December 28, 2009

East Coast Christmas

Well I am on break from school for two weeks and I am making the most of it. I spent a lot of time up at Kyle and Devin's house making my Christmas presents. I really liked these photo fabric montages that I'd seen at the Stock Show in Denver and I decided I would make one for my friend Jess for a Christmas present. (See for details: http://www.lipstickranch.com/) I also wanted to recreate an Old West photo for my mom because I'd seen a quote from the Jesse James gang that epitomized us three children: " We growed up regular, our mama taught us right, reckon we just got bored". We grabbed Max, a couple guns, a bottle of Jack Daniels and some Carhartt's and headed out behind Kyle's house. We posed by the fire pit, in the old grain feeder and in the old dairy barn. It was a lot of fun and Mom loved the photo. Aunt Kathy, Kyle and Devin helped a lot with Jess' gift (basically I sewed a few buttons on) and I am very grateful to have creative people in my family.
Speaking of Jess, she got into town safe and sound (and on time) on Christmas day. She rejoiced at the Christmas ham. Our first order of business was watching the Hannah Montana movie that Amber got me for Christmas. I love Hannah Montana and I am convinced everyone should see it. It's life affirming!
Anyway, our first day was spent at Niagara Falls. It was a bit rainy and we had to stay on the American ghetto side because Jess never updated her passport. Our first stop was at the Observation Tower which was basically a gutted warehouse with no heat. We quickly got out of there (after stealing some food) and decided to just walk around the State Park. We stopped at the American Falls and walked across the Niagara Rapids to get a view of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. They were more covered in mist but we still got a pretty good view. I'm pretty sure I've only seen the falls from the Canadian side so it was interesting to see a different side of the Falls.


I'd completely forgotten there was an NPS site in Buffalo until I saw a sign mentioning Teddy Roosevelt's Inaugural. After a lunch at Panera and a quick run through Barnes and Noble we headed over to the site. It took Jess a few minutes to get the door opened. I probably could have helped if I hadn't been laughing so hard. The people at the desk saw our trouble and didn't bother to help. Then they told us the only way to see the place was on the guided tour. Jess decided we would just look at the museum but when we went to walk in the idiot at the desk yelled that it was a part of the tour and we couldn't go in there. We then asked how much the tour was and he said it was $10 per person. I told Jess to get out her pass but she argued that it only covered her. Turns out it covered both of us and we got rushed into the museum because we were holding up the tour. I didn't much care for the tour. The guide wasn't very good and most of it was watching movie's. My favorite part was at the end when we got to pretend to be President's. There was a replica of the West Wing and we could take our photo at the desk and pretend to sign or veto bills. Jess posed as Eskimo security and it was hysterical.

That night we headed out for a night on the town. We started out at The Roost, a country line dancing bar that I've been going to since I was 16. A whole bunch of people came and it was a blast. No one really danced besides me (and Daiji). I did get Don on the floor for the Cupid Shuffle and it was hysterical. There's just something about the way he moves. I crack up every time. I had a blast out on the floor. We went to the local townie bar D and D's for the remainder of the night.

December 4, 2009

Thanksgiving Roadtrip


This past weekend Mom and I took off on a mini roadtrip. As you all know I am obsessed with the National Parks and there's a great app on my Facebook page that was created to promote Ken Burns' series on the National Parks. For some reason it's not transferring my data when I posted it on my blog but I have been to about 70 out of the 392 units. 5 of which were added this past weekend.

Our first stop was Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY. It was odd because it was right in the middle of the city. The Fort had been rebuilt so it was a bit lacking in authenticity but it was still really cool to see every aspect of Fort living. Apparently soldiers there were miserable due to boredom and many tried to desert. Alas, they were caught and executed to show that top brass would not stand for it.

Our next stop was in Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary war and Benedict Arnold fought and was wounded there. It was a beautiful spot but I didn't get the same feeling that I did at other significant battlefields (Gettysburg, Antietam). I think it was because the driving tour consisted of stopping at wayside exhibits with various cannons scattered about. There wasn't enough of an atmosphere to draw me in. Plus it was windy as hell.

