Yellowstone National Park, Day 1

When COVID-19 hit as a nationwide pandemic back around mid-March (maybe earlier for others), I had not yet planned on what I would do for a vacation for 2020. The year before, I had taken my dream trip traveling through a dozen states in two weeks and I knew that level of trip wasn’t likely to be replicated.

As the weeks of being quarantined and having to live much more isolated than I was used to, I decided to work on planning a trip to places that wouldn’t be shut down due to crowd concerns and would allow me to stay socially distanced from people while seeing some new places. Having already camped out a couple of times and finding a low number of people at those locations, I felt good about putting together a trip that would take me to several national parks and monuments in the western part of the U.S. - with Yellowstone National Park as the ultimate destination.

As I mentioned before, the year before I had taken a dream trip and visited places I had always wanted to see at some point in my life - the Gateway Arch, Wrigley Field, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Graceland were just some of those places I was able to see. By the time I left Yellowstone, however, I realized this was a place that have always been a centerpiece of must-see places on my “bucket list.”

On the fourth full day of the trip (which just happened to be Labor Day), I came in from the north via Montana, arriving at the north entrance. With snow in the forecast for that afternoon, I was in a bit of a rush but I also had numerous spots I wanted to see while I was there. And despite lots of research and planning ahead of time, I was not prepared for just how large the park was and how long it would take to get through the entire park. My advice for anything looking to plan a trip there in the future - make sure you give yourself at least two days and try for more if you have the time.

The first area I was able to check out was Mammoth Springs, which was a mixture of hot and cold and a great way to start out. I maneuvered my way south, checking out a series of geysers, creeks and falls along the west side of the park. Each stop brought a unique nature formation and was something I had never experienced prior to that moment.

As if the natural formations weren’t cool enough in the morning, seeing Fountain Paint Pot and Grand Prismatic around lunchtime was really impressive. The various colors emanating from the ground created scenery that my camera phone could only begin to show. And as exciting as it had been up until then, I knew I needed to keep moving so I could get to what is the most popular site at Yellowstone.

I arrived at Old Faithful relatively early in the afternoon and apparently arrived just minutes after it had performed a show for the crowd. The great thing about Old Faithful and a big reason it has that name is that it reliably spews hot water out of the ground numerous times a day and it was predicted that it would do so again within 90 minutes of my arrival. True to form, Old Faithful provided to be just that and did provide a brief show (somewhere around five minutes of actual water spewing routinely in the air) for the hundreds of us who sat around the fenced off area.

The cold that preceded the predicted snow was setting in and, of course, I had left my jacket in the rental car so I was eager to get moving after the geyser went back to being dormant. I hurried back to the vehicle (a small SUV for the mountainous drive), warmed up and got back on the road.

As it was mid-afternoon and I was only about halfway through the park, I knew I had a challenge ahead of me to get through the rest of Yellowstone. Unfortunately, I only made it another hour and had made it through the Yellowstone Lake section of the lake when the snow began to fall. So, I worked on making my way out of the south entrance to the park and focused on getting somewhere warm and getting back to the park the next day.

The Father of National Parks

Theodore Roosevelt is one of more interesting presidents in U.S. history. A Republican who took over for William McKinley after he was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt came in as a war hero who was somewhat controversial in that he was considered conservative on some issues and liberal on others. For someone like myself, however, he will forever be known as the president who advanced the concept of national parks.

Prior to Roosevelt, there were only four national parks and they were all west of the Mississippi. However, Roosevelt placed an emphasis on conservation so it was only natural that an expansion of nationally-protected land would take place during his administration. During his administration, he established 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land.

Roosevelt was such a strong advocate of national parks, he was known to visit them frequently during his time as president. And in 1978, Theodore Roosevelt National Park was opened in North Dakota in his honor. Roosevelt was also honored as part of Mount Rushmore, which I was able to see during the South Dakota part of my trip.

