NPS100

Stalkers Unite

I left the fancy wedding life and headed to my brother Adam’s place in Denver!! It’s so cool that I got to spend time with him on my trip. It doesn’t happen often enough and it worked out wonderfully. And in a last minute turn of events, my younger cousin Brent booked a flight to Denver, spent a couple days with Adam and me, and then continued on my trip with me! I love the spontaneity of his decision.

We had a great time hanging out in Denver, but my favorite part was our day trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park. After a nice mountain breakfast of trout and eggs, we took a drive up Trail Ridge Road that traverses the whole park and gets up above 12,000 feet in elevation. Right around that 12,000 foot mark, the monsoon rolled in. The wind and rain ruined our plans for a big hike, but we were able to fit a little one in between storms. Colorado is a mighty fine looking state, one I’m sure I’ll be back to and I would definitely include Rocky Mountain NP in a return trip. It was impressive, even through the clouds.

I ended my time in Denver by having dinner with an old high school friend, Todd! One of the very best things about this trip has been the ability to catch up with my buds and experience a tiny bit of their world. And thanks to my favorite brother Adam for being such a great host! It was awesome.

October 26, 2016 0

I’m On a Boat!

For my final stop with Dyann, we left Yellowstone and headed south to Grand Teton National Park, after spending a day in Jackson, Wyoming, an artsy town located in between the two national parks. Upon recommendation from a friend, we went out on a boat on Colter Bay, one of the many lakes in Grand Teton. As you round the bend about 20 minutes into the trip, you become surrounded on all sides by the Grand Tetons, some of the most picturesque mountains I’ve seen. These mountains were carved out by glaciers and one still remains, though much smaller and continuously melting. We were actually taken to the spot where the glacial melt flows into Colter Bay. Pretty neat. We spent the remaining time checking out the other various lakes in the park. I definitely could have spent more time in this park, but was due in Denver for the wedding of my long-time friend Emily!

We headed into Denver and I said my goodbyes to Dyann, thanks for being a fantastic road trip partner! I’ll work on my random animal noises for next time. I met up with one of my best friends, Barb, stayed in a fancy hotel in Denver, and actually put on makeup and a dress for the first time in a while! The wedding was a rockin’ good time, I was elated to see such great friends FINALLY tie the knot (they were going on like 10 years together or something). Congrats Emily and Dan!

October 19, 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

You Win, Glacier, You Totally Win.

From Portland, I headed up the coast of Oregon, made a pit-stop at the beach where the Goonies was filmed (how could I not), and continued on to Seattle. A dear friend from Purdue, Dyann, met me there and will continue on with me all the way to Colorado! We spent the day tooling around Seattle, with my favorite part being Pikes Place Market, specifically the flowers and the clam chowder sold there. After a fun night out with Dyann’s friend, we set out for Glacier National Park the next day, one of my more anticipated destinations!

Glacier met every single expectation I had and went beyond. It’s hard to explain the beauty. Snow-capped mountains, turquoise blue lakes, wildflowers, it was idyllic. We took a drive up the winding Going-to-the-Sun Road and stopped to see all the gorgeous views. It reminded me of what I have always thought the Swiss Alps would look like. Glacier is not an easy place to get to, it lies on the border of Montana and Canada, far away from many signs of civilization. This keeps the crowds fairly low and provides a landscape unlike any other I’ve seen in the U.S. We were able to take a hike to a lake, saw another black bear, and raced back to our campsite in the pouring rain! The weather in Glacier wasn’t ideal and we missed seeing some wildlife we were looking forward to (no moose sightings, bummer). But to me, that didn’t matter. Glacier was magnificent. It jumped to the top of the “Places I’ll Be Revisiting” list. I absolutely fell in love.

September 26, 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

Big Wood and Dead Meat

Uncle Jesse! Rice-a-Roni! Grateful Dead! Yes, I made it to San Fran. I stayed with my dear friend Nate and his fantastic roomies, who showed me the height of hospitality. I took a solo day to check out the city on foot. What a cool place; I loved climbing the hills of this eclectic town. One of my favorite things to do in larger cities is to check out the Chinatown neighborhoods and San Fran’s was one of the better ones I’ve visited and eaten in! Overall, SF was a really cool town with really great people.

