Road Trip - Pics added July 28

Here's a link to my pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/run110hh/OutWest08

Tuesday, July 1 (Winona to Badlands National Park) - It feels so good to be far enough away from civilization as to hear no noise created by man and to be surrounded by nothing but God's creation and the Creator Himself. There truly is no excuse for man not to know God...As I sit on top of the highest peak I can find and look out over the small valley below I hear nothing but the wind and millions of creatures chirping. Everything that has breathe is praising God! I spent a couple minutes reading aloud from a few psalms. It was surreal...I was adding my praise to the praise of the animals and the insects! - - - On another note. For all the talk I've been hearing about people planning to drive less, there were plenty of cars on the highway today and I lost count of how many different state's license plates I saw. People were certainly traveling America's highways.

Wednesday, July 2 (Badlands to Yellowstone via Mt Rushmore) - Let me say first off that drive-up camp sites in national parks are lame. Okay, that's a little harsh, but they're not for me. They're for families with children. It's like putting up a tent in your backyard. It's still camping, but it's just not out in the wilderness. And what's the deal with charging you to get in the park and then charging you to camp?!!! From now on it's backcountry, or national forest camping. Camp site = last resort! Sorry for the negativity. Today was awesome. I left my campsite this morning at 7:30, past through Wall, SD to make a quick stop and then hit the highway. Where to begin and what to include/exclude...? I saw all kinds of weather today; from rain to heavy fog to sunshine and from 42 to 82 degrees (and that was within a 30 mile stretch. Rushmore was cool. It's a ten minute stop, but you have to at least get there once. The best part of the day was probably the long drive on Hwy 16 from Buffalo, WY to Yellowstone. Incredibly beautiful the whole way. The day took much longer than anticipated. Mapquest said only six or seven hours. I traveled for 13 hours all told, including a detour to Rushmore and rest stops along the way. The great thing was that I never got bored. I talked to a few friends on the phone, but other than that I just drove, listened to music, talked to God a little bit and mostly just enjoyed driving the this incredibly beautiful creation. Tomorrow I try to reach Grangeville, ID...

Thursday, July 3 (Yellowstone to Grangeville, ID) - As I sit down to write this it seems today was fairly uneventful. I left my campsite at 7:00 this morning and it took me two hours to get out of the park on the west side. I stopped by Old Faithful on the way out, but didn't have time to wait for it to erupt. On the whole I'd say Yellowstone was nice, but more of a two or three day stay so you can see everything, and more something for families. I definitely prefer backcountry camping and will probably try National Forrest camping next week too. The ride from the west entrance up to Butte, MT was nothing special, and Butte to Missoula was about the same. I will say, though, that going 75 on a little two lane highway through the middle of nowhere is kind of fun. I felt like I was in a video game. The sweet/crazy part of the trip was the ridiculously long drive down Highway 12 from Missoula to a town 30 miles short of my destination. It was wicked steep and winding for over a hundred miles. It was 40 degrees out when I woke up in Yellowstone. 20 miles before my final destination it hit 99! Almost a 60 degree temperature change for me today. I can really feel God's hand on me during this trip. So many little things, but the one that sticks out to me today is when I was cruising down Highway 12 thinking I had to get to Lewiston and then turn onto a different highway to get to Grangeville. I was about 80 miles or so from Lewiston and on a whim I decided to pull over and get out of the car to stretch my back and legs. I decided to check the map to see what was coming up before I had to turn and as it turns out the road that I had past less than 200 meters ago was my turn!!! Not 80 miles later. What a blessing! So, without too much trouble I found Keith's parent's place (where I'm staying tonight) and as it turns out, got there only ten minutes after them. So we had a great dinner prepared by Keith's mom and now we're just chilling on the deck overlooking an incredible valley. Tomorrow I head to Eugene, OR to hopefully see some track and field!

Friday, July 4 (Grangeville, ID) - Well, it's Friday and I'm still in Grangeville...I love not having a set schedule! I was sitting on the deck this morning before breakfast with my bible open and just kind of hanging out with God and I just felt like I was supposed to stay another day and I said nope, I'm going to Eugene. Again, "stay another day". Nope, I'm going. Again... I realized that it's just a track meet and I only have so much time to see my friends here in Idaho. So I'm here and it's good. Woohoo for fourth of July parades and fireworks! We'll see about Eugene tomorrow.

