Back to Lake Michigan

yellowstone

make it a 2 or 3 day trip. the smell could kill you in 4

Its beautiful, the animals are amazing, the smell is like that of one continuous fart from the earth. plus as its one of the most famous parks, it is so overcrowded with old folks and touristy type attractions it becomes much less enjoyable with time.

I loved the places that took a little bit of work to get to, less people more nature, less stink and a whole lot of Buffalo.

Everywhere you go there will be buffalo, herds of them roaming about drinking water, and following you across the street if you get to close...single file...in numbers up to 50-100.

I'm not proud of the traffic jam i caused as the buffalo followed me back to the road, practically to my car, as i snapped away photo after photo. Their jaws dropping to emit a hilariously cartoonish roar flem and food flying out as the below passed their enormous teeth.

well actually i am...it was hilarious right after i was far enough away from them to feel safe.

everything up until then was a little scary. I'd heard stories of the buffalo ripping off car doors, and by their size i had no doubt they were capable, but all in all a very cool park. Just the smell, man i could have done without the smell of gas constantly.

glacier

sunset in montana

Like Momento with less tattoos

I remember the night before Mt Rainier well. I remember the rush to try and get there from seattle in one drive so that we could enjoy it and leave. See the sunset have a snowball fight, and be on our way out.

But we didn't make it one drive, well we did, but not in time. There was the crazy lady on the rode as we left the olympic peninsula whose response to me passing her was to beep, pass me, and then turn on her left turn signal and slow down.

Old people driving is always dangerous. there was the fairy ride to seattle that allowed us to stand on the front haul and sing i'm on a boat, and there was the farmers market, free food, and the race to get to mt rainier.

We found a bar, and the parking lot we were going to sleep in. A great combination when you've spent as many nights as we had trying to find one or the other. Bars were always in high supply but i safe place to park the neon and pass out for a couple hours had been a difficult task. Its hard to feel safe anywhere that your head is directly next to a thin window especially in the middle of nowhere.

The bar was so good i left my credit card there and couldn't pay the admission fee to the park, fortunately laura hadn't enjoyed it as much and still had hers.

The first bend where the fog dissipated and you could see the mountain was like a magic show. Driving precariously around corners to drop offs unseen and then a gust of wind and there it was.

The mountains only appeared for a couple seconds before they were swallowed up by the fog again, but we new we had to hike there, we had to get as close as possible, we didn't really get that far.

I think our hike that day was only 6 or 7 miles, but man was it worth it. I got to see possibly one of the weirdest mammals i'd seen, and even got a pretty good shot of his beaver esque face walking towards me.

1 part ground hog...1 part beaver and 3 parts ugly as sin...meet the marmot

oregon coast

san fran

but you expected a bridge didn't you

sucker

yosemite

yosemite was our favorite park

For whatever reasons i did not have as high expections of it as i did Zion and The Grand Canyon. Our first day there was pretty easy and not incredibly exciting, mostly spent it hiking around Mariposa Grove looking at giant tree's, which are actually quite amazing, but if you are a photographer giant tree's are pretty limiting.

they are just so damn big and very nearly impossible to capture, i tried my best

but then we came around the bend into yosemite valley and saw the dome as the sunset.

we quickly capture a few images and drove down to the valley for camping where i spent the rest of the night sleeping in the tent terrified of the bears wandering about in darkness.

The following day we did the hike to vernal falls, and the emerald pond where we were convinced by a few german tourists to jump off one of the cliffs into the pool below vernals falls. It was cold, most likely illegal, but all together one of the most exhilarating things i've ever done.

when laura and i started the trip we had put together a list of things we needed to do, one of them happened to be jump off a waterfall. These were mostly jokes, but in the end almost all of them were done.

after coming back from the long hike up to vernal falls we had one thing left to do, drive all the way to olmstead point so i could get a photo a desperately wanted. its not every day you get to watch the sunset behind a tree sticking precariously out of a rock slab in front of the entire yosemite valley.
the drive there was like something you see on the news, a forest fire had come through and closed multiple roads leaving only a short window of the day that you could access the road to olmstead point, and vision on the road was completely blocked by smoke at points...especially at night on the drive back.