After San Fran, Nate and his girlfriend Amy joined me up to Redwoods National Park and the giant trees of northern California. Redwood is actually the area surrounding a few state parks, all which contain the tallest trees on earth. It’s something I have always wanted to see and it did not disappoint, we even drove through a tree! On the way there, the craziest thing happened. There we were driving along the beautiful roads of California, when I see a vulture heading towards our car. I figure it will fly out of harms way, but as it gets closer and closer, I start to wonder if that will be the case. Then just as we are about to collide, the vulture drops its lunch on my windshield, literally a giant animal carcass smashes onto my window and the bloody meat completely blocks the passenger side. After screams, lots of cursing, and terrified laughter, I ran the wipers and left the gut smear until the next gas station. It was the wildest and most disgusting thing.

The car ride was an obvious success, but our luck at finding a campground, not so much. After searching for a couple hours, we came upon a tiny lodge with a room available for the night. The man running the place was so friendly and welcoming. After getting us checked in and taking his pot smoke break, he busted out his guitar and played us some tunes on the front porch of the inn. We did a little nighttime walking to the creek on the property where Amy, Nate, and I all saw the same shooting star and congratulated ourselves with a group hug.

Bacontown for life!

September 7, 2016 0

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

Weird Trees and Frisbees

The heat is on. At least in Joshua Tree in July. Ben and I arrived without a campsite reserved and upon asking the park ranger if this would be a problem, we got a chuckle along with “no one comes to Joshua Tree in July!”. The extreme heat made for a sweaty day, but an amazing night. Because there were only around 15 other idiots camping in the giant park, we basically had our pick of spots and total run of the place. This national park is so unique, instead of hiking trails, the best thing to do is climb giant, Dali-like boulders and search for the wildest looking Joshua trees. After an afternoon of just that, we had a fantastic night, despite our lonely, ecstasy laden neighbor (yes he picked the spot right next to us in an empty campground) who loved twirling glow sticks and playing techno while reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The night ended with the most gigantic, brightest moon I have ever seen among a million stars; we slept on top of a boulder without a tent and it turned into my favorite night on the whole trip.

We left Joshua Tree for the old homestead, San Diego! Somehow I forgot how good life on the beach can be. We did all the best that San Diego has to offer, Ocean Beach swimming, Whizbo frisbee tossing, seafood eating, local beer drinking, Del Mar horse racing, and Comic-Con people watching. A trip to Stone Brewery, the most beautiful brewery I’ve ever seen, capped off a fantastic weekend.

August 25, 2016 0

Angels and Narrows

Ben and I made our way up to Utah and headed into Zion National Park via the coolest park entrance yet. The drive takes you from the top of the red rock canyon, circling around the cliffs and through tunnels until you reach the bottom of the canyon and finish the drive along the river. This was the perfect start to what became one of my favorite parks on this trip. For our first full day, we decided to take on the Angel’s Landing hike, a notoriously terrifying hike that takes you about two miles up the canyon via a series of switchbacks until you hit a flat landing. Then the final mile climbs up the spine of the ridge, with canyon drop-offs on both sides. The narrow width and steepness of the climb requires you to pull yourself up via a bolted chain that runs the length of the spine. There are certain areas where one slip can prove to be your final mistake, one that I almost made. Had I let go of the chain during my butt-slide slip on the way down, I might have gotten to the bottom a whole lot faster. It was terrifying and amazing and rewarded us with a view that can’t be matched. I hope the pics do it justice, but I’m not sure that’s possible.

We ended Zion with the Narrows hike, an outstanding hike in the bottom of the canyon, through the river. After a couple miles, you get to the area of the canyon where you have to hike in the water, as the sheer walls on both sides provide no flatland. It was a uniquely awesome hike, one I’ll definitely do again when I hopefully make it back to this magnificent place. Turns out, there’s way more to Utah than polygamists and weak beer.