Hey, ya pentax bums! Just subscribing for a moment to say hello to everyone. I'm on the road, as planned, and didn't think I'd get to email before Seattle... but an interesting turn of events (long story, maybe later) has landed me on the campus of United Tribes Technical College here in Happenin' Bizmarck, North Dakota (har!).
So far my travels have been amusing. I must say that once you're on the road, traveling cross-country is not as bad as I thought it would be. I looked up, and realized today, holy cow, I'm in North Dakota already! No exhaustion yet... just plenty of anxiety about getting to Seattle already; but still enjoying things here and there on the way. It's only been a few days (gosh, I already haven't a clue what the date is... and only learned the day a few hours ago) but I already have (atleast) two casualties. Damn Pentax with those god forsaken eye cups!!! Enough to make me switch brands I tell ya. One off the MZ-S today and one off the 5n whoknowswhen; gone. I'm thinking of ordering replacements from B&H tomorrow morning while I've still got access to a computer, and having them meet me in Seattle at Jim's house. But then.... I'm half way thinking... what's the point?! Those'll probably be littering the woods of Rainier in just a matter of days as well. One of the highlights of my trip thus far has been meeting with 3 PDMLers on the way (with one still waiting in Seattle). A few days ago (Monday?) I had breakfast at Mark Robert's house in Pittsburgh, lunch with Mark Cassino near Kalamazoo, MI, and dinner with Maris Lidaka in Chicago all in the same day. All are great guys and it was an absolute pleasure the break bread with them. Right now, I'm in Bizmarck, ND (did I say that already?) I had planned to just pass thru, but then last night I heard about this Pow Wow from this native american guy I met at a gas station 100 miles east of here: http://www.unitedtribespowwow.com So I figured, what the hell. When's the next time I'll be invited to a Pow Wow in North Dakota? <vbg> [Better yet, now that I've seen this place... when's the next time I'll agree to go?!]. So now I'm here until tomorrow. Pow Wow starts in about 60 minutes, so I'm just killing time. Amusing Story: After this, I'm heading to a hostel in Bozeman, Montana. I called the hostel today to make reservations and was told that none were needed, and that I could arrive any time. He also mentioned that no one would be there (huh?) and there were no locks on the doors (wha?), and so just let myself in and leave the money somewhere before I leave in the morning. Why no locks? He explained: because it's BOZEMAN, MONTANA! (HAR!). I tell ya... that pretty much sums up what this whole midwest / northwest experience has been like thus far. This Brooklyn kid is very very far from home. What an experience this entire trip is sure to be. Oh, as for Bizmarck, I'm the talk of the town! Why? Well, I haven't seen another person of color in about 3 days (since Chicago)... and from their response, I'm guessing that the residents here haven't seen one in about 3 years. The population of Greater Bismarck is (from what I hear) about 70,000 and the number of Black residents is supposedly around 20 (what's that? a whoppin 1/20 of 1%)... and even at that, I'm thinking that they must've counted two people about ten times each. If there are more than 8 last names in this town, I'd be shocked. Anyhow, just thought I'd say hello. Hope all is well on the list. If I had an *ist-D, I could shoot you guys some photos... but I don't... so I can't... dammit. Later! Jerome, Lewis, and Clark
