Boulder, Bikes & Beer
After our death defying stunt over the Vail Pass, we landed safely (but quite late) in Boulder, CO at our host’s apartment. And although we woke her up, Rachel made us feel at home and even gave up her bedroom for us. It felt great to fall asleep in a warm bed after our perilous drive across the Rockies.
The next morning we headed over to Pearl Street (a pedestrian mall with cute shops and restaurants) in downtown Boulder. One of our main goals was to check out the local food co-op (of course), but when we arrived, we found out that it had been forced to close for tax evasion. Yikes. What a great community owned business. Instead, we just walked around and popped in and out of the local shops.
Our next adventure was a tour of the Celestial Seasonings (read the most popular Giant Tea Company in the US). This was pretty fun. We got to see and smell all the different herbs used in the teas, explore the packaging and labeling rooms and enter the Peppermint Room…which can clear your sinuses in about 3 seconds. The tour began with some samples and ended with more samples and Nick had the opportunity to wear a hair AND a beard net. And, just like JT, he definitely brought sexy back.
Boulder, being a college town, has amazing Happy Hour food specials so we headed to a great Mediterranean restaurant called The Med (recommended by our host, Rachel). Tapas were all half off before 6 pm and we had a full meal for about $12. Yum. Our night ended with a relaxing dip in the hot tub back at Rachel’s place and then it was off to sleep (Nick snuggled with Rachel’s incredibly cute cat named Kitty and Emily cuddled with herself). So it goes.
We spent the next day in Fort Collins, a very cute little college town (a little less wealthy than Boulder) and home of the coolest brewery ever, New Belgium. Our first stop was for some coffee and WIFI at a neat cafe, The Bean Cycle, with an old tandem hanging on the wall – and the coffee wasn’t bad either. For lunch, we headed to Avogadro’s Number for Tempeh Tuesday (2-for-1 tempeh sandwiches). Yum.
Finally, it was off to New Belgium for our tour and samples. This was, by far, the best brewery tour we’ve taken yet. First, the brewery is almost completely wind-powered and all employees get a nice cruiser bike after working there for a year. If that wasn’t cool enough, they have a slide, which we were able to test out, and every employee can take home a case of beer every week. Luckily, we made friends with our tour guide and had the chance to try some extra special samples (17 between the two of us). We left the brewery pretty tipsy (see the evidence) and decided to walk it off around town (ie, we went to the co-op) and then we headed out.
The last stop of the evening was one that Nick was really looking forward to. We were off to Denver to check out The Softlights (formerly The Incredible Moses Leroy) at a bar/music venue, Hi-Dive. After a quick stop at the mega Goodwill, we popped over to Sputnik (Hi-Dive’s edible counterpart) and sat down for some bar food dinner. As we ate, we pestered the waitress about the bands and when they would go on…only to finally find out that The Softlights could not make it due to an unexpected emergency. Since they are pretty small band and rarely tour, Nick cursed the heavens. Until we realized that the reason they couldn’t make it was because their hometown was burning down. (We’d like to take this time to send our condolences to those who lost their homes in California during the recent fires — luckily, Cousin Johnny who we stayed with had no damage to his house.)
Driving across the entire country has opened our eyes to the beauty and fragility of nature…and how easily things (and people, for that matter) can change. We hope everyone reading this (all 4 of you) will take some time from your busy lives to really look at and appreciate the things that might not always be there.
We left Boulder pretty early for our drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a beautiful day. We can’t thank Rachel enough for letting us stay with her for a few nights…Thanks, Rachel. Say Hi to Spain for us!
We'll Take the High Road
By this point, we’ve gotten pretty good at estimating our trip and arrival times (despite our tendency to oversleep), even with a few speed tourism side trips thrown in. However, our naivete about the middle of our country really messed us up on our drive through the Rockies from Utah to Colorado.
There are two routes from Salt Lake City to northern Colorado (our destination was Boulder), a northern one through Wyoming and a southern pass that meant a tiny bit of backtracking. They both take about the same time, but we chose the southern Route 70 so we could quickly check out Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. That choice was well worth it, the park was beautiful with some of the coolest rock formations we’ve seen. You guessed it, there are lots of natural arches in Arches Park, one extending as long as a football field. We even found this phallic wonder, which is the second largest male organ in existence.
