We go to Target and then eat crawfish

A trip to Target, to get stuff for the new place... Got distracted by this guy, though... He was in "T-Rex mode." I wanted to see him do "Herbivore," but the "Herbivore" button did not work :(

Some seashells I collected at Newport Beach :)

In the afternoon, Raquel and Peter came down from L.A. and we went to a water park to scamper around and have fun. Afterward, we went to a little restaurant to eat crawfish, which apparently is becoming a trend here. They were so spicy and so wee. And they were served in a big, steaming plastic bag. NOM!

John Marullo is here!

Crazy... but John Marullo is in town (!!!), touring with his band! Hearing his stories about traveling cross-country made our trip suddenly look verrrrry tame :) (He did sort of get stranded in Sioux City, though... Oh, John...)

We went to Apple Pan, an awesome, old-school burger joint in West L.A. (click that link, it is pretty spot-on)

Took a little walk down Venice Beach at night...

Moving in and exploring

Slowly figuring out where things are... Apartment is off Anteater Drive, for instance... :)

Took a morning jog at Crystal Cove State Park. Really beautiful place - clear green-blue water, clean beaches, and interesting rock formations...

This is at one of the tide pool areas...

Gabe: "Maybe you'll make a beach-lover out of me after all..."

Will, Alyssa, and James - for you! To entice you to come visit :) (There was a small exhibit at the Crystal Cove visitor center, which had a corner devoted to mountain biking in the region...)

Day 13: THE FINISH LINE!

It is time to get to where we are going... Vegas to Irvine is about 4.5 hours. Vrrrooom.... Arrived around 3:30 p.m.

OMG.

You know, we sort of wondered whether the packages would arrive ok... aaaaand, the answer is YES. Fed Ex, you are awesome.

Apparently, our packages arrived and assembled at the door... for about a week. Just waiting. Twiddling their thumbs... My neighbors probably think I am curious :|

SPACE! There is SO MUCH SPACE!

First meal in the new apartment... Thanks, Eleeza, for the recommendation!! Delivery pizza from Gina's! .... on a milk crate table. No chairs, none needed. :)

Day 12: Las Vegas

Arrived in Sin City and checked in at the Golden Nugget (I admit that I chose the hotel based on its name alone (NUGGET!!!)... Upon further investigation, the hotel is part of hotelier Steve Wynn's '90s re-vamp of Las Vegas... Sort of interesting...

Weird pic of me in the desert heat....

Gabe is expressing the way both of us felt about Vegas, generally... Ok, I'll just say it: Vegas was totally Pastina's idea... poor 'tina...

The Bellagio.... I saw a duck in the lake. It was the highlight.

The famed fountains of the Bellagio!

Day 11 and 12: OOPS!!! Ok, Grand Canyon...whatever...

From Zion, we headed to Vegas.... until.... I checked our hotel reservations from the road:

Me: "Umm. What is today's date?"

Gabe: "Wednesday." Pause. "Maybe."

Slowly realized we had completely lost track of time and were one day ahead of ourselves... I have a set "check-in date" at UC Irvine. For some reason, we had thought that date was on a Thursday. About 30 minutes into our drive to Vegas, we realized, oops - nope, it's actually on a Friday. So -- wow. EXTRA DAY!

What to do, what to do... Pulled over, consulted the map (THANKS RICK) and each other, and.... Grand Canyon it is! Turned the car around and chug, chug, chug.... to Arizona!

Except... we did not quiiiiite make it to the Grand Canyon that evening. We called the park ranger station from the road, and it seemed that the North Rim camping sites were full; we decided, then, to camp in the Kaibab National Forest, just outside the Grand Canyon Park. (Kaibab means "Mountain Lying Down," by the way...)

We met this dude along the way. We noticed him at Zion - saw him again on the road to the Kaibabs. We pulled over to offer him a couple of beers and see where he was truckin to -- Gabe tried to chat him up a bit, but then, Highway Patrol came with their rude sirens and broke the party up - "You CANNOT park along this road. GET back in your car and GET out of here!" Stern, chubby, sun-burnt man.

Be still my heart... Also, there is a special squirrel, called "The Silver Ghost of the Northern Rim" (hehe, ok, no - that is his nickname. His real name is the Kaibab Squirrel) and he only lives on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon -- no other place in the world does it for him. :)

The Kaibab National Forest allows camping at large. We found a logging trail into the forest, drove my poor lil Hyundai in, and found a nice spot to pitch camp. What a beautiful night of stars!

In the morning, we got up, packed the tent away, and headed to the Grand Canyon! Took a short hike along the Widforss Trail (named for an artist, Gunnar Widforss, who did landscapes of the Canyon in the '20s, I believe) and then took off.... for Vegas ! (for real this time....)

Gabriel, shooting wildlife (har har har...)

Day 11: Zion!

We somehow made it from Yellowstone all the way south to Cedar City, Nevada - took us about 11 hours or so... But we stayed at an Econolodge across the street from....

ANGRY CHICKENS! Gabe pulled a U-ie to get a pic of that, by the way. He also informed the girl behind the check-in desk at the Econolodge that ANGRY CHICKENS were in the 'hood. :|

In the morning, made the short drive into Zion National Park! Beautiful, no?

Verrrry chubby, Mr. Groundsquirrel... (I did not say this to his face. He's a biter, said the signs around the park.)

