Wisconsin Death Trip

Our motley cast of characters set out a little later than we intended; it's a three hour drive I think took us about four. Finally arriving, we eat some delicious, aluminum foil-wrapped cookies and headed down the trail.


Danny, Rosie, Sam, Mason, Steve. Ready to Rock!




Unsure if we're headed in the right direction, we stop at one of the campgrounds to check our maps, get our bearings, and go to the bathroom. As it turns out, we were going the right way the whole time!


The tunnels were our main attraction to the Sparta-Elroy trail. The bike trail replaced the North Western Railroad in the 1960s. The old rail tunnels were born of the earth, and drip cold, clear water on you as you walk through.


Railroad watchman circa 1900


Coming out of the longer tunnels is somewhat akin to waking from a dream


The tall doors of the tunnel, created to uphold the massive structure throughout the years




A sampling of the beauty of the countryside along the trail

Viewing the Presidency Through Rose Colored Glasses

I wish I would have been more interested in politics the last eight years. More than disagreeing with everything Bush, that is. I'm curious about what the medias reaction to him was when he first became President.

Has anyone noticed how easy Obama seems to be having it in the media? I voted Obama, and I support him, but there is no way he is perfection, right? Don't get me wrong, I want him to be everything we think he could be, I just think it is dangerous to trust a politician, especially one with the wherewithal to become Prez.

I remember very clearly him saying his first order of business would be to close Guantanamo Bay, at the longest within 100 days, and now he is saying No Way! Not in 100 days, anyhow. He is also not going to look into Bush's illegal, immoral wire tapping, or use of torture or "terrorist" suspects. That's disappointing. To me, anyway. I was kind of hoping Obama would come in and smite the Evil Doers with his sword of justice (jousteece!) or something equally implausible.

Anyway, I'm just worried about being let down. I hope we have a President who is going to turn things around, a President who cares about poor people, middle class people, minorities, seniors, children, education, the environment, peace.

Someone said the reason the French have a remarkable standard of living is because they demand it. They fucking riot. Take it to the streets, so to speak.

I hope that if Obama lets us down, we will feel more like rioting than readjusting to ways of governing that disappoint us all.

Rooftops and Invitations

"Come out onto the rooftop with me."

I grab your hand and you steady yourself enough to awkwardly step out the window.

"We used to watch fireworks up here on the fourth of July. They set them off from that park over there... We would bring blankets even though it was summer, the bugs were horrible and you'd really regret it if you didn't..."

I stop myself from rambling, like always, and try to enjoy a silent moment with you and wonder what you are thinking.

"You're lucky your room goes right onto the roof. I would have loved that as a teenager." Pause. "Not to sneak out, although I might've--probably would've-- like every fucking person would say, just to be outside and be kind of a secret, watching unnoticed on the rooftops of Brooklyn Center."

You pull me into a clumsy hug. "I would have invited you, a real invitation."

"I thought you were afraid of heights."

"Not here."

Sesame Street My Heart

I also needed to write this down somewhere:

"Don't worry about life, you're not going to live through it anyway." -- ?

Feeling Minnesota

I was riding the bus to my sisters yesterday (which, honestly was a whole story in and of itself), I noticed an out-of-state license plate. It made me so jealous.

I wish I was in Minnesota only temporarily--just for kicks-- instead of loathing almost every second of the god forsaken weather.

I'm also jealous that driving around Minneapolis is probably at least somewhat exciting for them. New buildings and street names can go a long ways when you've been stuck in one city for a year, or your whole life.

I'm not only jealous, though, I'm morbidly curious. What propels you to Minnesota in December? Death, marriage, shopping?

It's not that I hate Minnesota, I just don't see why anyone would come here in December if they didn't have to.

True Life: I Have Embarrassing Parents

The premise deepens as a something-teen girl hates her father for being a clown--showing up to parties with fifteen jesters, throwing confections at her and her unbearably banal friends.

Honestly, who could complain about that? What more could you want out of life than to have clowns randomly show up, and pie ya? I could rant something unoriginal here about my generations lost sense of adventure, being glued to their iPods and MySpace and such, but why bother?

I crave a life of surprises, unexpected and perhaps unmerited merriment.

Absurd, balls out, fun.

1 Hour Later Edit:

The next True Life show featured a girl complaining about moving to New Zealand.

Who are these people?

Auckland

And let's not forget where Lord of the Rings was flmed

(snow)

Something I remembered:

When we were going from my dads funeral to the burial, we were listening to KQRSs a-z library, which was something he always did. We're driving through the snowstorm on the way to the cemetery, and "Spirit In The Sky" comes on. If you don't know it, you should, it's a great song.

On the way home from the burial, we turn on KQ again, and it is Stairway To Heaven.

What a coincidence.