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| Graduation Trip to the West |
Our Trip Map
(subject to change anytime for any reason)
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sleepy in Seattle
It has been a week since we have been able to blog. A lot has happened since then though. After Pismo Beach and Hearst Castle we headed north to San Francisco. We stayed in South San Francisco and took the BART (train) into the city. Public transport is always an experience the people are always crazy on there. We went through Chinatown, ate some good oven baked pizza in little Italy, and then went down to the pier to check out the seals. We took a boat out into the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. It was so cold and windy. We took some great pictures but the fog was in over the bridge. We also got to hang out with a Chemi friend Cory, we grabbed an In and Out Burger and he showed around town. It was great to see friends !
After San Francisco, we drove north to the Redwood Forest. It was Memorial Day Weekend and we had no reservations so we ended up having to drive an extra hour to get a hotel. The Redwoods were gorgeous though. There is a highway that drives through and I would tell anyone going from North Cal to Oregon to use this route. We got out and did some hiking to check out the biggest of the trees and try to find a redwood cone but we did not find one. We saw a sign that warned us about cougars attacking, but it told use to act big and yell loudly if we encounter one and to fight back FEROCIOUSLY if one attacks! We then drove the jeep through the center of one of the giant redwoods.
Then we drove up towards Crater Lake in Oregon. It is the largest lake (by volume) in North America and has some of the cleanest water in the world since there are no rivers flowing from the lake the water has filled up over time due to huge amounts of snow fall that can get up near 40ft a year. When we were there there was more than 8ft of snow in many places. The water was the so clear blue you could see a perfect reflection of the mountain in the water.
We then drove to Portland for the night. Portland was a pretty city that we thought we would have fun in. It has 4 bridges crossing the river in the center of the city and they all look very different. They had one of the cleanest transit systems we could ride from our hotel on one side of the river to downtown and all around downtown for free. They do this to encourage business growth. Once we got downtown we found out that other than malls and the university there was not much to do.
We then drove to Seattle. On the way we passed by Mount St Helens and Mount Ranier in the distance. We met up with our friends Chris and Joy who took us to Ivar's this awesome Salmon restaurant right on the Pungent Sound. It was great getting to see them since they moved from Tulsa after the got married last October. The next day Tiff, Joy and me went downtown. We went up in the Space Needle which was very cool, we wanted to eat at the restaurant but it was like $50 a plate. We then went to Pioneer Square, where the city of Seattle first started. We went on the underground tour to explore how the city was rebuilt after the fire that destroyed the first settlement. Next, we went to the fisherman's market and bought coffee at the very FIRST Starbuck's. Finally that night we went to Chris and Joy's church, ate and crashed.
Well that is where we are now. We will be heading out shortly heading toward Yellowstone National Park. We will be staying in Butte, Montana tonight and camping in Yellowstone for 2 nights. We had planned to go to Glacier National Park on the way to Yellowstone but we are running short on time and we watched this animal channel show where a man and his daughter were nearly killed in Glacier by a bear while hiking a common trail. After Yellowstone we will be headed to Jackson Hole Wyoming, Mount Rushmore and home. We should be home by Wednesday afternoon and we move into our apartment the next day.
After San Francisco, we drove north to the Redwood Forest. It was Memorial Day Weekend and we had no reservations so we ended up having to drive an extra hour to get a hotel. The Redwoods were gorgeous though. There is a highway that drives through and I would tell anyone going from North Cal to Oregon to use this route. We got out and did some hiking to check out the biggest of the trees and try to find a redwood cone but we did not find one. We saw a sign that warned us about cougars attacking, but it told use to act big and yell loudly if we encounter one and to fight back FEROCIOUSLY if one attacks! We then drove the jeep through the center of one of the giant redwoods.
Then we drove up towards Crater Lake in Oregon. It is the largest lake (by volume) in North America and has some of the cleanest water in the world since there are no rivers flowing from the lake the water has filled up over time due to huge amounts of snow fall that can get up near 40ft a year. When we were there there was more than 8ft of snow in many places. The water was the so clear blue you could see a perfect reflection of the mountain in the water.
