I found joy in it all

After leaving Utah we drove and drove and drove through the hot Arizona deserts towards the Grand Canyon. Then in the middle of the desert we saw this beautiful rock formation just on the horizon. Our route towards the Grand Canyon followed these Vermilion Cliffs until crossing the Colorado river. That night there were lightening storm across the sky for miles.
We rolled into the Grand Canyon and were joined by thousands of tourists. The look out points were just beautiful as the sun that rose overhead. All around the canyon were signs and warning about the dangers of hiking into the canyon during the hot summer months. Feeling slightly exhausted as well as cautious we decided to enjoy the view from above instead of pushing our physical limits.

Post Grand Canyon we jetted off towards California. We took a southern route so we could drive through Joshua Tree National Park and up highway 101 along the coast. We arrived at Joshua Tree at twilight and took an exciting drive through the eastern corner of the state. I knew we were on the other side of the country when we started to see very large strange cacti looking plants. There were gardens of them that we strolled through but you are not supposed to touch them; supposedly very dangerous. So of course, both John and I touched them. They are very sharp but beautiful. The drive through the park took a few hours but anxious to get to the coast we kept on going west.
Finally, made it to the Pacific Ocean! As soon as we got there we parked the car and picnicked on the beach as surfers caught the Los Angeles waves. Blue skies and pacific wind met us on the coast and continued on with us all the way along route 101 up along the ocean. We headed back inland around the area of the National Sequoia Forest. WOW! These trees are so awesome. Not only are they huge and old but they have been standing firm through natural distaters; some as old as cleopatras' reign. We took a walk through the 100 Giants trail. And as it sounds there were about a hundred Sequoia trees that you could walk right into the trunks of! The forest felt almost spiritual as you wander, dwarfed, beneath these ancient trees.
Heading north we entered into our final National Park before driving to San Francisco; where we are now. Yosemite National Park is so majestic and upon entering the giant wilderness you feel so small. This is another park that has much to be discovered. After walking beneath the old Sequoias and peering up into the sky at the large rock domes that were shaped by the last ice age glacier movement you really obtain this sense of understanding of how big the world is and how little our everyday problems really are. We took a bike ride to the lower waterfall (as you can in the photo on the left) and slept that night beneath the large trees of the forest.

So here our camping and forest travels end. But our adventures and explorations have just begun. It is very difficult to ponder how to sum up a summer experience like the one we just had. I had a dream to travel, to see the national preserved beauty of this country, and to some day see the rest of the worlds' beauty. But one definite finding from these travels is the realization that I live in beautiful geologically brimming country. There is so much to learn by just experiencing and getting out there and doing it. I feel empowered yet smaller. After that bike ride in Moab I am almost confident I could try anything just as physically demanding. And after standing next to the Grand Canyon I feel smaller in comparison to the Earths' magnificence. But more than anything else I have discovered that I am nothing more than a single soul on this earth; here to niether destroy nor change what has been here for millions of years before my existence. To love my family, friends, and the natural beauty around me is all I need when searching for joy in my life.

and then we left Utah

The next few National parks we explored were all a part of a large geological formation known as the Colorado Plateau. The plateau is a huge mass of land that covers four states (UT, CO, AZ, and NM) and this raised portion has left formations of hoodoos, ravines, canyons, and many spectacular insights to earths' geological history. Entering this area is almost like stepping back thousands of years into history. There is no place in the world with formations like these. All have evolved through time, water, and wind and continue to change everyday. Capitol Reef was our next stop after Arches. There is nothing wet about this park as we soon found out. But a large wall extended miles and miles winds around the desert. In the wall you can see the different layers of rock, sediment, and history. The beautiful blue layer of rock is dried and hardened lava flow. over time weather has eroded the layers into all different sorts of structures.

