Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!! After today, I only have a week until I leave for college. It's so soon!!! At least I really am starting to prepare now. :)
Today I finished my laundry and setting out the clothes and shoes and stuff I think I should bring. I also ordered the majority of the books I need for school off Amazon.com. There's two I think I'm stuck ordering from the bookstore because one is a bunch of Word and Microsoft stuff for my computer class and the other seems to be an eBook for Calculus that I cannot find anywhere. But I'll ask around once I get to campus. And then I cannot for the life of me figure out which book the professor for my Lit class wants because the ISBN does not match the edition of the book he says he wants. But whatever. I got 6 books for 64 dollars and free shipping on Amazon, so I think I'm doing well.
I also finally practiced my dance twice today. I spent the majority of the day doing the textbook stuff and cutting the grass around our trees for my dad, but I did manage to set aside some time for practicing. I'm probably going to try to get in a few more times tonight and tomorrow night, but I think I remember it fairly well now. So hopefully I'll be fine on Sunday. *sigh*
There's a fire above the Air Force Academy right now. No one knows yet how it started, but it's just kind of freaky because as far as I can remember there's never been a fire so close to where we live (as long as we've lived here). No houses are in danger, and it's not very big yet, but the wind that is currently outside does not seem to be helping matters. Ack.
.......I think I may have just heard two stray cats trying to make baby cats. There were two very distinct meows--screams, more like--and they were very, very loud. And then they just stopped. Or perhaps they were just fighting, but whatever. Two stray cats were doing something in our backyard. My cats were not a fan of the cats coming into "their" territory. However, like the cowards they are, they responded by staring into the darkness for a few moments and then bolting away.
I seriously need to make a list of blog ideas so I stop just sitting here at 9:30 at night trying desperately to think of something interesting to blog about (The sprinklers just came on in the backyard, so I'm sure that scared the cats away).
Okay, I'm desperate, and I just went back into the old 2009 thread of 30 ideas for 30 blogs. "Plan a road trip" was one of them, and since I still have Elizabethtown on my mind, I will now make a plan of several different roadtrips I would like to take...by myself, probably.
1. Pacific Coast
Start in Vancouver, BC. Head south through Washington, Oregon, California, visiting all of the national parks: Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Death Valley. Visit the smaller towns along the way, stopping to see beautiful views of oceans and mountains. Hike a lot. Dance in the rain. Marvel in the changing weather from rain to unbearable heat.
2. Cross Country--Colorado to Maine
I'm starting in Colorado because that's where I live, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. I can't really think of a plan for this as far as stops, but I want to go north through Nebraska and Iowa, then move south through Missouri until I reach Kentucky. Kentucky to Virginia, then north Maryland-Pennsylvania-New York-Vermont-New Hampshire-Maine. Find nice beautiful local places along the way. End hopefully in Acacia National Park, maybe head north further to wear Maine meets Canada.
3. Idaho-Montana-Wyoming
This one is mostly just because I firmly believe these states are some of our country's most beautiful. Visit the mountains, national parks, swim in some beautiful lakes.
I suppose I don't really have a plan for most of these road trips do I? Also, I hate driving, so I'll have to get over that before any road trip happens. There does, though, seem to be something so beautiful about driving through our country, watching it pass you slowly, letting the air roll in through your window. It seems so much more intimate, insightful, and personal than flying to a place. In general, I just really want to see America. However, I also really want to see Eastern Europe, Africa, and New Zealand, so...we'll see what happens with my life. I love to travel, so hopefully I can find some way to make that happen when I'm older and have a career.
Also, I have this weird life goal to visit every National Park in America. I love nature so much--the mountains, ocean, wildflowers, animals. I want to hike through the heart of America, what existed in America before we plowed down the landscape to create our homes and farms and storefronts. As I tried to get across in my blog last Saturday, I find such peace when I'm out in the fresh air. Once I see the beauty in the world, I am reminded of the spirit in our country. The spirit of the people we love and lose, travelling along life with us, living in the rivers and sky and flowers. I don't want to do anything crazy like go live alone in the wilderness, hunting for myself, trying to discover myself. However, I do strongly believe I can find myself in nature--discover my heart, my soul, the beauty in everything.
Er...the thing is, I'm not sure it's possible to visit every national park in America.
(italics indicates ones I've visited, bold indicates the ones I most want to visit)
Acadia (Maine)--American Samoa--Arches (Utah)--Badlands (South Dakota)--Big Bend (Texas)--Biscayne (Florida)--Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado)--Bryce Canyon (Utah)--Canyonlands (Utah)--Capitol Reef (Utah)--Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico)--Channel Islands (California)--Congaree (South Carolina)--Crater Lake (Oregon)--Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio)--Death Valley (California)--Denali (Alaska)--Dry Tortugas (Florida)--Everglades (Florida)--Gates of the Arctic (Alaska)--Glacier (Montana)--Glacier Bay (Alaska)--Grand Canyon (Arizona)--Grand Teton (Wyoming)--Great Basin (Nevada)--Great Sand Dunes (Colorado)--Great Smoky Mountains (North Carolina/Tennessee)--Guadalupe Mountains (Texas)--Haleakalā (Hawaii)--Hawaiʻi Volcanoes (Hawaii)--Hot Springs (Arkansas)--Isle Royale (Michigan)--Joshua Tree (California)--Katmai (Alaska)--Kenai Fjords (Alaska)--Kings Canyon (California)--Kobuk Valley (Alaska)--Lake Clark (Alaska)--Lassen Volcanic (California)--Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)--Mesa Verde (Colorado)--Mount Rainier (Washington)--North Cascades (Washington)--Olympic (Washington)--Petrified Forest (Arizona)--Redwood (California)--Rocky Mountain (Colorado)--Saguaro (Arizona)--Sequoia (California)--Shenandoah (Virginia)--Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota)--Virgin Islands--Voyageurs (Minnesota)--Wind Cave (South Dakota)--Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska)--Yellowstone (Wyoming)--Yosemite (California)--Zion (Utah)
It is quickly becoming apparent that I should just take a big trip around Alaska...
Gates of the Arctic
But considering I've only visited 7 out of 58 by age 18, this isn't really a realistic goal for my lifetime. But a girl can dream, right?
Cheers!
Word of the day: intrepid--resolutely fearless; dauntless
Inspirational quote/photo of the day: "Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." -John Muir
Days until I leave for college: 7
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