gusty winds may exist - ohhh, the long drives back east

hello from atlanta, georgia! the past week has absolutely flown by, and now here i am back on the east coast again. somehow that happened. for the first time i had to reach for red bull to make it through the drive today! we've been gaining a lot of ground since i last posted - and i'll have to just make an abbreviated version of the trip since i last wrote. i'll be home in a few days, back in new jersey. i can't believe that two months ago i was getting ready for this adventure, and on my way to cleveland, ohio. so much has happened that i haven't been able to get down on here or even in my journal, and i'm still catching up with photos. it's definitely been a whirlwind, and there are places that i plan on returning to and possibly living in across our incredibly vast and diverse country.

since northern arizona we have:

- driven hundreds of miles across/down new mexico, texas, mississippi, and alabama

- had our mile tracker in my car re-set since we passed 10,000 miles for the trip!

- had dinner in albuquerque with my aunt andi (my dad's sister who i haven't seen in years) at a fantastic vegetarian restaurant, seated outside in their patio with perfect weather

- stayed with another co-worker from pirg, whitney, in albuquerque and walked around nob hill

- drove from ABQ to san antonio, tx in one day and walked some of the river walk

- couch-surfed in austin, tx and met a cool little dog named pancho

- made it to new orleans and stayed with my friend nora from tcnj for 2 nights in her sweet southern TFA (teach for america- where her and her roommates all work) home

- watched a live brass band - the treme bass band - play at an awesome dive bar that i think had 12 or 13 people playing at one time, which was amazing - they had 3 saxes, at least 2 trumpets, a banjo, a tuba, trombones..you name it

- met up with my friend from studying abroad, kat, for the day on thursday and we: tried to see a bayou but ended up learning some confusing and misleading info about the battle of new orleans, walked the french quarter, ate delicious beignets and frozen coffees at cafe du monde, experienced some of bourbon street, drank a massive hurricane at pat o'brien's pub, ate delicious authentic creole/cajun soul food at jacques-imo's (i even ate some seafood), toured the city by car, and finished the day with a bottle of new mexican wine out on nora's patio with good conversation

- gotten only a few miles into mississippi when the right front tire of my car blew out, and we had a near collision with a mack truck in the right lane - luckily it was totally fine and kevin replaced the tire with a new one i had in my trunk after we pulled safely to the shoulder, and we didn't have any other issues- it was scary though!

- reunited again with sean but this time in his hometown in atlanta and had an insane amount of asian buffet, and toured some of downtown atlanta - we even passed the coke factory haha :)

whew.

we've pushed ourselves since we left the grand canyon, and i've been constantly on the go. i don't think i've slept in the same place or in the same bed for more than two nights in a row since LA. it's definitely getting to me - and i'm exhausted. we planned on doing more on the last leg of the trip; we wanted to stay another night in new orleans, stay 2 nights in atlanta, and then 2 nights in DC (and stop in chapel hill NC to visit a friend), and then a final night in philly before getting home. however, it's just too much at this point. we're tired and ready to not be on the move. i miss my own bed! so we stayed til this morning in new orleans, and are leaving after breakfast with some of kevin's family in atlanta for DC tomorrow. it's going to be a LONG drive, but i'm pretty used to it at this point. i've been going on willpower (and red bull today) and just pushing through. naps in the car are helpful, and we have some new music and random radio stations that constantly change depending on the state. it's hard to really reflect when i'm moving so fast and remember the places i've been, and i wanted to make sure i at least got in one last post before i was no longer "on the road".

being on the road this long has allowed me to consider many options and opportunities i have right now in my life, and where i can see myself living and having the most impact on issues that i care about, and helping others along the way. i've been inspired by many people and places on this journey, and feel as though traveling has expanded my thinking about our country and society. it's been so interesting to me to just see how people i know (and random people as well) live their lives, and just take it all in. i haven't been judging, but more observing and thinking about what lifestyles i'd like to be able to follow and how i can be happy in my day to day life. living on the road isn't your typical day to day life, and for most of the trip i've felt like an outsider. i've only gotten a glimpse into people's lives and communities, and i'd like to be part of a community for longer than just a year or a summer like my time spent in MA and ohio for organizing jobs.

i plan on graduate school in the next year, but i still have a lot of work ahead of me to make that happen. i also want to spend a season actually WOOFing on a farm in the midwest or out in new mexico, and gain that hands-on experience that this trip didn't allow me to have. we just wanted to do and see too much. two months somehow disappeared so quickly. i'm so glad that i got to go and stay in such fantastic cities, towns, places and national parks/forests, but i know i've just scratched the surface on what i can still learn about agriculture and policy in the US.

this trip is going to stay in memory forever, and it really has shaped the next adventures i will embark on. i'm so thankful for the friends i have and people i've met across the country. without them we wouldn't have been able to go to so many places and been able to afford to stay in some of the coolest (and most expensive) cities. thank you to everyone who hosted us for a night or a few days - you made our trip happen! it's been amazing, and i can't wait for what will happen next. i don't believe my wandering will stop after this; actually - it's just the beginning.

catching up from LA to sedona, AZ

hello from cottonwood, arizona! we're staying with a friend from college, davey, who lives outside of sedona, az in a town called cottonwood. we just went up to have dinner and a few drinks in a mountain town called jerome, which many people have recommended to me to check out. it definitely was worth the trip up the mountain, and i was surprised by what we would see there. it's an old historic mining town, and they have these "ghost tours" which is literally a traveling theater throughout the town, with actors that act out scenes in various places outdoors and indoors, and the audience follows along to each location. pretty funny, and the bar we were hanging out at listening to local live music turned out to be the spot where most of the actors or performers (or maybe just people dressed up early for halloween) came to grab food or a drink. it was great to catch up with davey, and kevin enjoyed getting to know the musicians between breaks in their sets.