Moab, Utah is known around the world for its' amazing bike trails. One of the most popular trails is a 12 mile loop bike trail over large rocks called Slick Rock trail. After reading the trail head signs that repeatedly mentioned, "For experienced riders", we decided to try the beginning portion of the trail that act as a trial run for those attempting the trail. It took us about 2.5 hours to complete the 2 mile loop and this was even more enduring than the hike to the cave! I honestly thought I might physically collapse. The entire ride it is essential to keep a tight grip to your bike and control all your muscles reacting quickly to the sharp turns, steep slopes, and uneven terrain. at the very end I flew off my bike and got a handle bar in my inner thigh. I honestly didn't even notice until later but the shiner is still there. This was probably my most physically challenging ad rewarding activity I have ever accomplished. the feeling of reaching the end and knowing I just biked on one of the most difficult natural terrain bike trails was a feeling of champions. A great goal for my future is to train, obtain proper biking equipment, and conquer the entire Slick Rock trail.

Canyonlands is the most vast and unexplored National park; not very conducive to easy travel on the floor of the canyon. Most of the sightseeing is above and there are thousands of miles within a section called The Maze that are yet to be explored. Not wanting to possibly get lost in the vast mazes on the canyon floor in 100 degree weather John and I chose to drive along the canyon edge and view the magnificent sights from the overlooks. (This picture was taken in a moment of panic for me; I was frozen in that spot for a quick photo. As you can see I am about 2 feet from the cliffs edge and although I am not fond of extreme heights the thought of falling over the edge frightened me to death!)



Bryce Canyon was another absolutely gorgeous park to visit but not exactly the best for in park travel. We drove along the edge and stopped at the overlooks to peer into the large depths of interestingly cut canyon floor and walls. One of the interesting facts about this park is that its' location comes out of no where. Driving through Utah's pine forests and tundra all of a sudden you are at the edge of a golden vast canyon.
Without a doubt our favorite National Park on the Plateau was Zion. When we first entered the park we drove through checkered sand dunes that have solidified over time into huge mountains. Wind and loose sand traveling across the rock sand dunes created a checker board effect. Once passing through a mile long man made tunnel the landscape changes entirely to huge glorious mountains with rivers flowing through. Rocks 'weep' water that has been dated as old as 4000 years old. Hanging gardens flow off mountain walls and each bend in the canyon brings a new sight to see. The photo above is taken north of the park where we camped for the night. You can see the canyon ravines and mountain tops in the distance; about 40 miles from where this photo was taken.
After leaving Zion we had to make a choice to either head west toward Las Vegas or south east towards the Grand Canyon. We chose the ole' Grand Canyon...and then, we left Utah.

under the Utah sun (is hot!)

While still in the hot strange state of Utah John and I decided we had to swim in the Great Salt Lake. Before I get into the story let me explain my use of the word 'strange' when describing this state. First of all there are more Mormon churches than there are anything else, we saw a bumper sticker for the website petweds.com (of course we checked it out- basically a web service dedicated to your dogs or animals so they don't live in sin by wedding them!), fast food places are closed on Sundays! (it's a ghost town on Sundays in Utah) and the strangest of all- The Great Salt Lake.
Knowing the lake had a higher salinity than the ocean John and I had to just get in and see how well we floated. We found a beach off the highway and the fact that it was nearly empty in 105 degree weather should have been our first clue. We climbed into our swim suits and walked toward the water. The beach was about a half mile until we hit the water because of summer evaporation. On the edge of the lake were what looked like washed up plants or black debris from the lake. Once close enough to touch, the entire pile moved, in a swarm covering anything in sight. These tiny little gnat bugs covered your feet clothes and anything else..they were a barrier to get into the lake that I should have yielded to.
Eager to get to the lake we ran through the bugs and into the warm water. After walking about a mile into the lake the water was only up to my calves. The lake doesn't get deep at all and is actually referred to the great puddle! There is absolutely nothing on the lake bed except sand and on top of the water was small floating debris; looking almost like kelp or small parts of a flowering plant. John coaxed me down into the water and we started floating- you really do float easily!! The whole time I felt very uneasy though- a sort of creepy uneasy feeling being in the lake. I began my mile trek out of the water and as I examined the floating debris closer I found out it was tiny larvae!! Millions and millions of tiny little worms just wriggling and floating around me and on me and in my hair after floating on my back!! I'm sure all who know me, my sisters, or mother know exactly what happened next. I ran as fast as I could yelling out of that lake!! John knew they were little bugs but didn't bother telling me because he figured I would never get in-true statement but none the less it would have been nice to know.
Finally moving on from the Salt Lake City area, with air conditioning!, we moved south to Arches National Park. This park was the hottest we visited. We did a few short hikes like this one to the double arch. To give you an idea of how large this natural structure is this a second photo of John after climbing high into the rocks. I climbed up a bit but the height was a little to much for me.
After Arches National Park we headed towards Capitol Reef, Bryce, Escalante Staircase, and Zion. to be continued...

