Need Some Butter with that Corn?

Things I am obsessed with, not necessarily in this order:

• Jr. Ranger badges
• National Parks
• Snail Mail
• Postcards
• Public transportation

This post is about postcards.

My postcard collection was probably a side effect of my packrat tendencies to collect everything-- bottle caps, rocks, quarters, flat pennies, boxes, Coke bottles, you name it. But postcards hold a special place in my heart, because there is no better feeling than getting something in the mail. As much fun as it is to write postcards, it's much more fun to have a pen-pal situation. Especially pen-pals who appreciate a good ol' corny postcard. In fact, due to different pen pals traveling and living in the midwest, I'm discovering just how many postcards involving corn exist out there!

My first pen-pal was a girl named Dawn. She was from Kansas, and my third grade class exchanged letters with her third grade class. I didn't like her, because she wrote about how much she loved pink. Our exchange didn't last long.

I currently correspond via postcard with a few regular pen-pals, spread across the country. I find that it is the best way to keep in touch-- more thoughtful than sending a text, less time-consuming than writing a four-page letter. Most of these pals are camp friends who always seem to appreciate snail mail the most, having lived in a place with limited internet for weeks at a time.

Pen-pal Story Time:
This one time, D-Rod, Maia, and I were headed out of the backcountry of Denali on the bus. We trooped to the back to sit with the other dirty backpackers, and met two guys who had also just come out of the wilderness. We shared stories and met up for celebratory we-didn't-get-eaten-by-bears pizza, then traded addresses. I didn't know then, but one of these guys turned out to be a stellar pen-pal!* You never know where you'll meet a new pen-pal!

Here are some corny postcard winners, if you are wondering what constitutes a good amount of corny:

Over the years of collecting and receiving corny postcards from all over the country, I have compiled some take-aways.

1. The best states for corny postcards are: Alaska, Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

2. Common themes for corny postcards are: cute animals, large vegetables, bears, jackalopes, factoids, cowboys, and hillbillies. 

3. Always check out the postcard section in thrift stores.

4. One dollar is way too expensive for a corny postcard, but is legit for an arty postcard.

5. Old Western postcards can be found in most gas stations out west, and they crack me up the most (ahem*send them to me*ahem).

*Note: To reach the level of Stellar Pen-Pal, you must sent postcards often, and they must be corny.

Sometimes...

...I kind of miss being on the dock at school.

That is all.

All the rooms

I spend excessive amounts of my free time on decorating my room, in part because I have way too much stuff that can possibly fit into it, no matter what size. So I just move it around from wall to wall, and call it 'organizing'.  What follows are some of my college rooms. It's like a game-- can you spot all the same items in different locations in each room?!

First year- Dorm explosion.

Second year- The house on School Street-- my attic cave.

Third year- Prescott semester-- when I didn't bring everything I owned.

Fourth year ish- Tiny cabin on the hill, Calypso Farm in AK.

Fifth year- Cottage Street with slightly less shit.

Not pictured: Pleasant Street room, Cleftstone Room. Don't worry, I still had all of the same things.

This is just to say

I have eaten
the cake
straight out of
the to-go box

from Guapos-
Tres Leches Cake
on my front porch
in the sunlight

it was delicious
so full
of sweet milk
for lunch

Prime Campsites

I've never been one for planning trips in advance (who does that anyway?), so I continued in this fashion and did not plan one bit of the Utah trip, aside from the national parks that I wanted to stop at. While I'm not going to actually recommend this technique to anyone out there planning a trip, it worked out okay for us. We were a group of three who knew nothing about any campsites on BLM land or National Park land. Yet we went camping for five weeks and still had a spot to sleep every night. Here is the highlight picture reel of these campsites:

Campsite: Colorado River Recreation Area site, just outside of Moab

Date: 10/11/2012

Result: Stunningly gorgeous landscape, and incredibly crazy thunderstorm at 5 am.

Campsite: Arches National Park backcountry site @ Clover Canyon

Date: 10/13, 10/14

Results: We Love Clover Canyon, and had it completely to ourselves... Wilderness

Campsite: Cowboy Camp, BLM land by Canyonlands Island in the Sky

Date: 10/15/2012

Result: Stupendous views! No cowboys though.

Campsite: Whistlewind BLM, somewhere towards the Needles District

Date: 10/16/2012

Result: Wish we'd gotten here earlier in the day, but perfect. And a good spot for bucket showers.

Campsite: Canyonlands NP backcountry, Devil's Pocket site

Date: 10/17/2012

Result: High walls and creepy vibes, also cold. But nice meadow in the morning!

