It’s obvious to me, and some of you, that this particular blog is long overdue. I have a few other trips to document as well, but this is one for the books. Luckily I did keep a book along the way. Otherwise, we would’ve lost most of this precious experience to the depths of my useless brain. I’m going to recount the trip in three separate blogs.
The PeopleBelow are some personal notes to self on my journey. Let’s take a moment – not to focus on my horrible spelling – but the end of #4. I say, “Good people are everywhere – just find them.” This is a hill I will die on. The people alone made this trip worth it and memorable. Those with *asterisks* are my MVPs! New Mexico*Breanna from Carlsbad, NM. Breana checked me in to my campsite at White’s City Campground just outside the national park. After setting up camp, I walked back to the shop and asked when I should go watch the bats fly out of the caverns. She said 7:30. I asked her if she’d ever seen them and she said no despite living in Carlsbad her whole life. I asked her what time she got off work, and she said about 7:30. I invited her to come watch them with me, and to my surprise she said yes. At the caverns, we got to talking and she said, “I feel like we’re the same age. Our childhoods sound exactly the same.” I told her I was 23 at which point she revealed it was her 24th birthday. So here’s to Breanna— who watched bats fly out of their smelly lair with a perfect stranger on her 24th birthday on. She was my reminder that we’re all capable of unusual adventures— even without leaving home. Robert from Farleys in Roswell, NM. Robert is a dad of 2 from New Mexico. He was full of suggestions. We talked for an hour about racing side by sides, the PGA tour, my trip, the rain cycles of New Mexico, and Gypsy. He recommended the Rio Grande Gorge bridge to me when he learned of my love for bridges. ColoradoSuzy And Curtis Arpp from Chicago, IL. Curtis and Suzy were my camping neighbors at the Great Sand Dune National Park. They have really interesting back stories. The two now live outside of Denver in Golden, Colorado. Curtis tried with all his might to convince me to move to Colorado, saying it was the state with the lowest obesity rates in America. While Louisiana ranks fairly high on that list. They fed Gypsy and me hotdogs before bedtime the night we met. Fast forward to the end of my trip. As I’m leaving Denver Colorado I shoot Suzy a text message. Lo and behold they invite me to their home in Golden Colorado for pizza. They showed me the renovations to their home gave me a tour and learned more about their life. Their house is painted yellow all inside. They told me about the neighborhood elk herd. And I learned a lot more about them. They want to host on Airbnb but don’t think they have a good enough place. Spoiler alert, they do. These two will always hold a special place in my heart. The Pinkard Family: Karen, Dorian, and Kiya in Mesa Verdes National Park. I don’t remember where the Tinker family was from, but they were traveling the country while homeschooling the two kids. When I arrived Kiya was singing Hamilton at the top of her lungs next to my site, so I figured they were great people. That night when I went to the camp fire chat, I found them and sat next to them with Gypsy. Mary Ellen from Durango, CO. Miss Mary Ellen approached me while I was drinking coffee at a place called Hermosa in downtown Durango. She gave me a tourist sticker that’s on the back of my binder now, and spoke to me links about how valuable my trip would be in the grand scheme of my life. She was a sweet, older woman who works part time for the visitors center. She was a pure ray of sunshine on a day I was frustrated from having to complete some work stuff in a hurry. Keri and Spencer from Denver in Estes Park, CO These two OWN Brunch & Co at The Lodge at The Stanley Hotel— It’s a lot I know! They live in Denver with their kiddos and commute to run the restaurant. The menu was The Shining Theme. I sat on the porch with Gypsy and enjoyed the best conversation, view, and food combo I’ve ever had. These two deserve the world and all your business. If you’re in Estes Park anytime soon, please go see them! Casey and Freyja from Boulder, CO I found a last minute private room AirBNB in Boulder, CO where I stayed. Casey is slowly renovating the house, so he showed me his latest project and his future plans. Freyja is his 5 year old Alaskan Malamute. She got along great with Gypsy. When Casey showed me his living room project, I asked him if the wood work was shiplap or tongue and groove. He got an odd smile on his face and said no one ever cared enough to ask. He’s an electrical engineer and it showed in his pleasant awkwardness. He showed me his two motorcycles in the garage. One belonged to his brother who passed away. His niece wouldn’t let any family come to the estate sale, but Casey’s new wife still had her maiden name on her license. She basically snuck into the estate sale to buy the bike. Casey doesn’t have his wife anymore, which is what led him to AirBNB 3 of the rooms out. 1. He missed the company. 