largest 'stache ever.



Pictures to boot.









(and maybe this was attempted)


Just as the sun was going down we left the beautiful badlands and black hills and crossed into Wyoming. Driving South to Colorado, we were amazed by the night. There have never been so many stars before! We counted those that were shooting.

Now, staying with my aunt in Lyons, we are having a great time. Today we built a fence for her garden out of rope and tree stumps, walked her two dogs, hung out in boulder and relished in thoughts of our friends, those met in transit and those back home. We hope to be with you all soon. (beautiful)


Well-

Live well little life livers,
Marshall

hopping and skipping

Holy Toledo!!!!!!


We've been trying to ascribe to ideas of westward expansion since D.C., but have had a tough time of it due to the weather. Boo, cold fronts and snowstorms (mainly, boo for you showing up in April).

Our first jaunt was through the rolling quiet parts of Pennsylvania. It was incredible. The mountains were actually purple at dusk, when we passed through them and into Ohio. We felt a little inspired to sing about them, but couldn't quite remember the words to America the Beautiful that didn't deal with mountains. That's how magnificent they were.

Then, we drove through Ohio to Lake Erie, listening to Mount Eerie. We took a rest at a park that jutted into the water. There was a penninsula completely covered with roller coasters there. We neither rolled, nor coasted, but we did stare across the lake at them for a while.

We also saw a for real life nuclear power plant in Ohio. We talked a lot about dilapidated buildings organically returning to the earth. This is the evil that is invading and employing North Ohions:

I don't actually know what to call people from Ohio.

Our friend Tyler lives in Kalamazoo, so we met him there for some hard hanging. We rode our bikes for an hour, then it began to rain, which continued until it turned into this:



The storm would have been less of a nuisance if we hadn't been lulled into having faith that spring had actually arrived. Winter needs to learn its place. (I actually saw on article on weather.com entitled "Winter Assaults Spring!" hahaha!)


From Kalamazoo, we headed to Chicago. It was still cold. Another friend, Carolina, let us stay with her and weather out the weather. We were in pseudo-hibernation, and managed for our only Chicago related adventure to be riding the Metra for around an hour. Then we made breakfast on Saturday. Carolina fried plaintains. I am excited about frying plaintains in the future. You should begin to prepare yourself for the excitement of eating them.

Ryan called while we were in Chicago, and we had the opportunity to meet him in Indianapolis. Ryan, Alyssa, Marshall, and I all went to an elk farm. This is an elk. He is king of the forest, and his horns are fuzzy.





An elk and I touched noses while we were there. It's nose was wet and cold. My nose was, too.


We're currently in Columbia, Mo, being sleepy and hungry. We have potato salad in the car that we should (and probably will) eat. People are lovely and kind to us, especially when we start asking for a little kindness. Sometimes, they even give us free coffee.

Love love love and safe travels,
jeanie

Quickie

We're in Chicago!

(more when we are a little less cold)