Go West Young Man!

Our first night in the tent. Camping as an adult is so much better than as a kid. Its funny how imprisioned you feel as a kid being forced to go camping. I always felt that way. It's uncomfortable, like being in your underwear at your grandparent's. I slept solidly and am glad Jordan and I sprung for decent sleeping pads, bags and the dome tent. In the morning I lay in my bag and hear a dad yelling at his kids a couple sites over to "keep your damn shoes out of the tent" and see his teenage daughter texting furiously.

The Oklahoma panhandle is beautiful. Millions of acres of knee high grass blur the horizon and hide the curve of the earth. We're now two days from home and it feels like a real trip. Texas lingers below us by only twenty miles at points and we pass just North of a large storm and see it roll by in it's entirety. Jordan and I take turns buzzing eachother and alternating lead position. I feel like we're the only people on the road. We make it to Boise City late in the afternoon and the sky bruises as the sun sinks below the horizon.

Crossing the border into New Mexico Jordan pumps his fist triumphantly in front of me. The grassland crosses the border but the plains heave up scattered rocky plateaus now. It's dark at this point and cold for the first time. This is the first time we've ridden without at least city lights to guide us and I see a great beast lumbering along the side of 412. My heart races and I get goose bumps. Gord and I stop at a gas station and I ask "Did you by any chance notice that huge unidentifieable creature coming in?" which he did. After some deliberation he setteles on a baby buffalo (seriously) and I am split between bear and a man sized wolf.

We reach a KOA campground and are disgusted. This is where camping comes to die. The place is expensive and full of gray hairs. We bail for nearby Clayton Lake State Park, about 12 miles outside of town. Riding in we get lost and end up on a washed out service road in the middle of the park. We finally turn back and find the campsites. We build a big ass fire and my freaked mind is soothed while we stare up at the most unpolluted night sky I have seen in my life. There are more stars than space.