Glacier National Park

AUGUST 5th - Idaho?

We left Seattle right after waking up & headed towards Glacier National Park in Montana. It is quite a drive, so we stopped in Smelterville Idaho and stayed at the Sands Motel... a local joint that was interesting and possibly haunted.



AUGUST 6th - Glacier National Park

We left Smelterville & stopped in a different Idaho town for gas. This town claimed to have the "center of the universe". It was weird.

So we left Idaho and entered Montana. It was almost evening when we got settled at Fish Creek Camp Ground. So, we hiked a little around the creek and lake surrounding the camp site, and then sat around the fire until bed time.

AUGUST 7th - Going-to-the-sun Road

The Going-to-the-sun Road is the major road running through Glacier, it runs from the west side to the east side of the park. We wanted to stay at Many Glacier tonight so we spent most of today driving and taking scenic stops/mini-hikes from the road. Our stops included:

• McDonald Falls
• The Loop Overlook
• The Weeping Wall
• Jackson Glacier Overlook
• St. Mary's Visitor Center
• and finally Many Glacier Park Campgrounds

When we arrived we had enough time to go to the Ranger Station and look at some detailed hiking trails. We hiked around Swift Current Lake and then up to Red Rock Falls. We had time to make a little fire before bed. The night was FREEZING so it was harder to warm up and fall asleep.

AUGUST 8th - Climb to a Glacier

We headed out for an extreme adventure. We climbed 1,600 feet for 11 miles to see the Grinnell Glacier. It was rough but completely worth the hike. On the way we passed Swift Current Lake, Lake Josephine, and Grinnell Lake. When we got to the Glacier it was astounding. It sits into a little nook in the mountain and is surrounded by a beautiful lake that runs down to become a waterfall that feeds Grinnell Lake. The Rangers say that all the Glaciers will be gone by 2020 now, so it was really special that we got to see one.


After the hike we got dinner and then ate ice cream in the cold. We had another fire, this one more successful than any of our previous fires. I guess we are getting pretty good at this camping thing.

AUGUST 9th - Last day at GNP

We packed up and drove back to St. Mary's Visitor Center. From there you can take a shuttle along going-to-the-sun road, and we had a few more stops to check out. Our hot spots included:

• The Rising Sun Visitor Center
• The Sun Point Overlook - with views to the major mountains
• Sun Rift Gorge
• Siyah Bend
• and the Logan's Pass Visitor Center which is located on the continental divide

Glacier is beautiful and worth the trip. It is one of my favorite places in the world!

Trip to Canada

AUGUST 2nd - Crossing the Border

We finally got into Canada after waiting in line and being quizzed (I am pretty sure they though we wanted to get jobs in Canada). We do have a lot in the car and are currently unemployed... so I can see where the assumption came from. After we got in we hung out at Waves Coffee house to use the internet for free. My biggest problem was that in Canada I did not have cell service, so we spent the entire Canadian trip sans cell phones.

AUGUST 3rd - B.C. Day

We somehow arrived on the only summer holiday in British Columbia (B.C. Day)! We went to buy transit tickets its so nice to not have to drive all over city. They have a great system in Vancouver. We got to the Sky Train not really having a plan and ended up going to Science World. It was a really fun Science Museum that was very interactive. Then we took the Sea Bus to North Vancouver to hang out at the wharf. The city was pretty full of people because it was a "holiday" which was kind of fun, but a little crowded. Overall, it was a fun day with lots of random adventures.


AUGUST 4th - Last day in Vancouver

We woke up and went to a burrito place called Steamrollers. It was good, but no Freebirds... I miss Freebirds! (one of the few things I miss about College Station)

We went to the Vancouver Art Gallery. They had a special exhibit on Dutch Art that was nice, but their Emily Carr and Jack Shadbolt collection was my favorite.

We walked around downtown before heading back into the U.S. to stay one more night in Seattle. My friend Rae and her boyfriend went with us to get food at Duke's Chowder House.

