Austin, Texas - Santa Fe, New Mexico:
Spending two nights in Austin was a great decision. That town is super cool. Between the University of Texas, the numerous history and art museums, and the seemingly limitless amount of music that it has to offer, Austin has almost everything I'd want in a city. We arrived late Sunday evening at Drifter Jack's hostel (name inspired by Kerouac) which was unexpectedly the nicest hostel we've stayed at thus far. We woke up early the next morning and went to the city's main park to take a run in some pretty intense heat: low 90's by 10 AM. That exercise was long overdue and much needed. Although it led to an hour of panting, profuse sweating and water chugging by the gallon.
We stayed in our sweaty getup and went straight to two fantastic museums--the Texas State History Museum and the LBJ Presidential Library. The state history museum, which sits right in the heart of downtown, was thorough and impressive. A good portion of the museum is dedicated to the history of the native peoples who inhabited the land we now consider Texas. It also provided a great deal of in depth history on the state's complex and constantly fluctuating relationship with Mexico. In many respects, Texas' history is rife with contradictions. Here's one such inconsistency that I really find funny: in the 1820's the Mexican government became anxious that Anglo-Americans were flooding into Texas (their territory) and were beginning to drastically outnumber Mexican settlers in the area. Thus, in 1830 they passed a very strict law that prohibited any additional American citizens from immigrating to Mexican Texas. At that time, the territory had over 3,000 illegal immigrants (which was a large chunk of the population then) almost all of whom were from the Southern United States. The law incited heavy unrest and intense outrage among white, American, Texas settlers. They felt that the restriction was a detrimental constraint on their blossoming economy. Eventually, the tension surrounding this immigration restriction became a major catalyst for Texas' fight for independence from Mexico.
Given Texas' history of passionately defending the right and principle of immigration, it's no surprise that today Texas' state government and policy makers are incredibly welcoming to immigrants of all backgrounds--especially those from Mexico...wait a minute...that doesn't sound right.
Ah yes, now I remember. White Texans fear that Mexican immigrants will soon outnumber the state's Anglo-Americans (who supposedly have the rightful claim to the land), taking their jobs and services. In fact, many Texans fear this takeover so much that the state has taken an approach not unlike that of the Mexican government in 1830: Texas has instituted an ass-backwards immigration policy.
So that museum was cool. And in general, Austin felt like a place where folks were conscious of some of these inherent contradictions and were willing to talk about them. At least, that was the case for the employees at the museum.
Unfortunately, timing and organization remain our Achilles' heel. We had to cut our visit to the Texas State History Museum short in order to fit in the LBJ Presidential Library which sadly closed soon after we arrived. We stupidly got caught up with some of the less interesting, first-floor exhibits and missed some of the gems deeper into the library. But I have a feeling I'll be back in that town sometime soon.
After the museum circuit, we wandered through the University of Texas campus. I was surprised by how impressive its facilities were. I knew it was an amazing public university, but I had no idea just how nice it was. There was also a significant student population there for the summer which Skyler and I got a taste of while we tossed a baseball around on the school's main playing fields.
We finished the night by checking out the local music scene. We started at a venue on Red River Street called Mohawk. Seemed like a cool place, but I don't think the crowd picked up until later in the evening--after we had left. We walked up and down 6th Street, the main music artery of the city. I've never seen anything like it: bar after bar, venue after venue, there wasn't a single spot that didn't have a live music act on stage. Keep in mind, it was a Monday night.
Here's the thing though, this wasn't NOLA. There wasn't chaos and debauchery raging in the streets. It was a very relaxed, down-to-earth scene, where music fans could pursue a wide variety of genres in a concentrated hub. Skyler and I were definitely both impressed.
We finished the night with a great stroll through the State Capitol Building and its surrounding grounds. It's a beautiful old building right in the heart of the city, not too far from 6th Street and UT. The city is so concentrated, pedestrian friendly and approachable. I found myself wooed once more, similar to my experience in Asheville.
