MEM-DENColorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, WyomingJuly 12 - July 19, 2008- Departed camp around 8:30 and drove to Mt Rushmore, outside Keystone. We were in and out within 30 minutes, but it was already very full of tourists. We explored the interpretive center, and looked at the monument, and that was the extent of the visit. It was impressive, but less so than either of us expected. It seemed smaller, less grand than we had envisioned. In fact, the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial was massive in size in comparison to Rushmore.
- After Rushmore, we drove to Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns - home to the world's largest intact collection of dogtooth spar crystals. We were with a small group led by a young, fairly knowledgeable guide who took us through part of the cave and its extensive passages, explaining some of the underground formations and the science behind their creation. About 45 minutes later, we emerged from underground and made our way back to the highway.
- We stopped at a Ruby Tuesday's in Rapid City, the second-largest city in SD (at ~60,000 people). Had a shitty quesadilla and a couple salads, all for the low, low price of $30!
- We then made the trek to the Badlands from there. Badlands National Park is pretty cool - it reminded us quite a bit of Bryce Canyon National Park (click link for 2007 entry). It was HOT! Temps were in the 90s. We wanted to camp here, but there was nothing - just desert and RVs. And no fires were allowed, even in the limited amount of campspace available at the park.
We don't tend to enjoy camping at a national park anyway, so we returned west via I-90, which is the longest interstate in the country. - After driving (and driving) we found a place to camp back in the Black Hills at Roubaix Lake, about 15 miles outside of Deadwood. We were the only campers in this area of the national forest, but camping was the most expensive we've experienced so far, at $19/night. It's fairly quiet and peaceful here.
- Filled up gas tank in Rapid City for $75 (at just $3.99/gallon!). BOD: Breckenridge Amber, Boulevard Wheat (KS City), and PBR. Dinner: BBQ chicken, with grilled potatoes and onions. Mileage: 873 total/309 today.
MEM-DENColorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, WyomingJuly 12 - July 19, 2008- Got up around 8, left Crawford, Nebraska by 9 AM or so. Drove to South Dakota via US 385 through Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Stopped at Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD. It's essentially a museum dedicated to...mammoths, which were very common in this area of the country a couple years ago.
Refueled for $90 and went to Custer, SD. Had lunch and Dairy Queen (blizzards!) - Went to Wind Cave before going into Custer but decided to tour Jewel Cave instead. After leaving Custer, we drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial. We did not, however, agree with paying the gate attendant $20 to enter the parking lot, so we drove over all the cars with our tank, AKA Chevy Suburban. No, we did not do that. We simply took a few pictures from where we were and left.
- Stopped at Jewel Cave, but the tour we wanted was not starting for another hour and a half or so. Decided to begin the hunt for camping instead. Drove through Black Hills National Forest and got a bit turned around - a couple ATV riders helped us find our way through the forest...there are very extensive dirt roads that are pretty confusing, even (especially?) with a map.
- After finding, then rejecting a few campgrounds in the forest, we decided on Custer Trail campground, on Deerfield Lake (elev 5,700 ft). Camping = $12. There were lots of boaters, but by 7 PM or so the place cleared out
- Dinner: Chicken sausage and corn. BOD: Moose Drool (a favorite each year) and PBR. Mileage: 564 total/190 today
MEM-DENColorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, WyomingJuly 12 - July 19, 2008- Arrived in Denver around 10 AM and picked up the rental "car". No compacts were available (think 2008 = insane gas prices) so the rental car company gave us the next best thing they had - a MASSIVE Chevy Suburban.
They agreed to provide us with a tank of gas...which we would soon learn was very valuable. - Hit up the Super Target in Brighton, CO outside of Denver for supplies - once again, we forgot to bring the cooking/grilling grate...and then forgot to get one at Target. So we stopped at a Wal-Mart (gasp!) in Sterling. This town seems to be a meth-town with lots of, shall we say, mouth-breathers. Ate at Arby's (anything will do at this point). Beer was secured at Nick's Liquors.