Washington

JULY 29th - Portland to Kent Washington (heat wave number 2 - temp = 105)

We arrived around 1 pm to Kent thinking we might escape the heat. However we drove straight into the record high for the Seattle area! We stayed with my "cousin" Joe who lives in Kent, and he took us immediately out to the well air conditioned Experiance Music Project & Science Fiction Museum. It has recording studios, and wonderful exhibits for music and sci-fi. The summer exhibit was featuring Jim Hensen. The best piece in the entire museum was the tree of life by The Fountain which is Ryan's favorite movie! Sort of a dream come true.

After the museum we went to the top of the Space Needle for viewing deck fun.

JULY 30th - Hiking Shopping Touring

We went hiking in Snoqualmie to see the Snoqualmie Falls. It is a 1 mile hike that is super steep but worth the view. Then we went back into Seattle for the Underground tour of the city. It describes the history of Seattle by showing its cultural build up. Then we found Elliott Bay Cafe which was the cafe that inspired the frequented set cafe on the show Frasier.

After some shopping we went back to the house so that Ryan could get his guitar. Then we went out to Whiskey Bar & Ryan got to play 2 sets for their open mic night. It was really fun, and to add to the excitement one of my high school friends came to meet up with us.

JULY 31st - Day of Rest

We just relaxed and then saw Funny People. It was really good!

AUGUST 1st - Whale Day!

Today we saw over 30 whales. My cousin booked a boat trip that takes about 6 hours. So it was our plan for the majority of the day. It is not guaranteed that we would see any whales, but we got so lucky. It was a beautiful ride and a nice break from all the heat. After watching we had dinner and called it a night, being on a boat can be exhausting.

Oregon

JULY 26th - Heat Wave Day 1 (high 103)

We stayed with our friend Robby in Portland Oregon. When we got ready we went to Pier Park for some disc golf fun! Luckily the park was very shaded and not too hot. After the park Robby had to work so Ryan and I discovered Hawthorne Street on our own. It is a local area with shops and restaurants. Almost everything was closed because it was Sunday, but it was still fun to walk around.

JULY 27th - My Birthday (high 105)

We got up and walked around to find some place to get lunch. Then we took the bus downtown to the Chinese Garden. It was quite peaceful. Then we shopped a bit at Powell's Books. I could have stayed there much longer, but we left after browsing. Ryan and I then went to Forest Park which is the largest park within city limits in the U.S.

For my Birthday Dinner we went to the Melting Pot because I had never been there before. It was delicious.

JULY 28th - HOT HOT HOT (high 108)

It reached record temperatures today! So the combination of no air conditioning and blazing heat was horrible. We tried to stay in shops that had AC but most places in Portland don't.

For dinner I went out with a high school friend, Christine. It was really fun to catch up with each other. Then we went to a coffee house that had AC YAY! It was so nice to drink iced coffee and be cool.

The hardest part of the day was trying to fall asleep in the heat!

California Part 2: NOT Los Angeles

JULY 21st - San Diego Zoo

We planned a day trip to San Diego, but we ended up spending all day at the Zoo. We got lucky and got to see the Pandas up close. We also saw the Polar Bears, Seals, Elephants, and EVERYTHING ELSE!

So since the zoo took all day, we drove around the city, ate dinner, and then went back to LA for our last night at Ramzy's.

JULY 22nd - Los Angeles to San Francisco

We headed out for the 6 hours to San Francisco. We ended up stopping at Pea Soup Andersen's for some soup. Then we finally got into town around 6pm. We decided to go venture around Chinatown because it is pretty close to the hotel we stayed at.

Chinatown was fun. We ate weird food, and shopped around. The city is so interestingly beautiful. I loved seeing everything at night in the chilly breeze.

