tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65131634446270538312024-03-19T04:57:57.632-07:00The Great DriveBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-14609646609736367292011-05-22T20:31:00.001-07:002011-05-22T20:35:28.254-07:00The rest of the road tripI stopped blogging after crossing into TX. Life got crazy; my drives got very long; and I was processing a ton while racing him to try to salvage the unsalvagable. I waited nearly a year to publish the blogs from "Kristie Week" and finally decided to do so because it's pretty much an accurate record of The Great Drive. Sadly the last week of my week was rushed and cut short. I did have an awesome time visiting Jamin, Jon, Allen and Chrissy. I wish that I'd blogged more about our shared experiences but I was honestly too distracted to do so. That said, I relished in the opportunity to rejuvenate these friendships and thank each of them for opening up their homes and schedules to my visit! The Great Drive was an epic experience and fulfillment of a lifelong dream! Thank you to everyone who made time to play a role in this epic experience! It would not have been possible without you! I would have fallen asleep, gone off the road, and died.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-29204393366694325022011-05-22T20:28:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:31:09.408-07:00Carlsbad CavernsExhausted, we woke up about an hour later than we’d hoped. When we checked out of the hotel they gave out disgusting but filling pre-packaged glazed baked goods. Our late departure delayed our arrival at Carlsbad Caverns a bit but it may have actually worked out well since we discovered an opening on one of the tours. I knew Kristie really wanted to get to Oklahoma City today to see Richard and hang out with him so I was impressed when she jumped at the opportunity for a guided tour because I knew that would delay our arrival that evening. In a way that made me feel like things were healed a bit from last night and that she was interested in exploring with me. <br /><br />We really did have a blast on the tour. This included a visit to remote areas of the cave and even a blackout in which we experienced total darkness and silence. It was so dark that you could not detect any movement of your hands right in front of your face. According to our guide, this was only possible deep in caverns and in ocean trenches. What a life experience! We also saw a ton of stalactite and stalagmite formations. It was spectacular. Following our tour, we explored the big room, which was larger than four football fields. There were awesome formations as well as a place called bottomless pit, and even a chapel like formation. Carlsbad was incredibly impressive. It was formed by sulfuric acid and water eating away at the remains of a coral sea. Then, years of water eroding and passing through the surface down into the caverns created enormous stalactite and stalagmite formations. There is also a natural flow of air through the caverns. This is believed to form the unique popcorn stalactite formations that abound in the cavern. The cave was discovered and explored by a 16 year old. He journeyed over 800 feet below the surface by candlelight and lantern light. Quite impressive compared to the lives of 16 year olds approximately 100 years later. <br /><br />When we got to the surface Kristie called Richard to let him know we were hitting the road. In a very odd situation, he had previously offered to drive 5 hours out towards our approaching route and to meet us at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo Texas. Kristie then made plans to drive with Richard in his car the five hours back to his place and for me to follow them or meet them at his place. I found the whole situation perplexingly weird but went along with it because it seemed to be something that Kristie wanted. <br /><br />As we left New Mexico, we stopped to take a picture with the Texas state sign. Below the sign it stated “Drive Courteously. It’s the Texas way.” Kristie took that to heart and really cut down her speed from New Mexico as we traversed a small narrow farm road (with a speed limit of 70) along the TX border with NM. Well it was a good thing she did! About an hour into Texas, we were passed in the other direction by a TX Ranger. He then proceeded to casually turn around, and come back in our direction to pull us over.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-86213587857177891412011-05-22T20:24:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:28:50.904-07:00Roswell and White SandsGood Morning! Or perhaps we could describe this as bad morning. The camera is shot. We tried to get it to work this morning and it does not focus, does not flash, and turns off. This is not a good thing. A quick check of best buy locations finds one in Las Cruces, NM. This is basically on our path but still a bit out of the way. We need to stop to get this fixed though. I thought our best approach might be for Kristie to wear her tank top and short sweat shorts so that the geek at Best Buy might be more attentive to our problems. Hopefully this works! After about 2 hours we arrived at Best Buy. The guy paid a lot of attention but was not as helpful as we’d wanted. He said that they’d have to send out the camera to get serviced and could not provide us with a replacement. Furthermore, they can only ship it out if you can pick it up at the same location as you dropped it off. This made Las Cruces pretty impossible. Thankfully he suggested we buy a camera and return it when we got back for a full refund. So maybe the sexy trick worked a bit at least! <br /><br />By now it was pretty much lunchtime, especially since we skipped breakfast. It was time for the highly anticipated (and slightly disappointing) stop at the Pizza Hut lunch buffet. Ah highly filling Yum food. Then a bit of ice for the cooler and back on the road… this time towards White Sands. The GPS crapped out again and made it a bit of a challenge to find the road, but there was no way we were returning to Best Buy again and risking a lost afternoon and cutting out stops… especially because this was one of the highlights of Kristie’s trip… Roswell! But first – White Sands… We wound through a mountain pass and could observe a huge thunderstorm to our left. Then we descended into an incredibly flat valley. Here we drove right into a US Border Control checkpoint. A bit odd since it’s literally 150 miles away from the nearest border. But I get the idea, they are looking for drug runners. When you arrive, you’re greeted with about 20 cameras recording every angle of your car. Then you approach a guard who gives you an interrogation that’s more difficult than when you cross back from Canada. After that we were back on our way. This made us pretty happy since it would have taken at least an hour for them to search our stuffed to the brim car. After we left there, it occurred to Kristie that this might be a bit of a violation of our civil rights since, after all, we were Americans in America traveling on a public road who were being stopped and questioned without cause. Hilarity, which can be found on the video, ensued. <br /><br />When we arrived at White Sands, we didn’t really know what to expect. I think we’d both say we were pretty impressed. Basically, there are nearly bleach white sand dunes as far as the eye can see. They’ve paved a bit of a road in and the rest is literally snow (ok maybe sand) plowed. We found a cool spot to climb on the dunes and take some pictures. As soon as you exit the car you find that this is not beach sand. It’s very hard packed and a bit wet. It sticks to your shoes like cement. I think it literally made me about an inch taller. We climbed up the dune and took some really fun pictures. I tried (multiple times) to get pictures of Kristie suspended in the air jumping on the dune. She also made a sand angel which was pretty awesome! I don’t know why but I was not in a really fun or creative mood. Rather I was pretty mellow and I’m pretty sure that the pictures of me will kind of reflect that. This was a short stop which we actually added on when we readjusted our schedule this morning. I think we were only here for about 15 minutes. It would be a fun place to come back to and go for a hike. You can actually hike back to some dunes which border a lake. I think the white dunes on the blue water would be pretty spectacular. <br /><br />On the road again, we started jetting towards Roswell. It started to thunder and pour. Soon, I was exhausted and had to call make a call to the bullpen. Thankfully Kristie was rested and ready to close out the trip to Roswell. We made good time and got there at about 3:45. Thankfully we made it with an hour and 15 minutes prior to closing. This place was the Holy Land to Kristie and I had a good time too. We took a ton of pictures and also checked out the newspaper clippings, radio reports, etc of the 1947 Roswell UFO Crash. One of the cool features is a world map in which visitors mark their location with a pushpin. Apparently it is cleared every 2 weeks and there were literally pins from every corner of the globe. There were also exhibits on UFO sightings from other areas of the globe. When the museum closed, we headed to the gift shop. There was a good deal of unique memorabilia and Kristie found $110 of once in a lifetime items to commemorate the visit with. It was a very cool stop! <br /><br />Plus, with the museum closing at 5, we were able to get on the road in time to make the evening bat program at Carlsbad Caverns. Each night, tens of thousands of Mexican (Brazilian) bats fly out of the caverns at sunset to go out hunting for the night. It is supposed to be an amazing experience. Sadly, as you’ll find out soon, it was not meant to be. We passed a disgusting smelly town. I think it was called Artisan, NM. It was home to a giant oil refinery and probably one of the lowest life expectancies in America. Plus the local Sunoco only accepted cash – obviously evading taxes. Finally, starving, we found a Sonic! This was a first! And a fun first! Kristie accidentally ordered their double cheeseburger along with amazing onion rings. I got a hot dog and an ice cream that was way too large for both of us to consume. All in all a fun stop. While ordering, I quickly confirmed visit arrangements with Jamin over text message. The next part of the trip is falling into place. This is good since it’s only about 2 days away!<br /><br />Carlsbad was about 45 minutes south of Sonic. We had to push to get there for the sunset program. Once we arrived at the park, the terrain changed promptly. It was BEAUTIFUL. There were huge fruiting Prickly Pear Cacti, towering Yucca flowers, and a ton of greenery. It was like we’d just moved from the desert to a tropical paradise. We’d later learn that this was because they’ve had a good deal of monsoon moisture (the most in 4 years) in the past month. The cavern entrance was over 10 miles into the park. We did not account for this so we drove as fast as possible and actually made it on time. When I pulled up to ask the ranger where the amphitheater was, we were disappointed to learn that it had been called off due to “lightning in the area” and that they were closing the park early. This was a huge letdown as few people make their way to Carlsbad, NM more than once in a lifetime. I guess this means that we’ll need to be a couple of those few! <br /><br />We took a bit of a more leisurely pace leaving the park. We took a good amount of photos and were enjoying ourselves until Kristie spotted a GIANT spider on a plant right off from where we were standing. This cut short the rest of our sightseeing and we headed back into town. We did not have a hotel reservation and this has already led to problems on this leg of the trip. This evening was no different. We decided to pick a random motel since there were bad reviews of the Motel 6. This was not a good choice. The wifi did not work well at all and this set the tone for a pretty awful evening. Kristie really wanted to be able to use the internet, so I called the front desk and asked if they could switch our room to somewhere closer to the router. They refused and told us that the router was located near the pool in the back. Such a lie… we went back there to find no service as well. Kristie thinks that they are stealing wifi from a neighboring facility. I think she was right. <br /><br />Things were really awkward in the hotel room that night for a variety of reasons. We had a bit of a blow out argument that pretty much ended in both of us crying and being angry. Not what you’d want to have happen on vacation, especially at this point in this vacation. And, to be honest, I’m not sure if either of us knew or realized exactly what we were doing during this argument. It was bad and damaging and regretful. I said a ton of things that I didn’t even mean or believe. For example, I made up excuses for why we should not have kids soon, even though I did want to get married and have children relatively soon. I don’t know why I said them except that I felt, threatened, attacked, jealous, and uneasy. I wish I could have taken them back or just remained silent. Going to bed that night was melancholy and awkward.