The last leg of our trip was both the best and the worst leg. Nick and I decided to drive up through Wyoming and stay in Jackson Hole with our friend TJ. The drive was empty but GORGEOUS as you can see from the "few" pictures I posted on facebook. Having driven across the country only three months ago and being blown away by the drive from Vail, Colorado through southern Utah, it amazed me that I could once again discover such a wonderful scenic drive.
It was an interesting experience being with Nick because in terms of travel, we had entirely different childhoods. Nick spent many summers in Maine and in the Adirondacks, but other than that, coming out to California five summers ago was the biggest trip he had ever done. Meanwhile, my parents dragged me from Yosemite to Maui to Baja to the Grand Canyon and beyond. Seeing Nick's reaction to Wyoming, especially as we drove over the mountain into Grand Teton National Park at dusk reminded me of the sense of awe and wonder that comes out of such places like Yosemite or Moab, Utah. Not that Wyoming is comparable to Yosemite or Moab or any other place really, because it isn't. Yet how could my six-year-old, nine-year-old, or even thirteen-year-old self ever comprehend that only few places filled with such magnificent wonder really exist? I've only learned in the last few years how much I took these vacations for granted and even now, I wish I could return to these six-year-old and thirteen-year-old experiences but with my twenty-three-year-old mind and sense of gratitude.
Anyway, the next day was the icing on the cake. We woke up early after having gone out to a silly bar in Jackson Hole called The Virginian. We packed our bags just in case because the park was undergoing major construction and we didn't know what the day was going to look like. Thank god we did. It took us an extra hour to get back through Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone. Entering the gate, they gave us a map which told us one of their main roads was closed and that we would have to figure out which detour we wanted to take. To make a long story short, we kept having to go back the way we came due to bad planning and closed roads and construction. I wanted desperately to make it up to Mammoth not only for the cascading hot springs but because if we made it, we would be able to meet up with Eliza! Unfortunately, when the sun started to set, we were still two hours away from Mammoth and had to head back south in order to be able to exit the west side of the park and find a hotel somewhere. All in all though, everything that we DID see was phenomenal. It was painful being "those" tourists, driving from spot to spot and pretending like we thought we could see everything in one day. I definitely plan on going back someday for a good week and getting some hiking and camping squeezed in there.
The next day, the last day, was the WORST day. We had a thirteen-hour drive from Idaho Falls to Corte Madera. Now, I've done plenty of long-distance driving in my heyday but this drive was empty, smelly, hot, and boring. Nick and I just about went crazy with the heat, trying to distract ourselves with postcards and ipod games and phone calls. It was brutal. We made it home though and it was such a surreal feeling to be back home and feel so normally back into the swing of things so quickly. I'm realizing more and more that travel just has funny tendencies like that.
Anyway, I went back to work and Nick got a job and things are pretty much going to be running along an even beat for a while now. I keep going in and out of waves of anxiety regarding the big move to New York. Mainly, I'm worried about money and having enough to get out there and get started and then finding a job that will support my living there. I'm also nervous about working full-time and taking classes on top of it. Nick actually asked me if I would consider deferring yet another semester. He is maybe going to be offered a year-long Americorps position but really, it would just give us both more time to save up and if he has a year, he knows he'll be able to make it to NYC with me. I'm so tempted to have that extra time to save up more money but I don't know if I can go through the whole process of trying to defer and keep my scholarship money and just do all this waiting. We'll see what happens.
Alright everyone, I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day!
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