30 Days Down

Everything is going great with the job. I've gotten to know some residents by name (there are soo many!) and most staff. The other supervisors and I get along great and have even friended eachother on Facebook, so you know its serious! :)

With Cristy and Nate on their own epic adventure roadtrip, I'm reading their blog and looking at their pictures. I'd think that I would be more jelous if I hadn't so recently finished my own. Honestly, the novelty of getting into my bed at night and hot coffee automatically brewed in the morning still hasn't worn off. I appreciate having the ability and time to take a bubblebath after work, lazing on the couch watching TV without guilt if I want too, and spending time with friends so much that my travel bug is still satiated. I'm so happy for them and excited to hear the stories they will have when they return. It sounds like they are meeting incredible people along the way too. That is what I miss right now. I miss my hiking friends whom I spent every day with for two months! I miss my navigator, Nothai. I miss Bluto's laugh, Windmill's smile, AT73 peaceful aura, Queen Becky's energy, talking and walking with Chef, Scree's laughter, and all the stories and comments shared among everyone I met along the way.

Ending the Epic Adventure

Okay, so I got a job in Southfield, MI that I'm really excited about and have even moved into my new apartment. The job is working for an independant living senior housing community as the business office manager. Any other job and I'd have more mixed feelings about staying in Michigan, but I'm really happy about this job. I wanted to make the change into senior housing from residential, I really like the people I work with, and I'm happy about still being with friends here. This company has 70 something properties through the states, including properties in Colorado!

So, here I am back in Michigan for a while...lol!

WI to MI

We spent two days in Wisconsin lazing about, chatting with family, and enjoying home cooked food. We drove all day yesterday the north way back into Michigan and got here around 10:30. After dropping off Nothai I went to John & Al's. Tommy two socks was there so we hung out for a bit and had some beers. Before long Alison and I were having a dance party in the kitchen like old times! I'll be here for a bit starting the job search and visiting with friends, then going to Illinois to do the same.

SD to WI

Today we drove all day from South Dakota where we stopped last night (50 miles short of Minnesota), through Minnesota and into Wisconsin. I stopped at an auto shop in Minnesota to have my headlight repaired. I talked to Neil about fixing my spark plug issue on the way down because of some complication that might break the head and cause bigger problems. My car is starting to fall apart. :( I thought of calling some of my Minnesota friends for a short visit, but about a year or so ago I’d lost my phone and didn’t have any of their numbers available. I should have thought that through earlier because I’d have liked to see them.
I have to say a big thanks to Logan and his gaming friends. I’ve been listening to the podcasts while driving and also before falling asleep. Great entertainment - and I can’t wait to be settled somewhere to play too!

We made it finally to my Grandparents in Wisconsin around 8PM. My aunt Natalie and new cousin Jack Zander were there too, what a great surprise!

South Dakota fun fun

08/30/09 -
Driving all day from Montana and into Wyoming.

08/31/09 -
Today was a packed day! We drove into South Dakota and shortly after pulled off the highway to head south and drive through Deadwood. We didn’t stop and walk around, but driving down Main Street was neat, looking at the old saloon and hotel storefronts, etc. I really like the entire Black Hills area. There is something about the type of forest maybe, or the type of trees...I don’t know. We drove past Mount Rushmore but decided not to pay the $10 to walk up to the monument. I’ve been there before and Nothai wasn’t too excited about it. He thought the heads would be a lot bigger. Unfortunately the pictures we took were pretty bad too, with the sun directly behind the mountain. We wanted to get to Badlands too so we decided not to go look at the unfinished Crazy Horse monument. Honestly, I think we are both losing some patience for the roadtrip. We stopped more frequently in the beginning for dumb stuff and now we are sort of flying by some of the good stuff. I don’t mind this really because there are things I’d have liked to stop and do but since I didn’t, that means that I still need to take the South Dakota road trip with my sister!
Lastly, my check engine light came on while in Badlands so I called Neil to tell him what the car’s been doing. He said it could be the fuel injector and to try a bottle of cleaner next tank of gas, but likely it is spark plug or wire issues. The good news is that the car shouldn’t just die on me. When I stopped at a gas station I noticed that I have a headlight out now too!

On another note, I saw a turtle in the road today and didn't stop to move him to safety. This is important in some way to mention.

Yellowstone NP

08/28/09 -
Today was driving all day through Nevada, Utah, Idaho and into Yellowstone (Wyoming). We selected a campsite for the night that was about 25 miles into the park so that we could have the full day tomorrow in the park.

08/29/09 -
We drove along the west road that stops at all the geysers, Old Faithful, Mud Volcano, Sulphur Caldron, and the upper west area of Mammoth Hot Springs. We didn’t actually hike much other than getting out of the car and walking the half mile loop that takes you to whatever it is you are stopping for. So, we were able to see the highlights all in one day! I know we missed stuff, but it was a great trip. I’d love to spend more time here in the future an do more hiking. We headed out of the park going north and into Montana. Oh, and we saw a decent amount of wildlife. Although, we didn’t see any grizzlies or big horn sheep (sigh!).

San Francisco!

While in SF, Nothai and I basically walked everywhere and did everything that was worth doing. Okay, that is an exaggeration, but I feel like we had a great experience of getting to know the city and area. We took the bus once to the ocean and stopped at Golden Gate park, otherwise we walked everywhere, which I think is the best way to get to know the area if you can. We walked the pier areas, including Fisherman's Warf, the financial district, Castro Street the park there, had lots of suggested yummy local food and beer. I wish I'd had longer to stay and was able to spend more time with senior Joseph, but the city grew on me and I could see myself returning soon, possibly on a more somewhat permanent level.

08/27/09 -
Went to breakfast with Joe to say goodbye (bagels & coffee), went to re-park my car and found that I had a parking ticket! We walked to the pier and took the ferry to Alcatraz. It was very good, and I recommend it. Included in the admission price is the ferry ride and an audio tour that tells the history and a few stories of attempted escapes. We walked back to the car and headed out, stopping at the Golden Gate bridge for some pictures, and hunkering down for the long night drive. I also noted that my car has started sort of shuddering when accelerating on a hill. I’m hoping this is a SF thing because of the crazy hills and will knock it off.

SF Arrival

We woke up at the rest area we stopped at outside of Yosemite (it was surprisingly COLD last night!) And headed into a nearby town, Lee Vining to do laundry and have an actual breakfast. After an omelet (yeah, old habits die hard!), hash browns and toast we hung out at a coffee shop for a few hours that had wireless and had some coffee. After the last week of gas station coffee, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola bars and fruit snacks, a real meal was too tempting and we caved within the confines of town. We checked e-mail real quick, updated what we could and got directions to Joe’s in San Francisco. We will drive through Yosemite one more time on the way to the west coast. I’m really excited to see Joe and hopefully fall in love with the city! I haven’t been with reception on my phone for more or less the last week, so my apologies!

We got to San Francisco around 6PM and it only took an hour of getting lost and finding parking to finally arrive at Joe's. I'm horrible at parallel parking, so that was another fun challenge of the evening that ended uneventfully. After celebratory greetings we headed around the corner to a delicious burrito place (I don't even care for Mexican much, but this was good!) and hung out chatting with another of his roommates. I'm so looking forward to a bed; again, its the little things.

Pictures are up - videos soon, precious!

Yosemite NP

08/21/09 -
We drove into Yosemite from the east and drove down Tioga Road to Tuolumne Meadows. We first hiked up Lembert Dome, which was a little difficult but entirely rewarding. The view was great. From there we hiked to Elizabeth Lake. At one point we deviated from the actual trail and found ourselves along a river and I took advantage of a pool of water along the way. Nothai didn’t, but we found another a bit down the path that he jumped in, along with a bunch of others. Elizabeth Lake was also beautiful. I got pretty sunburned today, although I put sun block on my face I thought I wouldn’t burn because I am already so tanned. Bad theory, clearly!

08/22/09 -
We started today driving into the north Hetch Hetchy area that is supposed to have several waterfalls. This is were we learned that the waterfalls that Yosemite is so known for generally only flow in the spring when snow is still melting and by June have usually run dry. On our visit, everything was dry. The falls were a bust, so we headed down to the Glacier Point area and hiked Taft point and Sentinal Dome. It started raining along the way, but the views here were amazing as well. This was a great way to see down into the Valley.

08/23/09 -
We headed to Mariposa Grove where we saw the giant sequoias. This was incredible - trees bigger than some houses! We were able to get a ranger lead tour so we got a lot of information about these interesting trees. We hiked further into the grove and got lots of great pictures. We decided to drive through the valley even though we were certain it would be bad. The main attraction of the valley is that is where all the waterfalls come down and join the river. The river was even almost all dried up. We headed out of Yosemite to the east again so we could do errands in the morning.

Grand Canyon NP & Vegas Again!

9 PM Is there something about Las Vegas that keeps calling you back? I just washed off the dirt from my grubby body in my 4 Queens hotel room and am waiting for Nothai to finish his washing ritual so we can head down where I can see the Freemont Experience street lights through my window as I type. This wasn’t a part of the plan! Sure, maybe a drive through to show him the strip, but then there I was actually getting a bit excited to be back in a city I thought once would be enough.

1AM We don’t appreciate the small things nearly enough, like a comfy bed and a hot shower, or crappy Chinese food takeout at 11:30 PM when in our home town everything would be closed! I was in Vegas last a few months ago and so was my step father, Neil. I later found out that my friend Jeff had also been in town too. I sent Jeff a text message as Nothai and I headed for dinner and guess what! Jeff was here and we met for a drink - what a small funny great world!

Earlier -
We went and explored the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We went to all the viewpoints and went hiking a bit too. It was great weather and a beautiful day, although pretty hot and dry of course. A wildfire had started with lightening late July that was still burning a bit and the smoke is visible. There were a lot of elderly folks running around the easy views that got me thinking about the time and money I’m spending right now. Maybe I’m financing a lot with credit cards and putting myself back a bit, but I’m so glad I am. I don’t want to wait to see the world until I’m older and then can’t fully experience it the way I want. An couple in their late 50's or early 60's maybe asked us as we were returning from an outlook how far it was and how difficult. After explaining it was maybe a quarter mile and not too bad they opted to skip it because we were out of breath. Yeah, it is nearly 10,000 feet up! On the other hand, I want to look forward to physical vacations when I’m that age too! We were finished running around a lot earlier than expected. Honestly, that is one of the great parts about traveling with Nothai-we both waste little time and go for the heart of the experience.