After we left the park, we gave our future Boulder host, Rachel, a call. She mentioned they had gotten some snow a few days ago, but we weren’t too worried since we couldn’t see any on the ground. Then we hit the snow line. Then were the warnings signs about chains being required for commercial vehicles. Then we began to worry, and we ended up having plenty of time to worry because traffic came close to a standstill as we got close to Colorado’s premiere ski destination, Vail. Apparently, Vail Pass is one of the the Rockies highest paved passes (at 10,662 feet). That means that even thought it is a major interstate highway, starting in October there is plenty of snow and ice to deal with. And they don’t seem to like putting sand or salt on the road.
So, after a few minor slips on black ice and avoiding a pickup truck driving/sliding almost sideways, we made it to Boulder safe and sound… just three hours later than we planned. So that’s the lesson we learned: check the driving conditions, even in October.
UTAHkin to me?
The most interesting thing about the drive from sunny Las Vegas to Park City, Utah, was watching the landscape and weather change dramatically. We went from hot, dry, sunny desert area to mountainous snowy pine forest…which included a temperature shift from 80 degrees to 25 degrees in about 9 hours. It was a long, but beautiful drive.
We arrived in Park City, UT, a bit later than expected, but were warmly welcomed by my mom’s friends, Jim and Barb, in their gorgeous new house in the mountains. They fed us some scrumptious left overs and we hit the sack dreaming of snowy slopes and wild Yeti.
It was difficult to wake up with so many blankets and down comforters, but we finally managed to get out of bed and went on a really nice hike with Jim and Gabe (the most incredible dog ever). We got a little muddy, saw some neat views of nearby towns and tried our best to keep up with Jim. Next was a yummy meal with Barb and Jim and their friends, Jeri and Rob. Luckily, our post lunch sweet teeth were pleased with the proximity of the local bakery and we picked up some treats. Then we were off on a tour of Park City and the surrounding areas…complete with views of gigantic multi million dollar homes and a dozen nearby ski areas. We wrapped up our first day by helping Barb and Jim unpack, organize and get their computer going. We had to pay for our room and board somehow!
The next day it was off to Salt Lake City to explore the wide-enough-to-turn-an-ox-cart-around streets and see some giant Mormon temples. We were even able to have our photo taken with Jesus (he was there on a lay-over from Jerusalem to Hawaii). For lunch, we checked out Sage Cafe, a veggie restaurant with some yummy wheat gluten sandwiches and a dark Czech beer that Nick loved. Then it was off to The Tabernacle and surrounding area for a tour through Mormonism. The highlight was the massive 10,000 pipe organ…a pipe for each of Brigham Young’s wives.
We actually really liked SLC...especially after we went on a fun gallery walk in a hip area of town. It was here where we met the owner of a really cool screen printing t-shirt shop…turns out he might need some help with the business and Nick was pretty interested. We’ll see! Dinner was at a great place called One World Cafe. At this cafe, you pay what you can for your meal and everything is organic. There is of course a suggested donation price or you can work one hour for a free meal, but there are also free pots of beans and grains if you just don’t have any money at all. The concept is really cool and the food was pretty great, too. SLC is amazingly easy to navigate as everything is numbered/named for its distance from the temple at the center of the city, but it’s a pretty cold place to be in the winter and everyone know that I am allergic to temperatures below 45 degrees.
Our last day in Park City was a great one…we went on a pretty long hike in the morning on a snowy mountain trail. It was beautiful, but a little too cold/wet for Emily to enjoy without a little complaining. Even Gabe dog loved it (except when he had to jump over water). Next was a late breakfast stop and then back for warm showers. The evening brought us a snow storm and a great meal with Barb, Jim, Geri and Rob with everyone contributing a bit to the meal (that’s the best kind!). Our last luxury was a dip in the hot tub while the snow fell on us…surprisingly it’s pretty hot in there even with the snow and cold around you. It was pretty cool.
We had an amazing, relaxing, and altogether incredible time with Barb and Jim in their new mountain paradise. We only hope we will “grow up” to be such enthusiastic and adventurous people. Thanks, Barb and Jim!! And, check out the photos.
