Kt Strikes Again

Kt hunting wildlife hoping for a photo opportunity on our way into Yellowstone

(she sat like this for about an hour and a half).

As I've mentioned before, it's nice to be traveling with Kt to share perspectives, thoughts and opinions about the places we've been. Once again, Kt took a moment to reflect on our trip thus far and here is how she sees it:

Painted Pot in Yellowstone

California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Wyoming again, and South Dakota…. When I’m cringing at my credit card statements this month I will be doing it with a smile on my face. It’ll look weird. Worth it.

Four weeks ago Emily and I were sleepily checking into our New Orleans hotel, the first of our stops on this journey we’ve been enjoying so much. It seems so long ago I was drooling over my first sight of the Mississippi and now I, after taking a full loop around the contiguous United States, we are not far from the mouth of Ole Miss. It is pretty surreal.

The Red Floor in Seattle's Public Library

Now I write this from yet another hotel room, this one unplanned. The Lord has blessed us with a safe trip (regardless of crazy Mount Rushmore drivers trying to run us off the road) and agreeable weather… until today. The hurricane-like winds that nearly destroyed my father’s tent (whoops) didn’t quite ruin our night, but it did change the pace a bit. After a little recon, we decided to retreat to a lovely 1980’s style room in the Budget Motel. We did get to see a bit of the unique and bizarre Badlands of South Dakota before calling it a day.

The Badlands

Two weeks ago we were living the high life (literally) at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental in San Francisco. It was on the Top of the Mark, a point where two roads intersect on top of a very windy hill with a stunning view of the city. California was not quite what I expected (mostly the chilly to cold to very cold weather as we ascended up the coast) but the desert, the visit with Tommy (thanks again!), the Haight (yessssss), the wine and the redwoods were well worth the hit it took on my wallet.

Yellowstone by sunset

Last week we were kicking Nicole out of her bed a fourth and final time in beautiful Seattle. I cannot express in words how much I enjoyed that city and the company it provided. The Pike’s Place Market was reason enough to love the city. It was a fabulous mix of fresh everything (from flowers to seafood to vendors, HEY-O!), funky street music, and life-loving crowds… I’ll take two of each, please! After a lengthy stay in Seattle, I give it two thumbs up and cordially ask Nicole when I may intrude on her again.

Yellowstone was big, cold, and beautiful. Much to my dismay I only saw one bison, but it certainly quenched my appetite (if only for a day or two) of buffalo-viewing and made me text 30 people “I JUST SAW A BISON!!!!” I hope to see more tomorrow at Custer. Denver was also a long visit (props to Christina and Dave for keeping it real and letting us commandeer their living room for almost a fortnight) and a much appreciated one. It was perfect seeing multiple friends (great times Andrea, Brian, Jeff, and Tim!) and meeting new ones. The city is beautiful and it’s surroundings are icing on the cake (multiple 14ers (one we hiked), beautiful Boulder, and of course, the Rockies (that John Denver’s full of ****, man!))! Woah, punctuation mark overload.

That about brings us up to date. (Oh, Joshua Tree was brief but smashing. I shall return one day.) Tomorrow we scour Custer for bison and beauty and then we’ll cruise back into central time for a night before making it back to the east coast for a little train tour to Philly, New York, and D.C. The journey continues…

our drive through the Badlands

As Kt Sees it, Too

Biking to Hermit's Rest

Toto, we are not in the Grand Canyon anymore. I know I've been camping when I wake up and feel almost out of place in a bed between four walls. It's wonderful to know we're going to continue on this journey and I can't even imagine what adventures are still ahead, but as the GC was our longest stay thus far, I feel like a big piece of this trip (for me) will always be there. Then again, considering I tripped down Kaibab Trail and skinned my knees, I guess I really did leave a piece of me there.

See the dust on my knees? They bled first, and now are purple. Sweet.

Being on this trip with Kt has definitely been one of the most fun parts. Though we are seeing beautiful things that would be beautiful regardless of the circumstances, it's nice to be with someone who seems to appreciate them as much as you do. Kt's love for history and time is especially interesting as we see things that are significant to our past, society, and country. She also seems to be much better at communicating her feelings, while for the purposes of this blog, I'm trying to stick to events. Last night as we tried to cozy up our Safari Motor Inn room (and by cozy up I mean facebooked, blogged, and took advantage of indoor plumbing and electric sockets) Kt wrote this:

Joshua Tree, Safari Motor Inn, Room 106

I’m having trouble putting the past 10 days into words. It really can’t be done. I’ll do my best to catalogue our journey, but I know it won’t even be half as inspiring as the things we’ve seen and done these last few days.

During Kt's awesome 14 hour drive from NM to AZ.

What we’ve seen so far:

New Orleans, the bayou (that’s what I’m telling myself it was), Houston, San Antonio (the Alamo and Riverwalk… I dug ‘em), numerous desert mountains (some rocky, some foresty, some sandy, all scary), Carlsbad Caverns, multiple national parks and forests, Route 66, the Grand Canyon (and it is), Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott (10/10), California state line, the road into Joshua Tree, and one SWEET $40/night motel!

See what I mean? It’s a little much just reading the list myself… it’s even more difficult to express what it’s actually like! So, for now, I’ll just highlight some of my favorites.

