Sweet Sweet Victory

We touched the Atlantic Ocean yesterday! It was actually more of a challenge than I expected....we had some trouble finding a road that would lead right to the water. For some reason I thought we would pull right off the main road and be able to ride right up to the beach. Well, not exactly. We rode about half a mile before we found a bridge that would take us to the beach. The anticipation was killer. Then the bikes wouldn't fit over the bridge, so I just took off my front tire so I could dip it in the ocean. I know, ridiculous. But it was very cathartic:)

Then we decided to treat ourselves to the dollar menu at McDonalds as a victory dinner. Unlimited fountain drinks! Hot fudge sundae with extra hot fudge! Totally unhealthy and delicious. Good times. You would be surprised how few McDonalds we have seen across the country.

Anyway, we are in St. Augustine for 2 days, but I doubt we will leave the hotel room. We're resting a little before the ride back down to Miami. We'll probably watch more television in one day than we have in the whole trip.

Also, I might never ride a bike again:)

For the next blog, I have a really awesome story about how we could have possibly been killed on a 178 acre plot of land. We REALLY have to stop accepting offers to stay at a stranger's house.... :)

Almost There!

As of this minute, Bethany and I are in Starke, Florida. We are planning on moving along after we're done blogging, and we should touch the Atlantic in St. Augustine tomorrow! What an adventure. I should note that we lost a lot of our motivation these last few days. Somehow being so close to the finish line has a reverse effect on us. We had a couple of days where we only did 30 miles! Otherwise, we could have been finished by now. We'll chalk it up to the fact that we want to extend the trip as long as possible... :)

Of all of the states we have been through, I think Bethany and I agree that Colorado was our favorite. The landscapes are breathtaking, the people are polite and helpful, and most of the roads had a fairly nice shoulder (how lame that we judge the states by the size of the shoulders!?!?!? I'll answer that. VERY lame). I would go as far as to say that 75% of the people passing us in vehicles waved. Compare that to the .01% of people in Florida. Something to think about, Florida. Be nicer. Jerks. :)

On one of our days in Colorado, Bethany and I were sitting outside of a tiny general store sipping on some Gatorade and getting up motivation to continue on the trip for the day. We were right on the Arkansas River, so buses were always driving by with giant rafts, and a load of people that had just survived the rapids. It looked like such fun!

While we were relaxing, two older ladies sat beside us on the bench. They had their lunches....sandwiches freshly made at the little deli inside. We started up a conversation (just in case you were wondering, a loaded bicycle is a surefire conversation starter. I happen to have one if you want to borrow it when I get home:). We talked with them for a long time, and found out that one of the women was a cancer survivor....stage 4 lung cancer! What a tough chick. Another young man had joined the conversation by this time, and he had survived a brain tumor as a child. He was only 20 years old (he was hitchhiking back to his job at one of the raft companies - he had surprised his mother for July 4th. Aww!). Hearing about their ordeals made the fundraising portion of this trip feel a little bit more.....real. And necessary.

Unfortunately, the ladies eventually had to leave. They had generously offered to give the hitchhiker a ride, so all three were going together. Before leaving for good, one of the women walked over and pressed some money into my hand. She was inspired by our trip, and she wanted to help....so she gave us $40! I'm never quite sure how to respond when people hand me money, so I'm sure it was just some nonsensical babbling. Either way, Bethany and I thanked her profusely. It is oddly moving when a stranger makes such a generous gesture, whether it is $5 or $400. These are the people that I'm so happy to meet on this trip.

Anyway, there is more to the story, and it can be long, so I'll try to condense it.

We were still sitting on the benches outside the general store, still trying to get motivation to continue. It was a particularly hilly day, and it was rough trying to get back on the bikes. Across the road, a guy came blazing by on his Kawasaki motorcycle. He stopped in the store to get himself something to drink, then he came outside and sat on the bench with us. Again, bicycles make the greatest conversation starters! We were explaining our bike trip, and he explained that he was a river guide on the Arkansas, and he lived a few miles up the road. We talked for a little while, and he offered his house as a place for us to stay the night. Without much thought, Bethany and I agreed.