We debated driving to the south rim as well just to be sure we didn’t miss anything good, but after talking to a local she said that the north was not only better, but the south is a bit disappointing after starting on the north not only with the views but also the south is so heavily visited you have to fight against the crowd too. The south rim would put us out several hundred miles, no thank you - we got it! We saw an advertisement on the way for a hotel right over the Nevada border for $24.99! After stopping at the information center I found a phone number for a hotel service that found a room at the 4 Queens for $25-DONE! Lastly, driving through the Arizona mountains was surprisingly beautiful! Nothai jokingly asked if we were back in Zion because the mountains were so huge!

Bryce Canyon & Zion NP

Happy Birthday Brett!
Bryce Canyon & Zion - hiking in Bryce was much better than Zion, but understandable because going down into the canyon of giant rocks there isn’t much to see in the way of gorgeous landscapes. I have more to write about this, but later when I can update properly in a few days....

Leaving CO-Arches NP

We packed up and said goodbye to my Dad, Michelle and Madison and got back on the road before noon. The drive through Colorado was incredible. The mountains change colors, shape and feel several times. I couldn’t stop taking pictures and video to capture what I was seeing. Pictures never do the real thing justice though. And the other thing I can’t capture was oh man was it hot! When we started going south boy was it hot and dry. The temperature of course dropped at night so much that we were actually chilly in the car and had to cover up. We decided not to stop at Canyonland national park. From the pictures online and in the brochures it didn’t look like anything we weren’t already seeing or would see on a much larger scale. We have a lot of national parks to hit, so this one didn’t make the final cut. We instead went to it’s neighbor, Arches national park. This was great. Again, I have a weakness for red rocks and sand. We were there for the sunset which made the colors that much more outstanding.

Denver & Rocky Mtn NP

Yesterday we went down to Denver and again did the Banjo Billy’s bus tour. I have to say that again, I really like the whole concept of this. The tour guide reminded me of Louis, but with lighter hair. He told us a little about a lot. Nothai and I also went to the state capitol building and poked around in there, including a trip up to the top of the gold dome. We walked down 16th street, as I imagine every tourist feels compelled to do. I was shocked that the buses run up and down the street over such a short distance. Why can’t we expected to walk just a little? Walking around I was hit with deja vu, but this had really happened years ago! I was walking here with my friends Jeremie and Shannon. It was night time and we probably shouldn’t have been running around in the parks, but we were. On 16th street there was a big black guy who was yelling for the cops because he’d been stabbed and robbed. I had forgotten all about that. No, crime isn’t the norm in Denver, but at night the homeless are active like in any big city.
Today we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park and bought our America the Beautiful Pass which for $80 gives you entrance too all national parks. Most are $20 per vehicle admission, so after 5 parks the pass will pay for itself. We expect to go to well over this. Anyway, we head straight to Bear Lake. I was here once before when I was younger and had just flown to visit my dad from Chicago and wasn’t used to the altitude. I made it as far as the parking lot and felt sick so my dad had to take me back down. Bear Lake is just under 10,000 feet. I never even made it to the lake the fist time.
This time Nothai and I were at the lake when it started to hail. We could see dark clouds above rolling toward us. It turned to rain and kept raining for about 15 minutes until we saw blue sky coming. The rain hadn’t stopped completely, but we headed up in our rain gear. It was maybe 15 minutes later we already had stripped back down and the sun was back out. Welcome to mountain weather! There was only one moment that my mouth started salivating and my jaw clenched like I might be sick, but I pushed on and it passed. Nothai reported a similar story at one of our stops up the mountain. I stopped a lot to catch my breath. The hardest part for me was breathing most of the way. Nothai was having energy depletion issues too. On the way up more dark stormy clouds passed us on the right and left at one point (we thought we were gonna luck out), but then got a full face of hail about an hour later. It wasn’t that bad, but we did put our rain gear back on and get shelter under a rock for a moment while it passed. I was mostly concerned with lightening, which we could see in other storm areas passing us. Up at the top we were both dragging, but we made it. The view was fantastic atop Flatrock Mountain. It is supposed to be one of the most challenging but rewarding hikes in the park. My only disappointment was that when we were at the top looking over the continental divide there was still a lot of clouds (at 12,324 feet you might expect that)! We saw a lot of critters (marmots and pikas) running around the mountains, but no bighorn sheep, deer or bears. It was a long and satisfying day. The family returned from their trip tonight. Nothai and I will be heading out early Monday morning toward the Grand Canyon and other surrounding national parks. I likely won’t be able to update until we stop in San Francisco! In the meantime, all pictures and video's are uploaded - Enjoy!

Littleton & Boulder

Yesterday we did a walking tour around downtown historic Littleton. Most of the buildings were constructed late 1800's and very early 1900's. I'm not a big architecture person, but some of it was interesting. Some of it was silly as they explain in the brochure all the changes and refurbishing that the buildings have had (most are now restaurants or little shops of some kind). This left me thinking "here is the framework of a very old building that looks nothing like it did, but it used to be a jailhouse back in the day if you can imagine it."

And then today we drove up to Boulder and rode on Banjo Billy's bus that gives a historical tour including ghost stories and crime. How can you not love that! The inside of the bus is comfy with upholstered furniture instead of bus seats and draped fabric in wild colors hanging from the ceiling. The tour was good and we scored $5 off tickets our tour tomorrow of Denver. We walked down the famed Pearl street and then headed off into the mountains to drive around a bit, to Nederland. We again speculated on if we would enjoy living up there. We both agreed that we could, if we were independently wealthy and didn't need to work. I would do crafting things all day, like sewing, candle making, jewelry making, and even take up new arts like painting and stained glass making. Who wants to finance my creative exploration?! :) Yeah, one day!

The Lariat Loop, CO

Yesterday was a day of relaxation, laundry, charging electronics and updating photos and blog for Nothai and I. Other than that, there was some dinner and the watching fo Valkerie (I liked it very much).

Today was a bit more exciting. We decided to drive the Lariet scenic loop drive. We started by stopping at Dinosour Ridge and I was disappointed to find out that you can't drive the ridge anymore. You have to either walk the 2 mile loop or pay to ride in a tour bus around and they tell you stuff that I'm sure is interesting. We planned already to hike through Red Rocks so we decided to skip the ridge. I've done it before and Nothai wasn't that excited about it. Red Rocks is what it is every time I go - AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!!! We got there right on time before they closed the amplitheatre for the concert that night. We hiked the one mile-ish loop that is the perfect challenge and length for a nice walk leaving you a bit sweaty, thirsty and ready to get back in the car! We continued on the loop through Morrison and Evergreen, little mountain towns and talked about how it might be to live there.

We stopped to view a herd a buffalo then continued on to Buffalo Bill's grave and a beautiful lookout of both the city, including Denver in the distance, and the mountains next to it. This was a great spot that I don't remember having ever been to before. It was a good day of spectacular views. I enjoyed showing off 'My Colorado'!

Route 66

My computer got infected with something really nasty that changed my wallpaper and wouldn't let me open any applications until I went to the 'Windows website' to register and remove the virus. So, instead I helped JGIB clean his room and he fixed my computer. I headed to Michigan Sunday and stayed at Anne's house when I arrived around 3 AM. After some sleep I stopped over at John and Alison's to pick up the 4 Roadtrip books I'd ordered from Ebay. Three had arrived and the forth got there as we were chatting in the day's mail - how perfect! Again, I have that 'rightness' feeling, like everything is working out in the way it should. I headed over to Dana's to pick up Nothai and begin the next adventure of driving Route 66 to my Dad's house in Colorado. Well, to Santa Fe and then north to Littleton.

August 3rd - Happy Birthday Alison and Jack Borchert!
Nothai and I head out from Michigan. We decided to skip the actual beginning of Route 66, which starts in Chicago since we'd just been there. We start our journey in Joliet, a little southwest of Chicago. We got there about 5 PM and drive by the prison, then take our first and only 'Route 66 sign' picture. We also stopped at the first Dairy Queen which was the first of many disappointments. For some reason, they decided to add plastic Blues Brothers to the top of the dairy queen, which doesn't clearly indicate that it is the first Dairy Queen. I'm not sure why anyone thought that this would be appropriate, but it began the first of many cheesy tourist stops. Also, it is a bit difficult to plan things out well because business attractions have operating hours to consider, or more so limit you on stopping or not. For instance, if there are many things to do in a certain area but you arrive at 5PM your choice is to pass them up or call it a day. We were on a little bit of a time line, needing to get to my dad's by a certain day, so we didn't stop until at least 10 PM usually, even if that meant skipping some neat things. In retrospect, they probably weren't that neat anyway. Yeah, I really decided Route 66 is a bust!

August 4th -
We stopped at a rest area just before Springfield for the night (thought about it, but too late to call Windmill!). This was our worst rest area experience; the car area was in front instead of the rear of the building so the noise from semi's passing was terrible. Also, it was very muggy and buggy outside. Windows had to be rolled down and the mosquitoes were happy about our unfortunate situation. It was so hot and sticky my everything was sweating just laying in the car not moving. After calling off the sleep attempt around 6 AM we drove into Springfield. We had to wait a few hours though until the Lincoln house opened, so we went to Walmart to get food supplies for the cooler. We got trapped in Walmart for about 30 minutes because of an enormously powerful storm outside. I thought we might be in for a tornado treat. I'm not joking or exaggerating.
We went to President Abraham Lincoln's home, grave, giant statue, and Cozy Dogs for corn dogs on the way out of town. We stopped in Collinsville, IL to see the world's largest ketchup bottle (these things actually made the trip worth it!) We stopped just short of St. Louis Missouri for the night and got a little better night's sleep.

