A Golden Summer

Home...home again. I like to be here, when I can...

2009-09-05T16:12:00.003-05:00

So we have concluded the trip and found ourselves back in Summit County, Colorado. Of all the extraordinary places we have been in the last 38 days, we all agree our own back yard is as grand as it gets. Please make a point to check in one last time with the next week. We will finish the editing of our last video, post interviews from the crew, and the last of our pictures. Don't forget to stop in one more time!

Steamboat Springs in Colorful Colorado

2009-09-02T15:13:00.002-05:00

We spent Monday trekking our way across southern Wyoming. Scholars maintain that this is where they coined the phase 'the open road'. Its wide open out there, kind of a western kansas, fell of the face of the earth vibe. Seeing the flat tops of northern Colorado proved to be more difficult then usual as there was a fair bit of smoke in the air. Apparently, unbeknownst to Team Short Bus who tries to stay outta the loop, there are great wildfires in the west. We crossed the border back into colorful Colorado for the first time in over 5 weeks. Chris pointed the bus for Steamboat Springs for our last night. We found our way out to Strawberry Park Hot Springs to unwind. After all, 5 weeks of traveling, hiking, climbing, biking, skating, longboarding, surfing, swimming, cliff diving, kayaking, and sleeping somewhere new every night tends to take its toll in you. So we soaked in the 100+ degree rock pools alternating with dips in the 50 degrees river water right next to the hot spring. If you are ever in northern Colorado, I would highly recommend stopping at these hot springs. We met some friends that offered to let us park the C OOL Bus at their camp. A few s'mores later we went to sleep in the wonderful 35 degree Colorado mountain air. No more dessert heat. No more 7 a.m. Portland dump trucks. No more killer eastern Oregon squirrels. Just cool mountain air.

we're going to jackson!

2009-08-30T18:55:00.003-05:00

last night the cool bus cruised into jackson, wy. we caught up with a friend josh who used to work in keystone, co. he and his 6 mo. yr old son haden have been nice enough to show us around the area. we had many options as what we could do today; kayak one of many rivers around jackson, explore the grand tetons, explore yellowstone, visit the hot springs, skate around jackson, play some disc golf, etc. . . . we narrowed today down to. . . . up by 8 am to began the day hiking the tetons; hiked up to the hidden falls, a nice 5 mile round trip hike. great views and beautiful mountains and wildlife. after the hike we played a nice round of disc golf, up at jackson hole ski resort. a fun course, with great views of the area. we made it back to jackson, where josh and haden cooked dinner for us. thanks friend. we now are headed south to the hot springs to camp for the evening. tomorrow we will make our way back towards colorado after getting the boats in the river . . . .

ps. . . the group really wanted to spend some time in yellowstone. the decision was made with our economic situation in mind, and the fact that to truly experience yellowstone we would need to dedicate 3-5 days to explore the great park, we will do it next time!

after our hike, staley took a great pic

josh and haden on chris's back

the group in tetons

a moose and her little one

the cool bus in the desert

Magically wisped away...in Idaho!

2009-08-29T11:05:00.003-05:00

The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

— Chris McCandless

Hey team, how is it? Us short bus kids just spent some time in a beat little town, McCall, ID. Did a bit of kayaking yesterday on the Payette River and spent the evening at a house that had been turned into a brewery. The Salmon River Brewery it was called, rad scene and good beer. We also caught a band jamming, only to find they were from Wichita KS.

Today we are off for Jackson, WY. Our last few days will be spent visiting Yellowstone and Teton NP and navigating the last 1,000 miles. Stay tuned, in the next week we will be posting video interviews, clips, pics, music and more.

This video was made for one, but can be enjoyed by all.

Trail Boss Smith...hows them trailssss in Itlay?

Random photos from the trip

2009-08-26T14:27:00.005-05:00

Enjoy these pics from the trip. We have so many now it hard to choose which to share.

Need I say more

We found this bear just outside our camp...eatin some nuts

The life-saving waters of the North Rim, Grand Canyon

Brock doesn't like coffee, he sticks with Minwax

Cominagetcha

Who at can of dog is the is?

Killin it at Burnside

Looks choppy out there, but that never holds us back.

Mt. Hood

2009-08-26T14:08:00.004-05:00

Hey gang! As I sit here on the flanks of Mt. Hood where the bus crew camped last night I can't help but think how beautiful this place is and how fortunate we've been to find such a rad camp area and such a rad mountain all around! For those of you who get kicks from snowboarding, this is the mountain! You can ride all year round!

