#around the us

[scottbcrowley2]

Around the US, rosy economic averages bypass many Americans - Sun, 12 Jun 2016 PST

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) – Dozens of FedEx jets queue up for takeoff at the airport here. Beale Street, the heart of the music district, hums with tourists. Yet the empty ... Around the US, rosy economic averages bypass many Americans - Sun, 12 Jun 2016 PST

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christmas in phoenix

This past Christmas, we escaped the cold, wet weather of Seattle and visited Phoenix.

When I was imagining Phoenix in winter, I was thinking warm and sunny (short and sandal kind of deal). It was sunny alright, but it was still really cold! 

During our time there, we ate a lot of food! Chris’ dad is a great chef and make so much delicious food. 

We also visited Pueblo Grande Ruin and the Papago Park.

Pueblo Grande Ruin 

The Pueblo Grande Ruin is a 1,500 year old archaeological site left by the Hohokam culture. It was interesting to walk around and imagine how people cultivated crops, gathered for sporting events, made things out of materials found around their land.

Papago Park

The Pagago Park is a 1500 acres desert park covering part of Phoenix and Tempe. We walked around and also climbed into the famous Hole in the Rock. An interesting fact about the Hole in the Rock is that the Hohokam (those people who lived in the Pueblo Grande Ruin, see above) used the openings and sunlight to track the solstices.

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yellowstone & grand teton national parks

This year, our focus is visiting national parks.  So, earlier this year, we visited Yosemite and recently, we went on a road trip to Yellowstone & Grand Teton.

We spent three nights & four days in Yellowstone and two nights & two days in Grand Tetons.

Here are some highlights:

road to yellowstone:

We woke up early and set out. It was an easy drive as we just drove on I-90 east from Seattle to Bozeman,ID. We stayed in Bozeman for the night and continued driving to Yellowstone.

It was drizzling, when we started, but it the weather and the scenery improved!

yellowstone national park

We enter the park through the North Entrance and checked out the Mammoth Hotspring before going to Norris Geyser Basin and checking out the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. That is pretty cool!

We then drove to our home base at Canyon Village and set up our tent and relaxed for the evening.

The next day, we drove through the Lamar Valley and saw lots of bison. I also saw some deers and a prong-horns (though I wasn’t able to grab my phone to snap a picture of them).

We also hiked up Mt Washburn. The route up was so pretty! There are so many wildflowers and the view is incredible. We were promised a 360view of far and wide. Though as we got closer to the top, the clouds rolled in...and the wind picked up. It was super cold and windy..and the view was ...grey.

We didn’t stay long at the top and headed down before the rain. Instead of raining, it snowed on the way down...Yes, snow in July! (It was really light though :))

The day after, we checked out the Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring and some other geysers (there were so many and I only remembered the cool ones).

I watched Old Faithful blasted off three times. It was amazing. It is like the fountain at the Bellagio, but  way better since it is natural!

The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in the US and third largest in the world....but I am sure it has the prettiest colors!

The next day, we headed toward Lake Village, drove around Yellowstone Lake.

After a beautiful drive, we checked into the historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel and went on a hotel tour hosted by the park ranger. I learned some interesting facts about the hotel and it was great to see how people traveled to Yellowstone back in the days! 

The best part of the hotel for me is a nice shower, a comfy bed, and a nice view with an amazing sunset....and of course a cute bear soap!

grand teton national park:

The next day, we headed south to Grand Teton National Park. Left Yellowstone really early, hoping to find a campsite at Jenny Lake. (We heard that it was very popular and the campsites would be full by 9am).

When we reached the North Entrance we saw that the campsite at Jenny Lake was full. We decided to stopped by Mt. Signal campsite. I am so glad we did this because it is just a few minutes walk to Lake Jackson and has a wonderful view of the Teton Range! Our particular site (site 83 ) is a little back from the road and just a few minutes walk to Lake Jackson. From Lake Jackson, we had a nice view of the Teton range...and it was so quiet! We only see a few people and feel like it is our own private beach. When I go back to visit Grand Teton, I am definitely staying at this campsite! (Maybe I shouldn’t write about this  campsite as it might get popular and I won’t find a site next time....:/)

(The above picture was taken by Chris.)

After setting up camp, we drove down to Jenny Lake and hiked to the Hidden Fall. (It was a nice hike, but I am not impressed as I already saw Yosemite Falls and Yellowstone Falls.) The best part was the ferry back!

(The above picture was taken by Chris.)

The next day, we hiked to Bradley and Taggart Lakes. It was a nice loop and the lakes were so calm and quiet.

After the hike, we checked out Menors Ferry Historic District. It was interesting to hear the park ranger talked about Will Menor’s life, his demeanor and his ferry business.  At the end of the talk, we got to ride a replica of Menor’s Ferry across the Snake River (operated by the park ranger, not Will Menor’s ghost).

