Canyons, Arches, Hoodoos and... chainsaws?

I've been in Utah for less than two months and have met friends and visited places that I  hope will be in my life forever. I've cowboy camped beside the fire on chilly nights in the mountains, cooled off in desert swimming holes, done yoga inside a canyon, and crammed far more that can comfortably fit inside my car.  I knew coming out here would be a change in lifestyle, and honestly it's something I needed. To get away from the strip malls, suburbs, and city life is a blessing.  Now the occasional romp around town seems like something special.  And a shower? Don't even get me started.

Three months roaming on the road is just the best and the beginning.

I got impossibly lucky with my crew. My fellow crew members and leaders are some of the most fun-loving, hard working, and genuine people I've had the pleasure of knowing.  We spend 8 long days together in the backcountry and usually 6 more together exploring Utah on our days off. It's uncanny how well we all get along.

The work is long and hard, but it's impossible to beat 6 whole days off!

I've dreamt about this road trip for a long time.  I didn't know until a few weeks ago exactly where it would lead me. I still don't know exactly what's next, but I know I am happy out here in these open spaces. 

The summer before 8th grade we took a family trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We spent a week roaming the park and taking in all that it had to offer. I had never seen anything like it before. The wild mountains, rivers, animals, geysers...it was all different. Landscape dominated, not people. We parked the car one night on a long stretch of road in Montana. We  sat on the roof and marveled at the milky way and counted shooting stars.  I was hooked. I like to think of this as a pivotal moment in my life.  I wanted to be a part of this place.   

I've lived in some of the more isolated places in the country the past few years.  During my summer spent working in Wyoming, the least populated state, I relished the clean air and absence of crowds.  The hard work, good company, and nights around the campfire spoke to my soul and left me feeling full.   Alaska was a similar escape from the heat and crowds of the South.  It was more isolated and wild than I ever could have imagined at the start.  The tiny town of Haines was home to some of the most adventurous, creative, and happy people I have met.  Perhaps the feelings I had while living in these places is what draws me to southern Utah.  I want to explore one of the last expanses of remote wilderness in the continental 48 states, the "American Outback".

On the journey out here we drove through the rolling hills of Alabama and Arkansas, the green fields of Oklahoma, and the high plains of Kansas and Eastern Colorado was beautiful.   The sunset on the last leg of our journey with the rocky mountains and lights of Denver in the distance left us breathless.  It was 1, 500 miles from Atlanta to Denver and will be another 1, 000 miles to my final destination of Escalante, Utah. So far, it has been the trip of a lifetime.  

One of my best friends from college, Adam, now works in Denver.  We are using his apartment as a home base to explore the infinite number of places and things to do around us.  We strolled through the monoliths in the popular Garden of the Gods park and then escaped the crowds into mountain backroads.  We spent a day in the vast Rocky Mountain National Park, reflecting next to mountain lakes and streams and then driving up thousands of feet on twisting mountain passes.  Spending a day in Denver offered some unique urban attractions and activities.  A tour of the Great Divide Brewery and a concert at the historic Bluebird Theater on Colfax Avenue, a street which Kerouac writes about in On The Road, topped the list.  The most memorable and rewarding part of this trip so far was climbing La Plata Peak, a 14, 377 ft, mountain which proudly stands as the 5th highest peak in Colorado.  The experience of hiking this mountain with two of my best friends will remain with me for a long time. 

I will be sad to leave Denver, and the comfort and ease of life with good friends, but I am excited about what comes next.  Tomorrow I drive to Boulder, WY to visit my old roommate and good friend Becca at the ranch where she works.  From there I head to Logan, UT where we begin training on Monday and then caravan down to Escalante on Tuesday.  I'm in for a lot of change the next few weeks.  It will take some time to get adjusted but I know it will be worth it.    

Here is the Flickr account I started. I'll still try to update this even if I don't have time to blog. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcpostma/