I've finally finished my current adventures... and by that I mean, I am safely back in Oregon and currently hanging out with the family. It's really good to be back, but I also really have no idea what's next. But anyways... backtracking now, the last week was spent crossing the country, but this time heading west again. I started after Arkansas with a brief stay in an Oklahoma hotel and then a 16 hour drive across texas to southern Arizona. The above picture is of what most of my drive across Texas looked like. I lost a lot of interest in the drive once I hit Bush's hometown. But it was well worth it to arrive at my friend Dash's in Tucson.
My first two days in Tucson, the temperature reached up into the 80s... way too far from the snow I have been envisioning for months now. I had to unpack half my car to find summer clothes again. I got to sleep most of this day which was wonderful. I needed to catch up after a 16 hour drive. Once I finally woke up and regained consciousness I explored Tucson a bit. The city itself is really unappealing to me, but the surroundings and the environment are phenomenal. The below picture is the view from Dash's front door. The city is surrounded by mountains and sandwiched between two sides of Saguaro National Park. It was really awesome to see all of the cacti and the desert environment.
We took a drive up to the top of Mount Lemon, which overlooks the city of Tucson and the surrounding valleys. There is a ski-resort on top of this mountain, which is over 5,000 feet tall, but there was only like a four foot square patch of snow. It is currently unclear why anyone would think to build a ski resort there, but I am not the best source of an opinion on the issue. The view was incredibly beautiful and it was an absolutely perfect day, only in the 60's thankfully.
I had to take the below picture in the spirit of my Bryce canyon adventures. In the below shot you can see both hoodoos and a natural arch. The only difference is that this mountain is made out of granite.
I can't fully explain my enthusiasm over being around real mountains again. This was definitely the redeeming part of Arizona and I have to say it is an all around phenomenally beautiful state. If it weren't for the excessive heat and lack of discernable seasons, I would love to live in the state.
After our excursion to Mount Lemon, we did a quick drive through of Saguaro National Park East. This was my first real glimpse of cacti. They were prominent throughout Tucson, but were divided by houses and buildings and wrapped in light of lamp posts and lots of christmas lights too. I had no idea how many different types of cacti there were as well. It was truly phenomenal to see.
In case you haven't already realized from reading my blog, I love national parks. To me, they are very much my playground in the sense that I feel most like an overly excited rambunctios kid when exploring the outdoors and especially our national parks. It was kind of a stormy afternoon, but it made for very interesting and vibrant displays of desert fauna.
Another night that I was in Tucson, I got to meet up with Eddie Ryan, the oldest of the Ryan clan. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet his youngest Conor who was a total kick. Ed and I talked politics, I learned about trains and got to hear some great new music. There was definitely a lot of laughing though. It was really wonderful to hang out with Ed.
The next day, I drug Dash to Saguaro National Park West which was overflowing with cacti but especially a forest of, not surprisingly, Saguaros. We stopped while driving through the mountains to get a great view of the area. After a brief drive by of the western movie-set town, we headed into the park. I was blown away by the area and by the forest that unfolded around us. We did a short hike to a valley overlook, through the cacti. I was definitely in love.
After the park, we went out to dinner. One of the most phenomenal aspects of Tucson were the incredibly amazing sunsets that they had, every single night. I did get to see the sunrise the day I left, but it didn't even come close to the amazing sunsets.
After leaving Tucson at 6:30 in the morning, I headed north to Flagstaff to meet up with my old friend Reis. We met my freshman year of high school in north eastern Oregon. I left at the end of that year. It was so great to see him and I am totally stoked for how awesome of a person he has become and the adventures that await him. It was a really great visit and I'm so glad I got to make the trip. Unfortunately I still had 12 hours to go to make it to Reno for the night.
About an hour outside of Flagstaff, I pulled off the highway on a little side road to take a nap. Unfortunately in my far too well versed tradition, I left my lights on while I rested and of course the battery on my car died. This culminated in me having to stand on the side of the interstate trying to flag a car down to help me which this wonderful family finally did stop. I am soooo grateful to them as it would have taken way too long to wait for roadside assistance and I still had 11 hours to go.... OY!
I hit snow about 20 miles from Reno, but I ignored all suggested requirements of chains. The blizzard I was driving through was exhausting and after heating up some soup, I crashed quickly at my hotel. The next day consisted of crossing five different mountain passes, two covered in snow. The picture above is of a good portion of the road crossing the Sierras. I had to put my chains on once per requirements of the California Department of Transportation. I soon realized this was rediculous and ignored all other requirements in the future. I made it over this pass to be swamped by rain in northern california. Then more snow, then more rain, and after 10.5 hours I finally pulled up to my mom's house in rainy coastal weather. She greeted me with some of my favorite home made soup and a very-much anticipated hug. I have really missed her over the last five months. It's nice to be back in Oregon, with my mom, brother and Kaleigh. It's nice not to have sales tax, and it's so nice not to have to pump gas again. Every time I leave, I forget how much I love coming back to Oregon. I most definitely love my state! Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for following me around the country. I can't even fathom what's next!
