Best Meal
Allie- Saddlebags in Boulder
Jess- Italian dinner in Denver
Katy- Saddlebags in Boulder
Fave City
AJK- Tie- Seattle/Denver
Fave Camping Excursion
A- Grand Teton
J- Badlands
K- Grand Teton
Fave Drive
AJK- Through the Rockies
Fave Bar
A- John Barleycorn, Chicago
J- Maloney's, Denver
K- The bar we got roasted at in Seattle (we all forgot the name, oops!)
Fave Hotel
AJK- Econo Lodge in Portland (due to Jess' new found friendship and location)
Fave Skyline
AJK- Chicago
Fave Tourist Attraction
A- Cannon Beach, WA
J- Pike's Market, Portland
K- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland
Funniest Moment
A- Riding in the bike taxi in Portland
J- Conversing while driving with the girl from Florida
K- Getting Roasted/Owned in Seattle
Fave Person Met Along the Way
A- Spencer and Buck (the bicycle carriers)/Doris (waitress at Tea Steak House, SD)
J- Kaiser and Bailey( Laura's roommates boxer pups)/the Econo Lodge concierge in Portland
K- Scotty Lind (rock God)
Best Text Message
AJK- From JB "we can chase each other around this city like Carmen San Diego and meet in drunken bliss"
Worst Moment
A- Losing half a toenail/getting headbutted
J- Not being able to watch the Jersey Shore/mistaking a human for a statue
K- Sleeping like a bum in Denver/listening to TomTom
AJK- Sleeping in 30 degree weather with no sleeping bag
Honorable Mention: JB- almost stepping on a bum's face
Best Roadtrip Playlist
"Freeze Frame" by J. Giels Band
"Downeaster Alexa" by Billy Joel
"Jai Ho" by the PussyCat Dolls
Anything by Celine Dion
And the Award goes to....
Allie- most likely to be headbutted, most likely to be injured, most likely to read useless fliers (i.e. Sioux Falls Bride), most likely to fake laugh
Jess- most excited to be handed a microphone, most likely to pull out a mini bottle of hairspray, most likely to headbob, most likely to color in the lines, most likely to lose at rummy
Katy- most likely to get thrown in the air while dancing, most likely to say, "I'll write you a check", most likely to read aloud with gusto, most likely to roll a 7
Tie (Katy and Jess): Most likely to see imaginary things while driving
And finally....
1 lost ATM card
2 new tires
3 continental breakfasts
4 National Parks
5 big cities
11 days
15 states
49 license plates
4,504 miles
1,000,000 cows
and endless memories later...that's a wrap :)
Monday, August 9, 2010
Buck and Spencer(Pratt)
Many apologies for the late entry. It took me this long to get back into East Coast time and back to reality. Friday, July 30th was our last day all together. So we decided to go out with a bang...sorta.
Katy left out the part, though appropriate here, because it was probably this morning as opposed to last night, when we decided to try a new form of transportation back to our hotel room after an eventful night in Seattle. After realizing it was too late to take public transportation home, I flagged down a guy on a bike, with a cart behind him. Obviously the perfect way to get home. About three minutes after picking up 3 ladies, obviously weighed down by the copious amounts of alcohol in our systems, he had to flag down a friend to take some of the weight off his cart. So Spencer and Buck our new friends pedaled away as we laughed, Jess gave out deep tissue massages, Katy demand we hold hands while in seperate carts and Katy and Jess leaping from the carts to race the bike up the hill. (I was obviously semi-in a coma from the headbutt). We had Spencer and Buck, college students, who lovingly referred to as cougars, drop us off in an area in which we thought was a couple blocks away from our hotel, which actually was a little farther and we may or may not have had to use a map to navigate us back. The last thing I remember saying before we drifted off into sleep was, "Do you think Dominoe's delivers beer?"
