Friday, July 27, 2007

(a mostly cloudy day at) Zion National Park


Sorry for the long delay between posts! I have been lazy about blogging lately, but I'm back and I'm ready to post like crazy about the trip back from Utah to New Jersey.

I took the above picture a few miles from the entrance to Zion National Park. I like crazy weather pictures. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to photograph a tornado.

Just driving to the park from the highway I saw some pretty hooked up scenery; I only wish the weather had been a little better. The sun would have really made the red cliffs stand out. Even with the clouds and rain showers, Zion was an absolutely amazing place to visit. I will be sure to go back there in future summers. You should too. Make it a priority. Please.



There are two ways to see the sights at Zion. There is a scenic route that does not allow private vehicles, so the good Zion people have a free shuttle that stops at 7 different points along the road. These next few shots were taken along that scenic road. Unfortunately it was a little overcast, and at one point was actually raining. Ugh. There are some sunnier pictures I took on my way out of the park (which would be on the second way to see Zion -- on the road that DOES allow private vehicles).


Wild Turkey





There are even domesticated elk that hang out outside of Zion. I thought that was pretty neat, until I ate at the diner next door and saw the elk burger on the menu...


Ah, here we are as it starts to get sunny! Of course this coincided with my leaving the area, but at least I was able to take some pictures as I was leaving on the other road through the park. And when I say "some pictures" I mean about 200 of them. Don't worry -- they're not all on the blog.






RU LDS 2? Hmmm.... nope, don't think so! Even though the plates are Arizona, this was the most Mormon thing I saw in Utah. Of course, I didn't look very hard... I like Big Love and all, but something tells me I'm not going to find Bill Hendrickson and his wives visiting Zion. Obviously. Because they're TV characters. Duh.





Tunnel! This isn't it, but there is a rather long tunnel, perhaps over a mile or so, on the road out of the park. It's a groovy tunnel. Once you get to the other side, you feel like you're in a completely different park. The landscape is so drastically different that, I dunno, you think to yourself, "Wow, this is so drastically different!"




Look -- even the road is reddish!




This is the Checkerboard Mesa. Hmmm... I wonder why they call it that?






Below you will see the pride and joy of my trip: my driving arm watch tan. It has faded some since its most drastic, but I'm still proud of what I accomplished!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Driving away from the San Francisco area


Driving from Oakland to Ely, Nevada, I saw some scenery. Here's some. I didn't put up any pictures from the Nevada part because the pictures aren't as nice. When I was in Nevada I got off the interstate and took Route 50, which I later found out is nicknamed "The Lonliest Highway in America." I see where it got its name. I passed three very tiny towns along the way but that was it. Empty, empty road. At one point I was curious to find what kind of radio stations I'd get, so I scanned the FM dial. My car radio could not pick up any radio station at all. I tried the same with the AM dial and got the same results.


Admittedly, this is unrelated to travels or Rob Lowe, but maybe I can be the first person to ever wish Steve a happy birthday from a blog. Happy Birthday, Steve!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

How much do I love the Golden Gate Bridge?

The Golden Gate Bridge is my favorite bridge. Random fact: the Tappan Zee Bridge is a close second!

Today there was a strange cloud thing hovering over the bridge. The rest of the area was sunny, so that strange low-flying cloud was very odd indeed.






We took Rob under the bridge. I like being under that bridge almost as much as I like looking at it. It's pretty wild to feel it shake and hear all of the cars drive overhead.

Rutgers reunion continues in San Francisco

Day 2 of the Rutgers reunion continued. These four (Gleck, Mere, Katie, and Tracey) all live in California. Crazy, right? And check out the two in the middle wearing their "New Jersey - Only the Strong Survive" t-shirts in honor of the day!


While we were looking at the seals by the pier, I took secret pictures of people because everyone looked so happy :)





Hi, Alcatraz.





Me, Jess, Mere, and Tracey got to spend some time together as well. Hooray reunion!

Rob's Welcome Party in Berkeley, CA


The San Francisco area is chock full of Rutgers people. We staged a little reunion in Berkeley, CA. Rob was psyched as well... no, he didn't go to Rutgers, but the party was like a nice trip to the spa for him after a long day of driving...
Rob started off with a nice hit shower.


You don't get such gorgeous fluffs of hair like Rob has without a little blow-drying. Any fool knows that!


I know that dental care isn't part of the typical spa treatment, but his teeth were getting a little funky. The spa made an exception in his case.


Hair styling came next.


Rob gets his eyebrows plucked while Katie, his spa worker, also jabs some deodorant under his arm (which we could see if the wooden board were just extended a little).


Mouthwash for everyone!


How about a little barette action?


All fluffed, brushed, and plucked, Rob is ready for his reentry to the party, and meets up with Tracey and Becky Glynn (aka GLECK!)


What party would be complete without feeding Rob some beer and cake?