"Miss a beat and you'll not find me where you did a month ago..."
It was suggested that I chronicle my adventures this summer with two objectives. One: so I don't forget. Two: I keep saying it was awesome...okay, what was awesome? So here's a brief snippet...there are far too many stories and details to put in a single post. But if you want more on any place, please ask.
We started by driving across PA, the longest and most uneventful state of our journey. First major stop, Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and AMAZING frozen custard). Ohio has really good food. Then to Cedar Point for fantastic roller coasters, though if you don't want to eat bugs, don't sit in the front row after sunset. Next was Chicago for deepdish pizza, margaritas, and a great walking tour of the city. *quick bounce over to Facebook to check out my Cities I've Been To map to remember what was next...*
Okies, so we went through Wisconsin without sampling the cheese, but we did managed to find a detour that took us off through three exits before dumping us right back on the interstate. Major stop number Next was the Mall of America, with another great roller coaster, good fudge, jewelry purchases and Ratatouille. On the way out of WI we stumbled upon the tiny town of Blue Earth, home to the HUGE statue of the Green Giant.
South Dakota is now one of my favorite states (behind CA and RI, of course). We stopped at all kinds of kitschy places like the Corn Palace in Mitchell, Wall Drug with its free ice-water, the human skeleton leading the t-rex skeleton on a leash (we backed up on the interstate to get a picture of that one). Our first hiking adventure was in the Badlands where we climbed out on very high ledges and amused other tourists. Eventually, the state led us to Mt. Rushmore (not really so impressive), the Crazy Horse Monument (HUGELY impressive), and spelunking in Jewel Caves (you had to squeeze through a stone block before they'd let you in the caves to prove you could make it through the whole cave, AMAZING time with a fantastic guide!). Oh, and after spelunking we had true buffalo burgers that put The Flame's to absolute shame.
Next up, Wyoming and Yellowstone...middle of the night....center of the highway....HUGE beast...glowing green eyes....AH! My first real hike, six hours up a mountain, two hours running down. I was covered in salt by the end.
After getting down the mountain, we jumped in the car and drove looking for food and a new place to stay. Idaho was ridiculous, everything shuts down at 10, the ice caves were cool but not as exciting as Jewel and we couldn't find anybody with a bungee to help us jump off the most perfect bridge. "Screw you, Idaho!" But I did manage to pick up The Deathly Hallows and a magic hat there.
Idaho gave way to Utah and Arches National Park, Moab (crack capital of the world), Canyons NP, and Bryce NP. Hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, uber dehydration, best softserve out there, and cozying up with Harry at night.
Through intense lightning, we arrived at the Grand Canyon, at 2 am. It's spectacular in the middle of the night. PItch black. Really glad we didn't drive into it, though setting up a tent with metal rods on such a night was a little harrowing. The South Rim was beautiful.
Leaving the Grand Canyon, we glanced at the Hoover Dam then went kayaking on the river. We ended up making it further up the river than anyone else our guide had ever taken. Accordingly, my arms were ready to die.
Again, jumped in the car and drove to another state. We hunted down the first In'N'Out across the CA border, then on to the new apartment. I was in CA for about 24 hours (and stayed up all night playing Guitar Hero and Facebook pirates) before hopping on a plane to North Carolina....
...but that's a story for another day...
We started by driving across PA, the longest and most uneventful state of our journey. First major stop, Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and AMAZING frozen custard). Ohio has really good food. Then to Cedar Point for fantastic roller coasters, though if you don't want to eat bugs, don't sit in the front row after sunset. Next was Chicago for deepdish pizza, margaritas, and a great walking tour of the city. *quick bounce over to Facebook to check out my Cities I've Been To map to remember what was next...*
Okies, so we went through Wisconsin without sampling the cheese, but we did managed to find a detour that took us off through three exits before dumping us right back on the interstate. Major stop number Next was the Mall of America, with another great roller coaster, good fudge, jewelry purchases and Ratatouille. On the way out of WI we stumbled upon the tiny town of Blue Earth, home to the HUGE statue of the Green Giant.
South Dakota is now one of my favorite states (behind CA and RI, of course). We stopped at all kinds of kitschy places like the Corn Palace in Mitchell, Wall Drug with its free ice-water, the human skeleton leading the t-rex skeleton on a leash (we backed up on the interstate to get a picture of that one). Our first hiking adventure was in the Badlands where we climbed out on very high ledges and amused other tourists. Eventually, the state led us to Mt. Rushmore (not really so impressive), the Crazy Horse Monument (HUGELY impressive), and spelunking in Jewel Caves (you had to squeeze through a stone block before they'd let you in the caves to prove you could make it through the whole cave, AMAZING time with a fantastic guide!). Oh, and after spelunking we had true buffalo burgers that put The Flame's to absolute shame.
Next up, Wyoming and Yellowstone...middle of the night....center of the highway....HUGE beast...glowing green eyes....AH! My first real hike, six hours up a mountain, two hours running down. I was covered in salt by the end.
After getting down the mountain, we jumped in the car and drove looking for food and a new place to stay. Idaho was ridiculous, everything shuts down at 10, the ice caves were cool but not as exciting as Jewel and we couldn't find anybody with a bungee to help us jump off the most perfect bridge. "Screw you, Idaho!" But I did manage to pick up The Deathly Hallows and a magic hat there.
Idaho gave way to Utah and Arches National Park, Moab (crack capital of the world), Canyons NP, and Bryce NP. Hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, uber dehydration, best softserve out there, and cozying up with Harry at night.
Through intense lightning, we arrived at the Grand Canyon, at 2 am. It's spectacular in the middle of the night. PItch black. Really glad we didn't drive into it, though setting up a tent with metal rods on such a night was a little harrowing. The South Rim was beautiful.
Leaving the Grand Canyon, we glanced at the Hoover Dam then went kayaking on the river. We ended up making it further up the river than anyone else our guide had ever taken. Accordingly, my arms were ready to die.
Again, jumped in the car and drove to another state. We hunted down the first In'N'Out across the CA border, then on to the new apartment. I was in CA for about 24 hours (and stayed up all night playing Guitar Hero and Facebook pirates) before hopping on a plane to North Carolina....
...but that's a story for another day...