Texas

Once again, I find myself apologizing for being late on posting.  Better late than never though, right?  Anyways, right down to business, let me bring you up to speed on my travels.  After Carlsbad, it was over to the Dallas area where I was looking forward to getting back into civilization a little bit.  What I didn't know though, is that Dallas/Fort Worth is one of the most confusing areas EVER to travelers.  Or at least this traveler.  Since I have my handy GPS phone, I got where I wanted to go perfectly fine, but it wasn't fun.  The highway system around the two city area is like they were trying to recreate some kind of epic plate of spaghetti.  It's absolutely insane.  And they love to build frontage roads that run alongside highways (in some areas for miles) and service both the on- and off-ramps.  Many times, they put the ramps so flippin' close together, it's just a 37 car pileup waiting to happen.  Also, if I'm allowed to say so (and I am), the drivers, IN GENERAL, in Texas are horrid.  I mean, blatant "I'm going to cut across multiple lanes of traffic, without signaling, without warning, while speeding 20 mph over AT LEAST"-style driving is not a rarity in Texas.  I found myself, on more than one occasion, chuckling at the semi-morbid humor playing out in my mind involving just a few minutes of that white fluffy stuff falling from the sky and natural selection.

While I'm on my little Texas rant (It wasn't all that bad, haha - I really enjoyed Austin, which I will get to), I suppose it's worth mentioning one other odd little tidbit-o'-fun (that's a technical term).  When you get to Texas and turn a TV on, one of the first things you notice is how about half of the commercials are specific to Texas.  It's quite hilarious really.  Everything is about how Dairy Queen is really good... blah blah blah, IN TEXAS!  And most of them are either fast food or car commercials.  Come to think, do they air ads about anything else in Texas?  Maybe they don't...

Ok ok, now that I've made Texas seem like one big fast food drivethrough, I will say it's got some cool things about it.  After Dallas, where I mostly entertained myself with random things, I headed on down to Austin (thanks to Dave and Allie for letting me crash with them!).  Austin has a very unique personality.  And for a city (if you know me, you know I'm not really into the whole city scene), I liked it a lot.  Over the last number of years, Austin has come to be known as a bit of a technology hub, with many tech companies maintaining significant presence there, including Facebook, who recently opened up an office there.  While I was there, I explored a lot of the downtown area, including the famous East 6th Street area, as well as some area outside of downtown.  I also got to see the original Whole Foods store, which is right there in the heart of Austin.  I love that store, despite it's prices, so that was cool for me.  It was massive and had a huge food court area.  I've got some cool photos from the Austin area, which I will post once I get a chance to upload them...

After Austin, it was over to the Houston area (just for a night) and then onto Baton Rouge, where I currently am.  I have started doing a little traveling through Couchsurfing.org, which is a GREAT site and a GREAT way to travel for those who are open to the idea and like getting a local taste of places and meeting new people.  I already like it a lot and highly recommend checking it out!

Pics and more to come!  Stay chill.

Carlsbad Caverns

So before I set out on this trip, if you asked me whether I had any specific places that I really wanted to see, it is very likely that I uttered the words "Carlsbad Caverns" at some point during my response.  Well, on November 23, 2010, I got to.  For six dollars.  Now, I know what you're thinking... Six bucks!?!?  Yes.  Which is why I went and bought a keychain for eight bucks at the gift shop.  I like a good deal as much as the next person (maybe more), but these Caverns are so epic, they'd be worth a $60 admission...  So basically, I'm still well within the bounds of what I would call an "awesome deal" and I've got a nifty keychain.  And the satisfaction of having supported one of the sickest natural attractions in the world.  Ahhhh, all in a day's work...  Least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.  It was a cool keychain.

Anyways, as far as the caverns were concerned, you basically walk down a fairly steep path for about a mile or so until you get well within the depths of the cave.  If ever there was something here on earth that was capable of making you feel like you were on another planet, this would be it.  There are even some caves I didn't get to see because you only get to go to them if you take a guided tour.  I just did the self guided tour and walked around the Big Room, as they called it, and saw some of the main things in there.  The caves were much more massive than I was expecting, with miles of trail winding throughout them.  And a normal household voice carries for about a quarter mile down in them...  Pretty awesome.  It was tough to get any decent pics down in there with the low light conditions, but a few turned out decently.

Looking up through the same opening pictured above.