- Everything ready to go, we finally hit the (wide) open road. Got into Nebraska via Hwy 113 to 385 - it's the Gold Rush Scenic Byway north through the NE panhandle to the northwest corner of the state. After a bit of driving through the rolling Nebraska hills. YES! there are hills in this state. On through to Oglala National Grasslands to Toadstool National Geologic Park to camp for the night, but there was no firewood and there were people there. The scenery there was pretty odd - lots of sandstone and rock formations. Click the link for more info.
- We drove a bit more and then went a couple miles out of the way to go to a place called Carhenge. Carhenge is a car monument, replicating Stonehenge, built in 1987. Bizarre thing to find in the middle of the prairie, for sure (see satellite map).
Other sculptures have been erected since, including dinosaurs and giant salmon. 
- Continuing on our way, a woman at a gas station outside the N.G. recommends Soldier Creek National Wilderness Refuge, which we promptly found (in Nebraska National Forest - YES! there is forest in NE) and claimed a great camping spot in the middle of...well, nowhere.
- We discovered that this land was clearly used for cattle at one time. We explored some cattle pens, which we referred to as "Cowschwitz". We thought this was the funniest thing...at least all week. (Nick is allowed to say this due to his ethnicity). The cows were led up ramps, into cattle trucks, never to be heard from again. And no one said anything.
- Beer of the Day (BOD): New Belgium Skinny Dip Ale, *Odell 5-Barrel Pale, and PBR
- Mileage: 373
MEM-IND
June 16-19, 2008- We flew from Memphis to Indianapolis, arriving in the afternoon on the 16th. Picked up the rental car (a kickass bright blue Chrysler Sebring convertible) and made our way to the Homewood Suites, downtown in the Wholesale District. The hotel was really nice - it was a renovated warehouse space with exposed brick walls and tall ceilings.
- Got settled then went to Claddagh Irish Pub, across Meridian Street for lunch. After eating we played some pool at the hotel and had a couple drinks, courtesy of the wonderful Homewood Suites.
- Heather met up with us at the hotel and played a few games of pool.
After a while, we decided to go to a bar called Howl at the Moon, around the corner on Georgia St, for a couple drinks. We hung out there for a while then called it a night. - The next day we went around the downtown area. We checked out Circle Center mall (seven different hotels connect to the mall, including 2 Hilton hotels), Monument Circle and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which was built in 1902 and is just 21 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
We also explored Mass Ave (one of the few streets running on an angle from Delaware St downtown to the northeast), went to the State Capital, 
Union Station, 
and went for a long walk along the Indianapolis Canal Walk. 
- Later that day, we went to Fishers, a suburb on the northeast side, to visit Heather. She had a good laugh at our car - mainly because the top was down at Brad's insistence.
We went to Zionsville to see Heather's parents. Dianne gave Nick some great Indiana souvenirs - a couple Indiana University mugs. - After leaving Zionsville, we went back downtown to the hotel. It was raining, so we didn't really feel like doing too much. We decided to have dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We stuffed ourselves and then crashed for the night.
- The next day we woke up and headed to Bloomington, which is about 45 minutes south of the city. We toured part of the Indiana University campus as well as Kirkwood Ave.
After that we went to Yogi's (yes, the bar that our dog is named after) and had lunch and played pool, then went to Upland Brewery and had a couple pints. Heading north on IN 37 that afternoon, we stopped at Oliver Winery for wine tasting and bought a couple bottles. - Arriving back in Indy, we went to Jillian's and played lots of games - racing, skee-ball, and air hockey. With our winnings, we bought some tattoos and punching balloons.
- We had tickets for the Indianapolis Indians game that evening. We went to Alcatraz Brewery on Maryland St before heading to the stadium and met up with Heather and had a few beers. Went to Victory Field and watched the game.
- The next day was Sunday, the last day of our visit. We had a pretty early flight so we took it easy Saturday evening and in the morning, Brad, Nick, the Sebring, and a parking ticket headed to the airport and back to Memphis.
Memphis - New Orleans via Amtrak (City of New Orleans route)
Brad's birthday
April 24-27, 2008- Nick, Brad, Amanda, and Erica took the train from Memphis to New Orleans. Drove to downtown Memphis to Central Station, where we checked in, got our tickets, and boarded a bus to an area near President's Island, off Riverport Road, due to an 18 foot deep sinkhole that forced Amtrak to detour train service around the city. We arrived at the train around 6:30 AM in what appeared to be a shipping/rail yard and boarded.
