Museum of Industry, Waltham, MA

Frog pond

Winter in boston common

Beacon Hill gatepost

Beacon Hill elevator

Ducks in Boston Public Garden

Winter in the city

At rest

The things my dog puts up with!

Walking the dog

My favorite dog, Snoopy, from my brief career as aprofessional dog
walker.

Squirrells, Boston Common

You can't see him, but there's a man feeding them pecans.

Louisville, KY

I'm at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant just outside of Louisville.
Yesterday I drove a little over 500 miles and made it into St. Louis
around 11pm. I can make good time when I want to!

I'm head for Virginia tonight, but likely won't make it that far. Too
many stops today and one detour to St. Meinrad's Archabbey in Indiana.
Pictures below.

I've just figured out that I'm only 50 miles from Gethsemani, Thomas
Merton's abbey, but unfortunately it is completely the opposite
direction from where I'm headed. If I'd realized how close I was going
to be earlier I would have planned my day a bit better, but the
pilgrimmage is going to have to wait until another time.

And now, dinner. Right after I post some pics.

Abilene, KS

It's a brick Victorian, which I don't think I've ever seen before. I was
going to pay the monstrous $10 for the tour because I love Victorians,
but sadly they had closed up early to prepare for their Halloween tour
and I didn't have 6 hours to sit around waiting when I could spend that
time driving.

I am currently in Kansas City and now that my back is feeling a bit
better, I'm hoping to get at least halfway across Missouri tonight. I am
tempted to stop in time to catch Threshold and Numb3rs though :)

Stuck in Denver

My back was twinging a bit last night. This morning I woke up in full
spasm. This isn't the sort of thing that goes away with a few days rest,
so I googled like mad for a chiropractor and found this guy who sounded
like he'd be pretty good.

When I called he said he was probably too far away for me to drive in so
much pain, so he referred me to someone a bit closer. Jackpot! I cannot
believe how much better I feel just from one treatment. Guys was totally
amazing.

Incredibly, he also gave me names of chiropractors he knows along my
entire route home, including one in Boston. I should be hitting the road
again tomorrow.

The hot springs visit was a total mistake. I've never gone from a slight
twinge to full spasm I less than 8 hours before. Usually it takes a few
days. The heat must have completely inflamed the area. I usually take a
very cold shower after "taking the waters", but even the showers at
Glenwoods came from the spring, so I didn't have the opprtunity to cool
down my back until many hours later, and by then it was too late.

Louise on the dash

Oh, yes.

The road between Canyonlands and Arches

Canyonlands NP

Yes, I was standing right at the rim to take this photo, and yes I was
hyperventilating as I took it :)

Canyonlands NP

After visiting Arches yesterday, I have to say I find Canyonlands far
less impressive. Of course, I only visited one section of the park
because the other two sections are each at least 100 miles from each
other.

The canyon itself is impressive, but I don't find it as spectacular as
the Grand Canyon.

When I visited the south rim of Grand Canyon I remember walking through
the shrubbery that carefully veils the Canyon itself from the roadway
and I immediately burst into tears as I stepped through and saw the
Canyon with my own eyes. Grand Canyon is still, by far, the most
magnificent place I have ever visited.

The Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands is only 33 miles from
Arches and yet the landscape could not be more different. The Martian
red rock gives way to grasslands, shrubs and small trees. Compared to
Southern California and Nevada, it is almost lush, and it seems much
less desert-like, though it is still technically desert land.

Here are some photos of the Canyons. I would have taken more, but I
forgot to charge the Sidekick last night and lost power 10 minutes after
entering the park.