Highlights

Some of the best moments from my trip:

Dancing the two-step to great country music at the Grizzly Rose with a bear

Touring the Coors Brewery

Waking up in Craters of the Moon

Buying "cheese" in Denver

After hours drinks at the bar with the friendly staff of Buck's in Big Sky

Apologizing to Avis for the obscene amount of dead bugs on the car windshield

Rocco the Cuddlepuss

Wild Horses Monument

In central Washington

A very loud jet:

Back in Seattle

Total Mileage from my trip...

About 4,800 miles :o

DQ

Apparently Dairy Queen (at least the one here in Ellensburg, WA) stopped carrying chocolate ice cream over a year ago. Crazy, right?? I couldn't believe it. The sales girl said she could add chocolate syrup to vanilla ice cream. 

Texas Roadhouse

Steak and beer at Texas Roadhouse in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I came here for the music, but turns out the food is pretty good. 

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

There is a grassy park, a beach, parasailing, kayaking, paddle boarding and pedal boating. And if you are so inclined, you can hop in a seaplane for a scenic flight. Also, there are lots of bros playing frisbee. 

Apparently there is some kind of Iron Man thing going on today as well. Behind me are a hundred of people singing the national anthem. 

Bozeman, Montana

Of course I went to Wild Joe's for some coffee in Bozeman :) Now walking around, checking out Main Street again (I was here last August) and Montana State University. 

It's about 90 degrees at 11:30am... So hot! Some thunderstorms might roll through later. I really miss storms... Seattle doesn't really get them. 

Good Feeling

It is 3:51pm and I completely forgot to check my email today until just now. That's what a good vacation will do, right?

Having some coffee in Jackson, WY right now. 

Jackson, WY

I really liked Jackson, WY and I definitely want to go back to spend more time there. It has a cool western feel and is just small/big enough. Also, there is a great (best of my trip so far) coffee place called Jackson Hole Coffee Roasters.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

Old Faithful Geyser: 

Got stuck in major traffic because of bison crossing the road:

Yellowstone Area Hotel Difficulties

As was expected, finding a room in/near Yellowstone proved to be a bit of a challenge; it is high tourist season after all. 

I've been using Expedia via my iPhone and there was one option by 6pm called Buck's T-4 Lodge in Big Sky, Montana. I did not have high hopes for a place with a number in its name. But this place is actually pretty nice. Rustic. Clean. Killer views. And the people who work here are super cool... Shoutout to Giuliano at the bar! 

Coors Brewery

They really do tap the Rockies. The founder was searching for some aquifers out here back in the 19th-century. Interesting tour of the brewery. At the end, there is a lounge where you can sample some of their beers.

I am drinking something called Batch 19, which they market as a "prohibition-style" lager that is "bold and hoppy."

Boulder

I was being spontaneous and decided to go get coffee and walk around in Boulder. Nice college town. 

Live at Red Rocks

I couldn't believe how many people were in the Amphitheatre exercising. Seriously: running, lunging, cycling, doing push-ups. The oxygen content at about 6,000 ft altitude is something like 84%. I was feeling it. Especially with the sun and ninety-degree heat. Took a big bottle of water with me.

Favorite Breakfast

I love Corner Bakery Cafe... Last went to one in Baltimore and before that Ft Worth. They are only in certain areas of the country so needless to say I was thrilled to discover three of them here in Denver!

My favorite thing here is the chilled Swiss oatmeal. It comes with these pecan raisin crispbreads that are amazing.

At Grizzly Rose

One of the best country bars in the US!

I am drinking a Shiner:

Edit: I am drinking four Shiners.

This place is so much fun! Good music, friendly people, big dance floor. It was a good time!

Also, they let in 18-year-olds, but mark their hands with a giant X. These kids are great dancers! 

Wynkoop Brewery

Having a cold Breckenridge Summerbright Ale at Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver. 

Clyfford Still Museum in Denver

My two favorites from the Clyfford Still museum in Denver. They're both from the 1930s, which was before Still's more recognizable Abstract Expressionist paintings. The museum had some cool artifacts from Still's life such as paint pigments, letters, and a photo of all of the 1950s/NYC/AbEx painters (including Motherwell and de Kooning!). 

Arches National Park

This place is stunning. I was wearing sunglasses with amber/orange-colored lenses and they made the reds and greens in the landscape so sharp and vivid! 

By 10am it was 90-degrees so I didn't do the big hikes to some of the impressive arches. I did a 0.5-mile hike up a steep rock and got a leg cramp. Awesome, right! I am not that out of shape, so maybe it was the altitude? I did have some water, but probably not enough.

(This last photo was technically outside of the park, but I couldn't resist. Pulled over on a "soft shoulder" of the road.)

Vail, CO

Vail smells amazing. And it's 30 degrees cooler than when I last stepped out of the car. Guess 10,000 ft elevation will do that!

Problems

Three problems today.

1. I forgot my phone charger in Utah. I'm glad Denver has an Apple store! 

2. I pulled a muscule or have some kind of cramp in my leg. I was hiking in 90-degree heat (a very short, but vertical, trail) in Arches National Park this morning. Maybe I was dehydrated? It still kind of hurts. 

3. Apparently a spider is living in the Prius. I was driving through Denver when I saw it drop down right in front of my face. As I struggled to breathe, grab something to kill it, and stop at the red lights, it crawled up into the ceiling... Right where the fabric meets the windshield glass. This is the stuff of nightmares. How am I going to drive that car tomorrow without looking up at the ceiling every five seconds? Do you think Avis will give me a new car? 

Jackpot

Jackpot, NV. 

Cactus Pete's plays my Pandora stations in the casino. Yeah... 80s music! Bummer... I missed the hypnotist ;)

Salt Flats

A photographer's playground.

Whoa

I forgot what 100 degrees feels like... Yikes. 

In Salt Lake City now. 

I Woke Up on the Moon

I camped at Craters of the Moon Monument park last night because I wanted to wake up within one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is stunning here. Lava flows have left the landscape blackened with precarious formations and paths. 

Here is the registration board at the camp site:

It is on the honor system, which means that you place money in an envelope, deattach the receipt and place the receipt in one of the 50 or so "pockets" to register your site. Well, I picked out the perfect secluded site for a female traveling alone (!) and when I drove up, a family of four was parked there with a couple of tents and no intention of leaving. I called out, "excuse me, but this spot was unregistered so my ticket is on the registration board." A gruff man replied, "well we have been here for three days. Good luck!" I looped around the camp site and just when I thought all of the spots had been taken, I found one hidden off to the side of the bathroom house (phew). At this point it was around 9pm so the sun was rapidly setting. After staring at the moon and stars for a while, I drifted off to sleep. When I awoke at 6am, everyone was still asleep so I decided to explore the park.