yep. “2100 isk in usd” into google is a valid query. try it. i spent most of the day surveying the globe with google earth. i want to go to iceland. so i was checking it out.

$$$.

everything costs money. but some money can be well spent. my waterproof jacket was a good buy. especially in the precipitous weather bozeman has been plagued with lately.

downtown for a few drinks with tyler. tomorrow sasquatch.

2100 isk in usd

so. my parents were just leaving. they had been out here for a week to celebrate my graduation from montana state. i get a call from my long lost friend nick neus. this kid lived next to me in the dorms.

i sold him my trek4500 for $50.

we were bullshittin about what we had been up to. i mentioned that i had been down in yellowstone with my family. i mentioned that the river looked tremendous. “funny you should say that” said neus. “we are going rafting on it today”. thirty minutes later i am loading a raft into the back of a rig.

trent was along too. i knew this kid during sophomore year. would party with him and keith out in the suburbs. i lived with rob. that was the connection. this kid trent knows more people than anyone else in bozeman. he grew up in kalispel and i swear to god every hot girl that walks by says “hi trent” with a giggle.

another kid who goes by his last name, sharp, was guiding and riding with us. he is from libby, but is philipino. don’t be fooled. this kid is full on montana. on the way out he was talking about how his friend shoved tara ried off of his rig. he said “get the fuck off my truck”. this was sharps fourth time guiding. the first was a success. he had flipped the last two. i didn’t know this yet.

we get there. a group of eleven in a raft meant for eight, and that is not including a cooler full with ninety busch lights. us four and then amanda, shanelle, victoria, jane1 and jane2 for the girls, and sam and adam. i reserve the right to make up the previous names because i am pretty sure there were not two janes. pump pump pump and then the raft is ready.

the water is cold as we load into the raft. the sun becomes hidden by thunderclouds. water gets in the boat. it is cold. sharp shouts some orders. we are floating. the river is at ninethousandplus seefees. that is cubic feet per second. at a temperature of about thrity six degrees fahrenheit. that is four degrees above freezing. four. at least the lifevest around my chest was keeping me warm.

we hit the first little rapid. it is nothing. i slam a beer. the girl sitting next to me, jane1, is absolutely gorgeous. she has brown skin, friendly eyes, a stunning smile, sexy body hidden under a skimpy bikini, and it is cold. she looked so cute as she sat there shivering, holding onto the cooler as if it would stay in the boat. we chat a bit.

“all forward, we need to hit this fast” sharp shouts.

we drop down about four feet only to hit a ten foot wall on the other side. the water is rushing. it is churning. our raft must have looked like a tombstone as it flipped up completely vertical in the hole. there was so much weight in the back it was no wonder. eleven where eight should have been. everyone is thrown out. the raft tumbles.

ninety beers begin to drift. eleven people like drowned rats in hypothermal conditions. an upside down raft thanks to an unexperienced guide. as soon as i got my head above water i reached up and managed to grab a handle on the raft. as soon as i had my grip i was sucked down again. the rest of the rapids were minor compared to that first hole that we hit straight on.

i check around. i see three girls in front of me. sharp to my left. nick and amanda behind me. i hear shouts from everyone. so cold. i start swimming as hard as i can toward the near bank towing the raft behind. it seems futile. the raft was so heavy and stuck in the current. i start to grab paddles and shoes out of the river and throw them on the raft. the next set of rapids is quickly approaching. they are big. we have been in the water for more than three minutes. the order to abandon ship is given.

everyone scrambles like a rat to the shore. everyone except trent. just as i beach myself on the shore he stops. not more than fifty feet before the churning suck you under and freeze you to death nonconformities in the mighty yellowstone. what a bad ass. he single handedly saved the raft.

off to chico to warm up with some margaritas. then back to the boze for a heavy night of drinking. a bikes worth of beer you could say.

shanelle is a cutie. i hope to see her again.

early season on the yellowstone. a rafting adventure.com

“so what are you going to do now?” they all asked.

“travel” i told them.

“where?” they inquired.

“iceland.”

at this point about half wanted to know why with a look of disgust. the other half smiled and said “beautiful place” because they had been there. also, why not? it interests me.

so…. what have i done so far? absolutely nothing. and damn has it felt good.

i want to create a system to live vicariously through me. and a way to get advice from people in certain areas. perhaps have something that greps the blogs in the area that i will be traveling to in the new future. that way i could write my predictions and have them there as references. then when i was done i could write an ‘after action report’. thank you jrotc. i was the brigade commander. hah, me. cadet colonel eric weinert. sitting here now that seems like ages ago. as i sit here sipping scape goat pale ale. different times. different worlds.

that was tyler on the phone. he wanted to know if i went camping in yellowstone. i was supposed to. i want to break in my camping gear. like i said, i have been doing absolutely nothing. not including me fixing the internet and cleaning up my kitchen or making a few killer tuna melts. killer.

i heard a man whistle at 2600 Hz today. well, it was a recording of a recording of a recording (long story). but the point is that back in the day that used to be hacking. if you whistled at a certain frequency near a phone, you could be convicted of a felony. i wonder if i could commit a felony by listening to that recording by a phone? and if i did, would i have habeus corpus?

the greater good is probably one of the better songs off of year zero. the album is just too noisy.

so anyway. the title of this _____ is …. well you can read. so. i need to get some. i will make some travel plans this week. and then get ready to party my assss off at sasquatch. i have to do things right. and getting it right should become trivial once i decide to do it. it is just that initial push. i hate taking that step.

don’t worry. i’m a limo driver.

discipline*