Jul 6, 2013

We woke up to knocking on our tent and a voice saying, "You can't camp here.. should have read the signs..." It trailed off, but I acknowledged the man and we began to pack up immediately. If the only punishment for free camping at a rest area is a wake up call I think it's a good deal. We hopped back on the highway after brushing teeths, continuing into Montana on the long, flat road.

Our research led us to Makoshika State Park's disc golf course. We parked, hung the tent's rain guard on the bike rack to dry, and then walked up the hill to this amazing scene. It was a beautiful mix of desert, mountains, and greens. The first few shots were over the tops of these little plateaus rising up out of the sand washes. The course basically followed the washes around the larger hills and back.

There were a few prickly plants to watch out for along the way. The website suggested watching for snakes so we were trying to be wary of that, but we never saw any.

Some of the later shots were from tees on the tops of plateaus to the large slots around blind corners. There were quite a few times I had to wander around looking for my disc in the brush.

The course was really unique and awesome to play. I liked shooting through a tiny opening between two tall rocks and around the narrow washes. We went to the visitor center before leaving where I picked up a new Buzzz for my bag. I just really liked the pink disc with a dinosaur on it.

We continued down the road to Billings, which turns out to have quite a few microbreweries on its map. We got there just in time for Montana Brewing to be opening. I went ahead and did a full sampler, which seemed like a good idea at the time. I enjoyed everything I tried, especially the Golden and the IPA. We were there for a while as I sipped on 40 oz. of beer.

We decided to walk to all of the breweries because they were quite close together. It was a nice day and good town for walking. Along the way this little guy was on the sidewalk, just chilling. He didn't run away when I got close so I'm not sure if he was hurt, but he sure is cute/ugly.

We went over to Carter's Brewing next, where I got 4 samples of their offerings. This was another case of them not having any of the beers I was excited about from reading their website. People need to update their shit! Their De-Railed IPA and the Black Magic Porter were both quite good though. When a woman was smoking and throwing her cigarettes on the ground right next to me I decided it best to leave before talking to her. On our way around we stopped at another brewpub that had a cover in the middle of the day so we turned around and skipped that one. Angry Hank's was our last stop, where I got quick sips of all of the beers, enjoying their red ale the most so I got a pint because, again, I felt like I had to.

I was a bit drunk by the time we got to Diamond X DGC which is just outside of town. We almost played this last time we were here, so this time we were in. The course is a huge expanse with long fairways on the side of steep hills. There were uphill shots, dropoffs, and some just really precarious shots on the edge of the plateau.

The middle of the course had us shooting up a steep hill and the next shot was directly on the side of the steep and rocky landscape. Once we ascended to the top it was a little hard to follow, but we did what we could. It was starting to get dark and we could hear thunder in the distance so we started to pack it in when we came across a couple of crazy guys who had found a rattlesnake and then beat it to death in front of us as a trophy. These same guys showed us the absolutely crazy shot off the side of the several-hundred-foot-high cliff. It might have been 1000', but I'm not sure. They shot several discs straight down to the desert below, sometimes coming pretty close to a good shot on the basket. We decided to pass on this, although if it had been daytime and not about to lightning I'd have thrown a lot.

The rain fell hard after we got back to the car with lots of lightning. We stopped at a grocery store for a few things and then headed to Bozeman, where our couch surfing hosts for the night had a spare room with a bed for us. Their kid was very talkative and friendly, as was their cat, who spent a lot of time with us.

Jul 5, 2013

It was a restful night's sleep in the basement and I woke up wanting to get a shower while I could. Somehow I could not figure out how to use their shower, so I did the only thing I could: I bathed in the water using my hands to scoop it onto me. Whatever works. Joanna was lucky enough to have it explained to her later that the switch was up inside the faucet, which I have never seen before.

I offered to help Mitch attach some flower beds he built to his car and followed him over to the woman he built them for's house to help him get them down. It was an overall really nice experience. Mitch and Jo were amazingly generous hosts and supremely friendly people. I enjoyed helping with such a simple task as well. It made me feel good to be able to lighten even the smallest load to repay their kindness.

We went to a nearby gyro place and got some food to go. We ate some in the parking lot of Hidden Lake DGC, which we did have some trouble finding. The course was mostly in the woods, with some elevation on most holes. It was really tight most of the time so an errant shot had us searching for a while. The back nine opened up quite a bit, making for some interesting downhill shots.

The field shots were fun, but then we were back into the woods and then shooting over water. The swampy water area was rough because of the high grass and narrow openings to the baskets. I managed to stay out of the water, but I scratched my legs going through brush looking for my disc.

Granite City Brewery was a quick stop along our route. They seem like a bigger sports bar type of place, but the bartender was amazingly friendly and knew what she was talking about. I really enjoyed their beer, especially the lighter ones, so I was happily surprised.

After a bit more driving we got to our next course, either called Jamestown Reservoir or Island DGC, depending on where you look. The course actually does start on an island above the large reservoir. There were some great long open shots in the first several holes, then we got to some of the damaged area from flooding.

We had read that the course was damaged by flooding over the past months, and that was very evident when coming to a basket that had clearly been totally submerged not too long ago. There were dead fish all over the banks of the reservoir on both sides.

