for my post, i decided to do a photo entry. although amanda is working diligently to update the photos, i am going to put some of my favorite photos together to tell you all the story of what we have been up to since arriving at the grand canyon.

we made loads of friends hiking down into the grand canyon. it was so awesome!



the top photo is the first group of friends we made. they were a super nice group and we were very glad to have met them.
the photo bellow is of our spring break friends. they let us crash in their campsite for a night and were super fun company. we ended up hiking out of the canyon with them too, which made it a much easier hike, and dare i say... enjoyable? they were a fantastic group. we had many good laughs in their company.





the above poster was on the bus we took back to our car after hiking out. luckily, we don't look like that guy, otherwise we could have been in trouble.

after leaving the grand canyon, we went to las vegas and had a swell time. the pirate show was amazing and we had lots of energy, making the city a very fun place for the two nights we spent there.

once we left vegas, we began our weird route east - which took us through navajo nation and gave us a new traveling buddy for a while.



when amanda and i first heard about the stray puppy that had been left at the navajo jewelery stand, we both thought "oh, no. we can't have a dog traveling with us, let alone a puppy." an hour later, however, we were thinking differently.
kayenta, which was the name she ended up with, wiggled her way over to me. her little body was all matted with desert sand and dread locks- i could not help myself when i got the scissors and comb out of the car and began working on her coat. before long i had a huge baggy full of dog hair and we had a puppy. we promptly found dog food for her and watched her little body squirm with delight as the food hit her belly. while we drove, she slept soundly on the floor board and when we camped, she stayed right at our heals. she was a great companion.



kayenta traveled with us for four days before fate had its way and gave kayenta a real home (months before we were planning on finding one for her). we were camping right outside of santa fe and had some super people camping next to us. we were all cooking marshmallows on the fire and kayenta was sleeping in the tent. i went and grabbed her to keep me warm and to meet our new friends. when one of the guys, john, saw her he said that he would love to take her home and we said if he was serious, we would like for her to have a good home. so, john ended up with a puppy and kayenta ended up with a good owner who would be able to give her a home.
although we only had her for four days, it felt so much longer. saying goodbye to her was very difficult for me. i think that due to the nature of our trip and the lack of time, it seemed like a much longer time. but, goodbyes are usually not an easy thing.
she slept in our tent with us for the last time that night and in the morning i woke up to the little ratters stepping over my face to crawl in my sleeping bag with me. we couldn't have asked for a better friend for the time we had her.
the guy on the left is her new owner.



after departing from kayenta and santa fe, we hit route 66 and traveled with style.





DINOSAURS AND GIANT RABBITS!!!
(see, mom, i told you we rode a rabbit!)



after standing on a corner in winslow, arizona (such a fine sight to see)
WE WENT TO TOMBSTONE!
i got my picture taken with doc holliday and wyatt earp! and morgan and virgil earp too!

standing on allen street in tombstone. we are lookin' sooo good.



amanda with wyatt and doc. such gentlemen. they were actually walking away from us when amanda and i stopped to stare with awe. my smile was so big they stopped and turned around and said 'why, hello' and then we got our picture taken with them. best ever.



then, after we saw the shoot out at the OK Corral, we got our photos taken with morgan and virgil earp. i was so happy, but my eyes were red, puffy, and watery- not from being overwhelmed by their presence... it was allergies. unfortunately the whole shoot out and sometime afterward it looked like i was crying.



tombstone was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. my cheeks hurt really bad from smiling so much and everyone kept looking at me and asking where we were from, as if that would tell them why we were so happy and excited. it was super. super duper, in fact.

over and out,
chelsea

East by South West (say what?!)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. We haven't updated in forever. What can I say? We're busy people. There's a lot of road out there and only two of us, so take it easy!

OK, now that that's all straightened out, there's a lot of updating that needs doing. Now that Chelsea has picked her topics, I'm left to try to make our posts somehow cohesive. But, since I can't really see how, I'm just leaving this pretty much as it is. I believe I last left you at the rim of the Grand Canyon, with us about to fall in. Well, in we went, indeed, and back out again. But it was gorgeous, and warm in there, and I loved being with my river so much that we stayed at extra night in the lovely canyon, despite possible run-ins with the Law.

Next, as you might tell from our new blog playlist, we high-tailed it to Vegas. Yeah, I know, we're not the "party in Vegas!" sort, but my friend, Susie, from Washington was there with a hotel room a block off the strip, so we spent two nights living' it up, sleeping in a fancy-pants, 35th floor hotel room, with complimentary valet parking and a pool on the roof. Now where I come from, that's fancy. We got to climb in Red Rocks with one of Susie's friends, Alan, one day, and spent an evening walking the strip and saw the pirate show outside the Treasure Island Casino! OK, for a pirate show, there was definitely a lot of sexual innuendo, but there was also fire and a ship sinking, so all in all, I think everyone left happy.

