Lake Tahoe

On Wednesday, I went to Lake Tahoe. I arrived in the early afternoon, after I (unfortunately) received a speeding ticket. I was so bummed out! I'd been driving through the mountains for what seemed like an eternity, and FINALLY I ended up on open road. It felt so good to hit the gas pedal. Unfortunately, I thought the speed limit was 65, and so I was driving 70....the actual speed limit was 55, and so a California highway patrol officer stopped me. He was actually very nice -- said it happens all the time, exactly the same way I described: people coming out of the mountains, and allowing the car to "stretch its legs". Anyway, he only put me down for 65 mph, which will lower the ticket price somewhat. But it was a bummer nonetheless.

Anyway, it was great to see Lars! I was unable to attend his wedding for some reason -- probably a long string of night shifts -- and so I hadn't met his wife, Christine. She is fabulous. She's super-bright, warm, friendly, and very athletic (and a climber), just like Lars. They make a great couple! They also have a two-year-old son, Kai, who is very, very cute.

On Wednesday afternoon, the four of us went to the beach at Lake Tahoe on the Nevada side, where they live. The water was chilly, but the deep blue water with the mountains and evergreen trees all around is amazing to look at. Lars, of course, left me and Christine to chat while he went off bouldering -- once a climber, always a climber! -- and Kai went off to follow him -- amazing to see his natural talent, even at two years of age.

We went for sushi that night, and then Lars spent the evening teaching me about his new outdoor sport, fly fishing. I actually stayed in his "sewing room", which is really his feather-filled fly-creation room. Funny that I'm victims of stereotyping as much as anyone else is -- when I saw the spools of thread, the needles, and the feathers, I initially assumed the room must be Christine's craft space! But Lars has become an avid fly fisherman, and now he purchases special feathers to create his masterpieces.

The next day we drove to the California side of Lake Tahoe and went to Vikingsholm, an old estate on the beach. It's a beautiful hike down from the top, passing by all sorts of waterfalls, large and small. When we arrived at the bottom, we walked around the home (didn't take the tour inside), and then took a small offshoot off the trail, which took us to an amazingly large and powerful waterfall. I stood there, amazed at how such a large fall could have been hidden from both my sight and hearing while we hiked down. While I stood there and gawked, Lars ran away again and scampered up the side of the falls.

We then went down to the beach for a while, and Lars and Kai collected waterbugs while Christine and I chatted. Then Christine took Kai, and Lars and I had some time alone, as well. It was really nice, having some time to talk to him. He's changed so much from when we were residents; he was so unhappy then, and he is so calm and content now -- I don't know what to say except that it made ME feel good to see him happy.

That night, I had a HOME-COOKED MEAL for supper -- the first one in many, many weeks! We had steaks, asparagus, and macaroni salad, and homemade rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream -- and it was absolutely fantastic. Then, while Christine put Kai to bed, Lars showed me fly-fishing videos and rock climbing videos. The most insane video was of some dude from Tahoe area, who apparently had had a fear of falling; so he "recovered" (?!?) from his fear by developing a system whereby he'd climb up two peaks, attach ropes from the tops of them to stretch across the span, and then climb up a peak INSIDE the span, hook onto the ropes stretching the span, and then JUMP OFF. Recovered or not, he's dead now, from a complication of one of his "falls". Poor bastard....

On Friday morning, Lars went to work early. So Christine, Kai and I got up, played, ate pie for dessert, and then I packed up and left for Oakland. It was an absolutely wonderful two days. Lars and Christine were terrific hosts, Kai was adorable, and seeing Lars happy (cliche as it sounds) absolutely warmed my soul. Amazing.

Vegas, Sequoia, Yosemite, and me

It's becoming harder to write....as I go to more and more new places, I keep getting overwhelmed, to the point where overwhelmed seems, well, normal. It makes it hard to write about all of the amazing things, so instead, I'll mention a few things that stand out.