when we arrived at the campsite i spent another night afraid of the bears...its not really a fear so much of the actual bears as having a flap next to your head and the fear of bear face looking at you through it.

storm over the rockies

Zion Land of Mormons

when you think of a place like utah...your thoughts will never be YES DEAR GOD YES

nobody can't wait to go to utah...i suggest you give it a shot, turn on some penderecki and turn down route 15 i believe towars Zion

its the only way to do it. it was my first national park and it was amazing. My photos of it kind of suck, so i'll need to go back, but i managed to get lost, happen upon a rattle snake, and see more lizards than i have ever witnessed in my life. the whole thing is basically what you imagine the apocalypse looking like, but slightly more green, and taller.

We only ended up spending a day there but it completely transformed our trip form that of one that was targeting cities, to seeing as many national parks as possible.

this post sucks since i really didn't do it photographic justice so i have a naked picture until next time

Driving through Kansas was worth getting to Colorado..

Colorado!
Corey and I had very different experiences in Colorado. Once we had gone to the hot springs and lounged a bit..



and spent a little time in Denver and Boulder, I think Cor was jones'n to leave civilization - so we went our separate ways, him to his uncles, me to the mountains with two of my best friends from school:


Had an amazing time catching up, hiking, hottubbing, and had the strangest grilling experience. Strange because for once I was the most experienced griller and therefore took some trial and error to get the grill goin' and also because eventually the sun went down, and we were left to grill in the pitchblack, and consumed our feast in the back of Vic's car. Which as I've found, is really how all food should be cooked and eaten:


Vic and I also went to a Rockies game at Coors Field.

Now I'm not generally a sports fan but met some really cool people and somehow got seriously into the game. Also, and I'm not proud, but purchased the most expensive Coorslight ever at $6.50. I know I know.. but it was Coors field! I felt like I had to. We then went out in Denver and had a glorious time wandering around and dancing with some super creepers, which I seem to attract wherever I go..

Oh and one last image - maybe Corey's favorite from Colorado

The first of many

Alright, so finally on the opposite side of the country, oh so far away from home, I write my first entry. Seeing as Cork has been trained in all the technical in&outs of photography, I'll be updating the snapshots I've taken. He's dubbed me, sunlip snapshot. "Snapshot" because I take snapshots on my dinky pink camera and "sunlip.." cork'll have to explain, something to do with chapstick and spf.
Now to share some highlights of the trip thus far. You may notice a food trend with the pictures to come. For me, and probably Corey too, this trip will be as much about the sights we see as the food we eat : )
Kansas City can be summed up in two pictures:
Before Gates BBQ

Don't be deceived - there is sooo much ham under those fries.
And a pitcher of root beer.

And after Gates BBQ

It was kind of like being drunk - the full effect did not hit us until we stood up. Then it took hours to recover. My first ribs experience - worth it- but rough going.

Also, there was a cat, and air conditioning, and a really comfortable couch - so I was in heaven


Then it was off to Kansas! I was determined to find something redeeming about Kansas and I think we were beyond successful. To start, and what a good start, the woman at the toll booth who came out to kneel by the car and chat about the down quilt she just picked up at a yard sale for $2.50. And then Wichita. Granted we only spent a couple of hours there, but I think we picked up an excellent vibe from the city. First, to put a picture to the seller of the best malts that guy ever had:


Then we went to a bar with Alysha and her boyfriend and tried Fat Tire, which was good at first, but eventually reminded me of steel reserve, which is never a good thing..

And then we toured the abandoned building Cor shot in

if you were wondering, yes, there are more where those tiny saws in the bottom left corner came from..

To finish off our time in Wichita, the first of many delicious gelato experiences, Cor with cocount and chocolate, me with raspberry and pistachio

and we're off to Colorado!


more to come later..