there's a itchy-scratchy monster sneaking up my throat...

So to take a quick break from the laborious process of recounting this past summer, I have to say that being sick is awful, but knowing you are ABOUT TO GET SICK is almost worse. I awoke today feeling stuffy and a little out of it, but shrugged it off to a poor night's sleep. As the day progressed, my throat became more sore and now it is ragingly painful. Otherwise I have no symptoms, besides general fatigue/achy. To top this off, tomorrow is my first day of work at a new job! (Trader Joe's). I am trying to think positive and bolster my immunity with healthy thoughts.
On another note, I recently saw "My Bloody Valentine" in glorious 3-D. The ticket was close to $15, but I have to say it was more of a cinematic "experience" than most films nowadays. Sure, it played the 3-D gimmick for all it was worth, but isn't that what my hard-earned (or in this case boyfriend's) hard earned money is for? I mean, how often does one get to dodge a pick axe flying at their face, or cringe as some poor teen's blood drips off the screen? Cinema at its best folks. The only downside is that I may need a small fortune to see all these 3-D movies coming out soon.

Highlights and Memories

Tornado Alley
On our way from our first hotel to Colorado, we started noticing a very ominous looking sky. We gave our folks a call, more as a joke than anything else, to ensure tornadoes were not in the forecast. However, it turns out that there were lots of them, all around us, and headed straight for us. We pulled into a gas station to get Quizno's and see what was up. As my sandwich is being made, Jay is putting gas in the car, which he says was literally tilting off the ground with the wind. My sandwich is taking an eternity to roll through the toaster, and I catch glimpses of a TV with a radar map of the area, covered in bright red dots, with a rolling WARNING banner across the bottom of the screen. Then, a truck with yellow sirens pulls up. The driver, a storm-chaser tells Jay and all others to "get out of here right now and go east or south". Sheer panic sets in and all the occupants of the gas station, minus the poor Quiznos workers, scream and run flailing to their cars. My sub finally rolls out of the toaster and I pace...should I just leave it? I pay the kid at the register and run to the car, beginning to seriously freak out when I see the sky and feel the wind. I call my dad, who tells me there is indeed a hell of a storm where we are headed. We follow a road which turns into a dirt road, and end up in a field where the grass is literally bent over sideways, like something out of the movie Twister...not where we want to be. Finally we find our way to an east-heading highway and check into a motel in Salina, Kansas. All the ground floor rooms are taken, of course, save for a smoking room. The desk person tells me to get in the shower, as there are no basements. The TV is telling us to seek shelter, so in a fit of complete hysteria I sit in the shower for several minutes, which only made me more distraught. Eventually, we put on "Good Will Hunting" and watched it amidst very loud thunder and wind. I awake to find my car in one piece, and our trip officially under way.

Rocky Mountain National Park
We got a gorgeous campsite in Moraine Park Campground with a clear view of Long's Peak. We did several great hikes, one of which, Bierstadt lake, we saw a female moose and two young moose. Lots of Elk as well. A drive up Trail Ridge road gave us a glimpse into the tundra- there are few places you can drive at 13,000 + feet and get out to take a stroll.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison
We did an awesome 7 mile out and back hike on the north rim's North Vista Trail. We could see 3 mountain ranges from the top of Green Mountain. We drove down into the canyon (frightening and incredible) and camped at East Portal campground. We saw a huge Bullsnake, mule deer, hawks.

Arches National Park
Words cannot describe this otherworldy landscape. We did the classic Delicate Arch hike, windows loop and Double Arch hike. It was fun to scramble up the sandstone. We watched a gorgeous sunset gradually turn the stone a myriad of colors. We went mountain biking on the Klondike Bluffs Trail near Moab. It was very tough but had great views of the area, as well as dinosaur tracks frozen in the stone.

Canyonland National Park
We saw an amazing lookout point in the "Island of the Sky" where the Green and Colorado rivers converge. We did several fun, short hikes to Mesa Arch, Upheaval Dome and Cave Spring. We did an overnight venture into the Needles, amazing rock-spire formations. After leaving our heavy packs at camp, we endured a rough climb up to Druid Arch, but it was well worth it.

more to come...

Documenting the Summer

So, while I was planning this major escapade last summer, I found very few references that incorporated a large-scale roadtrip like I was planning on taking. So, since I did not have the luxury of keeping a blog while travelling, I thought I would post a brief summary of me and Jay's travels here, for whoever would need it, and for myself when I start forgetting its splendor. I'll start with an itinerary of the whole trip:

May 24, 2008: Left Cleveland, OH/Slept near St. Louis
May 25: St.Louis to Salina, KS (stopped by army of tornadoes)
May 26: Salina to Boulder, CO to Rocky Mountain National Park
May 27-30: Moraine Park Campground, RMNP
May 30-31: Aspen, CO
May 31-June 1: Crawford State Park, CO
June 1-2: East Portal Campground, Black Canyon of the Gunnison
June 2: Grand Junction, CO to Arches NP, UT
June 2-4: Devil's garden campgrounds, Arches NP
June 4-8: Moab, UT
June 8: Squaw Flat Campground, Canyonlands NP, UT
June 9: Backcountry Canyonlands NP
June 10-12: Capitol Reef NP, UT
June 12-14: Bryce Canyon NP, UT
June 14-16: Grand Canyon NP, AZ
June 16-18: Zion NP, UT
June 18: Mesquite, NV
June 19: Las Vegas, NV
June 20: Sequoia NP, CA
June 21-23: Sequoia NP
June 23-27: Backcountry Sequoia
June 27-29: King's Canyon NP, CA
June 29: Los Banos, CA
June 30: Santa Cruz, CA
July 1-5: Berkeley, CA
July 5: Patrick's Point State Park, CA
July 6: Del Norte Coast State Park, CA
July 7-9: Crater Lake, OR
July 9-10: Eugene, OR
July 10-11: Portland, OR
July 11: Kalaloch campground, Olympic NP, WA
July 12-15: Backcountry, Olympic NP
July 15: Lost Resort Campground, Ozette WA
July 16-18: Coastal backcountry, Olympic NP
July 18: Ellensburg, WA
July 19: somewhere in South Dakota?
July 20: Mt. Rushmore and Badlands NP
July 21: Near Chicago
July 22: Home!

Well, well

Hello all! So I never thought I would do this, but I've created a blog, more for myself than to gain fame or friends. I am hoping to post my thoughts and musings here, and would love any feedback. My principal reason for this blog will be to document my travels, whether they be on foot or by mind :-) I am hoping to construct a post or section particularly dedicated to the trip I took this past summer. I seem to be always in a new place lately, so I will try to keep it interesting. Anyways, enjoy!