words to live by...

made for sunny days -by: the weepies

i went to the market, though it was threatening rain. i was late to that station, swore i'd miss that train. and the streets filled with umbrellas and we all looked the same. but i'm the one whose waiting till the sun comes out again.



i was made for sunny days. i made do with grey, but i didn't stay. i was made for sunny days, and i was made for you.

found the look you gave me when we were still in bloom. when i thought that you might save me from the dark side of the moon. instead we both went walking to the shadows and the gloom. and we never stopped talking you still light up the room.

i was made for sunny days. i made do with grey but i didn't stay. i was made for sunny days and i was made for you.

the nights are longer. you make me stronger and the late light lingers on the grass and nights are dark but then they pass and they don't seem so deep. I'm still loseing sleep but i don't mind. no, i don't mind.

i got you a winter jacket that he wears around and we chase him to the springtime and the sleeves drag on the ground. and every hour we're working and working day are bound and every day is sunday cause the sun comes down bouncing down.

i was made for sunny days. i made do with grey but i didn't stay. i was made for sunny days and i was made for you.

it was a really great "almost week"

brandon came to visit this week. i met brandon in moab. in the month of may. he came to visit once in july. that time was fun. but this one was even better. his plan was to stay for two days. he stayed for five. we had fun every single day. dave matthews concert. ogden's finest bars. karaoke. rodeo. the davis county fair. sleeping in. big breakfasts. watching movies...er, falling asleep to movies. hours at the climbing gym. hot wings. lots of biking. one perfectly fabulous weekend.

he's only been gone a day. i miss him already. i genuinely miss his company. the fun we had together. i like him. a lot.

5 states, 4 national parks, 3 days, 2 fugitives, 1 awesome weekend (take 1)

so there we were. all of us together. on thursday night. the eve of our epic road trip. i screamed with excitement "we're all here" repeatedly. we went grocery shopping. packed the cooler with soda's and candy. and eventually got a bit of shut eye.

our alarms rang at 4:14am. i woke everyone else up and we were getting in the car just as my watch said 5:00am. that was when we wanted to leave. already a perfect beginning.
we were on the road. the stops were excessive to say the least. i had a tiny bladder issue. i woke up feeling sickly and dehydrated so with my breakfast i consumed almost an entire 32 oz. nalgene of water. good for the body. but not good for travel time. by the time we hit wyoming. only an hour from home. i was already stopping for time number one. several times in between i stopped. nobody else had to use the restroom. just me. and my pea-sized bladder.

well. eventually we made it to lunch time. and two thirds of the way across wyoming. we were quite impressed with the centerpieces at this wyoming arby's.
annaleesa was having fun. in the beginning she didn't show it much but there were occasions when joy and giddiness would bust through her somber exterior.

oh. then there was this. by the afternoon everyone. including myself. had had all hey could take of my frequent bathroom stops. i was driving. frustrated at the need to go yet again. i pulled over on the side of the road and did my business.

quick and easy. and nobody saw anything that scarred them permanently. success.

there was also that point in the road trip when making t shirts with sharpie markers went a little further than the shirts. we wanted the world to know that dreams were coming true for us. i think they got it.

there were many of these throughout the trip. the random. self-timer. roadside photo. this was the first of many.

there was also that rest stop at orin junction, wyoming. i used the restroom. shocker. and then we were summoned by a cute man over to his little booth of baked goods. they were doing a fundraiser for their garden club. we can donate. jaymee put three dollars in the pot. we made out with all of these snacks!!!

these were the first of many biker friends that we made throughout the trip. we had actually encountered them at the orin junction rest stop and it turned out that we stopped at the same gas station about one hundred miles down the road. we figured it was fate. we took a picture to remember the moment.

and then there we were. in south dakota. by now we were so giddy. within 60 miles of natalie and jaymee's lifelong dream to see mt. rushmore.

with every turn anticipation mounted...

by the time we got here it was almost too much for any of us to contain.

we finally made it to our campsite in hill city, south dakota. we checked in. set up camp. and of course headed straight to mt. rushmore! there was that car from california that was following way too closely. jaymee pulled over and let them pass. nobody was going to ruin this perfect moment for any of us.

we got to the entrance of the memorial grounds. not to the monument yet. but excited nonetheless. let me paint this picture for those of you who weren't there. i had created a playlist before the trip that was patriotic. heart of america. down-home. country lovin'. good music. i.e. america by: neil diamond. as we took pictures with the sign the car doors were open and this playlist was blaring. like really loud. we were stoked. and so were the passerbys. this is another self-timer miracle.

and then. there we were. at mount rushmore. dreams came true. people in our party probably cried at the moment when you first see the heads. it was great. i coudn't have been happier.

of course i had to take this picture for the loved ones who are from alaska. one of them is there today. as i write. never forget the people who love you.

we talked to these guys while looking at the "iowa" pillar. turns out they were from iowa too. interesting chaps they were. nat captured this picture and i think it pretty much speaks for itself.

