The Most Epic Road Trip Ever, Continued

It's been a month since we left Alaska, and a week since our stopover in Portland. We've made it to Colorado Springs, the new home of Carl's brother and his family, and it's nice to have a couple days sleeping in the same place.

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind: after picking up the truck in Eureka we spent the night parked off a Forest Service road somewhere in the Sierra Mountains, spent the next day driving across Nevada (a never ending state of rocky ridges separated by flat arid valleys), camped under the stars in Bryce Canyon National Park, watched the sun rise over Bryce Amphitheater, drove over to Zion National Park, went for a hike to find Carl some tarantulas (mission accomplished, much to my chagrin), enjoyed more amazing stars, woke up early to hike the nail-biting trail to Angels Landing (not for those afraid of heights - after 43 switchbacks you then traverse a knife edge aided by chains anchored in the bare rock), shared the view with some rabid chipmunks, hiked down with big smiles on our faces, rallied over to the Grand Canyon, discovered Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings time, realized the Navajo Nation does, reveled in a hot shower and a warm bed in Tuba City, marvelled at the sheer vast expanse of northern Arizona, stopped at the cliff ruins of Navajo National Monument, found our way to Utah and Moab, discovered a sweet BLM campsite on the Colorado River, read Edward Abbey in the shadow of Arches National Park, took a short trip to Canyonlands National Park, took a longer trip up Negro Bill Canyon where Bubba got to frolic to his heart's content, spent another evening reading Edward Abbey, ogled at the surreal formations of Arches National Park, relaxed for an afternoon in Moab, spent our last night at our favorite campsite, headed out to 1-70 through Colorado, and ended up in Colorado Springs. If it all seems hard to process, don't worry, I'm still working on it.

There's photographic evidence of all of this, of course, but it may take a little longer for that to get online. We'll be here for the weekend and then plan to continue our eastward migration to West Virginia, to retrieve the rest of Carl's worldly belongings. More stories and adventures to follow!

The Most Epic Road Trip Ever, Almost

Life on the road is more than just wind in your ears and sun on your nose (although Bubba would beg to differ). The journey from Ketchikan began with a boat that carried us to Bellingham, WA, and a return to a world accessible by car. From there the road ran through Seattle, past the aquarium and Pike Place Market, to Portland, for a stopover with my ever-welcoming and angelically patient parents. Then on to the coast, with my first ever visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for squeaky cheese and ice cream. I can now call myself a full-fledged Oregonian.

Somewhere around Cape Perpetua Carl and I pulled over so Bubba could have his dinner with a view.

The next day we romped over the sand dunes near Florence and discovered why most people choose to explore them by four wheeler.

This lunch spot just north of the California border required a U-turn.

Once we got to California things got weird. I guess everything really is bigger out west.

South of the Redwoods we started seeing signs for elk, and scoffed at the lack there of. Until we passed by Big Lagoon and realized the elk were real.

There are definite perks to visiting famous places in the off season. On our hike down to the Tall Trees grove in the Redwoods we saw a total of five people on the trail. I had great fun monkeying around on one of the smaller giants.

That little white speck is all 5'3" of me, offering some scale on the trees down there.

Our necks were sore from taking in this view the entire time.

On our way back to Portland we saw this sign. If the elk turned out to be real, who knows?

That's right, I said back to Portland. Our anticipated itinerary was slightly truncated due to some car issues. The truck is still in Eureka, waiting to be retrieved on Wednesday when the head gaskets have been replaced. Luckily being unemployed has its benefits, such as a flexible schedule. Trip, interrupted, to be continued!

The Hayes Family Does DC

It was a fun-filled, action-packed week when the Hayes clan descended upon our nation's capitol. There was the usual anarchy of trying to get eleven strong-willed, opinionated people in the same place at the same time, but somehow we managed. Cheers to Aunt Julie for organizing meals and lodging, kudos to Aunt Ruth for the tours of the Library of Congress and the White House, a high five to Sarah's friend Zach for the exclusive West Wing excursion, and a huge thank you to my grandparents for making it all possible.

We spent a lot of time perusing the Smithsonian museums. Sarah and I estimated that if you went through every single exhibit in every single museum it would take you approximately six years to cover every square inch of the complex (at which point, of course, they would have changed exhibits or added new ones and you'd have to start all over). Given that, three days of exploration was hardly sufficient. We said hi to the pandas at the zoo, checked out Norman Rockwell's paintings at the Portrait Gallery, found C3PO and Julia Child's kitchen in the American History Museum, had lunch at the American Indian Museum, ogled amazing pieces of woodwork at the Renwick Gallery, and met our ancestors at the Museum of Natural History. Whew.

Somehow we found time to drive up to Pennsylvania to spend an evening with my little brother Nathan at Bucknell University. My mother, of course, managed to sniff out a quilt museum in Lancaster featuring the work of the local Amish folk and their Mennonite neighbors. Then it was back to DC for an exclusive look at the West Wing, and an early flight out the next morning. All in all, it was an extraordinary adventure far removed from the island life of Ketchikan.

I'm back on the island now, looking at these pictures and marveling at how far away it all seems. My next journey is by water, riding the ferry all the way down to Bellingham, WA. From there I'll be running around the Pacific Northwest, visiting friends and family and enjoying my extended vacation. Alaska has been swell, but it's off to the next adventure!