We skirted around the edge of Albany and headed down to our hotel. We had one more stop scheduled at the home of Martin Van Buren but by the time we made it there darkness had fallen and we were stumbling around the parking lot by light of our cell phones looking for the mansion. We got stopped by park rangers who kindly gave us some brochures and escorted us off the property. Oh well, at least I got the brochure to prove I was there.

Thanks to my amazing coworkers at the Hampton, we got a deal for the Hampton Inn Kingston. On the way back from dinner we stopped at a Goodwill figuring we were close to NYC so maybe the goods would be better. I tried on a nice Express coat and upon inspecting the pockets I discovered a condom! The closer you get to the city, the naughtier the goods I guess.

The next morning we went to the Vanderbilt mansion. Apparently the Vanderbilts have mansions scattered around the country, the biggest and most famous being the Biltmore (which I didn't go to because it is absurdly expensive). We didn't go inside but the grounds were beautiful. It sat right on the cliffs of the Hudson.

We continued on to FDR's home. He was born and died there. We actually got to see FDR's grave which was fascinating because I've never been to a presidents grave before. We walked the grounds again because it costs money to enter his home and library. Unfortunately, my National Parks pass expired so I didn't get my free admission like always.
We watched a nice film about the Roosevelt's that really showcased what amazing people they were and showed how much the country relied on them through it's toughest times. We went to go to Eleanor's house and again were stopped by Park Rangers! I had pulled over to try to find an overview map of how to get to the Stone cottage (because Jack was confused) when a ranger zipped over on her glorified golf cart (wearing a helmet!?) and proceeded to give us directions.

We made it to Eleanor's cottage and there was not a soul in sight. All the doors were locked so we just wandered around again. I had been taking pictures of me doing cartwheels in front of all the mansions when I decided to try to do a handstand against the chimney of the cottage. Mom tried to throw my legs up in the air but I kept falling over. We left before someone was onto us.

We made the long drive over towards Ithaca and saw a covered bridge. I used to think that it was just a fluke of Jess and mine's roadtrips that we never saw the same thing even though we were in the same car. Granted she can identify a flower at 60 mph but still. Since I didn't even see the covered bridge until Mom pointed it out, I realized that I apparently drive in a vortex and see nothing but the pavement in front of me. We drove through the Catskills which were really pretty especially because I hadn't been around mountains in a long time (not like they compare to the Rockies but the change in elevation was nice).

We stopped at Taugahonnack falls outside of Ithaca. They are the highest free flowing falls in the Northeast (taller than Niagara!). They were really pretty. There was a nice gentlemen that took out picture together and I was wearing a hat and he told me to take it off because it was shielding my eyes. I did and his wife was admonishing him for directing me. He reminded me exactly of the father in Big Fish. Even his voice. We made it home before nightfall Saturday night. Overall, it was a really fun trip and I'm glad I got to see that part of New York and add more badges to my NPS map.

November 23, 2009

Time for a break


Well I am done with my first quarter of graduate school. I did really well in all my projects and tests despite some trials. I had to dictate a four page paper to one of the members of my stats team because she didn't understand the statistical analysis. She thought diagram was spelled with an "h"! I then went back and added in another page and reworded everything (and ran a stringent spellcheck). I also finished my 42 page business plan. I slaved over it, knowing that no one else in my class would spend even half the time that I did but the fact that I actually want to start this business sets me apart. My teacher actually wants to use my other major paper for my Entrepreneurship class as an example paper for his next class.

I can't believe how I ever used to handle semesters. The one day a week, three and a half hour classes are intense. Next quarter is worse because I have class every night of the week and days on Fridays. I also got into a Global Leadership program that will take up a lot of time next quarter. I get paired with an undergraduate student as well as a faculty mentor for the rest of the year to learn how to be a global citizen.

