Day 21 and 22 ~ Friends and the driving to get to them

Today was fun. It started kinda rough, as today really started yesterday in flagstaff, AZ. After seeing the petrified forest and the white sand dunes of new mexico we drove a grand total of 24 hours to get to Austin, TX. I have not slept in 41 hours, not counting the hour nap I took today.

The highlight of the driving day for me was in the white sand dunes, where we saw a sunset, albeit obscured by cloud cover, and were completely surrounded by thunder and lightning storms. As we looked up we saw blue skies but all around us were strikes of lightning, almost black clouds and pillars of rain. Again our luck with the weather held and we were back in the car by the time the rains hit, and barely got rained on anyway. The drive was rough, I did an 8 hour shift to a little before white sands, then alex took another 8 hour shift to a rest stop somewhere and I took the last 6 into austin. I'm sure our adventures that preceded this contributed to the difficulty staying awake held but I would call it a stamina test no matter how you slice it.

Arriving here to smiles and warm greetings I took a shower and then my nap, waking up for the 1pm pregame show for the USA vs. Ghana World Cup game. Expecting a few people over turned into about 25 excited voices cheering and crying out in despair along with the thousands of fans actually in the stadium. Unfortunately we lost but it was a good game and much fun was had. A group of us went to dinner and then on a bit of a walk, the main event of which was a spur of the moment run across the soccer fields with our shirts off through the sprinklers that were going off. The full moon shone down on us as we jumped through the streams of water like any 5 year old would do at home, a spontaneous decision that was well rewarded. I rode back here in the bed of a truck as seats had become a mildly scarce commodity, and am now in the most relaxing bean bag chair I have ever experienced. I am considering just sleeping here, rather than on the ouch next to me. Decisions, decisions. I'll write more tomorrow but for tonight I just want to emphasize how welcome I feel here. These people are great and they are all pretty darn funny.

Sleep well world, we'll be home soon.

Day 20 ~ In which the grand canyon was blitzed

Wow. Words can only go so far to describe some things, actually talking to the person is needed to see the light in their eyes as they search for a word that is so much more than "huge" or "mind blowing". Watching them smile and gesture randomly as they remember what it was like to first experience whatever it was is the only way we can catch on to the fact that the event was something More. So consider this my wild gesticulation, my stammering relation of what we saw today.

We drove from Phoenix to the canyon this morning, arriving around noon. We walked around a bit and got the info we needed (where is the longest trail we probably shouldn't attempt to do in one day?) and proceeded to the trailhead. I tell you these mundane things because they set up the juxtaposition that I felt as I went from walking on asphalt like any other along a path that seemed no different from the ones in other parks, to my first view of the canyon. From the normal to the incredible in three steps, I froze for a moment as my brain tried, and failed, to process the vast expanse before me. To be honest it was several moments and it marks the second time I have teared up on this trip, unable to control the raw emotion the sheer majesty and beauty the landscape pulled from me. The feeling of the land speaking to me came again as it did in the other parks saying "tread carefully here young one, you are not the master in this realm".

As we marvelled from the embankment my eyes immediately, after returning to my control, went to the farthest point of land connected, by my estimation, to where we were headed, and my mind said "I want to go there, the view must be incredible" I had no idea how far it was or what trail it connected to but as soon as I saw the thin line of what I thought could be a path I wanted to be on it. Turns out that's where we were headed. Now to be honest most people, on a day hike, cut out the last part, the part that I had seen, but we decided that 6.5 miles was about the same as 4.5 and we went for it. The views were amazing the entire time, my biggest complaint being that I couldn't look up the whole time because I would have tripped and died. Plateau point was well worth the extra trip and yielded great views of the mighty Colorado river and the surrounding canyon, which continued as far as anyone could see. Most of my 194 pictures I took on the way down and at the bottom, because the way back up was...fun. Probably some of the most, top three, intense switchback climbing I've ever done. The sun was setting on the way out so the views shifted into different colors, morphing the canyon walls into something still more breath taking.

We made it down in 2:45 and back up in 3:15. Six hours to do the eight hour trail. We are proud and tired. With only one day to see such a huge and gorgeous place I think we did alright with our decision to hike that particular trail.

An hour and a half puts me here in flagstaff, with a 24 hour drive starting tomorrow at 8am, destination Austin, Texas. Sleep time.

