"No kidding. I'm from California," I said. Moments earlier, he revealed that he was an architect from Redding, California and that he was in Laramie, Wyoming, to see family and that when I pulled through Redding on my road trip I should look him up because, "There's more to see in Redding than just Calatrava's new bridge."...

"No kidding. I'm from California," I said. Moments earlier, he revealed that he was an architect from Redding, California and that he was in Laramie, Wyoming, to see family and that when I pulled through Redding on my road trip I should look him up because, "There's more to see in Redding than just Calatrava's new bridge."

For me, what was most compelling about this chance encounter with an architect at a hotel bar in Laramie was the sentiment he showed toward my roadtrip. For three weeks, I've been on the road and involved in conversations with random travelers about my motives for taking a sabbatical. This was the first time I felt in sync with someone who understood exactly why I would choose to drive at a slow pace across the western United States strictly for the purpose of studying architecture. "Oh, I get it. You really don't know how lucky you are to be doing this, do you?" he said. He was right: The mundaneness of packing and unpacking either a truck, hotel room or campsite every day had made me lose sight of the reasons why this trip is special.

I bought him a beer, and we broke down my itinerary and engaged in nerdy archibabble about Predock and libraries and catenary structures.

Hello, this is Marlin. In episode "X", we're passing through Laramie, Wyoming, and western Nebraska en route to South Dakota. We'll make a stop at Antione Predock's American Heritage Center and Museum for some conversation and also a brief stop at Carhenge for some meditation.

Hope you enjoy and watch your head!
Marlin