The Long Road Home

We left Minnesota around 11 PM Saturday night. On the way out of town we made a quick stop at the Mall of America to snap some photos and whatnot. Then we continued onward driving throughout the night and the next day with only a few power naps here and there. By Sunday afternoon we were in Grand Island, Nebraska again, with hopes of finding Ryan's forgotten skateboard. But all hope was lost when some local said he was "pretty sure he saw the board" and another added, "yeah so-and-so, if they find a board, will usually take it and divide the parts up between them" or something along those lines. From the sound of it Ryan's board had been taken, dismembered, and dispersed among some Nebraska savages. After the short stop in Grand Island it was onward to Laramie, Wyoming and the skatepark that was closed on our way through before. We skated for a couple hours, a welcome break after driving almost nonstop through Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. But the Journey was hardly over. We left Laramie with a plan to make it to Salt Lake City in order to see the Great Salt Lake Monday morning...and we made it. 3 AM parked on the side of the road in front of the lake to sleep. And finally, today we left Utah this morning and drove all day, arriving home after two great weeks on the road.

Clearwater, MN

On Saturday we went fishing at Clearwater Lake with Tyler's uncle. We each caught several fish each and had a nice relaxing day on the lake.

Minneapolis, MN

Today we drove into Minneapolis to check out Fobia Skateshop and 3rd Lair Skatepark. It turns out Fobia closed down a couple of years ago, so we ate some food at Perkins diner and then went to 3rd Lair. The park is all wooden, part indoor, and part outdoor. It was pretty fun, we skated two bowls and the street course for about 6 hours and as always got some video of it all. Then we headed back to Robinsdale where we are staying with Tyler's uncles. We were planning on leaving tomorrow morning, but I guess we're going to go fishing, so we'll leave tomorrow night on the long journey back to California.

Robinsdale, MN

We arrived in Robinsdale this afternoon and were hanging around with Tyler's uncles when the real fun began. After hearing that we had brought fireworks both Tyler's uncles were eager to show us how to have a Roman Candle battle. Apparently it has the potential to be dangerous, but who's thinking about that when a colored fire ball is rocketing at your face...oh we also lit off some nice rockets too.

Ramsey, MN

It was dark way before we got to our planned skate park stop in La Crosse, WI, so we skipped it and continued on our journey to Minnesota. We did stop at a fireworks store in Wisconsin, and picked up some explosives, which we carried with us into Minnesota for later detonation. For our first day or so in Minnesota we stayed with the Landwehr's in Ramsey (Tyler's friend's family in his old hometown), and for the next day or so we'll venture down to Robinsdale to Tyler's uncles.

Glenview, Il

We stopped at a park on our way out of Chicago. It was pretty fun, we filmed a couple of things, and then ventured onward to Wisconsin.

Videos Are Up!

We have finally posted some videos of some of our travels, so check them out.

Wheaton, IL

Today we got out and checked out a in the neighboring town of Wheaton. It had a perfect 5 foot mini ramp that we skated. Today's our last day here in Chicago before we head for Minnesota. We'd like to thank Jerry, Linda, Isabella, and Niko for being so kind as to let us stay with them, showing us around, and feeding us and of course Amanda for hanging out and setting the whole deal up... thanks a lot.

Chicago, IL

So we made it to Chicago. We have a place to stay finally, so we rested up for a day. Yesterday we checked out downtown and went to the Air and Water show. After that we went on Navy Pier and checked all that out. We are probably gonna head out to couple local parks in a bit.

Davenport, IA

On the way to Davenport we passed the worlds largest truck stop, so naturally we went there and took some photos. We arrived at Davenport in awe, the park was huge, colorful and located on the Mississippi River. The park is ridiculously fast, huge bowls, and awesome street section. It was open 24 hours so we ended up skating for 6 hours, then we finally decided at 3 in the morning we should head over to Chicago.

Iowa City, IA

After skating Urbandale, we headed to Iowa City skatepark. It was a pretty nice park, but it recently flooded so the coping was really sticky. The locals were really nice, like really nice. So far the more east we travel, the nicer people get. One guy was really interested in our trip and referred us to really good parks to stop at on the way to Chicago, and even what times are best to go. He informed us that Davenport had lights and was open 24 hours a day. So we stayed at Iowa City for 4 hours or so then headed off to Davenport.

