It's good to be home.

Matt and I flew to Phoenix on Friday, finding that it was the cheapest way home. After hearing about the recent decapitation that occurred on a greyhound bus, perhaps it was for the best. The most unusual thing that happened during the flight was that halfway home, Matt changed into his bananna suit. The stewardess loved it.

Yesterday we drove up to Flagstaff and thus have completed our summer road trip, so this will be the last written post in here.

I posted photos below, although these are only from my camera. I'll post the photos from Matt's camera later this week. Also, I don't know how to make some of the pictures vertical, so do it yourself or enjoy them with your head tilted sideways. You can click on them and make them larger.

Photos

Matt plays in the "snow." This white fluffy stuff was all over the place and even though it made me feel as though I was going to sneeze out my insides, it was very beautiful.


Matt and Harriet.

Trying to pick blackberries in Oregon.

Getting ready to make breakfast. Matt did all of the cookning over the summer while I provided witty conversation.

We stuck this guy to the inside of our windshield for the remainder of the trip. He was a warning to other mosquitoes not to mess with us.

The only thing that the town of Blue Earth, SD is known for is the Green Giant. And horrible bugs.

Two of our hitchhikers, Nikki and Stash, had a wet awakening in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Matt and Gonzo, on of the hitchhikers, in the Wal-Mart parking lot after a night of sleeping on the pavement.

The car problems start. Matt tried to repair a leaky tube by inserting a cut up pop can.


Corn Palace. Need I say more?

The only photo that I took in Chicago because my camera died. I found a blow dryer that was so strong, it blew my skin around. I don't know about you, but I was impressed.

Matt in the Badlands

Good-bye

Today was bittersweet.

We finally sold the car, which means that now we can greyhound it home, but we also had to watch the tow truck load the Benz that took us so many places this summer. Matt had to sell the car separately from the vegetable oil system so as I write this, someone’s helping him gut the grease lightening. Sadness.

The conversations, ideas and awareness that it sparked made it worthwhile, no matter how much work went into it. Not to mention all of the weird yet generous people that we met and the adventures we had because of them. Still, Matt has had enough of cars for now so next time you see him, he’ll be on a bicycle.

The world is changing and being environmentally conscious is no longer just for “hippies” or health nuts. It’s just smart. We’re approaching a time when resources are running out and the rest of the planet is catching up with us Westerners. There won’t be enough to go around so when the rest of the world wants what we take for granted, there are going to be problems. I just found out yesterday that the United States makes up about 4% of the world’s population but uses about 25% of the planet’s electricity. Wow.

Anyway, I’m sure with the fad of being “green” catching on, everyone has had enough statistics shoved in their face. Still, next time you go to the store, bring reusable bags or recycle your old ones. Take your own mug to coffee shops after thinking about the space that carryout cups take in landfills. Turn off lights when you’re not using them. All I’m saying is that by starting small and making changes in your life you can make a big difference.

And on a non-lecturing note, there’s one night from this summer that keeps popping into my head. It was at the very beginning before we had even made it to my sister’s house in Texas and we stopped in the middle of the night. The wind was too strong and we were too tired to fight it, so we found an abandoned road to sleep on the side of. Our sleeping bags almost blew away before we passed out in exhaustion on top of them. I’m not sure what woke me up but I opened my eyes in the middle of the night, put on my glasses and looked up. It was one of the clearest, most vivid evening skies that I’ve ever seen. Above my head was a darkness that went on forever and the stars that interrupted the blackness contrasted even more because of the complete absence of light. That view really surprised me for some reason but in the middle of the night it made me excited for the rest of the summer and everything that Matt and I were about to experience.

Hitchhikers, Breakdowns and Portland

Exit Yellowstone. Enter Grand Tetons. I’ve used the word “beautiful” so much this summer to describe what we’ve seen but it’s not really the right adjective for these mountains. The Grand Tetons are indeed stunning yet there’s something so inaccessible and harsh about them at the same time. We wanted to hike within the park but the backcountry trails were taken or the snowed in, even though it’s July.

On we went to Jackson, a small tourist town, where we stopped to look for vegetable oil. Unfortunately, a local had a monopoly on most of the restaurants since he runs on the veg as well, so we skipped on out of there. The second night was spent outside of Boise next to a refreshing little creek under the almost full moon. Matt and I sat next to our first campfire of the summer until it got late.

The next day was when it started to really get interesting. We’ve been very lucky as far as having only minor car problems on this trip, but starting in Ontario, OR, things went downhill fast. We noticed that the car was leaking antifreeze, so Matt spent some time trying to patch it. Then we picked up three hitchhikers by the names of Nikki, Stash and Gonzo. If anyone has seen us in our car so far, you wouldn’t believe we could even fit one extra person in the back, let alone three. Yet somehow we managed.

With their giant, dirty drums sitting on their laps we drove farther North into Oregon. Repeatedly we made stops as the car overheated and we attempted to again patch the antifreeze tube. After dropping off our passengers, we limped into Portland where the car now lies, possibly dead.

Matt and I don’t know if Portland will be the final resting place for the Mercedes as well as our road trip, but time will tell. We have to talk to some mechanics today and if the repairs are too expensive, Matt will have to sell the car. If that’s the case, we’ve had a good run. Next question: How will we get home?

In the mean time, Portland is fabulous. We went on a fourteen mile bike ride yesterday around the city, have gone to Saturday Market and Powell’s is on our list of destinations. Pictures will be coming soon.

