zzzzz....

Too tired.

Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Wisconsin drivers are terrible.

I saw a sign today that said "Rough Road Ahead"...

...it could have also read "Temporarily Entering Pennsylvania."

That may have sounded funnier this afternoon.

A little math:

RedBull+Caffiene Pills+loud music

__________________________________ = 13 hours of driving

windows down

For those of you living this trip vicariously through this blog, welcome to South Dakota.

Home of the Black Hills

...and dinosaurs.

Today's highlight: a visit to The Battle of Little Bighorn National Park, Montana.

The stone in the middle marks where Custer met his end.

He lost the battle, obviously. Yet he still gets a national forest named after him! It's like calling the Stanley Cup the Philadelphia Flyers Memorial...

...terrible segue into a solemn picture.

Click on any of the pictures in this blog to see a full scale version, my camera is pretty nifty.
I was talking on the phone today with someone who said they knew a lot about horses. My knowledge is so small, I don't even know how to take a picture of them.
I bought a camera tripod before I left Lancaster in June. I figured I might as well use it.

They call Montana "Big Sky" for a reason.

Finally, proof of Buicks trying to ruin my day.

Look at that! Noone ahead of you! Why are you in the left lane? Isn't it a little late in the day to be driving to breakfast?

Late to bed, early to rise. Hopefully making it to South Bend tomorrow. If Sean or Tenza ever read this blog, I'd tell them to relax.

Touchdown Jesus!

Big Sky

Tonight I find myself in Butte, Montana.

It almost feels like i haven't stopped driving since June. One very noticeable difference is the heat, and I wish now more than ever that Eileen had air conditioning.

Two pet peeves:

1) Buicks. (Not groundbreaking news). Engineered to always drive 10 mph below the posted speed limit.

2) People who play the lottery. I'm trying to pay for my gas here, can you decide which of your kid's birthdays to use as your "lucky" number a little quicker, please?

I never became used to the metric system, glad to see familiar phrases like "miles per hour".

Idaho and Montana are nicer to drive through than Washington state.

This sign gave me false hope:

...and yes, they use George Washington's head as the outline marking all state highways.

Apparently there is a ghost in my car, wouldn't let me get a clear shot, but Eileen passed 92,000.

At the border,

Later, gators!

The End Has No End

Well it's about time I hit the ole dusty trail...

Which means there will be a lot more of this in the coming days:

It's not so bad.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in Vancouver, and look forward to coming back. However, it's time to leave the beautiful scenery, perfect weather and great apartment adjacent to the hockey rink in order to....

Wait, why am I leaving?

So here's to the BrandonBlog v.2.0 or 3.0, I hope it's better than ever. Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!

This Blog Is as Neglected as the Gulf of Mexico

Is that an image from Louisiana? No! It's POUTINE PIZZA. Wrap your head around that.

I don't understand why people want to boycott BP until they fix the mess. Why not just never go to BP again?

Anyway!

Vancouver is pretty nice. And by pretty nice, it's an outdoor enthusiasts dream. Mountains, trails, more mountains...not to mention that the weather is either 55 degrees and raining, or 65 degrees and sunny. Not too shabby.

...the view from the balcony

...yawn, just some majestic scenery in plain sight while walking down the street

...miles of trails like this exist within a 5 minute run from the apartment

...headed up to North Vancouver with a friend, took a short hike around Lynn Valley

Sorry for the lack of updates. The blogger service had been down.

Fun with the Internet

I was playing around with googlemaps today.

If i wanted to repeat my journey by walking instead of driving, it would only take me 63 days.

Would definitely need to add some music to the iPod.

Today's random picture from the trip:

The View From Up Here

(EDIT: find the entire route from Lancaster to Vancouver here!)

Aloha.

If my car and I were in a facebook relationship, it would be "complicated."

The thing had no idea what speeds over 70mph were like, so the speedometer decided to metronome erratically the whole drive today. Fine, Eileen. Two can play games, I'm not driving you for a month. And you smell. Some cars, if you're with them long enough, they just stop taking care of themselves. She'll probably find some nice Lexus or BMW in the parking garage to hang out with.

...really, you can move closer to the fire, it won't be bad for you or anything.

In much cooler news, today I arrived in Vancouver and began setting up shop in my aunt and uncle's apartment. It's a great, classy place right next to the University of British Columbia (and one of the rinks where Olympic hockey was played this year!) with access to anything I will need. I realized today that I don't know a single person within a day's drive, but am resolved to see this as a great opportunity to meet other people.

You're welcome, Dad.

FYI: Never try to use the bathroom at the Tim Horton's in Chilliwack. You'll be standing there awhile.

How come writing a blog makes you feel like that one lady on Sex and the City? Ok fine, I know her name is Carrie, thank you ex-girlfriend for that useless information.

Speaking of girls...Seth Colon, you had better be reading. Jerk.

Go Blackhawks. Moratorium on NHL talk until the offseason.

I tried really, really hard not to drop the camera.

If you like what you read, show this page some love.

Wide Open Spaces To Space Mountain Places

Apologies for the delay everyone,

I'm writing to you from Kamloops, BC, about four hours from Vancouver. That's right, the long drive ends tomorrow.

But before we look ahead, here's what happened this past weekend:

I received a phone call from my long lost cousin Kristen, inviting me to stay at her and her husband Chad's house when I stopped in Calgary. After catching up as much as possible that night, and meeting their wonderful daughter Manning, I took a tour of one of the restaurants Chad manages Saturday. The Redwater Grille also happened to be where we ate dinner that night (a little more about that in a second.) Thankfully and delightfully my Aunt Sandy, Uncle Grant and cousin Travis drove down from Red Deer for a visit. The presence of family so far from Pittsburgh is the only thing that topped the Alberta steak Chad recommended, and now I fear I can no longer eat steak, knowing I can never have better.

A million thanks to Kristen and Chad for their hospitality. By letting me crash at their house for the weekend they afforded this weary traveler the opportunity to refuel for the home stretch of the trip. I can't wait to drive back through Alberta to see them all again...

…as well as to re-experience the beautiful landscapes in British Columbia and Alberta. To say the least, Mid-west and Western Canada are expansive. I'd never seen clouds so large.

See the hint of elevation in the background of suburban Calgary?

I knew the Rockies dwarfed the Appalachian mountains, but nothing prepared me for the sheer majesty of the tallest mountain range in North America.

Images alone cannot capture the experience of driving through the mountains. Today's seven hours of driving were easily worth the effort. After awhile, taking photos became futile, as there aren't enough megabytes available to properly document the landscape.

Vancouver tomorrow.

Someone tell this joker to watch the road.

FYI a full online photo album will be available via flickr, but they only let me upload a certain amount a day. Keep an eye out.