As it turns out, "a few miles up the road" was really about 40, and we were in the middle of nowhere. Steve's house was on a plot of land that allowed you to look in almost any direction and see the Rockies. It was quite bizarre and amazing at the same time. We cooked up some awesome microwave dinners (Yum! And ewww!) and sat on the porch to watch the sun go down. It was quite possibly the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. The Rockies turned purple, and it was almost like a postcard. When the sun was all the way down, a little deer pranced out of the forest and walked around the house. Steve talked to her, and the deer wasn't afraid at all. And there were a million hummingbirds!! They were all chasing each other and zooming around at a thousand miles an hour. I felt like I was in a Disney cartoon. I half expected Thumper to come out of the forest next. It was a little bit surreal.

Steve told us that he would take us the next day to go white water rafting on the Arkansas River. I was a little concerned at first...we had to make it to Pueblo by the next evening, because we were staying to a coworker's parents (hi, Bob and Phyllis!), and we didn't want to be too late. But the chance to go whitewater rafting was hard to resist. I love taking adventures that could cause my death.

We got up bright and early and headed down to the River. It was about half an hour away from where Steve lived. Then again, EVERYTHING was half an hour away from where Steve lived. We got there early, and we were set up on a raft. Before the raft left, Steve took us over to the Royal Gorge, one of natures other wonders. The cliffs were straight down, and the river was rushing through 1,500 feet below. America's highest suspension bridge crossed the top of the gorge close to us. There was a fence that said "For Your Safety, Please Do Not Cross Fence". So, naturally, we crossed the fence. Steve showed us the perfect place to climb to the top of the rocks so you could look straight down into the gorge. One false step and it was lights out. Completely scary and breathtaking at the same time....a lot like Bryce Canyon's trails without a fence to separate you from falling into the canyon. We took plenty of pictures to freak out our parents, then went back to get on the boat for rafting.

Aside from "popping wheelies" with the raft, the trip was pretty normal and uneventful...certainly not worthy of explaining in detail. There was a short section where the guide allowed us to jump out of the boat and float down river, and I was amazed at how fast the current was moving, even when it didn't look like anything was happening. Oh, yeah. And the water was freezing. It took my breath away. I guess it has something to do with the snow runoff? News to me! We pulled off the river right before we went into the Gorge, which would have been an awesome experience as well. I guess we weren't experienced enough:)

Not to mention, this trip was free. Steve used his "comp" and got Bethany and I on a boat for no cost. It wasn't until later that I found out that a trip like ours normally costs $53. I think if I would have known that sooner, I would have given Steve a big bear hug. He had only known us for under 24 hours! That seems to be the story of this trip. Extremely generous people.

I can't wait to be back in Miami and have some time to process this whole trip. It shouldn't be long now! It will certainly be nice staying in one place longer than one night. But more than anything, we're so excited to touch the Atlantic Ocean. Our cross-country will be complete!

"Aren't You Scared?!?"

Before I start, I would like to thank 2 people: First, Mack Leach. We met Mack in Columbus, Mississippi, and he bought us dinner at the most fabulous steak house in town. Second, John Duncan, a Deputy Sheriff in Selma, Alabama. We asked him if there was a public library in Selma (to update the blog!). He offered to drive us to the library...but instead, he took us to a really nice motel, pulled out a $100 bill from his wallet, and told us to get a hotel room in the safe part of town. He knew the hotel had a computer we could use for our blog, so we didn't have to visit the seedy section of town. Apparently they have 4-5 shootings per week? Whew, thank goodness for locals. And thanks, John. The hotel room is awesome.

Thanks to everyone we have met on this trip. You have all restored my faith in the human race. Mostly:)

Anyway, I know I said I was going to write about the Royal Gorge and whitewater rafting, but I really wanted everyone to hear about our sketchy motel experience.

