I know. I know. There are so many other parks to explore. But I had to do it. And I had to go big. What’s on tap? A long backpacking trip, of course! Had a ton of fun exploring the rim today! I’ve been shooting a bunch of time lapses, and it’s cool because they take time (duh!). But what that means is I get to hang out somewhere for a pretty long amount of time, much longer than I normally would. This is cool! So windy on the highway today. My little tiny baby car was getting blown all around! It was super windy when I woke up in the amazing Martian land that is Petrified Forest National Park. I explored a bit, but ended up heading back to my car pretty early. It’s a bit weird having the car, but I’m really really enjoying the contrast between the front country and backcountry in the parks so far. A quote overheard at the Fresno Canyon today at a shuttle bus stop: “you know, we all have been waiting for several busses and we’re in line.” “Yeah? Well, I don’t care” Haha! The women who didn’t care didn’t end up getting on the bus. The guy at the backcountry office told me I was the most fun permit he’s given out in quite a while. He was super nice and helpful. Of course, I’m doing some obscure route to get a permit during these busy times... It’s so busy! Like, insane. Fighting for parking spaces in almost every lot type of busy busy. Lines for all the shuttle busses. Apparently today was a free entry day to the park, so that explains some of it. I’m really enjoying it, I must say, this life on the road. Just a couple of days ago I was writing about how I was unsure if this is the right idea for Walk The Parks, blah blah blah, but I’m really enjoying it here on day 5. I know some of you must be thinking “what’s wrong with you, leave the Grand Canyon!” I know. I promise I will in about a week. I’m challenging myself to be as frugal as possible which is kind of a fun game. The only thing lacking is other people to relate to. So far I’m mostly the weird solo dude. I’m ok with this. I haven’t made big efforts to be very social, but I’m guessing that will change soon. I did meet a really nice couple from Spain who I got to speak Spanish to for quite a while and got to give them a ton of information and felt helpful, so that’s cool.