"Crying: Acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon." -Ron Swanson "Parks & Recreation"

Yuma to Flagstaff, sunrise at the Grand Canyon and most importantly, BEARIZONA!!!

I've been taking the half-highways, not the big interstates, so things take a little longer than they would otherwise. The drive was beautiful, but pretty uneventful. On my way out of Yuma towards Flagstaff, I made my first and only stop….I just couldn't help myself.

My most hardcore fans will know that - thanks to a generous gift from my brother, Just - I am a card carrying member of the Cloud Appreciation Society. I was dismayed to learn the Cloud Museum had nothing to do with clouds.

Instead, it was some crazy shit out of American Pickers. That's a TV show, if ya didn't know, where two douchebags dig through old properties to buy and repurpose their junk. The cloud museum is run by an OG Arizona family that has been collecting old cars and crap since way back when.

It was actually way cool. I had a great time shooting there.

I worked the Calizona border and narrowly avoided Nevada (I'm saving that fucked up place for later). I did hit a border patrol checkpoint, which for some reason freaked me out so bad you'd have thought I was smuggling people in my trunk. Which I wasn't, of course…

I saw a dog in a truck. I saw a bunch of tanks. I saw a mountain. Soon it was trees and dark my brothers, with real country dark. I fillied around with other travelers of the night, playing Hogs of the Road. Then I headed north.

I got in to Flagstaff and caught a few hours sleep, waking at 5am to drive the two hours to the Grand Canyon in time for sunrise. Through a combination of real magic and speeding, I made it there by 6:30, just as the sky was starting to blue and orange.

Honestly. It ruled. Despite needing to shoulder through a few busloads of Japanese tourists, who obviously failed to grasp the gravity of the event - my first visit to the Canyon - it was still deeply emotional, at least as far as visits to gaping holes in the ground go.

The real magic was 50 miles south. Fucking. Bearizona.

Now, I hate zoos, I think they're twisted and unjust. But I love two things, both evinced by the name of this blog - animals and rhyming puns. And not just birds, neither. I don't discriminate. I love all the dope-ass majestic beasts of the animal kingdom. Apparently, if you give them a little space to run around, let me drive through and take pictures, and name your facility with a rhyming pun - I'll fork over your entrance fee and take a spin.

Oh man. Black bears and arctic white wolves, two kinds of bison, a few mountain goats, some regular goats, bighorn sheep, raccoons, foxes and three seven week old bear cubs - prepare to be bombarded by adorable and awesome…

A good day. Sedona tomorrow. I'm moving back south through Arizona, but further east this time. I think I'll drive through and camp a night in the Tonto National Forest. A buddy has also offered up his place in the desert east of Tucson. I'll spend a few more days in Arizona before I enter New Mexico and the wilds of Texas beyond. I don't have to be in Austin until the 13th for SXSW, so I have some time. Thanks for coming along my Birds & Thirds brothers. I love you all deer-ly <<< SO MAJESTIC.

A special treat to B&T fans willing to go the extra mile (and for reading this far). The first THREE (3) people to leave a COMMENT on this post with their favorite DOPE-ASS MAJESTIC BEAST, will receive a hand-scrawled thank you note and a couple BEARIZONA stickers in the mail from somewhere interesting along my route. 

NOTE: This contest might cause some contention, since I've gotten complaints about the difficulty of commenting on the blog. Alas, you do need a google account (they're free). Go to the top right of the page and click "Sign In," which will open a new page. Click the red button that says "SIGN UP" and follow instructions from there. Use that info to sign into the blog and…VOILA! Post away. 

Good luck friends. Don't forget to comment with your favorite animal or you will be dis-mothafuckin-qualified.