Last Night :(

I can't believe it but our trip is almost over. Dad will be dropping me off in Charlotte, NC tomorrow morning, where Mike (who is staying with a couple of high school friends) will be responsible for getting me back to Charleston. He and his two friends are going to a concert tonight where they will no doubt consume large amounts of alcohol while reminiscing the glory days at Norwich High School - I'm actually a little nervous as to what shape I will find them in tomorrow! Only having to take me to Charlotte will save Dad quite a bit of travel time so it's good things have worked out this way. We left Columbia, MO this morning around 8:30am and have on the road since. We just crossed the boarder into NC. The drive today has been fairly uneventful. We did drive through St. Louis, MO and see the famous Gateway Arch. I drove for a few hours- through Nashville! There was traffic! I think Dad was getting nervous but he managed to keep quiet and we made it out unscathed (some punk in a Lexus did almost hit us when changing lanes - he got a long, angry honk thank you very much). We are going to stop for the night in Asheville, NC and I plan on getting a nice, end-of-trip dinner...no gas station sandwich like we had last night! :)

And you think driving across Pennsylvania is bad...

Well Dad and I have started the long trip back to the east coast. We left Denver around 8:30 this morning and have been in Kansas most of the day. It is so flat and covered with fields that it almost feels like you're running in place. Now I know why Monica was so upset when Chandler got transferred to Kansas! However, we have finally found a spot in the country that the senior citizen tour buses don't go! Guess they aren't interested in the Oz Museum. Kansas is the only state we have come across that charges tolls (must be they've been chatting with NY) and we are currently in traffic backed up 2 miles from the toll booth. I see a bit of jaw clenching from Dad (for those of you who are, um, lucky enough to know what that means!) :) I still like it though because it adds to the places we've been/seen and is yet another indicator on how much this country varies in terrain. I drove for about 3 1/2 hours earlier and Dad actually dozed off! I guess that goes to say deep down he doesn't REALLY think I went to the Linda Bartle School of Driving!

Boulder, CO

Dad and I are in Boulder, CO where we just finished a fantastic mountain biking trail, beginning at the Dowdy Draw trail head and connecting to the Spring Brook loop, just on the outskirts of Boulder. It is about 50 degrees here today and quite windy making it feel like 40, so Dad and I took our time getting going this morning to let things warm up. Good thing they didn't warm up too much because he and I were working up quite the sweat biking up the mountain! It was a great ride (and I managed not to dump my bike - success!) and the view at the top was worth the hard work. Of course what goes up must come down so we had a great time on the downhill :) Now I am going to talk Dad into going into downtown Boulder for some lunch - and I'm talking real food not a powerbar or some pretzels and sunflower seeds. David and Mary El Emerson (my dad's business partner and close family friends) are actually on their own cross-country trip (on their motorcycle!) and are in Denver right now staying with Mary El's daughter, Janelle. We have been in touch with them throughout our trip to see if we are ever in the same area and we finally have crossed paths. We are all going to head out to dinner tonight so we are looking forward to that. Big surprise - I'm already thinking about dinner and I haven't even had lunch! :)

No biking but 2 beautiful parks...

Well Dad and I didn't get to do any biking in Moab :( After we headed out for the second time this morning to check out the weather and see if maybe we could do some biking, I could feel the wind sway the car and vetoed that idea. As much as I wanted to bike, I was a bit to wary of the fast-changing weather to let myself venture too far from the car. Just as well since it started hailing when we got back to the hotel! Going to Moab wasn't a complete wash though since there are two national parks, Arches and Canyonlands, very close by. For two places so close to each other, they are completely different. Arches consists primarily of massive sandstone mountains and structures that had been eroded into different structures and shapes, including, you guessed it, arches. Canyonlands is the largest and least visited of the five national parks in Utah. As you drive through the park you see these huge canyons on either side of the road, compliments of the Green River and the Colorado River. We drove to Grand View Point and it really was that. It makes you feel like you're on the edge of the earth. Although we didn't have time (or much inclination - I could see the dirt blowing in the 50 mph wind!) to hike either park, I'm very glad we went to see them, even if briefly. We never know if we will ever get the chance again and it seems a shame to not stop and see the reasons why they became protected land in the first place! We are now making our way to Boulder, CO for what will most likely be the last active day of our trip. Hopefully the weather cooperates! Dad is aiming to get back to NY Sunday night (half of this duo does actually have a job to think about!). It will be a 2 day trip (26 hours) to get me back to SC and then another day (14 hours) to get Dad home from there. Good think he likes driving! :)