We then drove to Portland for the night. Portland was a pretty city that we thought we would have fun in. It has 4 bridges crossing the river in the center of the city and they all look very different. They had one of the cleanest transit systems we could ride from our hotel on one side of the river to downtown and all around downtown for free. They do this to encourage business growth. Once we got downtown we found out that other than malls and the university there was not much to do.
We then drove to Seattle. On the way we passed by Mount St Helens and Mount Ranier in the distance. We met up with our friends Chris and Joy who took us to Ivar's this awesome Salmon restaurant right on the Pungent Sound. It was great getting to see them since they moved from Tulsa after the got married last October. The next day Tiff, Joy and me went downtown. We went up in the Space Needle which was very cool, we wanted to eat at the restaurant but it was like $50 a plate. We then went to Pioneer Square, where the city of Seattle first started. We went on the underground tour to explore how the city was rebuilt after the fire that destroyed the first settlement. Next, we went to the fisherman's market and bought coffee at the very FIRST Starbuck's. Finally that night we went to Chris and Joy's church, ate and crashed.
Well that is where we are now. We will be heading out shortly heading toward Yellowstone National Park. We will be staying in Butte, Montana tonight and camping in Yellowstone for 2 nights. We had planned to go to Glacier National Park on the way to Yellowstone but we are running short on time and we watched this animal channel show where a man and his daughter were nearly killed in Glacier by a bear while hiking a common trail. After Yellowstone we will be headed to Jackson Hole Wyoming, Mount Rushmore and home. We should be home by Wednesday afternoon and we move into our apartment the next day.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Grand canyon and everything else !
Alot of things have happened since we last blogged ! We finally made it to the Grand Canyon a week ago today !! Time has passed. The Grand Canyon was absolutely beautiful ! and kinda cold. We stayed there about an hour, all the views were the same. We ended up climbing up a ledge that had a great view, Michael liked being up that high more than I. After the Grand Canyon we went to Zion which wonderful as well. We were able to drive down into the canyon which was extremely cool ! We then headed to las Vegas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We ended up going straight to Vegas after Zion so that we could see the lights of Vegas. We stayed at The Paris hotel. The time changed again on us and we gained another hour so we are now two hours ahead of everyone. At Vegas we tried our hands in the casinos, they don't seem so fun to me. I couldn't figure out the rules : )After Vegas we headed to San Diego and of course we went to the zoo !!! We were at the zoo for 6 hours and I do not think that we saw everything. The zoo was awesome. I saw some animals that I knew what they were and some of the animals I had never seen before in my life! After the zoo we headed to LA were we meet up with Clay, a friend of Michael's from Skiatook. He showed us around town and some hot spots of the town. Clay convinced us to take the train the next day to Universal Studios, I think that it took us about an hour to reach Universal. But the train ride was very educational on both rides : ) Universal was alot of fun, but it was very very cold. We have not had alot of warm weather on our trip. The only time the weather has been above 85 was in Vegas, where it reached over 100! After LAX we headed to Pismo Beach which has been by far our favorite location. The hotel we stayed at had the best view the coast from our window, and was only a short distance from Hearst castle. Hearst castle is an area of land that William Hearst had and create a beautiful living environment for him and his many movie star guest. (Pictures will be posted soon of his beautiful castle and surrounding lands) All I can say is that if you are every in Pismo Beach stay at the Best Western at Shore Cliff. The view is breath-taking. For the next two nights we are staying right outside of San Francisco and will take the train into town tomorrow to take in the sights ! The trip so far has been amazing for Michael and I and we are truly grateful that we have been able to take a trip like this together !
Pictures from Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, San Diego, LA
Here are some more pictures. We will write any update as soon as we get a chance. Maybe tomorrow since we are driving north to San Francisco.
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| Graduation Trip to the West |
Friday, May 18, 2007
Picture Update
Many More Pictures to come... we are currently at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. We should be in San Diego tonight.
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| Trip |
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Past 4 days on the road
Well alot has happened since I was in Houston. Once we left OKC we headed to Amarillo to see a very dear friend of mine : ) Angela and Collin showed us around town. We at at The Big Texan were Michael decided to eat a jalapeno pepper, not a small bite a very big chunk. Needless to say later that night he really regretted eating it !!! It was quite funny though. Ang, Collin and I were very very shocked !!!
