Home again, home again - reflections

From Nashville we drove the rest of the way across the Blue Ridge back to Charlotte. It was a pleasant trip back, though with a sense of sadness in the air. We certainly had our ups and downs - being trapped with 3 relative strangers for six weeks solid will always yield some hardships - but overall, it felt like the end of an age. Even more so, looking back from where I am now: full-time job with no lengthy future trips on the books.

In many ways, it was the perfect summer. Much like the one before in Europe, but with a whole different basket of experiences. In some ways, it was much harder than last summer. Constant driving takes its toll, and in Europe I was mostly alone, making my own schedule and decisions. Trying to coordinate 4 people's plans and accommodate culture differences was challenging. However, it was a growing experience for all of us. We all grew up a little bit. We learned what it was to compromise and to forgive.

The coolest part of this shared experience would have to be that it was SHARED. I have some amazing memories from Europe, but in many cases, I will be the only one who stores those moments in my head. For the rest of our lives, Carmen, Theresa, Enrique and I can call each other up and say "Do you remember when...?"

People keep asking me what my favorite part of the trip was. That is a hard call - America is so much more beautiful and amazing than I could have previously imagined. Pictures cannot do these places justice. You can't impose a feeling of majesty when showing someone a photo of a redwood tree. You can only get that from standing there, amidst them - realizing how small you are in comparison.

I believe my "favorite" places would have to be the national parks and lands. Big Bend, Grand Canyon, Sedona, the redwood forests, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and the Badlands. But you know, just driving through the west, seeing the strange sight of plateaus rising from great plains, the red soil of Sedona and parts of Wyoming (or was it S. Dakota?), the trees and mists of the West Coast, the oil rigs pumping the flatlands of Texas - that was what made this trip what it was.

And even though I'm sad it's over, I sit at my office desk and look at the photographs I have taped all over the walls around me, reminding me that I am one of the lucky ones. I got to see - really see - America.

Omaha

The next day we awoke and drove to Omaha where we planned to stay with a CSer, Luke. We made good time, Enrique helped me drive, and we arrived around 6 pm. Luke's place was really nice - he said Omaha is incredibly cheap - prob. because it's awful in winter time. lol Anyway, after getting settled, he drove us to the center of town where we walked around and saw the old city center with old factory buildings which, with their brick and old faded painted on ads, gave the area is quaint feel. We ended up at a Mexican restaurant that is a favorite's of Luke's where we treated him to dinner. It was good and afterward we walked over to this big park where there are 2 metal slides that people race down. Some people had left wax paper scraps around and I had a blast racing Luke down the slides.

After that we drove to some memorial where you can look over the city from. We all sat there and talked for a long time until we were cold. Finally, we went back to Luke's and talked until fairly late, considering we had to get up early to make the 12 hour drive to Nashville.

Luke also showed us his really cool frogs that look like those little fake frogs (the bright blue ones w/black on them) - he said they aren't really poisonous in captivity. They were really cute, and coming from me, that's saying a lot (I have a problem with frogs).

Luke works at the Omaha zoo with reptiles and graduated in biology. He told me if I decide to go back to grad school I should apply for the Full Bright research grant, which is similar to the Phillip's Scholarship I received in undergrad in that you can go anywhere in the world and study anything you'd like.

Anyway, we had fascinating conversation, and I look forward to seeing him in future.

We got up at and out around 7:30 or 8, making it to Nashville around 9 p.m. We also drove through St. Louis so we could see the arch, which was cool, I guess, from what we saw from the interstate in the middle of a very crowded city.

The family who hosted us was very nice. An older man and woman who set us all up in nice beds with clean linens and towels. It was so nice to be pampered! They even made sure we knew where to find the cereal and milk for breakfast, even though they'd be at work when we woke up.

The next morning we left and went to the mock Parthenon in Nashville. It was cool, having seen the real one in Athens, to see what it looked like originally. The statue of Athena however was downright hideous, tacky, and ridiculous.

From there we went to the Farmer's Market where we got some fresh-made goodies, then headed into downtown to see some of the Honkey Tonks. We stopped in the Dolly Parton store and saw some of dresses. We also stopped in several bars and heard some wanna-be bands playing. We also saw the river which was sooo high - it wasn't hard to imagine it overflowing the edges and flooding the town.

