Leaving Black Canyon of the Gunnison to Lakeview Campground Colorado

Today we left BC of G and spent a few hours in Montrose again to journal. We all went back to Maui Wowi. I gave the GVSU study abroad office a call about my theme proposal (For Italy). They claimed to have sent a reply on April 20th ( the first day of finals week Winter 2009 semester) BUT I never got that response. Now 3 weeks before leaving I have to finish that and have other little things to finish before traveling. On top of that I have to get some photos printed to show Tony too.

After talking on the phone with GVSU, writing in my journal, and eating Wendy's (amazing btw) we took off to the Lakeview Campground which took a few hours to get to. There were snow covered mountains surrounding us and the elevation was around 10,000 feet. It was difficult to breathe at times but it was bearable.

That day everyone was still a little stressed about our journals. For me I know I won't get an A but I also know I won't fail this class either. Everyone eventually did hand in their journals tha tnight. We sat around the fire or stayed in our tents though because it was so cold. At least 35 degrees outside. We didn't really have enough fire wood to keep us warm and for food it took well over 30 min to boil our water (because of the elevation). let's just say I gave up on that idea and decided a can of COLD Ravioli sounded good...


The following morning (now June 9th) half the group went to go hike Mt Elbert which is the highest peak in CO (around 14,800 feet). I opted NOT to go because of my asthma and I didn't want to hike 7 miles roundtrip with snow. I wanted to enjoy the last day of the trip not exhausted.

Instead most of us slept in and enjoyed not getting up at 6am. After eating and relaxing with Mark, Kate Jonkman aka Babs, and Nicole, we decided to travel to Independence Pass and Independence Ghost Town. It was about twenty minutes away from camp it was freezing! Mark's car thermometer read from 37 degrees to ICE.



Independence Pass as neat to look at. The view was amazing but my asthma... not so much. The elevation was kicking my ass and it was bad enough to keep warm. I photographed the Pass with my digital and the Holga 120mm. I can't wait to see how the film turns out.







Afterwards the ghost town was up next, which we ended up passing it by a few miles because the GPS "doesn't know it's place". It was great to see but I was still drawn to the scenery of waterfalls and snow covered mountains. In the mid 1800's Independence found $192,000 worth of gold in 2 years and the year after they only found $2000 worth of gold. Now THAT's how I envisioned Colorado. Eventually...no wait this happens all the time! my hunger was kicking in and my camera battery was dying. We looked at the map and noticed we were only 12 miles away from Aspen...of course we went.

Mark and I grabbed a bite to eat at Grateful Deli and there was lots of Grateful Dead posters,concert tickets, you name it all over this little hole in the wall type shop. Great food so if you're ever in Aspen, CO check that place out. Large sandwiches for a good price. Mark, Babs, Nicole and I didn't stay there long though, mostly because most of the shops were too expensive aka Louis Vuitton and Gucci to name a couple. It was good enough now just to say we've been there. They even had designated roads that cars weren't allowed down because they were reserved for bicycles. There was one store all all did stop into which was Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to get some sweets...expensive ones

A Large Reese's Peanut Butter BUCKET



and

some Oreo block- both were amazing...and cost me $9.

Updating from a few days ago

Right now I am sitting in my living room back in good ole Livonia. Time to update what has happened in the past few days in Colorado...

After shopping in downtown Grand Junction, it was a couple hours before arriving at the campsite at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Let's just say it was really cold. We all huddled around the fire to stay warm and later that night i made some more night exposures.

The following morning we were informed that Tony and Dellas were going to collect our journals to grade so most of that day was spent starting/finishing journals and sketches haha. Everyone was a little bit nervous but regardless I enjoyed the experience of this trip-except for it being cold.

Also that day (June 7th) it was Evan's 20th birthday. While all of us were busy writing journals and drawing sketches, we made time to cook chili for him. For Marisa's and Amanda's birthday we all went out to dinner and this time we couldn't so this was a good substitute. Kate and I drove into Montrose, CO to relax and go online, talk on the phone at Maui Wowi Smoothie shop. After a few hours we cooked up the chili and cornbread for evan's birthday and it was amazing. When all of us were full we again...tried staying warm around the campfire.

More Night Exposures though

Grand Junction, Colorado

June 5th We were in Grand Junction Colorado and that's when I updated the last few blog entries on my trip. I'm going to try and remember everything I've done since then. I don't have my notes with me so I will probably have to make a few corrections later on.

Mark, Sara, Marisa, Kate, Nicole, and I all crammed into a hotel room again at the Super 8 in Grand Junction. The rest of the groups minus Tony and Dellas were there and we all went out to Pablos Pizza to celebrate Amanda's 20th Birthday. I got a pale ale to drink with a Cajun pesto pizza that was amazing! The next morning we went back to the downtown area and I bought a Jimi hendrix Live at Monterey, Beatles White Album AND Beatles Revolver on Vinyl...for $123.87...to me that's money well spent. I am starting to collect vinyls now. My mom gave me a bunch of her old records/record player and the 2 beatle's albums are rare to find on vinyl as it is-hence is why they were so expensive.

