On the way to rainbow!!

I So yesterday I got all packed up for a week in the mountains when I got a response from Craigslist for a ride to rainbow. The two people were leaving today, but I accepted and met them at manitou with my pack

So as a maroon beat up Monte Carlo pulled up I met Keith and his wife Krishna rani and their baby. We also picked up a hippy dude named Rewolf and his dog dinkerton. So the first order of business was to figure out how 4 adults, a baby, a dog, and everyone's gear was going to fit into what became a sardine can. We ended up tying a bike rack to the back and putting rewolfs packs, two gas jugs, and a water jug on the back.

Next order of business was to accumulate some cash. While I ran into Walmart to get a gas can, Keith and rewolf held signs in the road median asking for money. Together they accumulated a whopping $2 before the cops ran us off. It was getting dark, so we decided to camp in the national park and try the next day. 

After a drive up a windy gravel road and the bike rack bouncing around on the back of our crammed sedan, we found a campsite with a gorgeous view, and I set up my tent hammock. Though it was a chilly night the view in the morning was totally worth it

So now were heading to Denver and going to try flying signs and gas jugging ( going to gas stations with gas cans and asking people to put some in)

Aunt Sandy and New Plans

The last couple days have been interesting but not particularly eventful, so I'll just go through the highlights:

First of all, happy birthday to my girlfriend Adaline!!

I saw my first skate competition at the local skatepark. It was pretty cool, but it was exactly like Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 for Sega Dreamcast.

I spent some time with a large group of black people hanging out in the park, which was kind of interesting. A couple of them originally started teasing me about my 4-H goat shirt when one started defending the organization and started talking about how 4-H was where it was at when he was raised on his Granddad's farm in South Carolina. And yet another asked me a lot of questions about it, saying that was where the money was at. He was from Gary, Indiana. What was really fun though was when one guy asked how to spell a slang variation of a word, and they all started arguing about the correct spelling. It was pretty funny.

Later I saw this homeless guy walking down a dirt trail to this run down neighborhood. His name was Mike Murdock. Mike started up to this particularly run-down, kind of trashy house. When he saw me he said I could help him move in. He then proceeded to tell me to take a bike to the youth shelter, which turned out to be chained to a tire. He then started to sift through bags of clothes in the overhang shelter. I asked him if he owned it, and he said he was going to retire in the house since the people who lived there must be dead. I then pointed out the coop of live chickens in the backyard. Without considering that people must feed these birds, he told me to go collect eggs. I asked where he was from and he told me he was originally from Brooklyn, but mostly grew up in Colorado Springs. He played in a band most of his life that did covers of the Doobie Brothers and other similar bands. He told me to have a good life, and I went on my way, while hearing 65 year old Mike mumbling about how his grandfather was going to come visit.

While in the park listeinging to a Jazz concert, I met a man sporting a 70's blue pinstriped blazer and funny hat named Ray. Ray told me how he met his father for the first time after 65 years, which was interesting. I told him about what I was doing, and before I left he gave me 10 bucks.

I also finally met up with my Great Aunt Sandy who lives in town. She drew this picture of Jesus, which is actually made of the words of the Book of John:

She then told me how she had laid this print on the bed of three different critical care victims and said a quick prayer, and they all miraculously got better. We then got dinner at Waffle House, classic.

Lastly, I met a 20 year old named Luke while in Manitou. Luke told me how he has been travelling around the country since his second semester of college. When I told him I was trying to get to the Rainbow Gathering, he said he had been to several and he was the go-to guy for everything I needed to know. He then told me how hes been camping in the mountains for over a year, and we hiked up to his camp. It was gorgeous view, with nobody else around. I asked him if I could camp with  for awhile, and he said he likes company. So on Monday, I am going to live on the mountain with Luke for about a week. I may also be able to ride up to the gathering in the same car as him.

Meeting more people

So yesterday was a nice relaxing day. While i am still trying to figure out my ride up north, I've just been hanging out and meeting a lot of people.

