Our Land Our Brands Trip: Consumption Logs
Posted by: steve
A log of all foods and beverages (water not included) on the driving trip from Southbury, CT to Driggs, ID (unfortunately the final day from Driggs, ID to Portland, OR was not logged). The line breaks indicated a new day.
Jake
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Homemade Burger
2 oz. Coke w/Lime
4 oz. Ginger Ale
Mac & Cheese @ The Diner (State College, PA)
Coffee @ The Diner
Peanuts @ Uno Bar
20 oz. Miller Lite @ Uno Bar
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14 oz. Coffee w/milk & sugar @ Dunkin
Scrambled Egg w/Ham on Plain Bagel @ Dunkin
Chocolate Glazed Donut ToGo from Dunkin
Car made sandwich (yves deli slice, cheese, tomato, mayo)
Some Natural Dorritos
2 Beers - High Life (a gift from Nat Baldwin)
Some more Natural Dorritos
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Sausage, Egg, Cheese Sandwich w/ Hashbrowns @ Waffle House
1 1/2 Cups Coffee @ Waffle House
Car made sandwich (heavy on the tomatoes)
Hand full of peanut butter filled pretzels
1 Slam of Mello Yello/ 1 Slam of Lemon Shake Up
Iced Mocha @ Panera
Some Pizza Slices @ Mancotti's
Shared Pitcher of Bud Lite @ Mancotti's
1 Budweiser @ Super 8
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Country Omelet w/hashbrowns + biscuit @ Big Boy
Coffee @ Big Boy
3 Slices Leftover Pizza in car in Springfield, IL
Chicken Enchiladas @ El Rancho (Columbia, MO)
1 Bottle Pacifico
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Yogurt, English Muffin, Cereal @ Best Value Inn
Coffee from Conoco Store
Full Meal @ Cinzetti's (buffet style) (Overland Park, KS)
Frappucino
Grilled Cheese, Tots, Limeade @ Sonic
1 Budweiser @ Hotel
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Egg McMuffin, Hash Brown @ McD's
Premium Roasted Coffee @ McD's
5 Cheese Ziti @ Olive Garden
Salad & Breadsticks @ Olive Garden
Small Buttered Popcorn @ Theatre
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Biscuits & Gravy @ R&B Cafe
1 Cup Coffee
2 Chicken Tacos, Tater Tots, 22oz. Mountain Dew @ Taco John's
Pork Taco @ Schroeder's
Steve
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Pasta Salad
20 oz. Coke w/Lime
20 oz. Dr. Brown's Black Cherry
12 oz. Mountain Lightning @ Walmart
12 oz. Ginger Ale @ Walmart
Mac & Cheese w/ Peppers, Tomatoes, & Salsa @ The Diner
Dr. Pepper
20 oz. Yeungling @ Uno Bar
Peanuts @ Uno
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16 oz. Orange Juice
Scrambled Egg w/ Cheese on Sesame Bagel @ Dunkin
Peanut Butter Cup Donut To Go
Apple n Spice Donut To Go
Carmade Sandwich from groceries from Kroger
2 Apples
Some Natural Dorritos
King Size Coke from BK :( (The reason I lost Josh's camera)
4 Beers - 2 High Life, 2 Buds
More Natural Dorritos
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3 Eggs w/ Hashbrowns @ Waffle House
1 Apple
1 Banana
Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels
12 oz. Mello Yello
Lemon Shake Up from Ritter's Frozen Custard
Carmade Sandwich
Iced Green Tea @ Panera
Pizza @ Mancotti's
Shared Pitcher of Bud Lite @ Mancotti's
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Waffle w/hash browns @ Big Boy
Hot Tea
Vanilla Cone @ McD's
42 oz. Coke @ McD's
Natural Cheetos
Cheese Enchiladas @ El Rancho
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Oatmeal, Cereal, English Muffin, Yogurt @ Best Value Inn
Banana Milk
32 oz. Coke w/Lemonade
Deep Full Buffet Lunch @ Cinzetti's
20 oz. Cherry Coke
Grilled Cheese, Tots, Cherry Limeade @ Sonic
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McGriddle(no meat), hashbrowns @ McD's
Coke
Natural Cheetos
Putanesca Cappellini @ Olive Garden
Salad & Breadsticks @ Olive Garden
Strawberry Lemonade @ Olive Garden
Nachos @ Movie Theatre
White Cherry Fanta Icee
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Heuvos Rancheros @ R&B Cafe
Cran-Grape Juiice
Raspberry Vanilla Coke
Bean burrito, Potato Oles @ Taco John's
Root Beer
Corn Chowder @ Schroeder's
Boo Yeah! It ain't pretty.