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-10818424726515391442011-05-22T20:20:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:24:29.355-07:00Mesa Verde, Aztec Ruins, and Truth or ConsequencesI woke up wet this morning. Though I first attempted to blame it on Kristie going to the bathroom behind the tent last night, the reality was that we’d been rain gods and brought water to this drought ridden Mecca. The only problem is that I didn’t line the tent properly so the water had run under it and under me and made it and me wet. Somehow Kristie escaped unscathed. The tent was soaked. So, what we decided to do was leave it to dry while we take the tour. After stopping at the camp store to pick up a bite for breakfast, we drove to the Cliff Palace site. On the way, there was a good deal of construction. <br /><br />I began telling Kristie about how it’s fun to talk to the people who stop traffic while you’re all waiting to be allowed to pass. As a child I had stopped and spoken with a guy on the Navajo reservation who was intrigued by my UCONN shirt and asked if I liked basketball. He ended up being an IAABO referee and it was a fun conversation. Back to today, we were the first people stopped at a paving site. The guy came up to us and asked if we happened to have an IPod charger. We did! So we charged his IPod for about 10 minutes while we waited and talked. Apparently he too finds it funny how many people stand around while others work on a site and he gave us impersonations and the like. When we gave him back slightly charged IPod, he dropped it on the pavement. I hope it still works!<br /><br />We arrived early at the tour site, so we decided to loop around to try to see other ruins. We’re bad at this. We could not spot any of the ones that the signs told us were right there in front of us. When we started the tour, the guide appeared weird. She moved people off the rocks they were sitting on, made them stand, then stood on the rocks herself to address the crowd. We headed down into the Cliff Palace (and recorded most of the tour for posterity’s sake). There were some tight squeezes and it was quite fun to walk through these narrow passages. Once we got into the site, the two of us decided to hang back towards the edge of the group so that we could take the most pictures and go at our own pace. Basically all of the round buildings are religious buildings – sun, moon, stars, etc. The square buildings serve functions. Most of the round ones are called Kivas. It is believed that Cliff Palace was built communally buy the different tribes of Anasazi people as a shared religious center. That’s a really cool and advanced structure! As it turns out, our guide (ranger) was an adopted member of the Hopi people which are descendents of the Anasazi. I had always thought that Anasazi had disappeared but I guess that’s incorrect. <br /><br />At the close of our tour we climbed up very narrow steps. To the right we could see where centuries of fingers and toes had worn the sandstone from scaling the steep cliffs. It was amazing. Then, we ascended two wooden ladders and completed the tour. Afterwards, we hiked about a mile out to get a perspective of the other large cliff dwelling. We saw a ton of lizards but again, no snakes. This was a bit of a tenuous walk because we did not have bottled water in the car to carry with us and it was very hot and dry out. Thankfully we were able to make it and we were sure to rehydrate when we got back to camp. <br /><br />As we were approaching our tent site, a baby deer jetted right in front of the car. Thankfully Kristie slammed on the breaks and we JUST MISSED hitting the thing. It was an amazing close call. All I could see were the Bambi spots. The tent came down quickly and then Kristie bought a bunch of souvenirs and then we were off to Truth or Consequences, NM. <br /><br />One of the souvenirs that Kristie bought was a 1000 Places To See Before You Die in the USA and Canada book. We were happy to have not died hitting the deer a few minutes prior and decided to look through the book and highlight everywhere that we’d both been. We’d like to make a bucket list of sorts of cool places in the book that we can travel to together. I, of course, loved this idea! We were also excited to be hitting some of those places in the coming days. One place that we discovered in the book was called Aztec Ruins. It appeared to be near our route for the day. In fact, it was ON our route. We had to stop. This was a very interesting site which was run by the National Park Service. Different tribes had occupied it at different times in history. A cool historical linkage of the day came from the fact that some of the people who inhibitated this site were Anazasi and that they brought some of the construction materials over 40 miles from the Mesa Verde area. <br /><br />We stopped quickly to pick up some bread sticks at Pizza Hut and then hit the road for the 7:30 drive down to Truth or Consequences, NM. We decided to stay here because of the hot springs and the cool name. We stayed at Riverbend Motel and Hot Springs. A few cool things about this place. They gave us a two room suite for $90. This included unlimited time in the hot spring baths. What a cool place. Oh wait did I already say that? When we arrived the person who checked us in was from Rhode Island. She was very, very, very excited that the Maniacs had arrived. In fact she was so excited that she talked to us for about 30 minutes before checking us in. She referred us to a very nice Italian restaurant in the center of (and out of place in) Truth or Consequences. This place was chic. It felt like you walked out of a small run down Mexican town, and into mid-town Manhattan. I liked that they gave us fresh olives along with our bread. Plus, they had pesto! Tremendous! A bit pricey but still great. When we got back to the room, we quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed out to soak in the mineral hot springs. We started in the coolest – 101 degrees. It felt great, especially since the air outside was cooling off. I ran to get each of us a beer from the cooler but was stopped on my return by our friendly host from Rhode Island who instructed me that both glass and alcohol are prohibited in the soaking areas. Oh well, worth a try I guess. After soaking a bit more, we moved up in warmth trying some of the other pools. Finally we hit the 110 degree pool. Wow that is hot. It feels good but it is so hot! While in here, we got into a long conversation with our friend from Rhode Island. We were curious why she moved here and how she discovered it here. It turns out that she has lyme disease and her doctor, for some reason, told her that she needed to move somewhere dry and warm. So she looked for places that she and her husband could work and live in an RV (yes an odd combo we did not ask about) and discovered this place. She’s been working here for about 4 years now I guess. <br /><br />To cool off we went into the 100 degree tub again and then to cool off even more (maybe too much) I went down the steps into the Rio Grande. It was chilly at first. Then Kristie asked me to hold on for a second so she could get some (pretty cool) photos and it became freezing! We hung out in the tubs for a really relaxing evening. Once we got back in the room we noticed that there was water in the camera. This is never good – even in a waterproof camera. Hopefully this dries out by tomorrow! Then, though I wanted to stay up, I passed out basically as soon as my body hit the bed.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-24582655389188385012011-05-22T20:19:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:20:20.979-07:00Navajo DayOn paper, today was probably the least exciting day of the Kristie segment. It involved over 8 hours of driving. However it did not turn out terribly. Before heading into the Navajo Reservation, I stopped to pick up some seltzer for Kristie at the gas station just outside of the reservation. The reservation is dry – they don’t sell alcohol. Well this place was not. It was 9:00 AM. I hate stereotypes but, there were 3 people in front of me and their orders went like this: 30 rack of coors, 30 rack of bud, and 12 pack of Mikes Hard. Stereotypes are generally bad, but this was like a walking stereotype. <br /><br />Back on the road we wound up a steep road that challenged my Prius battery again and we climbed up the Vermillion Cliffs. After about an hour we found food. Kristie was starving and thanks to the odd time zones in Arizona we were able to get her to a Burger King just in time to catch the last of the French toast sticks. Then we stopped by the Glen Canyon Dam. This is one of the most controversial projects since the rising waters destroyed renowned beautiful canyon with a ton of archeology when the cam was completed. However, the dam is impressive. They had a neat visitor’s center. One of the rangers was operating a telescope so we could view sun spots. Sadly the sun went away when we realized this but it was still fun to talk to her about them! <br />Our big destination for the day was Monument Valley. We drove north on the reservation and even briefly re-entered Utah before arriving. Monument Valley is where many of the Western movies of the mid-20th Century were filmed. It’s a cool looking place with huge red spires surrounded by pretty much nothing. There was an option to drive a 17 mile dirt loop road to check out all of the spires close up but we decided against it since the Prius has a low clearance. We took some pretty nice pictures, including one from Ansel Adam’s famed photography site. There was also an interesting Navajo history museum. This park is considered a sacred site for them. One of the funnier signs we saw instructed us to ask permission to photograph a native person and to be sure to provide gratuity to them. As you can guess, we did not take part in either of these activities. There was a gigantic gift shop in the museum and I found peace pipes which I thought Kristie might want to get as a gift for Richie. She did and even got 40% off – which I think is a continuously running sale. Then we hit the road again towards Ship Rock, New Mexico. <br /><br />On the way we encountered something crazy… a huge dump truck being transported in pieces on the road. There were lead and chase vehicles which pushed all of the traffic (including us) off the road. This thing was gigantic and the whole process just seemed dangerous. I took a picture. When we arrived at ship rock, it looked kind of cool but nothing like a ship. After a while of gazing, Kristie pointed out that it did look like a sinking ship. That actually made visual sense to me as well. Perhaps that’s why it is called ship rock. After a brief stop at Taco Bell, we headed north toward Colorado. This was the ugliest crossing sign I’ve seen since it was tagged with gang graffiti. It also was brown and white but exclaimed “Welcome to Colorful Colorado.” A bit of an oxymoron for sure. On the other side there was a very nice sign welcoming travelers to the Navajo reservation. We also got a picture with that sign for the X-Files theme segment of the trip. <br /><br />Approaching dark, we arrived at Mesa Verde National Park. The campground had availability – thank God! We also were able to purchase our tickets for the Cliff Palace tour for tomorrow morning. This was one of the few things on the whole trip so far that required cash. I had to scrounge up change from the car to pay for it. This was the first night that Kristie camped on this trip – excluding that terrible night of sleeping in the car at Great Basin National Park. We set up the tent, built a campfire, and tried some local beers. I must admit that Corona would have been a better choice as this micro brew was not so good. The winds were whipping which made me a bit nervous as I used the park newspapers to start the wood on fire. They were blowing everywhere, half lit, and into the dry grass which had not seen rain in over 2 weeks. We actually watched an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm by the campfire. Not many people can say they’ve done that! Then we headed to bed.