Category Archives: Uncategorized

Florida with the Family (Sept 1- Sept 30)

Art Vino!

I sold my iPhone when I got to FL, and that was my only camera. so from here out, there are a lot less pictures. while I was in FL, I spent a lot of time with my family, catching up.

: Sea world

: Jon’s grandparents

: alligator with babies!

: Jon’s grandpa Milt

a month in Connecticut (July 27- September 1, 2012)

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We stayed with Jon’s family, Mark, Amy & Jake. We had a wonderful time relaxing, cooking, and sailing. We went on a 9 day sailing trip around CT, RI & NY. I didn’t step onto land for days at a time! Then we took a roadtrip with Jake to tour around New England a bit. Visited New Hampshire & Massachusetts. After we left CT, we headed to FL, to visit Jon’s grandparents for a few days, then off to my parents house!

: Abbott’s Lobsters, sister restaurant is Costello’s

: old whaling ship

: their front sail was beautiful

: New Hampshire

: van camping. by skunks in parking lots.

: a childhood memory for Jon, the Fun Spot. huge collection of vintage video games

: 9 day sailing trip around Long Island with Mark & Amy

: The Rear Commodores flags

: Block Island, Rhode Island

: I only got sea sick one time

: camp Northwoods, NH

: Went to Jon’s summer camp from when he was a kid, Camp North Woods, New Hampshire

: bouldering in New Hampshire

: bouldering in New Hampshire

: Boston. and I do love it.

: napping in Boston

: victory ice cream with jon’s cousin Jake

: stoic.

: jon smoking the old guys at the gun range

: visiting jon’s cousin Kelsey in Boston. Taking a little road trip with Jake

: Cousins. Kelsey, Jake, Jon

: my first regatta

Bike Tour, from UT to CT (May 1-July 25, 2012)

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This is our bike tour. We rode from Utah to Connecticut, passing through Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania. 3,112 Miles, 168 pb & j’s, 9 flat tires, 4 chains, 2 crashes & 85 days later, we finally did it. We stayed with couchsurfers, warmshowers hosts & random people along the way. So many experiences, so many stories. Pictures don’t tell the whole story, they just show the moments that I happened to have my iPhone in my hand. This was an incredible journey that brought Jon and I closer, and made us stronger individuals.

: good morning, grand tetons

: we thought we were going to have to run for our lives. assuming it was a moose.

: not a moose, just an elk!

: hello elk who chews on handlebar tape

: jenny lake, grand tetons nat’l park

: continental divide

: 2 other bike tourers we met, rode with them for a few days

: on our way to thermopolis, WY

: Wind River Canyon

: big hills. BIG BIG.

: our kitchen

: Wendy gave me the last hair cut I would get for 6 months

: Thermopolis, WY

: thermal mineral springs, thermopolis, wy

: camping neighbors, wendy & gary. they cooked us dinner

: ice cream for dinner, what would your mother say?? we had to finish the carton, it wasn’t cold enough to freeze over night

: beaver trees, Tensleep Canyon, WY we are going back to this place. awesome climbing

: tensleep canyon

: straight up switch backs, no mercy

: climbed from the bottom of tensleep canyon, to 9,666ft in one day. all up. thought we were done in this pic, but it was rollers on the way down. didn’t stop pedaling until 10:30pm

: after we had set up camp in the rain, took it down cause we spotted bear poop that turned out to be cow poop. started in tensleep canyon 9am ended in buffalo, wy 10;30 PM. LONG DAY

: This is the guy who gave us a ride, we were so thankful. we bought him pie

: Finally in South Dakota, it’s 30 degrees outside, we are freezing. A guy in a pick up picks us up and gives us a ride through to Black Hills.

: it’s whats for dinner. we woke up at 4am the next morning to beat the winds, but we didn’t. 30mph head winds all the way to Wright, WY

: after my fall in ucross, we headed back to buffalo wy. we like it there

: ucross was a bust. we had heard such good things. I took my first fall on the bike this day

: Black Hills, SD

: Wild Donkey in Black Hills, SD

: We made it to Rapid City, stayed with couchsurfer who wasn’t even home.

: couchsurfers house

: cranky jeff, tuned our bikes for 5$ instead of $100

: art alley, rapid city, SD

: moments later, my rack fell off and we had to hunt for the million little pieces in the gravel. then jon got a flat

: JP’s bar, belvedere SD. free camping by the horse trailer out back. we’ll take it

: Wall Drug, SD

: wall drug, SD

: this is maude. jon’s bike is harold

: Rapid City, SD

: jon’s flat in SD, first of many on these crap roads

: 1880’s town, SD

: 1880’s town behind me, we didn’t wanna pay to go in.

