Wow!
That is probably the best, single word to describe the past week. Why wow? Because we have seen a lot, met a lot of people, done a lot of things and have just been busier than ever. Let me recap the past week for you.
Friday, June 27th (Day 47) was our last day visiting Anna and Nate in Eugene. I worked during the day while Shayanne and Anna ran errands. They ended up coming back to the house while singing happy birthday and carrying my very own ice cream cake, which happens to be my favorite. Shayanne also bought me the movie, “Hot Rod.” We first saw the movie while we were staying in Pagosa Springs and we both loved it. It’s so stupid, but it’s a good stupid. :) So we cut up some ice cream cake and watched the DVD, it was a really nice gesture. Thanks to both Anna and Shay for a nice early birthday moment.
In the afternoon, we headed down towards Medford, Oregon to camp for the night. We wanted to cut our drive down to Redwood in half and the KOA at Medford did just that. It was a warm day. It was in the high-90’s, but by time the sun it went down it was quite comfortable. We made hot dogs by the fire and just had a relaxing night around the campfire.
Saturday, June 28th (Day 48) was my 25th birthday. Quarter of a century already, wow. Makes me sound old. We started the day off by driving from Medford down to the Redwood National Park. We drove through it while in awe of the most amazing trees we’ve ever seen. We stayed down Hwy 101 and eventually hit the northern coast of California. It was hazy and a bit cold, but still very cool to see. Neither of us have ever seen the Pacific ocean from the continental U.S. I saw it when I was in Hawaii, but the Pacific Ocean there is MUCH different than the Pacific Ocean you see in Northern California.
We continued down Hwy 101 until we got south of Eureka and then checked out the Avenue of the Giants. It’s a road that stays close to Hwy 101 but runs through a bunch of small towns and LOTS of redwoods. We stopped at a few places to marvel at the beauty of nature and take in some of the attractions in these towns. We saw the Eternal Tree, which is basically just a hollowed out Redwood that they built a little tree fort of it. It was neat to see. After that we continued southward and eventually hit Myers Flat, California. Myers Flat has a redwood you can drive through, so we decided to check that out. It was pretty cool and to be honest I was worried that I’d fit the width clearance because of our bikes. We made it through, but by no more than a few inches. No lie there. We also checked out a lot of the wood carvings they had at Myers Flat. Just a very cool place to see. I’d definately recommend stopping in.
After Myers Flat, we headed down Hwy 101 and then turned off on to Hwy 1 to ride down the California coastline a bit. Very beautiful, despite it being hazy and cold. We stopped in Fort Bragg to grab a birthday dinner. First thing I noticed was the prices in the menu. A regular hamburger was $13.00. Incredible, California is SO expensive! We then headed east on Hwy 20 towards Ukiah. Once we hit Ukiah, we found a hotel to rest our heads and decided to go to Applebees for a free birthday drinks. We had fun and it was good to share my birthday with such a good friend. It was tough though that I couldn’t share my birthday with ALL of my family and friends, but I got plenty of phone calls, emails and text messages that made it easier to bear.
Sunday, June 29th (Day 49), we headed for Truckee. Originally we wanted to see the Napa area and try the wineries, but we decided to skip that and head to Truckee because of all the wildfires that are going on in California. The wildfires also presented a problem with travel. Many major routes were closed because of the fires. We had to call and ask around for the best possible routes to get towards Truckee. We had two problems: wildfires and road closures. We figured Hwy 20 all the way from the coast to Truckee would be our best bet, so we took it. It was a very nice drive actually, it was smoky out (in fact, it still is) but you couldn’t smell it. We hit Truckee late in the afternoon and just hung around until my friend Lucas got home. Lucas Meyer is an old friend from high school and he was kind enough to bring us into his home for the week.
Monday, June 30th (Day 50) I spent the day working. I’ve been working all week and have been SUPER busy doing it. I’m working as much as I can this work so that I have a good chunk of time I can take off next week to travel back home. We spent the evening hours sipping beers with one another and catching up. It’s been great to see old friends on this trip and just catch up. It’s always interesting to see what people have been doing with themselves since high school.