we've obviously covered some ground since i last posted, as we are now on our way eastward! we headed from san diego to las vegas, and then onto our last three national parks on the trip. las vegas was absolutely insane and really fun. we splurged in vegas (mostly using gift money) and stayed at the venetian hotel the first night, ate at a fantastic restaurant within the palazzo/venetian complex, and gambled some. the venetian was so luxurious, and i totally was spoiled after staying there for a night. the following evening, we found ourselves coming back to the sin city international student hostel in downtown vegas :) but, that turned out to be just what we needed and definitely within out budget. we definitely didn't "belong" pulling into the hotel with our dirty hippie-mobile and random items falling out as we were trying to valet park and have a bell boy help us with our many bags. quite comical actually.

the hotels in vegas are really amazing - the architecture and design inside and out are worth admiring. we spent some time exploring the day after we arrived, since we wanted to soak up every moment we could while staying at the venetian and living the life of luxury! i'm forgetting at the moment which hotel this is, but it was across from where we stayed and could possibly be the mirage. we went to the mirage the second night where we saw the cirque du soleil show "love" which was to all beatles songs. it was such a mind-blowing show, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. luckily we were able to get discount tickets for a friday night, and they were great seats. the music of course was great, and the performances were awesome. i honestly cannot believe still that people can move their bodies the way that they did, or have the strength to hang from rope attached to the ceiling and fly through the air. it did look like a lot of fun though- but i'm not too sure you'd see me up there anytime soon.

i'm glad that we did vegas (since we toyed with the idea of skipping it entirely) but it was a bit too much excess and commercialization for me. i'm really not into gambling, or shopping excessively, so after seeing the sights, eating out and full enjoying out hotel room, i had enough. the malls and buildings like i said really are impressive, and we took tons of pictures walking around through the venetian, palazzo, the mirage, and caesar's palace. many sections of the ceiling are painted to mirror the daytime sky and it does feel like you're outside in some places, especially where they have the gondola rides. but, after a while it felt too artificial and i just wanted to get back outside! of course. after our night in the hostel, we packed up again and made our way to the hoover dam just to say we saw it and crossed over it into arizona. it was pretty great to check out, and it's where we realized arizona doesn't change time zones right now and is still on pacific time, even though we're technically in the mountain time zone.

in utah we camped in zion and bryce canyon national parks, and then headed south to arizona to stay at the south rim of the grand canyon. we ended up staying the first night in a motel outside of the canyon, since we really needed a good night's sleep in a bed and a shower. camping hadn't been bad at all, except for the cold nights in bryce since we were at an elevation of about 8,000 feet. all of these parks are equally beautiful in their own way, with their own characteristics that really set them apart. they all had amazing FREE shuttle systems though - which i definitely appreciate and really am happy about. in zion we actually could not reach our trailhead by car; we realized that AFTER we drove out the east entrance on the road that we kept wondering, "where is the trailhead?". we had to drive all the way back past our campground near the south entrance to catch a shuttle. we ended up only doing one hike that day, to angel's landing.

this is me at the top; it was absolutely stunning! the last part of the hike you actually had assistance from chains along the trail because it was so steep and dangerous to climb. it might have been freakier than the half dome hike in yosemite, mostly because you could see at every curve how far you would fall or how much farther you had to go. it was definitely challenging and a bit scary, but so worth the climb to the top! we had lunch up there, and shooed away the pesky chipmunks that have grown accustomed to hikers feeding them snacks. we've noticed this problem in so many national parks and tourist spots; people stupidly feed the wildlife and then the animals become used to being fed by humans and eating human food. the squirrels in the grand canyon were SO fat at the busiest tourist look out spots. one of these unafraid, overweight little weasels managed to steal the remainder of my hot pretzel from the snack shop at once of the lodges on the rim right from my lap! he just stood there nibbling on it in front of me as if to mock me, and then ran away with the rest of it.

anyway, the views in zion are incredible. there are amazing vistas of the mountains and incredible cliff faces and canyons. i was blown away from the beauty of this park, and how diverse it was. you could hike up to angel's landing and see a panoramic view of the park and forest, but then also go down and do a river hike through the narrows which would be walking knee-deep in the river surrounded by canyon walls only 20 feet apart. we didn't get to do any extensive hikes after angel's landing, so i'd definitely like to go back and do a narrows hike - it sounds difficult but really awesome.

after camping for 2 nights in zion (one night right outside the park and one night within the park itself) we drove over to bryce canyon, for some more hiking and camping in canyon land. we had a great campsite that had plenty of room for our hammock and tent, but it got SO cold there! we weren't expecting such a huge jump in elevation change, and the cold definitely made nights a bit uncomfortable. we did have some great campfires there though, and we really enjoyed those. during the first day kevin and i did a short hike, and then split up to do solo hikes the second day. this photo is from my hike on the peekaboo loop, which takes you into the canyon and loops back in like 4-5 miles. there are a bunch of cool looking spots like these along the trail, and i liked the view through this archway out to the "hoodoos" which are the rock formations you'll find everywhere in the canyon.

i'll have to write more about the grand canyon and parts of our travels and some reflections i've left out. but for now, i'm absolutely exhausted and am ready to enjoy a night's sleep on a futon and not the ground! we're heading to Albuquerque in the morning to meet my aunt andi who lives in taos, NM for a late lunch, and then stay with another coworker from PIRG. from there we are attempting to drive to austin, TX in one day. should be interesting. stay tuned :) miss you all! xo

pacific coastin' comes to an end

so this is our last night on the pacific coast - in san diego. it's been a while since i last posted - and my apologies! i meant to get back to my last post, but i just didn't find the time! i also am not on my computer, so i won't be able to post pictures right now. however, you can check out photos on my facebook up until the first day or so of LA/Pasadena. it's been a whirlwind of california amazingness these past couple weeks, and i'm genuinely sad to be leaving the state and the pacific coast. however, there still is so much to see on our route back east - including vegas, the grand canyon, flagstaff, santa fe, WOOFing in texas now, and new orleans.