- Train departed and for the next 10 hours we were riding. Surprisingly, there was plenty of good food on board. As we rode through the Mississippi Delta and into Louisiana, we kept ourselves entertained by reading, chatting, eating, and watching the woman behind us interact with her child. And the conductors. This lady felt it was her god-given right to disembark and smoke at each stop (whether she was allowed to or not). She was pretty vocal about her rights as a smoker.
- Arriving in New Orleans around 4 pm, we left the train station via taxi and went to the hotel (Doubletree) downtown. We checked into the hotel and started walking, mainly looking to hit up some bars and score a couple drinks - sorely needed after being on the train all day.
- Harrah's casino was located across the street from the hotel - we made our way into the casino at some point and played a few games. Well, Nick and Brad played (Nick's first go at Roulette banked him about $200) while Erica and Amanda got something to eat. They were both wasting away from starvation. We saw Amy Lavere play a set that evening.
- The next day saw more drinking, hanging out in the French Quarter at bars, playing air hockey, darts, pool. One of Erica's happiest moments of the trip came when she realized that her Coor's Light bottle changed colors once the beer was no longer cold. Amanda said that this was when Erica would know when to start chugging her beer. One of Amanda's meals that day consisted of a chili dog from a greasy spoon, topped with slices of cheese FRIED on a FLAT GRILL. A picture of health, this woman.
- Erica, Amanda, and Brad took an afternoon trip to the Garden District. They visited a cemetery and had some phenomenal pizza.
Nick met up with them once back downtown and everyone went to the market to look at junk. We also took a walk along the river.
- That evening we all went to dinner at a nice restaurant in the French Quarter and while Amanda was dressed to the nines, she was not wearing the most comfortable pair of hooker shoes...so much so that she had to make a trip into the Walgreen's to get a pair of flip flops. We stopped at a few more bars, had a few more drinks then headed back to the hotel.
- The following morning, we all packed up and got a cab to the train station (NOUPT). Checked in, waited, then boarded the train. Once into Mississippi, the conductor asked us (each, sitting alone with no one next to us) to consolidate since we were together and take up 1 full row because there were several more passengers getting on at the next stop. And one of them just happened to be our lovely carmate from the trip down, just a few days before. And she was still concerned about when/where she was going to be able to smoke her cigarettes. Classy.
MEM-PHXFeb 29-Mar 2, 2008Baseball Spring Training- Flew from Memphis to Phoenix. Arrived on the afternoon of the 29th and checked into the Homewood Suites in Chandler, a suburb.
- Settled in then made our way to the Spring Training game. We had tickets for 3 Cubs games in 3 days. Cubs play in the Cactus League of MLB Spring Training.
- Friday - Game 1: Cubs vs Giants at HoHoKam Park in Mesa. Gametime weather is perfect - sunny and not a cloud in the sky. Nick bought a new Cubs hat and Brad got a new Cubs t-shirt. Cubs lose.
- A banner advertising a place called Culver's in the outfield bragged about something called 'butter burgers'. This is something that can clog arteries just reading/learning about. It is a burger on a bun that has been buttered so generously that the sandwich itself sits in a deep pool of melted butter on the plate. A Google Image search turned up some interesting-looking burgers.
- Went to a bar in the area and had a few beers after the game. Ate dinner then went back to the hotel.
- The next day we went for a hike in South Mountain Park/Preserve. It took some effort to get to the park where the trail starts, off the Maricopa Freeway. It was hard as hell to find. When we arrived, there was nowhere to park, so we essentially had to go to the other side of the park and come in from the north, which ended up working out well anyway, since there was nobody hiking in the area we went. The highest mountain in the park (opened in 1924) is a little over 2,500 elevation. On the hike, we came across some great scenery and lots of wildflowers.
- Saturday - Game 2: Cubs vs Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. This stadium is easier to access, but was a bit smaller than HoHoKam. Good game, but...Cubs lose.
