Pictures are worth a thousand words.

I've been having so much fun in Seattle that blogging has been semi-far from my mind. We are staying in the Capital Hill neighborhood and filling ourselves with coffee and the sights this city has to offer. We are here until Tuesday morning and then leave for Yellowstone. Tomorrow we're hoping to tour Theo's Chocolate Factory, visit the library, attend a cupping at Stumptown and get an oh so glamorous oil change. As promised here are a few pictures until I update more thoroughly.

Napa:

Vineyards alongside the road

Champagne tasting in Chandon

The Redwoods:

Jedidah Smith River which we hiked along

Big old trees along our hike

That's Kt on the path. It's all about perspective.

A fallen Redwood along our hiking path.

Enjoying a Ranger beer back at our camp site. Also wearing a hoodie, coat, and scarf.

Reading a little Ferlinghetti by the fire.

Portland:

We stopped for lunch at Deschutes Brewery and then saw Everett Station. Made me miss Everett just a bit.

SEATTLE!

Pike's Place Market.

Fresh fruit abounds....

...and flowers.

A little music in front of the original Starbucks.

A view from our lunch stop on the roof.

After lunch we walked over to the SAM Sculpture Garden that looks over the water and watched the cruise ships leave.

View of the Needle from the garden.

Skyline from the water tower in Volunteer Park.

Welcome to Oregon!

We just crossed the border from Cali to Oregon and I am ready for this new state. We were in California over a week, the longest of our stays.

After San Francisco we continued to Napa with a short stop in Berkeley. We drove through campus via multiple bike paths (oops, again) and then continued to our Petaluma KOA. Napa did not disappoint as the sun shone (still cool) and rolling hills covered with vineyards greeted us. The median overflowed with flowering bushes and our KOA came equipped with a petting zoo that housed miniature ponies. We visited two vineyards, and Chandon was my favorite. We drove beside the vineyard, and then walked over a wooden bridge through the park to get to the tasting room. Kt joined the wine club which meant we received two free champagne tastings (sparkling wine since we aren't in France) and a massive discount. Let's just say the champagne was not too shabby and we left with our fair share.

From Chandon we headed North to Crescent City where we spent the next two nights. We arrived with just enough daylight left to set up our tent and bundle up before dinner and bed. Our campsite was surrounded by Redwoods and the most wooded of our sites yet. Of course, there were also massive bear warnings as one had been recently spotted. I almost slept with my bear whistle, but I was a little concerned about strangulation from the string. Instead, I slept with 2 pairs of pants, socks, 2 shirts, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf, then wrapped myself in a blanket before crawling into my thermal sleeping bag. Thankfully, the sun came out the next morning and after a quick breakfast at The Good Harvest and gathering a few provisions we headed excitedly off to hike the Boy Scout Trail. Except, it was closed for maintenance. We opted instead for the Hiouchi Trail and hiked to Stout Memorial Grove alongside the Jedidiah Smith River. It was a beautiful hike to the biggest trees I've ever seen, complete with ferny undergrowth, speckled sunlight, and gurgling creeks. Once back at camp, we conjured some massive flames to stay warm and roasted 'mallows with our hot chocolate, before layering up for the night.

We headed out early this morning, northward to Portland then Seattle where we will stay with my good friend Nicole. I'm very excited to see both!

Almost as soon as we passed the border the temperature went from 51 to 74. The sun is shining, and I'm only wearing one shirt....

Oregon, I think we'll get along fine.

Pictures will be posted soon with a better connection.

The White Automobile

San Francisco.

Two weeks ago today we were still on our way northwest than south towards NOLA. Today we are as far west as we go. San Francisco is a beautiful city, but the cold windy weather and the lack of sun have dampened my spirits a bit. It seemed weird to be wearing hooded sweat shirts (over 3 layers), scarves and gloves on the 4th of July. Perhaps it's our nonstop schedule that has really affected me today. Of course I'm still thrilled to be doing this and excited of all that waits ahead for us, but the wailing of the wind outside our 6th floor hotel room is a little off putting.

Yesterday we went to City Lights Bookstore where I was quite satisfied to finally be. We also took a boat ride under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz.

We planned to watch fireworks from the top floor restaurant in our hotel, but after an hour and half wait and being somehow bumped down the list by two groups, we bailed. Instead we headed to the nearest corner store, grabbed some Fat Tire and sat on the side of a street where our view of the fireworks was this:

Today we rode a cable car to the Haight and walked approximately 49 blocks to Haight-Ashbury. We shopped, stopped at a local pub and walked through Golden Gate and Alamo Parks before heading back to our hotel via taxi.

