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

Who Knew the Badlands were this Bad?

Before I explain how truly bad the Badlands are, I have finally been able to upload pictures.

Seattle:

Watching the sunset over Seattle

Yellowstone:

Yellowstone: the path up to Mystic Falls

From the top of the mountain we climbed in Yellowstone. The white is a geyser basin.

On the way to Mystic Falls.

The Falls.

Old Faithful not erupting...

...beginning to erupt...

...and then, erupting.

The Grand Tetons, as seen on our way out of Yellowstone.

Denver:

Our hosts.

Biking through Denver on "B Cycles"

The giant dust pan and broom at Denver Modern Art Museum with my sister.

Coors Field by bike.

Kt and I playing a little impromptu Heart and Soul downtown.

Yarn flowers on the fence noticed on the Denver bike tour.

One mile high on the capitol steps.

Mt. Evans. The Fourteener. My first.

14,258 feet.

Echo Lake from the top of Mt. Evans

Big Horn Sheep on Mt. Evans

Examining the view 14, 258 feet high

From the top with Kt and our new Denverian friend, Cody.

(In Kt's defense, it was cold. And the hat is borrowed. She does still have hair.)

We rolled out of Denver early this morning in pursuit of Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands. Yesterday we enjoyed our last day in Colorado at the Boulder Art Festival and then closed our night with Jazz in City Park. Now, sitting in a motel (yes, we were supposed to camp, I'll get to that) I'm amazed at how quickly our time in Colorado sped by. We saw so much while there and were so excited to have nice weather.

Our trip to Mt. Rushmore was uneventful as we traveled back through Wyoming to South Dakota. With a few minor hick-ups (who knew you have to pay CASH to park in Mt. Rushmore?) and the kindness of the parking lady who let us in anyways, we marveled at the faces in the mountain. First impressions? They're much higher than they appear in pictures.

We walked the short loop to get closer to the giant faces and took numerous pictures before we sat down to lunch. Though our time there was short, it was still amazing to realize I was seeing something that has become so iconic in person. It was also amazing to realize just how much time, effort, planning and money went in to the sculptures.

From there we continued east to the Badlands and reached the park just in time to set up our tent as black clouds rolled over the startling landscape we are now in. We popped our tent up in record time (4.59 minutes) threw in our sleeping bags and pillows and climbed back into the car as the first giant raindrops began to fall. As Kt and I congratulated ourselves at our marvelous timing, we watched something terrible happen: wind.

Massive and violent wind gusts began to sweep through the flat land the camp site is located in and proceeded to literally flatten our tent. Kt and I watched in shock, horror, and a somewhat comic disbelief at what was happening as poles bent straight and stakes went flying. The few tents around ours were also flattened and I began to wonder if the Wicked Witch of the West would soon be flying by on her bicycle. Thankfully, no witches were spotted and the storm blew over relatively quickly so we could survey the damage. I felt like we were back in the dub PB after a hurricane hits and all the neighbors slowly peek their heads out their doors to see what's left of the hood. The RV residents wandered over to ask if we needed help and those of us with demolished tents compared damage. Kt and I were actually very lucky with only one snapped stake, a broken pole and minor water damage to pillows and blankets. At that point we threw our hands up, took pictures of the double rainbow and looked for the nearest hotel. Which is a motel.

the beginnings...

Our spirits are far from damaged and we even managed to duct tape our pole to some semblance of working order to help our tent dry out. We will stay in our uber fancy motel tonight, enjoy the 100 year old sourdough (really?) pancake breakfast in the morning, hike the crazy landscape and decide whether to stay another night or move on early.

We are so lucky that this happened near the end of our trip when we have no other plans to camp. We are also so fortunate to have found a vacancy quickly as many people from the park left to find other accommodations.

From this point the adventure continues as we move back towards the east. Remember, it's always an adventure.

Is this thing on?

So, I know it's been awhile since my last blog, and for that I apologize. However, 28 days after we've left (ok, 26) it's getting harder to find a hot minute to upload photos and write a short note without feeling like I should be spending my time experiencing something else or resting up for the next "big thing".

Regardless of all that, Kt and I are now in Denver with my sister! As planned, we spent our last day in Seattle touring Theo's Chocolate, visiting the library, getting the oil changed and spending a few relaxing hours with Nicole. We were able to leave bright and early Tuesday morning for Yellowstone (our first on time departure) and drove through beautiful mountainous Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to the park.

Yellowstone was absolutely gorgeous and offers almost anything you could want in a national park. There are mountains, geysers, lakes, forests, and animals. As we drove in through the West entrance we saw multiple elk, and a small wolf cross the road directly in front of the car! As we checked into our campsite we were also warned to be extra careful with food and toiletries as a grizzly bear had been frequenting the grounds every 3-4 days and had not been spotted for 3 days. Sweet.

The next day we hiked the Mystic Falls Trail to the 70 ft. falls, and up to the overlook on the peak of a nearby mountain where we could see the falls and Old Faithful from afar. Once again, we found ourselves hiking a steep and narrow trail crawling over fallen trees and rocks to a beautiful view. We also returned to an altitude of over 9,000 feet for the hike and the thin air was definitely thin. Oxygen tank next time? I think so.

After descending we, of course, had to watch Old Faithful erupt. We joined the masses waiting (though we were smart enough NOT to wait for 91 minutes for front row seats) and watched as Old Faithful went from a small steaming dirt pile to a quite impressive geyser. That night we kept our eyes peeled for bison and other animals but instead saw only more elk. After building our quite necessary fire (it got down to 30!) we called it a night and shivered through a long, cold (remember, it was 30) sleepless night. Luckily we never did see that grizzly.

We left in the morning stopping for pictures in the Grand Tetons and Shoshone Lake, and I constantly marveled at how startlingly beautiful Wyoming was, as well as how much construction we drove through on the road to Denver. After a quick stop at the Loaf 'n Jug for a coffee, we rolled into Denver and my sister's house. Kt and I were thankful for a warm place to sleep (as in, not 30 degrees) and showers before she met up with friends, and I went to dinner with my sister, her new fiance and other friends.

Friday we rented bikes as part of the bike share program and toured Denver in style. With only a few minor crashes, two brewery stops, a drive by the museum, the capitol (where we climbed to a mile high), gellato and an impromptu duet on the painted downtown pianos we parked the bikes and voted them the best way to see the city. Today we drove to Mt. Evans and hiked to the peak to reach our highest altitude yet of 14,258 feet.

Once again pictures must wait as uploading is not happening right now. We'll be here until Monday morning when we leave for South Dakota. I'll be doing my best to keep the gaps between posts shorter, but with such a full schedule no promises will be made. We still have 2 weeks until we return to WPB and we are still seeing and doing all we imagined.