Nick: My phone number is 317-694-5766 and my email address is nickison1@me.com. You may consider this the complaint hotline for any readers that might like to express their displeasure at the very delayed post as it was, in fact, my turn for quite some time. Now down to business:
When it was finally time to say goodbye to Joshua Tree (which was sad, because Joshua Tree was probably one of my favorite segments/locations of the whole trip) we realized that it was Friday which meant that we would be able to attend the horse races that had been rained out the previous week. With free admission, two bets and one dollar beers, this was truly cause for excitement.
We parked Lucy in a large largely deserted lot then headed in to figure out the ins and outs of a sport neither of us had participated in to any degree. Horse racing, it seems, is more complicated than it might initially appear. In addition to voting on the horse you think will win a given race, you can bet on a whole myriad of combinations including choosing the top three positions which can in turn be spread over the span of several consecutive races. All the combinations had bizarre names, the horses had bizarre names, and the machines used for betting and printing tickets seemed a bit confusing. Perhaps Coors Lite would be illuminating... Indeed it was. (thanks beer, you've done it again.)
After a few rounds of that great pilsner taste, we made all our bets then headed out to the tracks. The first of several interesting encounters that afternoon came in the form of an aging hipster guy that claimed to know quite a bit about the horses. He was friendly, talkative, and was more than happy to show us around the park. We consented. The next was a young Hispanic gentleman named Gabriel who offered us a fantastic combo deal on a haircut and medical marijuana. Weird. While we made friends, our horses sucked wind. We both came close to winning a couple times, but our steads just didn't have the juice to finish as strong as they'd started. No matter, Brian spotted a horse shoe in the bushes, and seeing as we were headed to Vegas in a few days, we decided it would serve as the perfect lucky companion. Not wanting to get thrown out before the final race was run, we continued conversing and imbibing.
At some point, and old lady walked up and, having spotted the horseshoe herself, mentioned something about us possibly retreaving it for her. Guess what old lady, you're out of luck, Brian and I believe in equality. You can hop the fence and dive through the shrubs with me, and I'll race your old bones for it fair and square, but this is America, and we're not down with treating the elderly different just because they're elderly. Well, the final race was finally upon us. Despite all odds, (literally, the odds were like 40-1) my horse pulled it out and won us 60 bucks, which made that Friday the first day in a long long time when either of us made more money than we spent in one 24 hour period. As soon as that gallant mare crossed the line, I made an equally desperate rush over the fence and into the bush to retrieve our prize. To our disappointment, the old lady opted out of vying for the coveted charm.
Shoe in hand, we headed out to meet Marie, an aquaintance of Brian's from back in Bainbridge. We hung at her place for a while, then headed out to a local bar to shoot some pool and chat. It's been some time now, and my memory isn't so sharp, but I seem to remember the walls being covered in photos? Perhaps Brian will have a better recollection of the establishment. In the morning, we got up early, purchased one too many ice cream sandwiches, then headed off to Palm Desert where we would relax with Max and his family before heading into Vegas. If only we could have known what horrors awaited us there...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
5 days in Joshua Tree
Brian: Thanks for writing that Superbowl post Nick, I know that must have been difficult for you to relive the humiliating game ending pick that your golden boy threw in the fourth quarter. Anyway, I'll be covering the 5 days we spent in Joshua Tree. We started by checking a weather report for the next week, and the only thing we had to worry about was a light rain on Wednesday night, so we went into town, stocked up on wood, and headed into the wild red yonder. We found our campsite by absolute chance, and as we later learned, it was the most desirable campsite in the entire park. It was at the end of this dirt road, with our very own tree (hey, they are rare in the desert) next to a massive outcropping of rocks that we spent the first evening climbing on. Yeah so I ended a sentence with a preposition, sue me. As night fell, we notice that a few of the small boulders had little burned out alcoves, where previous visitors (Native Americans?) had built fires. We used one such alcove, and much like a pizza stone, the rock absorbed heat and radiated it back out towards us, easily tripling the intensity of the fire. We made it an early night. I love camp time. As a morning person it suits me.