JULY 23rd - Sight Seeing

We had a long day sight seeing:

• Lunch at Fisherman's Warf (clam chowder in a bread bowl... YUMMMY)
• Viewed Alcatraz (not an official tour)
• Walked around Peir 39 and bought salt water taffy
• Walked the Filbert steps to Coit Tower to overlook the city
• Waked the Golden Gate Bridge
  
• Meet up with a friend from Studio who was also in town (Jason Childs)

We all ate dinner together and then Ryan and I checked out Union Square and saw 500 Days of Summer.

JULY 24th

We woke up and went to the Redwood National Forest with Jason. He had been hitchhiking so for part of his trip we became his ride. We drove down the Avenue of the Giants and finally got to a camp site called Kamath River Park and Camp Ground. We had so much fun walking around and then cooking spaghetti by campfire! Its not an easy task, but it was tasty.

JULY 25th

We went into the National Forest to hike the Tall Trees Grove (with our special permit). It was a nice hike, and it was absolutely awe inspiring. I don't really know how to describe it in words.

After spending the day in the Forest we dropped Jason off in Eugene Oregon, and then went to Portland to stay with our friend Robby.

California Part 1: Los Angeles

JULY 17th - here we come

We arrived at Ramzy's house around 3am!

Ramzy got up to go to work at 8:30am, and we followed shortly after. We did laundry, errands, and then meet Ramzy at work (Summit Entertainment) to eat lunch in the Yahoo! building. After Ramzy got off work, we all went to Tom Burgens, a bar literally across the street from Ramzy's house. Then we went to Whisper Bar at the Grove for the 500 days of summer wide release party (or so we are told). We didn't meet anyone famous there if that's what you are wondering.

JULY 18th - The Getty Center

For lunch before the Getty, we went to IN & OUT Burger! SO GOOD!

We went to the Getty Museum (an art museum) in Santa Monica. It had some great pieces including Irises by Van Gogh, and some wonderful photography by Paul Outerbridge and Jo Ann Callis, all of which I greatly enjoyed.

After the Getty we went to one of Ramzy's friend's party, and then to Ramzy's uncle's party. I had alot of fun at both! It was just some good clean fun with some interesting people. It was nice to not be sight seeing or planning, but just to be hanging out!

Around 10pm we went to Redwood, a pirate themed bar, and got in for free because Ramzy's friend Lora got us on the list. That is a long story evolving Twitter, but the point is Lora is a VIP!

JULY 19th - "HOLLYWOOD"

We went to Kitchen 24 to eat lunch. It is at wonderful Diner that is open 24 hours a day. Then we walked around Sunset Blvd., and shopped at Urban Outfitters (with the best sale I've ever seen at any U.O.) and Amoeba Music.

We came back to Ramzy's to relax and then headed to see Harry Potter.

JULY 20th- Extra Day in L.A.

We planned on leaving today, but we still had alot on our list of stuff to do. We went to Beverly Hills to stop in to Sprinkles (YUMMMY)! We got red velvet, vanilla milk chocolate, mocha, and chocolate marshmallow. I didn't eat them all, I shared with Ryan and Ramzy... I promise!

Then Ryan and I headed to Venice Beach for a little sun and body surfing. It was amazingly fun to just be at the beach. We then headed to the famous fish taco restaurant called James' Beach. It was featured in the movie I Love You, Man, and it was delicious.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

JULY 16th - Vegas Baby!

We woke up in Hurricane Utah and drove 2 hours to get to Vegas. We parked at Treasure Island, walked the strip, went to Caesar's Palace, and shopped around. We only played the slots for a little bit, because Ryan and I aren't really into that kind of thing. We ate at the Bellagio buffet which was amazing! I ate truffle mushrooms for the first time ever, and we had crab legs (among other delicious things)! It was SO hot that we didn't really want to walk around to much, so we headed to New York New York because we had tickets to see Zumanity (a Cirque du Soleil show) there. That was the highlight of the Vegas trip. It was so good that we didn't want it to end! At night it was easier to walk outside because it really cools down. However, we didn't want to stay the night there so we got in the car and headed to Los Angeles to Ramzy's house.

