Montana Fun

I'm with the Kahl's in a local hay maze.

Old Faithful

I made it to the park's interior. Very few people. Waited about 20 min for Old Faithful. Great view. Had a sit down lunch with silver, for less than 8 dollars, view included!

Wildlife as Fickett sees it

Wow. A beautiful sight. Yellowstone in the off season is full of animals.

McFlix

Inside the Golden Arches is a DVD rental machine. The sign indicates that new movies are available on Tuesdays - just like BlockBuster. When you think fast food think DVD rentals. Sure.

World's Worst

This is the world's worst rest stop. The bathroom was so stinky I had to hold me breath. The darkness in the image is what you think it is, the walls and floors were covered in a similar material. I guess no one read the 'keep Idaho clean' signs

Welcome to Idaho

Stopping in Idaho. They want you to take pictures of their sign, the have a pull off area.

Satan's work in SLC

It's opressive in Temple Square. All these young people telling everyone how nice their church is, how it is just like all the other churches, except that it has a living prophet and is the only church that follows 'jesus'. When you hear them speak you, you know that their gospel is false, and with out hope. Their buildings are beautiful on the outside, but inside is death and decay.

For Jay Flowers

It was time to stop for Lunch, so I thought in honor of Jay I would stop at Cracker Barrel. Sweet tea, soup, and salad - perfect food to keep me going. This CB like all the rest, is like all the rest, except since this is Utah there is no smoking anywhere inside. I guess that is the one thing I like about the state.

Utah

Welcome to Utah. Remember to shake the dust from your shoes when you leave. Last time I drove through I played a game with Kerry, "Silo or Temple". The object was to guess if the object in the distance was a silo or a temple.

Arziona

People like to shoot the Arizona sign.

Nevada

They do not want you to stop, so they put the sign in a hard to reach spot. You'll have to trust me on this one -- this is the welcome to Nevada sign.

Blog while you drive

I took this pix and blogged it doing 75 mph just outside of Baker CA.

Mrs. Anderson says

Mrs. Anderson says that this view is called 'The Fingers of Gawd'. That's how she pronounced it. Perfect soccer weather.

Los Angeles Weather

First the thunder, then the rain, now the rainbow.

Saturday Afternoon in the Park

I came home early to escape Rita, so I was able to come to the Boy's soccer games. Cooper and Campbell had a great time. We all enjoyed the time in the sun. Metella and Grandpa came to see the games.

Coach Comfort

Crammed into the glorious inches of coach. Today I'm glad I'm not tall.

Got Bags?

Got bags I don't. I've been on the ground 20 min and no one has any bags. At BUR you can see the planes from the baggage area. It was much faster at DFW.

Let the fun begin

Now I'm in search of gas for the rental car. Several stations I tried were out of gas. Yesterday gas was 2.65 a gallon. Today it's 3.01! If I can find some at that price I'll get it, otherwise I pay the 6.00 per gallon that Avis charges - though today they may be charging 12.00.

Like a moth to a flame

I was driving away from the hotel when I spotted the giant blue building that is Ikea. I had to go inside. It was much larger than my Ikea in Burbank. I wandered the store in search of the perfect Ickvar. I counld find one so I got some Anna's ginger thins for the trip home. The wind is picking up and is sustained. Note the Ikea flags behind me. A bummer for me is I think the pressure change from the storm is bringing on a migraine. The trip home should be extra fun.

The weather it's a changin'

The weather in Dallas is changing fast. Clouds are coming in, it is slightly windy, and cooler. Some of the locals from the conference said that some gas stations are out of gas, and others had long lines. I hope I can find gas before I need to return the rental car, or I'll be charged $6.00 a gallon. Avis has a gleam in its eye.

Team Orange

The conference I'm at goes crazy with orange. Here is the winner of orange day, Mark. He is gung-ho about his company.

It keeps getting earlier

Now I know it has all gone to the dogs. The Macy's here in Dallas already has its Christmas display up for all to see. Please check your calendars because it's only September 22nd.

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Texas Hot

Today is a record setting day for Dallas. Today's high is 102, the highest temp for this day ever. You cannot tell by looking, but in less than 24 hours this place will be filled with wind and rain as Rita moves this way. My travel plans have changed and I am leaving early. My hope is to get out while the airport is still open. The hotel is glad to get my room early as people are coming from the coast looking for places to stay.

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Lost in awe at Sonic

Jay Flowers snapped this of me while I was enjoying the refreshing slush of Sonic. I think Texas night air is so refreshing.

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Texas Sized

Jay and I stopped at a Sonic for a late-night snack. We ordered medium lemon-berry slushes. Nothing fried. The table behind us ordered extra large drinks plus several fried go-withs. Jay and I (especially Jay) are bringing America's weight average down. We will have to try harder.

Where I stay

This is my room. I have a nice view of the fountain. You could open the balcony, but this is Texas and you could be joined by Texas-sized bugs, and Texas-sized heat. It will be 100+ today. But it is a wet heat. I guess that will make it seem even hotter.

Only in Texas

In Texas they take their BBQ seriously. Well they take it everywhere. Here is a man who has his truck rigged with the ultimate BBQ on his tow bar. I guess all the fixin's are under the cover in the bed.

Food and Stuff

It would not be a GTY trip with out a stop at CB. Even though Jay Flowers is not with me I thought I should stop. This one is so dissimilar from all the others - NOT. It is just like them all. I think I'll get some stuff and sweet tea.

Not Flooded

The faux New Orleans which is Disney is an odd reminder of the disaster. In it's sanitzed way it has become an anti-NO. Over stuffed people eating food they do not need, trying not to think of the world outside. Kerry and I know what it is to miss NO. We were engaged there, we vacation there, and we eat there. The thought that it is gone makes us very sad. We were planning to take the boys there soon, but now we will have to wait. I'm not sure it will ever be the same. Untill then we will have only have memories of shrimp Clemenseau to keep us going.

Pickle Dirt

John had a bunch of stuff they did not want (no body wanted it) so we took it to the dump. Ah the sites, the smells. For 41 dollars you can walk among all that America has disgarded. When it all moulders together it smells like hot pickle dirt. We thought we both would vomit. We sank into it when we got out of the truck. It took hours to get all of the foul dirt off my boots.

Movin' On Up

Today a group of us all showed up at the Kahl's to pack up the truck that will take all their stuff to MT. Trying to keep all of it under 16 feet, means that we are playing some bizare form of 3-D Tetris. Mr Elder is an expert, so we got it all in, with a bit to spare.