The next day we decided to fast, as our adventures up to this point had caused us statistically significant weight gain, and a good cleansing of the works was in order. Don't be gross. We hiked through the Hidden Valley loop and extended that into a dam hike, which was awesome because there was actually water in the reservoir. The ranger told us that this is a rare occasion, and the dam can be empty for up to 10 years. Yay! Finally all this rain has paid off. If anybody ever asks you whether Joshua Tree is as cool as everyone says it is, tell them yes. Our hike back to camp consisted of pointing in the general direction of our site and simply walking. One could truly get lost out there, and that knowledge is exciting and terrifying. The day ended with some hardcore reading. And a rearrangement of our tarp to be above our tent in anticipation of the rain. We broke our fast after dark for a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Did you know that Samoas are called Caramel Delights on the east coast? Thin Mints are always Thin Mints, and Nick and I curled up with smug chocolate covered smiles and waited for morning.
I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of a huge branch sliding down the tarp we had strung up with our shoelaces. Actually like 50 huge branches. Wait, what is going on here? I have to pee anyway, so I'll step outside and check it out. I opened the flap to out tent and was absolutely stunned. There were at least 2 inches of snow on the ground. Our sleeping bags were put to the test that night. Clearly, since I am alive to blog about it, they passed.
When we woke up, Joshua Tree National Park was a snowy wonderland. The fact that desert fauna are not intended by nature to be covered in white crystal made the scenery that much more beautiful. We built a snow fire in our favorite alcove and stared at it for two hours. And I think on this day we spent a couple hours in town resupplying and attending to administrative duties at a nearby Starbucks. Before we went back into JTree, we grabbed some Chinese food at a place called Fast Chinese. The cute Asian girl at the register asked us if we were twins, and when we said no, she wisely said, "Ah so, you must have been through a lot together." Creepy but awesome. By the time we got back to the park, all the snow had melted, and more reading, cooking, fire, and sleep ensued. It was on this night we met Justin and Brianna, a couple on a climbing vacation. They begged us for our campsite, and we allowed them to move in tomorrow night so that they could have it for sure.
Thursday morning was a very chill day. We took a hike to a ranch in the morning, rocked out till about 3, and then watched Justin give Brianna a climbing lesson, as well as climb a pretty huge rock himself. Nick has a video of his moments of success. They were cool people, and they were refreshed to be hanging out with a couple of non-climbers. This was reinforced later when we met a couple of guys (they were French, not gay Nick) who tried unsuccessfully to boulder a, well, boulder. For you climbing enthusiasts it was a -5,5, but it looked harder than that.
And that basically wraps it up. I'll let Nick pick up with our Day at the Races, and our fun final night in LA. Feel free to cover as much of Palm Desert, including the 1.5 hour hike where you almost died, as well. Brian out.
The next day we decided to fast, as our adventures up to this point had caused us statistically significant weight gain, and a good cleansing of the works was in order. Don't be gross. We hiked through the Hidden Valley loop and extended that into a dam hike, which was awesome because there was actually water in the reservoir. The ranger told us that this is a rare occasion, and the dam can be empty for up to 10 years. Yay! Finally all this rain has paid off. If anybody ever asks you whether Joshua Tree is as cool as everyone says it is, tell them yes. Our hike back to camp consisted of pointing in the general direction of our site and simply walking. One could truly get lost out there, and that knowledge is exciting and terrifying. The day ended with some hardcore reading. And a rearrangement of our tarp to be above our tent in anticipation of the rain. We broke our fast after dark for a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Did you know that Samoas are called Caramel Delights on the east coast? Thin Mints are always Thin Mints, and Nick and I curled up with smug chocolate covered smiles and waited for morning.
I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of a huge branch sliding down the tarp we had strung up with our shoelaces. Actually like 50 huge branches. Wait, what is going on here? I have to pee anyway, so I'll step outside and check it out. I opened the flap to out tent and was absolutely stunned. There were at least 2 inches of snow on the ground. Our sleeping bags were put to the test that night. Clearly, since I am alive to blog about it, they passed.