"Aren't you scared?!?"

That was the question we got from the lady at the grocery store where we were buying supplies for dinner. It was a response to the motel we told her we were staying in for the night.

"Scared? Wait, what?"

Apparently, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

We had stopped in Aberdeen, Mississippi for the night. The town was relatively small, and there weren't too many motels. Just like every city in Mississippi or Alabama, we have been warned by the locals not to camp because we were in a "dangerous area". It ended up working out anyway, because the weather had been so bad for the past couple of days, that it was wise to stay in a motel anyway.

There were three motels to choose from: Best Western, which was too expensive, some other small motel, but I couldn't understand the guy at the front desk (really thick Indian accent), and the Tombigbee Inn, which was $35 after tax. SCORE. We headed up and booked a room. We had been in cheaper motels, so we weren't really concerned.

Ok, we have camped and slept in some pretty sketchy places, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING compared to this place. This is the one situation where I really wished I had looked at the room first. Try to picture this:

• We almost had to kick the door open because it was stuck. 18 layers of paint will do that.
• Nasty green carpet that was tracked over so many times it was more of a dark brown. Neither one of us wanted to take off our shoes while we were there.
• The tiny television had a message written on it in White-Out: "If you see this TV please don't buy this TV from anyone. Please call ###-###-#### if you see this TV anywhere." Yikes.
• There was a little pine tree air freshener hanging from the light fixture on the wall. And there was no lightbulb in the fixture. Come to think of it, there was only one little lightbulb in the whole room. It gave off about as much light as a small Bic lighter.
• I'm not sure, but I think there was a murder committed in the bathroom. There were creepy rust-colored spots everywhere, and they wouldn't go away. There was a bottle opener drilled into the door frame, but it had also been painted over 18 times.
• The bathtub also looked like it was painted, but the 18 layers of paint had been splitting and puckering for several years now. The hot and cold handles were different....one was a long, thin handle, the other one was a circle. They both looked like someone had pulled them out of the trash. And they were on the wrong sides, so it took me a second to understand why the water was not getting hot. We were so creeped out, both of us showered with our flip-flops. And clothes. :)
• There was a giant bug in the toilet when we first got there. Bethany flushed it, but I kept having images of insects swarming out of the plumbing. And there was nothing that could get me to actually sit on the toilet seat (which, by the way, was 2 sizes too small for the actual toilet, so there was a chance that you could literally fall in). Those rust-colored spots made an appearance there as well.
• The sink had funky handles. They were angled differently, and one turned left, while the other one turned right. And no matter how hard you pushed, it didn't stop the drip. Drip. Drip. Drip....Drip........Drip............
• You know how motels give you one or two bars of soap and the very least? Well, this motel was no different. It gave us two bars of mystery soap. The only problem was this soap looked like it had been sitting in the soap dish for weeks. If not years. I'm not sure how many "customers" this place has. The paper had faded from an off-white shade to a yellowish orange. You couldn't read the name on the paper. It also looked like someone had dipped them in water before placing them in the soap dish, because the paper was all crinkly....much like it would be if you, say, dropped it in the toilet water then put it back. Not saying that's what happened, but it was WEIRD. And there was no way we were even touching the soap.
• Don't you love how motels have those curtains that keep the sun out in the morning? Yeah, this was not one of those. There were 2 yellow curtains on our window. They were nearly see-through. They were cinched together in the middle and held together by pieces of shoelace threaded through little holes. The icing on the cake was the Breathe-Right strip that held together the last portion of the curtain. Magical. Magical, I tell you. There was also a black binder clip that held the curtain to the rod on top. I'm not making this up, I swear! I know you don't believe me, which is why I have a million pictures to prove it. I took more pictures in this motel room in 10 minutes than I had taken in the last 3 days.
• Most peep holes have glass in them. Ours had toilet paper shoved into the hole where the peep hole used to be.
• There was a brown folding chair at the "desk" in the room. Yeah, right.
• The motel was called the Tombigbee Inn, yet it had a "Clubhouse Inn" ice bucket and a "Rodeway Inn" pack of matches. Strange? Yes, strange.
• The sign outside the motel said " Butget 00 Rates. Weeklyyrate" It should be noted that the "W" is actually and upside-down "M".
• And last, but not least: the bed. Oh dear goodness, the bed. I won't even get into the bedspread. Bethany and I yanked that thing off and didn't touch it for the rest of the time we were in the room. Other than the spread, there was one thin sheet underneath. You know how Dateline does those exclusives in hotel rooms where they shine the blacklight, and it reveals all the disgusting "fluids" on the sheets. Ugh, we didn't need the blacklight. We could see all the stains with the ole' naked eyeball. Gag me, seriously. There was no way we were going to sleep on those sheets.