Lost Glacier
We woke up in Great Falls, Montana at the crack of dawn (not really, but it was early for us) and received our farewell and parting Glacier National Park advice from Lindsey and his dad. Thanks again! (And once again Couchsurfing.com has been a big success).
The drive to Glacier was pretty stunning with the white-tipped mountains in the horizon getting larger and larger as we approached the park. Emily of course slept through most of it, but I woke her on occasion to take a photo or because I was bored. Pulling into the park we were thankful that we bought a National Parks Pass, because entry costs $25 (which goes to repairing cliffside roads that crumble every few years).
Although Glacier National Park wasn’t the wildlife mecca that Yellowstone was, the scenery was pretty radical. The only driving route through was on Going-to-the-Sun Road, a winding trail that leads up, down and around the mountains. Lucky for us, the road was still open… it suffered a bunch of damage recently, so we got to drive up the mountainsides on temporary roads and makeshift bridges, and it closes for the season because of snow just a few weeks after we were there.
Despite its name, Glacier Park actually doesn’t have many large glaciers. There is now only one major glacier that we were able to see from the road. This wasn’t always the case though: in 1850 there were 150 glaciers; now, 150 years later there are only 27; and by 2030, scientists predict they will all be gone. The cause? You guessed it: Global Warming! And once the glaciers are gone, chances are the wildlife and many of plants will go with them, since they are nourished by the water that the glaciers provide. Here’s another chance for you to take action: tell the presidential candidates to make global warming a priority in 2008.
Now that you feel better about yourself for doing something meaningful (if you didn’t already take action, stop everything you are doing and do so now), let us continue. Even without the vast glaciers, our trip on Going-to-the-Sun Road was pretty stunning: mountain tops that touched the clouds (which we basically drove up to), pristine turquoise water, tunnels blasted through mountains, and some gosh darn nice views.
After our (scary) drive through Glacier Park, we made our way to Spokane (pronounced Spo-can, we don’t know why) for another night of couchsurfing. We met Erika and Daniel, an awesome, energetic and genuine couple, at a local supermarket to pick up some items to make fish tacos. They were absolutely awesome, thanks again chef Daniel! With almost two huge burrito-sized tacos weighing me down, we headed out with Sucia the border collie to check out the town. Erika and Daniel rocked.
We are almost to the holy land (aka the West Coast).
Where the deer and the antelope roam...
Our second night of camping in the Badlands was pretty good, minus the howling gusts of wind and our constant sneezing throughout the night. We woke up in the morning a bit crabby, but raring to go. Our trek for the day was to lead us to Cody, Wyoming, right outside Yellowstone National Park.
But, first, a stop off at Devil’s Tower, a strange pedestal type smallish mountain with jagged edges around it that seems to pop right out of the earth. The story about this mountain is that three Native American girls were being chased by a bear when they jumped onto a rock and prayed that the bear wouldn’t reach them. Suddenly, the rock grew and continued to rise as the bear scratched at it. The girls were safe. This theory is scientifically proven.
Devil’s Tower was pretty cool with huge boulders leading up to it and a few adventurous climbers scaling the sides to get to the top. We hear there are a few little rodents and birds that live on the top…and Harry Potter usually practices his spells up there, too.
After a quick lunch, we jumped back on the road and a bunch of hours later (with a couple near deer collisions) we arrived at our cabin in Cody, WY. We were looking forward to a room of our own where we could watch some TV, hog the internet, and put all our food in the mini-fridge. We also made one of those delicious buttery stove top pop corn pans. YUM.
The next morning we were off to Yellowstone, for a jam packed day of wildlife, geysers, mountains and outhouses. The drive into the park was beautiful and the weather was brisk from such an altitude. As we drove into the park, the first thing we saw was a gigantic bison eating on the side of the road. Those things are seriously huge. Apparently many tourists are gored every year because they think the bison are docile and try to pet them and pose with them. As we drove through what they call the “Serengheti of Yellowstone”, we saw more wildlife like a coyote, mule deer, many more bison, an antelope and some cool birds.
From there we headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone; a magnificent crevasse that leads the eye from the craggy peak of a mountain down a rainbow of different kinds of rock to a lush river valley below. Now we are really pumped to see the real Grand Canyon.
