Bucket List #19n

The 19th item on my Bucket List is to visit certain national parks.  And yes, there are many sub-sets to this item on the list.

#19n. Camp in or visit Zion National Park, Utah.

Erik and I camped in Zion National Park (for the second time) during Spring Break of 2010.  We relaxed and went on some easy hikes and even had some misadventures (note: do not buy wet fire wood, it leads to crabbiness).

Ahh! Don't let go!

Near our campsite

Misadventures with the infamous wet fire wood

Got to try out the new tent

Throwing rocks into the river, always a good time.

In May of 2011, we went to Zion National Park again to go hiking with our friends Jamey and Kim.  We didn't camp at Zion, but we hiked Angel's Landing (a first for Erik).

Walter's Wiggles

At the top of Angel's Landing

Road Trip: Part 3

On the return trip from Minnesota to Nevada, we decided to play the license plate game. First, Erik sang the "States Song" so I could make the list of all 50 states. Then we began crossing off states as we saw the corresponding license plates. When you've got three days of driving to do, one needs something to keep entertained and awake.

By the end of the trip, we had crossed off 36 of the 50 states! The biggest excitement of this game was when we saw two (that's right, two!) Alaska license plates. Erik only wanted to count the conterminous 48 states, but I had a feeling we'd see a Hawaii plate (there are lots of Hawaiians in Las Vegas). In the end, I was wrong, but I'm glad we counted all 50 because we saw Alaska!

What did we miss, you ask? Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio (we saw 2 Ohio plates the day after we got back in Las Vegas...), North Carolina, Rhode Island (we basically had no hope for this one), South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Photo: childrensfurniture.guidestobuy.com

Road Trip: Part 2

"To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change."
~Charles Horton Cooley

Road Trip: Part 1

It's summer and after a long semester followed by field work and lab work, it was time for a break. So for roughly two weeks, Erik and I are going to enjoy some time back in our lovely state of Minnesota. Also, we decided to drive instead of fly. Here is a sampling of what we saw along our way.


Not so long after leaving Nevada, we passed through the breathtakingly awesome Virgin River Gorge, Arizona. And as two geologists, it was difficult to keep our eyes on the road and away from the amazing rock faces.


Going through Utah we were amazed by the landscapes.


We spent a lot of time in Colorado, but who could blame us with scenery like this? This particular shot was taken somewhere between Gunnison and Denver.


There's not a whole lot to see in Nebraska as far as the landscape goes, which is why we were intrigued by this Gateway.


And then there's Iowa, which most people would call extremely boring. However, the stretch from Omaha to Des Moines is actually quite nice. And there are wind farms! I love wind farms. They make me very happy.

And finally, after three long days of sitting in a car, we made it to Minnesota.