Despite all the work I have managed to have some fun. I went to the Clifton Turkey Raffle with Stacy and met up with a lot of the locals whom I hadn't seen in awhile. Alex hosted a murder mystery dinner party at her apartment and that was really fun. I got to play Connika Gothika, the eccentric next door novelist. It was hard to remember what every character was revealing and narrow it down to whodunit but I had a great time.

Even though I've been on duty all of break, I've stayed at home because I'm so sick of my apartment. I've been raking leaves, splitting wood, hauling rock, doing laundry, cooking food and various other chores. It's so nice to sit in a comfy chair in the sunroom and read trashy novels. I took some great pics of Max and Abbie the other night while I was out looking for deer. The sun is getting more and more sparse these days and the lighting was great.

I just had to put in this pic of Don messing around while cleaning gutters.

November 3, 2009

Dog Day



I was really restless this past Friday and couldn't concentrate on school. I decided to take the dogs out to Oatka Park to hike since it's bow season and I couldn't go out behind the house. It was a beautiful day, sunny but windy. Most of the leaves had fallen but there were still some brilliant red, yellow, and orange leaves hanging on. Previously when I'd gone to Oatka I'd always gotten lost. I think I've finally figured it out though. Within 5 minutes I'd already lost Abbie. I had her on the extendable leash and while trying to untangle her and Max I dropped it and she stood there for a second before realizing she's free when I lunged after her. I pursued her for a few seconds before realizing that me chasing her led to her running faster and Max dragging me along thinking it was a game. I finally stopped and got both of them somewhat calmed and continued on. I made it back in sight of the parking area but then decided I wanted to go find the bridge that I'd remembered from back in the day. Max was pretty tired though by that point so I decided to cut down a steep hill that led to the creek. I let Max off his leash because he bolts towards any body of water he sees. However, Abbie now decided that she wanted to be a water dog too and dragged me on down the hill so I finally let her go because I didn't want to follow her into the creek. I continued sliding though because the hillside was covered in leaves and underneath was pure mud because of the recent rain. Luckily a tree stopped my descent. Abbie plowed into the water with the leash and I had to pluck it out. Max then decided to get a log and bring it over and drop it on my flannel and sunglasses that I had set down. All in all a typical hike with the dogs ;)

October 17, 2009

Birthday time!

Well I just celebrated my 24th birthday. I had a great day of work and class made all the better by the lovely poster my coworkers made for me. They also got me an assorted cheesecake sampler that was divine. We continued the celebration into the weekend by going Cosmic Bowling. I suck with no music and full florescent lights so I was a little worried how I would fare with a fog machine and strobe lights lining the lanes. Turns out, I need to bowl left handed. I write left-handed but play all sports right-handed so I didn't think it would work but I got a strike the first time I tried. I decided to keep it up all night and managed to get scores of 29, 78 and 83 (can you tell where the left-handedness kicked in?). Daiji and Alfred bought a pitcher of beer for us to share so I like to think the alcohol had a nice effect on my game as well. It might have also contributed to me whacking myself in the thigh with the ball and getting my thumb stuck and tearing my nail. I also managed to walk through a screen door later in the night. It was dark and I didn't realize a screen was there so I just walked on through. Now I know how Max feels ;)

I got my birthday dinner a few weeks late when I decided to come home this past Friday. It gave my body time to process that massive fruit basket my mother gave me ;) Kyle was already over and Don and Amber were on their way home so Kyle called Devin to have her pick up dessert (an amazing pumpkin roll) and the celebration commenced. I haven't had a family birthday celebration in quite a few years so it was really nice. I received a package from Jess that contained (among other things) an awesome pic from the Grand Canyon and a DVD of our Spring/Summer 09 adventures. It was awesome to see a compilation of all our crazy weekends although it made me miss the West. I can't wait for 2009/2010 New York New Year platinum edition DVD!