Day 16 - 19 ~ In which Michael plays catch up

So been kinda behind lately. Sorry :(

Vegas - tons of fun, made mostly so by the cirque show we saw; Love, at the Love Theater in the Mirage hotel, a theater made specifically for the show. Now without going into a huge gushing, rambling, torrent about how much fun it was, it was amazing. The whole show was set to the Beatles music and, as Alex tells me, it was different than most of their shows in that it was more dance based, and had a storyline throughout the show, with less stunt work. Regardless of the difference I'm now addicted to it and will be making every effort to see more of their shows whenever possible. I cannot recommend seeing them enough. It is a great experience and it is true art, I think everyone needs to see them at least once. We walked the strip a decent amount and went in and out of a few casinos, we both lost 2 dollars to the casinos, neither of us have enough money to gamble seriously but it was a good time regardless. Also open container law is great. :)

We drove from vegas to Tempe, Arizona, a little east of Phoenix, where Alex's brother and wife live and we've been there till now. We've been relaxing and not doing much, hanging out with his brother and another of his friends, going to the yankees/diamondbacks game last night, which was a good game until about the 7th inning where the bases were loaded, the pitcher had thrown 6 balls in a row and there were no outs. Final score was 9-2, but I forgot how much I love watching a game and this was actually the first one where I was able to drink a beer legally! Lots of fun and yelling to be had :) We then retired to a pool bar closer to the home and played, and drank, a few rounds. Can I say that I really enjoy Car Bombs? Cuz I do. And pool. Combined? Sweet.

Tonight we look forward to a night at the pool with margaritas made with 40 freshly squeezed limes, half a blended up watermelon, and a mildly large amount of inebriating materials. It's been great resting up and just hanging out, but tomorrow we head out to the Grand Canyon for probably the most intense hike of our travels, followed by the longest drive, approximately 22 hours broken up by a few stops for pictures and stretching. Next update from Austin Tx, or maybe the campsite next to the canyon if we have an opportunity.

Day 15 ~ Vegas

So Vegas. Crazy place. We'll get to it.

We started today following he advice of the ranger who told us the story last night and traveling a little off the beaten path to find a tree not on any of the maps and that, I would imagine, few people ever see. I am so greatful for tha ranger, frank, not because the things he added to our map were absolutely mind blowing but because they were something he was passionate about and he wanted to share that passion with us. I could easily see myself retiring to be a park ranger some day :).

From there we saw a few other trees and one huge stump that you could walk on, the mark twain tree if you wanna look it up. We then got comfortable and started our drive south to the city of sin. Our hotel, yes I'm skipping the drive, it was uneventful, is quite nice, and I look forward to a dip in the pool tomorrow as well as some wandering about playing the penny slots and seeing how much I can get out of these places :). Basically did a lap of the lower strip and saw a few things before turning in, but we have a whole day tomorrow and cirque at night. I'm excited. A more in depth, or more expository I suppose, entry will be entered at some point but not tonight.

Day 14 ~ Wherein a bear proves you can't outrun it

Two weeks. In two weeks we have travelled all the way across the country, down the coast of California, and are starting our trip back tomorrow morning.

Today was pretty darn great. We saw five bears yesterday, and I saw two on the drive to our morning hike. We headed down to walk the congress trail, several groups of trees named the house and senate with one named the president. We also saw the largest living thing on the planet, the general Sherman. It's flipping huge. No joke.

But you've already heard about big trees. The top story today was while we were walking the congress trail, and it involves bear number three.

This doesn't need that much setup, only that we were walking on a trail looking at trees just kinda hanging out. I heard a noise that was far enough off the path and loud enough that I immediately thought bear. Sure enough I look over and maybe 25 yards away I see a black bears head pop up for a second, and then drop back down. It looked kind of odd until I realized that the sounds were continuing and growing louder, and then I saw the bear literally vault over a fallen tree probably five or six feet in diameter on a straight line path towards my face. Luckily it saw us and turned slightly so instead or running us over, which it would have (or eaten us), it merely ran across the path in front of us by about twenty feet. This is the part of the show where I actually start observing things again. Up to that point I was in full survival mode, ready to yell or fight, in retrospect probably not a good idea, but frozen until the bear decided where it was really going.

