Giving The Run-Around to Arkansas..

Date: The thirty-first of August in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven.
Time: 3:41 CST
Location: 30 miles west of Little Rock
Music: Bright Eyes
Mood: Conducive

We will be sure to tell Bill hi.


We left Oklahoma with sad hearts. That state welcomed us in and encouraged us to buy guns, shop at Wal Mart, and go to church. Gail Payne gave us plenty of Southern Hospitality (not Southern Comfort, easy mistake to make) and we are forever obliged. She offered to enter any films I might make into the Muskogee Film Festival and told Jordan to stay in touch. Sweet lady with two beds, warm water and Total for breakfast. Boo-Yah.

We are currently fueled by sunflower seeds. Jordan has decided to fill an entire one liter bottle with his spittle and shells. The container formally contained a strawberry-banana smoothie which has been long finished. We have consumed more sunflower seeds than anything else.


Speaking of eating, we have yet to purchase a real meal. We have bought coffee, seeds, and then this morning three Taquitos for 99 cents apiece. Good purchase. Real good.


Arkansas has great bathrooms in their gas stations and propaganda on their billboards.
Also, beautiful trees and bodies of water.


Nashville is within reach. The next two days are as empty as our bellies. We couldn’t be happier (unless Jason Bateman were to show up and offer us Asian massages).

Just passed 1700 miles.


I love it when cows and horses coexist. It makes me feel all smiley and peaceful, like there’s hope for us humans.


Surrounded by trucks and straw hats we stick out like the Kalifornia Kids we are.

Arkansas has wisely used some federal dollars freed up by the Patriot Act to invest in some SUV’s for a couple of overweight white guys listening to Def Leopard and stroking their Fu Manchu’s to drive around in. They are the Arkansas Department of Homeland Security. I think those dollars could be better spent. Jordan and I are thinking of submitting a grant proposal for our own driving needs:
1. a whiffle bat and ball set
2. a fine pair of sunglasses (<$6.99)
3. an endless supply of seeds
4. double sided tape for sticking various memorabilia on our dashboard
5. a ceramic bust of David Hasselhoff (don’t hassle the ‘Hoff!) so Indie Rock Jesus could have a friend
6. a postcard from the Bill Clinton Library
7. a night stay at Toadsuck Park
8. a float on the Mississippi River
9. a place to sleep in Chicago
10. a conversation with some decent vagabonds and transients


The true mark of a town is its Howard Johnson’s (commonly referred to as HoJo’s)


Bring on the city. And our dreams.








Maybe a Laundromat.

And a pictoral journey of our friendship....

Date: 8/30/07
Time: 9:14 pm (CST)
Place: 40 miles West of Oklahoma City
Music: Rosie Thomas
Mood: Undecided

Well, the miles we have conquered. Much like our Anglo ancestors, we have seen the New World and we are taking on its Native peoples. Music has changed. Now listening to Sufjan because I was nervous that Rosie and Jordan wouldn’t get along as well with me off and blogging. So our old friend Sufjan shall deliver us his sweet vocal idiosynchracies. Familiarity breeds comfort and allows space for the comic and beautiful.


Numbers Game:
1300…..
miles driven

2……
Starbucks coffeeseeseesees apiece (one more on the way)

75……..
minutes of On The Road listened to on Audiobook (thanks Matt Dillon for your eager reading of Kerouac’s brilliant novel)

2…….
guys having a good time (who invited Steve?)


1……
asian massage requested by Jordono


3,729…….
Big rigs passed on the 40

Enough is enough.


We started this morning in NM (as most faithful readers know well) and now are taking in the beauty of Oklahoma. We would like to encourage you to keep voting for your favorite state based upon personal experience, but would like to share our feelings on each state. Without further ado.


Nuevo Mejico
Loads of road construction (making Indie rock Jesus stressed and carsick)
Drinking problem (we saw more “report DWI” signs than people.
Too much windsssss at night
Speed limit 75 mph
Good infrastructural art in Albuquerque
Pueblos are cool
Who invited the suburbs?

