Indiana-Found a really sweet park to stay in. There were showers, it was quiet, and there were these really cool waterfalls.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 3-5
I spent the weekend in Colorado visiting a friend. The town was a great, cute little town with a lot of character. We had a great time relaxing and hiking. It was great to spend time with a friend and explore a new place. On Saturday we hiked to a lake and saw the Maroon Bells, which is a famous mountain range. One of the highlights was the bus ride to the trailhead. It was just so enjoyable hearing a play by play of every alluvial fan and rock formation on the 25 minute ride to the trailhead by the bus driver. Let's just say Roxy was less than pleased with the frequent stops. The hike iteself was a lot of fun and was great to be hiking again! On Sunday night we had Mexican cuisine and danced the night away to bluegrass music in the park!
On Sunday, I drove through Denver and into Kansas. As I write this tonight, I'm still in Kansas and less than thrilled. Let's just say I might have seen one to many cornfields today and religioius billboards. I realized around 8:00 that the time had changed to be an hour ahead. So not only did Kansas leave me bored without any mountains, but it also stole an hour from me :( I found or should I say stumbled upon a campground in good ol' Millford, Kansas. Apparently I'm the only person tent camping and everyone else is hiding out in their campers (now, I'm actually writing this last night, which will be important later). Well, not everyone. There are two ladies cruising along gossiping in a golf-cart, who kindly directed me to set up wherever I wanted. They've got to be on at least thier fifth lap around the grounds by now! Anyway not only is Kansas a little on the flat side, there is a heat warning in effect today. So it's about 9 million degrees in my tent right now. I'm hoping the breeze keeps up and the predicted thunderstorms were just a blunder of the weather guessers.
Writing the next morning...
Ok, so turns out the weather guessers were right. It started with some lightning, which I could handle. What I couldn't handle were the strong winds that picked up in a matter of a minute. I'm talking winds that were knocking Roxy from one end of the tent to the other. I had to lean my whole body to one side of the tent to prevent the wall from folding over. Now I understood why everyone was in a camper. I managed to rescue Roxy to the car and drug the tent and its contents to the car. I was able to take out the poles but had to just throw my tent in the car and empty it out in the car. It was terrifying, even for someone who likes wind (like me!). Anyway, long story short, I ended up sleeping in the car. Hoping to get out of the wonderful state of Kansas today and move on to new territory! Hope all is well!
On Sunday, I drove through Denver and into Kansas. As I write this tonight, I'm still in Kansas and less than thrilled. Let's just say I might have seen one to many cornfields today and religioius billboards. I realized around 8:00 that the time had changed to be an hour ahead. So not only did Kansas leave me bored without any mountains, but it also stole an hour from me :( I found or should I say stumbled upon a campground in good ol' Millford, Kansas. Apparently I'm the only person tent camping and everyone else is hiding out in their campers (now, I'm actually writing this last night, which will be important later). Well, not everyone. There are two ladies cruising along gossiping in a golf-cart, who kindly directed me to set up wherever I wanted. They've got to be on at least thier fifth lap around the grounds by now! Anyway not only is Kansas a little on the flat side, there is a heat warning in effect today. So it's about 9 million degrees in my tent right now. I'm hoping the breeze keeps up and the predicted thunderstorms were just a blunder of the weather guessers.
Writing the next morning...
Ok, so turns out the weather guessers were right. It started with some lightning, which I could handle. What I couldn't handle were the strong winds that picked up in a matter of a minute. I'm talking winds that were knocking Roxy from one end of the tent to the other. I had to lean my whole body to one side of the tent to prevent the wall from folding over. Now I understood why everyone was in a camper. I managed to rescue Roxy to the car and drug the tent and its contents to the car. I was able to take out the poles but had to just throw my tent in the car and empty it out in the car. It was terrifying, even for someone who likes wind (like me!). Anyway, long story short, I ended up sleeping in the car. Hoping to get out of the wonderful state of Kansas today and move on to new territory! Hope all is well!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 3 Utah
Yesterday, I started the day off early and headed off to Arches National Park (Utah). Arches was definitely a stop worth making. There are many more parks in that area I would like to check out too. Utah is so beautiful to drive through with the redrock, but the desert it quite daunting. I tried to capture some photos of the drive. Unfortunately Roxy was less amused and more interested in snoozing...surprise, surprise. The weather made the experience even more interesting because there was storm rolling through. The way you could see it raining in the distance and watching the storm clouds roll in created a new mood.
