breakfast with jack layton part 2

the following is part 2 to my trip. read part 1 first.

i started off.
i got to see some cool cities. san antonio, austin, waco. but the highlight of the trip was probably pulling into oklahoma city and making tyler butel get out of bed to let me crash at his place. it was sweet to see a friend on the journey.
after i left oklahoma city, i popped in "The Shack". apparently its the hot thing these days. i listened as roger mueller read the story. this book is also apparently pretty controversial, although i am still not sure what the big deal is. its a work of fiction, one guys opinion of who God is and how he works. cheesy in some spots. but will likely strike up some conversation. if youve read it, let me know what you think.
anyway, that got me through northern oklahoma and kansas. made a crucial pit stop at Alef's Harley Davidson in wichita. the place was huge.
now i was in nebraska. that sucked. i had only been to nebraska once before and i didnt care for it much then. i was quickly reminded why. as i drove through small towns with signs saying "founded in 1857" i often wondered "who thought it would be a good idea for 210 people to live here. right in the middle of nowhere." it is worse than manitoba...ok, well maybe not that bad. and they did have free pregnancy tests at a clinic. i was too slow with my camera to get a picture but the sign said "Free Pregnancy Tests. Parking in Rear". i chuckled.

south dakota was nicer. hills and vallleys. great sunset. and by the time i got to north dakota it was dark. which is ok with me. i turned north from bismarck and officer 236 decided that i was going to fast. he pulled me over and gave me a 50$ ticket. i am still sure the sign said 75mph not 70. not impressed.
i made it to minot that night and found a hotel and was out before my head hit the pillow.
i drove to the border where i was to meet a guy to import the vehicle (the reason for this whole trip). i beat him there so i decided to head down to the local bar/restaurant/ice cream shop/parcel pick up/ local indoor smoking room where i had breakfast with jack layton. youre right, it was not jack layton at all, but it looked just like him. and i wasnt sitting with him. i was near there table where i heard conversations about wives. one guy piped up "i dont have one of those anymore. i found out she was dating someone else, cashed her out, and asked her to leave". i thought that was a nice way to put it.


anyway, 2198 miles later, im back in saskatoon. tired and smelly. but got to see a lot of country the last few days. check out a few pictures on flickr.