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 :)