MEM-RTBRoatàn, Honduras - Utila, HondurasDec 20, 2008 - Dec 27, 2008- Nick, Brad and Angie flew through ATL to RTB, arriving in the early afternoon. We hired a cab to take us from the airport to West End, on the western coast of Roatàn. After the 20 minute drive, we met up on the dock with the captain of the catamaran scheduled to take us to the neighboring Bay Island, Utila. The Bay Islands (las Islas de la Bahìa) are comprised of three major islands (Utila, Roatàn, and Guanaja) and a few smaller islands closer to the Honduran mainland.
- We were a bit early for the boat ride, so Captain Vern went to secure beer for the 4 hour journey, and made arrangements with someone that would meet us in Utila to take us to the house that we had rented. Meanwhile, we ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor and had a few drinks.
- On the boat, we were joined by a few older couples that were really friendly and chatted with them during the trip to Utila. We drank beers and watched the sun set behind Utila, which was steadily getting closer and closer. Also getting closer was Captain Vern...to Angie. He was certainly an admirer, making not-at-all-subtle overtures and being very flirty. Anything Angie said, there was quick innuendo thrown back at her. Angie says that he was humping her back...and his young Guatemalan girlfriend was on the boat. A symbol of class and nobility, that guy was.
- Finally - we arrive at the dock on Utila, and it just happens to be a bar/restaurant called the Driftwood. We had a few beers and then out of nowhere the caretaker, Angel, showed up on his scooter to show us where the house was. Nick went with him on the scooter and checked out the house and then drove the golf cart (Club Car) back to the bar to pick up Brad and Angie. Throughout the week, Angie and Nick discovered that Brad was quite an outlaw on the Club Car. Scared for their lives. Also, midweek we discovered that the CC had a slight "exhaust problem." Namely, that the muffler under the seat tended to get WAY too hot and at one point started burning the plywood under the seat and melting the vinyl seat cover. Classy ride!
- We all got to the house and got settled. An odd Mary Poppins statuette was in one of the rooms, so we gave her a tour of the house.
Adding to the Odd Things Found in the house category was a vast collection of hats, visors, fanny packs and jackets. We amused ourselves for quite a while. 
The rest of the evening (it was already pretty late), we dranks beers and hung out on the deck of the house. There were a couple hammocks on the deck that we took advantage of.
- We went to get groceries at the local market the next day. Cooked dinner, went to the beach, and hung out at a beach hut near the house.
Rum was flowing (to Ang) and lots of beers that day. The Belmont menthol cigarettes were plentiful.
- Hanging out on the deck, it quickly became obvious that there was a major insect problem, namely thousands of tiny sand flies that bit incessantly. And the bites ITCHED like crazy. Everyone got bit pretty bad whenever we were outside, but for some reason they attacked Nick more than anyone else. Bug spray did not help; within a couple minutes they were back on us.
After suffering for a few days we went to the town pharmacy, where the shelf stocking person suggested using the lotion bug repellent instead of the spray. Glad to take anything that might work, we bought a couple bottles and sure enough, it worked wonders compared to anything else we tried. - We decided to do a sea kayak trip. We rented a couple kayaks and were off...Angie paddled solo in one and had a gimp paddle, but she ended up making it ok. We went from the southern coast of the island through the mangrove canal to the northern coast. It ended up being several miles, but it was a nice workout. Before leaving, Nick popped a couple Benadryl to relieve the intense itching from the sand flies. About halfway through the canal, he started to fall asleep in the back of the kayak. Should have read the label ('may cause drowsiness'). We hung out on the beach for a while before heading back through the canal.
- The following day we went to an iguana sanctuary called the Iguana Station in the interior of the island. It doubled as a research facility where several students helped conduct research on the lizards, their mating habits, and their habitats. A guide (a student from the U.K.) gave us a pretty educational tour. She showed us how they fed the iguanas (a pair of tongs and live crabs - iguanas won't eat dead crabs).