It was Brick City homecoming at RIT last weekend and one of the events was an entrepreneurship conference I attended. It was gear more towards technology industries and just made me all the more frustrated. I know I go to the Rochester Institute of Technology but not every kid here needs to do beta testing for their entrepreneurial venture. Some students here already had their own businesses for goodness sakes. Quite intimidating. I on the other hand only need a couple hundred thousand dollars and a cowboy hat and I'm set. I've known since I was little that I wanted my own business although the nature of it has taken several different forms. I always had that fear in the back of my head of how scared I would be to actually commit to such a venture. However, now that I have discovered what I love and what makes me happy and what I'm good at, that fear is now dissipated. Granted I'm scared witless at the thought of that level of permanence and commitment, but I know that once I have it, it may actually feel right for once in my life. Now that I'm 24, I have to start thinking about being an adult ;)

What really helped me feel more confident was my amazing interview with Donna Davis who started the MD Resort Bed and Breakfast in Dallas, TX. I had to interview an entrepreneur for a class and it was kind of hard to find one because most ranch owners have just taken over existing businesses. I actually found Donna through Twitter (which I don't use but I googled dude ranch entrepreneur and that's what came up) Donna fought through a lot of trials and tribulations and her attitude is amazing. I loved her leadership style and approach to running a business. The business has grown beyond even what she dreamed and I am really inspired by what she had done because I see a lot of her strengths in me. Perhaps it may even turn into a job for me in the future. Gotta love networking :)

October 11, 2009

A Rolling Stone

I've been voraciously reading the poems of Robert Service ever since Jess introduced me to his works. This is my new favorite. He captures my sentiments exactly

There's sunshine in the heart of me,
My blood sings in the breeze;
The mountains are a part of me,
I'm fellow to the trees.
My golden youth I'm squandering,
Sun-libertine am I;
A-wandering, a-wandering,
Until the day I die.

I was once, I declare, a Stone-Age man,
And I roomed in the cool of a cave;
I have known, I will swear, in a new life-span,
The fret and the sweat of a slave:
For far over all that folks hold worth,
There lives and there leaps in me
A love of the lowly things of earth,
And a passion to be free.

To pitch my tent with no prosy plan,
To range and to change at will;
To mock at the mastership of man,
To seek Adventure's thrill.
Carefree to be, as a bird that sings;
To go my own sweet way;
To reck not at all what may befall,
But to live and to love each day.

To make my body a temple pure
Wherein I dwell serene;
To care for the things that shall endure,
The simple, sweet and clean.
To oust out envy and hate and rage,
To breathe with no alarm;
For Nature shall be my anchorage,
And none shall do me harm.

To shun all lures that debauch the soul,
The orgied rites of the rich;
To eat my crust as a rover must
With the rough-neck down in the ditch.
To trudge by his side whate'er betide;
To share his fire at night;
To call him friend to the long trail-end,
And to read his heart aright.

To scorn all strife, and to view all life
With the curious eyes of a child;
From the plangent sea to the prairie,
From the slum to the heart of the Wild.
From the red-rimmed star to the speck of sand,
From the vast to the greatly small;
For I know that the whole for good is planned,
And I want to see it all.

To see it all, the wide world-way,
From the fig-leaf belt to the Pole;
With never a one to say me nay,
And none to cramp my soul.
In belly-pinch I will pay the price,
But God! let me be free;
For once I know in the long ago,
They made a slave of me.

In a flannel shirt from earth's clean dirt,
Here, pal, is my calloused hand!
Oh, I love each day as a rover may,
Nor seek to understand.
To enjoy is good enough for me;
The gipsy of God am I;
Then here's a hail to each flaring dawn!
And here's a cheer to the night that's gone!
And may I go a-roaming on
Until the day I die!

Then every star shall sing to me
Its song of liberty;
And every morn shall bring to me
Its mandate to be free.
In every throbbing vein of me
I'll feel the vast Earth-call;
O body, heart and brain of me
Praise Him who made it all!

