How evil are you?
Friday, August 13, 2004
Mom makes the blog
A casual day here in Seattle highlighted by a haircut.
The famous Mom
Grandpa
My grandmother watching the Mariners on our family's new big screen tv (and I mean it is BIG)
Here's the view of the backyard.
At sunset
The sun has set
Here's the view of the backyard.
Wonders of the Northwest
As I travelled along the northern edge of our country, I have had the opportunity to reacquaint myself with my beloved Seattle Mariners. They SUCK this season and since I paid attention to them closely back in May/June their roster has completely changed. During my travels across North Dakota and Montana, the Mariners are playing their cross plains rivals, the Minnesota Twins. Therefore each night, I turn on the tv in Dickinson (aligned with the Twins) or Butte (rooting for the Mariners) and watch the game. The Mariners won both nights.
On Wednesday the 11th, I left North Dakota and trekked across eastern Montana. There is nothing more boring that having to drive across eastern Montana. There is nothing to comment on except the great meal I had in Billings. My friend Dean, a travelling salesman, covers Montana, so I called him and asked him where to eat in Billings. Q Cuisine, again like in Fargo, had amazing hip decor (like you'd find in SF or NYC) and it's sirloin with truffle sauce was excellent. I had a second wind after dinner and drove the three hours and spent the night in Butte.
Butte is, perhaps, the most economically depressed of all the Montana towns. It has a long mining history and is still reeling from some of the pollution caused by it.
Looking down into the Butte valley
Mining equipment right in the heart of Butte
Fifteen miles outside of Butte, stands the world famous Anaconda mine. This mine was active until 1980 and has the largest open pit mine in the world. The mine is known for its landmark tower, in which the Washington Monument can easily fit into.
The tower at Anaconda
After driving through scenic western Montana (not to be confused in anyway with eastern Montana), I drove through the 70 miles of the panhandle of Idaho and entered into my home state of Washington. Washington, like Montana, has a flat arid eastern portion and a mountainous, greener western portion.
The palouse of eastern Washington State
The agricultural productivity of eastern Washington is based on the amazing Grand Coulee Dam. The word coulee comes from French and is defined as "a deep gulch or ravine with sloping sides, often dry in the summer".
In 1933, FDR, signed a piece of legislation that began construction of this great gravity earthen dam to be built in the north central part of Washington state on the mighty Columbia river. It was to provide flood control, irrigation to the farmers and hydroelectic power. In 1942, it was put into service. Here is a great historical overview of the Grand Coulee Dam. It is still the largest hydroelectic dam in the United States and number 3 in the world.
The Grand Coulee Dam, a mile long
A view of the Grand Coulee Dam from the rear
The water in the river behind the dam stretches for 150 miles and is named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The 32nd President of the United States
Roosevelt Lake
For those of you who want to see eccentric America, here's something I saw as I was driving through the town of Electric City, WA. Yup, that's its name.
Windmill Garden
Lastly, as I drove out of the area, here's a parting shot of the coulee region of eastern Washington.
Shiprock
It is now time for a week with Mom and Dad...
On Wednesday the 11th, I left North Dakota and trekked across eastern Montana. There is nothing more boring that having to drive across eastern Montana. There is nothing to comment on except the great meal I had in Billings. My friend Dean, a travelling salesman, covers Montana, so I called him and asked him where to eat in Billings. Q Cuisine, again like in Fargo, had amazing hip decor (like you'd find in SF or NYC) and it's sirloin with truffle sauce was excellent. I had a second wind after dinner and drove the three hours and spent the night in Butte.
Butte is, perhaps, the most economically depressed of all the Montana towns. It has a long mining history and is still reeling from some of the pollution caused by it.
Fifteen miles outside of Butte, stands the world famous Anaconda mine. This mine was active until 1980 and has the largest open pit mine in the world. The mine is known for its landmark tower, in which the Washington Monument can easily fit into.
After driving through scenic western Montana (not to be confused in anyway with eastern Montana), I drove through the 70 miles of the panhandle of Idaho and entered into my home state of Washington. Washington, like Montana, has a flat arid eastern portion and a mountainous, greener western portion.
The agricultural productivity of eastern Washington is based on the amazing Grand Coulee Dam. The word coulee comes from French and is defined as "a deep gulch or ravine with sloping sides, often dry in the summer".
In 1933, FDR, signed a piece of legislation that began construction of this great gravity earthen dam to be built in the north central part of Washington state on the mighty Columbia river. It was to provide flood control, irrigation to the farmers and hydroelectic power. In 1942, it was put into service. Here is a great historical overview of the Grand Coulee Dam. It is still the largest hydroelectic dam in the United States and number 3 in the world.
The water in the river behind the dam stretches for 150 miles and is named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
For those of you who want to see eccentric America, here's something I saw as I was driving through the town of Electric City, WA. Yup, that's its name.
Lastly, as I drove out of the area, here's a parting shot of the coulee region of eastern Washington.
It is now time for a week with Mom and Dad...
