Beach Day #2

Today was another lazy day hanging out at the beach and the hot tub.

It was another beautiful day, in the mid 70's. We had a good time at the beach watching people play beach volleyball, the surfers hitting the waves, and all of the people riding their beach cruiser bicycles. It was fun.

When we got back to Eric's we headed straight for the hot tub and hung out there for a couple hours. It was a great time!

Tonight is another night of just taking it easy watching something on Netflix. Eric's parents got into town today; it was nice to see them again. They both looked great. Tomorrow we head for Vegas!

Newport Beach



Fun at the beach!

Today felt like a true vacation day.  We had a lazy morning, met Eric out for lunch and then headed to Newport Beach for the afternoon.  The weather was perfect, in the upper 70's low 80's.  We spent about three and a half hours laying out, playing paddle ball, and going on a nice walk.  Scott also went in the water while I relaxed on the beach.

Scott was lucky and saw two dolphins in the water.  As he was checking out the dolphins, an unexpected wave unfortunately got him and he lost his sunglasses.  So we spent the remainder of the afternoon at Lens Crafters with an eye exam so that he could order a new pair of prescription sunglasses.  Scott and I have now both lost sunglasses in the ocean this year...I lost a pair in New Jersey in the Atlantic and Scott lost his today in the Pacific... lessons learned I guess, no more wearing sunglasses in the ocean for us.

We ate dinner at a great Italian restaurant at Newport Beach and we all had dinners with pink sauce!  The food was delicious!!

We're now having a lazy night watching Netflix with Eric.



Orange County Here We Come!

Today we left Berkeley, (but not before banana cake for breakfast) for Irvine, CA to stay with a long time friend of ours.

The drive was very uneventful, our goal was to make it through LA before rush hour traffic. Thankfully we accomplished that task! For those of you who have never been to LA, the likelihood that you'll be stuck in a traffic jam seems to be 100% no matter the time of day. We've been stuck in traffic at midnight on a weekend and in the middle of the afternoon.

The weather is beautiful here, low 80's. After stopping by Eric's work for a quick Hi and to grab his keys we headed to his place to enjoy the pool, hot tub and some cocktails.

We had a low key evening of grilling out sausages and watching a movie. Tomorrow we hope to hit the beach and maybe go on a hike too.

Berkeley Day 2

Molly, Sawyer, and Margaux

Today we went to the Rose Park in Berkeley. It was an awesome park on the hill. On a clear day you can see the city and the golden gate bridge. We had some good views of the Bay but it was too foggy to see the bridge or the city.

Bubbles

We ate a picnic lunch of soup and sourdough bread, it was very good. Then the kids played, Margeux blew bubbles and Sawyer and Bill went down the cement slide. Scott and I of course had to check out the slide also.

Bill and Sawyer going down the cement slide.

After the park Scott and I headed over to Hayward County to visit an uncle of Scotts. It was a great time catching up and hearing Uncle Richard's stories. We also got to see Linda, Reese and Reese's girl friend Laura. While we were at Uncle Richards we also met Phil 'Fang' Volk. He was the original bass player in Paul Revere and the Raiders. So we've had our California celebrity spotting, ha ha ha. Uncle Richard treated us to dinner and introduced us to some wonderful Lebanese friends of theirs, the Saad Family. We had a great time dining with Wallid, Sanna, Michelle, and Assaad. It was great to see some of Scott's family, hopefully we'll see them more often.

We got back to Molly and Bills late so the banana cake that Molly made will have to wait until the morning, yum banana cake for breakfast! I will be sad to leave in the morning because we've had such a great time here. I'm so glad we got to meet the kids and catch up with Molly and Bill.

Berkeley, CA

Today has been a great day hanging out with the Hicks!

Molly and I went over to the market in the morning and bought some fruit, pastries, and ingredients for banana cake. It was a really great market, similar to an indoor/outdoor farmers market. The produce looked and tasted fantastic.

After tasting everything that we bought back at the house we all packed up to take the kids to the park down the street. It was a fun walk with Bill and Sawyer on bikes, Molly pulling Margaux in the wagon and Scott and me walking. For awhile Sawyer was even pulling Margaux in her wagon with his bike, they are very cute together.

Getting on the Slackline.

