San Francisco and All It's Glory

If you're thinking about up and moving to San Francisco just for the hell of it, let me be the first to tell you to stop right there and evaluate yourself.  The city by the bay was our original place to settle in once we got over to the west coast, but plans change.  For weeks before we left we both had been scouring Craigslist to find an apartment that was both cheap and didn't force us to have roommates, but unfortunately we figured out the hard way that that is just not possible.

As we drove over the fog-draped bridge for the first time, excitement filled both our hopeful little hearts; this was our new home.  Nearing the end of the iconic bridge, the fog cleared and the city came into view; we zipped back and forth between streets inspecting the different neighborhoods we had been reading about for the past few months.  The Presidio really is wealthy and gorgeous, Market is for business and shopping, and the Castro is lined with rainbow flags.  All of the stereotypes fit.

It wasn't long before the realization hit us that we didn't have a place to go.  We had nowhere to sleep tonight.  Trying not to let this rain on our parade, we found a little coffee shop and sent out more emails to landlords and tenants, until one finally answered us.  It was for a co-op in SoMa (South of Market).  They were having an open house that night and it was shockingly in our price range (under $1700 total for 1 bedroom), so of course we told them we'd be there.

Fisherman's Wharf

After securing a spot that night, we tried to enjoy some time in the Haight, a colorful hippie-vibe neighborhood, by exploring the overwhelming number of thrift stores.

At the open house, we quickly realized we were out of place.  1. We were the only girls  2. We didn't work in tech  3. We were definitely younger than everyone else.

Once a hotel, this co-op, which was still under construction, was turned into a home for 30-some people.  At the time they were looking for another 50 or so.  80 PEOPLE.  That's outrageous.  We toured the place, massive industrial kitchen, community living room, and floors with dozens of tiny rooms.  When they told us it was $1700 for a single and $1250 each for a double, we found an equally disappointed friend and went drinking.

That night we didn't know where to go, so we slept in the car.  Parked it in the parking lot of a Safeway, and commiserated with the homeless.  We both barely got a wink of sleep, and when the cops told us to move around 3am we were pretty much out of options.  We drove around until we found a street spot and waited until sunrise.  I don't know what was keeping us going at this point.  Exhausted from camping and driving, starving, haven't showered in Lord knows how long, and craving a warm bed that we didn't have to share.

Ain't she a sea fox

We spent a few more days in San Francisco in the car and cheap motels, but when we finally realized it wasn't going to happen for us we went to get some real food and collectively decided to head down to San Diego the next day.  It was a moment of joy and relief; we knew we had to go and were excited to be back in warm weather, a place we both had been before, and a place we would lovingly call home.

Once we had our new destination charted and the relief of finding a home in SF off our shoulders we could actually enjoy it.  We visited Fisherman's Wharf, Girardelli Square, Parks, saw the Golden Gate etc.  It is a beautiful, interesting city that I would like to see again.

Off to San Diego!

If a Redwood Falls in a Forest...

Have you ever been to the Redwoods? No? Well let me paint you a picture.

There you are standing in the middle of an empty road, flanked in every direction by trees, but not just any old trees.  These are mammoths; millions of colossal-sized plants surrounding you that date back hundreds, even thousands, of years.  It's a bit humbling to stand in the middle of of them, so vast and unbelievable.  Words escape.

After driving down the Avenue of the Giants (the main road of the Redwoods National Park) for a few hours, we found ourselves a campsite that definitely overcharged us, but it was one of two choices, neither cheap.  We set up camp and headed back out for another drive as the sun was setting.  The trees form a very dense wall-like barrier between you and the outside world so it never gets too bright in there.

 We had some fun running wild through the woods.  Plenty of tree-hugging was involved.

 

We did find one of the famous drive through trees, though the poor thing is barely standing.  There are tons of wires holding it up, the top half is completely gone, it's cracked down the center, and totally hollowed out.  I feel so bad for it.

Me and my beautiful Kia just barely made it through; you've gotta pull those mirrors in!

Much fun was had here, and it is another place I plan on seeing again.  Hopefully I get some better shots next time.

Anyone else out there have any good photos from the Redwoods? I'd love to see them!