Another couple of baskets were still totally submerged. This basket was so far out that it's hard to imagine that it was dry land not too long ago. The course played pretty fun for the holes we could play. There was some water hazards that I think were intentional, but it's hard to tell at this point. The back of the course was very different and had some big elevation with a fun straight dropoff shot.

We finished out the course, which was very expansive, and got back on I-94 for a few hours before coming to a rest stop with a nice tree line behind it where we decided to set up the tent. Joanna's car really isn't made for sleeping so we decided to take a chance on camping. What's the worst that could happen?

Jul 4, 2013

We finished our drive through Illinois and into Wisconsin in the morning. We found a nice course in Madison called Hiestand Park. We neglected to get any pictures there somehow, but it was fun. There were a lot of hills, up and down shots, narrow shots through trees, and wide open shots through fields. The shots were varied as well so it made for a fun game. After the game we went to Vintage Brewing where I got a handful of samples, then over to Bunky's Falafel for lunch. We got falafel wraps that were amazing and we got some wonderful baklava for dessert.

We drove a few more hours to Minneapolis where we went to Blue Ribbon Pines DGC, an amazingly well laid out course. The course starts up with some long open shots and then into the woods, where there is an awesome shot straight down a lane of tall trees.

There were cool wood carvings on the trees throughout the course, including a big blue ribbon in a tall stump that we climbed on. And of course Rocky.

On the way through we passed a little tiki bar where, when it's open, you can get beers on the way through the course. There were several shots out and over a ten foot wide stream from the woods. My shot flew far and landed directly in the water. We did some searching with the rakes that are in the murky, dirty water for that purpose, but no luck. The Buzzz was gone.

The course zig-zagged back and forth over that stagnant creek, but on the other side the tees were farther away. I was happy to see driving range measurements set up at one of the later holes so I could finally take some shots and see how far I could shoot. I got somewhere near 300. I wish I could spend a while just shooting for distance.

The course finished up in the woods with a nicely designed rock altar for the final basket. Definitely a course that's worth coming back to on a day that the operations are open.

We went back to Minneapolis to see what was going on downtown. We saw fireworks going off all over on our way to the city and people were lighting them off in parking lots when we got closer. None of the local breweries were open because of the holiday I guess, which we found strange. We went farther out of town to Northbound Smokehouse Brewery where I got a couple of pints as we hung out talking.

We met up with our couch surfing hosts for the night, Mitch and Jo, who were amazingly friendly and welcoming. They gave us the basement space with an air mattress. It was quite comfy accommodations and they seem like really cool people. 

July 3, 2013

We got a later start than planned because it takes a long time to get from my house to Joanna's. Once I got there we packed up her car, trying to figure out where everything fit well in the trunk and backseat, then got on the road for this year's road trip. It was slow going for a while as we left Jersey, but after that it was pretty smooth across PA. Once we got into Ohio, we found Hudson Springs disc golf course and stopped for a mid-afternoon game.

The course starts off with some shorter holes over small, rolling hills and through some groves of trees along the main park road. There were a few nice fairways that challenged us, but the harder stuff came on the back nine.

The course opens up quickly, with long and wide open shots through a huge field. This gives way to some more wooded holes that wrap around and come back for several more long arm shots through the grassy field to wrap it up. Definitely a fun little course.

We got back on the road through Ohio and Indiana into Chicago. This drive seems so familiar by now. We went to Quesadilla Mexican while we were in town and got some tacos to eat in the car. After we escaped the metro area we found a place to camp for the night. Not a bad first day of travel.

Jul 2, 2013

I spent most of the day going through more old trip photos, finding others that I really needed to work on and do something with. I finished updating my website to include more categories and better organization for potential clients. I'm much happier with it now. I went to Ryan's later for a workout at the school behind his house and then some Mario. I came home and finished packing my stuff for the trip tomorrow and put it in the car before trying to get to sleep.

Jul 1, 2013

I slept in for the day and decided to spend it relaxing. I went through my photos from my last trip and started pulling out my favorites. I always put off this step, which is annoying to me. I love some of these photos and I'm looking forward to shooting more. I just need to actually work on them and try to do something with them after that!

Jun 30, 2013

We went down to a place called The Bakery for breakfast in the morning. They didn't have a whole lot of vegan options so I got a hummus bagel that was quite lovely. After breakfast we continued walking to the historic part of New Paltz where the oldest houses are. It was a cool little walk into history and we did a lot of laughing. Joanna and I packed up our stuff and thanked Alex and Chuck for our place to stay. We had to go get our vegan dogs from Kosiner Brothers. Damn, was that a good hot dog. The slaw and relish really made it awesome. A great way to say goodbye to this town.

We hit Beacon Glades DGC on our way back home. The course was a great woods course with a few open shots. It was mostly narrow and somewhat hilly shots through trees, but it was fun. I almost lost a disc a few times, but that will happen anywhere. I'd definitely come back.

We headed to FDR Park to play their course, but it started to rain as soon as we got in. We abandoned that plan, but soon after we left the rain stopped so we ended up at Leonard Park to play a round. This was another very wooded course with some rocky parts and elevation. This one was a lot of fun except for a few blind holes that I thought could be improved. The open area toward the end was quite muddy, but it was nice to be able to throw a long shot. I took Joanna home and dropped her off and then took the short long drive back to my house.