we are planning on returning within 2-3 weeks, since we've been on the road now for quite a while. we're both pretty tired - but our stay in LA and week or so with sean had been a nice break to not only just relax, but also to have someone else to hang out with and break up the driving and conversation in the car. we somehow made room in my car for all three of us, which was pretty hilarious with a huge duffel bag strapped to the roof my car. my little corolla has been holding up pretty well - and we hit 100,000 miles on it during our drive to LA from big sur. there haven't been any major issues with the car at all - which i'm so thankful for! hopefully it keeps up for our journey back east.

anyway - i left off last time talking about our drive down to napa valley, wine country! we had such a great time and it was totally unexpected. napa was not in our original route, i just had wanted to visit wine country and get to do a wine tasting somewhere. it turned out that kevin's friend morgan actually works in the wine industry, and lives half of the year in napa and the other half in new zealand. pretty sweet job, i'd say. she works in the lab in napa and tastes wine and runs tests all day. so, she gave us a full tour of wine making and we tasted maybe a dozen or more of red and whites that were still in the fermentation process and still far from the bottle. it was really interesting to actually see the process of how wine today is made, and i didn't realize how technical it really is. when we visited, they were just making whites - and there were HUGE silver barrels full of fermenting chardonnays and sauvignon blancs, and other kinds that i'm not thinking of right now. most of them were not ready for the drinking, and we'd spit out our sip after swishing in the glass, smelling and tasting. we met the head winemaker who was an Aussie, and morgan's cousin is actually the assistant winemaker. they work long and hard hours, but their wine is absolutely delicious. it's an extensive process to get from grapes to bottle - and i have a more robust appreciation for wine making and wine.

from the basement of the winery we went upstairs to look out at the vineyards and then to the bar! we were able to taste many, many glasses of delicious red and white wines - and have some great conversation with other people who were doing a wine tasting. i met a woman who is vegan, and she was giving me tips on eating vegan and websites to check out, as it's something i've been considering. it's been incredibly easy to eat vegetarian on the west coast, especially once we got into california and ate in pacific coast cities and towns. vegan and raw food places have been pretty prevalent as well, especially in LA, and i'm thinking it might be something i will try out once the trip is over. since we're moving so much and not able to buy groceries consistently, it's just too hard to start now. after seeing so many factory farms across the country and thinking about how excessive our consumption patterns are here, i believe that our diets can make a bigger statement and create more change than we realize. the local food movements that are occurring in big and small cities across our nation are inspiring, and testament to the fact that people are supporting their local farmers and building stronger communities in the process.

although WOOFing has not worked out so far in the trip, i still feel as though i'm learning more about our food production and seeing for myself what many of us do not. in northern california we saw huge farms during their harvest, and dozens of pickers out in the fields. many of the workers looked hispanic, and i assume that they are migrant farm workers. this is an issue that is pretty controversial, on many different levels. i interviewed with an organization before i got my job with repower that protected children's labor rights on farms, as migrant families tend to have their children help make money by working on the farm as well. around the same time, i had been reading articles about 'silent raids' on factory farms across the country where immigration officials were deporting farm workers because they were illegally living there. yet, without the illegal immigrants that work on our farms there is no one else picking our food that stock the grocery shelves. these are issues that i really want to explore more and dig into deeper. but back to our travels...

after the wine tasting in napa we took a longer than intended nap before our drive to san francisco! it took us a couple hours to get there, and we arrived after sunset to kevin's friend guy's apartment right in the city. we ended up going on a late night drive to see the city, which was like speed dating but speed touring the city, so funny. we didn't get to spend enough time in san fran, but to sum up: we spent some time frustrated at the confusing and SLOW light rail, saw the end of the now and zen free concert in golden gate park (sarah bareilles), watched the sun go down at the golden gate bridge and took some great photos, ate really good food including a fantastic brunch, and hung out at guy's apartment. it was a fantastic city - and i plan on going back! it wasn't enough time, but we were on somewhat of a schedule to get to LA by the friday so we had a full weekend there, and so that we got to stay in both santa cruz and big sur along the pacific coast after we went to yosemite national park for a couple days.

ALL of those places i just mentioned were fantastic - yosemite was absolutely INCREDIBLE! i actually forgot to post about it when i first wrote this, i can't believe i did! we hiked the half dome which was 12 hours of hiking, we left our campground a little after 6am to drive to the trailhead and start out on the trail by 7am. it was over 16 miles in total, and we climbed 4,800+ feet! the last part of the hike to the top of the half dome was intense, it was 900 feet of rock steps and then 400 feet of straight rock climbing through the use of metal cables. you can't ascend without using the cables! it was insane. i'll post pictures and write more about the hike soon.

we stayed with a mutual friend from PIRG, chase, in santa cruz. he lives in basically a hippie commune and it was wonderful. santa cruz was beautiful although we didn't spend much time there. we got in pretty late and met chase for a couple beers, and then hung out at his place that night. the next day we had a delicious brunch (mine was vegan) downtown, and then headed to monterey for a quick stop and to camp in big sur that night. while in monterey i stopped to visit the institute for international studies, which i found out has only 800 students! there is an international environmental policy program with the peace corps that i had been looking into during my senior year of college, and i thought it would be cool to actually check out a few grad schools on the trip. i think i may apply there - monterey was absolutely beautiful and really quaint. i kept saying 'i think i could live here' to kevin and sean (although i've said that in seattle, portland, san francisco..) but still. it's right on the water and i'd be meeting tons of international students. we'll see!

camping in big sur was really fun - we celebrated sean's 24th birthday there by jumping in the pacific ocean (okay, well - i took video of the guys jumping in, it was like 40 degrees out) and eating a great meal at a restaurant near our campground. the staggering rocks and views of the ocean are amazing out there - and the driving was insane around tight curves and over cliffs. definitely glad we made a stop there overnight, although the drive the next day to LA took almost 10 hours! we didn't wake up early enough to miss traffic (although there's always traffic in LA) and we got stuck in the car for way too long. we finally arrived in santa monica to drop sean off at a friend's place, and then made our way to pasadena to stay with my cousin caitlin and her boyfriend brent. they have a cute apartment right near downtown pasadena, and it was so great to visit and stay with cait. i've missed her and won't see her again til christmas. so it was awesome to spend time with her and brent, and we had a crazy fun weekend. i'll write about it soon - but now it's time for bed and giving up the laptop!