2. He needed help with her half of the mortgage. Hannah Burch and Ashley T. on the way to Red Rock Amphitheater I reserved a shuttle seat to and from Red Rocks on September 22. On that bus, I met Hannah and Ashley, two solo 23 year olds. Hannah is living in Denver and works at a nice bar and taco joint. Ashley is from New York, and her mom was training to be a private pilot. For the rest of the night, I basically got to party with these girls experiencing the concert of a lifetime for me. I’ll never forget that night with these girls. We were an unlikely Trio, but it felt like the girls night I was needing. UtahKatie Krulock, Dan, & family in Arches National Park. On my last trail at arches, I visited the north and south windows. Perched up in the North Window, looking like the most adventurous woman I’ve ever seen, was Katie. She took some photos and videos of me as I was hiking and later sent them to me. Their family was in Utah for some offloading on dirt bikes, and our paths luckily crossed that day. Katie is a very talented photographer and videographer from Pennsylvania. They met in Utah for a family trip, and I have followed her on Instagram ever since. I think she lives on a dirt bike. And I think she’s a beautiful, badass woman. Katie has faced some wild adversity since we met. I keep up with her online and she could use your prayers for healing. Karen and Steve in Bryce Canyon National Park. I spoke with these two for about 10 minutes. They were impressed with Gypsy and my trip plans. They told me about their life of always waiting to travel. They reminded me it was priceless to experience these things as a young adult, and commended me for not waiting until someone could come with me. Karen reminded me that travel isn’t the only thing like that. There are plenty of things you can’t wait for others to join you with. Ben and Grace in Bryce Canyon National Park. @adVantureMore These two were hiking the Pacific Trail when Ben contracted Limes Disease. They left the trail and were headed to Colorado when I met them. They were taking a gap year and plan to move to Colorado when it concludes. They home built their van and then renovated their van to better fit two people! They reminded me of the simplicity of the nomad life. I hope one day I can experience that— whether its with my future family or solo. *Sophie Lombardo and Matt Mena in Springdale, UT (Zion National Park) I cannot express how much love and respect I have for Sophie. Us meeting was a type of fate I can’t wrap my head around, but it warms my heart. I called the local campground and was rudely told no dogs allowed. So I jet into the nearest outfitters shop to get BLM Camping and dog boarding suggestions. Matt shows me campground options. Sophie fits me for gear to hike The Narrows. And I carry along great with both of them. When I ask for dog boarding suggestions, Matt chimes in, “What kind of dog do you have? We’ll keep her if you’d let us. We just have work at 2.” As I’m checking out, Sophie says, “I know you’re planning to camp, but we have a room you can stay in if that makes anything easier for you. Its employee housing up the road.” MY JAW DROPPED. Here are these strangers, 21 and 22 years old, offering me what felt like the world. I could’ve cried in that moment. I took them up on it. She cooked dinner for us that night— and it was so good. Flash forward a month. Luke and I are in Hurricane, Utah with S3 Powersports and Can-am for International Off-Road Day. We are 43 minutes from Springdale, UT. Sophie and Matt come to see me. We spend great time catching up take a trip to see million year old dinosaur prints with S3 as my home life (Luke and S3) meets my roadtrip life (Sophie and Matt). What a world. Flash forward to May 2022. My parents take a trip to Vegas and explore during the day. On their excursion to Zion National Park… They meet Sophie. My blonde haired, canyoneering angle. She doesn’t realize the impression she left on me, but I am forever grateful for Sophie. Randy Zielke AKA Gary from Chicago, IL at Zion National Park I met Mr. Zielke on the early morning shuttle in Zion National Park. He planned to hike The Narrows and then Angels Landing. Those were my goals for the day, but I was doing them in the opposite order for weather purposes. He agreed with the strategy and became my hiking partner for the day. I misheard Randy upon introductions, which led to me calling him Gary all day. I even introduced him to other people as Gary. He never corrected me. He taught me breathing techniques for hikes and survived every mile of Angels Landing switch backs with me. He let me borrow a hiking stick while we hiked The Narrows. And when I mentioned wanting to dunk in the water, he was immediately encouraging me to do so. Now Randy is a real hiker, having climbed mountains with ice axes and oxygen tanks and 70 lb packs. I wasn’t dying on Angels Landing, but he was breezing through it. At the end of our day, I went to pick up Gypsy. Gary offered to buy us dinner at Zion Canyon Brew pub where we ate a burger on the patio and parted ways. We keep up on Facebook. And he still gets to adventure way more than I do. His daughter Brooke decided before I met Randy that she wanted to visit every state. She wanted her dad to take her to Hawaii. On that shuttle he asked me what I thought since he’d