"While Arches Looks Like Mars, Canyonlands Resembles The Moon"

Gonzalo and I had to tear ourselves away from Arches National Park with the feeling that we needed one or two more days to do everything we wanted to do, despite the fact that we stayed there longer than most people do.  We made the last day count by visiting the iconic Delicate Arch and relishing one last panoramic view.

One last hike out to the Delicate Arch.

One last look at the majestic landscape.

Because the campgrounds at Canyonlands National Park are first come first served, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and managed to repack the car with surprising efficiency.  In addition to all my earthly possessions and all of Gonzalo's touring gear, we had to bring food and water for the next several days since Canyonlands boasts almost no amenities, save pit toilets and fire rings.  

Once we got to the campgrounds, we had a lazy early afternoon, complete with a big late breakfast, naps in the hammock, and general blissful relaxation.  We finally got motivated after I spent a little time figuring out some easy things for us to do, including a short bike ride to some scenic viewpoints.

View down the road from our campsite (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Mesa Arch.

I'm not sure why Canyonlands gets the proverbial shaft in comparison to Arches as it has a vast beauty that is nearly impossible to capture in a picture.  We sat at each spot simply soaking in the view and attempting to imprint the awe we felt at the view.  We are already in love with Canyonlands, it's eerily quiet here in comparison to Arches and the few folks that make it this way simply drive through if they have an afternoon to spare coming out of Moab. We feel like we've stumbled on the greatest secret ever.

Absolutely unreal.

We decided that we would make the drive to the Grand View Point Overlook shortly before sunset, schlep a stove and some hot chocolate, and watch the sun set over a 360 degree panorama.

Creating the moment at sunset... Thanks to Tyson for leaving the leftover Amarula!

Trying desperately to burn the view into my memory (photo credit: Gonzalo).

The real reason for my detour to Canyonlands was not just its close proximity to Arches or its views, but rather because mountain bikers come for the bragging rights that come with bombing down the Shafer Trail and riding White Rim Road.  It wasn't until we stared down the 1400 foot descent over the course of 5 miles that we understood what a gem we had discovered.  And luck would have it, Shafer Trail was closed to 4WD traffic so we had a blissfully empty trail to run.  We took our time and gave our bikes their well-deserved glamour shots tour as well.

Shafer Trail Road from the top... we rode this bad boy five miles down to rock White Rim Road.  We also made the arduous climb out.

With no 4WD traffic, we had an open playground.

That speck is Gonzalo rocking the descent on his touring bike.

My baby in sleek mountain biking mode.

One of many slightly dangerous (for our bikes) glamour shots.

My Troll proves she's fit for dirt (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Taking in the view (photo credit: Gonzalo).

The long climb out (photo credit: Gonzalo, who is a beast on wheels up the hills and had me by a couple switchbacks).

The campgrounds at the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands boasts just 12 campsites, which just adds to the entire experience.  Our neighbors were a wonderful duo of aging bachelors, Ron and Mike, who welcomed us into their fold, let us borrow their axe, made us tasty elk burgers, and kept us entertained with banter around the fire pit for hours.  If you are ever in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore, go find Red's Chicken House and BBQ and ask for Ron and feel like a king for a day.  

Shenanigans around the campfire (photo credit: Gonzalo).

*** The title to this post is quoted from Fodor's guide to the National Parks of the West.

Dear Utah, I Love You (aka Arches National Park)

Arches National Park is one of those places that can be easily overlooked as a "driving tour" type of park.  The views from the main road which winds through the park are stunning enough to satisfy most outdoors enthusiasts.  Gonzalo and I were greeted by the friendly camp host, an aging redneck of sorts with passion for his job and a personal vendetta against "foreigners" (... mostly Europeans, he clarified, when he found out Gonzalo was from Mexico) trying to circumvent the U.S. National Park system to avoid paying.  He was very excited that we had booked three nights since most folks are in and out in a day or two.  It wasn't until we started hiking that we understood why it's worth taking a few extra days to enjoy this park.

The roads have not been kind to my rental car, but the view from the campsite is spectacular (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Exploring the base of one of a bazillion arches.  This is clearly hard work.

Sometimes its worth looking back to see where you've been. 

Sunset from the campsite.

Somewhere along the way, something happened to my rear hub.  My first reaction was to take the bike into Moab to the first bike shop I saw.  Bollocks.  I would not have a bike shop for much of my trip, so I pulled out my bible of bike repair, the Park Tool School blue book of bike repair, set up shop at the picnic table, and successfully did my first hub adjustment.  Thanks to Bill at Capitol Hill Bikes for having the foresight to include the appropriate wrenches for this task!

Best bike repair shop ever.

Success!  We rode our bikes to the trailhead later that day.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the Devils Garden trail, where we traversed ledges, climbed everything in sight, and otherwise made the most of the perfect weather we were blessed with for this portion of our trip.  Maybe this was Mother Nature's apology for the two winter storms I had to drive through.

I never get sick of this view (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Fun with shadows!

We made sure to take our time and not rush (photo credit: Gonzalo).

