So. This post will cover pretty much my entire month I was home in Utah. I did some pretty amazing things and met some really cool people.
When I left Coldfoot and got into Utah, I knew my schedule was going to be pretty packed. The few restaurants that I visited ended up being interim jobs while I was in Utah so I didn’t spend too much of the money I had saved up. I got to see an incredible amount of people that I missed while I was away at these restaurants and even more while I was traveling.
When I got home, my first order of business was to go and see my friends, family, and old restaurants I worked at. I loved seeing familiar faces after months of meeting new people every day. It helped me feel more at home, even though I’m not in Utah for more than a couple months at a time. I also went on a few hikes through my home mountains and a small, 1 hour trip up a canyon to a pristine lake where we saw moose and ducks all over with my cousin. I had planned to do an all day excursion through these canyons right before I left with him but we got rained out and went to a movie instead. I love the Wasatch Mountains, maybe a little too much lol. No matter how majestic or grand any other mountains are, the Wasatch Mountains will always be my home.
I got the opportunity to help some of my old jobs out while I was home, too. It was nice to see the growth that family owned restaurants make when I’m away. Intermittently showing back up into their lives is a good base for me to study and ponder about what makes each individual place more and more successful. Hopefully one day, I’ll be able to recreate a fraction of the success that these staples in the community have made for themselves.
I got to spend some really nice quality time with my mom and her family, my dad, my sister, and my brother’s family up in Idaho. My mom and I went on a trip up to Idaho Falls so I could see my nephew and hang out with my brother and his family before I left. We ended up going to the bear sanctuary in Yellowstone and taking the kids to a petting zoo. Surprisingly enough, I had never been to a petting zoo either so it was a first for me and the kids. I loved to see my little nephews and niece run around hugging all the animals. It really brought into perspective of how much I do miss staying around them all the time. Not quite enough to stop me from traveling but either way, it was nice.
When I got home that weekend, I had to start planning my trip up to the Pacific Northwest. My dad and sister were moving up there so I ended up helping them drive some of their stuff just outside of Seattle. I had been wanting to go to Seattle for the last 5 years but had never worked out my layovers to spend any quality time in the city. This was a huge opportunity to drive close to the Sawtooth Mountains, through the plains of Oregon, see the area around Portland, and spend time in Seattle exploring. I was really fortunate to be able to do all of this with my dad and sister. I also ended up stopping in Pendleton, Oregon and Boise on my drive home. I explored the city center of Boise for a few hours and stopped into the famous Pendleton wool mill to buy some blankets. Next time I do that drive, I think it’ll be stretched over a couple weeks to go into the mountains near Boise and explore Portland, too.
My last big adventure when I was home was my trip through Southern Utah to St. George. My mom had a conference for her job in downtown St. George for about 4 days so we made a vacation out of it. While she was at the conference, I drove down to Vegas for the day and explored several casinos and hotels. I ate at a few of the restaurants that were on my foodie bucket list that day, too. We went to some shopping centers, caught a movie, went to dinner a few times, and had a good time.
On our way home, we stopped into Zion National Park. We got there really early so there was hardly any traffic and not a huge amount of tourists walking around. We took the main bus up and walked through one of the trails to see the beautiful canyons and scenery. It was gorgeous. Beautiful red and white stone with giant, overhanging cliffs all around made it a fantastic experience. The entire landscape of the drive between Northern Utah and Southern is definitely one you’d want to see.
When I got home, it was a mad dash to get everything ready before I left. Especially considering I worked all the way up to the day before I left for New Zealand and eventually, McMurdo Base, Antarctica. That’s where I’m writing this post from, sitting in a dome shaped steel and wooden coffee house with gale force winds pounding the base outside. My next post will be about my 9 day layover in New Zealand and the ensuing adventures/mishaps that came of it. Also, it’ll consist of my current time in Antarctica and how I’ve liked my experience so far.
My address here is this:
Kristopher Loosemore-GSC #155/240A
McMurdo Station
PSC 769 Box 700
APO AP 96599-1035
Send me letters. I’ll write you back. Maybe. If this weather resides. Haha.
Beardly Adventures of KC 