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Successful Running on the GoOct 16th 2012, 4:11pm
Two Very Different Pizza DatesOct 7th 2012, 5:40pm
Weird AmericaOct 4th 2012, 10:23pm
Rules from the RoadSep 27th 2012, 7:35am
It's Always Sunny in SeattleSep 23rd 2012, 9:29pm
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Weird America

Published by
Runnin' The Streets   Oct 4th 2012, 10:23pm
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America. Is. Weird.
And amazing and beautiful and terrifying. 
Actually I could pretty much apply all those adjectives to the last week of traveling alone. When we last posted we were in Oregon getting ready to set out for Redwood National Forest and the rest of California. That journey through Redwood and down to San Francisco was some of the most beautiful traveling we've done since leaving Tennessee. Up until Portland we all agreed that Glacier National Park was the most unexpectedly breathtaking place we'd been to thus far. No offense to every other city/park we've been to, but we had no expectations for Montana and were obviously a bit blown away. The drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, however, kicked off a week of camping/hiking in terrain that now has us all split on what area of America wins the "I didn't know nature could make anything that incredible" award. 
--SIDENOTE: The "we" I'm referring to has now temporarily expanded to include the rarely imitated, never duplicated Allison Malone (best friend and general cuddle-buddy of Erica). Welcome, AliCat, we'll miss you when you leave us in New Mexico.--

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Half Dome in Yosemite


Back to our "You're wrong, THIS is the most beautiful place in the world" awards.
Kat: Oregon coast line as seen from the Pacific Coast Highway at sunset.
Phoebe: Moon rise over Death Valley. Who knew the moon rising could rival any sunrise ever seen?
Erica: The drive down PCH...specifically the combination of the Redwoods and the coast.
Allison: If she can't say fish filet-ing at Florence Beach, OR (she can't, I disqualified it), then it has to be Yosemite - in particular the view from the top of Half Dome.

In the last four days we've done a wine tasting at a vineyard in Northern California, shared a pizza with a homeless hippie in Haight-Ashbury, conquered Half Dome, and played dead in Death Valley. This morning we woke up to the surreality that is Las Vegas.

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Badwater Basin in Death Valley-the lowest point in America
You know life has taken a turn for the odd when you are perfectly comfortable pulling up to a camp site in Death Valley -complete with Kangaroo Rats luxuriating in the 100+ degree heat- but virtually have a panic attack when trying to navigate valet parking in Vegas. Anyone who has ever been here can attest to the fact that the city was created to maintain a constant since of un-reality. Last night, in fact, we were so utterly overwhelmed by the place, we ate dinner walked the strip for about 30 seconds and bailed for bed before 11. Suppress that gasp of horror for a moment, and take a second to appreciate that before last night we had been camping in some of the most remote parts of the country. Death Valley is aptly named, folks, and almost as overwhelming in its barren-ness as Vegas is in its excess. 
Tonight we head out to actually take in Vegas, and tomorrow we leave Sin City for Zion (literally, as in Zion National Park). Hopefully our internet access will be more consistent so our blogging will be too. 

See everyone on the other side of our first and only night out in Sin City. More than likely with horrifyingly embarrassing tales I'll be happy to share with everyone, and they'll want me to share with no one.
-Kat
PS our site was experiencing technical difficulties last night so it is, in fact, the morning after our Vegas night out. We did succeed in not totally humiliating ourselves or looking too out of place. We successfully manuevered ourselves into the VIP section of a club then promptly left when it turned out that very important people are genuinely pretty creepy, and spaz-danced our way through the rest of the night as everyone around us took themselves too seriously. OH! and we were almost all wearing dresses we found at Goodwill for less than $3.00. Score.

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