Saturday, July 5 (Grangeville, to Eugene, OR) - Fairly uneventful. Had a nice drive to Eugene, OR (aka: Tracktown, USA). Stopped by a waterfall along the way and hiked up to the top of it. It was cool, but for you Winona and La Crosse people, the view at Granddad's and Sugar Loaf are just as good. Yesterday was really great though. I would have been kicking myself had I not stayed the extra day. I got to go to the parade, play mountain ball and keepaway with the Seattle crew and the entire extended Carpenter clan. What a blast! Plus, most importantly, it was really good to see everyone for another day. Now that I'm in Eugene I'm staying with the family of a guy from church. It was nice just sitting around the table talking tonight. I am stoked to see the last day of the Track & Field Olympic Trials tomorrow!!!!!

Sunday, July 6 (Eugene, OR) - What an AWESOME day!!! I am wiped! Went to a little church that meets in a community center (called River Oaks Community Church). Great time of worship and great message out of Proverbs. Had a great talk with the pastor who has great vision. The girl that did the lead singing had an AMAZING voice. I hate when people say this, but she sings like an angel. I could listen to her all day long. So props to Natalie from Eugene. Then I took off for the Track and Field Olympic Trials final day of competition. When I got there I wasn't finding anyone selling tickets. At the last minute a couple had one for sale in a killer location. 7 rows up near the 40 yard line by the 200 start. The ticket I bought (for $40) was the ticket of the guy's daughter, who got sick this morning. It was a BLAST! Everything I hoped it would be. On to Redwood National Park via Coos Bay, OR (Pre's hometown), Lord willing.

Monday, July 7 (Eugene to Eureka, CA) - Today was kind of a bust. I left the Baumgart's at 8:15 this morning (forgetting to give them back the spare key) and headed towards Redwood Nt'l Park. I hit Coos Bay on the way and that was a let down. Kind of a small dirty town. I hoped to see something about Prefontaine. No dice. Then I cruised on down Hwy 101 into CA driving most of the way through Redwood National Park before I realized that there's no entrance gate like the other parks I've been to, so I pull over at the South-end visitor center to find out that I indeed did drive through most of the park. So I asked them what they thought in terms of a good back country trail and they sent me to this place waaaay out. Almost more remote than I would prefer...almost. I planned to hike in 2-3 miles camp and then head back that way in the morning...well, I was freaking out. There was no one around and I couldn't stop freaking about running into a bear. It was so bad that I even turned around 3 or 4 times and then decided to continue on. After I finally got over my ridiculous fear of the bears (that are rarely ever spotted in the park) I hiked on and searched for a place to set a tent. This trail is so back country that they don't have designated camp sites. The sign just said to camp on gravel areas. Well, I couldn't find any "gravel" areas! Plus I wasn't very impressed with the park. Let me restate that. It was beautiful, but it looked like any hiking area in WI. So around 6:15 I decided to head back out of the park (after 2 hours of roaming around) and head for a camp site that I didn't need to hike to. I drove and drove and every campground was either full or closed. At the moment that I was about to give up and just get a hotel (no Walmart parking lot presented itself) I saw a sign for a KOA in Eureka. So, begrudgingly I paid $27 for a campsite. So far I'm not a big fan of Cali. As a matter of fact I intend to get through this state as quickly as I can. Plus it's all foggy! Sorry for the grumbling. I'm am truly thankful to be on this trip. So, I sit here at a KOA that has internet. How 'bout that internet when you camp. What is the world coming to???

Tuesday and Wednesday, July 8 & 9 (Eureka, to LA) - Oh boy, no time to write tonight and no internet last night. Here's the short of it. Drove a long ways through Cali the last two days. Drove down the very long and winding hwy 1 yesterday and got to and thru San Francisco. Stayed in a State Park south of San Fran. Shot over to the 101 and cruised down to LA. Crazy huge city!!! Drivers not quite as crazy as I expected. Weird feeling having 5 lanes of traffic going each way! Staying with a friend I met in London last summer in Chino Hills. Planning on hanging with another guy from London tomorrow and then heading to San Diego Friday...unless plans change. I'm learning the value of friends after going 3 days without seeing anyone I know. Catch you next time I have the web... :)