A Stint in the Northwest

As our time in Canada came to a close, Courtney and I began to chart the next portion of our route.   We knew that we wanted to head down the whole West Coast, and try to see Olympic National Park in Washington and Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, so we headed south into Washington and stopped at the first hotel we came across.  Metaline Falls, WA was maybe 20 minutes after we crossed back into the states, so we stopped there and got a cheap motel and a meal at a little diner in the middle of nowhere.  The only thing we'd eaten the two days before that were 2 or 3 juices so needless to say we were cranky and voracious.

The next morning we sped off for Seattle, excited to see a city finally.  Myself and Court were completely delighted by the surprising hipster bohemian feel of the section of the city we landed in; plenty of cool restaurants and bars around, with the typical shopping stores implanted between them.  We found ourselves at a diner, something like Lucky's Diner or some Irish name.  We were over the moon about the food (we're diner big freaks), and both enjoyed omelettes with a homemade biscuit on the side.  Stuffed to the brim with food for the first time since we left, we explored the quirky street and people-watched the tourists and locals. We spent so much time in Seattle we forgot to look for a campsite nearby until it was too dark, so again we found a motel.  At this point it felt like we were doing motels more than camping.

We quickly realized that night in our room that I had miscalculated how far Olympic was from Seattle, while I thought it was only 2 hours, it was something more like 6.  Though when I look at it now on google maps it does say a little over 2, either way we got our wires crossed and decided 6 hours was too far out of the way, so we tearfully skipped it and headed for Oregon.

After another brutally long day of 9 hours in the car we were greeted with the beauty of Oregon.  Our goal was a campground at Crater Lake, and after hours of driving in the wrong direction, missed turns, hidden signs, and ultimate confusion we gave up on the idea that we were going to find the campground before sunset.  We ended up staying at a little state campground for pretty cheap, which was plenty nice.  We were one of two people with a tent, and the rest consisted of retired couples in their RV's.

We walked the campsite, waved to our friendly neighbors, played a few rounds of poker, got baked and hit the hay.  It was a long frustrating two days and I most certainly plan on doing a trip back to the northwest so I can really spend some time there.  From the little I saw it is a gorgeous place and I intend to see it all.

Oh, Canada

 Canada, the very little I've seen of it anyway, is spectacular and awe-inspiring.  Driving along the Canadian Rockies, brisk air jetting through the windows, would make any heat miser fall in love with winter, including myself.  I always have been, and most likely always will be, a true hater of cold and snow, which I thought would make the drive up to Canada a struggle.  But alas, after one glimpse at the beautiful landscape in Alberta and I loved the idea of bundling up in a tent in almost freezing weather.

After we left Glacier, we started the 6 hour trek up to Banff National Park.  This is the stop we were both most excited for.  Courtney and I both knew we wanted to get some cold weather in before we headed down to Southern California for a while.  Crossing the boarder is pretty simple, but here are a few tips to make it as easy as possible.  Tip 1: have your passports ready to hand to the officer, tip 2: they will ask you a ton of questions, don't freak out, and tip 3: this is not the time to crack jokes, they take their position very seriously, and could take a joke the wrong way.

 After arriving in the final frontier, we had a few more hours of driving to reach Banff.  When we finally reached the park border, we still had another hour of driving inside the park, because apparently there are many different national parks inside including Jasper, Kootenay, and others.  If you have time I definitely suggest taking a day or two to check out some of these other parks, because judging by the brochure, it is seriously not something you want to miss.

It gets incredibly dark and the sky lights up with stars so if you're into photography/astrophotography this is time to break out the camera.  I'm still learning a lot about it, and besides being a bit over saturated and having too much chromatic aberration, the photo below is not a terrible start.

The town of Banff is something out of a fairytale.  It has small town charm and whimsy, along with a kick-ass backdrop of snow-capped mountains, that together gives it that feeling of Christmas. There is something magical in the air here.

We had planned on seeing Lake Moraine the next morning on our way out, but we weren't really prepared for how majestic it would be.  Standing at the bottom next to the lake, it looks pretty grey and dull, but when you climb up a large pile of rocks and look at it from a different angle you get a beautiful turquoise color revealed.  Crowded by mountains on the perimeter, the scene is a piece of landscape porn, if you will.  It's a sight unlike many others I have seen in my few short years, but one I hope to see again.