At the park Molly set-up slack line for Scott and me to try. We had only seen this once while we were in Bend. Essentially its a heavy duty tow strap that you tie between two trees, making a tight rope. After practice, you become good enough to walk across it. I was able to get on with no help and balance standing and Scott was brave enough to take a step or two. Molly was able to walk across the entire length between two trees. It was so much fun! 

Check out the balance!

Lunch, yum!

Once the kids got tired of the park we headed back to the house and Molly, Scott, and I headed out to lunch. We ate at a place called Fish in Sausalito, it was incredible! Exactly the type of place we were looking for. Fish is a fresh seafood market and restaurant however you order at the counter, there are no servers. It was so delicious and we all shareed each others lunches. Molly and Scott started off with the red chowder. Molly got the crab roll with coleslaw, Scott got a halibut club with fries, and I got the seabass over greens. By far the crab roll was the best, but I would order all of it again! Thanks Molly and bill, great suggestion!





Golden Gate Bridge in the fog

After lunch we headed over to Fort Baker to try to get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately it was too foggy to see downtown or the bridge. The fog is the craziest thing. Where we were standing it was sunny but you could see the fog rolling over our area into the bay. It was cool.

Ice Cream Sandwiches on UC Berkeley's Campus

Later that day, back at the house, we decided that ice cream sandwiches would be a good dinner, and Molly and Bill knew just the place on UC Berkely's campus. The campus was really nice and even had Redwoods. It was a nice walk.

Margaux and Sawyer sharing.

Back at the house we stayed up late visiting and laughing. A perfect way to end a great day!

San Francisco/Berkeley, Ca

This morning was another great morning. Scott made the rest of the kibbee and eggs. We packed up the campsite in a foggy dewey mist.

We drove from the campground and got onto Highway 1, we thought it would be fun to drive along the coast. The road to get to the coast from inland was the most twisty, turny road I've ever been on and unfortunately for me I got majorly car sick! This was a first for me. This road went on for what felt like forever. Had I felt better it would have been a really nice drive because it went through more redwood trees. By the time we got to the coast I felt green and fell asleep....by the time I woke up we were headed away from the coast back inland.... I missed the whole coast!

On the way back inland we passed many wineries. We were in rolling hills and mountains and in the distance you could see many many wineries. It was cool. The temperature at this point was in the high 90's, something I wasn't expecting.

The drive from here to Berkeley was uneventful. To the east we followed golden rolling hills. The temperature began to steadily drop down to the mid sixties. From a distance it was cool seeing downtown San Fran and all of the fog that surrounded the city. Berkeley was in the sun.

It was so great getting into town and seeing Molly and the kids, it's been way too long. Before too long Bill got home from work we all did a little catching up before heading out for dinner. When we left for dinner it was nice and sunny and by the time we headed home the fog had come in and it was much cooler. The remainder of the evening was spent catching up and visiting.

So, I have to be honest about this trip so far, two days ago I was ready to call it quits, then yesterday everything was good and now today I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of time we're spending in the truck again. When Scott was planning this trip he tried to work it out that we would only be driving from destination to destination on average of 6 hours a day. Neither one of us thought about the amount of time we would be spending in the vehicle driving through the national parks. I would say we spend an average of 8+ hours in the truck on a daily basis. It may not sound like much, but after about a month of it, the daily truck drive becomes waring! In addition to the drive time we've only been staying one night here and there along the way, so that means we're setting up and tearing down camp both in the same day... I think going forward we are going to have to adjust our trip slightly to stick to the six hour a day time limit and staying each place a minimum of two nights. This should help both Scott and me keep our sanity!

Hiking Among Giants - Redwood National and State Parks

Canopy

So today we headed off to Redwood National Park. But, before we left, Scott made kibbee and eggs and they were delish! Scott also set up the hammock so I got to spend a few minutes relaxing. This morning was a perfect start to the day! The drive was picturesque from Medford, OR.

The Redwood trees were incredible! We learned that there are actually three species of Redwoods; one species in China, the Coastal Redwoods that we saw today, and the Giant Sequoias down in Central California. The Coastal Redwoods are the tallest trees on earth reaching over 370 feet tall and with diameters reaching 24 feet wide. Let's just say we we're hiking among giants today and it was awesome.