October 3, 2009

Autumn in New York


Blogging is hard when I'm not changing states every two days. Nothing else is quite as interesting as a six week road trip across America. I'll just talk about my feelings instead ;) I was really excited when I got home to settle in and get started on grad school but now I'm itching to run again. I've started to post videos on here and on my Facebook page of my trip and it's great to relive my trip and remember where I was and how I was feeling. I've been watching Ken Burns' National Parks documentary and found myself quoting along with the history of the parks. I still managed to learn a lot though. Like the fact that I am obsessed with John Muir. The one souvenir (other than postcards) that I bought on this road trip was a shirt with the Blue Ridge Mountains on it and it has a quote from John Muir that says "The mountains are calling and I must go". It's amazing that before we even had all of the States in the Union, people were calling on the government to preserve pieces of land and it was mostly on account of these individuals that we got National Parks. A lot of the focus was on Yosemite and that is my next goal because I've pretty much done every other "big" park in the system and everyone talks about how beautiful and transcendent it is. For me that park was Glacier. I spent a day on both sides of Glacier in Canada and Montana and every inch of it was breathtaking. I can't even put into words how gorgeous Going to the Sun road is. Even pictures can't do it justice. It's the one park I would recommend everyone see if they ever have the opportunity. If there was one park I could return to, that would definitely be it.
I think my main problem with grad school is my lack of motivation. The only reason I came back was because my transfer credits were about to expire. If I didn't do it now, I would end up having to go two years and you know me, I can't pass up a deal. The other problem is that I worked my ass of in undergrad, even getting a 4.0 and graduating with honors but that didn't mean crap in my 2 years of looking for a "real" job. Nobody gave a damn that I was magna cum laude, they were looking for experience. I'm glad I am working at RIT though, I've met a lot of cool people. I blew through Keuka looking to get out with the best grades in the shortest amount of time so it's really nice to get involved on campus.
I had delusions of taking lots of road trips while I was back East since I haven't been to a lot of New England. Well turns out I have no time for that. I barely see my family, let alone another state line. I was able to take Max and Abbie out back the other weekend though. Some idiot's been messing around with the land back there and changing some things up and posting signs and gates but I strolled through because I have a blatant disregard for no trespassing signs. I absolutely love fall and it was beautiful with the changing leaves and the corn fields. Mom, Dad, Kyle, Devin and I headed up to the Genesee Country Museum for the Agricultural Society fair where we got the Christmas ham.
I have been a little under the weather all week and now the only remnant left is a 1-900 voice. I went to the Roost with Don and some of his friends and was sounding rough by the end of the night. However, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Don and Aaron joined Crystal and I on the dance floor for the cupid shuffle. Now if you don't know how Don dances, you can't full appreciate the image of him shaking it on the dance floor. He is completely uninhibited and has this loose, hip swaying, ungainly way of moving and it's hysterical. I had a lot of fun. For my birthday Kyle and Devin took me to the Lockport Caves. I grew up along the Erie Canal and had no idea about these caves. Although, I should clarify that they weren't caves per se. They are old pen stock pipes that went into an old diversion tunnel. It was still really cool though. Our guide knew a lot and we even got to go on a boat ride underground. The upside down railroad bridge was built that way to prevent bigger boats from coming through. This was a way the railroads could prevent the Erie Canal from taking even more of their business.

September 27, 2009

Grand Geyser

I waited forever for this freakin thing to go off! Yellowstone has a prediction board for all the geysers in the Old Faithful basin that go off on a semi-regular basis. Some are very predictable while others have a 12 hour window of when it may go off. Grand has a window of about four hours. People start lining the boardwalk hours before as Grand is supposed to be one of the best to see. I managed to find a spot in the shade but so many people ended up coming that I didn't want to lose my spot so I waited for an hour and a half. The water in the pools is constantly filling up and overflowing and people would get excited when a splash of water would pop up. That trick got me the first few times but after awhile I just turned around and said "don't get excited, it's done that 5 times already" It was pretty awesome though and I'm glad I waited. It went off in a big jet, spewed for a while and then went off in a big jet again.