Thanks to Alex and Mark for letting us stay in Portland for a few nights, what a stellar city! I think I speak for all of us when I say Portland is one of the coolest cities in the world. So far..... Next stop, Boise. Enjoy the pics

Kitchen jam session in Portland

The crew with Zonay, Mark and Waylan...the dog

Great close-up Steeze!

Mt. Hood from our campsite

Fire-side jam session with neighboring camper

vidayo

2009-08-25T14:22:00.004-05:00

portland, which is in oregon

2009-08-24T12:32:00.005-05:00

'the core of a mans spirit comes from new experiences

(the supertramp)'

a special thanks goes out to joels grandparents! joel called his grandpop west coast to east coast when the bus broke down late in the evening to ask for assistance, his grandpop said he would have an answer on how to fix the bus by morning, and joel was to call him when he awoke up at 6am, to fix bus. . . around 11 am joel called his grandpop who already knew what to do. he advised us to bypass the broken part, which we did and got back on the roooooooad!!!!!!!

THANKS GRANDPOP AND GRANDMOMMY!!!!!!! from bus boys(video spoof coming)

new experiences. new friends. what a couple weeks its been. i would like to give a special thanks to brooke, andrew, zonay, patrick and john for being such gracious hosts. you guys rock, thanks much!!!

as i sit here in the historic mississippi part of portland, i realize that we are rapidly approaching the end of our magical journey. it seems like yesterday we were building the bus and hitting the road. and today i see this thing winding down. a man much wiser than myself would tell me, 'nothing comes to an end brock, there are only new beginnings.'i guess i agree, but if only the show could go on. . . while we are on the subject of new beginnings, i have finally caught up with the tele, only to find that brett favre signed with the minnesota vikings, instantly taking the vikings from an 18-1 favorite to win the super bowl, down to 12-1 favorites. i also have learned that michael vick signed with the eagles. although at the current time eagles coach andy reid cannot commit to vick seeing any substantial p.t. in their 3rd preseason game, sad to say but michael vick will probably be on an nfl roster this year. felons and football, you have to love it. i don't think i need to point out that a certain wide receiver d. stallsworth ran over a guy and killed him, while he drove drunk in his bentley. or that a certain quarterback was murdered by his mistress, while his wife and kids. . . . blah. football, got to love it. which reminds me, i may or may not have missed my fantasy draft. blair please email me!!! i would have you call me but we need not remember the southerners that commandeered my celly and called who knows where in central americas. . . .

turns out the bus breaking down was a blessing in disguise. i will have to check with my legal counsel to make sure the bus is 'street legal,' but, turns out the part that ceased to work was actually a mechanism to lower bus emissions. the fact that it didn't want to work anymore should increase our gas mileage on the way home, also increasing our, um......how about them chiefs? chiefs are a 65-1 favorite to win the superbowl. insiders would call this a long shot. hey at least we got coach snyder back. true to snyder form, the cats play 2 div 1-aa teams, meaning the cats must win at least 7 games to become bowl eligible. doable, but much like the chiefs, a long shot. they will beat massachussets, louisanna, and tennessee tech. beyond that i see no clear victory's. their best hope will be to beat iowa state in kansas city. there other chances at winning are texas am, colorado, kansas and missouri; all being home games.

getting back to the cool bus trip, after crater lake we spent one night in coos bay. this stop was particularly important for me, as i'm very interested in exploring these small coastal communities along the oregon coast. after coos bay we headed north along coastal highway 1. we then camped in the foothills above lincoln city. very beautiful land. we awoke saturday morning and headed into portland where we have been catching up with friends and family. our plan is to head to either mt hood or mt rainier, first thing tomorrow morning. we shall keep you's posted. thanks again to everyone who has helped us on our voyage.

bus kids with patrick
burnside skatepark in portland
right near the beach

mammaloosa bridge, portland

vidayo

2009-08-22T17:41:00.003-05:00

break-down

2009-08-20T16:37:00.003-05:00

the bus broke down last night. luckily we made it off of the road, to a quiet little spot. upon waking up today, we sent chris to the nearest town by bike, where he purchased a couple shorter belts. we bypassed the ferter valve (actually i have no idea what the broken part is, but we bypassed it) and are back on the road for now.

