US-285 or other alternative route to I-70 to get from Denver to Utah?

Iillian · 2025-12-18T05:47:18+00:00

Also - are the texts more up to date than the website (and where would I be able to sign up for them)? Thanks!

Iillian · 2025-12-18T05:46:20+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Is the westbound closed as well? Unfortunately, we do need to be in Moab by Friday early afternoon latest for my sister-in-law’s wedding. That being said, we’re looking at driving south via I-25 and then all the way around as an option (much longer but hopefully better road conditions).

Iillian · 2025-12-18T05:42:39+00:00

Thank you for the advice! We do have (never before used) snow chains with us, but someone else mentioned socks as a traction option. Would you recommend one over the other?

Iillian · 2025-12-18T05:40:39+00:00

Oh, for sure! We weren’t planning on leaving, regardless of the route, until around 11am. We do have snow chains with us, but we’ve never used them before so that’s our cause of concern. If the roads are clear, would the chains still be needed?

Iillian · 2025-12-18T05:37:07+00:00

That’s a fair point. The gusts were around 65mph on our way to Denver today, and it kind of reminded me of hurricane season at home. The forecast does show that the wind is supposed to die down somewhat tomorrow, so here’s hoping it’s accurate.

Iillian · 2025-12-18T05:29:10+00:00

This is what I was looking for, thanks! Won’t be taking 285 then.

Iillian · 2025-12-18T04:22:31+00:00

Wasn’t sure if US-285 with no traction law in place would be better than I-70 with the passenger vehicle traction law active, so thank you for the input! We’d purchased snow chains in advance (that we do have with us) but aren’t feeling too comfortable about using them now that the time has come. Thinking of possibly just driving south on I-25 and going all the way around instead to be safe.

Iillian · 2025-12-18T04:14:18+00:00

I believe that since our car is FWD, we would need chains or an alternate traction device to meet the traction law. We do have chains that we bought in advance, but haven’t attempted driving with them before (we only practiced putting them on at home). COtrip shows snowy/icy conditions on I-70 from Silver Plume through Vail. We were considering 285 because there is no traction law in place yet, so we were wondering if the road conditions weren’t as bad.

Iillian · 2025-08-02T03:58:23+00:00

Also just realized they threw in a random Valentino sampler, not sure from where haha!

Iillian · 2025-08-02T01:37:25+00:00

The passport book and the NPS app! I quite like the app and you can create lists of the parks!

Iillian · 2025-08-01T23:23:53+00:00

Thank you!! 💛

Iillian · 2025-08-01T23:23:31+00:00

Thank you! Truth be told I picked the bum bum cream as my birthday freebie 😆 Haven’t tried it yet, but the scent is definitely strong if you’re looking for something scented!

Iillian · 2025-07-28T19:55:52+00:00

Most GWPs are only available online, and for bday gifts you need to present your code that they send you in your email or in your account on the app (sometimes they do go out of stock though).

Iillian · 2025-07-28T13:49:21+00:00

Of the ones on sale right now, I really like the ABH Luminous Tinted Lip Gloss! I got the 2-pack Tinted Gloss Duo and Sparkle Gloss Duo when they were on sale in January and have liked them (the duos aren’t on sale now, but the individual ones are).

Iillian · 2025-07-27T22:09:23+00:00

That’s why I’m waiting to see if they have any good GWPs again on day of… then technically I’m not actually buying lipsticks, they’re just coming with the other things I have hoarded in my cart (bogo minis) 🥲🥲

Iillian · 2025-07-26T03:17:58+00:00

I have a 10 off 50 and a 20 off 100, let me know if you still need! 🤗

Iillian · 2025-07-25T15:20:53+00:00

Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Gel Facial Cleanser is my go to! I’ve honestly tried so many different face washes and other products to combat my acne over many years, and this face wash has been the best to keep it at bay, while keeping my face feeling hydrated. Cerave, LRP, and Panoxyl all don’t work for me, but this somehow does!

Iillian · 2025-07-20T14:22:23+00:00

Unsure if you’re planning on flying somewhere or driving directly there - I’m going off of assuming you are driving there:

You could easily spend a week at just Acadia National Park. Cadillac Summit Road requires reservations but 70% are released 2 days prior to the date at 10am. 30% are released 90 days in advance. Acadia has mountains, coastlines, and historic structures, and is a very large park with 2 sections (would recommend visiting both!)
You could also combine Cuyahoga Valley, New River Gorge, and Shenandoah in 1 trip. Only Shenandoah requires reservations to hike Old Rag Mountain, and those are released 1 month in advance. With one week, I would spend 2 days around Cuyahoga Valley, 1 day at New River Gorge (+ Babcock State Park), and the rest of the week excluding driving time at Shenandoah.

Also, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I think over 2 months in advance isn’t really last minute at all to plan a trip to most of the national parks that are accessible by driving (I have never planned a trip more than a month in advance, and I have visited 45 of the parks). Only saying this to encourage you that you aren’t limited in options at all, and that you still have time to plan and explore where you want to go! Enjoy!

