The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

What a day! I was too tired to even blog about it that night. We began the day at the dinosaur quarry. I got this picture of Mom and Dad touching an actual dinosaur bone. My brother made a rude joke about dinosaur on dinosaur action and asked if that particular species had been around when my parent were kids.  Mom is really excited about her new hat. It is supposed to be for hiking in the sun and gardening, but she's not taking it off.  We went on a ranger-led hike, and our guide was excellent. She was so excited about geology. She even has favorite fossils along the trail. I would imagine this is how my friend Jason is on his tours, and this is what makes a guide great- passion for what they do.  After lunch at Cafe Rio, we drove out to Fantasy Canyon. I could tell my dad was so annoyed by the dirt roads and didn't want to be there at all. But as soon as he started looking around, he was so into it. It's the weirdest little spot. Kind of like Goblin Valley... All these cr

Yellowstone is so amazing. We started our day at the Midway Geyser Basin, where the cautionary signs made us laugh. Then we saw Old Faithful. I've seen it before, but the cool thing about this time is that another geyser started erupting in the background. Pretty spectacular. We saw more more geothermal features, including the Grand Prismatic Pool. And finally, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. My parents spoiled me at a gift shop, and then we watched the Hawks game at a bar. I'm so excited to watch the Stanley Cup finals at random bars in Oregon! 

We made the trek from Vernal to Yellowstone today. Mom and I rode together and laughed all day.  Our first stop was a nature trail in the Uinta Mountains, where we saw an Indigo Bunting. I've seen these beautiful birds before and always wondered what they are! Of course my mom would know. We saw some antelope, too. The drive to Yellowstone was absolutely gorgeous. Nonstop scenery. We especially enjoyed crossing the Hoback River about 16 times. As we drove past the Tetons, Mom pointed out a glacier and called it "the ski hill of the damned."  Soon after entering Yellowstone, a wolf crossed the road in front of us. We thought it was a coyote at first, but no, it was definitely a wolf. How amazing! Even more so because two friends have recently told me all about wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone.  We stopped at the visitor's center and an elk approached us. She was so pretty! When we saw the sign for the Mud Volcanoes, we had to pull over and explore. Mom said she

This morning I woke up in Grand Junction, which was another unexpected and pleasant surprise. I was practically driving through there on my way to Vernal, so I asked Brian if he wanted to grab dinner. It turned into pizza and ice cream and game night and crashing at his place with his roommates, Adam and Amanda (who I have done canyons with before).  I got an early start to Vernal because I had something important to do today. One of my dear friends passed away suddenly last week. I couldn't be at Sarah's funeral today, so I went to one of the most beautiful places I know and had my own little service for her.  It was harder than I thought it would be. I mean, I knew I would feel sad. But actually acknowledging that she is gone was really hard. It was hard to begin what I had planned and even harder to end. I still just can't believe that one of the four of us is gone.  Rachel, Sarah, me, and Nina- Tripod and Tabletop. Oh, and that's our friend Steph on the end. :)  The

I met up with Lang and his friend, Summer, in Moab! They are from Alaska and were there to do some climbing.  On Monday, I watched them climb while drinking beer, reading Better Homes and Gardens, and offering moral support. On Tuesday, they said they were open to trying another technical activity, so we did Lost and Found canyon in Arches National Park. What a beautiful canyon!! Lang kept saying, "This is wild." I love showing people Utah canyons for the first time. I was afraid they would be unimpressed, but we had so much fun. Especially when it started raining and thundering on the last 130 foot rappel.  We (almost literally!) ran into a couple of climbers from Asheville. We joined up with them and were all good friends by the end of the day. The guy, Jason, reminded me so much of my pastor! One thing I've noticed about climbers is how positive and encouraging they are. They were all constantly shouting encouragements to each other. I'm going to try to do this mor

It's happening! I am on the road for the summer... Or at least until I run out of money.  In previous years, there has been a purpose to my trips. The first summer was all about doing things I'd never done before, things I was always too scared to do. A good portion of the next summer revolved around the ex... I thought he was going to travel with me, but he flaked. Luckily, I still got in a good month in the Sierrras. Last summer was about getting over the ex. I felt like I lost myself in that relationship and the aftermath. Months later, my friends were telling me to date, and I just couldn't. I knew I would find myself again on my summer trip. And I did.  This summer, there's not anything I'm trying to figure out. I'm not trying to have any epiphanies or breakthroughs. (Although I probably will, because that's what happens when you travel alone.)  I'm just excited to explore and see new and beautiful things. I left right after work on Friday and made

According to Timehop, it was exactly 6 years ago that I went hiking alone for the first time. I really wanted to get into hiking, which isn't easy in Chicago. So I set my sights on Devil's Lake in Wisconsin, but no one could go with me. Finally, I made a decision that was a turning point in my life. It was time to be brave. To stop waiting around and start living and pursue the desires of my heart, even if it meant doing so alone. It's funny to look back and remember how nervous I was about that day, but also how empowered I felt on the way home. I think that experience changed my life. I wanted more.  I did the 8 mile hike to Parson Spring in Sycamore Canyon on Saturday, and it was lovely. It was lush and green with plenty of swimming holes. This seemed to be the most popular spot: This spot reminded me of South Carolina:  Not sure why... Maybe it was the way the trees made a canopy over the trail. I found some boulders in the middle of the creek and got comfortable with m