September 25, 2009

Jackson Lake Dam

This was my first (and only) day in Grand Teton National Park. I was up at 6am in a mad rush to see everything because I'd only gotten a glimpse of the Tetons from my campsite in Kelly, WY. Therefore, I had made it through most of the park by the time I filmed this. I ended up going on a three mile hike afterward to really get out and see the park. The bugs were insane (as you can tell in the video)

Day One-Bitchin Out

I got up at 6am, said good bye to Max, cried all the way to the Wyoming border, stopped in Rock Springs to mail the rest of my stuff (which took an hour), and that's when I decided to film this. I was tired, hungry, thirsty, and hot and I was sick of the monotony. This was taken just north of Rock Springs. The good news is that I made it to Grand Teton National Park by 3pm and it was gorgeous!!

September 15, 2009

Life In New York

Well it’s been a while since I posted. After a week at home, I was ready to move into RIT and my own apartment. After my many disasters of renting in Colorado, I was so excited to have a space to myself again. There’s a baby that lives above me so it’s kind of incongruous to hear a baby crying while there’s a party going on in the frat houses behind me. I am working as a Community Advocate in the apartments and during training I actually got the chance to go back to my alma mater as we did a day at the Ropes Course at Keuka. It’s still the same old Keuka even though the cafeteria is now an odd green color. We got the opportunity to do high ropes which I never got to do while at Keuka and I loved it.
After training we got a week off although I had three days of MBA orientation. American woman are in the minority of the MBA class. It’s kind of intimidating to be surrounded by people who all aspire to be CFO’s, CEO’s, CIO’s, CPA’s, and other such prestigious acronyms. Meanwhile, I just want to run off to Alaska, be a bush pilot, deal in gold and live in a log cabin (or something to that effect). I prided myself on being one of those kids in college who never changed my major and knew exactly what I wanted to do but after moving to Colorado (and moving back by way of 16 states) I now question exactly what I do want. It’s quite an adjustment to be responsible to my job, my family, and my schoolwork when previously I only had to keep track of myself.

After moving into RIT and doing two weeks of training and orientation, I was ready for a break. After an entire summer doing whatever the hell I wanted and being by myself for six weeks, I now find it hard to deal with schedules and being indoors. I decided to head to Durand Eastman beach on an afternoon off. I'd only heard of that beach as the place kids drowned so I thought it would be a wild and dangerous place but apparently that was before they started staffing it with lifeguards. It was gorgeous! I spent most of the day in the water. It was so relaxing to be on a beach again.

My favorite place in the Greater Rochester Area is the Genesee Country Village and Museum. I went there all the time as a kid and it was where I had my first job scooping ice cream. Our family donated the Pioneer Cabin there so I feel a connection and a kinship with the place. It makes me really proud to see my family's cabin being used as an example of pioneer life in the Genesee Valley. I love wandering around and seeing the village bustling with action and smelling the fire from the open hearth. I make sure to go there every chance I get.
Speaking of family, what I love about going to school in Rochester is being with my family again. I loved being out West but being all alone for three years really started to wear on me, especially with all the crap I went through. Luckily, my fellow nomad Jess has the same attitude about traveling and exploring as I do. We never had the time or money but that didn't stop us from striking out a couple times a month and seeing most of CO, KS, and NM. I never settled down in Colorado (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing) but being back in a small town where I have connections and a history is very comforting. Mom, Dad, Don and I went to a party at the gravel pits and I had an amazing time. Don took me out on the Jetski and the party barge and Dad and I went canoeing. I also got to meet up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in years. We all went out to Lake Ontario the Sunday before Labor Day because that used to be our tradition. We went to Browns Berry Patch and got ice cream and checked out the petting zoo. We went to the dam and over to Point Breeze and walked out on the breakwall. It was so much fun.

August 29, 2009

The Aftermath

I had an amazing trip and as much as I loved being on the road, I am looking forward to settling down for 9 months at home with my family and getting my MBA. I got burned out in Colorado being by myself but strangely enough, I was never lonely on the road. My biggest thank you's go out to Jess, Meris, Melissa, McKenzie, and Amy for making the time to see me and host me along the way. It was great to see familiar faces.
I just want to tell everyone to watch Ken Burns' documentary "National Parks: America's Best Idea" on PBS starting September 27. http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/
Most of my trip was devoted to the National Parks/Monuments/Battlefields/Historical sites, etc. They all have something to teach us about our past and I am so inspired by the people who saw the potential all across America for sites devoted to preserving our past in order to teach our future. A lot of people said my trip was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. I know for a fact I will be doing this again because I still have half the U.S. to see!