already been to Hawaii. I said, “Well do you want some other man taking her to Hawaii one day? I didn’t think so. Also, if my dad was asking a stranger if he should take me to Hawaii and the stranger said no… I’d be so mad. Take that girl to Hawaii.” In May 2022, they went to Hawaii. *Savannah Bonilla in American Fork, UT at Dirtylicious Dance Fitness Savannah and I met in Omaha, NE on August 28, 2022. We were at a Creative Summit for work at Champions Run (a country club). We learned two wild things on a party bus at the summit: Sav is a dirtylicious dance instructor and my Karaoke song is Mamas Broken Heart by Miranda Lambert. When I learned my trip would take me through her area of Utah, I had to take a class with her! She wasn’t teaching a class I could make it to so we took a class together! My day with Savannah was the perfect city girl day I needed during my otherwise rugged trip. We had dance class, got frozen yogurt with the other girls, and got pedicures while her sweet husband watched Gypsy. WyomingPhil and Nicole in Grand Teton National Forest Phil and Nicole live in a bus that a contractor built out for them. She bought the bus and didn’t tell her parents until she’d already paid the deposit. Sounds like something I’d do. Phil is a music instructor who teaches his clients virtually. Nichole is a chemical engineer for a start up company. They were my neighbors for 3 nights on BLM land in Grand Teton National Forest. On one of our evenings, I was in my chair journaling when Nichole pulled out a chair, sat quietly, and also started journaling without saying more than “May I sit with you?” It was a silent bonding experience that I really appreciated. Ted Sr, Ted Jr., and Ray from North Caroline in Jackson Hole, WY I met these gentlemen while eating lunch in Jackson Hole’s village square. We struck up a conversation and they offered a chair at their table to me. They were absolutely loving Gypsy. We talked dogs, travel, food, work… Ted Jr. is a fire chief in NC. He is dedicating his career to a non-profit that extends resources to firefighters, cops, and EMTs to protect their mental health. I learned he doesn’t have a Ted III because his fiancé passed in 2020 from breast cancer. He adopted her 2 sons and that is his family. After an hour or two, we parted ways. I left them with a new perspective and love for life. *The Grilled Cheese Guys at Grand Teton National Park One night I had new neighbors in Grand Teton. Four guys from I don’t remember where are best friends from high school. I told them about my journey and how tired I was of sandwiches. They shared a beer with me and spent lots of attention on Gypsy. Later that evening I heard, “Madison do you want a sandwich?” I thought they were kidding and making fun of my eating sandwiches twice a day for 2 weeks. I politely declined, but they retorted, “Its a grilled cheese sandwich.” Mouth watering… immediately. A hot sandwich was a GAME CHANGER. I accepted and ate my grilled cheese sandwich that was still warm and oozing cheese as the sun set over the Teton mountains. I’ve considered getting a tattoo of this scene. Taylor, Dixon, and Madison at Heart 6 Ranch near Grand Teton National Forrest I met these three on a ranch outside of the national forrest. I was looking for a river for Gypsy and decided to stop here for lunch. Taylor from Texas knows a lot about dinosaurs. Dixon from Georgia knows a lot about war after 11 years in the service, seeing 16 countries. They fed me chicken tenders and Gypsy lots of bacon. They live and work on the ranch in the restaurant. They all ended up there for the summer because the pay is good, housing is free, and they were bored. They invited me back that night for astrophotography. I knew the moon would be too bright, but I went anyway. I went back the next morning for breakfast and someone asked me if I was a new girl on staff. I easily could work there a summer or winter if I was still in school. *Dalin Nelson from California in Grand Teton National Park We met Dalin at Oxford Bend Turnout. He had a camera on him and asked to take photos of Gypsy and me. Dalin went to film school in Chicago and creates short films that have been featured all over the country. He was traveling with his grandmother. Months later he was traveling to South America (Coast Rica and beyond). Do you see where this is going? Dalin and I kept in touch. When I visited Coasta Rica in December (3 months later) Dalin was STILL THERE!! We met up for two days and he became an honorary outdoorsy gal with us then. The Truck Driver from West Texas in Thermopolis, WY I don’t have a lot of details on this man, but he was sure concerned about me. I met him the second night I slept in my car at a South End Travel Center. He was also staying that night in his hauler. This guy approached and asked if I was safe. He offered to put me in a hotel if I was running from anything in particular. Without insulting me, he said a lady should never have to sleep in her car. When I told him what we were doing, his concern never wavered. I told him I was plenty safe with my dog and my dad’s gun. He conceded and let me be. The next morning as I went the gas station, he passed me and said, “At least let me buy