This national park was just one of the stops I made during my trip and the middle part of my trip the day I left South Dakota. My trek through Wyoming took me through Sundance - known for its now-famous film festival - before I turned north to view a sight that can't be missed in this part of the country.

The first major stop of the day was Devil’s Tower National Monument, which is located in northeast Wyoming. A protruding mass of rock standing out among the plains, Devil’s Tower has a history of being sacred among the tribal nations in the area and is a popular location for hiking and climbing. For me, it was a great opportunity for some photos and views of nature, and then on to the next stop. 

After going north through Wyoming and into Montana, I cut through to North Dakota before heading back through Montana to check out Pompey’s Pillar just east of Billings. Located near the Yellowstone River, this rock formation was part of the path taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The name “Pompey” actually stemmed from the son of famed native American guide Sacagawea - who was nicknamed Pompy. Unfortunately, the park was one of two destinations on this trip closed presumably due to COVID-19, but I was still able to get a couple of photos of the pillar from the entrance.

With Montana expected to be in the rear view the next morning, I eagerly anticipated the reason for the trip - Yellowstone National Park. 

Driving the Dumb in America

What do you think about when you hear South Dakota? If you’ve watched Fargo, maybe it will take you to the motel shootout scene in season two. Or maybe you’ll remember that the governor of South Dakota gained some temporary popularity in 2020 for refusing to protect her citizens from the virus. But, at least for me, I think of a state with an extensive tribal history and also Mount Rushmore.

While South Dakota has some level of popularity for all of the reasons listed above, one of the things that stood out to me while in The Mount Rushmore State (did you know it was officially The Sunshine State until 1992?) was noticing a few pop-up stores with the name “The Trump Shop.” Yes, I also assumed it was a place for Trump supporters to pick up their porn and animal sex toys, but as it turns out it is a fanatical front for consumers who don’t want to fly all the way to China to get all of their pro-Trump campaign items.

I immediately appreciated that Oklahoma was not the home to any of these shops (I think I may have seen three of them during my 40ish hours in South Dakota) but it seemed like a quick money grab idea that reminded me of the clean air pop-up stands I used to see in Las Vegas in the early 2000’s. But after spending some time in South Dakota during my trip, I realized this is exactly the part of America that is driving the craziness that makes Donald Trump popular among very limited circles.

For the most part, the tourists were respecting social distancing protocols and walked around wearing masks at my stops in South Dakota, which included Badlands National Park, Wall Drug Store, Mount Rushmore (of course!), Crazy Horse National Monument, The Mammoth Site and Deadwood. However, the more of South Dakota I took in, the more I realized that 100 percent of those wearing a red MAGA hat or wearing some sort of pro-Trump clothing also were maskless and more than eager to get close to any one of us wearing a mask.

Now, I can see why in March and April they might have been instructed to believe the CoronaVirus was a hoax or at least wasn’t as bad as we know it is now. And honestly, even in May, June and July, there was a feeling that it might get better even if the data wasn’t telling us that it was. But as we got into August, September (which was when I was on my trip) and now October, it is obvious that the Covidiots and Freedumb Fighters are exactly what is making America the laughing stock of the world.

And South Dakota was the one state that seemed to be on the extreme side of that.

I felt out of my element while in South Dakota but especially so while at Mount Rushmore and during my overnight stay in Deadwood. It just seemed like I was surrounded by COVID-19 or at least the threat of it. As it turns out, I wasn’t wrong. Upon returning home a week later, I read that South Dakota was among the leading states when it came to surges in reported cases. And my guess is this was just the number of people who were being tested in South Dakota.

As far as I know, I left the state virus-free but I could have easily been asymptomatic and passed it along to anyone around me who chose to go maskless. As we have determined through the pandemic, masks are great at slowing the spread but aren’t 100 percent at stopping it anymore than a bullet-proof vest will stop all bullets every single time. There are risks with everything and safety measures to limit exposure to the CoronaVirus is no different - there is always some level of risk.

