Day Ten.5 - Alaska Backpackers Inn

I arrived in Anchorage last night and stayed at the Alaska Backpackers Inn, a Hostel downtown. I made it

Day ten: Back in the USA

Gagona, AK: it's four something in the afternoon here. Last night, there was only three hours and change of non-sunlight (it never really got dark, more dusky, then light again.) I already have a sunburn. far out. So I'm about 150- some odd miles outside of Anchorage, and I'm almost ready to make a Bushian assertion to successful completion of my first objective. Now, all I have to do is actually GET to Anchorage, then make it to Americorps headquarters tomorrow morning and finish the semesters studies from 5500 miles away. No problem. I don't have a whole lot of pictures, my camera's battery has been dead for the better part of the weekend. The pics I have are pretty dark, but I'll go through them to make sure there aren't any winners. Next stop, Anchorage!

Day Nine - is it really nine? damn.

Day nine: Whitehorse, Yukon. The Alcan is the craziest thing ever. Adjectives can't describe. No guard rails, 200 ft drop on either side, giant pot holes, one lane in either direction. I have no pictures, as the camera battery died right after I left Fort Nelson. Canada is a funny place. Funny as in they charge for water, there are few public restrooms and nothing is open after 10pm. As I drive around at 1:30 am looking for gas, I notice about a dozen other wayward vessels locked in a similar persuit. They all have American plates. The canadians all went to bed.... also, if you're in a very beautiful town, marred only by the pressence of a giant oil refinery right to the south which periodically sends large streams of foul air through the southern half of town, you'd expect gas to be the cheapest. Why is gas more expensive here than anywhere else I've been? gotta get back on the road. Next stop, Tok, Alaska. Camera charged, onward ho!

Day Eight: Yukon Ho!

So, "What happened to day seven?" you say? Yesterday, I drove about a thousand miles in just under twenty-four hours. Right now, I'm in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, the last stop before the Yukon, from there to Tok, Alaska and Anchorage. I probably won't make it all the way to Whitehorse, Yu today, it's another 900 miles, but I'll atleast shoot for Watson Lake. I saw my first bear yesterday, it must've been a cub as it was only about my size (a safe distance was maintained). Last night, I officially got on the Alcan Highway and this morning I got a chance to go running on it. Pretty badass. I have pictures, but I need to get back on the road and there's no power outlet here, so more later at the campgrounds.

Day Six: I'm the Guest star on this episode of Northern Exposure

On the Road Again. Northern Exposure is my one of my favorite TV shows. Almost everyweek, a wayward traveler stops in or gets stuck in the small town, offering some contrast to the regulars and rocking the boat a little, then taking off. I've been the guest star for the last few days. Onward to Canada.

part three: back to the road, then not

So, this pattern of drive, construction, explosion, mountains, beauty continues for another 90-odd miles, then I arrive in the settlement of cabins and campgrounds at the far north of the park, Mammoth Hot Springs:





it's at this point that a friendly rodent joins our ragtag menagerie of wayward sojourners.

these are deposits of various minerals and things by the water, the lava and the general seismic activity of the park, they call it "Palette Springs":


after this, is the exit to the park, followed by this little tributary of the Snake River. Kathy told me that this river, formed by mountain run-off, is actually really warm due to the hot springs. Someday, I'll be back to check it out, but it was 40 and recently had snowed, so not on this occasion. Literally 100 feet later is the Montana border and my onward trek North. I drove through the lower third of Montana, which looks just like Nebraska, but with shorter grass and less water and it's all 4500 feet above sea level. When I stopped to get gas at the town of White Sulfur Springs, my axle snapped. Here I am currently. It's kind of a cute town, incredibly similar to Cecily, AK of Northern Exposure. One general store, one hardware store, three cafes and a pizza parlor. A beloved camp ground and a small park, where I sit writing this right now (thank you, magic of the internet).


Tomorrow, the new axle should arrive via UPS, and the Northern voyage will (hopefully) take a distinctly Canadian flavor.

part two: Beanie is my copilot

After spending a few minutes consulting my map, Beanie, my hemp bag full of bean sprouts, and I have hatched a pretty solid plan for Yellowstonage.


the park Rangers would have us know that the danger is greater than simply Suicide Wings:There is an incredible volume of construction, including crappy roads (thanks for the warning, Clare and Paulo), bumps, and twenty-minute delays.