Tuesday, July 1st (Day 51) was another pretty laid back day. I worked all day while Shay did some odds-and-ends things like go for a mini-hike with Lucas’ dog. After work we headed south to Lake Tahoe and checked that out. That was very neat to see. Emerald Bay was breathtaking and we made it as far as South Lake Tahoe and decided to grab a bite there.
Yesterday (Day 52) was more of an active day. Again, Shay would go out for a walk with the dog while I worked, but we went out for the evening. We first headed to Donner Lake and hiked a bit. We eventually hit a boulder where most of our party went to climb it while the rest of us drank beers and watched. I decided to scale the easy side of the rock. Really, that was nothing special. I’ve climbed harder things on this trip. :) After our bouldering session, we jumped into Donner Lake to cool off. That was super cold and I didn’t last long. Once we were done with the lake, we headed into town to BBQ and check out Truckee’s Wednesday Night Music in the Park. It was pretty cool and just nice to be outside and get fresh air with everyone.
Today (Day 53), it’s been the same-old, same-old story. I worked all day. Shayanne went for a hike along the river and floated down the river with one of Lucas’ roommates, Bob. They’re still gone, but I’m not sure what we’re going to do when they get back. The thought of going to Reno has come up, but I’m not sure. I really would like to be able to afford the trip back home. 
I have pictures posted of Eugene, Medford, Redwood National Park and Ukiah up on the site. We will post pictures of Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake and Truckee shortly! Again, sorry for the long overdue update. We have just been SO busy!!! Hard to believe, we’re only a week away from being back home. Where has the time gone?
Today we got to sample what downtown Seattle has to offer. We started by checking out the Space Needle downtown. It was built in the 60’s for the World’s Fair. We bought the tickets and went up to the observation deck. The view was spectacular. The only downside was the overcast skies, but it didn’t take away from the beauty Seattle and the Washington area has to offer. It was quite spectacular.
After we browsed the museums, we headed towards the world famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. We walked around and browsed the local fare and shops. We grabbed some sandwiches and just people watched. It was nice. It was cool seeing the market people throw around the fish and yelling back and forth. Just watch your head!
We started our exploration in West Glacier. The middle of the only road cutting through the park was closed, so we went as far as we could and hiked around the park. Mike felt the need to hop over every fence that we stopped near, so I followed and hoped he’d trip over a rock. He didn’t, but we did get closer views of lakes. AMAZING is the only word that I can think of to describe what we saw. Truly breath-taking.
We drove through Calgary and into Banff National Park to see Lake Louise. The water is so blue! But it’s kinda green! But it’s…. It’s… I don’t know, but it’s beautiful! Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and suppose to storm, but we hiked around the lake anyway. There was sand on the other side, but it seemed more like really tough clay. After that, we hiked back to the car and drove to Golden where we stayed for the night.
Right now we’re in Redmond, WA. Once we crossed the border, Mike spoke with his roommate, Drew, who was staying at a friend’s apartment here. His friends, Ed and Alex, were nice enough to invite us into their apartment, which is where we are now. Ed took us on a 20 mile trail to Seattle this morning while Alex took Drew climbing. It was a really sweet trail and was covered in bikers, runners, and people just out for a stroll along the river. At one point there was a golf course on the other side of fence along the trail. Ed and MIke were a little ahead of me when I started to hear something getting knocked around in a tree. And then a golf ball suddenly flew out of the tree a few feet in front of my path. Oh my! All I could think was of how awkward it would be to be hit in the head by a golf ball in WA. Hmmm…
The main feature Twin Falls has are it’s waterfalls. It has a pair of them: The Twin Falls and the Shoshone Falls. The Twin Falls were originally a pair of waterfalls that fell next to each other but one of the falls was damed off for hydroelectric reasons. The Shoshone Falls was a bit more impressive than the Twin Falls. Not to mention the view was a bit better. After we saw the falls, we grabbed a bite to eat in the town of Twin Falls and then headed back on the road towards Yellowstone.
On Saturday (Day 27), we set out to explore the western and southern parts of the park. We started up at Norris Geyser Basin and walked around to see all the different geysers and hot springs. You never get used to the Hydrogen Sulfide smell because of the sulfur aroma. But you deal with it and crack jokes about how your travel buddy smells bad. And by “jokes” I mean “stress the truth.” 