Ginger Crutches 1/2
Posted by: steve
Unsure Footing
Posted by: steve
The Uncle blog is not quite yet proud to announce a new series of audio and video recordings that we will be sharing in the coming weeks and months. I am a believer, somewhat, in sharing the process, especially on the web, and therefore you, as intrepid blog reader get to witness the growth and development of this series along with the blog curator! HOW FUN!
I thought the series was going to be called Unsure Footing, but right now I think it might be called Ginger Crutches.
These media documents are going to be a combination of fiction and nonfiction, scripted and improvised, reality based and possibly surreal.
I don't want to say too much about the intent or themes, but maybe just that it has to do with the fragile America psyche.
Corporate Tents In Rural America
Posted by: steve
I first became aware of the Teton Valley (more specifically Victor and Driggs, Idaho) in 1996 when my sister moved there, on a whim. Victor was a town of 200 and Driggs was a town of 800, and they were separated by 8 miles. It seemed almost crazy. These tiny towns in the mountains that have very harsh winters. Well, she got married there and now has 2 children, and so I've been back to this place probably around 15 to 20 times. The area has become very special to me. It's gorgeous, and the open spaces, and rural attitudes that exist are very refreshing to a city boy like myself.
The area has been growing for as long as I've known it, but in the last 5 years the growth has begun to snowball. A Burger King/Mobil was built on the edge of Driggs about 5 years ago after much debate and opposition. The closest city is the much more expensive area of Jackson, Wyoming and people started to realize that 40 minutes away there was a much cheaper and newer option. Huge developments of part time luxury homes have begun to sprout all over the valley. Hundreds and hundreds becoming thousands of homes that will change the face of the valley forever. My parents even bought a modest modular home in Driggs a few years back so they could spend more time with their grandchildren (they have since sold that home and build a newer less modest home).
The people of the valley seem to be torn. On one hand, most people seem to really loathe what this growth represents (outrageous wealth, exploitation and forced change of an area and aesthetic they love) but yet these same people make their living from these developments, whether they are contractors or electricians or new restauranteurs.
My Dad got an invitation to this party/unveiling of these new lots on a new development about 8 miles outside of Driggs, and so on our way back from a hike we popped in to see what the deal was. We found a sign leading off the road and into a big field, that appeared to be farming barley not too many seasons ago. A few more signs pointed us in the direction of two white tents that are reminiscent of maybe a fancy wedding or a corporate hospitality event outside of a large sporting event. We pull up and are greeted by a man in a cowboy hat, light denim shirt, authentic jeans, and boots. He is tanned and smiling. My dad tells him we are just checking it out, and are too grimy to hang out, but the man who my Dad now remembers he has met before and is named Galen, implores us to just pop in and pick up some information.
Galen is local. He was a farmer for many years, but sold his handful of years ago and now works for another very large development as their Land Manager, and had showed my parents around there a few months ago. Galen was hired by this new development to be the authentic local face. "Howdy, the Teton Valley is more than excited to have you here." You don't want the actual owner, a black turtlenecked man from Seattle, being the dude representing this project. The people who are paying $400,000 for these 1 acre lots want to feel like they are welcome here and are somewhere "away from it all" (sorta like what I enjoy about the region).
So, we get out, Jake and I snag some free fancy beers and scope the scene. Now, I have been to a great number of odd corporate events due to my Dad's job with Coca-Cola, and this put all of those to shame in weirdness. There were tall tables set up with white tablecloths on them holding 4 champagne flutes with black napkins in them. There was an incredibly awkward singer songwriter playing through a PA powered by a generator giving us treats like "And That's Why She Loved Being A Girl." There were 4 Port-a-Potties, and a horse drawn carriage. There were 4 caterers serving cheeses and chocolates and those rolled deli sandwiches. There were lots of people wearing polo shirts and smoking cigarettes, and this was all in the middle of this field! There was a big truck driving back and forth in the field watering the road so it didn't get dusty.
It was absolutely bizarre, and I become overwhelmed now just thinking about it. $400,000 that will be filled by million dollar homes in a field that was a farm looking at the face of a massive mountain.
Closing open spaces. When the most remote areas on this country are filled with 2nd and 3rd homes, what then?
Please check out the flickr set of photos from this weird event.
(CLICK ON PICTURE FOR VERY SHORT VIDEO)
Jake and I ran into Galen the next morning at 7am as were leaving the Teton Valley. He was not as happy to see us then.