One of many exploratory climbs (photo credit: Gonzalo).

One of the last hikes later in the day... (photo credit: Gonzalo).

The one downside to the day was the possible sacrifice of my 17mm wide angle lens when I was descending onto a ledge.  The lens no longer allows me to take pictures, but luckily, I had different lens packed away in one of the boxes in my trunk.

RIP.

Even though we are staying in Arches National Park one more night, we needed to go to Moab to get provisions for Canyonlands and figured we could hit up some of the hikes that are closer to the entrance of the park since we've explored mostly the area near our campgrounds.  We decided to try out Love Muffin Cafe (from which I write this post), which Lauren told us was the best breakfast in town.  And holy crap was she right.  We had intended to stop just for coffee, and stayed for poutine and banh mi.  Now I'm off for groceries and more hiking.  

Winter Storm Tritan Plan B: Geeky Science Snow Day!

One thing I love about Colorado is the local reaction to the announcement of a snowstorm.  Washingtonians freak out, buy bread and milk (or booze), and plan to hole up until the storm passes.  Here, people pack their 4WD vehicles with snowboarding and skiing gear, go to bed early, pray to the snow Gods for 12" - 14" of sweet powder, and race to make the first chairlift.  Despite the joy of Winter Storm Tritan, it was pretty much unanimous that it would be foolish to attempt the near blizzard-like conditions with a fully loaded rental car with no snow tires and front wheel drive.

So instead of heading across the pass to hang out with my Mt. Kilimanjaro climbing partner-in-crime Lauren, we decided to stay another day in the Boulder area and make the drive when visibility was more than a foot.  

After brunch with a friend of mine from law school, we decided to explore museum at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.  Fortunately, Gonzalo and I are both slightly obsessed with geeky science things, and an otherwise disappointing cruddy weather day was saved (even if we discovered how little we know about cloud composition).

We thought the museum fit the weather conditions.

The cool spinning globe that allowed us to simulate the surface of a gas planet.

This museum had the BEST interactive exhibits. 

It's pretty much sacrilege to not spend at least some time outside in the Boulder area, so we headed out to the trails behind the NCAR to play in the snow before heading back to the house for hot chocolate and a nice group dinner with Kiki and Emil.

The architectural genius of I.M. Pei, better known for the Lourve Pyramid and the Javitts Center in New York.

Taking in the "view".

The next day, the clouds parted to give us sunny blue skies and clear roads.  The drive across the Rockies was beautiful and we rolled into Grand Junction, Colorado with a warm welcome from Lauren.  After a tasting of various craft brews I have managed to collect along the way, we caught up over a huge hunk of local free range magical beef and apple pie.

Exhibit at the potty n' Nutella and banana break in Georgetown, Colorado.  Not to be mistaken for any other Georgetown.

Snack break!

Reminiscing about my last trip to Colorado to visit Lauren.  My beer tasting glass magically turned into a wine glass.

Today, we are off to the Moab area where we will spend the next couple of days camping at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks before heading a bit south towards Zion National Park.

Rocky Mountain Squeeee!

One of my constant struggles is to find the balance between my Type A personality and, well, the side of me that quit my job to do this trip.  I've always hoped that the Boulder-Denver area would be my personal adventure paradise; urban enough for all the culture I want, but a haven for adventuresome folks of all ilk.  As a recovering BigLawyer, I view my time here as a bit of an experiment.

And so I invaded the home of fellow bike touring fanatic and former Washington DC area resident, Kiki.  I credit her bike trip across the U.S. as the genesis for bigger and bad-asser plans of my own.  That, and her gear list was the starting point for my own.

I arrived to 60 degree weather and took some time when I got in to relax, go grocery shopping at my new favorite organic grocery Sprouts (3 for $1 red peppers?  $1.50/lb asparagus?  Yes, please!), and make a leisurely dinner.  I also had the good fortune to have some furry company.

Morning photo shoot with Squeakers and Felix.

Apparently, Kiki is running a psuedo-hostel out of her house as a mutual acquaintance of ours was also visiting from the DC area beginning the next morning.  I spent the morning repacking the car trunk and was contemplating heading into Boulder to do a brewery tour at Boulder Beer Company, Colorado's first microbrewery, when Emil got in touch with me to see if I wanted to do a short afternoon hike.  It's a good day when my hardest decision was deciding whether to do a brewery tour or a hike.  The Flatiron 1/2 trail was a perfect afternoon hike, just challenging enough to make us feel accomplished, just enough rock scrambling to make it fun, and provided beautiful views of Boulder and the Rockies.

View from the trailhead.  The three peaks to the left are Flatirons 1, 2, and 3.

View from 1 to 2.  Or maybe its 2 to 3.  Who knows.

Some great areas to do rock scrambling and there are also climbing access points as well.

We found a friend who wanted to follow us!

Emil admiring the vibrant green moss growing on the rock formations.

Log surfing never had a better view.

Emil snaps a picture of me while I take in the view.

Emil scrambles for a better view.