Oregon...the land of 10.000 waterfalls

2009-08-19T20:00:00.003-05:00

Hey team! Whats doing? The short bus boys have been up to the same ole same ole, but in Oregon! I think CP summed it up in the prior post, but what he neglected to mention was that it hit 112 degrees in Oregon! Who would have guessed it would be hotter than the mojave dessert. Luckily for us, the icy waters of the Umpqua river would be half that at a balmy 55 degrees. Kayaking a 5 mile strech with a few class III rapids proved to be just what we needed. No better way to cool off....except for maybe a 35 ft. drop off a rope swing, or attempting a gainer off a huge log. Ben's camera has this rad option for multiple frames per second, we soon will be posting our jump sequence photos of us throwing ourselves of some gnar cliffs!Oregon has proved to be a pretty mad place, we plan to head back to the coast for some cooler weather, possibly a few waves, and defiantly a good time. Shooting for Portland this weekend to see some friends, we plan on making the last 2 weeks count!....unless we are mauled by the vicious killer deer indigenous to this region. ;)

2009-08-19T19:24:00.003-05:00

Once the Discovery Channel viewed the live video feed of Joelstralia's Abalone video they quickly wanted another. Slowly approaching Crater Lake, Joelstralia found and captured one of Oregon's rarest animals. Known by the locals as the Crater Lake Killer Deer, this mysterious and elusive creature was caught on camera, here is what followed.

Who would've known S. Oregon is 112 degrees!

2009-08-19T18:56:00.005-05:00

After the hitch-hikers from the last update, we quickly found the coolest cliff jump and rope swing. Then met John, who let us camp on his land, made us food and showed us yet another of the coolest water holes. Since then we've met more cool people, skateboarded the rim of crater lake, camped under the brightest stars and kayaked the Umpqua River, where I was tossed at one point by some wild rapids. Still lovin it! Check out the pics!!!!!

Chris and Joel on the Umpqua River

Sunrise over Crater Lake...nice shot Ben!

Skateboarding the rim road of Crater Lake

John and the crew at Johns place outside Obrien, Oregon

Huge downed log across one of the coolest swimming holes yet.

Dude going for a huge swing from the rope on the Smith River.

Proctor doing a huge back flip from a rock jump

The gracefulness of Brock's launch off the cliff jump

Oregon...finally

2009-08-17T20:44:00.003-05:00

Waking in the forest, campfire breakfasts, hiking, biking, surfing, cruising, rock skipping, long-boarding, cliff-jumping, rope-swinging and finding amazing swimming holes. Sounds like somebody has a case of the mondays....

We picked up a couple hitch hikers yesterday afternoon in Eureka, CA, who decided to ride with us until we found a place to camp. We camped in a nice little camp ground and headed north again this morning, where we dropped the hitchers off (after some sweet morning hikes through the red woods of course). After we dropped them off we quickly found the sweetest watering hole where we could cliff jump and rope swing. The best part about road trips are the sweet little parts of nature that are free99! Lovin it.

3 weeks on the road

2009-08-16T13:58:00.004-05:00

'we cling to our tried and true, we're creatures of comfort. we find our patterns and stick to what we know best, but there's a big wide and beautiful world out there, and for those who want it, its out there (the stranger).'

let it be said that today marks our 3rd week on the road. we've now been a couple places and met some new faces. our journey continues north today as we have once again packed our bags and are ready to go see whats next. the past two nights were spent in van damme state park. as fate would have it we made camp next to a group of guys who camp every year, for the past 35 years or so. the ladies stay home, and the guys do what guys do. they spoiled us with food and snacks. last night, us bus guys all ate fresh cod and taters thanks to our neighbors. cheers! an amazing meal as we are out here on the road accustomed to eating rice and soups. . . thanks friends (see picture)

i don't think much was mentioned about the meteor shower 4-5 nights ago. we were lucky enough to watch it from the beach on a crystal clear night. it just so happened the beach we watched the meteors from overlooked san fransisco. very cool. . .

yesterday and today we have had the kayaks out on the big river, and albion river. both rivers run into the ocean.

angelo, we ran into your friend in bolinas, ca. go there and find him at smileys!

our camping friends, thanks guys!
brock and dude on kayaks on big river
right near the beach, boi
and the winner was. . . .

Birthday Shout to the Staleys

2009-08-15T15:50:00.004-05:00

Happy B-day guys, to everyone else we will be trying to get a new post up for Redwood but internet is hard to find.

You have a frendo in Mendo!

2009-08-15T15:11:00.004-05:00

Hello all, we're spending our Saturday in Mendocino, Ca. Very cool little coastal town, and naturally, we make friends quick after a lap through town in the cool bus. Camping proves to be a challenge when the weekends approach, State Parks fill up quick and your dreaming if you think you can camp on the beach in California(unless your in Bolinas). We have had some luck the last two night and rolled right into the last available sites, both of which have allowed fires. Given all the wild fires down the coast from us, that hasn't been very common. We all have agreed that Northern California has a very cool scene. The beautiful coastline and redwood forest with quaint coastal towns all down hwy 1. Way rad. Feels good minglin' with these laid back local folks.