While in City Lights, I sat reading one of Allen Ginsberg's poems that seemed especially fitting (minus the undertones) for this trip, called The Green Automobile. In it Ginsberg writes:

We'd pilgrimage to the highest mount

of our earlier Rocky Mountain visions

laughing in each other's arms,

delight surpassing the highest Rockies...

Tomorrow we head to Napa via Berkeley, where the temperature will hopefully hit 70.

3 days, 5 cities...

Joshua Tree

Thursday morning Kt and I woke up bright and early ready to visit Joshua Tree National Park and head to San Diego. Before we left to explore the park we stopped in at the wonderfully tasty and inspiringly hippie Crossroads Cafe for breakfast. I think Kt wished she lived in Joshua Tree just so she could be a regular there. With local artwork hung on the walls, a coffeehouse/bar vibe, and nice fluffy pancakes, we were sold.

Due to the heat and our desire to get to San Diego before it got too late, we didn't hike much, but instead drove through the scenic loop and stopped for pictures. We also repeatedly expressed gratitude that we were not camping as there was NO shade and tents were literally backed up against boulders in the heat of the day. Joshua Tree is definitely a place I would like to return with more time and cooler weather. The rocks are ridiculous, looking more like giant (really giant) pebbles stacked into dirt piles, than mountains (which I guess they are), and the night sky is unbelievable. I literally watched the stars twinkle and repeatedly compared them to what I've seen only in a planetarium.

We got in to San Diego around 3 where we stayed with our friend Tommy for the next two nights. Tommy proved to be a great tour guide and had a list of fun things for us to do in the city. That night we went to the famous San Diego Zoo and saw lions and tigers and bears, oh my! (and elephants, pandas, koalas, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, gorillas, etc etc etc). I tried some of my evasive bear attack techniques and I'm happy to report I think I am now prepared for Yellowstone as I clearly escaped the zoo unscathed. We stayed until dark and then went to the Gaslamp District for dinner.

La Jolla

Friday we planned to go kayaking in the La Jolla caves, but due to wave heights we instead drove to another part of La Jolla to see the sea lions and then on to Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, and Pacific Beach. Once home we went to the Padres game where we stuffed ourselves, enjoyed a win, and watched fireworks. Tommy also got to meet Cheech Marin who was eating lunch where we were.

Padres game with Tommy

This morning Kt and I got back in the car to drive up the coast towards San Fran. We took the PCH most of the way up stopping for In-N-Out Burger, an Elephant Seal sighting, the Whale Watcher Cafe, and a beach along the way. We, of course, also made a quick stop to put flowers in our hair. The drive was beautiful, but different than I expected in a few ways: 1. Though I expected the road to be along the beach and with cliffs, I did not expect winding, nauseating roads reminiscent of Arizona's Coconino Forest; 2. It is COLD! 3. It was foggy/smoggy most of the way here due to the marine layer (I thought Cali was sunny); 4. IT'S COLD (highs in the 60's)! 5. It's surprisingly similar what I imagine Ireland/England to look like.

Elephant Seals

We arrived to San Fran, where it is even colder and windy, and drove around the block about 4 times before finding our hotel. After driving up the same extremely steep hills, screaming the whole way as we rolled back at each stoplight (remember Clueless when Dion gets on the highway?), but finally arrived at the beautiful Mark Hopkins InterContinental. This is by far our biggest splurge, but I have to admit, it feels nice.

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! Think of me and light a sparkler or blow something colorful up in my honor tomorrow. We are on day 14 and approximately 3500 miles from home...but still loving this moment.

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.

And then there were pictures:

This morning we packed up our Grand Canyon campsite, waved goodbye, and headed south to Joshua Tree via Sedona. I will definitely miss Arizona and the GC especially.

Yesterday after we finished up our laundry, Kt and I hiked down South Kaibab Trail. It was such a beautiful and, at times, intimidating hike. We literally hiked into the canyon on a path that was at times no more than 3 feet wide without a rail. Due to some mapping issues, we miscalculated our distance and didn't go quite as far as planned, which was probably a good thing considering how steep the climb back up was. Remember that invincible feeling I mentioned? Imagine looking down and seeing birds flying below you. Make a little more sense now? The hike trumped our bike ride and was equally as intense, though I didn't urge Kt to leave me behind this time.

Last night as we lay in our tent waiting to fall asleep, we heard wailing that turned to howling and barking about 100 yds from our tent. Kt and I froze as we realized it was coyotes. Definitely gave us goosebumps (I had to hold Kt back from trying to get a picture). I got a little nervous because I hadn't planned on a coyote attack, but luckily they didn't come closer.