Wind Caves, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands

PICTURES: 1) going into our first and only "real motel," 2) Badlands at sunset, 3) enjoying the day in the Badlands, 4) mommy and baby animal watching sunset, 5) some sort of horned creature looking at me, 6) arrival in the Badlands, 7) Mt. Rushmore, 8) me with Mt. Rushmore, and 9) Carmen and me with Mt. Rushmore very far in distance

The next morning, the girls took their much-needed showers and we packed up the tent in a beautiful sun-shiny morning. From there, we drove to the Wind Caves National Park. On the way to the main office where the cave tours started, a heard of buffalo crossed the road right by us and we got some awesome shots of the giant creatures out the window. I still can't believe how many wild buffalo I've seen on this trip! I'm so glad that the effort to restore their numbers was made just in the nick of time...it would have been such a shame if they had become extinct.

When we got to the info center, we signed up for the next tour which started in about 30 minutes. Carmen didn't want to go because she didn't have much cash left and her card we being declined (and her mother hadn't yet figured out the problem) - she also isn't a fan of the dark. So, the other three of us went and it was really cool. Wind Caves are something like the 4th longest caves in the world. Most of the passages, however, are contained within one square surface mile, but the cave has many layers (like a multi-story building underground). It also has more boxwork structure (a type of cave wall formation that looks like honeycomb) than any other cave (90% of all such formations in the world lie in this cave). Anyway, it was pretty awesome and afterward Enrique, Theresa and I talked to our guide about how she got into it and some of the explorations she's gone on (they are still discovering new things every day). The only natural entrance to the cave is a very small hole (first explored by skinny teens in the 1800s), that either emits a relatively strong wind, or sucks in wind, depending on pressure. When we were there the cave hole was blowing out wind at about 7 mph. Of course, now they have elevators and steps that enable us to enter.

After that, we drove a beautiful and curving road toward Mt. Rushmore. It was really cool because we went through several tunnels that framed Mt. Rushmore perfectly as you drive through. We stopped at an overlook on our way and took pictures from afar, then continued on. Parking cost $10, but it was really worth it. That mountain is really amazing! I wish we could've gone on top of the mountain like they do in "North by Northwest" but I don't think that's encouraged. lol And ps - the dining hall at Mt. Rushmore that is in the movie is now a huge modern gift shop. It is also no longer yellow. lol

We got done earlier than we expected, so we just kept driving toward the town of Wall, SD. Wall is the home of Wall Drug - the biggest drugstore in the world. They have everything you could imagine - pharmacy, diner (complete w/5 cent coffee and bison burgers), leather shops, jewelry, a bookstore, clothing, arcade games - you name it, they have it. Anyway, we wanted to say we'd been there and I picked up the 2nd Wall Drug cook book for Grandma Bailey as she had gotten the first one some years back and loved it. From there we drove the 45 mile loop through the Badlands Nat'l Park. They were BEAUTIFUL!!!

The Badlands are so strange. There is a desert like part that reminded me of Rainbow Basin but on a grander scale - with sharp pointed mounds of what appeared to be the same sandy material making up the mountains. Yet, right across from that, you could see a flat grassland. It was bizarre. On top of that, we were there right before and during sunset so the sun was casting beautiful shadows as well as painting the landscape orange. We saw some sort of mountain goat thing with huge horns and its baby right by the parking lot of our first overlook, then later I was driving along when I saw another mommy and baby lying together on top of one of the sandy dunes, apparently watching the sunset. It was so beautiful I pulled off the road and took pictures, but they really couldn't do the moment justice.

I can imagine that when it is really hot (which it was not) they would indeed earn their name as "the badlands" but really, they were one of the most breathtaking sights of the trip. I'm so glad we saw them!

From there we drove a while longer toward Omaha until after dark and started looking for a cheap motel (which, as it turns out, was an oxymoron). Finally we found "the Ponderosa" for $55 in the middle of freaking nowhere and everyone was excited to stay in a real "roadside motel" like in the movies. lol It really wasn't bad at all, and we got wonderful sleep.

Drive to Wind Caves/Flintstone Campground

PICTURES: 1) Theresa and me on the road through WY, 2) Flintstones Campground


So my fire the last night at Glacier was an utter failure. Probably because I'd used most of the smaller pieces the night before, but I was trying to light it with newspaper and such, and the wood WOULD NOT catch fire. I was so pissed. Anyway, it was just enough to roast my hot dogs, but that was it.