August 5th -
We headed into St. Louis to find Samuel Cupples House, located on University grounds. St. Louis University is one of the most beautiful campuses I've seen. We were intrigues with the Masonic Temple for a bit and exchanged ideas about the probability of them being for good or evil before heading out of town to see a rock painted like a frog in I forget what small town. We drove on what the author of my guidebook described as his favorite stretch of Route 66 because of the ghost towns it passed, including Albatross, Phelps, and Carthage. Ghost towns? No, it is just out in the sticks and there are just a few businesses and people living there. Different ideas of ghost town I guess. I told Nothai I'll show him better ghost towns with better ghost town history in Colorado when we get there. We made it into Oklahoma and learned strange interstate history. First, their tolls are pretty confusing, paying an amount ahead of time which is good until a certain point. This makes getting pulling off for gas frustrating if you don't know ahead of time how the system works. Also, there is/was a problem with truckers stopping at rest areas for the night and attracting solicitors, increasing crime...and so sleeping isn't allowed anymore. This was news to us and I finally stopped and got the story from a lady working overnight at a gas station. Seeing my desperation, she said we could pull around the side of the building and get some rest there. This was a great night with no noise and great rest.

August 6th -
Disgusted with everything Oklahoma, we fled into Texas and stopped at the visitor center just past the border. This was one of the nicest visitor's centers I've seen, although it didn't have any tourist information available. The view was great, although I could feel the furnace heat starting to melt my flesh while driving. We stopped to see the Bug Ranch and the Cadillac Ranch; I preferred the Cadillac in Amarillo. We decided to take a side road, 104 west to Las Vegas, NM from Tucamcari, NM instead of continuing along the interstate. This was a great decision and brought us to my favorite part of the trip - red rocks! I love red rocks and sand - it really gets me. I wasn't expecting to see any yet and was taken by the beauty of this stretch at sunset. We stopped through Las Vegas, New Mexico and tried to find a cheap motel for the night. No luck so we kept on and stopped at the next rest area we found for the night.

August 7th -
We started heading north to Colorado today after getting decent sleep. As the landscape got less and less flat today I could feel the anticipation rising in me to see the mountains. We stopped to visit Capulin volcano, a dormant volcano. We chatted with some motorcyclist that was returning from Stergis and said it was starting to get crazy and stinky there so they (three of them) decided to start wandering around. I could dig that lifestyle if it weren't so dangerous I think. We dodged isolated thunderstorms on the way north to my dad's house and arrived 3 minutes late for dinner at 6:33 PM. It is great to see the family, eat good food, shower and sleep in a bed!

August 8th -
My little sister Madison took Nothai and I to Waterton Canyon where she had summer workshops on survival, mud mucking, and scrap booking. It was a nice relaxing day for us to gently trod around and spend some time with my sister before they head out to California on vacation. Nothai and I are looking forward to doing laundry, relaxing and coming up with a game plan for the rest of the week and for when we head out of the state when Dad returns.

Just wanted to mention real quick also that I sorted my pictures into separate albums in Picasa and all pictures are updated!

Isle Royale

I just got back to Chicago to drop JGIB off at his house and will recount the wonderful trip that was Isle Royale. First let me start by saying that the trip was 100% worth the ferry ride, the biggest reason some folks don't end up going. Pricey, maybe ($60 each way), but it is an ISLAND man! An island with wolves and moose to boot!

July 24th -
As you saw with my last entry, Jeff and I left his house around 1AM and made it to the ferry at 8:15 AM - precisely the time we needed to be there. If any road hazards had been fallen upon we would have missed it! I had to stop at one point and get a 5 hour energy shot - man those things work! I slept for maybe 2 hours on the ferry, and we had some coffee and a donut while making an itinerary from the map Jeff purchased at the information center. Jeff made bold plans of walking high mileage days, including a 7 something mile day to the first camp when we got off the ferry. I nodded and knew that the plan would change quickly once the feet were walking the actual miles! The ferry was six hours and we both struggled to play Scrabble with our sleep deprived minds. When we got to Rock Harbor and got our packs we headed out after only 45 minutes of futzing around. We went a total of 3 miles to the first camp before deciding it would take too long to get the second camp before dark. We checked out a neat cave along the way, Suzie's Cave, where we also found Jeff a wood walking stick. Not too long after returning back to the path did Jeff announce he'd forgotten the stick and I went back for it. It takes a bit to get your balance and walking feet. Jeff had never backpacked a day in his life yet and was slow going, watching his steps carefully but clumsily going along. Sometimes you don't see how far you've come until it is in comparison to the beginning. Before hiking and in the beginning, I was very clumsy, sort of bumbling along and tripping over the smallest rocks and roots. I didn't realize I'd become a lot more nimble and graceful. Now I'm not bragging at all here - I said I've become MORE nimble and graceful, but that doesn't mean that I am those at all. I'm still quite clumsy, I just found a little balance along the way maybe!

July 25th -
Slept great after being so tired and got a pretty late start. The new lightweight sleeping bag is working great. It rained at night but I stayed warm and dry. It took a really long time to get packed and ready in the morning. That is another thing - a system. I have my system of unpacking, setting up, cleaning, cooking, packing, etc. I didn't realize that with time these systems become more efficient. Jeff doesn't yet have a system and is still learning how his gear even works, so everything takes forever. Luckily I enjoy lazy backpacking and this just afforded me more R&R time while Jeff was messing with his stuff and making his own routine. I forgot about that awkward phase. We found old mining pits and while we were investigating them I got stung by a bee. I'd never been stung before, so Jeff and I watched as my hand started swelling and hoped I wasn't deadly allergic. After a moment contemplating the possibility of the bee being Africanized, we continued on to Daisy Farm and had lunch. We settled later at Moskey Basin (we kept saying Monkey Basin) for the night. It was a great day filled with beautiful flowers and perfect hiking weather.

July 26th -
It rained all night and morning but we got up and ready in nice warm sunshine. It was a hot sweaty day, leaving me wanting to jump in the water. Oh, and it is my birthday! As we walked, I thought there were crickets jumping away, but upon closer inspection - baby frogs! It reminded me of a time driving in Missouri where there were frogs everywhere on the road and there was nothing that could be done but forge along. The mosquitoes also were out in force and out for blood (pun intended). There were crickets too and slugs on everything. This is a great way to hike; relaxing but still challenging. At camp I got water and bathed a little, using a bandanna for my face and body. I was sitting making diner and went to wipe a stick or something off my ankle - and it wouldn't come off! I got LEACHED! One match later it was removed and revenge exacted. Jeff's sunscreen exploded in his pants pocket, a squirrel tried to steal our everything bagel, and a jackrabbit ran up and smacked Jeff's tent for invading his space. My hand was incredibly swollen from either the bee sting or the 10 mosquito bites. I took a Benedryl and hoped for the best. Looking back, we should have stopped at amazing Lake Riche for a break and swim. Jeff didn't drink enough water today and was a bit dehydrated at the end of the day, leaving him quite tired, hungry and a bit lackluster. Instead we kept going to West Chickenbone (5.7 miles total for the day) and stopped for the night. The sky was crystal clear and we both slept with the rain fly off. It was great to look up at the stars in the middle of the night. It is great to hike this way. I'm relaxed and going at a slow pace that is letting me observe and appreciate nature around me in a different way. This was the best night.

July 27th -
Today was a very long day. We got up early, but it still takes on average 2 hours to cook, pack and be ready to go. It was an easy 2 miles to McCargoe Bay where we changed into swim clothes, got water and attempted to swim. Lake Superior is so cold (later we found out about 50 degrees), that wasn't possible. I got to my knees and then squatted down into the water. Jeff lost his flip flop in a panicked attempt to not fall into the icy water. We were invited by some other hikers to their bonfire and fish cooking they were planning on later that night, but explained we were only there for lunch. Jeff left a trace at this camp site when his Ramen package flew away from the table as we had lunch. We headed past East Chickenbone and around that time it started to pour! We didn't put rain gear on and got soaked. This became the most challenging and most beautiful day. The views along the ridge line were amazing and the terrain was more like the AT, with mountain ascents and difficult climbs. The mosquitoes were especially brutal after the rain, especially where we were walking in chest high foliage. We got to Daisy Farm about 8 PM and had the most perfect chicken noodle soup ending to our day. Jeff developed an interesting assortment of blisters during the day.

July 28th -
Jeff hit his head twice this morning before even leaving the shelter we stayed in. It was great to get into a building and hang our everything up to dry. Of course, not everything dried and I put on damp socks and pants. As we were eating breakfast we heard yelling and then a call for help. We starting running toward the voice (you never know what kind of help is needed or if you can, but try you must!) and found a women yelling that a man had fallen out of his boat. Sure enough, there was a man in a life vest in the middle of the lake splashing around in the freezing water about ten feet behind his motor boat. This was about 200 feet from shore and although I'm a strong swimmer, I knew jumping in that water would only further add to the emergency. Another hiker and his daughter ran up at the same time and he continued running down the dock past me and jumped into the ranger's boat. I had been running with him and untied the boat for him as he started the motor. Right as he was pulling away two rangers ran up and jumped in last minute. What a response time! Well, two other boats made it out there also and he was rescued so we headed back to finish packing up. We had a wonderful lunch at a beautiful spot at 3 mile camp site and then made it back to Rock Harbor right before it started raining. I bought some Isle Royale clothes and ice cream at the gift shop, then we headed to the lodge cafe for some veggie burgers and fries. This was a nice surprise. We took showers and talked all night about ghosts and other odd occurrences.

July 29th -
We woke up and headed to the ferry, Ranger III. We talked to other backpackers that we'd met on the ferry ride arriving and along the way and recounted our experiences for each other. Most other people had sighted moose! That is the one thing missing from our trip - oh well, next time. Mike, a big guy from Michigan told us the story of how he fell out of his rented boat the day before! We were like, "That was YOU!?" We got his story about how wind hit the front of the boat on a wave and flipped him out. We played Yahtzee and Monopoly on the way home, but I was having trouble concentrating because the waves were pretty high and I was getting queasy looking down. We drove to my grandma and grandpa's cabin a few hours south to stay for a few days to rest and I thoroughly cleaned all my equipment.

Isle Royale was a great time and I'd like to go again. I want to go kayaking next time and start at the other end of the island. Pictures are posted on Picasa, so enjoy!

to the island!