california: where dreams come true

i apologize for my lag in posts - it's been hard to have a moment to sit down with my laptop in a location where i can actually access internet! we've been moving it seems very quickly through the wonderful state of california. we aren't going to slow down until this weekend (well, at least be in one place for more than 1 or 2 days) when we get to pasadena outside of LA. my cousin caitlin lives there with her boyfriend brent, and she moved out there this may. she actually stopped and visited me when i was living and working in columbus as one of her first stops in her cross-country move. so now it's my time to visit her! i'm so excited to see her, and hear about her job and life in california. which i'd love to call home for awhile, i've decided. anyway - we're in big sur right now, which is about 1 1/2 hours away from santa cruz, where we stayed last night. it's sean's 24th birthday today and i'm pretty sure it's been an awesome and memorable day! but first...

our first destination in cali was the redwoods national park and forest - very close to the border of oregon. we were in absolute awe of the magnitude of the trees that you find there, they are incredible! here is me standing looking up and completely entranced by their height and beauty. it's just nothing like any forest i've ever seen before. we camped in the elk prairie campground, which was absolutely beautiful. we were instructed to find our own site from the ones available, and we almost missed this gem of a campsite the first couple times we circled the tent loop that was still open for the season. the site was completely tucked back into the woods, and we had plenty of space and choices for where to pitch the tent and put up the hammock. we slept that night under a huge tree (not a redwood however) that was covered with green moss and had huge extended branches. there were a few smaller trails near our campsite, but we mostly hung out at camp, cooked dinner (still had veggies from the farmers market in seattle) and just relaxed. we had been incredibly sore from our hikes in crater lake which took you up a couple thousand of feet in just a half hour, so there wasn't much hiking during our stay. we did have a great fire however, and a wonderful night's rest amongst the redwoods.

the next day we were traveling to napa, and we drove along the avenue of the giants, which is about 32-miles of scenic forest and had many turn-outs where you can just get out and take pictures or admire some of the oldest trees in our country. we actually stopped at one of the tourist traps in the redwoods, the drive-thru tree tour. it totally was not worth $5 - but i really wanted to actually see what the draw was and what the tree really looked like (there were 3 drive-thru trees along the road through the forest). we stopped in leggett - and drove through their giant redwood tree. it was a pretty big let-down, mostly because it just seemed so unnatural to have nature commercialized and to have some private company making money to allow people to drive through a part of the environment. but i'm glad we saw it just to appreciate the untouched beauty of the natural world.

i actually am not able to continue this post right now - we need to get back to our campsite in big sur, but i'll post a continued post when i'm settled in LA! lots of love to everyone.

west coast: seattle to san francisco

so i've been to some incredible places in the past week or so - we left seattle for portland and breezed through our second west coast city, since we had a couple days to catch up on. we arrived at my friend michelle's house early evening and got a quick tour of her adorable house where she moved for her year at lewis and clark law school, and then headed out for dinner. we went to an awesome bar/restaurant that had a full vegan menu in addition to a regular menu. they had delicious veggie burgers and sweet potato fries, mmm mmm. the picture of us with michelle and her roommate diane is to the right. after that we went to powell's bookstore which is hugely famous in portland - the store is an entire city block and has 4 stories! it was insane. we didn't spend a long time there, but i did pick up short stories of barbara kingsolver. i've been reading a lot of her work lately - currently reading the poisonwood bible, which is fantastic so far. what did happen in the bookstore was my coffee mug (full of hot coffee from a cafe next to the restaurant) was stolen! this is not just a regular mug - it's an awesome thermos/mug that keeps your beverage hot for HOURS and has been wonderful while traveling especially in the car and camping. what's crazy is one of the staff actually saw the woman that walked out with my mug - and i got it back while in the store! so bizarre. after that minor fiasco i met up with a friend who did some of orlando training for my first job with pirg who happened to be in the city at the same time, visiting her friends. so we had a beer at a local brewery which was good!

i don't know if i really have the best idea of what portland was like - although we did learn that portland is huge for strip clubs and human trafficking. awesome! there were also communities of "transients" if you will, that set up chairs and sleeping areas along the sidewalks. there were people from all walks of life, and many people that were homeless. it's definitely been interesting to see homeless populations all over the country, and realize that it is an incredibly pervasive problem in our society. and it isn't getting better. we've been trying to give people that we run into food, or whatever spare change that we have. but that won't solve their situation, and in some cases giving money isn't always the best. when we went to another famous portland local - voodoo doughnuts - they had a sign asking to refrain from giving change on the sidewalk to "transients" as they have had staff members harassed by people, and is hurting their business. they suggested donating to the various homeless shelters or charities in the city in order to help. which is pretty smart.

so portland was a quick visit but really great. i went for an amazing jog/hike in the morning before we left near the lewis and clark law school, and was amazed at the dense forests and winding paths through the woods, all i believe part of the school's campus or at least surrounding grounds. it was really great to catch up with michelle and hear about what she's been up to, and reminisce about studying abroad in costa rica. it feels like so long ago - but i carry with me all the memories from that experience and it really has been a major part in my life. so grateful for that :)

we left portland after our voodoo doughnut breakfast (i tried some vegan doughnuts that were delicious!) and headed southeast to crater lake national park. i didn't realize that oregon really is a huge state- and it was a decent drive. however, it was an absolutely breathtaking park - the lake is insane. crater lake was formed when a volcano collapsed into itself thousands of years ago, and gradually rain and snow filled the resulting crater to create the lake we now see today. there are cliffs and mountains surrounding the lake, and one small island called wizard island that you can take a boat to and reach the summit. we did a couple shorter hikes around the rim, but they were certainly not easy. going up you change elevation so quickly it's hard to adjust your breathing. we gained something like 1,300 ft in just 20 minutes or so. the view was spectacular from one panoramic hike we did - and so worth the climb.