On the road again

Matt and I are in Yellowstone, staying with his parents after having met back up in Minneapolis. Although we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the summer thus far, we’re glad to be away from cities for awhile so that we can spend some time outdoors. Yellowstone is a first for me and absolutely breathtaking. Matt has been here several times though so when I make fart jokes due to the sulfur smells in the park, it just really isn’t that funny….

Matt was able to make it through the Upper Peninsula, down to Minneapolis, up north to his family reunion and back down to get me all on the vegetable oil that we got in Ann Arbor, Michigan. What a relief it is to not have to think about fuel hunting. He said that the time with his family in Minnesota was as bad as the Badlands are bad….because he likes the Badlands.

I took a Greyhound bus to go from Michigan to Minnesota, a form of public transportation I’ve never experienced before. Let’s just say that trains and planes will forever be more boring after this. It was great people watching and I actually enjoyed it, from the driver revealing that he was on probation for bad driving (after he broke his side mirror off of our bus through a tollbooth) all the way to having to fend off a hulk of a man that kept falling asleep on me. He was what I call an “oozer.” The person who sits next to you that ends up taking up half of your seat, forcing you to form a barricade with your carry on luggage. I wasn’t above using elbow jabs either, especially when he started resting his head on my shoulder/lap.

Minneapolis was beautiful and Matt and I love the diversity of that city, not to mention how much it promotes biking as a form of transportation. Amazing. After that, we ended up in South Dakota, a state that is known for three things: The Corn Palace, Wall Drug and Mt. Rushmore. Road trips are all about the weird factor so we went to the first two but somehow skipped the national monument. The Corn Palace was made of, well, corn. We also filtered oil there in the rain while I held a tarp over us. Wall Drug was a tourist zoo, although they did have 5 cent coffee and we had our picture taken in front of a fake Mt. Rushmore.

Western South Dakota = unexpectedly beautiful. We drove through the Badlands and the Black Hills although we couldn’t find a camping place at the latter so we pitched our tent in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Woke up to an old man stepping out of his RV and telling us that we give Arizona a bad time. We’re still not sure if he was joking or not.

We have been very lucky since Michigan with finding oil and haven’t had to search too hard. At a Mexican restaurant in Gillete, the owner told us, “You guys put the green in me. I will get a vegetable car, too.”

Next stop: Portland.

hmmm...

Due to Matt's phone being turned off, communication is not possible and I have no idea when we'll be continuing our roadtrip in Minnesota.

If any of his relatives read this and know any family cell phone numbers that I don't have, please e-mail them to devinloveslife@gmail.com

Divine Intervention

Photo 1. Sign on the barn at the farm.
Photo 2. At the farm. From left to right: Devin, Donald, Scott, Matt, Katie, Bill.
Photo 3. Matt on the road. Indiana I think? Maybe Illinois.
Photo 4. The fuel concern is all over the country.
Photo 5. At the farm. Old house now used as a chicken coop.
Photo 6. At the farm. Barn falling apart. Basement = creepy. Zombies possible.
Photo 7. At the farm. More stuff.
Photo 8. Filtering fuel in an alley outside a brewery in Ann Arbor. Our suits make us feel like ghost busters. No, make that Grease Busters!
Photo 9. Devin.
Photo 10. Kansas. Devin's cousin, Sierra, helps Matt filter fuel.

Michigan proved to be a goldmine in terms of oil for us. Our first day fuel hunting was spent in Ann Arbor and our hopes were high since a lot of places told us that we could collect deep fryer oil the following afternoon. We woke up at 4:30am the next morning to be at a diner by five since that’s when they told us to collect. It was surreal being up so early after going to bed past midnight. The sun wasn’t up yet, the birds had just started to sing and someone was practicing with what looked like nunchucks (sp?) in front of the restaurant. However, we were disappointed when we found out that there was water in their oil and consequently weren’t able to use it. A few friends joined us for some early morning hash browns and we gathered ourselves to go back to bed.

It was at that moment that divine intervention appeared in the form of a short, balding man who started talking to Matt about the veggie car. His name was Scott and he’s in the process of starting a co-op in Ann Arbor for alternative fuel on what used to be an old hippy farm. And what came next? The promise of what turned out to be 70 gallons of vegetable oil which when roughly calculated would be about $300-350 worth of regular gas.

After taking a nap, some friends joined us as we followed Scott and his partner Donald to the farm. When we first arrived, my initial reaction was that we were in a horror movie and about to be axed off. I mean, we were in the middle of nowhere and the farm itself was pretty disheveled looking. The reason for the disorderly appearance was just because Scott and Donald are cleaning up the area for the co-op and from what we heard of their ideas, everything sounded amazing. They’ll need a lot of volunteers, planning and work but I really hope it works out.

They said that the land was previously a commune which was later abandoned. There used to be a school bus on the grounds but Scott and Donald drove it on biodiesel to Katrina to help with the relief efforts after the hurricane occurred. Kudos to these amazing men! Meeting them and accepting their vegetable oil was an extraordinary help. (side note: we just want to point out that we appreciate not only those that donate oil but the people that have helped Matt worked on the car itself. You know who you are.)

During our stay in Ann Arbor we were also interviewed by NPR which was exciting. It should air in about a week in a half or so and when we get the link, you’ll be able to listen to it online.

Matt is now driving through the upper peninsula of Michigan on his way to a family reunion in Minnesota while I visit with Michigan folks. Thus, there won’t be any posts for about two weeks.