Lake Moraine, Banff National Park

 Canada, Alberta specifically, is a wondrous place that I truly want to revisit in the future, and one that I think everyone should see before they kick the bucket.

Has anyone been to Banff, and if so did you love it as much as I did?

The Beauty of Glacier

I'm about to hate on Wyoming for a second.  That state, as it would seem from driving through it, is a vast wasteland devoid of human life.  It was pretty easy to guess that it is in fact the least populated state, but it's also the 10th largest, thus you are left with a large mass of land with no one inhabiting it.  My apologies to the half a million people currently living there, I know how it feels for people to hate on your home.  There are a butt-load of farms though.

After the endless stretch of Wyoming, Montana came through to save us.  We couldn't find a campground near where we wanted to stop so we again decided upon renting a motel room for the night, and get an early start for Glacier National Park the next day.

Lake McDonald

We were really amped up to get to the park because out of all of the pictures we've seen Glacier looked like one of the most beautiful places in the country.  I think we both wish we got to see more of the park; we stayed at the Apgar Campground on the southwest side and didn't get to see the other side.  We did drive the full length of the famous Going to the Sun road where alpine trees dotted every face of the mountain range that runs along it and throughout the park.  Our campground was situated right next to Lake McDonald, but I was, and still am, very bummed we didn't get to see St Mary Lake, Ginnell Lake, or any of the mountain goats.  I still have anxiety when I see pictures of it on Instagram.

We got settled for the night  in our cozy spot with a few neighbors, and behold, we made fire!  It didn't last very long but we were able to roast some weenies for dinner, which if you haven't have a full meal in a few days, taste like a delicacy.  We enjoyed the little time we had with the fire and relaxed to soak in the sounds of nature.  When the sounds of nature started to sound scary we piled in the tent.  Even though we were 10 feet from the bathroom (we always pick the closest spot to it) walking through the camp at night when you're a little stoned is a very terrifying experience.  When it's pitch black out and your flashlight is dimming, knowing there have been bears and mountain lions traipsing through the campground consistently, is not the time to start thinking about it.

Courtney and her weenie

In the morning, Courtney informed me that she heard a loud, wild snarling noise next to our tent just after I feel asleep that night.  If there is anything that can make you feel unsafe in a tent, it's that.  I took an hour or so to take a few photos, unfortunately for me they weren't anything stunning.

I dream about going there again one day and being able to see everything there.

Has anyone else out there been to Glacier?  How was your experience there, and what things should I know for next time?

South Dakota and American Icons

After a long night of being petrified in a tent in Wisconsin,  we left that state as quickly as possible.  From there we traveled a little south through the bottom of Minnesota (it really is the land-o-lakes), and then straight through almost all of South Dakota.  Our destination was the Badlands National Park, our first really exciting site, and it most definitely is a stop to put on the list if you're out that way.

 

Once we finally arrived after about 8 hours of driving, it starting pouring, which incidentally makes the giant rock and dirt formations that are the Badlands, one big mud pit.  We trekked out through the wall of rain, and were greeted with beautiful staggering creations that jetted out all across the kingdom.  Parts of the National Park look similar to the Grand Canyon in my opinion; water carved out deep paths for miles.

Courtney, happy as a clam.

I think we were stunned at the vastness of this place, that we didn't mind the rain at all, it just added to the adventure and excitement (we also got to test out our rain jackets!).

  

We ended up staying here for a couple hours exploring different parts of the park and just staring off.  Our plan was to camp here but after sitting in the car for so many hours on end, added with the downpour rain, we though it best to grab a quick motel for the night.  That motel was one of the best decisions we made.  We were able to make a proper juice and was the juicer completely without worry, plus we just wanted to sprawl out on a bed more than anything.

Face Mountain

The next morning we were recharged and ready to see Mount Rushmore!  Its was only about an hour from the Badlands so luckily we could get out again to walk and stretch.  National monuments are never what I think they are going to look like; Rushmore was so much higher up on the mountain than I thought it would be.  Nonetheless, I loved seeing an iconic piece of America.  Court and I made fun of poor Teddy for getting stuffed in the back, then we again got back on the road, headed for Montana, but more of that tomorrow.

Stay tuned!