One person that I met was a youth pastor, originally from Arkansas, named Micheal. The way I met him was  kind of interesting. I went to get coffee with Marisa, and while we were there chatting, a dog walks by. So we brought him over and gave the owner a call. Then we went back to conversing. Meanwhile, Micheal comes out to greet the dog, and talks about how he used to work for a dog kennel. So we get to talking, and we discuss our experiences with religion in the bible belt. We talked for a while, and he was pretty cool guy.

After that I went down to a park to hear a jazz concert in the ampitheater. While there I met a man, also named Micheal. This guy was a homeless, disabled man. After joking with him some, He told me how he had a motorcycle accident, and suffered traumatic brain injury.When he asked me to help bend his wheelchair back into shape, I told him he might be able to get one from the salvation army. He then told me how the salvation army kicked him out on the street because he failed his drug test, which is weird to me, since the people on the drugs are probably the ones who need the most help... so much for the zero-tolerance policy. Anyway I chatted with him for little bit longer, then headed out.

Next I met a girl named Molly, who went to school in Boulder. Though I didn't talk with her long, she pretty much reaffirmed what I had been told about Boulder, It's a city of preppy, rich kids.

After that I met a man named Ray. Ray was from Colorado Springs, and had lived there for about 65 years. He told me how he met his father for the first time only two years ago.I told him about some of my experiences, and as I was about to go, he handed me a ten dollar bill, which was cool.

I then went back to Kim's. However this morning I woke up to a very depressing email. I missed a free ride to Montana, that went through at 3:30 A.M. Oh well, I know it will all work out!

Learning Tai Chi and Law

Today I once again had a rough start to the morning. I set out to meet up with a German girl also backpacking around the West, but after a series of missed busses, I had to give up. So I again decided to try to find that public art project. Well, i didnt find the art project (again...) but I did find an awesome guy with an incredible story.

As I was meandering around the park looking for this mysterious project, I saw a man doing what looked like weird yoga. I approached him, and he asked if I was interested. As I nodded he immediately explained he was practicing tai chi, and gave me a brief history, foregoing all introduction. Eventually I went through the forms with him.

What was more interesting is his life story he volunteered. After being an accountant, he went back to law school, and became a lawyer. However, when he opened his firm, he soon learned how corrupt the court is. Several lawyers he was working with asked him to join them and help with bribes. He refused, and earned the contempt of these corrupt lawyers. One in particular was a high profile lawyer he ended up against. After winning without a doubt due to a major blunder the lawyer made, he found out the lawyer later bribed the clerk to change the records. This allowed the lawyer to use a loophole in the court and get out of the whole case. However, when the Tai-Chi guy , Eric Siegfried, wrote the California Barr Association, nobody wanted to mess with the high profile lawyer. Sick of the corruption, Eric tried to find a jonb writing contracts. But the corrupt lawyers sabotaged his repuatation and references, because he tried to expose them in different papers. Without references or job, he now lives on the road. He says hes biding time until the lawyers become vulnerable enough that he can present a case against them without serious corruption ruining his chances of a fair trial. He says he has several suits against the state of California that would make him millions when the time is right. Awesome guy!

 

 

I'm still trying to arrange a way up to Montana. I'm supposed to meet someone tomorrow that might be my travel buddy up to the Rainbow Festival. We were supposed to meet tonight, but he went to the wrong Starbucks, so we'll see what happens. Peace

Hiking the Incline

Yesterday was a pretty amazing day. Though it didnt start too awesome, I couldn't have asked for a better ending.

I started the day by heading to a public art project on a certain Dale Street. So I drug myself 4 miles to end up on a random corner with and a thrift shop. Turned out I went to the wrong Dale Street. Tired and agitated, I went to Manitou.

At Manitou I was cheered up by games of hackeysack and awesome street music. Also Tattor came by and gave me an enthusiastic hello only Tattor could give. While I was relaxing by the soda springs, I was presented with an invitation to hike a mountain by none other than the girl with the ukelele, Marisa and her friends.