Thursday, July 10 (LA) - Fun day. LA is HUGE!!! Even when the traffic is moving quickly it takes forever to get anywhere. We went to Newport beach and it took us over an hour to get home. Granted they are on opposite sides of town, but still... Okay, check this out. They call all their highways "freeways" and if I-90 were in LA they'd call "the 90". Every highway number is preceded by "the" and there are A LOT of highways. Seriously. Take the Twin Cities and multiply by 20. So crashing with my friend Paul and his family last night was fun. I had a great dinner and chatted with Paul and his wife all night. Woke up to a great breakfast and headed over to Pat's place (another guy I met in London last summer). We just drove around all day. Okay, here's a general rundown: In and Out Burger (I was required to go. Double Double, animal style; yum.), the 101, Dodger Stadium, the Pond, sidewalk stars, Hollywood sign, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, Winona Street, Beverly Hills, UCLA, Longbeach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach. Good times! Well, I found out that my friend Michelle, that I thought lives in San Diego, actually lives in L.A. So it's LA again instead of San Diego. We're meeting around lunch time and then I think I get to hang out with her and her kids. Awesome! Not sure where I'm staying tomorrow night, then off to Joshua Tree on Saturday. Peace.

Friday, July 11 (LA to Oceanside, CA) - I had to drive 60 miles from East LA (Chino) to the coast in Torrance. I left Pat's at 8:00 am and had to take freeways all the way there. I was expecting crazy gridlock traffic, but I don't think I was below 60 mph at all. The traffic here really hasn't been as bad as I expected. I got to Torrance and hung out with my friend Michelle (whom I haven't seen in 6 years and now has a family) and her family at their horse ranch along the coast. It was a lot of fun; plus I road a horse for the first time since I was 4. Then I hit the road towards San Diego with absolutely no plan. I drove along the coast for a couple hours and remembered that one of my former athletes lives with her husband in Oceanside (north of San Diego). So I called her up and had dinner with her and Adam and now we're just hanging out. I guess I'm crashing here tonight. I've gotta say...I'm a little homesick. I hate to say this, but I'm considering shortening my trip. That's a tough thing to say when I'm as far from home as I can possibly be, haven't seen the Grand Canyon yet and have a few friends to see yet. The other thing is that I'm finding out that hiking and camping down here in the southwest in the summer might not be the best idea. I guess we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow. I think I'm going to hang out in San Diego tomorrow and then decide from there. We'll see...

Saturday, July 12 (Oceanside to San Diego, CA) - Today was a good day. This is so much fun. I'm thanking God for the rejuvination. I was a total tourist in San Diego today. I checked out the track at UC-SD, stopped by the US Olympic Training Center, toured the USS Midway (formerly the largest aircraft carrier on the planet), walked through the US Marine Corp museum and spent the afternoon on the beach. It was sweet! What a great day. Now I'm at this metropolis of a campground called Campland on the Bay. They have over 600 camp sites and only 40 or 50 are for tents. They've got all kinds of stuff going on here. It's like a city for campers right in San Diego. Plus they have wi-fi. Crazy! Not sure the plans for tomorrow yet. Can't get a hold of Sam to see when he'll be back in Tucson. Thinking either straight to Vegas or Vegas via a dayhike in Joshua Tree. Then maybe Hoover dam and a day at the Grand Canyon on the way to Tucson. Who knows. May the Lord lead me to the places He wants me to be. You'd be surprised how busy you can keep yourself when you're by yourself. I really need to make an effort to spend more time just hanging w/the Father. Peace.

