Oregon: Welcoming us home to the Northwest

Shannon's Bambini in Eugene, OR.
New recruit.
Shy little one in Organic Cotton.


These kids were great! I wanted to continue photographing them and all of their youthful charisma. This one was especially funny in her Red Bandana!
Colorful little girl in Purple Bandana. Her father co-owns and runs Green Eye Auto, a car company that purchases used Mercedes and diesel-fueled cars for biodiesel conversion. They found us a fuel filter and installed it for us!

Mother's Day is every day
Spring and I made friends at The Laughing Planet, a welcomed referral for dinner. Brown rice and delicious, locally-grown veggies never tasted sooo good! On every table and lining the entire counter where everyone first orders before finding a table are toy dinosaurs and a robot. I realized we had kind of lost a little of our minds when I walked up to one of the servers with Bronto in hand and asked with my best dinosaur voice, "Do you have wireless?" The server looked at me and in a shocked and slightly-scared giggle asked "What?" Instead of switching it up to ensure she actually heard me, I asked again in the same dinosaur voice, "Do YOU have wireless for my computer?" She laughed, shook her head, and confirmed that they did. As Utah Philips strongly suggests, "You've got to mess with people, day and night, you have to mess with people! You gotta mess with 'em!
They just kind of sink into a cryonic torpor and they're never seen again, god!"

I love Spring's desire to stop and smell the flowers.
The gazebo in the beautiful backyard of The Campbell House, the quaint B&B we opted for on our last night on the road.
Our reflection in diesel-powered Petroleum hauler.

California: The Fulfillment Center of Family

Spring's cousin was so cool. Justin and his wonderful wife made us a delicious home cooked meal! It was the first since Spring's brother and his girlfriend made us dinner in Salt Lake City. It was so wonderful and welcoming.

We dropped by Nate's Cafe to take cheesy photos for my brother but also to grab a couple of delicious breakfast burritos!

Spring was so excited to see her grandfather in Dana Point. Her little voice called out for him over the echoing sounds of public radio.

He made Spring so happy. What a gem this man is.

Of course Spring gave her grandpa some BabyLegs.

Practically blind in both eyes, Grandpa takes amazing care of himself and is extremely self-sufficient. He has a method behind all of his madness.

It was difficult to say goodbye. He remained waiting for his Access bus to take him to his appointment and he rushed us off knowing how long it would take us to drive to Sacramento.

This is where Spring and I did a lot of napping. We normally had the seats down with a pad and a sleeping bag but had it all cleaned up for the Baby Loves Disco event. We were fortunate to have two to drive and a space to crash if the need presented itself. "Lumpy", Spring's stuffed lion played the part of comforter and pillow.

The drive up the middle of California is mostly flat and littered with forgotten and flourishing farms. There doesn't seem to be a system of rotating crops nor is there a shortage of large white tanks containing pesticides and various chemicals.

Growing up doing this drive with my mom and my brother from Redding, CA to either Paso Robles, CA or Santa Barbara, CA where my aunt lived, always took us past Harris Ranch. This ridiculous sprawl of acreage used only for dairy and beef cows is a huge dirt lot covered by a noxious methane cloud that, when I rolled down the window to take photos, made Spring gag. There were a few influences that made me choose the life of a Vegetarian, this was definitely one of them.

This is Gafton and Cooper of Valley Supply Chain. No, we're not supporting slave labor. This is the wonderful family-owned and run business that is now BabyLegs' fulfillment center. They also send out the humorous products produced by Wry Baby.

He wanted to give our manual fuel pump a whirl. Although we enjoyed the workout, we appreciated other people's interests in pumping for us!

In Redding, CA where I grew up, Mi madre, Miranda, her partner of 12 years, Gary, and their old lab, Tye.

My mom has been adding our peels and her mass amount of used coffee grinds to the compost pile for years. Their incredible garden is proof that the composting has proved beneficial to the nutrients of the soil.


Gary and Mom also wanted to partake in the fueling. Gary owns and runs Redding Yellow Cab and was kind to connect us with "the family lube specialists" that changed our oil and filter.

I was very fortunate to grow up so close to so much beauty. I had Lassen to the East, Mt. Shasta to the North, and just south of that, Shasta Lake and Castle Crags.

Castle Crags
Mt. Shasta
Spring went crazy with the camera taking absolutely beautiful photos of the drive north to Ashland. I'll never get tired of this piece of the freeway.

"Time is an enormous, long river..."