Coastal shot on Hwy 1. Been on this road for almost 500 miles now.

Jammin in Bolinas with our new friends in our beachside villa....on wheels!

So this is a picture of our friend Billy's dog, Indiana, a siberian husky. Given the husky nature, he loves to pull longboarders. Billy had a harness and a leash to Indy, and you could yell Right or Left and he knew which way to turn. Might I note, Indiana was a rescue dog, and now he's the happiest dog on the street so long as he's pulling someone or something. Billy, you have the raddest pup ever. Pictured is Proctor havin a go.

abalone or abaloning

2009-08-15T14:13:00.002-05:00

Abalone (from Spanish Abulón) are medium to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Haliotidae and the genusHaliotis. Common names for abalones also include ear-shells, sea-ears and Venus's-ears, as well as muttonfish or muttonshells in Australia, ormer inJersey and Guernsey, perlemoen in South Africa and pāua in New Zealand.

There is only the one genus in the family Haliotidae, and about four to seven subgenera. The number of species recognized worldwide is about 100.

The shells of abalones have a low and open spiral structure, and are characterized by several open respiratory pores in a row near the shell's outer edge. The thick inner layer of the shell is composed of nacre or mother-of-pearl, which in many species is highly iridescent, giving rise to a range of strong and changeable colors, which make the shells attractive to humans as decorative objects, and as a source of colorful mother-of-pearl.

The flesh (the adductor muscle) of abalones is widely considered to be a desirable food.

Abaloning

Sport harvesting of red abalone is permitted with a California fishing license and an abalone stamp card. New in 2008, the abalone card also comes with a set of 24 tags. Legal-size abalone must be tagged immediately. Abalone may only be taken using breath-hold techniques or shorepicking; scuba diving for abalone is strictly prohibited. Taking of abalone is not permitted south of the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. There is a size minimum of seven inches (178 mm) measured across the shell and a quantity limit of three per day and 24 per year. A person may be in possession of only three abalone at any given time.

Abalone may only be taken from April to November, not including July. Transportation of abalone may only legally occur while the abalone is still attached in the shell. Sale of sport-obtained abalone is illegal, including the shell. Only red abalone may be taken; black, white, pink, and flat abalone are protected by law.

leaving bolinas, heading north to bodega bay

2009-08-13T15:13:00.003-05:00

“Freedom is something that dies unless it's used. (hst)

we have decided to pack our bags and hit the road. our stay in bolinas has been nice and refreshing, but it is time to go. we plan on heading north to bodega bay and see what we can find. hopefully there will be a spot on the beach; someplace that might allow us to have a fire on the beach would be great. we are all glad to take our time exploring the coast and all that it has to offer as we head north. if anyone knows of any places we should visit on our way up the coast to seattle please share your info. thanks to those we've met, and those who helped us out along our voyage.

various pics from roadtrip. . . .

crew saying hi to erica and her brother

chris by baker beach and ggb

2009-08-13T15:05:00.003-05:00

everyone got out on the bay of bolinas with the kayaks

dude ready to catch some waves on the longboard

drifting unto the fog, joel and chris

dude riding bike by beach

brock jammin' (simple man) with friends from san raphael, a rough way to spend the afternoon!

OFF!!! the Map

2009-08-12T19:22:00.006-05:00

Brock taking in the beach after a jam.

Proctor catching a wave, his best one of the day

Joel making his way up the board, toes on tha nose bod!!!

Who knew Raquel Welch could rip, what a babe!

Proctor and Joel chillin' between sets

So we have found ourselves in this little town, Bolinas (Spanish for "off the map"....or so we concluded). A nice, little surf and fish town in the Point Reyes area. We have been wanting to slow it down so we have become part-time residents of this sweet little town. We have been camping down on the beach, which has been something we have wanted to do for awhile now, but finally found our spot. I think we may be leaving tomorrow sometime but who knows we may just end up staying for the we rest of the trip. This place has been great w/ cool people it may be hard to leave but the trip must go on. It may just be to another nice beach but what the hell, the snow doesn't fall for a couple more months. Hopefully the next spot has a cool bar named Smiley's with wifi, if not it may be a couple days till' the next post. Bye for now. BS

giants vs dodgers

2009-08-12T17:29:00.005-05:00

on monday we took a ferry from larksburg to att park in the san fransisco bay and watched the giants host the dodgers. the ferry dropped us off right outside the stadium. we bought the cheapest tickets, $27 per, one row from the top in right field. at least we had a good view of manny, it was apparent the giants fan do not like him, maybe the steroid saga changed their opinion of manny fresh. or maybe they just loathe the dodgers. i'll go with the latter. either way we had a great time. after the game we caught the same ferry back to larksburg and out to the coast via highway 1. we all were ready to find a place on the beach and set camp. a change of pace was much needed.

