The Quick and The Dirty

I have yet to post my blog about Yellowstone and my return to Montana. But My brain is almost completely fried. I've had a few nights to myself and was unaware of how much I really had to process. I'll start by saying that last year at this time I was heading to Philadelphia for a month from Austin, Texas. From Philadelphia I flew into Spokane, came to Missoula, went to Glacier, Cut Bank, Great Falls and Helena, then Back to Missoula. The I drove to Livingston, Gardiner, Yellowstone National Park, Denver (area) Colorado, Alamagordo New Mexico and back to Austin Texas. I lived and worked in Austin from August to January and during that time I was traveling to many small towns in East Texas to photograph and at times, interview people. I moved from Austin to Big Bend National Park in West Texas and lived there from February until May 5th. During those four months I traveled to Rincon, Puerto Rico and Philadelphia. I also was lucky enough to wander around Marfa, Alpine, Marathon, Presidio, Terlingua Pecos, Ft. Davis, Big Bend State Park and the Carlsbad Canyons. Needless to say it has been one of the most restless years. I thought I had done a lot until I began the current trip, which began May 5th and will not end until May 29th. If I wrote about the entire experience it would take far too long. Instead...here is a list...of where I have been...from there to here...as it goes.

Places I've been from there to here:

Guadalupe National Park, TX
Lincoln National Forest, NM
White Sands National Monument, NM
Gila National Forest and Wilderness, NM
Apache National Forest, NM
Coconino National Forest, AZ
Grand Canyon National Park-North Rim- AZ
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, AZ
Navajo Bridge National Monument, AZ
Kaibab National Forest, AZ
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Escalante National Monument, UT
Dixie National Forest, UT
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, UT
Natural Bridge National Monument, UT
Arches National Park, UT
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, UT, WY
Bridger Teton National Forest, WY
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Gallatin National Forest, MT
I will end in Glacier National Park, MT

Towns that seemed to have some bearing
Alpine, TX
Van Horn, TX
White's City, NM
Artesia, NM
Elk/Hope/Dunkel, NM
Alamagordo, NM
Silver City, NM
Smithville, AZ
Sanders, AZ
Winslow, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
Kanab, UT
Hanksville, UT
Boulder, UT
Torrey, UT
Bicknell, UT
Moab, UT
Jackson Hole, MT
Livingston, MT
Missoula, MT

States:

Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
Utah
Wyoming
Montana

I think if I even attempted to explain the adventures at this point in many of those places my head would explode and pop off of my neck. I'm pretty wiped out, emotionally, physically and visually. I am in fact, ready to be in Glacier to have a steady pace for a few months. I'm ready to hike until I can't walk, learn about plants, wildlife and geological history and well...sleep in my own bed. After Glacier there's no rest...I head to Maine for a month to help my best friend finish his cabin building and then to Vegas to meet my boyfriend (thank god...I miss him to death already)...where we will begin another epic journey to still unknown destinations (maybe to another country) and then back to a winter in Big Bend. I just got tired writing that.
People have consistently told me throughout my traveling life that they are jealous of my life. It has never felt like a choice for me. It's a constant epic battle to feed a longing I do not understand. I feel insatiable. And I have lost friends and relationships in the process. Not to mention that I really own nothing, I have no savings, no investments and no real future. I'll be lucky if someone ever finds me suitable to marry. I am jealous of you. You have stability. You get to sleep next to your loved one. You have built something and you have laid down roots. It is a whirlwind life. I have only stories to pass along. And I have only myself to give and nothing more. And sometimes, although this seems utterly free and glamorous...it can at times...be obviously tiring. Sometimes I feel that if you were not reading this I would have no point or purpose. Following that feeling comes the instinctual pulling in my gut to move...toward the horizon. Toward something unknown. Out there, somewhere. Keep going, keep going, keep going. I apologize for the lack of polishing or linguistic garnish. I really am in need of a rest. So that I'll do. -KG