To get to the trail we drove on an old stagecoach dirt road. In some places it was very narrow and nerve racking. It was so cool driving around and in between the trees.

My friend the slug!

We did a two and a half hour hike through an old growth forest and we were both in awe (Boyscout Tree Trail). We tried to get pictures but pictures just don't show the massiveness of the trees.

We started in 85 degree weather today and ended in 62 degrees at the coast. The Northern California coast was breathtaking, although most of it was covered in a dense fog. From what we saw though, it was beautiful. I'm excited for our drive tomorrow, the scenery should keep my mind off the fact that I am once again sitting in the truck for hours.

We also saw a couple different herds of elk tonight. The first herd that we saw probably had about 20 elk. The second herd, if you can call it that, had three males, all with their antlers. Two of them were playing and head butting each other. It was fun to watch.

We're camping at another KOA tonight and this one had a hot tub, yay! It seems that every KOA that we've stayed at gets nicer and nicer, I highly recommend them for anyone doing a trip. 

Crater Lake National Park

Jodie and the kids

We left Portland today for Crater Lake National Park. Thanks again Jodie and Jojo for letting us stay with you guys! We did get a picture with our hosts before we left, but since Jojo was hard at work he missed the photo opportunity.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake was a nice park. The lake was formed when the volcano collapsed on itself. The lake is not fed from rivers or streams, just snow and rain. The lake is the deepest lake in the US. This past winter the Crater Lake area received over 600 feet of snow so of course on our hike today we got to go through more snow, thankfully I wore the correct shoes!

Mountains for miles and miles.

When we started our hike we had sunny skies and 77 degrees and when we finished the hike it was 67 with rain. The hike we did today went around the lake (Rim Trail/The Watchman), although we only hiked for two and a half hours so we didn't go all the way around. We spotted two different herds of deer, one of the two ran out in front of us otherwise we probably would have completely missed them. The lake was beautiful and is also considered to be the cleanest lake. It was turquoise blue. The views around the lake weren't that bad either, rolling mountains in all directions as far as the eye could see. I noticed the clouds and heard the thunder and thought that we were going to be safe. About five minutes before we finished little chunks of hail and a lite sprinkle of rain fell on us.

Mini snowman on the trail.

Tonight we are staying at a KOA just outside of Medford, OR. Tonight is also the hottest camping night that we've had so far. It was 91 degrees when we got here. It's supposed to get down to 62 tonight...we're both hoping it cools down sooner than later, we're both sweating! Maybe this is our preparation for camping in Utah....

Downtown Portland

Today we decided to check out downtown Portland. We thought it would be fun to do a little bike tour of the city since we had our bikes with us. We had a good time riding around for about an hour and a half.

We stopped at a restaurant and had a delicious seafood lunch and also checked out Powell's Books.

We made a big Lebanese dinner for everyone. Tonight is the last night with the Hagen's and we've had a really good time. The kids are awesome and keep us cracking up. It's also been great reconnecting with Jodie and Jojo. I can't wait to see them more often!

Seattle and Olympic National Park

Downtown Seattle from the ferry.

You can take a girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl.

OMG, an original Mini, even a right hand driver toboot!

We headed to downtown Seattle today. I really do love the city, people rushing here and there, cyclists riding their bikes, and the noises. It was a nice change of scenery. As we were headed to the Pike Place Market we happened to pass, "more like follow", an original mini cooper. Of course I'm telling Scott to not lose it because I really wanted a picture, I've never seen an original in person.





We headed over to the open market, it was cool. Just about anything you could need or want, from halibut cheeks (YUM), produce, to clothes. We also stopped by the Pike Place Fish place but they wren't tossing any fish today.

Windy ferry ride.

After downtown we took a ferry to head over to Olympic National Park. This is the second ferry that we've taken where we drive our car onto the boat. We got some really good views of the city and Mt. Rainier. The ferry dropped us off on an island and it was soooo nice. The homes were unbelievable; situated on the shore with beach access and views. Unfortunately at about that time it started to sprinkle. We left the island via a bridge and were on the main land again headed to the park.
 

Mt. Rainier from the ferry.