The next morning we packed up and drove across Wyoming toward Wind Caves National Park. It was a very beautiful day and despite road construction (AGAIN) it was smooth sailing. As we got nearer to Wind Caves, we kept our eyes open for campsites (since we'd been so spoiled at Glacier by having an outside campground which included showers). Anyway, we found one around 6 pm called the "Flintstones Campground." All the buildings looked like Flintstones houses and were really cute. They also had showers (free) and laundry facilities (those were for a fee). And, the campground was grassy, relatively flat and had a picnic table with a roof. When we entered the office of the campground we asked the woman how much it was (with a AAA) rate and it was only about $25 with tax. First we confirmed that 1) there were showers and 2) that they were free. When the woman confirmed this, we practically jumped for joy and she looked at us like we were wild animals (which, after camping for 6 nights without free shower facilities, we kinda were). Then I asked her if there were bears around, and she gave me another strange look and said, "No...."

Anyway, we set up camp, then used the internet for some time and Enrique took a shower (the girls decided to wait until morning so our hair wouldn't be wet in the tent given how cold the nights had been). I tried to start a fire for the 3 night in a row, and I had about as much luck as I'd had the night before. Finally, I went to the family with the campsite next to us and begged the dad's help. He and his boyscout little sons came over and gave us a fire-starter brick and got it all built up for us (but, I must add, he also had trouble, so I felt better - we simply had very stubborn wood). We sat around the fire for a while, and finally all got a night of sleep where we did not have to worry about wild animals. lol

8/2/10 - 8/15/10 Yellowstone, Grand Tetons

PICS: Grand Prismatic in Yellowstone, on the Porcelain Basin loop at Yellowstone, Grand Tetons reflections, Jenny Lake, Jackson Lake (where I swam)

We got to Yellowstone and were delighted to find that our campsite was not only right near two bathrooms, but also very close to the Madison River. The closest section of river to our campsite was also a small hot spring and thus felt like a hot tub! The kids a the campsite next to ours informed us of this - it was very exciting! That night we set up camp and went to a 9 pm ranger talk at the amphitheater. He talked about the different wildlife that Yellowstone contains. There are SO many different animals! I thought it was quite interesting. After that we all went to bed.

The next morning we drove the loop around the park. We saw bison grazing, hot springs galore, a beautiful waterfall cascading into a colorful canyon, and a black bear (out the window in the woods while we were in the car waiting for Enrique to get back from an overlook point). Of course, we saw Old Faithful as well, though I have to say, the weather that day was horrid! The high was in the 40s and it rained almost the entire day. Apparently 2/3 of the world’s hot springs are located in Yellowstone.

When we made it back to the campsite that night I ran down to the hot springs and took a little “bath.” There was a French family in there as well (there were many French people throughout the park actually). It felt so good to be warm! That night was a cold and rather damp one inside the tent, but for the most part it proved waterproof which was a godsend.

The next morning we got up at 7:30 am and packed up but we didn’t get out until 9:30. A park ranger had told us to go to “ferry falls” in order to see excellent views of the Grand Prismatic hot springs. We wanted to get an early start so we would make it to the Grand Tetons in time to obtain a campsite (sometimes they fill up fast, as we learned with Glacier Nat’l Park). Well, we walked to the Ferry Falls path, saw a big waterfall, and not much else. After getting lost and getting separated from each other (Theresa and I were together, the other two together), T and I ended up walking about 6 miles before returning to the car more than two hours later. We then drove to a different area where you could walk across the Grand Prismatic, if not see it from above. After that we drove to the Tetons. Luckily, we got a campsite at Colter Bay that was lovely. It has woods around it, a nice path to the lake, and bathrooms not too far away.

After setting up camp, Theresa and I walked around the lakeshore trail, while Carmen and Enrique walked around the road through the visitor center and store area. We were all stunned by the magnificent beauty of this place. WOW. After walking a good bit, T and I decided to swim in the glacier water of Jackson Lake (even though it was only about 65 degrees out). However, it felt great to get another “natural bath” and though the water was cold, it felt good after swimming a bit. We lied on the shore until the sun went behind the mountains, then we went back to the campsite to change. Carmen and Enrique had returned and we all went to the grocery store in the village area to pick up a few necessities and some fire wood.

I made my first fire! And, I got it started almost right away. I was very happy about that. Carmen and I had gotten hot dogs and we roasted them over the fire and it was so nice to have a hot meal!!

Today we drove all around the Tetons taking in breathtaking views. At Jenny Lake I rode the ferry across the water to some trails which led to beautiful waterfalls. The other three went canoeing. We also saw a bald eagle flying, which was very exciting (esp. for Enrique). Now we are taking advantage of the lodge’s internet. Tonight we’ll make another fire, eat more hot dogs, and set out tomorrow for the Wind Caves National Park.