This afternoon after passing through the truly jaw dropping red rocks of Sedona we decided to head on to Prescott for lunch. Based on a recommendation from our friend Eddie, we stopped at the Prescott Brewing Company. By far, best meal yet. We also drove through the small mountain town of Jerome that sits on the top peak of a mountain. Though tiny (I guessed 35 people lived there, but I guess it's closer to 350) it houses multiple artists and wineries and was voted the "wickedest town of the west" in 1903.

From there, we drove out into the desert and into the 111 degree heat as we crossed California's state line. We are now tucked into our motel in Joshua Tree (ditched camping when we realized how hot it would be) and will check out the park tomorrow before we head to San Diego.

As promised, here is a sprinkling of pictures. Between the 4 cameras Kt and I have, these are only mine. Once we get more settled (or back home) we will try to consolidate, but for now, enjoy!

New Mexico Campsite KOA

Kt outside Carlsbad National Park after we went into the caverns.

The mouth of the caverns that we hiked into. We went 800 feet down.

In the Caverns

Leaving NM. Grabbed a map and some coffee.

The Indian Reservation we accidentally drove through.

Somewhere between NM and Arizona

Arizona!

First stop: Petrified Forest

Painted Desert=Beauty

Grand Canyon Site 148

The dog sized ravens attacked our water jug, pecked holes in it and drained it.

Kt cooking....or sitting by the stove.

First look of the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon at sunset

Psalm 68, Hermit's Rest (where we biked)

Kt hunting elk...

...found one.

Our bikes.

Hiking Kaibab. At the top.

Looking down Kaibab.

Made it to Ooh Aah Point.

Looking back up. I'm in red (the dot) in the middle of the picture.

Back at the top, feeling like champs.

The Really Loooooong Post

Doing laundry at the Grand Canyon is far more fun than laundry in West Palm. As I sit and listen to the whir of the washing machines and the gentle hum of the driers I feel as if nothing can touch me. As we hoped, Sunday was a relaxing day. We grocery shopped, recharged, fixed the problem with the car chargers (2 blown fuses, who knew?) and backed into a car at the gas station. It's always an adventure, remember?

Once back at site 148 we made some dinner, situated ourselves and found an elk wandering through the woods behind our site. Turns out those huge deer I mentioned seeing on our way up the mountain were actually elk. That explains their girth. Kt LOVES all the animals we are seeing. She has chased down multiple ravens, elk, and squirrels for pictures who seem less than thrilled about their photo-ops. I'm exaggerating a little, I don't think she actually took a picture of the squirrel.

Later, we went to the rim of the canyon for a pink and orange sunset passing two more elk that were within 10 feet of the car. As we sat on the edge, feet dangling precariously close to the 300 foot drop, we quietly waited among people of all nations for the sun to fall below the rocks and drop the sky down to a lavender blue. Talk about feeling invincible.

As the sky dimmed from purple, to deep blue we attempted to go back to our campsite. I managed only to drive to the exit twice before finally finding the way back. This has become a normal occurrence for me as the signs here are less than par. Nonetheless, we did make it back and quickly started our fire, made s'mores and drank a Grand Canyon Ale. The neighbors we alienated the night before by hammering our tent stakes in at midnight, wandered over and managed to forgive us as we shared our fire. Ironically, they were also from Florida and one of them even frequents the Port St. Lucie Walmart where we made our first stop. They gave us some good tips for Yellowstone and even left us with a gift of their extra camping supplies (thanks Micheal and Alex!). They also gave us the suggestion of biking to Hermit's Rest, which is a trail restricted to shuttles, pedestrians and bicyclists.

We woke up refreshed Monday morning and rented bikes as suggested. After loading them onto the shuttle, we were dropped off at Hopi Point and began our 5 mile ride to the end at Hermit's Rest where we would be picked up. This really is one of the most amazing things I have ever done or seen. (Do I keep saying that?) The GC is bigger than any picture shows and dwarfs everything near it, including people, cars, rivers and rafts. Every point provides a different perspective that is equally impressive.

We made it safely to Hermit's Rest and hiked about a quarter mile down before turning around. Traveling into the canyon changes your perspective again as dots become trees and bushes, and rock formations seen from afar become ledges and turns in the trail. Once back to the top we decided to ride back to Hopi Point instead of waiting there. What we didn't realize was most of the ride had been downhill. Uphill is not as fun. We walked the bikes a few times and at one point I heard myself telling Kt to save herself, one of us needed to make it out alive. Turns out we both did.

We crawled into bed early last night and plan on hiking the Kaibab trail this afternoon. Tomorrow we pack up and head towards Joshua Tree. I think it will be hard to leave the beauty we found here, but I know there is more waiting for us.

***I know I keep promising pictures, but my internet signal is too weak to upload right now. Patience! Also a big congratulations to my sister who got engaged this past weekend. Congratulations!