Right out of the gates!

Now that Mike and I are done with our long trek across the country, driving-wise anyway, we hit it hard our first day on our own two feet! The venue - Great Sand Dunes National Park. I probably couldn't stress enough how phenomenal this gem of a place truly is, but I'll try and do it justice with some of our shots from the day.


First thing we set off in the backcountry towards Medano Lake, a snow-melt alpine lake at the base of Mt. Herard, which is pristinely situated right behind the Great Sand Dunes. We knew this would be our first go at alpine hiking and anticipated having to acclimate to the elevation and thin air. We did feel a substantial difference from the hiking we do back at home, but nothing to stop us from putting one foot in front of the other. 

The trail was beautiful! We hiked up the mountain in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness until the trail was unrecognizable. We kept hiking until all the previous footprints disappeared, and then we hiked some more. Another 1/2 mile or so up black diamond worthy ascents until the snow cover was consistently knee-deep and our feet were pretty much soaked and freezing. We then had a pow-wow (actually a few) and the executive decision was made to turn around. We weren't geared for the deep snow and we weren't sure what caliber of obstacles that were ahead. I'm not gonna lie - we were disappointed, eaten up with it actually for a short bit after our turnaround. But we romped back down the mountain knowing that we felt confident we could have made it to the top, our intention being to summit some 13,000 ft to Mt. Herard's peak. That confidence grew when we checked the trail log and all the recent posts had mirrored our experience - turned back before even the lake because of the heavy snow. Map-wise we estimated we reached somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,500 ft because we ended with what we knew was Mt. Herard directly in front of us and had cornered to about mid-elevation the mountain on our left with a matching topo to what is described on the map.

Oh well, we know we'll give it hell on the next one. I guess it is a lot to ask of the mountains to have their winter's worth of snow vanquished by early June - not quite ripe just yet.


So after some lunch back at our campsite near the trailhead we packed up, backtracked along the primitive road and headed straight for the dunes. After what felt like a gazillion ill-labored steps in endless sand that gave way under each grasp at establishing footing (seriously, every 20 steps we were spent!) we reached the top of High Dune. So unbelievably worth it, even adding 4 miles through sand to our 7 from the morning! We stayed and played, met some new friends and got back to the truck right before sunset (with much coaxing to poor Sully who was beyond exhausted - I think he still is!) happy with a day well-spent! 

Here you can see the parking area we came from and Mike's jumping shadow at the bottom of a big bluff in the dunes.

 

What an unbelievable first day! Love and miss y'all at home!


Tidbits of things we've learned:
1. Showers are showers even if they're nasty camp showers. They make you feel better nonetheless.
2. Cooking at high elevations is NOT comparable to the cooking we're accustomed to. It seriously took us nearly 1 1/2 hours to grill chicken, cook a pasta side (the noodles are so incredibly slow to absorb water) and steam some zucchini.
3. Talk to the locals when you're traveling. They know all the best things there are to do and all the good places to stay! And for a social butterfly such as myself (accustomed to chatting with people everywhere I go, stranger or not) it makes this feel less far away from home.
4. Living out of a truck and primitive camper is not for OCD people...I'm coping better than I thought, but Mike's having to teach me the tricks of the trade to a good healthy level of carelessness :)
5. My tan this summer is going to be jacked up! 

Its gotta be done...

It happened. We launched. Wednesday morning, June 1, 2011, bright and early we set off and have been putting rubber to road ever since. Literally. We realize this long 1900 miles can smother the enthusiasm of some, but we're in this. And we have successfully napped our way through the boredom. And Sully's been a champ!

Thanks to Mikey we ended Day 1 at a perfect little campground in Dardanelle, Arkansas. Went to bed with a view, woke up with a view. 

So far on Day 2 we opened our Adventure Kit from the sweet Martin clan (whom we adore so very much!), which turns out we got to happily share with a homeless man and his two dogs off the interstate in Shamrock, Texas. 

Otherwise, we've trekked on the low, flat unimpressive land along the I-40 corridor with another good night's rest on our minds. And bonus - the AC in our truck died which meant riding pedal to the metal with the windows down in 96 degrees for oh, around 600 miles. And double bonus - that happened right as we were coming into Oklahoma, which is what I now understand to be the windiest state there ever was. So, a little culmination of putting s'more miles behind us.

P.S. Don't ever relocate yourself to Texline, TX. It appears to me the spitting image of about 50 or so Gangland episodes and had a sign along the interstate to warn travelers against picking up hitchhikers due to a maximum security detention facility close by. Thanks for the heads up, Texline!

Gearin' up

Our friends Megan and Mike told us it would happen. You start the ball rolling towards an upcoming outdoor adventure and before you know it you're shaping up to become a genuine gearhead - gortex this, cap 3 that. Here lately I've found myself on REI checking against my can'tforgetitgottahaveit list one too many times. 