8/9/10 - 8/12/10 Vancouver and Glacier National Park

Photos: 1-5) Glacier Natl Pk, 6) Vancouver from above, 7) eating at White Spot with Kevin, 8) Vancouver skyline

On Monday we went with Pat’s brother Kevin in Kevin’s car to the marketplace on Granville Island, Vancouver. Pat and Sara had to work. The marketplace was similar to the one at Pike Place market in Seattle. I bought some fudge and blueberries, then it started to rain. Enrique, Carmen and Theresa wanted to take bus passes into the city and walk around downtown, but I didn’t particularly wish to walk around in the rain without an umbrella. Kevin said he’d be happy to show me one of the places where he knew they filmed part of Twilight, so we left the o0thers and drove through downtown on our way to the boathouse where part of Twilight was filmed. It was a pretty downtown, but I was glad not to be walking in the rain. By the time we got to the part of town where the boathouse and harbor were, it was no longer raining and I took pictures of the place. I didn’t recognize it right off, but hopefully when I re-watch the movies I can see where it is.

From there we grabbed some lunch at a White Spot where I got a cardboard pirate ship with my food. After lunch we drove to a scenic overlook where I could get pictures of all of Vancouver. It was very beautiful. Our last stop was a big warehouse where they store tons of movie props (they film many movies in the Vancouver area). It was pretty cool - they had big dinosaurs, parrots, pirates, mannequins, phone booths, and pretty much any other thing you can imagines. Unfortunately they do not have labels on the things to tell you which movies they’ve been in. We made guesses instead - “That’s the raptor from Jurassic Park” or “This is one of the pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean.” Finally, we were tired and returned to the house and watched a bit of Star Wars until the others returned so we could leave by 6 pm in order to make it back to Seattle by 8:30 or 9.

After I dropped them off that night at Teresa’s in Seattle, I went back to Casey’s in Bellevue and stayed one more night with her. We chatted and then went to sleep, and it was sad to say goodbye to her in the morning. When I left, I went to Jiffy Lube and got an oil change before picking up the others for the long drive to Glacier National Park.

It was a very long drive indeed and we didn’t arrive in the park until around 10 pm. As we drove through, we saw very few other cars and then we passed a trooper. She turned around and followed us but we were fairly sure we were within the speed limit, believing it to be about 45, but not having actually noticed a sign. After several minutes of us going 40 with her behind us, she turned on her lights. We pulled over and the woman walked up and asked what we were doing. I told her we had a national park pass and were looking for a tent site. She informed us that they were all full, but there were some other sites outside the park that probably had some openings. She then said she’d clocked us going 50 in a 15 (btw, the speed limit was actually 40 which we realized the next day so I don’t know if I misheard her or what). I gave her my license and registration and when she returned she discussed more about where we could find to camp and then said she’d just issue me a warning and to slow down. I was starting to get teary, so I’m glad she just gave me a warning before I had an all out cry. We turned around and just outside the park we saw a sign pointing toward the left that said “camping.” We pulled in and the park office, whose lights had just been turned out, turned them back on and we went in. The woman was older and looked very tired. She was not exactly pleased to see us, but she gave us a tent site and it was the same price as a Nat’l Park site but also had outlets on the sites and showers nearby for free.

The next day we went to the national park and were informed that Logan’s Pass was the area with the best trails (according to the park information people). It was a long drive to Logan’s Pass, but it was beautiful driving high up into the mountains. Finally we parked and took the “highland trail.” We only went about two miles, taking in fabulously beautiful views. We saw mountain goats, rams, and ground squirrels as we walked. At one point, a mountain goat was walking down the trail right toward us. We thought when he saw us he would move, but when it was clear he would not, we stepped off the path into the brush and the goat trotted by, seemingly to pay us no mind. It was rather strange to see a wild animal so close. After a bit, dark clouds started to roll in which is why we made our way back to the parking lot, and by the time we got there, the scattered raindrops had intensified and we got in just before quite hard, cold rain pounded all around us.
We drove back down the mountain and spent a bit of time in the gift shop near the exit before returning to our campground. There we used the internet in the sitting room and got ready for bed.

On Thursday morning we left the campground at 10 am to start another long drive to Yellowstone. I might also note that on Wednesday there were 3 escaped convicts hiding in Yellowstone making their way north toward Glacier Nat’l Park heading for the Canadian boarder. They are believed now to be in Glacier and since we are headed for Yellowstone, there is no need to worry.