In the morning we were up and at 'em and on our way to...umm....well we figured that out eventually. We hit the road at 9 and plugged Santa Fe, New Mexico into our GPS, not knowing whether we'd be sleeping in a hostel or our car. And although the uncertainty caused a little stress, it ultimately led to some great, unexpected moments throughout the day.
The first was the drive. The cool thing about our trek was that we did none of it on an interstate. We were on a small highway--really a road--that serves as the main street for at least 50 tiny Texas towns. When I say tiny, I mean infinitesimal. Some of these places had populations of less than 200 people. Our bathroom stops and stretch breaks, along with the views throughout the ride, offered a good window into Texas-Americana. Not to mention some of the landscape scenes along these roads were breathtaking.
But as we drove through the seemingly unending state of Texas (good lord that state goes on forever) we realized that we had yet to try authentic Texas BBQ. So we looked in every single town we passed by for a restaurant and had very little luck. There was practically no market in these towns for eat-out restaurants. Skyler asked the owner of an antique shop in one small town who seemed surprised that we were looking for a place to serve us food. I get the sense that in certain pockets of Texas the idea of a restaurant market may be slightly alien.
Alas, we finally and accidentally found a spot in the early afternoon in the town of Winters, Texas--home of the Blizzards! I swear it must have been 101 degrees by 2 PM there...like I said, rife with contradictions.
Nonetheless, we pulled into Ortiz's BBQ Joint (see photo on last post) and discovered a fantastic little restaurant on the side of an otherwise deserted road. My pulled pork sandwich was quite possibly the greatest lunch I've ever had. But perhaps better than the home-cooked food, was the experience we had getting to know our server, Marisol. She's a 17-year-old, high school senior who's currently being homeschooled. Her parents are the cooks while she and her little sister take orders and serve the food. We hit it off with her right away and got a real glimpse of her life in Winters, TX.
Her town is tiny, she loves her family but shies away from the perpetual town drama. She radiated with total self-confidence and affability. We exchanged high school experiences, hers being much different from both of ours. She told us of her desire to travel away from Winters one day when she finally can. She'd only left the town three times to visit family. Then fittingly, she asked us why we were traveling ourselves. Skyler and I have yet to arrive at a concrete answer to that question and we couldn't give her much of one in that moment. But the interaction reminded me of just how lucky I am to be able to pursue this trip with little to no practical purpose. Perhaps it's educational. I've certainly learned a great deal about myself and my country so far. But our aim and motives remain ambiguous, and that freedom that we have from goals and direction is an incredible luxury in it of itself.
Marisol was one of the great characters we've encountered on our trip so far. And our brief, but powerful interaction with her has already led Skyler and I to self-reflect and discuss some of our hopes--practical and abstract--for the rest of the trip (We've also managed to keep in touch with her though email which I'm excited about).
Next up, we rolled into Fort Sumner, New Mexico (where the famous outlaw Billy the Kid was shot and killed) for a late dinner. We found a great spot off the main road called Dariland--a real old-timey spot but in a clearly authentic way. It was an old diner with a drive-thru (what?) that didn't need to fabricate its heartland-style like a lot of places back East because the vibe was genuine and palpable at this restaurant.
Skyler quickly hit it off with the woman who took our orders and we soon found out from her that the restaurant was getting ready for an election party. We had come into town at the height of some major local drama. The town was holding their election for sheriff that very night. The old sheriff, who had been in office for the past few decades, was finally being contesting by a threatening candidate. Interestingly enough, the election was a microcosm of some of the major issues that the entire country is grappling with in this moment. The old, white, male sheriff was competing with a lesbian woman, vying to be the first female sheriff in the history of the state. Our server explained to us that the election had caused an ideological chasm within this town of only 1,249. The older voters were sticking with their man. But the younger voters, many of whom registered for the first time for this election, were pushing for a change. She told us that they would hear the results at 9 PM and we lamented that we'd have to travel onwards, but promised that we'd listen on the local radio.