oh yeah. there was this kid. of all the places for you to choose to wear such a shirt....a national park. yikes!

we asked a nice couple to take this photo upon our arrival. you'll never guess where they were from...OGDEN UTAH! no freakin' way.

i pledge allegiance...

after taking in as much as we could. our little hearts and souls were just filled to the brim. so we decided to take the hike around and underneath the heads.

here i am. in the womb of mt. rushmore.

and still excited to see them again at the other end of the hike.

of course. there had to be the gangbanger pose.

tut tut it looks like rain.

so we forged the cafeteria for food. having been in a car all day and finally at our destination. the famed mt. rushmore. we decided to eat outside on the patio with the heads as our view. it was great.

just as we finished eating the rain began. it poured. there was lightening. it was really cool to sit outside and watch. but then it started raining even harder. the tent started dripping really cold water on us. so we went inside. these two had ice cream to pass the time.

the rain stopped just in time. as the sun went down we headed to the amphitheater for the flag ceremony. we met mr. ranger and of course had to have a picture with him.

after the presentation they lit the mountain. it was so cool. i may or may not have cried. for a moment in time this very unpatriotic american citizen felt very patriotic. i was proud to be an american. we're comin' to america!

5 states, 4 national parks, 3 days, 2 fugitives, 1 awesome weekend (take 2)

then it was saturday morning. there we were. laying in our tent. 6:30am. too excited to sleep. and the smell of breakfast cooking aroused our senses. we got up. we showered. we packed up camp. and then we had all-you-can-eat pancakes for $3.00. another reason to love hill city, sd and the crooked creek campground.

after breakfast we were on the road again. like a band of gypsies we go down the highway. we drove through the beautiful hillls of south dakota and saw beauty unmatched. we were not in the desert anymore. this was perhaps our favorite view of the drive. so much so that we had to stop for a picture. that woman who took our picture...she was not sensitive to our fears. "yeah, watch out for rattlesnakes..." um. hello. we were talking about bears in yellowstone. how did rattlesnakes in south dakota come up?

this overlook. the forest. the lake. the boats. the perfect day. all of it combined made us all long for the perfect summer camp. like on the parent trap. we were all making plans for what we'd do if we could be kids again. but kids don't take epic road trips like this. i'll keep the mid-20's. i'm starting to get the hang of it.

after some beautiful driving through south dakota. surrounded by the roar of bike week. we passed through deadwood. saw the sign for the highway we needed to take west to get to devil's tower. we also saw a sign that said "sturgis". uh, this was still pre-gps. pre-gps is how refer to the portion of the trip before i realized that my new phone has a stellar and very accurate gps system built in. that coulda saved us a time or two. oh well. there's more adventure in not really knowing for certain where you're going. or if you're going the right direction. i digress...so there we were. we saw a sturgis sign. we didnt' know just how far sturgis was but we saw a sign so we were going. we needed sturgis t shirts and jaymee still needed to cross "riding on the back of a harley topless" off of her bucket list. there's no time like the present.

while we were in sturgis nat really got into the biker spirit. she got some new ink. i'm fairly certain that naomi approved.

and only in sturgis will you see this... from sturgis we continued our journey to devil's tower, wy. i was stoked to see this giant rock. it's a big climbing spot. and i'd been told by a very reliable source that it was something not to miss. he was right. from miles away at this scenic pull out the rock was pretty stunning.

of course. there had to be the classic "let's make it look like you're holding it" picture. and despite the look on my face in this photo...i am not angry. quite the opposite actually. euphoric happiness.

and up close...it was even more magnificent. these binocular things were all over around the visitor's center so you could see the people climing on the rock. jaymee actually saw two guys high five as climber summited the very tippy top of the rock! now i want to climb it. someday.and this...well. it could be said that this was the winner of the trip. i mean really. look at the hair on that one! and kudos to jaymee for getting the picture while the mullet lady was clueless. i wonder what goes through her hairdressers mind every time she has to cut that hair?
after devil's tower we had very important business to take care of. our families needed their postcards and packages mailed to them from a place with a cool post mark...devil's tower,wy was the place. and this is betty. she's the postmaster here at devil's tower, wy. former mayor of hulett, wy. and one stand up citizen to boot. she somehow managed to get my v.i.p. (very important package) to my loved one's in only one business day. uh. i only paid $4.90 for the flat rate priority envelope. she must have known how important it was for that sturgis bandanna to get there.

on the road again. we preferred the gas stations called "loaf 'n jug". i mean, how could you not?

after leaving devil's tower i needed some backseat nap time. but when i rested me feet comfortably on the cooler the cold air from the ac blew right on my feet and legs. freeze out. i didn't have any pants that weren't buried in the back. but I did have my fleece. it will work as pants for now.

another random roadside self timer shot. somewhere in beautiful wyoming. this whole day was a day of driving beautifulness.