The South Dakota portion of my trip was enjoyable despite the constant exposure to Trump fandom and a lack of respect for a virus that currently has touched 8 million Americans while killing 220,000 of them. The Badlands was a great place to camp out and I enjoyed seeing a lot of the small towns in the Black Hills that were destinations for lots of tourists and bikers (Keystone, Custer, Deadwood, Sturgis). And the Wall Drug Store was a cool place that had good donuts (but not the best).

Leaving South Dakota on I-90 while going a legal 80-miles-per-hour put some positive memories and great views in my rear view mirror but that day’s itinerary had eastern Wyoming, southwestern North Dakota and the southern part of Montana so my focus was on the drive ahead.

Fair or Not - A Significant 2020 Dilemma

If 2020 didn’t affect our lives enough, the flood of announcements that state fairs throughout a majority of the country would be cancelled really hit home for many of us who had various reasons for wanting to attend the annual event. The two that I attended the past two years - Oklahoma and Texas - were among them that decided it was best to not put a large number of people in a crowded area when a pandemic continued to take hold throughout the nation.

Nebraska was not among those that cancelled its state fair, which was held in Grand Island in late August through early September. Grand Island also happened to be my first lunch stop on my recent trip through some Midwestern and Rocky Mountain states in early September, which is the reason for this latest series of blog posts.

Nebraska’s state fair was missing some of its normal events such as concerts and other entertainment options, but the hosts did offer free parking and free entry to offset the lack of fun. My trek through Nebraska cut the state in half as I started on the south part and drove north into South Dakota. However, I stopped off for brunch at the Farmer’s Daughter Cafe in Grand Island and found out that not only was the fair in town but that it was significantly cutting into business for the local diner.

Grand Island was actually one of the bigger cities I encountered during my trip, especially in the early days. It was also the only city that had much of a police presence during my first few days. And when I walked into the diner I stood out like an alien as I came through the doors wearing a mask. Apparently, only nerds (who want to live) wear masks in Grand Island, Nebraska.

My knowledge of Nebraska prior to this trip extended to college football and corn. Only this week did the football team finally begin its football season and, ironically or at least not surprisingly, corn was the vegetable of the day at the diner the day I was there. I did see lots of corn fields as I drove through the state but not much else. But compared to Kansas - which was the leg of my trip, with an overnight stay in Salina - the drive was more interesting and provided more scenery.

Overall, Nebraska was pretty much what I thought it would be - lots of small towns, corn fields, and not much else. Granted, I didn’t make it to some of Nebraska’s bigger cities like Lincoln or Omaha, but I doubt I would have seen much that was significantly different than what I found in Grand Island.

Next stop will be South Dakota, where there was definitely much more going on than at the 2020 Nebraska State Fair. For me, anyway.

No Credit for Being Credible in 2020

 A few years ago, highly-acclaimed filmmaker Errol Morris brought the docuseries “Wormwood” Netflix as a hybrid documentary/fictionally acted look into the Project MKUltra “conspiracy theory” that has for decades involved accusations that the U.S. government provided LSD to U.S. citizens as part of a mind control experiment in the early 1950’s.

“Wormwood” uses a combination of interviews and reenactments to dive into the historical accuracy of the project and what may or may not have happened. Eric Olson, the oldest son of one of the possible experiment subjects who died under mysterious circumstances, talked about his life-long journey in chasing down the truth, and the docuseries ends with Olson being convinced more than ever that the experiments occurred and that his father’s death was tied to what the government was doing at the time.

From all accounts and the generally-accepted belief that this was not an actual conspiracy theory but was something the government actually did at the time and spent decades covering up, Olson may continue to be frustrated but he was also apparently at least mostly correct. The government did, in fact, participate in experiments that involved giving LSD to various individuals in the 1950’s.