ferry ride to game
at the game. . .
ferry approaching stadium

7th inning stretch - giants vs dodgers

2009-08-12T17:24:00.003-05:00

The Bay

2009-08-11T14:54:00.005-05:00

The bus, and I @ Baker Beach,

Hey there friends, coming to you from a little library in Point Reyes. We just finished up in San Fran and are now on our way up the coast. We don't really have any solid plans maybe a little surfing and some relaxing. Yesterday, we hit up the Giants, Dodgers game. It was a pretty good time, we took a ferry in from Larkspur, CA across the bay to the game w/ a bar on board. The next several weeks are open, not a lot of plans just gonna take it easy and go with it, maybe a stop in Redwood and Crater Lake. Much love to all the people we meet in SF, Devon thanks for the tips and good beach spots(pics coming soon). There isn't really anything else going for the Cool Bus but I am sure that something good will coming up sooner than later. Heading back up 1 for now, talk to you soon.

PLH,

wasting day away in monterey bay

2009-08-09T11:03:00.002-05:00

longboardin in monteray bay

chris and ben making their way down trail

proc

takin a break from ridin to visit beach

heading down

Almost halfway

2009-08-09T03:01:00.004-05:00

"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, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led West."-Wallace Stegner

I checked the mileage today and we're almost halfway. We all enjoyed a beach day in Monteray Bay, Sunday is Santa Cruz to San Francisco. We were forced to make a turn around, disputing directions, and stumbled across the cow shot(below)...made me laugh to beat the band.

happy birthday mommy marrone! :)

2009-08-08T13:48:00.002-05:00

happy birthday mommy! love you :)

see you and the pig soon for a belated birthday hike!

love, KJ (and the short bus boys)

Age is just a number Suzy! You don't look a day past 39! You're more than welcome to join us for the second half of our adventure! Happy B-day, see you in Sept.- Heart- Joel

West Coast

2009-08-08T13:30:00.002-05:00

I just looked through the blog and am very stoked about all the people who have checked it out, added thoughts and comments, gave great incite on local hangouts and hiddin gems and overall helped us along this journey! Its the support that makes adventures like this possible! Cheers

afternoon stop at big sur

2009-08-08T12:59:00.001-05:00

just off of scenic highway 1 is this beach in big sur california. beautiful to say the least.

misc bus pics

2009-08-08T02:45:00.000-05:00

i didn't know there were elephant seals here?!

2009-08-08T02:39:00.001-05:00

stagg tree is a big one

2009-08-08T02:34:00.002-05:00

various photos from trip - snp

2009-08-08T02:14:00.003-05:00

our friends from camp nelson, they showed us a great time, good people

angels falls area of snp - private pools, members only

one of several natural slides

mr proctor going big

2009-08-08T01:57:00.001-05:00

california coast

2009-08-07T21:25:00.003-05:00

we have officially made it to the coast. we are all in agreement that we are happy to get away from the dry desert heat. 78 feels better than 108, but no one was complaining. the coastal breeze has rejuvenated us, and we are ready to get after it. we continue to be approached at every stop by fine americans and foreigners who are interested in who we are, where we are from, what we're doing, what we've been doing, and where we are headed. we continue to get positive feedback along with countless cars honking there horns at us. it is funny to watch people read the website on the side of the bus. you can literally read their lips as they say. . . my golden summer. . .

the bus has since turned over 100,000 miles, somewhere outside of barstow. this sunday will mark our 2nd week on the road. some of us have been under the weather, but this has not detoured us from doing what we want. i (brock) bought a guitar off of the street in morro beach, as well as a cool 'armed forces' baskeball jersey from '77. joel's lady, katy, joined the trip yesterday, and will ride through sunday when she flies out of san fransisco. camping has proven to be a little tricky on coastal highway one as we travel north. apparently this is a pretty popular destination during the summer months. we're currently eating pizza at a little joint in santa cruz where the weathers beautiful and spirits are high! There will be plenty more coastal updates in the next few days!

action photo.

elephant seals

dude on the cruiser at camp site

beach

the crew on coastal highway 1

beach view

more sequoia national park pics

2009-08-07T21:13:00.004-05:00

stagg tree-6th largest tree in the world. seriously!