I made it back to Chicago Wednesday to pick Jeff up from work in Chicago and we headed to REI for shopping. We spent the rest of the night picking out gear for him, but didn't get everything we needed, so he ended up taking today off of work to go back to REI and then we went food shopping. I hate driving around the suburbs in rush hour-I forgot how much! I did pick up another sleeping bag! I found a great deal at Dick's sporting goods; the Marmot Alpine down lightweight bag that weighs almost 2 lbs instead of the 4 lb monster I have. Already the switching for lighter weight gear trend has started. I'm tired-it is 11pm and the car is ready to be packed. We have a 6 hour drive ahead of us tonight to Houghton, MI where we get on the 9am ferry to take us to Isle Royal for a week of backpacking. We still need to print maps, so I'm keeping this short...gotta hit the road!

Tubing

The fifth annual pirates vs. ninja's tubing extravaganza was a great time! The weather wasn't cooperating, which meant less river shenanigans and mother nature won over the pirates and ninjas! That part was pretty crappy actually. The sun was out both on Friday and Sunday, but Saturday while we were tubing, it was rain and clouds all around with a side of cold wind. Joe was a trooper and sacrificed himself, pulling the party barge around downed trees. Doug sacrificed his face to wrestle me to the ground and show he was the bigger man, and good times were had by all. It was a really great group this year. We had John and Alison, Joe and Bridget, Bret and Katherine, Josh and Liz, Dan and Megan, Ann and Scott, Matt, TC, Nothai and I.

Chicago Chicago

I stayed at my aunt Natalie's house and had a great few days with my cousins. We went to Great America and rode giant drop three times! I screamed so much my voice was horse for the next few days.
I then hung out with Gjib and had a great time with him and Jesi. We saw Up in 3D - be careful; its a tear jerker! Gjib and I made plans for some backpacking next week in northern Michigan at Isle Royale. I am so excited!

I've had a great time in Chicago with Nothai. Even though I'm from the suburbs, I don't know much about the city or my way around it. This probably made me a bit of a poor host, but I really enjoyed getting to know the city as an adult. The first day I met Nothai downtown after he'd gone to the aquarium and the field museum. I took him to the beach for a bit and then we drove through the south side, stopped at Chinatown for dinner and walking around, and continued to drive and walk the city a while. The next day we went to the museum of science and industry and took the tour of the captured German sub, the U505. I thought I had done that as a kid, but maybe not, or I don't remember it at all. It was very interesting and I recommend paying the extra $7 for the tour. We also went up on the skydeck of the sears tower. They have built the ledge, which is about a four foot glass box that sticks off the side of the building so basically you can step off the building and look directly down on wacker. Nothai couldn't do it, he can't get real close the edge of the building even without getting nervous. I can't help laughing about it. We went up for the sunset and waited too for the city lights. The next day, we got an early start and took the city bus tours pretty much all day. Again, this is something I'd never done and really enjoyed. I wish that they had given more history. That was great. We got dropped off at Lincoln Park for a bit before walking over to Kingston Mines, a classic blues bar, but tired out after having a few drinks an Irish pub and called it a night.

And a shout out to Nothai's mom for suggesting the bus tour - that was great!

I'm headed back to Michigan today with Nothai for our annual pirates vs. ninjas tubing extravaganza tomorrow!

Gear Review

Okay, so it is time to review the gear I used. Again, I know most people don't care about this, but some of my fellow hikers or anyone that followed along from a trail forum might.

Boots: Vasque Summit; and Superfeet insoles

The Summit's were too small after my feet swelled (and maybe not as broken in as they should have been). I returned both at REI for a full refund (YAY REI) when I returned to Michigan. I switched for Keen boots a few days in. I found these boots to be wonderfully comfortable. The tendon in my ankle had to adjust to a new boot, pretty painful for two days, but then I was fine. I also used the superfeet insoles. My complaint with insoles as a whole is that none provide enough cushion for adjusting feet. The ball of my foot hurt at first after about 3 miles, then after about 5 pretty much every day. I think this is something that we just deal with and over time becomes less annoying and painful. It would be nice though to have a shoe that allows enough room to shove pillows in the bottom - that is my suggestion for anyone out there in product development!

Socks: Smartwool Hiking Socks (3 pair)

These socks are great. I'm a converted fan for life. They pill a little and lose some their plush after overuse and washing, but I was tromping around in these socks for a few months before hiking. I tried sock liners in the beginning that never really helped (I found a use for them though when I walked around camp in my crocs to keep my feet cleaner). I picked up a pair of Trekker socks to replace a lost pair of smartwools (did I leave them hanging on a tree)? These socks have a built in sock liner and are all the rave - they worked no different than other socks. My feet smelled a bit worse after a day of wearing them, so they became my sleep socks.

Crocs for around base camp/showers

I bought off brand ones from Walmart for $6. I'd have gotten one size bigger than normal for hiking - swollen morning feet needed a push into them rather than slipping on like they should. Wearing them for extended periods (in town) gave me little blisters on the tops of my toes from wear if I wasn't wearing socks.

Pack: Gregory Triconi

This was a good pack, especially because I bought it on sale. I became envious of Bluto's very light and handy Ula pack and wanted one, but it was somewhere higher than $200 and I couldn't justify it when I had a working pack. The only external handy zipper broke right at the end of the hike (thankfully) and I'm in communication with Gregory to get it either fixed or they will replace the whole pack. They have great customer service (although they weren't equipped for fixing my zipper at Trail Days) and for that, a big thumbs up...BUT I'd go with a lighter weight pack with hip belt pockets next time. My cargo shorts had to carry anything I needed for the day because taking off the pack to grab something wasn't gonna happen.

Pack cover: REI Duck Cover

I was most worried about this - as everyone has different reviews of manufactured pack covers and what crap they were. I can say that I had a fair shake down as far as rain was concerned. It rained almost every day, and this pack cover was decent. When it poured for hours on me, yes water slowly seeped through and the inside of my pack got wet. I always used a compacter bag around my sleeping bag as back up and that stayed dry the whole time. So I agree that the only way to ensure nothing getting wet at all is to use compacter bags - a lot cheaper too! However, the pack cover was really handy to put my pack into when I had to put everything down on the muddy ground, saving my pack from becoming disgustingly muddy and gross. That may have been it's #1 unfailing use.

Sleep System: Big Agnes Encampment , BA Insulated Air Core, bag liner

The bag liner was worth the money. I don't know that it added any warmth, but I like the soft material much better than the inside of the sleeping bag. It was also great to keep everything cleaner so that I only had to wash the liner. The mattress was great too. I'm glad I decided on it. Yeah, blowing up and putting it away each night sucks, but I had a comfy nights sleep even atop rocky and rooted ground. The bag is a too heavy for backpacking and I should have chosen a lighter one, but what did I know then! One complaint I heard was that the temp rating wasn't true. I had a few really cold nights and on some when others were really cold I was toasty, but others my legs were chilly. Taking layers off when your cold DOES help, letting the loft of the bag work properly. It is a roomy bag, and maybe too roomy for me. The fabric rests along the edge of the pad, at least another two inches on either side. This would rest along the side of the tent and be damp in the morning. For what I needed, it worked...but I'd get a lighter bag for long term.


Tent: Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 & footprint

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this tent. At first I had some moisture issues, but that was my fault and after properly using the guy (sp?) lines I fixed the problem (the inside of the tent was wet from the rainfly resting on the inside screen during rainy nights). My only complaint is that anything in the vestibule touching the vestibule top would collect moisture through the night. However, this is small beans when most of my hiking companions were having some assorted issues during heavy rain nights, I never worried or had any problem. Overpriced, yeah-but I liked having the footprint for extra protection against wear on the bottom of the tent and I used it under my bag when sleeping in the shelters. I will also say that at Trail Days I tried out some hammocks - and I would have been a hanger if I'd had the chance before to try it. It is the most comfortable and easy way, unless your backpacking where there are no trees.

Water System: Katadyn Micropur tablets, 1L Nalgene, 2L Platypus

I first drank from the Nalgene, slung through my hipbelt straps and carried extra in the platypus all day because I thought the tablets took 4 hours to treat water (only 20 minutes actually). I had switched to iodine because I thought it would be a quicker system. I then realized this was not at all good for me (thyroid disease) and stopped immediately. I also got a drinking tube for the platy and then just used that primarily (MUCH BETTER). I went back to the tablets (after finding out 20 minutes was all that was necessary). Sometimes I didn't even treat my water when it came directly out of the side of the mountain. Yeah, I was taking a risk...but I didn't get sick and it was great tasting water. I didn't mind the taste of either the iodine or the tablets. But I don't have any problem drinking water with floaties either. When your thirsty, it doesn't matter. I'm glad I had the Nalgene though. Sometimes I had to get water using the lid as a bowl because it was shallow. I also mixed flavored drinks in it. I added a small 16 oz. empty bottle for hot chocolate and morning carnation instant breakfast. Cleaning chocolate drink is too messy, so having a 'chocolate bottle' was the way to go for me. I saw others with Steripens that either worked great or didn't work at all. They seemed finicky and fragile. My hesitance to get a pump was because of the weight, although a fellow hiker hated getting water because it was 'a chore' with his pump. I liked and will continue to use the tablets.

Stove: cat can stove, WalMart 1L aluminum mug, utensils

I never had a problem with my stove. It worked so well in fact that Bluto was envious of it and thought about converting to homemade alcohol from his canister stove. I am so happy with this stove. It wasn't stinky, and didn't burn anything. Once I figured out how much fuel I used per meal/per day and I could carry the right amount it became weight effective too (at first I had a whole 20 oz. bottle of alcohol, and it isn't weight effective if you carry more than 14 oz). My aluminum mug never failed me and I didn't burn food either (a common complaint). I carried a spoon and fork, although eventually just the spoon.