- That evening we were in Chandler and drove around looking for a place to eat. Ended up stopping at a Greek restaurant called My Big Fat Greek Restaurant (a chain restaurant that clearly had no sense of originality...we ate there anyway). Good food. Annoying belly dancers all over the place.
- Sunday - Game 3: Cubs vs Giants at HoHoKam. Entertaining crowd...including the drunk guy in front of us, yelling and waving around a Miller Chill
(duh, it's a light lime beer with only 100 calories). Met a couple fans from Chicago visiting Phoenix for Spring Training. Cubs lose. - After the game, we trek 10 minutes to the PHX Airport and back to Memphis.
MEM-SEA
Seattle, Washington
Jan 19-23, 2008- We arrived in Seattle and waited for Carrie and Adam to pick us up at the airport - they were already in Seattle. We checked into the hotel, downtown.
- Had a few beers and then met up with Krista and Larry at a bar a few blocks from the hotel. Nice place, although Larry mentioned that we stuck out because we were overdressed for Seattle.
- Larry was talking up a bar with a bunch of pinball machines (Shorty's), so we walked till we found it, in Belltown. Played a ton of pinball...no clear cut champion, though. Unless you count the beer as a player. Then, the beer won. Made it back to the hotel without incident.
- Brad and I went to Pike Place Market and ate fresh donuts, looked at the water and then we were done with that. It was cold and rainy. Bought a magnet.
- That day Carrie and Adam went hiking with Krista and Larry, so Brad and I went to Everett, WA - the home of the Boeing Company. We went through the Future of Flight Aviation Center and the factory ($15), which is home to the 747, 767, 777 and the new 787 Dreamliner. Secrecy and security is the name of the game at Boeing - no phones, cameras, electronics of any kind, purses, or babies. The factory was really cool - covers 98 acres, and is the largest building by volume in the world. About 110,000 people visit annually.
- Celeste hung out with us that evening - we went to Hale's Ales and a few other places near Fremont.
- The next morning (Sunday) Krista, Larry, Celeste, Carrie, Adam, Brad, and of course Charlie went to brunch at Salty's. We ate a lot of excellent food and then Brad and I went to Celeste's 'temporary' home on the lake and hung out on the beach for a while (even though it was COLD!!).
- The weekend was way too short - seemed like we were only there for a day, but we had a great time. The next day we headed back to Memphis.
MEM-LIBLiberia, Costa Rica - Nosara, Costa RicaDec 21, 2007 - Jan 1, 2008- Brad, Nick and Amanda flew from Memphis and Laura came in from Lexington. Everyone reached Liberia at approximately the same time. We met up with a nice young lady from the hotel at which we would be staying, who drove us all to the hotel in Liberia. That night we walked around a bit, found a place to eat (pizza) and had a few beers at the hotel. Cute place - although Laura was not a fan of the geckos and bird-sized bugs that had free roam.
- Carrie and Adam flew in from Jacksonville the next day. Nick, Brad, Amanda and Laura met up with them at the airport, and from there we would be taking a hired van to Nosara. It was simply a matter of waiting on Carrie's luggage. There was a bit of confusion with the airline as to where, exactly, the bag was. In Carrie's words, as she stormed out of the airport, "Delta is dead to me".
- So, sans Carrie's luggage, we find the drivers (Kennit and Orlando) and begin the trek to the Nacoya Peninsula, located on the western coast of the country. On the way, we encounter big floppy eared cows, drink lots of beers, make a few pit stops, and see some pretty remote countryside.
- We arrived in Nosara after it had gotten dark, and there was some confusion about where we were to meet the manager of the house we had rented, and where to pick up the rental SUV. Driving around in circles ensued, but finally we were able to locate each.
- We made it up to the rental house (info here), a large, secluded place with a pool, guest house and great view (which we would find out in the morning).
- Nosara has roads that are not just rugged; they are nearly impassable. Pity the fool not in an SUV.
- We ate pretty well the entire week. We stayed fairly stocked on food at the house, but ate out at restaurants in town several times. One of our favorite places was Olga's, an open-air place near the beach. They had casadas (veggie/chicken dishes with rice) for about $3 US. Overall, the food at most places was really affordable, as were the drinks.