Sunday and Monday, July 13 and 14 (San Diego to Tucson, AZ) - The last twenty-four hours has been interesting, but in simple ways. I never made it to Joshua Tree or Las Vegas. I woke up with this "knowing" that I wasn't supposed to go to Vegas, but didn't know where else to go so I thought I was crazy and decided to head that way anyways. I was delaying Tucson because I hadn't heard from my friend Sam in a few days and didn't know if he'd be back to Tucson yet from his vacation. I got on the highway craving Burger King for breakfast (I've been craving it for a week). Eventually I decided to stop for gas and to refill some essential supplies at a Wal-mart. I asked the lady at Wal-mart if there was a Burger King heading east on I-8 (or 'the 8' as they say in So Cal) and she said no, but there was a Jack in the Box. So I thought I'd try that. As I was getting back in the car at Wal-mart I got a call from Sam and he said he'd be home in 5 hours (ironically I was about 5 hours from Tucson). So my discomfort with Vegas was appeased as I decided to head to Tucson. Then the next exit up the highway I saw the Jack in the Box sign so I pull onto the off-ramp. The second I hit that exit I see a Burger King sign. Now I know all this might seem insignificant or even silly, but it is just the latest examples of God's hand on every aspect of this trip and how I'm learning to feel Him pressing on me when I need to go a certain way or do a certain thing. And then He provided something insignificant that made my day. I got to Tucson and hung out with Sam last night. It was relaxing. However, since I got here early in the afternoon I had decided just to stay for the day and head out in the morning. I just didn't have a peace about it though. Needless to say, as I drifted from sleep to awake this morning I felt that same nudge that I needed to stay another day. I'm glad I did. It's good to hang with my old friend an extra day. So it's Monday around Noon and I'm sitting in a courtyard at the U of Arizona. I'm not really sure what tomorrow will hold. I suppose I'll head towards the Grand Canyon and figure things out from there...

Tuesday, July 15 (Tucson to Las Vegas via the Grand Canyon) – Wow! Talk about living up to the hype. The Grand Canyon is incredible! Absolutely everyone needs to see it at least once in their life in person. Magnificent! Part of me wants to know how God did it; did He just speak it into existence and it hasn’t changed, or was it carved over millions or billions of years? But part of me likes the mystery. I only stopped there for a short time and took some pics from the South Rim Trail, but it was amazing. Now I know I need to go back and give it a couple days. Hike to the bottom one day. Hike halfway up the next and then finish the ascent the last day. And I’d probably do the North Rim instead, since it’s less touristy. So I left Sam’s around eight this morning and left the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon. I got to Vegas around 8:00. Somehow I got the right exit and was driving down “The Strip”. It, too, lives up to the hype. It took me 20 minutes of driving up and down the strip to figure out that you have to go behind each of the hotels to find parking. I pulled in across the street from the Bilagio and parked in the Paris/Ballys ramp. Just for kicks, once I found (or stumbled upon) the front desk at Ballys I asked what a room would cost (expecting to hear at least $175 or $200. $90! Crazy! Then she upgraded me to a suite! So I’m staying on the 15th floor, in this crazy huge suite with a jacuzi, on the stip, in Ballys, across the street from the Bilagio! Talk about feeling out of place! Okay, though. The COOLEST thing in this town is the water shows in front of the Bilagio (like at the end of Ocean’s 11). That alone is worth the trip. Way cool! So, basically I didn’t spend a dime in Vegas (other than my hotel room, which was a steal) and had a blast just walking around checking out this crazy city. Well, I guess that’s it for tonight. It’s past midnight and I want to get going at a decent time in the AM so I can do some hiking once I get to The Arches in Utah tomorrow. Assuming that’s where I end up. Lovin’ it!

Wednesday, July 16 (Las Vegas to Arches National Park/Moab, UT) – Got out of Vegas around nine this morning. Had a nice drive to Arches National Park. Lots of lighting and thunder storms in the distance the last two hours of the drive. They don’t really do backcountry camping there and the regular camp sites were full so the park ranger recommended this campground in a wilderness area outside Moab. So that’s where I am now and I think it’s better than anything else I could have expected. I’m sitting on the side of a cliff about 30 feet over the trail while I type this. Awesome! Before I came to the campsite I figured I’d better drive the 36 mile (round trip) road through Arches NP. Wow!!! I think I found where the Ark of the Covenant is located. It’s gotta be in Arches NP. How obvious can God make his presence known? For those that don’t follow the analogy, the Ark was put in the most holy place in the Jewish temple and it represented the presence of God; it was where God dwelled on Earth. There was this one point as the sun was beginning to set that it shown on the side of this huge vertical mountain face and a rainbow hung above it. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt God’s presence in such a physical way before. It was incredible! How great is our God! I wish you could be sitting here with me now as I lean up against this rock looking at another huge rock face 50 feet away listening to nothing but the bugs, an owl, and the noise of my keyboard. Mmmmm. It is good.