Thursday, August 12, 2004
24 Hours of North Dakota
After leaving the Twin Cities on Tuesday morning, it was a three hour drive to the northwest on I-94 to reach the Red River, which serves as the border between the town of Moorhead, MN and the metropolis of Fargo, ND. I pulled off I-94 and toured around downtown Fargo. I found a surprisingly hip looking restaurant on the ground floor of the Hotel Donaldson. I had a surprisingly good burger.
My home away from home in North Dakota
It is 350 miles across the length of the state of North Dakota and I cruised along for an entire afternoon (listening to The Bourne Legacy) until I reached Dickinson, ND which lies approximately 70 miles east of the North Dakota/Montana border.
Beautiful amber waves of grain
About 10 miles west of Dickinson, lies a road called The Enchanted Highway. Along this 30 mile stretch of road, residents have constructed huge sculptures. Here are two that I saw:
Flying Gulls
Jumping Deer
These are HUGE sculptures. I was so sick of driving at that point that I now regret not driving down the 30 miles to see the other four sculptures.
After a good night's sleep, I headed west to see tour the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
When Roosevelt was in his early 20's, a NYC guy, he spent a couple summers here in Western North Dakota hunting and living. He actually started up a business here as well. Over the course of his lifetime, he saw the bison that he hunted become nearly extinct. He saw that the place he loved slowly change and it was this that instilled in him the sense of resource conservation that lead Roosevelt to establish our National Park system. This area of the North Dakota Badlands was set aside as a reserve in 1946 and eventually was turned into a National Park in 1978. Here is a little of what Roosevelt saw:
Roosevelt's beloved bison
Prairie dogs
A thriving praire dog metropolis
Most people travel THROUGH North Dakota. Even though I didn't spend a great deal of time here, I did experience a bit of the amazing sense of space that draws and keeps people here. To give you a sense of how wide open it is, the entire state has 630,000 residents. San Francisco, the city, has 760,000 residents in its 49 square miles.
It is 350 miles across the length of the state of North Dakota and I cruised along for an entire afternoon (listening to The Bourne Legacy) until I reached Dickinson, ND which lies approximately 70 miles east of the North Dakota/Montana border.
About 10 miles west of Dickinson, lies a road called The Enchanted Highway. Along this 30 mile stretch of road, residents have constructed huge sculptures. Here are two that I saw:
These are HUGE sculptures. I was so sick of driving at that point that I now regret not driving down the 30 miles to see the other four sculptures.
After a good night's sleep, I headed west to see tour the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
When Roosevelt was in his early 20's, a NYC guy, he spent a couple summers here in Western North Dakota hunting and living. He actually started up a business here as well. Over the course of his lifetime, he saw the bison that he hunted become nearly extinct. He saw that the place he loved slowly change and it was this that instilled in him the sense of resource conservation that lead Roosevelt to establish our National Park system. This area of the North Dakota Badlands was set aside as a reserve in 1946 and eventually was turned into a National Park in 1978. Here is a little of what Roosevelt saw:
Most people travel THROUGH North Dakota. Even though I didn't spend a great deal of time here, I did experience a bit of the amazing sense of space that draws and keeps people here. To give you a sense of how wide open it is, the entire state has 630,000 residents. San Francisco, the city, has 760,000 residents in its 49 square miles.
Further proof that I know people everywhere
Sometime during the month of June, before I left on this great journey, I got an email from a friend of mine from my Cornell years. I knew her then as Carrie R., but since I saw her last (1994), she has gotten married (husband Gerry) and is now the mother of two kids (Teddy and Emily). Carrie attended her 10-year Cornell reunion this past June and in the process went online to look up the emails of people that she could remember and boom, I popped up.
We traded emails back in June and I threatened her with the possibility of me travelling through the Twin Cities on my journey. Everything came together and Monday night, I pulled into the suburban town of Burnsville, MN and had dinner with Carrie and her family.
Now, you have to realize that both Carrie and her husband Gerry are both big time members of Math Club. Carrie obtained her M.S in Math and another in Education from the University of Minnesota. Gerry earned a PHD in Math from Minnesota as well. Carrie taught high school math for six years, took a year off to be a mother and is now returning to the classroom at a community college this fall. Gerry is a professor of Math at a local college as well.
A shout out to the N. family for being so generous and kind with food and lodging.
Me and Carrie N. (formerly R.)
We traded emails back in June and I threatened her with the possibility of me travelling through the Twin Cities on my journey. Everything came together and Monday night, I pulled into the suburban town of Burnsville, MN and had dinner with Carrie and her family.
Now, you have to realize that both Carrie and her husband Gerry are both big time members of Math Club. Carrie obtained her M.S in Math and another in Education from the University of Minnesota. Gerry earned a PHD in Math from Minnesota as well. Carrie taught high school math for six years, took a year off to be a mother and is now returning to the classroom at a community college this fall. Gerry is a professor of Math at a local college as well.
A shout out to the N. family for being so generous and kind with food and lodging.
Monday, August 09, 2004
Getting Stuck
One problem I have in my life that continues to haunt me is my inability to put down a book that I am not interested in and just give up on it. I always make myself slog through the book even if I am completely bored by it. I think a compromise might just be to put the book I am having a hard time with aside, read something else, and then come back to the book causing me problems. Alas, in an ideal world, I would have the ability to do this, but I can't so don't even suggest it.