P.S. As we were driving I saw snow flurries...meriting a couple of hot cocoas when we stopped for gas :)

Bryce Canyon National Park

Yesterday Dad and I hit up Bryce Canyon National Park, UT. It was amazing (I feel like I say that about everything we see/do, but I really mean it!! I have seen some of the best sights on this trip!). The canyon is full of points, pinnacles, steeples, and spires. It was a spectacular view. We hiked down into the canyon on the Queen's Garden Trail. We even stopped to enjoy the vew and a PowerBar lunch! We only stayed in the park long enough for the hike as we are running out of time on our little trip :( After Bryce we made our way to Moab, UT (huge mountain biking town), which is where we are now. Unfortunately, the one day we are in town the weather is not great. The forecast was calling for isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon so Dad and I got up at 6am to hopefully get some biking in before the storms. However, just as we were pulling out of the parking lot it started thundering and lightening (we had JUST watched the weather channel and all it said "tempurature 72 under fair skies"...guess the weatherman isn't any better out here!) It is also VERY WINDY here so I'm worried I might get blown away! We came back into the hotel to figure out what to do. We can't complain too much though as this is the only day in 2 1/2 weeks that we have had a problem with the weather. Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later! I think we are going to venture out now and see if we can do something....I don't wake up at 6am for nothing!! :)

P.S. I can't believe I forgot to mention this the first time it happened a few days ago but yesterday dad let me drive for the second time!!! Granted the first time was across the desert with a very straight road and not many cars, but yesterday we were in Utah and there were actually curves in the road! Before you know it I will be navigating the Rocky Mountains! :)

The Grand Canyon and Zion National Park

Dad and I had a busy day yesterday...starting with a 5am wake-up! We decided drag ourselves out of bed to go see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon (with a pit stop at McDonalds to get a large coffee for me!). It was absolutely incredible and so worth it. We had a perfect morning- crystal clear and not too cold. There were quite a few people there who clearly had the same idea we did. I overheard one guy say to his wife after the sun had come up "Ok it's up. Now where are my pancakes??" I'm sure sunset would have also been beautiful but unfortunately we didn't have the time to find out. We are on our last week with still so much to do! I am just glad we got to go for a little while - I think everyone should see the Grand Canyon. Sure some people might think it's just a hole in the ground but to stand next to something so completely massive and nature-made, it's really quite humbling. After leaving the Grand Canyon, Dad and I headed towards Zion National Park in Utah, about a 5-6 hour drive. Zion is such an incredible park. I wish we could have spent more time there. We did get to go for a hike though (and sweat our asses off - it was HOT and hardly any shade! Probably a good thing we went for the easier of the two hikes we were looking at!). Such a beautiful place though. Seeing the red, pink, and white rocks against the brilliant blue sky was amazing. After our hike we drove about an hour to Cedar City, UT for the night. We are now headed to Bryce Canyon National Park, UT. Dad forgot to clean the windshield this morning and he just pulled over and gave it a spit-shine (literally). Awesome.

Get your kicks...

On route 66! Dad and I decided to detour off I-40 on our way to the Grand Canyon and take historic route 66 for a while. I'm so glad we did - I feel like it's not really a cross-country road trip without swinging by 66. That's how people did it before interstates came along! We cranked the oldies station (um, I mean classic), rolled down the windows, and enjoyed the Arizona sun. We also did a drive-by of downtown Williams, AZ, located on route 66. Talk about stepping back in time! Although a bit tourist-trappy, it also had such a charming, old-town feel...it was almost like nothing had changed over the decades (minus the Safeway grocery store and Starbucks!). There was even a bar & grill called Cruiser's that was blaring all of Mom's favorite oldie but goodie songs...she would have been dancing in the street! We are headed for Tusayan, AZ for the night, which is about a mile south of the Grand Canyon entrance...should work out well if I get motivated to drag Dad out of bed for a Grand Canyon sunrise! :)