But a long trip where one lives outdoors calls for a good bit of gear and let's not forget, the world is a runway. That and I pack like a girl. What you may not know is that our dog, Sully, is coming on our westward adventure along with us. And you also may not know that just as hikers have to tend to their mode of transportation feet, dog's paws have to be watched after, too. Miles and miles a day on rugged, hot or snowy terrain can cause the pads of their feet to crack and bleed and if Sully goes out of commission then that'll be a disappointing timeout for us as well. 


This was news to us so we did some research. Consumer reviews led us to the purchase of a set of Ruffwear dog boots and thankfully this hilarious moment as Sully tried them on for the first time. Poor thing doesn't understand our good intentions. 

He got better with a little practice :)

A long time comin'

So, my brain is fried and I am le tired, but deep down I'm truly beaming with excitement and relief. I'm into visuals, so I was planning to slap a picture up of my new signature along with my fresh-out-tha-oven, sweet (nevermind the blood, sweat, tears and years that went into achieving them) credentials buttttttttt they don't call this the World Wide Web for nothing. Just think, some creeper out there could happen upon my blog (eureka!) and find themselves privy to my authentic signature and use it in some stealthy, fraudulent manner to steal every penny I have! Poor sucker. And because I wouldn't want to cause anyone such disappointment I'll stick to the golden rule of the internet which is basically: don't be stupid, nothing on the internet is private, that's kinda the point. 


Nevertheless, its exciting to share the final product of these past 6 years. 6 years! It has been a long road and in my most nostalgic moments I'd gear up to do it all over again. But the truth is - the view from here, looking back now that I'm at the very end, is much more fun. And I'm glad. Glad that I chose nutrition and dietetics so many years ago - way back in high school after my Mom got sick. Glad that I went to Clemson and stuck with it for 4 years. Glad I took a breather after graduation to get some work experience and dip my toe in the field. Glad I got accepted to the only internship program I applied to and to cross paths with the friends I made through the process. Glad to graduate from the program feeling like I put a lot of myself into it and got a lot out in return. Glad to have such strong support from my family and friends along the way. And finally, glad to have passed my exam this past week to finally become Kayla Anderson, RD!!!


Ahhh I seriously never knew credentials would feel so good :) So, how am I celebrating? Well, I may ceremoniously burn a text book out on the back 40 orrrrrr waitforit - I think I'll continue to put the finishing touches on planning and prep work for our big summer trip out West. Just 17 more days! 


To sweet endings. To even sweeter beginnings. 

If you say go...

The 411

Ery' day I'm studying, nerding it up for my RD board exam. Food science, glycolysis, the Kreb's cycle, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, disease states, MNT, calculations, food service management, food safety...you name it, I'm spending my sweet time with it! I try to plan something relaxing and otherwise exciting in comparison each night to cap off my long days deep in the books. Monday night it was a sleepover with my mom and sweet sister. Tuesday it was a new episode of Biggest Loser. Last night it was a workout and weightlifting with Mike before a dinner of yummy zucchini fritters, and today is a lunch break with Dad and possibly an episode of 24 tonight before bed. 


Wash. Rinse. Repeat.


But tomorrow's Michael's 24th birthday so I'll be baking and celebrating! And Saturday is a sweet, sweet reunion :)


In the mean time, you can find me in my study spot.

Beautiful kind of busy...

So now that Mike and I are back home we've had the time for some of our most favorite things, simple things, and more time with our roots. Family and friends that may as well be family. Speaking of friends of that sort, meet my very best friend, Kristen.

We've been best friends since preschool, about 20 years! We went to different elementary schools after that so it is a wonder we were able to stay so close without the luxury of drivers licenses and the freedom to visit whenever we pleased and all. Lord bless our parents for nearly adopting the other as their own to support us remaining as thick as thieves through all those years. We've laughed and cried and laughed and cried some more and through it all we've never skipped a beat. Our friendship is one of the very first things I count on when thanking God for my immeasurable blessings.  


As if all of that doesn't sound good enough, there's three more blessings that come with my best friend. Isabel, Ty and Cailey. 

Beautiful Bell, one of my best buds! I love this little girl so much and watching her grow up...I'm just so proud. I love that she considers some of Kristen's best friends, me and Brittney, her best friends too. I can't wait to tell her all the fun stories she wants to hear about her mom one day, but I'll stick to the good ones since Kristen could dish out some serious payback when the time comes. 

Oh Ty, what a little pistol, and too cute for his own good! He'll keep you laughing and never meets a stranger. I so appreciate the way he melts Kristen's heart with a good cuddle when he finally slows down. He's her boy and it is beautiful to watch. 

Cailey, our little fighter. She was born premature and gave Kristen some scares, but has grown up beautifully - too fast if you ask me! Such a blessing. I can't wait for her little personality to bloom. And I think she looks like her Gigi, lucky duck. 

I love this family, my best friend's family, a family I consider family. So when Kristen asked me to take some family pictures for her she really had to pull my arm I immediately agreed. I'm no professional, but I tried to make it feel like a day in the park, that they were just there to play. I had a great time and I don't think it was too terribly painful for the kids either. Kristen, it was my pleasure and thanks so much for asking me to do something so special. I love you to pieces!

A few more of my favorites from the day...

And after all that, a nap. :)