the picture of me is at the top of garfield peak, and you can't even get the entire lake in the picture. it's gigantic, and also the deepest lake in the country. it was insane to turn 360 degrees and see the mind-blowing crater lake, and then the cascade mountains in the distance. there are also thousands of pine trees, and the landscape is just incredible. i love that place- and we had a pretty cool campsite while we were there for 2 nights. it did get really cold however- we were sleeping at 6 or 7,000 feet of elevation. but we did make it through- and my sleeping bag has proved to be quite warm!

after crater lake we headed into the beautiful state of california- and i'll have to post about our trip so far in CA another time! i've posted pictures up until we crossed the california border on my facebook page- so check those our or let me know if you can't see them! we're leaving san francisco tomorrow for yosemite before doing more of the pacific coastal highway :) we will be traveling with our friend sean, who flew into san fran to meet us last night. he'll be with us for about a week or so - and flies out of LA. i can't wait to see more of the pacific ocean, and soak in as much as i can while i'm here. i love the west coast!

i've reached the west coast!

greetings from seattle, WA!

when i started this post i was sitting in a coffee shop in downtown seattle, drinking a soy chai latte and finishing the remains of my green tea mint chocolate chip cookie, watching the rain from the window. the rain shouldn't come as much of a surprise. however, today is absolutely beautiful and sunny. i was sidetracked the last time i tried to post, and now i have some time again at a different coffee shop nearby my friend tiffany's house. i actually felt a little under the weather, and decided to stay longer in seattle while kevin went to hike and camp in olympic nat'l park this weekend. i'm a little bummed about not going -- but i think it was the right decision for this weekend. we arrived here on tuesday early evening, and it was beautiful weather. however, seattle has been true to it's stereotype and rained yesterday and the day before. but it hasn't dampened our plans really, i wanted today to relax in a coffee shop and do some research on our west coast travels specifically national parks in oregon and california, and check emails about woof-ing. we have had to change some plans with woofing, as a bunch of the farmers i had been in touch with for washington were unable to host us. in order for us to get to LA by the end of the month, we will most likely only be woofing in southern california for a few days while on the west coast. hopefully more to come on that, doing some more research on other farms along our southern route. it's definitely good to relax here- being on the road is tiring! i am so glad to have a place to stay, and tiffany's been able to show us some really great places and sites in seattle.

but before i get to seattle - i haven't been able to update on yellowstone national park and our drive through montana, where i celebrated my 23rd birthday. yellowstone is an absolutely stunning park, it's HUGE, and you can spend hours just driving from the north end to the south end of the park. it's the oldest national park in the US and in the world apparently, and has an extensive ecosystem that is protected under the national park system. they have a giant population of buffalo (or bison) which is the wildlife we've seen the most of in national parks and during our long, windy drives. this photos is of a buffalo just walking down the road, passing on the left side of the road. these creatures are MASSIVE and apparently are unpredictable and can charge if you bother them. there are signs everywhere warning you not to approach buffalo and other wildlife in the national parks. we got this picture as we were driving, but a woman in the car in front of us got out of her vehicle and started to cross the street! not smart. nothing happened, but i'm sure they do not enjoy being the spectacle of every tourist driving by.

aside from the vast amount of giant bison from the side of the road, we also saw some amazing sites in yellowstone. the first night we stayed in a rustic cabin in old faithful, and watched it erupt twice in one morning. it's quite the tourist attraction if you can imagine, and the photo to the right shows you how many people were waiting for the geyser to shoot up hot, boiling water, and how insane it looks when it erupts. it wasn't the straight stream of water 150 feet in the air like i imagined, but it was pretty impressive. we actually didn't even intend to see it a second time, but we spent time in the visitor center figuring out some hikes for the next couple days, and went up and did a hike that overlooks the geysers. old faithful isn't the only what they call "thermals" in the park; there are four different types of thermals: geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots. there are places in the park where you can view all of them, and along our long drives within the park we saw many of the hot springs and mudpots from the roads. early in the morning we drove through some the thickest fog i've ever seen, which we deducted must be from the hot springs giving off heat into the cold, moist air. it was crazy! the photo below kind of gives you a feel for how foggy it was on the road.

we did an 11-mile or so hike one of our last days in the park, which wasn't incredibly strenuous, but a nice long hike. we hiked along two smaller lakes in the park (compared to lake yellowstone which is huge) and a river, which was beautiful. the smell of pine needles and fresh air was intoxicating. here's a view from one of the lookout points along the river.

i definitely enjoyed my time in yellowstone, although i didn't really enjoy driving so many miles to just get around in the park. the best way to see some of the views and to see wildlife from afar is in your vehicle, but i feel as though public transit like buses or shuttles could be really advantageous to the park system. we saw many, many tour buses and smaller buses of families or groups traveling, however that was not the norm. you passed frequently smaller cars with two people in them, just like us, that were viewing a lot of the park from their car windows. i'm not sure a shuttle system doesn't exist, but i did not receive any information that would tell me otherwise in the park. something interesting as well about our time in yellowstone was how apparent our age was - we were probably the youngest people in almost every place we went to by easily 40 or 50 years. it was a bit bizarre staying in a lodge the night of my birthday, since we could have been the grandchildren of everyone else who stayed there! kevin and i don't really fit in anywhere it seems when visiting national parks - the only young people or couples we've really seen are foreign and don't speak english all that well. it's something we've picked up on during our drive out west, it's pretty amusing actually. we have had some great conversations with older couples during some hikes and touristy spots, who smile sweetly as if saying, "ah, to be young again."