Katy and Jess seemed to leap out of bed ready to go...me not so much. Although I was awake for a little under 4 hours due to a hangover, we made our last day together fun. After trying to go to Voodoo Donuts (the line was around the block) we made it to Cannon Beach on the coast. What bliss. Katy described it to me as the beach in Maine, but I think that the evergreen trees adorning the background and the massive rocks added to the ambience. (Sorry Mom!) Jess even found a hill to contemplate burrito-ing down.(Though her dreams did not come true about rolling down a giant hill, she did get her caramel apple which she had been dreaming about since South Dakota).
So we ended our day back in Portland at a Pizza joint called Hotlips. Being the pizza snobs we are, we actually enjoyed the pizza a lot. The crust not quite as thin as NY, but not quite as thick as Chicago style. We drove Jess to the airport and with a tearful goodbye, Katy promised to see her at Christmas (WAH). Katy and I made it to Corvallis and watched the only thing that could cheer us up: The Jersey Shore.
I think Jess said it best when we saw her facebook status the next day- Jess Malpelli is moving to the west coast immediately post grad. best summer of my life.
Katy left out the part, though appropriate here, because it was probably this morning as opposed to last night, when we decided to try a new form of transportation back to our hotel room after an eventful night in Seattle. After realizing it was too late to take public transportation home, I flagged down a guy on a bike, with a cart behind him. Obviously the perfect way to get home. About three minutes after picking up 3 ladies, obviously weighed down by the copious amounts of alcohol in our systems, he had to flag down a friend to take some of the weight off his cart. So Spencer and Buck our new friends pedaled away as we laughed, Jess gave out deep tissue massages, Katy demand we hold hands while in seperate carts and Katy and Jess leaping from the carts to race the bike up the hill. (I was obviously semi-in a coma from the headbutt). We had Spencer and Buck, college students, who lovingly referred to as cougars, drop us off in an area in which we thought was a couple blocks away from our hotel, which actually was a little farther and we may or may not have had to use a map to navigate us back. The last thing I remember saying before we drifted off into sleep was, "Do you think Dominoe's delivers beer?"
Katy and Jess seemed to leap out of bed ready to go...me not so much. Although I was awake for a little under 4 hours due to a hangover, we made our last day together fun. After trying to go to Voodoo Donuts (the line was around the block) we made it to Cannon Beach on the coast. What bliss. Katy described it to me as the beach in Maine, but I think that the evergreen trees adorning the background and the massive rocks added to the ambience. (Sorry Mom!) Jess even found a hill to contemplate burrito-ing down.(Though her dreams did not come true about rolling down a giant hill, she did get her caramel apple which she had been dreaming about since South Dakota).
So we ended our day back in Portland at a Pizza joint called Hotlips. Being the pizza snobs we are, we actually enjoyed the pizza a lot. The crust not quite as thin as NY, but not quite as thick as Chicago style. We drove Jess to the airport and with a tearful goodbye, Katy promised to see her at Christmas (WAH). Katy and I made it to Corvallis and watched the only thing that could cheer us up: The Jersey Shore.
I think Jess said it best when we saw her facebook status the next day- Jess Malpelli is moving to the west coast immediately post grad. best summer of my life.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Allie got headbutted.
We woke up this morning giddy from the roast the night before. Layered in jeans, tees and sweatshirts (this is summer??) we decided to spend some of the money we'd previously been thrifty with on a view of Seattle from the Sky Needle.
Upon arriving, we were able to get our picture taken. When viewing it later, we found out the workers must not have liked Jess' earrings with her outfit or the top of her head because both were edited out. The view was pretty cool, except it was foggy (of course) so the tops of the buildings ascended into the mist.
After allowing ourselves a touristy experience, we headed over to Pike Place Market. With a few disagreements over where to park on the street (lot parking was like, eight bucks!) and then which direction to walk, we found ourselves in the bustling atmosphere of what reminded me of NYC Chinatown, minus all the Chinese. There were markets for everything - seafood, fruit, coffee, souvenirs, and bakeries.
