First off, thanks to everyone for a great going-away/sendoff shindig! It was a blast, and I was glad to see all of you before taking off. And now I’m finally in Texas! Starting in Spokane it only took two days to make it into Idaho, but after that things went pretty smoothly. Well, considering what started out as a 1,963 mile trip ended up taking 2,654 miles, which is great if you don’t mind surveying the great American countryside from the confines of a tightly packed four door sedan.

The above map should help you figure it out, thanks to my sweet MS Paint-like skills and pixlr. Wyoming was windy, Colorado colorful (though the sign that told me that was two-tone brown), Kansans were kind, and Oklahoma original after getting through flat flat Kansas. It’s too late tonight to come up with more alliterations. Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Texas the terrific (there’s one) will have to do without.

We also got a taste of the American Hotel Experience, something that scholars and sociologists could dedicate lives to and never fully understand. For example, from this trip I learned that if there’s no other town for 100 miles in either direction hotel prices are going to get a significant bump. I made the following graphic to help illustrate this discovery:

EDIT: I made a mistake, the axis are all wrong, flip them (monies on the side, distance on the bottom) and it will make more sense.

Of course this holds true of most things in life where demand and supply are in play. Like the demand for cowboys on bucking broncos combined with their relative scarcity has driven the price way up in Portland. I think they were selling them for something like $83,200 each, bronco not included. Wyoming, on the other hand, has a plentiful supply. I saw three in a truck stop going for $23 each, bronco AND lasso included.

But finally, I’m here and hoping to adjust quickly. Prayers to that end would be great. I’m gonna miss mountains and clear water though, no matter what I think.

Filed under: News & Updates by Jay