Arches was definitely a cool spot and made the looooong drive worth while!
Arches was definitely a cool spot and made the looooong drive worth while!
Day 3
To the left is the campground in Utah. Not exactly my kind of site, but I was too exhausted to find something better.
One of the many cool rock formations in Arches National Park. This is located just outside of Moab, Utah. It was a really cool park. Another spot I would love to go back to and do some hiking. You are able to see a lot more of the arches if you hike in. 
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Day 2
Today didn't exactly start out Amazing Race style, but it did begin with jess vs. batteries. All of a sudden thte rechargeable batteries decided that they didn't want to work anymore. Well, they wanted to work, but only in combiation with certian other batteries. I found one advantage to having my life packed into my car...batteries. Long story short, I got the batteries and took the damn picuture! (if only it was that easy!)
I explored Yellowstone and saw Ol' Faithful erupt. Roxy enjoyed her short jaunt around some of the geysers, until a sign oh so politely kicked her off the premises. At least she got a chance to walk .2 miles today...I'm laughing, but she's not! It's wierd how they can predict the eruptions....it almost makes it seem less natural. I was blown away by the beauty of the park, but i t made me miss Glacier and pssibly even appreciate it more than I did before. The river running through the park is beautiful, and I was so tempted to go play in it. Let's just say a rafting trip down the river didn't exactly fit the budget.
Roxy is appartenly cool with elk, but not so cool with the much larger, more scary looking bison. We had to pick up speed as Roxy barked her head off. I just envisioned a bison indented (probably spelled that wrong!) on the side of my car..a story to tell eh??
I also saw the Tetons, which were really breathtaking. I'm not just saying that to be cliche, but they truly were. There is something really unique about them in thier jaggedness and ruggedness and the snow adds an extra touch. Teton National Park had awesome bike trails. It would be a great way to see the park if you had the time. Any takers on a Teton adventure??
I traveled through Wyoming, Idaho, and part of Utah, which is where I am now. It was really cool to see the small, unique towns on the way to Utah. Who knew a town existed that had 100 people?? That gives a new meaning to small town!
Now, I'm camping in a campground that feels like a mall. Well, I'm pretty exhausted, so it will be nice to sleep. Ahhh falling asleep to the annoying children on scooters singing their rendition of "Save a horse. Ride a cowboy." and "I like big butts, and I cannot lie." Camping in the great outdoors...HA!
P.S: And for those who are wondering how my car topper is doing, well...as it turs out, rain wasn't all I had to be worried about. At a closer look, the topper is covered with all sorts of dead insects and other things that fall from the sky! I thought it was funny I was worried about i getting rained on...now I'm hoping a little rain washes it off!
Hope all is well! It's taking all I have to post this thing without editing it, but times a commodity around here, so it will have to do!
I explored Yellowstone and saw Ol' Faithful erupt. Roxy enjoyed her short jaunt around some of the geysers, until a sign oh so politely kicked her off the premises. At least she got a chance to walk .2 miles today...I'm laughing, but she's not! It's wierd how they can predict the eruptions....it almost makes it seem less natural. I was blown away by the beauty of the park, but i t made me miss Glacier and pssibly even appreciate it more than I did before. The river running through the park is beautiful, and I was so tempted to go play in it. Let's just say a rafting trip down the river didn't exactly fit the budget.
Roxy is appartenly cool with elk, but not so cool with the much larger, more scary looking bison. We had to pick up speed as Roxy barked her head off. I just envisioned a bison indented (probably spelled that wrong!) on the side of my car..a story to tell eh??