: middle of nowhere, SD

: new pavement, no cars allowed yet. Best riding

: trees! We haven’t seen trees in weeks! Sioux Falls, SD We stayed with couchsurfer Sue, massage therapist:)

: We stayed with couchsurfer Moe and her kids. something about chem trails…

: the Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

: The epitome of south dakota

: waking up by the missouri river

: celebrated one month on the trip in chamberlain, SD. TORRENTIAL rain pour, we were glad we zipped up before we left for dinner

: Jon likes to pee in all of my pics. Corn fields for as far as the eye can see.

: check out those tan lines

: sleep, sleep, sleep, nap, nap, nap

: helping turtles cross the road, I hated seeing roadkill. there was lots.

: Angella, our couchsurfer in Mankato, MN. she helped us to Minneapolis.

: MINI HORSE!!! they are like dogs, they follow you and bump your legs

: the 3 best friends that anyone could have

: first night of the tour, camping in Logan, UT at willies friends house

: maude

: packing for 3 months, SL, UT

: backroads in logan, UT

: last utah pee

: camp in strawberry pass, ID

: jon making furniture out of only tree limbs & bark

: sunny the day before, woke up to snow. wtf. strawberry pass, ID. on our way to montpillier

: on a bike path out of minneapolis, there are SO MANY bike paths there. we loved it

: they make us dinner from their garden

: at a lake in minneapolis. we like it here

: John & Mike, our warm showers hosts.

: climbing trees with Mike & John in Minneapolis, they have a tree trimming co.

: “is that a tent or a big rock?” it’s a big rock, keep walking.

: I like these old rail beds they make in to bike paths

: my view

: on our way to duluth, MN

: “how you gunna get your bike up this hill with all that shit on it?” I cried on this hill.

: lumber yards everywhere, lot’s of new growth

: what’s the big deal about duluth??

: Gerhardt, our amazing warmshowers host.

: it was a busy weekend, grandma’s marathon

: skipping stones into Lake Superior

: there were several ❤ shaped rocks

: maude does well on the dirt roads

: so we went to his dancing club! All the people were wonderful

: Gerhardt is a dancer, the waltz is his favorite.

: Gaelynn is in the wheelchair, she plays an awesome violin, and has wonderful singing voice. Murder of Crows.

: randomly ran into Gerhardt’s friends Paul & Gaelynn at pub, she was playing that night

: so many daisies, it looked like snow

: sign of relief.

: badger!

: jon is so proud of this photo.

: don’t be fooled, the bike path lasted about 10 miles, and the rest of Wisconsin was spent on dangerous roads with no shoulders.

: the storm that flooded Duluth was upon us, so we stopped at their house to ask for a place to camp out of the storm, they opened the door and before we got a word out, they asked us if we needed a place to stay, out of the storm! they were so nice. they even made us breakfast.

: you had better make a wish.

: another 130 mile day to greenbay, WI

: backroads, WI

: they rescued us from night time and drunk drivers on the outskirts of Green Bay

: sweet peas

: we have watched the corn grown from ankle high to chest high as we crossed the country. we were so proud of our corn!

: Crossed into Canada, rode with our warmshowers host and his bike club out of Sarnia

: sleeping in peoples campers was common for us. always random & unexpected, but we were always so thankful

: our new friends who gave us a ride through detroit, thanks very much.

: camping under a water tower.

: wheat & barley country

: this couple met on a bike tour. we were eating dinner at little beach in Port Stanley, and they invited us to their house. they were well traveled, and so were their daughters

: they took us to lavender gardens

: riding the canadian coast

: July 1st, Happy Canada Day! we woke up to festivities, and were very confused as to why

: Home Sweet Home

: Good night house.

: crops on the coast of canada

: a guy we met who was walking picking up trash looked EXACTLY like John Allen who also has a huge mustache and walks the roads picking up trash. weird.

: 2 guys we met touring the opposite direction, from Ithica NY

: Crystal Beach, Canada

: safety first. I wished I had these on our night rides. bugs in eyes suck.