On a suggestion from Roadfood, we decided to head to Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar for lunch. YUM! This hole in the wall served up some delicious oysters, clam chowder and fish and chips. The chowder was so creamy, the soup tasted like it was made from mashed potatoes instead of cream. The menus looked liked they were hand written (although we later found out they were not).With our belly's full, we stopped for some coffee (Allie asked for the third time in recent history what an 'Americano' was) we jumped in the car for Portland! Unfortunately the drive was riddled with traffic but when we finally got there it was worth it.
We checked into our Econo Lodge (thrifty) where Jess began her friendship with the woman behind the counter who recommended a great Lebanese restaurant called Al-Rasheed ( I swear, this could almost be a foodie blog). We ordered the Mezza platter (hummus, baba ganooj, tabbouleh, grape leaves, feta salad, a yogurt like tzitzki,falafel..) and Jess found her new found love for baba ganooj, in which she finished every scrape with lettuce leaves.
After dinner we headed back to the room to make some plans to meet up with out buddy JB and cry hysterically that we were staying in the only hotel in the universe to have HBO but no MTV (for the Jersey Shore season premiere of course!)
The rest of the night can be summed up by using a point system.
Portland has some great free transportation so we waited for the train (+1). Unfortunately while waiting we got made fun of by a gaggle of asians pointing at our fee and giggling. Was it Allie's half toenail? Mine and Jess' stubby toes and nonexistent pinkies? (-1).
The first bar we went to was a hipster bar and the bartender convinced Allie to order some tasty mixed drink with Maker's Mark (+1). However, even sober Jess and I were unable to figure out how to lock the bathroom doors (-1).
JB came(notice Jess' photography skills)!(+1) We made friends with a gay guy who insisted I dance with him (ironic considering the night before). He made me look like a dance superstar with twists, spins and dips (+1). As the night went on, his dips made my head come strikingly close to the floor (-1). He headbutted Allie in the skull by accident (-1). JB was kicked out of the bar when he pretended to hit the guy with a stool (-1).
We ended up at a karaoke bar where we stayed even after last call to sing (+1). Wannabe by the Spicegirls was a hit, and the four other people in the bar sang with us (+1). I've never seen Jess so excited to see a microphone handed to her (+1). JB got to have a second chance singing Piano Man, since his first ever karaoke experience was a disaster (+1).
POINTS TOTAL:
US: 8
Portland: 5
Overall, unlike Denver, we took Portland in our fists and crushed it. I'm going to like it here....
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Roasted in Seattle
Typical that someone would get killed by a bear for the 1st time since 1983 on probably the only night we'll ever camp in Yellowstone in our lives. Katy later told us that she neglected to tell us the part from her Frommer's book about how in late summer,only hard trailers are allowed in our campsite, not tents. Yikes. We laughed that if attacked by bears, Katy would again be unfazed, shouting through the roars of the bear for someone to help her push the rods through the tent rather than pulling them out, and not leaving before rolling up her 2 20 year old flannel lined sleeping bags.
We got out of Yellowstone early, as we had our last long drive to Seattle. We literally looked like 3 homeless women as we stumbled into McDonalds in our 8 layers of clothing(it was 43 degrees!), desperately needing coffee to prevent more head bobbing.(Katy said she was worried my neck was going to break off in the passenger seat at one point.)
Half way through the ride, we spotted a car with Florida plates. As it passed, the young woman in the passenger seat jubilantly waved to us in our fellow Florida plated car. Equally excited, Allie decided it would be a good idea to start a game of questions with the couple, quickly scribbling on a piece of paper in crayon, "Where in Florida?" and "Where are you headed?" Katy was horrified, unwilling to hold up the sign from the back seat, and ducking below her window as Allie plastered the paper to her own window, ferociously pointing it out to the driver. She got so verklempt with emotion when the young woman held up 2 signs answering our questions,that in her flustered state, she held up the same sign of "Where are you headed?" rather than the sign displaying the answers to her own questions. Embarrassing. It was seriously like being in face paced chase, with my eyes becoming so filled with tears from laughing so hard that I often lost sight of the road. We're pretty sure the couple thought we were either drunk or three giddy 10 year olds stuck in the bodies of 24 year olds.