Thursday evening at approximately 4:30pm, Spring Courtright and myself, Erinn J Hale rolled into the great big industrial parking lot that is home to the warehouse of BabyLegs. In preparation of our homecoming we safely secured our cowboy hats (mine, straw-like and from Orlando, Spring's red and from some random shop in New Mexico), inserted Billy Ocean's Greatest Hits (don't even ask me why I happen to have that silly CD), rolled down all of the windows, and began singing along "Hey! Hey! You! You! Get into my car! [Who Me?] Yes You! Get into my car! Whooooaaaaaa [Enter horn section]". Our adrenaline was pumping, our laughter was as plentiful as the day we left, everything was pretty much the same except for all of the finite details we noticed had changed with the sun and experience. We arrived a bit wiser of the road and the people who live along it. We felt older, noticing the more defined lines that have formed deeper grooves across our foreheads. Our nails were dirty from the countless digging in boxes for events and fueling up every four hours along the road. The whole experience seemed surreal and at that moment, greeted by our loving BabyLegs co-workers, we weren't even sure we had gone anywhere but in our minds.

It has been a day and a half now that we've been back. I miss my buddy Spring. I hope there are more adventures awaiting us. What an honor it was that BabyLegs afforded us this once in a lifetime opportunity. The trip was no vacation from anything except from our normal, daily lives, and boy did we work our behinds off! Every chance we had, however, we allowed our love of people, fascination in their stories, and pure, youthful curiousity to lead us into shops and restaurants along the way further exposing us to a new understanding of the very town in which we stood.

Waves of memories continue to flash across my mind. I've been trying to write everything down before those memories fade into the file cabinet of my mind. If I can offer any bit of advice to anyone, it would be to explore the country at some point in your life. The U.S. is HUGE and full of people waiting to fill you full of their life history. These are the people who make this country fascinating. We're so resilient. I keep thinking about the server in Buffalo, TX who works in a BBQ cafe where you can get the $4.99 buffet lunch of mustard greens, sweet potatoes, fried okra, a variety of prepared meats, and more! The cafe's walls are covered with painted saws; an artist's recollection of a snowy brook, handmade wood crafts and knitted delights. Near the entrance was a glass case full of children's plastic toys and "Tammie's Homemade Peanut Brittle", of which we bought two as gifts. We were encouraged to support a couple of young girls' fundraising attempt for "Jumprope for Life". Frames of young children lined the tops of the cases, and as we learned those photos will forever contain their youth as three of them passed away in two separate car accidents. Only one of the grand-children, who was 1 at the time, survived, but as the doctor declared, she'd never be able to walk or talk. As Betty's God is her witness, her "grand-baby" is now 3 years old and is walking with the grace of therapy and is also beginning to talk. This woman's pain was so deep-set in her eyes, but it was incredible to see how much this little child represented everything in which Betty continued to believe. All of her faith, all of her hope for the future rests with her grand child. The story makes me want to cry, but the fact that Betty was able to stand there and tell us about it without breaking up further illustrated her strength and resilience. I continued talking with her and Spring, looking back with a little head nod to me, went out to the truck to gather up BabyLegs and goodies for Betty to take back to her miracle baby and everyone else she thought might appreciate such a thing. She hugged us both and blessed us and we walked out the door feeling quite pleased with ourselves and equally so humbled.

The people we met let us in. It was as though they'd been waiting for a couple of strangers to show up one day just so that they could share their stories. It's just a shame there aren't more people to take the time and listen.

Utah Philips was our road philosopher. Bio Lyle from Seattle gave us a CD that's a collection of his live recordings of which Ani DiFranco took her favorite and included her world of sound and song. His stories and words stay with me as we played the CD mulitple times along the way. This was the excerpt that gave us goose bumps and helped to define our underlining mission on this journey:

"Time is an enormous, long river, and I'm standing in it, just as you're standing in it. My elders are the tributaries, and everything they thought and every struggle
they went through and everything they gave their lives to, and every song they
created, and every poem that they laid down flows down to me - and if I take
the time to ask, and if I take the time to see, and if I take the time to reach
out, I can build that bridge between my world and theirs. I can reach down
into that river and take out what I need to get through this world."