Olympic National Park is different in that you don't drive through the park instead you drive the perimeter. I was wondering on our way to the park about what could be unique about this one compared to the others that we've seen and sure enough. Olympic National Park is made of of three regions; a rainforest, coast, and then the mountainous terrain.

Olympic National Park - Rainforest

It was beautiful driving around the park. Again, the trees were super sized and covered with moss. The rainforest sections were like an enchanted forest, just beautiful. The cloud ceiling was low so the clouds just sat in the trees. In some places you could see the mountain peeks sticking out of the clouds and in other places your couldn't see anything but cloud cover. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to do a hike because the rain had really picked up by that point in time. This is definitely a place worthy of a second and third visit.

On a side note, as we drove around the National Park we went through Port Angeles and Forks, WA. Since I'm a Twilight fan I thought that was cool. It's amazing how much Forks is monopolizing on the movie with their Twilight firewood and Twilight tours...but who could blame them, Forks is a small town and prior to the books and movies probably didn't even get a second glance!

We headed back to Portland in the evening. We ended up spending 12 hours in the truck today, neither Scott or I expected that. I wish we didn't have to get in the truck again for a week, but no such luck. I keep telling myself that Vegas is a couple weeks away and that I won't have to ride in a car for three full days!

Life is good and we had a great time in Seattle.

North Cascades National Park

Moss covered branches.

We drove up to the North Cascades National Park today in Northwestern Washington.  It wasn't a long drive, but long enough for me to take a nap!  It was perfect because by the time I woke up we had arrived. 

We went into the Visitor's Center to inquire about a good moderately/strenous hike.  As Scott was talking to the ranger, we found out that there was a trail that had a moose which had been spotted many times recently.   Wahoo!!  The Moose hunt was on again.  Nothing like really waking me up by saying there's a chance to see a moose again. 

Thunder Creek

The trail ended up being awesome!!  Exactly what I imagined hiking in a forest in the Northwest would be like.  Moss covered everything from trees to rocks and the ground.  We saw every shade of green possible, it was beautiful.  I felt like everything in the forest was supersized; the leafs on plants were huge and the trees even bigger.  I thought it felt like I was in the movie Jurassic Park and the forest reminded Scott of Robin Hood (although I think he's crazy, it was like Jurassic Park!  LOL) (Thunder Creek/4th of July)

Moss covered everything!

The trail followed an aqua blue creek, which seemed more like a river.  We ended up hiking about three hours and didn't spot the moose, but that was okay with me.  The trail was the best that we've hiked since the beginning of this trip.  The first couple miles of the trail was gently rolling and then we decided to take another trail that went up the side of a mountain.  It was a push and we were sweating like pigs, but it was beautiful.  We had to cross creeks, climb over rocks and roots, and it was awesome.  We only passed a handful of people so it felt like we were the only ones in the forest, it was exactly what we were looking for.

Sweating like pigs!

By far, the North Cascades has been my favorite park that we've visited.  What attracts me most to this park is the seclusiveness of it.  I think because of the remoteness of this park, it doesn't attrack the visitors like some of the other's that we've been too.  I loved how we hiked for three hours and only saw a few people.  Even as we stopped at different view points while driving in the truck the viewpoints didn't have people.

Also, we got a second day of sunshine, what a treat!  We were both expecting clouds the whole time in Washington and we've gotten sun.  We have lots to be thankful for. 

Of course, when we got back to the hotel we hit the hot tub right away!

Mount Rainier National Park

Narada Falls, Mt. Rainier NP

We left my cousins this morning after a great breakfast of egg scramble with veggies, potatoes, toast, and fruit.

Mt. Rainier - Beautiful Sunny Day!

We headed up to Seattle today with a stop over in Mount Rainer National Park. The forest was beautiful and the trees were huge compared to what we've been seeing. We drove to the main visitors center and decided to do a little hike. (Combination of trails - Paradise Visitor's Center)It was very cool because some of the trails were still snow covered. I definitely should have worn my hiking shoes today instead of my sandals....oops, I guess I know for next time. We also checked out a couple of waterfalls. We were fortunate today that there were no clouds and it was very sunny because the Narada Falls sprayed a wonderful mist into the air that created a beautiful rainbow.

80's and Snow!

My feet are freezing!

