hoodoo voodoo

matt introduced me to the great american southwest by motorcycle. highlights:

• grand! canyon! sixty miles of unpaved road to toroweap to peek over cliffs and to sleep under stars. watching the not-so-distant thunderstorm from our campsite near pt. imperial around the north rim.
  
• following our silent, aloof navaho boy-guide through winding, red-walled antelope canyon.
• indendence day. wading in lake powell and camping on the shores (sort of) of remote warm creek bay. (after rejecting the chaotic, crowded, "primitive" camping at lone rock.)
• pleasant highway drive to bryce canyon, where we hoo-ed at hoodoos on a 3 mi. hike and slept in the trees below.
• zion, where all the landmarks were obviously renamed by mormons. easy emerald pools hike and strenuous (also scary) angels landing hike. overcame fear of walking up rocks with cliffs on both sides, sort of.
• las vegas. eating at "nob hill," the bellagio buffet, and some asian fusion place. lazy river and pools. gameworks fun hunting dinosuars, shooting asteroids, and dancing to DDR. walked across the brooklyn bridge and ascended the eiffel tower!

riding as a motorcycle passenger for long distances is actually quite nice. since the helmet and wind kept me from talking, i could just be alone with my thoughts. mostly, i thought about career / school stuff and how i'm like / unlike my parents. matt and i talked about other motorcyclists, the moon vs. stars (light of the full moon mostly blocked the stars), foreign tourists (especially hearty german ones), the spectrum of ways to enjoy the outdoors (e.g., RVs versus ultra light-weight backpacking), and more.