Moments to Last a Lifetime

Wow! Where to start. The last time we touched base we where in Scottsdale. We are now in a small town called Ojai. Now how we came to get here. It was hot in the middle of Arizona when we decided to leave, but we had no idea the ride we were in for. We were picked up by Saving Grace and Sarah Lee, who I have to say are some pretty awesome girls. One second we are on the side of the road and next thing we know we are in two girls car headed for Venice beach. Not only did these girls pick us up but they decided to drive us the whole way to Cali! We arrive in Venice beach and it is just getting dark. We spent the two nights on a roof on the beach since we were told that if we slept on the beach we would be arrested. After spending a day in Venice Beach with all the crazy "Wing Nuts" as they are called we headed up the Pacific Crest Highway. We were given a free ride by one of the nicest bus drivers anyone has ever met and then caught a ride into Malibu. While we where in Malibu we found an amazing tree to sit and eat lunch under. The picture barely captures it's unique beauty. After a short meal we where on are way to Ventura county where we would be lucky yet again and be picked up by three awesome girls. Jasmine, Lana, and Shelly took us to a little hidden paradise in Ojai where we are currently. There is a beautiful hot spring out here and more swimming holes then one could count. We will be heading out of here tonight, and will be trying to make it to San Bernnadino. More soon!

California or Bust!

Well, there is a lot to catch up on, and we are still trying to figure out the best way to fuse our writing together, so if some of these posts seem a little redundant, we apologize. Anyway, the last post found us in Scottsdale, AZ. Real quick note about the desert. Fuck the desert. I'm sorry to anyone that lives there and loves it, it just isn't for me. Arizona was full of amazing people with terrible sad stories, Arian nation assholes, and lots of dry sun. After Nora dropped us off on I-10, we caught one more ride up to the other side of town, then landed one hell of a hitch. No more than 30 seconds after we walked up to a new on ramp, two beautiful girls in a silver cougar pulled up and waved us over. We hopped in and met Saving Grace and Sarah Lee, two of the coolest people in Phoenix. They were only heading a little ways up the road, but decided after a few exits that what they really needed to be doing with their day was driving to California to get us to Venice beach, a drive of some 350 miles. After driving around Phoenix for about an hour collecting supplies for the trip, we hit the road headed for the coast with "Red Hot Love" blasting out of the radio (that shot is going to be the opening scene for the movie, by the way...). The only snag along the way was the L.A. memorial day traffic that all four of us had forgotten about completely. I thought Denver had it bad sometimes, but i have never seen traffic backed up 100 miles outside of town. Crazy. Anyway, thanks again to our two lovely chauffeurs, and a note to Saving Grace: your light will shine so much brighter if you let it shine on the world than it will locked up in a black hole. So that brings us to Venice Beach. A totally cool place, except for rabid police officers and hordes of crazy wingnuts living on the beach. We showed up, to Venice Beach specifically, because we had been told that these were beaches that we could sleep on, however when we arrived, we found that this was not the case. After receiving several mixed messages from locals, we decided to ask a local police officer so that we could truly find out the score. He told us that if we were caught sleeping on his beach, not only would he cite us with a ticket, he would also tie us to the nearest palm tree and beat us senselessly with billy sticks while his partner tazed us for good measure, then take us to the nearest county jail and lock us in the pen with the "sodomizers". Needless to say, Los Angeles is not a city I feel i need ever visit again. After a few sleepless nights on a construction site rooftop we had found, we got the hell out of L.A. by way of the Pacific Coast Highway. While walking along the road in Malibu, Chase made an interesting observation: "Wow, this is really a beautiful place, too bad rich people have made it so that only they can live here." We eventually made it to Ventura, CA, where we were picked up by the next group of the coolest people ever. Special thanks to the totally awesome Jasmine, Shelly, Lana, and Crystal for taking us to some locals secret hot springs located in the beautiful Matilija Valley. We spent a whole day, evening, and next morning soaking in the beautiful, naturally landscaped sulfur pools, meeting all sorts of cool people, then set out this morning. We had only made it about 1/2 mile down the road when we stopped to ask one of the residents of the valley if we could use their hose to fill up our water. This request turned into an offer of an afternoons landscaping work at 12 bucks an hour in exchange for lunch and a soak in their own private soaking tub. Thank you again so much Jeff and Karen for your hospitality and the work. You have an amazing home and we both feel incredibly fortunate for having been able to witness it. I think that is about it for now, we are currently in Ojha, CA, heading slowly north. California is awesome, and thanks to all of you for taking this journey with us. See you soon.