- On the northeastern side of the island was a large hill called Pumpkin Hill. We had wanted to do a hike up the hill, so we drove the CC up to that area. Started on the hike, but somehow got turned around, as signs marking the trails did not exist. Several trails were intersecting other trails, and some were running parallel to each other. We couldn't tell which ones we were supposed to be on and which ones were private property. We ended up just hiking on a trail next to the beach. Which was COVERED in trash.
We had learned from the iguana guide that the island does not have a garbage dump. It was pretty bad - the entire beach was covered. Needless to say, we didn't summit the peak of Pumpkin Hill, but we did get a decent walk in, trash and all. - The next day we found some blowup floating rafts in the lower level of the house and blew them up and got into the water at the house. Problem was, we had to walk out beyond all the shallow water (covered in seaweed) and then could finally get on the rafts once we were a good 50 feet or so off the shore. We floated farther out where we could get in the water and swim. The water was surprisingly shallow - we had to go several hundred feet off shore. At one point, Angie ended up off the raft and her foot struck some coral on the bottom which instantly opened a nicely sized gash and began gushing blood. It took a lot of attention once we were back on shore and in the house to get it to stop bleeding.
- The next day was Christmas! That afternoon we decided to take the club car into the town (for whatever reason) and came across some traffic...foot traffic. Child-sized foot traffic. Immediately behind, and surrounding, the children was a caravan of golf carts, decorated in tinsel and garland with drivers dressed as Santa's helpers. And in the last cart, Santa himself. Everyone on the carts was throwing candy to the children. The children, meanwhile, are going insane with excitement and a frenzy was building among them. And in the middle of this chaos? Us. In our golf cart. Frozen in fear, as we were getting shoved around by the children (yes, ON the golf cart), who were scrambling to collect their candy . It was as though we had run head-on into a cattle stampede where the cattle don't notice you but they know that you're there and they don't like it.
Truly frightening. We finally got past the parade and swore we would never forget the tragedy that almost took place on this holiest of days. - That evening, we went to an Italian restaurant in the town for Christmas dinner. The food was great and the woman that owned the restaurant was very friendly.
- On the 27th, we met Captain Vern at the dock around 6 AM for the ride back to Roatan. The ride was anything but smooth. It began raining and the wind was blowing very hard. The sea started to swell and soon we were being tossed around in the water. Up a 20 foot swell, down 30 feet. Up 15 feet. For nearly 5 hours. It was difficult to stand, but if we sat down or went inside the boat, sea sickness took over. Worst boat ride ever. We made it safely to the airport, however, and back to Memphis/Chicago.
MEM-DEN
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming
July 12 - July 19, 2008- Made it back to Denver and checked into the Hampton Inn downtown.
We got settled then made our way to the Denver Art Museum. 
The museum is home to a very large collection of Native American artwork, and has a collection of about 68,000 pieces.
- After the museum, we headed to the Great Divide Brewery, had several beers and took a tour of the brewery. Sufficiently tipsy, we walked down to Coors Field for a Rockies game.
After the game we walked (stumbled?) toward the hotel, hit up bar or two and ended up back at the hotel. Somehow. No one knows, and it is a mystery to this day, one that haunts the citizens of Denver. - The next day, seeing that we had survived the evening, we were proud of ourselves. And then left for the airport to go back to Memphis.
MEM-DEN
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming
July 12 - July 19, 2008- Was very cold last night - mid to low 40s. We were up around 7 AM and headed back into the park. We hiked the Fern Lake Trail, about 4 miles. Very scenic hike along rushing stream.
- Went to the Moraine Park Museum which schooled us on glaciers and moraines. Back through Estes Park to Estes Park Brewery for a tour, but they didn't have tours, so it was just for a bite (and a beer of course). We tried some samples and walked over to a miniature golf course next door. Brad won by a couple strokes (he calls it a slaughter).
- Took Hwy 7 south to find camping - the first 3 places were full. Woman at the Pawnee Recreation Area told us we could camp off-road in Roosevelt National Forest, but we would be "roughing it". This is after we offended her by saying we didn't want to be near old people or RVs (she presumably belonged to the latter group, certainly to the former). We found a really nice, secluded spot about 1/4 mile down a (very) primitive dirt/rocky road.
Tons of HUGE mosquitos, but they are less annoying than screaming children. 
