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.
Friday, June 11
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 9
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.
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.
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.
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
Monday, June 7
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...
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
Friday, June 4
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