: Hello, wyoming. we spent almost 3 weeks passing through

: jackson, wy

: We remembered that JJ lived in Buffalo! so when I went to jaclyn’s wedding, jon stayed with JJ. They played hockey, volleyball, went to concerts, went fishing, mountain biked, and went to the taste of buffalo. way cool.

: bye jackson, we’re off to the tetons

: climbing in the park, jackson wy

: sleeping jon

: Amish folk.

: James & Laura bought us breakfast in Rochester, NY. good to see familiar faces.

: riding along the erie canal

: Niagra Falls

: my birthday cake consisted of fruity pebbles in a paper cup. happy girl.

: Diana & Andrejs, our warm showers hosts in Ithica, NY. we found a thank you card from John and Mike, the warm showers hosts we stayed with in minneapolis! small world

: creepy grave yard, graves in there that are older than the United States.

: more bike paths. yay

: we stayed with a warm showers host, Beth & her husband. this is their dog George. he had smelly farts.

: Maude picks her own flowers

: she followed us, took my phone, ate my candy and wouldn’t go home.

: this picture does no justice to the steepness of this hill.

: WE MADE IT! 3,100 miles & 3 months later.

Hawaii (Dec 15- Jan 4, 2011-2012)

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I met my family in Hawaii, where we spent the next 3 weeks touring the islands. We rented a jeep, and toured the Road to Hana on Maui, Kayaked to hidden falls, enjoyed Matsumoto’s Shaved Ice, went to a Luau, swam in Hanauma Bay on Oahu, and soaked up hte sun on several different beaches. We visited Hawaii, Oahu, Maui & Kaua’i.

: at a luau

: windy spot!

: coast of maui

: snail friend

: big tree, big island

: mom & pops

: hawaii hike

: on a hike along the coast

: the fam damily

: friend of the family

: in the galley of the sub

: in a submarine at Pearl Harbor Memorial

: Rainbow Eucalyptus

: the land of Dole pineapples

: munch, munch

: still leaking oil, the USS Arizona

: Hawaii

: waterfalls are abundant in Hawaii

: matsumoto’s shaved ice, famous.

: wave cave

: lava rock beaches

: thai food hut

: lava took over a town, not much was left.

: where volcano meets ocean

: pointing to a tent. I can see it.

: matsumoto’s

SL,UT (October-May, 2011-12)

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I lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for the winter where I learned to ski, cook & ride a bike. I lived with Tobi & jon in a house full of love & laughter. We had a bunch of Alaska friends living there as well, Chad, Annika, Jerany, Hilary, Mikey & Kevin. We all climbed at Momentum a few times a week, and all went to each others houses for dinner. It was a good sense of community we had there. I made a bunch of friends working at Brighton Ski Resort & Rec Outlet. It’s a winter I will love forever.

: breakfast fish

: my take on denali

: camping at diamond fork hotsprings, the night my hair froze

: hockey game

: dressed for an art show, go to a hockey game last minute

: Tobi & a machete

: made a bed in the back, it was perfect. we drove in shifts

: road trip out to SLC from FL with Zach

: battery trouble. bad connection

: chad in a tub

: packing for 3 months, SL, UT

: Tobi on the banjo, her parents on mandalins

: mancakes.

: waking up at Blackrocks

: Climbing in St George, Black Rocks

: catwoman, joker, batman & robin! skiing at canyons

: jon & fro

: breakfast at Park Cafe with the best of friends, willie & tobi

: sitting at the kitchen table & on the couch at the same time

: climbing at Momentum

: the globe

: camping at diamond fork hotsprings

: the breakfast fish puzzle

Grand Circle road trip (Sept 30-Oct 27 2011)

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I started this roadtrip in Colorado Springs where I was staying with Jaclyn for a few weeks. Brian Gallagher & his friend Mark picked me up, and we rode in a mini van all around the west. Our trip took about 3 weeks, we went to the Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon, Mesa Verde, Bishop’s Castle, Durango, Great Sand Dunes Nat’l Park, Telluride, Havasupai, Canyonlands Nat’l Park, Las Vegas, Capital Reef, Arches, and lot’s of other places. My roadtrip ended in Moab, when I went on a West Water rafting trip with Jon Laser & Tobi Summerhayes & most of my other AK friends.

: el fuego, road trip with tobi

: mooney falls, havasupi

: Havasupi

: cheers.