standing twins - very well known in the area

dude there

august 5

2009-08-05T13:30:00.006-05:00

as i sit here adding pics to our blog, the elderly gentleman at the table next to us gets up to leave. the waitress says, 'have a good day bob.' bob says, 'everyday is a good day, just some are better than others.' i agree.

first and foremost we must give a shout-out to those kind hearted souls we have met on the road who have helped point us in the right direction. whether we have needed directions, places to camp, or stuff to do; i'm completely flabbergasted at the people we have had the pleasure to connect with.

yesterday we arrived in the sequoia national park region of southern california. i could not believe the size of the trees. they were ginormous. i have never seen anything like them before. around noon we set camp, ate lunch and discussed future plans for the trip. it was around this time we had the pleasure of meeting aaron (who lived a half mile from our campsite, and also donated a surf board to the trip, cheers), kadrina, and lisa. you will see from the pics that we had an unbelievable time!!! they showed us a great place to hike, which eventually came to small rock pools, complete with slides and rocks to jump off of into crisp clear water. we made a day out of the excursion. afterwards aaron and his crew invited us over to their house and we copied the pictures they took of us with their waterproof camera. they cooked dinner and headed back to camp and crashed out. thanks again guys for the hospitality, it was much appreciated.

today we are heading to the coast. we are on our way to san luis obispo, california. on our way out, we are stopping to see the 6th largest tree in the world. stay tuned

from a distance. . .

giant trees

ben dropping in

joel mid air

brock dropping in

stales coming out of hidden grotto

dude going down one of several natural rock slides

brock going under

stales slidin down

on the hike, trekking up the stream

las vegas

2009-08-03T23:34:00.000-05:00

We made it out of Las Vegas alive earlier today and drove straight through Death valley. I think the temp gauge read 111 degrees at one point. We spent the weekend by the hot poolside with a cold drink. Probably the only time we can justify treating ourselves on this trip. When most people were headed back to work for the week, valet was bringing the bus around. We were on the road again.

We’re all stoked to get to California. Tuesday we will wake up just outside Sequoia Nat’l Park and spend a few days camping before we head for the coast. The end of the week looks like cruisin’ Coastal Hwy 1 up to San Fran and surfing all the way!

We had a sick weekend, scored a sweet green poker visor, and caught some rays at the pool. Cheers to all who bought us a drink, Troy, Kathy and Kelsey, and our friends in San Fran, we had a rad time!

Also, to our new friend Angelo, hope to see you on the coast dude! Good luck on your trip!

We’ll post again as soon as we do or see something wild!--Dude

longboardin' outside lake meade

2009-08-03T23:01:00.002-05:00

grand canyon baseball

2009-08-03T22:41:00.005-05:00

middle of desert

2009-08-03T19:48:00.003-05:00

we drove temperatures as high as 110 to get to lake meade last thursday. friday we made our way into vegas for a lazy weekend by the pool. we have left vegas and are almost to sequoia national park. vegas was a tough place to find free wifi, as it does not exist. sorry for the delays between posts. we have many more pictures and vids to upload as soon as we get a minute. until next time. . . (should be soon)

we are happy to have made it out of vegas with all original members. . .

desert outside lake meade

proc shreddin' it

dude with a grab

stales lookin ahead

happy b-day momma Johnson

2009-07-30T15:30:00.004-05:00

Update!!!

2009-07-30T15:01:00.005-05:00

WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE WAIT! Apparently water isn't the only scarce item in the desert. We've finally found some Wifi in Springdale, Utah and are able to update! We should have greater access in the near future and will try to update daily from now on! Thanks for all who follow and cheers!

-The Road Gang

"Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines." - Unknown

P.S. The order of these updates is in reverse order. The newest is at the top!

Zion National Park

2009-07-30T14:34:00.007-05:00

About an hour away is Zion National Park, our next destination. Upon arrival we found a nice little spot along the Virgin River to cool from the 100+ degree weather. After the dip, some epic views were in order. We came across the Angel's Landing trail, a 5 mile RT that took us to the summit of the Zion Canyon rim. This hike is not for the weak, about a mile of knife edge traversing near the summit tests both balance and fear of heights. We quickly forgot the tough hike up as we dangled our feet from 1000 ft. cliff on the top of Angels Landing. Another dip in the evening, some dinner and ZZZZZZZZZZ..........!

In a small cave towards Angels Landing

There's Proctor, but can you find Joel

Walter's Wiggles from the top

Chain hand rail near the summit

The picture says a thousand words.

