Ahhh, pretty rocks…

Whew I’m sore and tired. We spent yesterday in the Grand Canyon and.. oh wait, let me talk about the day before that first.

On Wednesday we were in Zion National Park. It was pretty interesting, but its very hard for me to say anything too great about it since it was totally blown out of the water after seeing the Grand Canyon. We explored Zion’s canyon by taking the tour bus and hiking around a bit. I was looking forward to doing some hiking on this trip, ya know wanting something strenuous and walking along cliffs etc. Unfortunately the hikes we went on in Zion were more like paved mountain walks than “hiking”, but the hike in the Grand Canyon was a different story.

So yesterday we went on the North Kaibab trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Now that was a hike. We started the trail at 10:50am and after traveling 10 miles round trip, going down and then back up 3500ft of elevation, drinking 4 liters of liquid, eating two sandwiches, chips, peanuts, and powerbars, 200 some pictures, and 5 hours and 10 minutes later we reached where we started (well Pete got back a bit later since I pushed ahead and ditched him on the way back, sorry Pete). Whew, that was a challenge and more than satisfied my hiking desire, and I absolutely loved it. By the top I got back to the top I was dead tired. That’s what I get for trying to push myself as fast as I could go up steep inclines for over two hours. That may have been some of the best exercise I’ve had in quite a long time.

Anyways the Grand Canyon is simple amazing. It is certainly called “Grand” for a reason. The views from the hike were amazing and provide and inside, close-up perspective of the canyon, but the observation points at the rim were simple stunning. Its just so, large, natural, and beautiful. I definitely recommend seeing it sometime :).

Today is a driving day. The goal is to get to the Grand Teton mountain by nightfall. On the road again… I just can’t wait to….

Real men don’t need guard rails…

Yesterday we spent most of the day hiking around and driving up Pike’s Peak. Tourists can access the pike via a touring train or car. We of course didn’t want to take a glitzy train up to the top (it also required reservations) so instead we drove up 19 miles along Pike’s Peak Highway to reach the summit.

As we entered the park we were told that the conditions at the peak were too dangerous and no visitors were allowed above the timberline. Fortunately by the time we go up to the 13th mile the Peak was reopened. I was driving on the way up and although I was slightly uneasy driving around the twists and turns of the lower part of the mountain, the rest of the mountain was a whole different story. Gone were the paved roads, surrounding trees, and guardrails… only narrow, climbing paths was sheer drops. Yippie. It really wasn’t all that bad, but it definitely made me recollect the fear of heights that had not manifested itself for some time. Despite all of this, I’d have to say that the drive was still a good idea since there were many pull-off points along the way to jump out of the car and take pictures.

Eventually we got to the top, and boy was it chilly… No, not chilly but really freaking windy and cold. At 14000ft (I don’t remember the exact number) it was in the low thirties and with gusts bad enough to make you lose your balance. The views (360 deg of it) were spectacular, though it was a bit hazy. Also it was a bit more difficult to appreciate the sights when you are standing in the snow holding onto the freezing railing wearing shorts. Although Pete cowered back into the car after a few minutes (sry Pete I had to :)), I tried to stick it out and take all the pictures I could. Unfortunately, I think that I lost about half of those peak photos from a droplet of water that I didn’t notice on my lens. The upside is that after taking 120 pictures from one mountain, you are bound to at least get a few good ones, right?

The drive back down (Pete behind the wheel this time) was thankfully uneventful, but we made sure to stop and take a few more pictures along the way. After that we heading to a campground near our next destination and lazed of the rest of the day (which for me was reading and resting). So far, the campgrounds we have stayed at have impressed me. When I was thinking “campground” before I had a very different picture in my mind. But, I certainly don’t mind clean bathrooms, laundry facilities, and cheap tasty breakfast. We ate well again, thanks to that little gas burner we brought along (thanks to Bruce/Bruce’s dad). Nothing fancy, but sausage links and chunky soup sure does stick to the ribs :).

Ok, enough of yesterday. I woke up early to read along the riverside. Our campsite was only a hop and a skip away from the river (no jump though, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea to do on those rocks) since the sound of the fast-moving current was amazingly soothing. The better-food-than-back-at-home trend continued with my world famous grilled egg and cheese sandwiches (well not exactly world famous, but good enough for me).