We were at the local Piggly Wiggly (HA!!!) trying to decide what to do about the bed situation. I'm not kidding, I'm gagging inside just writing this story, and we have seen some gross things on this trip.

As we were checking out, the lady asked us where we were staying. When we told her, she recoiled in fear, and looked at her fellow cashier. They both looked at us....kinda like you would look at someone if they had 2 heads. "Aren't you scared?" Well NOW I am. A little. But thanks for doing your best to calm my fears, ladies.

They told us to go next door to their equivalent of the Dollar General (which is in EVERY small town in America, along with Main Street and Walnut Street), and pick up some antibacterial spray to hose the room with. Dear goodness.

Instead, we came up with the fabulous idea of using those giant black garbage bags. Bethany cut them open lengthwise, and used them to cover every visible portion of the bed. Then we used our sleeping bags on top. Brilliant! I use the term "brilliant" loosely, because we might have been better off sleeping on the concrete patio in front of the door, just going inside to use the bathroom. That probably would have been our best option.

Oh, and the whole room smelled like someone had chain-smoked for a decade without ever opening the door.

Again, it would be easy to think I'm exaggerating, but I promise you, not even my clever mind could come up with the "Breathe-Right on the curtain" thing. Because....ewww. We just hope it wasn't used ahead of time. Grrrrooooosssssssssssss.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we escaped without catching a disease, and we weren't murdered in our sleep (although I slept with some protection, just in case). And we have a ton of pictures that I can't wait to share. But much like the beautiful Bryce Canyon, or some of the other breathtaking landscapes on this trip....you just don't get the full effect with a picture:)

Mace in the Face

First of all, we made it into Mississippi today. Yay! Hopefully Alabama tomorrow, or the next day at the latest. We're running into really rough weather right now, which is likely because I am a big fat jinx. I just HAD to brag about the fact that we only had 20 minutes of rain in the first 5 weeks of the trip. *Sigh*. It has rained almost 50% of the time since then. Now we're getting tornado warnings and threats of hail. Sheesh. Squishy and wet shoes are the worst!

And here is the story....it will probably be quick.

We have noticed, particularly in the south, that there are unchained dogs EVERYWHERE. You think I'm exaggerating when I capitalize "everywhere", but I'm not kidding. Every half-mile, sometimes quarter-mile, some freakishly large dog-horse thing comes charging out from under a pick-up truck. Sometimes they hop a fence. Sometimes they appear out of nowhere. There are always 2 or more, and they come at you strategically. Oh, yes, they have done this before, and they have worked out a solid plan. I love animals, but I don't mind telling you that I wouldn't be upset if some of these dogs accidentally tripped and face-planted into a ditch on their way to terrorize us.

Well, we've become pretty good at dealing with the dogs. The pepper spray is always in easy reach if it gets out of control, but I think they know I mean business. I can be very intimidating. Stop laughing. If all else fails, I'll slow down just enough for them to catch up to Bethany, then speed off as fast as I can. She can probably handle herself. :).