Taking our time in Eugene, OR

The drive up from Sacramento to Redding was the same as it always has been, a little on the long and dull. California is the only state we've experienced where we had to drive 55 mph. It's a bit slow when you're used to a faster pace. Visiting with my mom and Gary was brief but quality. They gave us a tour of their incredible garden and advancements they're making to the house in which I spent my high school years. Leaving was difficult, but I knew what sort of incredible beauty awaited us from Redding to Ashland, OR. The mountains escorted us around the bends, exposing hidden veins of melted snow replenishing Shasta Lake. Castle Crags, Dunsmuir, Mt. Shasta City all welcomed us back to the Northwest. I drove and Spring, with my camera in hand, went crazy, utilizing all of the mini photo lessons, taking photos of the amazing light that made the hills curvaceous. The views were breath-taking.

Eugene is the most perfect place to conclude a long earth-conscious trip across the country. The trees are plentiful and carefully protected in the building plans of the old homes that line certain city streets. The pace of life was slightly disconcerting at first, but it quickly became a profound reminder of the way life is best enjoyed- deliberately. The trees are incredible reminders of this.

The event yesterday went beautifully. Tired and weary, Spring and I rolled into town wondering where we'd find the energy for the very last event on this month-long whirlwind. I'm under the weather again (and I never get sick!) and agreed to stay back as much as possible. We set up a table outside of Bambini and met Shannon, the wonderfully dedicated mother of soon-to-be three lovely children and three successful stores. The weather was perfect and the enthusiasm of everyone who visited the table was inspiring. What better way to end a small-scale environmental movement than to talk with the already conscience people of Eugene!! We met wives of some guys that bound together to start Green Eye Auto where they convert cars to perform on ethanol or biodiesel. They also sell various models of Mercedes and Volkswagen. Needing a fuel filter for the final stretch home, I was sent over to check out the lot and to have the filter installed. Continued conversation with the continuing and future BabyLegs fans helped us to realize how involved and adamant Eugeneans are about change and making earth-conscious choices. They're very enthusiastic about the new organic line! In fact, Shannon called her order in while we were there!! The event was extremely successful and uplifting! It was nice being able to recycle our broken down boxes...We love the Northwest's dedication to recycling!!

Our return home will be bitter sweet. Spring is eagerly wanting to return home as she's been without her best buddy, Cricket, for way too long. It's made her feel so good to know that so many people were involved in loving and taking care of her during her absence. I'm expecting major freak-out when they're reunited. Cricket often jumps into the arms that love her... I just hope she doesn't knock Spring over! Let's also hope Cricket is still the small frame that we both remember.

I'm looking forward to my little studio and my daily life, but there's something so simple about living out of a bag that contains all of the clothing protection one would need for the various climates across the country. I've learned so much during this trip. I will be making substantial change in my life. Thinking about driving a gasoline-fueled car makes me feel guilty and a little ridiculous if I'm considering paying $3.50/gallon or whatever it is in Seattle right now!! Change happens from within and if I expect anyone I've met along the way to remain inspired by what we taught them, I need to "be the change [I] wish to see in the world". It will be interesting to be able to step back from the trip and recollect all the memories. I'm deeply saddened to think that I lost 3 memory cards for my camera somewhere along the way. They were protected in my little black SanDisk neoprene case. There were photos that I didn't have the opportunity to download... :( I'm still hopeful that it's somewhere in our stuff.

Well, off to pack up the bags, refuel, and hit the road. I've missed my friends but gained a sister. I never thought I'd spend an entire month with a person and still be excited to hang out with her. Spring is an extremely fun and dynamic person... I'm so grateful for the opportunity to get to know her.

(I'll add photos when I return home :)

San Diego, CA: Baby Loves Disco!!

San Diego's first ever Baby Loves Disco was an incredible success! Parents lined the streets awaiting the opening doors of Aubergine, the host club of BLD. Strollers were parked in the designated "Stroller Parking" area and moms discussed which pair of BabyLegs their child loved best.

Spring and I were up and out by a quarter to 6am to locate a car wash or a water source (quite the epic) and found a self-service car wash where we washed the truck and then the trailer separately as only one would fit at a time. We made our way downtown to the Kinkos where our requested documents were ready to be picked up and then on to the street where Aubergine awaited hundreds of little ones. We scored rock-star parking and made our way to the most incredible breakfast either one of us had ever experienced. We discovered a Farmer's Market where we were seduced to purchase beautiful jewelry and trinkets to help an Indonesian man return home. We sat and chatted with the Flexcar reps and told them tales of our journey. With the sun beating down and the time ticking away, we made our way to the truck and trailer to prepare for our most energized event thus far.