So I met Marisa, her friends Kinsey, Ginny, and Daniel met under a stormy Colorado sky. I became more acquantied with Kinsey and Daniel in a alternative t-shirt store as we waited for the storm to pass (having musicles of steel means lightning is more condusive...) Turns out Daniel was actually a senior at the Air Force Academy also majoring in mechanical engineering, which I thought was pretty cool.

After about 20 minutes we headed up a trail called the "Incline". The Incline was an old railroad that literally went staight up the mountain at like a 70 degree angle. The ties were then converted to steps to be used as a trail for tourists and really athletic people who want to tourists to see how in-shape they are. So we clambored up the mountain slowly but surely, to be rewarded with a view straight out of national geographic. From the top, one could see the foothills of the mountains gradually flatten into an expansive prairie, while the shadows of giant cumulus clouds dotted the vast landscape. To the other side, one found beautiful rounded boulders balancing on the mountainside amidst blankets of dark green evergreens. Truly beautiful. After about 15 min, we headed back down.

As we headed down a switch back trail on the other side, Daniel abruptly stopped and peered down the mountain. As I approached I saw a smooth, steep path of gravel going straight down the mountain. He asked me if I wanted to slide, and to protect my honor, I followed him surfing straight down the mountain and clamboring down drops offs invisible from the normal trail. It was excellent.

Finally Daniel and I joined the girls at the foot of the trail, and we headed to Burger King for 50 cent ice cream cones. So I got to meet 3 new people, one from the Air Force Academy with my same major, and talk with Marisa again. So a huge thanks to Marisa for introducing me to her peeps and being a familiar face!

At the top of the incline

 From left to right: Daniel, Kinsey, Marisa, Ginny, and Jonathan (AKA muscles)

Discovering Manitou

So yesterday, I went to this quirky area outside Colorado Springs called Manitou. Kind of like Bardstown Road, but even more separate from the city. I met tons of interesting people as strolled down to the end of Manitou Rd.

Manitou itself is an area filled with natural soda streams. The water is really weird. People seem to love it or hate it. At one time, there was a bottling plant that has long since been swallowed by rows of shops, boutiques, and restaurants.

At the end of Manitou is an artist ampitheater where the really interesting people hang out. There was hobos, guitarist, hitchhikiers, commune members, and the like. By jumping into a game of hackysack, I was really able to meet with them and learn a little about them.

Perhaps the coolest person I met was an old Creole man by the name of Tattor. He was skinny, and wrinkly, and wornout, with his browned skin drooping from years of gravity, but as lively and fun as anyone could be. He was chilling with his other old hippie friends in a corner of this ampitheater/shelter house. The first thing tattor had me do was hold his guitar while he went to the coffee. Between the grovel of his aged voice and his thick Louisiana accent, I basically comminicated with gestures, fist bumps, hi-fives, and energetic voice inflection. He was really something. When he got back I asked him to play me something. He asked whether I had a girlfriend and I said yes (whose name is beautiful and her name is Adaline and her birthday is today!!). As he stuck his cigarette behind the last fret, he dedicated the song to her He then proceeded to sing a song that sounded exactly like the soggy bottom boys, complete with yodeling and dialouge.

I then asked whether I could take a picture of him, and he said sure. When I pulled up my iphone, he told me to hold on a second and look up a video for him. He told me to look for Marvin Tattor Mecom. When I searched, I found a professional music video he starred in, with all the proceeds going to "starving artists."

Overall, it was a pretty cool day. Later, I went to a Carnival and saw a dog frisbee show.  I also learned from these two old guys sittting in mantiou about Barr trail, the trail to the top of pikes peak. I'm planning on doing that. I am also looking for a way to get to a thing called the Rainbow Gathering in Montana. I also learned I need to get a lot better at hackysack. See you later!!

First Day in Colorado!