We then headed to Seattle to check into our room. We're staying at another hotel with a heated pool and hot tub, YAY. 

Portland Day 2

After a refreshing night's sleep in a bed again Scott and I were up early. We enjoyed a quiet morning on the back deck with awesome views and the sunny morning.

We then headed over to a farm where Jodie buys raw milk. It was a nice drive through green hills, twisty roads, and farms. On the way home we stopped for burgers and shakes for the kids and sushi for the adults.

We then went to Caleb's first of two soccer games for the day. It was fun; a ton of fun. I really enjoyed watching the kids play; it brought back many good memories of my soccer playing days! The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm.
In the evening I went to Caleb's second soccer game with Jodie and the girls and Scott stayed home to "watch" dinner. Jojo made a native dish from Gana Africa and when he left for the game he gave Scott directions of how to finish the dinner.

The house smelled delicious when we walked in after the game and Jojo went straight to the pot and took one look at his delicious dish and in not so many words told Scott that he messed it up! It was hysterical!! I guess Scott added too much water so it was more like a jambalaya. Very funny and no ones feelings were hurt. It made for a good evening.

We haven't had a chance to visit downtown Portland yet, but hopefully we will on our way back through.  Also, both Scott and I have sort of forgot about how bad traffic can be because we really haven't had to sit in any since Illinois. Sitting in traffic in Portland definitely gave us somthing to think about for our next potential place to live.

Portland, OR

We headed off to Portland today to stay with my cousin Jodie and her family.

It was a nice drive; the first half was through the high desert with huge hills and canyons which followed a river and the second half was through Mount Hood National Forest. The trees in this national forest were huge. It seems like we've been in lodge pole pine forests and now we in huge ponderosa and other large pine forests. We also got some great views of snowcapped Mount Hood.

We got to my cousins at about 12:30 and pretty much just hung out for the rest of the day and night. It was fun getting to know all of the kids and reconnecting with Jodie and Jojo. Jodie grilled an awesome dill salmon, leeks, grilled zucchini and grandma's biscuits with a little sangria to top it off. It was delish!

We all hit the sac fairly early, but it was a great day.

Bend, OR

Hanging out at Camp

So the s'mores I had last night were really not as good as I remember, and amazingly enough I only had one! That doesn't mean that I didn't eat the marshmallows, grahams, and chocolate separately. I think what would have made them better would have been a better chocolate (I don't even like Hersheys), and a better graham (Trader Joes).

So today Scott and I spent the day in Bend. We got there just in time for breakfast and ate at a local eatery in the downtown district. I had amazing eggs benedict with smoked salmon and Scott had a baja Oregon omelet, both meals were delicious.

Bend, OR Mill District

We walked around town along the river and then did some driving around the area. The more we walked around and drove the more we really liked Bend.

We then decided to head up to the Deschutes National Forest for a little day hike (Sparks Lake Trail). It was a really nice hike in the pines and old lava fields. We thought we would be hiking next to a lake but no such luck.

Spark's Lake, OR

After the hike we then headed over to the lake, it was beautiful and we watched a fly fisherman catch a little lake trout, it was cool.

On our way out of town we ended up passing a farmers market. We bought peaches, cherries, and green beans. The peaches have to be the best I've ever eaten, peach juice was dripping down my hand each time I took at bite!

We then headed back to camp and cooked up the ground elk that Todd and Jennifer gave us into burgers over some hot wood coals. Thank you again Todd and Jennifer, you guys have managed to feed us for four nights now and elk is delicious! While we were in town we also stopped and bought a bottle of wine to have with dinner. It's been a good night.


We really like the new tent that we bought. Definitely better quality than the last one. Neither Scott or I got cold last night and I even think I can remove a layer or two!

Goodnight for now.....

Central Oregon

It was cold last night! I thought that after camping in 30 degree temperatures in Yellowstone that the mid 50's would have felt like a heat wave...not so much!

We had to buy a new tent today. The one we bought at Gander Mountain just didn't cut it. After six nights of camping one of the poles split. So off to Cabelas in Boise, ID we went and out we came with a smaller more expensive tent...go figure!

Scott and I were actually excited to see Boise but when we got there we didn't even head into town. It just wasn't what we had expected.

Well Central Oregon, I never realized you existed!

