June 30, 2009

Day 1: 506 miles





I'm currently sitting in the valley below the Grand Tetons outside a closed coffee shop at 6am in Kelly, Wyoming (that's the town's name, honest). Not much happened yesterday but I don't know when I'll next get Internet so I figured I'd write.

I was pretty upset yesterday leaving Max. I don't want him to feel like I'm abandoning him and it broke my heart for him to give me "that look". I know everyone at home will take really good care of him though. After crying all the way to the Wyoming border yesterday, I got settled into the monotony of driving through Wyoming. I ended up spending an hour at a post office in Rock Springs because I had to ship the last of my boxes. It took some strategizing but I got everything down to 3 flat rate boxes which saved a ton of money. The picture above of Bondurant was one of the many towns in Wyoming with a small population. Believe it or not, there were actually towns with smaller populations but I couldn't get my camera out in time.

I made it to Jackson Hole around 3pm. I wandered around downtown and got some postcards. The visitor center has a sod roof and is pretty cool. It rained off and on but I got my tent up during a dry spell. I actually had a good night. I was warm enough and in the morning I heard coyotes howling. Well I should get going because I have to leave my car running to charge my power inverter for my computer and I'm trying to save gas so I don't have to pay the outrageous national park prices.

June 28, 2009

The Day Has Come...

Well the day has finally arrived! I leave tomorrow morning bright and early (brighter and earlier thanks to Dad). My first nights rest will be in Kelly, Wyoming at Gros Ventre campground. I'll be driving through Laramie, Rock Springs, Pinedale and Jackson Hole, Wyoming on the way there. Dad brought me a GPS which will come in very handy. Mom and Dad will be heading to Davenport, Iowa which is 13 hours. Dad wants to make it home by Tuesday night though so he's truckin'. I hope Max will be fine. He's used to road trips (being my dog and all) but not one this long and far. I know everyone will take care of him though and hopefully he won't eat Mom's cat or goats.

Funny moving story: I thought everything would fit in Mom and Dad's car but I really wanted to pare down what was in my car so I moved a lot of stuff to their pile. Apparently I've accumulated a lot of crap out here. We ended up unloading their entire car in the parking lot of a Motel 6 and giving my two coolers to a Mexican construction company. I also threw out a variety of things and consolidated some boxes as well. We finally got everything packed in just right with enough room for Max and Mom.

I'm excited to get on the road and see, well, everything. I can't believe I'll be gone for a month but I've already trimmed it down enough and I don't want to sacrifice anything else. Now I have time each day for driving, eating, setting up camp and I'll even have a few days for chores like laundry. Maybe even stop and see the new Harry Potter movie!! I went to Sam's Club today and got a lot of non perishable food. Gatorade will be my elixir of life that keeps me going. When I arrive in New York I hope to be skinny, tan, and blonde. I'll see some of you along the way and the rest I'll see home in New York!!

June 15, 2009

2 Week Notice


Two weeks from today I'll be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on part 1 of my 307 part series "The Great American Trek". It feels like a long time away but I know the next two weeks will fly. I'm most excited to see my parents. This is the longest I've gone without seeing them and even though we'll only be together for a day and then separated another six weeks, seeing them will help get me through six weeks on the road.

I'm mostly packed and have been living out of boxes for a while since I decided to sell off everything I've acquired in Denver on Craigslist. I wasn't really attached to any of it since I picked it up by dumpsters. I did miss my couch and armchair mostly because my Mom and I spent 2 hours pulling it out of a dumpster, dragging it across a dark parking lot, and into my first apartment. At least some hot boys bought it though ;)

I've got everything planned down to which trail I'm hiking, which overlook I'm stopping at, which campsite I'm staying at, where I'm buying gas, etc. for the first month. (I'm not joking, I think I've got the mile markers memorized at this point ) After Austin, TX I think I'm going to wing it (as much as I'm capable of winging). I know where I'm going and I know what's there but I also know I'll be tired of living out of my car, sleeping on a cot, and looking like a vagrant. After Great Smoky Mountain National Park I'm planning on driving back up the Blue Ridge Parkway which literally has an overlook about every quarter mile. I think I've narrowed it down to stopping at the major ones with a special significance (i.e a funny name such as Devils Courthouse, Graveyard Fields,The Lump, Yankee Horse ridge)There's a place called Sliding Rock which is a natural waterslide and it looks awesome(see above)! I am concerned that I'm seeing a lot of things that most people usually spread out over a lifetime and I won't appreciate it. I'll just take a lot of pictures and appreciate it later.

I thought it would be easier moving home since I'm accepted into school with a job already lined up and surrounded by family. I've been having a really hard time with it though. I moved out here with no job, home, family or friends and for the first year and a half I felt like I was just on an extended vacation (probably because I spent half my time at the Ranch). Working at the Hampton had settled me down for a bit but I realized that I don't want that as my life. I think grad school is a step in the right direction though. As Dierks Bentley says: I've still got a lot of leavin' left to do...

p.s. I'm going to try to keep this as updated as possible during the trip but I don't know how often I'll be around Internet and have time to stop and use it. Trust that I am safe and have not been mauled by a bear or mugged by a freak.