I had a week between moving home and moving into RIT and I thought I'd use it to relax and bop around New York but I spent the whole time cleaning and reorganizing my parents house. Maybe it's because I've been gone so long or maybe it's because my only home was a 9x9 tent the last 2 months but I loved throwing out old clutter and even getting a new entertainment center and chair. I somehow managed to sell our 25 year old wicker furniture in one day on craigslist for the price of $60. My Mom bought it brand new for $100! I did go to Conesus Lake one morning with Mom for a nice beachside break.
I also went to my cousin's house to help with hay and that was my favorite day. This is what I missed by being in Colorado: helping out family and knowing everyone around town. While Don raked the hay, Ted and I cleaned out in front of the barn and got the hay wagons out and ready. Then my Uncle Bill and I went up and mowed the hedgerow around the hay field. We needed gas by that point so we drove the tractor into town and after filling up he asked if I wanted to drive back. It was our town festival that day so I said no because it was too crowded. However, right after crossing the bridge out of town he jumped out of the seat and pointed for me to drive! I swerved quite severely at first to get used to the steering. We were going along quite fast and I didn't slow down enough for the turn so we coasted right on by and I had to stop and do a U-turn. Don and Ted had followed behind and were laughing at me. I had never driven that tractor before though in my defense. After replacing a pump, eating pizza and beer, hauling out two more wagons, and finding a flat tire, we got started. The kicker wasn't working so we had to walk along the wagon and pick the bales up off the ground. We made it two rounds like that before Jeff, Don and I were exhausted. Ted and Bill rigged up the kicker and switched out the wagons to a flatbed so we finally got a system down. We all alternated sitting in the borrowed tractor because it had air conditioning in it. Now the hard part began. We had to unload all the hay into the barn. I manned loading the elevator because I was always at the receiving end of the elevator and I did not want a guy throwing bales on one after the other. A few of Don and Ted's friends came over and we got it done pretty quick. It was amazing to work all day in the sun, sweating like a pig, using my muscles and exhausting myself. It reminded me of working on the ranch and how much I missed it.

August 22, 2009

Home sweet home

My last official stop of the road trip was at my college roommate Amy's house. She got married about a year ago and was having a little get together for a few of us Keuka alums that had last been at the wedding together. She lives in Jamestown so I didn't cross over into New York until about 15 minutes before her house. I actually had to stop and turn around because I missed the welcome sign. I'd missed a few on my trip but I did not want to miss the home state. This was the first time I'd been to her and Jay's house and it was really cute. They also have a new puppy named Ritz who is adorable despite his propensity to constantly bite people. Of course it was raining so we stayed in and talked most of the afternoon. I found it funny that the talk consisted of mortgages, loans, insurance, salaries, rent, grad school and other "grown-up" topics. Oh how far we've all come. Except me. I'm the trail bum who after moving three times and having 8 jobs, quit the only consistent job I had to go on a six week road trip by myself. And I used to the the responsible one.

I headed out the next morning, eager to get on the road. Of course, it was still raining all the way down the Thruway. I got a voicemail from Kyle saying it's very important so I called him back, very concerned and he asked if I had room for any passengers. Obviously I didn't, seeing as how I'd been living in my car for six weeks but he apparently wanted me to pick him up along the road in the pouring rain. I did and he started filming me which I thought was cool because it'd document my trip up to the house. Well, lining the field leading up to the house I saw a bunch of signs and when I slowed down, I saw that they were huge signs of the major milestone of my roadtrip! I was floored. I thought they'd been up awhile but Devin and Kyle had painted them only last night and put them up that morning. Then I go to pull in the driveway and Grandma and Devin are unrolling a banner that said "7000 miles and finally home" (or something to that effect). I was supposed to drive through it but it ended up just drifting over the top of my car.