* * *

when we got in to seattle tuesday we found leah and tiffany, in addition to leah's older brother ari, and i was greeted with some local theo's chocolate for my birthday! so cute. they have delicious fair trade and organic chocolate, and they offer tours of their chocolate factory which they did before kevin and i arrived. we stopped to grab some food, and then headed down to the safeco stadium for a red sox/mariners game. the red sox ended up winning, which was depressing, even though the game didn't matter anyway. it was fun - and we tried for most of the game to get on the large-screen TV by dancing insanely. go us.

seattle has been a really fun city to explore, and another reason i wanted to stay here longer. i wanted some time to reflect on my own and see more of this pacific coast city. it seems as though seattle is a forgotten city in the US, yet it has so much to offer and they do so many things right! take recycling for example - they have a curbside composting program and recycling bins are everywhere. sure, there are towns and college campuses on the east coast that have a robust recycling program and the environmental consciousness of people is ahead of the curve. however i am extremely impressed with seattle's recycling program, and through my experiences thus far i think it's one of the best. there just seems to be a different mentality out here as well, not just with recycling, that is a part of the culture and invokes a sense of responsibility for protecting natural places and the environment. there is a huge local food movement here, which is as delicious as it is amazing to feel somewhat immersed in. i've had only incredible food while here so far, and been thoroughly satisfied with every meal and cup of coffee. out of the couple coffee shops i've been to i was able to see them actually roasting the beans in the back, and confidently feel like a conscious consumer.

i wish the wave of environmental responsibility that i feel here could cover the entire country as i travel across it. however, i know change happens slowly and changing policies like recycling or investing in public transit or supporting a successful local, living economy takes a long time. it's been eye-opening to see how vastly different towns and cities across our country are, and how varied state's priorities are for their citizens and natural landscape. there are many cities that i still have not been to, and i'm sure my amazement will continue to grow as the differences increase. sometimes it's hard to believe we're still in the same country when we go from small town, south dakota where life is nothing like i've ever experienced to progressive cities like seattle.

the trip so far has been interesting in figuring out where i do fit in right now in this time in my life and what is next. i'm not ready to settle down; i still have so much to learn, and so many questions. turning 23 doesn't really feel that significant, and it seems as though i have a long way to go before i know what it is i want to do and how i can have an impact. i'm excited for the changes that are to come, feel incredibly lucky to spend the month of september along the pacific coast in some of the most beautiful places and intriguing cities in our country.

wyoming: be bear aware.

hello! i'm writing from the beautiful jackson lake lodge in the grand teton national park in wyoming. out the huge windows directly in front of me i can see the snow covered peaks of the teton range, the highest are covered by clouds at the moment. we haven't been lucky with weather so far in western wyoming, and last night was probably the coldest and wettest night in the tent as of yet. during one of our drives yesterday it was hailing, and it might have snowed overnight. the tent was thoroughly soaked in one corner last night, which spread with the continuous rain and soaked some of our blankets, sheets and clothing. luckily the tent has held up pretty well otherwise- and i did stay warm and mostly dry with my layered clothing, sleeping bag and blanket. the rainfall was pretty steady throughout the night, and we really felt as though we were part of the rain and nature because you heard every drop and felt the wind shift direction.

although camping in the tetons hasn't been the most comfortable experience- it definitely will provide long-lasting memories. we were one of the few campers at the campground that stayed the night in their tent, many people are traveling and camping with their RVs and are better protected from the elements. this morning while brushing my teeth in the bathroom with the ice cold water i was joined by another female camper, who looked just as disgruntled as i did with the soggy state of the campground and chilly weather. she turned to me before i left and said, "some night, huh?" yup - it was some night. we learned the lesson of how to properly use our tarps- we had originally set up one tarp under the tent, but that actually caused more water to pool under the bottom of the tent and soak through in that corner. when we got back out to camp last night around 10pm after having dinner at the jackson lodge (it was too windy and wet to cook) kevin pulled the tarp out from under the tent, which i was sure was going to cause the entire thing to collapse. it was quite a spectacle i'm sure - me holding an umbrella, warmer clothes, and trying to balance the flashlight at the tent while holding on to a corner of it while kevin pulled the tarp out from under. there was some shouting and confusion during all of that, and i'm laughing thinking about it now.

we definitely were not expecting such cold temperatures on our travels - but we are pretty north in our country right now - and it is the end or nearing the end of the summer season in most parks. it definitely was a jolt to my senses to change from air conditioning in the car to heat - and we've had to pick up hats and gloves along the way to keep warm. somehow before i knew it, summer has ended! probably not until we reach southern california will we be shedding our many layers of clothes and turning down the heat in the car. i'm excited for that since the cold weather isn't my favorite. we're hoping for some better weather in yellowstone over the next few days, it's supposed to be dry and in the 60s! i plan on getting in some good hikes - since i've only really explored the tetons by car and a few shorter hikes/walks. it is a decent size park though and each lodging area and campground offers different views of the mountains and the lakes. you can only really access different points of interest by car (or shuttle bus i'm sure) which is somewhat frustrating when trying to have as little of an impact on the environment as possible. there isn't much that i can do about that though- just trying to minimize our driving back and forth as much as possible, which is somewhat difficult!

speaking of our impact on the natural environment, humans interacting with and affecting wildlife is a huge concern in the national parks where they have large animals like bears. there are "be bear aware" signs everywhere here - wyoming really is bear country. we haven't spotted any grizzlies or black bears yet - but have stopped on a windy road where other people were talking photos and peering into the woods with binoculars. apparently we had just missed a momma black bear and her two cubs. because of humans' presence in the parks where the animals are protected, we are expected to take extra precautions with food to make sure bears are not eating garbage or food left behind. they state that 14 bears are killed a year because they eat human food and then either become a threat because they are not afraid of people, or they are sick from their change in diet. i never really thought about how i could harm a bear's life, just that a bear could seriously harm mine!