Thursday, July 17 (Moab to Estes Park, CO) - It’s good to be back in CO. The air is a little fresher, the mountains are a little bigger. The rest of the country is beautiful, but there’s just something about the CO Rockies. I let the sun wake me up this morning, took a few minutes to enjoy creation up on a rock 80 feet above the campsites and headed out for Estes. Someday I will paddle the Colorado River between I-70 and Moab. What a gorgeous drive! It's like a mini Grand Canyon for 20 or 30 miles. It was awesome enough in a car with a roof. I can't imagine the beauty if I were paddling down the middle of it with nothing above me but the sky and red mountain cliffs. I passed 5500 miles on my trip today so I should be over 6500 by the time I get back to Winona. Also, I'm kind of getting the bug to learn how to rock climb (both free-climbing and with ropes) and fly fish. I know, fly fishing? It just looks relaxing watching the old guys fishing in the whitewater streams along the highway. And after being in Moab, rock climbing is really climbing my list of things to get good at. I think my hesitation is that I'm not a big fan of doing things that can cause serious injury. Death I'm not afraid of, but permanent injury/disability would suck. I can't tell you how psyched I am to spend the next four days in Estes. Some hiking in Rocky Mt Park, tubing down the river, seeing some friends, and spending lots of good hang out time with my sister and brother-in-law and his family...and NO driving until Tuesday!

Friday, July 18 (Estes Park, CO) - Just a chill day in Estes with Abby and Phil. Slept in. Took a sweet hike in RMNP with Abs and went to the house they're building while Phil and his little bro were framing the main floor.

Saturday, July 19 (Estes Park, CO) - Tried something new today; whitewater tubing my sister calls it. Cold rocky mountain stream running through Estes Park with lots of small rapids. Good times. Had a great time hanging out with a bunch of Abby and Phil's friends (most of whom I've met several times now) tonight for dinner and conversation. It's been a great end to my trip here in Estes. It's good to just hang out and not be driving or have an agenda. I'm no carpenter, but I'm going to try to help Phil up at the house tomorrow. He's got to finish up some things so they'll be ready to put up the trusses on Monday. Should be interesting. Hangin' out with some friends Kyle and I met last year on Monday and then heading for home bright and early Tuesday.

Sunday, July 20 (Estes Park, CO) - Interesting day today. Went to Rocky Mt Church this morning. Small little Free Church in Estes. It's interesting going to other churches of the same denomination I go to and seeing how they do things. Then I spent the rest of the day helping my brother-in-law build their house. I think it was like nine hours or something. Boy do I have a new appreciation for carpenters. It was fun working with Phil and I learned a lot about home building, but wow, I'm going to be sore tomorrow! Pretty sure I won't be able to move my shoulders. Let's just say we went through a LOT of nails and staples. I feel like there's more to say, but I'm just so tired nothing's processing...I'm excited to see the Deardons tomorrow and get out into RMNP.

Monday, July 21 (Estes Park, CO) - Went for a 10 mile hike today. Life is good! Some friends that Kyle Reschke and I met last summer when we climbed Long's Peak got to town today to do some backpacking. Since I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning I wasn't able to camp with them tonight so I hiked to their campsite with them and then hiked back out. It was great to see them again, and great to catch up on life and just enjoy the hike together. About half way to the site we got a great view of the peak that we all climbed together last year. It was fun seeing it from a distance with the friends that stood on top of it with me almost a year ago. Wow, my trip is, for all practical purposes...over :( Iknow, I have a thousand miles yet to drive tomorrow, but it's just the homestretch and I've driven it many times. After tonight, Lord willing, the next bed I sleep in will be my own. Boy, a week ago (the day before San Diego) I sure didn't think I'd be wishing this trip could continue...I hope I've enjoyed it for all it was worth and didn't waste any of the time that God has given me these past three weeks. It's been a lot of fun and I think I had some great, once in a lifetime, experiences. I'm so grateful for all the friends that took me in for a night or two, fed me and shared in my journey. And I'm grateful for all my friends back home who've kept in touch with me, in one way or another on this trip. It was a great time of learning to appreciate my friends, both at home and those along the way as well as time to appreciate being alone, and alone with my creator; enjoying Him and everything He created. I hope to be on the road by 6:00am Mountain Time, so if you're bored tomorrow don't hesitate to give me a call and keep me company; especially during the monotonous drive through the cornhusker state. ;)

Tuesday, July 22 (Estes Park to Home) - Aaaaand I'm home...