Taste Bud Road Trip > Alabama

After reading some Michael Pollen Books, Julia’s Life in France and Kingsolvers Animal, Vegetable, Miracle back to back and with the fall weather settling in, I want to try cooking again. I had a thought about cooking and eating my way around the nation, state by state,alphabetically. Last night Molly, Nate and Charley came over to help me kick off my culinary road trip. First stop is Alabama where the menu included coastal Creole influences, classic Alabama sweet tea and a dessert featuring Alabama’s state nut, the Pecan. Researching state foods via google is not as easy as I thought it would be. Suggestions welcome. Next stop:  Alaska: think salmon, Russian influenced meat and veg pies and baked Alaska.

Alabama Dinner Menu:

Alabama Sweet Tea

Roasted Peanuts ala George Washington Carver

Shrimp Etouffee with White Rice

Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream with Benne Wafers

Dress: NASCAR Hats

Music: Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, Sun Ra

Book: To Kill a Mocking Bird

People: Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks & George Washington Carver who spent 47 years at Tuskegee University and knew his way around a peanut

Good times. The ice cream was amazing.

To do > More creations from my block of clay

I was missing my ceramics class from last winter so I go my hands dirty with this masterpiece. Move over Rodin – I got me a fancy planter.

 

Faces to greet you on the porch.

Ya, they all look like they just ate something that tastes weird. I'm just a beginner.

Faces on the other side of the pot

 

 

Road Trip > Lind, WA

On the final stretch home we stopped off at Lind, WA home of the Famous Combine Demolition Derby - which, unfortunately we arrived too early for. A couple of pictures from our visit to the small town of Lind and the sunset on our trek homeward:

 

Local hangout: Pool tables and homemade pie

This here is main street - Lind has some cool murals

Backway into the tavern

View on the trip southward

Open spaces and big rigs

 

 

Road Trip > Butte, Montana

I want to spend a couple of months in Butte, Montana. This place has a fascinating history. When I asked a Montana native what to see in Western Montana they suggested the Berkeley Pit Superfund Site. Ya, thanks… do they have pina coladas with umbrellas? It didn’t sound like a vacation destination. But it turns out Butte has roller coaster of a history – a story of incredible wealth, poverty, creation, destruction, extraction and corruption. The town exists now as half a ghost town with echos of wealthy, populated past and the bones of a sparse working class community. Well, that’s what I imagined and gleaned from the locals in my 28 hours there anyway. Which is why I want to go back and learn more and explore. The relics in this town are amazing to a west coaster who rarely sees a building built before the 1900s. Didn’t have much time to explore with the camera but here are a few snaps:

 

Berkeley Pit. One of the natives told me there is thousands of miles of tunnels underground. 1,000,000,000 tons of material was mined from the pit What?

 

 

Surrounding the pit are ramshackle buildings

 

 

Downtown Butte -- I'm coming back to roam around for hours

 

 

Door of the Salvation Army in Butte

 

 

I was told open containers are allowed on the streets of Butte and thousands come to celebrate St. Patty's Day. There is also an Evel Kneivel Day - Road Trip!

 

 

Cool old signage all over town

 

 

Lots of fading murals from some boom time

 

Road Trip > Montana > Lewis and Clark Caves

Lewis and Clark Caverns are really cool. We had some screaming, possessed toddlers on the tour – obnoxious.  Go chase bats down a dark fissure. But otherwise the cave was amazing – highly recommended.

 

These pictures don't to it justice. It takes a long time for these stalagmites to form. We hung back to listen to the sounds of the cave -- echos of soft dripping sounds, and the shrieks of young devils

 

 

Cool formations. They turn the lights out at one point -- dark, dark, dark and then Rosemary's baby howls for his mother.

 

 

Stalactites. The guide kept on pointing out animal figures and making up stories about their lives in the caves. Rocks and minerals, buddy. As he points out a toad, some young rough beast wails and the blood-dimmed tide is loosed.

 

Despite the audio, we had fun.

Jon and Shani’s Wedding: Part 2: The Ceremony, etc.

What a good looking couple! Jon and Shani are the sweetest!! Wonderful day.

The ceremony - sweet moment

Shani, Heidi, Shawn and Grandpa!!

Reese looks so pretty

Mouth, Gabe and Shawn. Whoot!

Beautiful ladies

Getting ready to celebrate 40 years...

Kids from the block

After party!

Road Trip > Jon and Shani’s Wedding: Pre-Party

The inspiration for our road trip was Jon and Shani’s Wedding. It was a beautiful event with wonderful friends and family. Ya!

 

Groomsmen - I grew up with these guys

 

 

Family!!!

 

 

Preparing for the ceremony at Stacey's in Bozeman

 

 

Helping the groom get ready for the big day

 

 

Adam and Jon

 

 

Shoot'n pool at Stacey's

 

 

Cousins!