After 12 hours in the car and our first encounter with traffic, we arrived in Seattle. We got a quick bite to eat at a fast paced Thai restaurant(Thanks, Dana!) right near the University of Portland, and were ready to experience the nightlife of Seattle. Little did we know what it had in store for us. Not having much time to do research on where specifically to go, we were advised to go out in Belltown and decided on an intriguing bar with live music. With somewhat of an older crowd, we were unwilling to start a tab and thought we'd just pay for a beer and peace. Right as we took our seats at a table entirely too close to the stage(Katy made us move from our original table selection because it was too drafty), a new band came on. Upon the start of their first song, a few old couples(or swingers?) got up and started dancing and twirling wildly a few feet within our table. That was the exact confidence booster that the awkward, scarfed fellow sitting behind us needed to come up to our table and ask, with all too many eyebrow raises, if any of us would dance with him. Feeling put on the spot, and obviously not drunk enough, we bashfully refused with no words, but only several awkward shoulder bobs and glances at eachother. With the whole bar looking on with pity at the dejected fellow, the lead singer, with the head to body ratio similar to that of a bobble head, quickly got on us. Upon finishing his song, he began what we like to call our roast of the night. Splayed at the start and end of each song, he kept shooting sly comments at the "3 shy girls" saying how he respected the guy for having the balls to come up to us and basically making us look like cold schmucks to the rest of the bargoers. He came within inches of Allie, playing his guitar so violently and close to her head that I was sure she could feel his ginger tufts of hair brushing her face. I won't even go into how awkward our reaction to that was, but basically it consisted of our red faces glancing back and forth at eachother every fraction of a second. Getting irritated at his playful jabs, Katy finally shouted out "WE'RE JUST NOT GOOD DANCERS!" to which the band found even more unacceptable. We knew it was bad when the gawky, long ponytailed, unwilling to open his eyes bassist in black jeans started getting in on it. I desperately wanted to get out of there, but we knew if we got up, the whole bar might start throwing tomatoes or crumpled pieces of paper at our faces. The lead singer followed Katy to the bathroom in one last attempt to get her to dance. He soon after came up to me and Allie, again invading our personal face space, letting us know that Katy had pulled him in the bathroom and that he was only kidding with us for the whole night and appreciated our attendance. As soon as KK came back, we quickly devised a plan about the precise time to get up and leave. As we did, mid song, the singer was able to incorporate "ladies, where are you going?" into his lyrics. With one awkward lookback and a kiss blown by Katy, we jetted out of there to another bar. And there ended hopefully our once in a lifetime roast.
We got out of Yellowstone early, as we had our last long drive to Seattle. We literally looked like 3 homeless women as we stumbled into McDonalds in our 8 layers of clothing(it was 43 degrees!), desperately needing coffee to prevent more head bobbing.(Katy said she was worried my neck was going to break off in the passenger seat at one point.)
Half way through the ride, we spotted a car with Florida plates. As it passed, the young woman in the passenger seat jubilantly waved to us in our fellow Florida plated car. Equally excited, Allie decided it would be a good idea to start a game of questions with the couple, quickly scribbling on a piece of paper in crayon, "Where in Florida?" and "Where are you headed?" Katy was horrified, unwilling to hold up the sign from the back seat, and ducking below her window as Allie plastered the paper to her own window, ferociously pointing it out to the driver. She got so verklempt with emotion when the young woman held up 2 signs answering our questions,that in her flustered state, she held up the same sign of "Where are you headed?" rather than the sign displaying the answers to her own questions. Embarrassing. It was seriously like being in face paced chase, with my eyes becoming so filled with tears from laughing so hard that I often lost sight of the road. We're pretty sure the couple thought we were either drunk or three giddy 10 year olds stuck in the bodies of 24 year olds.