When we woke up, Joshua Tree National Park was a snowy wonderland. The fact that desert fauna are not intended by nature to be covered in white crystal made the scenery that much more beautiful. We built a snow fire in our favorite alcove and stared at it for two hours. And I think on this day we spent a couple hours in town resupplying and attending to administrative duties at a nearby Starbucks. Before we went back into JTree, we grabbed some Chinese food at a place called Fast Chinese. The cute Asian girl at the register asked us if we were twins, and when we said no, she wisely said, "Ah so, you must have been through a lot together." Creepy but awesome. By the time we got back to the park, all the snow had melted, and more reading, cooking, fire, and sleep ensued. It was on this night we met Justin and Brianna, a couple on a climbing vacation. They begged us for our campsite, and we allowed them to move in tomorrow night so that they could have it for sure.
Thursday morning was a very chill day. We took a hike to a ranch in the morning, rocked out till about 3, and then watched Justin give Brianna a climbing lesson, as well as climb a pretty huge rock himself. Nick has a video of his moments of success. They were cool people, and they were refreshed to be hanging out with a couple of non-climbers. This was reinforced later when we met a couple of guys (they were French, not gay Nick) who tried unsuccessfully to boulder a, well, boulder. For you climbing enthusiasts it was a -5,5, but it looked harder than that.
And that basically wraps it up. I'll let Nick pick up with our Day at the Races, and our fun final night in LA. Feel free to cover as much of Palm Desert, including the 1.5 hour hike where you almost died, as well. Brian out.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Rancho Santa Fe
Nick: So it's March. Brian is back in Seattle, I'm in Indiana. The road trip that's captured the heart of the nation has, as all good things in this world are so tragically doomed to do, come to an end. (Did that sentence make sense? Yes) But before we leave our loyal fans and readers with our closing thoughts, meditations, and revelations concerning this oh-so-epic a journey, allow me to bring you up to speed. It is very likely that Brian, after reading this post in Washington, will have a number of important additions. After all, he's usually the only one of us able to remember back more than a day or two, so forgive me for what will surely be an incomplete account.
To the best of my memory, we left Steve and Leah's and made for Rod's place for a little pre-super bowl party action. Is it just me, or are the ladies we met last time we were here not super excited to see us... What's that? They read our blog? That's cool, that's cool. How did you girls li- Excuse me? You're upset that we had suggested in a previous post that you might not have looked your most sophisticated that morning when you breakfasted in the previous evening's clothes with us? Ladies, ladies, please, this is something of a comedy blog, best not to take it too seriously. And besides, as Brian so accurately pointed out, it had been you yourselves that had first made the observation concerning your general appearance to the world that morning. Here, let's have a margarita. Or five. There, see? All wrongs forgotten. Now keep your ill-informed opinions about football and my Indianapolis Colts to yourself, I want to enjoy watching my team win the biggest game of the year without interruptions.
(This is a point where I suspect Brian would write something clever and then continue retelling the events of the evening. I'm afraid you'll just have to use your imaginations though, and try not to let this huge chunk of unbroken text deter you from reading on.)
After the game, which all you haters will be delighted to know we lost, we hung out with Rod for a while then hit the sack in expectation of a more successful camping venture back in Joshua tree.
To the best of my memory, we left Steve and Leah's and made for Rod's place for a little pre-super bowl party action. Is it just me, or are the ladies we met last time we were here not super excited to see us... What's that? They read our blog? That's cool, that's cool. How did you girls li- Excuse me? You're upset that we had suggested in a previous post that you might not have looked your most sophisticated that morning when you breakfasted in the previous evening's clothes with us? Ladies, ladies, please, this is something of a comedy blog, best not to take it too seriously. And besides, as Brian so accurately pointed out, it had been you yourselves that had first made the observation concerning your general appearance to the world that morning. Here, let's have a margarita. Or five. There, see? All wrongs forgotten. Now keep your ill-informed opinions about football and my Indianapolis Colts to yourself, I want to enjoy watching my team win the biggest game of the year without interruptions.
(This is a point where I suspect Brian would write something clever and then continue retelling the events of the evening. I'm afraid you'll just have to use your imaginations though, and try not to let this huge chunk of unbroken text deter you from reading on.)
After the game, which all you haters will be delighted to know we lost, we hung out with Rod for a while then hit the sack in expectation of a more successful camping venture back in Joshua tree.
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