In other news, my cycling partner Gonzalo arrives in Denver tonight... just in time for Winter Storm Tritan, which is supposed to bury my temporary corner of Colorado tomorrow in snow.  Don't worry, I'm tracking the road conditions so that if the pass is too risky tomorrow, we'll just stay in Boulder another day or so before heading west.

Nebraska State Of Mind

I expected the drive through Nebraska to pass by as a blur of farmland and a necessary evil to reach the promise-land of Colorado.  I have never been so happy to be wrong.

After emerging from the slushy snowy roads of Chicago and spending over 8 hours on the road, I arrived in Lincoln NE in a bleary state of mind and pulled up to the oh so classy Countryside Suites, located conveniently by the King Kong Restaurant.  The receptionist at the Countryside Suites welcomed me with a warm smile, a first floor room to make it easier to schlep my bike inside, a coupon for 2-for-1 cheesesteaks, and a barrage of questions about where I was from, where I was going, and why I would want to go to Argentina versus Spain.

Aside from the awesome decor, they had a pretty decent gyro greek salad thingy.

Despite the tempting 2-for-1 cheesesteak coupon, I ended up running across the parking lot to King Kong to get some dinner to go, and paired it with some boxed red wine.  Yup.  Awesome.  I had a wonderful date night with myself, slept in, took a long hot bath, and finally set out for Boulder CO shortly after 10am.  

After a couple hours on the road, I saw signs for an original Pony Express historical site in Gothenburg NE, and figured that was as good a place as any to stop for lunch and get a lil history.  It was the best decision I made all day.

My version of "Where's Waldo"?

It's easy to find yourself at the fast food joints that are clustered with the gas stations right at the exit to each of the small towns along the interstate.  However, it's always worth bypassing these faceless monstrosities to get into town.  Gothenburg is one of those classic small towns with a 3-block long Main Street that has exactly one bar, one diner, one bank, one law office... you get the drift.  I found myself wandering into Daylight Donuts, Gothenburg's local breakfast and lunch spot.

Daylight Donuts was empty except for a few regulars and the owners eating at a round table.  Their banter came to a halt as I peeked in and asked if lunch was still being served.  The proprietor gave me a sassy look and told me "well, we have chicken, chicken, or chicken."  "Well," I said with a laugh, "I guess I'm having the chicken."

  

For $7, I got to help myself to the salad, bar a plate of my choice of white/dark/mixed fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, my choice of blueberry/lemon merengue/chocolate cream pie, and a huge coffee.  I also was asked put a note on their wall of fame!

A few wisecracks later, I found myself in hilarious company for the rest of my meal.  What was supposed to be a short stopover turned into a long leisurely lunch during which we chatted about the origins of my name, my bike trip, my shockingly youthful appearance, my untrustworthiness as a lawyer, the new trucks being delivered to the local dealer, and me taking over Daylight Donuts when I come back.   

The Gothenburg lunch crew.

I was sent off with hugs, a pair of handmade Gothenburg NE potholders, and two combo pen-flashlights inscribed with the address of Daylight Donuts, lest I ever forget this lunch spot.

Best.  Present.  Ever.

Washington DC to Lincoln NE: The Food Edition

I like to think of February as my month of "see you laters" ... this is not goodbye because I was sent off by the best of friends, the type of friends you keep forever no matter the time and distance spent apart.

Best "see you later pake" ever... buttermilk pie baked into a chocolate cake made by Robin which is on par with the birthday cherpumple by Phil.

The first week of March has ushered in the first 1500 miles of my cross-country driving trip, and the firm belief that my friends and family think I am somehow starving now that I am unemployed and traveling.  My last night in the Washington DC area was a quiet night of homemade carbonara, a couple bottles of red wine, and a few good friends (thanks Alex and Jeff!).  After a leisurely breakfast at a local Ethiopian cafe (thanks Robin, Lizzie, and Jeff!), I found myself battling traffic on I-495 with the biggest smile on my face and a full belly.

Since then, I have been plied with craft beer and lamb burgers (thanks Efrain!), homemade omelets (thanks Aaron!), homemade waffles and portobello burgers (thanks godparental units!), Belgian waffles (thanks Katy!), grasshopper pie and T-bone steak feast (thanks Sius!), Chinese roast duck (thanks Lorien!)...

The beer fairy leaves my host and good friend Efrain an early birthday present.  In return, I got a tour of the underbelly of the Cleveland craft beer and soul scene.

My hometown of Grand Rapids is home to several amazing craft breweries as well as  one of my closest childhood friends.  

I drove straight into winter storm Saturn as it hit Chicago, and then Lorien and I decided to go on a lovely walk to Lake Michigan.  Ouch, pokey snow in eyeballs!

I went for a short bike ride in Chi-town!  And made a snowman.  Because that's what you do when it snows... I was amused by the panic in DC about the snowquester.

Sun Wah.  Chicago.  Duck feast.  That is all.

Fresh steamed bun with roast duck, crispy duck skin, hoisin, pickled veggies, scallion...

Aaah, Rock Falls, the birthplace of Ronald Reagan.  Population 9000.  I love local diners like this one.