After 12 hours in the car and our first encounter with traffic, we arrived in Seattle. We got a quick bite to eat at a fast paced Thai restaurant(Thanks, Dana!) right near the University of Portland, and were ready to experience the nightlife of Seattle. Little did we know what it had in store for us. Not having much time to do research on where specifically to go, we were advised to go out in Belltown and decided on an intriguing bar with live music. With somewhat of an older crowd, we were unwilling to start a tab and thought we'd just pay for a beer and peace. Right as we took our seats at a table entirely too close to the stage(Katy made us move from our original table selection because it was too drafty), a new band came on. Upon the start of their first song, a few old couples(or swingers?) got up and started dancing and twirling wildly a few feet within our table. That was the exact confidence booster that the awkward, scarfed fellow sitting behind us needed to come up to our table and ask, with all too many eyebrow raises, if any of us would dance with him. Feeling put on the spot, and obviously not drunk enough, we bashfully refused with no words, but only several awkward shoulder bobs and glances at eachother. With the whole bar looking on with pity at the dejected fellow, the lead singer, with the head to body ratio similar to that of a bobble head, quickly got on us. Upon finishing his song, he began what we like to call our roast of the night. Splayed at the start and end of each song, he kept shooting sly comments at the "3 shy girls" saying how he respected the guy for having the balls to come up to us and basically making us look like cold schmucks to the rest of the bargoers. He came within inches of Allie, playing his guitar so violently and close to her head that I was sure she could feel his ginger tufts of hair brushing her face. I won't even go into how awkward our reaction to that was, but basically it consisted of our red faces glancing back and forth at eachother every fraction of a second. Getting irritated at his playful jabs, Katy finally shouted out "WE'RE JUST NOT GOOD DANCERS!" to which the band found even more unacceptable. We knew it was bad when the gawky, long ponytailed, unwilling to open his eyes bassist in black jeans started getting in on it. I desperately wanted to get out of there, but we knew if we got up, the whole bar might start throwing tomatoes or crumpled pieces of paper at our faces. The lead singer followed Katy to the bathroom in one last attempt to get her to dance. He soon after came up to me and Allie, again invading our personal face space, letting us know that Katy had pulled him in the bathroom and that he was only kidding with us for the whole night and appreciated our attendance. As soon as KK came back, we quickly devised a plan about the precise time to get up and leave. As we did, mid song, the singer was able to incorporate "ladies, where are you going?" into his lyrics. With one awkward lookback and a kiss blown by Katy, we jetted out of there to another bar. And there ended hopefully our once in a lifetime roast.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
How the West was Won (and lost)
Win: Katy using her Frommer's guide to Western National Parks to lead us on a "winding road passage that will drop us off of a grand mountain view" in Grand Teton Park.
Lose: Getting stuck behind 3 suburbans who decided to stop along every curve, turn and straightaway up the 20 minute hill, to take pictures of evergreen trees and wildflowers that are everywhere in the park. (Being a typical NYer, we passed them on a one lane highway AND photo bombed them while doing so. yessss.)
Win: Finding a 2 mile hike around Colter Bay Lake among beautiful wildlife, gorgeous wildflowers, peaceful lake and mountain views, rock skipping contests, etc.
Lose: Not seeing a bear on the hike.***(More about this at the end) Even when Katy devised an elaborate plan that involved a twin attack and Jess running a speedy 7 minute mile to get help...with a bear hot on her tail.
Win: Being able to say we've been to Yellowstone.
Lose: On what we thought should have been an hour trip from Grand Teton, upon our arrival 4 hours later, we not only realized that the closest campsites were 29, 69 and 99 miles away, we also found out that they were all full.
Win: We found a campsite 3 miles away from one of the many entrances of Yellowstone.