Although we love talking to people who work at restaurants, we also love eating their food. And shame on me if I forget to mention that the food at this place was also stellar. After our filling meal, Skyler and I were still sick of driving so we decided to toss a frisbee out on the football field of the local high school. The sun sat low in the sky, there was a soft breeze, bugs jumped up from the soft, cool grass and onto my toes, while horses roamed in the surrounding fields. It was a peaceful respite from a tough day of driving.
We ran around for almost two hours until we couldn't see the disc anymore. We hopped in the car and were on our way to Santa Fe. Then, all of a sudden, Skyler "Bust a Move" Mueller turned the car around and declared "It's 9 PM. We're going back. We have to hear the results." For whatever reason, I resisted at first. I was afraid to crash their party in case they had gotten bad news. But Skyler was feeling the spontaneity-bug that night and I'm grateful for his persistence. We walked into the party, our server immediately spotted us, threw up her arms and cried out: "We WON!" A group of friendly locals greeted us, offering food and conversation. We met the new sheriff, Melissa Denny, who was a very warm and cordial woman. She had just made history, becoming one of the first lesbian sheriffs in the country and the first lesbian as well as female sheriff in New Mexico. I have to say, it was a very cool display of local politics and it was reassuring to see so many young people pumped to campaign for and rally around a candidate. We only stayed for a few minutes. Our server loaded us up with food, gave us each a big hug and then we hit the road for real this time.
I'm telling you, I don't know how this trip would have turned out without the unsolicited kindness we've received from strangers like her and Marisol. Those two moments made that terrible drive not only bearable, but memorable.
We got to Santa Fe, found a cheap Motel 6 and crashed as soon as we hit the bed. After 16 hours we had gotten out of Texas, but we now needed to rest up for another long drive to Moab, Utah.
Arches National Park:
I'll spare you the details of our 10 hour drive to Arches. The landscape was beautiful and certain stops were so awe-inspiring that it was agonizing to drive through without stopping. Although we did indulge our yearning for the outdoors a few times along the way. Here are some photos of us at Wilson Arch (outside the park) and at a random spot on the side of the road that was too good to pass up:
When we got into Moab, Skyler and I had an interesting experiment to undertake. We were preparing to camp for three nights, so we stocked up on ice and food at a local grocery store, ate our last meal on the outside, and then headed into the park right as the sun was falling.
Our campsite couldn't have been better. 50 or so camping spots are nestled in between thousands of rising rock structures known as Entrada Stone Fins. We were in the middle of what has been dubbed the Devil's Garden, one of the most geologically striking areas of the park.
We set up our tent in no time and bolted up along the fins to find a glimpse of the fleeting sun. No dice. It was a blast though. I felt like a little kid--sprinting up and down these fins with nothing but pure, unfiltered excitement for something as simple as a sunset. We soaked up the sky's remaining amber tinge and then wandered through the campsite, eventually stumbling upon an amphitheater where a Park Ranger was leading a program on nocturnal creatures in the area. Very cool first night and introduction to the park.
We slept surprisingly well for our first tent night, got an early start on the morning, made an attempt at a hearty meal of 3 eggs and bananas, and then hit the visitors' center to plan out our next two days. A very helpful ranger gave us some great tips and by 10 AM we were hiking through Double Arch, Broken Arch, Sand Dune Arch and North/South Windows. Here are some highlights:
That little speck is me on top of North Windows.
And that little speck is Skyler outside South Windows.
Skyler with North and South Windows at his fingertips.
Skyler and I find a great fin to climb. Skyler proceeds to conquer world.
Skyler proceeds to reflect on his world conquering.
Skyler proceeds to strategize his expansion of his world empire.
Giant, million-year-old geological structures are fun to sit on!
Our campsite, dubbed "Devil's Garden." Our tent is in the bottom right of the picture.
Our tent is just to the right of that white RV. Location, location, location! I certainly had no complaints.
After an amazing day of hiking and exploring, Skyler and I returned to the giant fin that we'd found off of the Broken Arch trail, in order to catch a fantastic sunset. We had an unobstructed view overlooking Devil's Garden, the entire Western half of the park, and the mountains on the horizon. We watched, in silence, as the the ball went all the way down. An unphotographable moment. I don't regret that decision one bit.
