Travel Tips

I first headed north to Laughlin and Northern Arizona, attempting to find my way to Tuweep, an isolated point on the Grand Canyon's northern rim accessible only by dirt road and lacking most services. After stopping in Colorado City, home of the Mormon fundamentalists who dress not unlike the Amish, briefly to get supplies, I headed south on what I thought was the road in. I made it about 3 miles through rocks, ruts and general one-lane road hell until I determined that I should not go further for fear of severely damaging my car. So, that failed, I flipped around and headed for Marble Canyon. Eventually, I went back to Tucson for a friend's party, and stayed a couple of nights with a friend, since I was now officially homeless.
Now the real trip could begin. Heading north, I found my way to Reserve and set up my first night's camp alone on a paved logging road outside of town. I have pictures of what turned out to be a long and very introspective night. The next morning, up to Albuquerque, on to Colorado Springs, and then, finally, to Boulder, where I had a friend who lived there with no job and no prospects.

I spent roughly a month and a half, partially in Boulder and Denver, remaining there only because the weather was so nice, living between my friend's apartment and a cheap hotel in Denver's Tech Center, and a roughly two-week-long trip to the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes trip first involved more bumming, this time in the hotel room (and same bed) as a friend who was in Chicago for a conference. So, after a bumpy flight to Midway from Denver, I checked out a car, parked it on Wabash Avenue at the south edge of The Loop, and, the next morning, drove up to Wisconsin via the Lake Michigan shore. This was early May, but it was still cold in Chicago, was, at times, rainy, and, of course, it was windy. But a nice trip, and I spent the rest of the time car-less wandering around Downtown and on the El and METRA lines into the suburbs.
Chicago culminated with an overnight train to Cleveland to start venturing into states and cities that I had never before visited. I left Chicago at about 10:30 and arrived in Cleveland at about 6am. The first resident I encountered, who was disappointed to find no taxis waiting at the train station, elected to show me how to reach my hotel Downtown. The was to be the first of many extremely nice people I encountered while in Cleveland. The hotel (Hampton Inn) let me eat their breakfast and let me check in at about 9:30am, where I quickly fell asleep, having gotten almost none on the train.

The next morning I obtained a car at Cleveland's airport. Cleveland was one of the first cities in the US to connect its airport to its train system. It seems like it would be intuitive, but it's obviously not if you've ever been to, say, Phoenix or Washington Dulles. I spent the morning driving the car around Cleveland with the intention of heading off midday toward Buffalo, but absolutely fell in love with the city. People think I'm crazy now, but I really do like Cleveland, now having spent some time there. But, of course, this was mid-May, and I may have had a different view had I come in the winter.
I finally got off on the road toward Buffalo, avoiding the tollway (no job, remember) and taking the old highway along the lakeshore which, as it turns out, is fairly empty but very beautiful. The whole route past Ashtabula was: vineyard, iconic home, beautiful lake view. It actually got a bit monotonous after a while.
I finally got to Buffalo at around 9pm and found my hotel, the Red Roof near the SUNY campus. I had wanted to come to Buffalo for several years for a couple of different reasons. For one, Vincent D'Onofrio's "Buffalo '66," whereas others find it strange and depressing, showcased the city well and is one of my favorite films. Also, I had read a great deal about the Buffalo Central Terminal, a 10+-story building east of Downtown that had only briefly served as a grand railway station, before being completely abandoned in the 1970's as the railroads went into severe decline. I had only expected to just drive by the building but, staying just a bit longer than I had originally intended (I truncated my trip so that I wasn't spending as much time in Vermont and Albany), I stumbled upon an art show and fundraiser. I spent almost an hour wandering the facility, snapping pictures and chatting with one of the caretakers, who was happy to show off various areas and talk about the building's history. I bought a compilation CD of Buffalo bands (although it had no Goo Goo Dolls, Mercury Rev or Knife Crazy tracks) and left very, very happy.
But that was the last day. The first day, I had arranged to meet with my Canadian (by choice) relatives from Toronto on the other side of the border at Niagara Falls. I had visited Niagara Falls once when I was young, but didn't remember much at all.