the missing link

Ni Hao! That's Chinese for hello.. writing to you from my new place in Oakland California! It has been some time since my last post and oh so much has happened but I am happy to tell all that both John and I are safe, fed, and in great spirits. We found a small place in Oakland's' China town, more properly known to have plenty of Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and other Asian everything. The Asian cuisine is just fabulous, both in authentic taste (so John tells me) and in price. I've tried so many new dishes and am enjoying them all. San Francisco is only about a 20 minute drive over the bridge and a fabulous place to go.

I had an interview at the largest Art Gallery in San Francisco, www.theartistalley.com, and was offered the Art Gallery Assistant position but have yet to solidify all the details (keep your fingers crossed and prayers said that I will secure this wonderful and decent paying job). This morning I rode my bike to the United State's newest Cathedral only 2 miles down the lakeside from here. Christ the Light Cathedral is absolutely gorgeous and I am so fortunate to be bale to call it my new parish. Underneath the church is a huge, and slightly intimidating, mausoleum. If anyone is to come visit California's city of Oakland this is a must see.

So, what remains is the missing link between Montana and how we arrived on the edge of the world; as some may call it. Well it all began with a sad departure from the beautiful Big Sky ranch and south towards Utah. First Stop was Craters of the Moon National Park. Very interesting park to say the least due to the fact that it is completely void of almost any visible green of living object. In truth we learned the area was home to many animals and organism but the black landscape in the middle of Utah's desert was without a doubt an interesting site. The entire park is a currently inactive lava field in which dried lava from thousands of years past to just two thousand years ago have shaped huge spatter cones, frozen flowing lava, and large black hills of lava sand.

Utah's Salt Lake City was our next stop. We were anxious to find a car shop that could fix the car's air conditioning that had just broken. Now we tried to make due for a few days without the AC but the temperatures in Utah were around 100 and rising as we were headed south. So for safety (dehydration) and of course comfort reasons the AC was our top priority. I'm going to make a long hot story very short and sweet in retrospect. It took about a week to get everything sorted and I have to thank John's wonderful father for helping us work out all the details with that situation. But during the meantime we stayed about an hour south of the city at Timpanogos Cave National Park. Up in the mountains the weather was about 20-30 degrees cooler and there were some great opportunities we took advantage of out of the otherwise seemingly elaborate and hot situation we found ourselves in that week. First we took a cave tour. And typing that here in my computer in a nice short sweet sentence makes it sound like a quick easy and painless experience.
Well of course no one died or any other major catastrophic events did not occur but prior to the tour we were instructed to hike to the mouth of the cave and meet our tour guide at our time assigned. The hike was only 1.5 miles but it was the elevation climb of 1100 vertical feet in switch backs (if you look closely you can see these and the people hiking on them in the photo on the right) and the 100 degrees of heat that was trying. Thank goodness John was there to coach me to the top. The hike was completely worth it though. Taking about an hour and a half we finally reached the top and filed into the narrow passage ways of Timpanogos cave. The temperature was about 40 degrees and very dark; my first time in a cave! The walk down the mountain was wonderful and refreshing only taking about 20 minutes. Hopefully I did not scare anyone about the Timpanogos Cave because I would definitely recommend the tour to all. Also, while at Timpanogos we hiked a beautiful trail to a mountain high waterfall. To be continued tomorrow!

between east and west

Prehistoric to our trip to Dinosaur National Monument was, well.. a lot of driving. But the vast and pancake flat land across Colorado and Kansas held some beautiful moments in the sky. This sunset over the Colorado Rocky's was stunning. And upon arriving to the Rocky mountains there were so many amazing sights to see: a double rainbow after a hard rainstorm, and stunning sunsets.





