I don’t know if anyone’s told you yet, so we’ll spill the beans: Texas is a big state.

There you go. You heard it here first.

I woke at the brisk hour of 9:30 am, cleaned up the couch at Larry’s Loft, said goodbye and was off to find Dale. Turns out he was a mere five blocks away. Considering how spread-out Denver is, I got a kick out of that.

So we jumped on I-70 and got out of town and back down on to that prairie to the east real quick. We turned south at Limon and got on 287. This was to be our home all day. Down to the bottom of Colorado, down across the panhandle of Oklahoma, and then into that big bastard Texas. Man, that state is big. Remember who told you this.

We drove all day, with big hopes of getting all the way to Dallas. That didn’t happen, and we’re currently in Wichita Springs, holed up at the Best Western there. (Watch out for the hag at the counter! “Of course the internet is working…”) I’m working late into the night on matters of graphic arts, and Dale’s clicking around on that big internet, planning up tomorrow’s foray.

For the record, this is the “Pre-Pre-Pregame” of this mission.

It breaks down this way:

01. Pre-Pre-Pregame: Dallas, Canton, Shreveport.
02. Pre-Pre-Game: New Orleans.
03. Pregame: Gadsden, Alabama, starting the World’s Longest Yard Sale a day early.

Stay tuned for the full outlay. This trip is revving up to be one HELL of a loop through the south. Count on it, and, you’ll find it all here, or my name isnt’ Aaron James Draplin. We are just getting warmed up.

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TOMORROW MORNING, OVER OUR DEAD BODIES: First Monday Trade Days of Canton, Tex.

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IN THE SPIRIT OF “THINGS YOU MIGHT SEE ON THE BIG ROAD,” WE BRING YOU: An incredible collection of motorcycle license plates. Actually, a guy sent me this link, and for the life of me, I can’t remember who. Maybe someone off Twitter? Maybe through e-mail? Maybe it just popped into my head? Who the hell knows. So yeah, thank you, esteemed contributor. Much appreciated. I’m all messed up in Texas. Sorry.

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WE MIGHT BE STOPPING IN TO GET SOME ROLLS OF QUARTERS OR SOMETHING: The nation’s smallest bank, not too far from where we’ll be tomorrow.

As beautiful as this link is, I find it incredibly sad. When folks like that hang up their hats, that chapter is gone forever. Forever. And knowing that always hurts. It’s like watching some old dinosaur going about his day, and just knowing, when it passes, that’s that. You know what I mean. Like Westerberg says: “Sadly beautiful.” (via Coudal Partners of Chicago, Ill.)

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ALWAYS AWESOME: Aesthetic Apparatus and their Dead Weather poster series. Man. Fuck this catalog shit. I want to make rock posters. Adopt me Mike and Dan. Think about it. I could be your son. Feed me and shit. With a stick. Anyhoo. Awesome.