Thunder and lightning and tornados oh my!

Sept 24 - Man, the weather is crazy! It seems like no matter how unlikely clouds and rain are, where ever I am, it'll rain. We went to Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock in western Nebraska. It was rainy and cold, but it still was cool to see. Scotts Bluff is a cliff that overlooks the North Platte River and the surrounding countryside. Since the bluff contains very soft rock, it erodes easily (about 8 inches in the past 70 years...that's speedy in the world of rocks.) Chimney Rock is down a small dirt road. (I was rocking that dirt road, going about 50 mph.) We thought it looked like Nebraska was giving us the finger. We left the back roads to my dismay to get back on the interstate. Everything was smooth sailing...until we were about 100 miles out of Lincoln. The rain that we were following all day decided to turn into severe thunderstorms with a couple of tornados mixed in. It was scary
to hear the location of the tornado on the radio, then drive right past the exit for that town.

Vee-dah-what?

Sept 23 - Welcome to Wyoming, the land with 5 people per square mile. The neat thing is that we're 8,000 feet above sea level, and I didn't even feel light headed. Tristan and I camped at Vedauwoo (pronounced Vee-dah-voo) in Medicine Bow National Forest. Vedauvoo has a bunch of cool rock formations (and by rocks, I mean super heavy boulders perched precariously atop of one another.) After we set up camp, we laid out on the rocks to watch the stars. Because of clouds, the stars weren't as vibrant as they were in Utah, but it was still pretty awesome to watch how quickly the clouds moved. The next day, we went hiking despite the impending rain. Tristan decided to climb a huge boulder, but then couldn't figure out how to get down. Smart guy he is, he figured it out and then helped me climb over. We ate our PB&J sandwiches while we enjoyed the view. When the rain picked up, we quickly but
carefully climbed down from the rock (scary!) then scurried to the car (Tristan slipped but is okay.)

Oh Holy Canyon!

Sept 21 - Yay, Utah! I must say, the scenery is amazingly beautiful. We arrived at our campsite after dark, so I woke up to gigantic red canyon walls. We drove to Bryce Canyon National Park and decided to hike down into the canyon, which was amazingly gorgeous. The canyon walls towered above us as we winded down the trail. With every step, I saw something interesting (sediment layers, mudsicles, and trees that grow out of rocks!) About halfway through our hike, we came across a dry river bed. We followed it up the canyon. The scenic vista before me was amazing. We left the park and headed up north to Salt Lake City. The Mormon temple is in the center of town, and the streets are numbered so that at any corner, you know how far you are from the temple. We ate at Crown Burger, an SLC specialty (a burger topped with pastami, yum!) We camped in Wasach National Forest just west of SLC,
complete with a campfire and smores! Super yum!

Monument Valley

Sept 20 - I'm really getting used to this camping thing. Tristan and I camped in Mesa Verde National Park in Cortez, CO. It's neat to be this close to nature (a bunch of deer walked right past our campsite.) Mesa Verde is known for its ancient cliff dwellings, which were pretty interesting, but the coolest thing about the park were the outlooks on the way up the mountain. We could see over 200 miles into Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Leaving the park, we headed to the Four Corners to take a few corny pictures before heading down a lonely road into the Navajo Nation in Arizona. We drove through Monument Valley, a highly photographed place in the Navajo Nation. There are no signs, just the massive plateaus to announce your arrival. After finding a place to pull over (easier said than done...there were tons of pointy plants and a good 6" drop from the road to the shoulder), I took some
pictures of the soaring plateaus. Then we were back on the lonely road, on our way to Utah.

We're going the wrong way!

Sept 19 - My camp buddy Tristan and I are embarking on a road trip from Denver back to Philadelphia. We're taking a slight detour (and by slight, I mean about 1700 miles out of our way) into southern Colorado and Utah. We went to the Great Sand Dunes in Alamosa, CO. Thousands of years ago, the wind blew sediments that were too heavy to cross the Rocky Mountains. The sediments have collected over the past 15,000 years, making giantic sand dunes. The crazy thing is that the dunes have pretty much maintained their shape since the 1800s due to the circular winds. We decided to hike up to the top of one of the dunes (I know, it's totally awesome that it's not off limits!) Every time we got to the top of a peak, we saw yet another higher peak. But we perservered, through the windy sand storms and unsure footing, and we made it to the top! The view of the mountains, sand dunes and surrounding
country was amazing. I'm proud of what we accomplished!

America The Beautiful!

Aug 11 - My mom and my sister flew out to Denver to drive back to Philadelphia with me. It was a much anticipated trip, with visions of grand sightseeing and girl bonding floating in our heads. I picked them up at the airport, and we headed off to Colorado Springs. The next day, we planned to visit Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. Knowing the cog railway for Pikes Peak sold out quickly, we got there early in the morning. Success! The ride up was beautiful, and we could really feel the change in the air temperature. Unfortunately, right after we took this picture, my mom slipped and broke her ankle. The EMTs wrapped it up the best they could, and we decided the quickest way down was to take the hour and a half train back down. We sang "America the Beautiful" at Inspiration Point, the spot where Katharine Lee Bates wrote the words. We even got applause. My mom is doing well in recovery,
and we're talking about taking a road trip next summer. Keep your fingers crossed!