I was really nervous after Boise, both Scott and I thought that Bend would have a similar landscape, but it wasn't even close. About 30 miles outside of town the backdrop had three snow covered peaks. They gave me the chills! About 10 miles out of town we headed into piñon and high desert forests, and upon getting into town, wow, Scott and I were thrilled with what we saw; pine trees, flowers, grass, you name it. Believe me, after driving about a day in high desert sage brush, this was heaven!

We went straight to a National Forest office to get information on the forests. We pretty much just drove through town today, but both Scott and I had a feeling that this could be the place where we decide to settle.

Bend a town of about 80,000, so it isn't tiny or huge but essentially has everything you need, from Whole Foods to Safeway. The biggest draw for us to this town is the mild climate and every outdoor activity that you can imagine, in addition to easy access to the coast! I mean really, does life get any better?

We decided to head up to the campground early tonight to get settled in. We had another camp fire and I'm finally breaking down and making s'more. I've done good up until this point and haven't made any, apparently I'm at my breaking point and just need one!

By the way, we love the new tent. It's a different set-up than what we've ever had but I think it will definitely work.

Location:Bend, OR

Idaho

Driving Through Idaho

What a great idea to stay at the Residence Inn, we both feel refreshed. Before we checked out we had to hit the hot tub one last time!

Bozeman Montana is such a cool town. We spent about an hour driving around. Bozeman has definitely made the list of potential places we could live.

The drive from Bozeman to West Yellowstone was beautiful once again. It seemed like we drove through a valley following a river with mountains on both sides of us. Beautiful! However, that's about where it ended. Idaho was terribly boring! I think I saw more wheat fields than potato fields and I thought this was the potato state.

Fire in Pocatello, ID

We did pass a wildfire so that made the trip a bit more interesting, but otherwise a fairly uneventful day.

We were hoping to make it to Boise today but decided to stop in Mountain Home, ID at a KOA. We drove for about seven hours. The weather here is nice and both Scott and I should sleep really good tonight. Lows are supposed to be in the 50's so I shouldn't have to bundle up as much!

Goodbye Yellowstone, Hello Montana

We packed up and finished touring the northwest portion of Yellowstone. What a difference the west side looks from the east and south! The west side of Yellowstone seems to be all geysers and springs and the landscape is not as much pine tree forests. I definitely do not have an appreciation for all of the geysers but I guess they are kind of neat....once you've seen one you've seen them all is my theory. We did walk around Mammoth Hot Springs and we were both a little disappointed...again, not too into the sulfur smelling springs and geysers...

Mammoth Hot Springs

We decided that we would head up to Bozeman for the night. Scott was a little tired driving today, we've been on the go non-stop for two weeks now and really haven't had a down day. We both commented that we had a fairly short drive today, but looking back over the day we were in the truck for five hours.

We got into Bozeman and decided to get a room at the Residence Inn. What a great decision; hot tub and swimming pool!! We're taking it easy today and just chilling at the hotel. We got pizza for dinner and life is good.

We'll head into town tomorrow to check out Bozeman.

Grand Teton National Park

String Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Scott and I both agree that today has been the best day of our trip so far.

We had a fairly lazy morning, slept in until 9:45am. We had already made plans to meet my cousin and his family in the Grand Teton National Park where they had set-up camp the day before.   (Leigh Lake Trail)

We had to hike into their campsite a few miles and didn't know what to expect so we both packed-up daypacks with water, gatorades, apples, and a couple of bars each. When we got to the trailhead, I was a little nervous, it was at a lake and very crowded with many people. I was hoping to have more of a secluded hike today. Well, sure enough, about about 1/4 mile in we got the seclusion. The hike was awesome. We hiked along lakes the majority of the way. The lakes were crystal clear and the backdrop was the snow covered Grand Tetons. Amazing! We didn't see my cousins at the camp where we thought they would be set-up so we continued on. It was a great hike and we ended up turning around at an old log cabin. On our way back through we spotted my cousins and hung out with them for a couple hours. Their camping spot was great. They had an awesome sand beach and were right along the lake with great views!

We wanted to have another early evening at camp to enjoy the fire and had about an hour and a half drive ahead of us we so said our goodbyes and headed back to camp.