After our wild times in the city, we meandered our way back east and through the Navajo Nation to Mesa Verde, and then down to Santa Fe. And from there, we hooked up with Route 66, and eased on over to Winslow, Arizona, where, yes, we mandatorily stood on a corner, and in fact, THE corner, as they do have one designated for such use. I was really digging the sites and getting my kicks along America's Main Street as we saw neat-O old motels (including the tepees!), rode an oversized jack-rabbit, and shopped some fun stores. Just imagine, if you can, Chelsea and I weaving I40 with the rugged remnants of 66, while having a full volume sing-along to Leaving on a Jet Plane as done by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Now, it's just like you're there with us.

Finally, we rolled south, south, and more south, until we came well nigh to the border and stopped in Tombstone, Arizona. I don't know if y'all have seen the movie Tombstone, but it's awesome, and so is the town, and you should see both. Now. We had so much fun in that town, on account that one street is marked off as a historical landmark, and everybody's dressed like Wyatt Earp and we even had our pictures taken with some fellows claiming to be Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. They looked the part, and killed some conniving cowboys in a shootout near the OK Corral, so I'm pretty well convinced. And I love that town. And I got me a Tombstone Marshal badge, and some 6-guns, and I love that town. I was all, "Wyatt, I am rolling!" Only I didn't say that, because we were busy grinning ear-to-ear in the glow of our heroes. Glorious.

After we got the heart to finally leave Tombstone, we spent a few days climbing in the nearby climbing area called Cochise Stronghold. It's a beautiful area, consisting of an outcropping of gray granite mounds, highlighted with lime-green lichen, jutting 500 feet out of a healthy and pristine high desert plain. When we walked the hour between our camp spot and the rock, we walked through knee high tan grasses, that whispered constantly in the wind and blew in gentle waves around us. As I walked, I'd open my hands to feel the soft bristly blowing motion of the grasses. When several healthy gorgeous horses appeared, I realized we were in a cheesy painting on a 12-year-old girl's wall. But here's the thing about cheesy paintings--when you're in them, they're actually quite beautiful, and for a moment, you can see why someone would enjoy that image. Still, no excuse for hanging them on your wall, but it sure was nice.

Finally, for real this time, we're now in Tucson. But wait--how'd that happen? Oh, right. We met some really friendly climbers at Cochise. Some of them gave us route information for the climbing (as we had no information, and were completely dependent on running into someone who did), and some of them, Joolie and Dalton, offered us a place to stay after talking to us for 5 minutes. So that's where we are now, enjoying the in of doors for the first time since Vegas, and looking forward to showers, which will be the first since, uh, Moab. Hmmm. That was a while ago... It's probably a good thing Chelsea and I both have allergy-debilitated noses.

Overall, the trip has been going swimmingly. In our lack of plans, so many beautiful things have unfolded, things that we would not and could not have made happen. In the same way that conceptualizing God shrinks Him down to a size that fits in our heads, it is seeming that over-planning and controlling our situations brings life down to a dwarfed version of itself, something only as big as our own limited imaginations. I'm excited and pleased to watch as undirected wandering unfolds in benevolent and wonderful ways, leading us to see beautiful new places we'd never heard of, and and to have meaningful interactions with amazing and lovely strangers. I can see life growing, expanding like inhalation, into something staggeringly more vast than I'd imagined. And that makes sense, because my imagination isn't really that vast at all, and I'd always assumed that life existed beyond, well, me. But I guess sometimes it takes a little something different to see that.

So, that's my version of a quick update. In my defense, it is under 12 pages (which hardly seems a good thing, and I can't believe y'all are going to let Chelsea get away with all those pictures. Chelsea, that will NOT fly in a college course!)

I really hope that life is surprising and new and unexpected for you as much as it's been for me of late, and I'd like to invite you into my cheesy painting by encouraging you to let go of something. I know, that's vague, and even cheesier than a painting of ponies in a field, but I'm really starting to think that the more that we control, the less we get in return. And that little feeling of safety, aside from probably being false, comes at a really high cost. And so, instead of my usual fare of snuggling in small safe places, I want to run into the walls of my comfort zone like a padded room, bowing the walls and expanding it with each collision. And, despite a few bruises, I am really grateful for the chance.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Moab to the Grand

I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave something awesome out, but at least I know it. So here it goes anyway, pressing on to summarize the last few weeks, despite the absurdity of my efforts!

