Where did #LyfInFocus come from?

Be Sure to Check Out My Previous Post: Road Trip to California: Day 3- Colorado to California!

So some of you may have been wondering where I came up with the title #LyfInFocus (and if you weren't, just humor me for a minute). Well it wasn't some master plan that I came up with at the beginning of the summer. Actually, I had some pretty bad titles, that just never seemed to fit.

Well at the beginning of the summer, I started this blog, and then shortly found out during training week that I wouldn't be able to post until the summer was over for obvious reasons. But I had started writing just a bit so I could plan out how it would all go. But as any good blogger knows, your work is nothing without a good title. I think of a few of my favorite blogs that I read on a daily basis and their titles:
-Screamscape (www.screamscape.com)- Its the webs largest and most comprehensive database of news updates and coaster/ride rumors for theme parks around the world. But would its readers be as drawn to it if they called themselves "Amusement park news collection", probably not.
-WestCoaster (www.westcoaster.net)- This page is a collection of photo trip reports from mainly west coast theme parks. Sometimes they have other parks not on the west coast, but what a cool name!

But other times they are a bit more personal, or link to their personalities. For me, #LyfInFocus came to me on my last day on the road, in the middle of Southern Texas. I was sending a snap chat to a friend, and captioned it "my life is this focus". And then it came to me that I've spent my life this past summer in a Focus. Thus #LyfInFocus. Its Lyf because Life In Focus was taken. It instantly felt right, and I told a few people and they agreed.

This summer, I have had 3 different cars, all Ford Focus'. Each of them I had a different bond with, but I think I had the closest relationship with my first car. Her name was Fiona, and she was with me for my first 11,000 miles this summer. She was a Sterling Metallic Grey Hatchback. Here are a few pics of her.

Unfortunately I had to eventually return her for an oil change, and was then given a new focus, this time a White Platinum sedan, with leather interior and Sirius Satellite Radio pre-installed! She drove great, especially in sport mode. However after about 2 weeks, she got named Jail Bait, and I had to exchange once again.

My last car, was another Sterling Metallic Grey Hatchback, this time, there was a 2 toned maroon and black leather interior, that smelled like cheap cologne. Took me about 2 weeks to finally get that scent out of there.

So after a month of blogging, I'm quite happy with the title, and feel that it applies to my life quite well and have adapted it in other areas too.

So what do you all think? Is it a good fit? Is there anything else I could be doing to make these more interesting to read for you? As always, thanks for your time, and I look forward to continuing to write more of these in the coming weeks!

Be sure to check out my next post: Arizona!

Road Trip to California: Day 3- Colorado to California!

Be Sure to Check Out My Previous Post: Road Trip to California: Day 2-Kansas and Colorado!

 And for my next trip.... 800 miles in 12 hours! So to be honest, scenery wise this was the most dull

Leaving Colorful Colorado

of days. Most of the drive was through desert with not much to see. However while there were a few side trips I could have taken, I was so excited to get home that I pushed through and didn't even stop for food. However i think this does take the cake for most states in 1 day at 5; Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California.

Shortly after getting on the road, I came to Black Dragon Canyon. It was a cool natural display of 250 million years of sediment layers. I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a panoramic photo. It is also important to note that there was the typical roadside Utah Indian peddling his necklaces and bracelets. If you feel insulted by this, please don't. I make this statement, because at almost every small little rest area in Utah there were Indians selling necklaces. It was just something interesting I noted.

Panoramic shot of Black Dragon Canyon, UT

The final stretch of I-70 was down a grade surrounded by a beautiful Forrest, no pictures were taken here because the road was quite windy. I then came upon the I-15 which would be my road home for the next 500 miles.

Welcomed by Arizona! How Fancy

After leaving Utah, there is about a 20 mile stretch of Arizona through some cool tall canyons.

When I came into Vegas I made my final gas stop, and decided to document the bugs on my car. I got her washed the day before I left Purdue, and this was the accumulation as I drove across the country. It was pretty crazy! some of them even seemed to be a part of the paint from the high speed impact.

Bugs I Collected

From here it was 4.5 hours until home, and boy was I excited! One of the best parts was that my younger brother was unaware of me coming home, so when I pulled into the driveway, boy was he excited.

