Streams of alcohol, lakes of whiskey

OK, so the mountains here aren't quite so prodigiously generous as all that, but they're pretty stinkin' good.

The past couple days have simply included hiking with my Aunt Mel around the cabin, taking pictures of wildflowers, enjoying the general splendor, and running away from flies and mosquitoes. Yesterday we also went bike riding on one of the trails outside of Crested Butte... I'm hoping to do some more of that this coming week. Tonight is a gallery walk in town, then dinner with the family...

Some of the exciting wildlife I've seen so far: deer behind the cabin, marmots on a wood pile, a fox carrying around a cat in its mouth, and lots and lots of birds. There are reports of bears climbing trees on the main street in town, but I have yet to experience that firsthand. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.

There isn't much else to report! Adam should be arriving tomorrow, so we'll do some camping in the area, and I found out that Chacos are produced just over the mountains in Paonia, so I'm gonna make sure I head over there at some point, probably on my way out of town.

Plans have yet to gel completely for the next few weeks until I reach Berkeley, but there's plenty more to see between here and there.

For now, I leave you with some images from our hikes... more can be found here.

Warm fuzzies

I just redistributed my kiva loan, after my first borrower fully repaid his in full and on time. Helping the world at 8am, that's just the way I roll!

I'm at my aunt and uncle's cabin in Gothic now, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL), where there's no TV, no cell phone reception, and only occasional internet. It's heaven. I really don't know what else to say about it at the moment, except that the drive here was another one of the most beautifully breathtaking drives I've ever been on. Exciting, too, dodging deer on windy mountain roads, oh my! Got my heart pumping just a little bit for a moment there.

As I got close to Crested Butte, the last town on the paved part of the road to Gothic, I started seeing all the trophy homes, ridiculously perched on rolling mountain slopes now practically devoid of trees, all in similar shades of log. I suppose it's all to see and be seen... The town itself is tiny and sweet, though, with a welcoming, shiny metal sculpture of a knight battling a dragon. I'll have to check that out when I go back into town later in the week.

maps 2.0

For June 4-19, Pittsburgh to LA
Total miles driven: 3,215 (according to my odometer)

View Larger Map

For July 26-27, LA to Gothic, CO
Total miles driven: 1,003 (according to Google maps; about 800 of those on day 1)

View Larger Map

Route 160 East

It's been a long day. I got up 4am (Pacific time), and am now finally contemplating sleep at 11:30pm (Mountain time). Ah, the changing nature of road trips. I was supposed to head out of LA last night to have an early start at the Grand Canyon today, but that just didn't happen. So instead, since I'm what some might call more of a morning person than a night owl, I decided to get out of dodge before traffic hit the mean streets of LA. I got to see the sun rise over the hills this morning!

I arrived to the Grand Canyon around midday, but the crowds weren't too bad (although I have no point of reference, they just weren't as bad as I had expected). I came in by the South Rim and got to stop at a few different scenic overlooks... Near Grandview there's a place where you can climb down a bit of a ways as well without the eyesore of guardrails and cement steps, which was pretty sweet. I was nearly ambushed by some pretty aggressive squirrels, much to my horror but all the onlooker's delight. They were persistent little buggers, trying to get my cheese and crackers! My lunch, not yours! I was in the park for a few hours, not including driving time, and I'd like to think I would have spent a bit longer had I had some company... It would have been amazing to have hiked the canyon, but alas, plans fall through sometimes.

To be honest, the parts of the canyon that aren't all hyped up at the eastern end intrigued me a bit more. I think it's because the Grand Canyon is just so ginormous that you almost can't comprehend its proportions. Also, you can't really get up close to most of it, since it's so steep, so massive, etc. Anyway, I look forward to a hiking trip to get into some of the nooks and crannies some day.