A 26 switch-back section known as Walter's Wiggles

Summit view of Zion Canyon

Lush canyon view half way up

North Rim, Grand Canyon

2009-07-30T14:02:00.006-05:00

After Moab, we trekked to the North Rim of the famous Grand Canyon. Little do some know, the North Rim sets 1000 feet above the South Rim and hosts a multitude of wild flora and fauna. We felt close to home due to the 9000+ ft. elevation on the North Rim. We camped near Ponderosa, Aspen and Fur trees and saw many Kaibab Squirrels and White Tail Deer. Luckily, a little advice from back in summit landed us in a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) camp site which was free.99! We woke, and set out on a 10 mile round trip down the Kaibab N. Rim trail. Little did we know how magnificent and exhausting the trek would be. None the less, well worth it in the long run as cascading water falls and ice-cold water refreshed us at the bottom. Following is a little preview...

Supai Tunnel (notice the amazing color on the wall through the tunnel)

Brock trekking up the exhausting canyon trail built into the wall.

H2O!

Descending

Amazing cut-outs in the wall during our hike down. Good break spot!

Don't fall!

Near the top. Safety meeting area.

North Rim camp first night (BLM Land)

Home!

Arches National Park

2009-07-30T13:19:00.014-05:00

Sunday night July 26 we hit the road for Moab, Utah where we had a celebratory drink for our first night on the road. We sought some advice on where to camp from some local yocals. We posted up just outside of town and started the 27th off with a bit of climbing and a scenic hike. We drove in late the night before, so to wake up with towering red rock faces all around us was pretty rad. We headed for Arches National Park and spent the afternoon in awe of turret, double arch, and the north and south windows.

After that, we were back on the road through Monument Valley, bound for our 400 mile destination just outside the Grand Canyon...

Back on the open road through Monument Valley

Mexican Hat!

Climbing the South Window Arch (L-Dude R-Proctor)

Proctor's native indian heritage coming out

you gellin'?

The Zissou- North and South Windows

Blue Skies and Red Rocks

Team Cheese @ Turret arch

Morning View

building a bus. . .

2009-07-30T12:50:00.016-05:00

0riginally the cool bus had a maximum capacity of 16 passengers plus one driver. which worked out to 8 total seats in back, each seating 2, with 4 seats on each side of the isle. there was no way to keep all of the seats and fit everything necessary for the trip. it was decided that all of the original seats would be pulled out, and we would fabricate our own. some ideas were debated rather hastily and sometimes we saw eye to eye. in the end all of the ideas help mold the cool bus into something we all are proud to say we are a part of. here is how our golden summer began. . .
the first step was to tear out all 8 passenger seats, which left a cabin much the size of most college dorm rooms.

We had to maximize functionality, given the scale of the trip and had to have the support and comfort that we so sorely need. Keeping in mind the money we saved for the trip must last us, this all had to be done within monetary reason. In keeping the aisle and both doors accessible, we also needed room to sleep. We constructed a bench in the back on the passenger side 3 ft. wide and. 7 ft. long. In front we fabricated a co-pilot seat so the driver has a wing man. Behind the driver we have a food pantry, area for bag storage, a two seat bench with a table that drops down to create another full bed. All our seats have storage below them, and we built in a cooler and a 6 gal. water jug in as well.

For our upholstery we have to give a personal thanks to our good friends, Brandon Smith and Mandi Pratt. They donated two quality pieces of furniture which we then skinned for upholstery materials and foam which I’m currently lounging on as I type this and gaze out the windows at Monument Valley, Utah. Mandi, Brandon thank you i‘m very comfortable. It provided enough to outfit our whole rig.

For power, we mounted two marine grade gel celled batteries with a trickle flow from the alternator. A switch is wired in to isolate these batteries from our engine batteries, so we can blast the stereo we have all night and still start the bus in the morning.

Everything thus far seems to be stable and rides well. As we go down the road we can modify and add as we see fit. We all admit that for what we did, with what we had, in the time we had: it could not have turned out any better. What can we say other than...sometimes, its just in the cards. -Dude

(pictures in reverse order)

packed an ready to roll . .

seats fabricated, upholstered, stained and ready for road. . .

upholstering seats late into the night, trying to hit the road!

katy helping paint website on bus

back deck. . .

figuring out seat padding, upholstery, etc

all seats built

co-pilot seat finished,

1000 watt power inverter, hard wired to the batteries

building the co-pilot seat

the first bench made, now a couch

dual batteries mounted under bus entrance that give us constant juice

arches n.p.

