For the most part, we try to make sure that our annual(-ish) Big Trips cover new territory each time out. After all, if we're going to spend two weeks on the road, especially with travel costs being what they are, yet another run through Cleveland, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis probably isn't the way we're going to go. (No offense to Blaine, of course.)

But every once in a while, we end up retracing our steps at least slightly. So it was on the westermost swing of Big Trip '07, where we touched routes with the easternmost part of Big Trip '06 with a return to Spokane, our second visit there in less than a year. This time around, we spent only a few hours, mostly visiting some studio and tower sites we hadn't had access to on the first go-round - and picking up some IDs we missed the first time out, too. (We'll hit one more small piece of retracing steps in next week's installment.)

Before we got to Spokane, we got to see the drive-through directional array of KWAL 620 in Wallace, Idaho, which straddles I-90. (You can see it, too, at this week's Tower Site of the Week.) We've included that ID under Spokane, just because we couldn't quite justify creating a one-station Wallace market for it.

And we have one holiday bonus for you this week - we were back in a very frequent haunt of ours, Chicago, a few days ago...just in time to have tape rolling as Citadel flipped WZZN back to its heritage calls of WLS-FM. Check out the ID montage that launched the new calls!

The most direct route from the Nashville area (where I live) to Chattanooga is via Interstate 24. It's a bit of an adventure of a drive, particularly heading toward Chattanooga, with steep inclines, declines, and even runaway truck ramps spicing up the interstate experience. And there are signs *everywhere* encouraging travelers to "See Ruby Falls", which is one of many fun outdoor sites to be seen in the mountainous area surrounding southeast Tennessee.

And, over the weekend, I passed through Chattanooga on my way to and from Atlanta (look for new IDs from that market coming next week.) Included in the mix is the brand new 103.7 signal (moved in from the 103.9 signal in McMinnville, TN) that Clear Channel shifted into the Chattanooga market, which is currently stunting with a dance format as Boogie 103.7. Think disco and early 80s dance there, not the Party dance format that Cox used to have on in Miami and Orlando. Whatever the case, Boogie 103.7 is not expected to last long, so I lucked out in landing it.

Also this week is the final part of the IDs that I recorded in Dallas earlier this month, many of which are stations that are brand new to Toppy. Enjoy, and again be sure to check back here one week from tonight for the new IDs straight out of the ATL.

This weekend is Field Day for amateur radio operators across North America, so I've been enjoying that with my local club. Fortunately I got home in time for an update, with IDs I've had prepared for a while. Yes, it's more Boston.

You may notice in future updates that I'm a fan of JAM jingles, and I was very glad to hear WODS here in Boston start using them again. It had been a few years since their jingles had been heard on any station right in the middle of the Boston market. You may also notice in the two newest IDs from them, that they are now using the same voice over talent as their big sister, WCBS-FM in New York.

As Senor Fybush mentioned yesterday, I am on the road in Minneapolis...fighting with the internet and doing things that I wouldn't normally do — cause hey, that's what a radio convention is all about.

That won't keep me from my appointed rounds: today, a small pile of IDs from Manchester, NH, thanks to the generosity of one Garrett Wollman.

And with that...it's early 'round here and there's more ill-advised decisions to be made. B-Dub out.

It's been a busy week here in Toppyland. The Bossman is off at Conclave, fighting with a cranky internet connection and presumably taping all sorts of new Twin Cities legals for our future enjoyment. Meanwhile, Blaine and I spent a few days visiting every studio that didn't toss us out in Elkhart, South Bend and Chicago, while gathering still more IDs to add to the never-ending pile o' tape if and when I ever get home. Lou and Jeff were presumably doing their things, too, and if I knew more about fantasy football and maintaining two-way radio sites, I'd be able to say something fascinating about those, too.

In the meantime, this week's Big Trip ID update was slightly delayed, but all good things come to those who wait, so: Missoula, Montana!

This completes our Massive Montana Update, but just you wait - we've got more new Toppy markets coming soon, including Moscow/Pullman/Lewiston/Clarkston - so stay tuned here, and over at Tower Site of the Week, as we keep working to serve your ID-listening and tower-picture-viewing needs. We know you have a choice in your legal ID listening, and here at Toppy, we're working harder to earn your trust. Or maybe we're just amusing ourselves. Hard to tell, sometimes.

I'm still not all the way through my tapes I recorded during my trip to Dallas earlier this month. There are a bunch that I managed to sift through, though, and those are up on the site now.

My favorite of the bunch added today was the one for 96.7 The Twister, which used a Speak-and-Spell to help with the legal ID. Also, debuting ID 107.9 KESS-FM had an amazing number of stickers of vehicles that I saw in the Denton, TX area (north of Dalas/Ft. Worth). Either they've been doing a bunch of sticker stops lately, or they have some hardcore fans who aren't shy about showing their station loyalty.

Once again, New England is on top of the world of sports with the Celtics winning the NBA Championship this week. What better way to celebrate than by giving you even more wonderful IDs from the great city of Boston!

This post will easily bring Boston over the 300 ID mark, and it probably won't be long before we reach 400. I still have many more that will be ready to go soon from here, and other surrounding markets that can be picked up here at my location on the south shore. Most of these IDs come from 3-4 years ago, except for one new one from WEEI, mentioning the Celtics' championship.

After last week's Self-Indulgence Fest, it's back to the mines with contributions from Dan Baisden and Mike Miranda.

Mike covers the HD2 part of the title, with a handful of HD2 IDs from Charlotte, and Dan has the "not Peru" part handled by contributing IDs from (you've already sussed this out, right?) Lima, Ohio.

Have a swell weekend, and maybe go check out Get Smart. It's pretty good, even if it can't touch the brilliance of the TV show.

Alas, the minor-league ball team in lovely Helena, Montana is called the Brewers - and they were out of town the night the Big Trip passed through last August.

'S OK...it gave us more time to sit in the hotel room and collect legal IDs, which we're happy to share with you this week as we add yet another new market to the collection.

(And don't miss the pictures, over at Tower Site of the Week!)