The snow and wind started to pick up after we left Norris and headed south to Old Faithful. Once we reached Old Faithful we took a quick lunch and warm up break inside the lodge. We grabbed some lunch and then headed back into the elements. We checked out Old Faithful but it wasn’t due to erupt for another hour and some change. Knowing that, we decided to explore around Old Faithful and see the other geysers and hot springs. There was quite a few to see, but not as many as at Norris. We found a mile long hiking trail and decided to check that out. During the hike the trees covered us from most of the wind and snow and it was SO quiet. It was actually really nice. It was really nice until the group of 4 guys in front of us started yelling and hollering at God knows what. Gotta love a peaceful nature hike and then some idiots ruin it for you. Anyways, we finally reached the top elevation of the hike and there was nothing to protect us from the snow and wind. It was coming down quite heavy and we couldn’t see further than maybe 30 feet in front of us. Kind of cool, but disappointing at the same time. The point of the hike was to reach the top and overlook the Old Faithful area.
After the hike and checking out some of the other features near Old Faithful, we came back to the world’s most famous geyser and waited for eruption. We didn’t have to wait long, maybe only 5 minutes. You could see the steam build more and more and then finally some water started to sputter out and then BAM, water was shot to the sky. Boy, that thing really shot up! It was pretty cool. We stayed for the duration of the eruption and took some pictures with it. 
Once we finished at Mammoth, we headed east to check out Lamarr Valley which is near the eastern entrance of the park. The thing about Lamarr Valley is that it’s known for harboring TONS of wildlife. Turns out that was no lie. There was countless buffalo, elk and mule deer grazing off in the distance. The landscape was quite breath taking. A lush green valley with mountains and trees in the distance and on the other side was snow capped mountains and green rolling hills against a blue sky. Just awesome! Once we hit the eastern entrance, we headed back to Canyon. We had to take the long way back (going through Roosevelt, Mammoth and Norris) rather than heading south through Roosevelt to Canyon because the road from Roosevelt to Canyon was closed. That was super lame but also super fortunate because by having us go the long way back, we were able to spot the first bear we saw on the trip! It was a black bear and was maybe 100-some yards away. We wanted to see one before we left because we saw just about everything else Yellowstone has to offer in terms of wildlife.
On Saturday (Day 20) we departed from Grand Junction and started our great American southwest tour. We headed to Moab, Utah and stopped south of it at the Arches National Park. This park is known for it’s rock formations that look like great, big arches. I know, fitting name for the park. It’s very cool seeing these things and learning about how they form. The geology explaining it takes far too long to explain on here, so if you are interested in reading about, see the Wikipedia entry for 
Once we finished up seeing Mesa Verde National Park, we headed down to the Four Corners. It’s one of those things you have to see if you’re in that area just to do it. By no means was it the best stop we made while we’ve been traveling along. However, it is still kind of cool to be able to stand in 4 states at once. Even though 3 out of the 4 are not among our favorites so far on this trip. By that I mean we just loved Colorado. Colorado was amazing. However, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah are just too dry for our tastes. We have joked on this trip about how you never really notice how many lakes Minnesota actually has UNTIL you leave the state. There is nothing in those states in terms of lakes (unless it’s man made). Saturday ended up being the longest day we had on this trip. Total commute time was over 13 hours and about 600 miles to go from Grand Junction, Colorado to Page, Arizona.
Sunday (Day 21) we headed to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. My god, that was awesome and probably one of the most awe-inspiring parts of this trip. I remembered when we got there and started on a hike, the first time we stopped to look over the canyon, neither of us said a word. We just looked out for what seemed to be forever and sat there silently. What word exists that can truly describe what the Grand Canyon is like? I don’t believe one exists. If I was to make up a word, it would be scrumptulescent. The Grand Canyon is scrumptulescent.
Another thing about Lake Powell that day: it was frickin’ hot! On our thermometer it topped 100 degrees. I’m sick and tired of hearing, “well, it’s a dry heat.” Dry heat my ass. It’s still hot, that part doesn’t change! Anyhow, we camped there for the night and met some nice ladies in a campsite across from us. We wanted to tap into one of the bottles of wine we bought in Palisade but had no wine opener. We were able to successfully trade some of our homemade fudge for the use of the ladies’ corkscrew. It worked out well and we were able to meet some nice people in the process.