Texas
Don’t mess with it
Boasts largest cross in Western Hemisphere at exit 112, a “spiritual experience like no other” (apparently spiritual experiences are gauged based on size, proximity to freeway, and billboard effectiveness, Indie rock Jesus frowned, we mocked and then realized people were there worshipping at the awful white monstrosity)
Speed limit 70 mph (65 mph at night)
Has minimum speed limit on freeways
Horses
Nice Starbucks employees
Hollywood Tans

Oklahoma
More trees than others
Red moon
“Aunt” Gail Payne
Closer to Nashville
Smooth roads


As promised here are our five most anticipated locales:

Jordan:
1. Chicago (Cubs and Bloc Party)
2. Rolling Hills of North Carolina (or Kentucky)
3. Denver
4. Nashville
5. Iowa City

Tim:
1. The next bathroom
2. Nashville
3. Chicago
4. Denver
5. Omaha (and the following trek through the plains until the Rockies spring up like the mood when we see a Starbucks)

Today’s highlights:
DJ Weeb’s spinning of our favorite dance/hip-hop tracks. We danced, we grooved, we rapped, we laughed, we cried, and we snapped our fangles.
Ample photographic opportunities which we advantaged (that means took advantage of)
Amarillo Starbucks girls willing to give us as many plastic knives as we could ever need.
Just driving into Ok. City and seeing big city buildings (oh what a good skyline can do to a guy)
Anna making the volleyball team
Sheila’s new job (Go to Principle Wiebe’s Office, young man)
Doing Crystal Meth
Good conversations
Josh Ritter’s Thin Blue Flame
Anything Sparrow Love Crew


Hugs and kisses.

Nothingness.

The ride between Albuquerque and Amarillo was uneventful.

Across the Plains...

Date: 8/30/07,
Time: 10:23am
Location: 45 miles west of Albuquerque, Newt Meksico
Music: Bright Eyes ‘If the Brakeman Turns My Way’
Mood: Hopeful yet reserved=in need of coffee

Good morning to all of you loved ones. We are on the I-40 speeding our way towards Albukirk, Amarillo, OK Sity and beyond. So far, we have passed the Continental Divide, a store called Cactus Stuff!, a road sign declaring that ‘Gusty winds may exist’, an elder Indian man loitering on a freeway entrance ramp, and the fine town of Gallup at night. I’d like to review our past night as it was quite eventful.

We pulled into Flagstaff at approximately 6:30pm as we had hoped and proceeded to find the nearest Starbucks. After getting shady directions from a gas station attendant, we were finally able to commandeer a seat at a Starbucks on Route 66 extremely near to where we had originally came in. We just didn’t see it coming.( Side note: Flagstaff is a beautiful city. I thought I was in Oregoon more than Arizona. It’d be nice to have pine trees in one’s backyard.) After ascertaining favorite coffee beverages for each of us, we set down to a dinner of PB&J’s, Cheez-Its, beef jerky, and chewy Chips-A-Hoy mini-cookies. We played a little catch (my curveball was feeling inimitable) and downloaded a few podcasts as well as On the Road by Jack Kerouac on audiobook. After that, it was off to the races.

We booked it through Arizona and the first 60 miles of NM and arrived at our destination at 11:30 Pacific Standard Time, 12:30 Mountain West Time (our new TZ…..Tiime Zone, Tipzy Zebra, Tedious Zoroanastrianism, Turkish ZootSuits). After about 15 minutes of trying to find the showers and camp accordingly, we realized that New Mexicans (is that really what they are called?) like to call bathrooms with showers comfort stations. Well, we comforted ourselves right over to a camping next to the showers, set up our tent in what seemed to be 60 mile per hour winds and set down to sleep. After a slight gas scare (meaning we almost ran out), we are now about 20 miles outside of Albatross.

There are few things that I enjoy more than clouds. If I could, I would lay on the desert floor and watch them all day. I have resisted the urge to take a photo of every cloud I think is worthy of photographaphing while simultaneously batting down the tension and snapping away. Needles to say, I feel that my nature portfolio will be greatly increased by this trip. Along with staring at beautiful blue skies, I have been thinking a lot about the idea of space, both physical and in our lives. I think how we use, organize and think about the physical space in our lives is T related to how we feel about how things should be on the inside. Being in empty space with miles and miles of nature gives one a very reflective and fresh sense.

Here is our friend Indie Rock Jesus’ time so far…..

For Posterity's Sake...

shift the dominant paradigm.

A Little Farther Down the Road...

Date: 8/29/07
Time: 4:05pm
Location: Just inside of the Arizona border
Music: Peter Bjorn and John ‘Young Folks’
Mood: Sunflower Seeds
Weather: Bizarre

Well, just as I sat down to write my first foray into this little kuest, missile-like rain came pouring out of the Arizona sky. The odd thing is blue skies, cacti, and double wides surround us on every side. Maybe God is trying to tell us something. This shant be a foreshadowing of things to come. Tim exclaimed, ‘It just rained whilst being 110 degrees outside!’ That is why he is a grad student, folks. Using words like whilst get you far in life.

