Goodbye Yellowstone... Hello Great Lakes.

Happy Birthday me, since it is midnight in the mid West! I've been getting the Facebook and text message pings for the last hour or more from all of my lovely friends back East. I'm wide awake, with internet connection, and of sharp and active mind... so I decided to report on the current state of affairs. Very currently there is an amazing lightning storm coming our way here in Jamestown, North Dakota. I can see the flashes in the distance from the window, and I'm hoping the pending rains will cool the air enough for me to get some sleep. It is very hot here compared to the 10 cold nights we spent in Yellowstone bundled under sleeping bags and thick blankets. The front air conditioner where I'm sleeping doesn't work and my mom and brother always shut theirs down because it gets too cold in the back bedroom. Such is life in the RV. My mom even said today, "We are going to need a new roll of duct tape soon" while fixing another fallen piece of the 38 foot puzzle we are living in. We all looked at one another and laughed. We have utilized, to capacity, the adhesive powers of the mighty gray-wonder tape to keep this boat a-sailing! Tomorrow we get the vehicles serviced and re-lubed so that we are ready for our return trip through the mighty North of Canada, skirting the north side of the Great Lakes as we trek back to Buffalo.

Yellowstone was fantastic. We swam and paddled crystal clear glacier lakes. We saw tons of wildlife including grizzly bears, black bears, moose, elk, fox, bobcat, deer, hawks, eagles, falcons, bison, and the tiniest little squirrels you ever saw. It is a most splendid piece of this earth and if you have never been, please treat yourself and go check it out. There is a variety of natural phenomena at work and if you are lucky, and up early or late enough to see it without a mass of humans, it is extremely rewarding. We traveled most of the park and saw many of the famous landmarks, but were also able to enjoy some spontaneous finds in Grand Teton and just outside of West Yellowstone in Gallatin National Forest. It felt like we were the delta force of bear watching with my mom constantly urging us to keep a sharp weather eye out for them. She is the best spotter I know though not always accurate. Cries of, "OH Look!!! A Cougar!!!" yielded deer, twice. John got a kick out of the bison we almost ran into in the middle of the road while looking for bears one night. He scared the souls out of my mother and I when he screamed and pointed straight while we were both looking out the side window with a spotlight. There were plenty of things to get our adrenaline pumping.... and it seems his has just dissipated tonight. The boy is finally sleeping. He's been up almost every night with a light on, for fear of bears and Bigfoot and now that he knows we are officially out of bear country (he showed me the map today in his wildlife book), he's out like a light. This is good, because he's been acting more silly than normal with me in the car and he's got my mother a bit ragged from lack of sleep. She's enjoying a peaceful slumber as we speak too.

I feel so blessed to have this wonderful opportunity to travel and seek out great experiences and this trip has been no exception. We live in such a complex and fast paced world today and it is a pleasure, nay, a necessity for us to take time to reconnect with the important things in life; family, nature and love. I've gotten all three on this trip thus far. Here's to you, and me, and all of us.... from the RV, in the middle of nowhere to wherever you live.... that we may all be blessed and realize what wonderful gifts we already have. Thanks for checking in..... Jeremy

Oh the tragedy of it all.....

We are safe and have arrived at our final Western destination.... the Flagg Ranch in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons...but not without incident.

Mom started out the morning a nervous wreck. She was on the phone with her mechanic, discussing mountain driving. "Keep it in low gear and not too much on the brakes. If you stall you will lose all power, including brakes and steering." She was in tears and shaking. We decided to go as far as we could and if the mountains were too much we would stop wherever we could closest to the park, park the RV and head into the park with our tents and the car. I offered to drive. "I don't want something to happen to you," she said..."but I don't want to die either!" More tears. I told her to relax and enjoy the ride; besides we had a good 150 miles to go before we would hit any serious mountain driving.

We cleaned up our campsite and said goodbye to our new friends from Colorado, the Vernon's. We met during a killer basketball dunk contest in the pool, myself and Adam, the father, hooking the kids up with ollie oop passes. They were super cool people. We exchanged info and promised to visit one another in the near future. We then packed up our vehicles and followed the dirt path out to the main highway.

When my mother made her move to pull out of the parking lot my brother and I witnessed something neither of us were prepared for. Out from under the RV came a tiny gray and white striped kitten not more than 6 weeks old. It sputtered and crawled for a about 5 feet in front of us before sprawling out on its back and crying to high heaven. It had holed itself up in the RV overnight and fell out and was partially run over by the rear tires. We jumped out of the car and ran to it. Mom had no idea that it had happened and drove straight into town a few miles before she pulled over to call us and see why we weren't following. The poor kitty had the throes of death in its eyes and was crying in immense pain trying to catch its breath. I picked it up, barely fitting in one hand, and considered just snapping its neck to put it out of its misery, but a group of young kids and a grandmother had witnessed it too and came running over. It was an awful scene. The grandmother wrapped it up in her shirt and took it away, which I was thankful for, because she seemed like she knew exactly what was happening. I thanked her graciously and got back in the car. When I caught up to my mom and relayed the story, we were all pretty much sick to our stomachs. "It can only get better from here!" I said as we mustered our heads back together and made for the highway. I tried to explained to my little brother that sometimes things just happen that way. He seemed to understand completely. We put the music on and got our brains focused on the road ahead.

