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.