- Tried to use the rest of the food and beer (tomorrow headed to Denver). Dinner consisted of chicken drumsticks, beans and grilled corn. BOD: Estes Park Pale Ale, Red, Raspberry Wheat; Bud Light, and misc remaining beers
- Mileage: 1779 total/60 today.
MEM-DEN
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming
July 12 - July 19, 2008- Departed camp around 10:30 via Hwy 230 toward Colorado. Stopped in Walden, CO for lunch, which was pretty shitty. Within 10 minutes of leaving town, we FINALLY saw a MOOSE! This was the first moose we had seen on any of our vacations, and to be able to finally know that they weren't really a myth was priceless. Unfortunately the camera was in the console, and the thing took off, like it had something to hide (hello, sasquatch). But it did look like all the other meese we'd seen in photos, so...
- Went to Stanley, CO and entered Rocky Mountain National Park from the west. It was a really pretty drive, but no wildlife. HUGE mountains!! Did a one mile hike at the top of one peak through tundra.
All the campgrounds in the park were full so we drove through the park and on to Long's Peak campground. By far, the crappiest spot this whole trip (perhaps ever?), but we were pretty tired anyway. It started raining as soon as we put up the tent and didn't appear to be stopping any time soon, so we drove back to Estes Park (~ 9 miles away) to eat. Ended up dining at a pizzeria (salad bar!).
- Back at camp, and we were in bed by 8:30 (sad).
- Elevation here is about 10,000 feet. Neither of us drank anything all day (!!!) so there was no BOD. This could be another first.
- Mileage: 1719 total/231 today
MEM-DEN
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming
July 12 - July 19, 2008- Got up and ate the "continental breakfast" at the Showboat Motel. It was the kind of breakfast setup that would most likely house families of cockroaches. We ended up leaving Casper around 9:30.
- Drove south through the Shirley Mountains and stopped in Hanna, WY to check out a museum. We ate lunch at Hanna's Wild Wonder Cafè. Both of us had the Janet chicken sandwich. The museum was actually closed so we headed south toward Medicine Bow National Forest.
- We stopped in Saratoga, a nice little western town. We bought a few things at a couple gift shops and walked around the town a bit. On the way out of town, we stopped at the NFS office for camping ideas. We were told to head south to Encampment, WY.
- We passed through the suggested campground and went farther into the Sierra Madre Mountains. There was a very secluded campground that we found called Lost Creek, where we set up camp.
Elevation here is 9,ooo feet. There was snow on the side of the roads. There was lots of firewood in the campground due to a beetle infestation (the forest service had to cut them down).
- BOD: Grand Teton IPA (Jackson Hole) and New Belgium Brewing Co Abbey Ale (Ft Collins), PBR
- Mileage: 1488 total/238 today.
MEM-DEN
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming
July 12 - July 19, 2008- Departed camp around 10 AM and headed north on 14 - very scenic drive up to I-9o.
- Made our way to Devils Tower in northeast Wyoming. It's essentially a giant pillar of a rock, rising about 1200 feet off the ground. Sioux Indian folklore tells of a group of girls chased by bears. The Great Spirit felt sorry for them and raised the ground under them, saving their lives. The bears scratched at the side of the tower, creating the vertical marks on the side.
Ate lunch here, which consisted of leftover chicken shoved into wraps. - Heading back on I-90, Nick got pulled over by the Wyoming state highway patrol going 88 in a 75. Shady cop took the ticket payment in cash, after following us to an ATM up the highway.
- Took highway 50 south but turned the wrong way and ended up back on 59. Drove to Douglas, then on to Casper. We thought it would be a cool western town, but no, not so much. Downtown wasn't so bad, but there weren't any hotels. We found the LAST hotel. room in the city at the Showboat National 9 Motel - the sort of place of you would find a dead hooker - all for just $95 a night.
- Dinner: some brewery/pub downtown Casper. Our waitress was fun and chatty. She told us all about Mormon crickets and prairie dogs.
- BOD: wheat and pale ales from the brewery (they were so-so).
- Mileage: 1250 total/377 today
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.