I went to Las Vegas last Tuesday, and stayed until Saturday. For those of you who don't know, my grandparents moved there about 13 years ago, and I went to visit them. My grandmother is 96; my grandfather is 94. And despite the fact that they are certainly slowing down, they are still incredibly vibrant. My grandfather cooked bagels, eggs, and veggie sausage for breakfast every morning; my grandmother puts on a cute outfit and makeup every day; we went gambling several times, and my grandmother won $389 at slots (I won $64); they took me to the strip to see the Encore Hotel, which is new since I last visited in 2008; we watched Glee and a couple of movies on cable; we talked politics and the BP oil spill; and we went out for dinner every single night. Really, they're amazing. When we went to the buffet at the Red Rocks Casino on Wednesday night, all of the wait staff there knew my grandparents, and kept commenting to each other: "Can you believe she's 96 years old?" To which my grandmother would reply, "I know! Can you believe, in four years, I'll be 100? Now that's old!" And then she'd burst into giggles.

My uncle and aunt, Richard and Shelley, were in town as well. On Wednesday afternoon, while we let my grandparents rest, Richard, Shelley, and I drove to Mount Charleston, and then we took Janie out onto a Jeep road through the mountains. We had a fabulous time. Unfortunately, at one point, upon exiting a ditch, Janie fishtailed a bit, and her rear wheel well struck a small tree trunk. So poor Janie has a bruise on her right hip. I called a mobile dent service to come out, and he was able to heat up the plastic and remove the dent, so now she's good as new. But I feel badly that Janie now has an injury....like I've mistreated my child somehow.

On Saturday, I went out to brunch with my grandparents, and then I left for Sequoia National Park area that afternoon around 2. It was a very emotional goodbye with my grandparents; after all, I never know if it might be the last time I see them, and I haven't been as good as I could have been about keeping in touch with them. But, as always, my grandfather had treasured words of wisdom for me about being happy with my life, and for that, I'm incredibly grateful, and sad that I don't see him more often. We both got teary as I said goodbye.

The drive to Sequoia National Park was much longer than I expected. From the map, it only seemed a 3 or so hour drive; but I didn't realize that you cannot enter Sequoia NP from the east side. That meant that I had to drive around Death Valley, to Bakersfield (which is further west than the park is) and then back east to the park. I didn't get to my hotel until 9:30 that night.

The next morning, I went to the park. It is beautiful, and the trees are magnificent, but the entire park is basically a forest (obviously, I suppose), and I realize that I don't find forests all that, well, interesting. So I saw some enormous, stately sequoia trees, hiked around a bit, spent time watching a bear pull bark off a fallen tree to eat the bugs, and then went back to my hotel for dinner. That night, the hotel where I was staying had a campfire, which I attended. I felt very Dirty Dancing, and I half-expected Patrick Swayze to pop out at any moment. Instead, I met two cool Australian guys, Glenn and Dugald. Glenn is a pilot based in Hong Kong; Dugald is a financier who lives in London. Both are traveling for 4 weeks through California, and we chatted at the campfire for a long while. I saw them the next morning, as well, and I had breakfast with them before I left to go to Yosemite.

Oh, Yosemite. What to say about it. I arrived on Monday afternoon, and I went to Glacier Point. The view is overwhelming, really -- it's so huge, so vast, so imposing -- I stayed at Glacier Point for several hours, just sitting and looking across the valley at the waterfalls and at Half-Dome.

The next morning, I returned to the park, and this time, I went to Yosemite Valley, which is super-touristy. I had planned on doing several small, or one larger hike throughout the day -- but the place is so huge, that I barely had time to even do a quick lap around the park by shuttle, much less on foot. I did see some very cool things -- I walked to the base of the Lower Yosemite Falls, and since it was peak snowmelt yesterday, I got completely soaked underneath it, as though I were standing at the base of the Log Ride at Six Flags; I walked to Mirror Lake; and I walked to the base of El Capitan along with a German climber, who aspires to climb the face someday. We talked climbing (I tried not to look or act TOO stupid), and careers (he's left engineering, and is about to join the police force in Stuttgart), and spent most of the afternoon together.

It was nice, hanging with the Aussies the other night, and the German today, as it's lonely for me to visit all of these parks alone. It's like I see the parks, and I pick up on certain details, but the people around me see details I don't see myself -- so it enriches my experience to have another traveler along for the ride.

As to my final impression of Yosemite: simply that I didn't have nearly enough time there to have a real impression! I didn't even get to see the Tuolomne meadows, nor did I have enough time to do even one "real" hike. I'll need to go back sometime, with at least 4-5 full days to spend in the park.