Overall, it was an amazing trip and we loved Grand Teton National Park more than Yellowstone. It was overall a quieter, relaxing place. We definitely will be back!

[muchbetter-madi]

A road trip I designed that will take you around the continental United States in ~37 days, starting and ending in Fredericksburg, VA. Really, you can make any city in a coastal or bordering state your starting/ending point - doesn’t work so well for most landlocked states.

This trip includes camping in free campsites (mostly out west) as well as in hostels, motels, and a few hotels (in prime spots) in order to keep costs low. Lodging marked “(reserve)” indicates the place will fill up fast, and/or lower rates are guaranteed with advanced reservation.

Because this was designed as a personal trip, I included stops to visit family; they are clearly marked “Family” in the Lodging category. These stops can easily be taken out of the route if you are following along. Also, I spend 2 days at some major landmarks (i.e., Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, San Francisco) to make sure I see enough of them; if you’re looking to make the trip quicker, simply cut these visits down to 1 day.

With estimated car rental ($1160 from Avis with USAA discount), tolls ($70), gas ($750.25), lodging ($1600), admission to attractions ($140), food ($1082), and spending money ($360), the total amount to complete this trip would be ~$5,200 for one person to do this on their own. Definitely not something I could do on a whim- this will probably be a post-student-loans trip!

It’s always best to have a travel buddy with whom you can split car rental, tolls, gas, lodging, and most entrance fees to national park attractions. Also, SAFETY!!!

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gaylor lakes trail, tuolumne meadows & tenaya lake

On our second day at Yosemite, we hiked the Gaylor Lakes Trail, frolicked through the Tuolumne Meadows and relaxed at Tenaya Lake.

After eating breakfast, we drove to the Gaylor Lakes Trail head. The view at the trail head was already so beautiful!

At the beginning of the trail, there were patches of snow.The climb up was a little steep, but it was very pretty.I was wary of slipping on the snow and was being very cautious with each step. Near the top, most of the ground was white- similar to the clouds! It was really peaceful at the top since there are only four of us (the snow on the way up must have deterred a lot of people!).We did have a view of the lake, but it was still frozen.

After we descended, we ate lunch and headed toward the Tuolumne Meadows. The hike through the Tuolumne Meadows was really relaxing.

We also found the Soda Springs, where carbonated mineral oozes from the earth. The deers love it as we saw a bunch hanging out there.

Photo Credit: Chris Chan

Photo Credit: Chris Chan

After frolicking through the meadows, we headed to Tenaya Lake. We were very surprised that it wasn’t crowded! We spent most of the time sitting in the warm sun, with our feet in the cool and refreshing water.

After Tenaya Lake, we drove back to our campsite and took the shuttle to the Yosemite Fall. By then, I was really thirsty and had to drink from the Fall ;D.

Photo Credit: Chris Chan

After checking out the Fall, we headed to a fancy dinner, filled with booze to celebrate our last night at Yosemite.

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taft point & sentinel dome

This past Memorial Day Weekend, we were in California.On Saturday and Sunday, we met up with Chris’ family in San Francisco.Early Monday morning, Chris’ friend picked us up at 5:15am to begin the road trip to Yosemite. I slept through most of the car ride and only woke up to catch the sunrise.

After checking in to our campsite, we headed to our first hiking destination: Taft Point.It was a very short( 2.2 miles round trip) and scenic hike. Once near the top, we checked out the fissure points before heading to Taft Point.

From Taft Point, the view was amazing! It was a clear day and can see El Captain, Yosemite Valley, and Yosemite Fall. It was also when I realized that I have a slight fear of height. One slip and it would be a long way down....3,800ft that is!

After spending time taking in the view, we headed back toward the parking lot to head toward Sentinel Dome. Along the trail back, we noticed that there was a trail (2 miles) that would lead us to Sentinel Dome without back tracking all the way to the parking lot. It was a good idea because we spotted snow plant along the way.

(I didn’t know it was called snow plant until I found this video. Snow= red?). Along the way, we have the view of Half Dome and Yosemite Fall.

Almost there...

The top of the dome offered 360degree view of the whole park.

There was also a dead tree there. I didn’t think too much of it as I was taking picture of Half Dome and the waterfall. Apparently the dead tree was a Jeffrey Pine that became famous after Ansel Adams photographed it in 1940.

Luckily Chris captured it!

Photo Credit: Chris Chan

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red rock canyon

This past weekend, I took a trip to Vegas. I am not fond of the main strip since there are so many gambling establishments with indoor smoking. I don’t gamble and I don’t like second hand smoking. The only silver lining about the casinos is the flower displays! The best part of the trip was visiting Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock Canyon is about 30 minutes drive from the strip and really worth a side trip. I highly recommend that you check it out the next time you are in Sin City. It was great to breath fresh air (much needed after checking out few casinos), hike around under the blue sky, and enjoying a 13-mile scenic drive.