I also saw the Tetons, which were really breathtaking. I'm not just saying that to be cliche, but they truly were. There is something really unique about them in thier jaggedness and ruggedness and the snow adds an extra touch. Teton National Park had awesome bike trails. It would be a great way to see the park if you had the time. Any takers on a Teton adventure??
I traveled through Wyoming, Idaho, and part of Utah, which is where I am now. It was really cool to see the small, unique towns on the way to Utah. Who knew a town existed that had 100 people?? That gives a new meaning to small town!
Now, I'm camping in a campground that feels like a mall. Well, I'm pretty exhausted, so it will be nice to sleep. Ahhh falling asleep to the annoying children on scooters singing their rendition of "Save a horse. Ride a cowboy." and "I like big butts, and I cannot lie." Camping in the great outdoors...HA!
P.S: And for those who are wondering how my car topper is doing, well...as it turs out, rain wasn't all I had to be worried about. At a closer look, the topper is covered with all sorts of dead insects and other things that fall from the sky! I thought it was funny I was worried about i getting rained on...now I'm hoping a little rain washes it off!
Hope all is well! It's taking all I have to post this thing without editing it, but times a commodity around here, so it will have to do!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Yellowstone National Park
Finally arrived at Yellowstone! I guess I didn't realize how long about 7 hours in a vehicle would be! Thanks for the snacks mom and Lena. They really pulled through! Roxy did quite well on the drive. As you will see from the pictures, she spent much of her time sleeping! Once I arrived I bought a park pass and went to find a campground. I had a Amazing Race moment...which was pretty much hysterical! I'm cruising along to the first campground area only to be told that the campground was already full. As I'm pulling out of the grounds, in search of the next campground, I noticed a suburu looking vehicle creeping in right behind me. At that moment, I realized the race was on. We were both in the running for the nearest campsite. As I'm looking so diligently, I realized that I just passed the entrance...and guess who didn't. That's right...the amazing race was almost lost at that moment. Team suburu was swooping in and taking the lead. (Now, if Fitzy was there...that would have never happend!) Roxy and I quickly did a u-turn, but knew the mistake had been fatal. Too make a long story short and not bore anyone, we both found a campsite. As I was setting up, guess who pulled in about 10 minutes later in the site exactly next to mine...that's right. Team Suburu. Anyway the amazing race will continue tomorrow I'm sure!
Anyway, I think that Roxy spent most of the day staring at the back of her eyelids. She even refused to blog along the way.
Marchand and Steph you would be proud. The campground host was like "I'm sure you know to keep your food in your car and locked up, etc." He must have noticed the Montana plates, but didn't realize he was dealing with a Jersey girl! Thanks to you guys I think I finally know how to camp...remember when I first moved here..haha!
Anyway, hope all is well with everyone!
Anyway, I think that Roxy spent most of the day staring at the back of her eyelids. She even refused to blog along the way.
Marchand and Steph you would be proud. The campground host was like "I'm sure you know to keep your food in your car and locked up, etc." He must have noticed the Montana plates, but didn't realize he was dealing with a Jersey girl! Thanks to you guys I think I finally know how to camp...remember when I first moved here..haha!
Anyway, hope all is well with everyone!
On To Yellowstone National Park
Roxy and I are all packed up and ready for take-off. Departure from Kalispell, MT and heading to Yellowstone National Park!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Preparing for tomorrow morning's blast off. Heading to Yellowstone National Park. The whole day was spent packing. Being the procrastinator that I am, I managed to put everything off to last minute and had a lot of work to do today. Besides being a hard day, it has been a sad one. It's been hard saying good bye to friends and family. It's wierd thinking that just three years ago I was on a plane headed to Montana and now I'm headed in the other direction. As my little cousin would say, "Cheer up Sad Spoon!" With that and with mixed emotions I will head off tomorrow...let the adventure begin!
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