Water Wars and Good People!!!

Thank you so much to Hellen and Lisa! They had the heart to pick us up when no one else would. After 2.5 hrs of waiting in the middle of Tuscon for a ride they picked us up, not only did they pick us up but they bought us lunch and then went 40 miles out of their way both ways to get us to the front doorstep of our newest destination. That destination being Scottsdale where we have been treated with the utmost kindness. Thanks to Nora and her intire family for making our weekend a blast. Between water fights, good food, and great company we feel like two of the luckiest guys in the world. In the morning we will be heading towards California. Wish us the best of luck. And to everyone following this, thanks so much for your support and friendship, we promise to have more fun and exciting experiences to share.

Sword in the Stone

We are now in Arizona and have covered north to south. We will stay for one more day and then be on are way to California. I will write more when we get there.

Into the Desert

Let me first start this entry out by saying, Woodford Reserve is one of the best damn bourbons in freaking existance. Anyway, i found Sam. After waiting over 6 hours for a ride outside one of the Navajo reservations in Sanders, AZ, we snagged a ride with Bukk Nekkid and the Indian. Despite their strange names, these two were some amazing, beautiful people from Tuscon. We rode with them for somewhere around 300 miles down to Tuscon, conversing about everything from gay rights to the revolution, and even after driving us halfway across the state, they still fed us and offered us a place to stay if we are ever again in Tuscon. Thank you both again so much, I hope you both realize how amazingly cool you are, and I hope to see you soon. After they went out of their way to drop us off at a gas station, we were waved over to a pickup being driven by a man i was sure for a split second was Jerry Garcia, back from the grave (i hope that brings no offense). It turned out that not only was he headed in our direction, but he also knew exactly where we were trying to go, which was fortunate, because we didn't. I knew only that Sam had, as of a year ago, been staying at a sustainable community outside Tubac, AZ. When I told our ride this, he replied "Oh, you must mean those Global Community kids, yeah, they're pretty much my neighbors, I even know the back way in, lets go." So we headed off, with no real certainty as to what was to come. An hour or so later, we found ourselves at the Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch. After a moment of consternation over who the hell we were (my e-mail had not been received, and our presence was completely unannounced) i was reunited with Talliseen (I apologize if that is a butchering), which is Sam's new name. For anyone interested, he looks and is better than ever. The Avalon farms is quite literally the coolest place i think i have ever been. For the first few hours, i made the mistake of generalizing them as a some sort of crazy jesus cult, but i quickly learned the error of my thoughts, and was able to make some very big steps in my personal understanding of the spiritual universe. I have always viewed religion as one of the most detrimental constructs that humanity has ever created, but for the first time, i was able to see a groups' collective spirituality as the glue that truly held them all together. The community is about 100 or so of the warmest, gentlest, most beautiful people i have ever met; and when i say sustainable community, i mean the only thing they haven't yet worked out is their own source of electricity, but that is in the works, and besides, they have only been in this location for two years. We stayed with them for two nights, and were able to help participate and contribute in the fields, although I'm still pretty sure that they gave us much more than we gave them. They are having a big music festival June 19th - 21st, and i recommend that you quit your job if you have to to make time to go (we will post a link with more information). This is a place to experience. After we left this morning, i felt a small emptiness in my heart, as if I had just turned my back on paradise. Luckily, my gypsy soul was lifted again by the journey ahead, and six or so rides later, we made it to Scottsdale to stay with some of Chase's friends, who have welcomed us into their home as if we were their own. Not even two weeks into the journey, and already i am happier than i have been in a long time. To everyone following our adventure, I love you, i miss you, and i will see you as soon as possible. that link for the Avalon farms is http://www.globalchangemusic.org/. check it out if you care about humanity.