It was then I realized exactly how fast it was moving. There is no possible way on earth I or anyone of us could have gotten away from that creature had it decided it wanted to play with us. If I had a ten second head start on it and I was running for my life I have little doubt I would be very unhappy about twenty seconds in. Now most of you know me and know that I have a slightly different view of risk and the probability of me living through something than most people, but I will fully admit that there is no way I could have made it out of there if that bear wasn't running from ANOTHER BEAR. Apparently a large brown bear was chasing this little (and by little I mean like holy crap big) black bear into our path. We survived and heard no screams thereafter so I assume no one was injured. Ridiculous.

The third coolest thing happened next, when we decided to come back to the campsite early and just hang out. I found a nice log in the middle of a brilliant green marsh where I sat in the sun and read my book until the sun started to set.

Here the other contender for first coolest part comes into play. I hear random music from the other side of the marsh and I follow my log bridge in it's direction and I end up in an ampitheater. Long story short there's a ranger there who tells the life of John Muir, one of the people who spearheaded the nationalizing of the parks myself and Alex have been perusing. The cool thing about was he did it in first person in a decent Scottish accent. The story was funny and interesting and I don't remember the last time I heard a tale told verbally like that. It made me smile and was a great end to the day.

Tomorrow we start our trek back with a weekend in Vegas. Wish us luck and pray for our souls :)

Day 12 and 13

Back in the tent :) we are currently in the sequoia national forest and have been since sometime this afternoon. We started out in passedena where we stayed with a friend of alex after driving from Santa Rosa, around nine hours. Unfortunately Alex had some trouble with his eyes and allergies so I ended up doing the whole thing but by now nine hours isn't too bad, especially when it's along the pacific coast highway. I had never seen the pacific before yesterday and I was not let down in my expectations. The pch was a gorgeous cliff drive on windy (long i) roads for hours on end. Vista after vista and it didn't get old. Went to a bar when we got there and then crashed shortly thereafter.

This morning we slept in a bit, and then headed out. I ended up reading a few chapters in my book which I hadn't done yet so that was nice.

We hiked today in two places. One was a loop around a glen, which may have been the greenest thing I have ever seen, and the other was up to a peak that has a 360 view of the area for the sunset. Now both were gorgeous but the ending story still needs a little setup.

On the glen loop we saw 4 bears. Both Alex and I had been hoping for a (singular) sighting, so this was pretty cool. The fifth bear we saw was not quite as cool because it was on the path we were on, the others having been a mild distance away, close enough for some pictures but far enough away not to be too scary. This bear was ripping apart a tree, yes a tree, to get some food and, long story short, ended up running away when it heard us. We made it to the overlook and there was a lovely sunset after some 400 stairs. This is the part where it gets interesting. See, neither Alex or I hoguht about what happens after sunset. In most cases it means it gets dark, as the sun is no longer visible. What this meant for us was that our planned walk back to the car, some 1.7 miles on the road, was now a death march through legit bear country. We whistled and clapped the whole way, hoping to scare away anything large and small, and made it back alive, but rest assured that our lesson has been learned and we will not be caught so unaware next time.

An hour drive put us in our campsite, and the sound of frogs and owls will be my lullaby tonight. Tomorrow will be more hiking through these massive trees, and I'm excited for another forest, this bigger and older than he last.

Day 10 + 11

San Francisco. It seems funny that the first time I am in a place with a good wireless connection and a computer that likes doing what it is supposed to, I don't write a blog for the day. Now the Irish Pub may have had something to do with it but regardless, even after this short a time it feels odd to miss a day.

Our time in the city has been much fun, added to by our host, an old friend of Alex's. Our first move after meeting up, this is post me getting a new macbook pro, baseline model, was going down lombard st, if you don't know what it is look it up, around 6 times. There were some people trying to do a interview or recording of some sort and needless to say they weren't very happy with our continued shouts as we traversed the turns again and again. We even ran down it once to give it some variety.

Then down to Pier 39 for saltwater taffy you wouldn't believe and an arcade where virtual jump rope was the name of the game, I beat it once and got us some pretty flippin sweet bandanas. This was the part of the sow where the pub comes into play, with live Irish music and good beer and laughs all night. We met up with some friends we hiked with in yosemite, random is our middle name, and had a lovely evening, driving back up to santa rosa across the golden gate bridge on the way out.