Hygiene / First Aid kit: toothpaste/brush, floss, bio soap, toilet paper, ibuprofen, daily vitamin, band-aids, antibiotic cream, duct tape, cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide, anti-diarrhea, Benedryl, needle, safety pins

This got cut WAY down real quick. I cut the end off my toothbrush and got travel sized toothpaste (I had a bigger one to start). I ditched the biodegradable soap and sponge and instead washed my dishes with leaves and sand (more effective too!) and used tea and sunlight to destroy germs. Any place that had a shower had soap to use. Kept the floss, toilet paper, vitamins, two band aids, duct tape and safety pin. Everything else got pitched because likely you won't need it, or if you do, then go into town and get it. I kept two anti-diarrhea pills just in case, but never needed them. I added Burt's Bees Res-Q ointment, which can be put on anything and is a miracle worker. I also added the chaffing bar, earplugs, sunscreen and bug spray. The 100% deet spray pen didn't deter anything with wings and was useless. I also dried out several baby wipes for the next couple of days. Most of these things (and replacement items) were either found in hiker boxes or split between several people (ibuprofen).

Rope w/ homemade rock bag
Life Gear Flashlight
Ziploc Baggies
Matches
Bic Lighter
Knife - Cabela's Pine Ridge folding knife

I cut my rope down to about 30 feet after a few nights of hanging a bear bag, going for minimizing anything I feel comfortable with. When possible, I always used the bear cables (not always 100% secure without an extra carabiner keeping the food bag in place. The flashlight didn't last as long as I thought and wasn't nearly as awesome as I'd hoped. It was fun to play with the blinking blue light, but I traded for a headlamp in Hot Springs when the flashlight had failed me one night for a middle of the night grass watering. I reused my ziplock baggies when I could and didn't go through as many that way. I carried two lighters, but gave one away when someone needed it. I also learned to dip the end of a used match into the alcohol pooled inside my stove and use that to light the stove. This worked the best meant I could use the same set of matches over and over. I used the knife for everything and it was all that I needed. I might think of getting a bigger one or carrying a hatched for other trips, but for the AT, this small knife is fine.


Clothes:
Base/wicking Layer - REI & PolarSkins baselayer top/bottoms
Insulating Layer - REI ultralight fleece, Sporthill pants
Wind-proof shell - Marmot jacket
Water-proof shell - Frogg Toggs rainsuit (top) and Marmot cargo shell pants
Gloves
Rain hat
Turtle fur Balaclava
Underwear - BEST Sportsbra evah!
Sunglasses
Bandanas (2)

I added a third bandanna last minute that may not have been necessary. I lost the sunglasses the second day and never replaced them. I only needed one bra (putting on wet dirty clothes soon becomes the norm). I lost my rain hat within the first two weeks and replaced with a found baseball cap that worked better. A hat for sure is necessary for both weather (rain and snow) but also the sun and bugs. I used the gloves maybe twice, always getting wet from sweaty hands, but kept them warmer than nothing. I could have done without them. The Balaclava was one of the best pieces of gear I had. Regulating body temp through my head was HUGE - and it kept my earplugs in at night! Rainsuit - if I hadn't been sweating while wearing it, no doubt would it have kept me dry from rain. However, since you sweat from the inside and it raining outside, it just provides a barrier between the two. The only thing that really makes a difference is protection from the cold. I sent my snowboarding pants home (dumb I know, but it sounded good at the time) because they were too heavy and hot. I traded for a pair of zip-off cargo shorts and a separate pair of rain pants. Both being way overpriced, I wished I'd made better decisions at home and shopped at Salvation Army first! My nylon shorts I picked up last minute in Florida at Salvation Army were great for around camp and sleeping in ($1.50)! The sporthill pants were also too heavy and hot. It might be cold or chilly in the morning, but put on some lightweight clothes and get going - you'll warm up! Lightweight layers should have been key - I just hear 'layers'. I love my Marmot Windstopper jacket, but it wasn't the right choice. My cloths worked, but I made a lot of bad choices.

paper & pen
watch
Harmonica
Medium pack towel

The harmonica got sent home quickly. I was so tired at the end of the day, it wasn't an option and certainly not during the day when I was climbing mountains. Maybe on a different hike later. I was glad I had a watch. It helped me pace myself and know when to expect to be somewhere or where I was based on pace. It helped fulfill the detail oriented part of me that otherwise might have been wondering around scared in the woods with no idea of what was going on...or maybe I should have left the watch at home! :) Paper and pen helped keep notes until I could recount stories on the blog. I stopped actually 'journaling' on the trail quickly as it took too much time. The pack towel was great for wiping off the tent inside or out when wet since it had such great absorbency. I did throw away the little outside holder and just threw it in my stuff (ounces count)!

Appalachian Pages

I separated the book and sent half home and even bounced future pages when I could. This guidebook is the best IMO and I got the opportunity to look at others in detail. I eventually got in the habit of taking out that days page (or two) and kept in the my front shorts pocket with paper and pen after constantly having to stop to get into my pack if I wanted to before then.

Camera: Canon Powershot, charger, USB cord, 2 extra batteries, 2GB chips (2)

I didn't have any issues here and even got some water on it (and dried ramen noodles)! I took a lot of pictures and still never needed to change chips. Maybe if I had taken more videos that would have been needed. I always had a full battery and was never dead. This was a great system, and maybe could have even dropped a battery and chip. The charger/USB cord is light, although I did bump it when I could.

I guess the moral of the story is the same as everything I read and heard previously: research what you want, but it will likely be different for everyone, so just HYOH! I certainly underwent trial by fire, not having really any backpacking experience or doing a proper equipment shakedown. I made the worse decisions on my clothes, but I had no clue what I was doing, and made the best of what I had! I should have chosen lightweight versatile options. I've always been a live and learn kinda girl, so why should this have been any different!

I am planning more backpacking trips in Michigan (2 to 5 day trips) and will update anything that comes up or changes that I make. Nothai won an alcohol stove at Traildays that he gave me and I'll try out. I forget the name now, but I'll update later. I also realize I didn't take many pictures of mundane camp life stuff, so I'll be sure to do that coming up too.

July 4th

In Illinois, I not only had the opportunity to visit with some friends I haven’t seen in years, we played Chuthulu, which was another treat and perfect! When I lived in Illinois we used to play sometimes all weekend, and try for at least one weekend a month. I miss it.
Most of my extended family made it over to my mothers house on Sunday and I met my sister’s boyfriend as well. I decided to go up to Wisconsin to visit my grandparents with my aunt and uncle instead of driving myself. It was great to just be a passenger! I spent a few days with my sister before heading north. She had asked my help to take her to get her senior pictures taken and then we went for a movie and dinner. It was really nice to spend some time with her.
My aunt, uncle and two of their three kids and I headed up to Grandma's cabin for the holiday weekend (July 4th) on Thursday after everyone got home from work. It was a great time; swimming a little, went on a boat ride, played 'nerf war' with my cousin (he won), and went to the flea market. I also finished my resume (locked and loaded!) and almost finished a book I'd started before hiking (A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson), I still have about 20 pages to go - Australia is a crazy awesome country! I would love to go sometime.
Back in Illinois, I have plans to meet with my old friends tonight at the old meet up spot (Denny's) tonight. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone. Yesterday I took three of my cousins to Great America. I haven't been in a few years and it was still fun. I am officially putting my foot in my mouth, ERIN - I think Cedar Point might be better!
I'm looking for something fun to do over the weekend and sort of stalling around this area because I got back in contact with Nothai, who is coming to Chicago on Sunday! I'm going to hang out in the area to join him gallivanting around the city. He will want to do all the tourist things that I either haven't done in a while and miss, or haven't done myself either! We also talked about planning some hiking trips in Michigan when we get back.
As it is, I may leave the midwest soon and I really want to be sure I take in the area before leaving. While working at Woodbury, a fellow employee who is a hiker as well told me about a bunch of places along the lake and in the UP that are great for hiking/backpacking. I'm excited to get back in there! I've been restlessly idle for a while and need to get off my booty. I'm glad I've got a bit more of a plan now.

MI to CHI

I got back to Michigan about 3 AM, Wednesday the 24th. I drove straight through, which may not have been the best idea, as I was on the 3 hours of sleep I got on the first plane ride. But I really just wanted to be done driving and get 'home'. But it is funny - I don't have a home. I'm living out of the bags in my car with no idea even of where I will set up temporarily to start looking for a job. I guess this is one piece of clarity that I didn't find on the trail. :)

I really have no idea of what I'm going to do, or what I want to do. My grandparents are taking a roadtrip across the country and I wanted to do that with them, but that isn't for another two months. Do I find something temporary until then? I found a few opportunities to go to other countries and teach English that seem like a good deal for a one year contract. I'm putting my paperwork in for a passport now, a requirement to apply for that - but who knows, that might be something I have to wait a while for too. I could start looking for 'the real job' now and start getting settled too. So, here I am tossing ideas around and hoping that I figure something out in the next week.

Which brings me to the current! In Michigan, I visited with some friends that I didn't really have the opportunity to see last month when I stopped in for a few days. But again, I was eager to get going on my road trip and only stayed a few days. I called my sister for her to ask my mother if it would be okay for NoThai to stay at the house and try to finalize if we would in fact be able to go to South Dakota or if something shorter was the only option. She had said earlier that we would talk about the details when I came, but I needed to know so I could let NoThai know. That is when the bomb was dropped! Oh, my sister actually starts summer school on July 1st and can't do any vacation until the end of July. I don't know if there was some sort of massive communication issue, but needless to say...I'm a bit more than disappointed about this. I could have stayed in the south to keep hiking along the trail, but I cut it short to come back up north early. I found this all out while I was in Michigan, so I don't really feel like driving the 13 hours back south. Honestly, I would have just canceled the whole trip to Chicago, I was so upset, except the whole family is coming to my mom's house Sunday for a BBQ since I was in town. I also already talked to my Grandma and Grandpa in Wisconsin about us all coming up for a visit along the way to SD. I was looking forward to that too.

So, here I am at my friend Chris' house visiting him and his girlfriend, going to my mom's house tomorrow and driving by myself to Wisconsin to visit. Not quite the way I thought things would go, but maybe with the alone time I'll figure out what I want to do.

LAS VEGAS!

