Wisconsin & Michigan

Monday June 29, 2009.

Drove thru Wisconsin & Michigan. Slept in rest stop. Got new tires.

One might think this title tells all one needs to know, but reader, reconsider. There are things to say even about the most mundane of human activities. Take for example purchasing tires. Finding oneself on the road in a different state and in need of a very essential item can be nerve wracking. Breaking camp on that Monday morning I checked over the rig and noticed both front tires were balding on the outer edges and the steel belts were starting to show. Not good, thinks I, and so we start looking for a tire store. Nothing in Spring Green or anywhere near it. Finally, in desperation, I head for Oshkosh, the closest Wal-Mart some 75 miles distant. All the while I'm thinking, if one of these suckers blows, I'm going to be really steamed. Why did I wait so long, trying to squeeze out the last bit of tread? Why didn't I just replace them in Sierra Vista before leaving on such a long trip? Frugality I suppose. Carol would say cheapness. Someday this trait might lead to my ruin but today was not going to be that day. We rolled into the Oshkosh Wal-mart and had the place to ourselves. In and out in 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, this little diversion and detour cost us more road time than one might expect and thus we did not make it into Canada as we had hoped. Instead, we settled for a Michigan rest stop that prominently featured a sign stating that overnight parking was not allowed. Since we were on the Upper Peninsula, away from any metropolitan area with numerous road signs warning us that we were more than likely to encounter deer on the road, we decided to take our chances with the rest stop and pulled over.
Climbing into the Casita bed we both reached for our current books. Carol is reading a metaphysical treatise called “Ask and it is Given”. This is a channeled book by Ester and Jerry Hicks. Carol claims it is one of the best books she has ever read. She isn't so much concerned where the information comes from, as long as it is sound and intelligent in its essence. According to Dr. Wayne Dyer of PBS fame, it is “. . . one of the most important books ever published”. Impressive, to say the least. Since by nature and training I'm somewhat skeptical of channeled books, I will nevertheless add this one to my queue. I, on the other hand, am reading literary chocolate. Fictional fantasy that is so good but essentially worthless that it is similar to a guilty pleasure. I'm referring to George R. R. Martin's epic saga, “ A Song of Ice and Fire”. I'm on the third volume, “A Storm of Swords”. For these books I have to thank Julian Gross, a fine upstanding individual, married to my favorite niece, Jill. It all started back in March when Carol and I visited them in their San Francisco home. We were laughing and discussing favorite novels and I happened to mention that I absolutely adored Patrick O'Brian's “Master and Commander” series and lamented that there were only 19 books, and that I'd read every one and was now lost at sea. Julian, who had also read the O'Brian books, reached back to his bookshelf and handed me “A Game of Thrones”, the first in the Martin series. He did caution me that I needed to set aside a substantial block of free time before beginning the book. I wisely held his counsel, not starting the first volume until a week before the trip. Now I am so engrossed in these novels that I lay awake at night after I can read no more and further ponder the trials and tribulations facing the Stark family.

Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin home

Sunday June 28, 2009

Taliesin. Frank Lloyd Wright's home is a thing of beauty. I'm not one to easily part with $110 but the tour of this home and grounds was extraordinary. The design, spacing and overall aesthetics made one feel contemplative whether one felt so inclined or not. It just had a magical and captivating feeling. Walking through the rooms and workspaces one gets the feeling that they created something very special in this environment.

A decade ago I was in the MOMA standing in front of a Picasso. I had this overwhelming sense of bearing witness to greatness, knowing that Picasso had at one time stood before his masterpiece. That was sort of what I felt going over and around Frank's place. He was a genius, no doubt about that. There's a certain refreshment one gets being in the vicinity of such people, people who are not bound by conventional thinking, morality or religion. I add religion because, on reflection, particularly after listening to Richard Dawkins' “The God Delusion”, I have to agree with many of his conclusions. Most of the great thinkers throughout history were either non-religious, agnostic or outright atheists. Religion, on the whole, has been an overall blight to humanity no matter how the apologists try to spin it. Genius, throughout the ages, has had to be circumspect in the best of times or covert in the darker eras in whatever they were working on, so as not to ignite the fire of religious backlash. I do hope the upcoming century sees science in the ascendancy and religion falling out of favor. Far too many people have been deceived, oppressed and killed in its name, whereas society can be quite moral and ethical without it. In this enlightened age, can we not dispense with the fear that is at the core of man-made, organized religion? To think that Darwin's “Origin of Species” was first published in 1859 and is still being condemned by evangelical sophists!

Oh, but I do go on. We spent a pleasant day here at Taliesin and will take the special feeling of this place home with us.