The book that I have been stuck reading is called Fugitive Pieces. It was recommended to be by Nils S., a member of my bookclub, with whom I usually agree with on books we like. This time, however, Nils and I are going to have to agree to disagree.
Last week, I FINALLY put the book away and went to the bookstore for something new. I picked up two new books, the first is called A Home at the End of the World written by Michael Cunningham, who also wrote The Hours. This book has also been made into a movie starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn and Sissy Spacek. How different an experience it is to read when one is engrossed in the book and is interested in the characters and the plot. I finished this book in three days and then promptly went to go see the movie. The movie had some different plot changes from the book, but it was otherwise true to Cunningham's novel. I encourage you all to read or see the movie.
The second book I purchased (and am not currently devouring) was Devil in the White City which is about the construction and planning of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) and the tragedy of there being a man who systematically was murdering young single women during the time the fair was being held. Again, I am enjoying the fact that I am enjoying the book.
So, I need to admit to myself earlier that if I don't like a book, to simply put it down. I have been stuck trying to read Fugitive Pieces since the last week of June. Ugh.
The book that I have been stuck reading is called Fugitive Pieces. It was recommended to be by Nils S., a member of my bookclub, with whom I usually agree with on books we like. This time, however, Nils and I are going to have to agree to disagree.
Last week, I FINALLY put the book away and went to the bookstore for something new. I picked up two new books, the first is called A Home at the End of the World written by Michael Cunningham, who also wrote The Hours. This book has also been made into a movie starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn and Sissy Spacek. How different an experience it is to read when one is engrossed in the book and is interested in the characters and the plot. I finished this book in three days and then promptly went to go see the movie. The movie had some different plot changes from the book, but it was otherwise true to Cunningham's novel. I encourage you all to read or see the movie.
The second book I purchased (and am not currently devouring) was Devil in the White City which is about the construction and planning of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) and the tragedy of there being a man who systematically was murdering young single women during the time the fair was being held. Again, I am enjoying the fact that I am enjoying the book.
So, I need to admit to myself earlier that if I don't like a book, to simply put it down. I have been stuck trying to read Fugitive Pieces since the last week of June. Ugh.
Minnesota
I arrived in Minneapolis on Sunday night August 9th. I spent the morning running errands and visiting the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. It is a wonderfully peaceful park on the edge of downtown Minneapolis where there are sculptures to look at and ponder. Here are some of the ones I particularly liked.
Ordovician Pore
This one didn't have a name in the program so I'm going to call it "Lattice Scooper"
Prophecy of the Ancients
Walking Man
This last one is the signature piece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the piece that most often photographed and the identity of the garden.
Spoonbridge and Cherry
This last one is the signature piece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the piece that most often photographed and the identity of the garden.
My candidate for the tackeiest place in America
After three glorious weeks in Chicago, I packed up the car and began my journey across the northern tier of the United States with my destination being Seattle to see my family. From there, I will return to San Francisco on the 19th of August. Leaving Chicago, I drove through northern Illinois and then up through central and western Wisconsin. This mirrored my journey to Madison a couple weeks ago. About 40 miles north of Madison on I-90/94 lies Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. It sounded absolutely lovely (Dells sounding quite tranquil) and there were many signs along the way advertising Boat trips along the Dells. So when I got there, I pulled off the interstate, filled up my gas and then went to go find the Dells. Here's what I found as I drove down the main thoroughfare of town...
A horrifically crowded and tourist trappy Main Street
This is not unexpected in summer destination spots. Think the New Jersey boardwalk and it's t-shirt shops and weird attractions. But it got even more weirder....
This building houses an attraction called "Top Secrets"
This trojan horse stood at the entrance of the BIG CHIEF MT. OLYMPUS GO KART facility. Go karting appears to be quite populars in the Dells as I saw at least three go kart establishments
But it appears that the MOST popular activity in the Dells is
Water slide parks
Along the three mile main drag, I must have seen at least seven or eight water slide parks. Each and every one of them had lines that stretched quite long. I only caught a glimpse of the Dells themselves. It did appear to be pretty and I really did want to take the boat ride, but I just didn't have the energy to try and fight through all the tourists. I know I am nominating Wisconsin Dells for tackiest place in America, and I know that my pictures might not convey the entire tacky experience. I hope it, however, gives you a glimpse of what I saw and got away from as soon as I could.
This is not unexpected in summer destination spots. Think the New Jersey boardwalk and it's t-shirt shops and weird attractions. But it got even more weirder....
But it appears that the MOST popular activity in the Dells is
Along the three mile main drag, I must have seen at least seven or eight water slide parks. Each and every one of them had lines that stretched quite long. I only caught a glimpse of the Dells themselves. It did appear to be pretty and I really did want to take the boat ride, but I just didn't have the energy to try and fight through all the tourists. I know I am nominating Wisconsin Dells for tackiest place in America, and I know that my pictures might not convey the entire tacky experience. I hope it, however, gives you a glimpse of what I saw and got away from as soon as I could.
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