Today (Day 25) I got to work in the AM a little bit and then the 4 of us went hiking to Timpanogos Cave which is north of where we’re staying. It’s a mile and a half hike up to the cave, but it’s all uphill and you end up climbing over a 1,000 feet in the process. Once you reach the top, they take you on a 45 minute tour of the cave. I enjoy seeing caves. I haven’t seen one in a very long time, but I remember when I was 12 and saw the caves in the Black Hills, I was so awestruck. The Timpanogos Cave wasn’t as impressive as the memories of the caves I saw in the Black Hills, but it was still cool. Needless to say the hike back down wasn’t that hard. It’s much easier when gravity is working with you when you hike.
Yesterday (Day 18) we checked out the wineries in Palisade, Colorado. Palisade is also known for its peaches, cherries, apricots and pears. However, none of those are in season, so we were left to wine tasting. We started early and felt like alcoholics trying wine at 11:00 am. To our defense, however, 11:00 here is noon back home, so that’s what we’re calling it. We sampled wine from 3 wineries before breaking for lunch in downtown Palisade. What a charming, little town Palisade is. We found it far more charming and enjoyable than Grand Junction. It’s a niche-town. They are known for their wine and orchards and that’s really about it. The houses that were downtown were small, charming and NOT run down. It just seemed like a very nice place to live.
And finally, we tried something last night that neither of us have ever done. We made some homemade fudge. We researched some recipes online and found one that seemed to be easy to follow. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up the items we needed and then started on our fudge. When it was all said and done, the recipe really turned out well. Our first attempt at fudge was successful and even better, it was delicious. A pat on the back for Shay and I.
We came back through the tunnel and tried another trail that lead away from the falls. We didn’t last long on that either because Shay supposedly “heard something big” and it “growled,” so we headed back to the falls. We took the trail that lead to the main attraction and it did not disappoint. It’s quite humbling when you go and see these high points of nature. It really makes you take a step back and go, “wow, that is something…” The water that rushed through the falls was powerful and defiant. If personified certain characteristics such as pride and eagerness. You knew to respect it and enjoy its awesomeness.
Today we set sail and landed in Ouray. On the way, we stopped in Durango for some lunch, shopping and checked out the car show they had going on. We actually spotted a 1969 Chevy Corvette Stingray that was painted pearl white. It was the spitting image of my dad’s old ‘Vette. After Durango, we headed north to Ouray and man-o-man, the drive on the way in was just amazing. It really doesn’t get any more beautiful than what we witnessed. With the snow we got the night before, the higher altitudes still had a lot of the white stuff while the lower altitudes were extremely green. The contrast between the two was amazing.
We then drove nearly 5 hours as we headed to Pagosa Springs. That 5 hour trip was thee most beautiful and unique 5 hours I’ve ever spent in a car. It was just awesome. We hit Pagosa Springs around dinner time and the people we’re staying with brought us in with open arms. Kathy and Doug have been so nice. We made some frozen margaritas and grilled hamburgers.
This morning was pretty awesome. We went white water rafting along the San Juan river here in Pagosa Springs. Neither of us have ever been before, so it was one hell of an experience! The water levels were very high and we were told that this is the peak time to go. We opened the journey with us two being in the front. That was a bad idea. The water is 30-some degrees and it was a windy day. We just got soaked and were freaking cold. It was fun though and we will post pictures soon. WiFi has been hard to come by. I’m working in a coffee shop now and don’t have my camera here, so I can’t upload photos. I figured that the least I could do is write a blog.
Today (Day 8), Mike and I drove up Pike’s Peak. It was AMAZING! (Yes, Mom… I saw God up there and He says, “Hello.”) About four miles up, we realized that we did not have enough gas in the car to get us up the mountain and back, so we turned around, filled up, and tried it again. There were LOTS of photo opportunities on the way up (which will be posted a little later) and we even saw a crossing sign for Bigfoot. Though we did not come across Bigfoot, we did come across a lot of snow! Both Mike and I were a little light headed once reaching the top, so we ate some pizza and made our way back down. There was a little Indian jewelry and stone shop at the bottom that we stopped in. It’s amazing what beautiful things Mother Nature produces. She’s pretty awesome.
