We’re about halfway through the final leg of the journey, only a few hundred miles of road left on this incredible adventure. Though we’ve hit many snags and set backs in writing and updating this year, we sincerely hope what little content we did manage to get out was at the very least entertaining, maybe even a little informative. Thank you all for taking a few minutes of your day to follow along, no matter if it was once, twice, or every day. We hope you’ve enjoyed our offerings of travel and photo, but above all, we hope you feel a little inspired. Go explore, you’re losing daylight.

1PM Mountain:

Cutting through Southern Colorado on the second to last leg of the journey, we head for Kansas and it’s western border. Like the rest of the central plains states, the land is terrifically flat, and foliage limited to about six inches off the ground. A gentle swoop in the earth passes back and forth across the countryside, a constant uninterrupted line of telephone poles hug the road on either side. The grass transitions from a dry yellow to a mild green as farms appear on the horizon, patches of cattle splattered across the prairie. The sky is streaked with with massive hazy clouds, just enough to make it look as though someone had tried to smudge out the blue, but wasn’t very accomplished in the task. Only eight more hours to Kansas City. More updates to come. 

12PM Pacific:

The journey back east is in full swing as we barrel down interstate 40 on our way to Santa Fe. After stopping back at the ancient pueblo of Tuzigoot, we struck out towards the Meteor Crater just east of Flagstaff. Over a mile around and 50,000 years old, the crater of impact shocked sandstone is hidden from view by the massive uplifted ring around it, only revealing itself once you’re right on top of the ledge. The impact threw over one hundred and seventy five million tons of material into the air, annihilating everything around it for miles, and peppering the area with spheroids, small sand sized orbs of asteroid and precious metal. Anyhow, continuing east the red rock has been replaced by immense flat plains of orange-ish sand and dusty tan shrubs. Strips of green break up the horizon, evidence of what little water remains underground in these barren craggy lands. The roads are flat and straight, the sky is clear and blue, and the only thing that could make this leg of the journey more American is some manner of muscle car, and maybe a bald eagle in the back seat. 
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 30: 5PM Mountain →

12PM Pacific:

On our way into Sedona, the day ahead is to be spent entirely out in Red Rock country. Though I’ve been told Sedona is the center of the universe and cosmic healing, so I’m sure at some point we’ll go explore a cult as well. The temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees, to a nice cool ninety, and saguaro cacti grow in forests thousands strong. The area is beginning to turn lush again as we head north in the direction of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, forests of real trees line the roads from time to time, a truly welcome sight. However, beneath these trees lies no dirt, but rather a sand of deep reddish orange. The sidewalks are paved almost pink, making the most of the red rock surroundings, and the horizon is lined with gargantuan formations of the same reddish hue. Much like the red canyons of Utah, except much more spread out, and covered in forests. 
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 29: 3PM Pacific  →

12PM Pacific:

On our way into Sedona, the day ahead is to be spent entirely out in Red Rock country. Though I’ve been told Sedona is the center of the universe and cosmic healing, so I’m sure at some point we’ll go explore a cult as well. The temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees, to a nice cool ninety, and saguaro cacti grow in forests thousands strong. The area is beginning to turn lush again as we head north in the direction of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, forests of real trees line the roads from time to time, a truly welcome sight. However, beneath these trees lies no dirt, but rather a sand of deep reddish orange. The sidewalks are paved almost pink, making the most of the red rock surroundings, and the horizon is lined with gargantuan formations of the same reddish hue. Much like the red canyons of Utah, except much more spread out, and covered in forests. 
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 29: 12PM Pacific  →

8AM Pacific:

After a night beneath the stars in Joshua Tree, we’re finally headed back east on the final leg of the journey. The haze is still here, and as bad as ever, incase you were wondering. We can’t see more than a mile in any direction, which is really pretty annoying, especially when you’re surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery in the country, but no matter. Our morning hike through the cactus gardens was rudely interrupted by literally a couple hundred bees, swarming the car in an attempt to drink our condensation from the AC. Our trip to the Cottonwood Oasis was likewise shared with a mountain of bees, which seem to be basically everywhere in the desert. They may be struggling everywhere else, but I assure you, they’re doing just fine here. Never in my life have I been berated by so many bees, literally landing all over you in a thirsty frenzy. We should hit Phoenix in about three hours time, hopefully they don’t have bees in Phoenix. We’ve had our fair share. 

6AM Pacific:

We’re just now leaving Vegas, after three days of actual vacation we somehow managed to squeeze into our trip. It’s already closing on a hundred degrees, the temperature never drops too far below it. The haze from the Californian forest fires is dying down, and the mountains have finally made themselves apparent on the horizon. It promises to be a long day as we head towards Monterey, normally not a terrible drive, except we’re going through Yosemite on our journey west. More updates to come.
Continue reading Travel Updates Day 25: 6PM Pacific →

2PM Pacific:

Only have a few minutes to write, found a single square foot of service in Death Valley. It’s hot. It’s so incredibly hot. Temperatures up to 130? Definitely. It’s like living in a blow drier. More updates to come.

Side update: Now 100 feet below sea level. It’s 115

10AM Mountain:

Unfortunately a lack of cell service still plagues us. Travel updates are only possible in the mornings and evenings now, as the entirety of the afternoons are spent in the canyons. That being said, we’re on our way to the Zion Narrows, with plans to hike three hours up the Virgin River to Wall Street, a famous canyon junction. Thankfully we’ve come on a day with cloud cover, it’s only supposed to reach about ninety degrees, bearable when compared to the blazing high desert. More updates to come.

11AM Mountain: 

The sun is out and the heat is real as we start out on our journey into the canyons of Southern Utah. The long awaited stretch of National Parks is finally upon us. In the next few days we’ll see the Arches, Dixie Forest, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Staircase, Monument Valley, and the North Rim. Backcountry camping will be a true testament to our aptitude for the desert, already we’ve seen warnings for rattlesnakes and scorpions, and those were in public. As we pass through the mountains separating the Great Basin from the canyons, green starts to appear once again. Lush valleys and grassy slopes line the highway, even wind turbines spin dot the land, spinning lazily in the morning breeze. Hints of the red sandstone crop up every so often, a streak or two running down the side of a mountain, or hidden beneath the trees. Not long now until we’re exploring the last new biome we have left to see in the continental states. More updates to come.

Continue reading Travel Updates Day 15: 3PM Mountain →