Des Moines, IA

First things first...last night when we pulled into a rest stop to sleep, Ryan was packing the skateboards into the front seat at which point he looked at Tyler in shock and horror and asked, "Where's my board?" Then as the realization hit him that he forgot his board at the Grand Island, NE skate park, 300 miles away, and he fell into despair. But alas... let's talk about Iowa's rest stops, by far the nicest rest stops ever. Super clean, very big, automatic doors, toilets, and sinks, indoor area with cooling fans, computer with visitor information, free state maps, a counter with power outlets and seats, and best of all, FREE WIFI. So last night we slept at one of these world's best rest stops about a half hour from Des Moines. This morning we drove to a skate shop in a suburb of Des Moines called Urbandale so Ryan could buy a new complete : ( The shop was really cool, the owner was very helpful, telling us all about all the skate parks from Iowa to Chicago, and every deck purchase came with a free mix CD made by the owner, we picked out the one titled, "The Chickz Like, Totally Awesome 80s." After leaving the shop we skated the local park, which had super nice wooden ramps. We are now on our way to Iowa City to skate the park there, then to Davenport, and finally to Chicago.

Grand Island, NE

We started today off at a Nebraska rest stop and I must say it was nowhere near the standards of the Wyoming rest stops. We cooked a gigantic breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes and once again continued eastward, this time 200 or more miles to Grand Island, NE. The Grand Island skate park was awesome, for several reasons. First of all it was a nicely laid out park with plenty of lines and fun obstacles to skate. Second, the locals are some of the nicest people we've met at any skate park anywhere. And lastly, it was set in a scenic little park with a lake and everything. We skated for about 4 or 5 hours and got a bunch of things on video. Fun fact: Grand Island's traffic lights are sideways...wonder if its like that anywhere else? We are now just leaving; it's too dark to skate in Lincoln, so we've decided to skip it and make it to Iowa tonight.

Laramie, WY

By the time we got to Laramie it was dusk already. However, it didn't really matter because Laramie's skate park was closed because the concrete had recently been repaired, buffed, and waxed. But we drove all the way to Wyoming to skate so us and a local hopped the fence and skated until it was too dark to see. Then it was off to Cheyenne. In between Laramie and Cheyenne right off I80, at a rest stop, is a monument to Abraham Lincoln, so naturally we stopped and took some pictures in front of the giant statue of the 16th President. By the time we got to Cheyenne it was way too late to skate the park, so we just stopped at a Super Walmart to stock up on food and water and hit the road again. Our plan was to spend the night at a rest stop as soon as we got to Nebraska, but due to a mix up involving the mistaking of "Next Rest Area 75 Miles" and "Next Rest Area 7.5 Miles" we ended up driving 100 plus miles into Nebraska.

Green River, WY

So we went on the scenic wild horse loop, which was pretty cool except for the fact that we saw no wild horses. The loop was about a ten mile dirt road along a cliff overlooking rural Wyoming, which then turned and went out into the middle of nowhere. We got some pictures of the landscape and some antelope and then headed for Laramie, WY.

Green River, WY

First words.... Awesome. Wyoming is the best state so far, by far. Clearly the best rest stops, super clean, smell good, and sweet sinks. Then we pulled into the nicest TA (Travel America) to stock up on ice and score an atlas. We then ventured onward to Green River where we spent the night at the tourist information center. Then today, we entered this information center to inquire as to the whereabouts of the local skate park facility. Turns out Green River as more than just a skate park, we are now heading to check out some wild horses, sand dunes, and maybe an ancient volcano. Oh yeah, and we already skated the park , which was made of metal, but still fun.

Layton, Utah

We searched for the Layton park for hours. By the time we found a park it was already dark and the park we found wasn't even the Layton park. Luckily, some local skaters told us how to find the Layton park, which was nicely lit for some nighttime skating. Unfortunately the park was overrun with bikers and thus very scary to skate. But we skated, got some footage, and then headed off to Wyoming.

Salt Lake City, Utah

To sum this up.....Salt Lake City sucks. Except for the free Subway lunch and the park:)

The city was designed using some crazy Mormon code. Nothing makes sense when driving. 900 E street goes South and is at least 20 miles from 800 E which goes West. Well the park was pretty fun. Locals seemed nice. We will post some GOOD directions later, since they are unheard of these days.

Utah, Salt Flats

Alright yesterday, we stopped at the Utah Salt Flats. They were amazing, we got the car up to about 170 on the race course. We got some awesome footy too...

Reno & Lovelock, NV

Skated the Reno Park yesterday. It had some pretty fun banks and hips and a giant volcano-like object to skate. We both got some tricks on video, which we will upload here when we get a chance. After leaving Reno we drove to Lovelock, about an hour and a half drive away to skate a park there. Unfortunately it was too dark to get any video and we only skated for half an hour. Then we hit the road again, and drove until we got tired where we pulled off at a rest stop, cooked some grilled cheese and slept in the car.

Picture: Lovelock Park (taken at night, no tri-pod, super slow shutter speed : )

Reno, NV

Just arrived in Reno, about to go check the park.