Grandpa Doyle, Grandpa Burns and Aunt Kathy were there along with Mom, Dad, Don and Amber. I was so surprised. Of course my first order of business was seeing Max. He was the one I missed most (sorry, everyone). After hugging everyone and going inside I found out that Kyle had contacted Jess to ask her how to make that amazing tortellini salad she brought me at the Grand Canyon. It was a great homecoming and I'm grateful to everyone that had a hand in it.

August 19, 2009

The final stretch!



I finished up the Skyline Drive and decided to camp at Mathews Arm campground because the rest of my trip was more of a meandering pace. The next morning I drove out of the park and into Harper's Ferry. I didn't see the last 20 miles of the Drive due to intense fog from being up in the mountains. Harper's Ferry is in WV and it is amazing. I knew it was famous for the John Brown raid but I had no idea it was an integral part of so much American history. It is where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet and is located on the border of WV, MD and VA. Washington, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, WEB DuBois, Stonewall Jackson and many more all passed through. You have to ride a bus into the preserved downtown and all the historic store fronts house different exhibits on the history of the town. Jefferson said the view from the top of the hill is "worth crossing the Atlantic". It's a rare spot that has so many ties to American history across generations. After that I drove into Maryland and went to the Antietam Battlefield. It is best known for being the site of the bloodiest day of battle (23,000 casualties). I attended a ranger program and it was haunting the way he described it. The talk was in a huge room overlooking the entire battlefield and the way he talked, you could envision the battle in front of you. One of the ladies in the group was crying. There was a great video about Lincoln's visit to Antietam and Lincoln is quite the sarcastic man. I did the driving tour. What's great about Antietam is that it is preserved almost exactly as it was when the battle was over. The battle was fought in 1862 and, thanks to the foresight of people, it was set aside in 1890 as a national battlefield. The most famous sights are Bloody Lane (a small ditch of carnage) and the Burnside Bridge.

I love battlefields because they evoke such strong feelings and really help you relate to the history you read about. It was getting late so I headed back to a campground I had passed earlier. However, I had apparently only passed the sign because it was 5 miles from that sign. The next morning when I left Jack took me out a shortcut that went right to the battlefield. Anyway, after driving down a residential street, I finally saw a sign for the campground. I drove along looking for the entrance and saw a pit toilet so I knew I was in the right place. However, I caught sight of some tents and then a van pulled up along the road. I finally realized that you had to park along the road, cross a soggy ditch (there was one bridge in the 1/2 mile the campground stretched) and set your stuff up along the C & O canal! It was the stupidest campground setup I've ever seen. I loaded myself up beause I wanted to make as few trips as possible. It was tough going in my flip flops and the Boy Scouts camped down from me kept giving me strange looks (but none offered to help). I made it and it actually was nice despite being between a canal and a road and the bathrooms smelling and having no toilet paper (thanks again Boy Scouts). I headed out the next day to meet my cousin McKenzie in PA. However, I first stopped at the Antietam cemetery because it was the last stop on the Battlefield tour and I didn't have time for it yesterday. The day after that battle, both sides declared a temporary truce where they could both enter the battlefield and collect their dead. I don't see how you could kill people one day and the next day walk along with your enemy and pick up your dead. It was very organized and the graves were laid out according to what state people were from. There was a huge statue in the middle and surrounding it were a series of plaques with a poem on it. It was quite beautiful and haunting. I drove out of Maryland and into Pennsylvania to meet up with McKenzie. She had a baby about a year ago and I hadn't met him yet so I met up with her for lunch. He is so freakin cute! It was really nice to catch up with her and finally see Connor. I was going to head to Amy's but I decided I wanted one more night to myself before I headed back into civilization. I camped in PA and had an awesome night. I built a fire to burn the various newspapers and random garbage in my car. I took two showers and sat on a swing most of the night, contemplating my trip. It was a perfect way to end the Trek.