I've finally finished my current adventures... and by that I mean, I am safely back in Oregon and currently hanging out with the family. It's really good to be back, but I also really have no idea what's next. But anyways... backtracking now, the last week was spent crossing the country, but this time heading west again. I started after Arkansas with a brief stay in an Oklahoma hotel and then a 16 hour drive across texas to southern Arizona. The above picture is of what most of my drive across Texas looked like. I lost a lot of interest in the drive once I hit Bush's hometown. But it was well worth it to arrive at my friend Dash's in Tucson.
My first two days in Tucson, the temperature reached up into the 80s... way too far from the snow I have been envisioning for months now. I had to unpack half my car to find summer clothes again. I got to sleep most of this day which was wonderful. I needed to catch up after a 16 hour drive. Once I finally woke up and regained consciousness I explored Tucson a bit. The city itself is really unappealing to me, but the surroundings and the environment are phenomenal. The below picture is the view from Dash's front door. The city is surrounded by mountains and sandwiched between two sides of Saguaro National Park. It was really awesome to see all of the cacti and the desert environment.
We took a drive up to the top of Mount Lemon, which overlooks the city of Tucson and the surrounding valleys. There is a ski-resort on top of this mountain, which is over 5,000 feet tall, but there was only like a four foot square patch of snow. It is currently unclear why anyone would think to build a ski resort there, but I am not the best source of an opinion on the issue. The view was incredibly beautiful and it was an absolutely perfect day, only in the 60's thankfully.
I had to take the below picture in the spirit of my Bryce canyon adventures. In the below shot you can see both hoodoos and a natural arch. The only difference is that this mountain is made out of granite.
I can't fully explain my enthusiasm over being around real mountains again. This was definitely the redeeming part of Arizona and I have to say it is an all around phenomenally beautiful state. If it weren't for the excessive heat and lack of discernable seasons, I would love to live in the state.
After our excursion to Mount Lemon, we did a quick drive through of Saguaro National Park East. This was my first real glimpse of cacti. They were prominent throughout Tucson, but were divided by houses and buildings and wrapped in light of lamp posts and lots of christmas lights too. I had no idea how many different types of cacti there were as well. It was truly phenomenal to see.
In case you haven't already realized from reading my blog, I love national parks. To me, they are very much my playground in the sense that I feel most like an overly excited rambunctios kid when exploring the outdoors and especially our national parks. It was kind of a stormy afternoon, but it made for very interesting and vibrant displays of desert fauna. 
Another night that I was in Tucson, I got to meet up with Eddie Ryan, the oldest of the Ryan clan. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet his youngest Conor who was a total kick. Ed and I talked politics, I learned about trains and got to hear some great new music. There was definitely a lot of laughing though. It was really wonderful to hang out with Ed. 
The next day, I drug Dash to Saguaro National Park West which was overflowing with cacti but especially a forest of, not surprisingly, Saguaros. We stopped while driving through the mountains to get a great view of the area. After a brief drive by of the western movie-set town, we headed into the park. I was blown away by the area and by the forest that unfolded around us. We did a short hike to a valley overlook, through the cacti. I was definitely in love.
After the park, we went out to dinner. One of the most phenomenal aspects of Tucson were the incredibly amazing sunsets that they had, every single night. I did get to see the sunrise the day I left, but it didn't even come close to the amazing sunsets.
After leaving Tucson at 6:30 in the morning, I headed north to Flagstaff to meet up with my old friend Reis. We met my freshman year of high school in north eastern Oregon. I left at the end of that year. It was so great to see him and I am totally stoked for how awesome of a person he has become and the adventures that await him. It was a really great visit and I'm so glad I got to make the trip. Unfortunately I still had 12 hours to go to make it to Reno for the night.
About an hour outside of Flagstaff, I pulled off the highway on a little side road to take a nap. Unfortunately in my far too well versed tradition, I left my lights on while I rested and of course the battery on my car died. This culminated in me having to stand on the side of the interstate trying to flag a car down to help me which this wonderful family finally did stop. I am soooo grateful to them as it would have taken way too long to wait for roadside assistance and I still had 11 hours to go.... OY!
I hit snow about 20 miles from Reno, but I ignored all suggested requirements of chains. The blizzard I was driving through was exhausting and after heating up some soup, I crashed quickly at my hotel. The next day consisted of crossing five different mountain passes, two covered in snow. The picture above is of a good portion of the road crossing the Sierras. I had to put my chains on once per requirements of the California Department of Transportation. I soon realized this was rediculous and ignored all other requirements in the future. I made it over this pass to be swamped by rain in northern california. Then more snow, then more rain, and after 10.5 hours I finally pulled up to my mom's house in rainy coastal weather. She greeted me with some of my favorite home made soup and a very-much anticipated hug. I have really missed her over the last five months. It's nice to be back in Oregon, with my mom, brother and Kaleigh. It's nice not to have sales tax, and it's so nice not to have to pump gas again. Every time I leave, I forget how much I love coming back to Oregon. I most definitely love my state! Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for following me around the country. I can't even fathom what's next! 
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