Yesterday we walked the bridge, 1.7 miles each way and very windy - we lucked out with visibility and got some good pics - then back to pier 39 for the rocket boat. Now the rocket boat is kinda what you think it is, it's a speed boat that seats around 100 that zips around the bay showing you different views of the skyline and getting you a little wet in the process. Pretty fun and definitely worth the $20. Dinner on the pier, then a quick trip to the punchline comedy club for "the young guns of comedy". I really liked 2 of the acts, another 2 were pretty funny, unfortunately the headliner was not amazing, but it was still fun.

I am currently uploading pictures to facebook, slowly but surely and have up to about a third of the badlands done so days 1-3 and part of 4. Probably do more tonight so keep checking back and hopefully I might get caught up before I actually get home.

Day 9

So today I could tell you about the greenhouse my tent turns into when in direct sunlight. I could describe the drive back in to yosemite, and how the bus we took up to the sequoia grove reminded me of the blue line on a tuesday morning at 7:45. I could try and fail to describe the amazing trees that have been growing for over a thousand years. I could ramble a bit about the stroll we took to mirror lake, and how the trail back was covered with horse poo. I might even touch on the jacuzzi we came back to and put our feet in. But that's not what I'm going to talk about.

I'm going to talk about forests.

There are a few places I feel supremely comfortable. One would be a cliff face or boulder mountain; these are my playgrounds and they challenge me physically to be better then I am. My balance, spatial judgement and reaction time have all benefitted from the pure compulsion I have to climb and jump around on everything I see. These places give me an outlet found hardly anywhere else where I can let loose fully and play. There have been a few of those places on this trip so far and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to sink into my true self and run, jump, climb and crawl places that I probably shouldn't have been doing them.

But we're not talking about mountains.

There is something about a forest that just gets me. Now this can be applied to most gatherings of trees, but today we entered a grove of trees that seemed hardly trees at all. A scene for lord of the rings comes to mind; where legolas is in fangorn forest and looks around and says "this forest is old" in a hushed voice, filled with wonder and caution. That is what I felt today. I love listening to everything breathe, I love feeling the bark of a tree that has been around for over 1800 years. I imagine what the thoughts of a being that has lived that long would be. What would something that was here long before our country existed, that has fought out many siblings for a piece of sky and ground to call its own, that has survived countless fires and disasters have to say?

I could have sat for hours today just listening with my eyes closed, or with my fingers in the ground, feeling the pulse of the land, or tracing every line in the heartwood of one of the majestic residents whose home I was merely a visitor in.

There is something about forests that I lose myself in, and today, in the oldest forest I've ever been in, I felt like I was at home.

Day 8

Another great day, the only downside of which being that I might have burnt myself a little trying to even out my lovely farmers tan that has been developing.

We started out early, aiming to get up at midnight and leave at one, ending up waking up at one and leaving at two :). Driving nine hours through one time zone change, we arrived at yosemite at nine. You do the math. This is the second time we've gained a random hour on our trip and have no idea where it came from. Yosemite is obviously gorgeous, with my favorite type of driving (hugging cliffs through tight turns) almost the whole way through. We parked and headed to get some food, knowing that with the hike to come we would need all the strength we could get. Our choice for the day was called the four mile trail, which actually turned out to be 4.8 miles both ways. Liers.

Anywho at the base of this trek which the handy dandy map says will take about 6 to 8 hours to fully complete, we see two ladies who seem to be doing the same thing we were, namely looking for the trail head. We had a good idea that it was one way so they followed along and we found the way to the top. We decided, based on our short conversation up to the beginning of the trail, that they were fun people and we could do far worse than them for company so we made a little pack and started up the mountain.

Let's just leave it at the climb was pretty intense, and we were all beat but exhilerated when we made it to the top in three hours. The view, as always, was spectacular, and we relaxed in the sun for a good time, enjoying the sheer unbelievability of the scenery before us. Our goal for the way down was two hours and we made it in 1:45. Cuz we're awesome. So the stats are 4:45 total time, 3,200ft change in elevation both ways, 15,000 or ao steps to the top, and only a very minor scrape to show from it. The company was lovely and we all had a good time talking our way up and laughing our way down. Did I mention that two members of our party had asthma? Yeah good times. Thanks Sly and G-Spot :).

We left the park after that for a 1.5 hour drive to our campsite, where we showered and then got some pizza. We are currently crashing and waking up with a plan to do some leisurely strolling tomorrow on our second day here.