We took a hike into the Narrows -- which required sometimes waist-high fording of the Virgin River. It was spectacular - very clear, cool water and magnificent rock formations. By the way, there is no evidence of glacial activity in the Zion Park area -- all the rock formations are the result of downcutting by the Virgin River, sedimentation, and erosion.

At the hanging gardens (the rock is porous sandstone and can support lovely hanging wildflower gardens), the water has been dated to 1,000 years old!

Got on the road in the afternoon, in order to make it to... VEGAS, baby! by evening...

Day 10: Bye, Yellowstone

The saddest day of all... saying goodbye to Yellowstone :( But first, I would like to show you some buffalo doing buffalo things (nomming, snorting, mouth-breathing, staring...)

On the way out of Yellowstone, we crossed the Continental Divide. Verrrry exciting.

So, the only thing we were disappointed about in regard to Yellowstone was that we had not seen any grizzlies. We had seen: buffalo (loads and loads), elk, a coyote, black bears, snakes, marmots and ground squirrels, various birds, and deer -- but no grizzlies. Then, juuuust as we were leaving the park..... BOOM. GRIZZLY.

I've never heard Gabe's voice do what it did when he saw it: "OOOMYGOD - IT'SAGRIZZLY," veering car to the side of the road, reaching for camera. This is the shot I got out the back window.

Grizzly bear butt... Gabe and I high-five from the safety of our car.

The Tetons... and beyond

We drove through the Grand Teton National Park and enjoyed the rugged and more jagged peaks.

But then, of course, came Idaho and Utah... and the, um, "scenery" got less impressive... (By the way... that says: One Big Ass Mistake America...)

Yep, Idaho. Potato State. Remember that first grade project I did on Idaho, Dad? :)

We got to Utah and took a mini-break in Salt Lake City to see the Salt Lake Temple and read about the Mormons. We tried to go inside the Temple, but we weren't allowed in. You need a special letter from a bishop, Wikipedia said later, when we consulted it.

Leaving Salt Lake City... lovely sunset. Gabe: "It looks like the Promised Land..."

Day 9: Yellowstone, take two!

Activity No. 1: Morning Hike!

We took the Seven Mile Hole Trail, which is an 11-mile roundtrip trail that begins along the rim of the Yellowstone canyon and ends with a descent into the canyon, where some of the backcountry camping sites are located, along the Yellowstone River.

We did not make it very far before I realized my pants were falling down. >:( Makeshift suspenders!

This is a wee squirrel who hates me. He barked at me to go home. For a really long time. It hurt my feelings...

The trail leads into a pine forest and then.... presto-change-o, meadow-o! Ate our lunches here.

Activity No. 2: The Mud Volcano

More geothermal stuff... the vapors are mostly hydrogen sulfide (stinky), carbon dioxide, and steam...

Activity No. 3: Yellowstone Lake

Twenty miles long, fourteen miles wide... And lots of geothermal vents and activity way down at the bottom. You're not supposed to swim, though, because it is very, very cold and they don't want you to die of hypothermia.

We are very busy taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other.

Day 8: Yellowstone at last!

Stop No. 1: Mammoth Hot Springs

"DO NOT APPROACH THE ELK!" But... they look so... approachable.

This is in front of the Inn and "Resort" at the Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone. The hot springs themselves are a short walk away.

Amazing, no? The hot springs at Mammoth are comprised of "terraces" created by limestone, heat, water, and rock fissures. Thermophilic bacteria give these hot springs their beautiful color.

(Actually, I think some of these photos are from Norris Geyser Basin, which is the hottest and most dynamic thermal area in Yellowstone...)

Yellowstone Park is known for its magnificent geothermal activity. Yellowstone, itself, is an enormous (and still active) volcano. Bet you didn't know that.

It started to rain a little bit while we were at Mammoth. Hot springs, cold drizzle...

The hot springs deposit travertine as white rock and it creates a really remarkable-looking landscape. I thought these trees, with their stripes of white, black, and brown, looked like skinny beagle tails sticking up in the ground.

Stop No. 2: Old Faithful

You bet. Old Faithful goes off about every 90 minutes. As the time approaches, people begin gathering around the viewing platform.

You are two minutes late, O.F. For shame!

Actually, I overheard an old guy behind me say, "She used to be a lot more faithful, you know..." and apparently, he is right -- the interval between Old Faithful's eruptions is growing longer. Earthquakes in the area have changed the underground "plumbing" of the geyser over time...

On the drive back from Old Faithful, we saw.... A BULL ELK!!!

It is very funny. You can drive around Yellowstone and when you see a bunch of cars and people stopped in the road or along the side, you know you should stop, too, because there is something cool - LIKE A BULL ELK! - to be seen.

I am embarrassed to say that I was so excited, I left the car door hanging open in my rush to see the elk (Well, "relative rush," that is... You have to be very careful and keep a far distance away from the wildlife. There are signs all over to remind you that the wildlife is, indeed, wild. And will behave that way when provoked.)

Driving back to camp, post-elk excitement, in the evening.... What a beautiful waterfall...

So beautiful, in fact, that why don't we just put our big old faces in front of it and take a (now less beautiful) picture. Gabe: "Hey! Speak for yourself...."

Nothing like a campfire...