Welcome to my traveling journal

Well I've started my journey across country...

left Seattle on August 10th for a tour of I-5 and my relatives:
drove to Portland for lunch with my Grandma, Aunt Jan and cousin, Erika
drove to Eugene to see my other Grandma and Grandpa
drove to Sacramento to see my Uncle Jim
drove to Redlands to see my sister, Colleen, and brother-in-law, JuanJo

Adam, my boyfriend, met me there and we departed for our cross-country trip on August 13th:
As you know Adam and I are pretty active...it's been 5 days of 10 mile hikes with one rest day today. I sure am tired. I'll try to figure out how to put the pictures in, but here's what we've been up to.

first stop: Sedona, Arizona
beautiful red rock formations
amazing hikes
lunch in Flagstaff at Mountain Oasis (I highly recommend it.)


second stop: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
camp on the South Rim (kind of crowded)
hiked to the bottom of the canyon (3.5 hours for 7 miles all downhill)
dinner at Phantom Ranch
weathered 3 thunderstorms in a tent (I recommend staying in the bunkhouse or cabins.)
hiked out of the canyon (5.5 hours for 10 miles all uphill)
www.nps.gov/grca/

third stop: Zion National Park, Utah
yummy dinner at the lodge
good campground
hiked Angel's Landing (a little scary but awesome views)
hiked to the lodge for lunch via the Emerald Pools
hiked up the Narrows (amazing walk up the river within the canyon)
www.nps.gov/zion/

fourth stop: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
good campground (much colder at the higher elevation)
ran the rim to look at the hoodoos (running hills is tough at high elevation and after being on deployment)
www.nps.gov/brca/

fifth stop: Arches National Park, Utah
amazing rocks
hiked to Double Arch
hiked to Landscape Arch
hiked to Double O Arch (my favorite)
ate dinner at Moab Brewery in Moab, Utah (same owner as the McCal Idaho Brewery, definately worth the stop, quite possibly the best spinach salad ever!)
www.nps.gov/arch/

sixth stop: Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
good campground
very neat guided tours of the cliff dwellings (Cliff Palace and Balcony House)
www.nps.gov/meve/

seventh stop: Durango, Colorado
via the 4 corners (neat to say I was in 4 states at once and worth the $3 picture, but not very pretty)
finally took a real shower (yes I was a bit greasy and stinky but that's what happens when you camp. I did take one coin operated shower at Bryce so it wasn't a 5 day stretch!)
ate some great north new mexican food at Gazpacho
got back on the internet...I was feeling deprived.

So that's it for now. I have to say that I love vacation. The Southwest is pretty neat. It's not as hot as I thought it would be and I actually like the dry heat. Adam and I will be hiking in Colorado for the next few days...trying our feet and lungs at some 14,000 feet peaks and managing to fit in 2 more national parks.


I hope you're all enjoying your summer. Feel free to email me comments on how to improve this blog.