jaymee slept through this double rainbow. and the rainstorm that created it. nat was driving then. it was so cool.

finally. after one wrong turn. time spent in cody wyoming. a conversation with a crazy liquor store lady. discovering that i had a gps system on my phone that could take us anywhere. and after driving through yellowstone national park. we arrived at abigail's house. the house that she left to us. while she stayed at her boyfriend's house. it was like having a private condo in jackson wyoming. we were four lucky girls and honored that she let us stay in her house.

oh. there was one more thing. we weren't entirely alone in the house. abigail has a roommate. i'd never met her. but we met her that night. when we arrived roommate wasn't home. most likely out partying. we liked her already. we were all beat after a long and fruitful day on the road. we all went to bed in our respective places. no spooning. less than half an hour after going to bed i hear the bells on the handle of the front door jingle. jaymee asked, "what's that?" "roommate's home."

the next 20 minutes were perhaps the funniest of the entire three days. there was a knock on the bedroom door. meet leela. "i'm a little drunk." she told us. "i have all of this army shit in my car. i don't know where my gun is." "yes, i'm wearing pants." "oh look, a foofie." she was great. made the night complete. and after the good belly laughs we slept like little babies. thank you abigail!

5 states, 4 national parks, 3 days, 2 fugitives, 1 awesome weekend (final cut)

there we were. at the genisis of the third day of the most epic road trip in my life to date. though the final day there was still more fun than we could imagine ahead. we woke up at abigial's. thankful for showers. we all left clean. we called abigail to summon them to breakfast with us before we headed out of town. we figured while they got ready we'd seek out a nice bottle of something or other to thank abigail for the accomodations. much to our surprise the liquor store was open at 8am on a sunday morning. god bless wyoming! then of course we had to stop at the jackson loaf 'n jug.

by the time we finished our loaf 'n jug business it was time to meet howie and abigial for breakfast. the virginian. it was a hoppin' place. we saw fellow lovers of sturgis and felt right at home. our hearts were still in south dakota. our table was right by this fellow.

i tried my best imitation...

after a great breakfast we loaded our full bellies into the element and were on our way to the tetons and yellowstone. giddy out of our minds. again. we stopped at the teton visitor's center. lots of fun there. and the perfect book for me.

i found this vest and borrowed natalie's hat for the photo.

then we were off to see the tetons. they were amazing. huge. i could live here. seriously. i think i will. we also made a stop at jenny lake. gorgeous. i got in. it was cold. so cold.

yes, my tetons went to the tetons.

and we had a stamp in our national parks passport for this highway. so of course. we had to take a picture with the sign. duh.

and then it happened. we were almost out of the tetons and on to yellowstone. i was behind the wheel. suddenly. on our side of the road a huge black animal was spotted eating wildflowers on the side of the road.

A BEAR!!!!

it was a real live bear in the wild and we were there. witnessing it. watching it eat wildflowers. scratch behind its ears. lick his..... really. we got to see it. the trip became complete at that moment. i could have died and been whole. but i didn't and we still had more fun.

yep. it was real. and so close to the road.

then we arrived at yellowstone.

there we met this guy. he was from AK. had ridden his bmw motorcycle all the way from AK! not for sturgis. just because. cool guy if you ask me.

the sticker he rocked on his motorcycle.

and then there we were. fulfilling another one of natalie allen's life dreams. watching old faithful.

after old faithful we had lunch in the lodge cafeteria. that was some goooood lasagna. the bread was a bit hard. but the old faithful ale by grand teton brewing company was real tasty. i coulda had another. and another. and another. but we still had a drive ahead. and work tomorrow. silly grown up responsibilities.

after eating we decided another spotting of old faithful was in order. while waiting to see the beauty this time we found ourselves standing next to these fine folks. ron and judy. they are great. so glad we met them.

and old faithful never gets old.

when old faithful was over for the second time. we shopped in the gift shop. then in another gift shop. i found the wooden post card i'd been looking for all weekend. it's become tradition. i don't know what i'll do if i ever take a trip and can't find one!

after gift shop number two the jouney continued on. but not without more fun and excitement. there was a buffalo jam.

so of course we got out to see the buffalo. they were crossing the river and the daddy buffalo was gigantic! so cool.

a few miles down the road we found elk. so close to the road. yikes!

then there we were. out of the park on the other end. we were in state number 4 of our 5 state road trip. montana. i do have a fondness in my heart for montana. i got a bit frisky with the bear.

jaymee and i found the hotel we would stay in should we ever overnight in west yellowstone...westward HO.

and i found my next big rig.

after stopping in at the souvenir shop in west yellowstone we were on the road again. headed home through idaho. there was one last warning that we were in bear country.
and then i turned into a bear and slept in the backseat for the rest of the drive home.

to sum up this weekend couldn't do it justice. it was the best road trip. with the best people. seeing the best stuff we could see. i want to do it again. i think we will. until then. stay cool.