Cloud Forest

   The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was my first introduction to how wild and exotic beautiful Costa Rica is. Once again, pictures don't do it justice

the beautiful trails took us on hanging bridges (I know -so AWESOME!) and gave me my first taste of some amazing wildlife including; howler monkeys (as the locals call them "Congos"), an Agouti, and we even saw (very very quickly) what seemed to be a flash of a runnung Jaguarundi. 

These guys will send chills down your spine when they surround you and howl away! Absolutly amazing and wild and beyond words! Just come here-you just have to!

Don't even pretend like this isn't someplace you don't want to go!

Wildlife Rescues

   My arrival came with the most amazing opportunty to go to Proyecto Asis, the most amazing wildlife rescue, that teaches focus on educating people and releasing back into the wild if possible. We volunteered for the full tour plus feed and it was worth every penny.

and if you like animals at all, remember that wild animals are unhappy as pets. Not just the ones that you capture, but if it is exotic, do not get it! These animals were very happy, they were given adequately sized homes, they were fed all their favorite foods, and most were going back into the wild once they were string enough. This place is amazing!

   The second wildlife rescue we got to enjoy was Centro Rescate Las Pumas, a beautiful (and inexpensive) wildlife rescue focused on wild cats. 

The pumas were so beautiful and they were just the funnest cats, just full of personality. None of my pictures or videos do justice to any of this, but it is definately something to see. *diclaimer on the video they don't like you actually playing with the pumas.

Arrival in Costa Rica

     My how time flies! I didn't think it would ever be here for so long and look at me now, living in Central America.  I will tell you a bit about everyday life soon enough, but first, I need to share all the adventure we had my first week in Costa Rica.
     We flew into San José early in the morning, leaving us plenty of time to do as we pleased. First thing I needed was a cell phone,  so the search began.  Our immediate feeling of change was based on security. I never been in a place where things were so strict.  Security guys were everywhere,  the parking lots had security,  and some places have a guard at the front that let you in and locked you in. It was very indimidating and I struggled finding a place for my SIM card, struggled through my Spanish when I set it up, and survived. Now we could move along.
     Driving was it's own adventure but we made it. We stayed at Princessa De La Luna in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. An open-air, amazing place welcomed us to Costa Rica.

Arenal Volcano

Dallas trip #2

   There is so much to see and do in Dallas one trip just barely scratched the surface.  This trip was dedicated to an International Convention, but I still had my fair share of experiencing one of the national parks of Dallas.
    We stayed at Cedar Hill State Park, which has nice areas for biking and a nice Lake, as well as very nice bathrooms with hot showers. The water had this clay at the bottom that smelt like the clay we used to use in pottery class in Idaho and we had wayyy too much fun playing with it.

   The park was full of all sorts of snails and bugs

   We even found where the vultures roost!

    The convention was at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and wow-check it out!

 

 

See us in the mirror? Wow!!!! There were 50,000+ in attendance from all over the world and it was an experience!

Girl's Weekend In Dallas

This weekend I went to Dallas to make new friends, ride at Six Flags, danced away at Gloria's, and went to the Dallas World Aquarium. Everything was fun but   this will focus on my unexpected highlight of the trip, our visit to the aquarium. 

Six flags was real fun, long lines (over an hour per ride), but fun nonetheless. 

   We also walked the city a little. Always an interesting experience there.

   When it came to Gloria's, if you like salsa, marengue, or cumbia, this is the place to go. If we made it there before 10 the cover would've been free, but this was a girl's trip so it took time to get ready and we paid $10, but it was soooo worth it. They served drinks and had an excelenté live band. I am not that great so I called it free dance lessons. A good time was definitly had.

   As for the Dallas World Aquarium, it was so much more than just an aquarium. I could've stayed all day. 

  The aquarium part was neat as always but I was most excited about the indoor rainforest they created. Most animals ran free, so the monkeys were not behind bars and just a few feet from us, the birds were in the trees above our heads, the alligators had no glass blocking our view from the top, and the trees, vines, and nature surrounded us as if we were far from the heart of Dallas. 

These little cuties seemed pretty happy in this corner.

Such a nice view.

The babies usually had their own areas so they can get strong.

This bird was so sweet.

Turtles are always fun.

I had to save my favorite for last. I just loved walking under this guy. If you are in Dallas, this is an absolute must!

My Place

   So I post mostly about my trips and travel so I decided to switch it up for a moment and show you where I am at. I keep it real simple to allow for doing more and I can't imagine this ever changing about me. I live in a 5th wheel and don't buy too much unless it is necessary since I wouldn't have a place to put it either way.

That's it. My little home. I painted it the way I like, I upholstered it the way I like, and I put in my own little details everywhere and now I'm selling it :( but it's to step up my adventure in my life and I knew I wasn't what I planned on living in for good when I got the place but still, it is tough to leave a place that has so much of ME in it. It's a good one and I hope it gives me the resources I need to get out there.

Idaho Visit #2!

   So I finally was able to take another trip to Idaho using my free flight voucher (http://wayfaringkarlie.blogspot.com/2013/12/flying-home.html?m=1). It was so great to see all my friends and family (and framily). I got to do some new things and some old. I went to the  BSU stadium and spent some time at Table Rock after enjoying a little bit of the Greenbelt.

   On the way from Boise to Twin Falls we just had to stop for a moment to take in Malad Gorge.  It's a quick stop but so beautiful, it makes it worth it.

        We didn't forget  Sun Valley , although Frenchmen's was flooded as well as Baker, but it's still a nice place to see.

Group Selfie!

   Of course we had to go to Miracle Hot Springs...

On the highlight of my trip we kayaked from 

  Centenial Park past Pillar Falls (Carrying our kayaks) all the way to Shoshone Falls. If you've never been there please click on that link. Pictures don't do it justice. Sorry, none of us have a waterproof camera. I've never been so close to the falls and it was worth every penny. It would HIGHLY, and I mean HIGHLY, RECOMMEND doing this. We did it four hours and I felt that we did fantastic. If you are taking anything from this blog make it this- IF YOU ARE GOING TO IDAHO, KAYAK TO SHOSHONE FALLS!! 

   Ok enough of that. Overall the trip was awesome and I'm glad my friends had such a good time with Jimmy and me. 

Special thanks to Chrissy and Brandon and Harry for putting us up the whole time, and to Olivia and Victor and Joel and Alex for taking the time and giving us places to hang and giving us all the fun company. You are all so great!!