Easily a quarter mile down in and only just the tip of the iceberg.

Easily 25 feet tall and built completely from dripping water.

Looking straight up.

Deeper into the caverns, stairs used by tourists back in the 1920's.

That's a lot of dripping...

Huge.  At least 30+ feet tall and probably 15 feet in diamater

at its base... Again, lots of dripping water.  Haha.

Looking up at the ceiling at a random time.

The landscape at the caverns... Above ground that is...

White Sands National Monument

So I assure you all that I am still alive and well.  Roadtripping just has a knack for dictating your schedule a little bit... It's like having a job you love, but just don't get paid for (well, monetarily at least...).  You're staying so busy with everything you're trying to do that before you realize it, you've got things setting up camp on that "to do" list like it's Black Friday.  Then you finally sit down with a free moment and the difficulty of eating those groceries you meant to pick up earlier, but so conveniently didn't, rears its annoying little noggin...  Never mind that, though, because I have food this time.  So we're good.

Having left Tucson refreshed and ready for more adventure, my first stop was to be at White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico.  This is only the second time I've ever been to legit sand dunes, the first of which being The Great Sand Dunes in southwestern Colorado.  These weren't as tall, but they are the biggest gypsum dunes in the world if I remember correctly.  Gypsum dunes are actually pretty rare, due to the fact that gypsum dissolves in water and is usually just carried out to sea.  But at White Sands, there is no outlet to the ocean, so the gypsum crystals carried by the rainwater from the surrounding mountains collects in the Tularosa Basin valley area.  And unlike most types of sand, gypsum doesn't readily convert solar radiation into heat, so it's passable by barefoot even on the hottest summer days.  There weren't too many people there when I went, so it made for some decent photo ops.  Though it was a bit windy...  Anyways, enjoy the pics.  Stay shiny.

Looking somewhat North

"Towels are obsolete..."

It's the truth.  At least, when you're out in Southern Arizona.  And it doesn't matter what time of year either.  Granted, winter time won't have your olfactory slowly desensitized to the smell of burning flesh, but you do still get to enjoy your skin's rapid decline into utter dessication.  Especially after you just left the blissfully temperate climate of the west coast.  No matter though, because I was looking forward to relaxing a little bit and enjoying a trip up to Phoenix with one of my good friends.  And that's what we did a couple days after I arrived.  We stayed up in Scottsdale, which is apparently one of the more expensive areas even though we found it to be quite reasonable.

As soon as we got up to Phoenix, we decided to go hike Piestewa Peak Park, since we'd read some good things about it.  It was a great hike and the views of the entire Phoenix area were incredible.  You can see a couple photos below.  That night, Ben (my friend) and I decided to see what the local scene was like, so we headed on over to Mill Ave. right near the campus of Arizona State University as that was supposed to be the "place" for nightlife and what not.  It was a Thursday night, so it was fairly calm, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves.  At the first bar we went into, we happened to meet the owner and bunch of employees and regulars who were all really chill people.  It was one of the employees' birthdays and he insisted that Ben and I try these specially made shots, on the house.  So we did.  It was like drinking 45 ounces of liquefied Big Red gum and the whole point was to freshen your breath, haha.  After hoofing it around a bit more, seeing a couple other hangouts and meeting some more people, we called it a night.  The next day, we went over to the heart of Phoenix to explore some of downtown.  Phoenix is an awesome place.  It's incredibly clean, the people are ridiculously nice for the most part, and you don't feel like you might be run over any second.  Not to mention the tasty food!  Later that night, we hit up the Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings game before heading back to Tucson.

So Phoenix and Tucson have been awesome.  Will have been here for a total of 13 days before leaving this Sunday (least that's the plan right now).  Looking forward to heading over into southern NM before getting over to Dallas.  So until then... Stay shiny.

(above and below) Piestewa Peak Park

(above and below) Arizona Center in Phoenix

Suns game!  From the top row, haha.

Santa Barbara and Santa Monica

After the excitement at Monterey, it was on to Santa Barbara where I spent an easy night, got a workout in the next morning and headed out to Santa Monica for a couple nights.  While there, I met up with a friend who works for SpaceX near LA and I got to take a tour of the rocket factory there.  SpaceX is an interesting company as they do all of their own fabrication and manufacturing in house.  Their primary products, the Falcon series of rockets, are cutting edge and very efficient rockets.  I found out that they actually filmed a lot of the Iron Man 2 movie in the very factory that I got to tour, so that was an awesome bonus.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures inside, but suffice it to say that it was pretty awesome.  Look for the company to do big things in the years to come.