It should be also known, to start out with, that nearly every day during this portion of the trip, Chelsea said at one time or another, "This is the best day ever!" As for me, every night when we were going to bed, I tended to say something along the line of, "I'm going to stay here forever." (I realize that might not be the most forward-moving thinking, but stagnancy is my weakness--a weakness which I have to overcome every time we move the car.) With that in mind, here's what went down.

OK, Moab. I was super-happy to be in Moab, because, unlike for Chelsea, that actually is home to me, at least for the last couple years. I had this list of people I wanted to see, even though we were only there for the week, and, surprisingly, I got to see almost everyone, and, even more surprising, I had meaningful interactions with most of them. (Not just the "Hi! I'm in town! Bye!" interaction.) Among other awesome events, we got to climb at Indian Creek with some friends, and, with my old roommate, Pete, we got to mountain bike the Slick Rock practice loop, climb a tower, and hike around a bunch. It was superb.

I finally had to drag myself out of town, because if I didn't, I was sure I'd never leave. William Least Heat Moon has some good quotes about how comfort effects the traveler's will that I'll try to edit into this post later.

Next, we booked it down to the Needles District of Canyonlands, where we hiked 11 miles round-trip to see the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. I've wanted to see it for years, and so it was quite fulfilling to finally do it. It was a gorgeous hike, too, and we even got our first sun-burns of the year--in early March! (That's pretty early for us hill-folk.)

We then set out the find the Robber's Roost, a hideout along the Outlaw trail that was frequented by Butch Cassidy and Sundance. Had we driven straight there, it would have been just 35 miles on dirt roads to get there. However, we got properly mixed up, saw some wild burros (the only herd with paints in Utah), ran into a really nice and helpful park ranger reincarnation of Ed Abbey, and then found our way to the actual Roost, clocking in over 80 miles and many hours on dirt roads. It was sooooo worth it. What's left is an old chimney in a small clearing of a low and wide canyon. We laid our sleeping bags out in front of the hearth, and ate and slept beneath the stars, completely alone. We could have stayed there for at least a week without ever seeing anyone, and most likely a month or more.

After enjoying and exploring the Roost area all morning, we moved on, rolling and tumbling towards the Grand Canyon. We were also thinking to eat at a nice cafe if we saw one, which ended up being Georgie's in Escalante, Utah. We had a fantastic Mexican dinner there, and some good conversation with Georgie, a lovely woman who single-handedly ran the show and touted tales of her days at Haight-Ashbury. We enjoyed her stories, and at the end of the meal, when we asked about camping nearby, she offered us the room above the cafe! We had to take it--it was just too perfect. According to all my research--mainly Kerouacian--this is what's supposed to happen on road-trips. I just didn't figure it really would. We ended up staying two nights, and hanging out a little with Georgie and her drum-making friend, Kevin, and got to eat plenty more good food, including home-made cookies, along the way. Getting invited into a stranger's home was everything I dreamed it would be, minus being murdered in our sleep, and, again, we'd found another place that it was sure hard to leave.

Finally, we've made our way through Navajo Nation and down to the Grand Canyon. It's friggin' cold here (13 farhenheit last night), and we're planning to hike down to the bottom tomorrow (where it's warmer). I've got a friend trying to lure me west to Vegas (which is also warmer) for some climbing after we hike back out, but we also want to head Mesa Verde way (east), so as usual, the next step, or even cardinal direction, is up in the air.

**One final bit of trivia, which I think connects the start and end of this post nicely: At the end of Thelma and Louise, they are supposed to be at the Grand Canyon. In fact, they are actually filming in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands, in Moab. There it is. Enjoy your useless information--I've got plenty of it.

Limping into Moab

Rain began steadily hitting the windshield as we pulled away from Keith and Christel's home in Montrose. On the road again, but this time we were heading towards a place we are both familiar with. Moab. Moab is a comforting place- it is one of those places that feels like home to me, even though I have only made a few short visits there. We took a southern route into Moab, one that neither of us had taken before. Soon we pulled away from the mountains and the sage brush surrounded us. The rain was making a deep fog from in a canyon just off the highway, so, naturally, we pulled over to take photos. The smell of the damp sage brush was so wonderful and safe feeling. It made me think of the times I longed to visit Moab. To escape the commitments of school and head west to see my friends. I would listen to a mix CD Amanda made for my first trip to Moab, what was her third trip, over and over. It was the only thing that would make my feet stand still and stay in Springfield for the remaining weeks of what I felt was prison at times.
The land slowly morphed more and more into the land of the red, the land of the warm desert, the land with dumpster diving and adventure around every corner, with great towers and vibrant natural color in every direction. This is where we are. This is where we are going. I could not help but let my mind slip into memories. Amanda and I were returning to the place that was becoming more and more a place of magic, in my mind.
We got to a small town called LaSal, population 15. It is not even an hour outside of the place we were headed. Amanda felt it was an appropriate time for a routine tire check, before rolling into town. The tires on my side were as solid as the day they were made, this was not the case for one of the tires on Amanda's side. It turns out there was a reason for the seemingly routine check. We had a flat - and we changed it (meaning Amanda changed it and I watched to make sure she did a good job).
And so it was, we limped into Moab with a spare tire on the rear and a pride in our hearts. What a better town to limp into?