As we climbed the Rocky's (and by climb I mean in our moving vehicle) the temperature dropped and driving on the way down I even felt a little nausea from the steep decline in elevation. We drove to elevations over 13,000 feet! That's over 2 miles above sea level.









Driving through the Colorado desert we came across many monumental towering rocks. We stopped the car on this bluff and took some pictures. I'm not the biggest fan of heights and standing this close to the plummeting edge was quite a feat for me; but well worth the photo.







On the way out of the Rocky's we camped on a small lake. It was the first time we camped in a designated camping area. John has dubbed this camping as "wus" camping.. but after trying it for a night I can't complain at the instant campsite.. kind of similar to the instant Ramen I have been eating a good deal of. Early morning at this campsite I heard clawing at the edge of the tent and saw shadows of small claws and felt the tent shake. Frozen in the tent, and not by the chilly Colorado morning air, my worst fear of some deep western mountain predator was playing out before my eyes and ears. To conclude the story let me just inform you that this aggressive predator turned out to be a few mischievous chipmunks!











Our fourth of July was spent in Denver, Colorado at our second Hostel. Not as enjoyable as our first Hostel in Asheville but overall the city was nice and we had a good time touring around.

After leaving Asheville, North Carolina we stopped in Nashville, Tennessee to see my number one dream Law School; Vanderbilt University Law. A wonderful woman from the admissions office conducted an interview with me and gave some great tips for my application this fall. I have decided to apply to Vanderbilt, George Mason (in Virginia DC area) and Columbia University in NYC. Vanderbilt Law school is in one main building in downtown Nashville. The school is beautiful and full of the latest technologies and resources for any law student.




West from Tennessee we stopped in St. Louis Missouri to see the Arch and have some good eats. Unfortunately due to a few sporting events going on in the city the Arch was unavailable for tourists to visit. What a magnificent structure from afar though.

One of my favorite historical outings next to the Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park was the Supreme Court Case Brown vs Board of Education National Historic Monument in Topeka Kansas. The Old school building houses the commemoration to civil rights and African American rights throughout history. Touring the building not only provided an education on the topic but actually put you into the time period. The exhibits were in the old classrooms and afterwards John and I enjoyed a true Southern lunch like I have never tasted before. We ate at Boss Hawgs BBQ. I don't remember seeing one vegetable on the menu but the BBQ was delicious!

in the wild wild west

Hello everyone! Yes I am alive and well. Surprisingly enough the deep woods of the Western mountains don't have the internet so I have been unreachable. But now I have so many wonderful stories and travel adventures, not to mention photographs, of our travels from east Tennessee to Montana where I am now.

John's family lives here in beautiful Big Sky Montana and have been graciously hosting us for the past two days while we rest up, clean up, and re cooperate after weeks of camping and traveling. The mountains are breathtaking and bears plentiful.. there's even snow on the tops of most the mountains. This is a photo taken from inside John's Aunt and Uncle's House at Dancing Pines.

We just came out of Yellowstone National Park where we explored for three days. Black bear, Elk, Moose, Marmots, Grizzlies,Pronghorn and my favorite, Bison all inhabit the park along with hundreds of geysers and hot springs. We toured it all and even ventured on our most strenuous back country camping yet. Under faulty impression that our campsite was just 3 miles away we packed our hiking packs with the usual food, water, sleeping bags, and lots of bug spray! (the mosquitoes up north here are relentless) John and I have been averaging about a mile every 20 minutes with our packs. A good distance into the hike I studied the map and became painfully aware that we were only half way there. Later we found out the hike was a 6 mile trek. Of course we survived the extra miles but the cake topper was the disappearing trails due to mud, swampy grassland, flooded trails and fallen trees. Looking back I feel especially proud of myself for accomplishing such a feat but have also learned an important lesson on studying trail maps with extra scrutiny no matter what the ranger approximates the hike mileage! Yellowstone was a very neat park to visit. Different than the others we have visited so far in a few ways. First of all the plentiful wildlife called tourists are abundant and may cause traffic jams. Bison have no concern for modern traffic etiquette and will walk on the road without a care in the world- and they are huge! A lot of the forest looks odd at Yellowstone because of the forest fires that in turn repopulate the park. But the burnt and dead trees lay horizontal on the forest floor creating a tree graveyard. And the geysers are so interesting.. hot pools and active geysers have been flowing and erupting for years and centuries...so many geological happenings below our feet!