I also see the buffalo they warned me about in the flyer in the manner they warned me about on the sign. Pictograms, they're not just for the illiterate anymore.


here's some of those things blowing-up I mentioned.


....And then, on to more heart-breaking natural beauty....


some twists and turns through mountain passes:



and then some more crazy vistas:

Wyoming to White Sulfur Springs, Montana

A disclaimer, most of my photos were taken from my camera, mounted to my mirror, while driving. Not real sure about quality....

I keep forgetting about the time difference. So, Wyoming is awesome. Totally beautiful. Driving through the mountains between Cheyenne and Rock Springs (where the highway diverts north and runs parallel to the mountains for a while), there's all these snow gates lining the mountains like a herculean Cristo art project. The Grand Tetons are gorgeous, giant vistas everywhere. Yellowstone is like a tweaked-up volcanic version of Letchworth, except it's the size of all of Western NY. Leaving Jackson Hole, a town similar to Perinton, NY, except nestled in the Rocky Mountains and a couple hundred miles from anywhere, I'm almost immediately confronted by jaw-dropping natural beauty. The day starts with hail, turns to snow. As I exited town, I drove past this huge mountain lake:
After the lake, I go up a hill and onto this vast plateau: The Grand Tetons: immense vistas in every direction, mountains and giant forrests everywhere:

after the plateau, there's this tree-lined highway which progresses through a series of ups and downs. A side note, while the weather in southern WY was warmer and green, it's colder and there's still lots of snow here.

A ranger station and $25 later, now officially in the Grand Teton National Parkgrounds. The $25 included the entry to (and subsequent exit from) Yellowstone. now we'll skip ahead. more jawdropping beauty. blah blah blah. ok, Yellowstone is very similar to letchworth, except things are, or have recently been blowing up, which is pretty badass. Still lots of snow, and it is now snowing pretty hard.

day three:Jackson, WY

Spent last night at a campground next door to the Wild Bill Cody Museum in North Platte, NE. Nebraska seems like the home of esoteric museums (then again, maybe that's just America). Very windy. Wyoming is maybe the most beautiful place I've ever been. Amazing. Also, my camera's battery was dead all day, so no pictures. imagine perfect bucolic splendor. that's what it looks like - everywhere. There is no cell service for almost the entire state. The mountains are remarkable. Sleep now, Yellowstone and Mammoth tomorrow. Aiming to end the day in Shelby, Montana or Lethbridge, Alberta

If you find a dead butterfly in your car, is it good luck or bad?

these are all shots from the first thousand miles

rip Butterfly

rain in Indiana

Chicago by night
crazy fog
still very foggy.
then almost instantly clear

ps. I don't know why some pics are sideways. sorry about that (just use your neck/imagination/both)

12:15 PM, Day Two

At a rest stop just outside Des Moines, IO.
Been making pretty good time. Made it to Chicago last night about 10:30 pm. Chicago's a beautiful city, except for the stop signs at every intersection and the speed bumps half the height of my car. So far, the weather has been bizarre. Driving out through Pennsylvania and Ohio, it was 80 and sunny. In Indiana, the sky opened up and Zeus unleashed his mighty fury in the form of sheets of rain with thunder and lightening which lasted over an hour (the better part of the state). Illinois this morning was wall-to-wall fog: must've been the cloud that all that rain came out of. Amazing Pea soup fog! I have pics which i will upload at some point. Today, I'm aiming for Lincoln, NE, but I wouldn't mind a bit further.

Friday, May 21st 2010

Itinerary :a route or proposed route of a journey, from the latin Iter: way, road, journey.
ROC to CHI
CHI to Nebraska
Nebraska to Jackson Hole, WY
Jackson Hole t0 Mammoth, WY to Shelby, MT
Shelby, MT to Jasper, Alberta
Jasper, AB to Fort St.John, BC
Fort St. John to no where BC
middle of Nowhere, BC to Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse, Yu to Tok, AK
Tok, AK to Anchorage.
That's the rough intention, not exactly sure how each individual day will work out. It's a mystery.

