Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, Four Corners and Today

Last night we slept in Page, AZ, apparently the epicenter of awesome Southwester Desert formations. We planned to start the morning with a tour of the Antelope Slot Canyons, but the admission was 50 dollars per person and we can't afford it, so we added it to our bucket list for next time. Instead, we visited the beautiful Horseshoe Bend. At this point, the Colorado River curves 270 degrees, forming a beautiful horseshoe gouged deep into the Earth.

We drove through Monument Valley and were awestruck by the beautiful rock formations scattered across the desert. It was really cold and rainy out, which we thought was interesting.

After the monuments we drove to the Four Corners Monument which sits on the corners of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. While there we took advantage of our chance to be in four places at once. If only this ability extended to other areas of our lives...

Today we are in Farmington, New Mexico and are planning to make it to Wilburton, Oklahoma by Monday morning. Right now we are planning to stop halfway in Amarillo, Texas, but that may change, we'll just have to keep you posted.

I hope all is well where ever you may be.
Peace and Love

Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon

Las Vegas was crazy. I guess I shouldn't even be talking about this because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I'll break the rules just this once.

We got into town around 5 o'clock and couldn't find a safe looking parking lot, so we went to Expedia.com and found a really cheap room at the Riviera on the strip for the night. That was the safest option and also allowed us to drink without worrying about driving.

The lights and fountain shows were my favorite, especially the fountain show in front of the Bellagio. Our favorite casino was Treasure Island, because we won more, but I loved the statues and architecture at Caesar's Palace. Sean and I each gambled 10 dollars in the penny slots and that kept us busy until 3 a.m. We only won 15 dollars, but it was fun anyway.

Nike at Caesar's Palace

City Lights

The next day we had a late start. I think we left town around 2 p.m. and headed toward Flagstaff, AZ for the night. On our way we stopped by the Hoover Dam, which we didn't realize was on our path. It was a really cool sight and the engineering behind it is amazing!

Huge Pipe

Drainage Towers, we think

The Hoover Dam!!

Photo-Op!

New Bridge across from the Dam

We stayed in Flagstaff that night and then headed toward the Grand Canyon in the morning.

What can really be said about the Grand Canyon that will do it justice? It is so vast and deep that it has mountains inside of it. it. The layers of colors and the way the clouds cast their shadows on it are remarkable. You'll just have to make a trip out to see it yourselves. Sean and I have already added hiking across it to our bucket list for next time.

Watchtower over the Grand Canyon

San Diego and Lemon Grove

The next three days were spent in Lemon Grove and San Diego. I Finally got to meet Sean's sister Bridget and brother-in-law Kevin, his nephew Liam and three nieces Jamie, Dierdre and Sloan.

The youngest girls immediately invited me to their room to show me their barbies, dolls and to brush my hair. I'm pretty sure my scalp is still recovering from little Sloan's hair styling techniques, but it was so much fun.

Some of the time we spent beach bumming with the girls and admiring all of the fancy houses on Coronado Island. We also watched the seals swim and sunbathe, caught crabs and collected sea shells at Pacific Beach.

Sloan, Dierdre, Sean, Me and Jamie at Pacific Beach

Sloan looking for crabs

Sean and Dierdre

Jamie and Sean

The Girls buried me...

I buried the Girls!

While everyone was at work and school on Monday, Sean and I went out to the Silver Strip and found more sea shells. That night Bridget took us to Old Town to check out the old buildings and little shops.

Seals basking in the sun

Cute Seal!

Pelicans over the beach

Bridget gave us the grand tour of the city, we think she was advertising the place in hopes that we would move closer, which is definitely an option. Thank you so much again for having us for the weekend, it was amazing.

The Redwoods to San Diego

By the evening of October 3rd we were both exhausted, apparently out of road tripping shape.But we pushed forward to Portland, OR to visit my friends Alisha and Lenny. We were only able to stay for a very short time, but it was really awesome to see them. Can't wait to see them again when we aren't all exhausted and sick, but that's just another excuse for a visit I suppose =)

The next day we left Oregon and headed toward the Pacific Coast. We were both completely grounded and in awe at the giant Redwoods. I was so amazed at the sheer size that I was startled by them at first.

