Parxxxxx

After leaving Minneapolis I was exhausted from not being able to sleep much, because it was so damn humid and hot.  Not much to say about Fargo except that I stayed with Claire's friend and we walked around for a little while; I checked out the downtown.  It wasn't as horrible as everyone had said, but it wasn't that amazing either.  Either way, I left the next day early and drove 7 hours to a little town called Medora, ND.  It was pouring and thunderstorming with a side of gusting winds.  I was planning on camping there, but there was no way in hell I was going to camp in that weather.

So I chilled in the backseat of my car and just read for like 2 hours, got a hamburger from a local restaurant, and read some more.  Then it cleared up a little, although still freezing cold outside, and I walked around by the train tracks.  It was a really cool little town, definitely a tourist town, but very beautiful-it was surrounded by badlands.  As the sun was setting I decided quickly to drive up into the park (Theodore Roosevelt National Park) and it was so windy and beautiful.  It was quiet and peaceful and relaxing.  I ended up sleeping in my car that night and not very well, and left the next morning at 7am!

AAaaaaaalright

So where I left off

Saturday Corey took me to his friends house, then to her garage sale.  She gave me a tour of her house that she was remodeling, I really wanted to stay in town longer and help her.  I LOVE fixing up old houses.  Then I gave them a ride to her garage sale where she proceeded to give me a bunch of clothes and fabric that I found appealing. She was pretty sweet.

After we left we ate and went to his bike co-op open house.  I stayed there for a bit then went to bike around upTown/downtown and take pictures of all the murals during the day time.  Around 8 Corey gave me a call and told me that he was having people over at his house that night.  Shortly after I arrive back there, 2 ladies showed up, named Cristin and Claire.  They were both freakin hilarious and I could definitely see us being friends if I ended up moving back out there.  Actually, all of the people I met in Minneapolis I could see myself being friends with.  Actually Claire found me a place to stay in Fargo, which really helped me out a lot.  But anyways, Clem(garage sale girl), and these other 2 ladies, &Corey+his  brother and I all hung out and drank beer and Corey's homemade mead until late in the night.  And played some card game that required some drinking and clothing removal.  Then everyone went to bed, but I ended up talking to Corey's brother for a while.  He was telling me about a documentary that he is trying to get a grant for.  A documentary about how U of M is cutting some of art and culture majors.  Sounded very interesting, and he was also a very nice person. Jolly

Then I left the next day I had to leave, which was sad because I had had so much fun in Minneapolis and actually didn't want to leave.  But it was that time to be on the road again...

Minneapolis

Wow.  It has been such a great trip so far! Seriously.  So Thursday night I arrived in Minneapolis.  I was a little unsure about the neighborhood I was couchsurfing in..it looked pretty sketchy.  I was almost a little annoyed that my  host didn't warn me or something.  So I went into his apartment, decided to feel it out and talk to him for a little while.  Turns out he is a sweetheart & quite an awesome print artist.  So we both made some food and I decided to venture out for a little bit, he gave me a bridge suggestion and I took it.  Good thing too.  It was a very pretty night-view of the city.  I came back to his apartment and went to bed early-I was exhausted.

The next day, Corey (host) took me on a little bike-ride around campus.  He took me onto one of the buildings' roofs. Got an awesome view of the city. Then he had to work from 2-10. The weather forecast said that it would rain all day.  So I planned accordingly.  I had some errands to take care of so decided to go to a coffee shop to take of those.  I had a really hard time finding the one that Corey recommended so I went to a different one.  I opened the door to Seward Cafe, and I noticed it was closed at 3 (it was 3) so I went in and asked the waitress if that was right.  She said "we're closed, but we're giving away free food and coffee in a minute".  So I stayed and sure enough I got a plate of hashbrowns, lentils, and salsa.  Right time and place :).  After I got my fill, I thanked them and left to look for some place to do my work.


  One of those little errands/headaches included my dying phone and broken charger.  I somehow came across an ad for a charger on Craigslist.  I emailed the dude, unsure if he would reply the same day, lucky for me he replied 1/2 hour later.  He ended up meeting me at a light rail station right by Corey's place.  It was only 5$ and I'm pretty sure it was stolen.  Who randomly sells phone chargers?  I was a little scared of the transaction but I made him meet me in a public spot and it saved my life.  Traveling without a working phone is fairly risky...

 So after I bought the charger I decided to take a little bike-ride with the awesome Schwinn cruiser that Corey had let me borrow.  I rode my bike to Uptown, and lost myself completely in the culture there.  I found a couple of different art non-profits  that I was really interested in.  This was the first place, a non-profit that specializes in prints, hosts classes and provides fellowships too.  The second place is a similiar idea, but is more general art, not focusing on print.  I think that if I do think about taking the art-career path, coming to Minneapolis could really help me develop that skill and allow me to meet like-minded people. He is quite a funny guy.  He is constantly mumbling, so I would miss what he said sometimes; and very jolly.  He seemed like he had a big heart.  He referred to his life as a soap opera, and I told him about my soap opera life too and it was nice to meet someone else who cares too much about people.

More to come...

M M M

So I arrived in Madison around 3.  First stop-Botanical gardens. F'in amazing.  I took over 100 photos, and I learned so much about flowers in 3 hours.  It was so big and beautiful, with flowers so clearly labeled.  It was free And there was a Thai garden included!! I felt such a calm peace from the garden that day, and it was refreshing after all of this emotional turmoil I had been going through in Michigan. 