you a nice meal. Go downtown to the Black Bear Cafe. Buy your dog a side of bacon, and be safe on your trip.” So that’s exactly what I did. And that breakfast was magnificent. Of course, Gypsy enjoyed her bacon, too. Sarah Bultman from Washington at Thermopolis State Bathhouse Sarah and I crossed paths and struck up a conversation at the Thermopolis State Bathhouse. I think she had a coffee in hand. We spoke for 10-15 minutes and she took the photos I posted from there. She told me about her sister, who is a DIY influencer on instagram. More importantly, Sarah told me about her life and mission. Sarah trains photo and video journalist who spend their careers over seas how to maintain their mental health and creative visions. She is in the life coaching business, helping people get unstuck and living a life of deeper purpose. You can imagine how she responded to my trip. The discussion with her was a reminder that my trip would come to a close, but I could always chose to be happy in my loneliness. Especially at home or wherever life takes me next. Ed, Blake, and Heath from Last Chance Camp in Cheyenne, WY I met these three gentleman at my Cheyenne, WY AirBNB called The Hovel House at Last Chance Camp. This was one of my best Wyoming decisions. Ed managed the property for homeowner, Christine who was on vacation with her husband. Ed was full of knowledge on stars and space, music, fine cheeses, travel, and more. Blake is a 19 year old (20 now) New Yorker hitchhiking across the midwest until he runs out of money. He saved up $5,000 and was planning to fly home once he ran out of money. He brought his guitar and said he’d play for money in some places to stretch the trip. Heath was an angel of a Louisiana man who was displaced from Houma, LA after Hurricane Ida. Shortly after I checked in, Heath was unloading groceries from his car. I offered to help take them in the house, as Gypsy and I were going to check out the horses. He declined, but said thanks for the manners. Ed gave me a tour of the Last Chance Camp, which I’ll talk more about in my next blog. It was a game changer. After my tour, I met Blake and helped him with his tent. Heath came over to say hello and said, “Since you offered to help with groceries, I figured I’d offer you some dinner. I’m made gumbo.” My jaw DROPPED. I asked where he was from when to my surprise, he said Louisiana. I sighed with relief as we bonded over our home state. He said, “It’s not perfect. I couldn’t find the fresh ingredients. The shrimp was frozen…” Still I trusted in. The three of us and Gypsy bonded over dinner than night. I couldn’t write a whole blog entry about the Last Chance Camp, but pay close attention to my sleeping arrangements when you read about this place later. Montana Tammy and Joe from Idaho in West Montana, Yellowstone
The pair were 2 sites down from me. I’d met them earlier in the day, but Tammy strolled over to invite me to finish a bottle of champagne with her after dinner. We talked about religion, love, politics, and covid. They were supposed to be on a cruise that week but didn’t want to wear masks everywhere. They cancelled and decided to take a camping trip instead. I was lucky to have them as neighbors for two nights. They even invited me to camp in Yellowstone with them on the third night, but my schedule kept me moving.Tammy is an event/wedding planner and coordinator. Joe helps her out and is some sort of inspector. He would hunt full time if he had it his way. They told me when I begin planning a wedding to call them, and they’ll come down to Louisiana. Tammy and Joe met for the first time at the alter of their best friends’ wedding. Joe drove 24 hours straight to make it on time, missed the reception, and said hey to Tammy for the first time at the end of the aisle. She was dating someone at the time but had that “what if” feeling when she met Joe. They’ve been married 43 years now. On night 2, we gathered with another camp neighbor and all ate together. (Dustin, Austin, and Steve). It was a wholesome night full of outlandish stories. Joe called me out for being homesick and I smiled, “This feels almost like home” was all I could say. Chris from Go Go Espresso in West Yellowstone, Montana I always ask my barista to recommend their favorite drink to me before ordering. Well Chris recommended a hazelnut vanilla latte which was perfect on the crisp Montana morning. While in the drive thru we talked about travel and safety. He asked if I had any bear spray. When I said no, he disappeared for a moment and brought me back a brand new can of bear spray. He taught me to use it, and gave Gypsy two bones for the road. I found out he was not only my barista, but the owner of the store! 10/10 would recommend! (I passed that bear spray onto Blake when we met in Cheyenne, WY. He needed it more than me at that point.)
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AuthorMy name is Madison Sanders Wooley. I am 24 years old with a life of travel, Jesus, and joy. I'm a communication and marketing graduate. I have a lot of love for animals and eco-friendly practices. I don't have anything figured out, but I have everything in the hands of God.
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