Seattle and Arrival in Vancouver

PICTURES: 1 & 2) at Gasworks in Seattle, 3) the girls with a Univ. of Washington fountain, 4) Pike Place Market, 5) Casey (male friend of Matt), Matt, Teresa, Theresa, Carmen, Enrique on the art installation

From Port Angeles we drove the rest of the way to Seattle and took a ferry across which offered beautiful views. Then we drove to our CS hosts’ house which was in the Univ. of Washington’s general vicinity. There were 8 of them living in the house which was pretty large and the girl who was actually hosting us was named Teresa and was a friend of Matt’s in McKinleyville. She was very nice.

That evening we drove to the art district because it was the first Thursday of the month which is when they have an art crawl and all of the Pioneer Square art lofts open up for public viewing. It was pretty cool and there were a lot of…interesting people there. There was one room that contained four naked people and with paint jars all around them and brushes so people could paint them. No, I did not participate.

From there we drove up to Capitol Hill where there was a park with an art installation made by a friend of Matt’s (one of the roomies of Teresa). We sat atop the art installation and chatted until midnight, then drove back and slept. The next day Teresa came with us to Pike Place Market which is this huge outdoor market like in London or Barcelona where they sell anything you can think of - fish, spices, pasta, pastries, etc. It was really cool and I wished so much that Charlotte had something like that. From there we took a bus to the U district and went shopping in a few second hand stores where I got steals on a J Crew skirt, an Anne Taylor skirt, and a Lilly Pulitzer dress. Then we walked through the actual University (which was pretty, but not as pretty as Chapel Hill) and then back home.

Then Carmen, Enrique, Theresa and I drove to Gasworks which is a park on the water that has an amazing view of downtown Seattle and the space needle and everything. It was a beautiful evening and we stayed there for about 1.5 hrs until Casey called and told me she was home from work. The rest of them wanted to stay longer at the park so they said they’d walk back and I drove back to Teresa’s to get my stuff and drive to Casey’s to spend the night there. (Casey was my roomie for 2 years in college and I haven’t seen here in about two years). I drove the 10 minutes to Bellevue where she lives and we had a little reunion which was very exciting. We talked until after 12 and the next morning got up and ready to go pick up Theresa who wanted to come with us to Mt. Rainer for the day.

It turned out to be a rather gross day - drizzly and gray - but we were hoping it would have cleared up by the time we made it to the mountain. It did clear up some, but it took a long time to get there - like three hours - and then once in the park we had to drive up to Paradise which is supposed to have the prettiest views. However, by the time we made it up there, it was foggy and rainy again and when we got out to hike around for about 30 minutes we got rained on the whole time, which was lovely. Lol Casey, being oh-so-outdoorsy was thrilled with the steep incline on wet pavement and even more excited by the steep decline in which I had to hold her hand the whole time. However, all the driving time gave us good time to talk, but I felt a bit bad for Theresa who was no doubt very bored by our discussions of Dawson’s Creek and Brothers and Sisters. We dropped Theresa back off at Teresa’s house (confusing, I know) as they were all making a big vegan dinner that night. Casey and I went to meet her friends Amelia, Alyssa and Alyssa’s boyfriend for dinner at a pizza place in Bellevue. It was kind of awkward because Alyssa was mad at Casey for not coming to the comedy show that night that they were all going to because I was in town and even though she’d bought the ticket for Casey without even telling her that she was going to buy it for her, she still made Casey pay for it. Which was pretty mean because Casey is making no money this summer since her internship is not paid and this girl works. Anyway, we left there and Casey was rather upset so we got ice cream at the grocery and came home and watched The Secret Life of Bees.

This morning I left there, picked up the others at Teresa’s house at 10:30, and we drove to Vancouver. Immigration was a bit slow, but we made it to Stanley Park by 2:30. We walked around a lot of the park, saw totem poles, a lighthouse, the harbor, the cityscape etc. Then we made our way toward the city proper and found donier kababs for dinner and gelato for dessert. We drove to our CS host’s house around 6 pm. His name is Pat, and his roommates are Sara from Asheville, NC and his brother Kevin. They are all very nice and we’ve been sitting around for hours just talking about old movies and shows and other various topics while Carmen, Enrique, and Theresa went out into Vancouver to see if there is anything to actually do on a Sunday night here. MORE TO COME