After 3 days, 2 nights, 32 hours and more than a few 100 miles later I arrived into Cleveland from Los Angeles. I was only slightly concerned that I would be lonely or antsy on the road. Neither was the case; in fact, it went by very fast, very smoothly and I could not have asked for better weather. I wish I had some revelations to share with you all, but I’m afraid I do not. I spent the majority of my time not thinking and when I did engage in such behavior I thought about how I’m going to proceed with a new project I started with Randy Blue.

I’ve learned in the last year that I am definitely someone who can do this sort of thing; many people are not and cringe when I tell them what I do on a regular basis, driving I mean. I find the whole experience rather therapeutic and cleansing although I’m not looking forward to doing this drive anytime soon.

A few weeks ago I packed up the boys and headed to Montana. One of my dear friends bought two houses up there in a quaint little town called Gardiner about an hour away from Bozeman. To give you a little perspective on the kind of town Gardner is, the nearest Target or Home Depot is in Bozeman. So a little heaven – and a little hell.

Scott and I had a mission: To get the place ready for renters; doing small repairs, hanging photos and helping figure out what was needed. Not surprisingly, the landscape was stupid beautiful. I was also introduced to the reciprocating saw, my new favorite toy.

Driving seems to be my theme lately as I’m driving across the country for the seventh time. Stay tuned…

Before I begin this tale I’d like to introduce my co-pilot, navigator, communications manager and photographer, Scott. Scott was nice enough to accompany PD and me on our little jaunt. He was also been along on my last trip cross country in 2007 that ended in destruction when Milo was broken into and my ENTIRE music and DVD collection was taken and sold on the black market of the Mission in SF…. I’m still not over it. Can you tell?

With Scott’s superior ability to read and use maps, his state of the art Mac book, his various publications on popular and obscure points in the US and the blessing of portable WiFi we were two steps ahead of ourselves and knew everything we would need and want to know about all of our planned sites.

At a couple of points Scott’s office would begin to ooze over to my side and on two occasions moved the gear shift into a Neutral posistion… on the Interstate… while we were moving; a small price to pay for advanced communication and professional documentation.

The drive through Vail and Breckenridge was the worst of the entire trip. It was stunning and quite difficult. We experienced sleet, snow, rain and extreme fog which made me mad that I didn’t get the right windshield wiper replaced nor did I apply Rain-X to the windshield. Bummer. An old friend from high school that I hadn’t seen in 10 years lives about 10 minutes from where I write this entry. I’m so stoked to see her and a little nervous. Till then…

Change of plans, Four Corners was closed for remodeling. Bummer. It still didn’t stop us from taking pictures of the disappointment.

During the travels we stopped at several trading posts because I wanted a turquoise ring, a Navajo turquoise ring made in the 40’s. I had on my first cross country trip found a beautiful turquoise ring at an antiques shop in Salt Lake City. I wore this ring constantly and it was referred to as my “Elizabeth Taylor” ring by the Boss Lady herself, Chi Chi LaRue. I loved this ring and on cross country trip #4 my truck was broken into when I reached San Francisco from Ohio. Bummer. I’m still not over it.

The posts were a waste of time. They all carried the same generic crap that the tourists devour. I wasn’t going to find my treasure at a trading post, I needed an antique shop. When I woke up in Cortez, CO and noticed the flyers advertising some right down the street from a local coffee shop I began to feel it calling to me. When I got a kick-ass cup of coffee I felt like this would be my time. It wasn’t. There was no antique shop, just a “For Rent” sign. Bummer.

We drove right to Durango, CO and I noticed an antique shop. We stopped in this cool little town got PD and walked over. I asked the woman promptly for the section where the Navajo rings were, preferably 40’s. There were none and when I started to walk out she told me to take a look in the back. There he was, all alone in a case, begging to be noticed. It was exactly what I wanted and for $20? This was God.

The rest of the day took us through the Rockies to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I wrote this while in Glenwood Springs watching “The Shining”.

I’m so happy I got the ring.

We had an early start in Needles, CA where I had terrible luck getting a decent cup of coffee. I finally found one… in Kingman, AZ. The girl who sold me my crack asked almost immediately where I was from.

The goal today was to cruise to Monument Valley and Valley of the Gods in Utah. It was drier than an 85-year-old pussy and I couldn’t apply the Burt’s Bees fast enough for the drive east.

Any fans of Warner Bros cartoons will understand that I had my eye out for the Roadrunner all day long.

PD’s obedience and completely relaxed attitude was amazing; whenever we got out to take pictures he would stick close by and never goof off.

Cortez, CO was our final destination. It’s relatively close to Durango and The 4 Corners which is where we start day three.