I would say our overall demeanor is strong to quite strong with the understanding that we are too overwhelmingly positive gentlenuts. Little to nothing has fazed us so far and, in fact, we have already remedied a situation that might prove more difficult to lesser roadees (and by roadees, I do not mean large, mullet-sporting, leather wearing, Poison and Def Lep-listening 45 year olds……..although that might be in the cards later in life for Tim). My iPod stopped working and froze; there was a moment of ‘what the?’ followed by immediate action. Through the wonders of technology, I was able to connect my laptop up to power (through a power inverter) and to my car audio (through the wonders of an FM transmitter). It is from that vantage point at which I write to you now. Amalgamated souls unite!

I would be inappropriate if I did not mention our so-far favorite item that we brought. After enrolling in independent study ceramics at Fresno Pacific University, I set out to create sculptures, useful articles of practical importante, One of these items was a bust of Jesus dressed in a black and white striped shirt, complete with long beard and long, parted hair. I decided to take the big JC along with us….I guess I figured it couldn’t hurt. Little did I know the fun to be had with a 7-inch ceramic version of Jesus. Tim and I have christened him Indie Rock Jesus. The Lord is definitely with us…….both figuratively and literally.

Our plan for the rest of the evening is to stop in Flagstaff for a fine PB and J dinner around 6:30 and continue on to our overnight stay at Bluewater Lake State Park in Prewitt, New Mehhhhico. We will pull in to our camping spot which as yet is unreserved, set up the tent and settle down for a beautiful night under the stars, a fine day of traveling under our belt.

Random thoughts to contemplate (in honor of Miguel de Yung)

-Arizona’s speed limit is 75. Bad news for California drivers.
-If you believe in heaven and hell, we have found the location for the underworld. Needles, California=lonely, desolate, and scorching.
-Weezer’s Blue Album is fine travel music across the desert. So is gangsta rap.
-If I could find a jackrabbit and catch it with my own hands in the desert, I believe I would have proven my manlihood in any Indian tribe except the Comanches. (pronounced Kuh-Manch-ssssssss). I am just waiting for the opportunity to open the car door at 75 mph and catch that agile, wiry rodent.

Coming soon:
-Top 5 Anticipated Locations
-Shinarump Road…..that must be a busy street.
-Queries of love and politics, spirituality and pick-a-part yards
-A picture story featuring Indie Rock Jesus

3.5 miles.

Date: 8/29/07
Time: 12:19
Music: Leslie Ann Levine by The Decemberists
Mood: “I’m feeling so good right now” said by Jordan Wiebe less than ten seconds ago.

3.5 miles are behind us. They were a good 3.5 miles. Mainly I used them to locate and then power up the old laptop. Jordan used those same 3.5 miles to comment on the beauty of the clouds before us. So far so good.

We are off to a late start. After grocery shopping and sipping champagne with dear loved ones (Nikki and Tristan) last night we decided a full night’s sleep was in order. Our campsite tonight is open 24 hours, so what’s the rush? Things to look forward to tonight: The stars, the new tent, peanutbutter and jelly. Our late start has not dappened any spirits, nay, we are flying high and giving the proverbial finger to the proverbial schedule. That is the reason for this trip anyway, break out of confines, become archaic in our search for freedom, etc. So even if it is our own schedule it must be sacrificed for the greater good.

Packing was smooth. We are well equipped to handle the road ahead. Some settling is expected over the next day or two and then we will realize what needs to be where and shall act accordingly.

We have come to the realization that one of the strengths of our trip is diversity. While Jordan and I are lacking in diversity, we embrace it at every turn. Let’s review:
Freeways, city streets, and lonely roads.
Deserts, mountains, rolling hills, and plains.
Hostels, houses, and tents (possibly the car)
Baseball game, concerts, and star-gazing (maybe gold panning)
Cities, campgrounds, and lakes (maybe Canada)


It is fair to say that we will be experiencing the full range of middle America.



Bring it on.