Looking up at the Redwoods

Photo-Op!

While passing through the Redwoods we met up with Paul Bunyan and Babe. We tried to steal the ax  but it didn't work out too well.

The next day we drove down the coast making our way closer to Sean's sister and her family. We saw beautiful beaches, pelicans, seals and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. That night we sped through Los Angeles and made it to San Diego just before we both passed out.

Northern California

Golden Gate Bridge through our dirty windshield

Central California

From Goodbye to Stonehenge

On October 2nd we said goodbye to our coworkers and Yellowstone families and hit the open road, about an hour after which the tears started flowing. It's amazing how quickly bonds can be formed, sometimes without even realizing it. I think part of my heart will always be in Yellowstone, just as part of it will always need to wander.

Aspens, my favorite tree

That day we made it to the Ringing Rocks near Butte, MT. These rocks are really cool, they are high up on a mountain and when you hit them with a hammer (or in our case a tire iron) they ring like bells. The most interesting fact about them though is when they are removed from the area they no longer ring. It was fun to climb around and bang the rocks for awhile before hitting the road again.

Sean at the Ringing Rocks

Our final stop for the night was the 50,000 silver dollar bar near the western border of Montana. The bar was very interesting, there really were 50,000 silver dollars displayed all over the bar. Each dollar had the names of the people who dedicated it inscribed in the wood underneath it. There was also a free campground behind the store that we of course took advantage of, thanks to my friend Stacy for the tip on that one.

The next morning we stopped in Washington at the Man-made Stonehenge Monument. The monument is a replica of the original Stonehenge and was erected to serve as the first World War I memorial in the U.S. It was impressive and we caught it at the perfect time, as the sun was shining through it.

Stonehenge Monument

Sean being cute, as always

September: Final month in Yellowstone

Well, we're back on the road again and now's as good of a time as any to finally write about September. Better late than never, right?

Our Teton trip was successful, we finally saw a moose! We did a couple of laps around the gorgeous park the night we got there and saw no moose. But the next morning during a hike around Jenny Lake we saw one moose in a small pond and another not far from her in the grass. Supposedly there was also a calf in the area, but we didn't get a look at him. We camped out in the Tetons at a beautiful secluded backpacking site on Spalding Bay of Jackson Lake.

MOOSE!

Hidden Falls

Jenny Lake

Tetons

Our Campsite at Jackson Lake

September also brought Sean's 24th birthday which meant a surprise zip lining trip in Big Sky, Montana. It was our first time zipping and we LOVED it. The trip included three zips and we both wanted to do the loop again when it was over. Unfortunately, too much fun was had to capture photos, but we have the memories =)

The final week of September we packed all of our stuff back into the van. We took that Sunday off exclusively for getting out into the park and doing some touristy things like Old Faithful and animal searching/watching.

Bison family on the move

Cute blacktail deer

So close, but so far away!

Dragon's mouth thermal feature

Posing with Old Faithful

The future and pending

Our contracts with Xanterra (company we work for in Yellowstone) end on October 2nd, which means we have to leave Montana on October 3rd. We're both kind of sad about this and are trying to finish up our Yellowstone 2012 bucket lists before we leave. Sean has achieved all of his, but I still have one goal left and that is to see a moose. Apparently moose are very good at hiding, we've searched all of the places that they supposedly roam except for one: Grand Teton National Park (conjoined to and located just south of Yellowstone)

Most of the summer we've had the same weekends, but starting on the 15th, my schedule switches back so that we only have one day off together each week. This means that next weekend is our last full weekend together out here, so we're going camping in the Tetons because we haven't made it down there yet (and to look for a moose!)

So now you know what to expect next month.... Just kidding! (hopefully...)


Peace and Love to all.

Bunsen Peak and Osprey Falls

Today we hiked Bunsen Peak and Osprey Falls, again. This was my third time and Sean's second. We loved it again of course, we got a little depressed as we sat near the base of the falls and realized it was the last time we would spend time there before leaving. So of course we stayed a fairly long time and threw rocks into the water, I took a cat nap and Sean took a lot of pictures and video too.

View from the Peak

conquered!... again

A mellow fall-time Osprey Falls

A final photo at our favorite spot