Today we took a bit of a break from the picture-taking and touristy things to raft along the river that we sleep along the previous night (Arkansas river). I had been whitewater rafting once before in West Virginia, but I was hoping that today would be more exciting (ya know, more thrilling, more danger, longer waiver forms, etc).

The run we went on was an all day trip (well really only 9:30am to 4:00pm or so), but the more exciting stuff only happened in the second half of the day in the Royal Gorge. The rapids were certainly much better than the ones I had been on before, but unfortunately the crew in my boat did too well. We didn’t have any “OH $%&#” experiences, likely due to the fact that we had a good guide and the six of us (all able-bodied guys) actually followed directions. Maybe some class V rapids (these were class IVs) will give me the thrill I’m looking for. But, it still was a lot of fun (though expensive). I certainly didn’t mind the cute female guide :).

After that it was time to get back on the road again. As we speak we’re on in Utah I-70 making our way to Zion (about six hours in so far, probably another four to go). The views along route 50 earlier this afternoon/evening were spectacular. Particularly, my breath was taken away by the endless, green rolling hills carved by blue creeks and dotted with trees. It doesn’t really have the same “Wow, is that real?” response as the impressive mountain/rock formations, but it is truly beautiful.

Ah, fresh air..

Already at the third day of the trip, but we are ahead of schedule. We made very good time getting out to Colorado – probably around 26 hours of total driving. On Saturday night we did get well into Missouri and slept for the night in the car at a rest stop (nice and cheap :)).

Sunday’s drive went pretty smoothly, well all except for Pete’s speeding ticket. And the fact that Kansas is long, it took forever to get through that state. Our trek along I-70 was pretty monotonous until we reached the end of Kansas and got into Colorado. I was amazed by the blueness of the sky, skies I’m used to on the East coast seem to pale in comparison. It probably does help that you can see for miles and miles in any direction, making the sky seem dramatically immense. Other than a few heavy rainstorms we drove to our first destination to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. The rock formations were impressive, but not as nearly as much as I was expecting. Still, it was a nice place and made sure to grab way too many pictures (I’ll upload some when I get a higher bandwidth link).

That’s it for now, hopefully today will be a nice day to hike around Pike’s Peak.

Pete and Tim go to White Castle

I never saw the movie, but Pete and I just made our 10 hour trek to White Castle… Well, really we are just 10 hours into the trip (just entering Indianapolis now) and couldn’t decide where to stop for a bite to eat.

So, nothing exciting too far. We’ll see how far into the night we can drive tonight. Maybe we can get to Missouri sometime in the middle of the night, take a brief rest and get out to Colorado by tomorrow night :)… (trying to use the road trip enthusiasm while it still lasts)

Tentative trip plans…

Here’s a roungh outline of where I’ll be for the next two weeks:

  • Start the long drive to Colorado Saturday around noon. Try to drive:
    • 10 hrs on Sat
    • 15 hrs on Sun
    • 5 hrs on Mon
  • Arrive in Colordo Springs, CO Monday early afternoon:
    • Due little stuff Monday evening
    • Find a campground nearby white water rafting
  • White Water Rafting most of the day Tuesday
  • Leave Wednesday morning for Zion National Park
    • Arrive at night and find a place to camp out
  • Spend most of Thursday in Zion, drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon by evening
  • All day in the Grand Canyon on Thursday
  • Head out to Las Vegas Friday morning
    • Arrive in LV Friday afternoon
    • … What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas :)
    • Well since something came up and Chris can’t come along, no more Vegas
  • Leave Las Vegas Saturday noon or afternoon and drive to Salk Lake City (half way to Grand Teton Natl. Park and Yellowstone
    • Spend the night
    • Maybe tour around Salt Lake Sunday? Buffer time.
  • Arrive to the Grand Tetons by Sunday Evening
  • Tour and hike the Rockies all day monday
    • Drive to Yellowstone by evening
  • Spend around 2.5 days in Yellowstone (geeze its big)
  • Leave Yellowstone Thursday afternoon to trek back home
  • Try to drive:
    • 6-7 hrs Thursday
    • 20 hrs Friday (driving thru the night baby!)
    • 8 hrs Sat

Then once I’m back, time to pack up and go up north! I’ll be visiting my parents in Rochester first and then over to Boston the 29th or 30th.