P.S. - I wanted to see Vegas, but I did not want to support the unsustainable practices that Vegas holds so we tried to limit our spending there. It wasn't easy... Vegas is pretty fun! However, I don't think I will be going back any time soon.

The Great Grand Canyon Adventure

JULY 14th - The Grand Canyon (or so we thought)

The plan - drive to the Grand Canyon

The reality - We headed towards the Canyon and realized once you get into the surrounding area there is absolutely no cell phone service, so we had no way of finding out if the camping was full (the 1st come 1st serve). So when we got to Jacob's Lake it was getting late and still about 45 min. away from the Canyon we caved in and stayed in a cabin. It was super cute.

JULY 15th - The Grand Canyon take 2

We woke up early to head to the Canyon's north rim. (Arizona doesn't do Daylight Savings so it was 8am when we thought it was 9am!) Camping was full for the night, so we just planned on spending all day there and then figure out the plan of sleeping later. The Canyon is amazing! We hiked the Bright Angel Trail, and went to all the Lodge outlooks. Then after lunch we hiked Roosevelt Trail, and Point Imperial trail. Point Imperial is the highest point of the North Rim, and the hiking trail takes you through the forest area that has been burned and is coming back to life. It was so beautiful. Then we went to this Cookout that was kind of fun, but nothing to exciting.It was quite a day! We only did the North Rim side because it takes 5 hours to drive to the other side.

We drove until we got to sleepy, and then stayed at a hotel for the night.

UTAH

JULY 11th
We took the scenic route to Salt Lake City by I-10. It was quite a LONG drive. We stopped in Frisco Colorado for lunch, Grand Junction Colorado for gas, and Wellington Utah for dinner... Wellington was one of the oddest experiences so far. We stopped at the Cowboy's Kitchen which ended up to be a bizarre local place that serves about 3lbs. of food a person. This included bread, soup, salad, potato, and entree... it was quite disturbing, and can not be truly described in words.

We got into Salt Lake late and meet our first couch surfer host. It was a wonderful first couch surfing experience!

JULY 12th
Fun Fun Fun! We saw the Mormon Temple Square on a Sunday which was probably the most interesting day to visit. Then we met up with Kyle our couch surfer host, and he took us to the Salt Lake to float around. He also took us to Liberty Park for the drum circle. It was quite a turn around from the Temple. We got to see the edgier hipper side of Salt Lake. For dinner we went to the Bohemian Brewery which is where Kyle works.

JULY 13th
We planned to head to the Grand Canyon today, but my friend Devon let me know (for the second time apparently) that he was in Salt Lake City.... SOOOO we stayed another night. We walked around downtown while Devon had brunch with his family. We ate at a vegetarian hot dog stand, and hung out at the Sam Weller Bookstore.

Devon then took us on a "tour" of Salt Lake.

Devon took us all around Salt Lake and into the Mormon office building to go to the top floor. We had alot of fun hanging with Devon, but unfortunately he had to go spend time with his family. Fortunately, his dad let us stay the night at his place. It was so nice, hospitality runs deep in Devon's family.

JULY 14th
To the GRAND CANYON... upcoming post

COLORADO

Colorado
JULY 5th - Angel Fire NM to Broomfield CO

We stopped in Pueblo Co. to wait out a storm... our first real storm of the trip. When we finally got to Broomfield (where my brother Greg lives) we headed out to visit my cousin. After a brief chat we went out to Dave and Busters for some fun, and PRIZES!

JULY 6th
Rested, relaxed, and went to my cousin Susan's for dinner... nice chill day

JULY 7th
Slept in... Hung out in Lo-Do (lower Denver). We went to a "dipping" grill called Vesta where you get different food and sauces to DIP. After walking the city for a while we headed home with a movie... (oh man are we CRAZY)

JULY 8th
Played Wii, Cleaned car, Caught up on email... When Greg got off work we hit the town for some Gumbo, and drinks. We ended up at this bar getting free organic cocktails, and then we went to see MOON at the Landmark Theater. Greg fell asleep during the movie.