2009-07-27T18:54:00.004-05:00

the cool bus has left arches np/moab areas, heading south towards the north rim of the grand canyon. tonight we will camp several hours away from the beginning of tomorrows hike in the gc, we will post pictures from arches on next stop. .we have some good pictures and vids of arches np, a very beautiful area.

earlier on todays drive proctor spotted the perfect cliff we could jump off into a big beautiful lake, of course we had to stop and go for a short swim.

short vid of bus leaving summit county colorado, 7/26

video of arrival to arches

the cool bus

2009-07-27T18:53:00.000-05:00

i guess thats the way the whole darned human comedy keeps perpetuatin’ itself down through the generations, westward the wagons, across the sands a time until - - -aw, look at me, i’m a ramblin’ again. (the stranger)

the making of dude's golden summer and the (s)cool bus

joel 'dude' richards purchased the 1984 gmc vandura 3500 short bus from dave 'tuna' tunnison, late in the summer of 08. prior to the purchase, the cool bus was used to shuttle patrons interested in white water rafting to an fro during summer seasons in colorado, and sat idle in the winter dreaming of warmer weather. . .

it was also late in that great summer of 08 dude began dreaming up the ultimate road trip. a trip that anyone in their right mind would want to be a part of. a voyage beginning in summit county, co and heading west exploring many of america's great western wonders such as; arches national park, the grand canyon, zion national park, yosemite, crater lake, the pacific ocean, mt hood, sequoia national park, yellowstone and the list goes on.

after all of the preplanning, phone conversations, emails, invites, commitments, cancellations, and changes in itinerary; dude assembled his posse, (all who would be able to citizen cope with life on the road), and agreed that late in july of 09 they would begin the point in their life that you could call, their lives 'on the road' (jk).

the time has come to head west. . .

2009-07-26T17:49:00.005-05:00

"buy the ticket, take the ride" h.s.t.

after days of relentless work on the cool bus it is time to head west. watch the video to see the bus and stay tuned for more as we get on the road. pictures of the bus transforming from a normal short bus (if there ever was such a thing) to road trip machine should be posted shortly!

If anyone has advice for us on our travels, i.e., where a good hike is, or kayake here, or don't go here because. . . . please share your knowledge. Wish us luck!

(in video; chris proctor in the captains seat, ben staley at table seat, narrated by brock johnson)

more of willow falls hike. . .

2009-07-25T02:15:00.002-05:00

Other pics of willow falls hike, summit county co; biej and staley. . .

if only ron could come with. . . . .high winds @ loveland pass, colorado

2009-07-25T01:48:00.005-05:00

first gas donation, thanks!!

2009-07-25T01:31:00.003-05:00

a special thanks to mr ralston for being the first to donate to our gas fund. you have helped extend our voyage. we leave for the moab, ut and arches national park areas first thing sunday; the first stop, one of many to come.

Road Trip Itinerary Amended Dates

2009-07-21T18:10:00.014-05:00

Due to certain circumstances beyond our control, we have been forced to push back our start date for the westward travels. The updated road trip itinerary is as follows;

July 26, leave early am, Arrive in Moab/Arches Np, do devils garden, 7.2m rt. PM set camp in Canyonlands. 800-522-6848 canyonlandsrv.com

July 27, leave for jacobs lake, Az, Camp,

July 28, leave early a.m. for North Rim, hike north kaibab trail, 10 miles rt. explore canyons/springs, hike out, drive to bryce canyon np, setup camp

July 29, hike fairyland loop trail, The Fairyland Point Trailhead access road is located just north of the Park Visitor Center and Entrance Station. The access road is located 3 miles south of Ruby's Inn on Highway 63. Turn left on the Fairyland Point access road- it's one mile long and terminates at the trailhead.

camp, 8 miles rt

july 30, drive to zion, camp

july 31, drive to meade, camp

Aug 1, drive to vegas, arrive by 2pm, check in,

poolside drinking singapore slings with mezcow on the side,

aug 2, relax

aug 3, leave for drive to Tehachapi Montain Park, California, camp

Aug 4, leave early am for Sequoia National park

Aug 5, SNP

Aug 6, leave early am for bakersfield, pickup katy, hea d to san luis obispo, ca

Aug 7-8 explore Pacific coast, camp, have a good time, surf??

aug 9, drop off katy sf airport, camp on coast,

aug 10 explore san fran, dodgers/giants 7pm

see where we stand, plan next travels.

Aug 27th Seattle vs Kansas City Royals

________________________________________________________

We have been camping the past 2 nights and plan to continue the next couple nights, and have also been working on the bus, hiking, frolfing, long boarding, and generally having a good time. The Breckenridge beer festivus was this past Saturday. We were fortunate enough to sample over 30 breweries finest beers!! We will hit the road for Utah this Sunday morning bright and early.