Anatomy of a road trip

This one time I went on a 2 week camping trip with my friend Kel. We drank coffee and hiked mountains and laughed over camp-stove meals and took hammock naps and pretended we aren't adults. It was some kind of therapy.

I posted about our itinerary previously, which had all but changed after the first day. The updated itinerary looked like this:

Minneapolis, MN --> Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, SD --> Beartooth Pass, MT/WY --> Yellowstone National Park, WY --> Bozeman, MT --> Missoula, MT --> Flathead Lake, MT --> Glacier National Park, MT --> Seattle, WA --> Olympic National Park, WA --> Seattle, again --> Billings, MT (for a night) --> home.

Here's the part where I list all my favorite things we did on the trip:

Favorite hike: Grinnell Glacier, Glacier National Park
About 11.5 miles total, out and back. The views were incredible the whole way, like straight out of National Geographic. The greeeeeen trees were just patiently waiting on the mountain side to be admired, and admired they were. There were little trickles of water on the trail from the mountain, and the GLACIER AT THE TOP holy cow. It was the most blue thing I've ever seen in my life. There was a lake down below nestled between the trees and mountains and that scene it just about killed me.

Favorite campsite: Shoshone National Forest, Beartooth Loop
We were lucky enough to score a free place to sleep right by a mountain and lake in Shoshone National Forest, with no one around and BONUS even a fire pit and picnic table right there. Our tent fit right in this little baby clearing right by the shore of this unreal lake. Our neighbors were the mountains, the fresh smell of pine and the sound of the waves gently hitting the rocks.

Favorite camp meal: JAMBALAYA
We had packed this jambalaya that was unmatched. I don't even know what brand, which is entirely unhelpful. But after a killer hike day and the best hammock nap of my life, it tasted like plain gold.

Favorite park: Olympic National Park, WA
Okay, this one is really a toss-up. I loved Glacier equally as much, but I thought it only fair that I used Glacier already for a favorite hike. This place also had hikes and campsites that were very close seconds. Deer Park campsite was straight up on-top-of-a-mountain, in-the-clouds kind of camping, and our longest hike the next day was the best views I've ever experienced. It snowed on us during out hike (bonus), and got below freezing overnight on the top of that mountain. But hey, no cold no awesome views amiright???

Favorite wildlife spotting: That one time I saw a mountain lion in the wild/a neighborhood
YES. It's true. We saw a real life mountain lion, in a town near where we were camping. Needless to say I slept not at all that night.

Favorite thing ever: My road trip partner. For making life an adventure.

Surprised by Beauty

Hello from a coffee shop in Bozeman, MT.  So far this rough and tumble crew of the two of us couldn't be loving life more than right now. This is how we have a good time: 

. Arrive at one place we planned on seeing. Stay for about 17 minutes, decide it's boring and we can take a few more hours in the car. Abandon campsite and, onward. 

. Speed past Mount Rushmore in the car a few times to adequately see it, rather than pay $11 to park and look longer. 

. Pull over at a lake to make dinner. Camp stove for the win.

. Hammock along a lake with a killer mountain view, try to read but can't stop staring at nature.

. Buy a bottle of wine and talk about feelings loudly, because there's nobody to hear us but the birds and the bears. 

. Wake up one morning and decide, let's go to Yellowstone.

. Deal with the sore and stiff back, because sleeping on the ground is worth the nature we get to see. 

. Feel accomplished because we managed 3 nights in a row with below freezing temperatures. 

. Get really excited each night to sleep in the sleeping bag because ITS SO FLUFFY.

. Stop at every flippin' information center in each park. Are the campgrounds closed? Is this a good one? Where are the best hikes? Are you sure??

. Snag the very last campsite in Yellowstone FOR THE WIN. 

. Chat with old ladies in the campground bathroom. Will the bears smell my lotion? Well, you'll know in the middle of the night if you hear screams. 

. Attend the campfire circle at the campground, where Ranger Bill told us about pikas and wolverines. 

. Hike that straight-uphill trail to Lava Lake outside of Bozeman. Cry internally the whole time, its hard. 

. Cry for real when we reach the top, because that view just made us forget the whole hike. 

. Loudly declare that I'm peeing in this lake, dangit, despite the fisherman lingering nearby staring. 

. Say hello to some guys on horses going up the trail. What? We have to walk this sucker on our own.

. Arrive at an AirBnB in Bozeman, expecting rip-roarin' fun. Maybe a game night? Beer? 

. Shower for the first time in 4 days, dress up fancy (jeans and a tshirt), go out to dinner in Bozeman. 

. Have our AirBnB host tell us that yes, you really do need bear spray if you're going on a long hike this time of year. You idiots. 

. Wander around Bozeman, pretending to be locals. Wonder if we should move here? But first, we need ice cream. 

. Be surprised by beauty. 

