The End

Met up with friends in Seattle for a night of frivolous activities (thank you Ryan and Matty). Now time to get back to work...so long nature!

Ruby Beach at Olympic

Spooky, yet quite beautiful.

Hoh Rain Forest at Olympic!

Lots of moss.

Forks, WA

Forks is a silly place. Not only is it known for where the Twilight books were set, the also have some very informative childrens literature.

Apparently people come from all over the world to see where Edward first set his eyes upon Bella. An every store, restaurant, and inn in this town doesn't let you forget that.

Portland!

We have reached Portland, OR! And tonight, we trade in our sleeping bags for some sweet digs at the Nines hotel! It's pretty swanky, and after we each took hour showers we are ready to explore this hippie/ alternative mecca! but first FOOD!

the Nines...(see left)

It's like lookin' up natures skirt

Lassen Volcanic

GeoTagged, [N41.31108, E122.31937]

Where else can you have a snowball fight at 7000 ft and then swim in a crater at the top of a volcano? Well, I'll tell you. Lassen. Consider my mind blown.

Wish they all could be...

The old carrot in front of the cart gag, keeps us driving

Spain!!!

Yesterday we headed up to San Francisco, but stopped on the way in Santa Cruz to watch the World Cup Final! Spain won! And after several bloody marys and some good old thrift shooing we headed north.
Today we are heading up to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Four hour drive from San Francisco. Oh joy!

Viva Spain!!!!!

Detour: Hearst Castle

So on our way to Big Sur, we decided to stop and take a gander at Hearst Castle. And let me tell you- the publishing tycoon has quite a set-up. I recommend this. To everyone. And their friends.

To our mothers...

In lodge with internet. still alive. no cell phone service. on our way to Big Sur tomorrow. will call then. love yous!

Sequoia

Holy balls!

this place is bitchin. Kate has been here once before and told me she would become emotional. i thought she was just being a wuss. but she was right. it is pretty unbelievable, but believable because it actually exists.

our journey started at General Sherman tree. he is apparently older than Jesus. and also not only bigger than Jesus, but the biggest tree on earth.

Next we followed the Congress trail, which led us to other big trees, such as the President and the Senate.

Then we journeyed to the Crystal Cave, courtesy of our friendly park ranger on Channel Islands, George. Caves are cold. Damp. and quite dark. but still pretty awesome.

After hiking a couple other areas like the Thorp Log (see below...) Kate came up with a new insult. "You look so much like a bridge troll, that people pay you to cross a bridge."

She was not only upset about the slow pace that my shorter legs move, but the songs I made up for each of our hikes...

Such as the instant classic "Sap on your hands," which goes...

Sap on your hands

Sap on your hands,

lookin' like a fool with sap on your hands...

Then there was this...

it's an okay view, i guess.

When Your Stuck in the Middle of the Pacific...

sing..

.

Just to emphasize how amazing Santa Cruz Island is, see Kate's expression...

The Island...

Channel Islands- Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island is beautiful! We saw dolphins, sea lions, feral foxes, and amazing coastlines! We swam in freezing water and got bloody ankles from rocks! We are now off to Sequoia Nat'l park!

Tomorrow Tomorrow

Tonight we are staying with my friend Kristy in LA. LA is a funny place. All the attractions we wanted to see closed at 5pm. So LA MOCA, The Museum of Jurassic Technology, the Natural Science Museum and even the Hammer Museum...all a NO-GO. So we wandered the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach.

Tomorrow we are off to Channel Islands!

http://www.nps.gov/chis/

Bon voyage!

New Friends

I've heard that people in National Parks are friendly, but nothing compared to what we experienced the other night. While at the Chollo Cactus garden we came across some fellow travelers. They were quick to introduce themselves, offer us beer, then offer us hits of acid later in the night. We smiled, said hello, accepted the beers, then tried to run as far into the garden, away from them as possible. When we returned, we found this picture and note under the windshield wipers of our rental...

and don't worry mom. we rsvp-ed no.

Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree is pretty spectacular. But be warned. The Chollo Cactus Garden is a death sentence. Kate got cactus quills stuck in her leg. They hurt. Photos to come. But here you can enjoy a lovely image of a Joshua Tree...

FINALLY!

Finally! An internet connection!

Sorry Moms. Yes, we are still alive.

Ok, so we have yet to actually discuss the list, but we will be posting sparatically (apparently the one thing iPhone's can't do is blog) things we find.

So here you go:

We arrived on Saturday and made our way to Joshua Tree. There is an awesome Wind Farm on the way to the park. I filmed it with my iPhone. One of the many great talents of this special technology...

6 DAYS UNTIL DEPARTURE!

15 DAYS UNTIL DEPARTURE!

*photo courtesy of Ryan Kelly.