Anyway, I finally made it back to my hotel around 9 , and was incredibly sad when I arrived in my hotel room -- so much so, that I ate ice cream for dinner. I don't know what I was sad about, exactly: was it fatigue of the trip? Leaving my grandparents? Realizing that I feel lonely traveling alone? Or just coming down off the highs of being with interesting people for the past few days?

Now it's off to Lake Tahoe to visit Lars and Christine. Lars was a resident with me, and an avid climber, so I thought of him a lot while at Yosemite, with all of the climbing aficionados near El Capitan. He said he's climbed TWO routes up that bad boy. Wow....something to aspire to, I guess....

Utah Parks

What a few days it's been. On Friday, I went to Arches National Park for the day. Thursday night, after I arrived in Moab, I went to dinner at the Moab Brewery....sat next to a guy who's a pretty die-hard hiker and climber. He told me I had to hike to Delicate Arch at Arches. When I went to Arches on Friday, I went to the visitor center to talk to the rangers about how to spend my day. They suggested I hike the primitive loop to Devil's Garden in the morning, then stop for lunch, then hike to Delicate Arch in the afternoon.

So that's what I tried. Unfortunately, I learned a hiking lesson about myself that day. The Devil's Garden hike is a 7.9 mile hike, and the primitive loop is pretty difficult during certain parts. Unfortunately, I'd had a very small breakfast that morning (one piece of toast and one apple), and by the time I finished the loop, even before I got to the major arches, I had "hit the wall". Truly. I was extremely tired, and eating my PB&J, orange, and trail mix didn't help. Fortunately, there was a couple from New Mexico who came along behind me, and at least made sure I was safe until I got to Landscape Arch, and then I was able to get back to my car. I eventually started to feel better, but I decided that I shouldn't do another difficult desert hike that afternoon. So, instead of seeing the single most famous arch at the park from close up, I saw it from a viewpoint two miles away. Bummer. (Although, since I did the primitive loop, I got to hike through the Fin Canyons, which were amazingly cool...)

Anyway, I contemplated trying to hike Delicate the following day, but I later realized I had a pretty big day ahead of me -- seeing both Canyonlands and Capitol Reef, and then driving to Bryce Canyon -- and so I decided not to hike it at all. I guess Delicate Arch will just have to wait for a future hike.

I left Moab on Saturday morning, and I drove to Canyonlands, about 30 miles away. Canyonlands is really huge -- so huge that it has three different "districts", each of which require at least a full day to see. So I just went to the most accessible one, the Islands in the Sky District (the other two are known as the Needles District and the Maze District). Canyonlands is actually really hard to see from the rim. They recommend that to see the park, you take a 4-wheeler, and drive through the canyons. The middle layer of the park is called the "white rim", where the rock is harder than the surrounding areas, and more erosion-resistant. The white rim has, among many others, a 100-mile-long 4-wheeler road, which takes a minimum of two days to drive. I would have LOVED to do that. Unfortunately, even though I had the right car, I didn't have the time required. So I just drove around the upper rim for a while, and then I finally left and made my way westward to Capitol Reef.

Capitol Reef is really cool. I'd never even heard of it until I started working on this trip, but it's a huge "fold" in the landscape of southwestern utah known as the Waterpocket Fold. It's pretty desolate country out there -- the closest signal light is 78 miles away, apparently -- but it's absolutely gorgeous out there. Apparently, it used to be a hideout for Butch Cassidy and a host of other robbers and outlaws. Eventually, Mormons settled in the area and started farming the land in and around the canyon inside the reef. They still grow berries, apples, and peaches, and allow the public to come and purchase fruit during harvest season. They also sell homemade fruit pies at the visitors' center, which I thought was pretty quaint. Anyway, it was named Capitol Reef because, looking up at it, you feel like you're looking at a reef in the ocean. I didn't understand that at first, but after I got there and started driving through the park, I totally understood! I looked up at all these crannies, crevices, and outcroppings that held lush, green plants growing out of them in funny angles and at different heights, and I absolutely felt like a fish, scooting through all of these little pockets, wondering what I'd see around the corner. It was very, very beautiful there, and I would absolutely love to go back someday.