Ps I will most likely be getting a new comp in San Francisco or similar area so Monday or Tuesday you can expect an explosion of pictures on my facebook page :)

Day 8

Another great day, the only downside of which being that I might have burnt myself a little trying to even out my lovely farmers tan that has been developing.

We started out early, aiming to get up at midnight and leave at one, ending up waking up at one and leaving at two :). Driving nine hours through one time zone change, we arrived at yosemite at nine. You do the math. This is the second time we've gained a random hour on our trip and have no idea where it came from. Yosemite is obviously gorgeous, with my favorite type of driving (hugging cliffs through tight turns) almost the whole way through. We parked and headed to get some food, knowing that with the hike to come we would need all the strength we could get. Our choice for the day was called the four mile trail, which actually turned out to be 4.8 miles both ways. Liers.

Anywho at the base of this trek which the handy dandy map says will take about 6 to 8 hours to fully complete, we see two ladies who seem to be doing the same thing we were, namely looking for the trail head. We had a good idea that it was one way so they followed along and we found the way to the top. We decided, based on our short conversation up to the beginning of the trail, that they were fun people and we could do far worse than them for company so we made a little pack and started up the mountain.

Let's just leave it at the climb was pretty intense, and we were all beat but exhilerated when we made it to the top in three hours. The view, as always, was spectacular, and we relaxed in the sun for a good time, enjoying the sheer unbelievability of the scenery before us. Our goal for the way down was two hours and we made it in 1:45. Cuz we're awesome. So the stats are 4:45 total time, 3,200ft change in elevation both ways, 15,000 or ao steps to the top, and only a very minor scrape to show from it. The company was lovely and we all had a good time talking our way up and laughing our way down. Did I mention that two members of our party had asthma? Yeah good times. Thanks Sly and G-Spot :).

We left the park after that for a 1.5 hour drive to our campsite, where we showered and then got some pizza. We are currently crashing and waking up with a plan to do some leisurely strolling tomorrow on our second day here.

Ps I will most likely be getting a new comp in San Francisco or similar area so Monday or Tuesday you can expect an explosion of pictures on my facebook page :)

Day 8

Another great day, the only downside of which being that I might have burnt myself a little trying to even out my lovely farmers tan that has been developing.

We started out early, aiming to get up at midnight and leave at one, ending up waking up at one and leaving at two :). Driving nine hours through one time zone change, we arrived at yosemite at nine. You do the math. This is the second time we've gained a random hour on our trip and have no idea where it came from. Yosemite is obviously gorgeous, with my favorite type of driving (hugging cliffs through tight turns) almost the whole way through. We parked and headed to get some food, knowing that with the hike to come we would need all the strength we could get. Our choice for the day was called the four mile trail, which actually turned out to be 4.8 miles both ways. Liers.

Anywho at the base of this trek which the handy dandy map says will take about 6 to 8 hours to fully complete, we see two ladies who seem to be doing the same thing we were, namely looking for the trail head. We had a good idea that it was one way so they followed along and we found the way to the top. We decided, based on our short conversation up to the beginning of the trail, that they were fun people and we could do far worse than them for company so we made a little pack and started up the mountain.

Let's just leave it at the climb was pretty intense, and we were all beat but exhilerated when we made it to the top in three hours. The view, as always, was spectacular, and we relaxed in the sun for a good time, enjoying the sheer unbelievability of the scenery before us. Our goal for the way down was two hours and we made it in 1:45. Cuz we're awesome. So the stats are 4:45 total time, 3,200ft change in elevation both ways, 15,000 or ao steps to the top, and only a very minor scrape to show from it. The company was lovely and we all had a good time talking our way up and laughing our way down. Did I mention that two members of our party had asthma? Yeah good times. Thanks Sly and G-Spot :).

We left the park after that for a 1.5 hour drive to our campsite, where we showered and then got some pizza. We are currently crashing and waking up with a plan to do some leisurely strolling tomorrow on our second day here.

