OBJECTIVE:

To get out there and see me some America, in the fall, free and wild; all the while, trying to come to terms with the inevitable midpoint of my dirty thirties.

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ROUTE:

Eastbound: “Retracing The Path That Brought Me Out Here” Tour. It’s been 15 long years since I “left the nest” for Oregon in 1993. I’m gonna retrace the same route, only backwards, starting out of Portland, past Mt. Hood, through Bend, across the high desert, past Boise, the Craters of the Moon, up into Yellowstone, Cody, Greybull, Mt. Rushmore, Rapid City, Badlands, Mitchell and into Minneapolis to hole up at Fort Ryno for a bit. Then Leigh flies in and we kick the shit out of the Twin Cities for a couple days and head down to through Wisconsin to Chicago, where she flies out a couple days later. Then I head up to Traverse City to sleep on my parents couch for a week and do everything in my power to avoid, well, everything.

Westbound: “Top of the Nation” Tour. Dad and I will head back west along the loneliest roads that hug the Canadian border to the north. From the Straits of Mackinaw to Bellingham, as gross and slow-going as possible. Gary willing, of course.

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OUR “PREFLIGHT” LIST:

01. Guitar strung up with brand new strings, and tuned.
02. Hard Drives copied and stowed away.
03. Loot in the pocket.
04. Lubejob for Big S.
05. Gary. secured and in good hands with Leigh.
06. Leigh secured and in good paws with Gary.
07. Merch inventory dragged out on the road. Tempt us to ship to you.
08. Field Notes 18-Month Calendars shipped back to Camp Coudal.
09. iPod loaded up with the latest crap I’m listening to.
10. Clothes washed one last time, until my return.
11. Shop secured.
12. Ranch secured.
13. Last round of DDC Merch shipped.

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A “MOBILE COMMAND UNIT,” AS ALWAYS:

To soothe the clients, I’ll say this much: “I’ve got it all with me, so, if something comes up, I’ll pull over, connect at a truck stop or something, and figure shit out.” Just like that. Go easy on me.

To soothe my so-called business partners, I’ll offer this up: “It was doomed from the beginning, anyway. I warned you.”

To soothe my Leigh: “See you in Minneapolis in a couple days, lady.”

To soothe Lovejoy: “It’s gonna be a okay, little buddy.”

To soothe Gary: “—————————!” (Unspoken telepathy.)

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EVERYTHING, AS IT WAS:

Don’t even think for a second that we are suspending any aspect of the DDC’s daily mess. We’ll be posting daily reports from the road, and, if you are on the fence about purchasing a piece of DDC Merch, well, order away. We will be shipping from the road, and larger orders from Portland, so, you know, believe in us. You need that stuff. Truth hurts.

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SOME PROUD HISTORY:

01. The kick off of the 2004 DDC Fall Tour.
02. The kick off of the 2005 DDC Fall Tour.
03. The kick off of the 2006 DDC Fall Tour.
04. The kick off of the 2007 DDC Fall Tour.

WISH ME LUCK:

Thanks to Leigh, Gary, Goo, Nakamoto, Lovejoy, Dale, Mark, Jess, Brad, George, Baker, Larry, Basher, Nate Tawnya, Exile, Lucky, Grigsby, Shaun, Bob, Richter, Kevin, Greg, Leah, Jacob, Floyd, Rod, Rose and about 527 other chumps. You know who you are. And to everyone who bought a pair of socks, a t-shirt, hat, pen or pencil, or combination of said items, well, hell, thanks so much. So much.

Thanks for the opportunity to get out there and see the nation for three weeks.