I got to meet Andy Hurwitz who started Ropeadope Records, my favorite record label!! We had been in contact over email over 3 years ago... it was so crazy to finally meet him. Proud Pops that he is, he took over and helps each city initiate Baby Loves Disco. He's also created recordings with real, talented musicians with representative animal characters to encourage kids to love music through "Baby Loves Jazz" and "Baby Loves HipHop"! I'm a super fan! I was incredibly honored to meet him and work side by side with him for this crazy event!

Aubergine, the venue, was so perfect for this event! I enjoyed the "Stroller Parking" outside. The valets and bartenders made almost as much on this Sunday afternoon as they did on a Saturday night!

Miss Spring and myself in our shiney pants and ratted/painted hair. We had a display right by the back door everyone passed as they left the event.

This little guy cried when his dad first put the BabyLegs on his arms, but after he began throwing him into the air, he seemed to love them!

Okay, I know this photo makes me look like a goomba in the least flattering way (what exactly is a "goomba"?), but this is Andy Hurwitz... THE Andy Hurwitz! Oh how I wish I was wearing normal clothing for this kodak moment!!

We're on our way to Sacramento today. I regret leaving the beauty of the Pacific, but it'll be nice to be that much closer to home. We're still having a great time meeting so many people, but Spring misses her Cricket and I miss my... studio.

Through the Southern Desert... Texas, New Mexico, & Arizona

Hello All! At the moment the GreenLegs Biodiesel Power Train is just outside of Phoenix, AZ at a beautiful timeshare nestled on the slopes of South Mountain. There are hiking paths through the bird sanctuary right next to the resort. My brilliant cousin, Tiffanie, found this place on Expedia for less than $70 per night!! We're literally staying in a condo with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, living room, and dining room!! It was so wonderful to be able to run our water bottles through a dishwasher and simply to feel as though we were at home. Susan at Best Fed gave us Burt's Bees nurture gift packs with bath crystals and everything!! I've been watching an old cactus in our "backyard" where a lovely bird has created a home. I only wish my brother, the bird expert, was here to look up and help us not only identify the birds, but the cacti in the area. The desert is incredible and despite the fact that people warned us about the "boring" drive through West Texas, we found it to be beautiful and full of its own charm and mystery.

We've stopped at so many truck stops along the road to fuel up on our own. Despite our own massive size of truck and trailer, these diesels are HUGE!! We're dwarfed in comparison.

Littered across the Texas landscape are small towns, abandoned due to the lack of petroleum. They're literally ghost towns, left to waste away.

We landed in Pecos, TX, another "ghost town" that is supposedly experiencing a re-birth since the 70's oil boom. This is the self-proclaimed town where rodeos first began and where they pride their cantaloupe crops. Excited to experience this cantaloupe crop, we asked some locals where we might find some. To our dismay, the fields have dried up and the only available melons are trucked in from California. This is where we enjoyed breakfast the next morning.

In Houston we learned that when contractors wished to build anything new, they simply tore down the pre-existing buildings. There didn't seem to be anything in place to preserve old buildings except in a few historical districts downtown. This photo represents this mindset that we found prevalent in the majority of the places we visited across the country.

This was from Wednesday morning as we were pushing to leave the Oak Tree Inn which seems to be the temporary home of railroad workers in Pecos. With plenty of stories about Tornadoes, we chose to get out of town before this storm front attempted to threaten us.

Approaching El Paso, TX.

Flash floods and hail made this the most incredible storm I'd ever experienced. Spring found an awning at the near-by Best Western to protect us from the occasional golf ball of hail.

I love these clouds!!

New Mexico greeted us with several gift shops doubling as gas stations all owned by the same Bowlin family. Their signs were bizarre, the selection of goodies even more bizarre and plentiful made stopping worth it.

This is Larry from Roadrunner Biodiesel in Tucson, AZ. They deliver the fuel wherever you are in town!

Proof of a fully filtered supply of fuel.



This is my wonderful cousin, Tiffanie, in front of her house. With her incredible help we were able to get on the road to Phoenix fed, well-rested, entertained, cleaned-up, fueled, and regretful that there wasn't more time to visit. Thank you for EVERYTHING Tiffanie & Jon!!!

At Best Fed. Susan, the owner, is in orange. This was such a wonderful place where mothers could sit at tables and share ideas and suggestions about which products and methods best worked. They LOVE BabyLegs!!



Thank you Susan for being so wonderful! Congratulations on such a successful store!!

On to San Diego for Baby Loves Disco!!