While I was watching, I came to the conclusion that my favorite part of the sunset is the half-hour immediately after the ball has fallen below the horizon. On this particular evening, I got lucky. There was a small cloud sitting above the horizon that did not obstruct my view, rather it enhanced it. At that point, the only remnant of the day's blazing 100 degree sun was the bright red glow on the underbelly of this faint, distant cloud. It served as a nice reminder that, although the sun has temporarily ceased lighting our world, it always continues to light someone else's.
Before the trip, an old teacher of mine said she got goosebumps just thinking of a June sunset in Arches National Park. I thought she was a little crazy at the time; but after our stay, that thought will trigger the same reaction in me for life. It was a great moment and I'm so glad I got to share it with Skyler.
Our first dinner was a success: franks and beans! Keepin' it simple. We slept like logs, woke up early and hit the longest, most strenuous trail in the park--the Devil's Garden Primitive Loop. It was only 7.2 miles long but boy oh boy was it hot. Luckily, we finished the difficult sections in the cooler temperature of the morning. But by the end we were totally spent. The trail was an absolute dream though, so many rock scrambles, sharp climbs, steep descents--really really cool for sure:
Skyler with the Devil's Garden Primitive Loop behind him.
Skyler and I beneath Private Arch.
My turn to conquer the world. I climbed to the top of Private Arch.
Skyler and I on top of Double O Arch. A really tough climb that required sliding through a narrow hole in a canyon. Worth it.
Skyler and I schmoozing on top of Double O.
That's Double O from afar.
Skyler with "Park Avenue" behind him. This stretch of Entrada Fins is named after the NYC Street because it supposedly resembles the skyscrapers of Park Avenue...I think it's a pretty poor comparison that demeans the beauty of the structures, but whatever.
My crappy attempt to snag a photo of Delicate Arch just after sunset. Skyler is one of the specks down there somewhere.
As the photos show, we ended the day with a hike through Park Avenue and a quick, exhausting hike to Delicate Arch. It was a great way to end a very packed day. We encountered some dinner troubles--our camping stove couldn't hold the weight of a full pot of boiling water, so we improvised and persevered. We used odd pasta-cooking tactics, but by the end of the night we both had an edible meal in our stomachs and that's all that matters. We woke up very early the next morning, packed up our campsite and hit the road for our next stop.
Zion National Park
Arches to Zion was the quickest drive of the trip so far: only four hours! Such a relief, we we're there in no time. Unfortunately, we did not get there early enough to get a spot in the first come first serve campground in the park. But thanks to the kindness of yet another stranger, Skyler and I were able to worm our way around Utah's bafflingly illogical law that prohibits citizens under the age of 21 from booking a hotel room. We snagged a nice room at the Days Inn, unpacked our stuff and headed straight back to the park.
We took a slow, relaxing hike through the lower and upper Emerald Pools that gave us a great glimpse of the park's beauty and a nice window to unwind and catch up with each other on some long overdue topics. We headed back into town, loaded up our cooler with food, took a long shower (I think the dirt will be caked onto that Days Inn bathtub for a few years) and crashed at our room. The next morning, we snagged a campsite in Zion thanks ONCE AGAIN to the incredible, unexpected help of a stranger who had overheard us in the visitors' center as we struggled to find a campground. He held down his spot for us until he took off that morning and then it was ours. We set up camp and then prepared for a grueling day of two very long hikes.
Before I describe the hikes I must say, Zion undoubtedly deserves its name--it truly is an oasis in the middle of the desert. I had been there when I was much younger with my family on a multi-family camping trip. I have fond, but limited memories and I'm so glad that we added this spot to our trip at the last minute.
Back to business. We began our day with the legendary Angel's Landing hike. It's only 5 and a half miles round trip, but the final half mile to the summit is a tough climb up a narrow, sharp rising cliff. There have been a fair amount of fatalities up there, so it wasn't just NPS bullshit precaution that's hyped it up. I have to say, I was pretty freaked out multiple times during the final stretch. But it was absolutely worth every nervous heartbeat:
Skyler using the chain to climb the cliff face up to Angel's Landing
The world conqueror strikes again!