After I had had my fill of flowers, I decided to hit up a park, because it was a hot and sunny day.  I had a 40 of Miller high life sitting in my car, waiting for me.  I poured half into a water bottle (classy) and decided to sit in the park, next to the lake, people watch and draw.  There were a bunch of guys playing Ultimate frisbee, some girls drawing, and a lesbian couple frolicking.  I started a pen drawing, but didn't have time to finish it because I had to go meet my next couchsurfing host. 

So I drove to his house, and when I arrived, there was a strange man sitting on the roof.  It was he.  He came down to meet me, and my first impression was that he was a very attractive man.  His place was really chill.  It was right off Willy street, apparently the more hippy/vegan/bisexual side of town.  I liked dat.  We went to grab a bite to eat, then we went downtown to some bars.  The first one was an Irish bar, where his friend was playing fiddle.  There were about 8 people sitting around a table, playing traditional Irish music.  Like 5 old dudes, and a young guy and girl.  They were pretty amusing.  Across from us sat 2 couples.  It was 2 older men (60s) and 2 younger women (low 30's).  We were trying to figure out why they were together...the best guess was that the women were escorts.  But I don't know, and could not figure it out!  Anyways, the girl was wasted and broke a glass and the bartender got all pissed off and asked them to leave.


So the next day, we made breakfast, then went to the Terrace (over the lake) and played some card games, then I left him to go home.  I needed to take the bus, and it was 2.00$.  Not that much, but still I am really poor.  So I walked onto the bus, and the driver asked me for 20$.  He was kidding, but I said that I forgot my ID (Buses are free for Madison students), he ignored me and asked for 30$.  So I just walked on without paying.  I slipped on my sunglasses and headed northwest...:)

Wisconsin

Where was I...

So the day before we left, we decided to take a long walk around the city again.  We made the executive decision to take the dog too.  We walked along the lake, and when we were close to one of the museums, all of a sudden like 20 kids came running towards us wanting to pet the dog.  It was pretty funny.  There was some school field trip and kids were EVERYWHERE.  We decided to head downtown.  I went into a shop to get ice cream, and when I came out there was a bunch of yelling and I saw a police officer arresting someone that was resisting.  10 steps later there was a crazyass car with quotations all over it and terrifying dolls.  It also featured a loudspeaker with this guy's voice ranting about all these different things he believed in.  Then he parked and got out, he looked kind of bum-ish, but I was very glad to see him, because weird characters like that always light up my life.

Then we walked north towards home.  We ran into his magician friend from the night before; I sat on the dock of the river.  A goose slowly came closer and closer to me, then eventually right next to me.  It was cute, but I was also mildly afraid of it.   Later that night we went to this park on the lake and drank some beers and walked by the art museum so that I could get some night pictures.  It was very nice.  I left the next morning and back on the road I was..to Madison!

Milwaukee

It's been a crazy few days here so far...


I had taken some really beautiful night shots of the city.  But my memory card took a shit and I think I might have lost them forever unfortunately.  I walked around my first night by the lake at late sunset...once it started to get dark it was a little scary.  There were no lights anywhere and I was walking by myself in a park.  What can I say though, I am a risky girl.  I came back somewhat early that night and met/hung out with one of the guys that is hosting me. 

The next day  I went to the coffee shop where an old friend of mine works and talked to her for a while.  Then walked around with my host (Zach) for a couple of hours around the city.  We took his dog too, and I accused him of having the dog to pick up girls.  He denied this, but said it was a nice benefit.  We went to a brewery tour after that, got a little sloshy.  Our tour guide was f'in crazy.  He had a crazy mustache and tattoos everywhere.  He was really loud and funny...very entertaining to say the least.  I forced him to take a picture with me.

After that we split up, I had a free drink ticket to use before 6, so I headed out to a bar.  When I walked in some older guys said something like "Wow real Irish girl coming to the bar in the middle of the day".  Those fools.  So I sat down at the bar and struck up a conversation with the 2 guys next to me.  We talked for a while about Milwaukee and Yellowstone of course.  They bought me a couple of drinks and we agreed to see a museum the next day (which never happened).  Then I went to meet Zach and his roommate at the Safehouse bar, a crazy crazy crazy bar.  I don't even know where begin to describe it.  There's a hidden camera when you first walk in, and it's broadcasted throughout the entire bar.  The entrance is a hidden door which you have to figure out how to open, and everyone in the bar is watching you, and potentially laughing at you.  I saw this crazy older dude dancing his ass off in that room, and it was one of most amazing things I have ever seen.  Then we ate dinner, drank a little, and watched a magician do tricks.  I forgot to bring my camera to document this. This post is becoming really long and silly, so I will stop here!

News

Here is my latest painting.  It's on another old piece of wood that I found outside. I'm quite happy with it.  To me, it's an expression of spiritualism and unity in a basic form.

So I am definitely going to Yellowstone this summer, leaving next Monday for a 3 week roadtrip.  Kalamazoo, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Fargo, Bismark, Little Missouri National Grasslands, then I will either bum around Bozeman, camp in the Tetons, or take the scenic route (Beartooth Highway) into the park.  Still undecided...

And I finished a new song.  The recording isn't the best quality..I started to work on re-recording certain parts, but I'm going to redo at a later time because it's going to require a lot of work and maybe a better microphone. Check it here.    It's called Save Myself.  Hope you like it!