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-18692390952046502482011-05-22T20:15:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:19:17.259-07:00The Grand CanyonWe got an early start this morning and headed south towards the Grand Canyon. Shortly we hit the Arizona border and shortly thereafter began climbing. We reached a scenic overlook where Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders once stood. It was at this site, according to the roadside sign, that he decided to set aside all the land in his sights, quadrupling the amount of lands preserved originally. We also first encountered the Navajo artists who were selling their art at different rest areas across the vast area surrounding and in their reservation. <br /><br />As we approached the Grand Canyon, we wound our way through the remains of a gigantic forest fire. It had to be at least 30-40 miles long and stretched on both sides of the road almost as far as we could see. It’s amazing to think of the power of these fires. It was also a pretty recent fire as there was not very much new growth emerging yet. After the fire zone, the road becomes perfectly beautiful. You drive on the edge of a natural meadow with a tiny stream flowing through it. On the edges of the meadow are the cutest small Christmas trees which slowly fade into a forest that looks a lot like the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The North Rim has one of the more rustic welcome signs. After waiting what seemed like a week and a day for Cousin Eddy and his wife to finish taking pictures of the sign, their car, the scenery, us, more of the sign, more of each other, etc…. we finally had the chance to take our picture with the sign. As always it was worth the wait. But actually this picture came out quite well and was a cute one of us. Cousin Eddy seemingly had trouble finding his cash to pay admission to the park. We waited another 10 minutes behind him at the entry booth. <br /><br />Once we were in the park, we immediately came upon stopped traffic. Right on the edge of the road was a heard of bison. They were not as attractive as the ones in Yellowstone and instead looked like they’d been crossbred with cows. <br />While not as awe-inspiring as the South Rim, the North Rim still presents a nearly incomprehensibly vast landscape. It’s very hard to take in. We parked and entered the lodge on the edge of the canyon. In a way, I am a bit disappointed that Kristie’s first view of it had to come from a hotel observation area, but that’s just where we happened into. We then hiked out to Bright Angel Point. This was a great vista. Our first picture from this part of the trip was taken by a group of European Harley Enthusiasts. They were an interesting pair of couples for sure. We then took a detour to get closer to the edge. Kristie climbed to a perched rock making me pretty nervous! I took pictures and then we scampered back to my trail. My cheap sandals were not best equipped for off trail hiking and I also get really nervous whenever someone I care about is near danger. I’m weird like that. <br /><br />When we returned to the lodge we had really good meal overlooking the canyon at the Lodge Restaurant. Kristie had a very filling homemade macaroni and cheese and I had an amazing black bean burger. The French fries (quartered fried potato) left a bit to be desired but the rest of the meal was awesome. The highlight was probably the incredibly refreshing ice water/seltzer. I may have finished a whole pitcher myself. After lunch, we drove to the eastern outlooks. First we wound our way to Cape Royal. On the way we stopped at Vista Encantada and a nice guy offered to take our picture. Once back in the car, we somehow got back on the disputed topics of the evening before. I was dying to just get to the next outlook because it felt like this conversation was going nowhere good. Finally we got to the outlook and parked the car. After a few minutes to compose, we headed out on the hike to the overlook. The scenery had changed dramatically as there were tons of flowering plants and much more of a desert type of setting. As we continued walking in there were breathtaking views. The best of which was Angel’s Window. We were finally able to hike out onto this spot which gave us 270 degree views of the canyon and, for the first time, the Colorado River. It was amazing. <br /><br />As we were sitting on a rock, taking it all in, a young family with a boy and a girl were taking a family picture. Kristie burst into tears and said she had to go. I followed her and we hurried to the car. She cried for quite a while. I assume that it was because she felt as if she was never going to have this experience. I don’t know how to show her that I really do want this too. She’s got it stuck in her head that I don’t want to get married and have children with her and/or that I want to wait until we’re old to have kids. I don’t know what to do. It seems that she’s constructed a huge wall and I’ve responded by building my own buttress, but I just don’t know what or why I’m defending and arguing. Kristie fell asleep in the car before we got to the final overlook – Point Imperial. I woke her up when we got there and we headed down to take a few photos. This overlook was not as impressive as the view from Angel’s Window. <br /><br />After picking up a magnet and some chocolate at the gift shop, we began our drive to the evening’s hotel – The Lodge at Vermillion Cliffs. The drive down was beautiful. We descended from 75 degree forests at the Grand Canyon down into a deep red desert backed by the Vermillion Cliffs. The hotel was a hole in the wall but had a nice clean room. The only thing lacking was a tv and internet. So, after checking in, we headed out to explore. The Navajo Bridge was located about a mile from the lodge. We walked out on it and Kristie was very excited because this was another X-Files associated part of our trip. There was a Morman family there at the same time as us. <br /><br />Near the bridge we saw a sign for Lake Powell Recreation Area. Though it was getting a bit late, we decided to go in and explore. Right when we were about to turn around, we came upon a parking area where you could access the Colorado River. When we got out of the car, it sounded like there were thousands of rattle snakes rattling all at once. This had to be some other animal making the noise – at least we hoped. We headed down towards the water. I was more careful than Kristie. I think she enjoyed my anxiousness regarding the snakes. I’ll admit it is kind of hilarious. On the way down, we clearly saw the swerving paths of snakes who had passed this way previously. The water was quite cold but it was great to put my feet in this once mighty river. This was the point from which many of the early rafting expeditions had entered the water. I think both of us really liked this spot. It was a great surprise addition to the trip. <br /><br />Dinner in the lodge restaurant was a blast! The cook and the waitress had very engaging personalities. They had a great beer selection and we tried a beer that is “made in the oldest continuously occupied home in Scotland” – not exactly what you’d expect in the middle of the Arizona desert. We had onion rings for an appetizer. For dinner, Kristie had a NY Sirloin and I had a meal that I don’t think I’ll ever live down… the Blue Cheese and Raisin salad. Just for the record it was amazing. Kristie was like what man eats a salad when his girlfriend is eating a steak. I responded that a lot of men on the coasts eat salads, but she heard on the “on the west coast” and responded with “yeah, in San Francisco.” The waitress and cook loved this as did a group of Kristie’s Facebook friends. And, that joke went on for much of the rest of the evening.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-37943637532686294562010-07-19T20:10:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:15:18.326-07:00Hiking the NarrowsThis morning Kristie had a bit of a headache so we laid low. I ran out to Rite Aid to get her some medicine and then she started to feel better right around the close of the free continental breakfast. It gets hot fast here in Utah. By the time we got in the car (around 10:30) it was already north of 100 degrees outside. We headed into Zion National Park. There were signs to listen to the radio to hear directions on parking. It was nearly impossible to discern what the radio station was saying and this was bringing back Kristie’s headache so we turned it off and took our chances. After much circling in the parking lot, I decided to park in ¼ of an RV spot. There was a short RV from Indiana that left enough room for a Prius to sneak in. I was sure to take a picture of the license plate just in case he backed up through my car!<br />Zion is basically a car-free park. Everyone rides a pretty nice – though not air conditioned – shuttle to each of the park destinations and trailheads. The nice part is that the driver narrates as you go – well ours did since the automatic recording had broken – so you get a bit of a tour while you’re driving. <br /><br />The valley is beautiful. I think Kristie really enjoyed it to the tune of “we should really come back here someday.” I agree, but in the fall, spring or winter next time. I was kind of disappointed that the tunnel road was under construction because I remember that being magnificent and wish I could have shared this with her. When we arrived at the last stop, we began our one mile hike up to the Narrows. It was hot and we saw a few lizards running across. Thankfully no snakes! This part was paved. <br />Then we hiked right on into the Zion River. Kristie was wearing Nike ACG sandals and I was wearing socks and shoes. I bet you’d guess that her feet would be in better shape than mine in a few hours. Well you could not have been more wrong. After going about an hour up the river, Krisite’s feet really began to blister and rub against the leather of her shoes. She was a trooper but I knew this was uncomfortable. I started to ask if she wanted to turn around and she kind of became frustrated with me asking. I think she wanted to keep going and also did not want to disappoint me and cut short my hike. Plus we’d been bickering a good bit on this trip so I think tensions may have been a bit up as it was.. We continued around a beautiful corner of the narrows at her insistence. I’m quite happy we did. Then we turned back.<br /><br />Kristie was able to float down the river for part of it. It was really cool. I got some on video. There were a couple of cool waterfall features along the way and we took a good deal of pictures. I must say that walking in a river is really pretty fun. This was perfect because it was rarely above your waist so you could carry a backpack without it getting soaked. When we finally got back to the paved path, I took a look at Kristie’s feet. They were pretty bad. I suggested that she take her shoes off to walk back in less pain but the cement was so hot that she had to put them back on. It must have seemed like an eternity for her walking back. She had to keep adjusting how she walked. <br /><br />By the time we got back to the bus we decided that it would be best if we cancelled our tubing reservation so that we could work on getting her feet to heal. We both napped on the ride back to the Visitors Center. I also noticed a very young girl with a tattoo on her arm that said Dad. That just seemed like such a sad situation. There were no Band-Aids at the ranger station so we got back in the sizzling car and headed home. The temperature on the car thermometer was 119. I burned my arm on the plastic of the door. This heat is incredible. <br /><br />When we got back to town, we showered and cleaned up for dinner. We went to JB’s which has a really good salad bar. Jared would have been proud! They also had pretty good food. Kristie got a taco salad and I got a half sandwich and the scrumptious salad bar. Upon returning to the hotel, we had an enormous argument. Kristie was frustrated that she’s getting older and wants to have kids and that we’re not even married yet. I argued for her – though I don’t know why since I want the same thing on a slightly different timeline – and she ended up saying that she’s not even sure if she wants to be together anymore. This was a rough night for sure.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-50863301350941581592010-07-18T06:51:00.000-07:002010-07-18T06:52:19.333-07:00Bristlecone Pines and HoodoosI woke up at 445am in the stifling car and decided to drive back up the road in Great Basin so we could do our hike to see the Bristlecone Pines. It was very early. I saw the sunrise and got a few good pictures climbing the road. I woke up Kristie when we got to the trailhead. We were out hiking at 6 and were done by 8. It was a bit difficult due to the elevation. You could certainly feel it. But, it was also very cool to see trees that were alive when Jesus was here. These trees were 5000 years old! They surely did not look like it! There were gnarled and half dead but they certainly were that old. There were displays pointing out when the trees were “born.” Some dead trees had seeming obituaries as well. All and all a very cool hike.<br /><br />We then stopped at the visitors center to briefly and took a picture next to the sign. Due to our late night and my being tired, we cut Capital Reef National Park out of the itinerary. We headed out towards Bryce Canyon. It was not too bad of a drive – about 4 hours. We drove through the middle of nowhere. Kristie was dying for breakfast but we did not come across a town offering food until the third hour of the drive. Here we stopped at the El Bambi Café. It was not good but served breakfast. Kristie enjoyed her eggs. I hated my pan fried hamburger and railed against people who stay in dead end jobs in these small towns. We then completed the hour drive to Bryce. <br /><br />A surprisingly cool spot on the drive came in Dixie National Forest. Here we drove into Red Canyon. This looked like the inspiration for Thunder Mountain. It looks even more like it than the real inspiration – Sedona, AZ. There were also a couple of awesome arch bridges that the road passed under. <br /><br />Bryce was awesome – though small. The park road stretches about 16 miles along the overlooks over the hoodoo erosive features. Since it was pouring we decided to start out on the farther – less impressive – section of the park. Thus we began at Rainbow Point and worked backwards towards Bryce and Sunset Points. These were the most spectacular! But, we didn’t realize this until we got there. It was fun to use the waterproof camera to take some pictures in the rain. We also saw a huge arch called Natural Bridge. I stopped to get a magnet at the gift shop and my phone fell out of the car. Not good… more scratches on the back case. At least it is not on the front I guess!