so i haven't written in a while, because i've been road-tripping around these united states for a month. to sum up:

• western pa, oh, in, il: corn

• wisconsin: cheese and cows

• minnesota: mosquitos galore!

• south dakota: corn palace in mitchell (there ain't much to see in eastern sd), the badlands (!!!!! one of the most beautiful places i've ever seen!), wall drug (over hyped, underwhelming), mt. rushmore (looks exactly like all the pictures you've ever seen of it), and sturgis. i was in sturgis for the 60th annual motorcycle rally. what an experience. hundreds of thousands of bikers. all leather all the time. me: the only person in a car. i wish i could have stayed...

• wyoming: looks like the most rural of the states i drove through. they don't have rest areas, they have parking areas (no "facilities"). snow fences. people? i saw no evidence. but there was yellowstone. old faithful did its thing, right on time. nature, putting on a show for us, oblivious to the fact that thousands of people come just to see some water jump out of the ground.

• montana: mostly, i just drove fast (speed limit: 75mph, though i've heard that that's only a nominal speed limit)

• idaho: cute as a button little alpine villages, nestled into the mountains. coeur d'alene for lunch--beautiful lake!

• washington: all the roadside fruitstands have espresso counters too. that's how you know you're in washington. drove through the town of george (george washington, heh heh). seattle was great, though i spent most of my time in seattle in vancouver, at gay pride 2000 (a spectacle all on its own--men wearing nothing but silver body paint, get your haircut by a stylist in drag)

• oregon: spent the night camped on the beach in the oregon dunes, by myself. blissful. amazing. spiritual.

• california: spent one night in the redwoods. thems some tall trees! drove down 101 to san francisco. fell in love with the city. drove from there down 1 to santa monica, stopping every 30 feet to take a picture of another gorgeous view. in santa monica, went to the getty museum. wow.

• arizona: "grand" doesn't really cut it when referring to the grand canyon. though there probably isn't a word that would really do the place justice... one of the most fabulous moments of the trip was sitting on the rim as the sun came up, turning the entire place pink.

• utah: the great salt lake smells horrible

• colorado: altitude sickness climbing a fourteener, also, the humiliation of being beaten to the summit by a busload of senior citizens (but what motivation--seeing 80-year-olds hiking up gray's peak!)

• kansas, oklahoma, texas: hotter 'n hell. actually, i have a story about oklahoma. i had been driving all day, left boulder colorado early that morning. i arrived in oklahoma city, tired and looking for a place to sleep. i wanted to sleep in a bed, in a youth hostel (cheap), and not have to find a campground after dark. so i pull up to a hotel, thinking that the reception people will know where i can find a youth hostel in town. i park, go in, and ask. they don't know what a youth hostel is. so i explain. they say they don't think they ha-yav any of those there in oklahoma city. so i hit the next hotel. same response. next stop, a police station. for SURE, they'll know where the youth hostel is. but again, they don't even know what one is, so i explain. and in the best damn southern drawl i've ever heard, the cop says "weyll, we got some hos-tayle youths." i kept driving, and slept on a couch in the student union at oklahoma state university in norman oklahoma. and all this not knowing that my mom has two friends who live in norman.

• new orleans: when i finally save up the dough for a harp, i'm moving down there and picking out a street corner and playing jazz for a living.

• georgia: home of grandma, and homemade peach ice cream. 'nuff said

• charlotte nc: home of fried chicken and nascar. a good time.

• vienna, va: mom's house, and a comfortable bed

• philly: pacific coast highway vs. schuylkill expressway. grand canyon vs. potholes on spruce street. amber waves of grain vs. weeds in the sidewalk. oregon coast vs. the jersey shore. i need to keep reminding myself that this really is a beautiful country...