The thing is, however, is that this was only exposed even at the level it is at today because of the commitment Eric Olson had to doing research and finding evidence that would lead to the full truth being told. Not once did he share unoriginal memes on Facebook or seek out YouTube videos to validate his belief.

On the other side of conspiracy theories is Alex Jones, who spearheaded a public propaganda campaign to discredit the existence of the school shooting in Sandy Hook in 2012. If you are reading that for the first time, then yes, the head of Inforwars and one of President Donald Trump’s advisors pushed out a conspiracy theory that all of those kids who died as a result of the mass murder at Sandy Hook weren’t actually real.

A judge saw the danger in Jones’ words and he was ordered to pay a $100,000 as a result in a civil suit. The more significant damage to Jones, however, was the damage done to his credibility in a court of law.

Jones has long been an activist in pushing out wild theories that have either been debunked or at least discredited based on the narrow scope in which he has publicized it. However, as Jones has found fewer people willing to listen to his rarely true and often dangerously inaccurate theories, a new crop of conspiracy theorists generated by memes and videos put together by white nationalists, Russian troll farms and QAnon have fueled the fire for people who have more time on their hands and a complete willingness to share information they took zero effort to research.

In a world where Alex Jones and Eric Olson can be tied together by their pursuit of the truth, the manner in which they pursued it is completely different. Olson worked hard to talk to the people involved and he attempted to get answers. Jones and the literally hundreds of thousands of anti-maskers, Pizzagaters, and Wayfairers on social media have taken a much different approach - they just throw out misinformation and hope that it gains traction with enough people that it will spread. They don’t care what happens as a result, they don’t care if there is any truth to it and they don’t care who gets hurt by their position - they just like the attention it gets them.

I’m not one to automatically discredit anyone for embracing a particular train of thought. Every once in a while, those conspiracy theories turn out to be true. But if you are going to trot out information without doing valid research (please understand that anything called RedStatePatriot.org is probably not going to be anything more than a conservative blog) or taking some form of action beyond sitting behind a computer and hoping for likes, you are just as much a part of the problem and not the solution.

Alex Jones has zero credibility at this point. Don’t become a lesser version of Alex Jones. Try to be more responsible with your conspiracy theories, the way Eric Olson handled it. As it turns out, when you actually seek the truth, the world tends to join you.

A Losing Bet

During a brief playing career with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995 to 2001, former NFL left tackle Tony Boselli was among the most dominant offensive tackles in pro football history. He appeared in five Pro Bowls and made the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1990’s, before retiring to spend more time with his family while occasionally participating in triathlons.

In late March, the 6’7” 324-pound athlete found himself close to death after discovering he had COVID-19. Just days before, Boselli had begun experiencing low-grade fever and a general feeling of fatigue. After finding out a person he had been around days before had been diagnosed with the virus, Boselli checked into the Mayo Clinic and discovered two days later that he also had tested positive.

Boselli was given fluids and meds that seemed to be working and Boselli was feeling better over the next three days. However, days after his initial diagnosis, Boselli’s condition took a turn for the worse and he checked back into the clinic. In an interview with “The Dan Lebatard Show” earlier this month, Boselli said he had initially thought he would be fine until he woke up that day feeling much worse than he could have ever imagined.

“I said I’m 47 (years-old), healthy, no issues,” Boselli said. “It brought me to my knees.”

The scariest moment for Boselli was when his pulmonologist seemed concerned enough to be talking in terms of “if” they could help rather than “how” they could help. Boselli was put in ICU, which he said was a blurry memory for him. He recalled, however, that the doctors continued to try new things just short of putting him on a ventilator. Boselli focused on his faith and tried not to think about what might happen. But in his mind, he began to feel he might not make it out of the clinic.

“I remember laying there at that moment and thinking, this is real. I could die from this,” Boselli said. “This could be how I go.”