Prior to Yellowstone we camped 2 nights at the Grand Tetons National Park. I really enjoyed this park that is located directly beneath Yellowstone. There are gorgeous mountains covered in pines and snow and some even have glaciers on them. We camped two nights at the most beautiful back country campsite we have yet to encounter. There was a fire circle and chopped wood and the site was right on Bear Paw Lake. (The picture on the left) The hike to the campsite was approximately 3.7 miles and very enjoyable as we wound through the woods and had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and lakes. (the photo on the right has the three peaks of the Grand Tetons)







So I guess I am chronologically recording my recent travels in a backward fashion. So before the Tetons was Flaming Gorge State Park. The view from inside our tent was spectacular; a little windy because we were right on the lake but the colors of the rocks were majestic. They range in color due to how the were deposited millions of years ago. I finished a book my parents gave me for Christmas: Randy Paush's The Last Lecture. I must say that the book is a wonderful quick read and do recommend it to all. Thanks for the book!
Prior to Flaming Gorge was Dinosaur National Monument! Now I use an exclamation here because it is, so far, one of my favorite parks. There sadly weren't any real dinosaurs, and just to reassure any confused visitors the signs explicitly explain this, but there is a quarry and hiking trails. The main quarry, on which a visitor center was built, was closed off to the public due to the infrastructure crumbling and shifting of earth plates. But as we explored the surrounding area on our hike we found prehistoric dinosaur bones just chilling in the sides of mountain rocks and really neat thousand year old petroglyphs (drawings from cave people and dessert dwellers)

...to be continued.

not all who wander are lost

After days in the stunning Appalachian mountain ranges we find ourselves on flat ground in Asheville North Carolina. Not only have we found showers and a hostel to crash at and rejuvenate but our electronics work again! Not having a phone or internet access for days at a time was refreshing but without a doubt missed. Beginning in Virginia, just hours from Sterling, John and I found the Starline Drive. This mountain road winds all the way through the peaks of the mountains presenting stunning views to both the east and west. We wathced the sunset on the mounains and saw more stars in the sky that night than I knew existed. During the star gazing I witnessed my first and second and third (and so on) shooting stars! As the sunrose we watched the blue mountains light up and munched on all the wonderful fresh fruit Aunt Elia packed us. Thank you!! The first mountain chain is the Shenandoah National Park and is 105 miles. It took us a few days to drive through. About every half mile there is a pull off spot with spectaular views. There are also many hiking trails and visitor centers. At first I was very nervous about seeing a bear but we attended an informational talk by a park ranger and learned proper bear etiquette. The very next day I saw a bear while we were hiking! John has seen two others as well. No worries though, we remembered to make lots of noise and the bears just run away. I really hope that's as close as we get to the big fuzzy guys.
Before ascending onto Skyline Drive we made a stop at Harper's Ferry. The once booming trade town was really neat and we hiked to Jeffersons rock and picnicked. The town was the spot where Lewis and Clark actaully stocked up prior to their trip west. While we didn't buy riffles or dried ham portions we did soak up some history and enjoyed the beauitful view from atop the town.
While exploring Shenandoah National Park we saw turkey, mice, deer, bears, racoons, beavers, and quite a few tourists as we approached the weekend. The speedlimit is 45 throughout most of the park and becuase of its' winding nature the road can be very dangerous with deer always wandering out onto the pavement. So we took it slow and really absorbed the beauty. The Skyline Drive leads right into the next mountain chain The Blue Ridge Parkway. We took this road and camped in the woods there as well. Standing atop the mountains looking out over the valleys and seeing at some points up to 7 mountain chains in the distance is truely a majestic and powerful experience. You can feel our creator and explore the worlds oldest mountain chain while up there. I will tell you though that the less you pack on your back the easier the hike. Sounds simple enough but I learned the hard way after hiking miles with a 30-40 some pound pack on my back. And I will never again take for granted a glass of ice cold water!
We have spent the last 2 days in beautiful Asheville at a local hostel. The people are really nice here and it felt nice to sleep on a matress and have running water (yay! showers and electricity)
Our six month anniversary came about while on the Blueridge Parkway. That night we came across a look out pull off that held a magnificent lightening storm off in the distance. We watched as the silent lightening bolts stretched across miles and miles ... the sight was beauitful and an experience words cannot describe. What a wonderful date!
Next we're off to the Smokey Mountains and then its westward! Sending my best wishes and love to everyone!