Sadly, my plans of seeing a couple other friends were foiled due either to sickness or conflicts in schedules, but after spending over three weeks touring the West coast (and putting up with the ridiculous prices and taxes on everything), I was looking forward to beginning my eastward travels.  So it was off to Tucson...

Laguna Seca Raceway

So as I'm sure a few of you already know (I was excited about it alright? Sheesh...), Christmas came early this year... It came on November 3rd.  And it came in the form of getting to pilot a handful of the fastest street cars in production on the famous Laguna Seca Racetrack.  As part of a Skip Barber High Performance Driving School, myself and a few others who had enrolled were given a crash course in high performance driving, both on the roads and the racetrack, as well as handed the keys to a lineup of sports cars to practice our skills in.  Activities included a variety of skidpad exercises in Mazda RX-8's (CPR, load transfer mechanics, etc), lane change maneuvers in a handful of Porsche's (I did this in a Boxster), threshold braking and handling exercises (which I chose to fit my giraffe butt into a supercharged Lotus Elise for... The instructors got a kick out of that one.), AutoX in a Lexus ISF and Porsche 911 Carrera, and then some hot laps around the racetrack in a car of our choice (assuming you got to it first, haha), which I hopped into a 2010 BMW M3 for...

For those of you who aren't into cars, you'll probably be happier scrolling to the pictures from here, haha... For the "car" people out there, here are the details that ARE the awesomeness of each car and my thoughts about it all.

Mazda RX-8, 6 speed manual:  Very solid cars.  Took some heavy abuse on the skidpad from all of us, but were very consistent.  Surprisingly balanced in how they moved through skids and were very predictable once I got the hang of the exercises.  But anybody who says that skidpad is easy is either smirking slightly hinting at their years of seat time and experience or just grossly ignorant.  "Much harder than we thought" is the sentiment that was roundly expressed by fellow students, including myself.  Though many of us managed to get quite a bit better as the day wore on.  The instructors roundly praised our group as being one of the best groups they've ever had, going on to explain some of the hilarity they've seen in the past from students.  Of course, this made us all feel good, haha.

Porsche Boxster, 6 speed manual:  Took this one through the lane change exercises.  In this exercise we were allowed to accelerate all out up to our target speed of about 40-45 mph entering the lane cones where we had to throw the car into the designated lane (based on lights).  At first this was one lane over.  Then later on, it was either one or two (to preserve the "surprise" aspect of the exercise) but was basically always two, haha.  The Boxster was one hell of a car.  Surprisingly quick for only about 255 horse (thanks to weighing only ~2900 lbs. and being a 6 speed.  Quite nimble for being a vert. and being designed for road use.  After my second run (which felt quite easy already), the instructor told me I could turn off the traction control if I wanted (which I later learned I was the only one he told this to... Haha.), but to "behave" as he smiled.  So I proceeded to see first hand just HOW massive an impact those systems have...  Threw the car into a skid the first time, trying to clear two lanes (to my defense, they DID tell us to be VERY aggressive, haha), and drove up to the instructor smiling.  He smiled back and said, "A little different?"  Being a bit of a throwback though, I decided to keep it off for my last couple runs, and did finally manage to control it the last run, even if I did knock a few cones over.

Lotus Elise SC, 6 speed manual:  This thing was fun.  Hitting your knees any time you try to turn more than about a half turn of the wheel either way is less than ideal, I admit, but that aside...  It accelerated like a bat out of hell for only 218 horse (courtesy of a scant 1900 lb. curb weight) and MAN was it fun to do it in!  The engine boasted a very unbridled, raw sound and was loud enough to convince you that it was sitting in the seat next to you when under WOT, but I loved every brief second of it.  The clutch was crisp and responsive, dumping every last ounce of power back to the ground instantaneously after the 1-2 upshift (we weren't allowed to drop the clutches on launches, though some of the students seemed to have trouble NOT doing this... Umm, learn to drive a stick? I digress...), but gliding like butter on an 800 rpm launch if that's what you asked of it.  The Elise also braked like it was on a cable and maintained complete composure through an insane deceleration curve they setup and told us to follow (like "oh, no problem!" o.O).  I actually kind of tried to get it to kick the rear out on my last run by severely overloading the front slightly after initiating turn in (instead of overloading early and tapering into turn in), but it maintained composure and followed the curve quite well.  I was speechless and had to quell a sudden urge to empty the bladder in an act of puppy joy.  Verdict?  If you ever get a chance to drive one of these beasts, don't pass it up.