Continuing to fight and with some of the top doctors at his disposal, Boselli finally began to feel better and was actually able to check out five days after his condition had taken a turn for the worse. But one of the most dominant athletes in the modern era had been humbled by a virus that has frightened so many but also continued to divide the nation. With millions of people taking a strong position that they should stay inside and social distance themselves from loved ones and society in general until the virus threat has gone away, others have taken a position focused more on money and economic realities being just as important as human life.

For me, I haven’t seen my college-attending son during the entire pandemic. I saw my parents once early on when so much was still unknown and being debated. I’ve seen a handful of friends from a somewhat impersonal distance and on rare occasions. I've worked from home since mid-March. I’ve had to go to the store, but I wore winter face protection in the absence of a mask every time I left home.

I’ve seen a lot of comments about how this is either a conspiracy or not a big deal or that it is more important to get the economy going than to quarantine for the sake of saving lives. Some like to compare it to the flu and have actually tried to use a year’s worth of data to compare to the few months the Coronavirus has been around. In my opinion - and the opinion of so many millions of others - none of these arguments carry any weight, especially with over a million Americans infected and over 58,000 dead.

One of those is Boselli, who said the severity of this extends beyond politics and some of the ridiculous theories that have been floated around by people not taking it seriously. Boselli said the odds of getting it might not be extremely high for healthy people of a certain age range, but he said the threat to each individual and especially those who could be more susceptible to the virus should be enough to be patient and wait it out.

“Do you want to play the odds that way?”

A Memorable Year - March/April

I'm a big fan of trying new things, and March and April 2019 definitely brought about some new things for me. I went to my first professional soccer match, spent some time with some major concept car designers, saw Clayton Kershaw pitch in person, watched Pink put on an incredible concert, and went axe-throwing and zip-lining on the same day.

The soccer match was a new twist on an old tradition for me given that I have evolved into being a regular part of the promotional side for St. Baldrick's OKC. I was particularly busy with St. Baldrick's during March and April. In addition to promoting a hair-shaving event at the OKC Energy match, I also helped promote our annual fundraiser at VZD's and as well as the trivia event at Speakeasy. All were fun and, most importantly, helped raise money for children's cancer research.

One of my clients also allowed me the opportunity to work with concept car designers when I promoted the OKC Auto Show for yet another year. Every year I have been a part of the auto show team has been an experience and this year was no different. Not only did I get to hang out with concept car design winner Kip Kubisz, but I also was able to spend time with Hyundai Vision Gran Turismo N2025 lead designer Sean Ehlert.

As part of my son's graduation present of a trip to California in 2018 was a visit to Dodger Stadium in LA. What's that got to do with March and April in 2019? Clayton Kershaw, a multiple Cy Young award winner for the Dodgers, was on rehab assignment for the farm club in OKC when the minor league season started. So, I was able to see Kershaw throw out the first pitch in person and it was definitely not a disappointing performance.

This wasn't the first time I had seen Kershaw, who I actually met as a promoter of the Warren Spahn award a few years ago. I actually met him that night and even stood guard over the VIP room prior to the ceremony. Both were great nights and memories I will carry with me for life.

Pink was amazing. While my music tastes tend to lean more toward alternative rock, I have found myself open to all types of tunes and Pink was definitely on my list of artists I wanted to see live. Whether it was the giant balloon creation of Eminem or the circus-like performances by Pink, I left impressed and ready to see her again (and not just because she is kinda cute).

I would say I decided to put my axe to the test but that decision was actually made for me. As part of a bachelor party, I was invited to go axe-throwing, zip-lining and hitting some shots at Top Golf. I'm no stranger to teeing them up so that was more routine, but I definitely appreciated and enjoyed throwing an axes and taking a thrill ride on a zip line. They are definitely things everyone should try to do at some point in their life.

With an OKC Thunder game also mixed in and preparation for a trip of a lifetime part of my daily life, this was a fun two-month period for me. But it got even better in May and June. Stick around!