September 2008
23 posts
News from the Photographer
jaredpcoyle:
Due to a fortunate and unfortunate set of circumstances, there will be a 3 to 4 day delay in the posting of pictures for September 11-14. Expect the regular posting of daily stories to continue sometime late in the evening of September 14.
Delayed!?!!?
We apologize for the delay in picture posting. Jared forgot about them until his father and fiance reminded him. They’ll be up by later tonight.
August 2008
28 posts
The end of the beginning
An Important Announcement:
Two (relatively) young “nerds” from the Philly suburbs successfully traversed the great American continent in a gutsy, little Ford Focus (very much resembling the Little Engine That Could when it came to getting over mountains). They camped and hiked and drove late into the night. Many times, they had no idea what they were doing. But they had a dream, and...
it would seem All Things Come to an End in Time
We’re in Virginia now, and I, for one, am totally exhausted. But I felt you all deserved one more little entry from JPC before the trip came to an end.
I know, you’re thinking, “little”? can Jeff really restrict himself to a “little” entry? has he gone mad? is there nothing exciting left to talk about anymore? or is he just plain lying?
no, no. I’d love...
The Joy of the Unexpected, Part 1
Tonight’s theme: spontaneity and the unexpected. It’s what has made this trip exciting and memorable. We made our first spontaneous decision on the way to the Bryant’s back in northwest PA. Back then, the GPS and I didn’t get along very well. She seemed more like a smooth-talking authoritarian than a friendly guide. So in Franklin, she tricked me into going a different way, which then led to a...
The Joy of the Unexpected, Part 2
Besides a last-minute decision to participate in Crested Butte’s Wild Mushroom Festival (which deserves its own wild story—one I don’t have time to tell right now), we had one more unplanned and unscripted incident. Somewhere between the magnificent Colorado Rockies and the dangerously dull Kansas doldrums, we found ourselves in a nice rainstorm. It is important to state upfront that the driver’s...
Where have all the photos gone? Do not fear!
By now you are all certainly wondering where the photographs have gone. Some of you have voiced your concern and yearning for digital visuals, while others seem to be quite satisfied with the current text-heavy style. Well, for all the verbophiles out there - be happy! I (Jared) have just been too tired at the end of each day to pick out an image and edit it for the blog.
But for those of you...
For my mother
The purpose of this entry is simple:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!
She happens to be the best one I’ve ever had. And she makes (or else provides) tasty (as well as nutritious) food. And I love her.
One more short post, for shiggles, and to bring us...
It’s late, but we successfully made it to our KOA, hidden away in the mountains of Utah, not too far from Zion and Bryce Canyons. Just outside our tent are some horses, and a couple of ducks walked past our car earlier.
The drive from Grand Tetons National Park to where we are now only took eleven hours or so. Not too bad, right?
Jared just saved the day for a nice man having problems with...
Read this after the post below.
Well, now, to speak more plainly, our second day in Yellowstone and yesterday in the Grand Tetons were both remarkable, though not quite as distinctive to my memory. Probably because we didn’t talk to too many different people. And descriptions of nature can get rather repetitive. There are a lot of lodge-pole pines in western Wyoming. If you don’t count tourists, there are more of these trees...
Sunday, August 10th
I don’t know where to begin. We’ve done so much these past few days (without showers and without internet)—it’s unbelievable! Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Ultrashort visits to Montana and Idaho. Geysers and lodge-pole pines and buffalo. I feel like we’ve seen more buffalo (aka, Bison) than there are deer in Pennsylvania. I’m tempted to resort to Kerouac’s “Wow” and just leave it at that. But...
To Be Brief
In case you were wondering, we’re still having a great time.
Last night, we made fire, which meant dinner was hot and a little more elaborate than PB & J. I have to give the credit to our friend Tom who lives with his wife in a totally fantastic mobile home parked (for the summer) outside the French Creek Bed and Breakfast. He showed me exactly how to light the stove-like contraption,...
Transcribed very late on the night of August 8th...
So today was supposed to be our day to “relax.” And, in a way, we did. Still, I suggest you sit back and grab some popcorn (or some other yummy snack) because boy! do we have some stories to tell! 1. We started our afternoon driving around the Needles (a nifty rock formation in Custer State Park). And while it was fun to snap shots of bikers and to climb all over the rocks, I found I was taking...
How to make the most of 24 hours
First off, compliments to the chef and owner of this peaceful abode—the French Creek Ranch east of Custer, SD: This morning’s breakfast, we ate like gods. For our nectar, we could choose between strawberry-kiwi smoothie, tomato juice, or raspberry tea (or why not have all three?). Our ambrosia simply consisted of a cherry-filled crepe and a delightful main dish of mushrooms, eggs, and...
A Bug's Life
If you were a bug accompanying us on our ride through South Dakota (firmly plastered to our front windshield, of course), you would have seen two hairy-faced punks staring straight ahead, for the most part; and through our rear-view mirror, a sprinkling of cars and a handful of motorcycles falling far behind as we zoom across this beautiful state. You’d see trees standing few and far between, see...
Another Engineering Perspective on Life
Hello there friendly readers. I write you from the roads of Minnesota. We are on a long trek towards the badlands. The roads are flat…the roads are straight…the roads are, quite honestly, boring. But enough about our current state – we haven’t even told you about our escapades since Chicago. I’ll give my simple explanation of the events that have transpired in the previous day and a half or...
Written Just as Jared Finished His Shower Singing...
Good Morning, fans, family, friends, and all-around fun people,
As you might expect, road-tripping is on the agenda for today. But first we must consume a fantastic breakfast served up by the Brigg’s—muffins, blueberries, tea, and cereal. It’s a hard life.
Speaking of cereal, in Chicago the other day we were introduced to two goddesses—the goddess of Progress (which I...
On the Road, to Chicago
So we’ve hit our first “roadblock”: Traffic. Averaging thirteen and a half miles per hour over the past sixty-five minutes, we’ve been driven to insanity, which has led has to sing along with Jr. Asparagus—”God’s way is the best way.” It’s times like these that make me wish we could just ascend into the air and hop onto “God’s Highway.” But here we are. One could say we’ve been very...
Ohio - An Engineer's Viewpoint
Hello all! You may be wondering why we haven’t updated the blog in so many days…well, we’re just quite busy with all this travel stuff. It’s only been three full days as of noon today! So what have we been up to? I’ll give you a list since below you can see beautiful prose. 1. We’ve been listening to an audio CD version of Jack Kerouac’s on the road. We have learned little except that the...