The drive today was gorgeous. Route 160, especially, captivated me the entire way. There were a few blissful stretches where I even had the road all to myself in both directions. I got to see an overturned semi engulfed in flames (emergency crews already on the scene when I passed, so no worries), some nice rock formations (you can see lots of cross-bedding in the massive, light colored layer, as well as several fault lines breaking up the sections):

I mistook one of the little artisan stall areas for a scenic outlook once outside the paid park area, so I took advantage of the view anyway, and chatted with the one seller there:

The rest was just awesome, both literally and figuratively. The skies don't get much bigger than out here.


Oh, and I added a few more states today! I went to the four corners monument, which was, to say the least, underwhelming. But my feet were happy to be so omnipresent.


So after almost 800 miles today, just 200 more or so tomorrow and I'll be in lil' 'ol Gothic, wheezing at 9000 feet!

Moving on

Driving on the freeway in LA on my first day back in the States was not the easiest way to make a smooth transition back. But I survived. I even remembered to check my blind spot.

I'm on R&R right now in LA with my cousin. This was my Tuesday:

Rough life, right?

But it's time to move on again. I think by Friday I will hit the road, bound for Gothic, Colorado for a few weeks before coming back west to Berkeley. I'm to hit Vegas, baby, as well as the Grand Canyon and the four corners on the way up over the course of about three days, hopefully avoiding driving during the hottest parts of the day. We'll see how that works out. Until then, I have to get organized, take a pole dancing class, and enjoy my time in sunny LA. Like I said, it's rough out there.

I have glimpsed the future, and it is bright

So today after wandering around a local market for a couple of hours on my own, I realized that I had some extra cash unexpectedly left over. So what else can you do but go back to the tarot card readers that you passed on the way in and have them tell you your fortune? A lady doesn´t usually shuffle and tell, but I´ll spill a few of the beans.

Of the mother-son duo doing readings, I got the middle aged son. After three decks and 20 minutes, I had found out that I will be happy in the near future; I´ll have a job by the end of the year but I won´t like it; I will be expected to cook and/or clean for whoever I´m staying with (Mel and John, is that you?); my next boyfriend will be moreno and will have money (sweet); my old boyfriend and his mother are mad at me (crap); and I should call my mother.

There were a few things that were less run of the mill, however I´m gonna keep those little gems to myself. It was money well spent.

On the road again

Well, my last day in Mexico has arrived. Of course, even though I wasn´t completely psyched about coming here, I now don´t really want to leave. There is so much to do and see in this city, you could come back 100 times and still have more to do (I would guess).

Yesterday I went to Coyoacán to see my friend Jose from GSPIA. We walked around the super old neighborhood a bit, but unfortunately the main plaza was under construction. We went into the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, where there was an exhibit on traditional pottery that has made a comeback due to one guy in one town in Chihuahua, which was pretty sweet. We then went to Frida Kahlo´s house, which had loads of her drawings, doodles, letters, etc. It was incredible; unfortunately, you can´t take photos within the house, so I have no evidence of the drawings that blew me away. Jose also took me down to UNAM, the University, where there is a large, unfinished Diego Rivera mural on the outside of the Olympic stadium. The campus is huge (there are 80,000 students according to Jose), in an hour we barely crossed it. The tuition is apparently 20 centavos per year. That´s right, it is approximately 2 cents per year to attend the national university. That´s why everything there is about a million years old, but hey, I would be OK sitting in rusty one-armed bandits for four years if it cost me the cool sum of 8 cents.


Last night was Florent´s birthday, so we went out to drink copious amounts of tequila, or course. I´ll skip to the end and say that I fell asleep on the couch watching the old version of Lolita with everybody at the hostel.

So tomorrow morning I leave, yay for early morning flights. It´s really easy to forget that to catch an 8am flight, you have to get up around 5am. Ugh.

[Rest of the Guatemala and Mexico photo up here.]

Mexicooooo!