We had a great dinner again; elk steaks, canned green beans (not my fav, but veggies sure tasted good), macaroni with butter and salt and pepper. It hit the spot after a good day of hiking!

Yellowstone Part 2

Old Faithful

It's another beautiful day in Yellowstone and I was snug as a bug last night. I didn't get cold once and slept straight through. It was great!

We had to move campsites today because we only had reservations for two nights. On our way to the new campsite we passed another buck with a huge set of velvet antlers, definitely the biggest that we've seen so far, and we passed a buck elk with two velvet nubs.

We decided that today we had to get some laundry done, thankfully Yellowstone has laundry facilities.

We headed up to Old Faithful, that was cool. About a half hour after we arrived we got to see all the action. We also walked around and saw many more geysers and and springs. The water in some of the areas was bluer than anything I ever saw but also smelled of sulfur.

Grand Prismatic Spring

We then headed over to what the park called a five mile "hike" to check out a 200 foot waterfall and a huge spring (Fairy Falls Trail). It was no hike like I've ever done and was more like a walk. The "hike" weaved through new growth forest for the most part. The falls were cool.





We both decided that we would have an early evening. The earliest we've gotten to campsite before tonight has been 8pm and we really wanted to enjoy camping a little more tonight. On our way to the campsite we stopped and got a potato & onion to grill up with our dinner. Jennifer, my cousin Todd's wife, was awesome and gave us elk sirloins and ground elk to grill up and those sirloins were calling our names.

Dinner turned out delicious, I think I elk steaks way better than beef steaks very tender and great flavor.

We met the guy in the campsite next to ours. His name was Jason and was was traveling via motorcycle from Manhattan, NY to Santa Barbara, CA. He was taking his time, camping and hitting many of the National Parks on his way to the west coast. It was cool meeting someone who was doing something similar to what we are doing.

The moon tonight is unbelievable. I don't know if I have ever seen it so bright! In the campground it was lighting everything up as if there were streetlights. Very cool, but a bummer because we couldn't see the stars like we had hoped to. 

Jackson Wyoming

Today we decided to head to Jackson to see a cousin of mine and his family. The drive from our campsite to Jackson was great and we got to go through Grand Teton National Park. We drove through mountains, forests, and grasslands where huge granite snow covered mountains were the backdrop. Both Scott and I were in awe with the beauty.

Mountain Biking in Jackson

We got to Jackson and hooked up with my cousin Todd for a little while before heading out to an awesome single track trail. I have to give props to Fitzgerald's Bicycles in Jackson, WY for recommending the trail. The trail was exactly what we wanted, smooth and fast single track through pine, birch, and huge wildflower meadows. The weather was also perfect for a bike ride, mid 70's. We couldn't have planned the ride better.  (Cache Creek/Putt-Putt Trails)




After the ride we went over to my cousins house and visited with them for awhile. It was great seeing Todd, Jennifer, the kids, and Todd's mom Nancy. It's funny we went probably 15 years without seeing each other and now we've seen each other twice in a year and a half.

The drive was uneventful from Jackson back to our camp. We tried as hard as we could to spot a moose; we've been told that there's a better chance to see one in Grand Teton National Forest over Yellowstone. Unfortunately we didn't spot one. We took several dirt roads off the main highway on our way back to camp hoping to spot something. It was fun taking the dirt roads because of the exclusiveness. We did see a buck with a huge set of velvet antlers and that's about it. Hopefully tomorrow we have a little more luck. The parks are pretty busy right now so it was nice to be in an area where there weren't a ton of people and cars around.

Both Scott and I got a little cold last night so we're bundling up tonight. Looks like I'll be wearing wool socks and hat (that I knitted), long underwear, fleece pants, tee shirt, long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt. This is all in addition to my sleeping bag and two additional blankets. If I don't stay warm tonight than there's nothing that's going to help me. Scott will probably wear half of what I have on and will be just fine. I guess we'll see tomorrow morning.

Yellowstone National Park

Today was a fairly uneventful 10 hour drive to Yellowstone. We went through North Dakota and Montana. Some portions of the drive were beautiful but the majority of the drive was through what appeared to be grasslands and prairie. Both Scott and I have commented on how trees don't seem to grow in the grasslands here. Most of the drive I worked on my knitting. We did stop once for gas in Billings, Montana. Billings was the largest town that we've been through for what feels like days.