Stacy, this one's for you.

From Video for Stacy

"I LOVE YOU, STACY!" - Amanda

"I love you, Stacy, but I am not going to drink water upside down to prove my love. We are beyond that." - Chelsea

Amanda's Explanation: Keith dared me to try drinking water upside-down, which I refused heartily. Then he drank red wine over a white pillow while standing on his head. So, of course, I had to try it--the easy way though, with water, and hanging from my legs.

From the Denver to the Grave (and from the snow to the rock)

OK, a lot has happened, so I'll get right to the business. Firstly, we wrapped up our Denver business with some good times with good friends. We spent some wonderful time with Mike (the drummer) and his lady-friend, Bethany. (We'd only just met Bethany at the show, and she brought us Valentines and gifts-- awesome!!) And we also spent some good time with one of my old friends from Missouri, Jessie Lang, and her husband, Kurt. (I realize she now has his last name, but she's pretty permanently a Lang to me.) I hadn't seen her in several years, and it was so much fun to see how little the years of separation had actually separated us.

Next, the graveyard shift. We headed west, and just outside of Denver is a very tempting sign for Buffalo Bill's Grave. I've always wanted to go up there, and I've always driven past it. But this is road-trippery, so we wandered on up. Apparently, I knew nothing about Buffalo Bill, because I was pretty sure he was an outlaw or something cool, but the little bits we picked up about him in the gift shop conveyed that he was more of an all-star indian-killer who worked for the man. I was feeling unimpressed, and, anyways, his grave was a side-show, complete with a gift shop much more peopled than the actual grave. Among the gift shop business, we read a book mark about Doc Holliday, who, thanks to Val Kilmer, impresses us way more. While reading the book mark summary of Doc's life and death, I imagined that Doc's grave wouldn't be a show, but a quiet place on a hill, peaceful and alone.

As we wandered further west, I began processing a little more of that single paragraph about Doc. It had also mentioned that he died in Glenwood Springs but nothing of the burial site. We were about to go right through Glenwood, so we decided to stop in and ask around. We ended up in a used gear shop, and I asked the bike shop guy the awkward question, "So, what do you know about Doc Holliday?" Much to my surprise, the guy went into an amazingly insightful lecture summarizing all of Doc's interactions with the town, culminating in the directions to his grave, a couple minutes away. Ten minutes of snowy trail later, we were up on a quiet, desolate, snow-covered hill above town, looking at Doc's grave, among other couple-hundred year-old graves in the old cemetary. It was perfect. We left him some sunflowers that Chelsea had gotten as a Valentine's gift.

Next stop, Chelsea's uncle, Mike, on a mesa near Hotchkiss, CO, and his friend, Jim, who lives right by the Powderhorn Ski Resort. They both live in lovely homes, and I loved getting to meet them, and their fun friends, all of whom are vibrant and funny and warm. During this time, we spent two days at Powderhorn (with me boarding and Chelsea skiing), and one of those days, Mike and Jim and their friends, Paula, Jane, and Stan, got to come out with us. They are all super expert on the snow, but were still awesomely patient and encouraging with us. We both got a lot better in that one day, and Paula even dragged me onto my first blacks, where she encouraged me while I butt-bumped my way down moguls. This sounds unpleasant, but it was actually great, because I started to try some new and scary things, instead of just being pretty comfy on blues.

Finally, we made our way over to Montrose, CO, where we are now, to see my friends, Keith and Christel. They are climbers, and among other fun things, they have a fun horizontal rope ladder in their family room. So I've spent much of the weekend in what I call the monkey-house, reclining and swinging and tangling myself in the ladder. I think I might be part lemur, now that I realize that the most comfy seat in the house for me is squatted up there in the monkey-house. Our other events included gorgeous rock climbing in nearby Escalante Canyon, several hours in some hot springs in Ouray, and various stupid human tricks and challenges around the house. Now, Keith is about to head out for work on Monday, and Chelsea and I are about to move on west.