<br />Our hotel is surprisingly nice. It is the Days Inn in Hurricane Utah. We passed by JB’s restaurant where we’ll probably eat tomorrow night. I have fond memories of that place from when I was here with my family in high school. They have a salad bad. Tomorrow is Zion. Hopefully hiking the Narrows and tubing down the Virgin River.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-16551179245561652332010-07-18T06:50:00.000-07:002010-07-18T06:51:46.451-07:00First Day with KristieI keep forgetting – for some reason – that Kristie can’t sleep on planes. I need to do a better job of remembering this as I plan trips. We ended up sleeping in a bit and then heading to the Circus Circus breakfast buffet while we waited for the “engineer” to fix our clogged tub. Once that was cleared up we were able to shower and get going. Vegas was still hot but I had a much friendlier view of the city when I woke up rested. As we made our way to the Hoover Dam, the temperature was 111. <br /><br />The dam has stupid security protocols designed to make red America feel secure. Really they do absolutely nothing. As you go through the check point, the two inspectors merely look in your windows at you and then say “come on through.” You also had to pay for parking here. It is $7 which is about as crazy as $10 to park at Rushmore. But anyway, it was pretty interesting to see the dam. Kristie rubbed the feet of the two statues commemorating its completion for good luck. We also viewed some of the memorials and plaques. One of the cooler one was a map of the stars on the night that the dam was completed. This was installed so that future life forms could ascertain the date that the dam was completed. When we walked out onto the dam, you walk across time zones. Half way through there is a sign marking the boundary between Arizona and Nevada. There are also clocks on each of the respective intakes for the dam. The water level is strikingly low. At least 100 feet are missing. This is demonstrative of the huge drought afflicting the area. If current patterns continue the dam will hold back almost no water in 2050 and Las Vegas will run out of drinking water. We took a bunch of pictures and then headed back to the comfort of our air conditioned car. <br /><br />Then it was off to Area 51. Well actually, it was off to Target, then to the gas station. We did not get out of Vegas again until about 12:30 and then made it to Rachel, NV around 3. The ride was pretty cool. The car struggled with the mountain passes again thanks to the battery problems. But, we made it! Rachel is the only town on the Extraterrestrial Highway, but it is quite a cool town. It’s actually not a town anymore. They closed the mine in the 1980’s as cheaper materials were available from China. Since then the population decreased from 200 to 74 people. At 100 people a town is absorbed into the neighboring community. Now, only one child lives in Rachel. Our stop was the Little AlieInn. It is a gift shop and bar centered around Area 51 and extraterrestrials. We got the Alien Burgers –which were surprisingly on a French Bread bun and explored the shop. There were all kinds of things and Kristie got a ton of them. It was fun talking to the bar tender as well as checking out all of the different photos on the walls and photo opportunities outside. There is a time capsule there from 20th Century Fox which was installed when Independence Day came out. It is slated to be opened in 2010 when aliens will have visited the earth. <br /><br />We then drove down an 8 mile dirt road to the gate of Area 51. Kristie recorded the gate as we approached and then we turned around and headed out. Before doing so, Kristie collected some dirt from the area in our Goldfish bag and took a couple of rocks. One was for Ashley and one was for her. <br /><br />Then we headed towards Great Basin National Park. It was about a 4 hour drive which we made easily and arrived at 9pm. We were low on gas so we had to get some before trying to find a place to camp. We ended up finding an unmanned Sinclair station that lets you pump 24 hours a day. It was in the town of Baker, NV and that place is like a frightening ghost town. Kristie later told me she was afraid that I’d get attacked by an alien out there while pumping the gas. It sure had the setting of a sci-fi or horror movie. <br /><br />Great Basin is the worst run park I have been to. It is one of those “second-two” parks that only has a visitors center that is open during business hours. As such, it’s terribly difficult to arrive in the evening. To make m atters worse, they do not post their campground status at the gate. You also can’t make reservations. So what you have to do is get the map, go drive to each of the campsites, and then look at each of the spots to see if there are any available. This involves an 18 mile drive up a 10,000 foot mountain as well. All in all, it took us from 9pm to midnight to survey all of the campsites. We went to Strawberry Creek – a dirt road – where the overflow camping was supposed to be. After a 3 mile drive in the dark on this dirt road, we came to a sign that said road closed. So there were NO campsites available and we’d wasted 3 hours determining this. In the end we decided to ignore the prohibited signs and just sleep in our car at the visitor center. It was a terrible night’s sleep. I got about an hour. It was 82 degrees out and felt so hot to be sleeping. Kristie slept well because she was so tired from her flight and jet lag.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-48953359687536229382010-07-16T00:39:00.000-07:002010-07-18T05:51:36.548-07:00Yosemite to VegasI am writing this as I wait for Kristie’s plan to land. I could not be less impressed with Las Vegas. It is no wonder that Harry Reid was able to float to the top here. Everyone here is an idiot. They are terrible drivers, dysfunctional cashiers, and CRAZY for living somewhere where it can literally still be 106 degrees out at 11pm. <br />So, what did I do today… I woke up in heaven… ok Yosemite but heaven is pretty close. Yosemite is the west coast version of my Elysium – Acadia. If we were to move here, I’d be as obsessed with Yosemite as I am with Acadia. Speaking of which – Pete and Annie, are you still up for our August or September weekend in Acadia? <br /><br />Yosemite is one of those perfect places for every life stage. It’s a great place to be a kid because there are such diverse natural wonders, a great place for college/20’s because there are awesome intense hikes. Speaking of that, Jared – we need to plan a trip to climb half dome. I saw a shirt for sale for those who did it and I want that shirt. It’s then also a wonderful place to bring your own children to expose them to geology, nature, and just having fun in the outdoors. When I was at Tenaya Lake I really saw this. It is a beautiful alpine lake that is warm enough to swim in. What better day than going on a hike with your kids, cooling off with a swim in the lake, and then attending one of the campfire programs with the Rangers at night. Anyways, I digress. <br />So this morning, I woke up around 7 and took down camp. I’d never camped at a place without running water and the thing I missed most was brushing my teeth. I really missed it and felt gross. It was also a letdown not to be able to wash my hair in the sink so I could at least look presentable. I headed down to the Valley because I wanted to see the waterfalls (Yosemite and Bridalveil). They sure did impress. Although not very powerful since the snow is all melted it was great to see them as well as half dome and El Captain. I must say that the waterfalls hold their allure on a second visit much more strongly than do the rock features. <br /><br />I hiked up to the base of Yosemite Falls and got to take some great pictures. The only way for me to get in the picture was to stick my head in the very bottom as there was so much scenery to capture. As soon as I tried to walk down (in my sandals) I became immediately aware of why there are warnings that the rocks are slippery. They are, even when dry. I had a camcorder in one hand and a camera in the other. Thankfully I saved both and let my shin absorb my fall. This of course resulted in me slicing the shin. It was not too bad but I think it is the first cut on my leg I’ve had since I was in middle school. The weird thing is that it tingles now whenever I yawn or cough or stretch. Weird, right? I was much more careful following this and made it the down the rest of the way ok. I checked out the Yosemite Village store and picked up a magnet and t-shirt. It’s kind of a cool shirt. This was my favorite National Park store so far. I think when I retire I will try to work at a national park. Perhaps Yosemite. I could even work at the store. There is a produce section. <br /><br />Then I headed out of the valley and through a huge fire scar. This must have been a huge fire as it stretched for about 15 miles. I considered a stop at the Tuolomne Grove but decided it would be more prudent to get on the road towards Las Vegas. Having run out of gas a few days ago, I was sure to get a few gallons of gas in the park – despite the price of $3.75 a gallon. My car battery continued to scare me getting down to the single purple bar as I ascended into the Tioga Pass area. Before then, I stopped to take some pictures at Olmstead Point (overlooking Yosemite Valley from above) and Tenaya Lake. Then I bid my farewell to Yosemite and descended back down Tioga Pass towards Mono Lake. Mono Lake was very striking from this perspective but my camera was dead and I was charging the battery. <br /><br />Then began the 5 hour drive to Las Vegas through the middle of nowhere. I think I only passed through 6 towns on the whole journey. It is that remote. There were tons of abandoned gas stations, trailers, businesses, and homes along the way. There was also very spotty cell coverage. I passed through a couple of cool towns. One was a ghost town called Benton Hot Springs. There were abandoned wagons similar to those in the Oregon Trail, and all of the buildings in town were in shambles with the exception of one really well kept bed and breakfast. I kind of think it would be fun to stay there sometime in the future. I made a note of it here to remind me as I plan future trips. Another town was an old western town called Tonopah. I think mining is the industry of that area. It does have a wild west feel. <br /><br />Then I finally got to Vegas. Staying at Circus Circus is a novelty as I don’t think it will be here much longer. It looks like Sinatra performed here and they have not updated it since then. There is an indoor amusement park for the kids. But I think this place will be demolished in 5-10 years to make room for some new place which can charge a lot more than $28 a night. What a deal, right! <br /><br />So I had some errands to run here in Vegas. I wanted to get hiking sandals for hiking the Narrows in Zion but you had to pay $10 to park at the outlets so that was out. So I then went to get a few items for the cooler. Albertsons had disgusting produce, just like their sister company Shaws so I left there. I ended up at Wal-Mart. Big mistake. Where’s a Safeway when you need it? Not in Vegas. People are too disgusting to know what to do in a nice store like that. They had crappy food and terrible customer service. I waited 20 minutes in line. I had to swap my ice twice as it was melting in line. When I finally checked out the guy didn’t put all my stuff in my cart. I was missing blueberries, plums and air freshener. I went back in to get them and he said that he must have given the fruit to someone else. Sorry, but here’s your air freshener. I asked if I could go get replacements and he said I’d have to speak with a manager. Tired and hot, I left. IT was still 106 out, down from 113 earlier. I went to Wendy’s because I was starving and had missed the buffets. <br /><br />Oh Kristie just called. She’s landed. I am off to get her. Yay!<br /><br />Goodnight.