Lexus ISF, 8 speed automatic w/ manual shift ability:  So this one is a simple story.  I expected it to feel like a paperweight (tipping the scales at almost 3800 lbs.) as we autocrossed (autox) it, but basically put, it's a monster.  Like woah.  Seriously.  The thing pulls a 12.7 quarter mile and goes 0-100 in under 10 seconds.  And it handles itself in curves very well, pulling an average of .95 g's on the skidpad in a MotorTrend test.  Autox is perhaps the most abusive environment you can drop 4 wheels and an engine into.  Saying we beat the snot out of these cars would be like saying Tyson nibbled Holyfield's ear and then invited him to tea and crumpets to say sorry.  In autox, cars rarely make gear changes.  On the course we drove, they stayed in 2nd gear, which proved a great gear for the Lexus, as we all routinely ran the course quicker in it than in the 911 (probably just due to gearing specifics on this course, as well as perhaps driver skill level).  Overall, very fun to drive with a fat torque curve.  Not to mention it's wicked exhaust sound at WOT...

Porsche 911 Carrera, 6 speed manual:  This one would have been more fun if I'd gotten to drive it outside of an autox setting.  It didn't seem quite as fun to drive as the Lexus, though it was still quite fast.  It would also probably become a lot more fun if I had a chance to accumulate seat time as it did seem that you had to be a bit more precise about things.  If you overstepped your brake zone even just a little bit, it wasn't very forgiving.  I don't think the specific autox course we were on was all that flattering for the Carrera torque curve either (in 2nd gear), because it felt slower to recover from a botched brake point or a missed apex and seemed to inspire less confidence than the Lexus overall.  Perhaps this car has been through a bit more abuse as well.  Who knows.  Though it was still quite fun to drive.

BMW M3, 6 speed SMG transmission:  I had the pleasure of lapping this incredible machine on the track itself, and it was nothing short of awe-inspiring.  With a perfect 50/50 weight distribution and 414 horse available at the 8,500 rpm redline, it has managed to garner widespread accolades and recognition as being the best M3 ever built.  Now obviously I have virtually no way of comparing it to any other car in a track setting, but it was beyond fun.  We tracked behind instructors and had a system where we would cycle behind the instructors as being the "lead" so we could all drive close to the instructors and see how they were driving the track.  I ended up tracking behind an instructor with only one other guy in my group and we were by far the fastest group, lapping the course at essentially 'race pace' when we weren't impeded by safety concerns (*cough* the other group *cough*).  At the end of our track session (which lasted 25 minutes), we had gotten in about 11 laps or so and that's including a total of at least 2 or 3 laps where we were slowed WAY down by the other group (that were going MUCH slower).  The instructor I was following got out, came over to myself and the other student, and exclaimed how that was "actually fun since we were able to go fast!"  His exact words. Lol.

Overall, it was an incredible experience.  When else do you get a chance to take cars (that aren't yours) to the limit to learn and feel what they can really do?

I wish I would have been able to get more photos as well as some action photos, but it was a busy day, so I got what I could when I had a chance...  Enjoy!

The RX-8's we drove with the skid pad in the background.

This M3 was sitting out near the skid pad in the morning, though

we never drove this one.  Below is its interior.

The Boxster that I drove.

 Lotus Elise SC sitting out at the skidpad.  We didn't drive this one

but the one we drove was EXACTLY like it, except it was an even

brighter yellow, haha.

The Lexus ISF that we autox'ed in the afternoon.

Two black M3's.  The closest one was the M that I took on the track.

 Looking at turns 1 and 4 of the Laguna Seca Racetrack.

The hill towards turn 5.

(Above and Below)

And a couple photos on the road leading right into the track area...