- Wildlife spotted at the house: scorpions (one in the guesthouse shower), large iguana, snake, monkeys, giant toads, giant frogs, geckos, 4 or 5-inch long grasshopper, giant pinching bugs, and of course, the caretakers' dogs.
- One of the activities during the week included a zip line tour at Miss Sky Canopy Tour. It was pretty fun - we had a nice night of drinking the night before, which may be the reason Amanda got a little green toward the end. The website claims that it is the longest zip line canopy tour in the world, at over 11 km in length.
- Went to the Reserva Biologica Nosara, a nature preserve about 100 acres in size. We took a short hike on one of the trails and saw lots of different flora and fauna, including monkeys, crabs, and lots of different birds.
- On the 29th of December, Carrie, Adam, and Laura went to the northern part of Costa Rica to go to Arenal Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. They stayed the night at a lodge there, and Nick, Brad, and Amanda stayed at the rental house. That day, a few guys came to clean the pool (and they did). We needed supplies like water and food and beer, so we asked if they would give us a ride to the local market, a few kilometers away. They were happy to do that, and when they dropped us off at the market, they made plans to come back to the house to hang out. And they did. We ended up celebrating Nick's 30th birthday in downtown Nosara with the guys, making our way from one club to another. Needless to say it was a late night (and we got to ride in the back of a pickup truck!!!).
Carrie, Adam and Laura returned the next day with stories of rainforests, volcanoes, and a show-stopping mudslide that blocked the mountainous road on their return. - Brad, Laura, Adam, and Carrie went deep-sea fishing. They caught LOTS of tuna and enjoyed it the rest of the week.
- Went on a "Nature trip" on the Nosara River with an eccentric German boat captain. It was in a brochure as a river trip, but the minute we all get on the boat the captain announced that it was actually a bird-watching tour. Scandalous.
- We went to a few different beaches in the Nosara area. One (Playa Ostional) was famous for being the second largest nesting place in the world for Olive Ridley turtles. By the thousands, usually at sunset, they storm the shore, lay millions of eggs, and go back to the water. Playa Pelada was a nice beach to soak up the sun. Lots of surfing waters here as well. Playa Guiones was the largest and most popular of the beaches in the area, at 7 km long.
- On December 31st, the caretaker and his family cooked us dinner on the grill. We ate rice, chicken, tuna, salad, and a few other Costa Rican dishes on the huge table outside on the patio.
We told the family about the giant snake that had slithered into and down the length of the pool on one of the first nights of our stay. They seemed to be very relieved that we were ok, as this was apparently a very venomous snake. After dinner, we had a few drinks and hung out at the house. New Year's fireworks were going off in the distance but we didn't get too crazy, due to an early morning that was approaching. - We got up the next morning, early, and headed to return the SUV and catch the ride back to Liberia. We got to the Liberia Airport, which was no example in how to secure an airport...yes, that is a giant airplane sitting 50 feet away, with nothing between it and the open-air gate area except a rope.
So...we had no real trouble getting through security, checking in, and catching the flight back to the States.
MEM-LAS
Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New MexicoAugust 3-12
- We packed up our tent and belongings at Toroweap and began the long journey back to normal roads. If we could make it...
Driving out on the same bumpy, grinding road, the Mazda held up and got us back. After exiting at the entrance to the area, we still had another hour or so on the dirt desert road. We took a fork that led us west (since we were going to be heading west on the highway once we reached it). This road was less traveled, and certainly less maintained. Sand was up to a foot deep in some places, making it feel like we were driving through deep snow.
- Finally reaching AZ-389, we headed W/N and into Utah, going West toward I-15. We headed West on I-15 then took 12/169 South through Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada toward the Hoover Dam.
- We reached Hoover Dam and explored the dam and its museum a bit. Temps outside were well above 115 degrees. Very cool place though...it's a pretty incredible sight.
- After leaving Hoover Dam, we drove on to Las Vegas. We stayed at Harrah's on the strip. After eating dinner, we went to check out Bodies the Exhibition. Had some beers at a few different casinos, walked around, lost some money, then called it a night.
- The next morning (Aug 12), we packed up, drove to the airport, and headed back to Memphis.
