11:24 pm – I’m currently sitting in our friends house in the woods about 20 minutes from Coeur D’Alene, ID. It’s quiet and everyone has gone to sleep. The schedule has been solid. We’ve played 9 shows in 11 days. That’s the pace I like to have out here. It doesn’t leave much time for other things and it helps keep the focus forward.
Much of the Northwest is dealing with wild fires right now. I believe the count in Oregon was 11 separate fires when we passed through there earlier in the week. On our way to Bend, OR the smoke was so dense and low that the visibility must have only been a mile or two tops. Fortunately we didn’t encounter anything too out of the ordinary and the drives were safe from place to place.
By far my favorite stretch of road was US Highway 2 that climbed over Stevens Pass, WA amongst giant mountains and lush forests for as far as we all could see. The landscapes here are second to none. I’m feeling very fortunate to be covering so much ground in such a short period of time. This style of traveling shocks the body constantly with new visuals, temperatures and feelings. I prefer this method to a typical vacation style of traveling where you get to one place and hang out for a period of time. To me, that’s a boring way to see things.
The beauty is in perspective. Sharpening your perspective can only be done when you can contrast one experience against another. Traveling from town to town day in and day out is the equivalent of a perspective sharpening stone. My hope is that I’ll get home to Salt Lake City this Friday and have a fresh understanding of some more things around me. Until then I’m going to grind the axe down with experience.
It’s late. I’m working on talking the crew into heading a little out of the way in hopes of seeing Glacier National Park in the morning. If that happens, there will be a heavy load of photography coming your way next week. Until then, thank you for reading.
— JM
JOSH MADSEN 
Discussion
Comments are closed.