I eventually made it to Bryce Canyon Saturday evening, but I didn't go to the park until the following day. And I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed in Bryce Canyon! Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful there, and the hoodoos are weird and wonderful -- it's just that the entire park is, well, accessible. You can see it by just hopping out of your car and walking 100 yards to a lookout point. You don't have to hike it to see it. I did do a couple of hikes, just to walk down under the rim and among the hoodoos, but it's not really necessary. And there were SO many people there, and they refused to stay on the trails, and it's pretty small, actually -- so the crowds were completely annoying. But my hike through the Queen's Garden and around the Navajo Loop Trail were really nice, if steep.

On Monday morning (Memorial Day), I woke up extra early and went to Bryce Point again to see sunrise over the ampitheater. It was really beautiful, watching the sun come up over the hoodoos, standing straight and tall -- almost like soldiers at attention -- on the day in which we remember all of those soldiers who lost their lives in service for the USA. It was a great way to spend the holiday.

After I packed up at my hotel, I drove the 80 miles from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park. And, as disappointed as I was in Bryce Canyon, I was overwhelmed by Zion. It is so beautiful, so spectacular, that I was overcome by my smallness, my transience on this Earth. I've only ever felt that way one other time, when I hiked through Grand Canyon several years ago. I can see why the Mormons who first named the cliffs called the area "Little Zion" -- I absolutely saw it as a place for prayer. And I am not someone who normally feels that way, mind you. I could have moved in right then and there.

I didn't do a huge hike there, although I thought about hiking Angel's Landing. But I guess I was gunshy after my experience at Arches, and so I did a bunch of smaller hikes, instead. I saw all three Emerald Pools, the Kayenta Trail, the Rim Trail, Weeping Rock, and the Riverside Walk -- totaled around 6 miles or so. But my favorite, by far, was Riverside Walk. It's really quite easy -- it's paved, and one of the most popular walks at the park, and around 1 mile in each direction. But it walks right past the Temple of Sinawava, along the Virgin River, and to the end of the wider part of the canyon, to the beginning of the Narrows (where you cannot walk without walking in the river itself). Unfortunately, we were unable to walk in the Narrows because the river was too high, but the Riverside Walk was gorgeous: green, cool, lush, windy, with the water rushing by, and lots of boulders to sit upon and think. They say that the Riverside Walk should take 1 hour; for me, it took 2 1/2. I kept sitting to look at the water, to listen, to think, and to imagine how long it took for the Virgin River to carve out the 3000 foot-high cliffs. It was outstanding.

Tuesday morning, I took my car up to the northwest corner of the park, to an area called the Kolob Canyons, and I took a small hike there along Timber Creek. Again, it should have been a 1-hour hike, but looking at the finger canyons was so astounding to me, that it took me 2+ hours. There were a few other hikers along the path with me, but not too many, and we all were blown away by the sheer beauty of the Kolob canyons. In fact, I was one of the speediest hikers there that morning!

Eventually, I dragged myself away, and left Zion National Park to drive to Las Vegas to visit my grandparents. More on Sin City later. But for now, I am left with absolute amazement at southern Utah, and with a real temptation to leave Atlanta and pack up for Springdale, Utah.

Oh, and the pictures are, from the top:

1. Landscape Arch, Arches National Park
2. The White Rim and the Green River, Islands in the Sky District, Canyonlands National Park
3. The road to Capitol Gorge, Capitol Reef National Park
4. Bryce Ampitheater at sunrise, Bryce Canyon National Park
5. Finger Canyons, Kolob Canyons area, Zion National Park

I guess I AM a chicken after all....or, the longest 6-hour drive ever

This morning, I left Boulder to drive to Moab, Utah. What an absolutely gorgeous drive that was. I-70 from Denver through the Rocky Mountains is spectacular. I drove over Loveland Pass on the Continental Divide, at around 11000 feet. Then I descended somewhat, and I drove through some of the most spectacularly green mountains I could have possibly imagined. West of Vail, I drove through Glenwood Canyon, which was incredibly green and lush with sheer rocky faces on either side of the canyon and the Colorado River running down the center. It was spectacular. I stopped there for an hour or so and chatted on the phone with my friend Dave in Boston. We had a really nice talk, and I liked taking the break from driving and having good conversation in a beautiful locale. After all, I figured I had plenty of time to get to Moab, right?

