Walla Walla, WA

On September 15 I drove from Pullman to Walla Walla, WA.  Walla Walla is the home of the famous sweet onions, a bunch of wineries, and also Brother Vagabond.  I spent the afternoon and evening chilling with my brother, my brother's wife, and my brother's wife's brother's wife's sister.  In addition to chilling, we ate some Thai food and watched a movie.

I also took a walk around the neighborhood, and was attacked by a shitty little black dog.  When it got within 10 feet of me it suddenly realized I meant business and took off yelping in the other direction.  Who's the man now, dog?

Pullman, WA

On September 13 I drove from Helena to Pullman, WA, the town where I spent the second 13 years of my life.  It was a nice day, and I managed to arrive in time to go train at my sensei's dojo.  That was fun, and it brought back a lot of memories.  Memories of blood.  And pain.

For those of you who don't know, Pullman is a farming community that is also the home of Washington State University, aka Wazzu.  This makes for an interesting juxtaposition of cultural identity, as the town consists of about 9,000 full-time residents and 21,000 students.  Consider the following two pictures:

The first picture is the Pullman-Moscow regional airport, and the second picture is Wazzu's 160,000-square-foot palatial recreation center.  Needless to say, the university dominates the town's identity.

The WSU campus is very pretty, full of green grass and trees, and beautiful brick buildings.  In addition, it is the home of this artistic monstrosity:

You are correct - that is a giant, pale blue heart covered with bits of something that remind me of gristle and body parts.  I don't know the story of this thing, but I hope it never goes away.

I tend to disparage life in Pullman, because there is very little to do there.  However, it is an excellent place to go to school and is the home of many fond memories.  In addition, I learned that at the Sports Page Tavern you can buy a can of Rainier Beer, a 20-oz. Alaskan Amber, and a gin and tonic for the grand total of $6.75.

Helena, MT

After possibly taking a naked bath in the woods, I continued eastward to Helena MT, the home of Mother Vagabond.  Her apartment has a nice view of the ugly apartment building across the parking lot, but also a decent view of Mount Helena.

On the morning of September 12, we woke up early and ascended Mt. Ascension, whose summit offers a nice view of Helena and the surrounding valley.

After our hike, we enjoyed a truly Montanan lunch: a buffalo burger washed down with a beer called Cold Smoke.  Can you get more manly than that?

Jerry Johnson Hot Springs, ID

On the fourth morning of my vacation, I woke up and realized that so far I had spent far too little time surrounded by naked strangers.  Therefore, I hopped into my car and backtracked a few miles to Jerry Johnson hot springs.  The hot springs are located about 1.5 miles off of highway 12, on the opposite side of the river.

After a short hike, I came across the steaming pools of water, and settled down for a nice soak.  My experience brought to mind the old philosophical riddle: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did Doctor Vagabond go naked during his morning bath?

Wendover Campground, ID

On the morning of September 10, I left Boise and headed into the mountains of Idaho.  I drove north for a few hours, then headed east on highway 12 towards Montana.  I stopped to camp for the night at Wendover Campground.  It was very quiet, and situated on the beautiful Lochsa River.

I spent a little time skipping stones across the river, then headed back to set up camp.  While walking around, I ran into Dave and Christina, who lived right across the street from me for 10 years in Pullman, WA.  It turns out that they also own the property where my ex-girlfriend and her family used to live.  I am not making this up.  One can leave Pullman, but one can never truly escape.

Boise, ID

After enjoying the dirt of central Nevada, I continued northward to Boise, ID.  I stayed with Vince and Lisa, two old friends and kindred spirits.  They have a nice house with their own dojo built next to it:

On my first night there, we threw each other around and played with knives.  This is our definition of a good time.  I also learned that Vince knows how to make a killer drink; I had a headache for the next three days.  In addition to doing martial arts, we spent a nice evening sitting on the back porch, drinking champagne and enjoying the view.

The morning I left, they loaded me up with food in preparation for my trip into the mountains.

Back on the road: Livermore, CA to Rye Patch State Recreation Area, NV

Howdy folks.  After a 1.5-year hiatus, Doctor Vagabond is back on the road!  For the next two weeks, I will be doing a loop around the western US in order to attend a wedding in Seattle.  Along the way, I am pleased to share my mundane experiences with all of you.  If you're wise, you'll find something better to do with your time.  But you're not, so strap in and let's go!

On Wednesday September 7 I drove out of sunny Livermore, CA and headed east toward the wild plains of Nevada, armed with only the necessities: a roll of toilet paper, some light reading, and a big-ass knife.

Driving east, I passed through the beautiful mountains of eastern California.  I decided stop for lunch at a rest stop, and heard the sounds of a pleasant, babbling brook.  Following the sound, I came across something less than pleasant.

I chose not to drink.  Eventually, I ended up at Rye Patch State Recreation Area, located in the middle of nowhere, Nevada.  Despite being situated in the center of a giant dirt field, it was actually fairly pretty.

After eating a tasty dinner of avocado mixed with tuna fish and smeared on a cold bagel, I took a short hike around the reservoir.  At one point, I came across a bench overlooking the water, and saw this:

 
I couldn't agree more.