In addition to being constantly floored by the astounding beauty that makes up our country, I was a little surprised at how much I am into the wildlife! Emily, not so much, but for me seeing a wild animal is like the most potent natural drug! The first one I spotted was on the long drive from Carlsbad to the Grand Canyon. During about hour 13.5 (for some reason I decided to drive the entire 14 hour stretch) I spotted an enormous elk literally 3 feet off the winding mountain road! It was also pitch black as it was 10:30pm. My reaction was the biggest gasp I’ve ever gasped followed by 6 straight minutes of “I can’t BELIEVE I just saw that!” and “OH MY GOSH!” My adrenaline was going so fast I thought I should pull over. Luckily Emily saw the next one (an even bigger one!) with me and was able to share in the experience.

At the Grand Canyon campsite I saw another elk (thanks to our friendly campsite neighbors pointing the way) in the woods and as if that wasn’t enough the Lord blessed us with an amazing opportunity of seeing two of them crossing the road not 15 feet from us during our drive to view the canyon at sunset! Naturally I took 152 pictures (2 of which aren’t blurry). The natural sites (Carlsbad, the Grand Canyon, etc.) are beyond words (at least for me) so I’ll leave that description to Emily’s blog and the pictures I’ll (one day) post. (I promise I’ll post more pictures, but it might not be until the trip is over… there are so many!

One of many ravens. This picture makes it look far smaller than in reality.

The other animal “encounter” that floored me was last night, our final night in the Grand Canyon. As Emily and I sat talking in our tent, layering on clothes for the chill of the mountain evening, we heard something that I have only heard in movies. COYOTES! There had to be at least 5 or 6 of them and they were probably only 100 yards away! They started off howling and then a series of barks accompanied the howls. It lasted all of 30 seconds, but it may as well have been 30 minutes. It was very Stand By Me! It was also eerie, amazing, beautiful, terrifying, thrilling, shocking, exciting, and glorious! I felt like God sent us a little treat for out last night in northern Arizona. I truly cannot describe in words (or any other medium) what that experience meant to me. Something about the animals out here just make me come alive! I called for mountain lions and bobcats the ENTIRE time we were there but, alas, I saw none. Next time.

Taking a break to eat while biking.

We’ve been told that if seeing wild animals is what I dig then I’d love Yellowstone, so naturally we’ll be staying 2 nights there instead of the previously planned 1. I’m looking forward to seeing some bison! Also, I’ll be scouring the earth for moose, more elk, and of course bears (black and grizzly). Please note that while I may come packed with a little extra crazy, I have no intention of approaching any of these amazing creatures if I’m so lucky to see them! Well, probably not.

Tomorrow we leave for San Diego and a stint of our trip along the coast of California in which we’ll take a short hiatus from camping. The transfer from making coffee on a propane stove to ordering it in Starbucks will probably be a nice break. As Emily so eloquently noted, it’ll be nice to wake up and relieve ourselves in a bathroom 10 feet away rather than hiking up a sandy mountain road with only a lantern to guide our chilly path. If only we could hear the coyotes again it’d make this night perfect.

GC sunset.

Guest Blogger: Kt

We left NOLA around 11:30 after grabbing another cafe au lait and headed towards I 10W. Our plan was to stop in Baton Rouge for lunch but it quickly changed and instead we headed for the riverfront where Kt promptly summed up Baton Rouge with one word: snore. As I continue driving west, Kt reflected on our trip thus far. Here are Kt's words:

My mind is full and seems to be leaking words. What do I expect to experience in the coming weeks? I’m not quite sure. I look forward to not knowing. Up next: Houston. Then, it’s off San Antonio to see the Alamo which will be followed by Carlsbad, New Mexico to see some of the most famed caverns in the world. Flagstaff, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon will be next… Day 3 and it seems like we’ve been gone a month and a day at the same time. It still doesn’t seem real. Light rain threatens our view of Louisiana’s heartland. It’s bare anyway.

More than anything I can’t wait to see the desert. I appreciate it’s wonder better than I did a few years back, but I know my knowledge of it will be nothing compared to what I’ll see with my own eyes in a few days. I’m overflowing with anticipation. Will it be what I expect? I have a feeling it’ll be infinitely more. It makes me smile with the excitement of a child taking his first trip to Disney World. Except I’ll see more sand and less creepy adults dressed like treasured cartoon characters.

New Orleans was magnificent. My favorite part was seeing the Mississippi. I think of it’s significance in time and in my life. It makes me feel small in a good way. My first impression was one of amazement. ”THAT is a river.” I dipped my toes in it. What else will my feet touch along this journey? The sands of the Painted Desert, the Pacific Ocean, the fallen leaves of the redwood forests…

Welcome to Texas!

We just crossed the state border and the rain has graduated to a watery blizzard. I’ve never been to Texas, have I? Childhood memories of a family trip to Oklahoma play hide-and-seek with my recollection. Either way, we just passed a livestock weigh station. Yep, we’re in Texas. See you in a couple hours, Uncle John!

In just a few weeks we’ll be home and this journey will be over. But in a way it’ll just be starting. My memories and reflections of this trip will last my whole life. Pictures I can only take in my mind are what I’ll hold dearest. Talks with old and new friends, strangers from our stops and with my own thoughts will serve as my tour guide along this path that I’ll likely only travel once. And that’ll be enough for me.