The Imminent Coming of Our Pathway

Here we sit, on a concrete patio in Pasadena. Indie and Bootels Haydock, the French Bulldog and Boston Terrior of the family, are frolicking abowt, yelping at everything that even remotely might resemble a cat. Tonight, we headed to the Ralphs on St. Johns Parkway and Colorado Boulevard to ascertain certain grocery items necessary for our trip. Such items included Big Cheez-Its, the ingredients for Peanut Butter and Jelly sam witches, 2 1-gallon bottles of water (we should be taking frequent bathroom stops........hopefully near cacti. or not.), chewy Chips-A-Hoy, baby wipes, a BAB of beef jerky, a roll of paper towels, Rock Star enerjay! and lots of trail mix. We hope to leave the Haydock residence by 9am, making our arrival in Albuquerque approximately 8pm. Disagreement has already arisen between the two compadres, mainly due to Jordan's infrequent social problems at expressing awkwardity. Breakings Newsss! We have decided to forsake our plans for an hour and a half trip past Albuquerque to an hour and a half before. Conveniently, the New Mexico state parks are situated nearly equally an hour and a half on either side of the Albukirk. We will be staying tomorrow at Bluewater Lake State Ppppppppark, sleeping under the stars. With that exciting news, its time to sleep. More to come.

rocksteady.

My first go.

I do believe this is my first blog ever. (Except that little fling with Zanga a few years back). In an effort to be responsible I will give a few thoughts on our upcoming trip.

A few auditory notes first. I will be asking for Wilco's Sky Blue Sky record early on. I think that this album (I classify it as Alt-Country Jazz Rock) is perfect for Arizona and New Mexican roads. I will then be requesting Great Northern's new full-length album. They are LA Indie-Pop. So are we. Ohio will make me reach for Over the Rhine. Chicago will lead me to Bloc Party (to sharpen up on my lyrics in preparation for the show) and Athlete (I don't know why). Every day I will want my Sparrow Love Crew fix (did someone ask for former Homecoming Kings rapping?) and I am hoping to introduce Jordan to my friend Rosie Thomas.
Many others will cross my ears. I can't wait.


I am trying to figure who is "you" and who is "me". Is "you" the audience, our readers and followers? That mould make "me" Jordan and I (as a unit). Or is Jordan "me" (it is his car) and I am "you"? I guess we have 5000 plus miles to sort it out. I do know who Derek Lee is

I have recently had a recurring nightmare of Jordan and I in his car. As the temperature doesn't drop and we get little sleep, we start fighting and pretty soon we are yelling outside of the car on the side of the highway. We don't know if we are in Oklahoma or Tennessee. Our peanut butter and jelly has run out. We smell bad. It is only 2 (maybe 3) days in. Nah, couldn't be. We will be happily singing/laughing along our merry way (just missing the touch of a woman other than Aunt Gail Payne).


Next episode: Wardrobe, dietary needs, and Buster loses his arm to a seal.

Initial Musings

Hello. You have come across the account of You, Me and Derek Lee, an epochal expedition set to take place in the next 3 weeks. Over the past 7 months, Tim Haydock, formerly of Clovis High, Fresno Christian and Fresno Pacific and current Fuller Theological Seminary grad student, and I, Jordan Wiebe, Mennonite-us Communitarian, have dreamed of an escapade to end all escapades, nay, a proverbial journey through the middle of America's heart and a literal traversion through torso of the America's over-abundant and trans-fatty physical body. Well, the time has come to strap out, ship up, shoo away the late summer blues and hit the road for an experience like no other. We will be leaving beautiful Pasadena, California next Wednesday morning, the 29th of August and beginning our trek across Mid-America. In the coming days pre-trip, we will be posting a myriad of informative tiddle-bits, including but not limited to: a trip itinerary, playlists, reading lists, anticipatory expectations of certain locales, traveler profiles, philosophical neuro-transmissions and a review of the possibilities, pitfalls and perils our journey will bring us. With that said, I share with you our Google Maps Itinerary.


View Larger Map

Two things need to be mentioned as disclaimers while perusing the map....
1. Like the true road warriors and spontaneous spirits we are, 2 to 3 days have been set aside between Nashville and Chicago to, in essence, do whatever we wish and desire. I am simply hoping we will not end up somewhere in the heights of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, sleeping in a 2 room 'hotel' on the side of an abandoned highway after being checked by a clerk named Wanda who has a mustache the size of Bryan Feil. Then again, Wanda might be adept and knowledgeable at 20th Century American literature and would be able to contribute to our intellectual converstimulation.
2. Some events have been added to each stop while others have not. For instance, in Chicago, tickets have already been purchased in order to attend the September 5th meeting of Cubs-Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Hopefully, you will be able to see Tim and I with our shirts off in the bleachers of the prettiest park in the Windy City, scrambling to find as many Derek Lee Bobbleheads as we can. (Hence the blog's name) Also left off of the map so far: David Bazan in Milwauke on 9/6, Bloc Party in Chicago on 9/7, Kings of Leon and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Vegas on 9/11.

With that said, cheers to fears, beers and the Sears.





Tower.