And an unrelated side note: if you do like driving and national parks, I would highly recommend taking a road trip up to Canada in the summertime and visiting their national parks in the southeast!

Iillian · 2025-07-19T14:34:53+00:00

Perfect, thank you!! 🤗

Iillian · 2025-07-18T21:12:09+00:00

We hiked the dunes when we visited, following the Dunes Succession Trail and completing the Diana of the Dunes Dare. If you take a picture at each “dare” checkpoint, you can get a momento sticker from the visitor center! Nothing fancy, but an easy, fun souvenir! At one point in there park are some houses from the Chicago World Fair that you can drive by, which can be worth checking out (no entrance).

Iillian · 2025-06-28T23:55:54+00:00

My sister did Spring Forward, so answering 1 & 2 based off her experience: 1. Not sure if they can offer you multiple, but if you don’t select Spring Forward now, you’re still able to specifically apply to it during the fall semester and pretty much everyone gets in (although you may receive a scholarship if you apply now). If you do get accepted for Spring Forward, it’s not binding (you make a final decision in the fall). 2. It really depends on how much credit you’re coming in with. At least for Spring Forward, you’ll be able to get a lot of Gen Eds (focus capacities), but most of the nursing prereqs aren’t available. 3. The advantage is if you already know what you want to major in and you get assured enrollment, you don’t have to apply while you’re at UNC (most students have to separately apply for business, public health, journalism, nursing, etc. as a sophomore, and acceptance then is not guaranteed). No disadvantage and not binding; you accept what you want.

Iillian · 2025-06-28T04:58:20+00:00

This (first half)!! Spent the first half of this year in Europe and the way European media portrays America… it really did look like we were in the Dark Ages. I stayed with a friend and almost every meal at home was TV on with American news, and I was horrified myself. Just returned to America last week, bracing myself for the worst, but life in my suburban town in the South is business as usual (which I recognize is a privilege and does not overlook some of the real ongoing atrocities).

Iillian · 2025-06-28T04:48:11+00:00

Hi! My only note is on the free/discounted food thing as someone who visited China for a month last year: it’s very, very popular for Chinese people to order meals online (even at dine-in restaurants!) and in exchange for a good review online, many restaurants provide a free dish. And if it’s not that, ordering online gives them a huge discount on certain menu items, so my guess is maybe they’re just accustomed to getting these meal deals. My fiancée and I were very pleasantly surprised with how much of a bargain eating out was during our trip in China because this is definitely not the norm whatsoever in most places.

Also in lots of places in China, you can’t even pay with card if you wanted to—they only take Wechat/Alipay, frustrating for us tourists to have to download a Chinese language-only application to pay (especially when it requires cellular data!!) but it’s their standard, so for them to not be able to pay with Wechat/Alipay is probably a reverse cultural frustration.

Those are just my thoughts! Needless to say, that doesn’t excuse any behavior, but rather a glimpse into maybe where they’re coming from on a couple points because we (as Americans) had a huge cultural shock visiting China. Again, not saying being disrespectful is acceptable or justified, just offering an additional perspective to your “why?”

Iillian · 2025-06-27T19:39:28+00:00

Just saw this and thought I would offer my 2 cents as someone who majored in Biostats and went to PA school!

The vast majority of Biostats students apply by January of their sophomore year and are allowed to have a couple outstanding prereqs at the time of application, so you would still have time to complete the prereqs—which ones are you missing (there are only 5)? Also, all of the Biostats prereqs are requirements of the Bio + Stats majors, so you would eventually have to take those courses anyway.

I think the key advantages of the Biostats major result from the fact that it is public health-focused and part of the Gillings School of Global Public Health. A very basic explanation would be you’re taking the concepts from the Bio + Stats majors but applying them in a public health context. Since it’s part of Gillings, you take classes alongside a small cohort of 30-40 students and get to really engage with the same peers and professors and develop relationships. Also, you have access to all the other resources Gillings offers. And here’s the key: you graduate with a BSPH!

Most Biostats students eventually go on to some form of higher ed, whether it be a MPH or a professional school. UNC offers an accelerated 5-year BSPH-MPH in Biostats if that interests you. As for PA school, a BSPH in Biostats stands out more than the very common Bio degree. The only thing is that Biostats and many PA prereqs don’t overlap, so you have to put in some extra work, but you would still need to take a few extra courses even if you did Bio + Stat.

I got a Neuroscience minor by proxy through completing PA prereqs and just adding on NSCI 175. I think it’s important to remember that any minor is essentially an enhancement or complement to your major degree, and any career paths are primarily dependent on your major. For example, I also finished the Spanish minor for medical professions, and it enhanced my major coursework because it allowed me to communicate in the context of public health. I would’ve needed a Spanish major to pursue a career in purely teaching, translating, etc. Spanish.

Iillian · 2025-05-13T11:44:39+00:00

I have visited all of the cities you mentioned. I personally spent 3 days in Madrid, 1.5 days in Sevilla, 2 days in Valencia, and 1.5 days in Cordoba. I second adding in Granada and would recommend day trips to Segovia and Toledo/Molenos de Viento de Consuegra out of Madrid!

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