Hey Everybody! So... I spent the day meandering Colorado Springs, and I dont even know where to start.
First of all, you'd NEVER guess this city has half a million people. It has a laid back attitude that words can hardly describe. A very cool place.

So I started off going over to the local skate park across the street to get some info on the city. As I was trying to get some conversation going, a drug dealer and his toadies walk up adamantely claiming the park as his "turf" for the day. This would n really bother me except i'm wearing running shoes, wool socks, and a "Harrison County Great Goat Race" cut off with "Goat Gang" on the back. Needless to say, I may have stuck out a bit amongst the sea of skinny jeans and etnies... Feeling a bad vibe, I left for the downtown, a pretty good walk towards Pikes Peak.

There I stopped in a building called the Christian Science Reading Room. After talking a bit with volunteer there, I learned the Christian Science Chruch is a religion that claims all suffering is an illusion we create for ourselves, and only a deep understanding of Jesus' teachings can allow one to tear this veil. An intersting perspective, and certainly not something you find in Southern Indiana.

Next I took a quick detour through the local park, to find kids playing in the fountains, old men reading the paper, and about three groups of people happily somking pot lol The funniest part is not one person seemed to mind. I dont know why it was illegal in the first place

Next I met a girl named Marica, who was strumming a ukele on a street planter. She told me about her college program that allows her to do each semester in a different country.

Finally I met a guy, Tim, playing the bongo on the street like nobody's business. He had an amazing beard and said he played for God. He also said that the mountain towering over Colorado Springs are a reminder of how small we really are, and serve to presevere the small-town, laid back vibe. So I decided if he ever quit bongos, he should become a Jedi Master...

After that I huffed back to Aunt Kim's apartment because the air is so thin. It will take some serious getting used to!

Tonight I might go see Tim and his band at the local coffee shop

Buenos Dias and look to the mountains my friends!

P.S. The best water in the world is in Colorado Springs. It has a quality of sweetness unlike anywater I've ever had. Gotta try it some time

 

An intersting work area in downtown

View of Pikes Peak from the apartment

 

 

 

 

A funny ad for a beer festival hosted by what I assume to be one of the cities more liberal churches

Stories on the Greyhound

This bus ride from Chicago to Colorado Springs was everything I hoped it would be. Any writer looking for inspiration for characters needs simply to hop on a cross country greyhound!

The first man I met was delfino, a 50 year old stout Mexican with broad shoulders and thick muscles. As we got to talking I told him I took some Spanish classes in school, so he drilled me on my Spanish vocab. But the coolest thing was he was never taught to write. In stead he would spend hours with a Spanish and English bible, and copy the sentences , since he knew the meanings from church! By copying bible verses, he can now write at about a 5th grade level, and he's still trying to improve.

The next character I met was Eduardo, and did this guy have a story! Eduardo can over when he heard delfino and I talking Spanish to each other. Eduardo didn't know a lick of English and was excited to hear Spanish. After talking with Eduardo in my broken Spanish for a while I found out Eduardo was an 18 year old Honduran who crossed the border illegally. He was caught by immigration police in Houston l, then bussed up to a New Jersey detainment area. However, the judge allowed him to stay in the US long enough to apply for a visa. He was headed to Lincoln NE to stay with an uncle there. So I taught him some English and he taught me Spanish, and delfino translated when we got stuck. I also learned an iphone in honduras is $1000, so he was pretty amazed when he saw mine haha. Now I have a friend in Lincoln who has connections in Honduras, all from a greyhound. 

Who'd a thunk it?

So now I'm almost Colorado Springs!  

Teneis un bueno dia Mia amigos y vayais con dios!

Hello everybody!! This is my first post on my first blog. I created this blog so people can follow my experiences as I make my way across the country, learn new cultures, find new perspectives, and possibly help my followers come to some realizations themselves. I will be leaving in one week from Chicago to Colorado Springs, and that's where the real adventure will start. I will post videos and different things when I have the chance, but for now, until next time!

My Life in a Backpack

This 25 lbs=my life for the Summer