Custer National Forest

When we reached Custer National Forest the mountains and views were breathtaking! We drove over a 10,800 foot pass, it was amazing! Now this is where Scott and I should live. Again, we took pictures but they don't even come close to doing the scenery justice.

After about an hour's drive through the national forest we were at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone. It sure is beautiful country here! My one goal now that we're at Yellowstone is to see a moose. I've seen two young ones before on a trip to Montana, but i want to see a full sized moose on this trip....i guess we'll have to wait and see. The other goal that I have now that we're here is to NOT see a bear. I know they are out there and will be very content not to see one.

It seems like almost as soon as we got into the park we started to see buffalo. It was soooo cool because they were in such huge herds. We used the binoculars and saw them running, it was like straight out of Dances with Wolves! We watched the buffalo for so long that they ended up crossing the road right in front of our truck. Wow, they were cool and huge. They also make me laugh with the grunts that they make. We took a couple videos and will post them once we get to a decent Internet connection.

What started off with a seven hour drive which turned into a 10+ hour drive due to all of the buffalo. At one point we we're stopped in a huge car line because three buffalo were in the middle of the road just hanging out. It was awesome!

We ended up getting to our campsite around 9 and were set-up by 10. As we were talking with the person checking us into our campsite I had to ask about bears. He did mention that a juvenile (three years oldish) male has been spotted nearby but not in the campground. Let the adventure begin!

It's definitely colder here than were we've stayed the previous nights. It is supposed to get down in the 30's tonight. Hopefully we don't freeze overnight.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We were up and at 'em today before 6am. On our way out of the Black Hills National Forest we spotted many more deer and wild turkeys. I will miss the forest, but we will be in Yellowstone in a couple days to get my fill again.

The drive started off beautiful today. For about an hour we drove along the Eastern side of the Black Hills National Forest, so one side of the road was trees and forest and the other side was huge rolling hills.

For breakfast, we both mutually agreed that we needed a donut. So of course I get on the "Around Me" app on my iphone to look for a local bakery. Well, just our luck there happened to be one in the next town we went through. I haven't had a donut in at least nine months and when we walked into Jerry's Cakes and Donuts in Rapid City it smelled amazing, I wanted to try one of everything. Instead I opted for my favorite chocolate cream filled and an apple fritter. Scott got a cream filled maple with nuts and a glazed cinnamon twist. Let me just tell you, these donuts were amazing but I should have only gotten one. I ate one for breakfast and took the second one to go. Scott managed to polish both of his off with no problem. I know better than to get two, but I just couldn't help myself!

Enough about donuts, once we started heading North up to North Dakota the scenery changed.. We drove through slight rolling hills and grasslands...about three hours into the drive I had had enough of South and North Dakota! Thankfully we were about to our destination.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Roosevelt National Park is another beautiful park. Very similar to the Badlands but very different at the same time. There are two sections of the park; a North section and a South section. We only planned to tour the south section on this trip. The park has a ton of wildlife similar to the two parks we had just left. The one different species that this park had are the wild horses. We were very fortunate again today and got to see buffalo alongside the road, two different groups of wild horses, deer, and prairie dogs in addition to beautiful scenery.


We're camping again but this time didn't have reservations. The National Park has a campground that is first come first serve. Thankfully there were plenty of spots to choose from. Unfortunately the last two campgrounds have spoiled me and the one we're staying in is much more primitive. No Wi-Fi or showers here...bummer!

We went on another hike today. It was more of a prairie/grasslands hike. It was just an easy one today. I really need to remember that when we go on these grasslands hikes I should really wear long pants! (Jones Creek Trail)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

The benefit of staying in the Park is that you can drive through it "after hours". Scott and I took a drive tonight around sunset hoping to see elk and more wildlife. We didn't see any elk but did see a ton of deer. Two in particular were Bambi's with their beautiful blanket of spots. As we were coming up to them they had just walked onto the road. They stopped right in the middle and then again on the side. It was awesome and they were adorable!




We have a ton of pictures but my Internet connection is way too slow to upload them. I will post pics once we get to an area with a faster connection Goodnight for now.