: tent? no thanks

: Horseshoe falls, havasupi

: the beginning of Jon & I

: floating the Colorado River

: Soaking in the Grand Canyon

: Bryce Canyon

: Bryce Canyon

: ancient 9yr olds

: Angels Landing, Zion National Park

: Arches Nat’l Park, UT

: Arches

: Arches

: Arches

: Delicate Arch

: Mesa Verde

: Mesa Verde, CO

: Great Sand Dunes Nat’l Park, CO

: Telluride, CO

: Mesa Verde

: Mesa Verde

: Bishop’s Castle

: Guffey Gulch, CO

Seattle, for a bit. (Sept 1-Sept 17, 2011)

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I spent 2 weeks in Seattle with Scott Kramer, an old friend from high school. We went to a music fest, Bumbershoot with Gallagher & Tammy Smith, they were both randomly in Seattle at the same time as me. I spent my days walking around Seattle, getting to know the place. Scott was an excellent tour guide, and showed me all the good stuff.

: Mt Ranier

: TV’s hanging from trees, carpets too.

: Pike’s Place Market

: Bumbershoot music fest

: Space Needle

the jaunt started in Alaska (May 9- Sept 1, 2011)

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: the first beer I opened in Denali. it was truth

: hammock city, where every great adventure started

: Damien drew an elephant on me

: Ashley & I at the Bake

: summit of mt magret, Denali Park, AK

: eating raw moose on the most random day of my life.

: climbing hotel rock, I’ve still got scars from that day.

: soundtrack of Denali

: Hiking triple lakes

: triple lakes traverse

: a concert at 49th state brewery

: justin’s wizardry in Talkeetna

: Valdez, AK

: camping outside of Valdez

: waterfalls in Valdez

: on the road to Valdez

: Roadtrips in Uncle Buck

: Welcome to Cantwell, AK

: Let’s cross this foodbridge in a ridiculous manner.

: I got visitors, Grammy & Tommy

: one of many river trips

: View from the cessna of Denali

: Denali from the air

: Love Mariana, my sassy mexican friend

: Hiking to Squatters Cabin, playing Cheers Govna the whole way

: Gallagher & Dillon

: Peaches, how I love thee.

: View from my job at The Grand

: shotgun!

: twas a trip full of funny

: this is the middle of the night, alpine glow & rainbow

: alpine glow

: hiking to squatters cabin

: collecting firewood. 2 people with shotguns walked by and asked why we weren’t armed…

: Hiking to the headwaters of a river I can’t recall the name of with Jon. I don’t recall much about that trek

: JJ’s scary face. We met up with him again in Buffalo

: Wildie Camp

: Camping on the Wildie

: Laura ❤

: Mitch & Laura

: view from camp

: adventuring & singing loudly in the park.

: take off

: I stole JJ’s hat for my birthday

: on the way back from the Spike, on my birthday

: Adam & Mariana, 2 great friends

: not much in the way of chairs, so we more lay around than anything.

: both of them looking dapper.

: Boys & their experiments. Gates & Peaches, awesome room mates

: Orvis in his work apparel.

: Peaches & Orvis

: Jon as Batman

: Greatest Day, I went mountain biking, then climbing, then I jumped windy bridge. no joke.

: Rookie Moves, my other home.

: some of the crew at the beginning of the season

: peaches liked to cook, I liked to eat. It was nice.

: Love her.

: roomies! let’s send out christmas cards.

: family gnomes.

: my house behind Prospectors & Lizzy’s, 2 of my 4 places of work.

: as far as the sun ever set

: riding justin’s motorcycle

: tobi with a forehead stash

: Justin working on his bike, we never actually got it to run. battery issues.

: rapping Windy Bridge

: cycling with Justin

: The evening I stealthed out of Denali, Cupcake & Joslin stopped by

: Dragonfly Gulch, Day 2 of AK

: Denali Sunset, from Prospectors.

: mustache party. hilary & peaches

: Mitch & I realizing how far down it was to the water

: Thanks Cory, I trust you!

: Swinging windy bridge, it was a LONG DROP

: attempting to climb windy bridge

: Swinging the bridge

: rapping down windy bridge

: ghost of Denali

: a seagull followed me from florida

: purple kicks, Nenana River still frozen @ Dragonfly Gulch

: random road trip to Valdez

: camping trip into Denali Park

: Camping & hiking with Jon

: Alaska is for lovers

: waking up to snow in the park

: my alaskan residence

I started my journey in Denali Park, Alaska. This is where I met the friends that would teach me how to backpack, camp, use a camp stove and fend for myself in the back country. My summer in Alaska changed the course that my life was on.