On one occasion in Kansas, we were still with Joel and Jessica. They hiked the Appalachian Trail several years ago, and still have the can of Grizzly Mace that they used for that trip. I'm not sure, but I think it is 30% more powerful than your average can of mace. So, we were just on our way out of Kansas...Joel and Jessica were about 20 yards ahead of us. A big black dog came bounding off of a porch, headed straight for Joel. It was barking like it was ready to tear something apart. Almost as a reflex, Joel pulled out his Grizzly Mace and hosed the dog. HOSED it. Right in the face. The FACE! I just want you to get a clear image of what was happening. It looked like a garden hose went rogue. And it sounded like a fire extinguisher. It was actually pretty cool. And I made a mental note not to upset Joel for any reason.

The poor dog had no idea what happened. It stopped barking immediately and ran off with its tail between its legs. Bethany and I saw the whole thing happen, and we were happy that neither one of us would have to deal with the dog. We watched it run off, feeling a little bad, but also a little relieved. Just as I turned my focus back to the road, I was slammed with the fog of the remaining mace. Half a second later, Bethany rode through it too. UGH! Eyes burning! Lungs not working! Coughing! Sneezing! My eyes burned like someone had poured acid in them. I couldn't breathe because it burned my lungs. Bethany and I both immediately started coughing. Because I couldn't see, I had to stop the bike in the middle of the road and pray that no oncoming cars hit me. Bethany managed to avoid getting it in the eyes, so she pulled over to safety. It was so miserable. My eyes teared for a bit before I could see well enough to continue. Fortunately Bethany recovered quickly. The effects lingered on me for a little while. I like to think that I was protecting her....you know, being the first in line (and the big sister). I think you should also know that Bethany finds that extremely hilarious. And unlikely. :)

I should also mention that my lips burned for nearly half an hour. We were 20 yards behind the initial spray, and it was still miserable. I can't imagine what the poor dog felt. Hence, I will only use the pepper spray if the dog is chewing my leg off. Mostly because I'm afraid I will do it wrong and end up spraying myself. You know that would happen. That's how I roll.

I should also mention that Joel got a huge kick out of the whole situation. And we would make him retell the story over and over, only because he did killer impressions of us the second we were hit. Have I mentioned how much fun this trip is? :)

So there you have it....a short story, somewhat unsatisfying now that I've written it down in its entirety. But the fact remains, we were hit with Grizzly Mace, even if it was accidental.

Next up: Royal Gorge and whitewater rafting!

Love the comments. It makes us happy. I wish I could respond to everyone, but I have no idea how. :) Curses, technology!

Update

We're in lower Tennessee....crossing into Mississippi tomorrow. We're staying with Jim and Beth (who picked us up at the grocery store!). They gave us a tour of the Tennessee River (I think?) in their boat, and I had a chance to do some cliff jumping. They're letting us stay in their guest cottage, which is nicer than most hotels. More updates later!

Firehouse Fun

First, thanks to our cousin Matt, who brought us tons of snacks and shampoo (whee!), and drove all the way from Tulsa to see us in Kansas. We were so glad you could come see us!


Second, thanks to Mom and Dad for coming to visit us, 11.5 hours from Pennsylvania. We needed the mental lift, thats for sure!


Anyway, on to the story.


We had just made it to Eads, Colorado (keep in mind, this was a few weeks ago). It was the last city in Colorado before we crossed into Kansas the next day. There was a little city park, and we were allowed to camp for free. There was also a little swimming pool, and after a long day of riding, we were really excited to take a refreshing dip. This was the first day that we had met Joel, Jessica and Chad, some other cyclists going East. We all made our way to the pool, but the weather was looking a little precarious. Big clouds were rolling in, and it was getting darker. But the swimming pool also had showers (free for cyclists!), and the need for clean was strong.


We made it to the pool just in time...because of the weather coming in, they were closing early, but we had the chance to get in a get a shower. I won't even discuss the shower, because it was too strange to explain. Suffice it to say that we needed two people to operate it. We had to shower in our clothing, because it was a combination shower/toilet situation. And any time the door opened, people walking by could see in. Such a good time.