Lose: Four words- pit toilets, no showers.
Win: We met Old Faithful and saw the amazing contrasting colors of the green blue spurting geysers and the orange sulphur ridden soil around it.
Lose: Figuring out which was more gross: the smell of the sulphur oozing from the earth, the warm spa treatment from the steam and water protruding from the geysers, the prospect of getting Legionnaire's disease from the geyser water or the 9 year old Mexican boy sipping whole milk from a carton in 80 degree heat.
Win: Finding pay showers.
Lose: Realizing we'd need 39 quarters for one 6 minute shower each.
Win: Waking up alive.
Lose: Being two hours away from this:
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/one-dead-two-killed-in-bear-attack-at-montana-campground/19572412
An Ode to Camping Grand Teton
We woke up in Utah at Erin's
finally caught up on sleep,
played arcade basketball
and had (free!)cereal to eat.
Surrounded by mountains,
and fresh morning air,
we drove over to Walmart
in order to prepare.
Two nights of camping
was what we had planned,
we picked up food, another sleeping bag,
and beans in a can.
Walmart is our go-to store,
because it helps us be thrifty.
We bought food for the next 6 meals,
only costing us each $2.50 (a meal!).
Thriftiness aside,
we began our shorter drive,
only four more hours,
and in Wyoming we'd arrive.
I drove us through canyons and farms,
only swerving once to get a look,
at some kind of hawk.
[I wish I had my bird guide book!]
Arriving in Grand Teton,
we were full of excite,
especially when the campgrounds,
were still available for us to spend the night.
Once at camp
we slammed on the brakes,
to take pictures of buffalo
when we realized they weren't fake.
I was prepared to make a fire,
so dinner we could grill,
my only strategies known from years
of Big Bob showing me his fire making skill.
Dinner was sausage,
cooked on a stick.
We felt ridiculous
but it was easy and quick.
It started to drizzle,
so ponchos were pulled out.
I refused to wear one,
or my ruggedness I'd doubt.
Their rain gear was ridiculed,
by a woman in the bathroom.
They didn't care because
they were ready for any rain that loomed.
I was almost in tears
when rain stopped s'more making.
They agreed to each make one,
because my tears I wasn't faking.
Crisis adverted
we went in our tent to play cards.
Where Jess lost at all games,
her feelings ending up hard.
Finally we allowed ourselves
to get some sleep,
with animal sounds outside our tent,
making our hearts leap.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
This one's for you, Hangus.
Alright, sorry for the delay. Currently, we're in Montana, 3 miles outside of Yellowstone at a pay by coin laundromat/shower place.
Okay, so Denver was my favorite city so far, but I left bitter about 1 thing. There's a bar that has different names assigned to each day of the calendar. For example, Monday the 1st is for Ryan and Samantha. If it is your names day, you drink for free. So while Allison and Katherine made the calendar, Jessica did not. No big deal...unless other(nonexistent)names such as Hangus, Beanne, and Kinnick make the list. Let's just put a few consonants in front of a real name and call it a day so people with normal names can't drink limitless amounts. I'm surprised Zabigail didn't make the cut.
We're still uncertain of whether we crushed Denver or it crushed us, but after a night out consisting of 0 sleep and our 1st lost of the trip( RIP KK's ATM card), we were less than excited to start our trek to Utah. We've driven through numerous states where the scenery consists of hour long spans of cornfields and cows and the speed limit is 75, so driving on I70 up and through the Rocky Mountains was just what we needed to revive us from our driving blues(and keep us awake). It's a good thing we chose our most hungover and restless day though, to drive 1 of the top 10 most dangerous highways to drive through in the winter. It was tense enough in good weather. It consisted of winding turns over high drop offs and gradients so steep that there are runaway truck ramps aka if big trucks can't stop down a decline, there's a quick pull off with an inclined ramp made of sand so they can come to a halting stop. Bizarre.
