The Midwest is East

Technically, the Midwest is east of Seattle and since directions are arbitrary, I am now referring to it as the Middle East. The long flat stretches with hills in the background bear a striking resemblance to a desert without sand, so I find it fitting.





It was a 500 miles straight shot from Denver to Topeka along I-70, and there wasn't much to see along the way. There are fields of sunflowers that stretch for miles, but they haven't grown yet. The world's largest prairie dog was on vacation while the building was under construction, and I had too many miles left to travel to take any significant detours.



There are little landmarks in the small towns, and I would never know they existed if I didn't stop for gas or take a turn on a whim. More pictures will be added later, but so far this is what I have found:

Mile High

While Wyoming is home to one of the greatest parks in the world, it is also home to long stretches of nothing. After descending out of the mountains, the scenery made a drastic change...



There was a turnout along I-80, and, after hours of driving without interesting scenery, I had to take it. There was a tree growing out of a rock. When the railroad was first being built across this part of the country, they changed the route so that it wouldn't disturb this tree. People have been stopping to see it ever since. I don't blame them... It was a great excuse to get out and stretch my legs.



It also served as a home for these little guys.



The Museum of the Mountain Man was closed, which seems fitting as a mountain man would probably not be in a museum.



As I entered Colorado, the scenery began to change and everything became a bit more green.



I ended at the Hotel VQ in Denver, which shares a parking lot with Mile High Stadium. I have a great view of the city from my window:

Yellowstone | Day 2 and Grand Teton

My decision to forego the tent in favor of a hotel paid off, as I woke up to snow falling at higher elevations. Yellowstone has an unbelievable contrast in elevation, so some parts were warm and sunny while others had over a foot of snow.



The bison stayed out of the snow as much as they could. Even if it meant walking along the road to lower elevations.





I found a few more hydrothermal pools and vents. The minerals make the water a very vibrant blue, and it's crystal clear





A trip to Yellowstone isn't complete without visiting Old Faithful. The couple standing next to me had notebooks filled with equations to determine when it would blow, but they were off by 18 minutes. I didn't have the heart to tell them that nature doesn't work that way.



After a quick stop at Yellowstone Lake, I continued on to Grand Teton.




There was even more snow at Grand Teton, so I only have pictures from the trail end of the park.

Yellowstone | Day 1

After an early wakeup in Missoula, Montana and a quick breakfast, it was back on the road again. The scenery that I had missed driving in the night before was a welcome surprise in the daylight. I'm not sure how to explain it, but the state nickname "Big Sky" certainly fits! Large hills topped with snow surrounded huge expanses of fields... the contrast in the land was unexpected.



I was never quite sure what state I was in, as I was hugging the border of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and often felt that I was driving in the wrong direction. Since I was no longer following a large interstate, the towns I passed through had a charm all their own.



I purchased a $25 pass that's good for a week in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I won't be staying a week, but I plan on spending at least one more day in Yellowstone before heading to Grand Teton and then to Colorado. I spent nearly six hours in the park before realizing that I was spending more time out of my car than in, and it took me forever to get to any of the main attractions because I stopped for just about anything. I pulled onto the shoulder and got out to take a picture of a large rock formation and more than a dozen cars pulled over around me asking what I saw and what animals I had seen. If this Leadership Consultant job doesn't work out, I think I could do fine as a tour guide.





The park smelled strongly of sulfur in parts, but it was manageable when I saw what was creating the smell. Hydrothermal steam vents where all over the place, and left the ground white.



Animals were everywhere. It was common to see herds of bison, moose and elk out in the fields, and most animals were right up next to the road.

The West Coast is the Best Coast

Leaving Puget Sound just as the weather turns nice is a difficult thing to do. The eight months a year of rain are made worth it when summer hits the Sound and temperatures sit comfortably in the 80s. Unfortunately, this will be the third year in a row that I miss summer in Washington.



Driving east is an all too familiar experience. The 300 miles between Gig Harbor and Pullman have been permanently imprinted into my mind from four years of driving to and from college. To make matters worse, there are only nine instructions from my front door to Pullman, and one of those instructions is getting in the car. The rest of the drive spans across acres of wheat fields, with the occasional soy patch.





To mix up the drive, I remembered a conversation I had about Palouse Falls, a waterfall that transplanted itself into the rolling hills that offered hiking trails.




The part of the story that stuck out in my mind was about a trail that led to the top of the waterfall. Game on.






After stretching my legs for a bit, I continued on to Pullman, where I met up with some friends for coffee and ice cream, before continuing on to Missoula, Montana. The last part of the drive was in the dark, so I don't have any pictures to share.

A Full Tank of Gas and 3,200 Miles

Throughout my years of formal education, I've been given countless tidbits of advice and inspiration. One, in particular, resonated with me, and, like most, was so simple that it hardly seems intuitive at all. Yet, it seems it is the key to a happy and successful life, and I'll share it with you now:

"Find something you love to do, and get somebody to pay you to do it."

So, with a college degree in hand (or rather, in the mail), I am driving from Seattle, Washington to Charlotte, North Carolina. I accepted a job as a Leadership Consultant for my fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, and will spend three months training before setting out for nine months on the road traveling to college campuses around the nation.

Through this blog, you will be able to follow my adventures as I live out of my car, camp in national parks, explore rural America, and see what inspiration I can bring to fraternity men across the country.