Bluto dropped me off at the airport before heading to work on Wednesday (17th) for my 9:40 am flight to Las Vegas! I had a small layover in Atlanta then a very uncomfortable flight to Vegas, as I was the middle seat smashed between two quite large individuals. When I got to the airport I was pleasantly surprised by John tapping me on the shoulder - their flight had been a bit delayed so they got in about an hour before me and waited for me! We took the shuttle bus to our hotels (which turned out to be right next to each other). We got some food and hung out on Freemont Street for the night and turned in a bit early for the local hour. Vegas is three hours behind our time, so turning in early sort of became a common theme for us (plenty of jokes about us all being old too).

Thursday morning we had breakfast at the Golden Nugget buffet and then hung out at the pool until it was time to start getting ready for the wedding. We ran to the liquor store and got three bottles of champagne and I also got a bottle of Boone’s Farm fuzzy navel (make fun of me if you like, but that stuff is rather good actually). John and Alison both looked absolutely wonderful. We got picked up by the limo and drove out to the Seven Sisters area in the Valley of Fire national park. I thought the red rocks in Colorado were impressive. This area is amazingly beautiful. I took tons of pictures. The ceremony took place at sunset and was gorgeous. There were tears a plenty for all of us - and then BAM - John and Alison are married!!! The photographer made them tromp through the dessert for a while and took tons of pictures with his magic camera that made everything look like magical. That being said, I was allowed to take pictures too since he had a magic camera and I didn’t, he wasn’t worried about my competition. We drank the rest of the champagne on the hour drive back and hung out for a bit more on Freemont Street. They had a stage with live music and of course the big overhead display to entertain us. People watching became more interesting as we consumed the huge sugary sweet drink concoctions.

Friday was more of the same, minus the wedding! We hung at the pool during the day then took to the streets for drinking, people watching and letting loose. We stayed out a bit late on Friday and explored everything on Freemont Street. Saturday was a super laid back day at the pool, followed by dinner and back to the hotel to get some good sleep since we did it up pretty well the night before. Sunday we decided to go to the strip. I called Neil to wish him a happy fathers day - and guess what! He was here in VEGAS! We all got together that night at Diablo’s, a great texmex bar and then headed down the strip to catch the shows. I found a fun game, collecting as many ‘booby’ cards as I could and plan on giving them to friends as souvenirs!

I had a great time in Vegas and am so glad I was able to go to John and Alison’s wedding. I spent WAY too much money, but had a great time. I’m back in North Carolina with my car and ready to drive back to north to take my sister on a road trip.

Blacksburg, VA

I drove out Friday to visit with my long time friend, Logan who moved to Virginia a while ago. This spontaneous visit elicited my going along with his weekend plans of gaming, which I actually miss quite a bit. I got turned onto a new show (Lie to Me), some new music, and survivalist dude named Ray Mears' book. It was a great time, including a visit to the local Dixie Caverns. I don't remember if I've ever been in underground caverns before or not (maybe when I was little), but it was really neat.

I'm heading back to Bluto's house where I'm leaving my car for the weekend while I'm off to Vegas for John and Alison's wedding. Very Excite!

Carver's Gap

I cleaned/closed up Grandma and Grandpa's house and left Florida by 2ish and started driving. In Georgia I stopped for dinner at The GA Pig, a restaurant in my Roadfood book. I don't even like BBQ pulled pork, but this sandwich was the best I've ever had.
I'm gonna need to watch money more closely now because gas and food is going to add up a lot quicker. I think a stop at Walmart is needed for going back on the oatmeal breakfast plan.
I stopped at a rest stop to sleep instead the first day and then made it to Carver's Gap the next day.
I conquered Roan Mountain going south bound. It's pretty funny actually, where I stopped, I was only .8 miles from the top. At Greasy Creek Friendly, Connie had mentioned that when I was the top it was worth doing some side trails. When she was telling me this I thought there was no way I'd do them because I'd be thru hiking and adding extra miles onto those days just wouldn't happen, but since I'm here...I did, and today was maybe my favorite day yet. Not only was Roan Mountain one of my favorite sections, the gardens and high bluff lookout trails were wonderful too. Maybe it was different because I just took the day and did what I wanted with it. It felt like vacation, it felt wonderful.
The next day I went north from Carver's Gap a bit and explored the grassy balds. This was a very nice section as well and I got great views. I got a very early start so I was back in my car on the road again by noon. I drove around a bit more and then decided to drive to Bluto's house in North Carolina. I had started to not feel very good yesterday and today I feel like I've got a head cold. The drive was really great, I sort of went the long way and really enjoyed the drive through the mountains and lakes.

Clearwater Beach

It has been raining here off and on for the past few days, so I've been lounging around, going to the pool when its nice and going to the clubhouse for wireless when it isn't. Despite these rain showers, I decided today that I was going to the beach, for better or worse. I wanted to see the sunset before I left. I drove through downtown Safety Harbor on my way and stopped by the Whimsey house, as Queen Becky suggested. It is great! Nobody was home unfortunately, but I still got some excellent pictures of the fantastic art house. That is the kind of house I can see living in. I wonder what the inside is like. By the time I got to Clearwater beach the sun was back out and the rain dismissed for the rest of the day-perfect!

I went to Frenchies for shecrab soup and crab cakes; I guess I was feelin' crabby! :) It is pretty windy, but that is better than feeling like your melting in the sun with no wind. Being here with someone would be more fun, but then again, I've done a lot of fun things with friends and being here by myself is nice in a different way. I'm thinking again - oh noes! Be prepared, in the last two months I was actually walking and didn't have a notebook in hand ready to record random thoughts...now I do!

I was thinking about 'cash only' and how its funny what an outrage this can cause, on both sides. I thought about this for a while, and I could expand on the point, but really that either customer or merchant becomes angry at the other is silly. It should be noted that I'm not sure why I was thinking about this or why it is important.

Secondly, I was thinking of a friend of mine who was desperate to get married and did so at 27 because as he said, "I'm not getting any younger and she feels the same." He also had expressed displeasure in doing things alone and wanted someone to share those moments with. I'm enjoying this time in my life, and I think I'm afforded it because I'm alone. I've also sort of learned over the last 2 months that there is a natural beauty and certain way things right themselves and work out.

The Return of Roan Mountain

As I begin my searching, I keep being directed back to Roan Mountain. I think this is funny and I’m looking forward to seeing my nemesis again (haha). Really though, apparently it is a beautiful stretch from Roan to US19 (13 miles) and I just stopped about 2 miles short of the awesomeness. I have this article from Backpacker magazine that lists the top spots, and wouldn’t you believe - Roan effing Mountain. Okay, it’s on!

On another related note, you might think that I would have been looking forward to relaxing after hiking. I’m actually sort of restless and eager to do ‘something’, even if it means just getting out of the house. That being said, I have booked my flight to Las Vegas for the 17th through the 22nd and will be heading north from Florida shortly to continue on with my hiking adventure. I was given a book as a gift a while ago, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and I had bought Roadfood last year when I was thinking about driving across the country. Armed with these two books I am ready to keep on keepin’ on! In the meantime, any tips on cheap stuff to do in Vegas? My hotel is on Freemont street.

It was great to relax in Florida. I'm starting to feel a bit guilty now about lack of exercise, which is just adding to my restlessness. I even went to the fitness center here and worked out a few times. I feel great from hiking but I'll start putting the 15 lbs (?) back on soon if I don't change it up.

Florida Arrival

I arrived in Florida today and am at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Safety Harbor. It was great to be home (in Michigan) for a second and see some friends. I was disappointed not to be able to see everyone, but I also didn’t want to make a big deal of my being home when I’m still not really home for good. I didn't want to make it 'official' that I was home. It was also hard not having a vehicle and reliable internet. It was weird, I’ll be honest. I was very happy and peaceful before and I was feeling a bit irritable and depressed back in Michigan. I’m still exploring the reasons but don’t feel like dwelling on it right now. My adventure continues....I’m looking at my atlas and state guidebooks to plan out some Florida adventure maybe before heading back (and are there places I should I stop and see along the way to Virginia?). Or what about a side trip to Las Vegas for a friends wedding I didn’t think I’d be able to go to? And a road trip with my sister has recently come up as an option, which I’m totally psyched about! So many options...whatever shall I do?!

It is still the small things. When I got here, after turning on the power and water, I drove to the grocery store and bought salad fixin’s. I have been craving a gigantic salad for weeks that restaurants haven’t been able to satisfy. When I got back, I picked 4 lemons from my grandma’s tree and made some lemonade. These two things made me incredibly happy and pretty much got rid of the negative feelings I’d been hanging with the last couple of days. Salad and lemonade, my new cure all. In the meantime of planning the next few weeks, swimming in the pool and a beach visit is in order.

All pictures are uploaded - and my online albums are almost full - so download any pictures you want from the first album before I take them offline! Videos are coming soon!

