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You Know I’m Bad

My cousin Brent continued on with me for one of the last stretches of my trip. It was his first time camping and I couldn’t wait to show him the ropes. But good old mother nature had other plans for us. And those plans included rain. And a lot of it. I mean it barely stopped for 5 days. Our plan was to camp in the Badlands National Park, but since the weather would have made that extremely unpleasant, we opted for a mildly crappy hotel in Sturgis, South Dakota. On our way there, we were super excited for a stop at Mount Rushmore! I thought it was pretty impressive and learning about the reasoning and the time it took to create was also quite interesting. And poor Lincoln! Funding ran out before they finished his face.

We rushed to the Badlands in the morning, hoping to make it there before the rain started up again. We were able to explore a bit and it was really neat. The badlands were formed by varying changes in climate, which deposited and eroded layers of rock. These layers are easily seen in the unique landscape of the park. This area of South Dakota, including Black Hills National Forest, is really stunning. Motorcyclists flock here for its winding roads, not to mention the annual Sturgis gathering. I must say, I didn’t think much about South Dakota before this trip, and now I can’t wait to get back.

We decided to keep driving in an attempt to stay ahead of the rain and made it all the way to a little state park in Minnesota, with a stop at the country’s only corn palace of course. Weird and wonderful. We ended up getting rained on overnight, but at least my cousin got some camping experience. The next day we sloshed all the way to Cleveland, in what became my longest driving day by far. With the rain though, we just kept wanting to push on and I was so pumped up to reunite with Kevin the dog, and my parents of course. It was great to do some bonding with Brent, doesn’t happen often enough. Hopefully next time, we’ll stay a little drier.

November 15, 2016 0

Bison and Buses

Dyann and I left the wonderland that is Glacier and headed south to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The few days at Yellowstone were spent fighting our way through the crowds to see the amazing landscape of the park. Because the park is located atop a volcanic hot spot, the features are truly unique. There is of course the geysers, most famously Old Faithful. And it was neat, but the crowds flock to it in droves. And when I say crowds, I mean giant tour buses filled to the brim with tourists. In a way, I guess its good for the parks to get the attendance necessary to upkeep them. However, the high tourist draw has turned Yellowstone into a small city, complete with hotels, restaurants, auto mechanics, shops, etc. Not really my jam, especially for camping and exploring, but it is what it is. Besides the geysers, I thought the coolest part of Yellowstone were the beautifully colored hot springs. They look like smoky paintings and are unlike any other hot springs I’ve visited. Very neat.

Yellowstone is gigantic, and a lot of time was spent driving from one geologic area to another. At dusk one evening, we decided to head to the grasslands to try and get a glimpse of the Yellowstone wildlife. And we were lucky enough to drive through a large herd of passing bison. One literally walked right past my car window, close enough that I could reach out and touch the giant animal if I dared. Which I did not. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen! Luck was on our side in Yellowstone, we were able to get campsites without reservations every night, something that everyone kept telling me was an impossibility. We ended our time with a hike down, and back up of course, about 350 daunting steps to get a view of the Lower Falls, one of the most stunning waterfalls in the park. Overall, a gorgeous and unique park, if you’re able to see it through the masses!

October 6, 2016 0

We Get It Oregon, You’re Beautiful

Nate and Amy continued on with me to the next few stops, Crater Lake National Park, Bend, Oregon, and Portland via the Columbia River Gorge. Oregon quickly became my favorite overall state on the whole trip. The ever changing landscape is best described by the pictures. Crater Lake, the deepest in the U.S., was created by the collapse of a volcano, the tip of which now forms the island in the middle of the lake. We took a drive around the rim and a short hike up to the ranger tower station to get the best view of the lake. It is the bluest, most pristine lake I have ever seen, so much so that it almost looks fake. Pretty awesome. From there, we headed to Bend, Oregon, but first Amy knew of super secret hot springs that we found thanks to her amazing memory.

We arrived to Smith Rock, our campground in Bend, at night and awoke to a beautiful view. It was a fantastic campground on a cliff, overlooking a river. Oh and Nate’s birthday! That called for a day of brewery hopping with some of Amy’s San Fran friends, who are also trekking across the country, choosing vans as their mode of transportation. The day was one extremely well spent, especially since Nate rocked a man bun, you know, to fit into the Oregon lifestyle.

The next day we made our way to Portland by spending the whole day driving along the Columbia River Gorge. It was amazing, once we got to the state park area, it was basically a road of waterfalls. Every new little town we drove through had at least one brewery and endless views. It was already my favorite state and I hadn’t even made it to the Oregon coast yet. We ended the day in Portland, hit the town for a bit, and got in some much needed showers. I said my goodbyes to Nate and Amy the next morning; thanks for making such wonderful road trip buddies, I’ll see you in Bacontown!

Curl power

Man bun!

Ice cream proposal

September 15, 2016 1

Oh Whale

After a fond farewell to Ben, I went back to solo-trekking. First stop Channel Islands National Park, located off the coast of Ventura, California. An hour and a half boat ride takes you to a chain of remarkably preserved islands. But before I get to that, I SAW WHALES!! On the boat ride out, we passed a small pod of humpback whales about 40 yards from the boat, one of them breaching high into the air and slamming back down like in all the nature documentaries I watch on Netflix. It was crazy cool. Not to mention the 30 or so dolphins riding in the wake of the boat, jumping over each other just feet from where I stood! It was quite the ride. Anyway, I digress. I took a hike to the highest point on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands. The views were unbeatable, once I got to the top, I could see California way off in the distance. Mix that in with a few island fox sightings and a little dip in the ocean, and my day was complete. This may not be the easiest National Park to get to, but it’s definitely worth it.