There really won't be a lot of photos in the next few days. Tomorrow night our trip journals are due so everyone is trying to get that done and tonight is Evan's birthday so we're going to celebrate that. Then tomorrow we head to our last campsite before going home. Before updating later I'm going to post another night time exposure with flashes. This is a stepping ground for a future project involving mythologies. Countdown - 5 days until I'm back home...for 2 weeks before leaving for Italy.

redonkulous

so we're getting ready to leave Grand Junction and head towards the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado. I'll be updating the rest of my trip probably on wednesday unless I am able to get internet access. This is our last hotel stay (with the group) before we head back home to Michigan. On this trip I did mention that I had ridiculous tan lines and here it is



redonkulous my friends...REDONKULOUS. that's what i get for wearing a wife beater for 4.5 hours

Night Exposures in Arches National Park

It's about 1:30am and I'm too tired to type anymore, but last night I spend about an hour making more night time exposures which has lead me to create a new project in collaboration with Native American Mythologies. This is just the beginning

Moab/ Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Utah June 1-June4

When we arrived in Moab, Utah we celebrated Marisa's birthday at the Moab Brewery later that night. Before hand though I was able to visit a store called Sgt. Peppers Music Shop. They sold music and DVD's and of course I bought more Beatles stuff and some Hendrix stuff too. I went into a bike shop to ask about skateboarding on the sandstone-got directions, but never had time to do it. However I was able to skateboard on some of the sand stone by our campsite. Let's just say Tony was NOT HAPPY about me doing that but Dellas was totally cool with it. haha. It's understandable for worrying though. There were cliffs but where I was- it was far enough away, and Both profs are liable for me on this trip. At least I was able to enjoy it.

Amanda and I took a short 2-3 hour hike on the Squaw trail head ( same location where I skateboarded) and I took some photos...on film so you won't be able to see those either! The 4 days spent at Canyonlands and Arches National Park were mostly photographed on film (35mm, 120mm Holga, and 4x5 color and b/w) and very few digital images. After the hike a group of us went to Needles Outpost which is right outside of Canyonlands and lets say...it was not cheap. My hot dog with chips and salsa was 6.95 and gas was at $5.00/gallon!! And we think $2.50-$3.00 is bad enough! The "groceries" were priced high too. A can of chef boyardee was $2.69 when you cant probably buy it for $.92 cents. We have to realize though that this is an outpost and the nearest city is Moab which is about an hour drive from Canyonlands.

On June 3rd we left Canyonlands to go to Arches National Park which is not far north from Moab. So it would take about another hour/ hour and a half to get there from Canyonlands. We stopped back into Moab to get supplies and eat a little bit. Unfortunately while we were in town we blew the SAME fuse about...3 times I think. As of right now its working...knock on wood.

However we decided to find a ghost town "Miner's Basin" which required a 45minute ride up the mountain on switchbacks then following a 3 mile hike to the basin.

FYI: the change in elevation went from about 7000ft to 11,100 feet.

I really wasn't thinking we would have to hike 3 miles to this basin and before I knew it I was kind of having a minor asthma attack not even 1/2 mile into the hike. I didn't want to risk anything so I decided to turn back and let the others go explore. While I was waiting I read the book Zen in the Art of Archery which will help me on my projects. Dellas recommended this book to me and he said if i replace archery with skateboarding, photography, or something else it will help me understand why I do what I do better...kind of tough to explain but don't worry about it.

While I was reading and talking on the phone (limited service) I had this beautiful scenery to look at! time to photograph!





A couple hours later the group came back and NEVER made it to the "ghost town" THe trail was washed out AND covered with snow. When we got there it was only about 63 degrees when 4000 ft below back by the hwy it was reaching 90+ degrees. THAT'S WONKY!! At least while I was waiting, there were lots of stuff written on the trees to pass the time.

Capital Reef, Utah (may 29th and 30th)

Almost a week ago now I was at Capital Reef National Park (May 29 and 30th). Only an hour after most of the groups have arrived we were hassled by the campground host and eventually the park ranger. They were giving us a hard time about parking and camping where we were - I don't really feel like getting into this so I'm going to pass that.

Around 5:30 Mark, Kyle, Carolyn, and I went on the Cohab Canyon trail which was right across from where we were camping. the first 1/4 mile was all switchbacks and a little difficult but not as bad as other hikes I have done on this trip. We saw some pretty amazing views of the canyon, some slot canyons, and a clearing for a possible overnight camping. We didn't stay out there too long though because storms were settling in. And of course it started to rain and my tent started to flood again. 4 days out of the whole trip isn't too bad for rain.







The next day (May 30th) Mark and I went to see some petroglyphs and the historic school house right off of HWY 24. Both were interesting to see but I do not have digital images of those because I photographed them on 35mm b/w and color film. It was really funny though at the petroglyphs. When we got there - no one was around and 2 minutes later a whole bus load of Germans (easily 75 of them) were all standing there, yelling in German, trying to take photos. Both of us were quite overwhelmed by the situation-hopped the fence and left for the schoolhouse and eventually to the Gifford House where they had AMAZING pies, salsas, jams, and ice cream relatively cheap. I easily spent $50 on what else...FOOD!

that day i also found out the Red Wings were in the Stanley Cup Finals. GO WINGS!

After reading and writing, Mark, Kyle, Carolyn, and I went on an overnight but not where we found that clearing. Earlier that afternoon Mark and I took a 1.3 mile hike up the Fremont Trail ( also right by camp) to photograph and we found a better clearing (as well as the hike was about 15-20 min shorter). I didn't bring any camera equipment with me and all I had was a bag of fritos, water, and a sleeping bag. No air matress or sleeping pad that night! It was fun to have the necessities all in one bag. While we were up there we drank a little bit and just chilled under the moon light. Definitely an experience I enjoyed a lot and was glad I actually didn't bring my camera. The last 1/2 mile wasn't the easiest going up and I had to stop a lot because my asthma was kicking in.

However getting liquor in Canyonlands is not easy. Beer can easily be obtained at the gas stations but the nearest liquor store was about 30 minutes away and then the closest one after that was 60 MILES away.

The next morning we left at 10:30 am to head to Moab, Utah to stay at a Super 8 Motel