Why Austin #2

One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately... Halloween! This will be the first Halloween in the history of my life that I won't be out walking around while freezing my butt off! YAY!

I'm so lucky, one of my wonderful friends, Kris, is already planning a visit for Halloween weekend. I can't wait! We're going to go on an Austin Ghost Tour. This is a one and a half hour downtown walking tour led by a guide armed with extensive knowledge of the history of Austin and it's people.  The special Halloween Ghost Tour 2009 consists of a sacred artesian well and the disembodied souls roaming the streets and alleyways of Austin.

One Week To Go!

Well... as of today I have one more week in Boise, Idaho... ONE MORE WEEK!!! It's the most surreal feeling and I can hardly even wrap my brain around it. Next Sunday at this time I'll be getting close to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where I'll be spending the first night of my 3 day road trip. 


My friend, Carrie, will be making the trip down with me and I could not be happier about this. She's an adventure loving, road tripper and I KNOW we're going to have a wonderful time! The other day Carrie came over to go over our route and we found a website, Roadside America, where you can look up roadside attractions and oddities by the name of the town. Here are a few of the attractions we're looking forward to:


The Swetsville Zoo in Fort Collins, CO. A menagerie of metal "animal" sculptures started in 1985 crafted from car parts, farm machinery and scrap metal. 


Giant Head of Abraham Lincoln in Laramie, WY. This is a very strange looking, enormous stone monument with a HUGE bronze sculpted head of Abraham Lincoln on top.



A Genuine Pyramid in Buford, WY. This was erected in honor of a couple of 19th century industrialists, the Ames Brothers. I have no idea what they did to deserve this, but I want to see it.



World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, KS. When we began looking for our roadside attractions, I jokingly told Carrie, "we need to see obscure crap like the world's largest ball of twine!" Lo and behold.... we found it. I'm not positive it will be on our way, but you know it will be the world's most awesome facebook photo if it is.



Blue Whale in Catoosa, OK. Originally built by an alligator farmer as something fun for the kids, the whale features a diving platform on the tail and a slide coming out of it's head.



A Liger in Broken Arrow, OK. How could you ever pass up seeing Napoleon Dynamite's favorite animal, the liger, as well as tigers, lions, bears, wolves and just about any other animal that someone else just didn't want to take care of anymore. If you can't afford a real safari Safari's Sanctuary is the way to go and it helps support the care of these rescued animals.



Cowchip Throwing Capital of the World in Beaver, OK. Cow chips, the dried remains of cow dung, are the Frisbees of the prairie. Flinging them has flung this small town to national fame. Complete with a giant beaver sculpture holding a giant cowchip!


There are a lot more stops we plan to make along the way and I think we're going to come away with some great pictures. I'm so very excited and I can't wait until the U-Haul is packed and everything is ready to go!