The end of the beginning

Status Check - Last (full) Day in Western NY
Internet in studio - working.
Atlas - check
tent and footprint - check
sleeping bags and pad - check
daypack, extended pack - check
auto adapter for phone and computer - check (thanks mom)
portable exercise bike - check
bean-sprouting set - check
ipods - check
Spira boots, Vibram KSO, Brooks Ghost and Crocs - check
new rain gear - need to get, but have beat-up old stuff if I don't get to it
textbooks - check
drawing and painting gear mobilized - check
Milepost and Campgrounds of North America - will pick up a copy en route
oil change - check
packing almost all worldly possessions into storage - have been working at it since the last day at work (Tuesday)
dentist - new fake tooth
Homework - done. Last class was Latin this evening.

need to Time Machine my hard drive and clean up the remainders of life

thanks, everyone! I've had a great time this week!

T- Minus seven days till lift off: Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.

One week left and the prenostalgia is setting in. The 'I miss you alreadies'. All I can think about is completing school assignments right now. Had to work late and so I missed Free Fridays at the Albright-Knox (long day anyway). I'll catch it before I go. I'm particularly excited about going to the Burchfield-Penny. That'll be worth doing!
PAINT PAINT PAINT!

this is one of my favorite ideas

prima facie

1. apparently correct; not needing proof unless evidence to the contrary is shown

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

So, eleven days left. Collecting junk together - well, virtually collecting junk- the UPS man and the magic of the internet will cooperate and perform the actual physical accumulation and delivery of the necessary equipment. That's something. The studio is clean and properly configured for optimum painting generation. This aids greatly in making that last big push to finish up school work

It's really awesome how desperation, brought upon by the consumption of time like so much oxygen in a room full of fire, desperation shuts out the extraneous voices in the cacophony of the mind. Does this outfit match? did I get enough exercise today? Am I eating right? What of political turmoil at home and abroad? I can't care anymore. I'm too busy.

Pics of this last set of assignments will be up this week, as I get around to digging up a camera from somewhere in ye olde Family compound. Non of em are done yet, but most are at least started.

On a pivotal side note, I could currently really go for a burrito right about now. Just sayin'

Current assignments are three (3) paintings of dimensions at least 18 x 24, featuring point of perspective as the subject and utilizing a window as the dominant middle-ground imagery. I chose a shot of my boss hanging a window, the view of our kitchen window above the sink, and the view out my car windshield. also one abstract using color to illustrate depth. 3 drawings, also 18 x 24.

Planning to head out to the Birchfield-Penny and Albright-Knox on Friday.

Thanks Mom. You've taught me everything I know. To the rest of the world, if I ever do anything worthwhile, it was her fault.

Now, back to work.

nervous about cross-continent travel, collecting gear, doing schoolwork. zow! e gads....

Gully Jimson, meet John Muir

My name is Tim, and I'm a 29 year old Artist working towards a Bachelors in Arts degree from Empire State College in NY. In two weeks, I move to Alaska.

Gully Jimson is the protagonist from the Novel and Film "The Horses' Mouth". He's a gnarly aging bachelor who, after leaving prison, lives in his studio (a house boat). He calls rich people on the telephone, haranging them for monetary donations for the perpetually unfinished homage to his own body of work, the Gulley Jimson Mural Project.

While I do not live on a houseboat and have never been to prison, I do "secretly" live in my studio - an old barn in western NY state, USA. I am not as Ballsy as Gulley, I only harang poor people to fund my projects. I am a gnarly bachelor (less gnarly now that I've de-maned myself).

John Muir was a Scottish immigrant in the nineteenth and early twentieth century who helped establish the national park system, thoroughly exploring Yosemite and many other sites which would eventually become parks.

This blog is my photo and textual diary of my trip to Alaska. My auto-documentary of the things I will see and the paintings I will make.

Primarily, I intend to use this as means to catalogue and complete my Spring 2010 semester studies in Drawing and Painting, but also to communicate with the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. (and the Southern end of Japan). Please comment as I am a glutton for human contact.

So, Without further ado, I present to you chapter one: "preflight" jitters (except I'm driving).