New blog site

Due to the difficulty everyone has experienced when trying to comment, I've started another blog.  If you want to continue to follow along, please go to the following link for all future post:

http://blunderfactor.wordpress.com

The Howling Plains of the Long Branch Saloon

After a frigid night camping in the Rockies, Odie and I met up with an old friend from a few years ago and had breakfast at the Notchtop Cafe in Estes Park, CO.  Had a great time catching up, and the fresh trout and eggs I had was really, really good.

We hit the road around 11:00 and made our way toward Chadron, NE, avoiding the main roads and absorbing the changing terrain like the reconnection with a long lost friend. Guess the midwestern palette runs deeper within me than I would have imagined.  Sadly, we witnessed far too many fracking sites, a seemingly endless display of what ails us.

Tonight we're calling the Old Main Street Inn "home."  First built in 1890, it's on the National Registry of Historic Places.  The current owner Jeanie made us feel like we were home, and the local characters came out in force.  One of my favorite authors lives here, and he came down to the bar and hung out with us for a few hours, which was pretty damn cool.  A documentary based on one of his books will be released soon, and I would highly recommend reading "Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere" and the then seeing the documentary, which should be released sometime in October of this year.

It's late, I'm hunkered down in "The Cowboy Room," we're a little over 2,000 miles into the journey, and I've already seen more than I would have imagined.  Life is short, life is good...count yer blessings peeps, and remember to live large...always!

Newton

Peaking...

Wednesday 8/27

We left Salida, CO around 8:45 a.m. and headed north with the ultimate destination of Pikes Peak, a journey of about 113 miles.  The air was crisp and slowly warming from a night in the low forties.  Breakfast was once again a nutrition bar and my famous camp coffee, although this batch was brewed in the now infamous Woodland Motel. (Infamous in the fact of its utter non-descritpness) About 13 miles out of Salida we turned east on Highway 24 and enjoyed a very mellow drive across high plains of meadows and pasture land at around 9,000'.  The temp was cool, but I had the sunroof cranked open anyway to enjoy the perfection of the day.

Once we arrived in Colorado Springs we tried to find the Pikes Peak Highway using our cell phone GPS, which consistently told us to turn onto dead end roads.  After about 30 minutes of WTF, we finally started following our instincts and found the highway easily...so much for technology.

The drive up the mountain was 18 miles of low gear chugging for the O.R.E.M., and by the time we passed 12,000' It was 20 mph max.  When we reached the summit at 14,110' the wind was howling and it was 39 degrees, so the shorts Odie and I were wearing were perfect attire.  The views were stunning, vast tapestries of greens and browns underneath a sky so clear one could see into another reality.  Odie had completed the Pike's Peak Marathon 4 different times about a decade earlier, and I was dumbfounded considering that accomplishment, especially since I felt winded just walking around!  In fact, after about 60 minutes at the top, I was feeling dizzy and a bit nauseous, and since Odie refuses to drive, I made the call to start the trip down the "hill."

The grade coming down is so steep that I had the O.R.E.M. in the lowest gear and was still gaining speed.  There's a mandatory brake check stop about halfway down where a park ranger checks your brake temp.  The brakes were fine, but right before the check point a marmot ran in front of the O.R.E.M. and I didn't' have time to react and avoid it. That was a major bummer. I told the ranger at the check point what had happened, and she said they would make sure it got a proper burial, and I believe she meant it...

Tonight we are camped in the hills above Buena Vista, CO at around 8,200'.  We found this spot after inquiring at a local rafting/mountain biking shop.  Awesome sky, peaceful, nothing but the wind and crickets to keep us company...

And to you marmot, I am deeply sorry that I couldn't miss you...May your spirit run free for ever more...

Newton

Today (Thurs 8/28) we traveled from Buena Vista, Co to Estes Park, Co via the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The weather was rainy and cold, and in fact it snowed at the summit (11,780') and the drive down was semi gnarly until we got below 9,000'. The rest of the day consisted of Thai food, a $6.00 shower at Dad's Laundromat, and now a beer at the Estes Park Brewery.  Tonight we're camping in the park at around 8,000' and it's suppose to be in the low thirties....time to break out my flannel PJs...