After camping that night near the beach, I made my way up the coast via one of my most anticipated drives, Highway 1 through Big Sur, a section of the California coast south of San Francisco. Sadly, however, my excitement waned as I realized the enormous effect wildfires were having on the area. The view of the ocean was completely blocked by smoke on the entire drive and all of the state parks and campgrounds located along the coast were closed. These fires continue to rage all over California, as the state continues to experience severe drought conditions. While it sucked that my plans got ruined, it is so much worse for the land, the environment, and the people affected by the fires. Lucky for me, one of my best friends, Nate, lives a couple hours north of Big Sur, so I headed to his house early instead of camping, which turned out great thanks to his amazing roommate Christy and his equally amazing girlfriend Amy. More on that next time!

August 30, 2016 0

Gettin’ My Kicks

*Note – I’m super behind on these, oops!

My next move took me to Hot Springs, Arkansas, the hometown of my freshman year dorm roomie Kim! I stayed in Hot Springs National Park, at the Gulpha Gorge campground. The site was a major step up from the previous one, it was located on a creek and had some great hiking right from the grounds. I did a hike up to Goat Rock, which gave a nice view of Hot Springs National Park. Along the way I met a retired couple who just started RVing around the country, hoping to hit every national park. We had a lot to chat about and I got some great insight from them. The major draw of Hot Springs Park, is, well, the Hot Springs! Because the water comes out at 143F, it is too hot to allow visitors in any of the natural springs, so all access to the hot springs are in bathhouses, fancy buildings located in the downtown area. I checked them out a bit, but after the steamy weather the previous week, paying to sit in hot water didn’t appeal to me. I only stayed for a night, but it was enough to check out the park and see where my old roomie grew up!

After Arkansas, it was time to hop on Route 66 (or at least on the higher speed road that follows it) and check out all the weird and wonderful sites along the way. Cadillac Ranch, the Blue Hole, and the Route 66 museum were a few of the stops. Oh, and how could I forget, the Big Texan, Amarillo’s steakhouse that offers the 72 oz. steak eating challenge. Don’t finish it all, including sides, you better be ready to cough up $72. I passed. The drive through Oklahoma and Texas would otherwise be very boring, Route 66 roadside attractions were a welcome distraction.

I scare myself in this picture

July 27, 2016 0

Nashville and Memphis, Ya’ll

The next four nights, including the 4th of July weekend, were spent in Nashville and Memphis. My time was mostly spent in honky-tonks and blues clubs, eating BBQ, and visiting Graceland! I will admit, being solo over the 4th was a little tough and left me missing my guy, my dog, my friends, and my fam over the holiday weekend! Also, my campground in Memphis, unbeknownst to me, was located next to a wastewater treatment plant and literally smelled like shit. Combine that with hot, humid temps and an insane amount of mosquitoes and its safe to say I hit a low point on my trip!

But alas, the saving grace, pun intended, was my visit to Graceland. The weird and wonderful world of Elvis was quite a sight to see, the pictures will speak for themselves. We weren’t allowed to go upstairs and I have now formed a mild obsession with finding out what resides on the second floor. Apparently, Elvis fanatics join me in this obsession and the rumor is that only Lisa Marie and the curator of Graceland are allowed up there. I imagine Elvis entombed in a glass case or something. Long live the King!

Oh! On the way from Nashville to Memphis, I couldn’t help but pull over for the signs to Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch; she is a favorite of mine. It’s actually her plantation house, but she no longer lives there. You couldn’t go in, but the whole ranch was weird, impressive, and worth a 15 minute stop.

July 11, 2016 0

No Lions, No Tigers, BEARS!

I arrived to Elkmont Campground on the Tennessee side of Great Smokey Mountain National Park to a strict warning from the front office, there had been bear activity in the campground that week and all food, cooking equipment, and scented items had to be kept in the car at all times or I would face an $80 fine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t jump at every little noise for the two nights I stayed at the campground, even though I was spooning my bear spray and literally kept everything else inside my car. I survived without a bear injury, but didn’t get much sleep! The Smokies, on the other hand, were absolutely fantastic. My first hike was up to a waterfall, so awesome, and on the way back down, I actually encountered a bear! I was turning a corner on the trail when I saw the bear scurry up the mountain about 10 feet from me. The woman coming from the other direction said she saw the bear actually cross the trail path and run up; had I been 15 seconds earlier, I may have gotten a real bear hug of the unwanted variety. I have to say, it was pretty awesome, terrifying, and a great reminder that we are just visitors in these parks and the wildlife are really running the show. Another hike took me to the very top of the Smokies, which also happens to be the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. The views were outstanding, I was indeed standing in the clouds, the reason the park got its name. It really was breathtaking, literally the hike was really steep and I was totally out of breath at the top. But also, a magnificent landscape in all directions. And now I can say I hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail and feel no need to hike the entire thing. At least not in one shot.

Elkmont was located right outside of Gatlinburg, a kitschy town with moonshine distilleries, Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not museums, and every type of weird putt-putt one could imagine. A little strange, but totally ‘Merican. I took the Newfound Gap drive and Blue Ridge Parkway drive to Asheville for my last night in the Smokies. The drives in the Smokies are really magnificent. Because the mountains are covered in forestation, the winding roads feel like a magical woodland jungle. Asheville itself was awesome, I only had one night there and will definitely be going back. Upon advice from my great friend Mo, I “snuck in” to the Grove Park Inn, a super fancy hotel on the side of a mountain overlooking all of Asheville and the Smokies. I hung out there for bit and enjoyed the views before leaving the fancy life and heading back to the great outdoors.