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-4226425774662350952010-07-15T23:06:00.000-07:002010-07-15T23:07:29.130-07:00LassenI arrived around 10pm to Lassen thanks to the exciting “running out of gas” incident from earlier in the evening. I was pretty tired. Thankfully there is a camping area right at the southwest entrance to the park. It was very dark and late so I decided to just sleep in the car. As I was arranging the passenger seat to be my bed – a process of lining it with pillows, my sleeping bag, and putting on my hooded sweatshirt, I noticed how brilliant the night sky is here. I could see so many more stars than back east. I even saw what I believed to be two shooting stars. Some of the stars were twinkling. I think that this is related to the clarity of the night sky allowing me to see the variations in the light – but then again, I did not pay super close attention in our astronomy class from last year. <br /><br />Since I slept in the car, I woke up quite early – 5:15 to be exact – and got an early jump on the day. I briefly exited the park to take the compulsory photo in front of the sign and picked up a map. It was great to be able to take pictures during sunrise. The mountain peaks came out beautifully. Unfortunately they got a ton of snow here over the winter months. So much, in fact, that two of the three hikes I wanted to do in the park are closed. Bumpass Hell – which is supposed to be an amazing geothermal hike was covered in 5-10 feet of snow and closed because you could fall through the snow into a boiling hot spring or sulfur steam outlet. Then I headed up the road a bit to Lassen Peak. This would have been a great hike as it is the second tallest peak in CA and would have been the first 10,000 peak that I’ve hiked. However there were two obstacles to this hike. Due to heavy snow conditions, ice picks and crampons are required. And… this will only get you 1.3 miles up the trail – about halfway – at which point the trail is closed to all hikers. So, onward I went, stumbling upon a beautiful scene at Summit Lake during sunrise. The steam was floating above the water and evaporating appearing to dance along the water. It is so quiet and peaceful in the park at this time of day. I was even able to park my car on the road to go take pictures of the lake. Nobody else passed through in the 10 minutes that passed. <br /><br />Next, I stopped at the devastation zone, which is the area which was destroyed by the eruption of Lassen Peak in 1915. The hot sulfur gas first melted the snow and created a boiling mudslide. Then lava and ash pummeled the region as well. The cool thing about the devastation zone is the vast biodiversity which has emerged during the period of regrowth. It is also interesting to see that there are still vast areas of emptiness between the trees in this area. <br /><br />They are repaving a 23 miles stretch of the road through the park. As I write this, I am sitting waiting for the pilot car to take me through the site. After that I’ll be stopping at the visitors center to see if I can hike the Cinder Cone trail or if that is also under feet of snow at this time. <br /><br />As it turns out, I ran into a couple of rangers who were doing their morning rounds and the Cinder Cone area is open and snow free. I drove around the park and down an 8 mile dirt road. Dirt is used loosely. It is more like a gravel road with big rocks. I know my Prius hates me for going down that road. But, it was well worth it. Cinder Cone is one of the rarest types of volcanic features on earth. As I began the hike, I noted the well developed Ponderosa Pine forest and tons of chipmunks. To my left there was an enormous bed of lava called Fantastic Lavabeds. This is the lava that came out of the Cinder Cone’s eruption in 1650. The trail was difficult at first because it was a sandy pumice that felt like a beach. However, this seemed easy, shortly. Once it was time to climb Cinder Cone, I had to go up a 45 degree incline of loose rocks and sand. For every step that I took up, I slid back a half a step. This was the hardest hike I’ve ever done. Luckily it was also the most rewarding. When I finally got to the top, my heart pounding at least 150 beats per minute, I was amazed with my panoramic view as well as a view down into the cone as well. It was spectacular. To one side, there was a snow capped mountain, to another the Fantastic Lava Bed, to another smooth ash fields that look akin to the coloration of the painted desert. I’ve never felt so fulfilled from a hike in my life. I tried to take pictures but this is one of those fantastic overwhelming sites – like Glacier and the Grand Canyon – that you cannot capture on film. It is only fully present in my head. <br /><br />I flew down the trail on my return. It was a lot easier than holding my intertia back. Once I was at the bottom I had to empty my shoes as they were full of ash and small rocks. As I was doing this I saw a small lizard scamper in front of me. He was about Ecto’s size. I wonder how Ecto’s doing? I hope well. Back at the car, I made my way down the difficult dirt road and out to the highway. From here, I punched Mono Lake into the GPS. <br /><br />Around noon I came around a local pizza place offering and all you can eat pizza and salad and pizza buffet for $6.99. I immediately pulled in. This continues my now three day old tradition of having one large meal a day. This works well when it is just me on the trip because it saves time and also gives me a good diversity of food for a low price. I try to eat this in the early to mid afternoon. I then have waters and diet sodas as I am driving and am too tired to be hungry once I arrive at my destination. The pizza was pretty good. I think it was called Rounds Pizza. It seems to be a local chain. <br />I crossed briefly into Nevada during my drive, passed through Reno and Carson City, and then headed back to California. At their agricultural station, they confiscated my old rotting peaches from the cooler even though the allowed them upon my previous entry. I then made my way to Mono Lake. On the way, I had more problems with the Prius battery getting very low on the way up mountains. I am going to get this checked out when I get back home because I have the warranty and am disappointed with the sluggishness that this causes. <br /><br />Mono Lake smelled terrible. It is an inland sea – the westernmost feature of the Great Basin. This means that the water that fills this area does not drain into an ocean. Rather it is trapped and eventually evaporates from the mountain west of the USA. There were tons of seagulls and lots of flies and apparently a good deal of brine shrimp. Overall it was a very unique feature. There are calcium carbonate features that form unique shapes above the surface of the water. The gulls enjoy this. I would have liked to hike along the shore to get close up shots of these but since I am running this solo week with no reservations, I knew I needed to get into Yosemite soon to secure one of the few remaining walk-in campsites. I entered the park through Tioga Pass. The Prius batter again struggled. This coupled with my GPS randomly turning off, and the new crack in my phone’s screen from when I hit it against my sunglasses bringing it up to my ear makes for a very technologically frustrating trip so far! Oh yes and somehow there is moisture in the waterproof camera. <br /><br />Anyway, back to Yosemite… I love driving through this part of the park. It is the alpine portion and less populated. It is also the home of Tuolomne Meadows. This became one of my favorite places when I visited here as a kid and scampered along the bald granite mountain tops. I was able to get one of the last stops in the Porcupine Flats campground. I wanted to go see the sunset in the valley but maybe I’ll be able to catch the sunrise or the time shortly thereafter tomorrow. It was too late after I set up my tent to get down there. So, instead, I called Kristie to confirm our plans for her arrival in Las Vegas tomorrow and am going to call it an early night. They must have a huge bear problem in Yosemite as I needed to lock all of my food in a bear box – even the food that I have been able to keep in the car at all of the other parks. Ok well goodnight!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-39840504336268941592010-07-15T23:02:00.000-07:002010-07-15T23:06:19.812-07:00Out of GasJoe Jon send me a message that he’d been trying to get in touch with me while I was at the buffet so I called him when I left the restaurant. This helped me to forget that I needed to fill up on gas. I realized about 27 miles up the road to Lassen. He offered to check if there was gas up the road. There was not. So I quickly turned around and tried to make it back down into Redding. With about 5 miles left to the gas station I ran out of gas. I was able to coast 4.5 miles down the hill into town. I had to park my car on the side of the road and walk to the gas station. When I go there, it was only me and a very rough looking biker dude who wanted to buy knives. I casually bought the gas container from a very nice clerk. It is a family business and they have pictures of Jesus all over the store and were very friendly. It took a while to figure out how to take the top off of the canister but I finally was able to fill it up and walked back in the waning twilight to put a gallon of gas in my car. Thankfully it started up and I went to the gas station and filled it the rest of the way. Now I think I will be more conscious of keeping it full for the rest of the trip. <br /><br />When I finally got to Lassen it was pitch black. The stars were amazing but it seemed all of the campers were asleep. I could not find out where to pay so I didn’t and I guess this balances out the $12 I had to spend on the gas canister.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-85423451435435503032010-07-15T23:01:00.000-07:002010-07-15T23:02:42.374-07:00RedwoodsI woke up very late this morning. I woke up at 9am! I sure took advantage of sleeping in a bed. By the time I got on the road, I arrived at the Redwoods Visitor Center around 10:30. I really wanted to see Fern Canyon – where the Lost World was filmed – and some big trees. So they gave me directions. I took a windy dirt road to Fern Canyon. Apparently the Canyon is owned by California so you have to pay $8 to get in. You’d think that this would include a bridge to the site. No. It does not. I left my Prius a mile down the road and walked the rest of the way. I then saw multiple Priuses pass me on my walk down the road so I guess I underestimated my car! Fern Canyon was really pretty. The walls are lined with ferns, unsurprisingly. They go up to 100 feet in some places. A creek runs through it and dead and fallen redwoods abound as well. I had to take my sandals off and walk barefoot. One of the other people there commented that he never knew how tender his feet really were. I could not agree more. Mine were killing me from some of the small jagged rocks. I then had a moment of clarity and decided to walk primarily on the larger rocks. <br /><br />After Fern Canyon I went to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. This is a sizable grove of old growth Redwoods. Some have survived fires that burned their entire core out and are living just on their barky sides to transport all of the water up to them. Others were impressive for their sheer size. Overall this was a moving experience. I spent about an hour and a half hiking around the Redwoods. Then I stopped at the beach to dip my feet in the Pacific. Apparently there are problems with people getting swept out to sea by sneaker waves so swimming in that area was highly discouraged. Being alone, I was sure to take their advice. <br /><br />Then it was off to Lassen! That’s my stop for tomorrow. But the fun does not stop there! I wound through the coastal mountains and eventually into the Shasta Range. This put me down into Redding, CA where I had my daily meal – Hometown Buffet again. I feel so healthy when I eat there. First I have green things on my plate and second, I have no trouble walking in or out of the doors. If you ever wanted to boost your self-esteem, this is a good place. Plus it’s a good deal. They were disappointed that I did not want to “add their unlimited beverage bar for $1.99” As if you cannot get fat enough on their food.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-25701049533511715192010-07-15T23:00:00.000-07:002010-07-15T23:01:33.795-07:00Crater LakeWhen we were in Badlands, Greg commented that, while interesting, the park was not magnificent. To him, magnificent meant something that was overpowering, difficult to absorb at once, emotionally and/or spiritually moving, and unable to be captured by film. I didn’t really know what he meant until I visited Crater Lake. This is not a magnificent park. Yes, it is interesting and the views are pretty cool but there is nothing special about it other than the millions of mosquitoes biting you incessantly. The Ranger Program at the campsite was called “Why I find Crater Lake so Beautiful.” How much more un-magnificent can we get? So I woke up early since I had slept in the car and took a shower. Thankfully the campsite had one of those. I then decided to do the Crater Rim Road. I was STARVING but was hoping to have breakfast overlooking the Lake. I tried three different spots and was overwhelmed my mosquitoes so I had to retreat to the car. It was disgusting. Even when they were not biting you they were landing and sitting on your clothes. I decided that I did not want to do the hike down to the base of the lake because of the mosquitoes. <br /><br />Thankfully, I found an overlook near the trailhead that did not have mosquitoes and rescinded. I did the trail and it was the highlight of my experience there. It was about 1.5 miles each way. Down was very easy. Up was very hard. While down there I saw a little lizard which surprised me. I also took off my shoes and socks and got to dip my feet in the water. It was surprisingly warm. Well I guess technically it was cold but I expected water surrounded by snow packed cliffs to be colder than it was. Following the hike, I took a side road over to the Pinnacles which are a really neat rock formation carved by a stream. They reminded me of badlands. I took pictures but left there very quickly as well as I was swarmed by hornets and did not want to get stung. A quick stop at the gift shop on the way out enabled me to enhance my magnet collection, but that was it. I was done with Crater Lake. Maybe it’s a bit of splendor burnout, but as of now, I don’t plan to return. <br /><br />The rest of my day was consumed by errands. I headed to Medford, Oregon and did laundry, had my oil changed, and refueled myself at the Hometown Buffet. It was a combo of lunch and dinner and for $10 I think I did pretty well. They actually have a surprisingly good salad bar. The oil change was rough. I needed a new cabin air filter – they showed me and it was disgusting with leaves and pine needles – and engine filter. All in all it was $101 but they were able to get the Bowdoin pine sap off of my windshield. I’d been trying to do that for months. <br /><br />Once my errands were complete, I took a ride down the Redwood Highway towards – and apparently through – Redwood National Park. It was awesome to see these trees. They were magnificent in that you cannot capture them aptly on film. The road wound along the Pacific and was especially beautiful in the evening hours. Sadly this park is only staffed from 9-5 and I arrived at 5:30. So, I did not get a map and kind of just drove through on the Redwood Highway. Campsites were $35! That is crazy! So, I opted for the $50 Motel 6 down in Arcata. TripAdvisor said it was a sketchy place. They were wrong. It had a comfortable bed, a warm shower, and TV. What they should have said is that it is full of sketchy people. That I’ll give you. I brought all of my valuables in the room with me that night!