Phantom Ranch (Grand Canyon): Feb 17 and 18th

This is the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Our happy smiles are the result of lactic acid build-up in our legs reaching our facial muscles.

Dinosaur Tracks: Feb 16th

Morris Chee, a friendly Navajo who has perhaps spent too much time in the sun, will provide a tour of dinosaur tracks and dinosaur poo for a donation. Although no official Government signage will lead you to these tracks outside Tuba City, AZ, Morris has helpfully posted a sign by the road, "TURN RIGHT NOW!" The enthusiastic but ambiguous sign works fine, as no right turn exists. Turn left to see the tracks.

Zion: Feb 15th

Zion is a favorite of Samar's. It resembles her home planet. We recommend this other-worldly landscape.

Bryce: Feb 15th

Rocks rock!

Utah: Feb 14th

We slept in a hippified schoolbus at "Mystic Hot Springs" in Monroe, UT. Not recommended. The mystery of the springs derives from their in fact being lukewarm.

Mid West: Feb 7th and 8th

We drove through the Iowan and Nebraskan heartland in two days. Black cows spotted golden fields . . . for a long long while. We stopped at Omaha for lunch and went thrift store shopping for ski gear. $8 got us one pirs of ski pants and 2 jackets, one cool, and one which cost 98 cents. Use your skill and judgement (and the Steamboat pictures) to decide which is which. That night we stopped off at a cowboy town which stank of cows and ate at a restaurant full of animals the owner (should not have been allowed to have) killed. Note the (Omaha thriftstore) cowboy boots!

SteamBoat: Feb 9th to 13th

We owe an awesome (Dude!) time in skiing in Steamboat Springs, CO, to Tom "Buz" Sawyer, everybody's favorite trip organizer!
"So next time Chamonix, and you are organizing it!" - Buz to Samar. "Okay," Samar agrees perfunctorily, then adds, "Buz you don't really want me to organize that trip, do you?" "No, I'll organize it, I don't know why I said that."
Meet our new friend Erich Of Great Style, and protector against people who like to pick on Buz.
Activities in Steamboat included two concerts, live ski jumping, resting mid-slope, hot springs, caribou sightings, lots of falling down, and even some skiing!

Pittsburg, Ann Arbor and Chicago: Feb 5th and 6th

Our first stop was Pittsburgh. We thought we would be safe among hipsters if we headed for the area around the Andy Warhol museum. Wrong. At the first establishment we patronized, the barmaid urged Samar to drink Michelob Ultra, as it was the closest thing she had to the Yuenling or Sam Adams I requested. "I'll have a Coke, thanks." A man standing next to us took it upon himself to explain the Superbowl to us at high decibels in a language he probably continues to create to this day. Adam was unhappy with the drunken stares of some very large young men. When we saw the posting behind the bar warning that tapes from the 7 security cameras in the closet of a place would be willingly turned over to authorities, so "sell your drugs someplace else," we left. The next bar was decidedly safer, though Samar received a few cold looks when questioning patrons about the justice of some of the calls. An old man hummed the fight song happily to himself throughout the steal.

Newlyweds Corinna and Walter Parker received us in their beautiful new home in Ann Arbor after a short stop in Detroit. The stay was short but nourishing and cozy.

Our first pictures are of a lovely day in Chicago.

Grand Canyon: Feb 16th

After Bryce and Zion the Grand Canyon only looked impressive for it's size. We decided to hike down the Canyon and stay overnight at a ranch at the bottom. Walking down wasn't so difficult and gave us so many different prespectives on the canyon. The ranch was very pretty, if a little holiday camp style. Up, 10 miles and 5000 feet, was...well...hard.