After Amarillo we headed to Santa Fe, we saw the Miraculous Staircase and was practically screwed on the parking garage price : ) The days seem to run together it is hard to keep start what we have done. After Santa Fe we headed to Taos were we ate at a nice Cafe and stayed the night there. After a great nights sleep we headed to Durango which was beautiful !! We ate lunch there and walked the town. We landed in Blanding, Utah after Durango not much in this town. But before we came into town we went through beautiful mountains that still had snow on them !!!! So we had to get out and play in it of course !!!! The temperature dropped from 70ish to 41 degrees !!! While we were on the the mountain we were hailed on, I think that is the first time i was in a hail storm.
Today Wednesday May 16th we have seen sooooooo much. We left Blanding about 10:30 and headed I think west where we stopped to see Indian dwellings in the rocks ! Very cool!! We also meet a very lovely couple from Washington, we ran into them many times throughout the rest of the afternoon. At the dwellings we were able to walk around around the rock mountain. You cannot imagine how awesome this was ! We spent about two hours there and then head on. We then stopped at Natural Bridges National Monument. This is where we realized that we would not be reaching the Grand Canyon by night fall. Yes, we are still on the route to see the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon. I think we spent another 2 maybe 3 hours at this National Park, Clovie gave us some good ideas to stop at on our trip. At this Park we saw more dwellings in the Mountain we could not get as close to these but the view was awesome!! The bridges that were created in the rock Mountain were astonishing ! We took way to many pictures. We then headed on to Ticaboo which had a population of 10! It consisted of three gas stations and a bunch of boats. From there we got on a road that would do Uncle Ray proud ! We took Scenic Byway 276, and 12. All I can say is WOW !! There were a few times when on each side of the Jeep was canyons. We went from paved to gravel and back to gravel so many times. I am so glad that I am alive. We went up some steep mountains and saw many different landscapes. But it was probably the most beautiful landscape that I have every seen !!!!!!!!! No words can describe the awesomeness of the mountains and canyons that we saw. And finally as it became dark we made it to Escalante, Utah to stay the night. Until next time : )
After Amarillo we headed to Santa Fe, we saw the Miraculous Staircase and was practically screwed on the parking garage price : ) The days seem to run together it is hard to keep start what we have done. After Santa Fe we headed to Taos were we ate at a nice Cafe and stayed the night there. After a great nights sleep we headed to Durango which was beautiful !! We ate lunch there and walked the town. We landed in Blanding, Utah after Durango not much in this town. But before we came into town we went through beautiful mountains that still had snow on them !!!! So we had to get out and play in it of course !!!! The temperature dropped from 70ish to 41 degrees !!! While we were on the the mountain we were hailed on, I think that is the first time i was in a hail storm.
Today Wednesday May 16th we have seen sooooooo much. We left Blanding about 10:30 and headed I think west where we stopped to see Indian dwellings in the rocks ! Very cool!! We also meet a very lovely couple from Washington, we ran into them many times throughout the rest of the afternoon. At the dwellings we were able to walk around around the rock mountain. You cannot imagine how awesome this was ! We spent about two hours there and then head on. We then stopped at Natural Bridges National Monument. This is where we realized that we would not be reaching the Grand Canyon by night fall. Yes, we are still on the route to see the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon. I think we spent another 2 maybe 3 hours at this National Park, Clovie gave us some good ideas to stop at on our trip. At this Park we saw more dwellings in the Mountain we could not get as close to these but the view was awesome!! The bridges that were created in the rock Mountain were astonishing ! We took way to many pictures. We then headed on to Ticaboo which had a population of 10! It consisted of three gas stations and a bunch of boats. From there we got on a road that would do Uncle Ray proud ! We took Scenic Byway 276, and 12. All I can say is WOW !! There were a few times when on each side of the Jeep was canyons. We went from paved to gravel and back to gravel so many times. I am so glad that I am alive. We went up some steep mountains and saw many different landscapes. But it was probably the most beautiful landscape that I have every seen !!!!!!!!! No words can describe the awesomeness of the mountains and canyons that we saw. And finally as it became dark we made it to Escalante, Utah to stay the night. Until next time : )
OKC to Amarillo, TX to Taos, NM to Blanding, UT
Sorry we have not posted in awhile, we have been very busy and the internet sucks out here. We are currently in Blanding Utah, but let us catch you all up on what we have been up to. Pictures will be posted later, probably in California where the internet is faster.