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-9569975691319837042010-07-15T22:58:00.000-07:002010-07-15T23:00:44.762-07:00July 11Today was a day of driving. I went from Ponderay Idaho to Crater Lake in California. The drive was amazing and there was only one time where it got boring and I realized how tired that I was. I started out in the forested rolling hills of Idaho’s chimney. This is a surprisingly affluent area with many nice stores and restaurants. It appears as if this is a suburb of Spokane. However, I must say that Spokane was a disappointing city. It looks like a worn out mill city in the post mill age. After leaving Spokane I broke out into the desert component of Washington State. Sweeping grasslands encompassed my whole view from the road. Then, out of nowhere, I saw a snow capped peak. I think that this was Mount Hood. As I descended into the Columbia River Gorge the views continued to be spectacular but I also started to get quite tired. I was getting close to falling asleep so I stopped at a Pilot rest stop and walked around a bit. This refreshed me and I headed onto Oregon 97 South. This road is called the road of then and now. It could not be a more accurate description. There are abandoned homes, gas stations, restraints, ranches, etc. This is all set with the backdrop of new wind power generation along the edge of the road. You can also see three snow capped peaks in the distance over the rolling wheat and grasslands. Then the road descends sharply into a valley which houses {MESA?) – a surprisingly big town. I gassed up here and bought a few groceries. Then I started to enter National Forests. One of them was a volcanic site with lava flows and the rest of them featured consistently rising elevations and increasing amounts of Ponderosa Pines. These trees space themselves nicely along the land. To be honest, I did not pay much attention to the national forest area as Bill Bordak called and I was preoccupied driving and talking on the phone. <br /><br />Then after 10 hours of driving, I turned onto Crater Lake Access Road. This place is remote and very high. Most of the area surrounding the lake is still covered in feet of snow. The roads have no margin of error and frankly freak me out driving on them as there are 50 foot drops merely one foot away from the white line. I took a few pictures and then decided to head to Mazama Village to try to secure a camping site at the campground for the evening. <br /><br />As it turns out there were plenty of sites available which kind of makes me wish that I had remained at the lake longer to take photos and see the sunset. The lake is surreal in that the water level is so far from the edges. I am excited about hiking down to it tomorrow. However, I am not sure if I am going to go for a dip. Then again they only have cold showers at the campground so I think I might as well enjoy the novelty of Crater Lake if I am going to be freezing. <br /><br />As I waited in line to get a campsite the mosquitoes came out in force. I had to borrow bug spray from the woman behind me in line because I was getting eaten alive. Once I had my site, I started to set up my tent but was getting swarmed with mosquitoes and frankly gave up. It was not worth sleeping in the tent tonight. I am going to just sleep in the car (which also filled with mosquitoes as I brought the tent in and out of it. I think I killed most of them (about 30) and I am exhausted so I am getting ready for bed. The plan for tomorrow is to do the park loop road here as well as hike down to the base of the lake before heading to Redwood National Park in the afternoon. Of course since I have no reservations for this leg of the trip, it is all quite flexible and could change depending on what interesting things I discover.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-36787070240807249162010-07-11T07:36:00.000-07:002010-07-11T07:41:01.915-07:00Week 1 ReflectionI had an awesome time on this trip with Jared and Greg. It was fun to spend a prolonged amount of time together touring these parks. It's certainly been an amazing life experience and hopefully something that we can try to do for a week each year. While we were in Banff, Greg found wifi and checked his email to find out that he had come off the wait list at Villanova too. Now he's suddenly faced with a decision between 'Nova and Richmond. Good problems to have. Congratulations! Jared and I have also decided that we need to start going to the gym more as some of these hikes were harder for us than they should have been. We also don't want to gain too much weight and end up plateauing in our careers as a result. Now to just work it into the schedule! haha<br /><br />Since I was able to drop Jared and Greg off at the airport a bit early, I think I have enough time to try to go to Crater Lake, Redwoods, and Lassen Volcanoes on the way to meet up with Kristie in Vegas. I got a good start last night and hope to continue this today. However, I will need to stop for an oil change and need to find a place to do some laundry at some point as well! We'll see!I am back up and at them early this morning though I am enjoying a bit of time to lounge here in the hotel before hitting the road again.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-58662471252779770842010-07-11T07:35:00.000-07:002010-07-11T07:36:06.624-07:00Banff 2 and Segment IIWe were pleasantly surprised to see sunshine when we woke today. It was a beautiful morning, made even better by the fact that we’d get to shower for a second consecutive day. Our goal for the day was to climb Big Beehive, a mountain located behind Lake Louise. The forecast of rain encouraged our early start. We packed up the campsite and Jared and Greg organized their bags for their flights back home later in the evening. Then we headed over to Lake Louise which was Asian tourist central. It really sounded more like you’d anticipate Hong Kong to be like than Canada. We were the only people speaking English as we walked through the corporatized lakefront along the edge of the Fairmont Hotel. Canada just doe s a bad job managing its national parks. They seem to be managed more like Disney World than a natural attraction and it’s a let down to see such a beautiful place squandered and exploited as Canada has done. Sure there are nicer comforts to the Canadian style but this detracts from the ability to find peace and rejuvenation in nature.<br />The hike was 5.3 km each way and we generally flew through it. The first part wound up to a “tea house” where hikers could enjoy English tea overlooking a waterfall and Lake Morriane. We then delved deeper into the hike, climbing incredibly steep switchbacks to reach our vista. The glacial water looks even bluer from above. We took pictures and some video of local birds playing and then headed down as the rain clouds were pouring in. As we left we heard a huge thundering boom. We were initially very worried that we’d be climbing back down in a thunderstorm. But then we noticed that the sound came from an avalanche on a glacier above to our left. We watched the snow cascade and then headed down the switchbacks. There, another hiker noticed Jared’s Georgetown hat. It turns out that he is a semi-retired 40 year old who is touring the national parks on his own for about 7 weeks this summer. He is aiming to get back for the Dave Matthews show in DC on the 24th. About that time we started to feel sprinkles. We started run/walking down the mountain and made it down in an hour and 10 minutes. Not bad! It was only about 1pm and their flight was not until 1am. But since the weather was bad we headed east towards Calgary. We did make a stop in the town of Banff which is a combination of Bar Harbor and M Street in Georgetown. It was a fun place with a beautiful backdrop. We bought a few souvenirs and headed to Calgary where we found a Chinese Buffet. Though pricey, it was pretty good food and held us for the rest of the day. I dropped Jared and Greg off at the airport and began part II of my journey. <br />I made a mad dash for the US border since hotel rooms in Calgary are out of this world expensive. The cheapest one I could find was $185 which was ridiculous. I made it to the border at around 12:00AM and promptly called Kristie because I’d missed her! I felt kind of bad because I think I woke her up from a sound sleep since it was 3am but it was great to talk to her after nearly 3 days in Canada. As I came through the border, I pissed off the customs agent. They had red flashing lights on the side of the approach. I didn’t realize that they meant to stop 50 feet prior to the inspection station and he yelled to me “don’t they have stop signs in Maine!?” After a brief apology, things went much better and I was through there in no time. The first town I came across in Idaho was Bonners Ferry. There are 4 hotels in the town and all were full. The first hotel with an opening was another half hour down the road. While overpriced at $69, it was time to stop so I bit the bullet and enjoyed sleeping in a bed for the first time in a week.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-36863111508638964192010-07-11T07:34:00.002-07:002010-07-11T07:35:35.302-07:00Banff!!!!Aaaaah. A hot shower. The first time we’ve showered in three days. We feel like a million bucks. Greg spent over 20 minutes in his, making a case for timed showers at campgrounds but all in all it was a great way to start the day. Unsure about tomorrow’s weather we had a decision to make. Either the Ice Roads Parkway or hiking up one of the smaller peaks overlooking Lake Louise. We decided to stop at the visitors center (ranger station in US speak) to determine our best course of action. We ended up being “helped” by a very hungover Canadian student who could barely get his brain to work. In addition he had toothpaste smeared on his hand and arm and his hair was completely uncombed from the previous night. In the end we decided that it would be best to do the Parkway today in order to take advantage of the sunny weather for all of the turnoffs, etc. <br />The Ice Road was beautiful. It runs for about 260 km from Lake Louise through Banff National Park and Jasper National Park to the town of Jasper. There were tons of scenic vistas along the way. We first stopped at Pyrna Lake. This was a short walk from a parking area. It was the first crystal blue lake that we’d encountered and you could see the water draining into it from the feeding glacier above. We hung around here a bit until stopping along the Bow River. Jared loves rivers and these rivers look like the ones from White Fang and Into the Wild so we really enjoyed these stops. Greg and I put our feet in the frigid water. Though icy, it was pretty easy to get used to as well. After these river stops, we climbed significantly towards the Columbia Ice Fields. Here we were able to hike right to the base of a glacier. The name of the glacier escapes me but I know it started with the letter A. It was striking to see all of the previous marks of the glacier. It has receded over 2000 feet since 2000 and when we stopped at the visitors center (almost 2 miles away) we saw a sign denoting the glacier’s edge back in 1948. It is sad to see that even these glaciers are rapidly disappearing and that we’ll likely be unable to show these to our children – unless we really hurry up! The trek to the glacier was steep and rocky and looked a lot like photos of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s hard to believe that people fight over such arid and useless land as much as they do. While we had hoped to get to walk on the glacier, we were scared away by the copious warning signs indicating that a lake and swift flowing river had formed underneath the glacier. As such, we decided to instead pose right at the base of it for photos. We later found a sign informing us that the last three rescue attempts for people who fell into crevasses and the water below were unsuccessful. It was over 30 degrees colder at the glacier than in the parking area. <br />We then stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields visitor’s center to briefly look for magnets (of which there were none) and t-shirts (which were hideous). Overall, we are quite disappointed with Parks Canada. They just do a bad job with pretty much everything they do. Their facilities are not clean, their park rangers don’t seem to leave the desks of the visitor centers and they pave many of their hiking trails. It’s a shame Canada gets Banff and Jasper. I know the US Park Service would do a tremendously better job managing and educating about these lands. <br />After leaving the Ice Fields, we descended a steep 8-10% grade north into Jasper National Park. The peaks here are much more jagged and you can see where the rocks were pushed up almost at a 70 degree angle towards the sky. I liked this variance. Jared and Greg napped so I drove straight through to the town of Jasper. This is a very built-up touristy town. It seemed like it would have been a very fun place to spend a lot of time. We stopped at a gift shop where Greg found a hand knit hat depicting an animal’s face. He thinks it will make him a babe magnet at Richmond during the summer. Jared picked up a t-shirt and then we refueled. Our “international” credit card kept getting rejected here (as did everyone else’s) and the clerk had to come out and set the pump to allow us to pump and then we paid inside with the same international credit card. Odd system for sure… Oh and since this is the furthest north that any of us have been we had to get a picture with the Jasper sign. This town is about level with the southernmost point in Alaska. <br />On our way back into Jasper, we hit a 30 minute delay as paving crews worked to vacate their work site for the weekend. Once we were on the road, we stopped at 3 beautiful waterfalls and climbed among the rocks on the edge. We then returned to Lake Louise. On the way, Jared got super angry at Greg and I when discussing politics and started screaming like rants similar to those of Sean Hannity regarding health care reform, liberals, and stupidity. It literally hurt my ear drum and was frightening. When we got back into town we picked up some very overpriced hot dogs, built a campfire, grilled, and went to bed. It was pretty fun to cook our own warm dinner!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-24819552366235290042010-07-11T07:34:00.001-07:002010-07-11T07:34:33.859-07:00Day 2 @ GlacierGreg and I woke up 5 times between 1 and 3 am due to Jared’s snoring in the adjacent tent. He was louder than the guy in Yellowstone that he’d previously made fun of. Greg got so angry he unzipped Jared’s tent to go wake him up. This freaked Jared out and he says that he elevated vertically from the ground while lying down because he was so scared that Greg was actually a bear entering the tent. And then he kept right on snoring. In the end Greg and I moved to the car and slept in the front two seats. We all woke up late (around 7) and the tents were soaked from a heavy dew. Once we were packed and Jared had completed taking advantage of his “connectivity” we headed out to the Many Glacier part of the park where we hiked the Iceburg Lake Trail. The road out there was in miserable shape. But, once we got there, we really liked the many glacier area. First, they have a very fairly priced store there. But, more importantly there are a couple of nice lodging options there that don’t involve sleeping in tents. We took note for future visits with the girlfriends who should be wives by our subsequent visit. They’d probably prefer this type of lodging. <br />Onto the trail! We got started about 9:30am. The trail is 4.9 miles each way so it was quite a healthy hike for us! We gained a good deal of elevation as well, eventually rising to the tree line. The ranger did inform us that we needed to carry bear spray and gave us a brief introduction on how to interact with bears in the wild. Unfortunately we did not get to see any bears.<br />The hike starts out in a wooded valley and then rises into intermittent patches of beautiful wild flowers and forest. Though I have never sat through Sound of Music in its entirity, our scenery matched the movie. About halfway up we hit a 100 foot waterfall. It was nice to emerge from our trail into a more open area with such great scenery and a gathering of people. This meant we could stop yelling “hey bear” every few minutes in order to alert any bears ahead of our presence. The most important thing to preventing a bear attack is letting them know that you are there. They will almost always scamper. <br />A few minutes after the waterfall, we stumbled upon a pit toilet. I’d never used one before, but I must say it was a welcome sight and the experience was not at all negative. Onward and upward, we passed an area of thick cover with lots of flies and even a stump which looked like it had been ripped open by a bear to eat the bugs. However, no bears there today. We then hit open country. We could see the entire valley opening on our left side. It was one of those sights that you just can’t capture with a camera. It can only fit in your mind and memory. On our right side, red sedimentary rocks rose up almost 2000 feet to the skyline. There was snow near the top feeding copious waterfalls. There were literally falls of varying magnitude every few hundred feet. The final stage of our ascent was our entry into the snowfields. There were alpine evergreens up here with stunted growth and a beautiful alpine stream rushing towards a waterfall lower in the valley. Near the top we saw a huge deer cross the pathway right in front of us. Then we crested a small hill and below us was aptly named Iceburg Lake. There are small icebergs floating in it which were cleaved from a pathetically small glacier hanging above the crystal blue lake. This iceberg will likely be gone in less than 5 years so it was a good thing we saw it when we did. Greg was exhausted from not sleeping last night and we were all dehydrated. We drank our puny `16 oz waters, took some pictures, and headed back down. <br />As we began our descent, we were told that there was a mother and two bear cubs playing in the snow about 100 feet from the trail. Jared responded with “great, just what we need a mother and cubs, the most aggressive of situations.” I kind of wanted to see them, and Greg kind of just wanted to get back to the car so he could hydrate and nap, But sadly, we did not see the bears. They had retreated down into the valley by the time we arrived at their former location. As such, we ended up hurrying down the rest of the way. We did get lucky enough to come across a big horned sheep within about 15 feet of us along the trail. He posed for a few photos before scampering back into the cover of the woods. <br /><br />We were all pretty beat when we got down to the parking area and enjoyed some waters and the best tasting plums I’d had in years. Well actually I have not had plums in years. Then it was time to hit the road to Canada! A quick stop for Jared to check in with work and me to take a look at hotel rooms in Calgary got extended when we discovered the cheapest rate is $150 for the night I am dropping them off at the airport. As a result, I decided to gamble and see what I can find for rates on Saturday. <br />The crossing into Canada was very easy. About 3 questions, a request for us to take off our sunglasses, and there we were… into Alberta. There is absolutely nothing in Alberta until you get to Calgary. I did stop and get $40 of Canadian money out of the TD bank on the border town. <br />Calgary is a beautiful modern city. We had dinner at a nice Greek place called Opa.It was amazing to finally have fresh vegetables after a week of eating out of the cooler. We also noted that almost everyone in Calgary is in nearly perfect health. You’d think you were in San Diego, rather than a town that gets 9 months of winter. Certainly puts Maine’s population to shame on the attractiveness meter. As I write this, we’re ascending into the Canadian Rockies from the plains. They are a bit more jagged than Glacier’s mountains but there is a similar rock color, striations, and tree lines. It is 9pm and the sun is still high in the sky. This bodes well for our 945pm arrival time. We’ll be able to set up our tent in daylight again. This is the site with the electric fence on the perimeter. I guess there are a lot of bears in the area. We’ll see!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-47467862980349781802010-07-11T07:32:00.000-07:002010-07-11T07:33:44.582-07:00Glacier National Park - Day 1We started the day early. Jared woke Greg and I up at 2:00AM with his incessantly loud snoring. It was terrible. He even woke up the two neighboring sites who grumbled about his snoring as well. When we actually woke up there had been a hard freeze. The windshield was iced and there was frost on our tent. It was freezing. We got cleaned up and headed to the visitor center to get our maps. We still had to check in at our campsite but it was only 7am and you can’t do so until 8 so we took some pictures by the St. Mary River first. We checked in with the Ranger at check-in regarding good hikes. He suggested the Iceburg Trail but told us that we should bring bear spray. We’ll go to that tomorrow I think. <br />Back to today… we had 5 hours to do the Going to the Sun Road. It is a spectacular road that is under reconstruction for WPA part II (Stimulus Package). There were many nice outcroppings along the way up to Logan Pass. When we were almost there we came upon part I of the construction. The road is one way as they rebuild it. Following the construction we passed through a tunnel and soon emerged at snowy Logan Pass. We stopped in at the visitors center which had just opened on July 1. They had to remove over 400 inches of snow from the parking area in order to open and that takes quite a while – especially since they received most of their snow in April. The Ranger shared with us that all glaciers will be gone from the park within 15 years. He discussed how global warming plays a big role as does ash from Mount St. Helen’s and decreased precipitation patterns in the park. <br />The only trail open on the pass was to Hidden Lake. We decided to give it a go even though there are 5-40 feet of snow covering the pathway. It was a blast and made me want to ski down it as some others had done. We took tons of pictures as we trekked up through the snowy paths in shorts and t-shirts. Very fun and surreal. There were snow bridges along the trail that we were routed around. A snow bridge is formed when snow melt pools into a stream and travels under the snow. It is dangerous because it could collapse and you could fall through into a 32 degree torrent of water. Once we got most of the way up, we chickened out. Walking in sneakers without poles on snow pack didn’t seem safe when there is a 80 degree slope adjacent to the snowy path. So, we turned around and headed back to the parking lot. It worked out well because we got stuck in a ton of traffic on the rest of the (beautiful) Going to Sun Road and ended up just making it to the Montana Rafting Company in West Glacier, MT on time for our 2:00 departure. <br />It was a good thing that we cleaned up our body hair situation because no shirts were allowed under the life jackets. Our guide was a hilarious college kid from GA who seemed like a huge stoner. He also knew his stuff and steered us right into the best part of each of the 9 rapids that we ran during our 2.5 hour float. We had a really good time, but these rapids leave you wanting more. They just get good and they are over. We’ve been told that if we come back in April, we’ll experience some intense runs! Maybe in the future! We went down the middle fork of the Flat Head River. The guide told us of a historic flood that ran 65 feet over average levels (nearly 20 times the current state) as well as a fire that burned so hot back in 1917 that the destroyed trees were preserved by their sap and remain in state to this day. Towards the end, he offered that anyone who wanted to could jump in the river for a swim. Greg took that opportunity and went in first. Jared pulled him back in. Then Jared jumped in. He had a bit more trouble getting back in the boat and the guide had to help him. The technique for this is that the guide bobs him three times then pulls him back on the boat, landing on the guild. It looked quite funny. Then the guide pushed Jared back in the water after he stood up and I got to record the whole “rescue” again. Towards the end of the float, the guide showed us some good place to cliff jump into the river. We didn’t end up doing it but it would be fun to do sometime. <br />Somehow – perhaps by wearing the same socks and boots for 4 straight days – Jared has gotten a pretty bad dose of athlete’s foot. Its nasty. We stopped at the West Glacier Mercantile (grocery) to get some spray but they don’t carry that. They sent us up to Hungry Horse, MT which was a cool little town, though probably overrun by meth, where we went into a grocery store that looked like IGA from 1989. I great time lapse – the prices were pretty modern though! Jared got some athlete’s foot spray and we headed back through the Going to the Sun Road. Jared took about a picture every 10 seconds for the duration of the gorgeous drive while Greg incessantly made fun of him for doing this. <br />Some of my favorite features of this road were Weeping Falls (a section of waterfalls which crash directly onto the road) the many ridgeline to valley falls, the natural snow bridges that were formed over some of these falls, the hanging valley, and of course the amazing scenery looking out into the huge seemingly mirror valleys on each side of Logan Pass. <br />Due to all of the late-season snow, the High Line trail was closed. We would have loved to have done this trail as it takes you along a ridge line up from Logan Pass to look down on the valley. What we saw here instead was a mountain goat. On the way back through the Going to the Sun Road we saw Big Horned sheep in the parking lot. They look a lot like white deer with big horns. <br />The sun sets incredibly late here – around 10pm and it stays light enough to see until 11pm. I am not sure why this is but it’s a great feature. Jared has been dying to have a campfire and finally had his chance tonight. We cleaned the car and organized for our ride to Banff tomorrow afternoon and then he was rewarded with his nice fire. I am sitting by it now as I write this. However, I am trying to avoid the odor since I don’t want to smell like fire for the next day or so. He thinks that’s dumb. Greg’s hiding from the smell in the tent.