JULY 9th - by far the busiest day in Colorado
Got up and went to the Blue Devil's practice to see Greg's friend Jen. The Blue Devils are a Drum and Bugle Corp in case you didn't know. Greg stayed out with his Blue Devil peeps, so Ryan and I took some time to explore down town Denver.

We went to the Denver Art Museum, which is one of the most interactive Art Museums I have been to. Then we stumbled upon the 16th street shopping strip. After walking around for a while, we went to see an locally made film at the Starz Center called Sita Sings the Blues. Its super cute if you are into cartoon musicals. We ate at the Paramont, and then headed back to Greg's place.

JULY 10th - Exploring Boulder
Pretty much we just hung out in the shopping strip on Pearl St. until Greg got off work. Pearl St was really fun, it has street performers, shops, and restaurants (very entertaining). When Greg was free he took us to the Coors Brewery in Golden Co. It is a free tour with free beer samples, a must do for Coors fans if you are in the area.

I clearly am a bad blogger...

So its possible that no one is reading this, but if you are I am SORRY. I will put up a list of things we've been up to. Also, I have been working on a journal/sketch book that I can scan in and post.


SORRY AGAIN

New Mexico Update

This is a quick update of our trip so far, since I haven't had much time to post anything.

For our last day in Santa Fe we went for a picnic and then had a day at the Ten Thousand Waves Spa! It was amazing and relaxing. Then we had a wonderful dinner at this Indian vegetarian restaurant.

On July 1st, we headed to Taos New Mexico with Amanda to "site see" i.e. walk around the plaza. It was fun, but didn't take too long. Then Ryan and I headed to Angel Fire NM to his family reunion and spent time with them until the morning of the 5th. During our time there we shopped in Red River and Eagle Nest, had a "baby day" for Ryan's 2nd cousin, and then spent the 4th of July watching fireworks and a parade. Overall, it was a fun 4 days.

I am really behind on my blogging, but I will update about Colorado and Utah later.

New Mexico - Aliens, Bottomless lakes, Petroglyphs, Lava, and Santa Fe

Saturday June 27th
We arrived to our first location, Roswell New Mexico this morning. Nothing was open, so we headed to scope out the campsite at the Bottomless Lakes State Park. The area was beautiful in its own interesting way. It was legend that cowboys used to camp at these lakes and tried to find the bottom but never could, thus they became known as the Bottomless Lakes. Then we came back into Roswell and ate lunch at a local restaurant called Pepper's, where the food is spicy and the people are really fun. They directed us to the visitor center where we realized exactly how little there is to do in Roswell. Then we went to the Roswell Museum and Art Center and the UFO Museum and Research Center. We also checked out the local winery store and tasted Alien Amber Ale.

Back at the Bottomless Lakes, we went swimming, hiking, and then set up the tent for the night. We watched for UFOs but got a visit from a raccoon instead. We named him Old Sarge.

Sunday June 28th
Today was a day to explore the open road. After swimming and paddle boating at the Bottomless Lake Park, we left Roswell and drove to the Three Rivers Petroglyph State Park which was amazing! It contains over 2,000 drawings from Native Americans along a mile trail. Then we drove to the Valley of Fire which is a large cooled lava pit created by ground pressure. We hiked the 3/4 mile trail and had an amazing time.We arrived at our friend Amanda's around 11pm and chatted until bed time.

Monday June 29th
A day of rest! Today, we just ran errands, rested, went out for dinner, and talked. Tomorrow we have some fun plans though!

The Plan

I have had quite a few changes in my life recently, including graduating from college. So I decided to do something I have always wanted to, but never had enough reason or time to...

I am taking a long road trip around these great states! After getting back from study abroad in Germany in the Fall semester, I realized how important travel is to me. The plan is to travel to places I have always wanted to go to, and have some office visits here and there. I would like to also figure out where I want to live. Ryan, my boyfriend, is with me, and we are excited for new adventures.