When I got back into my car, my GPS said I'd arrive in Moab at 5:30. No problem. I continued onward, into the Utah desert, and then I turned off I-70 to Utah 191, just like the GPS said to. I was TEN MINUTES from my hotel, when traffic came to a sudden and complete halt; a car about 10-15 vehicles ahead had caught fire (I took pictures, above)!

After waiting there for 30 minutes or so, we figured we weren't going to be able to pass for a while, so several people decided to leave the main road and take a 4WD road just parallel to the highway. Janie did so great!!!! We drove up these crazy inclines, through some sand pits, and over some boulders -- and she handled it like a champ. (The second picture was taken from a hill on the 4WD road -- you can see the traffic jam on the freeway to the right of the photo.) Unfortunately, the road became VERY dicey (super-steep decline over some large boulders), and so the group basically decided it wasn't a good idea to keep going. So we turned back, and tried to take another path. Well, that one took us through a wash, and a VW van got stuck in the sand -- and Janie towed her out!!! I'm so proud of my little Jeep!

So here's the deal: some guys on 4-wheelers drove up the other way through the wash, and they said that my Jeep could definitely drive through it, but recommended that the other folks in SUVs not try it. So no one in the group decided to do it. Which left me with a decision: to test Janie's mettle by myself, or to abort the mission. And I decided to abort. I feel a little lame about that choice; after all, it would have been an adventure, and I have a car that's meant for that type of terrain. But I ultimately decided not to be a hero, and so I followed the rest of the group back.

When we got back to the highway, it was still stopped completely. So instead of waiting in the crowd, I drove back UP 191 for 17 or so miles to I-70, went back the way I came for another 20 or so miles, then turned south down highway 128, which takes you to Moab. I don't know why my GPS didn't take me that way, in the first place; it's east, so it's closer to Denver. And it was GORGEOUS. It travels along the Colorado river, and the scenery is spectacular....much better than on 191.

I finally made it to my hotel -- at 7:30 pm. Wow...the supposed 6-hour drive took 9 1/2 hours overall. Screw doing yoga in my motel room; I need beer, instead.

Denver and Boulder

On Monday, I flew from Atlanta to Denver. It was incredibly windy when I arrived. I had to walk out to my car, parked in the economy lot, and it was in section W (i.e., all the way to the far end). I walked it with my two bags, right through a headwind. It took me 20 minutes, and when I arrived at my car, I had dust, rocks, and all sorts of schmutz all over me.

Anyway, Sharon and David, my cousins in Denver, recommended that I spend a couple of hours at High Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver. I've only ever done High Tea once before, in New Orleans a year ago. But this time, instead of appearing in a dress and looking cute, I appeared in jeans and sandals, with my hair blown into a rat's nest and dust all over my face. Fortunately, the folks at the Brown Palace didn't scold me too badly, and I enjoyed scones, clotted cream, tea, and pastries, all while listening to a harpist. The hotel is gorgeous, with a stained glass roof so that the light shines down onto the atrium where the tea is held. As much as I might be tempted to make fun of such a "ladies who lunch" type of event, I have to admit, it is a lovely way to spend an afternoon....

Later that day, I met up with David and Sharon. They are always so much fun, and this visit was no exception. I stayed with them for two days, and I had a wonderful time seeing them and re-meeting their children, Rachel and Jacob, who are now 30 and 27, respectively. (The last time I saw them, they were 16 and 13!)

I also went to Lookout Mountain yesterday, to the Buffalo Bill Museum. Although I was doubtful at first, I must admit it was pretty interesting. I never knew (a) that Buffalo Bill was a performer, (b) that he performed with Sitting Bull, (c) that he discovered and performed with Annie Oakley, (d) that he died impoverished due to poor business dealings -- even though his Wild West act performed all over North America and Europe and made him a fortune, and (e) that there was controversy regarding where he should be buried. (He apparently stated that he wanted to be buried at Lookout Mountain, but the folks of Cody, Wyoming wanted him buried there, since he founded that community.) His grave is on Lookout Mountain, and after his wife died and was buried there too, they covered the entire gravesite with concrete so that the folks from Wyoming couldn't come and steal the body....