Ps I will most likely be getting a new comp in San Francisco or similar area so Monday or Tuesday you can expect an explosion of pictures on my facebook page :)

Day 7

So it's about 7pm and Alex and I are going to sleep. We are doing this not because we are tired, but because our day is really two days. I understand this doesn't make much sense, so please allow me to explain. From yellowstone national park to yosemite national park is aproximately 16 hours. Now while both Alex and I are more than happy to drive this amount of time (we will be doing it and more later in the trip), it was decided, for several reasons besides reducing the monotony of driving, that we should stop at a campsite and take a nap for a few hours before continuing on. So in five hours or so we'll be getting back up and heading back to the highway. We'll hopefully arrive at the park around 10am and have tomorrow and the next day to hike and explore to our hearts content. This results in today being "nothing really happened" day. I took three pictures and when we get up it will be day 8.

Major props go to Alex for finding us a place to sleep and bonus points for that place having a shower and wireless :). In other news my computer finally gave up and the wireless is completely broken. Monday or Tuesday we will be in computer store range so I might find my way into a store and out with a new piece of hardware, Alex is pushing for a mac, and I'm actually mildly ok with the idea. We shall see and maybe everyone will be able to see my pictures before I actually get home. Wish us luck on our through the night shift and safety on the trails of yosemite :).

P.s. it has been exactly one week since I left my dads place in Connecticut on the first leg of this trip. Wahoo!

Day 6

So day 6 dawned in mammoth campsite, yellowstone national park, wyoming, and it was lovely. Not much tops waking under a mountain freshly light by the rising sun, a mild fog rolling away and a full day of exploring ahead of you. We had seen a good portion of the park the previous day so we decided to head south to Teton national park, which shares a border with yellowstone. On the way we stopped at some sights we had missed yesterday and stopped in to see old faithful one last time. Serendipity seemed to be on our side when, just after faitful did her thing, another geyser, this one named beeshive, erupted very close to where we were standing. W e were later informed that this one only erupts once a day and is fairly unpredictable in it's activites. Shazam.

So then we headed further south and into the rain which had missed us this entire time. The clouds obscured the mountain range which we had heard was spectacular in scale and beauty, but we pressed on and eventually turned into a turnabout to check out a cliff section that looked interesting. We climbed up and up and up, following my policy of "is there somehing higher than this? Yes? Then why are we still here?". There was a great view from the top and some cool flowers that I didn't see anywhere else in our travels. Again going a little bit off course rewarded us well.

Food was next, a calzone for me and a pizza for Alex, from a cool bar with a great view of the mountains which were now visible due to the rain leaving and blue skies replacing what had been a gloomy and foreboding horizon. Replenished and happy that we could actually see what we came here for, we drove north and then back south, takin pictures of the mountains, elk, pronghorns, and bison we came across. No sign of any moose yet :(. We traveled up a mountain (cleverly named summit peak) and had great views of pretty much everything around for I can't even imagine how many miles.

Returning to the main road we came across a path that led down to a lake which the mountains on the other side bordered perfectly. The sun was setting, mildly obscured by the remaining clouds, and the tranquility was refreshing and much needed after all the driving we did today (probably around 9 or 10 hours).

Now we're back at our campsite on the river and I'm thinking about the 2 leg journey we're starting tomorrow to yosemite (seven hours to a camp to nap for five or six hours then nine to get into the park earl and get a good site to sleep in). But for now I look forward to falling asleep with the river's rush in my ear and the dawn's light on the great teton mountains just to our west.

Day 5 (for real this time)

Awesome. The word is used so much that on days like today I feel like I can't use it to describe adequately what my encounter with the world was like. We use it to describe a movie we saw and liked, a sweet video we saw on YouTube, or a story we hear a friend tell of one of their out of the ordinary experiences. The word awe means so much more, at least to me, than any of these things. It means you see something, experience something, feel something so much bigger than you, so much deeper than you could ever have expected or imagined and you can't do anything except stop. Your heart pauses, your breathing catches, your eyes widen and your brain simply cannot comprehend what is taking place. That was what today was. I walked out onto a viewing platform overlooking the most spectacular environment I have ever seen. I cannot even come close with words to the awe I felt, I was humbled, and I teared up as I was reminded that this world does not need us. This place is one huge stamp on our forheads that tells us exactly how small we are. The majesty of this place and pure, unadulterated joy I felt at being a part, one tiny inconsequential part, of this beauty cannot be duplicated.

When I say that today was awesome I mean that every hour I was presented with something else that made me just stop. I took around 430 pictures today and none will show anyone what it was like here. None will contain the raw power of the tower falls or the feel of the massive winds which flow through the gigantic canyon. Every turn we took revealed some new aspect of this world I have never seen before and I am only just coming to terms with exactly how much this has effected me.

