President Obama in Austin

A couple weeks back, President Barack Obama visited Austin. Tickets to the event taking place on Thursday, July 10 were distributed to the public for free two days prior beginning at 8:30 a.m. on a first come, first serve basis. I got in line that Tuesday morning at the downtown Paramount Theater, where the event would be held, and easily managed to snag a ticket despite a line snaking around the block.

Two days later, I got back in line at the same place--ticket in hand--just after 8:00 a.m. The event was scheduled to start around noon. I met some interesting people in line and passed the time chatting with them. We got through the metal detectors and into the ornate theater a little past 11:00 a.m. and were directed to the mezzanine. I found a seat maybe 300 feet away from the podium where the president would speak, looking down on the stage.

Earlier in the day, President Obama attended a fundraiser in North Austin then had tea at Magnolia Cafe with a University of Texas student who had written him a letter about her parents getting laid off and the difficulty her family faced affording tuition. That same student introduced the president at the Paramount. Obama spoke for about thirty minutes mostly about the economy and gridlock in Washington, DC.

The president was effusive in his praise for Austin, repeating at least three times "I love this city" as he opened his speech.

He said Austin was the last place he was able to walk around without people recognizing him. When he was in Austin prior to his debate at UT with Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primary he remembered fondly walking around Town Lake on his own without security detail or people approaching him.

President Obama commented that it was good to get out of DC and that he makes a point to read ten letters selected by his staff each day from the thousands sent to him by people across the country. The stories in those letters, he said, were his story. While the economy has made progress, he warned that the economy would not succeed if "just a few are doing well."

Later in his speech, he acknowledged that he had done well but that he doesn't believe in pulling the ladder up behind him.

Noting that Democrats "aren't perfect," Obama said, "I want to assure you I'm not that partisan of a guy." His favorite president is actually a Republican--Abraham Lincoln. He attacked Republicans in Washington, however, for standing against him at every step of the way.

"The best thing you can say about congressional Republicans this year is that they haven't shut down the government," said Obama. He paused for a moment then joked, "But it's only July."

Turning to the lawsuit about to be filed against him by Speaker John Boehner and recent rumblings from Sarah Palin and others of impeachment, Obama became indignant. "Really?" he wondered out loud. "Sue me for doing my job while you don't do your job?"

He told parents the movie was not appropriate for young children then referenced a quote from Mark Wahlberg's character in "The Departed." "I'm the guy doing my job, you must be the other guy," said Obama.

He ended his speech to cheers then waded out into the first few rows to shake hands and snap photos. I was too far back to have any chance of meeting the president so I got out of the theater as fast I as could. Unsurprisingly, there were a handful of protesters outside. It wouldn't be a presidential visit without them.

Colorado Springs

Before finally heading back to Austin to relax and continue my job search, I spent a few days in the Colorado Springs area. While there, I visited Garden of the Gods, witnessed a couple afternoon thunderstorms over Pikes Peak, hiked up the Manitou Incline, a trail rising over 2,000 feet in less than a mile, camped at Mueller State Park, and stopped at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, home to many preserved prehistoric remains including a fossilized Redwood stump known as "Big Stump."

Weekend in Denver

I spent the following weekend in the Denver metro area. This largely comprised wandering around the city's modern downtown and surrounding parks and neighborhoods as well a Saturday afternoon visit to Idaho Springs, a small, historic town about 40 minutes outside the city.

Roxborough State Park

After camping out at Chatfield State Park in Littleton, a suburb just south of Denver, I spent the next morning hiking around Roxborough State Park only a few miles away. Here enormous rust-colored sandstone ridges rise up out of the earth much like at Garden of the Gods, a park located an hour south in Colorado Springs.

Lake of Glass

As I made my way back from Wyoming to spend some time exploring the Denver area, I camped for a night at Arapahoe National Recreation Area, a reservoir just to the west of Rocky Mountain National Park. I got up early the next morning and drove Trail Ridge Road--the highest continuously paved road in the United States with a maximum elevation of 12,183 feet--through the park, stopping to gawk at numerous views along the way.

I continued on to the Glacier Gorge area of the park where I hiked out to The Loch and then on to Lake of Glass before heading to the suburbs north of Denver for the night. The trails in this popular part of the park were more crowded than I would have liked but the scenery was unbelievable nevertheless especially a few miles beyond the trailhead where the crowds thinned.

Thermopolis

After the Tetons, I drove a little over halfway back to Colorado, stopping for the night in Rawlins, Wyoming where I watched the US defeat Ghana in their first World Cup match. I made a detour on the way to Thermopolis, home of Wyoming's Hot Springs State Park. Here, visitors can soak in the mineral waters for free, but only for 20 minutes due to health concerns and the fact that the springs are state run.

Grand Teton National Park

The apex of my road trip--the farthest north and farthest west from where I started--was Grand Teton National Park in the northwest corner of Wyoming. The Tetons are famously a mountain range without foothills, rising thousands of feet almost vertically out of Jackson Hole's circular valley floor.

I arrived on a gloomy Saturday afternoon and immediately nabbed a campsite at the Jenny Lake campground. Although it was almost 6 p.m. I had been on the road all day and wanted to stretch my legs. I hiked halfway around the lake to Hidden Falls then on to Inspiration Point as clouds rolled by overhead, releasing a light but frigid rain.

After a chilly night and an early morning campsite visit from an antlered elk, I hiked as far as a could into Death Canyon until snow ten feet deep blocked the trail. Before I began the hike, I was given a GPS tracker as part of a study to understand better how visitors use the park.

Next, I drove in to the city of Jackson where I enjoyed a warm meal and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I returned to the park that afternoon and stayed overnight in the Gros Ventre campground.

I awoke early the next day to take in sunrise at the Mormon Barns, a favorite spot for photographers to congregate. A handful of them were poised there that morning with their tripods and expensive cameras waiting for the sun's rays to pierce the morning clouds and strike the mountains. They laughed at me talking pictures with my iPhone. I laughed back at them taking a picture that's been snapped a million times before.

Before beginning my drive back to Colorado, I stopped at a few more distant overlooks of the craggy, jutting peaks and hiked the couple miles to Grand View Point, overlooking Two Ocean and Emma Matilda Lakes to the east. One of the rangers I'd spoken with when I arrived said it was her favorite hike in the park. I came away impressed, but not nearly as awed as I'd been by Death Canyon the day before.