we have a few more days in bear country and then we'll be leaving on monday (when i turn 23!) for seattle. it's about 741 miles away- so we most likely will be stopping in southern montana or northern idaho for a night before continuing the drive. on the 14th we have tickets to a mariners/red sox game because my friend leah is awesome. kevin is pretty excited about it - i don't realllly watch baseball, but it should be fun! we'll be staying with my friend tiffany in seattle for a few days, and i'm super excited to explore the city. i'm sure we won't be getting away from the rain for a while, but ah well. you also may have noticed a change in plans again - we won't be making it to glacier national park on this trip. the weather just is too cold and rainy/snowy for camping, and we added days to stay in the tetons and want to stay on track to get to LA at the end of the month. it wasn't worth the risk of not getting good hikes in because of the weather, and being caught on icy and dangerous roads. i want to go to glacier next summer before the warm season is over - and do it right next time. we're a little disappointed, but i think it makes sense for our travel plans and being able to see leah before she heads back to MA on the 15th.

hope everyone back home is doing well and miss you all!

somewhere, in middle america

so this is the first opportunity i've had to turn on my computer since we stayed in iowa, and the first night in i think 4 nights to not be sleeping in our wonderful tent. we are spending the night at a random motel in riverton, wyoming, probably the biggest town we've passed through the state today. it's on the outskirts of wind river indian reservation, about 3 hours away from grand teton national park. we didn't have this park in our plans originally, and were going straight to yellowstone. however, we decided it's definitely worth spending a couple days at, especially because we may be cutting short our stay in glacier because of weather and some campgrounds being closed already for the summer season. things aren't set in stone yet, so stay tuned! :) it's been hard to get internet access - and my phone hasn't been able to access the internet either. but, that's what i want for this trip - to be unplugged and able to enjoy the moment and what is around me. i really dislike being tied to the computer and my phone, and this trip has already opened my eyes (well, since studying abroad) to the freedom of being disconnected from electronic devices. we've also been doing almost all of the trip without a GPS - we are using directions we had made for us from AAA (the travel store) and have maps of every state including a large US map. it's been wonderful. we don't really worry about the time or the date - and have been fully enjoying all of the views, drives, night skies, sunsets, open prairies, mountains, hikes, campgrounds - everything. below i've pasted and put some captions to a random assortment of photos so far from our drive through iowa, nebraska, and south dakota, our trip to the badlands and wind cave national park, and then our drive through wyoming today. they start with then newest first. i'll probably post more photos to my facebook tonight or the next time i'm online :) hope you enjoy! it's incredible out here, there's just so much land and every time we leave somewhere, it's only with the realization that we will be going somewhere even more amazing next.

sunset this evening in wyoming on our way to a motel. this is the sun setting over boysen reservoir.
the reservoir.
canyons of wyoming. amazing.
driving in wyoming. incredibly windy roads that seem to go on forever.

our new national park service friends, joe and dan, who requested by yelling kevin's name out of their pick-up truck, to play them a song. it was quite interesting! people out here are friendly.
some cave formations in wind cave, we took a guided tour since it was the only way to go down into the caves and actually walk through some of the 134-mile long cave system underground! we learned wind cave is the first cave to be a national park solely to protect the caves. pretty awesome.
me hanging out in my hammock (finally using my costa rican purchase!) at our campsite at wind cave. my new home is set up in the left corner :)

"caution: buffalo are dangerous do not approach" - just passing by a bison/buffalo on our drive in to wind cave. insane! it was the 3rd we saw on just the drive, and then we had to circle one while on a hike in the park the next day.

my corrolla has been holding up so far- it's covered with bugs in the front if you can't tell :)

kevin and i getting our posing photo at mt. rushmore. it was cool to see this up close- the faces of our past presidents are really detailed! it was definitely worth the trip and $ to see it.

getting my zen on out in the badlands on a hike where you see "danger: rattlesnakes" signs on every trail. the formations out here are insane - most of them crumble when you try to climb or even just touch them! they are constantly being eroded from natural elements.

cookin' veggies and potatoes for a hearty breakfast at our campground in the badlands. somehow we managed to cook with insane winds.

sun setting as we approached out campsite at the badlands national park in south dakota. stunning landscapes - it was desolate out there but absolutely beautiful in its own way. i've never seen anything like it before!

the open road of somewhere, in middle america.
a random town in middle america- somewhere in nebraska, since we drove through almost all of the middle of the state. it was like a ghost town out of a movie!

it's so windy in iowa that my hair got caught in the door when it slammed shut from the wind! this is me trying to make a sad face while cracking up. i know, typical.

more wind farms!

chicago and drive to iowa

Above are some photos of downtown Chicago, which we spent basically all of Wednesday walking. We went to Millennium Park and a bunch of iconic places in Chicago, but didn't get to go up the Sears (now Willis) Tower. I love that city!

Me with the giant bean in the park, there were so many tourist there! It was fun to get this pictures though :)

Chicago theater, we sat outside a cafe across the street and it was a perfect photo opp.

This is the sunset we drove into on the way to Des Moines, Iowa to stay with Mike for a night before our drive to the Badlands. It wasn't too bad of a drive, really beautiful scenery through Illinois, including the huge wind farm that we passed. I drove most of the way, and then for the remaining hour or two got to sit passenger and do some reflecting and writing. The huge open sky on the road is really inspiring, and I attempted to write some poetry and potentially lyrics about it.

The wind farm in Illinois that extends for quite a while. Pretty awesome. We need more renewables!

I will post more about the trip soon- I'm exhausted and we have a 10+ hour drive tomorrow to the Badlands in SD to meet Leah and Tiffany. We'll be starting our first night camping for the next couple weeks across to Seattle! Hope everyone back home is doing well :)

driving into the sunset

Today consisted of waking up to Rosebud's delicious homemade banana bread, breakfast on the roof (picture below!), the rock and roll hall of fame, and then driving westward across Indiana and changing time zones to get to Chicago! The picture to the left is driving on I-90 west through Indiana, which took a couple hours or so, and the sunset colors were amazing. It was kind of cool to drive into the sunset going westwards because it lasted that much longer.

We're staying in Lakeview in Chicago with Kevin's friend Scott, and he lives pretty close to Lincoln Park and Wicker Park. We're having breakfast tomorrow morning with Leah and Tiffany, co-workers from PIRG, and I can't wait to see them! They are traveling cross country as well, with Seattle as their final stop since that is home for Tiffany. Since we arrived tonight in the dark, I don't really feel that aware of my surroundings yet. I've been in Chicago before for a few hours back during the college hunt period in high school, but definitely didn't get to see much of the city. I'm excited to have the next two days (or day and a half) to explore the city.

