on the 4th day....

6.28.09.
Santa Fe bound.
As a veil of rain envelopes the mountainsides and plateaus, we drive, and drive, enjoying the scenery...the smell of rain, the cool, sweet mountain air.
Lava laden lands, half stormy, half sunny skies and fields of yellow dotted with deep green sum this up.




Along the way we met Ramon in Socorro, New Mexico, and his amazing belt.



My friend Carrie allowed us to crash at her placed after giving us the 10c tour of the “Fe.” I gotta say, that is the best climate i have been in in a while! Margaritas on the bell tower and a giant plate of new mexican deliciousness....sopapilla included.....what more could you ask for really?
Thanks so much Carrie!!! it was fantastic to see you again!!! [Carrie you rock!]

We spent the next morning in and out of art galleries...I, searching for jewelry to rip off, and chris, enjoying a great Magnum photography exhibit....what we did find was a lovely Turkish man that owned a shop filled with amazing Turkish filigree...from crowns, to jewish pointer things, to a full on tea cup set with platter included.....you would have died James! [That guy was AMAZING. Full of excellent stories about every piece in his store – If you go to Santa Fe check out his store, he is super nice. On Canyon Road – Turkish Art Collector – Alfred Pontremoli]] Then he busted out some gold filigree from the vault just to show me....what a nice man......why cant they all be like that?????hum.

Ruidoso bound

The next day was spent packing and re-packing...we are now equipped for just about everything. Ruidoso here we come! We chilled at my parents house there....god i love that place....a small piece of heaven trapped in a town of....i will stop there. [annnnd, I'll finish that thought. white trash.]
We had an amazing bottle of wine [Thanks Suzanne!!!! You rock!!!!], some yummy food....Oh, Ashley, saw some SLT ...thats sweet leaf tea to all you others.... at a local health food store....so far the only place.

Chris kicked my booty at some billiards at one of the local joints....Farley's...
and then we met this guy....




Saturday night on the big town....first let me back up....somehow me and Chistof were talking about how we both looked like famous people...I finally guessed that he looks a little like Will Ferrell on a really bad day, and he could not guess who i looked like....[Nicole Kidman?, Sigourney Weaver?] it was driving him a little crazy....I told him not to worry, it would come out soon enough....I guaranteed him that someone would say something or perhaps ask for my autograph within the next 3 days...or 3 hours as it was....

We went to see a local bluegrass band play, and after the show, the singer came up to me and said damn, you look just like ________. [she hates that she looks just like JF] I looked over at Chris with a smile and a wave of realization and complete satisfaction washed over his face....followed by unstoppable laughter. Told ya so! The funny thing was this guy looked like a bug-eyed version of Ed Harris....so we had our photograph taken together.







It was then decided that my calling in life was to be a stunt double for ________. Maybe I will go out to Hollywood and make millions. But chris brought up a good point that the world might collapse onto itself if you meet yourself in the present.....we just might get thrown into a worm hole and be spit out the other side....hummm...anywhoo.

We then got wind of some boot scootin action going on at the WPS bar downtown....It was a photographic extravaganza. I promised chris that i had his back if some good ol cowboy tried to punch his lights out for taking photos.....he got some good ones....like this guy...a true bull-riding, son of a gun. Good guys these ones! I also learned that i weren't in texas anymore, no ma'am. They boot scoot quite differently in these parts....I got schooled....and we made a few friends....good ol friends.






It was then decided that our road trip is going to be about not only seeing, breathing, touching, and welcoming amazing landscapes and the great open road, but it is going to be about discovering true America...and all of the lovely, quirky, crazies within it.....something that the both of us have tried to get far, far away from....we now embrace you, all of you.

..Day One..