500 Miles of Good People

We have now been traveling for six days and have already covered almost 500 miles. It is amazing to wake up and see the beautiful views 360 degrees around our camp site. We have now gone from Denver, to Gunnison, to Crested Butte, to Durango, and will be heading towards flagstaff in the morning. With so many more miles to travel it is hard to imagine the amazing people we will meet along the way. In only 500 miles we have already met so many awesome people. A special shout out to Nicole, Jack, and the very cool old skier we met going through Red Mountain Pass. And a very special thanks to JJ and Sharon who have been an inspiration in our journey. I wish I had the time to name all of the amazing people along the way. You have all been incredible and I hope to see all of you again.

Day 7 of the journey finds us in Durango, CO. After a few days in Gunnison, we had a great day hitching down with a brief stop at Orvis Hot Springs, located in Ridgway, CO. A quick note about both of those places: Gunnison county, specifically Gunnison and Crested Butte is one of the coolest, hippest, freakiest, funkiest, raunchiest, drinkingest, totally twisted wild ass places i have ever been. i had the good(?) fortune of living there off and on for about 4 years, and i recommend it at the top of the list of places to go before you die. I made some of the friendships that i value most in this world here. Just whatever you do, don't move there. The place is like a giant vortex that sucks in souls, and you might go up for a weekend vacation and find yourself still there on some dismal gray day in early march, 10 years later asking "what the fuck happened to my life?" Although, you will have gotten some great skiing in... The other spot that I mentioned was Orvis Hot Springs. Located 1 mile south of the quiet little town of Ridgway, (not a typo, they don't like the "e") this hot spring resort is by far one of the nicest places i have ever been in my life. The amazing scenery of the San Juan mountain range and the superb zen garden landscaping compliment exquisitely the soothing mineral waters of the several naturally finished pools. I have found a serenity there unlike any other I have yet experienced. Other than that, Durango is also a beautiful, wonderful place, and my tattoo is all but healed. Week one, in the bag. Next stop, to find a Samuel Combs...

The First Step

As we set off on our journey we watched the beautiful red rocks disappear behind the mountains. We have spent much of our childhood climbing on those rocks, and it is fitting for them to be our goodbye. I take a deep breath and feel the breeze blowing through the rocks, the same rocks that have held legends like Jimmy Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, and Frank Zappa. I think of their journey to fulfill their dreams, and I see my dreams laid out in front of me. With our first leg successful the sun says goodbye with a spectacular finish.

"It is what we choose to do that truly defines us..."

With our adventure approaching, the life once led seams to become quieter and quieter as we think of the upcoming journey. The overabundance of adventure in the near future dampens the current homeostasis. A land full of mystery, one truly in the moment awaits. With no idea of the people we will meet and the amazing places we will see. "It should not be denied that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape, from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, the absolute freedom, and the road has always led west."

5 days left...Denver is a magnificent place, especially in the springtime, but the call of the road has grown steadily over the last few months into a deafening roar that seems to drown out all else. Thoughts of adventures to come fill my waking hours, and at night, i dream of distant unseen shores and friends that i have yet to meet. All that remains to be done is to say goodbye to the people we love most, and start walking. 5 days.


"The days get longer and the nights smell green, I guess it's not surprising but its spring and I should leave..."

Final Countdown

As the months roll on and the earth starts warming itself for the summer, the date of departure is almost upon us. More than anything i have realized that it is not some new journey that we are preparing to leave on, really we have only jumped back into the drivers seat for the journey that is our lives, and now we're moving into the passing lane... 11 days......

Before We Leave

As the weeks fly by it is almost that time. We have now been painting for 10 days and still have five to go. As the day approaches the call for the freedom of the road becomes louder in my heart. To feel those steps on the firm ground that will support us through to the next destination. Soon we will have some pictures up and we will be updating the blog more frequently. Thanks to all of you who take a look, we promise a great story of adventure.