I sincerely wish that everyone who grows up in this country could come here at some point, ideally when they are old enough to understand what they are seeing; that the hot springs they are watching bubble will look drastically different in a few years, that the canyon they lean over has been forming since a time they cannot even comprehend, and that the skyscrapers and glass and concrete forests of our making can never come close to what nature does and has been doing every day.

Today was awesome, and I wish you all the same sort of day at least once in your life.

Day 5

Wahoo! I love this. Only one thing mars this trip so far and I will speak on that later. We started today with a mildly short drive up to mount rushmore where, unfortunately they were spraying pesticides so the trails were closed. We got good pictures and got back on the road for our destination of Cody Wyoming.

Somewhere before we got back on 90W (yes north easters the mass pike is acually kinda the US pike; it comes all the way out here) Alex saw a sign for something called the devils tower. Now neither of us had heard of this thing so Alex looked it up on his handy dandy little cell phone and saw that it was Americas first national monument and that most people thought it was pretty darn cool. So we decided that instead of turning west to get to our campsite we would continue north for another hour or so to see this thing then resume our journey. Here again is shown that the principle of going where the path isn't, even if it's a path made by you, has many rewards. 876 feet high with a massive circle of boulders circling the pillar that seems to have no cause to be there. There was nothig else really around of comparison, no chain of mountains it was a part of, just a solitary formation that I could barely fathom. We hiked a circle around and took many pictures, my total for today was around 230, then headed back to the car for our leg to the campsite where I currently am located.

The next eventful thing was when we chose to drive route 16 west rather than continue on 90. At buffalo we forked left and headed into what we now know to be the bighorn range which is some of the most gorgeous scenery around. The badlands were awesome but this section was lush and alive with the same huge scale we are starting to get used to. Many pictures and several videos will follow.

We finally ended up at our campsite after pacing with another car from new york (what are the chances right?) and I took a wonderful shower and put today's shots onto my computer. It is at this point that my day became slightly less awesome when I discovered that in addition to my computer losing iTunes so I can't put pictures on my iPod and thus not put them on this lovely blog, it's wireless capabilities have been decimated to the point of uselessness. If I haven't mentioned it before my screen is broken and I would be surprised if it doesn't fully detatch by the end of the trip. Hopefully I win money in Vegas so I can get a new one otherwise I don't know how I'm going to get my pictures online.

Anyway today was good, tomorrow we move camp to yellowstone for two nights so I'm fairly excited about that, hope everyone is doing well back home and I'll be back online hopefully three nights from now.

Location:Cody Wyoming

Day 2

I didn't have enough charge in my laptop to get today's pictures on my itouch, which is where the majority of these will be written, so tonights entry will be words only and I will do my best to paint you so fine a picture that you scarcely notice.

We started out from the Columbus area this morning around eight, Alex again taking first shift, just after a brief passing of thunder, lightning and rain. We later found out that the very mild storm we witnessed got bored with all the flatness just east of us and resulted in tornado warnings, flooding, and 1.5 inch hail. Our weather for the day could not have been better.

The morning passed semi uneventfully, the most inertesting revelation being that I discovered that while I don't get bored or annoyed with not doing anything, I shift positions like I get paid evey time I do. Seriously.

Anyway fast forward about seven hours and we stop in Knoxville...in some state. Honestly the state lines are kinda blurry at this point. It's only day 2 and the amount of road I have already seen in a straight line is almost discomfiting. Regardless it was called the Knoxville family restaurant and I had a delicious blt with fries. Food gets an eight, service a seven, and atmosphere a seven. That's when I took over driving and the fun started. Not really, I just wish something fun happened, basically it was just another six hours of driving, broken up by some windmills and a lovely sunset.

We made camp in a KOA campground not far from the highway, and found out that what I remembered as a two man tent is... well it's a two man but not exactly a spacious one. Also my computer is almost entirely broken, hence the use of my ipod. The screen is pretty much falling off and it loses power like a champ. But the site is nice, the grass is soft, and the showers look good for our wakeup tomorrow at 2am. Yes you read that right. We're heading out early to get to the badlands at a good time to get a campsite, first come first serve. The rest of the day will be spent looking around or napping.

It was a good day.