After the shower, there was no place to change, so we had to go outside in our dripping wet clothing. When we got out, we were amazed by the change in the weather. The wind was whipping leaves and gravel and junk into the air, and it looked like it could start pouring any minute. We ran to our bikes, but we weren't really sure where to go for cover. There were 5 of us with our equipment, and we take up a lot of space:).


Just as we were leaving, a big black pick-up pulled up. The driver was a volunteer firefighter, and he knew the storm was going to get bad. He offered to open up the firestation so we could wait out the storm. How cool was that?! Answer: Totally.



Since the town was pretty small, it didn't take us long to get there. True to his word, the man came over to open up the firestation. He told us that not only could we wait out the storm inside, but we could stay the night if we wanted to. We just needed to close up in the morning when we left, and make sure not to block the ambulance, just in case there was an emergency:). Goodness, small town hospitality is amazing.



There were some other cyclists still at the city park, so someone went over to get them. That brought to total to 7: Bethany and I, Joel, Jessica, Chad, David and Diego. Quite a motley crew. I have some great photos, but I can't upload them! Curses, technology. The guys set up a long table and 7 chairs in the middle of the firehouse floor. Everyone made some dinner and sat at the table, sharing stories of their trips so far. It was crazy fun. There is a certain camaraderie between cyclists....and it was nice to share such an extended amount of time with so many fun people. Normally, we pass each other on the road, talk for 10 minutes, then get on our way. It was great to have more time to hear about sights that we couldn't miss, scary areas to avoid (dogs! saddle sores! Kentucky!), and fantastically entertaining stories of the trips so far.


Dinner ran long, so after we cleaned up, it was pretty much time to get to bed (we planned on waking up at 5am to start the next day with Drill Sergeant Joel and his colon-busting coffee). The firehouse floor was disgusting, and there were roaches/crickets running across the floor. So, yeah, not sleeping on that. We looked around for alternates, and Diego came up with a fabulous plan....sleep on top of the fire trucks! Yes, you heard it here first.


There were three fire trucks (two ambulances, and a few other emergency vehicles), so it was easy to pair off. Bethany and I took one, Diego and David took one, and Chad took the last one (Joel and Jess braved the firehouse floor - you guys are rockstars). I'm sure this would have been frowned upon if the volunteer firefighters knew about it, but I'm also sure that they would have wanted us to be comfortable. And like we said in the picture album below, if it was illegal, or even not recommended, we probably did it.


We all set up our sleeping pads and sleeping bags on top of the trucks.....technically on top of the firehoses, which were coiled perfectly on top of the trucks. The hoses are pretty solid; they're not as soft and comfortable as one might think. Good thing we had the sleeping pads for the extra cushion:). Getting to sleep was much easier once we didn't have to worry about a roach crawling into our hair (or nostril...*gasp*!).


True to our word, we got up the next morning at 5....or 5:15. Ok, 5:30, but it was still a really good effort. This was the day we did our first 100 miles (we did two more days over a hundred miles. Holla). We ate breakfast and got on the road as the sun was rising. We said goodbye to Diego and David, but we kept riding with Joel, Jess and Chad for a few more days, where much more fun ensued.


Stay tuned: Grizzly mace!


Good times. :)

Finally got a chance to add some pictures!

Our parents are visiting for a few days to carry our equipment (YAY!!!!!), and they brought a laptop and some cords...so we were able to figure out how to add some pictures to the blog. This is just a fraction, so hopefully some are enjoyable:). PS....we were biking in a pretty big rainstorm, and unfortunately, my phone was a casualty. So, just in case you have tried to contact me in the last week, I have not gotten it, and I can't respond just yet. FYI:)





How did this one little spot manage to stay dry? Seriously. The entire shirt is soaked, but this one little spot escaped? Something is weird....

Someone is sweaty and is NOT happy about it. Thank you, 100% humidity.

Was this photo staged? Yes. Is it still funny? I think so.