Alcatraz

And so it was on Sunday, Halloween of 2010 that we had decided to trip over to Alcatraz and feel some of the decorated history that the famous island and prison offered.  As it had been the main theme of my trip so far, that day was no exception with perfect weather and all the sunshine we could have asked for.  After a short 10 or 15 minute ferry ride, we found ourselves listening to one of the most entertaining older gals for our orientation speech that I think I've ever heard.  To say that she loved her job would be an understatement fit for a president.  A few minutes later, we headed around the south side of the island and on up to the prison where we took the full audio tour, which I highly recommend.  It was quite entertaining and tells you a lot about the prison and its history.  Overall, a fascinating place and great way to spend an afternoon.

Enjoy the pics (that were taken with my cell phone since I forgot my camera that day... Can you even tell?!  Gotta love technology...).  And as always, keep it shiny.

Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island (on the far right) from the ferry.

 Marks left from grenades dropped through the roof

during a famous escape attempt that turned violent.

 Tower on the prison patio

 View of San Francisco from the Alcatraz prison patio

 Looking out towards the Golden Gate Bridge from the recreation yard area...

...And back up towards the prison from the yard

Sacramento and San Francisco

Left with a fresh desire to live in an epic treehouse, it was on to Sacramento, where my cousin was kind enough to take me in for a couple days (thanks Lexi!).  Sacramento is an interesting city, in my opinion.  It has a very distinct feeling to it.  Miles different from either LA or San Francisco, but still a strong California feel.  I spent some of an afternoon walking around "Old Town" Sac, which feels basically straight out of the early 1900's with wooden boardwalks and candy shops.  From the limited amount of time I spent in Sac, it definitely has a much more "quaint" feeling to it (for a big city of course) than either of the two aforementioned.  One of the other fun things for me to do in new places is workout in new gyms, haha.  Call me weird, but I do.  And in Sac, I got workouts in 3 of the biggest 24 hour fitness's (which reminds me... I'm going to keep a tally of how many different gyms I hit, not that really any of you probably actually care, but I find it entertaining because they all have their own feel and are actually quite reflective of a city's people).  And let me just say how racially diverse California is compared to Colorado.  In one of the gyms, I'm pretty sure I was the ONLY Caucasian.  It was kind of cool actually.  And one of the things I've noticed about both Sac and San Francisco is that the people are really nice, in general.

Anyways, after leaving Sacramento, it was over to San Francisco to stay for a couple nights with a good friend (thanks Kat!) and her boyfriend in the heart of the city.  And even though I was only there for a short time, I managed to cram a lot in.  The first day, I ended up taking about an 8 or 9 mile hike around the city (specifically around the Golden Gate Park area) and then a group of us went out that night for Halloween.  We had an interesting group: A walking Mona Lisa, a Kim Kardashian, a jester, a cat, and a Jason (Freddy vs Jason style).  Kat did an excellent job painting half of my face as an old man and I went as Benjamin Button's half brother. Now I know it's common knowledge that Mona Lisa watches your every move, but did you know it also drinks beer?

 

I know... You had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you started reading this blog...  Well, I'm sorry, it only gets worse from here. ;-)

The next day, a few of us decided to take a ferry out to Alcatraz Island to see the prison and take a tour...  Which I will tell you all about in the next post!

Stay shiny.

The Red Giants

Having had my fill of retirement community, I ventured on into California where my next stop was just north of Klamath at the Trees of Mystery attraction, home to some of the most incredible coastal Redwood trees.  If ever you feel a desire to feel closer to the prehistoric era, I have a hard time thinking of a better thing to do than to stand under these majestic beasts.  They are nothing short of incredible.  I also took the couple minute gondola ride that takes you up through many of the trees to a point with a decent vantage point out towards the ocean.  I couldn't help but think of how wicked a place it would be to build an epic tree house.  Sigh... if only...  Anyways, enjoy the pics!

 Paul Bunyan is nearly 50 ft. tall...

 The Family Tree - 12 living trees all growing from one trunk

Well they sure know how to take the fun out of things.

I especially like how the "do not" looks like a bit of an

afterthought though...

The place was built for panorama mode...

 The root structure on this fallen beast was still almost

entirely intact.

 Cathedral Tree (2 above and 1 below)

 Brotherhood Tree - 297 feet tall, 19 feet in diamter

One of the biggest coastal Redwoods (above and below)

 Candleabra Tree - Roots of the horizontal tree feed the vertical trees who,

in turn, feed the horizontal tree through photosynthesis.

They also had tons of carvings.  A couple good ones...

Having fun with Macro mode on my camera.  Not bad for a point and shoot lens...

Stay shiny.