Hello from our southern neighbor (for most readers, anyway)! I´m in Mexico City, arrived Wednesday morning from Guatemala City... Wednesday was mostly spent attemping to recover the energy lost from a 4:30 am wakeup to catch my flight, thus napping, reading, and chatting were the orders of the day. Luckily with all that chatting I met a new travel friend, Flo, a Frenchman here to study for a year but who only arrived a day before I did. He and I and another Frenchman, Charles, spent yesterday in the histoic district where the Palacio Nacional and main Catedral are located. We got to see the biggest Mexican flag that probably exists, flying high in the center of the largest (supposedly) plaza in the world after the one in Moscow, or some such nonsense. Also, after some careful negotiating with the armed guards at the palace, we were let in despite the fact that two of us had no form of ID on us, and we got to see Diego Rivera´s famed mural on the inner staircase, depicting the history of the Mexican people for the past 1000 years or so. Quite impressive, to say the least!

The rest of the day was spent wandering, eating (of course. A brief rundown of the most delicious foods of the day: pastries from Pasteleria Madrid, including some buttery goodness, chocolatey orangey heaven, peanut buttery delight, and nutty sweetness; also, fresh-squeezed juices at Liquidora Canada (I have zero explanation for the second half of the name)). I wish I could post photos right now, as of course I took pictures of the food!

Today I am supposed to meet up with a friend from grad school who lives here, Jose, in the southern part of the city, where I hope to see some museums and visit Frida Kahlo´s house! fun fun fun in the sun sun sun (hopefully).

fotos

Guatemala photos (most) are now up here. Finalmente!

Guatemala II

Time flies! It's already time to say goodbye to Guatemala... I leave for the city tonight, then fly early tomorrow to Mexico City. To be honest, I'm not all that jazzed about it, simply due to fatigue of traveling. I never though I would say it, but I'm ready to go "home"! (However, due to the fact that I don't currently have an actual home, the U.S. will have to do.)

Images from an exhibition on "Desaparecidos" at the Spanish consulate, Antigua.

The past few days here have been made up of wandering aimlessly about the city, taking pictures of the endless quaint buildings, churches, and streetlife. It's a pretty chill city, good for food, people, and a more laid back atmosphere. And of course, there are those travel buddies you meet along the way. I spent the first couple days with Debbie, Joe (Canadian), and Justin (British), until they all had to go their separate ways to various other parts of the country. But no worries, because then I picked up Ben! A hostel neighbor from Berkeley (how fortuitous!), we've been carousing around for the past few days: book exchanges and food in Antigua, the markets in Chichicastenango on Sunday, more food and books.

Yesterday I also went up Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano about and hour and a half drive, then an hour and a half hike, outside of Antigua. A few people succumbed to the lure of the "taxis" (underfed horses) to get up, but I persevered! The hike was well worth it, and as we got to the top, the view opened up to massive, sprawling lava fields, some coming right down into the nearby farmland. We caught our first glimpse of the glowing red stuff, and made our way out into the lava. It was starting to get cold at the top, but I was finally glad to be wearing a skirt (the only alternative being heavy jeans, not fun while hiking in the rain) when some heat vents popped up below us to keep the chill at bay. After poking our wooden walking sticks into some of the closer glowing rocks ("rented" from kids for 1 Quetzal at the bottom), we ventured up to the active flows, where it was too hot to stand for very long. My shins started to get a bit burned as I oh-so-graciously videotaped an Aussie doing his best David Attenborough impression; the video is literally jumpy as I hopped from one foot to the other for 30 seconds. Most people's sneakers gave up the ghost while there, so they were forced to descend with soles flapping.

Franz and I on Volcan Pacaya, uncoordinated in our photo efforts.

Ben and I ventured outside of Antigua yesterday afternoon to stay at an amazing getaway called Earth Lodge, near Jocotenango. It's a small avocado farm (an obvious draw for me) that has dorms, tree houses, and family-style, and all-veggie dinners. It was heaven. I only wish we had more time to spend there! Veggie quiche, tzatziki, veggie pasta salad, garlic bread, and orange canela cake. With plenty more for seconds. Yum. Ironically, though, the avocados won't be harvested until next week. What a tease!

So that wraps up this portion of our hero's adventure. Now on to bigger (probably) and better (possibly) things!