After a few hours and driving changes every hour due to frequent head bobs, we arrived at Arches National Park. Upon asking Katy a perfect 1 sentence to describe Arches, she replied, "Giant rock formations with different erosional features." What a scientist. I would have said a vast sea of giant, phallic shaped rocks. We made the executive decision to drive through some of the 18 mile span and avoid long hikes, as we felt particularly unstable upon standing, and kept losing feeling in our extremities. We were willing to take a slight hike to see the Delicate Arches, the arch on the Utah license plate. I was ready to give up after getting stuck behind a gaggle of Asian tourists using jewel encrusted umbrellas as a shade, but alas, we needed our picture. After climbing too many steep, dusty, rock stairs in 102 degree weather and in only flip flops, we seriously contemplated burrito'ing it down the path.
We were pretty much delerious for the rest of our drive to EV's. Not wanting to lose time (or $) stopping for food, Allie suggested eating a sheep from one of the fields, I suggested a horse, and Katy suggested eating me. Katy was unable to finish her dinner due to a tense drive through a hilly one-laned highway canyon. Just after Allie said our drive was too much for the day, we saw a long, blue shooting star, and knew it was worth it. We finally made it to EV's around 1 am, and it's a good thing because I had just braked so hard because I saw an imaginary train. No more sleepless nights.
Okay, so Denver was my favorite city so far, but I left bitter about 1 thing. There's a bar that has different names assigned to each day of the calendar. For example, Monday the 1st is for Ryan and Samantha. If it is your names day, you drink for free. So while Allison and Katherine made the calendar, Jessica did not. No big deal...unless other(nonexistent)names such as Hangus, Beanne, and Kinnick make the list. Let's just put a few consonants in front of a real name and call it a day so people with normal names can't drink limitless amounts. I'm surprised Zabigail didn't make the cut.
We're still uncertain of whether we crushed Denver or it crushed us, but after a night out consisting of 0 sleep and our 1st lost of the trip( RIP KK's ATM card), we were less than excited to start our trek to Utah. We've driven through numerous states where the scenery consists of hour long spans of cornfields and cows and the speed limit is 75, so driving on I70 up and through the Rocky Mountains was just what we needed to revive us from our driving blues(and keep us awake). It's a good thing we chose our most hungover and restless day though, to drive 1 of the top 10 most dangerous highways to drive through in the winter. It was tense enough in good weather. It consisted of winding turns over high drop offs and gradients so steep that there are runaway truck ramps aka if big trucks can't stop down a decline, there's a quick pull off with an inclined ramp made of sand so they can come to a halting stop. Bizarre.
After a few hours and driving changes every hour due to frequent head bobs, we arrived at Arches National Park. Upon asking Katy a perfect 1 sentence to describe Arches, she replied, "Giant rock formations with different erosional features." What a scientist. I would have said a vast sea of giant, phallic shaped rocks. We made the executive decision to drive through some of the 18 mile span and avoid long hikes, as we felt particularly unstable upon standing, and kept losing feeling in our extremities. We were willing to take a slight hike to see the Delicate Arches, the arch on the Utah license plate. I was ready to give up after getting stuck behind a gaggle of Asian tourists using jewel encrusted umbrellas as a shade, but alas, we needed our picture. After climbing too many steep, dusty, rock stairs in 102 degree weather and in only flip flops, we seriously contemplated burrito'ing it down the path.
We were pretty much delerious for the rest of our drive to EV's. Not wanting to lose time (or $) stopping for food, Allie suggested eating a sheep from one of the fields, I suggested a horse, and Katy suggested eating me. Katy was unable to finish her dinner due to a tense drive through a hilly one-laned highway canyon. Just after Allie said our drive was too much for the day, we saw a long, blue shooting star, and knew it was worth it. We finally made it to EV's around 1 am, and it's a good thing because I had just braked so hard because I saw an imaginary train. No more sleepless nights.
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