Near the top of Angel's Landing.
Skyler scouts out the final and most dangerous leg of Angel's Landing. He's ready for the task.
Made it! Zion Canyon behind us.
Skyler overlooking the canyon on the top of Angel's Landing (both photos).
Skyler and I built two cairns on top of Angel's Landing (can you see the height difference? They're basically our avatars). At the edge of the landing there are hundreds of cairns scattered across the surface.
Me with the cairns and the canyon beyond.
Just for a little more freaky excitement, I dangled my boot off of the edge of the cliff. Safe and fun.
We booked it down Angel's Landing and made amazing time. My legs felt like jello so we rested in the shade and hydrated for a good while. Finally, we worked up the energy to hit our second big hike of the day. The Riverside Walk into the Narrows.
Zion Canyon has been cut and shaped for millions of years by the same body of water: the Virgin River. Our second hike of the day was an upstream trek through the Virgin. Length of hike=indefinite. The river basically goes longer than is humanly possible to walk in one day, so you go until you can't go further. But we decided to go even a little beyond that point.
The very cool thing about the Narrows is that you are walking through knee deep, crystal clear mountain water while massive sand stone canyon walls tower over either side of you. In some sections, the canyons take on an amazing shape, unlike anything I've ever seen before. Once we outlasted the majority of the tourists who walk through the beginning of the river, we found ourselves in a dreamlike, almost divine world:
Skyler climbed his way into one of the many funky alcoves carved by the Virgin River.
Hanging out in the holy light of Zion.
Skyler the Prophet?
For certain stretches of time, we would wade through the water in silence listening only to the flow of the stream and the birds overhead. The temperature was very cool in the shade of the canyon and the cold water on our feet only helped that.
We walked beyond the stretch known as "Wall Street," (talk about a bad comparison) where the walls get very narrow and rise even higher. Eventually, we found a small pool in the river deep enough to swim in. Without hesitating, we dumped our bags and clothes on the ground and dove right in. It was a sensational, natural high. The physiological reaction that your body can have to such a rush of adrenaline and energy is quite amazing. The water was so cold, stimulating and awakening that it immediately brightened our mood and put us in a laughing spell for a few hours.
Before I got out, I swam down to the bottom of the river, turned my body over so that I slowly floated up to the surface and opened my eyes as I rose. The water was so clear that a bright, glowing outline of the canyon rim thousands of feet above me was shining through the water. As I came closer to the surface, the glowing image came into sharper and sharper focus until finally I broke through the surface to see the canyon and its walls in perfect clarity and color. It was a frustratingly indescribable experience--almost heavenly--and it gives me chills even writing about it now.
The trek back was quick but painful. My broken sandals made it even tougher. When we finally reached the river bank, we were completely exhausted. We made our way back to camp, cooked our best dish of franks and beans, took a short drive through the Zion/Bryce tunnel, and then hit the hay. I've never slept so well on a thermarest. It was one hell of a night's sleep for a tent.
We left Zion, headed straight down south for San Diego and arrived here at Bill and Molly's house on Monday afternoon. It has been a fantastic stay so far. Bill and Molly are two of the most hospitable people I have ever met. Not to mention, they are fabulous cooks and very fun to talk to. Bill may be the most well-read man I know and I had a blast talking to him about some of his favorite literature today. I took my first swim in the Pacific Ocean this afternoon as well! What a beauty. I forgot what a joy it is to take that first dive of the summer into an ocean. San Diego has been such an enjoyable and relaxing stop, but it absolutely warrants a much more thorough post. So I will be following up on these sparse details shortly.
Lastly, I should add that Skyler and I both agree that Arches and Zion blew everything else we have seen so far out of the water. That's not to put down our city stops, but it is a testament to just how precious and stunning these parks are. It bodes well for the rest of our trip--we still have Yosemite, Glacier and the Badlands coming up.
We're two weeks into this long and winding road and I can't explain how excited I am for the next three..
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