Night #12: Fairbanks, AK. Captain Bartlett Inn. 4400 miles. Planned on going on an overnight hike deep in the Chena River Valley into the heart of bear country. We had all our provisions prepared. Our packs were heavy and full of promise. However, the mosquitoes were thick, the hike was not very pretty, and the deet was making us kinda sick. It was very hot and humid too. Who would have thought? So we gave up. We weren't having fun. So we hiked back out after just 4 miles or so. Saw a moose and her calf 50 feet from us on our way. Got a room at the Captain Bartlett Inn. Laundry. Shower. Bought a pepporoni/jalapeno pizza and a 6 pack. Watched the Cubs vs Rangers (saw Sammy hit his 600th live) and then three back to back episodes of Law and Order SVU. Felt so good. Most importantly, we got to close the shades.

Night #11: South of Chena Hot Springs. North of Fairbanks, AK. 4350 miles. Made it to Fairbanks. Civilization. Went on a little hike that was all mud and mosquitoes. Found a little spot near a river to set up camp then went north to Chena Hot Springs. Ate a burger at the little restaurant. Used some of my Russian Language skills. Took a dip in the hot springs. It was hot and smelled like eggs, boiled all the toxins out of us. There was a big Alaskan guy who stood in front of this fountain thing that shot out scolding hot water like a fire hose. He took it on the face for like 5 straight minutes then on his back and shoulders. He was grunting. Then he meditated for an hour. I miss that guy.

Night #10: 40 miles north of Paxson, AK. 4030 miles. Drove to the end of the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction, AK. Drove south to Paxson from there. Got a good look at the Pipeline. It looks like a big long stitched up scar on the landscape. But surprisingly, I found myself fascinated by it. Found an air-strip deep in the woods when we were hiking around. I like to think it was the one the boy from Hatchet was flying to when his plane crashed. Tented on a glacial river bed on sandy beach kinda and the water was milky. Ate some noodles that tasted kinda like tin.

Night #9. East of Tok, AK. 3780 miles. Stopped in Whitehorse to walk around a bit. Bought some essentials. Shoe laces. Bear bells. Rain gear. Ate a burger at the local hotel! A thought the waiter had pretty eyelashes. There was baseball on the TV. I need to catch up but the only game was Toronto vs Baltimore. The Canadian station. It costs about $80 - $90 to fill up the tank here. I'll never complain about gas prices in the States again. Yeah I will. The roads are bad. Potholes, big bumps, and gravel in parts. I noticed that the right side of the road on the way to AK is always more worn than the left. That should tell you something. All those convicts escaping and never coming back. Crossed the border into the AK. It is good to be in America again.

Night #8: Continental Divide, Yukon. 3250 miles. Saw 4 black bears and one moose on the road. Tented on the side of the road. Ate mac and cheese. The Yukon is pretty. Nobody lives here. 1/3 of Memorial Stadium lives in an area twice as big as New England.





Also, I found some interesting words about the Tate tradition (as it relates to The Man Suit and other books) from Johannes.

Night #7: West of Smithers, BC. 2675 miles. Stopped in Williams Lake, BC, and chatted it up with the locals. Learned some new vocab. Picked up the accent. Tented in a campground worked by a guy who didn't care. Free firewood. Free electric/water. Free showers. We washed our nasty clothes and got clean. Aaah. The car no longer smells like funk. A swole up from mosquito bites. Smithers, by the way, is right next to Burns, BC. Matt Groening, I'm on to you.

Night #6: Green Lake, BC. 2200 Miles. Stopped for a bagelwich in lovely Bellingham, WA. Listened to the Cubbies beat Seattle on Mariners radio while waiting 2 hrs at the border. We made stale PBJs in the car. The mountains are crazy pretty up here. The Molson is cheaper than the Bud Light. And everybody talks funny, eh.

Night #5: West of Leavenworth, WA. Cascade Mountains. 1750 miles. Drove through the Northern, ID (oh man) and the Cascades (oh man) where we stumbled upon Leavenworth, a little Bavarian village that floats on sausages and bier. I love fake Europe. Painted-on Europe. Found a nice little creek to tent on.

Night #4: Missoula, MT. 1350 miles. Brandon made potatoes, bacon, and eggs. We talked Poetry with Greg's summer poetry workshop. We read Caroline Knox poems to each other. New Lakes reading in K and R's beautiful back yard. Mountains in the background. Julie's new poems are strange and awesome. Mathias' intros were the best ever and the best there ever will be. Dead Man projected on the fence. The skeleton gloves came out. Breakfast at Dauphine's. West on 90 from here.

Night #2 + #3: Bozeman, MT. 1100 miles. Hung w/B and slept on his futon. Went to the cinema. Saw Hostel 2 and Knocked Up. One was "eh...not so much" and the other was "um...no." Ate soup at the Soup Garage.

Night #1: Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. Saw a moose near our campground. Tented 10 steps from a little creek. Hiked in the morning.

Might have to add this to the to-do list: Midnight Sun Baseball.

If I haven't told you already, A and I will be driving from our little shack in Lincoln to Mt. McKinley in the AK and we're leaving Friday. This is a long trip. We'll be hiking around of course, and tenting almost every night. I'll be reading some poems with Julie Doxsee and Mathias in Missoula on June 12. Other than that, there'll be very little human contact. Very little civilization. We're taking a break from humans. No shaving. 3 pair of underwear. We should be back in mid-July at some point. This is a long trip. I google-earthed it and it makes the whole earth spin a little bit. Anyhoo, we're running around this week trying to get stuff together before we go, and trying to get stuff done so we can leave with a clear mind, y'know? So that's where my head is right now. I'll say goodbye on Friday, but I'll be sure to update you from the road of course. With pictures, observations, anecdotes, and insights. And I'll tell you all about Octopus #9 here pretty soon.

1. Monica Fambrough tells me something that may change yr gift-begging plans. Wave Books now offers annual subscriptions to their softcover titles (subscriptions were previously only available for hardcovers). You get all six 2007 titles for $60.
2. If you sent a manny to Octopus Books in April, I'm going to the bank today to deposit your check. Thanks. We're just now starting to dig in. Full stride. For half of you, your manny is making a road trip to Alaska with me.
3. When I picked up the mannies/checks/misc materials from Alisa, the Octopus screener/intern, I found a few gifts in the pile. So I'll be cracking open these books on the trip as well:

When A and I left Cleveland (Akron technically) 3-4 years ago the Cavs and the Indians were the bottom feeders of their respective divisions. We picked a fine time to leave (Sigh).

PS. I'm a fan of the Indians, but not a fan of the Chief Wahoo logo. I want to make that clear.