Day 18-20: Utah and Grand Canyon

Day 18: Madison, Utah

We went white water rafting in Utah, but it really wasn't all that difficult. Basically we sat in the raft and did almost nothing the entire time except a few times when the guide needed us to row. Sorry no photos because i was afraid my camera would get water damage.


Day 19: Grand Canyon, Arizona

This is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Sadly we did not get a chance to hike down into the Canyon, but we did get to see the Colorado River and the highest point of the Grand Canyon. Enjoy the photos.







Day 20: Zion National Park, Utah

This park has lots of awesome rock formations and rivers. I loved the place and if you're in Utah I say you pay this place a visit.

Day 11-17: South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah

Day 11: Badlands, South Dakota

This is the Badlands. The rock formations were made when Pangea came apart and an ocean filled this area in South Dakota. Now that the ocean is gone, we have these rocks and some fossils of sea creatures.



above: Bison roam the land like cows roam California





Day 12: Mount Rushmore, SD

here we are at mt. rushmore, and wow those heads are huge and very very detailed. the pictures may not give them justice.







Day 13: Driving to Yellowstone

here are some photos of us driving into Yellowstone National Park.








Day 14: Yellowstone National Park (Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Upper and Lower Falls)

i have no idea why this is underlined... i can't get rid of it. Brian's computer is retarded. anyways here we are at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Fun fact: Lower Falls is twice as large as Niagra Falls. check out the pix.








Day 15: Yellowstone National Park (Avalanche Peak)

We were not prepared for this, but we did it anyways. Avalanche Peak involved a 1400 ft climb. I forget the total elevation, but make no mistake it was pretty darn high. 3 hr climb to the top in the snow and a 1.5 hr descent (we slid down!)







Day 16: Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful, West Thumb Geyser Basin)

Took an easier day today and did some touristy things. We saw some of the more popular things to look at like Old Faithful, West Thumb, and Morning Glory Pool (which kind of sucked).


above: West Thumb. the biggest coolest natural hot spring we saw in the park.

above: a deer

above: morning glory pool

above: old faithful



Day 17: Salt Lake City, Utah

This is a very nice looking town. Most of the downtown is clean and looks new (possibly because they just hosted the winter Olympics). I had a beer in the Mormon capital, but here is a fun fact: all of the alcohol content is lower in Salt Lake City than in other parts of the United States.

Here are some photos:


above: statues of John Stockton and Karl Malone in front of Energy Solutions Arena (home of the Utah Jazz)


above: State Capital building. we played football on the endless grass surrounding this nice building.

Day 10: driving day chicago to Siox Falls, South Dakota

Day 10:

Driving day, sorry im too tired to say more so here are some pictures of us driving from upper Illinois through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and to Siox Falls in South Dakota.


above: minnesota

above: more minnesota

above: state of 1000 lakes


above: Kum and G0. erm... yeah nuff said.

Day 9: Chicago still... yea i know...

Day 9:

This is our last full day in Chicago. We spent the day in the city


above: matching cubs t-shirts are fun/not-gay

above: in front of best apple pie in Illinois



above: not supposed to be on this metal part of the bridge, but it was way too awesome to pass up

above: we slide down this and the security guard busted us. party poopers!

Day 8: Chicago

Day 8:

We went to a lake with Reina in northern Illinois.


above: what is wrong with this photo..?



We later on went to downtown in Chicago to see some of Lake Michigan.