The Oregon Trail...

Another goofy face... this time from the middle of Wyoming near the historic Oregon Trail. Check out the quick video.

In the last several days I have traveled quite far and been to a lot of different places. Currently, I am in Seattle, WA but in a matter of minutes I will be rolling out for a few days of camping in or near the Olympic National Park. I have been to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Rocky Mountain National Parks in the past few weeks. Lots of snow. I have done more than my fair share of hiking, biking, and camping, but I am headed out into the wilderness for a few more days. I have seen tons of wildlife, some amazing landscapes, and lots of good, dry starry nights. I even saw a bear and a fancy lady walking her Persian cat in the middle of the Grand Tetons! More videos to come. What have you been up to?

Rocky Mountain National Park

Hello all!

I just returned to civilization from a quick little camping trip up in the Rocky Mountains. I stayed at a small campsite in Rocky Mountain National Park that was perched up at about 10,000 ft. above sea level. On the first morning I woke up pretty early to get a good start on the hike. I climbed up 4000' vertically and about 4 miles into the mountains to reach my destination- Chasm Lake. This alpine lake was entirely frozen over and at the lake the weather was pretty brutal. The lake is well above the timberline and I spent much of the hike on alpine tundra- a treeless, rocky, and frigid landscape. Though life is hard in this harsh climate, wildlife can be seen everywhere. Marmots, chipmunks, mice, elk, ptamargins, hawks, wildflowers, and numerous shrubby plants and lichens make up a very unique and bio-diverse community. Even under such difficult conditions, nature has found a way to adapt and survive.

(I can't help it but the videos always show me with a terrible look on my face... jeez!)

As snowy as it was in Colorado, I'm a little worried aobut how much snow there will be in Yellowstone and also in Washington. Given the conditions here I am sure that I will find some areas with a tremendous amount of snow on the ground while high up in Rocky Mountains.
I am planning on going to a Colorado Rockies game tonite, but I am uncertain if I will make it. They play the Seattle Mariners, and I don't know too much about either team. The great part is the tickets only cost six bucks to sit in the outfield and we can take the bus all the way to the game from Boulder which is probably about 25 miles away.
This weekend I will be out camping with my Colorado friends at some place called the Ironclads about half and hour north of Boulder. Take care!

Quick visit to Florida...

I just returned from a quick visit to Florida for my stepsister's high school graduation and to catch-up with friends and family. It was nice and I really enjoyed being back in my hometown. The weather was absolutely great. The thing I enjoyed the most was hitting the beach with some old friends- just laying out in the nice Florida sun without a care in the world. I really needed some sun and some heat! I also did a little hiking, biking, and kayaking on the Juniper Creek just north of Milton. Very serene day out there, but the mosquitoes were atrocious due to the recent flooding.

I flew back to Boulder, Colorado and have been staying with my friend again. Today I am heading out into the Rocky Mountain National Park just a few miles north of the city. I will be camping out in the mountains for two nights, then I return to Boulder. I hope to get some good mountain footage to make a little video. The weather looks pretty crappy though... the rain has been hounding me everywhere I go.

We are all going to hit the town on Friday night and then on Saturday a group of us are going camping a little bit closer to Boulder, but still in the mountains. On Monday, after the camping trip, I plan to drive up to Yellowstone and plan to spend some time there before heading further west to Boise, Idaho.

I am starting to get a pretty good itinerary worked out for the remainder of the trip. I plan to spend the Fourth of July in San Francisco watching the fireworks over the Golden Gate Bridge and I plan on being in Pensacola by August 1st. I am very close to purchasing my one way ticket to India.

Here is a rough itenirary... Boulder>Yellowstone>Boise, ID>Bend, OR>Yakima, WA>Seattle, WA> Monterrey, CA>Yosemite>Los Angeles, CA>Las Vegas, NV>Lake Tahoe>Taos, NM>Houston, TX>Pensacola.

I hope everyone is doing well at home? Anybody want to join me on the road at some of these places? I'm flexible- so hit me up with your ideas, please!!!