We load up into my wee little car....oh, she's a good car, and head on over to my hometown Big Spring...aka, the stix. Chris has now met my entire family....poor, poor guy. [Dang, they were really somethin'. Think recently slaughtered rattlesnake and ar-15s. All in all though, lovely people. Hospitable, endearing and Texas. Antiques roadshow could do an entire episode on the room I slept in. I love antiques roadshow, therefore by some semblance of logic, I also love family Wilbanks. (Edit by Chris)]

After a bit of minor bitching about how Austin is turning into Dallas with all of its strip malls and the passing of the once great “Backyard” [which was shut down by a friend of mine's lawyer ex-boyfriend, nice work, jerk], we decide to take “Pit stop” numero uno... dinner at Cooper's BBQ in Llano....a literal PIT stop...if you have ever been there....they have an outside pit filled with Meeaat. Ummmmmm....meat. Oh, what a dining experience....nothin like eating a pound of meat on a giant sheet of paper. Chris is a bit of a photographer and brought along a ginormous camera that i can barely hold up....and he decided to document this glorious event...which of course not only caught the attention of everyone in the joint, but especially of the lovely couple sitting next to us. They inquired about the camera, which of course led to a conversation about our trip....where are we going? Well, not exactly sure...going to try to make it up to Alaska. A huge smile passes over the man's face....they have been there before, and they elected to give us as many tips as possible. Me and chris pass a glance at one another and smile...and of course we know what the other is thinking since we are twins and all...just not the same sex, age, or height....it is going to be a good trip.










For the next four hours, we discover that we both have a brother 10 + years older than us named Mike, we like the same music, we have an inexplainable urge to travel, love salsa [but I can actually dance it] and everything latin, speak a bit of espanol, and have the same size bladder! Amazing, although sometimes i drive myself crazy, so this will be a true experiment....will we kill one another before this is all over???? hummmm. only time will tell [lots and lots of it].
And all that jabbering while driving lead me to get pulled over by a coppa, who literally manifested out of thin air.....He approached the car and smiled and asked to see my license and registration. He checked my rainbow card (Hawaii) and came back to the car. Chris was then in complete shock when he let me drive away with a mere warning after going 87 in a 70, having an out-of-state license, and an expired insurance card. I've got boobs Chris, what can i say? Now he is wishing he had been the girl...[when he approached the car and looked at cute little Texas girl Cori, he joyfully asked where she was from. After about three minutes of flirting, he said, “Don't worry little lady, I'm just going to issue a warning this fine day. Women.]




Home sweet home. mom, dad, bro, sis-n-law, and 3 rugrats.....aww....i love you guys!
It was great to see everyone before we left, left....and more importantly, it was great to swap cars with my mom! Yeeeee Hawwwww..... Drivin the Denali to Denali....ahhhh what a sweet ride she is. Good times. Technology has come a long way since the mid 90's, let me tell ya! This puppy drives itself.....you just have to steer...a little. the wipers even speed up and slow down automatically....and the cruise control works, and all of the speakers work....oh, ya, the cruise is out on my car mom...and don't turn the stereo up too loud...he he, nice trade! Its like floating on a cloud on a sunny day....sweet joy.

Here are some pics from House Wilbanks.





And to all of my Enviro friends....have no fear....I fully plan on erasing this massive carbon footprint left by the beast. I will calculate every mile driven and find a way to reverse the damage...be it planting trees, volunteering, or donating to a very worthy cause....if anyone has any tips or ideas for this, please pass it on! cheers. [It will take about 3 years of continuous planting to help the Earth out of the ditch we are digging from this man-machine.]

How it all began....

participants: cori wilbanks and chris archer

embarked: june 25th, 2009

how should it begin? In a chance meeting by a friend, I found my twin....separated at birth, and not exactly the same age, we met at a bar....thanks jarod!


Cori: “so, im thinking about going on a road trip....wanna come?”
Chris: “when”
Cori: “whenever...now”
Chris: “let me get back with you on that”
Cori: “word”

the next day....

Cori: “so, you commin?”
Chris: “ok, give me 2 days”
Cori: “word”

and so it began......