So much to say; so much to see

Almost a week in and so much has happened! We started on the road towards NYC, our first choice of destination, and after hours of breath taking back roads through New Yorks' beautiful Catskill mountains we found a small camping area and, by that point, set up the tent in the dark. While an interesting challenge to connect poles to a tent frame with minimal lighting and rummage through the trunk of a car for pajamas, this is one challenge that we quickly found out is better done in daylight than darkness. Let me just add here I have grown a whole new appreciation for the luxury we call "the mattress". I'm getting used to ground sleeping though and from what I've heard it may actually be better for your spine.
The small town we found ourselves in the morning in was an artsy town called Woodstock. Riding bikes down the main street and getting lunch at a small pizza shop filled our morning quickly and we found our afternoon consumed by busy city traffic as I wound the streets into Manhattan. A first and not too stressful experience for me- driving into the city. Leaving the city was another story...not too interesting but involving an extra hour of wandering and winding through the outskirts of the highways that themselves wind around places and buildings one would never know to exists except out of pure coincidence and an uncanny ability to take the wrong roads. But the great part of getting lost or off the projected route on this trip is the fact that we have no deadlines or specific places to be by a certain point in time. Getting lost turning on the wrong road, or taking the incorrect exit ends up being nothing more than an invited unknown adventure.. a pleasant change from the normal stress and anxiety that inevitably ensues after one wrong turn for most travellers.
Our three days in NYC were filled with friends, family, and rain. John's sister was so kind in letting us crash at her place in Manhattan. Although the rain decided to visit the city the same time as us I did not allow the dreary weather to keep me indoors. After three days of the subway and visits in and out of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan I had seen so many beautiful friends and places. To reconnect with some of my so well loved friends was such a boost and recharge to my spirit. To see everyone settling in their own burrow of NYC and hear how drastically their lives are moving in different directions since graduation from Fredonia was truly interesting. I'm so proud of all of them for following their dreams and working extra hard to make a dime in the big city.
Columbia Law school was an important visit while in Manhattan. I toured the entire law school and stopped into the admissions office for a quick chat. Also, right around the corner from the school was Grant's Tomb and beautiful landscaping on the river. This was not the first National Park/Monument that I visited. On our way into the city we spent the afternoon in Hyde Park touring the Vanderbilt Mansion, FDR's Presidential Library and home and Eleanor's country home. My favorite was the Vanderbilt mansion- luxury upon luxury and all kept in it's original condition and furnishings from the early 20th century. The most interesting part of the tour was a fact our guide Demetri told us: that the woman of the day had to have mistresses that travelled with them in order to help change the woman into their 4-16 different outfits a day! And I thought my occasional habit of changing clothes 2-3 times a day was a lot!
After camping in Pennsylvania's Ravensburg State Park last night we arrived in Sterling Virginia to a wonderful tasty home cooked meal at my Aunt and Uncles' house. How wonderful to have such welcoming and warm family! Tomorrow brings Washington DC and visits to George Mason Law and Georgetown Law. Although less than week since we have departed I have met and shared meals and conversations with many loving caring friends and family. What a blessing to have these beautiful people apart of this life I am living.