. Come to a coffee shop the next morning to write the whole thing down.  

Itinerary

On Saturday, I left for a two and a half weeks of road tripping and camping. Here is our itinerary:

Minneapolis --> Badlands, South Dakota --> Beartooth Highway and Campground, Montana --> Bozeman, Montana --> Flathead Lake, Montana --> Glacier National Park, Montana --> Lake Coeur D'Alene, Idaho --> Seattle, Washington --> San Juan Islands, Washington --> somehow we'll drive back ..??

We've booked a couple AirBNBs, reserved some campgrounds, and have a rough outline of where we're going. But there are some days in there that we decided to "just wing it," or "see how we feel when we get there," or say "if we want to stay longer, we can. If not, we can leave."

This flexibility. My whole life so far hasn't allowed for this kind of flexibility. School, break, school, work, school.. etc. This is the first September in 16 years where I haven't had to be anywhere specific at any time.

But there's a trade-off. Here's my itinerary for when I return:

Live with my parents? Work at the same restaurant? Maybe freelance write a little? Eventually go to Europe? --> . . .

For this portion, I don't have a plan. Not in the slightest. There is flexibility, but within no boundaries. When people ask, "So.. what's the PLAN??" The only thing I can say for sure is: "I have no clue." Which, as it turns out, is a really good way to kill a conversation. It's kinda fun.

I feel like this should be freaking me out a little more? But somehow it's not. For now, I'm off to enjoy my first adventure within the boundaries of having no plan. Don't even try to bother me with what comes next, I'm not thinking nearly that far ahead.

Pacific Northwestern things//how I cured my artist slump

I had a break from creating this week, as I was fully occupied with doing adventure-y type things in Washington state. A lovely state indeed.

We did many things like frolic in the tall tree'd woods, wander up high mountains, look over quiet waters, and I did some serious soul restoring.

Before I left, I was in a serious artist slump, as the title suggested. You know what a slump is, whether you know that you know it or not. It's when you're just not into it. AT ALL. Seriously people. There is nothing in the world I least wanted to do less last week than create any kind of art. This break came at the perrrrfect time.

Something happens to you when you're in the presence of a mountain. I can't describe it well, but if you've ever been there you know what I mean. Its a simultaneous I'm-going-to-vomit, I-can't-handle-this, I-wanna-live-there, I'm-breathless, I'm-dying feeling. You know? Like everything you know is gone and the mountain is the new love of your life. You want to run away screaming and jump and fly over the whole thing at the same time. Wat.

I hope that made some sense. I can't really use words to describe it. If only facial expressions were allowed on blogs, I think that would help.

Anyway. Back at it this week. I'm now inspired by nature and will maybe make some nature-y things. Happy Monday!

Peace out, America

The obligatory "2013 is ending I have to reflect on it properly" post. Here we go.

To be honest, this hasn't really felt like the end of something as much as it's the beginning of something else. I leave for Kenya on January 2nd, so there goes that whole reflecting stage, taken up by shopping and packing and preparing for summer weather in the middle of the coldest month of Minnesota weather. It's the strangest thing. I have almost no desire to even celebrate the new year because that has been consuming my thoughts for the past couple weeks. 

I'm preparing for healing, heartbreak, sunburn, friendships, and toilet trauma. I'm not prepared for school, American society, and not in the least prepared for celebrating new years the typical way. I sometimes feel like making a million little new years resolutions or one big unachievable one, but this year I just don't feel like it. And I don't think I will! So there. And that's okay.

I'm preparing for rest. For peace about my circumstances, for happiness in the moment, for loving people I'm surrounded by. I'm preparing to be uplifting, to be the one that comforts and encourages, to be the one that gives perspective and peace to myself and others. 

This year has been hard. And incredibly busy. The busiest of my life. And I'm ready to start off the new year in peace and relaxation, in no need to hurry along, to do things the Kenyan way. Take your time to make things beautiful, take your time to make something you're proud of. This is what I want to learn this year. And there is no particular goal that goes along with this, just peace. This is what I want.

xoxo

In which we go up north to see the fall colors

I know, I know. You wish you were there.

In my last post I wrote: Knowing that it will all work out in the end. If not the way I wanted, the way it's intended.

This could not be more true currently. I am officially staying at school for second semester, despite all my excitement and dreaming about 3 different options, getting optimally excited about each one individually, and having them slip through my fingers. This has been the cause of many sleepless nights and application filling-out only to have to cancel or abandon them later. I am staying at school, which was the furthest from the original plan. But it's what's happening currently.

I was able to find peace with it this past weekend while up north. We went camping on the North Shore of Lake Superior, with the intent of finding peace, quiet, and brilliant fall colors. That's exactly what happened. These incredible views have helped me find peace about my future.

This sounds dramatic. I know. But so far, it's whats getting me through. Onwards.