Next we headed to the mud volcanos, gurgling fissures in the earth that spew sulfuric odors and bubbling gray clay. They all had medieval names like Dragon’s Mouth and Sour Lake. Pretty neat, but very stinky.
Finally, we needed to check out all the geysers, especially Old Faithful. We arrived a few minutes before the predicted eruption of Old Faithful, so we grabbed a seat and waited…and waited…and waited. Just when we thought maybe their calculations were off, the bugger started to spray it’s pressurized hot water hundreds of feet into the air for about 3 minutes. Then we took a little hike around that area to see all the other geysers that were gurgling or erupting or just chilling out. Some of them just looked like hot tubs and we thought about taking a dip (but changed our minds when we realized we would just sink down into the earth’s magma).
After the park, we headed to Bozeman, MT, where we stayed at a dirty little hostel for a night. We passed out shortly after arriving and woke up the next morning with some time to walk around downtown. It was a beautiful day and we hit up a great thrift store, a coffee place with WIFI and the local food co-op. It was a neat little college town with mountains surrounding it and the co-op lunch we had was delicious.
Next it was off to Great Falls, MT, where we stayed with an awesome guy named Lindsey (from couchsurfing.com) who showed us around town and brought us out for pizza. We got to see the shortest river in the world, some “great” falls, and a few huge white pelicans. Did anyone else know that some pelicans live in Montana? Despite the cold, windy, wet weather, we had a fantastic time just hanging out and watching the storms move across “Big Sky” Montana. Thanks, Lindsey (and your mom and dad)!
Next stop Glacier National Park…
ACTION, ACTION. WE WANT ACTION.
There’s a famous line from a movie many of you will recognize that Nick and I used pretty often when we were stuck behind semi trucks on winding mountain roads: “I CAN’T QUIT YOU!” And as we drove through Wyoming past Brokeback Mountain (does it actually exist?) we laughed a bit, but it’s no joke that millions of gay people across the U.S. still do not have the right to get married or share benefits and are just plain discriminated against. Please let your congressmen know that equality is not a subjective term that excludes certain groups of people and discrimination is never acceptable. If for nothing else, do it because Jake Gyllenhall and Heath Ledger are so damn hot.
Baby's first video
It’s been a tough few days: lost a(nother) hubcap; a headlight blew out; our camera battery cover broke; we were allergic to South Dakota; and we almost got eaten by this T-rex. Good thing we escaped the Badlands mostly unscathed… I guess they call it that for a reason.
Our ten hour drive from St Paul through South Dakota was pretty uneventful, minus the “Corn Palace” and a few hundred signs for Wall Drug that appeared just about every mile for all of I-90 (they also have a sign in Kenya, because where else are Kenyans going to get their postcards?). We watched the scenery go from rolling green hills, to flat terrain, to the razor sharp, caramel-colored hills of the Badlands. It was gosh darn pretty (boring).
We spent the next day trying to cram way too much in. After leaving our luxurious campground, we cruised through Badlands National Park soaking in the incredible scenery. It looks prehistoric, like at any minute a dinosaur might pop its head around one of the jagged hills (like this one we saw strolling around). Check out our photos — but everyone should run, not walk, to see the Badlands yourself… they are eroding by about an inch every year.
After that, we went to see what all the fuss was about at Wall Drug. The free ice water and 5 cent coffee were nice, but it really was just an overgrown gift shop… with a huge animatronic T-rex (see video above). Across the street we found a place to live out our childhood fantasies of slinging guns and wearing cowboy hats. This is why I haven’t shaved.
Then, on to the Black Hills, to see a few presidential bobble heads. We decided that parking at Mt Rushmore wasn’t worth $8, so we settled on some long distance pictures before continuing on to the “other huge statue carved into the side of a mountain in South Dakota.” Although you can’t get very close to the Crazy Horse Memorial without paying out the ass, we learned from the educational video that all of Mt Rushmore could fit in Crazy Horse’s face. And in another 50 years or so, when the whole thing should be complete (it’s been 50 years in the making already) — it will be the largest statue in the world. Not bad for a project that has refused government funds.
Cruising around the Black Hills we also did some swimming in refreshing spring-fed lake, and ate our first (likely of many) BK Veggies on this trip. We missed a few stops, like the only archaeological site in the world with mammoth bones in situ, but at least we now have working headlights and nasal passages.