Location:Harland MN

Day 1

So we started out on our journey yesterday, alex and I in our Nissan Versa. Cruise control was abused and the air conditioning never stopped as we made our way from Syracuse through the top right of Pennsylvania and into Ohio.


Eventually we ended up in Columbus, where the people who were possibly going to put us up for the night were nowhere to be found. Not to be deterred we got some amazing burritos at chipotles to kill some time. After eating we still needed something to do while calls were made and close to distant relatives were mobilized to get us a roof and a place to sleep, so we went to the local rave


(it's a movie theater) and saw robin hood, which was fairly well done, an interesting revisiting of the time honored story we know so well. The action sequences were well choreographed and the interactions between the main characters felt pretty good with the notable exception of the robin/marian pairing which seemed slightly contrived and rushed. Other than that good movie and worth checking out if you like the genre.

After the movie we had a confirmed place to stay and headed over to jeni's ice cream,


a place that had been recomended to us as "the best place on earth". Slightly skeptical I approached this supposed beacon of human creation and I raised a hopeful eyebrow at the long line of people queued to partake in this experience at 10pm. As we traversed the line we saw flavors the likes of which have never been seen, with names so odd and foreign that none remain in my memory save cherry lambic sorbet, which was the final decision I arrived at. Ladies and gentlemen the flavor which was contained in that freshly made waffle cone was unexplainable. The hype was not hype at all but an honest relation of the great quality of their product and service. My only regret is that we did not stay longer in order to sample the entirety of their collection.

After our brief ascent into the realm of flavors previously unknown we headed to a sister of a friend of alex's house. She and her husband put us up for the night in their living room and I had a lovely nights rest, a hot shower, some apple jacks and much entertainment by Kaiden, 3 years old.

We are now on the road again for the next 13 hours with a destination of a campground in southern Minnesota. Alex has the first shift and as we pass through brooksville, Ohio I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a good day.

Location:Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Day 3

Wow. Today was amazing. The beginning was kinda lame, getting up at 2am kinda sucks no matter how you slice it, but the drive wasn't bad, just one road for around four hundred miles. I had first shift, which was broken up by a lovely sunrise, many pictures were taken and then we resumed our journey to arrive at badlands national park around 9am.

There are no words. No seriously. I'll put up pictures and you can watch the videos but neither will even come close to the sheer beauty of this 70 mile stretch of land. I was in awe as we rounded a bend on route 90 west and suddenly what had been flat for lord knows how long turned into one of the most picturesque landscapes I have ever witnessed. There are mountains, yes, but they aren't what comes to mind when the word is spoken. To give you an idea of what I mean when I say that I was and am completely caught up in the atmosphere here Alex and I decided to go hiking on a trail that was supposed to take about an hour to complete. In all honesty in terms of straight speed I probably could have done it in about twenty minutes, but we stayed on that trail for a good three hours. The views were spectacular and the formations were exactly what I like when I want to play. I make no exagerations when I say that I was in full play mode that whole time. It was awesome. The most freeing part of it for me was me being my usual self. The trail we were on led through a canyon, and while canyons are fun and it was gorgeous I obviously had to kick it up a notch and find something dangerous, exhilerating, entertaining or any combination of synonyms to those wondeful words. This started with mild climbs off the beaten path, and slightly larger than safe jumps from ledge to ledge, but my aspirations were greater still. The end result was my scouting a route to the top of he canyon, by no means an easy venture with only one route that I was able to find, and the discovery of a pack of bighorn sheep(otherwise known as mountain goats) at the top that I can pretty much guarentee that no one else saw. The coolest thing with that was when they decided our presence was not to their liking and RAN down the side of the sheer cliff I had just spent an hour trying to get up, across the canyon/ravine and straight back up the other side which was equally steep. Nature win.

So yeah we're now in our tent sheltering from the rain which held off all day and I'm completely content and happy with how this day turned out. Tomorrow is mount rushmore and a drive to yellowstone where we'll be spending the following two days. I fully expect my awe and amazement to be topped again, as I said before it's only day 3, and there are so many things we have yet to do.

Two p.s.'s; one is that buffalo burgers are delicious. The other is that my computer is almost completely broken which means uploading pictures may or may not happen in a timely fashion so sorry about that :( who knows I might cave to alex's suggestion that we stop at an apple and pick me up a new piece of hardware...

Location:Badlands south Dakota

Captain's log 2

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