Welcome to California!

Well that brings us to the end of the cross country trip. In total it was about 2,100 miles and roughly 34 hours of driving, but it further amazed me at what a beautiful and Diverse country we live in.

If you want to see all the pictures from this trip, be sure to check out the #LyfInFocus-Indiana To California Album!

Be sure to check out my next Post: Where did #LyfInFocus come from?

Road Trip to California: Day 2-Kansas and Colorado

Be Sure to Check Out My Previous Post: Road Trip to California:Day 1- St. Louis!

I got spotted in Kansas

When Dorothy said "there's no place like home", I wonder where in Kansas she must have been referring to, because besides Wichita and Kansas City, there's not much there. Day 2 included about 700 miles of driving, with a total of around 11 hours on the road. And until you hit Colorado, there's not much to see besides plains and farmhouses, so really anything on the side of the road that looks semi-exciting is worth a stop.

The Roadside Zoo

About 30 miles outside of Oakley, KS, I started to see hand painted wood signs for a roadside zoo that included: like rattle snakes, skunks, fox's, and the world's largest Prairie dog. And these signs happened about every 5 miles, so by the time I was an exit away, I was pretty excited.

The attraction was called Prairie Dog Town, and inside the main building was a single cash register, and 2 nice ladies, peddling their exciting zoo for only $8. For a lone weary traveler, its small price to pay for 20 minutes of

Rattlesnakes

entertainment. After walking through the "gate" (she raised a broomstick that crossed over the two counters), I found myself looking into a large wooden box filled with about 10 rattlesnakes. The rattle sat quiet, but they would surely strike at a meal if it came close enough.

I then stepped outside into the large fenced farm, to find prairie dogs, and their holes, everywhere! They're quite cute the way they

Prairie Dog and his holes

sit upright with their paws in front of them looking at you curiously. Past the wild cute rodents, are several large cages containing various wildlife, ranging from pigeons, to Russian boars. Walking around on a hot day, most of these animals were staying in the shade just to stay cool. However when passing the goats, they were

Roscoe the Miniature Donkey

jumping all over each other to get as close to you as possible, because I might have had some food pellets. The miniature donkey, Roscoe, was one of my favorite animals, as he was very docile and loved to be pet. His big ears were so soft, and would have stayed there all day if I continued to scratch them.

On the stranger side, there were disfigured cows with 5 and 6 legs each. Apparently, some of the past cows that had been there, were purchased by Ripleys, Believe it or Not! museums to be put on display.

Worlds Largest Prairie Dog

And the World's Largest Prairie dog, he was just a 17' tall sculpture, hidden from the highway by  a wall behind him. They never promised a real Prairie dog, so no sense to be disappointed.

On my way out I visited the gift shop to pick up a few postcards, and check out the odd collection of taxidermed animals, and other knick knacks. So overall was it worth it? Yes. Would I stop again? Sure. There's not much else to do anywhere around, and I would love to give Roscoe some more loving.

Driving through the Rockies

About 4 hours down the road, I finally hit Denver, or as I referred it to as "civilization". Denver is a pretty big city, but is spread out north and south and not so much east and west. The downtown is quite pretty and with the Rockies as the background, it makes for great pictures. However I still had about 5 hours on the road, so there was no stopping for me. As soon as you get out of the city, you immediately head up a steep grade and are heading through the picturesque Colorado Rockies. The mountainsides and cliffs line the freeway as it winds through following the river. Small mountain towns are spread out, and are filled with expensive ski resorts.

My favorite spot along the route was in a placed called "No Name", I would have take a photo of the sign, but it was only on the side of the highway, and I couldn't stop there. But the rest area was along the side of the river and had a beautiful green hillside all around. There is a camping area next to it,

The "No Name" rest area

and someday I would like to return to camp there.

The end of my drive was all at night, and there wasn't much to see when I arrived in Grand Junction.

Didn't get enough photos here? Then check out all the photos from the 3 day drive in the #LyfInFocus-Indiana To California Album!

Be sure to check out my next post:
Road Trip to California: Day 3- Colorado to California!