New Orleans

We arrived in New Orleans around 1 PM on Memorial Day, May 25th. This means that we missed the moment of thought and silence at 3PM. I notice this around 3:30 on Bourbon Street after ordering my first beer on the way to the cathedral. Yeah, there is so much sin in that sentence I fear my Catholic grandmother reading this. Hey, I stuck to my guns at least about finishing the beer before going into the church at least! The St. Louis cathedral is the oldest in America and what I expected. It was beautiful, wonderfully constructed and a classic Catholic church. I was secretly hoping I might stumble across something to be an architectural rival to the amazing European cathedrals, but alas I was still taken with the classic beauty and peaceful energy it offered. Cristy took a video of a man falling asleep in the pew doing the whole body nodding/falling. Sure, she is going to hell too, but this was funny stuff man! We almost couldn’t contain ourselves. He was wearing beads and probably hadn’t showered in a week. Oh well, that described me too not that long ago! Except not falling asleep drunk in a church I mean.
We had lunch at Café Pontalba that had been recommended by Nano. I also suggest the combo of Gumbo, Jambalaya and red beans & rice. I further recommend Voodoo Juice for a drink! We continued walking around Jackson Square, taking lots of pictures of everything. NoThai is not impressed, he says it feels just like Telaveve. Having never been there (hehe), I’m even taking pictures of the surrounding buildings because I think the balconies are amazing. We make our way to the market just before they are closing and we convince NoThai not to buy his girlfriend a crocodile head as a souvenir (sorry Dana if this is something you would have liked)! We head back to our hotel, the Prince Conti Inn (very nice for the cheap price) to rest a bit before getting ready for the night. We followed my fathers advice and drank our way down Bourbon Street (hey, dad said so)! We stopped in booty shakin’ clubs (where I danced on stage for a free shot), the oldest bar in the country (an excellent candle lit piano bar that makes you think you have stepped back in time). We poked our heads in to listen to some jazz, blues and karaoke. We even went into an uhm, adult bar where an entertainer was rude to us (after declining private entertainment, we were informed she was trying to make some money here)! We walked around the art district to window shop between drinks before NoThai called it. I turned over my room key and Tippy and I headed to gay town where we found a men’s dance club to crash with our estrogen. More of me dancing on stage and then we headed out to demand hand grenade’s from the proprietor that had already closed. They obliged and we were again on our merry way. It was about 3:30 when we made some friends that directed us to where we could find lady bars (but they were closed), and reggae bars (which were a bit of a trek). We decide maybe we’ll stay another night and do that tomorrow but for tonight, a bathroom and some greasy eggs are the only things left to be accomplished. We happily find Cody (the guy I was stage dancing with) at the diner and we promise to e-mail him pictures.
We load up the car the next morning and check out a bit before 11am and head to the aquarium. It was good, about what I expected and I think worth the $15. We went to Café du Monde and had beignets (over rated) and then our last stop was the cemetery. I took lots of pictures here too. I was surprised to see the hurricane damage so prevalent here on some, but completely untouched by others. We drove around the surrounding neighborhood west of the city to see more local flavor. Again, it was strange to see how some buildings had been restored, completely rebuilt or still dilapidated right next to each other.
New Orleans concluded, we headed north to Michigan as it was decided to forgo Florida for now. It was a very long drive, Cristy and I sharing driving duties. I got dropped off in Plymouth before NoThai was deposited in Southfield. Driving through Kentucky a bit after sunrise was my favorite. I've always thought Kentucky is so beautiful.

Mississippi

We stayed at Tippy's grandmother's house as well as her father's house. NoThai tried fried catfish (some of the best I might add) and Reese peanut butter cups. We booked our room in New Orleans and I'm looking forward to it. We plan on leaving here early tomorrow morning to have two full days. I have everything updated, photos uploaded and even a video, so enjoy!

Mississippi

Onward to Mississippi today! We stopped in Starkville to tour the other MSU campus and visited Ryan (Tippy's friend) for a short visit before arriving at Granny's. She has an evil cat named Baby that hates everyone, including Granny, who she sometimes bites!
My knees are incredibly stiff and sore. I've been taking the oils my mom sent and hopefully they will heal/get better. The alternative is that I've done permanent damage to them. I can feel things inside there moving around when I bend my knee!

Oh, so that is my plan, by the way - to get back on the trail, sort of. I would like to get my car and keep on going up the trail to see the hot spots and section hike. I'm not done with the trail entirely, I'm just done climbing mountains everyday with 40 lbs on my back for the next 4 months! It has been a great experience (for all the reasons I've already mentioned) and I'm so happy to have met the most wonderful people (again, I can't say this enough). I've challenged myself mentally and physically and risen to that challenge, but it is my choice to stop. I could keep on the same way for the sheer sake of saying I did it, but that isn't important to me. It stopped being fun, and I want to do this the fun way. Maybe I'll fill in the gaps I skip later if it becomes important to me to finish that way at some point, but right now it isn't and it is so much more important to me that I do what I want right now the way I want. I feel like I got a lot of what I was looking for out here too. There are just some other areas I was looking forward to seeing and still want to go see, like Dragon's tooth, McAfee Knob and others.

So, I'm really excited to go to New Orleans (and hopefully see Bluto and Photoshop) and I'm also looking forward to meeting back up with Queen Becky at some point along the trail when I get my car and keep on. Tippy is talking about not going to Florida now and wanting to go back to Michigan. Nothai and I are deciding our options for driving back with her or not.

Alabama

I slept the best I've slept in a while (latest too, eleven). We went to Nacalola Falls Park and illegally rock climbed enough to work up a sweat and then went swimming at Jeff's dads house. Jennifer, Jeff's GF, cooked an amazing spaghetti dinner and I was turned back onto cooked mushrooms when they are stuffed with yummy cream cheese concoction! Heading back on the road tomorrow morning.

North Carolina to Alabama

Breakfast at Waffle House (Tippy was very excited about this), and then stopped at a Goodwill so NoThai and I could buy a new normal clothes. Tippy tried to take my finger off with her car window at a tattoo shop where I needed to stop for a new nose ring. We said bye to Bluto (will we see him again in New Orleans?) and did a drive by through Asheville. We drove north through the Smokies (Tippy hadn't ever been) and stopped at Clingman's Dome. The weather was perfect, better than when I hiked through even. This is certainly another affirmation that I shouldn't be hiking anymore - beautiful weather on the days I'm not on the trail! :) NoThai and I relive the 'good 'ol days' by having lunch at Newfound Gap. We drove through Gatlinburg and Pidgeon Forge so Tippy could see the tourist vomititous that it is. We make it to Tippy's college friend, Jeff's house in Gadsten, Alabama around 1AM. I am wondering what kind of crack she smoked before we arrived and how I missed out - she was bouncing off the walls when we got there - it was cute!

Damascus to Asheville

We found and were able to get close enough to the wild ponies at Greyson Highlands...YES! I enjoyed this scenery greatly. It was a treat to see something that was starting to look different. The ponies were smaller than I imagined and shaggy. We walked down the trail for a bit to these huge rock formations that I wanted to climb on.

We drove through Damascus again (to pick up Becky's prescription), through Johnson City (got an oil change), Erwin (dropped off Becky at the Beauty Spot) and settled in Asheville, North Carolina in a hotel with Tippy, Bluto and NoThai. It was a long day of driving and we were all getting restless I think. I'm glad we took Queen Becky to the beauty spot though, it was beautiful! We got some really great pictures there. I also had the opportunity to say goodbye to Mala as well.

I reacquainted myself with a razor (it has been a whole week since showering, but I still felt clean since I hadn't really been sweating at all). Tippy and NoThai wrestled and Bluto played with his laptop until it was bed time. We are all pretty rambunctious after being in the car all day and we all crashed pretty hard. Bluto made an exception to his 'I don't share my bed with dudes' rule thankfully, so he and Nothai snuggled together all night. :) It was pretty funny, and in the morning Bluto called Nothai "lover hebrew" making fun of Cristy and I. It was hilarious and a name I think will stick for a while for him!

Trail Days

I really didn't write each day in my journal during the weekend, so I'll need to just sort of write what I can, not particularly in the right order and I'm likely missing some detai
We moved our tents to Dennit and Meagan's property where NoThai secured us spots when he arrived last week. The Baptist church hosted an excellent free dinner for early arrivals. Over the weekend I ran back into almost everyone I hoped to see (except Wolverine!). Chef, Screefreak, Nano and Walking Home got a ride into town from Miss Janet's daughter and then Bluto showed up a bit later. I even saw Black Eyed Susan again and had dinner with Flying Turtle! Of course I met tons of new people, of which I can't remember half of. Wolverine and I just missed each other all weekend (the only disappointment for me). Tippy had to relocate into her car the second night when it rained and her fly wasn't pulled taunt enough and her tent flooded. Watching and listening to the drum circle around the tent was amazing! :) Queen Becky was face painting and painted Tippy and I perfectly. Tippy, Photoshop and I went to hear a Native American flute player and then I got my T-shirt ready for the parade. Walking Home exacted revenge on a small local girl for squirting me with a squirt gun by throwing a water balloon of steel at her face! Tippy got pulled over by a bike cop for letting some girls ride on the back of her car - he let us off! I laid in a bunch of hammocks and wish I would have tried that earlier. I found an amazing green amber ring and taught KamaSutraRed how to belly dance! Tippy and NoThai jumped on the blow up bouncy thing.
Okay, so we said our Goodbye's in Damascus to everyone at Mojo's (the coffee shop). It is sad, because I know that this weekend is the last time I will ever see some of my traveling companions again. I knew it, they knew it, and we just sort of said, "okay, bye!" I am going to miss all of them. Everyone has been so great and honestly I think the people I traveled with kept me going longer than I might have made it otherwise. I am really going to miss everyone. :(
We headed to Greyson Highlands with Queen Becky in our car and NoThai with Bluto. Along the way, we saw a sign outside of a church that said, "Stop Drop and Roll won't work in Hell!" OMG!
We set up camp in Greyson Highlands, had dinner over the fire and had a great night laughing and listening to music over a nice fire. It got a bit colder than expected and I realized this is exactly why you don't send cold clothes home until Pearisburg!

Boone to Damascus

We drove through the country today after some shopping in downtown Boone. We stopped at a "Country General Store" where we bought 2 cucumbers to add to our lunch. The funny part about it, is this general store had about 5 cans of soda, a few candy bars, a couple of bags of chips and crackers and a box of tomatoes competing for our business. We were looking for a nice place to pull off the road to have lunch and settled for a cemetery. Morbid maybe, but it was beautiful. Cristy read my medicine cards and then we were off to Damascus for the Trail Days festival. When we arrived we set up our tents in Tent City because it was almost dark. We found NoThai at Dots having a beer and Queen Becky walking back to camp. Our reunion was filled with laughter and squeals of joy. We proposed our plan to NoThai to drive south to visit Cristy's family, then New Orleans (because I've never been and we will be 2 hours away) and then to Florida to get my car before heading back to Michigan! He is in and I'm so excited!

Even though Cristy isn't hiking she somehow managed to pick up a trail name tonight, Just the Tip, and Tippy for short! I can't recite the whole story here, but it's a funny one. We hung out at Dots and Nothai and I filled each other in on everything we missed the last week.

Roadtrip Begins!