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-84711817846603289472010-07-11T07:30:00.002-07:002010-07-11T07:32:00.144-07:00YellowstoneI was a bad blogger for Yellowstone. There was not much of a chance to write since we were so busy and took so many pictures that it was impossible for me to charge my computer. Instead we were constantly charging our cameras in the two car chargers. <br />But – to recap from Glacier – Yellowstone was a highly impressive place. It is split into two parts – geothermal (south loop) and natural wonders (north loop). We did the south on the first day and the north on the second. I LOVED the geothermal features and could have spent all day there. Greg was pretty uninterested and Greg was in the middle. <br />We started the first day with a shower at the Fishing Bridge Campground. This was my first pay-shower experience. It was not so bad at all. They even had laundry set ups similar to those in a College dorm. We then made our way towards Old Faithful. <br /><br />More to come... in time hahaBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-15626565934164924862010-07-11T07:30:00.001-07:002010-07-11T07:30:52.763-07:00Independence DayWe woke up early on the fourth of July and explored one of the paths off of a scenic outlook. Badlands is a striking place. We met some people on a similar road trip as us at one of the overlooks. They were from New Hampshire and Montreal. Following these vistas we stopped at the Visitor Center to get some advice of where to hike. We ended up taking the Notch Trail which has a fun little wood and wire ladder that helps you climb up onto one of the bluffs. From there we completed the loop road. While we had hoped to see Bison up close and personal at Sage Creek Campground, the road was quite rough and it would have taken us forever to get there in the Prius. So we ended up settling for seeing them miles away munching on the prairie from Panorama Point. <br />After exiting the park we stopped by at Wall Drug. What an immense disappointment. The place had anything you’d ever want from a dollar store for a 1000% markup. Their food smelled like a nursing home. Greg and I wanted to get out of there while Jared loved it and bought a coffee mug for work. Back on the road we headed to Rapid City where we gourged ourselves at the Ruby Tuesday Salad Bar and bought some water, ice, and oranges at Safeway. <br />When we got back to the car, Greg had a text message from the Dean of Admissions at the University of Richmond Law School asking him to call him back immediately. He did and got great news! He had come off the waitlist. He accepted immediately but she encouraged him to sleep on it. He was pumped. He drove us to Mount Rushmore and listened to his “party mix cd” the rest of the way.<br />When we got to Mount Rushmore it was socked in with clouds. Our Access pass did not work and we were forced to fork over $10 to some dude to park our car. The “parking donation” went to support the “preservation” of the monument through the channels of a national park commission corporation. I was livid about this ridiculous scam and was pissy the rest of the time there. Finally the clouds broke enough for us to try to get a picture with the presidents. It is a good deal smaller than I had anticipated. I am not sure why I thought this since everyone said it would be smaller. Jared thought it was larger than he’d anticipated. After a long jaunt in the gift shop, we headed out of the “monument” and onto Crazy Horse. There is, by the way, a beautiful side profile view of George Washington as you exit the Monument on the public road. <br /><br />As we headed to Crazy Horse it started to pour. When we got there, the attendant informed us that it would be $27 for the car to enter. Finding this to be ludicrous we told the guy that we needed to turn around and he thankfully obliged. Greg snapped a quick photo as we were making our U turn and we went to punch the name of the campsite in Yellowstone into our GPS. It could not find it. So we actually had to use maps. We oriented ourselves onto Route 16 towards Wyoming While, quite poor, Wyoming is an amazingly beautiful state. You can literally see forever. You can see storms coming hours prior to their arrival. You can see the rain falling from the clouds to the sky. You can see more than you thought you could ever see. The best drive of the trip so far has been the distance from the Black Hills of South Dakota – which are really black- to Yellowstone. We made good time on 16 and then on 90 which has far less trucks in this part of the country. We got off and started traveling through Bighorn National Forest. This was a spectacular surprise drive. We switchbacked up for an hour and down for an hour. Part of the road was a dirt path since it was under construction. Jared did a great job of driving this but still bottomed out a few times. There was still snow on the side of the road and tons of deer. I’d go back to Bighorn National Forest and spend time there. It was alpine delight and well kept. As we descended we stoped at Shell Creek Falls. This fall was at least 100 feet and was roaring. We took some quick pictures and then had to hit the road as we were tired and it was a LONG way to our campground. Jared missed hitting a deer by 10 feet that jetted out in front of us. We were in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully we were ok! We switched drivers and I got to Cody, WY ok but was then exhausted. I stopped and got some gummy bears and then munched through Jared’s remaining Chex Mix to make it awake to the Gates of Yellowstone. We were so late that they did not have an attendant posted. We entered and Jared woke up and helped me make it the rest of the hour to Bridge Bay Campground. I was getting worried as the car battery seemed to running very low and not charging well. It seemed to be doing better towards the end so that was good. <br />At 1:00AM Jared and I set up the tent and had Greg wait in the car so as to not disturb the other campers. There was a guy about 15 sites away who was snoring so loudly you could hear it throughout the whole campsite. We hope he’s gone tonight. I had to listen to my Ipod to go to sleep. Tomorrow we’re doing the Southern loop of Yellowstone.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-14912664335531892752010-07-11T07:29:00.000-07:002010-07-11T07:30:11.518-07:00Snake Under The TentWhen we arrived at Badlands we were able to get our tents set up pretty easily. The first one was situated on flat land but the second one had a bit of a dip. Jared wanted to move his tent to higher ground because there had been rain previously and he did not want to wake up wet. So we moved the tent to another spot in the dark. When Jared went to go to bed he put his hand down on the floor of the tent. Suddenly, he felt a 2 inch snake slithering between his pointer finger and thumb through the base of the tent. Freaked out he yelled “shit shit snake” and ran out of the tent. Greg and I did not believe him but Jared was like come here I’ll show you. We looked around four of the five sides of the tent and found nothing. On the last one we lifted it up and there was a gray snake coiled up looking out at us. Jared ran to the bathhouse and said “I’m sleeping in the car tonight.” When we took apart the tent the next morning we found that we’d placed it right on top of a 2 inch wide snake hole.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-12328496279229460802010-07-03T15:16:00.000-07:002010-07-16T00:44:28.063-07:00Field of DreamsWe started the day at 8am heading back acros the Mississippi River to quickly head up into Wisconsin for a photo with the state sign. Then back over the Mississippi to stop at the Motel 6 where Greg had forgotten his pillow. After retrieving this it was off to Fiueld of Dreams. This was where the landscape really changed to the Corn Culture. It was everywhere. We also were surprised to see a home with KKK prominently printed on a banner in its front yard. <br /><br />Field of Dreams:<br />Awesome! It's just like in the movie except they had to relocate the powerlines back over the field. They moved them during the movie. The owners said that after 21 years of daily visitors they were ready to move to a beach somewhere to relax. We played catch, hit balls to each other in the infield and outfield, and met an 80 year old who had never watched the movie but had played on a similar field in high school. He said that if the ball rolled into the corn it was a ground ruled double but if it went through in the air it was a home run. Regardless, the outfielder had to retrieve the ball. <br /><br />It was a blast to walk into the corn from the field and back out onto the field. Greg took some great video of this.<br /><br />Unfortunately my camera problems as a traveler continue. The new waterproof camera that we got in Hawaii after ours died at Pearl Harbor somehow got moisture in it. Whenever the camera is in the sun, condensation forms on the inside of the viewfinder and lens. It is quite dismaying. So, we stopped at Best Buy in Waterloo to check have the Geek Squad look at it. All they could do was take it in for service. This is not a good option in Iowa so I asked if putting it in rice may help.They thought it was worth a try so off we went to Target to get a bag of rice. The camera is spending the day drying out in the drivers side pocket.<br /><br />For lunch, Jared grabbed Panera Bread, Greg beef jerkey, and me Combos. We hit the road for our 7 hour drive to Badlands. About an hour in, we hit MN. Photo time! We opened the doors and the blew wide open on the side of the highway. Minnesota takes ist signs seriously. They are HUGE and landscaped. It felt like August at the beach. 90 degrees and strong winds. Delightful. Then back in the car for our 432 mile drive along I-90. The straigt flat endless road is almost numbing. Slowly the speeds creep up from 70 to 74 to 80 etc. You don't realize it as you can see so far ahead that you don't feel as if you're going anywhere fast. Well, you're not. <br /><br />Finally we passed into South Dakota and noted a prompt transition from faqrmland to grassland. The sight of huge fields of grass blowing in the breeze is incredible. There is peace and energy. Jared and I bickered about when to get gas. I wanted to make it to South Dakota first so we could only stop once. Jared doesn't like going below a third of a tank. I usually go down to the flashing one bar (1/2) gallon. Being in the absolute middle of nowhwere, Jared had a point. We stopped and got gas. Greg bought an 89c 64 oz cup of diet coke. Isn't that what America's all about? <br /><br />Well... 233 more miles to go... then we'll set up our tents and hopefully make it to the "Dark Skies" program offered by the Rangers in Badlands.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6513163444627053831.post-50329206053632666542010-07-03T05:42:00.000-07:002010-07-03T06:03:43.682-07:00Indiana Dunes National LakeshoreThis place was an awesome respite. We hiked to Baldy Point - only 153 feet tall - but an impressive dune. Then we ran down it into the shores cool waters of Lake Michigan. This was incredibly refreshing. It also feels a good deal like the Cape or RI. It was nice to emerge from redneckville on 1-90 west to an enclave or civilization. We covered 890 miles yesterday traveling from Syracuse to Notre Dame, Indiana Dunes, Panera Bread for Wifi, Chicago Midway to get Jared and then onto our Hotel Room in Dubuque Iowa. This Motel6 was much better. We didn't really like Notre Dame that much. It seemed too corporate. I can certainly see how people would want to come back to Indiana Dunes. It is kind of like the ocean for Chicago I think. <br /><br />Here's a video I took while running down the dune <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwP39lbjdDtq4137_P5gRHKmwoeKO_yYpDTIuujPuQqpMzKjh-CqGwdyz2qI1kUKz9rBGBz_jmPyCCILnybdw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzwciHdGWbSo30n-UzDILYKTVwMT5DiNkLTYUZfgl-872hEGN50pJlBtXIoLFrHpNasH9ORoWUCC2DzG_BPnA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794889832869597866noreply@blogger.com0