Saturday we flew home from Houston to Tulsa. We had dinner with my mommy for mothers day before leaving to Oklahoma City to start the road trip. We stayed in Oklahoma City and took a look around bricktown but decided to head on toward Amarillo.
Sunday afternoon we arrived in Amarillo and met up with our friends Angela and Colin. We ate at the Big Texan - home of the free 72 oz steak. While we were there a guy tried to eat the steak. This thing was huge! Plus you had to eat the sides as well as the entire steak to get it for free. Needless to say the guy did not get it done. Our waiter told us only 1 in 10 does.
Monday morning we took off thinking that we might be headed to Sante Fe and then heading on toward Flagstaff, AZ. We drove to Sante Fe and looked around the plaza, saw the old mission churches and the miraculous staircase, which is a staircase built in this chapel with no nails and no central support. It was pretty cool. After having a great time in Sante Fe we decided to take a little detour and head north towards Taos, NM. Taos is a small ski town with a historic downtown. It is one of the oldest city centers in North America. We ate dinner outside at this nice little Italian restaurant, just when we were about to leave it started to sprinkle, so we had to walk back in the rain. We stayed the night in Taos at the historic Stagebrush Inn. It was an old wood timber inn and it had a great free breakfast in the morning, too bad the service sucked.
We changed our route and decided to see the northern rim of the Grand Canyon instead of the southern rim that most people see off I-40. This route adds on a day but lets us head up through the mountains and past a lot of national parks and forests. So, Tuesday we left Taos and headed north towards Pagosa Springs and Durango. On the way we started climbing through the mountains and eventually crossed the continental divide. In the mountains there was actually snow. We got out and took some pictures and threw some snow balls. We had to stop several times to take in the views and take some pictures. We stopped in Durango for a late lunch and ate at this cool little pizza restaurant. We continued to drive into Utah and finally stayed the night in Blanding, Utah.
Saturday we flew home from Houston to Tulsa. We had dinner with my mommy for mothers day before leaving to Oklahoma City to start the road trip. We stayed in Oklahoma City and took a look around bricktown but decided to head on toward Amarillo.
Sunday afternoon we arrived in Amarillo and met up with our friends Angela and Colin. We ate at the Big Texan - home of the free 72 oz steak. While we were there a guy tried to eat the steak. This thing was huge! Plus you had to eat the sides as well as the entire steak to get it for free. Needless to say the guy did not get it done. Our waiter told us only 1 in 10 does.
Monday morning we took off thinking that we might be headed to Sante Fe and then heading on toward Flagstaff, AZ. We drove to Sante Fe and looked around the plaza, saw the old mission churches and the miraculous staircase, which is a staircase built in this chapel with no nails and no central support. It was pretty cool. After having a great time in Sante Fe we decided to take a little detour and head north towards Taos, NM. Taos is a small ski town with a historic downtown. It is one of the oldest city centers in North America. We ate dinner outside at this nice little Italian restaurant, just when we were about to leave it started to sprinkle, so we had to walk back in the rain. We stayed the night in Taos at the historic Stagebrush Inn. It was an old wood timber inn and it had a great free breakfast in the morning, too bad the service sucked.
We changed our route and decided to see the northern rim of the Grand Canyon instead of the southern rim that most people see off I-40. This route adds on a day but lets us head up through the mountains and past a lot of national parks and forests. So, Tuesday we left Taos and headed north towards Pagosa Springs and Durango. On the way we started climbing through the mountains and eventually crossed the continental divide. In the mountains there was actually snow. We got out and took some pictures and threw some snow balls. We had to stop several times to take in the views and take some pictures. We stopped in Durango for a late lunch and ate at this cool little pizza restaurant. We continued to drive into Utah and finally stayed the night in Blanding, Utah.
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