I also never knew that he originally was awarded a Medal of Honor for his work as an army scout during the Indian Wars, but that it was later rescinded because he was not in the military! Even more interesting, though -- the medal was then reinstated years and years after his death.

The pictures above were all taken at Lookout Mountain. The first is the plaque at Buffalo Bill's gravesite. The second and third were taken during a walk that I took after leaving the museum, and just show the view from the mountain. The final picture shows Golden, Colorado in the foreground (you can see the Coors plant between the two mesas), with Denver in the background.

Today I left Denver and drove to Boulder. I took a hike this morning with Karen (a friend of Barbara's, my yoga teacher, who offered to house me here in Boulder), and then we went to a yoga class. This afternoon, I went to the Pearl Street Mall and wandered around all the shops and restaurants, and just enjoyed seeing the city. Boulder has some reminders of Austin, for sure (think dreadlocks, multiple piercings, baja shirts, and lots and lots of weed), but has many upscale shops and art galleries amidst the crystal/smoke/Nepalese shops. Oh, and mountains. Can't forget the mountains....

Just one disppointment, which is not unique to Boulder: here I was, in this incredibly picturesque scenery, among all these interesting independent stores, and what did I find? The Cheesecake Factory. And Old Chicago, Chico's, Ben & Jerry's, Haagen-Dazs, Paradise Bakery, Starbucks, Prana, and Patagonia. Why, oh why, must there be chain stores and restaurants everywhere? Is no town allowed to be unique anymore? So sad.

Hiatus Week!

So last week was my one planned hiatus for my trip so far. I went to a wedding in New Orleans, but I also had a doctor's appointment scheduled in Atlanta.

So on Tuesday, I left Colorado Springs and flew to Atlanta. I had my doctor's appointment (and a haircut) on Wednesday, spent some time with friends and got some well-needed rest in my own bed, and then on Friday, flew to New Orleans.

Friday night, a friend of a friend met me in New Orleans. We went out for dinner and drinks, and then we went to Harrah's Casino where I got my first Texas Hold 'Em lesson! The next day, I went to Mark and Charlotte's wedding. Mark is an old friend of mine, from before college (we grew up in different towns in Texas, but met at All-State Band), and then we were in Plan II together at UT (That's Texas, not Tennessee, BTW). We've remained friends ever since, and I really like Charlotte, his new wife.

The wedding was beautiful, and the reception was fabulous. It was held at Latrobe's on Royal in the French Quarter, and the music, dancing, and liquor flowed freely for many hours. Better than that, though, was the fact that Mark and Charlotte looked so incredibly happy. I met many interesting people that night: friends of Mark's from college, and from his PhD program at Berkeley, friends of his from his living in Europe, and many of his colleagues, both American and European. I also met Charlotte's family, and they are as warm and friendly as she is. It was an outstanding crowd, and I really enjoyed everyone there.

Saturday night, I went out to dinner at Napoleon House, and then had drinks at the Carousel Bar, with Denise and Brent, two other UT grads, and with Kerry, a friend of Mark's from Paris -- and now I have new connections for my travels, which is great.

On Sunday, I flew back to Atlanta for one night, and spent the evening with Keith, a new friend who is house-sitting for me while I'm out of town. I'm really grateful that I met him -- he's taking great care of the house, and he's going to be a friend of mine for a long, long time.

So that's it -- Hiatus Week! It was really nice. Now, it's back to the road.

The Lesson of the Long Weekend

On Friday, I left Gunnison and drove to Colorado Springs. I drove over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass, which was pretty amazing. It was snowing up there, and I stopped many, many times to take pictures and to look at the scenery from up there. I've included a picture here, of the eastern view of the pass. Even with the snow, it was so quiet and peaceful up there.

Unfortunately, the weather all day on Friday was pretty bad, and the drive to Colorado Springs was no picnic. In fact, the fog was so dense about 15 miles before Colorado Springs that I finally just pulled off the side of the road, stopped for a coffee, and read a book for a while. But I finally made it to Dax and Amethyst's house.