Newton

It Never Rains In California...But It Does In Colorado

Slept pretty good last night, in spite of the million or so strange little bugs that shared the tent with us last night.  Note to self: extinguish headlamp prior to opening the tent door so as to not attract the aforementioned bugs!

We hit the road around 8am and headed north on Highway 191, intercepted Interstate 70 east and made it to Grand Junction, CO around 9:45.  After purchasing gas at a mom & pop gas station shaped like a miniature barn, we stopped into Randy's Breakfast Diner for a bite to eat.  Gray clouds could be seen in the distance, and before we finished eating the sky morphed into thick sheets of rain, the kind of rain that this drought weary Californian hasn't seen in several years.  It was awesome to witness, but it also meant that perhaps the days activities would need to be modified.

Leaving the diner, we continued south on Highway 50 toward Montrose, CO (Tim, the road details are for you!) and drove in the rain for 30 minutes or so before the storm moved on and the sun returned and began to dry the road ahead.  In Montrose we stopped at a cool little coffee shop, The Coffee Trader, to replenish our supply of camp coffee, and decided to stop at The Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park...spectacular!  We hiked a few trails, watched a video, then headed back down to Highway 50 and continued east, our goal to reach Salida, CO and camp for the night.  The sky was a mosaic of blue, white and gray, and the wind had stiffened significantly as we plowed on with the windows open.

The countryside was a mix of rolling pastures, scrub brush and rocks, and the occasional cluster of homes and out buildings.  We passed through Gunnison, CO without stopping even though it looked worthwhile, and before long started the climb up Monarch's Pass.  The O.R.E.M was doing fine until it began to protest around 8'000, and we crested the peak at 11,213' barely maintaining 45 mph, which makes tomorrow's Pike's Peak drive all the more interesting to consider.

Tonight we caved in and got a hotel, partly because it was raining and the temp was in the low-fifties with more rain predicted, but mostly because we're old and brittle enough already without factoring in a damp, cold night in a tent.  So here I sit at the Woodland Hotel in Salida, CO, among a motif best described as The Brady Bunch meets Rory Rodgers, warm and dry, happy and tired, part of me missing home, part of me ready for more...and so it goes...

Newton

Morning Has Broken

This morning, Monday 8/25, we awoke to an amazing sunrise.  Our campsite alongside the road served its purpose, though the few cars that did whiz by only fifteen feet from our tent over the course of the night were a bit unsettling.  The sunrise was amazing, and I'd show you the picture I took, but at present I can't figure out how to get it to post!

We had a quick breakfast of coffee and a breakfast bar, packed our stuff, and then hit the road around 7:20....and discovered that we were less than half a mile from some really choice camp sites!!!! I guess the blunder factor giveth and taketh in equal measure.

The pinnacle of the day was The Valley of the Gods, a lesser known and more remote version of Monument Valley.  We spent about three hours driving the 17 mile gravel road that takes one through some of the most spectacular terrain I've ever seen, the kind of stuff that rips one's soul open and reminds you that the moment at hand is all that matters.  Everyone needs to have a trip to this place on their bucket list...We also hiked to The Windows in Arches National Park, which was also quite spectacular, but there were tons of tour buses unloading tourists like lemmings...kinda ruined the mood, but still, I'm glad we saw it!  Found a place to take a much needed shower for only $4.00 after the hike, and then we ate salads at a place called "Eddie McStiff's."  Yeah...but the salads rocked!

Tonight we're camping at a BLM campground just outside of Moab, UT.  Our tent is a mere fifteen feet from the Colorado River, and not a road, which should make all the difference in getting a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow we'll load up the trusty O.R.E.M and head towards the Rockies and more tales of derring do...sleep well all...

Newton

The Side of the Road

It's Sunday night and we've pitched our tent alongside State Highway 261 a few miles outside of Mexican Hat, UT.  The sun was kissing the horizon and the nearest campground was 50 miles away, sooooo....


We spent last night just outside Flagstaff, AZ at Pine Grove campground with Odie's parents, Larry & Pat, as well as his brother Ben and nephew Evan.  We feasted on egg and tuna fish salad sandwiches, corn on the cob, chips and veggies, and washed it all down with some Peanut Butter stout from Belching Beaver Brewery.  And for dessert Ben & Evan prepared perfect s'mores!