After Chicago we are staying a night in Des Moines, Iowa with Mike (a co-worker from Repower America) before heading to South Dakota for the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore and Wind Cave National Park. SD will start our northern route of camping in National Parks, before we hit Seattle. We will be stopping and camping in Yellowstone in Wyoming, and then Montana from there. I think I will be in Glacier National Park in MT on my birthday (Sep 13), which hopefully won't be too cold! From Glacier we're driving through some of Idaho to get to Washington. I'm not sure how much time we're staying in Seattle and Washington yet, as I still need to confirm a farm out on an island off the coast. In Portland, Oregon we will be staying with a friend of mine, Michelle, from studying abroad in Costa Rica. From Portland we'll go to Crater Lake, and hopefully be working on a farm beforehand for a few days or a week depending on the help they need. Then we'll be in California for a couple weeks...trying to go to as many places as we can up and down the coast and do at least one volunteer stay on a farm in southern California.

OK this is as far as I can go for now -- it's only day two and things are bound to change. I think that when we leave Chicago, it will really hit me that I'm doing this and that I'll be living out of my car for many, many weeks. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm ready for it. I'm going to be seeing our country and learning an incredible amount about myself and what America really is. There's something about the open road and the freedom that comes with it that is inspiring. Although it does make me question how our country has developed to favor automobiles and not public transportation. I do wish I was able to do this trip via trains and buses, in an affordable and convenient way.

Anyway, I tend to digress. Let me know if you have suggestions of places to visit, places to stay (for cheap or free ideally haha) or if you are going to be in any of our major destinations.

Kevin's quote of the day: "I can't believe we're actually doing this, there's something about the night-time that puts it all in perspective."

'til next time :)

The Route

This is a giant map of the US that has been in Kevin's room that outlines our trip across the country. We'll be going through around 28 states and the route has been changed from what the original map above looks like. We also have changed plans, ALREADY, go figure. We're staying another night in NJ before heading to Ohio tomorrow morning. I am a bit under the weather, and it's tough to pack a car for 2 months! We will be staying with my friend Rosemary for a night, before heading to Chicago. I wish I was going back to Columbus to say hello to friends and family - but next time!! I'm excited to hit the road tomorrow, and hoping that a good night's sleep in my own bed (for quite awhile) will have me feeling better tomorrow.

I'll be posting our itinerary soon with a better idea of when we will be in certain places as we travel :)

'til then!

4 days left on the east coast

i am embarking on a journey across and around the united states for about two months with my travel companion, kevin. we leave on sunday august 29th, and will be returning as of now at the end of october. it just might be the most daring thing i have done in my lifetime thus far. i will be spending probably close to 200 hours in my forest green "earth lover" toyota corolla and driving close to 10,000 miles across the country. this trip has been months in the making, and something i've dreamed about since high school when my dad would tell me stories of him and his college buddies piling into someone's car and taking off for a few weeks and seeing the country. i've talked to dozens of people about this road trip, and have had many different reactions, questions and concerns. yes, i'm aware it's dangerous to spend this much time with one person. no, i won't blow up my car. yes, i'll bring books and carry snacks. no, i won't be growing lettuce the entire trip. YES, WE'RE A LITTLE CRAZY.

okay, maybe really crazy. but even though we may be crazy, this trip will shape my understanding of society in america, and ideally forecast the next chapter of my life. i hope to deepen my connection to the natural world and appreciation for open spaces and preserved/protected land. i also plan to learn as much as i can about agriculture and organic farming in our country through visiting organic farms through a program called "WWOOF: World-Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms". it's basically a way to connect to organic farmers and farms across the country and world, and set up short-term or long-term stays with those farmers in order to learn what they do and provide volunteer work in exchange for free housing and food.

you pay a fee of $30 for a year to become a WWOOF member in the region/country of your choice, and have access to a search for farmers by state or area. the idea is that you contact a farmer, have a conversation over the phone or email, and decide on a length of stay and project that you would be helping with at their farm (or garden, site, center, etc). we will be only doing a few short-stays on farms in Washington, Oregon and California as there are many national parks, cities and places to visit that we want to fit into this trip. i'm excited for these visits and portion of the trip, and i may decide to work on a farm for a whole season after the trip if it seems right for me to do. i don't really know anything about how to farm, except that it is extremely difficult and takes a lot of time and patience. i know that small organic farmers in our country are consistently struggling to compete in an unfair and unequal market for their produce. i want to understand why a vision of locally-grown, healthy, and safe food for everyone is not a reality right now. i want to find out how pieces of this vision it can be put into practice. i have some big dreams for this trip, and how it will help me decide what programs i should apply to for a master's degree (and potentially doctorate) and what my next steps will be.

i also can't wait to have FUN and visit people that live far away, many whom i haven't seen in months, or years. we plan on stopping in major cities along the way and taking time out to explore and get to know different places where friends and family live. i'm especially psyched for chicago, seattle, portland, san francisco, LA/pasadena, san diego, santa fe/taos, and new orleans! i've only been in chicago for a few hours, and visited my aunt in new mexico during a trip that i can't remember much from except that it was hot and i got a beaded piece of jewelry of some sort.

finally, the biggest part of our northern route and time spent out west will be at national parks. we are visiting or camping in more than 10 parks - and will be spending a good amount of time in each of them. the big national park systems that i can't wait for are: yellowstone, glacier, olympic, redwoods, yosemite, and grand canyon. i'm craving the hiking, clean air, beauty of nature...it's going to be incredible. i've been to a few national parks during that same family trip that took me through new mex, but again - i don't remember them all that clearly. we plan to fully enjoy each park, and try not rush our time at each one.

i will do my best to post and update with pictures as often as i can, and kevin will be posting to the blog as well during the trip - so we shall hopefully have an awesome chronicle of our adventures!