Entered Wisconsin

Saturday June 27, 2009

We finally reached one of our scheduled destinations, namely the Wisconsin River Resort. We choose this particular destination for its proximity to Frank Loyd Wright's home, Taliesin. The campground was clean and well managed. We finally had a full hookup which means, among other things, running water and electricity. One of the drawbacks of spending the night in rest stops as we have been, is that one uses the trailer battery for lights and the water pump which can be a significant drain. At any rate, we pulled the bikes off the rack and took a quick tour of the area.

The town of Spring Green is a typical small Wisconsin town, with lots of shops selling cheese and wine, and hand crafted goods. There was even a town nearby called the Amana Colonies that was devoted to Amish furniture makers. It was so picturesque that at first I thought we had wandered onto a movie set. However, after several passes we concluded it was an actual living town that had found its niche. Still, I wonder just what these Amish folk are really up to. Could they truly believe it's God's will that they shun modern conveniences? I have difficulty with rational beings swallowing such nonsense. Are they a kind of cult that has developed a strategy which allows them to maintain their patriarchal culture, while masquerading under the guise of religious freedom? I don't know. At least they are harmless enough, and very kind, but I don't see their brand surviving the 21st century. The advancement of science and the Internet is going to make it difficult to keep succeeding generations on the farm. Keeping people ignorant can only work in a completely closed society. I saw a couple dressed in Amish clothing on cell phones. Oh No! Their descendents might very well make a living as reenactment actors rather than actually living in authentic Amish communities.

Crossed the Mighty Mississipp'

Friday, June 26, 2009.

A Drive Through the great state of Iowa. Now I'm not sure if there are any particular Iowa highlights but I'm sure glad the state exists. Through the looking glass of a windshield, I'd say Iowa was corn fed, white and mostly middle class, hardly the likely choice to give Obama a shot at the presidency. However, I think it's safe to say that had Obama not won the Iowa caucuses, he would not be our president today and for that reason I'll always be grateful for their political astuteness. The landscape was also far more scenic than we had expected. Crossing the Mississippi River at Dubuque was a highlight.

NM to Colo to Kansas

Thursday, June 25, 2009

One of the advantages of having a trailer as opposed to tenting is the speed in which one can leave a campground. One of these days I'm going to actually experience this, but alas it was not going to be this day. By the time we rejoined route 285 again it was well past noon. Meandering north, we passed several small towns and ranching communities. Each part of the country seems to specialize in a different lifestyle and southern Colorado was no exception. Pickup trucks spewing bits and pieces of straw were near ubiquitous. Turning east on route 160 was a familiar road from our motorcycle touring days. At Granada we turned north again on 385 to pick up Interstate 70 and enter Kansas through the great portal of Kanorado. (Only in the USA do they come up with such names.)

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

North of Santa Fe we took route 285 to visit our friend, Sunny, presently working as a masseuse in the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort. Famed for its healing powers since 1830, we enjoyed ourselves immensely as we soaked in the waters and caught up on each other's lives. Sunny and Carol had met while working in Tombstone several years ago. The campground was thinly populated principally due to the swarms of mosquitoes that came to feed every morning and evening.

The next day we hiked above the hot springs and explored an ancient Anasazi settlement called Posi Ruins. There's not much left but a few pottery shards and the outlines of a dwelling or two. However, one could readily see why that particular location was selected. Nestled on a cliff, overlooking a free flowing stream and the hot springs themselves, the Anasazi more than likely spent many hours taking in the waters just as we had. Human beings, regardless of epoch or culture, are more alike than revisionists and imperialists would like us to think.

Later that evening, Sunny treated us to a fabulous dinner at the resort's restaurant, famous for its southwestern cuisine. Afterwards, walking back to the casita (our little trailer), the night sky was full as were our hearts and stomachs. We said our goodbyes, for in the morning we would part company; Carol and I to resume our journey north and Sunny to resume the rhythms of her life.

We're off

Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The workmen put the last finishes on our newly repaired and painted house allowing us to get on the road and begin the trip. After all the planning it was a relief to finally get on the road. We headed north to pick up I 10 east. Once on the Interstate, Carol dialed in the Nano and we started the first of seven books on tape. Passing through Deming, New Mexico, a thoroughly depressed and depressing town obviously hammered by the deepening recession, we listened to T. Boone Pickens discuss the oil and gas industry in his book, “The First Billion”. It was a revelation in many ways. Besides being entertaining, Pickens has some very strong opinions about the future of America if we do not soon cope with our increasing reliance on foreign oil. His position on natural gas seems to be a ready-made and feasible solution if only America has the will and leadership to make the shift. He, of course, would profit handsomely from the change-over but America would in the long run also benefit.