Saturday, June 26, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Colorado!!
Alright everyone, I’m taking the time now (in the car) to write a detailed entry so ya’ll can know what things were doing and so I don’t have to take time to write when I’m actually in civilization doing said things. Some crazy stuff has been happening that we haven’t had a chance to blog about, so this is the entry to read!! I’ll start a little ways back…
So when we entered Arizona coming from Carlsbad Caverns we happened upon a border patrol station. Everything seemed normal; traffic was going slow but that was to be expected I guess. But then we get up there and give the people our IDs and wouldn’t you know it, the dog smells our car and marks it as suspicious. Like, WTF dog?! I had just gotten through saying how cute it was too—that little douche. Anyways, we had to pull over and get out entire car searched. Of course, we didn’t have anything on us! We had to go into their little waiting room while they ran us through the creepiest government system ever. It knew all about us and could track our movements in and out of the country. They asked if we had ever been to Mexico and didn’t believe Jacqueline when she said no. Then they realized that we weren’t lying and that we didn’t have weed (or ecstasy!) and that going out of the county to Canada is not the same as going to Mexico… Way to go new Arizona state laws.
That was one of our misadventures. And honestly I feel like it’s the most exciting one to hear about… until we went back to Arizona! More on that later. Like I said before LA was pretty boring. Who would have thought? I mean, with all the songs people write about it I was expecting more. Apparently we didn’t know about the “June gloom” or where any of the awesome parties were at. I got to see my cousins and Jacqueline got to see her friends from college so that was a plus. We were planning on spending more days there but decided that Vegas would be much more fun.
We booked our hotel room on hotwire for Las Vegas and got a really cheap one. We didn’t know where it was really, just the address. When we got there we realized it was the Stratosphere hotel and casino! I don’t know if any of you know about it but it’s the one with the big tower that is the tallest in the Vegas skyline (and we got to go up it for free). But it gets better! We got up to the counter to check in and the clerk tells us that because we booked through hotwire, we could get the honeymoon suite for 90% off! A honeymoon suite on the top floor, with a king size bed, and a Jacuzzi!!! We were like, “HELLZ YEAH!” I mean, what other chance are we going to get to have a $500+ room for $80. We got in there and were in awe of our luck. Needless to say we bought a bath bomb and had a pool party that night.
The next day was fun because we went down to the real pool and hung out there (Jacqueline got a hella sunburn). Then we went up to the tower and got a sweet view of the city. But that night in Vegas wasn’t as fun because all of the fanciest clubs had mega dress codes and I guess I didn’t look cute enough. Lame. Also, the covers were like $30 or more, so we chose to pass. But we still went to an outdoor bar and saw a free reggae concert. We left the next morning.
So now to the next wacky thing that happened to us: it involves Arizona again. We got back into the state via the Hoover Dam, which is pretty fantastic if you haven’t ever seen it. But that wasn’t too wacky. We called AAA a bunch of times to figure out what to do in Sedona (our next stop) and where to stay and then what to do in the Grand Canyon (our stop after that). Flagstaff seemed like the most logical choice of where to stay and I was happy we chose it. It is the most adorable city! And if you’re interested in knowing it is the “First International Dark Sky City” or something like that because it has two observatories. Basically that means they have dim amber lighting on the highways and not too much light pollution in downtown at night. Pretty cool! We had a campsite on the outskirts of the city that was pretty alright in the daylight. We set up our tent and headed into the city to look around a bit. The town square had a free movie playing, but it was just Happy Feet so we didn’t stick around for all of it. Still, it was pretty cool. We met one girl in a shop who’s voice was so fun to listen to (at least to me) and an incoming freshman at University of Arizona, both of whom were friendly to us. Then we went back to our site and went to sleep. At least, we tried to go to sleep. The wind was RIDICULOUS!! Like, there’s wind, and then there is gale-force currents that threaten to blow our tent over like a pile of leaves! I didn’t sleep a wink, really. I kept on dozing and then having weird visions and then freaking out. One time I thought there was a person outside peeing on our tent, another time I thought an armadillo was weaseling its way inside, and at five in the morning I was convinced the fly had flown off and I ran outside to chase it only to realize it was just in my head. Oh god.
That morning we woke up very poorly rested and headed to Sedona. It was beautiful! We hiked around and saw all the delightful red rocks. Then we headed to Slide Rock State Park and played in the river that had natural water slides. Super cool! But while we were heading back to Flagstaff and our tent site, we noticed a curious cloud… Upon listening to the radio we learned that the forest was on fire! WTF!!!!??? WE’RE LIVING IN THAT FOREST! Turns out, though, that the fire was south of the city and we were northeast of it. So we still had a site to return to, but there was no way we were going to stay there. We packed up and headed into the city for a free music festival. The citizens didn’t seem too phased by the fire. I guess they’re used to that kind of thing? Either way, we met up with that student, Dom, again and hung out for a while. The music was pretty good and we even bought a CD. Then, since we didn’t have a place to stay we just drove north of the city and slept in the car at this back-woodsy area. It seemed safer than where we were.
The next morning we headed out to the Grand Canyon. Wouldn’t you know it, the cloud of smoke had spread all the way to the canyon! That’s a long way! AND! And we listened to the radio and found out that the fire had spread to exactly where we were camping!! Good thing we got right out of there huh??? Quite the brush with death.
The Grand Canyon was so majestic. It looked like a painting! It was hard to tell how far away the other side was because your perspective is all screwed up from the layers and the distance and the absolute magnitude of the place. It is definitely a place people should go before they die. From the Grand Canyon we went to Mesa Verde and spent the night and next morning there. We drove down to see a Pueblo built into the side of a mountain. Then hiked one of the coolest trails I’ve ever been on. It was carved into the side of the mountain in some places and had such magnificent views in others. We even saw some Petroglyphs (rock-carved drawings for those who don’t know, a cross between cave drawings and hieroglyphs) on the way. Totally was worth it to stop there. And these Rocky Mountains all along these roads are so impressive and huge I can’t help but take a bunch of pictures, so sorry if they get repetitive on the FB…
And now were on the road a couple hours out from Colorado Springs where were going to meet up with my friend Jen and crash at her place. I don’t know what to expect except some awesome times in an apparently really beautiful city. Of course, by the time I post this we’ll be in Colorado Springs so its like I’m writing to the future…! Anyways, hope you’re enjoying our posts and your summers. Our trip is nearing its close, but we still have some excellent stops to make on the way so stay tuned!!!