Turns out I'm biking across the country...

Uhhh. Wow. Saturday 4 years of hard work came screeching across a finish line of sorts. I graduated with my Bachelors in Supply Chain Management and International Business and my minor in Spanish. In true Modrall family fashion we took a few pictures and decided Milanos pizza was a good idea to celebrate. We ran into my freshman roommate and her family, and remembered just a few short years ago, when after moving us into our dorm room we all headed there for pizza. Crazy how fast 4 years flies.

Even crazier to think is how fast the next 8 days are going to fly before I fly to & arrive in Jacksonville to begin this crazy Bike & Build adventure. It just hit me in the past few days that I really am going to bike across the country this summer. Wow. Oh yeah, and I ran a half marathon on Sunday. Busy busy.

So, a few more cities to explore, a few more boxes to pack, some goodbyes to say & it'll be back to KY & then on to Jacksonville. Ready or not, it's coming.


Baker, CA

• Baker is located in the Mojave Desert & at the intersection of I-15 & SR-127 a.k.a Death Valley Rd. (Awesome, *rolls eyes*)
• Baker is home to the world's tallest thermometer, standing 134 ft. high, built to commemorate the highest temperature recorded in the U.S. (134 degrees in 1913)
• We'll pass (or more likely stop & eat at) another DDD here, the Mad Greek's Diner.

Barstow, CA

• Barstow is exactly 150 miles from both LA and Las Vegas.
• Barstow is home to both Base Barstow (a Marine Corps Logistics base) and Fort Irwin (Military Reservation)
• Barstow is named after William Barstow Strong, former president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Some early Barstow names were Camp Sugarloaf, Grapevine, and Waterman Junction.

Ridgecrest, CA

• Ridgecrest was formerly known as Crumville, it's a bit unclear as to when the name change occurred.
• The town is surrounded by 4 mountain ranges, Cosos to the North, El Paso Mountains to the South, the Argus Range to the East and the Sierra Nevada to the West. Guess we'll be doing some climbing on our way in to Ridgecrest.
• Ridgecrest is also located within 2 hours of both the highest and lowest point in the contiguous U.S. (the U.S. minus Alaska & Hawaii)

So last, but not least...though graduation was technically the kick off to my "Bucket List Summer" tomorrow marks another pretty big undertaking, another bucket list item checked off, and one more way to add to the crazy-ness already in motion. I'll share eventually, but in the meantime guesses will be accepted. : )