50 miles down the road at a cruising speed of 65 or 70 mph, another kitten came whipping out from under the RV.... HOLY SHIT! We just missed hitting it, as it made its way to the side of the road. It had been spared the tires somehow and was alive. Thank God. I flagged my mom down and made her pull over. John and I scoured the under-carriage of the RV to look for more kittens. We didn't find any.... and luckily no more came out of the back while we were driving. I don't think we could have handled the carnage.

My mom did a great job in the mountains and we made it to the Flagg Ranch! It is so beautiful here and the ride was surreal. We have no internet or phone coverage in the park so it may be a few days or even a week before I post again. Right now I am sitting in a coffee shop with a bunch of yuppie white people and their Macs in Jackson Wyoming. The douchebag next to me is loudly over-explaining where he gets his "brain freeze" when he drinks cold drinks. His girlfriend who "just totally stepped out of an LL Bean catalogue", is doing the same. I think you know the type. I'm gonna get out of here before I start complaining about bio engineered food or some shit.... ha ha. Hope you are all well!

Here, There, and Every-freakin-where!

"You are a traveler at heart. There will be many journeys." This statement, found in a fortune cookie many years ago, stares me in the face every morning when I open my refrigerator. There was a time when I lived in Derby NY that half of my diet was sustained at the local chinese take out joint. As you can imagine, I've seen a lot of cheesy fortunes in my day. This one immediately struck a chord and I carried it in my wallet for years, just recently taking it out and putting it on the fridge. Nothing could be more true about my life and personality.

Having been home from Puerto Rico for about six weeks now, I hear the faint voice of my backpack calling me from the closet.... beckoning me... "Jeremy.... Jeremy... there's soooooo many places for you to go, so many adventures to be had. Just take me along and let's go." My backpack and I are well acquainted this day and age, and like a good wife she tells me where and when to go... and makes sure I bring a toothbrush and a clean pair of underwear as well! When I ran into my mother at the bank today, she introduced me to her friend as "her Hobo son, you know the one who is always traveling all over the world.." I'm branded a Hobo. Thanks mom. The point is... I have the permanent itch to travel and lucky for me the next scratch is coming in a few weeks....

While strolling the cobblestone streets of San Juan on a fine, sunny day a few months back, my "Coastie" friend Sarah mentioned that she was getting transferred to Alaska late in the month of June. She also mentioned that she would be picking up her vehicle in Orlando Florida and driving it all the way to her new post on the complete opposite side of the North American continent over the course of a few weeks. An amazing road trip, funded by the government of course, and over 80 hours of driving.... much of it in the Canadian wilderness. Now.... if she only had somebody to help with the driving.... I could barely hold back the rapid fire response of "I'll go!", to which she responded calmly, "Ok, cool. We'll talk about it over a beer later" Friggin' military brat! She kept walking like we didn't just make plans to DRIVE TO ALASKA FROM FLORIDA! It felt like she asked if I wanted sandwich or a burger for lunch... there was hardly an emotion. She was cool as a cat all the way.

I was jumping out of my clothes with excitement. I kept imagining the long, winding highways, cities, mountains, lakes, changing geographical features... Alaska! I've never been to Alaska, or most of Canada for that matter. Most of my Canadian exploits have never passed Toronto, with the exception of a trip to whitewater raft in Ottawa many moons ago. My mind was racing with all the possibilities. Of course, there was a TON of driving involved, but I'm a road trip junkie.... the deal was sealed over a few cold Medalla's later that evening. I leave June 22nd in the morning for a direct flight to Orlando. Rock on!

The excitement doesn't stop there however. Once said road trip is complete, I will be flying home to Buffalo only to get back on the road with my mom July 7th for a trip across the US in her 20 year old, 38 foot Winnebago. Our first stop will be Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio for 3 action packed days of roller coaster madness! Indeed we are a roller coaster family, and there is no better place in the world from what I've been told. From there we head west to such places as Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, The Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone National Park! Our loosely held plan is to return sometime mid-August... a gypsy woman, her Hobo son, her 9 year old son, and possibly Grandma (if she's feeling up to it). Unbelievable.

As of now, my plan is to work the end of the summer and early fall... then I'm thinking of a solo trip to India to visit all my old roommates and buddies! Who knows what will happen.... that is the exciting part! I will have lots to talk about though, that is for sure! Keeping it moving...... Jeremy

p.s. For those of you following the "Secret Psychic Life of Sammy Nichols".... I'm sorry for the lapse in writing. I will make it up to you!