LATEST DUMPS:
All
National Geographic named Franconia Ridge one of the World's Best Hikes (at least, according to Jonathan Waterman: author, photographer, adventurer, and activist), and I would have to agree.
Bryce Canyon was surprisingly cold at night, which made waking up before dawn a struggle. Despite sore legs and tired heads, the Crew soldiered on, just as we did the entire trip. We made it to the canyon's edge to watch the sunrise. It was less epic than we had hoped, due to cloud coverage, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
The final stop of our American Southwest adventure was Bryce Canyon National Park. After hiking the Narrows and some extensive gift shop browsing, we piled back into the Farts-and-Gum* mobile to head north.
The next stop on our Southwestern adventure was Zion National Park. We rolled out of Lake Powell bright and early, knowing there were limited first-come first-serve sites available within Zion.
From (before) dawn until dusk, the Crew was on the move. After the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend, we crossed over into Utah in search of our first campsite.
After exploring the Grand Canyon's South Rim, the five of us piled back into our trusty Jeep and made the trek two hours north to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.
A lot of people told me that the Grand Canyon was "cool". A sight worth seeing, but "just a big hole".
A week ago, I had the opportunity to take an amazing trip across the Southwest with my friend Danielle, her boyfriend Dom, and two of his friends, Brett and Dave. I'll be forever grateful to Danielle for inviting me along, because it was easily one of the best adventures I've ever had. A week ago, I had the opportunity to take an amazing trip across the Southwest with my friend Danielle, her boyfriend Dom, and two of his friends, Brett and Dave. I'll be forever grateful to Danielle for inviting me along, because it was easily one of the best adventures I've ever had.
Before we flew back to New Jersey, Terri took my cousin and I hiking in the Snoqualmie Region of Washington.
I flew back to the Pacific Northwest last weekend to do some more exploring with my cousin and one of our best friends. She moved out there a few months ago and we were eager to see her new home.
I'm incredibly fortunate to work for a company with offices in beautiful places and that my managers are willing to send me out to visit these places. I was able to work (and play) in Portland, Oregon last week thanks to the good people at Squarespace.
"I'm not one for experiences..." was an actual thing said by a human while we were trekking around Iceland last week. That statement boggles my mind. You don't... like... experiences? Why the fuck are you even alive?
We've all done it (ok, assuming you drink or smoke weed or boot black tar heroine). We reach a state of fucked-uppage when, inevitably, our fingers become sentient beings capable of communicating with other humans. Holy crap, what a completely uncontrollable and unexpected thing that happened!
I stumbled upon a New York Times article that really piqued my interest. It was about a study done on making people fall in love ("To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This"). My internal hopeless romantic is long dead, and has since been replaced with a cynical control freak who still desires companionship and frequent sex. While this article kind of crushes the "magic" of falling for someone, it gives me hope that it's not all that difficult to accomplish.
While I was typing up the "Why?" page, it got me thinking. Why make this blog public? If it's supposed to be for me, why not stick a password on the front and hope that none of my Squarespace brethren peak at the backend?
Ten years ago, I was about to graduate high school. I was a different person then, which is a completely normal and expected thing to say. Fundamentally, some things stuck around. My obsession with structure, schedules, organization. My beliefs, or lack there of, have stayed the same. I still don't like or want kids. I was an animal lover, and now I have three dogs and two cats to show for it. I was a nature lover, and now I've hiked and camped all over the place, even all alone. I was outgoing to some extent, and now I don't really give much of a fuck.