Campsite: Canyonlands backcountry, on the slickrock

Date: 10/18/2012

Result: Luv n' it, caught the last of the sun and some sweet moon action.

Campsite: Canyonlands Backcountry

Date: 10/19/2012

Result: Beautiful redrock hike in, found a toad, got pretty creeped out at night.

Campsite: Capitol Reef NP, near Halls Creek Narrows

Date: 10/24/2012

Result: Hard slickrock, the Waterpocket Fold is SWEET

Campsite: Paria River BLM site, cottonwood "grove"

Date: 10/27/2012

Result: So relaxing, laundry in the river, burritos.

Campsite: somewhere in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

Date: 10/28/2012

Result: Juniper fires and Stickwiththeplan Soup, tryna be like Ed Abbey

There ya go, the unplanned campsites of Utah! Sometimes it works to have no plans or expectations. Then you can be pleasantly surprised to stumble upon the most perfect campsites of all time.

Reminiscing

GUYS I SWEAR I'm going to blog regularly. I know I've said this about four times in the past year, aka everytime I post, but I'm serious this time. This blog post is the jumping point for all my future blog posts about my favorite subject... the past. I spend probably way too much time looking through old pictures and reminiscing to... myself. So I might as well share, is my thought process here.

First up: Utah! I went on a big trip to Utah in the fall of 2012, and I never blogged about it. Blog post or it didn't happen, amirite?

As an overview, I traveled with two recently graduated friends from school, Sarah and Lucy. We started in Salt Lake City and then moved down to Arches, Canyonlands, Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef, Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I won't bore you, dear readers, with too many Utah posts in hopes that I will do exciting things in the PRESENT that I can blog about, but only time will tell.

Here is Growler, our trusty vehicle, taking in the views:

The Legend of the Badge

I have been no less than OBSESSED with collecting Junior Ranger badges from national park sites for the past few years, which is probably an obvious statement to anyone reading this blog. I have badges or patches from the following parks:

SF Maritime
Denali
Arches
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Grand Canyon
White Sands NM
Guadalupe
Apostle Islands NL
Acadia
Ft. Sumpter NM

This blog post is an attempt to explain this obsession, and also serve as a starting point of blogging again, because it has been too long!

How did this obsession start, you may ask? It is a long and winding tale. Many say that the obsession originated from the fabled 2009 visit to Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center. It was here that I tried on a Junior Ranger hat, and got a rushing feeling of power and responsibility (can't you tell by this picture?).

Legend has it that I received my first badge from a park that I do not even know the name of-- some maritime park in San Francisco in spring of 2010. Looking back on the moment now, I recall the frenzy of filling out the word search and of writing a poem about the sea or something... all for the end result... one shiny badge, and a lifetime of dedication to the protection of our public land's cultural and natural history.

Yes, much focus and dedication is necessary.

While filling out the booklet is a large part of the process, we must not forget the real live rangers. In the process of weeding out which Junior Ranger programs are the most advanced, it is evident that programs that require you to interview park rangers and attend interpretive programs are of the greatest caliber. I have placed Ranger Kathryn's program on the highest pedestal of them all, as its lore has trickled down through the ages as the best ranger program of all time. She used the greatest symphonies to describe the geologic phases in Canyonlands National Park-- a brilliant pairing that earned her our undying devotion in the fall of 2012.

Interviews, fact-checking, program-attending, and word-searching... the process can be repetitive, but the dedication pays off. The last step to become a Junior Ranger is to solemnly take the pledge, with your right hand raised, often in front of throngs of other park visitors.

As a Junior Ranger, I promise to teach others about what I learned today, explore other parks and historic sites, and help preserve and protect these places so future generations can enjoy them. 


Ah, such powerful words. Here D-Rod and I, after a harrowing journey through the Denali Wilderness,  repeat this oft-told sentence with such reverence that is only reserved for events of utmost importance. This pledge earned us applause from the entire Visitor Center.

The ultimate pledge ceremony occurred with the ultimate ranger (Ranger Kathryn, who else?), as she adeptly photo-bombed the shot of my Junior Ranger Pledge. This earned her bonus cool points, and spurred me on my quest to pursue MORE Junior Ranger badges, because you never know what can happen.

While I'll continue on my quest to get a large number of Junior Ranger Badges (Until I'm very much obviously and awkwardly way too old to do so), the best badges are earned together. See, look how much fun you can have when you fill out packets aimed at 5-12 year olds with other twenty-somethings? So. Much. Fun.

Who is with me??
I still have a long ways to go before my journey to ultimate Junior Ranger-dom is complete.
11 park units down, 390 to go.