This morning Larry made some killer scrambled eggs and hash browns for breakfast and we hung out with everyone until about 10:30 before hitting the road.  We headed north on Highway 89 and spent several hours exploring the Sunset Crater National Monument and surrounding Indian Ruins, probably a bit too long as we didn't head toward the Moab, UT area until after 3pm, which had been our aiming point for the day's end.


Around 4:30 we stopped at Tuuvi's Cafe in Tuba City, AZ, which is located on the Navajo Indian Reservation.  After being seated I asked, "What kind of beer do you have?"  Our waitress replied that all alcohol was illegal on Navajo and Hopi land.  "Oh," I said.  "Guess I'll take some water."  Each of us ended up getting a Fry Bread Veggie Taco, which was more like a medium pizza with suspect veggies and beans on top...and yes, I think we'll both be paying for it tomorrow if not sometime tonight,..the drive after refueling/gorging at Tuuvi's was through some spectacular country at around 6,000' along state highways 160 & 163, the high point being the spectacular scenery of Monument Valley.


Our plan for tomorrow (a loose plan at best), is to get up early, wash down a nutrition bar with some of my awesome camp coffee, then pack up and head toward Bridges National Park and The Valley of the Gods National Monuments.  And hopefully we'll actually be in a campground and not along side another as yet to be determined slab of asphalt.  A shower would be nice as Odie is getting a bit ripe....I still smell like roses of course!  Live large peeps...

Newton

57 Hours

     In just under fifty-seven hours Odie and I begin our odyssey, and today it seemed to be raining questions as I was asked numerous times about our agenda, where we plan on being each day, where we're going to camp each night, etc...  But there's really not much in the way of details to share.  This trip is, after all, more conceptual in nature than anything even vaguely resembling a well planned vacation.  

     "We're going to head toward Flagstaff the first day, camp overnight with my friend's brother and parents, then head out the next morning and see where we end up...probably toward Moab, UT but who knows," I shared with a neighbor after work in answer to her question.

     "Really?" she said, unable it seemed to completely mask her surprise that a seemingly rational fella like myself would do something so...foolish?

     "Yup," I replied, "Gonna let fate have her way with us and see what shows up."

     Perhaps Odie and I should be more concerned with our lack of defined parameters for "The Thing," but the idea of getting 'lost' out in the vastness that this country has always offered to the human race is the very thing I most hope to encounter, if only for awhile.  There's infinite possibility just around the next bend as long as one is willing to go and find it, and really, doesn't one have to become lost before they can be found? 

      A few days ago I posted the following quote (author unknown) on my Facebook page:

     "Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure."

     And so it goes...

Newton

     

     

Resurrecting Tippy

The O.R.E.M.

                                                    

"The Thing"
Dedicated to the life and times of the late-great 

Albert "Tippy" Ensell IV

              

     Greetings all, and thanks for stopping by!  The Blunder Factor will chronicle the stories, adventures, and hoped-for epiphanies of my three-week voyage through the bowels of America with my good friend and fellow maniac Gary Hermes, a.k.a Odie. This odyssey will commence on Saturday, August 23, 2014.

    The concept behind this trip, which we've nicknamed "The Thing," is simple; get up each day and follow synchronicity and fate wherever they lead us, hence the blog's title.  At present, the only concrete facts are:  Odie is nearly blind, my arthritic knees and hips threaten to throw in the towel daily, on that Saturday we will depart from Ventura, CA at 4 a.m. in a white, slightly dented 2005 Toyota Siena van (a.k.a. The Ortwatly Random Excursion Module, or O.R.E.M.), and by day's end we hope to have our first campsite established a few miles southeast of Flagstaff, AZ.  Beyond that, the moments of each day belong solely to us; the direction we take each morning sublimely vague, each day's destination as yet an intoxicating cup of mystery.

     

     I'll do my best to update this blog frequently, though not at the risk of missing some grand experience because I "need" to make a blog entry.  Hopefully, you'll feel compelled to check-in from time to time and see what we've gotten ourselves into.  And Tippy...we'll cya out there Brother Man...

Newton