We rode to one of these places to spend the night. Which one do you think it was?

No walking? Across the Mississippi River? Whatever, if it was illegal, or it was recommended that we didn't do it....we probably did it.

I saved a turtle from the middle of the road! How did he thank me? Pee.

This way to Success!!! *Sigh* We went to Houston.

An impromptu stop to pet some horses. I wanted to ride one, but the barbed wire was a pretty good deterrent. Also, I have no idea how to ride a horse.

Horses!

Our riding buddies for a few days...Jessica and Joel. As you can tell, they were quite the fun couple.

Some sisters do normal things like going out to the movies....we prefer the extreme.

Keeping it positive (not trying to hitchhike)!

Empty Kansas road....too bad you can't get a picture of the headwind.

Phyllis and Bob! They put us up for a couple of days, and spoiled us rotten. We had a really hard time leaving:)

We take our whitewater rafting very seriously.

The Royal Gorge, Colorado. We hopped over a fence and went to the very edge of the rocks to get a better view. It was well worth it.

No, I am NOT a bad influence. Good times breaking the rules! Bethany did this all on her own. But if we didn't, we never would have been able to see the Royal Gorge.

Mmmmm, meat. Bethany is mad that I'm putting this picture on at all, so I can't say anything mean.

Tub laundry! We got really good at cleaning our clothes in less than optimal conditions:) Also, we were reeeeeaaaalllly dirty, and it was gross to see the water when we were done.

McDonalds? With only one arch? And a weird little guy saying "I'm Speedee!"? I guess this is some kind of rare sign, but it was creepy....mostly because I was sure that McDonalds couldn't afford to fix their sign, and that little guy was really scary-looking.

Telluride, Colorado....the most magical town on the planet:) We got a few good pictures on the gondola ride to the top of the pass.

Pie eating contest in Telluride! It was us against the kids:) Yummmmmmmmmy.

The giant Colorado sign welcomes us. And Bethany is very excited.

Lower Calf Creek Falls, Utah. We hiked back a few miles to see this waterfall (with Don, Nicole and Mitch...hi, guys!). As with everything, the pictures don't really do it justice...and it is a lot taller than it looks.

Lonely Utah road. This is where I came up with most of the random thoughts....why is it that no matter how far from civilization you may be, you can always find a discarded beer can/bottle? Nevada desert? Budweiser. Kansas plains? Natural Light. Kinda scary. Or weird.

Bryce Canyon, Utah. One of the most amazing places on the planet. We hiked a couple of miles around the rim to get as many different views as possible.

Bryce Canyon, Utah. If you look really hard, you can see me on the right hand side in black and purple. There are no railings or barriers of any kind, so a good wind could come along and blow us right in to the canyon. There are tons of great pictures, and most of them look like we're about ready to slide right down the side of the canyon walls...but those pictures are on my camera, and I don't have the adapter:)

I know you're jealous of my sweet outfit. The wind was blowing so hard that we had to put on several layers of clothing so we didn't freeze. I swear I'm not wearing a black unitard. And the sunglasses just kept out the grit...I don't really wear my sunglasses at night:) This picture is taken right outside of the place that we "broke into" in Minersville to sleep inside. As you can tell, there was good reason to try to find cover!

At 10,350 feet....Cedar Breaks in Utah. It was cold. And because I looked like a thug, no one bothered us.

If you look closely, you can see the rattlesnake that had curled up under my leg. He looks little there, but he's all coiled, and when I can upload video, you'll see him in all of his glory. I just got chills thinking about it again.

Just like the Sound of Music! Kirkwood, California, where Bethany just HAD to watch the Stanley Cup:) Go Penguins!

Survived the Loneliest Road in America! Barely.

Tree filled with shoes!! What a completely bizarre image. I definitely did a double-take, and of course we had to stop and take a picture.

Checking the map....standing in Nevada (left of the white line) and California (right of the white line)

This will be the last of the pictures for a while....the equipment goes home tomorrow:(