A good way to end an epic adventure- Potter Polooza!

A magical end? Or a continuation of magical legacy? 
(Disclaimer: Some of my spelling of Harry Potter words may be misspelled- I was just too lazy to look them up!)

Sometimes it is hard to put into words how a series of books and movies can have such an enormous impact. Some "people" would be - enough Harry Potter or who cares? If those people cannot deny how J.K. Rowling has reach millions of people across the world, by the books and movies. What could be more magical than seeing a boy who hated reading devour a seven book series? Or seeing people united in a common culture of literature? What could be better than getting lost in a world of magic?
 
My love of Harry Potter came from the books. The characters, themes, and storyline can connect to anyone and transport you to a magical world. Now all the movies I don't love, but most of them do a good job. The last two movies are fanastic! As a true Harry Potter fan, I want to a midnight release party- Potter Pol ooza! It was true celebration for Potter fans.

 

Not Sytherlin, Not Sytherlin!

 Polooza time!
There was a Horocrux hunt- which was a blast with my friend Kathy! We had to hunt all of the horocrux with Harry Potter trivia. It was so exciting! We solved all the clues and found them all!
It was a magical journey to Hogwarts! There was Potion Owl (which was hard, but I passed!) Being sorted, Ravenclaw! (So worried that I would be Slytherin!) Quidditch practice, which I did pretty well- but I think my true talent would lay as a beater. In Care of Magical creatures I got freaked out by a giant spider and a HUMONGOUS snake. In Herbology I got Mandrake and Devil's Snare seeds. The treats were amazing! I LOVE butter beer! It was really sweet, and had a butterscotch flavor. I also sampled Acid pops, cauldron cakes, and pumpkin juice. (And I am eating a chocolate frog now)  I didn't not like pumpkin juice- it had the flavor of pumpkin pie, which I hate.

Accio Firebolt!

 I also got to watch Part 1 of the 7th movie, which got me psych up for Part 2! So needless to say by 12 I was one hyper Harry Potter fan. My friend Julie had to keep me under control! The movie did not disappoint! It has some differences from the book, but it is Hollywood. The crowd was great- people cheering, laughing, and then complete silence the last 1/2 hour. I cried the last hour of the movie, it was so moving. Then I cried at the end because it was the end ( I am even crying now writing about it!).

We then had a after party, which was ok. I did get a prize! I got a Hufflepuff wall banner, which is really nice. I am going to be Hufflepuff next year at school, so it going up in my room!

This was a great way to end the Harry Potter movies. Thank you J.K. Rowling for characters who touch our hearts, for story lines that enrich our lives, and for a world of magic that will never die.

Some more Potter Polooza pictures

Order of the Phoenix tattoo!

Professor Lupin! Too bad it turned out too grainy because he really looked like him!

The Death Mark! (It would really make an amazing tattoo!)

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Summer Adventures Continue Mesa Verde!

Mesa Verde! 

What could be cooler than touring Ancient Native American dwellings?
Maybe touring Ancient Native American dwellings that on a cliff!

So this was an awesome trip, and not just because I am a huge history geek, and I have always wanted to see it for like forever. It was a 7 hour drive, so it got pretty long. I did get to drive through some parts of Utah that I have never been through before- like Moab. That has been added to my list of places to visit- the red rock is glorious!

Anyway, we got to the National Park and set up camp. The campgrounds are so nice- if you are not a roughing it type of camper- this would be a great place for you to go! They had showers and flushing toilets. It was great! We had my favorite tin foil dinners and blackberry cobbler (dutch oven style- it was HEAVEN!).
My friend told me that I should add dutch oven cooking to my dating resume!

 We only spent 2 days there, but it was worth. We took a tour that took us around all the sites. It nice to get a sense of the history of the place, and how many people used to live there. It was crazy the huge population of people that lived on top of the mesas, and the cliff dwellings!

This was one of the cliff dwelling that we got to tour. The technology that the Natives Americans used was amazing. Not to mention the strength that they had to have to climb down into or up to the cliff dwellings. You can still  see the hand holds that they grooved into the cliff sides. Talk about some super ninja Native Americans!

Coyote is the middle at the back of the picture

Have a longing to see a deer? Mesa Verde is the place! We had deer visit our campsite each night. The deer upon was by my car. I said "Hey Bambi!" and the deer looked up at me! We also saw a coyote (the bottom picture) at lunch on our tour. It was so big, we thought it might be a wolf!

The trip was a success, and I would love to visit again. 3 days was really not enough to see everything. We did take the short drive down to 4 Corners as well. 4 Corners is out in the middle of no where, but worth the drive.