I went to medical school with Dax and Amethyst, and I must admit that I haven't been the greatest about keeping in touch. I last saw them when they were both doing fellowships in Houston, which was many years ago now. But now they live in Colorado Springs, and they have two children, a 6 year-old boy named Alex (actually, he's "six and three-quarters!"), and a 4 year-old girl named Dara. And one super-athletic dog, Starbuck, who has this insatiable drive to play fetch. Literally. All day and all night.

So I lived with a family for several days. And it was fun! The basic rundown was as follows:

• Friday, I had dinner with Amethyst while Dax and the kids went to birthday party #1.
• Saturday, Alex and Dax had soccer game #1 at 8am, and then we ate pancakes and played for a while. Amethyst and I did a little shopping, and then got home so that Alex and Dax could go to soccer game #2 at 4pm (Dax is the coach). Then that evening, Amethyst took the kids to birthday party #2, and Dax and I drove around Colorado Springs and went to dinner.
• Sunday, Dax made us crepes for breakfast, and then he took me out for a spin in his new car, a fully-electric Tesla convertible (pretty fabulous, especially since the weather was beautiful that day). Then we all went to Manitou Springs to do a little wandering around. We came back that afternoon and I stayed home with Dara while she napped, and Amethyst and Dax went to Alex's soccer game #3. That night, we ate supper at their house, and after the kids went to bed, the adults watched Avatar.
• Monday, I took Janie in for her annual well-check (really, her 12,000 mile checkup), and then I took the Cog Railway up to Pike's Peak! Then, last night, I had dinner with the family, we put the kids to bed, and then the adults hung out in the hot tub for an hour or so, and caught up with where our classmates were now, and what they were doing.

First of all, Colorado Springs is beautiful. Dax and Amethyst live just north of Garden of the Gods, which is this amazing rock formation which spreads north/south through town. I have a picture of it here, with Pikes Peak in the background.

Now, as to Pikes Peak: I was not prepared for the weather on the peak. Despite the fact that it was 65 degrees in Colorado Springs, it was only 22 degrees up on the peak, and with a bit of a wind, too (16 degrees with the wind chill). I was not dressed appropriately, with my sandals and lightweight jacket on. I was pretty cold up there, for sure. But secondly (and more embarrassingly), I could tell that I was kind of goofy up there at 14110 feet! I went to the restroom, and somehow, couldn't figure out quite how to pull back up my underpants -- they seemed to be turned around somehow! Now, mind you, it's not like I have trouble with this in my regular life, so the fact that even using the restroom seemed confusing made me realize just how wacky I was up there. It made me think about Jon Krakauer's book about the Mount Everest disaster Into Thin Air, and about how everyone was so confused, even as to who each person was. Trust me, I got a clear visual of how this would be possible, as I stood there, unable to figure out my own underpants....

Anyway, it was a very mellow weekend, overall. I did a little sightseeing, but no hiking and no yoga. I took naps on both Saturday and Sunday. And I played with Alex and Dara and with Starbuck, watched a movie, and hung out in the hot tub. And laughed a lot. It was really nice.

It got me thinking about what this trip is really supposed to be. On the one hand, it's the opportunity to really see the country, to sightsee, hike, be active, take pictures, and get into adventures. On the other hand, it's an opportunity to rest, to relax, to catch up with people with whom I have lost touch, and to explore.

So I'm trying to figure out the balance between the two. And this weekend definitely demonstrated the beauty of slowing down, taking it easy, and being present. I had a really nice time playing with Alex and Dara, and playing fetch for what seemed like hours with Starbuck. I loved my crepe lesson from Dax. I had a wonderful time just chatting with Amethyst. So now I'm trying to figure out how to "do" this trip. Do I:

1) keep running to different places, with the occasional decision to stay in once place for several days? I'll get to see the most this way...

2) change the plan, so that I'm in no more than 1-2 places per state, and therefore able to spend a few days to a week in each place? I'll get to relax more this way, but won't see as many places.

3) stick basically to my itinerary now, but after Alaska, return back into the Southwest, so as to spend more time in the places there that I really liked?

I don't know how to answer all of these questions yet. What I do know, though, is that I really appreciate having time to relax, to talk, to be present, to read, and to think. That I really like being with friends. That I love playing with children. That a simple life can be very fulfilling. That, all this time, I've been wanting something dramatic to happen, when maybe what I need is something simple.