Around noon today Cristy arrived and we both screamed and hugged each other for a while before we got in her car and started our road trip. We drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway and decided to do some hiking (gawd). We paid $5 to hike up what was supposed to be a 3 mile hike up Grandfather Mountain. After three hours and rock climbing it occurred to me that the 3 mile hike was probably just to a different trail head we had passed a while ago. We had taken the 'profile' trail, which brought us to a neat spot where you could see a rock outcrop that looked like the profile of someones face. It was 7:30 and we needed to bust it down this mountain to be out before dark. I hadn't brought my headlamp or anything really that would help this situation. We made it back to the car just as the last bits of sunlight disappeared. We drove to Boone, North Carolina and got a room for the night that advertised, "One bed, two people, $29.95". It was perfect. It was a great first day of hiking, non-hiking adventure. It was great to see my chicken!

Deep Thoughts After

I want to write down and capture all the things I've thought of so I don't let them slip by. These are all thoughts I've had to some degree while walking that I haven't had the time to really write about, and I want to take the time to do it now.

I see food differently, as a source of energy and sustenance. I'm able to clearly distinguish eating for necessity from other reasons we often eat. I can feel hunger differently and know what a proper portion is. I want to change things in my diet. I want to read Eat for your Blood Type which was recommended by Connie at Greasy Creek Friendly. I also want to explore vegetarian and more healthful cooking, inspired by Elmers. I'm aware of how I feel after eating certain foods or too much and that feeling of sick isn't worth it.

I see my body differently, as a powerful vehicle that needs better care to be used to its fullest (or at least better) potential. I see the trivial things like body hair, pimples, bruises and blisters as parts of the whole rather than imperfections to remedy and dote on instead of seeing the whole. And the whole is a lot better than the way I saw it before. I'm ready to take better care of my physical vessel.

I see people much differently, especially those that aren't the same as me. I feel that they have even more to teach me. I've been humbled by the people I've met, some of which I might have judged before, I appreciate for their differences, simplicity, complications, etc. I really have fallen back in love with people.

We learn of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in school and it makes sense in a theoretical world, but I'd never been without the basic needs to really appreciate the extras. And now, I feel the need to simplify those extras because I think it blinds you, takes you off course from what is important and what matters. Your physical crap accumulating doesn't matter. Having food, shelter and clothing matter, then people and your relationships with them. Too many (including me) stock our homes full of things to try to fill the emptiness in our hearts. After taking care of our basic needs we should look for happiness through life and laughter.

I see myself differently. I was always measuring before. Mostly against myself, not others. But even still, I was measuring things that don't matter, like my future plan for "success" or how to get there the "right way" and a lot of black and white thinking. I've always been pretty free with money, as a means to an end and not minding spending for others or myself. However, I see frugality as more of an asset inasmuch to find different ways to achieve the same results without spending money at all. I think I've also been much too hard on myself and too consumed with the exterior picture instead of the real inside. The real inside is so much more important, and when you are happy with that the exterior will look good too, maybe just in a different way. I judged others, but hardest of all, myself. To what measuring stick though? A pretty screwed up one when I didn't have any good answers to the question. I think even the questions were deterring and assuming certain truths that are completely fictitious. The reality is this: I simply am what I am.

Roan Mountain Decision

There were a few other people at Greasy Creek Friendly, but I honestly don't remember them. They were all planning on walking like a million miles the next day and I was not, so I didn't bother getting to know them. Connie (CC), the hostel owner was very nice and freely shared her beliefs on lots of things with me. I embraced her suggestion to read a book, "How to eat for your blood type" which sounds like it makes a lot of sense. I got the 2 packages Dad sent - thank you, and the package Mom sent.

I spent my computer time uploading pictures today - so enjoy those and know I'm doing well.

I met Genius when I got back to the trail - and it is a good thing too, because I wasn't entirely sure which way was north! We walked and talked for a short bit and he stopped at the next shelter to take a nap. It seems he isn't feeling well. I signed the register, had a snack and kept on. I stopped at this little spot among the pine trees (my favorite) for lunch and laid on the ground for a break. I laid looking at the sky, thinking...I realize at this moment that I'm a camper, a day hiker or even a weekend backpacker. I would rather pitch my tent here and relax, but there are supposed to be thunderstorms tonight and I've only walked about 4 or 5 miles. It occurs to me later, but I'll mention it now- I'm sick of doing what I don't feel like doing out of commitment outside of work obligations. This is my life, I only get one - and I'm going to start living it my way without the pressure of 'shoulding' myself when it comes to my personal life. Maybe everything won't get done efficiently or sometimes even at all, but I'll be a lot happier!
Okay, so I continue on, cross a road and start up Roan Mountain. This is going to be a 3 mile ascent going up over 2,000 feet. I run out of water, I trip and wipe out at one point (thats gonna leave a mark!), and it starts to rain. I'm sick of rain - it has rained or snowed almost every day out here and the days it hasn't have almost all been on a zero day - this is unusual I'm told, but it doesn't help my rapidly increasing hatred of moisture in the air. Spicoli passes me after we talk for a minute. We haven't seen each other since Franklin and we update each other on our counterparts. Moe also creeps up behind me - this girl is FAST! She is just as surprised to see me until I explain that I skipped from Hot Springs to Greasy Creek. We talk about 'owning your decision'. I get interviewed by some day hikers very curious about what I'm doing and why - these questions maybe couldn't come at a better or worse time (either might apply). A few southbound slackpackers pass me, including Ned the Fed whom I've heard so much about and hadn't ever met.
I'm at Asch gap and still have 2 miles up. I don't want to do this anymore. I feel drained of all motivation to continue up this mountain or up any others. After conquering so many other mountains, winning while climbing...I know that this one is defeating me. I think of the road I passed and wonder where it might go. Could those slackpackers have a shuttle there picking them up that I could catch? I contemplate my options as it pours and thunder rumbles around me. I'm done - I turn around and head down the mountain - defeated? No, actually feeling totally relieved! I'm proud of everything I've done and how far I've gone, but I'm not enjoying it and that is the most important part for me right now. It took only a few hours of being alone with myself to figure out that I'm done with this part. My adventure is not over, not at all, but I'm done thru hiking the AT. And it might sound strange, but for me and the way I know I am, I'm proud of myself for quitting and being honest with myself about how I feel. I'm sorry to anyone who feels disappointment at this, if you were looking forward to the whole journey. There are a lot of great people's trail journals to read that are still walking, I'm just going to change up my adventure.
Moving on with the story of this day, I get to the road and nobody is there. I picked the direction I thought might be north (I was right!) and that brought me to a house about a quarter mile down where I found four very helpful and wonderful guys. We took some time to get to know each other and I stayed at the house that night. They fed and entertained me with southern hospitality, humor and storytelling. I got a ride the next day to Linville, North Carolina and stayed at the Pixie Inn. I met a few locals staying in the next room, one guy who is also thinking of hiking the trail. We talked gear a bit and one of them offered to give me a ride to Damascus in a few days. I called Cristy later that night to see if she was still thinking of coming to Trail Days. She talked to Nate and everything is good. In fact, she is on her way here to pick me up and we will head to Damascus together! I'm so excited to see lover chicken!

Hot Springs

Last night at Elmer's I met Dylan and Rachel, two kids that are doing work for stays at organic farms around the USA. This sounds really neat and I want to check it out later. I'm putting the website here so I can find it later; wwoofusa.org

Pidgeon also sang to me a song, Amy, that I'd never heard before. It was really neat, watching all of them play together, including Scavenger.

Elmer's is an old Victorian house that reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa Heany's in Chicago. It is absolutely beautiful. The bathrooms even have the claw leg tubs.

One of his guests that is a pianist gave us a show after dinner. It was very good, and included several classical songs.

Bluto decided he is going to New York to visit his mom for mothers day and offered to give us rides wherever we wanted to go. NoThai is going straight to Damascus for Trail Days. I am getting a ride to Erwin to get my mail at Greasy Creek Friendly and then I'll walk into Damascus. Looks like I'll meet up with everyone in Damascus and we will see how this week alone goes.

Oh, Elmer asks a dinner question (by the way, the homemade vegetarian cuisine here is wonderful!), and it was; "What is your final destination?" I said that I hope to never have one and always be looking at what the next adventure is.

Roaring Fork to Hot Springs - A change

18 miles today...you know this is only possible when the promise of a hot shower and warm bed is at the end of the day. Nothai doesn't know, but he pushed me the last 7 miles, in a good way. It was tough for me to keep up with him - he is a machine, but I just kept truckin' along...and made it to HOT SPRINGS by 5:30!
Walking on cement after walking on trail is so weird...it looks like there is something wrong with you. Nothai and I got acquainted with the entire town trying to find a place to stay. We settled for two cots on the porch at Elmers. It was GREAT! SETTLED - HA, we are opting to stay another night in the same place instead of taking an inside bed. We watched a lightning storm that woke us in the middle of the night. It was amazing.
Elmer's is a fantastic place. I ran back into Seaweed and Fisherman, Maui (sp?) Bob, Transition and many others. Nothai is heading to Michigan from here. I'm so glad to have met him and have really enjoyed our time, talks and laughs together. He is really an unforgettable person and I feel sad that he is going, but happy for him too. Hopefully he will still be in Michigan when I get back. It has been great being included and getting to know all the Clusterfunkers, but I need to change things up for me and hike my own hike. I have been letting the group set my pace. There is a pressure I'm feeling, not just from hiking with others, but a pressure even in my own mind about how fast I need to go to get to Maine before the park closes. And to do this at some point you need to put in higher mileage days and I'm just not happy doing it that way. I like to take my time during the day and stop whenever I want; because I see something neat, because I want to listen to the water awhile, etc. I also have packages ahead of me that I need to get to that I'm stressing about. So, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to do this my way. I might not pass every blaze and be a true "2175 mile hiker", but I came to the conclusion that I'd be very unhappy on a daily basis if I do it that way. I've spent a month pushing myself and I know that physically and mentally I am capable of that, but I'm really not enjoying what it and doing it my way. Unfortunately, my way will never get me there in time because I like to screw around and lollygag. It is better than cursing my way up a mountain though and hating the day. So, I'm jumping ahead 70 some miles of trail to Erwin to get my packages and walk into Damascus for Trail Days, which I'm trying to convince Nothai to go to. YES - I'M CHEATING AGAIN - THIS TIME IN A BIG WAY...I'm okay with it. When I decided this today after thinking for the last two days about things I really felt relief. This is my adventure, and I want to hike the AT in my way. I have hiked straight through 270 something miles.