On August 1st with the Atlantic Ocean in the rear-view, I headed west. The first stop was Jonah's family compound in the Catskills before a mad dash (via Chicago and Omaha) to Colorado. In Colorado I attended a fabulous wedding of an old time camp friend before heading into the "I'm-going-to-go-play-outside" portion of the trip. I hiked to the top of the Rockies (Mt. Elbert, 14,443 feet), swung through Guffey (pop. 26) to see some relatives, and now join you from Moab, Utah (the jumping off point for Arches National Park). In order not to bore you to tears, I'll keep up my old format with just a few nuggets of observation.
- Ohio and Indiana are awful to drive across. Not to mention the toll roads cost as much as Boston - DC ($24). Sorry if you hail from one of these states, but other than our friendship I don't see much appeal to your state. Iowa and Nebraska, however surprisingly, weren't all that bad. Iowa actually has rolling hills (with plenty of corn), and Nebraska has at least a dozen trees (which I totally didn't expect). I can now personally attest to the fact that both Iowa and Nebraska do, indeed, exist. I am sure there are some people out there who feel the same way about Mississippi. I assure you, these states all exist.
- Hiking a 14'er (those mtns in Colorado over 14,000 feet) is, in fact, achievable. However, I recommend acclimating to the altitude and plenty of water. Our trail was only 4.5 miles long, but we ascended 4,000 feet in the process - a helluva steep trail if you ask me. Not to be outdone by the dogs and octogenarians also climbing to the top, I kept on schlepping (past the two false summits) to the actual summit for a spectacular view of the Rockies.
- Visiting a National Park in August is like a vacation to France. The scenery might be a little different, but you'll hear more French than English, guaranteed. I guess since they all take off the month of August (more than 2 weeks vacation is such a novel concept, ain't it?) they decide to come sweat it out in the great outdoors.
- Always, always, always stake down your tent. And then put rocks over the stakes. I learned this advice many moons ago but somehow forgot and nearly ended up chasing my tent down the Colorado River one afternoon when the wind decided to pick up a bit. I can assure you the event was a comedy of errors and brought endless entertainment to my camping companion at the time. If you need a chuckle today, please just envision this scenario. It was hilarious.
- You should also check your oil before you leave the oil change place. It took me 100 miles after leaving Lube & Latte in Golden, CO to realize the idiots forgot to put back on the oil cap filler. I realized it only after a quart or so had splashed out of its proper place all over my engine. Luckily, oil cap fillers are standard parts at a CarQuest of AutoZone. That was a close one...
- For those of you who followed the Asia stories - I cannot express the comfort of being normal sized again. No more new yoga positions necessary for the cross-country travel in the US. There are also far fewer random people wanting to take pictures of me. While the paparazzi attention had it's moments, it's good to be inconspicuous again.
Coffee break at Nebraska rest area. Why pay for Starbucks when you can kick back and brew your own cup of joe?
Summit of Mt. Elbert, the tallest peak in Colorado and the second tallest in the continental US
Sunset from Guffey, CO (pop. 26)
Camping spot outside of Moab, UT - before the weather decided to relocate my tent
Arches National Park - it's basically France.
From here I head to Zion and then over to Yosemite. I basically move when I feel moved to and operate on a totally "what-do-I-feel-like-doing/where-do-I-feel-like-going today" schedule. I'll be in touch if I'm coming through your neck of the woods. God knows I could use a shower right about now...
gorgeous pictures, sister!
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